Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5319 Invincible
Since the advent of firearms, city defenses could still withstand the dangers of mountains and rivers, but for cities on plains, relying on high walls and thick walls was now a pipe dream. Even the strongest city walls were no match for the explosive "gunpowder packs" that were used in large quantities.

The mode of warfare has undergone a complete transformation, and the most brutal and difficult "siege warfare" in history has been swept into the dustbin of history.

However, Dudumula, who had never faced the Tang army, was completely unaware of this. He still adhered to the war concept of high walls and thick fortifications. Since becoming the city lord, he had spared no effort in raising and reinforcing the city walls, turning Tiberistan into a huge military fortress. He was confident that even if ten times the number of enemies besieged the city for several months, they would not be able to shake the city in the slightest.

As more than ten squads of Tang soldiers charged down to the city walls, carrying large shields and braving rolling logs and arrows, they split up and hid under their shields at intervals, seemingly fiddling with something. Dudumula frowned in confusion. Although news of defeats by the Abbasid army occasionally came from the front, the specific details were not provided.

He was certainly aware of the Tang army's superior firearms, and he also knew that the Tang army relied on gunpowder to breach city walls when attacking them...

He stomped his foot, feeling the force of the heavy city wall rebounding back. This was not the rammed earth used to build those inferior cities, but rather huge stones collected from the mountains to the north, built piece by piece. No matter how powerful the gunpowder was, it could not blow up such a city wall.

Even a bolt of lightning from the sky couldn't destroy it!

Seeing the Tang army still holding up their large shields as they retreated from below the city, Dudumula lay on the city wall and peered down. He could only see the large shields and not the Tang army's movements. He straightened up, and although he didn't think that gunpowder could blow open such a sturdy and thick city wall, a sense of crisis involuntarily rose in his heart. So he moved quickly to the top of the city wall.

The Tang army likely disliked the architectural structure of the city gate, which made it unsuitable for explosives, so they did not choose to bury gunpowder there...

Then Dudumula felt a sudden tremor beneath his feet, as if some monster buried beneath the city wall was about to burst out of the ground, followed by a low, explosive roar in his ears.

In the next moment, the city wall appeared to him as if it had been violently lifted up by a dozen incredibly strong monsters. First, it twisted, then it collapsed, and the entire wall shattered into pieces. More than a dozen gaps, each several meters long, collapsed amidst billowing smoke. The north side of the city wall had almost completely collapsed, leaving it defenseless.

Dudumula, standing on the city wall, watched helplessly as the city wall he thought was impregnable crumbled section by section, and was immediately shocked and horrified.

What kind of world-destroying power is this?
Even gods would be torn apart and annihilated here...

It wasn't until the heavily armored Tang soldiers, like monstrous insects covered in black armor, charged across the mountains and plains that Dudumula came to his senses and roared, "Stop them! Stop them!"

He turned and rushed down the city wall, disregarding the soldiers buried under the rubble, and organized the longbowmen inside the city to counterattack. Countless arrows flew out of the bowstrings, tracing parabolic arcs through the air before falling into the Tang army's ranks, only to be horrified to find that the arrows had no effect on the Tang army's armor. The heavily armored Tang soldiers, covered in plate armor and wearing masks, were impervious to swords and spears, and surged into the city like a tide through the breach in the collapsed city wall.

Dudumullah's eyes were bloodshot. He was a famous general who had fought countless battles against the Abbasids, but he had never encountered such a domineering offensive. The high walls and thick ramparts could not withstand the power of gunpowder, and swords and spears could not harm the heavily armored soldiers in the slightest. How could this battle be fought?
His masculinity erupted when he was on the verge of despair. He ordered Xie He, who was not under the pressure of defending the city, to lead troops to come to the rescue from the west gate. At the same time, he took the lead and led his troops to rush up to try to block the Tang army from entering the city. The two sides fought a desperate battle around the ruins of the collapsed city wall.

It was described as a "fight to the death," but in reality, only the Arab soldiers died. The heavily armored Tang soldiers, armed to the teeth, were truly "invulnerable to swords and spears." They climbed onto the ruins to face the surging Arab soldiers, ignoring the swords and weapons at their feet, slashing and cutting them down with unstoppable force.

They don't defend, they only attack; they advance step by step, relentlessly.

The Arab soldiers, led by Dudumullah, were indeed fierce and brave, charging relentlessly with howls and screams. Corpses piled up and blood flowed on the ruins of the city walls, but despite paying a heavy price, they could not stop the Tang army's advance.

Even the most valiant army would inevitably feel frustrated and demoralized in the face of such a battle situation.

Dudumullah brandished his greatsword, striking the armor of several Tang soldiers in front of him with clanging sounds and sparks flying. The Tang soldiers, however, remained fearless and did not retreat an inch. They attacked, slashing and hacking at Dudumullah, leaving him struggling and in a sorry state.

Seeing that the Tang army was about to cross the city wall ruins, Dudumula shouted, "Quickly send Xiehe with reinforcements! We absolutely cannot let the Tang army break through the defenses!"

These heavily armored soldiers were not only impervious to swords and spears when charging, but also invincible in street fighting once they broke into the city. Their only natural enemy was probably heavy cavalry in open field battles. However, the Arab iron smelting technology was extremely backward, and even officers of the rank of colonel could not assemble a full set of armor. The entire country had no more than a thousand heavy cavalry, so how could they possibly be a match for Tiberistan?

They could only rely on sheer numbers to surround the heavily armored Tang army and wear them down.

However, just as Dudumula was desperately resisting the Tang army's charge, bad news arrived.

The soldier who had gone to deliver the order to Sheikh ran back quickly: "Lord, something terrible has happened! Sheikh has opened the west gate and led his men to abandon the city and flee!"

"what?!"

Dudumula was dumbfounded and speechless with shock.

It took him a long time to react. He was so angry that his eyes turned bloodshot and he yelled, "This traitor has indeed surrendered to the Tang people! He entered the city as an inside agent of the Tang people. He tricked the defenders of the western city into abandoning the city and fleeing when the enemy was at the gates, thus disrupting the morale of our army! I will definitely capture him alive and tear him to pieces!"

Turning around, they saw that the Tang army had already flooded the ruins of the city walls and was charging into the city like a tidal wave, overwhelming and unstoppable.

He made a decisive move, withdrawing from the front line with his personal guards and trusted men without saying a word. Only when he rode to the open west gate did he issue the order to retreat.

"The entire army shall retreat, preserving its strength as it retreats to Jilan!"

To avoid his soldiers misunderstanding that he had abandoned the city and fled, he then explained: "The Sheikh, that treacherous dog, colluded with the Tang people, causing my city's defenses to fall. His crime is unforgivable! I may die in the city to serve the Caliph, but I cannot tolerate such a treacherous dog going unpunished and misleading the Caliph! Therefore, I will defeat the Tang army in Gilan and capture the Sheikh alive!"

How could ordinary soldiers know the truth?
Since the city walls had already fallen and the invulnerable Tang army had stormed into the city like demons, no one wanted to fight such monsters and then die meaninglessly in the city. Since the city lord had given an excuse, everyone naturally agreed on the same story.

"It's not that we can't fight to the death, but that we must live to expose the true face of the Sheikh traitor!"

"We abandoned the city so that the Caliph would not be deceived or misled by the Sheikh!"

"For the Empire! For the Caliph!"

The defending troops lost all morale and, under Dudumulla's leadership, rushed to break through the west gate and fled in disarray.

The Tang army swiftly captured Tiberistan, achieving victory without bloodshed.

Xue Rengui didn't even enter the city. He only ordered a detachment to enter the city to seize grain, supplies, weapons, and warhorses. This was the core of "using war to sustain war." Instead of sending grain and supplies across thousands of miles via a long supply line, they were seized from the enemy.

As long as the advance is fast enough and victories are achieved along the way, supplies will naturally flow in continuously.

After a brief rest, with Wang Xiaojie still leading the vanguard, they rode wildly along the flat plains of the southern shore of Leizhuhai, chasing after the enemy's tail and killing their way through.

……

Dudumullah fled in disarray to the walls of Jilan City. Once inside, he learned that Sheikh had already replenished his supplies of food and weapons. He then passed through the city and continued his retreat.

Dudumula was furious and grabbed the city lord of Jilan by the collar, shouting angrily, "How could you believe his nonsense? This scoundrel has already surrendered to the Tang people and colluded with them to cheat my city of Tiberistan. I will cut him into a thousand pieces!"

The city lord of Jilan looked innocent: "How would I know about this? He said that the Tang army captured Tiberistan City, but their target was Tabriz City. He had suffered heavy losses and had to rush there first to report the news and participate in the defense."

Tabriz, the former capital of Persia, is located at the western end of the Persian Plateau. Overlooking the entire plateau from above, it holds a strategically important position that cannot be lost.

Dudumullah was also somewhat bewildered. The Tang army was actually going to capture Tabriz? That would not only throw the entire Persian Plateau into chaos, but also put Syria on edge!

Seeing his hesitation, the city lord of Jilan asked curiously, "Is the Tang army truly invincible and unstoppable?"

Dudumula sighed: "You'll find out soon enough."

As he said, he had only been in the city for a day, and before his scattered troops could be reorganized, the Tang army was already chasing after him.

Compared to Tiberistan, a city built against the mountain with high walls, Jilan was much less well-defended. The Tang army did not even set up camp or formulate a battle plan, but launched a fierce attack based solely on the inflated morale of the fleeing enemy.

It's the same old routine: "gunpowder bombs" blow up the city walls, heavy infantry break through the defenses, archers provide ranged suppression, and light cavalry split and attack...

The tactics are extremely simple, but they are unstoppable.

Seeing the once impregnable and imposing city now shrouded in smoke and ruins, with countless Tang soldiers breaking through the defenses and storming into the city, the Lord of Jilan sighed and ordered a retreat to Zanzhan City, hoping that Zanzhan City could use its mountainous terrain to block the Tang army.

After capturing Jilan City, the Tang army took a short rest and then relentlessly pursued the retreating enemy. Since they were on enemy territory, they could not give the enemy a chance to prepare and recuperate. Speed ​​was of the essence, and they had to open up the road to Mesopotamia in one fell swoop.

Dudumula retreated to Zanzhan City on the south side of the mountains. Before he could establish a firm foothold, the Tang army arrived in quick succession. After a day of fierce fighting, the Tang army was invincible, and Zanzhan City fell again. Dudumula had no choice but to continue his retreat to Tabriz.

However, after capturing Zanchan, the Tang army did not continue to pursue Tabriz. Instead, they crossed Zanchan and headed south. Before the weather warmed and the rainy season arrived, they crossed the Zagros Mountains, which stretch across the southern side of the Persian Plateau, and plunged into the fertile Mesopotamian region.

Their army marched straight towards Nineveh.

(End of this chapter)