Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

On the imperial platform.

Commander Lu Dongzan squinted his eyes and looked at the marching map on the table. While recalling the tactics his son had mentioned, he was deducing the feasibility of the tactics.

After he deduced it once, his eyes became brighter and brighter.

What a tactic!

The Gaya City where the Tang army is currently located is at least 1,200 miles away from the Qunu City where they are located.

In addition, they have an army of 15, which is more than enough manpower.

If we can lure the isolated Tang army into deep territory, while cutting off their food supplies, we can then mobilize heavy troops to encircle and suppress the isolated Tang army bit by bit.

I believe it won’t be long before we can defeat this Tang army!

Wait until everyone quiets down.

Lu Dongzan said loudly: "Generals, execute the tactics according to Lun Qinling's instructions!"

"Generals, obey the order!"

Hearing that Lu Dongzan was about to issue a battle order, these high-ranking Tibetan generals walked to the center of the hall.

A moment of silence.

Lu Dongzan gave the order: "Starting tomorrow, Zan Xiruo and Mangxian Dazhabu, you will be responsible for moving the livestock and food supplies within a radius of several hundred miles to the vicinity of Qunu City!"

"Zhulong Mangbuzhi, lead 5000 cavalry to the Eastern Tianzhu territory and do everything you can to cut off the Tang army's food supply!"

"Wei Songnang, return to the imperial capital, Lhasa, immediately and have the Zamp find a way to dispatch another 5 troops!"

The four generals who received the order responded in unison.

"As ordered!"

Although there were more or less conflicts between them, this battle with the Tang army was related to the fate of their Tubo nation.

If they lost this battle, they would become slaves of the Tang Dynasty like the Western Turks.

As eagles on the plateau, how can they survive by kneeling?

Lu Dongzan then ordered: "Lun Qinling, you will go to Nepal tomorrow and find a way to persuade King Naling Deva to dispatch 5000 cavalry!"

"We don't have enough cavalry to quickly encircle and destroy the Tang army!"

Before this, they had always looked down on Nepal and even wanted to annex it.

But now the situation is not favorable to them, and they have to borrow troops from Nepal.

Lun Qinling nodded and said, "I obey your command!"

After deciding on the general strategy, the group began to discuss the specific details in whispers, and they kept chatting until dark before leaving the hall.

...

Gaya City.

In the lobby of the City Lord's Mansion.

Pei Xingjian walked in and reported, "General Du, the Tibetan soldiers have been fortifying their positions and clearing the countryside. They have also sent several thousand cavalrymen to patrol along the Tibetan border and into the territory of Eastern Tianzhu."

"Their goal is to cut off our food supply and trap our 15-strong army to death."

After hearing Tubo's actions, Du He's expression changed slightly.

Lu Dongzan and his son Lun Qinling are really capable. The tactics they developed are indeed better than those of Goguryeo and Western Turks.

When fighting thousands of miles away, logistics is the biggest headache.

Moreover, it would not be an easy task for them to send 1 troops back to destroy those thousands of Tubo soldiers.

Since Eastern India and Tubo are adjacent to each other, if those thousands of cavalrymen realize that the situation is not good, they can escape back to Tubo's territory at any time to avoid danger.

However, the Tang army's food transportation lines were too long and the protective forces were totally insufficient.

After thinking about it for a while.

Du He asked softly, "Shou Yue, how much dried meat and rations does each soldier have on hand now?"

The army originally planned to rest in Gaya City for 5 days, but unexpectedly, they had to work for more than half a month to prepare dry food.

And the battle plan is constantly being adjusted.

Pei Xingjian reported, "Reporting to Commander Du, each soldier brought 30 jin of dried beef and horse meat, 50 Hu cakes, 10 dou of dry rice, and 5 salted eggs each."

"The generals have bigger appetites, and their dry rations are twice as much as those of ordinary soldiers."

"Thirty percent of the soldiers had three horses each, and seventy percent had two horses each. Carrying dry food, thick clothing, and bedding was no problem for them."

In order to cope with the coming cold winter, Pei Xingjian turned 90% of the food into dry rations to ensure that the soldiers could fight over long distances.

As for the subsequent supply of food and fodder, they were not too careless.

According to the official of the Imperial Household Department who was in charge of transporting food and fodder, the next batch of food and fodder would not arrive for a month, and by that time they would probably have already reached the city of Qunu.

After listening.

Du He nodded and said, "With so much dry food, it's enough for us to carry out long-distance raids."

Pause for a moment.

Du He ordered his personal guards, "Please invite all those above the rank of Marching Commander to the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion. This general will issue the battle orders."

It is already the end of September, and they only have two months to fight.

He had to destroy Tubo and Tianzhu by the end of November to ensure that he could return to Chang'an before Yuanzheng, otherwise it would be delayed until next year.

"promise!"

After receiving the order, Du Wu immediately took his younger brothers to call for help.

While waiting.

Du He asked softly, "How are the battles of Li Ji, Cheng Yaojin, and Xue Wanche progressing?"

“Have you encountered any major problems?”

Their three armies were facing second-rate Tibetan soldiers, whose combat effectiveness was not as strong as that of the elite troops lingering in India.

However, Li Ji and Cheng Yaojin were fighting on the plateau, and their soldiers were prone to altitude sickness, which greatly reduced their combat effectiveness.

Pei Xingjian shook his head: "We haven't received the battle report from Duke Ying yet."

"However, I have already sent scouts to Tibet. I believe it won't be long before we know the battle situation of the Duke of Ying and his men."

Du He nodded slightly.

Since Li Ji has not sent back any battle reports yet, it means there was no great victory or defeat.

It is estimated that both sides are looking for opportunities to fight and are preparing for a decisive battle.

Tubo's fighting style was completely different from Goguryeo's. Tubo was accustomed to luring the enemy deep into their territory and then concentrating their forces to launch large-scale offensive battles.

This tactic has both good and bad sides and can win many times.

But if you suffer a crushing defeat, you have to surrender.

Half a quarter of an hour later.

Li Yuanchang, the Three Musketeers and a group of generals walked in hurriedly.

After seeing everyone arrived.

Du He first told everyone about Tubo’s actions during this period, and then walked to the marching map and pointed while speaking.

"Tibet's current tactics have two purposes."

"First, they want to cut off our food supplies and engage in a war of attrition, slowly wearing us down."

"Secondly, they have stationed 1 defenders in each of the three distant cities on the periphery, while the rest of their forces are huddled around Qunu City. They intend to lure us into splitting up and attacking the city, and then mobilize a large force to encircle and suppress us."

I have to say, this fishing tactic is really good.

Tubo used Qunu City as its center and dropped 1 soldiers as bait in Chabo, Luocheng, Nalanda and Vaishali.

If the Tang army divided its forces to attack these three cities, the more than 100,000 Tibetan main forces stationed in Qunu City would attack the Tang army in any of the cities.

Although more than 100,000 Tibetan soldiers may not be able to defeat the 50,000 Tang cavalry, they can definitely inflict heavy damage on that part of the Tang army.

After some analysis.

Du He narrowed his eyes and said, "The main force of the Tibetans is huddled around Qunu City. We will attack from a thousand miles away and directly destroy the Tibetan base in Tianzhu!"

"As long as we destroy the over 100,000 Tibetan main forces around Qunu City, this battle will basically be 80% accomplished!"