Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

The so-called Baishan is the Tianshan that Li Chengqian referred to in later generations.

Located about two hundred li northwest of the Gaochang capital, while Jiaohe County, which had already been occupied by the Tang Dynasty, was located more than forty li directly north of the Gaochang capital.

It can be said.

If things really turn out as King Qu Wentai of Gaochang thought, they will be able to withstand a round of attacks from the Tang Dynasty and defend the city.

Alternatively, reinforcements from the Western Regions and troops from the Western Turkic Khan Moheduo, located north of Gaochang, may have arrived.

The Tang army, at least in the Jiaohe County area, will be besieged from three sides.

Unfortunately, the imagination is far from the reality...

In the desolate, weathered Yardang landform valley, a large troop of cavalry was rushing towards the capital of Gaochang, their galloping hooves kicking up clouds of dry dust.

It patted against the windproof faceplates of the cavalrymen, which were jointly formed by these Western Regions kingdoms.

As a region surrounding the Tang Dynasty, with the strongest cultural and military atmosphere and constantly accompanied by various wars and disputes, the Western Regions each had its own unique characteristics.

Their attire and weapons resembled those of Arabs, Turks, or Persians.

Although they have come together at this moment.

But the suspicions and rifts within were something almost everyone was aware of.

That is precisely why the coalition forces currently lack any real command.

Beside Ashina Sulun, the general of the Kingdom of Kucha, an envoy from the Kingdom of Gaochang was riding his horse at breakneck speed alongside the army, braving the gritty sandstorms all around.

They loudly denounced the barbarity of the Tang Dynasty.

"General, the Tang Dynasty has gone mad this time. They are not like before, only asking us to stabilize the trade routes in the Western Regions or asking us to send troops to help them wipe out some bandits in the Western Regions."

“They want everything from us. Now, in all the cities of our Gaochang Kingdom that they have occupied, whether people or officials, everyone has been reduced to slavery!”

"That mad prince of the Tang Dynasty, they really want to destroy our country!"

"The Tang Dynasty wants to control the Western Regions, to make them Tang territory..."

"Hmph! They're dreaming!" Ashina Sulun spoke in Turkic. Although Kucha was a Western Regions country, its ruling class was entirely Turkic.

The surname Ashina precisely explains what they relied on to remain steadfast in the Western Regions for so many years.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

At the side of Ahmadul, a general from Yanqi, envoys from Gaochang Kingdom continued to fuel his anger...

An army of 70,000.

They were all cavalry, and the commotion they caused was considerable.

Moreover, it serves as the fastest route to the capital of Gaochang.

Despite the fact that the terrain here was an excellent place for ambushes and cavalry battles, no one in the Western Regions Allied Army would have imagined that so many of them would be ambushed in such a place.

On a loose, earthen slope.

Ashina She'er, the commander-in-chief of the Turkic wolf cavalry under the jurisdiction of Yanmen Pass in Bingzhou, wore a ferocious wolf mask, with Turkic wolf riders behind him, their figures obscured by the surrounding terrain.

The armor worn by each person was so luxurious that it was unimaginable even among the nomadic peoples of the grasslands.

With 70,000 Western Region cavalrymen, their formations disordered and their composition varied, they all entered the valley.

Ashina Shedi immediately waved his hand, and the flag officer beside him immediately began to wave the command flag in his hand.

"Whoosh..." A force of over three thousand Turkic wolf riders, led by their commander, immediately circled out from one side according to orders.

"Splash! Splash..."

The command flag fluttered in the wind and sand.

However, this did not prevent the Turkic wolf cavalry, who had been holding back for almost half a year, from verifying the orders issued by Ashina She'er.

the other side.

Holding a monocular telescope, Li Jing took advantage of the terrain to get a clear view of the route and location of the Western Regions allied army.

The cold smile at the corner of his mouth carried a hint of contempt.

Dealing with these scattered soldiers from the Western Regions was not a big deal for him to begin with, and now he had cannons, intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and various military equipment to back him up.

Even Li Jing couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He had led troops his whole life, but this was truly the first time he had ever fought such a costly battle.

If we lose this battle...

Not only would he receive the great gift of having his title of God of War shattered, but he would also personally experience the thrill of being executed by slow slicing on the orders of the current Crown Prince...

"Pass down the order: command Duan Zhixuan's troops to hold their ground! Qu Tutong's troops to immediately intercept and annihilate the enemy's right flank!"

"Order Li Daliang's troops to suppress the left flank!"

"..."

"Woooooo~"

A series of loud, rhythmic bugle calls rang out.

Amidst gusts of wind, the sound suddenly echoed in this Yardang mountain region, which had long been considered unstable by the kingdoms of the Western Regions.

Before Ashina Sulun and Ahmadur, the generals commanding troops of Kucha and Yanqi, could react, a cavalry force whose armor gleamed with a chilling light appeared behind the valley they had just crossed.

Suddenly, it surged forth.

rear.

When the generals of the small Western Regions kingdoms such as Wusun, Shule, Yutian, and Shache turned around and saw such a horrifying scene, their expressions changed drastically in an instant.

"Enemy attack! Get out of the way!" (Turkic language)

"Turn around! Turn to the left! There are enemies!" (Persian)

"Watch out, an arrow is about to be shot! Dodge it!" (Sogdian language)

"..."

Amidst the chaos, the cavalrymen from the various Western Regions kingdoms instantly changed their expressions. The cavalrymen from Kucha and Yanqi, who were at the forefront, were all shocked to see thousands of Tang cavalrymen suddenly rush out from behind a hidden slope.

The veteran general Qu Tutong always led from the front.

This time, they marched at breakneck speed and intercepted the Western Region reinforcements before they arrived at the capital of Gaochang.

They were all cavalrymen.

With ample horses and supplies, and before Qu Wentai, the King of Gaochang, could even comprehend what was happening, the Tang Dynasty had already intercepted and killed the reinforcements he had been hoping for on the vast Gobi Desert.

"Kill! Don't let a single one escape! Hahaha!"

"Military merits, my lads, these are all military merits! Kill them all!"

The Tang cavalry, having intercepted the vanguard, were excitedly bleeding profusely, wildly slashing at the mixed-race enemy with their spears and swords.

Meanwhile, Ashina She'er waved his hand, and a dense barrage of arrows shot fiercely into the rear of the allied army.

He shouted loudly in Turkic: "My comrades! His Highness the Crown Prince is eagerly awaiting our victory! Give it your all! Draw your bows and shoot arrows, wield your swords and kill the enemy!"

"Long live His Highness the Crown Prince! Long live His Majesty the Khan!"

The Turkic language behind them and the Tang Dynasty Mandarin language in front of them were like two meat grinders, cutting down all the Western Region cavalrymen who tried to escape.

Screams and the neighing of warhorses.

Amidst the chaos, the shouts came in a jumble of languages, their origins now indistinguishable...

At this moment, the generals of the Western Regions had the unsettling feeling of being attacked from both the north and south by the Tang Dynasty and the Western Turks...

The Gaochang envoy amidst the chaos of battle was also filled with panic and fear.

His eyes were filled with shock and confusion.

"Why? Why are the Tang army here? Has the capital already fallen?!"

The capital of Gaochang.

“Woooooo~~~”

The somber atmosphere on the walls of Gaochang's royal city was amplified by the sound of horns, leaving everyone with solemn expressions.

After two days of anxious waiting in the capital of Gaochang.

On the third day, the fluttering flags of the Tang Dynasty, bearing the stars, sun, and moon, finally appeared in everyone's sight.

The dark mass of soldiers made it impossible to discern their exact numbers.

In short, just by standing outside Gaochang City, the faces of the soldiers and generals on the city walls turned pale.

"Hold on! This is the third day already. If we can just hold out for this last day, our reinforcements will arrive!"

"Victory is within reach! I, the king, will stand atop these city walls today, and fight alongside you to repel the enemy!!!"

Qu Wentai shouted to boost morale.

Under the tense gaze of everyone.

According to intelligence reports, those Tang army weapons called "cannons" were quickly pushed to the front of the Tang army's formation.

Emperor Emeritus Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty.

Even from a great distance, the gleaming golden armor of the Gaochang Kingdom's defenders on the city wall could be seen at a glance.

A swift horse galloped to the capital of Gaochang.

The arrogant Tang language was heard on the city wall in the next moment.

"Listen, King of Gaochang! Our Emperor Emeritus does not wish to continue the bloodshed and cause the people of Gaochang to die meaninglessly. Open the city gates and surrender immediately, and you will be spared!"

The next moment, Qu Wentai burst into a tirade of curses.

The day he started learning Tang language, he never imagined that one day he would use it to insult the people of the Tang Dynasty.

"Go to hell! Don't even think about fooling me!"

"The Tang Dynasty is utterly ruthless and unjust, having reduced all the people of Gaochang to slavery. And now they have the audacity to say they'll spare our lives! They are utterly shameless!"

"You won't kill us, but you want to take everything from us and make us work like cattle for you?"

"You're dreaming!!!"

"I would rather die than surrender!!!"

Through the monocular telescope, Li Yuan looked at Qu Wentai's ferocious face and sneered.

"Overbearing arrogance...you're courting death!"

He waved his hand.

Immediately, the newly formed artillery battalion, which had been prepared in advance, began its preparations.

"Your Majesty, do not forget what the deputy commander instructed us to do: our attack is merely a feint, our primary objective is to win their hearts and minds. Let these fellows first witness the might of our dynasty."

"Then, when Vice Commander Li Jing and his men return victorious, that will be the time to truly defeat them..."

Pei Ji whispered a reminder from the side.

In fact, he just didn't want to destroy the capital of Gaochang too badly.

These are all assets of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yuan nodded. He was naturally not so complacent as to think that he could take Gaochang City with just his 10,000 infantrymen and the "army" assembled from merchants and escorts from Jiaohe City.

That would be foolish.

One shell after another was pressed into the cannon barrel, and the igniter lit the fuse with a torch in his hand.

Suddenly.

On the city wall of Gaochang, everyone immediately hid behind the surrounding cover.

Qu Wentai was so nervous that his face turned pale and sweat poured out incessantly.

However, despite the immense threat of losing his throne, wealth, and life, he still strained his voice to boost morale.

"Do not be afraid! I am right here..."

"boom!!!"