Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 250: Ambush
Xieli Khan ordered the entire army to advance, and as expected, the Tang army in the forest once again took the initiative to flee, causing the Turkic soldiers to relax their tense nerves slightly.
However, news from the rear soon filled them with terror; pursuers were already appearing behind them.
Thus, the Turks discarded some unnecessary items once more, even though both Khans strictly prohibited the abandonment of essential supplies like armor and provisions.
Nevertheless, many still did so because during a retreat, running fast was more important than anything else.
In the mountainous forest paths, repeated displays of false bravado led Xieli Khan to conclude that the Tang forces were indeed insufficient. In such forests where troops could hardly be concealed, no matter how many banners were raised, they would simply charge forward.
Each time, the Tang army fled in panic, while the cavalry that had been harassing them on both flanks was seen through; they posed no real threat to the main force and were merely a nuisance.
Tongye Hu advised, "The Central Plains people are most cunning. I suspect they are mostly hidden in one place, using these feigned positions to lower our guard. We must be cautious."
Xieli Khan nodded and smiled, "Rest assured, I have already considered this. I am certain their elite troops are lying in ambush in that forest ahead; it is the most perilous spot along this route. If the Tang army lies in wait on the mountain and attacks us from above, we will undoubtedly suffer defeat.
Therefore, we will not take a detour around this area; we must avoid taking risks!"
After advancing a distance further, the Turkic army decisively took a detour. Meanwhile, Li Jing quietly observed them from atop a mountain with just a few dozen riders.
As they gradually moved away from the heart of the Central Plains, the pressure on the Turkic forces significantly decreased. After passing several strategically important locations, even the Tang cavalry that had been constantly harassing them vanished.
With no pressing external pressure, problems arose with the Turkic supplies. Although there had been enough provisions initially, detouring around the most dangerous forest drained their energy significantly and naturally increased their consumption of food.
Especially for the horses, many began to collapse one after another—not from starvation but due to illness or injuries to their hooves; these creatures were far more delicate than humans.
In such circumstances, there was no allowance for these animals to rest. Thus, they resorted to slaughtering some for meat, which alleviated their food shortage issue.
More and more cavalrymen became foot soldiers. Even if they could not ride due to road conditions, at least they could carry armor and provisions on horseback; now they had to carry everything themselves, leading to low morale throughout the army.
Xieli and Tongye Hu worked hard to reassure everyone as they drew closer to returning to the grasslands. Meanwhile, the Tang army's arrangements became increasingly hasty and perfunctory; sometimes when they arrived at a location, flags in the mountain valleys would only then be raised.
Soon they reached an unusually sparse forest—not too big or small—where several hundred people could be faintly seen moving inside. As the Turkic army approached as usual, it wasn't long before Tang soldiers were indeed seen fleeing in disarray from the other side.
Xieli commanded his troops to enter the forest, where scattered flags lay askew on the ground, and the Tang army's attire was propped up by branches. As usual, they contemptuously trampled over them, while the soldiers chatted about how far they were from returning to the grasslands.
Suddenly, a scout at the front let out a howl. Before they could react, the thunderous shouts of battle echoed through the woods, shaking loose countless branches and leaves.
The troops that had yet to enter the forest were just about to retreat when they realized that the Tang cavalry, which had been missing for days, was charging toward them again. Arrows rained down like a storm, forcing them to hastily retaliate.
Within the forest were only Tang infantry; cavalry was useless here. Xieli and Tongye Hu naturally wanted to retreat first, but the rear troops were caught off guard by the cavalry's surprise attack and instinctively sought refuge in the woods to avoid the cavalry's onslaught.
This led to chaos in their ranks, with the Turkic Forces thrown into disarray. However, they still held an advantage in numbers, and after being cornered, the remaining Turkic Soldiers fought fiercely.
As they prepared to counterattack and break through, the Tang army deliberately parted ways, allowing them to rush past. Once a large group of troops had escaped, they closed in again, systematically picking off the remaining Turkic soldiers.
Xieli and Tongye Hu had no time to turn back for rescue; after gathering their troops, they continued their desperate flight but encountered ambush after ambush, suffering continuous losses.
More importantly, morale had plummeted to a dangerously low level, with soldiers frequently breaking away from the main force to flee in different directions.
Yet neither of them cared anymore; they pressed forward stubbornly. What did it matter if their troops dwindled? They could always recruit more once they returned home.
From a distance, Li Jing watched as around seventy or eighty thousand of the Turkic Army retreated. His plans had been exhausted; now it depended on Qin Wang.
It was precisely because of Qin Wang that Li Jing had not pushed harder; otherwise, taking some risks might have given him a chance to capture them or make their situation even more desperate.
But if that happened, his own troops would also be severely depleted and would not remain as intact as they were now.
Li Jing issued his final orders for all cavalry under his command to follow him and assist Qin Wang, while he himself prepared to return to Chang'an to take command there.
Meanwhile, Xieli Khan, who thought he had escaped disaster, received news of turmoil in Dali City. He also learned that Li Shimin was leading over a hundred thousand troops waiting ahead—a true bolt from the blue.
Not only Xieli, but even Tongye Hu nearly fell off his horse upon hearing this news.
Trembling, Xieli Khan ordered his commanders who heard the news: "Seal off this information! If it incites a mutiny among our troops, we will all perish.
Now we only have one last line of defense ahead. We must break through at any cost!"
The generals all nodded with grim expressions; even they could no longer bear it, let alone the soldiers below.
The two Khans set aside everything else and drew several large pies, instructing the generals to take them down for the soldiers to see. As long as the guards returned to the grasslands, there would be plenty of gold, silver, cattle, sheep, and women!
After all, they were not far from the grasslands, and the pursuers were still some distance away. The morale was clearly lifted significantly.
Xieli and Tongye Hu secretly summoned their confidants to integrate the true elite forces together. The remaining troops were merely bait for the Tang army; whether the Turkic forces could return to their territory depended on the Khan's personal guards.
What they did not know was that at this moment, Qin Wang's forces were no longer just over a hundred thousand troops but had swelled to a full two hundred thousand. Tuli was recalling the Turkic Army engaged with the Bingzhou troops back to Dali City.
The Bingzhou Commandant led part of his troops to continue defending against the Turkic forces but sent all his cavalry to reinforce Qin Wang.
The reinforcements from Bingzhou arrived even before Xieli's arranged support troops did.
They cut off the Turkic supply lines; without provisions, if the Turkic forces dared to continue circling around, they would starve themselves without needing a large army to fight.
The two hundred thousand strong army bared its fangs, waiting for Xieli and Tongye Hu.
……………
(End of Chapter)
Comment 0 Comment Count