Chapter 108 Ambush in the Wheat Field, Battle of Mo Dao
A garrison area on the Yellow River on the border between Tang and Tu.

Eight thousand Tibetan soldiers, each riding two horses, came here aggressively, with brown flags and patterns of tigers and lions. The cavalry at the front were wearing chain mail and armor, making the entire cavalry army look fierce and fierce.

"The Jishi army is harvesting wheat ahead of schedule. Those cowards finally dared to leave the city!"

A Tibetan man wearing chain mail smiled.

The leader of the Tubo team this time was named Zanna, and he was the Wanhufu of Yerumaqu Qianhu Suo.

That is commonly known as the commander of ten thousand men.

Maqu Qianhu Suo is responsible for managing the southern part of Jiuqu area.

Qianhu Suo was both an administrative unit and a military unit of Tubo, and also a fief of Tubo nobles. All official positions under Qianhu Suo were hereditary by Tubo nobles, but they needed to be appointed by the Tubo royal court. All soldiers were registered and managed by the royal court.

Tubo was divided into Siru and Sunboru.

"Ru" translates to "wing".

Songtsen Gampo divided the country into four Ru: Wuru, Youru, Yeru and Laru. Each Ru was divided into two upper and lower sub-Ru, a total of eight sub-Ru, each sub-Ru had four thousand households.

Wu is translated as the middle wing, Yue is translated as the right wing, Ye is translated as the left wing, and La is translated as the rear wing.

There is also a Sunboru who was set up after conquering Subi.

Excluding Sun Boru, Tubo had thirty-two thousand-household units and four sub-thousand-household units.

At the same time, in order to control the four Rus, the royal court set up four thousand-household units of the imperial guards to guard and supervise the four Rus.

Each division had a marshal, a deputy general, and a judge.

However, in order to deploy troops, one needs the golden arrows of the Zamp.

Each Tibetan thousand-household unit usually had more than 10,000 soldiers.

Zana led his troops here, naturally with the advance approval of Zamp Jinjian.

Jiuqu has beautiful water and grass and fertile land, but our own wheat is not as good as the wheat stolen from the Tang people.

"Captain, should we harvest the wheat here first?"

A captain under Zana's command asked him.

Tubo had one thousand soldiers, each with a captain of one thousand.

There are five hundred soldiers, with one captain of five hundred.

For every one hundred soldiers, there is one centurion.

There is a strict hierarchy in the military.

"How can wheat compare to the merit gained from annihilating the Tang army?"

Zanna did not order his men to dismount and harvest.

"Scouts said that the Tang army is only three or four miles away from the Jishi Military City. When they learn that we are coming, they will definitely run back to the city." The captain replied.

The Tang army in the Jishi City area was notoriously cowardly.

"Haha... Military merit is not something you get for free, we have to give it a try! Send dozens of teams to drive away the Tang army scouts around, so that the Tang army doesn't know where we are. When the Tang army finds the sound of horse hooves, it will be difficult for them to run back to Jishi City in three or four miles. Even if they run into part of the city, all the wheat they harvest will belong to us!"

Zana decided to give it a try.

Immediately, dozens of teams of ten people each drove away the Tang army's scouts around the Tubo army.

Tang army scouts had received instructions from Li Xuan that once the Tibetan cavalry was driven out, they should not stay long but should withdraw immediately.

The Tibetan cavalry easily drove away all the surrounding Tang scouts.

They had the advantage in numbers and did not notice anything unusual.

Zanna ordered the two horses to change places and head straight for the Tang army's target of harvesting wheat.

By sunset, the Tubo appeared several miles away from where the Tang army was harvesting wheat.

"The Tang army thought our army was still at the border, and they didn't expect our army to come rushing over. We changed horses and split the troops into two groups. One group used light cavalry to intercept the Tang army returning to the city, and the other group pursued them."

Zanna was very ambitious and wanted to defeat all the Tang troops that left the city.

If that happened, he could try to attack the important town of Jishi City. Once Jishi City was captured, it would once again block a path for the Tang army to expand. He would also be a meritorious official of Tubo.

After the Tibetan warhorse was replaced, the other warhorse was left behind.

There were two thousand light cavalrymen along the way, with the goal of blocking the Tang army's retreat route into the city, and the remaining six thousand cavalrymen crossed the wheat fields and attacked the Tang army that was harvesting wheat.

The warhorse sprinted at full speed.

"Boom!"

The Tang army could hear the earth-shaking sound of horse hooves from afar.

Including the ambushed Tang army.

Their stuffiness and tiredness disappeared at this moment.

They kept Li Xuan's instructions in mind.

The heavy infantry was ready to stand up with their shields and spears, while the crossbowmen behind him had already pulled their crossbows into their crossbow arms, ready to stand up and shoot at any time.

The crossbowmen all have spears. After firing three crossbow arrows, they all hold their spears and form the most basic spear barricade formation.

There were also some Modao soldiers standing alone not far from the heavy infantry's side, holding the handles of their Modao.

Li Xuan is holding a sickle among the Tang army infantry harvesting wheat.

Although they heard the sound of horse hooves, the soldiers did not act rashly.

A moment later, the Tibetan cavalry appeared in the sight of the Tang army.

Li Xuan dropped his sickle and rode on the Huoyun horse.

The infantry pretended to be in a panic, forming teams of fifty and battalions of five hundred, some of them carrying bundles of wheat.

They moved to the rear of where the Tang army was ambushing.

There were weapons, bows and arrows, and shields hidden there in advance.

Xin Yunjing and Nan Jiyun in the city had already opened the city gates. As soon as the infantry clashed, the two cavalry forces would immediately rush out of the city.

"The Tang army is courting death, and they dare to carry wheat back to the city! Warriors, charge forward. Kill the enemies, gain merit, and become a noble!"

When Zanna saw that the Tang army was moving so slowly and was carrying wheat, he immediately felt that military merit was beckoning to him.

Led by centurions and great five-hundred captains, the Tibetan cavalry charged towards the Tang army, armed with spears and swords.

There was a ferocious look in their eyes, like wolves and tigers. It looked like they wanted to tear the Tang army to pieces.

Unlike the nomadic peoples of the northern grasslands, the Tubo people also practiced riding and shooting, but they preferred to charge.

The Tibetan bows and arrows were weak but their armor was strong. Because they could produce chain mail in large quantities, the Tibetan cavalry charged forward with unstoppable force.

"Soldiers, don't panic! Defend our wheat fields. Military merit is just around the corner. Once you are in position, pick up your weapons and prepare to make a detour."

Li Xuan rode on horseback with his personal guards in the team, cheering for the infantry.

The soldiers of the Ji Shi Army saw Li Xuan wearing armor, holding a spear and riding a horse in the formation, obviously wanting to fight alongside them, so they felt at ease.

When Xu Kuo was the military commander of Ji Shi, he always commanded the soldiers in the rear and never fought side by side with the soldiers.

As the Tang army arrived at their designated positions, the Tibetan soldiers were only about three hundred steps away from the crossbowmen.

It is about to enter the range of the crossbow.

But it is not the effective range, let alone the range that can penetrate armor.

The fifteen hundred crossbowmen held their breath and lay motionless under the wheat.

Li Xuan seized the opportunity and led his personal guards towards the thousands of Tibetan cavalry.

When the Tibetan cavalry saw that there were only a dozen riders coming, they all laughed at Li Xuan and his group, saying that they were seeking their deaths.

In a flash, the Tibetan cavalry in the front were a hundred steps away from the Tang army's crossbowmen.

"Crossbowmen! Rise!"

Li Xuan suddenly shouted.

The personal guards drank with Li Xuan.

"rise!"

All the crossbowmen heard the order and stood up shouting.

Tang soldiers armed with powerful crossbows appeared from the wheat fields, and the wheat stalks covering their bodies were scattered.

There were hundreds of people in a group, densely packed.

The Tibetan cavalry who were charging were horrified, but it was too late to rein in their horses. They could only take advantage of the situation and rush forward, chopping down the Tang army's crossbowmen.

"shoot!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

The powerful crossbow is fired like thunder, and whoever is hit will fall down.

The Tibetan cavalry in front, whether they were wearing iron armor or chain mail, were all thrown to the ground.

This distance is enough to penetrate the armor.

The neighing of horses, the wailing of people, the splattering of blood, and the golden ears of wheat turned red.

After one round, the Tang army's strong crossbowmen quickly reloaded their crossbows and fired again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

Crossbow arrows broke through the air like rain, and another group of Tibetan cavalry fell to the ground.

"Warriors, the Tang army's crossbows have a very slow firing rate. Charge forward and let these despicable sneak attackers see how sharp my swords and spears are!"

A Tibetan captain raised his sword and shouted.

In his eyes, the Tang army only needed to add one more crossbow, and the knives in their hands could kill the crossbow soldiers.

"Shhhhhh!"

After the third round of powerful crossbows, the two sides were thirty steps apart.

This sneak attack caused heavy casualties to Tubo, with at least thousands of soldiers and horses falling to the ground.

"Kill the Tang army..."

The Tubo people became even more angry because of the surprise attack. They found their targets and prepared to chop off the heads of the Tang soldiers with knives and pierce their hearts with spears.

Just when they were only twenty steps away from the crossbowmen.

Shields were raised in the wheat fields.

Long spears protruded from the gaps in the shields.

The crossbowman dropped his powerful crossbow and picked up a spear more than ten feet long from the ground.

Fifty people in a team are like hedgehogs.

Zhang Xing, holding a Mo Dao, also emerged from the wheat stalks.

Behind him were two hundred heavily armored and awe-inspiring Modao soldiers.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The Tibetan cavalry, who had no time to stop, crashed into their shields and more blood flowed out.

The Modao Army, without shields, seemed to be treated as an easy target, as a group of Tibetan cavalry rushed over. "Don't be afraid, brothers. Get ready to kill the horses!"

Zhang Xing stood alone at the front, leaning on a Mo Dao, six feet five inches tall, wearing large iron armor, like an iron tower.

With Zhang Xing's words and seeing the Tibetan cavalry suffering heavy losses in other places, the two hundred Modao soldiers gained confidence greatly.

"kill!"

A Tibetan centurion arrived first with a spear in hand. When he was about to collide with Zhang Xing, Zhang Xing grasped the Mo Dao with both hands and swung it at the horse's head.

"Pfft!"

A large amount of blood spurted out as the warhorse's head was cut off.

The warhorse lost power and fell, and the centurion on the horse rolled off.

Zhang Xing stepped forward and chopped off the centurion's head.

When the other Modao warriors saw this, their blood boiled and they all stepped forward.

The Tubo were first ambushed by powerful crossbows and then by heavy infantry, which slowed down the charge of their war horses and their morale was not as sharp as before.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

Under the leadership of Zhang Xing, the Modao soldiers kept slashing with their swords.

The Modao team was newly established and was not yet proficient.

The attacks of the Modao warriors are often not critical.

Some cut off the horses' heads, some cut off the horses' necks, some cut off the horses' bodies, and some simply cut off the Tibetan soldiers on the horses.

For a moment, the battlefield was filled with broken limbs and blood, making it the cruelest scene.

After the Tibetan war horses' charge speed slowed down, it became difficult for the spears in their hands to penetrate the Modao soldiers' sturdy heavy armor.

If they fail to strike, they will surely be cut down.

Some of the Modao soldiers were knocked down by their horses. Before they had special inner armor, it was difficult for them to stand up again.

Only Zhang Xing was adapted to the Mo Dao slashing technique. With his powerful swings, he even managed to cause both the man and the horse to be shattered.

"Pfft!"

He gathered strength and struck with one strike, cutting the Tibetan cavalryman on horseback in half. The sharp blade of the Mo Dao fell on the horse and killed the horse.

Every time Zhang Xing swung his sword, sweat and blood mixed together and fell like rain.

The sweat belongs to Zhang Xing, and the blood belongs to the Tubo cavalry.

The Tibetan cavalry were horrified when they saw this method of "killing both men and horses".

All things are difficult at the beginning, and the Modao soldiers are also slowly exploring their tactics.

Some worked in pairs, and some worked in groups of three, using simple and brutal methods to kill the Tibetan cavalry.

"withdraw!"

"Woo...Woo..."

The horn for the Tibetan troops to withdraw came late.

The Tibetan cavalrymen were treated as if they had been pardoned, and those who were able to retreat quickly reined in their horses and fled.

Especially the Tibetan cavalry in the Modao area. The brutal battle made the Tibetan cavalry, who had always been fearless of death, feel fear.

"Go ahead..."

Zhang Xing shouted and rushed forward, leading the Modao team to chase the Tibetan cavalry who wanted to escape.

But the Modao team had no experience in pursuit formation, and their formation became disorganized after just a few steps.

It all depends on the individual's fight.

By the time Zhang Xing wanted to reorganize the formation, it was too late. Fortunately, the Tang army gradually won the ambush, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

The Modao formation was in disarray and its power was greatly reduced.

Zhang Xing remembered this lesson and made sure to maintain a solid formation in future combat, whether advancing or retreating.

The Tibetan cavalry knew they were ambushed and had to retreat.

Thousands of Tang army infantrymen replaced their sickles with spears, shields, bows and arrows, and divided into two teams to quickly surround the Tibetan cavalry.

In order to gain military merit and rewards, the Tang army ran as fast as rabbits.

In the distance, Tang cavalry continued to pour out of the Jishi military city.

The Tibetan light cavalry who wanted to cut off the Tang army's retreat were instead easily targeted by the Tang army.

The Tang army's infantry formed a battle array in front of the light cavalry, and the two thousand Tibetan light cavalry could not break through no matter what.

The Tang army's light cavalry was originally going to attack the flank of the main Tibetan cavalry, but now that the Tibetan cavalry was divided, Xin Yunjing changed his mind.

He used the Tang army's light cavalry to shoot at the 2,000 Tibetan cavalry.

When the Tibetan cavalry heard the retreat horn, they had no desire to fight and fled madly, ignoring Xin Yunjing's pursuit by horsemen and archers.

The bodies of Tibetan soldiers kept falling among the wheat fields.

It was difficult to cause any damage to Xin Yunjing's light cavalry by turning back and shooting arrows in panic.

On the other side, the main Tibetan cavalry was stopped in its charge, and it was difficult to retreat in a short period of time.

More than five thousand Tang army infantrymen surrounded the enemy from the left and right wings.

At least two thousand Tibetan cavalrymen had no time to withdraw and were surrounded.

Layer upon layer of spears advanced closer, squeezing the Tibetan cavalry's range of movement.

There were also crossbowmen, heavy infantry, and swordmen who divided the Tibetan cavalry into several areas.

The cavalry's advantages were all lost and they were inferior to the infantry. It was only a matter of time before they were surrounded and annihilated.

"The cunning and despicable Tang army!"

Zana was furious. He did not personally participate in the attack, so he was not surrounded.

But he was heartbroken!
Six thousand cavalrymen were responsible for charging the formation, but less than two thousand withdrew in the end.

The light cavalry he had intended to use to cut off the Tang army's retreat was still being chased by the Tang army's light cavalry!
This is a trap to lure them in.

He didn't understand why the originally timid Ji Shi Army and the Tang Army became so brave?

More importantly, nearly two thousand cavalrymen were surrounded by Tang army infantry.

Do they save him or not?
"Captain Wan Fu, the Jishi Army does not have so many cavalry and powerful crossbows. It is the Tang Army from Hehuang who came to support them. The Tang Army is well prepared, and we need to make a decision early!"

The captain persuaded the brave man to cut off his arm.

They couldn't go to rescue them. While the Tang army was surrounding them, there was a layer of archers outside, who seemed to be waiting for them to charge again.

"withdraw……"

Just as Zana gritted his teeth and spat out this word, his subordinates suddenly came to report: "Captain, there is a team of Tang cavalrymen wearing bright armor on the flank, preparing to go around the Yellow River and cut off our retreat! They are leaving from the north gate of Jishi City!"

"What! Why didn't you tell me earlier! Their target must be our spare horse."

"withdraw!"

Zana no longer held out any hope and ordered the remaining troops to retreat.

It was not that he did not want to rescue the surrounded Tibetan cavalry, but he was powerless to do so and could only pray to God to bless them.

He came with great momentum and left with his head down.

They only hoped that the spare horses would not be led away by the Tang army, so that they would have a chance to escape from the Tang army's pursuit.

"The Tibetan cavalry is like a trapped beast, fighting to the bitter end. There is no need to attack at the cost of one's own lives. Instead, we can defeat them step by step. Those who surrender will be spared, but those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

The Jishi Army had just lost its main general and deputy general. Li Xuan was worried that the Tang Army's formation would be disrupted, so he rode his horse around to give orders.

Now that the remaining Tubo troops have fled, the matter is settled.

Li Xuan decided to leave the final collection to Zhang Xing and other yamen officers.

He led his personal guards to pursue the Tibetan cavalry.

His first target was the Tibetan light cavalry closest to him.

Xin Yunjing pursued them all the way, continuously shooting and killing the Tibetan light cavalry that fell behind.

The Tang army was composed entirely of light cavalry wearing leather armor, and their war horses went into battle at their peak strength.

The Tibetan light cavalry had already traveled a long distance when they went to battle, and they were now charging forward.

Both sides ride Hequ horses, which are the same breed, and physical strength is the determining factor of victory or defeat.

After being chased for less than twenty miles, hundreds of Tibetan light cavalry were shot dead.

"Distribute a team of 300 cavalry to attack from the flank."

Seeing that there were still a lot of Tibetan light cavalry, Xin Yunjing decided to put some more pressure on them.

A general with three hundred cavalrymen had just left the team when Xin Yunjing saw a group of a dozen Tang soldiers on the Tibetan flank charging at more than a thousand Tibetan light cavalrymen.

"That's the General!"

Xin Yunjing was shocked. Why would the general attack more than a thousand people with only a dozen personal guards? It was too dangerous.

So he hurriedly said, "Stop riding and shooting, and charge forward."

Upon receiving the command from the flag, a group of Tang army light cavalry put away their bows and arrows and drew their swords.

"Will Tang humiliate me?"

The fleeing Tibetan captain was furious when he saw Li Xuan leading a dozen cavalrymen and rushing towards him from the side.

He immediately led dozens of light cavalry and attacked Li Xuan.

"Come closer to me!"

Li Xuan shouted loudly, not letting his guards fall behind.

If they were to chase them on horseback, they would probably have to chase them for hundreds of miles before they could completely kill this group of Tibetan light cavalry.

Li Xuan was not impatient, but wanted to free up his own light cavalry to support Nan Jiyun.

Nan Jiyun's 1,000 elite cavalrymen had to face 2,000 Tibetan cavalrymen, and it was uncertain whether there were other Tibetan soldiers on the Tang-Tibet border.

According to him, Tubo also had a caravan dedicated to transporting grain.

"As ordered!"

The personal guards all held spears and moved closer to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan saw that the Tibetan cavalry captain rushing towards him was wearing chain mail and thought that he was a Tibetan general.

"Arrogant General Tang, go to hell!"

The Tibetan captain came forward with a sword in hand, speaking a language that Li Xuan could not understand.

"Pfft!"

The two horses were close to each other, and Li Xuan thrust his spear straight forward.

Li Xuan's spear was as fast as lightning and had great power. Before the Tibetan captain could raise his sword, Li Xuan's spear pierced through his mail armor and pierced his heart...

(End of this chapter)