Chapter 123: The End of the Road, a Desperate Struggle

"I will carry out the Marshal's orders. If you fail to capture the Tang Army's infantry camp within two days, I will bring my head to you."

Xie Gong also knew that at this critical moment, the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers depended on whether they could return to Tubo.

For Tubo, where every citizen was a soldier, the loss of 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers must have been a serious blow.

This means that they have to redeploy soldiers from other directions to the Tuyuhun area and Jiuqu area.

It will also cause conflicts between the various thousand households and the others.

"Gradually shrink our army's formation. The remaining 20,000-odd infantry and 10,000 cavalry must be more vigilant against the Tang army."

After withdrawing 20,000 infantrymen, Lunsignoza ordered the vehicles surrounding the outside to retreat and make the camp more compact.

Only five thousand infantrymen are needed to temporarily hold the line.

……

"General Li, a large number of Tibetan infantrymen are beginning to cross the Anxiang Bridge."

The messenger reported to Li Xuan.

"The Tubo can no longer bear it. They want to attack our Zhenxi Army and Momen Army."

Li Xuan said to his subordinates with a smile.

The Tang army's infantry could have entered the city and defended it, but they did not, obviously wanting Tubo to take the initiative to attack.

If more than 10,000 Tang troops entered the city, Tubo would have no choice but to retreat.

In Li Xuan's opinion, if tens of thousands of Tibetans maintained their formation and retreated, even if they could defeat them, it would cause heavy casualties to their side.

Especially when the infantry is pursuing, there is a possibility that the enemy infantry will turn around and fight hand-to-hand, and there will be bloodshed in the wilderness.

Li Xuan's principle of using troops is to achieve the greatest victory with the least sacrifice.

An Sishun and Qian'er Dafu's formation had already been formed and they relied on the city.

The people in the city can also help the Tang army set up camp, and there will be no shortage of food and fodder.

Li Xuan's cavalry ate the food captured by the Pingyi people.

He had already ordered the city of Fuhan to transport large amounts of food and fodder to Pingyi Shouzhuo City and Anxiang City, which would be enough to sustain the army for three months.

"General Li, our army has 15,000 infantrymen, 1,500 powerful crossbows, 3,000 bows, 3,000 sets of armor, and plenty of arrows. If we defend the city, it will be as strong as a rock. We can only send half of the Tibetan infantrymen. Is there any chance that our army can launch an attack on the remaining Tibetan infantry and cavalry?"

An official said.

"Our army has endured until now, so we will naturally not choose to charge. We want to make Tubo more passive."

Li Xuan shook his head. Even though Tubo only had more than 20,000 infantrymen left, Li Xuan was unwilling to charge.

What's more, Tubo has 10,000 cavalrymen eyeing them covetously.

He wanted to find an opportunity to kill the Tibetan cavalry in the wilderness and completely deprive Tibetans of their mobility.

"General Che, lead the heavy cavalry to the ferry in front of Pingyi Shouzhuo City and transport the armored cavalry and equipment to the other side of the river. Wait for my order and charge down!"

Li Xuan arranged it to Che Shensai.

Armor and cavalry equipment should come into play at this time.

If the Tibetan infantry encountered obstacles during their attack, the armored cavalry would take the opportunity to rush over, and their defeat would be even worse than that of the cavalry.

Especially for infantry without armor, facing heavy cavalry with both men and horses in armor, they would be slaughtered.

"As ordered!"

Che Shensai took the order and went to prepare in advance.

Nearly a thousand armored cavalrymen separated from the cavalry team and headed north.

Li Xuan also ordered Cao Shengning, the commander of the Pingyi Army, to lead two thousand soldiers to cross the river through the ferry, move towards Anxiang City first, and then detour to the flank of the Tibetan infantry.

After the armored cavalry rushed over, the soldiers guarding Pingyi suddenly rushed out and cooperated with the Zhenxi Army and Momen Army to strangle the Tubo infantry.

"General, once our armored cavalry is exposed, the Tibetan cavalry may charge at us and fight to the death."

Gao Shi told Li Xuan everything he could think of.

"I also think that by that time, it will be the time for our final battle."

Li Xuan nodded and asked the military commander Yang Wan, "How many caltrops do we carry in total?"

"General Li, the caltrops I brought are enough to cover three acres of land."

Yang Wan replied.

"Well! The night before our armored cavalry is equipped for the charge, lay the caltrops two miles in front of our army." Li Xuan instructed Yang Wan.

The caltrops are spikes for stabbing horses. They are shaped like four spikes. No matter how they are placed, one spike will always face upwards. When the enemy's horse rushes past, it will stab the horse's foot, thus delaying the enemy's attack.

The casualties caused may not be too great, but it can bring a certain deterrent to the Tubo cavalry.

This had a great impact on the morale of the two sides during the battle.

……

On the Anxiang Bridge, Tibetan infantry continued to pass, and it was not until dark that all 20,000 infantrymen had passed the bridge.

Tubo had a total of 5,000 heavy infantry.

They left two thousand heavy infantry on the west side of the bridge, and the other three thousand heavy infantry were responsible for charging.

When the 20,000 Tibetan infantry and 3,000 heavy infantry were all in place, it was An Sishun and Qian'er Dafu's turn to be vigilant.

They were afraid that Tubo would launch a surprise attack at night, so they arranged 5,000 infantrymen to stand guard in front of the battle line.

Li Xuan ordered a thousand light cavalry from the Momen Army and the Zhenxi Army to serve as scouts to the north of Anxiang City to prevent the Tibetan scouts from exploring to the north and discovering that the Tang heavy cavalry was crossing the river at the ferry.

Xie Gong believed that time waits for no one, so he chose midnight to concentrate his troops to attack the south side of the Tang army's infantry formation, and then sent armored troops to attack the east side of the Tang army.

Trying to defeat the Tang army's infantry in one fell swoop.

It would be best to take Anxiang City during the chaos.

However, Xie Gong believed that the probability was small. Once the Tang army was defeated, a part of them would definitely flee into Anxiang City and defend it on the high ground.

At midnight, the Tibetan infantry's position seemed dark and silent.

But in the darkness, countless soldiers were moving quickly.

"Warriors, the Tang people are treacherous and cunning, and have put our army in a difficult situation. Only by working together can we get out of this predicament. This attack is not only for military merit and wealth, but also for your lives. Only by defeating the Tang army infantry here can we turn defeat into victory."

"I have issued a military order. Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed immediately, and his family will be reduced to slavery. If anyone breaks through the enemy's formation first, his military merit reward will be multiplied."

"At the critical moment, I will personally put on my armor and charge into battle with you. Warriors, please do not hesitate to sacrifice your lives and do not be killed because of cowardice..."

Before the action, Xi Gong used both kindness and severity to boost morale.

The Tibetan soldiers were exhausted after days of hard work and hated the Tang people so much that they looked ferocious and determined to tear the Tang infantry to pieces.

Although the cavalry was defeated, the infantry who had come from afar had not seen blood yet, and they did not think they had been defeated by the Tang army.

The Tibetan army, armed with shields and spears, hid in the darkness and crept towards the south of the Tang army camp.

Another part of the armored infantry was also quietly approaching the east of the Tang army.

Three hundred steps...

Two hundred steps...

Under the cover of darkness, the Tang army did not discover it.

"what……"

"what……"

Suddenly, the Tibetan soldiers who were still hiding let out several shrill screams.

"Do you want to die?"

Xie Gong was furious. Such unreasonable shouting would surely disturb the Tang army. They could have gotten closer and launched a surprise attack.

"General, the Tang army has set many animal traps more than 200 steps in front of their formation."

The captain reported this to Xie Gong.

"How insidious and despicable!"

Xie Gong's face darkened and he gave the order: "Warriors, charge!"

……

"The enemy is attacking at night. Be alert! Be alert!"

"Woo...Woo..."

The Tang army horn sounded.

An Sishun and Qian'er Dafu were awakened. They put on their armor and ran out of the tent immediately.

The Tang army had already practiced how to deal with the Tubo surprise attack.

Led by the team leader and the escort officer, the soldiers quickly walked out of the barracks.

Some of them stayed in the front line, while others stayed in the reserve area and continued to rest.

Archers and crossbowmen are in position.

There were also five hundred strong crossbowmen as reserve troops to capture the heavy armor of the Tibetan soldiers.

An Sishun guessed that Tubo would definitely rely on the strength of its heavy armor to attack a position.

Before the Tang army was ready, the Tibetan infantry had already rushed to the southernmost part and collided with the Tang army's spears and shields.

"Kill the Tang people..."

The Tibetan vanguard troops, holding spears nearly two meters long, attacked the Tang army under the cover of large shield soldiers.

If they could suppress the Tang army's spears, their swordmen would advance into the battle formation and there would be a chance to enlarge the gap.

But the attacker is already at a disadvantage.

The Tang army's chariots and deer horns blocked the front, and the large shields defended tightly, while the spearmen charged in an orderly manner.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The Tibetan spearmen often died under the blades of the Tang army's spearmen before they could even gain a firm foothold.

But the Tibetan infantry held their breath, those who died in the front were replaced by those in the rear, even if the corpses piled up like a layer, even if more than a dozen people died to clear a deer horn, they still braved death and continued to move forward.

The Tang army's crossbowmen were in position.

"Shhhhhh!"

Shoot powerful crossbows at the gaps between the military formations.

A former soldier was shot down.

"Shhhhhh!"

After the archers formed a group, they also shot into the darkness, relieving the pressure on the Tang army. The Tang army was well prepared, with an average of 200 arrows per person, so they didn't care about the consumption of arrows.

"Woooooooo..."

A Tibetan soldier waved a slingshot and threw a stone at the Tang army.

"clang!"

The speeding stones could only make the Tang army's large shields make noises, but could not threaten the Tang army.

After throwing some stones, seeing that they could not hurt the Tang army, the Tibetan soldiers stopped using slingshots and attacked with infantry all along the line!

Xie Gong thought that the attack from the south would tie down the Tang army, so he ordered the heavy infantry in the east to launch a fierce attack with spears.

They are wearing chain mail and are marching in a mighty force. Being able to wear heavy armor, they must be even more courageous warriors.

"Crossbow reserve, go to the east for support!"

When An Sishun learned about the Tibetan heavy armor, he immediately ordered his crossbowmen to shoot.

At the same time, surprise troops must also be prepared to fill in the gaps.

The Tibetan heavy infantry limited the damage done by the Tang army's spearmen.

But the Tang army's spearmen were basically covered in dragon scale armor and had large shields to help them block, so they still had the advantage.

The Tang army's spearmen, under their shields, used their spears to stab the Tibetan heavy infantry in the neck or face.

"what……"

Once hit, the Tubo people would die miserably.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

The crossbowmen found their positions and fired their powerful crossbows.

The powerful crossbows shot like rain, and anyone hit would fall at a distance of thirty steps.

The Tubo used their fearless fighting style and were always able to find flaws in the spear attacks and kill or injure the Tang army.

After the Tang army soldiers were killed, their bodies were carried away and new infantrymen replaced them.

……

The messenger rowed a small boat across the Li River and told Li Xuan the news of the Tubo night attack.

"As expected, the attack took place at night. Our infantry is good at defense, and An Sishun is a veteran. With more than 10,000 elite infantry, it is easy to hold off the enemy for three days. First, order General Che to cross the river and keep his troops still. Wait until the Tibetan infantry suffers more casualties and their morale weakens, and then give them a fatal blow."

Li Xuan instructed the messenger.

An Sishun was An Lushan's cousin.

An Lushan's mother married An Yanyan with An Lushan as a burden. Although she had no blood relationship with An Sishun, the two grew up together and had a good relationship.

But An Sishun was loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Historically, he may have known through gossip that his cousin was going to rebel, and he wrote to the court many times, but Li Longji did not believe it.

Li Xuan trusted An Sishun's ability very much, so he gave An Sishun the power to control the Momen Army, so that Qian'er Dafu could not disobey An Sishun's orders.

The next morning.

The fierce battle is still going on.

This time, Li Xuan personally led all the light cavalry and elite cavalry to within three miles of the Tubo formation.

The morale of the Tibetan infantry and cavalry was tense again.

In fact, he came to watch the battle under Anxiang City across the river.

The blood flowed into a small river and flowed into the Li River, turning the Li River dark red.

The smell of blood spread all around with the cold wind.

The shouts and screams shook the sky.

"Our army's formation remains intact. It is impossible for the Tibetan infantry to attack today."

Li Xuan said to his subordinates: "If the Tibetans continue to attack for another day, their morale will surely decline. Tomorrow morning, General Che will lead the armored cavalry and march down. They should be able to reach Anxiang City by noon. It's time for us to counterattack."

By noon, Li Xuan received news that the two thousand soldiers captured by Pingyi had all crossed the river under the leadership of Cao Shengning.

Li Xuan ordered them to march overnight to the flank of the Tibetan infantry and keep in touch with the armored cavalry along the way.

When the armored cavalry rushed over, they took the opportunity to move out.

The 1,000 cavalrymen of the Momen Army and the Zhenxi Army were also ready.

……

"Alas! The Tang army's formation is still so powerful. If we had known this earlier, we should have attacked the Tang army's infantry as soon as they arrived in Anxiang, and not given them the opportunity to set up camp!"

As for Synoza, he did not sleep all night.

Every quarter of an hour, he needed to hear the latest battle situation.

Until early morning, there was no news that any Tang army formation had been breached.

As a result of their aggressive attack, they suffered over 5,000 casualties.

Lun Xinoza regretted that he only realized it at this time and did not launch an attack on the Tang army's infantry a few days ago.

"Marshal, the Tang army is also struggling. We cannot stop our attack. Please send more troops if necessary."

Xinogu advised Lun Xinoza.

"Our enemies are not only the infantry on the other side, but also the Tang cavalry who are unaware of their true strength!"

Lun Xinuoza did not want to reduce the infantry on the west bank of the Li River any further.

It's not that Xinuoza was timid, as the commander-in-chief, he had many concerns. Since the Tang army had designed to lure them to Anxiang, could it really be that there were only 15,000 infantry? 6,000 to 7,000 cavalry?

He suspected that even if the Tang army did not transfer troops from Hexi, it would send troops from the Shuofang army.

It’s not like Tubo has never dealt with the Shuofang Army before.

"Marshal, since we have chosen to use infantry to attack the Tang army's infantry, we must go all out. Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back!"

Synochus continued to persuade Synozza.

"Another five thousand infantrymen across the bridge. If a gap appears, these soldiers will rush in."

Lun Xinuoza gritted his teeth and said. He was really afraid that his strength would be reduced and he would be attacked by the Tang army.

In the afternoon, Tubo finally broke through a "scale" of the Tang army.

But when they advanced, they were shot back by the Tang army's powerful crossbows.

Xie Gong also saw hope and continued to order his soldiers to attack more fiercely.

At night, the Tang army took turns to rest.

The people in the city cooked meals for the Tang army so that they could eat hot meals and drink hot soup on cold nights.

After a night of fierce fighting, the Tubo army advanced several dozen steps the next morning.

But the Tang army had already set up a new line of defense. Although they suffered some casualties, their formation did not show any signs of collapse.

And the Tubo people were already strewn with corpses.

Xie Gong saw that he had squeezed the Tang army's space and forced them to move closer to the city wall. He prepared to mobilize the 5,000 infantrymen who had just crossed the bridge to launch a more fierce offensive against the Tang army.

After a day and night of fierce fighting, both the Tang army and the Tibetan infantry were exhausted.

Although Lun Xinoza was not commanding in front of the battlefield, his eyes were bloodshot and he was always waiting for good news about defeating the Tang army.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

At three quarters after noon, Che Shensai arrived at a place about ten miles north of Anxiang City. He ordered the soldiers to put on equipment for the spare horses.

He divided the armored cavalry into two teams, each team advancing toward the battlefield in an arc.

"Boom!"

The Tibetan soldiers were so blood-thirsty that they paid no attention to the movements in the north.

It was not until the armored cavalry was two miles away from them that Xie Gong realized something was wrong.

Nearly a thousand armored cavalry, under the cover of a thousand light cavalry, charged forward rapidly.

"Stop attacking, form a formation, form a formation!"

Xie Gong's face changed drastically. He took the initiative to run to the back and shouted hysterically.

But in this situation, let alone him, even if Han Xin or Li Jing were reincarnated, it would be impossible for them to gather the Tibetan soldiers fighting against the Tang army into a battle formation.

When the Tibetan soldiers saw the torrent of armored soldiers rushing towards them, their faces turned pale and they fled.

The Tibetan soldiers who were fighting with the Tang army could not see the Tang army's armored cavalry rushing towards them.

They looked at their panicked companions behind them with question marks on their faces.

After a moment, they knew what was going on. A team of Tang army cavalry in full armor appeared in their sight.

The Tibetan soldiers standing in front were either knocked away or trampled to death, or pierced by the Tang army's cavalry's spears.

Like a flood, like a ferocious beast, galloping on the battlefield, overwhelming and unstoppable!
More than 10,000 Tibetan soldiers were torn apart on the battlefield.

"No need to stop, just rush to the end!"

Che Shensai held a knife and swung it left and right, killing the Tibetan soldiers one by one.

The other Tang army armored cavalrymen all exerted their strength, and wherever they passed, there were almost no Tibetan soldiers left standing.

The situation on the battlefield has reversed drastically, and the Tibetan soldiers have collapsed.

An Sishun ordered his soldiers to counterattack after the heavy cavalry charged.

On the Tubo side, the two thousand soldiers guarding the Pingyi City also rushed to the battlefield. They were also waiting for the heavy cavalry to charge past before attacking to avoid accidental injuries.

A thousand light cavalry began to shoot and kill the fleeing Tibetan soldiers from the flank.

At this moment, Synoza's heart also collapsed.

He didn't expect that Li Xuan would let the heavy cavalry cross the river and choose to charge at this critical moment.

It was inevitable that the soldiers were exhausted and defeated.

"Tongyahu, Xinuogu, and Xijiazang, lead the cavalry to attack the Tang army's light cavalry and armored cavalry."

Lun Sinuoza slammed heavily on a huge rock in front of the bridge.

At this time, he had no choice but to fight to the death while the Tang army's armor and cavalry were away.

Anxiang Bridge is narrow, and it takes at least half an hour for a thousand cavalrymen to pass through. Going across Anxiang Bridge to support the battlefield is tantamount to committing suicide.

The only thing they could do was to block Anxiang Bridge and force the remaining troops to retreat as much as possible.

At the end of the road, life and death depend on the last cavalry.

The cavalry wins, they still have a chance!

The cavalry was defeated and their entire army was wiped out!

(End of this chapter)