Chapter 173: The whole army was annihilated, and the spoils were rich

Moyanchuo was surrounded by thousands of cavalrymen and a dozen Uighur nobles and officials.

The armor delayed their progress, but they had no choice but to do so.

If they escape with only a few people, the risk of encountering the Tang army will be greater.

"Li Xuan wants to kill me!"

Seeing that the Tang army had been chasing them all night, Mo Yanchuo said angrily.

His eyes were bloodshot and he was physically and mentally exhausted.

They thought that with the cover of night, a large number of tribesmen would be able to escape, but after the Tang army switched to war horses, their cavalry simply could not survive.

"Ye Hu, the Tang army can ride and shoot during the day, we must be careful."

The Uighur official reminded Mo Yanchuo.

They thought that the Tang army's light cavalry had been waiting for daybreak, so they delayed the attack.

"What's ahead?"

Mo Yanchu asked the officials around him.

"Ahead is Yangsha Ridge. Once we pass Yangsha Ridge, it will be difficult for the Tang army to pursue us." The Uighur official replied to Moyanchuo.

Mo Yanchu nodded.

He remembered that section of the road, except for one main road, the rest were small paths with towering sand dunes.

The Tang army's light cavalry was deployed in an area of ​​100 miles from east to west. It would take some effort to assemble them through the Sand Dune Avenue.

Their reinforcements will surely come to support them, so the Tang army is cautious and dare not pursue them any further.

After marching for a while, there was a commotion ahead, and many defeated soldiers turned around with looks of panic.

"What's happening ahead?"

Mo Yanchu's heart skipped a beat, and he ordered someone to capture a fleeing Uighur soldier and ask.

"Reporting... Ye Hu, there are countless Tang army crossbowmen on the sand dunes ahead, and there are many heavy infantrymen holding shields on the road between the sand dunes. On the widest sand dune road, there is a group of armored infantrymen holding broadswords and wearing masks..."

After the Uighur cavalry recognized Mo Yanchuo, they responded in fear.

He would never forget the scene of the Modao Army killing the enemy. He was also glad that he did not rush too far forward and was able to escape.

"what!"

Upon hearing this devastating news, Mo Yanchuo almost fell off his horse.

He was puzzled as to why the Tang army infantry appeared so far away?
Suddenly, Mo Yanchuo remembered that the scout reported yesterday that a cavalryman with four horses appeared behind them.

He thought those cavalrymen were heavy cavalry and had already participated in the battle.

Only now did Mo Yanchu realize that those soldiers, each with four horses each, had already detoured back to the sand dunes, blocking their way of retreat.

"Can we break through? I remember the road we came from was nearly a hundred feet wide."

Mo Yanchu asked.

"Reply to Yehu, that road is completely blocked. Unless we can break through the Tang army's formation, thousands of cavalry have tried to break through, but they can't break through at all. The Tang soldiers holding big swords are covered with iron armor and face masks. They kill people like crazy and can kill horses with one swing. Some cavalry climbed up the sand dunes and were ambushed by the Tang army's strong crossbowmen on the sand dunes. They didn't even have room to retreat..."

The Uighur soldier answered Moyanchuo.

"We are exhausted, while the Tang army's infantrymen in front are conserving their energy. If we charge rashly, we will surely suffer heavy casualties. Let's break out from both sides!"

Mo Yanchuo felt that the ambushed troops were a tough nut to crack. He had only a thousand armored guards around him, and even if he gathered the defeated soldiers, he could not break through.

"But there are many Tang cavalry on both sides... They are skilled in horseback archery, so it may not be easy to break through..."

The Uighur officials were worried.

Yesterday, their horse and archery skills had fought against the Tang army's light cavalry and were ultimately defeated.

"Gather the defeated soldiers and tell them that there is a Tang army ambush in front of Yangsha Ridge and Tang army pursuers in the back. If you want to leave, you must break out from both sides. The number of Tang troops is limited, so there must be a gap to break out."

Mo Yanchu made a prompt decision, and he had no other choice.

He planned to use his substitute as the main force, and he only selected a dozen warriors to follow and wait for an opportunity to escape.

Hopefully the stand-in can draw attention to him.

As for the nobles and officials who accompanied them, they could only wish for the best.

If these officials in fancy coats followed him, it would definitely cause trouble for him.

The nobles and officials were also thinking that while Ye Hu's substitute was attracting attention, they would escape with their slaves.

Only the substitute was ready to die. From the moment he became Yehu's substitute, he never thought of going back alive.

"Before the Tang army's cavalry catches up, now is the time..."

Mo Yanchu gave the order: "Follow me to the west!"

What he was most worried about was that Li Xuan would catch up with him, so he didn't want to delay for a moment.

The Uighur guards rode on iron cavalry, raising dust as they galloped westward.

Mo Yanchu also gathered some defeated soldiers to follow him.

To prove that he was in the army, he raised the wolf-head banner.

Looking at the wolf-head banner, Mo Yanchuo's eyes showed humiliation. He turned his head away and clenched his fists.

The light cavalry guarding the west side was led by Xin Yunjing.

The Tang army's light cavalry on patrol were composed of teams of fifty people.

"The wolf-headed banner! It must be the Huihe Yehumo Yanchuo that General Li mentioned."

"Woo..."

When the leader of a team of Tang army light cavalry saw the wolf-head banner, he immediately ordered his deputy leader to blow the horn for emergency support.

The teams were not far apart, and the sound of the horns could quickly reach Xin Yunjing's ears.

From the melody of the horn, we learned that this was an urgent military situation.

It was impossible for a few teams of cavalry to stop these Uighur cavalry. They had to gather a large force and shoot at their horses.

So even if the Uighur cavalry rushed over, the light cavalry would keep a distance of more than one mile and wait for the main force to gather.

Half an hour passed...

The Uighur cavalry marched westward.

The Tang army had already assembled 2,500 light cavalry, and Xin Yunjing also arrived in person.

"When our army is on the move, the Huihe cavalry must charge forward. Keep your distance from them. Anyone who dares to seek credit and disobey will be killed!"

Seeing that the time had come, Xin Yunjing began to order light cavalry to attack.

"Use your last bit of strength to compete with the Tang army in horseback archery. Let the Tang army see the arrows of us grassland men!"

The commander of the Uighur Guards gave orders to the gathering of the defeated soldiers.

Although there were only a few hundred cavalrymen, and some of them lacked bows and arrows, they were able to hold back the Tang army for a while.

The commander of the Imperial Guard led the imperial troops to drive away the Tang army and seek a way to survive for Yehu.

"kill!"

The defeated Uighur soldiers had no choice but to charge forward, shouting and yelling to boost their courage.

Lang Jiang Peng Ren led a team of 500 light cavalry to deal with the Uighurs' cavalry and archery.

"Warriors, we are standing on the land of the Uighur Khanate. Even if we die, we will not be ashamed of the gods! It is shameful to die of illness in heavy military service. General Alebu has done it, and we must do the same to be heroes of the grassland."

"Spread your wings. Bare your fangs. Charge!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards gave a loud shout and led eight hundred cavalrymen, forming four teams, to drive away the Tang army's light cavalry.

Because their horses were exhausted, and the iron armor which was much heavier than the Ming Guang armor, there was no way they could catch up with the Tang army.

Only expulsion!
"Shoot the horses!"

Although Xin Yunjing envied Mo Yanchuo under the wolf-head banner, he had to focus on dealing with the Uighur cavalry.

He had also commanded elite cavalry and knew the destructive power of elite cavalry when they entered a light cavalry formation.

"As ordered!"

The generals and yamen commanders of the Tang army received the order and quickly dispersed when the light cavalry was running, forming teams of 300 people to attack and shoot at the 200 iron cavalry of the Uighurs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

In half a quarter of an hour, the Tang army completed the change of formation.

Three hundred Tang army light cavalry shot at the horses of two hundred Uighur cavalry, and the Uighur cavalry were constantly falling off their horses.

The Uighur cavalry were equipped with bows and arrows, but in this kind of chase battle, the horses were slow and they lost the initiative.

"If you don't leave now, when will you stay?"

The nobles and officials of the Uighurs fled on horseback with their slaves to places where there were no Tang troops.

Mo Yanchuo's substitute led two hundred cavalrymen and fled to the northwest.

Along with the substitute moved the wolf-head banner of the Uighurs.

"Stop the Huihe Yehu and don't let them escape."

Upon seeing this, Xin Yunjing immediately led 400 cavalrymen to stop Mo Yanchuo.

As for other Uighur nobles and officials who were running around, they were intercepted by the Tang army troops along the way.

There are far more than these two thousand light cavalry in the west.

The real Mo Yanchu also took this opportunity to head southwest.

After getting out of the encirclement, turn north.

Seeing that the Tang army fell into the trap and was attracted by the substitute, Mo Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

But he cannot be careless, as he may encounter other Tang cavalry on the way to escape.

"Take off your armor!"

In order to speed up the escape, Mo Yanchuo ordered.

He rode a BMW and had great endurance. He firmly believed that the Tang army would not be able to catch up with him after he took off his armor.

The brave warriors of the Uighur Guard took off their helmets and armor and threw them off their horses.

They only carried weapons, water, and some dry food.

The warhorse has its burden lightened and is faster.

"Hey..."

Luck did not accompany Mo Yanchuo for long. After running for just over a quarter of an hour, they saw nearly fifty Tang cavalrymen coming towards them with dust in their hands.

"Ye Hu, you leave first, and we will hold off the Tang army."

The warriors under his command said to Mo Yanchuo: The Tang army is coming straight at them. If they don't stop them, they will be shot by the light cavalry.

"Your family will be blessed with wealth and honor."

Mo Yanchu promised.

He only brought one loyal servant with him, ready to leave the team at any time.

The leader of the Tang army saw that the Uighurs were not wearing armor and there were only a dozen of them, so he naturally would not call for support.

"A round of horse shooting, rush over and kill them."

The leader of the team gave the order.

At this moment, two riders broke away from the group and galloped westward.

"Give him ten riders and chase him. Don't let anyone escape."

The team leader immediately ordered the deputy captain to chase Mo Yanchu.

However, not only was Moyanchuo brave, the servant beside him was also a sharpshooter who often accompanied him hunting.

"Pfft..."

The deputy captain of the Tang army had just chased to within eighty steps of Mo Yanchu when he was shot off his horse by the sharpshooter.

After seventy steps, another person fell off his horse.

Mo Yanchuo also took the opportunity to take out his jade bow and shot, killing a Tang army cavalryman.

The master and servant worked in perfect harmony, and soon only four Tang army cavalry were left standing.

They knew that Mo Yanchu was a sharpshooter, so they quickly reined in their horses, thinking that continuing to chase him would be tantamount to suicide.

However, the other Uighur warriors were not so lucky. They took off their armor midway and were shot down by a round of arrows, leaving only a few of them.

The Tang army's light cavalry rushed forward with swords in hand, and several Uighur warriors each replaced at least two Tang army's light cavalry.

"hateful!"

The Tang army leaders took off their hats in anger, wondering how these people could be so powerful.

His deputy was about to win military merit, but was killed by the arrows of the two Uighur cavalrymen.

Seeing the two riders running away in a cloud of dust, the leader of the team knew that he could no longer catch up with them.

They could only return with the heads of the Uighur cavalry and the bodies of their teammates.

Mo Yanchuo ran all the way west until nightfall, and when he saw that no one was chasing him, he chose to head north.

This time, God favored Mo Yanchuo. He found an oasis, replenished his water supply, and was able to return to Yu Dujun Mountain.

But Moyanchuo could not be happy. He could not help feeling sad when he thought that Aleb and the commander of the Guards were in danger, and that his entire army was wiped out and he was the only one left alive.

Is he still the heir to the Great Khan?
How to face my father?
"I will remember today's shame. As the saying goes, great achievements will shock the ruler. Your best outcome will be the same as Huo Qubing's."

Mo Yanchu was well versed in Han history, and he kept his hatred in his heart.

I will definitely avenge my previous shame in this life!
……

the other side.

When the Tang army's light cavalry was fighting against the Uighur cavalry, Li Feiyuanli changed his warhorse and rushed to the battlefield.

The elite cavalry cooperated with the light cavalry to completely annihilate the Uighur cavalry.

The leader of the Uighur Guards was shot in the eye and died by a stray arrow.

Li Xuan ordered that the name of the user be written on each arrow, making it easy to count military merits.

Mo Yanchu's substitute was also captured alive by a team of Tang troops.

This also marks the end of a siege campaign.

After learning that Mo Yanchuo was captured alive, Li Xuan rode over with great interest.

"Where is Mo Yanchu?"

Li Xuan jumped off the Arabian horse and asked.

"Reporting to General Li, Mo Yanchu is here!"

Xin Yunjing immediately escorted Mo Yanchuo's substitute to Li Xuan.

Wearing golden armor, he looked unusual.

But when Li Xuan saw the face of the stand-in, he frowned.

"I have seen Mo Yanchuo, but not this person."

Li Xuan shook his head and said.

He was also thinking of teasing Mo Yanchu: If you had the Fire Cloud Horse, you might have already escaped.

Xin Yunjing was shocked. In order to capture the criminal alive, he sacrificed the lives of several brothers, but ended up capturing a fake.

"Please forgive me, Marshal Li!"

Thinking of this, Xin Yunjing quickly apologized to Li Xuan.

"General, what crime have you committed? Even though he was a fake, we have already captured Mo Yanchu's golden armor and wolf-head banner, which is already a great achievement. The cavalry that captured Mo Yanchu's substitute will be rewarded with ten pieces of silk and ten strings of cash!"

Li Xuan helped Xin Yunjing up without blaming him at all.

He still gave that team of cavalry a lot of rewards.

It's better that Mo Yanchu is alive. When the time comes, Li Xuan will slowly deal with him.

It is a great shame for a commander to abandon his golden armor and banner and run away.

Delivering the Uighur wolf-head banner and golden armor to Chang'an was a military achievement second only to capturing Mo Yanchuo alive.

"Thank you, Li Shuai!"

Xin Yunjing was very grateful to Li Xuan for his support.

Li Xuan's reward made the army respect him even more.

"Li Xuan, you are treacherous and have attacked your allies. You are despicable..."

At this time, a captured Uighur nobleman cursed Li Xuan in Chinese, but before he finished cursing, he was beaten up by the soldiers who were guarding him.

"If you all stay in the Ekunshui Royal Court, why would I come here on horseback? Is Baitinghai a place you can come to?"

Li Xuan ordered his men to release the Uighur noble and walked up to him.

"Our military parade is always within the borders of the Uighurs. If it were a real battle, the outcome would still be unknown!"

The Uighur noble was not convinced.

"Everyone knows the purpose of your military review. The Tang Dynasty has been friendly with the Huihe, but has been betrayed. This is intolerable. The lesson of the fall of the Turkic Khanate is still not enough! Guli Peiluo did not even consider his own strength, and still wants to play the game of alliance with the Tang Dynasty?"

This is not the future. Fists can determine all truths.

The Uighurs took advantage of the Tang Dynasty's attack on Tubo to march south for a military parade, which was a provocation to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Xuan's words left the Huihe noble speechless. When he wanted to say something else, Li Xuan waved him away.

"Clean up the battlefield, gather the horses and spoils, and withdraw the army to Baiting Sea."

Li Xuan began to give orders to his subordinates.

The wounded soldiers returned to Baiting first to guard the place.

Including the Hu cavalry led by An Sishun, all participated in collecting war horses and spoils of war.

All the Uighur armor was stripped off and taken back; even if it was damaged, it could be melted down and remade.

The bodies of the Tang army's dead soldiers were placed on spare horses and brought back to Baitinghai.

Including the dead war horses of the Uighurs, try to take away as much as possible.

Four days later, the army was finally gathered and returned to the oasis of Baiting Sea.

Li Xuan buried the soldiers who died in the battle at the foot of Suwu Mountain and held a grand funeral.

At that time, Su Wu was sent on a diplomatic mission to Xiongnu on the orders of Emperor Wu of Han, but was imprisoned by the Xiongnu king for no reason. He was forced to graze his sheep at Baiting Lake and was required to wait for their rams to give birth before he could return.

During this period, he always refused the Huns' recruitment and only returned to his hometown nineteen years later.

Thanks to the Han Dynasty, Baiting Sea and Suwu Mountain are now the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The warriors are buried under these green mountains, hoping that their souls in heaven can rest in peace.

In this battle, the Tang Dynasty suffered a total of more than 2,300 casualties and more than 2,800 injuries.

This is still a case of taking the initiative in a sneak attack, thanks to the strong armor, otherwise the casualties would be even greater.

The results were also very fruitful.

A total of more than 35,000 Uighur cavalry and Uighur servant cavalry were killed, and more than 13,000 were captured.

Only a small number of Uighur cavalry escaped.

After a day and night of fierce fighting, on average each soldier killed one Uighur cavalryman.

In addition, more than 4,000 cattle, 180,000 sheep, and more than 30,000 intact war horses were captured.

Many of the Uighurs' war horses were broken down. Although they were not dead, they could no longer serve as war horses.

Of course, the Tang army also lost more than 5,000 war horses in the battle.

The rest of the armor, weapons, bows and arrows were to be taken back to the ironworks in Hexi and Longyou for modification.

On an autumn night with a dim moon and sparse stars, the troops built a bonfire by the Baiting Sea and ate boiled mutton.

Although there were many horse carcasses, horse meat was not as delicious as mutton.

On the way back, they ate horse meat for a few days. Li Xuan ordered the slaughter of thousands of sheep as a reward for the soldiers gathered at Baitinghai.

Although the death of their comrades was sad, the soldiers were having a great time at the moment. Some even danced in front of the bonfire, which drew applause from those around them.

This is the battlefield!
It’s not that the soldiers are heartless, but they know that they may die at any time and meet their comrades in the underworld.

Just like "Don't laugh at me sleeping drunk on the battlefield, how many men have ever returned from the battles in history?"

"With a small price to pay, he completed the encirclement and annihilation in the wilderness, and completely defeated the enemy in one battle. Only General Li could do this in ancient and modern times..."

Sitting in front of the campfire, Gao Shi chanted "A Song to Congratulate Governor Li on His Defeat of the Uighurs at Bai Tinghai" to praise Li Xuan's achievements.

"In this battle, the Huihe suffered heavy losses. Now the governor of Shuofang has also sent troops to deter them. They will definitely not dare to go south to Baiting again. General Li's bravery is unparalleled in the history..."

Following Gao Shi, Cen Shen also chanted "Song of Yellow Sand", describing the process of this battle from the march to the end of the battle, praising Li Xuan and the Tang army soldiers for their heroic fighting and expelling the Uighurs from Suwu Mountain.

Although Li Xuan's reputation no longer needs to be spread.

But people can see Li Xuan's heroic spirit from many poems of Gao Shi and Cen Shen.

Because poetry always contains an element of exaggeration.

After the mutton was cooked, Li Xuan brought his personal guards to personally serve mutton and yokan to the seriously injured soldiers who were unable to come to celebrate.

The soldiers in the army were so moved that they couldn't help but shed tears...

(End of this chapter)