Chapter 56: Tang Army Formation
Although the Tang border army had 80,000 cavalry, it also had tens of thousands of affiliated Hu cavalry, and some vassal troops under its command.

But these forces are scattered and cannot be integrated.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty was not short of horses.

The Tang Dynasty listed horse administration as one of the "important state affairs" and established the Taipu Temple to specifically manage horse administration throughout the country, which was divided into four offices: Chenghuang, Dianju, Dianmu, and Chefu. It also required the countries in the Western Regions, such as the Uighurs, Karluks, and Khitans, to provide horses every year.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the entire country only had 5,000 war horses from the Sui Dynasty.

Therefore, in the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, facing the hundreds of thousands of cavalrymen of Jie Li Khan, had to endure humiliation and establish the Weishui Alliance.

After decades of training, by the Linde period of Emperor Gaozong, the number of horses in the border pastoral areas reached 700,000.

But in the late reign of Emperor Gaozong and the reign of Empress Wu, the Tang Dynasty suffered repeated defeats in foreign wars and its diplomacy was a mess, resulting in the loss of most of its horses in a short period of time.

By the time Li Longji ascended the throne, there were only 240,000 horses left in the Tang Dynasty's various pastoral agencies.

When the Kaiyuan Prosperity began, the number of war horses increased to 430,000 in more than ten years.

By the Tianbao period, the number of horses exceeded that of the Linde period, reaching 800,000.

However, the Tang Dynasty's consumption of horses was increasing.

So out of more than 800,000 horses, excluding the old and the young, only 80,000 war horses could be allocated to the border troops.

In addition, there are tens of thousands of the best war horses, which retired early and enjoyed their retirement together with the imperial guards of Chang'an City.

In addition, the emperor's various carriages and entertainment horses all required top-quality horses.

There are countless post stations in various counties and roads of the Tang Dynasty.

According to the system, princes and nobles were to be allocated some horses.

This is still the case with horses raised by the public, which are used to supply many local dignitaries and officials. Otherwise, there might be a shortage of military horses.

Li Guangbi strongly approved of Li Xuan's steady and cautious approach.

Sometimes, they had to mobilize cavalry to fight against the Hu people.

But now the Turkic Khanate was surrounded by enemies on all sides, and this battle was related to the survival of the Turkic Khanate. If the Turkic cavalry did not surrender, they would have to make a desperate fight with the Tang army.

"Li Yuhou, the Turks have been fighting the Tang for a hundred years, so they must know how powerful our Tang army is. Our army has a strict formation, and even though they have tens of thousands of cavalry, they may not dare to charge. I suggest showing weakness to the enemy and deliberately revealing a flaw near the Feng'an military crossing. When the enemy charges, our army will immediately make up for the flaw to consume the enemy's cavalry's strength."

When the enemy cavalry approached, Li Xuan suddenly thought of an idea and told Li Guangbi.

After a part of the enemy cavalry was consumed, the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty's detachment, together with the cavalry from Gaolanzhou and other places, was no less in number than the Turkic cavalry.

The Tang army was fully armed and had equal numbers, so it was almost impossible for the Turkic cavalry to defeat them.

"General Li's plan is brilliant, but if we reveal the flaw near Feng'an Jun Ferry, it will be too obvious. I suggest setting up a flaw farthest from Feng'an Jun Ferry."

Li Guangbi's eyes lit up, and after pondering for a moment, he gave Li Xuan some advice.

"Li Yuhou is still very thoughtful."

Li Xuan agreed.

"I will immediately notify General Cui, the commander of the left wing army."

The main purpose of the Tang army's march across the border was to wipe out the new Turkic forces and conquer the Turkic left wing.

Every annihilation brings huge advantages to the subsequent advance.

The commander of this army is the left and right wing military commander.

Cui Zhan, the commander of the left wing, thought this plan was feasible.

If the Turkic cavalry could be dealt a heavy blow, his military achievement would be indispensable.

Immediately, Li Xuan hid the chariots and deer horns of the southernmost army formation in a farther place and covered them with black cloth taken from the city.

And in this section, no soldiers wearing heavy armor will be allowed.

When the Turkic cavalry saw this, they would think that the Tang army’s defense was insufficient.

"Rumble..."

Less than an hour later, the sound of thousands of horses galloping broke the silence of the night and the earth was shaking.

Ten thousand Turkic cavalry arrived overnight, and their scouts were able to approach the Feng'an military city.

"Report to the commander, there are Tang troops crossing the river at Feng'an!"

After the Turkic scouts found out the situation, they reported it to Poli.

"The Tang army has lined up in front of the city with its back to the water. Go closer to observe the Tang army's formation."

Poli frowned and gave instructions to the scout.

He realized that his side had been deceived. The Tang army did not cross the river from Mingsha, but turned to Feng'an Ferry.

Once the army gathers at Feng'an Ferry, the Tang army will immediately head north to cover the troops at Mingsha Ferry as they cross the river.

By then, it will be a tough battle for the Turkic cavalry.

It was difficult to observe the situation at night. If the Tang army was not in formation, he could order a surprise attack.

Boli stopped his army several miles away and sent hundreds of brave warriors to observe closely.

All the one thousand cavalrymen on Li Xuan's side were in the formation.

Five hundred jumping cavalry and three hundred crossbow cavalry dismounted and joined the defense of the army.

The military formation was located a little to the north of the military city, covering an area of ​​several miles in radius and surrounding the ferry.

There were fifty men in a team, ten to twenty teams in a battalion, and a yamen general led a battalion.

They drove forward with chariots and deer horns, and the front was divided into four camps, all of which were heavy armored soldiers of the Jinglüe Army. They held large spears and supported large shields, and stood behind the chariots.

The left wing was the Feng'an Army's Iron Armored Spear Battalion, the right wing was the Tiaodang Army Battalion, and the other battalions were armed with spears and shields to strengthen the military formation.

The Feng'an Army included cavalry crossbowmen, a total of 500 crossbowmen. They were in the front.

The Jinglüe army also had a thousand crossbowmen on the shore, with five hundred on the left and five hundred on the right.

The archers came next.

One thousand elite cavalrymen were in the center. One thousand special forces (reserve troops) were in the center.

Once such a phalanx is formed, the cavalry will definitely not be able to win the shootout.

It is also difficult to break through.

The disadvantage is that it is too passive.

Fortunately, the number of Tang cavalry and its subordinate Hu cavalry was considerable and their combat effectiveness was strong.

And this is just a defensive phalanx.

There is also an offensive phalanx, when the cavalry will be on the two wings and other formations will also be adjusted.

"Open a gap in the central camp."

Seeing that the Turkic cavalry were approaching to investigate, Li Xuan did not want to let them go back easily.

"Dong dong!"

Flags could not be used at night, and military orders could only be conveyed by drums and horns.

After receiving the order, the central army camp pushed the chariots away and made way for a gap. Li Xuan led his personal guards and a hundred cavalrymen out of the battle formation.

The Turkic cavalry sent to gather information were fearless and brave. Holding animal-skin shields, they dispersed from all directions and approached to investigate the specific situation of the Tang army's formation.

Without orders, the Tang army could not shoot arrows.

A salvo at them at night would be more trouble than gain.

Li Xuan led most of the cavalry to the north, and only sent 20 cavalry to block the weak point in the south, deliberately showing it to the Turkic cavalry.

Since they were warriors, more than a dozen Turkic cavalrymen saw that they could not get around Li Xuan, so they held a leather shield in one hand and raised a scimitar in the other and charged towards Li Xuan and his guards.

Li Xuan rode on a Huoyun horse, holding a 30.7-foot ( foot in Tang Dynasty was cm) lance in his hand. The lance tip was as sharp as a sword and shone with a chilling light.

"Crack!"

"Pfft!"

When meeting Li Xuan, a Turkic cavalryman just raised his shield, but Li Xuan smashed it with a spear.

The spear brought a huge impact to Li Xuan, and the tip of the spear directly pierced through the body of the Turkic cavalry.

Li Xuan held the spear with both hands and quickly retracted his force.

When the two horses staggered, the bodies of the Turkic cavalrymen fell off their horses.

The other Turkic cavalry were easily dealt with by Li Xuan's personal guards.

After observing the Tang army's formation, the surviving Turkic cavalry retreated on horseback.

Sixty or seventy corpses were left lying in front of the battle line.

Li Xuan led the enemy's horses back to the army formation.

"Commander, the Tang army's southern camp has no antlers or chariots, and the guards are not wearing armor. They probably don't have enough manpower."

Several Turkic cavalrymen who had explored the southern part of the Tang army's formation came back to report to Poli.

"Commander, we should take advantage of the Tang army's instability and attack quickly. The Tang army is constantly crossing the river, and the opportunity to fight will soon be lost."

Xi Jiejin immediately asked Poli for orders: "I am willing to go first and break through the Tang army's formation."

"Gather the elite armored cavalry to attack the weak points of the Tang army. The rest of the cavalry will attack from the front and north to distract the Tang army. If the Tang army is pushed away, it will surely be in chaos. Split the troops to charge towards Feng'an Ferry."

The Turks are the weaker party and must seize every possible opportunity.

Even if you have doubts, give it a try.

(End of this chapter)