Chapter 9: Shen Ce Goes to War
Finally, the day after Wu Huai arrived in Kucha, all-out war broke out between the Tang Dynasty and the Central Asian alliance. The coalition was well prepared, determined to win. With Wu Huai in command, the Tang army, morale high and with ample reinforcements, was ready to fight to the bitter end.
The art of war says: speed is of the essence. After learning of the invasion of the Central Asian Alliance, Wu Huai mobilized 200,000 troops from the Western Regions to serve as the vanguard and headed to the city of Ili near the border.
"Your Majesty, the Central Asian Alliance has repeatedly defied the authority of the Tang Dynasty in the past. Now they have finally revealed their true colors and are so ambitious. The Tang Dynasty must win this battle! Otherwise, the Western Regions will be in danger." A man dressed as a general in front of the tent said.
Wu Huai sat in the main seat, arms folded across his chest, staring at the map, and said solemnly, "That's right. Now the Tang Dynasty has placed all its bets on the Western Regions. We must win this battle, and we will certainly win. We must raise troops for a thousand days and deploy them for a single moment. Now that the Central Asian Alliance has fallen out, don't blame the Tang Dynasty for being ruthless! Generals, listen to my orders. Strategic plan: Find the enemy's main force, and once we find them, employ the 'wolf pack tactic' to lure and annihilate them! Then, launch a counterattack. This time, I want the Tang Dynasty's territory to border Eastern Europe!"
"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.
The so-called wolf pack tactics is to divide the army into small groups, search for enemy movements over a large area, notify other teams when encountering the enemy, and track them secretly until the other teams reach the encirclement position, then act together and annihilate them in one fell swoop.
Although this tactic is very strange, it also has its shortcomings. The army's strength is dispersed and it cannot fight head-on. If the enemy army gathers together and pushes forward, the Tang army will be at a disadvantage and be divided and attacked by the enemy.
Wu Huai tried her best to avoid such a situation. She used the 300,000 Shen Ce Army as a reserve army just in case, and only mobilized the 600,000 Western Regions Guarding Army originally from the Western Regions to implement this tactic.
At the beginning of the war, this tactic did achieve great success. The Central Asian army lost several troops in succession and dared not advance alone, and its tactical penetration was hindered.
Wu Huai saw that this tactic was effective and continued with it. However, he did not realize that this move violated the biggest taboo of military strategists: "rigid and stereotyped tactics."
"Your Majesty, this tactic has achieved remarkable results. We should change the tactics as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the enemy figures out this tactic, our army will suffer huge casualties." A military advisor on the side advised.
Seeing his victory, Wu Huai was eager to expand the Tang army's advantage. He ignored the military advisor's advice and continued to act on his own, saying, "No rush. I want to maximize the benefits of this tactic. I'll continue for another half month. It won't be too late to change it then."
The military advisor glanced at Wu Huai, whose eyes were shining with brilliance, and retreated silently.
The Central Asian troops were more cautious in their infiltration, and their main force gathered at the border. As expected, they surrounded the city of Yili, and Jiang Li'an was one of the soldiers defending the city.
"Xiao Jiang, the enemy army is now at the gates of the city. I'm afraid it will be a tough battle. We have written several letters home. You are the youngest here, so you can take them back for us." An old soldier came to Jiang Li'an and said with a fist salute.
Jiang Li'an was unwilling to do so. He frowned and said, "Uncle Mo, you are looking down on me by doing this. I have two arms and two legs just like you, and I can fight in the battlefield just like you. If I just leave like this, what will others think of me?"
Uncle Mo sighed and said, "Little kid, this war is no joke. As a young woman, you shouldn't waste your life here in vain."
Jiang Li'an was unhappy when he heard this and retorted: "Uncle Mo, that's not what you said. Although I am a woman, I have a heart dedicated to serving my country. Women are always willing to accept it, so why should the general be my husband?
I will also join you in the battle to defeat the enemy. As for this book, I will bring it back to you all via the internet."
When Uncle Mo saw that Jiang Li'an was determined to stay, he stopped trying to persuade him. They knew that letters from home could be transmitted over the Internet, so they just made up a random excuse to get Jiang Li'an to leave.
The next day, the enemy launched an offensive and used gunpowder to attack the city. Although the divine warriors were not afraid of gunpowder, the city walls were built with normal building materials. The enemy fired several siege cannons at the same time, and the west gate of Yili City was blown down. The crossbowmen outside the city fired at the same time, and then the spearmen charged.
The heavy-armored soldiers with large shields in the city held their defense line and refused to retreat. In a blink of an eye, the west gate became a meat grinder. Both sides were investing troops, and it now depended on which side had a stronger will and more troops.
A soldier from the Zhenguan Army shouted, "Everyone, behind us is the territory of the Great Tang Dynasty and its people! If the enemy army wants to enter this city, they will have to step over our corpses! Soldiers, fight bravely and never retreat!"
"I will never retreat!"
The battle lasted until dusk. Both sides deployed tens of thousands of troops in the first battle for the city gate. Until sunset, both sides sounded the retreat.
Jiang Li'an's unit was responsible for defending the North Gate. Today, they only heard the deafening shouts of killing at the West Gate, but did not witness any battle. However, Jiang Li'an could not bear it any longer, so that night he requested to be transferred to the West Gate garrison.
The general was worried about the lack of troops guarding the west gate. Seeing Jiang Li'an volunteering, he was overjoyed and said, "Miss Jiang is as brave as a man. Her loyalty and righteousness are unparalleled. I admire her deeply!"
Jiang Li'an was transferred to the west gate as he wished, but the enemy did not attack the west gate.
On the second day, before dawn, the north and south gates were filled with shouts and cries of killing. Jiang Li'an frowned and thought for a while. Now the west gate was heavily guarded, and the north gate was full of elite soldiers. Only the situation at the south gate was the most critical. After thinking about it, he immediately grabbed his gun and mounted his horse and headed straight for the south gate.
Although she only learned half of the sword skills from Qi Yu, Qi Yu taught her all the Silver Dragon Spear Skills. Now, with the spear in her hand, she is like a fish in water.
The Central Asian coalition forces finally broke through the city gate. When they were about to charge into the city, they saw a man standing in front of them with a horse and a spear in hand, blocking everyone. Everyone was already blood-thirsty and started to attack without thinking.
Jiang Li'an shouted, "Today, I will use your blood to pay tribute to my father's spirit in heaven!"
After saying this, he tapped the horse's back with his toes and leaped into the crowd. His seven-foot-tall body was like a dragon exploring the sea, stabbing forward and backward, charging left and right, moving back and forth in the crowd as if he was in an empty space.
Everyone was shocked, as the intelligence did not say that there was such a person in this city.
Seeing this man bravely rushing forward and fighting for his life, like a dragon extending its claws, the morale of the Central Asian coalition forces plummeted and they fled in panic. The troops behind them had no idea what was happening in front of them, but were scattered by the front army. At this time, the reinforcements of the Tang army had arrived in the city, and they had missed the best opportunity to attack the city.
On a hillside outside the city, a veiled woman frowned slightly, then waved her hand and said, "Retreat."
Just one word, the voice was so gentle and beautiful that it made the people who heard it feel their bones go soft.
A black-robed general at the back said, "Yes!"
It was already daybreak. After two days of failing to capture Ili City, the Central Asian coalition forces adopted a tactic of encircling but not attacking. They cut off water and food supplies, and all supplies were cut off. Ili City became an isolated island in the ocean. The enemy wanted to use hunger to disintegrate Ili City from within.
On the other side, the Central Asian troops made a countermeasure by sending out small units to engage in battle with the Tang army. If the Tang army avoided fighting, they would force them into an encirclement. If they engaged in battle, they would immediately call for friendly forces around them.
Wu Huai did not expect that the Central Asian army would react so quickly and respond within just one week. Even though he was the fastest to send the assembly order to the small Tang army units in various places, the Tang army still suffered considerable losses. One-tenth of the 600,000 troops was lost, which was extremely unfavorable for the Tang Dynasty, which was going to have a decisive battle with the Central Asian coalition forces.
Wu Huai had a gloomy face and leaned his arms on the table. As he looked at the series of casualty figures reported in the newspaper, his expression became increasingly gloomy.
The military advisor advised: "Your Majesty, our army is now surrounded in Ili City. The wolf pack tactics are ineffective and we are temporarily in a passive position. We should seize the initiative as soon as possible."
Wu Huai raised his hand, slammed the table hard, and said in a cold voice: "Well, they want Yili, don't they? Then I will use the entire Yili city as bait to see if this big fish will take the bait!"
All the generals listened to the order: "General Li will lead his troops. I will lead the Shen Ce Army to disguise as the main force of the Tang Army to reinforce Yili City. Generals, lead your troops to set up an ambush outside Yili City. I want to see how powerful the enemy is!"
One person advised, "It is inappropriate for Your Majesty to personally act as bait. Your Majesty is now the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the backbone of hundreds of millions of people. If anything goes wrong, it will inevitably undermine the morale of the army and the stability of the people."
Wu Huai smiled and said, "I am willing to use myself as bait, otherwise I am afraid the big fish will not bite the hook. As for my safety, it depends on you soldiers."
"Everyone, march forward bravely. If you win this battle, you can go home and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival!"
Half a month later, the Tang army had completed its defenses on the outskirts of Yili City. There were two ambush circles, with two layers inside and outside to ensure that no thieves could escape.
Wu Huai and General Li led the main force from the highway. When they reached a valley, they suddenly saw a woman on the roadside in front of them. She seemed to be injured. Wu Huai ordered them to stop the car. General Li wanted to get out to check, but was stopped by Wu Huai. After all, she was a woman, and it was indeed inconvenient for General Li.
Wu Huai sent a maid to investigate. The maid asked questions for a while and then came back and said, "Your Majesty, that person said he had information to share with you and insisted on seeing you."
Wu Huai was suspicious, but also worried about missing out on important enemy intelligence. He glanced at the woman and saw she looked harmless, with no place to hide a weapon. He got out of the carriage and approached with two attendants. He asked, "Who are you, and what do you want to tell me?"
When the man saw Wu Huai coming, he didn't bow, but just said in a low voice: "I originally lived in Yili City. Now that the food in the city is gone, I came to the mountains to pick some wild vegetables, but I accidentally fell off my horse and sprained my ankle."
Wu Huai took a few steps forward because she couldn't hear clearly. She asked again, "What about the intelligence matter?"
The man said, "I was just picking wild vegetables in the mountains when I ran into the enemy army. They have set an ambush ahead. Your Majesty, please be careful."
The man's voice became increasingly quiet, and Wu Huai had no choice but to take two more steps forward. By this time, the two were five steps apart. The woman smiled inexplicably and said, "Oh, there's one more thing."
Wu Huai's heart was filled with alarm. He suddenly remembered that Yili City was under siege. How could such a weak woman possibly escape the city? Just as he was about to retreat, the person had already kicked up a cloud of dust. Wu Huai subconsciously covered his mouth and nose. Suddenly, he saw that the two guards were already dead. He was about to draw his sword to protect himself, but his arms were unable to move. Seeing the woman getting closer and closer, he subconsciously shouted, "Protect the emperor!"
Unexpectedly, the woman squatted down and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up. The woman smiled and said, "Protecting the emperor? They can't even protect themselves, how can they protect you, my Lord Emperor?"
Before Wu Huai fell into coma, he only saw an extremely charming face in front of him, with a smile on the corner of her mouth, which was extremely captivating.
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Empress of the Central Plains x Beauty of the Western Regions
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