Chapter 906 Qinghai Road (33)
The biting cold wind howled like a ferocious beast sweeping across the exposed mountain ridges, bringing with it the biting cold, wreaking havoc on this snowy plateau with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters. The air became extremely dry, and every breath felt like an ice knife cutting the lungs, which made people feel awe.
This was the most daring strategy Li Jing had ever made in his life. The army marched across the uninhabited Gobi Desert, the burnt grassland, and the snow-covered ice field.
This is countless times more dangerous than the surprise attack on the Winter Turkic royal court, and even more dangerous than when Luo Shi crossed the vast desert to the northern desert. If you are not careful, the whole army will be wiped out.
"Don't fall behind, don't fall behind. Once you fall, you can never stand up again. My men, move forward."
Li Jing shouted loudly. In this extreme environment, the light and heat from the sun lost its warm and soothing effect, leaving only the dazzling light falling on the snow, which was quite uncomfortable to look at for a long time.
Li Jing felt that the difficulty of the march was beyond his expectations, and the northern route would be even more difficult. Suddenly, a scout came running back and said excitedly, "General Manager, we found a tribe of Western Yan ahead, with cattle and sheep."
Li Jing's eyes turned green when he heard this.
Cattle and sheep, he licked his lips. The most critical point of his surprise attack plan is that he has to eat the enemy. You know, even the Central Plains cannot be completely cleared in many cases. Even if the King of Western Yan ordered all the tribes to retreat, it is impossible to really withdraw completely. Moreover, with so many cattle and sheep, they can't all be placed on one pasture, they must be dispersed.
"My men, there is a tribe of Western Yan ahead, with fat cattle and sheep. Catch them, stew them and eat the meat and drink the soup!"
Li Jing made a sword flower with the sharp sword in his hand, swung it forward and laughed out loud.
When the soldiers, who had been eating snow for several days, heard this, their morale suddenly increased. These are the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty today. The difficult environment will not wipe out their fighting spirit, but will only make them more eager for victory.
Faced with the extremely elite Tang soldiers, the mere Western Yan tribe had no power to resist at all. After the one-sided massacre, Li Jing looked at the captured cattle and sheep and felt relieved. Fighting here was like making a snowball. The most important thing was to win the first battle and get the cattle and sheep as supplies. Then he could drive the cattle and sheep to fight in the subsequent battles.
Compared to the southern route where Li Jing was, where he could still encounter tribes coming to graze, the northern route taken by Li Ji was a truly desolate area.
The altitude here is higher and the environment is harsher, so even the locals don't graze here.
The snow-capped mountains tower into the sky, cold and hard as iron. The endless peaks are like the back of a giant dragon, piercing straight into the clouds.
The cold wind was sharp, like a knife cutting the face. The flags fluttered in the strong wind. The patterns on the flags were particularly eye-catching under the light of the snow. Li Ji could only ask the soldiers to temporarily put away the flags and only keep a very small number of flags.
After parting with Li Jing's southern army, Li Ji led the army on a rapid gallop and soon reached the most difficult road. Many soldiers suffered from altitude sickness.
Li Ji rode his horse continuously in the army. The soldiers meandered along the rugged and steep mountain road. The horses' hooves crushed the snow, making a creaking sound that echoed between the valleys on the plateau.
All the troops on this expedition were elite and had abundant supplies. Almost every soldier wore thick felt boots and heavy fur coats, but they still couldn't withstand the bone-chilling cold on the plateau. Their faces were frozen purple and the breath they exhaled instantly turned into white mist and blended into the surrounding cold air.
As night fell, the tents swayed in the cold wind and the bonfire burned brightly, reflecting the tired faces of the soldiers.
Generals such as Li Ji sat around the fire with the soldiers to encourage their fighting spirit.
"The cold glaciers cannot defeat us, nor can the deserted wastelands. When we leave here, we will find the King of Western Yan, cut off his head, and pay tribute to our dead comrades. This general promises here that when the day comes to defeat the King of Western Yan, all the gold, silver and treasures can be taken freely, and I will bear the responsibility.
Brothers, let's sing a war song. It might be a good idea to sing a war song on this desolate night."
"The imperial wind covers the four seas, and the waters are clear for a thousand years; I no longer need to wear military uniforms, and today I declare my success."
When it comes to singing war songs, what could be more exciting for the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty than "The Qin King's Battle Music"?
How many people here are going to the war for the emperor?
countless.
But at this time, only by singing the music of Qin Wang breaking through the enemy's formation and recalling his glorious military exploits can they overcome all the realistic difficulties with enthusiasm.
The soldiers' singing was so loud and clear, and the night sky was dazzling, but it was also accompanied by unimaginable low temperatures. Under the silent night, there were only the cold wind and the singing, echoing in the valley, silent and magnificent, chilling and passionate.
Li Ji fought in countless wars throughout his life, but this one was definitely the most difficult and dangerous one.
He and his soldiers experienced unimaginable torture. A thousand miles of land were either barren or covered in snow, and there were no supplies at all.
People and horses can only survive by eating snow and ice. Horses that are injured and unable to move forward will be killed. Horse meat is a stimulant. The hot horse blood and horse meat can not only satisfy hunger, but also warm the body from the inside out.
Li Daozon, the famous king of the Li Tang royal family, is now just like a devil. There is no royal aura at all. That's why Li Shimin is so tolerant to those who have followed him through life and death, and both their merits and titles are higher than those given by civil officials, because he knows very well how dangerous the battlefield is, and the military generals fight with their heads on their waists.
After obtaining cattle and sheep as supplies, Li Jing's southern army galloped all the way and defeated the Western Yan army that had not had time to withdraw at Qinghai Lake, and then pursued them to Bohai.
When Murong Yun got the news about the Tang army, he couldn't believe it. "Did the Tang army grow wings? How did they get here through the snow and desert?"
In terms of strength, the Western Yan Kingdom was no match for the elite Tang Army. Murong Yun himself did not have any tactics. His tactic was to rely on the plateau, drag it out, and then endure. By wearing down the Tang Army's logistics, he could win without fighting.
But he didn't expect that Li Jing would fight him to the death and even travel thousands of miles to hunt him down. What he didn't expect was that he couldn't defeat the hungry and cold Tang army!
The State of Yan is no longer the powerful country that established the Northern Dynasties. Now it is just a small kingdom on the plateau, and a tribal kingdom at that. It is completely incomparable with the well-organized empire of the past.
Murong Yun fled all the way westward, while Li Daozon, Li Ji and others walked for two thousand miles in the no-man's land. Many Tang soldiers were left in the ice and snow forever. Facing the hastily arriving Western Yan army, they sang war songs and immediately started killing people all the way, venting the anger and murderous intent that had been buried in their hearts for these days.
Murong Yun was so frightened when he saw this that his soul left his body. His dream of restoring the Great Yan Kingdom was instantly thrown out of the window. He led the remaining Yan soldiers and fled wildly across the desert of the Qaidam Basin.
It must be said that Murong Yun was indeed a talented person. He could run so fast in the desert. Naturally, the Tang army would not give up chasing him. Murong Yun tried to hide in the desert.
But just as he didn't know how the Tang army appeared in front of him, now he didn't know how Qibi Heli attacked his royal court in the vast desert.
Murong Yun was so angry that he almost vomited blood, but life and death were a matter of life and death. He knew that the Tang army would never let him go, so he could only run away again.
He ran all the way out of the desert, then ran all the way in the no-man's land, and even ran into the Western Regions and arrived at the Taklimakan Desert, which is the center of the Tarim Basin.
The Western Regions are composed of three mountains and two basins. The basin in the south of the two basins is the Tarim Basin. Running all the way from the Qinghai Road to the Tarim, even Qibi Heli and a group of Tang troops who were chasing Murong Yun thought that this guy was an extremely fast runner.
The wars along the way took place in either the snowy plateaus, the desert, or uninhabited areas. None of them were normal. They were basically areas where travelers would find it difficult to exit once they entered. They were known as the "Death Zone."
Murong Yun himself was running in despair, the kind of despair where he could not see any future at all, not to mention the people around him. The more they looked at Murong Yun, the more angry they became. Originally, there was no war between Western Yan Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty.
This is the man in front of us who insisted on provoking the Tang Dynasty. He knew he couldn't win, but he still insisted on jumping. He didn't care about the rebuke from the Khan of Heaven. As a result, he brought about the disaster of the country's demise, and countless people of the Yan State were implicated with him.
Damn it!
Damn this old man!
Once this thought comes into my mind, it can never be erased.
Murong Yun died in this way, full of fear and screaming, without any heroic spirit at the hands of a soldier.
Qibi Heli, who followed closely, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Killing Murong Yun was the perfect end to the war. He wrapped Murong Yun's head in lime that he had prepared long ago, and then shouted loudly to the hundreds of cavalrymen who had accompanied him along the way: "The King of Western Yan has been killed, and can be presented to Your Majesty!"
The exhausted Tang army officers and soldiers all cried for joy and cheered loudly, celebrating this hard-won victory and commemorating their dead comrades.
Qibi Heli did not stay in the Western Regions for long, and soon returned with hundreds of light cavalry. On the way, other generals from other regions were envious when they saw Murong Yun's head in Qibi Heli's hand.
When he saw the army behind Li Jing, Qibi Heli finally relaxed his tense nerves and said, "General Manager, you have fulfilled your mission!"
Li Jing looked up at the clear blue sky and laughed loudly, "General Qibi has fulfilled his mission, and so will I. My men, let's return to the court!"
"Long live the Tang Dynasty!"
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If the Tang Dynasty conquered the Eastern Turks in order to eliminate the border threat, then conquering the State of Yan was a key step in the Tang Empire's foreign strategy. It once again demonstrated the Tang Empire's tyrannical military power and achieved the strategic goal of curbing Tubo and controlling the Western Regions. An unprecedentedly powerful military empire appeared in front of all countries. This was a show of military prowess that belonged to the Tang Empire. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"
10,000 words updated in the first three days of April
(End of this chapter)
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