Five days later.
The tenth day of the fifth month in the first year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty.
Led by Lan Yu, Marquis of Anxi of the Tang Dynasty, the 50,000-strong Anxi Iron Cavalry (formerly the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry) finally arrived at Chigu City, the capital of the Wusun Kingdom.
At this time, everyone in Chigu City was on edge, with even the smallest creatures threatening them.
King Tibis waited in vain for the envoy Subati to return home, and an ominous premonition arose within him. He understood that the war between the Wusun Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty was ultimately inevitable!
For the sake of the Wusun people and royal family in Chigu City, King Tibis personally led 30,000 Wusun cavalry out of the city to meet the Tang army before the Tang cavalry besieged the city. He intended to first defeat the Tang army's morale on the battlefield before negotiating peace with Marquis Lanyu of Anxi.
However, how could the Wusun Kingdom be a match for the Tang Dynasty? And King Tibis was no match for Lan Yu, the "fierce general of the Ming Dynasty".
The two armies clashed on the ninth day of the fifth month in the first year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty, thirty miles northwest of Chigu City. The battle ended in a complete victory for the Tang Anxi Iron Cavalry.
King Tibis of Wusun personally led 30,000 cavalry out of the city to meet the enemy, but in the end, only a few hundred personal guards escorted Tibis back to the capital in a sorry state.
The remaining tens of thousands of soldiers were either killed by the Tang army on the battlefield or surrendered to the Tang army and became prisoners of the Anxi cavalry.
After this battle, the Wusun Kingdom was severely weakened.
King Tibis had no choice but to order the remaining 20,000 soldiers in the capital to hold the city, while sending messengers to other cities in the Wusun Kingdom and the Uyghur Khanate, the leader of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, to seek help.
However, how could Marquis Lan Yu of Anxi, who was in a fit of anger, possibly give Tibis the opportunity to ask for help from the outside world?
He came to this battle with the intention of destroying the Wusun Kingdom.
Especially after the Wusun cavalry raided the camp at night and set fire to the Tang army's supplies, Lan Yu's determination to destroy the Wusun Kingdom was strengthened.
The tenth day of the fifth month marked the first day of the Tang army's siege of the city.
Inside the central command tent of the Tang army, Marquis Lan Yu of Anxi was unleashing his fury upon a group of Tang generals under his command.
"Deputy General Tan, what have you been doing with the vanguard (suicide squad) you command? They've been fighting for a mere Chigu City all morning and haven't even managed to breach the outer defenses!"
Lan Yu pointed at his deputy general Tan Li's nose and roared angrily, "Since I followed the Emperor to conquer the Western Regions, when have I ever fought such a humiliating battle?"
"Back then, as soon as the 'King of Jin's flag was raised, which of these tiny Western Regions kingdoms didn't surrender at the mere sight of it?"
Faced with the rebuke from Marquis Lan Yu of Anxi, Tan Li, as the deputy general and commander of the vanguard in the siege, had no choice but to grit his teeth and explain, "General—"
"Our Anxi cavalry are primarily cavalry, not skilled in siege warfare. Furthermore, our army did not bring any large siege weapons on this mission, forcing us to make all our equipment on the spot, which further slows down our siege progress."
"I hope, I hope the General will grant me more time, and I will certainly conquer Chigu City!"
"That's enough—"
Lan Yu waved his hand rudely, interrupting Tan Li's explanation, and said sternly, "Deputy General Tan, this general doesn't want to hear excuses; this general wants results."
"Tomorrow, at the latest by tomorrow evening, I will hold a victory banquet for my Tang army in the royal palace of King Tibis of Wusun in Chigu City!"
"Get out of here—"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Even after his generals had left, Lan Yu still couldn't hide his anger.
In his view, the excuses that cavalry were not good at siege warfare and lacked large siege weapons were just that—excuses. Ultimately, it was because these generals, who were used to comfort, were not fighting hard enough.
If even the officials don't dare to risk their lives and personally attack the city to kill the enemy, how can the soldiers at the grassroots level possibly put in their best effort?
Back in the day, when Lan Yu followed the emperor to conquer the Western Regions, there wasn't a single city that couldn't be captured in a single day.
How come, after Lan Yu personally led the troops into battle, a mere Chigu City actually became a stumbling block for the Tang army?
Lan Yu's campaign against the Wusun Kingdom was also driven by personal motives.
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty and the conferment of titles, he was appointed as the Jiedushi (Deputy Envoy) of Anxi, in charge of the Anxi Protectorate (Northern Prefecture). Huo Qubing, the Marquis of Champion, was also appointed as the Jiedushi (Deputy Envoy) of Anxi, in charge of the Anxi Protectorate (Southern Prefecture).
In Lan Yu's view, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an's move was to ultimately choose one of him and Huo Qubing to become the Jiedushi of Anxi, to guard the Western Regions, and to become a powerful regional official who truly held great power and guarded a region.
The final decision on who would become the military governor of Anxi would undoubtedly depend on the achievements of Lan Yu and Huo Qubing during their respective tenures in Anxi.
From its inception, the Tang Dynasty had a strict system of rewards for military merit.
The six founding dukes of the Tang Dynasty are the best proof. Which one of them did not have outstanding military achievements? Which one of them did not destroy several countries?
As a result, a unified ideology formed among the generals of the Tang Dynasty: if you don't destroy several countries, you can't even call yourself a famous general of the Tang Dynasty!
Therefore, Lan Yu also wanted to take advantage of this expedition to Wusun Kingdom to show off his bravery in front of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an and accumulate military merits for the final competition for the position of Jiedushi of Anxi.
Unexpectedly, the mere Wusun royal city of Chigu became the first test for Lan Yu's promotion to Anxi Jiedushi.
Furthermore, the performance of his generals on the battlefield when faced with this test did not satisfy Lan Yu, which made him furious and enraged!
At the same time.
Inside the ancient city of Chigu, in the main hall of the Wusun royal palace.
King Tiberius was also worried and depressed.
Faced with the Tang army's strong attack on the city, Tibis and the civil and military officials of Wusun were helpless. The soldiers defending the city fought hard to hold on until now, all for the sake of protecting their wives, children and elderly relatives inside the city from the calamity of war.
At this moment, shouts of battle and the sound of blunt weapons striking each other came from outside the palace.
Tibis knew that this was the Tang army outside the city walls, and they had begun a new round of siege warfare.
It's unknown how long the Wusun soldiers defending the city can hold out, or whether they can hold out until reinforcements arrive!
"Report—"
"Your Majesty, the Tang army's offensive outside the city is growing increasingly fierce. The defending soldiers are suffering heavy casualties, and the city will fall in an instant!"
Just then, a royal guard in armor and carrying a sword rushed over and reported the latest battle situation to King Tiberius.
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Tibbes' blue eyes were filled with astonishment and sorrow, and he slumped weakly onto the throne.
Seeing this, Aiheti, the prime minister of Wusun who was serving Tibius, hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Tang army is coming in a fierce manner. This time, they are here to destroy our Wusun!"
"I advise Your Majesty to break out of the city in time to avoid a tragedy!"
"Go, where to go?"
On his throne, Tibis, his heart filled with despair, sneered, "Let alone whether the Tang army surrounding this city can allow me to break through smoothly;"
"Even if I break through, where can I go?"
"The kingdoms of the Western Regions have long since submitted to the Tang Dynasty, becoming their lackeys and henchmen. If the Tang Dynasty is determined to put me and the Wusun Kingdom to death, there will be no place for me to hide in this vast Western Regions!"
Upon hearing King Tibis's words, a fleeting glint of cunning and ruthlessness flashed in the eyes of the prime minister, Aiheti.
Then, he blurted out, "Your Majesty, there is another place in my Wusun Kingdom that we can go—"
After a pause, Aiheti said, word by word, "Go west, to the Abbasid Caliphate, and seek the help of this super empire to the west!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com