"Enemy attack—"
"Scatter quickly, enemy attack!"
The startled Persian cavalrymen acted entirely on instinct, reining in their horses to turn them around and avoid the cannons fired from the Tang Dynasty warships outside Suifeng Fort. They also shouted in panic, trying to warn their comrades behind them to react in time and escape the range of the Tang army's cannons at Suifeng Fort.
However, all of this was in vain.
How could a cavalry phalanx that had charged in a dense formation simply stop?
The Persian cavalry charging ahead had just reined in their horses to slow down when they were immediately knocked down by their own cavalry horses that had no time to react. The collision sent riders sprawling and screams of agony filling the air.
Meanwhile, on the Tang Dynasty's naval warships surrounding Suifeng Fortress, the soldiers of the Tang army's Shenji Battalion, under the command of the frontline battalion commanders and centurions, began indiscriminate bombing of the enemy forces outside the city.
"Target: enemy supply train artillery, fire!"
"fire--"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Boom, boom, boom!
After firing the first salvo into the enemy Persian cavalry, disrupting their charge, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty's Divine Machine Battalion immediately turned their attention to the artillery of the Arab Empire's army.
The Arab Empire's reinforcements, carrying bronze cannons weighing hundreds or even thousands of kilograms, were now using draft horses to pull the heavy cannons up to the fortress, striving to get close enough to fire and maximize the cannons' power on the battlefield.
However, before the enemy's supply and artillery soldiers could deploy the two hundred bronze cannons they had purchased at great expense to their designated attack positions, they were immediately attacked by the Tang army's Shenji Battalion.
When the exploding shells fired by the red-coated cannons exploded in the marching ranks of the Arab reinforcements' artillery, the enemy artillery was instantly thrown into chaos, with many dead and wounded.
"Scatter! Scatter quickly!"
"The bronze cannons have a limited range, so spread out and take cover from the enemy's artillery fire!"
The commander of the Arab Empire's artillery reinforcements had witnessed the power of bronze cannons firsthand and knew their shortcomings. He disregarded the firepower of the Tang army's cannons outside Suifeng Fort and hurriedly jumped onto a carriage carrying bronze cannons. He waved his scimitar and shouted loudly, reminding his artillery soldiers to spread out and avoid the cannon fire.
Boom!
Suddenly, a shell exploded right next to the enemy artillery commander.
After the explosion, thick smoke billowed up.
Before the thick smoke from the explosion had even cleared, Saleh, the Persian cavalry commander who was personally leading his personal guards to oversee the battle, witnessed his artillery commander fall headfirst into the smoke, his fate unknown.
"This, this is impossible!"
The voice of the commander Saleh was choked with sobs, filled with both resentment and confusion. Even now, he couldn't understand how these ten warships had appeared out of thin air outside the city of Suifeng Fortress on the Pamir Plateau.
What's even more incomprehensible is when the Tang Dynasty's army mastered the technology of bronze cannons, and their cannons seem to be far superior to the bronze cannons that they purchased from the Charlemagne Empire at great expense, both in terms of range and power.
However, Saleh, as the commander-in-chief, was very clear about one thing: the Tang Dynasty naval warships outside Suifeng Fort were not, as he had previously claimed to be, a smokescreen cast by Tang Dynasty sorcerers, but real killing machines that were relentlessly reaping the lives of his Arab Empire soldiers.
At the same time.
On the crumbling walls of Suifeng Fortress, a golden figure clad in golden armor stood proudly atop the highest tower, surveying everything unfolding outside the fortress.
This man was none other than Emperor Chen Huai'an of the Tang Dynasty, who had traveled day and night from the capital of the Uyghur Khanate, Harabalgas, to Suifengbao.
At this moment, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Chen Huai'an's young and heroic face.
The feat of moving naval warships to the Pamir Plateau to bombard the enemy is something that probably only Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Huai'an, who possesses the "Born to be an Emperor" system, could conceive of and accomplish.
In fact, before Chen Huai'an personally led his troops to the Warakhan Corridor, he was still thinking about dismantling the red cannons mounted on the warships and placing them on the walls of Suifeng Fort and Huoshiwan to defend against the enemy.
However, after he inspected the defenses of the two passes in person, he realized that this method was simply not feasible.
After the battle for the Warakhan Corridor a few days ago, the fortifications of the two passes, Flintstone Fortress and Firestone Bay, were already in a state of disrepair.
In some places, enemy cavalry could charge so high that they could even use the power of their horses and the piles of corpses to rush directly onto the city walls, completely negating the defenders' advantage of holding the position!
Left with no other choice, Chen Huai'an came up with the idea of moving the warships directly outside the city walls of the plateau, using their large and sturdy hulls to form a protective barrier against the enemy outside the dilapidated city defenses.
Judging from the current results, it's not bad!
Of course, this method of using warship hulls as defensive shelters was not foolproof or invincible.
For example, he's afraid of fire because of the wooden hull of this boat.
Otherwise, there would be no story of the Battle of Red Cliffs.
As expected, the Persian cavalry outside the city quickly recovered after being bombarded by the Shenji Battalion's red-coated cannons.
Enemy lieutenant Omar hurriedly rode back to his commander Saleh and loudly reported, "General, the Tang army's warships are equipped with a large number of bronze cannons. Although their firepower is fierce, they also have a fatal flaw."
"That is, the Tang army's warships cannot move on land. I request that the general hand over all the fire oil carried by the supply convoy to me, and I will personally lead a surprise force to burn the Tang army's warships!"
The suggestion from deputy general Omar was immediately approved by the captain Saleh.
The latter, his eyes bloodshot, barked, "Men, do as General Omar orders! Hand over all the fire carried by the entire supply convoy to General Omar!"
With that, Saleh patted Omar heavily on the shoulder and said with a serious expression, "General Omar, everything is in your hands!"
"Please rest assured, General, I will certainly not fail in my mission!"
Soon, Omar, the deputy general who received the order from the commander-in-chief Saleh, led his hundreds of personal guards, carrying a large amount of fire oil and rockets, preparing to take advantage of the chaos to approach the Tang warships outside Suifeng Fort and stage a "Warahan miracle" of "Burning Red Cliffs".
Meanwhile, the Persian cavalry commander Saleh immediately ordered the imperial artillery to disperse and construct artillery positions on the spot, using bronze cannons to bombard the Tang Dynasty's red-coated cannons.
At the same time, he ordered the cavalry that were originally feigning an attack on the left and right flanks to disperse and attack, and to send out small cavalry squads to harass and minimize the damage caused by the red-coated cannons to his own cavalry, thus creating an opportunity for the deputy general Omar, who was launching a surprise attack on the Tang warships, to approach the Suifeng Fortress.
Saleh's troop deployment and pre-battle maneuvers naturally did not escape the watchful eyes of Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Huai'an, who was observing the battle from Suifeng Fort.
In fact, in the face of absolute power, all strategies and tricks are nothing but paper tigers that are easily defeated.
Even if the enemy commander Saleh does not change his tactics, the Tang cavalry, which is already prepared in Suifeng Fort, will soon be ready to go out.
With the arrival of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, the original five thousand Tang Dynasty garrison in Suifeng Fortress suddenly increased to fifty thousand, all of them elite cavalry armed to the teeth.
On the walls of Suifeng Fortress, Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an, slowly drew his sword, its blade pointing directly at the Persian cavalry outside. He gave the order: "Warriors of the Tang Dynasty, the opportunity to serve the Tang Dynasty has arrived!"
"All troops, attack!"
"Kill them!"
In an instant, shouts of battle erupted from within Suifeng Fortress.
Immediately, the slightly dilapidated and mottled city gates of Suifeng Fort opened wide, and the Tang cavalry, in two columns, charged out of the city, leaping out of the gates and crossing the gaps deliberately left between the ten warships outside the city, heading straight for the enemy Persian cavalry.
Clang, clang, clang!
The thunderous sound of horses' hooves soared into the sky, and the thud of their iron hooves striking the ground made Emperor Zhaowu, Chen Huai'an, who was atop the walls of Suifeng Fortress, clearly feel the intense tremors.
At the same time that the Tang cavalry went out of the city to fight, the soldiers of the Tang Shenji Battalion on the ten warships also tacitly stopped firing, taking the opportunity to cool down the red-coated cannons whose barrels had become scorching hot from continuous firing.
However, the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion were not idle. Instead, they leaned against the deck and the ship's side, waving their swords, command flags, and other weapons to cheer on the Tang cavalry that went out to fight, thus boosting their morale.
"Cavalry, the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty!"
The moment the Tang cavalry left the city, they were spotted by the personal guards of the enemy's deputy general, Omar.
At this moment, the enemy's deputy general, Omar, personally led his hundreds of personal guards in a charge, their bows and arrows already soaked in flaming oil. They were ready to unleash a volley of arrows as soon as they approached the Tang warships outside Suifeng Fortress, setting the fortress ablaze.
Unfortunately, Omar's wishful thinking fell through when the Tang cavalry took the initiative to leave the city to fight.
"General, the Tang Dynasty, the enemy cavalry is increasing in number, General—"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Boom, boom, boom!
However, the soldier was met with a piercing shriek, followed by the sound of a shell exploding on the ground.
However, the cannonballs were not fired from the Tang Dynasty warships below Suifeng Fortress, but from the bronze cannons of their own imperial artillery behind them.
What Omar and his personal guards didn't expect was that their own artillery shells were actually aimed at them!
Boom! Boom!
After several more explosions, Omar's cavalry formation was immediately divided by several clusters of raging flames.
It was the soldiers in the cavalry phalanx who were carrying the burning oil that were ignited after the explosion, instantly turning Omar's personal guard phalanx into a sea of fire.
"Fire! Put out the fire!"
"Artillerymen, who gave you permission to fire? Are your eyes covered by your butts? Can't you see your shells hitting your own men?"
"Stop shelling! Stop shelling immediately!"
"......"
In an instant, helpless and desperate cries echoed throughout the enemy cavalry formation, making the already chaotic formation even more chaotic.
Little did they know that even more desperate things were yet to come for these Persian cavalry reinforcements who were sent to aid the empire's eastern expeditionary force.
Countless Tang Dynasty cavalrymen, clad in gleaming armor, wielding ring-pommel swords, and riding tall, strong warhorses, swept in with overwhelming force, like a moving torrent of steel engulfing the entire plateau battlefield outside Suifeng Fortress, destroying and mercilessly crushing everything in its path.
"It's over. The Empire's 20,000 Persian cavalry and supply train are all gone, and the strategic plan to open up the Varahan Corridor is also ruined!"
When the enemy commander Saleh saw tens of thousands of Tang cavalry charge out of Suifeng Fortress and sweep away his Persian cavalry and supply artillery with overwhelming force, his first thought was that everything was over!
It was as if all the strength in my body had been drained in an instant, and I collapsed to the ground.
This, this is impossible!
Wasn't it said that the Tang army stationed in Suifeng Fort had less than 10,000 men? How could so many Tang soldiers suddenly appear overnight?
And those ten warships that appeared out of nowhere!
It is said that when a person is dying, their life experiences will flash through their mind like a revolving lantern.
However, for Saleh, the enemy's commander-in-chief at this time, he did not recall his own life. Instead, he was worried about the fate of the Abbasid Caliphate, which was leading a large army to conquer the east, and the hundreds of thousands of imperial troops trapped in the Uyghur Khanate.
This is so bizarre, so unbelievable!
The Tang army stationed in Suifeng Fortress is strange in every way. If this trend continues, it will not be an eastern expedition of the empire, but a western expedition of the Tang Dynasty!
No, I have to survive. I must return to Baghdad alive and report the series of strange events that occurred at Flintstone Fortress to the Caliph so that the Abbasid Caliphate can prepare in advance!
Suddenly, Saleh, the enemy commander who had been despondent, was filled with a strong will to survive.
Immediately, he roused himself, mounted his horse, and issued the order: "Pass down the order that the central garrison (reserve force) must, at all costs, hold off the enemy cavalry charge!"
"Personnel guards, retreat with me, quickly!"
"retreat--"
Before he finished speaking, the enemy commander Saleh spurred his horse and galloped away in the direction he had come from, fleeing without looking back.
With their commanders all fleeing first, how could the enemy soldiers, whose formation had already been disrupted, possibly have any fighting power left? They scattered like birds and beasts in an instant.
The saying "a defeated army collapses like a mountain" perfectly describes the state of the enemy reinforcements outside Suifeng Fort at this moment.
Everywhere were Persian cavalrymen fleeing for their lives, everywhere were ownerless warhorses neighing, and everywhere were the corpses of enemy soldiers cut down from their horses.
"The enemy commander is trying to escape! Brothers, give chase!"
"Men, seize the enemy commander's banner!"
"Kill them!"
However, the Tang cavalry, who were in the midst of a fierce battle, could not possibly give up such an opportunity to strike a defeated enemy. They immediately spurred their horses and pursued the fleeing enemy general, Saleh, giving him no chance to escape.
Finally, after pursuing for dozens of miles, a small squad of Tang cavalry caught up with the enemy commander Saleh, who was fleeing for his life, and killed him with a single arrow.
Even on his deathbed, Saleh refused to close his eyes, seemingly worried about the future of the Abbasid Caliphate!
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