Just as Li Xiang was enjoying his life, General Molen's army had already entered the Pamir Mountains area.
General Moren led his 28,000 Gaochang soldiers and 2,000 Tang Dynasty artillerymen and attacked aggressively, destroying two small countries along the way.
Neither of these two small countries attended the Protectorate Conference. Since you have already made your attitude clear, there is nothing more to say. My Tang Dynasty court is definitely not famous for nothing. You dare to rebel so blatantly. If we don't destroy you, we will have no reputation in the Western Regions in the future.
"What's ahead?"
General Moren was already wearing the armor of the Tang Dynasty, and all of his men, including his subordinates, were armed according to the Tang Dynasty's customs.
"Report to the general, the city of Julan is just ahead."
His men had already found out clearly that in addition to the troops brought from Gaochang, the countries in the Western Regions also sent more than 10,000 vassal troops. The main task of their army was not to fight, but to find out the surrounding situation clearly. After all, it was more than a thousand kilometers from Gaochang to here.
"Prepare for battle, call in the Tang Dynasty artillery."
General Moren has issued the order. There is nothing more to say now. As long as the cities we pass by along the way do not attend the alliance meeting, they are equivalent to betraying the Tang Dynasty, and we can just take them down directly.
This is also the order issued by General Cheng Chumo. Now General Cheng Chumo is the highest military commander in the Western Regions. Since he has said so, we just need to do it honestly.
Moreover, the battle was very easy along the way. As long as the Tang Dynasty artillery team bombarded them for a while, the combat effectiveness of the other side would be reduced by more than half immediately. Many soldiers even surrendered directly, and we took advantage of the opportunity.
So when encountering a city like this, General Moren didn't even bother trying to persuade them to surrender. Why waste that time? Even after trying to persuade them, there were still many conditions that couldn't be agreed upon. So he simply fought directly. It would only take two or three hours anyway, so he could rest in this city tonight.
The leading general of the Tang Dynasty artillery team was Li Chengyi.
This person is also a member of the Li royal family, but he is from a more remote area. He has the same ancestor as Li Shimin, but they are very distant relatives, so he does not have any title. However, because he is related to the Li royal family, if he wants to make a future in the army, it is still much better than ordinary people. After all, they are of the same clan and ancestor.
If he hadn't led the team, how could General Moren, the commander-in-chief of this Western Expedition, have even asked for permission?
"All troops, prepare."
After receiving the order, dozens of observers rushed out on horseback. They had to find a good artillery position for our artillery team and wait until our artillery was set up, and then they would obey General Moren's orders at any time.
"General, it seems someone has come out..."
One of General Moren's men was very sharp-eyed. When they were less than ten miles away from the city, they saw people coming out from a distance. It was obvious that they were not there to fight, and there were only a dozen people.
They had encountered such things along the way. When they heard that the Tang Dynasty Heavenly Army was coming, many people did not dare to resist. However, because of what they had done before, they did not want to fall into the hands of the Tang Dynasty army, so they fled directly.
The remaining people in the city were unwilling to sit and wait for death, so when the Tang army arrived, they immediately found some prestigious people to surrender on behalf of the entire city to avoid disaster.
"Looks like we can avoid this fight again, but tell the people below to keep a close watch and make sure nothing goes wrong."
General Moren is a veteran on the battlefield. He won't trust anyone until he sees your armed men lay down their weapons. How many times have he encountered such things as a few people running out to surrender, and then they start fighting as soon as you approach?
Sure enough, they came out to surrender. It turned out that they had heard about what happened along the way. Wherever the Tang army passed, they would not listen to your explanations at all. No matter what you did in the past, or for what reason, as long as you did not obey the call of the Protectorate, General Moren would destroy you. That's why the administrator of this city ran away yesterday.
"How many troops are still in the city?"
General Moren looked at the old man in front of him with pride. This man should be a famous person in the city, otherwise he would not be elected as a representative. After the original leader ran away, each city would look for some famous people.
"General, we still have over 2,000 soldiers, all of them old, weak, sick, and disabled. Otherwise, they would have been taken away yesterday. Without your order, they dare not leave rashly. The city is already waiting near the city gate. It is entirely up to you, General, to decide."
The old man was also trembling with fear, but if he didn't come over, the Tang Dynasty artillery would probably open fire. Once a fight broke out, the entire city would be devastated.
"Then go back and tell them to line up outside the South Gate inside the city. Everyone else should stay home and not come out without orders. We will register the entire city's population, and only after the registration is completed can we restore normal order in the city."
Coming from the east, they conquered countless cities along the way. It has become a habit for them, so there is no need for others to say much. They just follow the procedure.
"I'll be there soon..."
The old man breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. They were all ordinary people and did not understand some political matters. Although their former king had betrayed the Tang Dynasty, the people in the city had no other ideas.
Of course, we cannot draw a conclusion about the situation now. We have to wait until we enter the city and conduct a thorough investigation. Seeing the army coming out of the city, the Tang Dynasty artillery team did not deploy it.
The countries in the Western Regions were like a pile of loose sand. Although some people were dissatisfied with the Tang Dynasty, no matter how dissatisfied they were, they did not dare to raise the banner of resistance for fear of being directly destroyed by the Tang Dynasty.
Although the Arab Empire has come to take the lead now, its influence on the Western Regions is still not great. General Moren also understands Li Xiang's meaning. The reason why he asked him to lead his troops westward so quickly is to nip in all the signs under such circumstances and not let the Arab Empire's ideas invade. At that time, it would be a difficult task for the Tang army.
"Enter the city."
At General Moren's command, five hundred selected cavalrymen rushed forward directly. They would first conduct a survey of the entire city.
