The Tang Dynasty army has always had a fine tradition that everyone must have the opportunity to lead troops. Of course, this does not mean that this opportunity will be given to you casually. You must win the respect of others. It is not so easy to win the respect of others in the army.
Although Qu Tushou had no military achievements, he had already won the respect of some people with the title of "Martial Champion". Moreover, on the way to the northwest with his troops, he also wiped out a group of bandits. In addition, after observing him for a few days, it was found that he was indeed a useful person. Now he just lacked an opportunity to prove himself.
Cheng Chuliang and Li Chengyi also discussed this matter and decided that he must be given a chance. As for General Molun, he was a general of Gaochang and he didn't care about the internal affairs of the Tang Dynasty. This time he had already made a name for himself. The previous two wars were his credit, so this time it was Qu Tushou's turn. He stayed obediently by Cheng Chuliang's side and followed Cheng Chuliang to suppress the Central Army.
Qu Tushou did not give Cheng Chuliang a military order, but Cheng Chuliang understood that this guy was a man who cared about his reputation. The face of his ancestors for several lifetimes was thrown here. If he really failed this time, he would probably never be able to turn things around.
Of course, it will also have an impact on other people. Take the military commander Cheng Chuliang for example. You will definitely be charged with the crime of misjudging people. Although you have made many contributions in the Western Regions before, because of this failure, it is very likely that you will be demoted to the bottom. Even if your brother-in-law is Li Xiang, it won't work.
At dawn the next day, Qu Tushou led his troops to advance southwest. They wanted to bypass the first two waves of the Arab Empire's troops and head straight for the prince's legion.
The rest of the people immediately retreated eastward, creating an illusion to the people around them that they did not want to fight with the people of the Arab Empire, so they had to retreat eastward, which meant that they did not want this place anymore. They also spread rumors that the income around was too little. If they stayed here, the annual income would not be able to keep up with the cost of garrisoning. Wouldn't this be a waste of money for the Tang Dynasty?
So in this situation, the Tang army was ready to abandon this place as a whole and retreat to Shule State with the troops.
Of course, some people say that this is fake and it may be a retreat to advance, but many people also know Datang’s operating policy. Costs must be controlled. If the cost is exceeded, many places in Datang will not accept it.
Of course, Cheng Chuliang had no control over whether people outside believed it or not. We had already released the statement, and our army had retreated eastward. As for whether the people of the Arab Empire would be fooled, that depended on them.
As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. This means that no matter how good your plan is, if the other party has someone more capable than you, or if some information gets in the way, then you will not be able to achieve success. This is understandable.
Qu Tushou was very excited at the moment. This was the first time he brought so many troops to the battlefield, more than 40,000 people. He could hardly believe his eyes. These 40,000 people were not just fillers. There was no army from the Western Regions. They were all Tang Dynasty and Gaochang troops.
Before coming to the Western Regions, he looked down on the Gaochang army and thought that the Gaochang army was similar to those of other countries in the Western Regions and would not be able to accomplish much.
But things were different after he arrived. He was very clear about the current situation. The combat effectiveness of Gaochang's army was not weak. This could be seen from the training ground. Except that they did not have the muskets of the Tang army, other aspects were almost the same as the Tang army.
Of course, crossbows and artillery are still owned by the Tang army, and other armies are not allowed to have them. No matter how loyal you are to the Tang Dynasty, this is an insurmountable gap.
"Report to the general, the Arab army has been spotted fifty miles to our north."
On the fourth day after leaving Shiguo City, we finally discovered the Arab army. If nothing went wrong, this should be the first echelon of the Arab Empire.
"Have the brothers up there work hard and try to identify which army this is. Then, order our cavalry to speed around them and send a message to the brothers behind us."
Qu Tushou did not care about the army in the north. It was not his target. If he attacked the first echelon first, the people behind them would probably run back. Then the result of this war would be the same as the last time. Although we killed tens of thousands of their troops, for the huge Arab Empire, these few people were at most a piece of cake and were not worth taking into consideration at all.
The reason why the plan this time was so complicated was to wipe out all three batches of their troops. Only in this way can we create a void in their Anton Governor's Office and push the front line to the city of Samarkand.
The Arab army also released a lot of spies around, but they only advanced and conducted reconnaissance within twenty miles. This time they were more capable than last time and knew that the range of the Tang Dynasty's artillery was limited, so as long as they observed the area within twenty miles around, nothing would happen.
That night, they passed by the first echelon of the Arab Empire's army. The next afternoon, they discovered the second echelon of the Arab Empire. These people were huge in number, but compared with the first echelon, they were really messy. There were all kinds of mounts in the team, and a variety of military uniforms. It was obvious that they were a ragtag army from various Central Asian countries.
It was the same as the previous situation. Qu Tushou asked his men to hide as much as possible and leave after this group of people passed. The next thing they would face would be his enemies, which was what he was most interested in.
It took two full days of marching for the central echelon to reach the destination. This was the largest echelon of the Arab Empire, but also the weakest in combat effectiveness. According to the Tang soldiers, these people would be our free labor in the future, and we hoped they would surrender quickly on the battlefield.
Qu Tushou understood what they meant. The more prisoners he captured, the more money they would earn in the future. A portion of the money would be distributed equally among all the soldiers in the army. Whether he could build a new house or marry a good wife when he returned home depended on how many prisoners he captured. Their number was directly related to his future life. How could these soldiers not care?
Eight days later, we finally met the Prince's army...
