When the Vietnamese army learned about the Tang army's way of dealing with the situation, they were indeed a little unbearable, and even showed resistance in the prisoner-of-war camp. Our people naturally would not just watch them being whipped, so these people also knew what the situation was.
When it comes to selecting guards, Chang Sunze recruited a lot of local Han people to help. Our army is not responsible for managing these prisoners of war. The local Han people have also been bullied by these Yue and Jing people. Now we finally give you a chance to take revenge.
At the beginning, many people didn’t understand what they were doing. They thought that it was about following the Tang Dynasty army to fight. In that era, as long as there was still food to eat at home, no one would want their men to go to the battlefield. Later, they learned that they were going to the prisoner-of-war camp to watch over the prisoners and make them work honestly according to the rules.
The local Han people immediately became interested. They were a minority in the area, accounting for only about a quarter of the population, while the other two ethnic groups accounted for three quarters. Therefore, the Han people were bullied. Now they can manage these people openly, and the higher-ups don't care if they beat them a few times. Even if they are not paid, they have to do such work.
So during the recruitment work in the first two days, more than 5,000 Han people joined in quickly. Their task was to manage nearly 40,000 prisoners. Of course, this number was not fixed, and one or two thousand people would be added every day.
According to the rules of the Tang Dynasty army, one Han guard only needed to watch ten prisoners, and one Tang Dynasty soldier watched ten Han guards. In this way, one Tang Dynasty soldier could guard one hundred local prisoners. Anyway, these people had one arm tied, so there was no need to worry about them rioting.
The most important thing is that these people have come from the battlefield. They have seen the ferocity of the Tang army and now have little desire to resist. What's more, what will happen if you resist? Do you think you can escape?
The work of hunting down Wu Yuanhao has never stopped. Now Chang Sunze and Huo Qubing are almost busy as hell. They thought they could breathe a sigh of relief after taking the city, but who knew that a large amount of supplies were found inside the city. They have to deal with these supplies and at the same time guard against a counterattack by the Vietnamese army. So the two of them wished they could even take away the time to go to the toilet.
The original plan was not to continue developing southward after taking Luocheng, and now it is even more impossible to develop southward. Although many people have come to support from the country, the local area is too chaotic. The army from the north, the original Vietnamese army, the local people, and the various ethnic groups are hostile to each other. Therefore, if this area is not handled well, it is very likely to bring a huge threat to our rear in the future.
However, these problems can be solved, except for Wu Yuanhao who retreated into the mountains.
After two weeks of friction, we have basically figured out the situation in the forest. Wu Yuanhao did indeed bring a large number of troops into the forest, and they should be within a radius of fifty miles. According to the information we have, the number of people who entered should be around 20,000, and most of them are elites.
Everyone living in Vietnam knows that if you have a skill, then the old forest will be your happiest place. Once you enter, you can have whatever you want, and you don’t have to worry about threats from the government. But if you don’t have that ability, you may lose your life within a day of entering. The dangers inside can be said to be everywhere.
When Wu Yuanhao led his men in, he did not force some of them to go in because bringing too many people would become a burden. If they could not support themselves after going in, wouldn't it bring various burdens to the entire army?
So before entering the old forest, Wu Yuanhao also held a meeting with his subordinates. If you feel that you don’t have that ability, you can either continue to run south or surrender to the Tang Dynasty army. Anyway, there are other ways to go. Don’t come to harm me.
Based on the intelligence they obtained, Chang Sun Ze and Huo Qubing also knew that it would be difficult to get the 20,000 people who had gone in out. We would have to fight a long war with them in the future, and it would not be easy to get them out in a short time. Moreover, if we went in, our casualties would continue to increase.
"Reporting to the Protector General, reporting to the General, the defeated Vietnamese army attacked our troops escorting prisoners northeast of Luocheng, causing fifteen serious injuries, two minor injuries, and one death..."
While Changsun Ze and Huo Qubing were studying tactics in the tent, people outside had already brought the news of the first attack on our logistics line. After these people entered the forest, it was naturally impossible for them to stay there honestly. Their purpose was to use the forest as a base, relying on the fact that we could not get in, and then attack our military camps and transport teams everywhere. In short, they would attack wherever there was a weakness.
During the Han Dynasty, an army came here, but they were not conquered in the end. It was because your army was well-organized, while their army consisted of only dozens of people, and their troops were running around in the mountains and forests. If you wanted to catch them, it would be a bit difficult. Huo Qubing's men were already elite in mountain warfare, but even after they went in, they would probably not be their match.
"This is a bad start. Looks like we are entering a new era of combat."
Chang Sunze's face was full of bitterness. The reason he attacked the city so quickly was that he didn't want to see what happened before his eyes. He didn't expect that more than 20,000 people would still enter. Thinking about those more than 20,000 people divided into hundreds of small teams to attack our logistics line, Chang Sunze felt uncomfortable all over. The battle was obviously won, but this result was still unacceptable.
"I've calculated their combat effectiveness. If I lead my brothers in, I estimate I can defeat their main force within three months, but our casualties will be over 8,000."
Huo Qubing has been studying mountain warfare, but Li Xiang is unwilling to let them fight like this. This army is not easy to train, and it would be a pity if they were lost in the mountains and forests. This is the originator of mountain warfare in the Tang Dynasty army.
