Li Xiang also felt that this was a rare opportunity, so he brought 20,000 troops first, arranged Changsun Ze in the rear, and asked him to bring the remaining troops. Of course, not many troops were dispatched this time, only 50,000 troops, plus the troops in Su Dingfang and Cheng Chuliang's hands, a total of only 70,000 troops.
Li Xiang had come to a conclusion. This time, we weren't going to seize territory or capture prisoners. The most important thing was to annihilate the Arab Empire's manpower. These 70,000 men were more than enough. As long as we could crush their military might, why would we need to worry about future territory? Besides, the Arab Empire's territory was useless now; it was nothing but desert and Gobi.
Of course, it will be very useful in the future. There is a large amount of black gold underneath. If we turn this place into the inherent territory of the Chinese nation now, then our people will be able to enjoy oil at two yuan per liter in the future. At that time, we will not have to envy these Arabs, and they will be able to help us extract oil.
Of course, there was no point in saying this. At least the people present didn't know what Li Xiang was thinking. They were all competitive and had only one idea in their heads: there was only one great empire in the world, and that was the Tang Empire. Anyone who dared to compete with us, we had to find a way to suppress them and we could never allow them to rise up like this.
"Your Highness, this journey doesn't seem to be going smoothly?"
When Su Lingfang welcomed Li Xiang in, he found that they were all dusty and covered in sand. Only people who had been here for a long time would understand that this was all because of the sandstorm. If there had not been a sandstorm, it would never have been like this.
"It went smoothly, but when we were almost there, a huge sandstorm blew in. Luckily, our crew was pretty good, and only about 80 people were injured. If we hadn't been trained, I estimate we would have lost nearly half of our men in that sandstorm."
What Li Xiang said was the truth. In a desert area like this, the biggest enemy is not the people of the Arab Empire, but the sandstorm. When the biggest sandstorm comes, the entire desert is covered with dust, and you and the people next to you cannot see anything.
After all, the Tang Dynasty army had received training. Whenever a sandstorm arose, they would immediately gather around the carriage, and then connect head to tail. Everyone would take the chain iron locks from the carriage, tie them up, and bury them in deep sand. In this way, everyone could grab these things and save their lives. If they couldn't grab them, they could only go to the sky and ride a homemade plane. When they came down, they would probably have fallen to death.
Cheng Chuliang and Su Dingfang were also sighing. They had been fighting in the desert for many days and had encountered similar sandstorms many times. When Li Xiang told them about it, these people thought it was unlikely. Now they know how terrifying this thing is. So encountering the Arab army can make them excited, but if they encounter such a terrifying desert storm, even these two people will feel scared. You know, they are not afraid of anything.
Li Xiang really wanted to tell them that the power of nature is endless, but when he thought of the many nouns involved, it would take half a day to explain them to them. So he decided not to talk about this anymore and instead talk about urgent military intelligence.
"What is the situation in the central and northern regions of the Arab Empire? Give me a detailed report. Although I have received your memorials, there are still discrepancies between them and the detailed descriptions. Including your army, we have a total of 70,000 people. Let's study how to conquer the territory. We don't want any prisoners, but we have one goal, which is to annihilate the Arab Empire's army on a large scale and strike at their vital forces."
The last time he led an army of hundreds of thousands, advancing and retreating, he spent a lot of money but did not gain much results. Although he also transported back a lot of things and people, Li Xiang also concluded that having more troops is not very useful. Anyway, our combat effectiveness is strong enough. If these 70,000 troops are gathered together, we are capable of fighting against the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Arab Empire. There is no need to pull so many people to the front line, which will cause instability in the rear.
This time, Li Xiang only brought tens of thousands of troops, which was also discussed with Xiao Shougui. What Xiao Shougui feared most was the same thing as last time. Last time, we were lucky and the elders of the tribes in the Western Regions did not dare to rebel. They were also weighing the pros and cons in their hearts, but it did not mean that they had to weigh the pros and cons this time.
Xiao Shougui already has all of the people exposed last time under his control, but the most important thing is that there are still a group that have not been exposed. How do you know what these people are planning? How can you know what they are thinking? If we don't deal with them well, we may face a huge defeat. Therefore, in this situation, the rear must not be in chaos. Li Xiang simply left the main force behind, and each unit would control each other, so as to prevent any major problems.
"I believe 70,000 troops are sufficient. When Li Chengyi defeated an army of 100,000, he only had 20,000 men. If we have 70,000 troops now, then using this ratio, even if the enemy has hundreds of thousands of men, it won't matter."
Su Dingfang said cheerfully that the battle ratio cannot be converted in this way, but in some cases, if we can calculate it accurately, it will be about the same. This time Li Xiang mainly brought gunpowder. As long as we have enough gunpowder, it will be no problem to annihilate part of their army. The target is set at 100,000 to 150,000.
Li Xiang set this goal for a reason. This goal can be easily achieved. If it is set too high, we will be trapped in the goal. The height of the goal directly determines our psychological pressure. Even if we only kill 100,000 of them, it will be very cost-effective for us. The Arab Empire will also have various unsolvable problems. Don't forget that there are so many refugees in their country.
