Chapter 22: Beating the Drums (5)

It was noon, the sun at its fiercest.
Fresh red liquid seeped through the fine sand, and a putrid smell filled the air.
Several vultures circling above seized the opportunity to dive down and tear off pieces of flesh. With so many corpses in this desert, they had no need to worry about food shortages. The vultures cheerfully fluffed their black-gray feathers, picking up chunks of meat to chew and prepare for their young, who at this stage could not eat whole pieces of meat but only mushy meat already chewed by adult birds.
One life ended, another began—everything went in cycles, as if heaven never favored anyone.
Blood, bones, death…
Indeed, a massacre had just taken place here.
Lying here were cavalrymen of the Jinshan Uyghurs, as well as soldiers of the Shule Tang army. In the eyes of the vultures, they were all delicious meals—no distinction between races or statuses.
The Jinshan Uyghurs had been utterly defeated, completely and without resistance.
The tactic of encircling the enemy from three sides had proven effective in battles against grassland cavalry, allowing maximum strength when outnumbering the opponent. Yet the Uyghurs clearly underestimated the Tang army’s combat power and adaptability.
The key to this tactic was for the cavalry on the flanks to arrive at their positions in time to exert sufficient pressure, supporting the advance of the main force and disintegrating the enemy’s formation from within.
Clearly, the Uyghurs failed in two aspects. First, their flanking cavalry arrived slowly, either trapped by the Tang forces or completely defeated, failing to provide effective support to the main force. Second, the main force led by Bi Heji was delayed and suppressed by spearmen and archers, and instead of immediately defeating the Tang main force, they gave the Tang army the chance to defeat them one by one.
Ultimately, it was due to the Shule Tang army’s proactive and bold tactical adjustments.
In fact, when Li Kuo proposed the tactic of leaving the main force behind and attacking the flanks first, all the Shule generals opposed it.
It was gambling!
Not to mention that the spearmen and archers couldn’t delay the Uyghur main force for long. Even if they could hold them off for a while, they were risking their lives at the hands of their comrades. Even if their numbers were equal, how could they be sure they could quickly defeat the Uyghur cavalry on the flanks?

Of course, the decision lay in Li Kuo’s hands. He took a gamble and won. The situation on the battlefield changed in an instant, leaving no room for hesitation. Though military strategies are classic, they can be quite rigid. If one merely applies them mechanically without adapting them, they will gradually fall into a deadlock and be misled by those strategies. A general must possess the quick wits to adapt to circumstances as they arise. Seeing the eagerness of Ba Chuo’s cavalry to achieve quick success, the young man decided to attack the enemy’s left wing first. With thrown spears, scattered arrows, and traps set to catch the horses, after a series of ambushes, the morale of the Uyghur cavalry on the left wing was severely damaged. In the past, the Shule army, composed mostly of new recruits, might not have been a match for the battle-hardened Uyghurs, but now, facing the panicked Uyghurs, the Shule army had no reason to retreat! Moreover, General Li personally took charge of the crucial blocking task. A squad of 150 elite soldiers perfectly sealed off the Uyghurs’ escape routes, and with the timely attacks by the soldiers from the Yongwu and Yiwu battalions, the enemy was completely annihilated in the chaos. The battle on the Tang army’s left wing was similar to that on the right, though it took slightly more time and effort. Yet, under the leadership of Zhang Yanji and Zhou Wuzui, the Xiongwu and Zhenwu battalions also performed at a high level. As for the cavalry led by Bi Qiehe in the center, they rushed to reinforce after realizing Shule’s decoy strategy. But by then, the battles on both flanks were nearly over, and the Uyghur center force had also been severely weakened by ambushes with crossbows mounted on wooden carts. Unable to break through after prolonged fighting, Bi Qiehe could only order a retreat. Under the pursuit of Dou Qing and Li Sheng, another two hundred or so Uyghur cavalry were killed. In the end, Bi Qiehe managed to take away only a little over two thousand remaining cavalrymen. In this great battle, the Shule army beheaded more than 2,500 Uyghur cavalrymen, with 517 of their own soldiers killed—most of them from the Yongwu and Yiwu battalions, along with some from the Xiongwu and Zhenwu battalions. The Tongwu battalion suffered the fewest casualties, with only 37 dead. Worried about further complications, Li Kuo ordered his soldiers to bury their fallen comrades on the spot without lingering at the battlefield. Since both sides were cavalry forces, many unclaimed warhorses remained after the battle. Considering the exhaustion of their own horses, Li Kuo ordered his soldiers to gather these unclaimed horses for future use. After the battle, the army set off again just half an hour later. “Brother Kuo, this battle was truly fucking awesome!” Zhang Yanji said excitedly, waving his fist. Back in Chang’an, he had always heard others boast about how formidable the Uyghur cavalry was, but after actually fighting them, he found them to be nothing special!

“If it weren’t for the general’s excellent planning, we wouldn’t have won so easily.” Dou Qing was also extremely pleased. In this battle, the enemy had a clear numerical advantage, and they had only aimed to retreat unscathed. Unexpectedly, under Li Kuo’s leadership, they managed to defeat the Uyghurs utterly. “Otherwise, do you think the Uyghurs are just wooden stakes waiting for you to come and cut off their heads?” Dou Qing winked at Zhang Yanji and teased him with a smile. “I… I defeated seven Uyghur brutes in battle. Could they really all be wooden stakes?” Zhang Xiaolangjun protested, puffing out his chest. He had killed those people himself—without relying on his bodyguards! “Yes, yes, you’re a great hero!” Dou Qing joked, clasping his fists in front of Zhang Yanji. “You…” Zhang Yanji immediately turned red with shame, his attempts at showing off coming to an abrupt halt. “Hahaha, hahaha…” The generals all burst into loud laughter. They had been so tense during the previous battle; now that things had eased, how could they neglect themselves? As for Zhang Xiaolangjun, such a big guy and unable to handle a little joke? “Stop teasing him. Don’t you know he has a girly temperament?” Li Kuo said, holding the reins in one hand and turning back with a smile. “Brother Kuo!” Zhang Yanji glared at Li Kuo and turned his head in annoyance. “You kids, how can you forget Master Ni Xin, the greatbodyguard?” Zhou Wucui spoke, resting his chin in his hand, his tone deliberate, just like that of a lecturer at the imperial academy. “Hahaha, hahaha!” “With your skills, it would really be a shame not to pursue an official career.” Xianyu Yucheng laughed so hard he almost fell off his horse. Those half-baked words were truly amusing—yes, amusing! “Indeed. If it weren’t for Master Ni leading the wounded soldiers to pull the triggers of the crossbows, it would have been impossible to deal a heavy blow to the Uyghur army’s central force.” Wang Xiaochun nodded, casting an appreciative look at Ni Xin. “I deserve no such praise!” Ni Xin replied, clasping her fists. “I only did my best. If anyone deserves thanks, it’s your general!” “Mm, mm…” Wang Xiaochun felt awkward under Ni Xin’s words and scratched his head irritably. “Sigh…” Li Sheng shook his head and sighed. “Although our army won this battle, more than five hundred of our brothers died. What fault did they have?” Hearing this, the previously cheerful atmosphere instantly turned cold, and everyone lowered their heads.

Most of the fallen comrades were seriously injured in close combat with the Uyghurs and died after falling off their horses. Though everyone knew such things were inevitable in chaotic battles, it was their comrades and brothers who died—how could they not be grief-stricken?

“Damn those bastards! These Uyghurs act like sons-in-law all day long, yet they’re willing to be so cruel!”

Pu Dachui spat and complained loudly, “As the saying goes, those who are not of our race surely have different hearts. I, Pu, used to think it was just an excuse, but now it seems true!”

“Exactly. The Uyghurs submitted to the Great Tang and accepted the emperor’s title, thus replacing the Turks as the rulers of the northern deserts. Who would have thought they’d act duplicitously, targeting the Great Tang’s army?”

Dou Qing snorted in disapproval. With the Great Tang so powerful now, they dared to do such things in secret. If the Tang’s strength weakened even slightly, wouldn’t they cause chaos?

“The emperor is too lenient toward those barbarians. Everyone is equal, so do we Han people deserve to be bullied?”

Wang Xiaochun raised his eyebrows and started spouting nonsense again.

Seeing him go on unchecked, Li Kuo raised his voice to remind him, “There are also kind-hearted barbarians—don’t generalize!”

Only then did Wang Xiaochun notice Bidagan’s red cheeks and his head bowed in shame.

“Bidagan, you did well!” Li Kuo nodded slightly in approval. In this battle, Bidagan led his troops to successfully intercept the Uyghur right-wing cavalry, buying him much time. Though he had Turkic blood, he was loyal to the Great Tang. The young man didn’t want him to develop estrangement with the soldiers from Shule because of these words.

“Thank you, General!” With Li Kuo’s approval, Bidagan’s resentment vanished instantly, and he bowed in gratitude.

“Actually, it’s not certain that the Uyghurs acted on their own.”

Li Kuo frowned and analyzed carefully, “The Jinshan Grassland is at least eight hundred li away from Daze. Even if they were all cavalry, it would take them several days and nights to arrive. Besides, they have no grudges against us—why would they resort to such cruelty?”

More concerning to the young man than this ambush was the Uyghurs’ motives. As he analyzed, the Uyghurs had no quarrel with him, so there was no reason for them to deliberately antagonize the Shule army.

There were only two possible reasons for their actions. First, they relied on their numbers to seize his armor and weapons. Second, someone was manipulating the situation, trying to kill with someone else’s hand.

The former is unlikely. After all, the risks of breaking ties with the Tang Dynasty to acquire some military equipment are far from proportional to the rewards.
If it’s the latter, who is pulling the strings in secret, and who wants to doom everyone?
They can’t even imagine it!