Chapter 25: Battle of Talas (Central)

As an enemy, Gu Taibai should hate Tang Rencai. He actually bowed to Gao Xianzhi and expressed his admiration for the sake of his admiration. It can be said that it is a good story.

The enemy, of course, will fight to the death on the battlefield, but when they meet, they may not be able to express their admiration. Hannibal, a famous military genius in ancient Carthage, created countless glory, but finally defeated Scipio in the battle of Zama. Several years later, the two met, but they were talking about heroes in wine and had a great time.

During the battle of Zama, Hannibal and Scipio fought in person. The two threw spears at each other and wanted to kill each other. It can be said that it was a life-and-death hatred, and they never died. The meeting was so joyful, which was already surprising. The most unexpected thing was that Hannibal had no place to settle in his later years, and it was Scipio, the former opponent who helped him. Scipio ordered a tribe to take Hannibal as a politician in the Roman Empire, so that Hannibal had a place to spend his old age.

This is a good story in Western history. Nowadays, similar stories appear under the city of Talas.

Not only did Gu Taibai and Gao Xianzhi pay tribute to each other, but even the people who collected the corpse on both sides respected three points, without blushing, and without fighting. When both sides cleared the corpse, if they cleaned up the other party's corpse, they were careful, for fear of making any mistakes.

This is amazing enough. This kind of surprise can be found in the words of Gu Taibai and Geshuhan, the main generals of both sides.

After the body was cleared, the casualties were also revealed. More than 1,700 people were killed in the Dashi area, more than 2,250 people were injured, and a total of 4,200 people were injured. However, less than 700 people were killed in the Tang army, more than 1,100 people were injured, and a total of 1,800 people were injured.

Both sides were not satisfied with such a result, very dissatisfied!

Gu Taibai stood in the room with a serious face, looked around the generals, punched the table with a heavy punch, and sighed: "I heard that the Tang army was difficult to fight for a long time, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult to fight! It is embarrassing to exchange the cost of 4,200 people for the Tang army's casualties! Since the Prophet's Recruitment, the Great Food Army has been invincible, and there has been no such casualties that have exceeded the enemy, and it is more than twice as many."

The Arab Empire began to rise from the first few tribal alliances. Wherever the army went, it was invincible and invincible, and did not encounter decent opponents. From the rise of the army in 634 AD to the culmination of 712 AD, it was the peak of the expansion of the Arab Empire. During these 78 years, the Arabs conquered the vast Middle East. The vast territory of the empire was similar to that of China in its heyday, close to 14 million square kilometers.

The territory was vast, even the Roman Empire, which the Westerners were proud of, was far inferior. The Byzantine Empire, one of the three major empires at that time, was also in a state of fear in the face of this emerging great empire. If it weren't for the "Greek Fire", the Byzantine Empire would have destroyed the Arab Empire.

In the past eighty years of war, the Arab Empire has never encountered a decent opponent, and no opponent can make them lose at a price twice as high as their opponents. This is a shame!

Gu Taibai fought for his life and expanded the jurisdiction of Khurashan several times. He had never encountered such a tough opponent, and had never fought such a high price. He couldn't do it if he was not angry!

After returning to his energy, Gu Taibai's mind is still good: "This is a strong opponent! A rival worthy of respect!"

Just as he sighed, Geshuhan was also sighing. The generals stood in Geshuhan's tent. This was a victory, but no one was a little happy, which was almost like a defeat.

"I really didn't expect that the Dashi army was so difficult to fight!" Ge Shuhan sighed and said, "Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there have been defeats, but there have been no such cowardice in the victory. We only exchanged 1,800 casualties for Dashi, cowardice!"

In the past century, the Tang Dynasty has been invading wars and destroyed dozens of countries. All the surrounding ethnic minorities trembled in front of the Tang army. Even the powerful Turks were destroyed by the Tang Dynasty in the end. Destroying the Eastern Turks and Li Jing attacked Yinshan at night, it can be said that he used tricks and had tricks.

Su Dingfang defeated the Western Turks. In the battle of Yihe, the 100,000 Western Turks surrounded more than 10,000 Su Dingfang's people, which could be said to be a stable victory. After the battle, the Western Turks suffered a great defeat. This is not the end. There were tens of thousands of beheading the Tang army alone. However, the Tang army did not make much effort, and there was no problem with casualties of one to ten.

In this battle, the Tang army's casualties ratio was only one to two. This is the first case of victory since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. In the battle of attacking and destroying Tubo, the total casualties of the Tang army were only about 20,000, but it annihilated hundreds of thousands of Tubo's troops, with the casualties ratio of one to ten.

Such a small casualty ratio has long been regarded as a defeat and a shame.

Tian Renwan sighed: "I don't know if I don't fight, I'll be shocked when I fight! If I don't fight a real battle, we still don't know that the Dashi army is so difficult to fight! This is a headache-inducing opponent, but it is also a respectable opponent!"

Not only did they have this idea, but the Tang army and the soldiers of Dashi all had this idea, which led to the scene of collecting corpses.

Gu Taibai sighed, sat down, waved his hand and said, "You all sit."

The generals sat down, and a general frowned and said, "Sir, what should we do? The Tang army is difficult to fight, so it is better to report to Mr. Hacha and wait for the decision to be taken."

Hacha was only a god in the minds of the generals. Whenever they encountered difficulties, the generals would think of him. This immediately received a response from the generals: "Yes, sir!"

Gu Taibai shook his head and said, "No need! The Tang army is difficult to fight, but it is not impossible to fight. Tomorrow, we will mobilize the main force and fight a good battle with them. If we cannot win, we will stick to Talas. In the words of the Tang people, the Tang army is busy to attack the distance, and the soldiers are tired, so it is not suitable to fight for a long time. If they delay for a month or two, they will naturally retreat."

He had long wanted to set foot on China's territory and had a deep study of Chinese literary Chinese. He was inferior to Hacha, and he was still a "sinologist" with good attainment.

"Sir, since that's the case, why don't we stand firm and wait for Lord Hacha's reinforcements? If we go out of the city to fight, our fortifications will be useless." The general was very surprised.

"I'm not willing!" Gu Taibai's answer was very straightforward, but it was the voice of the generals.

Although today's battle was a test, it exposed the amazing combat power of the Tang army. If they just huddled in the city, they would be really unwilling to accept it, and the generals couldn't help but remain silent.

Not only were they unwilling to accept it, but even Geshuhan and the others were not willing to accept it, and they also wanted to fight another battle outside the city. Both sides actually thought of going together.

The next day, shortly after dawn, the main forces of both sides appeared outside the city and prepared to fight a good battle.

The Tang army was dispatched in all directions, forming square formations, with certain gaps between each square formation, and guarding them with cavalry. This is the "front arrow formation".

The so-called front arrow formation is a heavy infantry holding a Mo sword in front, crossbows and archers provide support behind, and cavalry guards on both wings are guarded. This is a common formation used by the Tang army in field battles.

Yesterday's battle was very cowardly, and they all held back their resentment and wanted to go out today. Tang Jun's eyes were filled with flames and a fierce fighting spirit.

Similarly, the Dashi Army was also full of fighting spirit and resentment, so I wanted to get it back today.

At the city of Talas, the two sides invested nearly 300,000 main army to fight. This is the first decisive battle between a great empire with thousands of years of civilization history and a newly emerging empire, which is worth looking forward to!

The significance of this battle is very important! In history, Gao Xianzhi failed to attack Talas, and the Tang Dynasty's expansion to the west was hindered by this city. And history has come back. If the Tang army wins, the Tang Dynasty's progress in the west will be unstoppable, and Chinese civilization will spread far and wide to foreign lands.

During the Tang Dynasty, the influence of Chinese civilization in the Middle East was unparalleled and could be called a golden age. It was precisely because of the failure of the Battle of Talas that Chinese civilization could no longer affect the Middle East and was replaced by Islamic civilization.

The sun shines brightly and the warm sunshine spreads on hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides. This is a good weather. However, the good weather will be replaced by bloody storms!

Gu Taibai rode on the Shenjun war horse and looked at the Tang army's formation and said, "Concentrate the main force, fight me where to fight the Han army. The Huer army and other vassal states' army sent people to watch over it, and it does not constitute a threat."

Although the Tang army had nominal 140,000, only 40,000 Han troops could pose a threat to Gu Taibai. As for the Huer Army who was the thunder cavalry, Gu Taibai didn't care about it. Other vassal armies were even more vulnerable.

Gu Taibai had a unique vision and found the key points of the Tang army at a glance. As long as the 40,000 Han troops were defeated, the Tang army would no longer exist, and the battle was basically over.

Of course, Gu Taibai also knew that he was looking for a tough guy to chew. Yesterday, he fought one-on-one, but the result was that the Tang army had the upper hand. Today, if he wanted to destroy the Han army, it would be impossible not to concentrate all his strength, so he had this order.

"Woooo!" The sound of a trumpet sounded, the white eagle flag flew, and the Great Food Army burst into a shocking cry: "Allah! Allah!"

The Dashi Army is not only an elite army, but also an army with religious fanaticism!

"Rumor!" Then there was a heavy sound of footsteps. The Dashi army lined up in neat battle formations, holding shields and holding spears, and pressing towards the 40,000 Han troops.

Their eyes were filled with a fierce fighting spirit, and they shouted at Allah, with a rainbow of morale, like a god of war, fearless!

In contrast to their majestic momentum, the Han army was quiet and had no abnormal movements, as if the Dashi army that was pouring in like a tide no longer existed.

Gu Taibai saw it, his eyes were shining brightly, and he kept nodding, "Since I led the troops to fight, I have never seen an army that could be so calm in front of my army! In the words of the Tang people, this is called as stable as Mount Tai! It's amazing!"

The Arab Empire was founded because of the prophet Muhammad, whose army was religiously fanatic. In the face of this army that could conquer and fight, no army could stand calmly, even the army of the Byzantine Empire could not do it.

Over the years, only the Tang army was as stable as Mount Tai and could ignore the momentum of the Dashi Army's advance. Gu Taibai once again witnessed the extraordinary nature of the Tang army.

The shocking shouts and footsteps merged into a majestic war song, singing under the city of Talas.

The Dashi Army is getting closer and closer to the Tang army, and the Tang army's counterattack is about to begin, and Gu Taibai's pupils involuntarily narrow.

"Fuyuan Crossbow, shoot!" Gao Xianzhi waved the flag in his hand.

The crossbowmen of Fuyuan Crossbow, countless arrows with sharp roars, drew a beautiful arc, shot upwards, and flew far away. When the momentum was over, they drew an arc and fell to the head of the Dashi Army with strong wind.

This is the front arrow formation, and all the bows and crossbows are shot upwards.

The Fuyuan Crossbow has a long range and can shoot up to three hundred steps, which is 450 meters. When it falls from its head, its attack power is very terrifying. Before the arrow reaches its peak, the sound arrives, and the sharp roar sounds are all in a pan, which is very terrifying.

However, the Dashi army did not panic, reflecting their good qualities. The shields were raised and densely packed together to form a huge shield formation, trying to protect the formation.

However, this is a crossbow shot, not a person shoots arrows, but the force is too great. Furthermore, a person can only shoot a single shot, and only a few people can do it in a series of arrows. It is different to use a crossbow. Several or even dozens of shots can be shot at one time. The crossbows of the Tang army are very terrifying. The arrows shot out are not only amazingly powerful, but also because of the large number.

The dense arrows fell down, like locusts everywhere. Although the shield formation of the Dashi Army was powerful, it was powerless to encounter crossbow arrows. The force was too strong and the soldiers could not bear it. The shield could not help but tilt to the side, revealing a gap, and the crossbow arrows fell down directly, shooting and killing many people.

Even if the shield is not tilted to the side, it will be shot through. The shield will not be made of pure iron because it is too heavy. It is usually covered with a layer of iron sheet with hardwood and after some special treatment, it will be difficult to not shoot through such a powerful crossbow arrow.

After a rain of arrows, the Dashi army suffered a lot of casualties and the formation was chaotic. Fortunately, this was an army that was good at fighting. The chaos lasted for a very short time and returned to normal, and the gap was blocked.

The general of the Great Food saw this scene and couldn't help but change his color. Since the prophet's rebellion, this army has not suffered so many casualties in the enemy's rain of arrows, let alone still one mile away from the Tang army.

It can be imagined that the more forward they move, the more dense the crossbow arrows of the Tang army will be, and the more they will be killed. How much combat power can they have when they pass through the rain of arrows of the Tang army and rush to the Tang army?

Gu Taibai was also sucking coldly, but now he is a powerful driver and can only fight. Gu Taibai sighed very much, "I heard that the crossbows of the Tang army are very powerful for a long time, so it is true. If we have such powerful weapons, what can Byzantine be considered?"

War is not just a contest between the army, but also a collision of civilization and technology. After nearly eighty years of war, although the Arab Empire conquered the territory that the Roman Empire was not as good as it was, it was far from the Tang Dynasty in terms of civilization and technology.

After all, China has been established for thousands of years, with a long civilization and a developed technology, so it is not comparable to the emerging Arab Empire. At that time, the Arab Empire could not even make paper, but it captured Tang army prisoners in the Battle of Talas, learned papermaking from Tang army prisoners, and established papermaking workshops.

Then, papermaking was introduced from the Arab Empire to the West.

Like Tubo, the Arab Empire was far behind in ironmaking. The iron they produced was far from meeting the needs. The army's armor was much inferior to the Tang army, let alone such a powerful crossbow.

Just as Gu Taibai sighed, the Dashi Army advanced a distance to the Tang army. Of course, every step they took had to pay a heavy price. Under the attack of the Tang army's crossbow arrows, there were more and more corpses on the ground.

When the range of the Bozhang Crossbow entered the range of the Bozhang Crossbow, the Fuyuan Crossbow shot a higher angle. With the Bozhang Crossbow, the density of the arrow rain became even greater, and the price paid by the Dashi army was even heavier.

When they rushed forward, they reached the range of the horn crossbow, and the rain of arrows became more dense. When they rushed to the range of the single crossbow, the rain of arrows was more dense. Finally, the archers of the Tang army shot upward, was it too much to say?

At this time, the Dashi Army suffered many casualties after the Tang army's rounds of arrow rains, and there were many corpses on the ground. I don't know how many of them were. Their formation was already scattered and the army was no longer in order.

At this moment, the deadly rain of arrows finally stopped, and the surviving Dashi soldier exclaimed, "Allah bless us!"

After all, the Dashi Army was one of the most war-going troops in the world at that time. It reacted very quickly. In just a moment, the team was reorganized and it was no longer so messy, and the gap was filled.

Holding a shield and a spear, people lined up in straight lines, like a smooth water line, rushing towards the Tang army.

Suddenly, the bright light in front of them was as if mirrors were reflecting. The heavy infantry of the Tang army moved. They held the Mo sword and greeted them. The Mo sword in their hands was raised high, and when they approached the Dashi soldiers, they slashed them hard.

Countless Mo knives slashed down at the same time, as if a huge mirror was reflecting, and the dazzling light was striking. When the light flashed by, the neat formation of the Dashi army and the strict shield formation no longer existed.

There are only minced meat, broken shields, and abandoned spears on the ground!

Of course, there is also flowing blood!

The Tang army's Mo sword was the "trump card" of the Tang army. Countless tall and extremely powerful Tang army was wearing armor and carrying the Mo sword forward, like a moving wall. When they approached the enemy, the Mo swords held high in their hands fell down together. Not to mention the shield formation of the Dashi Army, even a copper wall could not stand it.

Rushing to the enemy, covering it with a shield, stabbing it with a spear, and then slashing it with a scimitar. This is a common tactic of the Dashi Army, and it is unsatisfactory. However, their shields are vulnerable in front of Modao, like a piece of paper, broken with one blow.

Before the big food soldier could understand, he chopped the Mo Dao into minced meat!

In history, it was precisely with the huge lethal crossbow arrows and Modao that Gao Xianzhi fought against the Great Cannibal for five days and five nights in Talas, and repelled the Great Cannibal seven large-scale attacks by the Great Cannibal army.

The surviving soldiers finally understood that despite their courage and despite their many battles, they had never encountered this kind of fighting style. They were at a loss first, and then turned around and ran away.

However, the Tang army's archers began to shoot arrows, and dense rain of arrows fell from the sky, shooting many big-food soldiers. At this time, the big-food soldiers had long lost the momentum of charging, and could only give them the only way to shoot.

For the great-food soldiers at this time, even if the prophet Muhammad is resurrected, they cannot be allowed to develop the will to resist. They cannot be blamed for being timid. Mo Dao is too powerful. Whether it is an individual or a whole, they will finish playing with Mo Dao!
Chapter completed!