Chapter 5147 Hesitation

Chapter 5147 Hesitation
Yezid was very angry. The delay in the arrival of reinforcements from various tribes had led to the current situation. However, if he did not wait for the reinforcements from these tribes, he had no confidence in being able to capture Suiye City in one fell swoop. He was timid and indecisive, and the good situation was lost overnight.

He had made up his mind that if those tribes still had not arrived by the day of his ultimatum, then no matter what the outcome of the battle was, he would hold them accountable one by one after returning to Damascus.

Maslama received continuous orders from Yazid, ordering him to hold his position strictly, block the Tang army north of Yaosha River, wait for the arrival of reinforcements from various directions, and then counterattack, defeat the Tang army in one fell swoop and capture Suiye City.

The Yaosha River originates from the Tianshan Mountains and converges with many tributaries when it flows into the Fergana Valley. The water level rises greatly and flows westward in a mighty manner. However, after merging with the Chirchik River, there are no more large tributaries. The places it passes through are all densely populated areas. The riverbed is reclaimed and water is diverted for irrigation, which has caused the river flow to drop sharply.

Near Kesan City, the river channel is deep, with riverbeds on both sides formed by years of erosion. The height difference is more than ten feet, and the terrain is dangerous, making it extremely difficult to cross the river.

Maslama placed his camp on the north bank of the Yaosha River, with the flat grassland on the southern foot of the Alatau Mountains in front of him. It was a "back-to-the-river battle". Once the camp was breached head-on, there would be no escape or retreat...

But Maslama had no choice. Who could have expected that Amir would attack the city of Hengrus and lose it again, and be defeated so badly and so quickly?
If they were not blocked on the north bank of the Yaosha River, the Tang army, with the momentum of a great victory and high morale, would surge in. The Yaosha River would not be able to stop the Tang army. By the time the Tang army successfully crossed the river and attacked Kesan City, the Arab army would probably collapse across the board...

Maslama was very nervous, for he knew that the vanguard of the Tang army this time was the famous general of the Anxi army, Xue Rengui, who was valiant and good at fighting, and the bravest of the three armies. The troops under his command were the elite among the elite of the Anxi army, so he did not dare to be careless at all.

However, when he resisted the pressure and prepared for battle, he found that the Tang army had chased the defeated soldiers all the way to a place 50 miles away from Yaosha River, and suddenly set up camp. Instead of taking advantage of the situation to attack, they took a defensive stance...

The Tang army could not have been unaware that the reason why the Arab army had not launched a general attack was that they were waiting for the arrival of reinforcements from various tribes. Delaying time was beneficial to the Arab army. The Tang army had prepared for this war for a whole winter, and all their potential had been stimulated. There was no possibility that they would have reinforcements.

So what is the Tang army waiting for?
Instead of feeling relieved, Masrama became more anxious.

……

Yezid and Auf were also anxious.

"What are the Tang army waiting for? Waiting for our reinforcements to arrive one by one, and then they want to defeat us in one fell swoop and achieve their goal in one battle?"

Yazid could not guess the Tang army's intentions.

Auf stroked his beard and frowned, "Although I don't know what the Tang army is waiting for, they must be waiting for an unexpected event. Although Amir was defeated, we still have the upper hand in terms of military strength. If the situation continues to develop like this, it will be disadvantageous to the Tang army. Only an unexpected event can help them turn defeat into victory."

Yezid certainly understood this: "But what kind of 'accident' are they waiting for?"

Auf said: "Perhaps our troops will rebel."

Yazid was shocked: "Who would rebel? The power of the Caliph is supreme. Whoever dares to rebel will be exterminated!"

He suddenly thought of someone: "Could it be Ashina Helu?"

As the most powerful person in the contemporary Turkic tribe, Ashina Helu lost his old nest, Mohe City, and then traveled thousands of miles to seek refuge, but he only had troops under his command and no family...

Even though everything seems so reasonable, it is indeed hard to believe.

Ao Fu still frowned: "Even if Ashina Helu has ulterior motives, what can he do with A Luohan holding him back?"

Yazid slapped the table and said, "You can't completely believe Arohan! We destroyed Persia and killed countless Persians. Arohan surrendered to protect the Persian royal family. His heart must be full of hatred. Maybe he and Ashina Helu would hit it off!"

Ao Fu was troubled. "Even so, we can't send another troop to monitor them, right? Besides, not only Ashina Helu and A Luohan are suspicious, but also 30 to 40 percent of the generals in our army are suspicious!"

The national policy of the Arabs was "conquest" and "annexation". The vast territory was conquered, and the millions of troops were also annexed. Every conquered country and annexed tribe had a blood feud with the Arabs. If we really doubt them for this reason, there are too many suspicious people.

We can't send soldiers to monitor them one by one, right?
How can we fight the war then?

Ye Qide thought for a moment and said, "Let's ignore the suspicion of others for now, but Tuozhex City is very important strategically. If these two people really rebel, they can quickly attack the rear of Kesan City. Then the Tang army will break through Yaoshashui from the front. We will be attacked from both sides and the situation will be very bad! Even if we have to divide our troops, we must stop it! So, send an army to monitor Tuozhex City, and then I will call Ashina Helu and A Luohan over. If they come, arrest them immediately and make arrangements after the war. If they don't come, launch an attack immediately and annihilate their troops!"

Auf nodded in agreement: "Yes!"

He immediately selected a trusted general, Muslim, to lead 20,000 elite cavalry to Tuozhe City, holding the seal and military order of Yezid, and ordered A Luohan and Ashina Helu to go to Kesan City alone, and the defense of Tuozhe City was handed over to Muslim...

……

Inside Tuozhe City, Ashina Helu and A Luohan sat opposite each other, looking at the military orders on the table in front of them, silent.

After a while, Ashina Helu angrily slammed the table and said angrily: "Xue Rengui has only a reputation for nothing, and he is extremely stupid! He confronted Maslama on the north bank of Yaosha River, and watched the good situation without making any progress. Isn't it obvious that they have internal problems? Now, we haven't even started, but Yazid suspects us, and he has sent troops and issued military orders. How should we deal with it?"

A Luohan hesitated for a moment and said, "Perhaps this is what Xue Rengui did on purpose?"

Ashina Heluqi asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Although we have agreed to start an uprising in Tuozhe City, the Tang people may not be completely confident in us. After all, if we are not stirring up trouble behind the Arabs, the Tang army will suffer heavy losses regardless of victory or defeat in a head-on confrontation with the Arabs, and that is not what the Tang army wants. Xue Rengui wants to force us to make a clear decision so that he dares to go all out to attack Kesan City."

Ah Luohan drank the wine and said, "Xue Rengui may seem brave, but he is actually cautious. He will not allow a situation where we are reluctant to take action when the Tang army launches a massive attack."

Regardless of whether the two of them temporarily betrayed the Tang Dynasty or were unwilling to go all out in order to preserve their strength, it would be a major setback for the Tang army, which would force the Tang army to engage in a head-on battle with the Arab army, a situation that the Tang army tried its best to avoid.

Ashina Helu suddenly realized: "To win by the right means and to win by the unexpected means is indeed in line with the art of war."

A Luohan had never come across the Great Tang Military Strategy, so he asked curiously, "What does this mean?"

Ashina Helu then explained this sentence.

Ah Luo praised: "It is indeed insightful! Just six Chinese characters express the essence of the art of war. The Tang people are really amazing!"

Ashina Helu was speechless: "Now is not the time to discuss the art of war. If the prince is interested in it, he can go to the Zhenguan Academy in the Tang Dynasty in the future. There is the most systematic education in the art of war. Although foreigners are not allowed to study there, the prince may be given a break based on his military merits in this battle... Now we have to decide what we should do!"

"Let's do nothing but wait."

"Wait for the Tang army to arrive?"

"That's right. Since Xue Rengui doesn't trust us, he will definitely send someone to take over the command of Tuozhe City. We just need to wait and obey his orders when the time comes."

"What about the Arab army outside the city?"

A Luohan was confident: "Ye Qide suspected us because, firstly, Tuozhexhe City is strategically important and cannot be lost, and secondly, we are not his direct descendants... But among the more than 100,000 troops of the Arabs, 30% or 40% are surrendered generals like us. He can't just wipe them out because of suspicion, right? Then there is no need to fight the Tang army, the Arabs will collapse first."

"So you think this Arab army is just bluffing, in order to force us to obey orders and go to Kesan City?"

"That's right! If we stay here and refuse to obey his orders, he won't be able to do anything to us. But if we go to Kesan City, that would be a disaster."

Ashina Helu thought about it and agreed.

As a result, the gates of Tuozhe City were tightly closed and the defenses were strengthened, and the so-called military orders were ignored...

Outside the city, Musrimu was running around in a panic. Doesn’t Tuozhecheng’s behavior prove that the Marshal’s guess was correct?
Ashina Helu and A Luohan, these two people have rebellious hearts and want to rebel!
Of course, Muslimu did not dare to launch an attack on Tuozhe City immediately. Not to mention that he did not have the authority to attack, even if he did, he could not attack rashly.

Arohan was a Persian prince. After the fall of Persia, he led the last of the "Immortal Army" in a fierce battle with Amir, forcing the enemy country to agree to his conditions of preserving the Persian royal family, and only then did he surrender.

The troops under Ashina Helu were the elite among the elite. They had traveled thousands of miles with him to Tuozhe City. Although they were exhausted and wounded, they had fully recovered their combat effectiveness after a period of rest. How could they be underestimated? Although they might not be as good as the invincible "Tiger Division" around the Turkic Khan, they were not much different!

Although there were only more than 10,000 soldiers in Tuoze City, Muslim did not dare to attack rashly. He could only take strict precautions while sending someone to send a letter to Yazid to ask for countermeasures.

When Yezid and Auf received the message, they were shocked.

Aofu said: "These two people have obviously rebelled. We must not tolerate them. The commander-in-chief should mobilize the army to surround them!"

Ye Qide was hesitant: "Perhaps they have no intention of rebellion, but just dare not come to the city. If we send a large army to surround them, won't it force them to rebel? Besides, our troops don't have the confidence to defeat the Tang army. If we divide our troops again, the gains will outweigh the losses!"