Chapter 5170 The troops are divided into two groups

Chapter 5170 The troops are divided into two groups
The armored cavalry, led by Wang Xiaojie, seized the beachhead, then held their ground and slowly counterattacked, buying time and space for the follow-up troops to cross the river. This time, the Tang army abandoned the previous "flying kite" style of fighting, but met on a narrow road, engaged in close combat, and fought head-on.

The results show that in today's world, in terms of "hardness", no army is tougher than the armored cavalry...

Aou led tens of thousands of troops out of the city, trying to destroy the pontoon bridge and prevent the Tang army from crossing the river, but he was defeated and his entire army was routed under the fierce attack of hundreds of armored cavalry.

The last bit of the Arab army's spirit was crushed.

Before, they could still complain about the unparalleled power and irresistibility of Tang army's firearms, and their cheating tactics, and they hoped to turn defeat into victory and wash away the shame in a fair battle... This battle on the river bank made the Arab army clearly realize the fact that the Tang army had completely crushed them in terms of strategy, tactics, and tactics.

No matter how large and powerful the Arab army was, there was absolutely no chance of them winning.

If that’s the case, then why fight?

Run away...

The defeated Arab army fled from east to west along the river bank like a broken dam, all the way back to Aludi City, hoping to enter the city to escape the pursuit of the Tang army. However, when they arrived at the city, they found that the city gates were closed, and there were fireworks and fighting in the city. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what was going on.

But they couldn't continue to flee. Without food and fodder, where could they escape to?
Fortunately, after a while, the city gate opened, and the fully armed Yezide led the troops in the city out in a line, forming an array outside the city, with the momentum to fight to the death with the Tang army. These defeated soldiers had to calm down temporarily under the threat of the supervisory team, and were unwillingly incorporated into the array, but they had no intention of fighting to the death, and just waited for the battle situation to be unfavorable before dispersing...

Auf rushed to the front of the battle. Seeing that Yezid had gathered all his troops and deployed them, he became anxious. He rode his horse to Yezid, pulled him aside, and asked in a low voice, "What is the purpose of this, Marshal?"

Ye Qide said: "The Tang army attacked hastily, with insufficient manpower and exhausted soldiers and horses. We can rely on the strong city and wait for the enemy to tire. We may not be unable to fight!"

Auf had a blank expression on his face: "Does the Marshal really think so?"

"Cough cough!"

Yazid coughed twice, feeling embarrassed. "We have almost put all our national strength into this battle. Not only have tens of thousands of soldiers from various tribes died or fled, but we have also had more than 100,000 elite troops under the Caliph! If we don't even win a single battle, how can we explain to the Caliph when we return to Damascus? I never expected to defeat the Tang army, but the current situation is in our favor. As long as we hold on to Aludy City for even one day, we can say that 'the situation is stalemate and the Tang army relies on the advantage of firearms', and we will be less punished in front of the Caliph at that time."

Auf was helpless with a military idiot, and advised: "I know what the commander is thinking, and I am also afraid of being punished by the Caliph after returning! But is it the right time now? The Tang army has completed crossing the river. What we are facing next is not only the frontal charge of the armored cavalry. It is not certain whether we can stop them. If the Tang army's light cavalry bypasses the south of the city and goes west to cut off our retreat, then our entire army will be destroyed here!"

Yezid finally realized what was happening and was horrified: "Then let's retreat immediately!"

Auf sighed, extremely disappointed with the heir to the empire: "Marshal, please lead the main force ahead. Please assign 10,000 elite troops to me. I will stay behind."

Even if they wanted to retreat, it would be impossible to give an order suddenly and have the entire army retreat all at once. An army of tens of thousands of people would easily fall into chaos. If the Tang army charged again, the retreat would turn into a rout. Wouldn't that mean they would be left to the Tang army to chase and kill them?

The best strategy is to plan in an orderly manner and retreat without chaos.

This time, he was repaying the Caliph for his kindness. He risked his life and fought in desperate situations, even if he died here.

However, even though he was determined to die, he was unwilling to take his own people and warriors with him to die. Instead, he asked Yazid to allocate the elite troops belonging to the Caliph's family.

Ye Qide was not stupid. He immediately understood what Aofu meant. He was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. He held Aofu's hand tightly and choked up, saying, "I will remember your love and care for you! I will definitely take care of your tribe in the future, and I will treat your son as my own!"

Auf: "..."

Although it's extremely risky to stay behind to cover the rear, you can't curse me to death, right?
You have to say something auspicious!

"Now is not the time to let your emotions get the better of you. Marshal, you should lead the main force to retreat quickly! Retreat directly to Alanmi City without stopping. Do not believe any promises from the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu and strengthen your defenses. After reaching Alanmi City, stay for a while and rest the troops. Regardless of whether I can escape the pursuit of the Tang army, I will stay for three days and immediately cross the Wuhu River to station in Mulu!"

Alanmi City is the capital of Anguo, close to the Wuhu River.

The Hezhong area is where the Nine Zhaowu States are entrenched. These countries, which were driven here by the Xiongnu in the past, all have close ties with the Han people. They usually waver in their pursuit of interests. But at this moment, the Tang Dynasty is so powerful and its military is at its peak that it is hard to guarantee that they will all turn to the Tang Dynasty and take the heads of the Arabs as a token of their surrender.

Yezid was truly moved. He held Auf's hand for a long time and was speechless. Only after Auf's repeated urging did he lead tens of thousands of main forces to retreat westwards, looking back every few steps.

Before the main force had gone far, the sound of hooves could be heard and the armored cavalry were already charging towards them!

Auf immediately ordered the entire army to withdraw into the city!
He was willing to help Yezid cover the rear, but that did not mean he was willing to fight a field battle with the Tang army outside the city. The Tang army was composed of cavalry, who were good at field battles and pursuits, but not good at attacking cities. If they stayed in the city, they still had a chance to break out, but if they stayed outside the city and fought in the field, they would be dead for sure.

The armored cavalry suddenly arrived and launched an attack without stopping. The Arab army collapsed instantly and rushed into the city crying and shouting.

Auf, who had retreated into the city first, saw that many fires had broken out in the city. Many soldiers who had not followed Yazid in his retreat were burning, killing, looting, raping and pillaging, making the entire city a mess and chaos. He was so angry that his face turned blue.

He did not think that this was revenge for Kangguo's betrayal. It was obvious that Yezid had long been planning to indulge his troops. Now he took advantage of the fact that Tong'e and his son had helped the Tang army cross the river to massacre and plunder the city of Aludi...

"Pass on my military order. Everyone must strictly abide by military discipline and immediately rush to the nearest city wall to participate in the defense. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!"

It wasn't that he had any sympathy for the people of Kangguo, but he wanted to gather every bit of his strength to defend the city as long as possible.

He knew that Aludi City would definitely not be able to defend against the Tang army, but he still wanted to block it for Yeqide and show his last bit of loyalty...

……

Xue Rengui led his warhorse across the floating bridge and quickly came to the south bank. He stood on the river bank and watched the battle situation of the armored cavalry from afar. He ordered the cavalry to gather here. The large army on the north bank crossed the river via three floating bridges at a very fast speed. After a short while, two to three thousand people were gathered.

As the battle reports continued to come back from the front, Xue Rengui realized that the enemy was doomed to be defeated, so he immediately led these troops to Aludi City for assistance.

When he arrived at the east gate of Aludi City, he saw hundreds of armored cavalry standing in a neat formation outside the city. The bodies of the enemy soldiers were scattered all over the ground, and many of the seriously wounded were wailing...

The city of Aludi closed its gates and avoided fighting.

Xue Rengui rode forward, and Wang Xiaojie came up to him and reported: "Yezid and Maslama have led the main force to retreat eastward, and Auf stayed behind to cover the rear. They have all retreated into the city now."

Xue Rengui instantly understood Aofu's thoughts and nodded: "This guy is willing to take a huge risk to stay behind to cover the rear. He is still somewhat loyal to Ye Qide, but not much."

If they really wanted to stop the Tang army for Yezid and buy more time to escape, they should have fought bloody battles outside the city to delay the Tang army, instead of retreating hastily into the city and only using Aludi City as a strategic stronghold to contain the Tang army, so that the Tang army could not go all out to pursue Yezid...

Wang Xiaojie was not a man without strategy, and he pointed out Aofu's intention directly: "He probably hopes that we can divide our forces. As long as our main force goes to pursue Yeqid, he may lead the troops in the city to break out to the south."

Kangguo is one of the nodes on the Silk Road, with convenient transportation and well-connected roads. You can not only go west along the Sabao River through the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu to Mulu and Persia, but also go directly south across the Bosi Mountains to Tocharistan, pass through the Shi Kingdom and Mi Kingdom of the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu, and cross the Tiemen Pass to reach the bank of the Wuhu River...

Obviously, if my guess is correct, this is the path that Auf chose.

Xue Rengui hesitated for a moment, then made a decision: "I will assign you 2,000 light cavalry and 500 heavy cavalry to surround and guard Aludi City. If Aofu breaks out of the city, do not fight him head-on. Let him break out to the south, and you will lead your troops to chase him. You can still use the 'kite-flying' tactic to chase him, but you must annihilate him before he enters Tiemenguan."

Wang Xiaojie was in high spirits and responded loudly, "Yes!"

He couldn't help but be excited. It was a rare opportunity to gain the coach's trust and get the opportunity to take charge in such a big battle.

It would only take the destruction of Aofu to achieve such a feat which could not be matched by following Xue Rengui and charging into the enemy camp.

Xue Rengui continued, "I will lead the main force to pursue Yeqide. After you annihilate Aofu, move downstream along the Wuhu River and wait for an opportunity to cross the river. We will meet at Mulu."

By then, the Arab army would have no power to resist and could only flee for their lives.

Wang Xiaojie said loudly: "General, rest assured, I will be able to complete the task!"

Annihilating Auf was certainly a great achievement, but he could not slow down. He still wanted to follow Xue Rengui on a thousands-mile expedition, all the way across the desert plateau to the outskirts of Damascus!

Whether it was sealing the Wolf's Lair or engraving a stone on Yanran Mountain, these were the highest honors for a soldier. However, throughout history, no one in the Chinese dynasties had ever been able to march to Damascus.

If this achievement can be achieved, it will be unprecedented and will be remembered forever.