Tibet

The Nanzhao army did not wait for the news of the Tubo army in the end, but the huge pressure brought to Yangjumie City by hundreds of thousands of people finally made the Nanzhao court unable to bear it. Under the chairmanship of Nanzhao Wang Geluofeng, the Nanzhao high-level officials held an emergency consultation. Yi Mouxun proposed a plan to take the initiative, which was unanimously approved by the military and most senior officials.

Geluofeng had no choice but to appoint Wang Sun Yi Mouxun as the commander-in-chief and lead the army of the whole country to attack Nongdong City a hundred miles away.

Nanzhao had a total of 230,000 troops. In addition to the 30,000 troops guarding the capital, the remaining 200,000 troops were handed over to Wang Sun Yi Mouxun, and there were also 30,000 war elephants.

Why did Tubo want to confer Geluofeng as Zamp Zhong? It means that Zamp brothers regard Nanzhao as a brother country of Tubo, because Nanzhao is still very powerful. It not only dominates Yunnan, but also has its sphere of influence in Myanmar to the south, which can be regarded as a medium-sized power.

The 200,000-strong army was not only composed of Nanzhao people, but also had 50,000 to 60,000 troops from various barbarian tribes. They were dressed in various styles, some wearing feathers and holding the most primitive bows and arrows. Most soldiers had no armor, and many tribal soldiers were shirtless.

30,000 war elephants were also one of the characteristics of the Nanzhao army. Now the climate is warm, Jiannan grows sugarcane and produces lychees, and the Yunnan County in the south is full of elephants. They are in groups all over Nanzhao. Elephants are very common. They have a large appetite and a variety of diets, which can balance the plants that grow rapidly in Nanzhao due to humidity and heat.

Nanzhao specially selected 30,000 strong elephants and trained them into a war elephant army, which included 20,000 elephant assault troops and 10,000 elephant cavalry troops.

The army marched for three days, and was still 30 miles away from Nongdong City. The 200,000-strong army set up a large formation and sent people to challenge the Tang army.

At this time, Li Sheng had already received the news. Of course, he would not choose to defend the city. One of the important purposes of his leading the army southward this time was to test the effect of firearms for Li Ye, and whether a small number of troops carrying powerful firearms could destroy a medium-sized country.

If the Tang army was defeated in this battle, the army could also quickly withdraw from Nanzhao, and would not repeat the complete destruction of the first and second Nanzhao wars.

The Tang army, which had rested for nearly a month, also lined up to leave the city. The 40,000 troops included 20,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. Among the 20,000 infantry, there were 10,000 spearmen and 10,000 firearms.

The firearms army included 5,000 arrow thunder troops, 3,000 explosive arrow crossbow troops, and 2,000 firearms and kerosene troops. The firearms and kerosene troops were the old name in the past, mainly responsible for operating catapults and kerosene.

The army lined up in a wilderness, with 2,000 large fire oil pots placed in front, and a soldier stood behind each fire oil pot. They stood on a small wooden platform. Once the enemy's war elephants approached, they would smash the pots and set them on fire.

Behind the kerosene tanks were five thousand arrow thunder troops, arranged in two rows, two people in a group, responsible for operating a large yellow crossbow, which could fire 2,500 arrow thunders in one round.

Behind the arrow thunder troops were five large catapults, each operated by thirty people, responsible for the final iron fire thunder.

Then there were three thousand archers, who shot explosive arrows and were responsible for driving away elephants. Explosive arrows would explode when shot on the rough and thick skin of elephants. At that time, the Han people told Li Sheng that elephants were most afraid of light and fire, and also afraid of thunder.

And they were very sensitive. If an elephant was injured, the other elephants could feel it dozens of miles away.

The 30,000 troops lined up behind, and once the war elephants turned against them, they would follow behind to kill.

At this time, the Nanzhao army appeared in front, with 80,000 front troops appearing first, led by the army general Meng Chengjin.

Yi Mouxun personally led an army of 120,000 to hold the battle ten miles away. Yi Mouxun believed that his 80,000 troops plus 30,000 war elephants were enough to defeat the Tang army. Even if the Tang army retreated to Nongdong City, his 20,000 elephants were enough to destroy the dilapidated county town and trample it into dust.

Yi Mouxun never took the 40,000 Tang army seriously. If the other party had not occupied Nongdong City and controlled the largest grain-producing area in Nanzhao, Yi Mouxun would not have led the army to fight in person.

The Nanzhao army had already appeared five miles away. Meng Chengjin squinted at the Tang army in the distance. He couldn't understand the deployment of the Tang army. It seemed that there were bows and crossbows, but were his war elephants afraid of bows and crossbows?

Meng Chengjin coldly ordered: "Order the war elephants to attack!"

"Woo--"

The low horn sounded, and the sound of the war drums "dong-dong-dong-" followed.

"Awoo--"

The war elephants were urged by the drums and began to run. Thirty thousand elephants ran on the vast land. The earth was shaking, stirring up rolling dust and making a huge noise.

The faces of the Tang soldiers in the distance all changed color. They had never seen elephants fighting. This momentum was too spectacular.

No wonder Xianyu Zhongtong's 100,000 Tang troops could not defeat the Nanzhao army. They were defeated by the impact of the war elephants!

The commander Li Sheng had no expression at all. He ordered coldly: "Get ready to launch the catapults!"

Five large catapults were ready, and the elephants had run to 700 steps away. "Fire!"

Five large catapults were fired at the same time, and five 100-jin iron fire thunders flew out and exploded 200 steps away.

The huge explosion and fire made the elephant running in the front hesitate for a moment, and then the second round of five 100-jin iron fire thunders were fired and exploded closer to the elephants. The hundreds of elephants running in the front began to slow down, but they were still running.

"Shoot with arrows and torpedoes!"

Five thousand Tang heavy crossbowmen fired, and two thousand five hundred arrows and torpedoes were shot out, flying towards the elephants like a flock of birds in the sky, and exploded a hundred steps away from the elephants.

Another 2,500 arrow bombs exploded, and with the huge explosion of iron fire bombs, the speed of the elephants' running slowed down rapidly. The elephants were obviously afraid. They were afraid of fire and noise.

Li Sheng ordered: "Ignite!"

"Woo--"

The ignition horn sounded, and a thousand soldiers immediately smashed the pottery pots and ignited the kerosene.

A sea of ​​fire appeared in front of the elephants, with thick smoke and raging fire, less than a hundred steps away from the elephants.

The thousands of elephants in the front began to turn around. They desperately shouted to the sky, leading the elephants behind to turn around.

The Tang army cheered immediately.

But this was far from enough. These elephants were trained. If they were not really scared, they would turn around and rush back.

Li Sheng ordered: "Archers attack! Send another 5,000 cavalry!"

Three thousand cavalry archers ran out, and the 5,000 cavalry behind followed them. They carried throwing grenades and could also drive away the elephants.

Three thousand archers chased the elephants from behind, constantly shooting explosive arrows at them. The elephants' skin was as hard as stone. Under the strong impact, the explosive arrows exploded on the elephants. Although they could not be killed, they could blow the elephants' skin and flesh apart, causing unbearable pain.

The elephants behind kept screaming in pain and running desperately. The fear also spread to the front. More and more elephants rushed to flee. At this time, a batch of 5,000 grenades exploded in the elephant herd, and hundreds of elephants were blown down. They screamed earth-shakingly, which was the fear of death.

All elephants could feel this fear of death. They heard the explosions that kept following behind.

They began to run madly and rushed towards the Nanzhao army two miles away.

At this time, Li Sheng gave an order, "All troops attack!"

Fifteen thousand Tang cavalrymen took the lead, followed by ten thousand spear infantrymen.

The Nanzhao soldiers beat the war drums desperately, but it was useless. The elephants were mad with fear and rushed towards the Nanzhao soldiers regardless of everything.

Meng Chengjin shouted that it was not good, and turned around and fled first. The 80,000 troops also scrambled to escape, and the army was defeated.

But they were all infantry, and they could not outrun the mad elephants. The first to be trampled to death were thousands of elephant slaves. The elephant slaves were also most afraid of the elephants going crazy. Once the elephants went crazy, they would be the first to be trampled to death.

Groups of Nanzhao soldiers were constantly knocked down and trampled to death by the chasing elephants. For a time, countless casualties were caused.

The Tang army behind had a clear division of labor. Three thousand archers followed behind the elephants, using explosive arrows to drive the elephants to run wildly, not giving them a chance to calm down. The elephants were very sensitive. The Tang army's explosive arrows made them completely crazy. I don't know how many soldiers were trampled to death. They rushed to the main force of the Nanzhao army ten miles away regardless of everything.

The more than 30,000 Tang cavalry and infantry behind them killed the Nanzhao army in the back, did not accept surrender, and directly stabbed them with a spear. Regardless of life or death, they continued to rush forward.

Ten miles away, Yi Mouxun's face turned pale. He saw 30,000 war elephants rushing towards him. The dust behind them covered the sky and the sun. He didn't know how many Tang soldiers were coming here.

General Ruan Shaofeng said anxiously: "Let the army move aside to make way for the elephants!"

Yi Mouxun woke up and shouted: "The troops move aside!"

At this time, the 30,000 elephants had already rushed to a mile away. The hundreds of thousands of Nanzhao soldiers were so scared that their legs were weak. They didn't care about the direction at all. They pushed each other and rushed to run. The twelve large square formations were in chaos.

The elephants rushed into the crowd who had no time to escape, and countless soldiers were knocked to the ground.

At this time, the 100,000 Nanzhao troops suddenly encountered a rain of grenades, and 10,000 grenades exploded in the crowd.

Violent explosions from all directions became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Nanzhao soldiers. The Nanzhao soldiers, who had never seen firearms, were terrified. Nanzhao believed in the five gods of wind, thunder, water, fire and earth. All the soldiers thought that it was the thunder god who was helping the Tang army to fight. The 100,000 Nanzhao troops completely collapsed. Screams, screams, and wails were heard. The Nanzhao soldiers shouted in fear, and countless soldiers turned around and fled frantically.

On May 20th, the first year of Jiaxing, 40,000 Tang troops fought a decisive battle with 200,000 Nanzhao troops west of Yaocheng County. The 40,000 Tang troops defeated the enemy with powerful firearms.

The 200,000 Nanzhao troops were defeated.