Tibet

50,000 Tang troops confronted 70,000 Arab troops south of Nasebo. Both sides set up camps and confronted each other for nearly 20 days. Both sides used small-scale combat methods with thousands of people to test each other.

A total of five battles were fought, and the Arabs lost all five battles, including the annihilation of Sabah's army before. The Arab army dared not act rashly.

The chief general of the Arab army was Ziyad, the governor of Khorasan. More than ten years ago, he participated in the Battle of Talas as the deputy general of Abu Muslim, and the Arab army was defeated in the end.

The shadow of the defeat has always been hidden in Ziyad's heart, making him have an unspeakable fear of the Tang army.

In the big tent, Ziyad stood in front of the sand table. This sand table was snatched by Sabah from the Suiye Dudu Mansion of the Tang army and presented to Ziyad. When Ziyad saw the sand table for the first time, he was immediately shocked by it.

Although the sand table was still relatively rough and not very accurate, it roughly reflected the terrain and cities in the Central Asian region, which was very practical for combat deployment.

Ziyad had discovered a weakness of the Tang army. The Tang army camp was stationed on the north bank of the Nami River, very close to the river. If a fire attack was launched on the Tang army from the river, the Tang army camp would be burned down, and then the Tang army would be defeated. Ziyad would take the opportunity to chase and kill them, and this battle would be a great victory.

Ziyad immediately ordered a thousand barrels of kerosene to be transferred from Mulu and transported by thirty large ships on the Amu Darya River, preparing to launch an attack on the Tang army.

The kerosene of the Arab Empire is a light oil produced near Basra, which was sold to the Greeks. After the Greeks refined it slightly, it became a famous naval weapon, Greek fire, which can burn on the sea.

The Arab Empire also learned this refining method, and the Arab Empire also had the Arab fire. In the Battle of Talas, the Arab army was defeated by the kerosene weapons of the Tang army, which left a deep impression on them.

This time, when the 70,000 troops invaded the river, the Arab army also prepared 3,000 barrels of kerosene.

The ships of the Arab army were captured from Anguo. Anguo also had a large number of large ships, about 3,000 stones, which were used to transport goods. The Arab army modified them and installed three small trebuchets on each ship, which could throw more than 20 kilograms of weight a hundred steps away.

There were 90 trebuchets on 30 ships, which were enough to launch a large-scale fire attack on the Tang army camp.

At this time, the deputy general Bahman walked into the tent quickly and said: "Report to the governor, the ship has been modified and the kerosene is ready. We can launch an attack on the Tang army at any time!"

Ziyad nodded, "Launch the attack tonight, General Bahman, you will be in full command!"

"Yes!"

The confrontation between the Arabs and the Tang army has reached a limit. Just as the Arabs were preparing to attack the Tang army at night, the Tang army was also preparing to attack.

The Tang army transported a large number of trebuchet parts from Chang'an, but not including the thick brackets. In the past twenty days, the Tang army craftsmen have been making trebuchets, cutting down local date palms, making brackets and wheels, and installing various metal parts.

In the afternoon, Bai Xiaode inspected the final completion of the work in the fortification camp. He got the news that forty large catapults had been completed. Bai Xiaode was overjoyed and rushed to inspect immediately.

Bai Xiaode is a typical slow-heating general. He often performs mediocrely in the early stage, but he will get better and better later. So he did not perform well in the beginning of the battle against Bukhanna. He made a mistake in the battle against Qianquan City, which made Sabah's army run away, but he began to turn things around after the battle against Shiguo.

But later, he got better and better. He annihilated Sabah in Dongcao State. He also deployed troops in a targeted manner, sent 20,000 cavalry and 3,000 heavy armored infantry, and did not allow the use of firearms. Sure enough, Sabah's army was annihilated, and at the same time, it did not attract the attention of the Arab army.

This time, he chose the battlefield for the confrontation with the Arab army. He took the initiative to pull the Tang army to Nasebo, forcing the Arab army to rush to Nasebo.

Bai Xiaode mainly wanted to use powerful explosive arrows, but the Sogdian countries were surrounded by sandy terrain, and the ground was too soft. The explosive arrows would not explode after hitting the ground, but would explode when the Tang army's horses stepped on the explosive arrows when they charged.

But he found that there was a large area of ​​cobblestone terrain outside the city of Nasebo, a large area of ​​more than 100 square kilometers, which was an old riverbed left over from tens of millions of years. This large riverbed contained huge gemstone pebbles, making Nasebo the largest gemstone producing area in the river. Every year, a large number of rubies and sapphires were transported to the Tang Dynasty by Sogdian merchants.

Of course, Tang Dynasty women liked gemstones, but Tang Dynasty men liked jade, especially the literati. The Khotan white jade seed material shipped from Khotan has always been a symbol of identity and status. Only high-ranking officials above the third rank were allowed to use jade belts.

Bai Xiaode was attracted by the large area of ​​cobblestone terrain in Nasebo, and his explosive arrows were useful. The ground was hard, and even if the explosive arrows could not hit the enemy, they would explode when they hit the ground, and they could also kill horses on a large scale.

Moreover, these pebbles are densely embedded in the sand, not the kind of pebbles scattered randomly, so war horses can run on them without spraining their ankles.

Bai Xiaode's talent was revealed at this time. He started from the details and found the terrain where explosive arrows could be used.

Just as Bai Xiaode was inspecting the fortification camp, a scout rushed to report, "Report to the commander, the enemy warships have started!"

The Tang army scouts had long discovered that the Arab army was remodeling large ships on the Nami River and installing catapults. As a battle-hardened Tang army general, Bai Xiaode immediately understood the other party's intentions. They wanted to attack the Tang army camp by water.

Bai Xiaode kept his troops still and waited patiently for the enemy's follow-up. At this time, he finally waited until the last moment.

Bai Xiaode immediately ordered: "Please ask General Li Fei to come to see me!"

Not long after, the deputy general Li Fei Yuanli hurried over and bowed, "Meet the commander!"

Bai Xiaode said calmly: "It is estimated that the Arab army will attack the camp from the water tonight. Be prepared and make sure they will not return!"

"I obey your order!"

Historically, Li Feiyuanli had a good life. In the late period of the Anshi Rebellion, he was already named a prince and the governor of Beiting. However, he did not live up to his expectations in Li Ye's place.

It was mainly because of his bad temper that he liked to abuse soldiers. He often relied on the fact that he was in the Anxi Army and did not obey the orders of the generals. Therefore, Li Ye always ignored him, gave him a false title of general, and put him in Chang'an to retire.

As the world was pacified, Li Feiyuanli was over fifty years old. He was getting old. He knew that if he did not make some military achievements, what would happen to his descendants?

He repeatedly begged for the opportunity to go to war. Seeing that his violent temper was gradually being buried, Li Ye gave him the opportunity to be the deputy general of the Western Expedition Army. Li Feiyuanli was indeed honest and worked diligently as the deputy general for Bai Xiaode.

If we ignore Li Feiyuanli's violent character, he is still very good at fighting, decisive and brave, and not without strategy.

Li Feiyuanli immediately ordered to move all the items in the big tents within 300 steps along the river, leaving empty tents first, and then dismantling them after the enemy arrives, so as not to alert the enemy by dismantling them too early.

At the same time, he ordered to dig a long trench along the river, and when night fell, 5,000 archers were dispatched to prepare.

Time passed little by little, and at the first watch, the scouts reported that the enemy fleet was found ten miles away from the camp, a total of 30 ships.

Li Feiyuanli immediately ordered: "Pass my order, dismantle all the big tents, and the archers are in place!"

The soldiers acted together and quickly dismantled all the big tents within 300 steps along the river. Five thousand archers also entered the trench, and bursting arrows were erected in the quiver behind them, and everything was ready.