Chapter 152: The Cold Winter Stale

The battle in Henan caused a slam to the Tang army's attack on Samarkand, but the morale was not very affected. Guo Wei presided over the offensive on the north bank. He set up camp thirty miles away from Bisheng City, waiting for the arrival of subsequent troops.

There was no movement on the first day. On the second night, Ista led 5,000 cavalry to launch a night attack, burning down a military camp. The Tang army raised its troops and launched overnight, but Ista had retreated.

On the third day, Guo Wei took the initiative to retreat ten miles, and the soldiers in the city laughed loudly when they saw each other. The laughter came for more than ten miles. Even the Tang Rangers who were bullying close to the investigation heard it. The Tang army soldiers were ashamed of this and were all angry. They swept across from Beiting, and they defeated the army and attacked the city. Only the enemy who surrendered, but they had never shrunk?

Xi Weinan also said to Guo Wei: "Although Henan was defeated in the battle, the Persians who had just surrendered. These people were eager to make contributions without our formal training, which gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it. In fact, it would not be shaken if the deputy governor turned conservative because of this."

Guo Wei smiled and said, "It's just a few thousand soldiers in front of me, but I don't actually care about it."

"Since that's the case, why is the Deputy Governor so afraid of the past?"

Guo Wei pondered for a long time and said, "It's already October, but our troops have only reached 40%. It's snowing in some places. The Victory City is well prepared and it will be captured within one month. It's very slim. November is the cold season, and we're just afraid we'll have to spend the winter here."

Xi Weinan shouted, and Guo Wei said, "The next season is a very difficult season. Don't be afraid, you can get through it. The victory in the coming spring is still ours. If you can't get through it, we will lose in this severe cold."

He pressed the camp and another half a month later, the Modao Tomahawk Army arrived. The Modao Tomahawk Army was a heavy infantry. Although it was the main infantry, its operations were ranked in the middle and back end, second only to the baggage troops. As for some siege equipment, it was still on the road.

After the arrival of the Modao and Battle Axe Army, Guo Wei ordered the city to be forced forward, five thousand infantry formations, twenty thousand cavalry guards on both wings, and ten thousand crossbowmen to follow up! This march was commanded by Xi Weinan. Although Xi Weinan was old in the army, she was not qualified to command such a large formation. In the Battle of Beiting, the famous Yang Xin was established, and Xu Congshi and others did not need to be allowed to jump in the tent.

Even so, the formation of 35,000 people was launched, and the deterrence was amazing. Xi Weinan acted step by step and would never deal with it in front of the formation. Satuk suffered the loss of the Modao and Battle Axe formation and ordered the cavalry not to leave the city to challenge, but only set up a catapult in the city and long-range bows and arrows. Arab archers were ready to deal with the Tang army's siege at any time.

However, the Tang army's infantry approached three miles away from the city and did not move - this distance was not enough to cause large-scale damage with the long-range weapons of the Uighurs and Arabs. However, the Tang army did not attack after arriving here. Only more than ten thousand Hu cavalry came and looked after the formation. Ten thousand horses galloped and rolled up a lot of smoke and dust, making it impossible to see the reality of the Tang army.

The combination of infantry, cavalry and crossbows was stalemate outside the city for a whole day. No matter how the Arabs scolded them, Xi Weinan just didn't attack the city, and the Tang army also sent people to provoke the city, and Shu Yibal also hurried in the city and refused to come out!

At night, the three infantry, cavalry and crossbows retreated three miles and set up camps on the spot. The entire camp tent was red. Ista believed that the temporary camp tent would be unstable, and it was only six miles away from the city gate. The cavalry could advance and retreat at any time and would lead troops to attack. Shu Yibar said: "We are definitely not the opponent of the Tang army now. We must rely on the strong city to consume their troops, money and food. You are the only strong brigade that can go out of the city to fight with them. If we are ambushed, we will be sealed in the city by them! At that time, they can send Rangers to bypass Bisheng City to attack Mulu, and the entire plan of the Khan will be vain!"

Therefore, he refused to send troops.

After the Ming Dynasty, the Uighurs and Arabs climbed the city and were shocked when they saw it. They saw that after the 35,000-shot cavalry and crossbow formation, there was a long trench. Outside the trench, there was a forest of camps and horses everywhere. The entire trench was only twelve miles away from the Victory City! Looking at the top of the city, it felt like it was within reach.

It turned out that in addition to all the troops invested by Guo Wei, Guo Luo, also required all the arrival forces to mobilize all the troops, whether regular troops, Hu cavalry, or civilians, to be invested. This trench was dug in a day and night. The trench was 20 miles north and south, divided into three sections, south, north and middle sections. Each section had a trench-free area about ten feet wide, serving as the gateway for the Tang army to enter and exit.

The black-clad cavalry of Tianfang Sect was depressed and said, "If I heard General Ista's words yesterday, I went out of the city to attack, even if I didn't destroy the Tang army here on the spot, at least they would have to harass them so that they could not dig the trench!" So I had complained about Shu Yibar, thinking that this person was afraid of being beaten by the Tang army and was really not qualified to be the head coach.

Shu Yibar smiled faintly and said, "It seems that he is not a foolish person. He wants to fight a protracted battle. OK, it depends on who can waste it."

Still closed the city gate and did not leave. After Saturk heard about it, he also sent an envoy to comfort him, saying that he had received information that the Tang army had actually set up a trap last night. Shu Yibar could hold his foot firmly and fell into the Tang army's trap. Although he had not gone to fight, he had already made the contribution to the enemy.

While Guo Wei sent people to continue to deepen, broaden the trenches, and set up strong crossbows on the east side of the trenches to enhance defense. At the same time, he set up camp tents and sent people to the mountains to harvest wood for winter use. As many as 30,000 people went into the mountains to collect firewood. The fur in the rear was continuously transported, and Guo Wei used all to thicken the tents and looked for shelter on the side of the mountain.

A few days later, I looked over at Bisheng City but saw cattle and sheep everywhere on a hillside in the northeast, but the Tang army released all the cattle and sheep!

It turned out that although Satuk was firm and clear, he could not cut all the grass. The Arab generals were furious when they saw it, especially those radical factions who wanted to rush out to kill the Tang army and steal cattle and sheep!

Shu Yibar said: "From the east of Bisheng City, there are more than 200 miles of grasslands. I got information. Guo Luo has a pasture everywhere along the way. Even if Guo Wei wants to grazle on the spot, he doesn't need to take risks so close. He does this to lure us out. If I can't see such an obvious trap, then he is really a fool."

Ista was still rational and accepted Shu Yibal's view, but the middle-level generals were ridiculed by Shu Yibal and gave him two nicknames behind him: "The cowardly Shu Yibal" and "the frog among the Uighurs".

The Uighur cavalry was extremely disgusted when they heard this. There were many conflicts between the black-clad cavalry of the Tianfang Sect and the Uighurs. Although there was a combination of Satuk and the immortals in the mountains, where could these contradictions be bridged in a short period of time? It was just a temporary cover-up.

A few days later, someone found that the Tang army dug a canal and divert water after the trenches, and led the river water of the dense river to some flat ground, creating some tic-shaped landforms. The Arabs couldn't understand it. Fortunately, a merchant who had been to the east saw it and shouted: "Oh my God, the Tang army is farming! They farming under our noses!"

Only when he said this did the Arabs remember that it was true!

The place where the Tang army cultivated farms was only fifteen miles away from Bisheng City! According to modern weights and measures, it is less than 10,000 meters away! At such a distance, will the soldiers and horses of Bisheng City be taken seriously? It is really tolerant, but who is unbearable!

But Shu Yibar just refused to send troops out of the city!

Almost everyone in the black cavalry of the Tianfang Sect has started to scold! At the same time, they are clamoring to replace the defender of the Victory City! Although Shu Yibar has his own reason in his heart, the pressure is naturally great in the face of such a situation!

However, Guo Wei sent soldiers to sow winter wheat in the thousands of acres of farmland they had opened for use in the coming spring.

It doesn't take November. The snow has already started to float, and the weather is getting colder, which freezed the cavalry in Bisheng City. Although the northern mountains block the cold wind in the Namihe Basin, the cold winter is still very terrible in the depths of the inland. It is also a pity that most of the soldiers who fought here are strong soldiers with great battles. Even the climate like Beiting can survive, and they don't care much about the weather here, but they dare not go out to go out for activities easily at night. Many tribes in the river that came to rely on said goodbye to avoid winter.

This winter, the Tang army's military supplies were quite sufficient, especially the high-quality cotton coats and gloves produced in Shule, Ningyuan and Kucha, as well as insoles made of green grass in Tianshan. They were stuffed in shoes to protect their feet. These warming effects were excellent, which was enough to ensure that the Tang army could move outdoors without frostbite in weather outside of blizzards. There were various warming measures such as hand stoves and foot stoves in the tent, which could help the soldiers survive the most difficult season of hell.

However, the Uighurs were unable to unify their military uniforms. Apart from the black knights, they wore mostly miscellaneous clothes, and most of them were the legacy left by the Saman Dynasty. The warmth was not as good as the Tang army. However, they had city walls to support them, which was more capable of blocking the cold wind than tents.

After mid-November, both sides basically entered a truce. The soldiers were bored, but the top leaders of both sides were even busier.

The rear of Satuk has been unstable since the Tang army approached. Although several rebellions have been defeated and the climate has not been formed, it still has caused Satuk to worry.

Zhang Mai is under greater pressure! Satuk is a local war, and the supply line is only a few hundred miles, so the cost of transporting it is not high. However, the Tang army of Tiance had a supply line that reached thousands of miles - this was just a calculation of the distance from Ningyuan to outside Bisheng City. If the support from Tiance to Ningyuan everywhere in Tiance's territory is included, then this supply line would be even longer!

A large amount of supplies set out from Hexi, to supplement Ningyuan, to supplement Kucha, to supplement Kucha, to supplement Kucha, to supplement Kucha, to supplement Kucha, to supplement Gaochang, and to supplement Gansu to supplement Guasha! Even in the cold and cold season, there are still countless supplies on the journey of tens of thousands of miles! From Ningyuan to outside Bisheng City, the transportation of supplies on the road will be more than doubled! As for Ningyuan's cost of withdrawing supplies from various places, it is even more large and impossible to count!

Before the road was closed with heavy snow, the supply to reach the Nami River Basin was only enough to maintain the army for fifty days, which means it was less than two months. By mid-January next year, if no new supply has arrived, the Tang army would be out of stock!

Guo Luo also spreads a lot of pastures along the way, but that is just to minimize supplies. As for Guo Wei's military farming under Shu Yibar's nose, it is a show of the attacking tactics for Arabs and Uighurs to see. Even if those thousands of acres of farmland are produced, it is a drop in the bucket for the Tang army - not to mention that the wheat fields will not be harvested at the earliest four or five months. Where can the Tang army's supplies be able to survive at that time?

All these pressures were pressed on Zhang Mai and Guo Luo. The letter from Zheng Wei to Zhang Mai in the rear made him unable to sleep all night. Although Bisheng City was strong, he did not put it on him much, but almost drained the supply line of the Tiance regime, which made Zhang Mai overwhelmed!

Only by knowing this can we understand that when Guo Wei said that he could not defeat in a short period of time,

Despite this, Zhang Mai patted his back and said, "Let Zheng Wei and I take these things! Just take Samarkand down."

Guo Luo also knew Zhang Mai's difficulties. On the one hand, he had to be responsible for the success or failure of the Battle of Samarkand, and on the other hand, he had to consider whether the Tiance regime could afford it. However, he did not distribute these pressures to Guo Wei. Zhang Mai also discussed some logistics matters with Guo Luo, and Guo Luo simply did not mention this issue with Guo Wei!

In mid-December, some sections of the Mi River were cut off, and some rivers were frozen and frozen even though there was water on some rivers! However, in this weather, the Tang army could not do outdoor operations, let alone take the opportunity to cross the river to fight. At this time, both sides were huddled in their respective barracks, hugging each other to keep warm, and the whole land seemed to have completely entered a state of hibernation.

Only occasionally news comes from Dongfang - because some sections of roads are covered with heavy snow, the transmission of news is a little roundabout and some have to wait. Many of the information from Dongfang is delayed very much! Many of them happened two or three months ago.

Zhang Mai never let the frontline soldiers know about the incident in the East. It was not until a major incident happened that day that he sent Ma Xiaochun to tell him to report Guo Wei to discuss it.

When Guo Wei saw that it was Ma Xiaochun coming, he asked, "What big thing happened?"

Ma Xiaochun said: "I don't know, but something must have happened in the Central Plains."

Guo Wei said: "Okay, but I have to arrange it."

On that day, the generals were summoned and asked them to keep the tent. "I will go and report to the marshal, and I will come back in two days."

After the military meeting ended, Yang Xin privately said to Xu Congshi: "The deputy governor said it lightly, but he was the main attacker. The winner is not decided now. Although the two sides are on standby in the bitter and cold situation, it is definitely not a report on his duties, and something must have happened!"

Xu Congshi said: "What big deal do you think is?"

Yang Xin said: "Or it's a rebellion in the rear!"

Xu Congshi shook his head and said, "No, no."
Chapter completed!