Zhang Xiaosong's team changed horses again when there were only three li left.
Some of the other horses were left behind to lead them, and nearly eight thousand cavalry charged forward.
A few dozen cavalry charged at the front, then suddenly stopped, took out their lighters, and lit their torches. Then, they began to jog, extending their torches to the side.
The people behind them passed by, and the fire arrows flickered on their torches, lighting them up and increasing their speed.
The Arabs had just finished gathering, and before they could split up, the Tang dynasty's army entered their shooting range.
Using the momentum, the fire arrows shot into the air.
Some landed in the crowd, some landed in front of the Arabs, and some landed … where the bitter grass was.
Some even landed directly where the explosives were.
Boom! Boom! After the fire arrows were fired, the Tang dynasty cavalry immediately circled around, not intending to charge in, but the explosives exploded.
One by one, the explosives blew up the earth, emitting sparks.
Neighhhh, neighhhh … The horses were frightened and began to run in panic.
They collided with each other, raised their front hooves, fell to the ground in fear, opened their mouths to bite the horse next to them, and so on and so forth.
The Tang dynasty cavalry split up and circled around. They threw away their crossbows, switched to bows, and fired arrows continuously.
"Three battalions, follow me," Zhang Xiaosong shouted, and the messenger passed on the order, directly specifying the battalions.
His was a reinforced battalion, with one thousand men.
The three thousand men split up and regrouped three or four li away.
"Attack in echelons, five hundred men in each group. Pierce through," Zhang Xiaosong shouted again.
The cavalry automatically split into groups, and under the light of the enemy's torches, one group after another charged forward with bows drawn.
When they reached the bows, they first fired a rain of arrows, then slung their bows, drew their scimitars, and charged in.
They constantly urged their horses, not caring about the position of the enemy. They just chased through and cut down the enemy with their scimitars.
This was the first time they were using this tactic in a real battle.
Li Yi taught them, and the Mongolian cavalry did the same. They charged in echelons, first firing a rain of arrows, then chased through.
After piercing through, they ran a certain distance, circled around, and did it again.
Now, the Tang dynasty cavalry used the content of their training, using this tactic to split up and not give the enemy a chance to regroup.
This was the first time the white-clothed Arabs had encountered such a tactic. Their horses were startled, and they were stunned by the slaughter.
The soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers, so there is no way to coordinate.
Zhang Xiaosong's echelon hadn't even been completely used up, but the white-clothed Arabs had already been routed.
Run, I don't want to play anymore.
Those that couldn't escape were surrounded and killed. The horses didn't cooperate with the white-clothed Arabian master at all.
The cavalry chased after the fleeing soldiers. Two thousand men with horses split up and led a dozen or so horses to chase after them.
The Abbasid Caliphate's horse couldn't even fit two people, and it had been ambushed when the horse was tired and grazing.
It was the same for humans. They had just eaten something and had not yet digested it. The blood would gather in the stomach, and the fatigue from the journey would not be recovered yet.
Now he was in a state of excitement, running around like a headless fly.
The killing and pursuit continued until dawn.
However, the battle did not stop. When dawn came, the Tang dynasty's cavalry changed horses and continued their pursuit.
These ten thousand soldiers were soldiers who had followed Zhang Xiaosong to conquer hundreds of cities. As long as they were led by Zhang Xiaosong, their combat strength would explode.
This was a kind of pride that said, 'I'm stronger than you, I can easily beat you.'
After conquering hundreds of cities, just how fast was the tempo of the assault? Now they were chasing after someone and keeping an eye on them unless they surrendered.
When the sky was completely bright, the horses that had lost their masters began to look for grass to eat and stopped running.
The corpses of the Abbasid Caliphate lay on the ground, many of them with their eyes wide open.
And the pursuit continued. The horses were connected, so they could change horses.
Even if the Abbasid Caliphate used a saber to stab a horse's butt, the horse would still be unable to run. In the end, it would fall to the ground and die of exhaustion.
The Tang dynasty soldiers who did not pursue gathered the corpses of their comrades together and prepared to bring them back.
More than four thousand Abbasid Caliphate captives were using their sabers to dig holes to bury their dead. On the side, the Tang dynasty soldiers raised their crossbows and stood guard.
"Dissect the dead horses and have the captives carry them back. If you're too slow and the horse meat spoils, kill them."
Zhang Xiaosong was expressionless. He didn't look at his dead brothers, nor did he care how many of his enemies died.
Today, there was almost no resistance from the Abbasid Caliphate, so they could become captives.
If too many of his brothers died and the Abbasid Caliphate put up a fierce resistance, all the captives would be killed.
Just like two years ago, he had raided one hundred cities and finally met resistance. When the city was breached, he had slaughtered the entire city.
The surviving Non-commissioned Officer of the Tang dynasty did not appear mournful. They were also fighting with their lives on the line. How could there be no deaths in war?
Life and death were fated. Perhaps next time, they would be the ones to fall.
There was no need for others to cry. As long as their families could receive enough compensation, it was fine.
Only by fighting with one's life and killing the enemy until they were afraid could there be peace.
Moreover, the families of the dead brothers would have good days. Besides the normal compensation, they would also receive extra money from His Majesty.
At noon, all the pursuers returned with the corpses of more than two hundred of their brothers and the captured horses of the enemy. Then, they started to head back.
There were more than six thousand captives. They buried their dead men and carried the bloody dead horses on their backs as they marched forward.
They didn't dare to be slow. If they were slow, they would be killed.
Some of them fell as they walked, and the Tang dynasty soldiers would give them a stab. The items would be carried forward by others.
There was a group of cavalry that traveled several dozen li and then ascended a hot air balloon to continue observing.
Two hours later, the people on the hot air balloon sent a flag signal. The people on the ground received the signal and reported the situation to Zhang Xiaosong.
"Leave two thousand men to guard and send them back. The rest, come with me."
When Zhang Xiaosong received the news, he ignored his fatigue and quickly led his men away.
The people on the hot air balloon discovered that the Anxi Protectorate was fighting with Su Lu's men several dozen li away. It could be considered a scout battle.
Scouts from both sides were constantly joining in. In the end, it was a small-scale battle of several hundred against several hundred.
The scouts on both sides were running in circles while shooting arrows. Another scout was running back to report the situation.
In other words, both sides had their main forces.
Zhang Xiaosong found another opportunity. He wanted to conceal the battlefield.
He wanted to use his own men as scouts and kill all the scouts of Su Lu's Assault Cavalry.
He wanted Su Lu to become blind. That way, he would lead more than seven thousand men and patrol the periphery of the battlefield. Su Lu would definitely cry.
More than seven thousand and seven hundred cavalry, one man on three mounts, were watching from the side.
You said he was the main force, right? He wasn't. The main force was the Anxi Protectorate's army with infantry.
You said he wasn't the main force. He could pierce through your formation at any time and chase after you if you ran.
Who wouldn't be dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of such a powerful force?
This was what Zhang Xiaosong wanted to do. There was no need to talk about his commanding ability. He had already destroyed a country.
A group of people charged over just like that. The general held a telescope.
The Anxi Protectorate naturally had telescopes as well, including the scouts.
There were clearly more Tang dynasty scouts on the battlefield than Su Lu's scouts. This was because the Tang dynasty scouts had telescopes and reacted first.
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