Ang Lee was very satisfied with the performance of the armored artillery vehicles in this battle. He felt that his efforts were not in vain. The armored artillery vehicles were already an invincible force. With such an invincible force, the Tang Dynasty would definitely dominate the world. No other force in the world would be able to defeat the Tang Dynasty.
"Assistant Minister Li, what should we do with these captives? We can't possibly bring them along with us!"
Guo Qiang found a very serious problem. It was difficult to deal with the captives. If they were to bring the captives with them, it would seriously reduce the speed of the army. If they were to leave some soldiers behind to guard the captives, it would disperse their forces. After all, the armored artillery brigade was made up of elites. Their forces were very weak. It was not suitable for them to guard the captives.
Ang Lee also realized this problem. It was indeed difficult to deal with these captives. However, if they were to kill all of them, it would be too cruel and inhumane. Once this matter was leaked out, it would seriously affect the reputation of the Tang Empire.
"There's no hurry. Let's wait first! Let's see if the armored artillery vehicles can capture all the Tibetan soldiers that escaped. Then, we'll make a decision. "
Ang Lee felt that he had thought too much. He should have brought more troops with him. Even if these troops were slow, they had been following behind and helping him deal with tasks such as guarding the captives. However, now that it had happened, it was useless to regret.
"Assistant Minister Li, the armored artillery vehicles are back. There must be good news."
Guo Qiang trusted his subordinates very much and said happily.
"What's the situation? Have you captured the Tibetan soldiers that escaped? "
Ang Lee saw the soldiers running over and quickly asked.
"Assistant Minister Li, the Tibetan soldiers have been crushed into meat patties."
The soldiers replied rudely.
Ang Lee was very happy when he heard this. He nodded and said, "Good job. Now that all the Tibetan soldiers are under control, the Tibetan main force must not know about our sudden appearance. The army should set up camp immediately and send an armored artillery vehicle back to Min Province. Let the garrison of Min Province send 500 cavalrymen to guard the captives."
"Assistant Minister Li, is one night enough for this round trip?"
Guo Qiang was worried that the Min Province troops would not arrive in time.
"Don't worry. I gave a death order. Even if the horses died, they will arrive here tomorrow morning. Moreover, even if they can't arrive on time, we can leave a team of armored artillery vehicles. When the cavalry of Min Province arrives, this team of armored artillery vehicles will catch up with us."
Ang Lee said.
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li is right. I think it's feasible."
Guo Qiang responded and quickly issued a military order, ordering one of his armored command vehicles to immediately rush back to Min Province to carry out Ang Lee's military order. For this expedition, the Emperor had given Ang Lee a lot of authority, allowing him to easily mobilize all the military resources in the west. Anyone who dared to disobey would be severely punished.
At this time, there were still two hours before dark. The soldiers were divided into several groups to prepare. Some were in charge of setting up tents, some were in charge of preparing food, some were in charge of guarding the Tufan captives, and some were driving some of the Tufan captives away to dispose of more Tufan corpses.
Of course, the way to dispose of the corpses on the battlefield was relatively simple and violent. They just needed to find a relatively low-lying place, throw the corpses in, and then bury them with a layer of soil.
After all, the conditions on the battlefield were very harsh. It was impossible to use too many resources to take care of the dead, let alone the corpses of the enemy. Burying the corpses was already a very benevolent act.
This was a strategic location. It was a vast valley entrance. The terrain was not very dangerous, but the troops stationed halfway up the mountain still had a great advantage. They could attack the troops passing through the valley entrance from above. They could even release boulders to inflict heavy damage on the enemy.
Unfortunately, in the face of the steel torrent of the Tang Empire, these primitive defensive facilities were too outdated. The armored artillery vehicles were protected by iron armor, so they were not afraid of the boulders at all. Moreover, the cannons on the armored artillery vehicles could easily destroy all these defensive facilities.
The result of the battle was the best proof. After a very short exchange of fire, the 1,000 Tufan soldiers were all annihilated. Not a single one escaped, but the Tang Empire did not suffer any casualties.
Zero casualties was the best way to boost the morale of the soldiers. After all, it was a very good thing to be able to annihilate the enemy and obtain military merits under the premise of preserving one's own life. Any soldier would hope that they could be so lucky.
While the army was setting up camp, Ang Lee and a group of generals climbed to the top of the highest mountain. They looked down at the situation around them and sighed like heroes.
"There are many mountains in Tufan. Most of the areas are very barren. It is not easy to grow crops. However, there are many valuable minerals in the mountains of Tufan. These mineral resources are very rich. In the future, the Tang Empire must make good use of Tufan's mineral resources and make the Tang Empire more prosperous and powerful."
Ang Lee pointed at the large mountain range in front of him and sighed.
The Tufan Empire was a barren land. Its altitude was relatively high, so its grain production could not be compared to the Central Plains and Jiangnan. However, there were advantages to having a large territory and a small population. It was easy to be annexed. Moreover, once annexed, the impact on the main ethnic group would not be great. In addition, having a large territory meant that it was rich in resources. Under the situation of lacking soil resources, there would be a lot of mineral resources. As long as one spent some time to explore, there would definitely be countless mineral resources in the land of Tufan.
According to the exploration of later generations, there were nearly 100 types of mineral resources in the land of Tufan. Moreover, these were only the discovered reserves. There would definitely be more undiscovered reserves. The quality of chromite ore was very good. It was the best in Hua Xia. The copper ore was the second best in Hua Xia. A large mine had nearly 600 tons of copper reserves, which was very shocking. The lithium reserves were also very high.
Among the various non-metallic minerals, borax, magnesite, and barite were the third best in Hua Xia. The mines of table salt, natural alkali, mirabilite, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, diatomite, Iceland stone, marble, corundum, crystal, and agate were all rich in reserves. It could be said to be a mineral paradise.
The Tang Empire was currently undergoing large-scale industrialization. It was the time when they needed large amounts of mineral resources. The rich reserves of minerals in Tufan would be a very important source of mineral resources after the industrialization of the Tang Empire continued. Therefore, conquering Tufan would not only bring about extremely important strategic benefits, but also very important economic benefits. It was an important guarantee for the sustainable economic development of the Tang Empire.
"Tufan is rich in mineral resources and has a large amount of minerals? Assistant Minister Li, how did you know? There are only rocks in the mountains. How could there be minerals? "
Li Yu casually said.
"Yes! Assistant Minister Li, this humble subordinate has only heard that there are many rocks in Tufan, but I have never heard that there are large amounts of minerals in Tufan! "
Guo Qiang also joined in the fun.
"That's because Tufan is vast and sparsely populated. It lacks prospectors, so it's naturally not easy to find many mineral resources. In fact, there might be a lot of mineral resources under this mountain. However, whether there are any mineral resources or not, we can only know after prospecting. "
Ang Lee said.
In fact, any vast area could be rich in mineral resources. It was just that there was a lack of prospectors, so they could not find these resources in time.
For example, the country of camels in the future was full of deserts. It could be said that it couldn't be more barren. However, under the ground of this large desert, there were extremely rich oil resources, and oil resources were extremely important strategic resources in the future. With the oil under the sand, there would be endless wealth.
Because of these oil resources, the originally barren desert country had become a country of tycoons. The entire country was filled with tycoons. Occasionally, they would find a poor person, but the tycoons of the country would all line up to donate money to express their love for the poor person.
The current Tufan gave outsiders the impression that it was a barren land. Other than mountains, rivers, and rocks, there was almost nothing good. However, this was caused by the lack of prospectors.
As long as there were enough prospectors, they would be able to find out that there were too many precious resources in Tufan. Hence, Tufan was not barren. It was just that its resources had not been discovered yet.
"Haha, Assistant Minister Li, what you said is all hypothetical! It is something that cannot be confirmed. However, from the map of Tufan, there is such a large piece of land. There might really be a lot of treasures under the ground. "
Li Yu felt that Ang Lee was drawing a picture. However, he felt that the picture was very realistic. Tufan was such a large piece of land, so it was normal for there to be treasures buried under the ground.
"There must be a lot of treasures in Tufan. However, let's go down and eat first! I can smell the aroma of the food. "
Ang Lee smiled as he walked down the mountain and went to eat.
As traveling by carriage did not consume too much energy, the soldiers did not need to eat too much. However, the armored artillery brigade was an elite troop of the Tang dynasty. Hence, even though they did not consume much energy, the standard of their food was very high. Every meal had meat and eggs, so they could eat very comfortably.
As a senior leader, Ang Lee's food was even better. At least, it was better than the four dishes and one soup in the future. Even during war, he could not treat himself unfairly.
However, the captured Tufan soldiers did not receive such good treatment. Each of them was only given a small piece of the lowest quality food. It was good enough to ensure that they would not starve to death. Moreover, this was their own food.
After all, there was once a thousand Tufan soldiers stationed here. With so many soldiers, there must be a granary. Moreover, there must be a lot of food stored. The food was used as rations for the 500 cavalrymen of Min Province. Of course, some of it would also be given to the captured Tufan soldiers.
During the night's rest, Ang Lee arranged for a large number of sentries to patrol the surroundings. Even though it was very safe here, this was still the former camp of the Tufan army. Hence, they could not let their guard down. It was better to be careful.
The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, 500 cavalrymen of Min Province were ordered to arrive. They immediately obeyed Ang Lee's orders and stationed here to guard the captured Tufan soldiers.
Ang Lee left and led the entire troop towards Stone Castle City.
At the beginning, the road was still considered smooth. However, the further they went, the more rugged the road became. Moreover, it seemed to be going uphill.
This situation was very disadvantageous to the mechanical vehicles. Ang Lee felt that the oxygen was getting thinner and thinner. Hence, he decisively ordered the troop to slow down to protect the vehicles and prevent them from breaking down.
As the altitude increased, the speed of the various vehicles also decreased to reduce the probability of breaking down as much as possible.
Soon, as the altitude continued to increase, many soldiers started to experience different degrees of altitude sickness. More and more soldiers started to feel dizzy and nauseous. The situation became more and more serious.
"Assistant Minister Li, you're right. The further we go, the more difficult it is to breathe. It's so uncomfortable! Huff huff! "
Li Yu had a pained expression as he panted heavily.
"You're already panting? If we go further, it will be even more uncomfortable. Can Gwangbyeong Of Gojoseon take it?"
Ang Lee also felt uncomfortable. However, his reaction was much lighter than Li Yu's. After all, Ang Lee was a martial artist and his physique was better. He was not someone that a spoiled person like Li Yu could compare to.
"The further we go, the more uncomfortable it is. Is it true? Then, wouldn't it be very uncomfortable for the Tibetans to live in such an environment for a long time? "
Li Yu suddenly became concerned about the Tubo people. He really admired the Tubo people. How could they survive in such harsh conditions?
"Gwangbyeong Of Gojoseon, didn't I tell you before? The Tibetans have lived here for a long time and have long adapted to the environment here. They won't feel uncomfortable at all. Moreover, they will only feel uncomfortable when they arrive at the Tang dynasty. "
Ang Lee said.
The Tibetans had lived in the highlands for generations and were very adapted to the thin air environment. However, when they arrived at low-altitude areas, they would also experience all kinds of discomfort.
When the people of the Tang dynasty arrived in Tibet, they would be hypoxic. When the Tibetans arrived at the Tang dynasty, they would be oxygen-intoxicated due to the excessive oxygen. Hypoxic and oxygen-intoxicated, one was not enough, while the other was too much. Although the situation was completely opposite, it would still be very uncomfortable.
"Assistant Minister Li is right. Xiao Wang understands. It's just like fish living in the water and humans living on land. If a fish is allowed to go ashore, it will die very quickly. If a human soaks in the water for a long time, he will also die."
Li Yu gave an example.
"That's right. That's what Gwangbyeong Of Gojoseon said. That's right."
Ang Lee nodded with certainty and looked at Li Yu, who had a pained expression.
As Stone Castle City was quite far away, they had to march continuously for a few days to reach there.
Along the way, they encountered sporadic Tibetan soldiers. However, they were all shot by the armored artillery vehicles. Not a single one of them managed to escape. After all, even if the armored artillery vehicles were slower, they were still faster than horses. Moreover, they could last longer.
"Assistant Minister Li, Stone Castle City is 20 miles ahead. We have already started to see the Tibetan soldiers there with our binoculars."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
