Gaia seventh year, 2nd October. Chengdu. Northwest war zone High Command.
After a month of fierce fighting, the Great Xia army had lost more than 500,000 soldiers, killed more than 600,000 enemies, captured nearly 200,000 people, and consumed countless rations and supplies. Among the prisoners of war, most of them were from the former Tubo army.
Such a battle result also indirectly proved that Jia Xu's "meat grinder plan" was worthy of its name.
To the besiegers, this result was already very impressive. After all, both sides were mainly made up of Royal City Imperial Guards, so there was no obvious difference in combat strength.
Great Xia's military was strong because they had a batch of famous generals. This was something that India, which lacked historical heritage, could not compare to.
Although India was also one of the countries with ancient civilizations, the only thing they could show off was during the Peacock Dynasty. After that, they were conquered by foreign races and even colonized for a long time until the birth of modern civilization.
The British colonial rule in India alone lasted for two centuries.
As the Left Wing Army, the Middle Protectorate Army, and the Middle Route Army met outside Luoge City, the battle of Tubo officially moved to the second tier. The commander of the Northwest Theater of Operations, Li Jing, issued a series of military orders.
The Central Protectorate Army cooperated with the Central Route Army and officially attacked Luoge City.
The left and right armies continued to advance to the west. Both flanks flew together and killed their way to the rear of Luoyou City, cutting off the Ashoka Dynasty's support to Luoyou City. They had to conquer Luoyou City within a month.
As the former capital of Tubo, Luoge City was the only solid city on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The city was sturdy and occupied a vast area. It was also the center of the army of the Ashoka Dynasty and the base of provisions.
Once Luoge City was breached, it would basically mean that Great Xia had won half the battle.
There was no need to explain too much. Both sides knew that they had to start a great battle with Luoxie City as the focal point.
For that, Li Jing personally urged the logistics department to break through the difficulties and dangers with a large number of cannons and siege equipment. He had to transport them to the frontline as soon as possible to assist the army in attacking the city.
Just as Li Jing was thinking about the situation at the front line, the military advisor, Xun Yu, walked in again.
Previously, Xun Yu suggested taking a detour around the Ogedei Khaganate to the enemy's rear and attack the enemy's supply route, but Li Jing refused. As the war progressed, Xun Yu mentioned it twice more, but he was rejected both times.
As the saying goes, nothing should happen more than three times.
Xun Yu was an extremely intelligent person. He also knew that Li Jing was not a fool. Since he was determined to fight head-on, he must have other intentions. Moreover, the imperial court did not ask about it, which further confirmed Xun Yu's speculation.
Thus, Xun Yu didn't mention it again.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Xun Yu entered the room, Li Jing smiled and said, "Military Counselor, you can carry out your plan to attack the enemy's supply lines."
"Has the time come?" Xun Yu asked.
Li Jing nodded. "Yes. Nearly half of the enemy troops have already been annihilated. Right now, our army is besieging some cities. Once the enemy's food supply route is cut off, the enemy's million-strong army will be like a turtle in a jar. "
Xun Yu nodded.
…
Tubo, Amdo City.
This was the first city that the Right Wing Army had conquered, and it was also the location of the Right Wing Army's headquarters.
Due to the convenience of communication, the military order from the High Command quickly reached the hands of Wang Jian, the commander of the Right Wing Army. He requested the Right Wing Army to dispatch a corps of elite cavalry to take a detour around the Ogedei Khaganate and attack the enemy's supply route.
Considering that the Qin army was not familiar with this place, after coordination with the Commander-in-Chief, the Mongolian Empire would send out guides within the Ogedei Khaganate. When they attack Tubo again, the Shanhai Guards would lead the way.
Apart from that, there were also some battle details.
After Wang Jian finished reading, he had a clear understanding of the planning ability of the Commander-in-Chief and even Li Jing himself. In terms of the division of labor in the army and the science of battle arrangements, the Qin army was indeed inferior.
"It was not a coincidence that they were able to unify the Central Plains."
Wang Jian was a little emotional. For the first time, he had a certain level of recognition for Great Xia and the imperial court.
"Someone!"
"Yes!"
"Call Wang Ben here."
"Yes, Sir!"
With such a difficult task, Wang Jian naturally thought of letting his son Wang Ben go to battle. If it were other generals, Wang Jian would not feel at ease. This time, they would have to go deep into the enemy's rear and they had to adapt to the situation.
Coincidentally, Wang Ben had just led his troops from the frontline to rest and reorganize yesterday.
Soon, Wang Ben rushed to the tent and bowed. "Father!" After days of battle, Wang Ben's skin had become much darker, but he looked more masculine than before.
Because he had taken the lead several times, Wang Ben had two scars on his face, which made him look more manly.
"Look at this."
Wang Jian handed over the military order that he had just received.
Wang Ben took it, and his face lit up with joy. "Father, let me go!"
"Let's rest for another day and set off the day after tomorrow. Be careful on the road." Wang Jian didn't waste any words. Only his last sentence slightly exposed this old general's sentiments for his son's safety.
Wang Ben is a famous general who was groomed by Wang Jian. Both father and son have similar personalities. However, Wang Ben, who had appeared in the wilderness, was still young, so he inevitably had the sharpness and drive of a young man.
In history, both father and son had retired from the political arena after the establishment of the Grand Qin Empire, and they'd completely vanished from the field of vision of the Imperial Court, allowing Meng Tian to reign supreme.
It was only during the final years of the Qin Dynasty that Wang Ben's son, Wang Li, appeared once more.
"Don't worry, Father!"
Wang Ben felt warmth in his heart.
Inside the tent, the father and son discussed the route of the march in detail with the map in front of them.
…
India, Ashoka Dynasty, Delhi City.
During this period of time, King Ashoka was in a very bad mood. He didn't expect that after investing 1.5 million soldiers in the Tubo battlefield and consuming countless rations and resources, they still weren't able to stop the advance of the Great Xia army.
Every time the frontline lost a city, King Ashoka's mood became gloomier.
In the face of such a terrible situation, King Ashoka even had the intention of personally leading the army. However, he gave up after being strongly discouraged by the court officials.
In the words of the court officials, "It's not that the soldiers at the frontline don't fight with their lives on the line, but the enemy is too strong."
It was only at this moment that King Ashoka truly realized that the valiant strength of Great Xia was indeed incomparable to that of the Ashoka Dynasty. Putting everything else aside, just in terms of rations and resources, the Ashoka Dynasty was still inferior to Great Xia despite having the advantage of time and place. King Ashoka simply couldn't imagine how the soldiers and civilians of Great Xia were able to cross the mountains to transport the rations to the frontline.
After the Great Xia army besieged Luoge City, King Ashoka wanted to retreat a little.
King Ashoka wasn't a fool, nor was he a pure warrior. He wouldn't really disregard the fate of the dynasty and waste his strength on the Tubo battlefield just to defend his honor.
Presently, Tubo had gone through a series of battles. Not to mention whether it could be defended, even if it could be defended, it would be in ruins. Other than honor, to the Ashoka Dynasty, Tubo no longer had any practical value.
However, at this moment, a "rumor" suddenly spread among the people of India. It said, "King Ashoka has been beaten by Great Xia and is so frightened that he can't sleep at night. In less than a week, he will definitely retreat in a sorry state and throw away his armor. "
There were many versions of the rumor, and all of them ridiculed King Ashoka.
What was even more shocking was that these rumors seemed to have spread throughout the entire Ashoka Dynasty overnight. From the nobles and ministers to the common people, everyone knew about it.
Obviously, there were people with ulterior motives behind the spread of the rumor.
It could even be said that they were the ones who created the rumor. Their purpose was very simple — they didn't want the Ashoka Dynasty to withdraw its troops from Tubo.
Although King Ashoka saw through the enemy's plot, he had no choice but to fall into it.
This was because the rumor spread too quickly and was too widespread. It had already successfully aroused the common people of the Ashoka Dynasty to be united against a common enemy. If the dynasty were to withdraw its troops from Tubo at this time, it would definitely lose the hearts of the people.
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