Ogedei Khaganate, Loulan City.
After the destruction of the Western Turks, Loulan City became the capital of the Ogedei Khaganate.
Ogedei, the great ruler who laid the foundation of the Yuan Dynasty, had an ugly expression on his face. "Has Father really decided to pass the throne to Fourth Brother?"
"Khan, it's absolutely true!"
"Why?" Ogedei still couldn't believe it.
"It's because you were once the Great Khan of the Mongolian Empire. The Great Khan is afraid that Great Xia will have misgivings, so he chose Prince Tuolei to inherit the throne."
"Great Xia!"
Ogedei gritted his teeth, his eyes glinting fiercely. Previously, he had accepted his father's order to let the Great Xia army pass, which had already made Ogedei unhappy. Now that such a thing had happened, Ogedei hated Great Xia even more.
"Khan, what should we do?" the minister asked.
Once Tuolei inherited the throne, the Ogedei Khaganate would not be able to hold on.
Ogedei was also a decisive person. He murmured, "Father, since you have abandoned me, don't blame me for being cruel." With that, Ogedei gave a secret order.
The minister was startled and asked doubtfully, "Khan, will this work?"
"At this point, we have to do it even if we can't." Ogedei was a great ruler. Once he made a decision, he was fearless. "At worst, we will retreat to Persia."
The Ogedei Khaganate was the main force of the Mongolian expedition. The Mongolians had always rewarded their troops according to their contributions. More than half of the Persian cities that they captured were given to Ogedei by Genghis Khan.
That was their path of retreat.
… …
October 13th, the western border of Tubo.
Wang Ben's cautiousness saved the lives of the entire army.
In the morning, just as Wang Ben's troops were about to meet the Ashoka Dynasty's army, the scouts discovered something unusual with the enemy's grain transport team.
In ancient times, in order to ensure the safety of the grain, a troop of soldiers would be sent to escort the grain transport team. Even so, the entire team was mainly made up of laborers, pushing the grain carts along the mountain road.
Especially since this place was the hinterland of Tubo and was not far from the Ashoka Dynasty, Ashoka was naturally not worried that someone would attack them here, so there should be only a few guards.
But in the eyes of the Qin army's scouts, the grain transport team was very different. Almost every hundred meters, there would be a guard accompanying it. This was not normal.
Apart from that, there was also a problem with the laborers pushing the grain carts.
In the eyes of the scouts, more than half of the laborers were strong and vigorous, and their eyes were bright and full of expression.
The problem was that those who were responsible for transporting provisions for the Ashoka Dynasty were basically Tubo commoners who had been forcibly conscripted. It could be imagined that although they were respectful, they would not have any spirit.
Furthermore, he was tortured by the Ashoka Dynasty and his food must have been terrible. It was impossible for his body to be so strong.
All the signs pointed to the fact that the so-called grain transport team in front of them was the army of the Ashoka Dynasty in disguise.
Temporary camp, middle camp tent.
Wang Ben received the report and said with a smile, "The enemy is really cunning. They actually disguised themselves as a grain transport team. No wonder we couldn't find them. They have been right under our noses all along."
After entering Tubo, Wang Ben's troops had sent out a large number of scouts to find traces of the enemy and avoid them. After all, their mission was to attack the enemy's grain route, not to fight the enemy's main force.
Now that the enemy was mixed in with the grain transport team, they had to fight even if they didn't want to.
"Young Marshal, this might be an opportunity to make a great contribution." The deputy seemed to have understood something.
Wang Ben nodded with a smile. "That's right. The enemy is mixed in with the grain transport team. The spy reported that the armors and weapons of the soldiers are hidden in the grain carts. As long as we catch them by surprise, we will definitely win the battle. "
"Pass the order to the entire army to rest and reorganize for the night. We will fight tomorrow!" Wang Ben ordered.
"Yes, Sir!"
The deputy took his leave excitedly.
… …
The next morning, after breakfast, Wang Ben's troops mounted their horses and advanced at full speed, hiding in the shade of a mountain. The foot of the mountain was the path that the enemy had to pass through.
At nine o 'clock in the morning, the Ashoka Dynasty's grain transport team appeared at the end of the road.
Because they were marching from the rear and were protected by 500,000 imperial guards, the grain transport team was fearless. They didn't even bother to set up an outpost and swaggered forward.
"Young Marshal, the enemy has arrived!" The deputy reported.
Wang Ben was calm and said, "Let's wait a little longer."
This wasn't a desolate valley, so Wang Ben's troops couldn't destroy the mountain and cut off the road. If they wanted to attack the enemy's 500,000 troops with 70,000 troops, they couldn't intercept them from the front and rear.
If they really did that, it was more likely that they would be killed by the enemy's pincer attack.
Even so, Wang Ben didn't want to stop there and only take down the enemy's vanguard. His plan was to take down 200,000 troops in one go and then retreat immediately.
After retreating, he would find an opportunity to continue harassing them.
But that way, they would be exposed and the enemy would be on guard, greatly reducing the effectiveness of their harassment in the future. Precisely because of this, the first battle was a rare opportunity. They had to maximize the results as much as possible.
Two hours later, the deputy came to remind him, "Young Marshal, it's almost time!"
Wang Ben looked up at the sky. It was almost noon. He nodded and said, "Get on the horses!"
"Yes, Sir!"
With a swoosh, all the soldiers on standby got on their horses.
After getting on the horses, the army didn't make a big show of fighting and killing. Instead, they quickly climbed to the top of the mountain and looked down from above. They could see the enemy marching on the other side of the mountain road.
"Release the arrows!"
With a single order, a vast rain of arrows weaved into a huge net that stretched for several li and came down from above.
The arrows descended from above, and under the effect of gravity, they were like meteors that would take away one's life. "Puchi", "Puchi", with muffled sounds, the arrows pierced through flesh.
Miserable screams rose and fell. In the blink of an eye, a large number of soldiers fell to the ground, moaning non-stop.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! "
The supply team was like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. The first to react were the fully-armed guards. They immediately formed a formation or crouched on the ground, nocked their bows, and fired back.
The soldiers disguised as laborers were busy taking out weapons from the supply trucks. As for the armor, they didn't have the time to wear it due to the urgency of the situation.
Ancient armor was extremely complicated and couldn't be put on in a short period of time.
There were also real laborers in the supply team. They were all Tubo commoners. As soon as the battle started, they were so scared that they hid under the supply trucks and shivered, praying that they could escape this disaster.
The unattended livestock neighed incessantly. Some of them even broke free from their reins and went on a rampage in the troops. A large number of supply trucks were knocked over, and bags of grain fell to the ground.
Some of the grain bags were opened, and white rice flowed out and spilled all over the ground.
The whole scene was chaotic.
Wang Ben's troops had the geographical advantage. After three rounds of arrows, the enemy had suffered heavy losses, especially the soldiers disguised as laborers. They didn't have armor to protect them, so they died immediately after being hit by the arrows.
The ground was covered with blood, rice, and mud, and it was impossible to distinguish them from each other.
Under such circumstances, the troops under attack could only run forward, hoping to escape the enemy's attack. The soldiers, laborers, and livestock were mixed in the fleeing troops. It was extremely lively.
"Moo ~ ~ ~"
An old ox fell to the ground after being hit by an arrow, whining incessantly.
"Peasants, get out of the way!"
The fleeing soldiers of the Ashoka Dynasty did not hesitate when they saw the laborers blocking their way. They raised their swords and killed them on the spot. Then, they stepped on their corpses and ran forward.
"Murder! The soldiers are killing people ~ ~ ~"
Most of the laborers who were conscripted were from the same village. Some even came from the same village. Seeing their companions killed and enslaved, they were already filled with resentment. At this critical moment of life and death, they completely erupted.
"Fight it out with them!"
As they spoke, some of the laborers picked up the weapons on the ground and stood up straight.
"Peasants, how dare you rebel!"
The Ashoka Dynasty army was even more furious, and they were even more merciless in killing the laborers.
It was getting lively. The enemy troops were actually fighting each other as they fled.
Wang Ben's troops, who were standing on the high ground, did not move. They continued to shoot arrows expressionlessly, reaping the lives of the enemy troops. In any case, there were so many enemies. After the first wave left, the second wave would fill in.
This kind of killing wasn't too comfortable.
The soldiers of the Ashoka Dynasty weren't fools. After the initial panic, they quickly calmed down, especially the troops at the back who were not attacked. They had already put on their armor, formed a battle formation, and climbed up the mountain.
Their plan was to reach the top of the mountain and cut off the retreat of the Great Xia army.
No matter what, the Ashoka Dynasty had the absolute advantage in numbers and was not afraid at all. Once the majority of the troops climbed up the mountain, the outcome of the battle was still uncertain.
"Young Marshal, the enemy's retreat is about to reach the top of the mountain," the deputy general reported.
Wang Ben nodded and ordered, "Stop shooting and prepare to meet the enemy!"
Because the slope was steep, it wasn't suitable for cavalry to charge down. If they really charged down, they might be able to kill the enemy troops, but they would also crash into the opposite cliff along with their horses. It wasn't worth it.
"Yes, Sir!"
Very soon, Wang Ben's troops changed their formation, turned their horses around, and charged towards the rear. At this moment, the Ashoka Dynasty's retreat had also reached the top of the mountain. Before they could gain a foothold, they were greeted by the rumbling of hooves.
"Kill!"
The unscathed Qin soldiers raised their spears and charged forward.
Faced with such a torrent of steel, the Ashoka Dynasty was powerless. The soldiers could only let out a cry of despair before they were trampled into meat paste by the cavalry.
Wang Ben's troops killed their way through the mountain like a bulldozer. Along the way, the Ashoka Dynasty soldiers were either killed or rolled down the mountain. No one knew if they were still alive or dead.
This time, it was really frightening.
The Ashoka Dynasty army that was climbing up the mountain couldn't help but stop for a moment. Following which, they rushed up the mountain at an even faster speed.
When two enemies met on a narrow path, the courageous would win.
The enemy cavalry had already charged past them. If they rushed up the mountain and got into formation, they would definitely be able to block the enemy. As long as they could block the first wave of attack, there would be a steady stream of companions that would follow.
It was still too early to determine the outcome of the battle.
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