Datang is really too strong! In this era, the Tang Dynasty was definitely standing at the top of the food chain. When he gets angry, all the surrounding countries will tremble.

The armies of the Arab Empire that invaded the Silk Road were the first to get the news that the Tang Dynasty was going to march westward. Subsequently, the Western Turks also received news.

When the leaders of the two countries who launched the invasion war in Europe learned the news, the army of the Tang Dynasty had already marched to the Anxi Protectorate.

The Beiting Protectorate provided excellent horses for the Tang army, and the vast majority of this army was composed of cavalry. The infantry also rode in horse-drawn carriages, so the speed of the march was quite fast. In those days, it was almost the equivalent of a high-speed train.

When the Arab Empire and the Western Turks learned that the Tang Dynasty was going to march westward, they hurriedly withdrew their troops from Europe, because they knew that the combat effectiveness of the Tang army was not a joke. Especially the Western Turks, they have long understood the peak combat effectiveness of the Tang Army - it is definitely not comparable to these newly recruited soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate! If they don't retreat quickly, they will be wiped out if they don't do it well!

Although the rulers of the Arab Empire were not as panicked as the Western Turks, they also knew that things were not trivial, and an army of 70,000 men was definitely not something to be messed with. Therefore, they had to abandon the good offensive trend and return to China to prepare for this attack of Datang.

In the spring of the twentieth year of Zhenguan, 70,000 soldiers of the Tang Dynasty encountered the Western Turks and the Arab Empire on the border of the three countries.

In terms of numbers, the Tang Dynasty does not have an advantage, and the number of enemies combined is fully twice that of the Tang Army! But in the face of an enemy army twice as large as them, the Tang soldiers were fearless.

Victories have given these soldiers an invincible belief in their hearts: Datang, we will win!

The armies of the three countries encountered, and war was on the verge of breaking out. The Tang Dynasty occupied the high ground, and fifty cannons lined up, first roaring at the enemy.

The cannon has been improved for several generations, combining the speed of the Furlong cannon and the power of the Hongyi cannon, and the new generation of cannons are all "artillery". As the name suggests, it is the kind that will explode when you hit it.

The original solid-ball cannon was suitable for siege warfare, but the encounter was a burden, so it was not brought with it in this war.

The Arab army and the Western Turkic army were still two miles away when they encountered the fierce artillery attack of the Tang Dynasty, and the most terrible thing was that these shells would actually explode!

This took the two armies by surprise, and they hurriedly ordered to stop the attack, and retreated thirty miles and did not dare to move forward.

The Tang army did not rush forward, the enemy's main force did not lose much, its own number was far less than that of the other party, and it was not so easy to move the artillery, if it encountered the enemy's sneak attack halfway, it was very likely to suffer heavy losses, so the Tang army did not pay attention to the enemy's retreat, but just set up camp and firmly held this high ground.

This made the coalition forces of the two countries very painful, and there was a sense of frustration that there was nothing to be done.

But the war took a turn for the worse on the third day of the stalemate! At the beginning of the third day, a northwest wind suddenly blew at the border! And the camp where Datang is located is just downwind!

The place where the Arab Empire and the Western Turks are located is desert, especially in spring, when the wind blows the sand, the Tang army undoubtedly encountered a fatal problem, the wind and sand blew them could not open their eyes, and they could not see the movement in the direction of the enemy at all. In this kind of weather, the enemy has a great possibility of sneaking up along the wind and sand, which is very unfavorable to the Tang army.

The main general of the Tang Army's westward expedition is still Li Tao, and it is not unreasonable for Li Shimin to repeatedly entrust Li Tao with important tasks. When he found that the weather was abnormal, he immediately ordered the withdrawal of his troops, and transferred important weapons such as artillery and thunderbolts in advance so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy.

In less than an hour after the wind and sand blew, the 140,000 troops of the coalition army killed the Tang army's camp under the cover of the wind and sand.

Fortunately, the Tang army had already retreated, and they pounced on the air and drilled an empty camp. The generals of the coalition forces of the two countries cursed angrily.

Because the wind and sand blew away, the traces of the Tang army's retreat were blown away, and they could not accurately pursue them, so they had to disperse their forces and pursue them in multiple directions.

An hour later, a certain unit in the southeast reported that they had discovered traces of the Don Army. Seeing that the wind and sand had not stopped, the coalition generals struck while the iron was hot, gathered their troops, and pursued all the way to the traces they found.

At noon, the two armies met in the wind and sand. The Tang army hurriedly met the enemy, and before the formation was completed, it was cut in and divided by the 140,000 coalition troops from three directions, and suddenly lost its position and suffered a big loss.

And the wind and sand blow the eyes, and the enemy can't see clearly, and there is no way to respond to the battle.

At a critical time, Li Tao gave full play to his level of famous general, even in such an unfavorable situation, he was still calm and calm, commanded the army to break through the encirclement, fight a bloody road, and successfully get rid of the enemy.

Fortunately, at the beginning of the retreat in the wind and sand, Li Tao let the cannons, thunderbolts and other important weapons retreat from the other direction, and they have not been discovered by the enemy. If this batch of weapons fell into the hands of the enemy, it is impossible to imagine what would have happened! Not being discovered by them can be regarded as a blessing in misfortune.

After the war, the Tang army suffered a sneak attack, losing nearly 10,000 soldiers, greatly losing its strength and morale.

The Tang Army, which has always been invincible, suffered such a big defeat on the battlefield for the first time!

Such a big loss must not be reported, you can imagine how angry Li Shimin will be when the war report reaches Chang'an!

The Tang army was defeated by this battle, and retreated more than 100 miles, and almost retreated to its own border before stopping. The coalition army saw that it had reached the border of the Tang Dynasty, and did not attack rashly, and at this time the wind and sand were obviously much smaller, and there were signs of stopping, without the help of the wind and sand, they did not dare to attack the Tang army at will.

Although he was lucky enough to win the Tang Army once, this was taking advantage of the wind and sand, what about the next time? Will you be so lucky?

After Li Tao rectified the army, he did not rush to launch a counteroffensive, because the morale of the army was low at this time, and the wounded soldiers were not settled, so it was not appropriate to take the plunge. So the two armies confronted each other again.

In the next few days, the coalition forces developed a set of tactics specifically against the Tang army in view of the characteristics of their artillery - to disperse the gaps between soldiers and launch an attack on the Tang army in the shape of a fan.

The cannons, thunderbolts, mines and other weapons of the Tang army were of course very useful in the face of the enemy's intensive charge, but once the enemy dispersed, the power of these weapons was greatly weakened, and they could not play a role in blocking the enemy army at all.

Li Tao knew that the power of firearms had been discovered by the enemy, so he had to readjust the army and defend against the enemy with a formation.

Short soldiers, the battle formation became cruel in an instant. There are stumps and severed arms everywhere. Enemies, comrades, and even one's own!

War is like a meat grinder, frantically harvesting the lives of both sides!

Although the power of the Tang army's firearms was greatly reduced, their armor and swords were still the most advanced at this time. With their sophisticated weapons and excellent battle formations, they were able to carry twice as many enemies as them.

Half a month later, because the two sides ran out of food, they had a tacit understanding to withdraw their troops. According to later statistics, the total number of soldiers killed in this battle was as high as 80,000! The blood of both warring sides is flowing, and the desert is dyed red, it is literally hell on earth!

A friend said that there are more typos in the hat recently, well, this is my attitude problem, and it must be reviewed, and it is not a compensation again!

(End of chapter)