The direction chosen by Nuo Haobo and Ashinahun to break through was not due north, but like the Flying Tiger Army, they chose the east.

Seeing the actions of the Tang army, She Yebo ordered the whole army to intercept it.

Although the Tubo people also immediately adjusted the direction to intercept, but due to the weak defense force in the east, the Tang army after a hard battle, before the arrival of the reinforcements of the Tubo people, there were nearly 10,000 people, highlighting the encirclement.

She Yebo ordered the whole army to pursue, and it was necessary to annihilate the Tang army.

Nuo Haobo and Ashinahun ran wildly all the way, until they ran out of more than 70 miles, and when they looked back, the cavalry following behind them was less than 5,000 people.

Seeing that there were no pursuers behind them, Nuo Haobo and Ashinahon and others stopped to rest. The soldiers were so tired that they soon fell asleep.

At 4 o'clock in the morning of the next day, Nuo Haobo and others were awakened by the shouts of killing, and found that the Tibetans were chasing after them again, so they hurriedly mounted their horses and continued to gallop towards the east.

In the chaos, Ashinahong found that he had been separated from Nuo Haobo, and at this time, there were less than a thousand cavalry left behind him.

Ashinahong continued to run for nearly 100 miles, then turned north and came to the foot of the Qilian Mountain, where they abandoned their horses and crossed the Qilian Mountain on foot, and finally fled back to Qinghai.

Nuo Haobo was not so lucky, he was chased all the way, has not been able to get rid of the Tubo, his subordinates continue to escape, only a hundred horsemen remained, surrounded by the Tubo people on a small hill, after a fierce battle, he was seriously wounded, captured by the Tubos.

In this operation, the Tang Army dispatched a total of more than 59,000 people, and finally returned to Qinghai, including more than 400 Flying Tiger Army, as well as scattered and scattered Tao, a total of less than 3,000 people, which can be said to be the annihilation of the entire army.

She Yebo originally planned to take advantage of the victory to attack Tuyuhun, but the Tang army held the Eagle's Beak Pass to the death, and he was worried that the reinforcements of the Tang army would arrive, so he had to give up.

When the news of the fiasco reached Chang'an, the government and the opposition were shaken.

This defeat was the first fiasco since Li Su came to power, which dampened the spirit of the Tang army, greatly boosted the morale of the Tubo people, and added difficulties to the future conquest of Tibet.

Li Su originally wanted to drive the wolf and devour the tiger, and in the conquest of Tibet, most of the troops used were miscellaneous armies, but now he suddenly found that it was not a good way to deal with a strong enemy like Tubo.

Although the use of a miscellaneous army can consume part of the strength of the Tubo people, if they continue to suffer defeats, it will affect the morale of the entire Tang army, and even cause turmoil in the various subordinate states that have just been incorporated into the Tang Dynasty.

It seems that the conquest of Tibet should not be regarded as a partial war, but should be treated as an all-out war.

Li Su discussed his ideas with the ministers, and decided to reorganize the headquarters of the expeditionary force, with the general Li Jing as the commander-in-chief, and Hou Junji and Su Dingfang as the deputy commanders-in-chief.

The two groups to which the expeditionary force belonged, the eastern and northern groups, transferred 25 cavalry divisions, 17 infantry divisions, 38 provisional divisions, two artillery divisions, and two brigades of the Flying Tiger Army, with a total strength of 1.15 million troops, to make every effort to conquer Tibet.

Among them, there are 500,000 people in the Eastern Bloc, and Hou Junji is the commander of the group army. The Northern Group had 650,000 people, and Su Dingfang served as the commander of the group army.

Gao Jingming and Wei Chigong served as the chief and deputy commanders of the logistics department.

Li Su also proposed that all units at and above the division level in the country send an officer observation group to the front line to observe and observe the actual combat experience.

East Palace.

Li Su returned to the East Palace, feeling very tired. The days of being an emperor are much more troublesome and boring than when he was the king of Liang before.

Fortunately, Li Su has a group of lovely wives and concubines, and every time he returns home, he feels very warm.

Wives and concubines are not allowed to interfere in politics. Although his wives and concubines all worked, they could only express their opinions on the work within their purview.

Ashinaqing's uncle was dismissed from the post of commander of the Qinghai Military Region and demoted to the deputy commander of the Fifth Cavalry Division of the Tang Army because he sent troops without authorization.

In the evening, Li Su said to Ashinaqing: "Qing'er, what do you think about your uncle's treatment this time?" ”

Ashina Qing said with a smile: "These military affairs are all your Royal Highness's business, and the concubine is a little woman, and everything is subject to your arrangement."

However, the concubine still wants to thank you, according to my uncle's mistake this time, he has caused such a big loss to the country, and your treatment of him is really a care for him. ”

Li Su said: "Nuo Haobo is the deputy commander of the expeditionary force, he should be mainly responsible, and without his consent, your uncle will not be able to mobilize those troops." Therefore, he is responsible, however, not primarily responsible, and such treatment is fair to him. ”

Ashina Qing said: "No matter what, the concubine still has to thank you." If you do this, I will give an account to my father. ”

Li Su said: "Is your father and his old man in good health? I haven't seen him for a long time, when will I invite him to come to Chang'an as a guest to see my grandson. ”

Ashina Qing said: "Your Highness, he is old, Fengzhou is too far from Chang'an, let him stay there with peace of mind, if it is convenient next year, I plan to go back to see his old man." ”

Li Su said: "Yes, let's go as soon as spring starts next year." ”

Ashinaqing said, "Thank you, Your Highness." ”

Li Su said sincerely: "Qing'er, I feel very happy to have a woman like you. ”

Ashina Qing also said: "The concubine wanted to be your woman back then, and over the years, the concubine has fulfilled her wish and feels very happy every day." ”

Li Su is an emperor, and in his daily troubles, these women behind him are a haven for his soul. Just because of this, he felt that he had not crossed in vain.

The next morning, Li Su arranged for Duhe to send people to rescue Nuo Haobo. After Du He received the task, he came to the Overseas Intelligence Bureau to find a post to cooperate.

He called the officials in charge of Tibetan affairs to study the rescue plan together.

After research, they set up a rescue team, and the specific task was to be handled by Huang Haiming, deputy battalion commander (newly promoted) of the Flying Tiger Army, who had made great contributions to the Eagle's Beak Pass this time.

Soon after, Huang Haiming received a notice and rushed from Qinghai to Longyou Road and received the task. The rescue team was formally established, with Liang Hongmin, director of the Tubo Division of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau, as the team leader, and Huang Haiming as the deputy team leader. Go to Tibet on a rescue mission.

After Nuo Haobo was captured, She Yebo treated his injuries and persuaded him to surrender.

"It's too late. If I surrender to the Tang Dynasty, I can surrender to you. However, I have taken refuge in the Tang Dynasty, and if I surrender to you, I will become a capricious villain, and there will be no place for me in heaven and earth.

What's more, my family is still in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, it is impossible for me to surrender to you, if you want to kill, you will kill, if you want to chop, you will not talk about persuasion. ”

She Yebo remembered that he was a hero, and he was unwilling to embarrass him, and he knew that he was telling the truth, so he sent someone to send him to Lhasa and handed him over to Songtsen Gampo for disposal.