readx; Located in the Aral Sea delta in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River, surrounded by the Kyzylkum Desert in the east and the Karakum Desert in the south, Khorezm is a dry area with few trees, but the abundant water resources of the Amu Darya River provide it with easy irrigation, making Khorezm a highly developed area for agricultural production. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Fifty-four years ago, the Arabs conquered this land with iron hooves, King Khorezm led some subjects and nobles to flee to other countries, the Arabs set up the surrendered nobles as the new king, so far there have been two generations of kings, the current king is called Sefen, has converted to Islam, they pay taxes to the Arabs every year, provide labor, the big cannibals also sent troops to be stationed here, so that Khorezm has completely become a subject country of the Arabs, the king is just a puppet, all [***] The government was in charge of the governor of Khorezm, who had been sent by the governor of Khorasan.

Khorezm was also known as the country of Huo Xun by the Tang Dynasty, in the Tianbao period, the king of Huo Xun also sent envoys to Chang'an for the Hajj, but their purpose was not to return to the Tang Dynasty, but to get trade benefits from the Tang Dynasty, hoping to rebuild the northern branch of the Silk Road that had passed through the country of Huo Xun by water to Byzantium.

Politically, they perfunctory Tang Dynasty, ostensibly accepting the canonization of the Tang Dynasty, but in their bones they are the unswerving servant state of the Arabs, even if the Tang army has occupied the entire territory of Hezhong, but Khorezm still refuses to yield to the Tang Dynasty, in fact, they cannot surrender, the Arab governors control their fate, they rely on the Great Desert as a barrier, and have not been attacked by the Tang army so far.

But as the war between the Tang dynasty and the Arabs began again, Khorezm could no longer stay out of the matter, and it became the center of the storm of the war, and in mid-December, a contingent of 30,000 Tang troops began to march towards Khorezm.

In addition to the 30,000 Tang troops in this expedition along the Amu Darya, there was also a special army of 3,000 cavalry, they were the Crimean legions of the Romans, descendants of Khorezm in exile, and today they will return to their homeland to regain the reading power and dignity of Khorezm.

Arslan was at the front of the line, he gazed at the land and the blue sky of his homeland, and greedily sniffed the breath of his homeland, even the endless desert, which became so golden and moving, as if it were made of gold sand, at this moment, he was completely intoxicated, as if he saw himself sitting on the throne where his father had sit, it was a golden throne full of precious stones, the throne that his father never remembered, he wore a crown on his head, and a scepter in his hand, and accepted the prostrations of thousands of subjects.

At this time, a cavalryman of the Tang Army galloped over and said loudly: "Your Highness Arslan, the general of my family invites you to come over." ”

The shouts of the cavalry interrupted his dream, and Arslan returned to reality, "I'll go!" He didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly followed the cavalry towards the Tang army.

Li Qing'an was in the middle of the Tang army, his expression was not so relaxed, and he seemed a little anxious, he had just received information, the Tang army scouts were on the northern edge of the Karakum Desert, and found the main force of the Great Food Army, about 40,000 people, about 350 miles away from Khorezm, but the 40,000 army was only a part, and there were nearly 60,000 troops in the farther steppe, that is to say, the main force of the Great Cannibals had 100,000 people, and they were also moving towards Khorezm.

However, the Tang army only had more than 30,000 people, Li Qing'an's strategy was to occupy Khorezm first, forcing the Great Food Army to change its plan, but judging from the current situation, his strategy may be difficult to achieve, and now his only advantage is that they are less than sixty miles away from Khorezm, and they are moving lightly, while the Great Food Army is carrying a heavy burden and moving slowly, according to the current marching speed of the Great Food Army, they will arrive in Khorezm in four days, and the time left for him is very urgent.

At this time, Arslan came, and he bowed on his horse and saluted: "Salute to the Great General!" ”

Li Qing'an temporarily put down the Great Food Army, and said with a slight smile: "Your Royal Highness, you are almost in your homeland, and Khiva City is fifty miles ahead, I gave you the choice, have you made a decision?" ”

"Back to the General, I've already made a decision."

After nearly half a month of deliberation, Arslan finally decided the fate of Khorezm.

"I decided to move west of the Amu Darya River and establish my new kingdom between the Aral and Caspian Seas."

"Very well, I believe you made your decision after careful consideration, so how are you going to win the trust of your subjects? How can they believe that you are the son of the former king of Khorezm? ”

"I have a token."

Arslan took out a golden crown studded with precious stones from the skin of his war horse, and said: "This is the crown of Khorezm, a token left to me by my father, when he left the city of Khiva, he promised his subjects that one day, he or his son would return to Khorezm wearing this crown, and I still have the royal family table of Khorezm to prove my identity." ”

Li Qingan shook his head lightly and said with a smile: "Dear Royal Highness the King, if it was what happened last year, maybe your crown and tie watch would still be useful, but fifty-four years have passed, and Khorezm has long become the most loyal vassal state of the Arabs, how many people do you think will know about the agreement fifty-four years ago?" ”

Arslan's face showed a confident smile, "General, this is not the first time I have come into contact with my homeland in the past fifty-four years, as the general said, my father and I have been sending people to secretly contact several Zoroastrian elders in my homeland, and they also wrote to me last year, hoping that I will return to my homeland as soon as possible. ”

"There are still Zoroastrians in Khorezm?" Li Qingan asked with some surprise.

"Yes, like the Transoxiana nations, Khorezm is currently divided equally among Zoroastrians and Muslims, but the Zoroastrians are of low status and live in poverty, while Muslims are generally wealthy, especially the aristocracy, who enjoy the ..... provided by the Great Cannibals"

He was interrupted by Li Qing'an before he finished speaking, Li Qing'an did not have time to listen to these sociological descriptions, he was concerned about the situation of Khorezm's army and the Great Cannibals, he knew nothing about this, since the Tang army occupied Hezhong, Khorezm had never had any contact with the countries in the river, and no Sogdian merchants had ever been there, it was like a forgotten country, since Arslan knew the situation, then he should tell himself this important information.

"I would like to know about the population and garrison of Khorezm."

Arslan nodded and said: "As of last year, Khorezm had a population of more than 300,000, an army of more than 10,000 people, and another 3,000 food troops stationed, the army was mainly concentrated near the capital city of Khiva, while the farmland was concentrated in the delta area a little further north. ”

"General, look, castle!" One of the soldiers shouted as he pointed into the distance.

Li Qing'an put his hand on the curtain and looked over, and in the dazzling sunlight, he also saw that about six or seven miles away, in the middle of several crescent-shaped sand dunes, there was a towering castle, the castle was red, and the high fort pointed straight into the sky.

"That must be the Red City!"

Arslan cried out with excitement, he saw for the first time the architecture of his homeland, the castle that his father had told him more than once.

"My father said that when you enter Khorezm from the south, the first castle you see is the Red City, and this Red City is the Zhenbian Xiong Fort in Khorezm."

Arslan's tone was full of pride, but in Li Qing'an's eyes, the appearance of this castle also meant the beginning of the war of conquest.

"Pass my order, this castle will be taken by Ning Yuanjun!"

The 30,000 army led by Li Qingan is composed of the Tang Army of Ningyuanguo, the Tang Army of Shiguo and the Tang Army of Samarkand, each with 10,000 people, of which the commander of the Tang Army of Ningyuan State will be Lifei Yuanli, the commander of the Tang Army of Shiguo will be Tian Zhen, and the commander of the Tang Army of Samarkand will be Bai Xiaode, all of whom are famous generals in the Anxi Army.

Arslan was stunned, he suddenly realized that the first thing he dealt with his homeland was war, and he suddenly straightened his waist, yes, it was war! He wants to use war to drive out the wolves that have occupied the land of his homeland, and he brings a just war.

"General, let's conquer this first castle!"

Li Qingan pondered for a moment, and finally nodded, "Okay!" The Crimean Legion took the castle instead. ”

Arslan turned his horse's head and ran toward his army, his heart surging with blood, and the long wait of fifty-four years was expected to melt him at this moment.

He took a deep breath and slowly drew his long sword, he galloped in front of the battle, hitting the spear tips of the soldiers with his long sword, his high voice trembling in the wind: "Warriors of Khorezm, this is our first battle to recover our homeland, if we die in battle, let our blood be sprinkled on the land of our homeland!" ”

The descendants of the 3,000-year-old Khorezm raised their spears and shouted: "Die for the restoration of the homeland!" ”

"Uhhh

The trumpet of the Khorezm Legion suddenly blew, a loud and high-pitched voice streaked across the sky, the horses began to gallop, the tips of the spears flashed in the sun, and the faces of countless warriors were left with tears, at this moment, he would rather die on the land of his homeland.

．．．．．．．．． The Red City is also called Kazil in Khorezm? Kara Fortress, the castle is not big, the length and width are forty steps each, the double city wall, four zhang wide, seven zhang high, divided into two layers, the lower layer is two zhang high pillar base, the city gate is built on the high steps, the battering ram is also difficult to play a role, the upper floor is the towering castle, the whole castle is built with square boulders, tightly fastened, solid and abnormal, has a history of more than 700 years.

There were 1,000 troops stationed in the castle, according to the ratio of one to three, 300 Great Food Army, 700 Khwarazm native army, the main general was called Hussein, the name was very ordinary, and he was a low-ranking officer in the Great Food Army.

The defenders of the city have already seen the arrival of the mighty Tang army, and the overwhelming army makes them tremble, the seven hundred native troops of Khorezm have not encountered any war for two generations, and only a dozen of the three hundred Great Food Army have participated in the civil war, and the rest are farmers recruited from the north of the Great Food, facing the Tang Army that is surging like the tide of the Caspian Sea, for them, it is simply the gate of hell opened.

Hussein, who had fought in the Tigris and seen war and blood, was slightly relieved at the thought of a fortified castle that could not even be shaken by trebuchets.

The black-pressed Don army halted its advance two miles away, leaving the opportunity to attack the city to the Crimean legions, but the grim truth lay before these warriors, who were bent on recovering their homeland, and they were all cavalry, unable to fly up the towering walls, but could only shoot with bows and arrows.

The trumpets sounded again, the Crimean legion was launched, three thousand cavalry rushed forward like a gallop, and the siege of the castle galloped, like a speeding lantern, and their arrows rained down on the city, and at the beginning they reaped the effect, dozens of defenders were caught off guard, they were shot by bows and arrows, and fell from the city with a scream, and the joy of victory stirred in the hearts of the warriors, they flew faster, and the rain of arrows was denser, but soon it lost its effect, and all the defenders of the city went into hiding.

Arslan was so anxious that he bit his lips white, but he had no choice but to come to Li Qing'an on his horse, bow down and say, "Let my warriors go and charge!" There is nothing we can do about the castle. ”

Li Qing'an had been observing for a long time, and he smiled slightly: "Actually, you don't need to mobilize troops to take this castle, let me show you how the eastern soldiers surrender without a fight." ”

He immediately ordered, "Collect the troops!" ”

With the sound of rumbling drums, the Tang army began to slowly retreat, and under the leadership of the Tang army, Arslan's army also gave up the siege and retreated southward, until it was ten miles away.

As the Tang army moved away, the soldiers defending the city came out one by one like marmots, and they lay on the city wall, watching in amazement as the Tang army retreated, not knowing what was happening.

At this time, a group of about 300 Tang infantry rushed forward, each of them holding four or five short spears in their arms, rushed fifty steps away from the city wall, and threw the short spear upward, but the short spear could not be thrown at the city wall at all, and the thorns fell down on the city wall, causing a ridicule on the city wall, they had never seen the Tang army, when the Tang army threw spears in their way, the clumsiness they showed made them frightened, they leaned out outside the city wall and laughed, deliberately giving their bodies to the Tang army, But the flying spears of the Tang army could never shoot at them.

Three hundred Tang troops threw out their short spears, and then they withdrew, and another five hundred people came up, also with short spears, behaving equally clumsy, and the defenders of the city wall humiliated the Tang army with the most vicious shouting, "You are not even as good as women, Orientals, did you grow up with milk?"

In exchange for humiliation, he failed to throw spears again and again, and three batches of 1,000 people were replaced in a row, and only one person threw his spear on the city wall, but Hussein grabbed the spear shaft and threw it back, with strong force, and plunged deep into the sand, frightening the Tang army to flee with his head in his hands, and this embarrassing situation caused a burst of laughter on the castle.

Arslan followed far behind on horseback, and he had never seen the Tang army fight, although he knew that the Tang army had defeated the powerful Arabs, but the clumsiness of the Tang army at this time made his brow furrow.

Another group of 300 Tang Army infantry came up, also holding spears, and at this time, Arslan suddenly found that Li Qing'an, the commander of the Tang Army, was mixed among the soldiers, and his eyes suddenly widened.

This time the Tang soldiers did not come forward to throw their spears, but stopped at a distance of one hundred and twenty paces, and the defenders of the city wall looked at them in amazement, not knowing what they were going to do, when one of the soldiers rushed forward and shot a white letter at the head of the city with an arrow fifty paces away, without an arrow, and a letter written in Arabic was stuck in the shaft of the arrow.

A soldier picked up the letter, ran to Hussein, handed it to him, and at the moment Hussein took the letter, Li Qing'an's iron arrow was launched one hundred and twenty paces away, the arrow was like lightning, extremely fast, only to see a black light flash in the sun, and the powerful iron arrow hit Hussein's face, 'Poof!' With a bang, the tip of the arrow came out of the back of the head, and the powerful force pushed Hussein back a few steps, and hit the back wall at once, the arrow shot into his mouth, his eyes burst out, his mouth opened wide, his face was distorted, and his face was hideous and terrifying, he was nailed alive on the city wall, and the head of the city was silent, and everyone was stupid.

Arslan's heart was about to stop beating, he had never seen such a powerful and domineering archery, at this moment, his heart was full of endless fear for Li Qing'an.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! ”

The war drums of the Tang army sounded, shocking, suddenly, the Tang army 20,000 cavalry rushed overwhelmingly, such as a tsunami rushing, the dust covered the sky, that kind of thrilling momentum, so that the heaven and the earth also changed color, 20,000 cavalry came to the dust, each of them had a cloth bag full of sand in their hands, galloping from the side of the city wall, throwing the sand bag, the dust swallowed up the entire castle, when the cavalry retreated, the dust fell to the ground, and a huge mountain of sand appeared close to the city wall, which extended to the head of the city, The horses can rush directly to the city.

At this moment, the 20,000 cavalry suddenly erupted into a landslide and a cry of cracking, shouting in Sogdian: "Surrender or die!" ”

The dull sound of the leather drum sounded again, one after the other, "Knock! Boom! The sound of the drums was so oppressive that it almost stopped the beating of people's hearts, and Arslan fell to his knees weakly, the momentum of the Tang army had conquered him, and he will never forget the situation today.

The powerful psychological offensive of the Tang army completely collapsed the native army of Khorezm, which had not fought for two generations on the city walls, and no one could stop them, they threw down their spears, opened the gates of the castle, rushed out desperately, knelt on the ground with their hands raised, and shouted, "We surrender!" Surrender! ”

Immediately after that, the 300 Great Food Army also surrendered, most of them were farmers in the north who had never seen the world, and Hussein's death frightened their courage.

The soldiers of the Tang Army stepped forward to accept the surrender and the castle, and at this time, Li Qingan slowly came to Arslan on horseback, and said with a faint smile: "Do you understand?" This is the soldier who surrenders without a fight. ”

(To be continued)