Chapter 370: Seeing a Ghost in Broad Daylight, the Plateau Navy

The "Varakhan Corridor" is a land passage connecting the Arab Empire and the Western Regions located on the Pamir Plateau. It is located in a huge mountain knot where the Kunlun Mountains, Karakoram Mountains, Hindu Mountains and Tianshan Mountains meet. It is composed of two northwest-southeast mountain ranges and a group of river valley basins. It is also a unique plateau pasture wonder composed of moraine plains and desert plains.

Most of the caravans traveling between the Arab Empire and the Western Regions would choose to cross the hundreds of miles long Varakhan Corridor.

Therefore, the Varakhan Corridor can also be regarded as an extension of the Tang Dynasty's Silk Road.

At the beginning, the 800,000 Arab Empire troops marched eastward along the centuries-old Varakhan Corridor, allowing the iron hooves of the Persian cavalry to step on the territories of the Western Regions.

Later, Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Huaian, who personally led the expedition to the Western Regions, sent a cavalry of more than 10,000 people to attack the Varakhan Corridor in order to completely annihilate the 800,000-strong army of the Arab Empire on the Eastern Expedition. They recaptured the two important military towns of "Suifengbao" and "Huoshiwan" that blocked the entire Varakhan Corridor.

In other words, if the reinforcements sent from Baghdad, the capital of the Arab Empire, want to reconnect the Arab Empire with the Western Regions, they must take the two passes of Suifengbao and Huoshiwan from the hands of the Tang Dynasty.

On the other hand, after receiving the order from General Turhong of the Eastern Expedition, General Caesar, the right vanguard, who led the Persian war elephants and camel cavalry to the Varakhan Corridor to meet the reinforcements, also led his troops to these two passes.

August 28, the first year of Zhaowu in the Tang Dynasty.

The vanguard of the reinforcements from Baghdad, the capital of the Arab Empire, has arrived at the Fort of Suifeng near the Arab side of the Varahan Corridor. The scouts of the front army have already entered the area of ​​Fort of Suifeng to conduct reconnaissance and have a rough idea of ​​the basic situation of the Tang army stationed in Fort of Suifeng and the city defense situation.

That night.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse on the Pamir Plateau. The camp of the Arab Empire reinforcements was like an inverted star scattered on the desert plain of the Pamir Plateau.

The lights in the central army tent were bright. Saleh, the commander of the 20,000 Persian cavalry who came to reinforce, summoned several of his deputy generals to discuss matters. While shaving the roasted lamb on the tray in front of him with an exquisite dagger, he discussed the matters of attacking Fort of Suifeng tomorrow.

Deputy General Omar chewed the delicious barbecue and said carelessly: "General, our vanguard scouts have already found out the situation of the Tang army in Suifeng Fort;"

"The Tang army stationed in Suifeng Fort is less than 10,000, and most of the city defense fortifications of Suifeng Fort have been destroyed in the previous battle. The Tang defenders have no time to strengthen the city defense in a short time;"

"In other words, the city defense fortifications of Suifeng Fort are equivalent to nothing for our Persian cavalry!"

After a pause, Omar continued: "What I mean is that tomorrow we will gather 20,000 Persian cavalry troops, and directly charge to flatten Suifeng Fort, and the army will go straight to Huoshi Bay;"

"General Caesar, the right vanguard of the imperial army that came to support us, has also sent a messenger to report that they will arrive at Huoshi Bay by tomorrow evening at the latest;"

"This trip, General Caesar will lead The Persian war elephants and camel cavalry are the most elite troops of the empire. The terrain of Flint Bay is much lower than that of Flint Peak Fort. With the size advantage of Persian war elephants, they can almost push through Flint Bay;"

"General Caesar means that we take Flint Peak Fort and they take Flint Bay, and the army will merge directly in Flint Bay!"

"General--"

As soon as the deputy general Omar finished speaking, another deputy general Rashid hurriedly stood up and said: "General, don't forget that we also brought 200 copper cannons that the prime minister bought from the Charlemagne Empire at a high price;"

"I think that the battle of Flint Peak Fort is a good opportunity to test the power of copper cannons on the battlefield and to speed up the running-in of our artillery;"

"Our army, our army can completely use 200 copper cannons as a weapon to attack Flint Peak Fort and push through!"

Hmm?

Upon hearing this, the commander Saleh, who was eating meat in the main seat, could not help but stop his hand movements. The barbecue that was almost about to be delivered to his mouth was also stunned at the entrance distance.

Seeing this, the deputy general Rashid hurriedly explained: "General, this evening, I have personally rushed to the area of ​​​​Shuifeng Fort to inspect the terrain, which is completely suitable for our artillery to fight;"

"With the Persian cavalry patrolling outside the Suifeng Fort, our artillery can even directly push the muzzle of the copper cannon to a place less than a thousand steps away from the Suifeng Fort to fire;"

"General, the copper cannon of the Charlemagne Empire is a powerful weapon for attacking cities and strongholds!"

Hmm!

Hearing this, the commander Saleh finally showed a satisfied smile on his face. The barbecue that was originally delivered to his mouth and then retracted was also stuffed back into his mouth, chewing happily.

Before that, Saleh's idea was also to test the power of the copper cannon on the battlefield.

However, the copper cannons purchased from the Charlemagne Empire weighed a few hundred kilograms at the lightest and thousands of kilograms at the heaviest. When they were on the battlefield, they were very restricted by the geographical environment.

Since the terrain around the Fortress of the Peak was just right for the artillery to approach and shoot, what reason did Saleh have for not letting the artillery take the lead in joining the battle?

In this way, casualties could be reduced!

Saleh immediately made a decision and said, "That's great. Let's do as Lieutenant General Rashid said. Tomorrow we will attack the Fortress of the Peak. The cavalry will be responsible for vigilance, and the artillery will be responsible for approaching and shooting;"

"The best thing is to just let the artillery team blow up all the Tang Dynasty defenders in Suifeng Fort!"

"The general will get the order!"

...

The next day.

The 20,000 Persian cavalry reinforcements from the Arab Empire followed the tactics formulated by General Saleh. They moved the artillery team that was originally with the baggage team to the front line. Under the protection of the cavalry, they used draft horses to guard the gates. Bronze cannons of different sizes were pulled to the battlefield of Suifeng Fort.

However, General Saleh, who was still on the march, received an urgent military report from the messenger from the front before he led the artillery team to Suifeng Fort.

"Report——"

"Reporting to the general, urgent military situation!"

The messenger hurriedly rode forward with a particularly solemn expression on his face. He reported to the general Saleh on horseback, hesitantly: "Suifeng Fort, on the battlefield of Suifeng Fort, a discovery was made. Yes, I found it..."

The messenger stammered for a long time, but never got to the point.

This made the commander on horseback, Saleh, scold impatiently: "What has been discovered in Suifeng Fort? Tell me!"

The messenger was heartbroken and replied: "General Qi, a warship of the Tang Dynasty Navy was discovered in Suifeng Fort!"

puff--

Hearing this, Saleh almost spurted out a mouthful of old blood. His eyes were as wide as copper bells and he said sternly: "What did you say? Say it again?"

The messenger replied firmly: "General, Suifeng Fort has discovered the warships of the Tang Dynasty Navy. There are ten warships, and they are lined up to block Suifeng Fort from behind!"

"What?"

This time, after receiving the affirmative reply from the messenger, General Saleh's expression could be described as seeing a ghost in the daytime.

Ten warships from the Tang Navy fleet actually appeared outside Suifeng Fort, and lined up to surround Suifeng Fort behind the warships?

What a joke!

This is the Pamir Plateau with a relative altitude of 5000-6000 meters and an absolute altitude of 1000-1500 meters. It is a plateau pasture composed of moraine wasteland and desert plains. It is not a sea with the same color as the sea and sky, with high blue waves!

Could it be that all the warships in the Tang Dynasty Navy had wings?

Can we still fly from the sea to the Pamir Plateau and to Suifeng Castle?

General Saleh's head exploded with a buzz.

However, as the commander-in-chief of an army, he still has basic determination. Even if he encounters such inexplicable things, he still maintains absolute majesty in front of his subordinates.

snort!

Saleh on horseback snorted coldly, then turned his horse's head and said sternly: "Lead the way, I would like to see how the Tang garrison of Suifeng Fort managed to defeat the navy's battle. The ship was transported to the Pamir Plateau and to the battlefield of Suifeng Fort!”

"The general will get the order!"

The next moment, the Arab Empire messenger who came from Suifeng Fort immediately rode back the same way.

Behind him was Saleh, the commander of the 20,000 Persian cavalry reinforcements, and hundreds of his personal guards.

An hour later.

In the vanguard formation of the Arab Empire's reinforcements, which was less than three miles away from Suifeng Fort, General Saleh, who had arrived in a hurry, finally stood on a ridgeline and saw what was enough to frighten the messengers and all the vanguard soldiers. A strange sight - outside the broken city wall of the small Suifeng Castle, there were actually as many as ten warships forming a temporary city wall to protect the Suifeng Castle.

Such a spectacle that can almost be described as seeing a ghost in the daytime, these naval warships appearing out of thin air on the Pamir Plateau, could not help but make General Saleh smack his tongue and take a breath.

Even if he broke his brain, he couldn't figure out how on earth a warship appeared in this wasteland with not even a river or a lake for hundreds of miles.

In desperation, Saleh couldn't help but keep pulling his hair, as if he wanted the pain to tell him that all this was an illusion, that he was dreaming, and that he was dazzled.

However, the voice of deputy general Rashid beside him brought the shocked Saleh back to reality.

"General Qi-"

Rashid's face was also full of confusion. He explained: "At the end of yesterday evening, when I personally rushed to Suifeng Fort to investigate, there was clearly a piece of yellow sand outside the broken walls of Suifeng Fort. There were no warships at all;”

"But today General Momo led the cavalry vanguard and just arrived when he suddenly discovered that ten warships appeared on the outer wall of Suifeng Castle. It was extremely strange!"

At this time, another deputy general, Omar, also said with a puzzled face: "Yes, General, yesterday the scouts under the general's command came to Suifeng Fort to investigate, and they approached Suifeng Fort no less than ten times for reconnaissance. No warships were found;"

"Besides, this huge warship cannot be driven by human power on land!"

As he spoke, Omar's expression froze, and he said with some guilt: "General, could it be that there are wizards who are good at witchcraft among the Tang Dynasty defenders in Suifeng Castle?"

"This, these ten warships are evil objects transformed out of thin air by the wizards of the Tang Dynasty. They are used to prevent our army from attacking Suifeng Castle!"

"Shit!"

Lieutenant General Omar's remarks made General Saleh so angry that one Buddha was born and two Buddhas ascended to heaven. He immediately cursed: "If there really is a wizard who can create a warship out of thin air, then why doesn't he summon a magic weapon to descend from the sky and destroy it directly?" we?"

snort!

As he spoke, Saleh sneered and said: "The warlocks of the Tang Dynasty love to show off these strange and obscene techniques, but they are just a cover-up to deceive people;"

"This general still doesn't believe it. So what if these Tang army defenders in Suifeng Castle can get warships? Is it possible that their warships can still travel on land? Can they also travel on land with our empire's ships? Persian cavalry battle?"

"These immobile warships are just rows of fixed targets. I would like to see if the decks of these Tang Dynasty warships can block the bombardment of the Imperial Artillery's copper cannons!"

After saying that, Saleh roared with a ferocious expression and ordered: "Come here, pass this general's order, and the army will continue to operate according to the established combat deployment;"

"Omar, Rashid——"

"The general is here!"

Saleh ordered: "I am ordering you two to each lead 10,000 cavalry to patrol the left and right wings of Suifeng Fort. I will personally lead the artillery team to bombard the Tang Dynasty warships in Suifeng Fort!"

"The general will get the order!"

Another hour passed.

The Arab Empire's reinforcement artillery unit carrying two hundred bronze artillery pieces finally arrived near the battlefield of Suifeng Fort. Then, under the arrangement of General Saleh, they moved towards the Tang Dynasty Navy warship outside Suifeng Fort.

It is worth mentioning that the Tang garrison in Suifeng Fort seemed to be unable to see the military operations of the Arab Empire's reinforcements outside Suifeng Fort, allowing the Arab Empire's Persian cavalry to roam on the wings and allowing the enemy to attack. The army's artillery continued to approach Suifeng Fort without any response.

It seems that the Suifeng Castle is like an empty city.

On the huge Pamir Plateau, the isolated city of Suifengbao standing on the Varahan Corridor, there was not even the slightest movement at this time.

Between the sky and the earth, there is only the sound of the howling wind and the sound of the reinforcements of the Arab Empire lining up outside the city. If it were not for the sound of hunting in the wind on the walls of Suifeng Castle and on the bows and masts of the ten Tang Dynasty navy warships, With the war flags of the Tang Dynasty flying, the enemy general Saleh had the illusion that there was no Tang army stationed in Suifeng Fort.

Quiet, the eerie silence on the battlefield seemed really frightening and frightening.

However, as the commander-in-chief, Saleh had to bite the bullet and order the attack. He must not let the strange and obscene skills created by the Tang Army warlocks in Suifeng Fort shake the military morale of the imperial Persian cavalry.

Noon has just arrived.

Twenty thousand Persian cavalry and 200 cannons from the imperial artillery team have all assembled in formation outside Suifeng Fort. The three armies can attack as soon as the commander-in-chief Saleh gives the order.

"All troops attack!"

Finally, Saleh, who was in command of the central army, waved his arm holding the scimitar high and gave the order to attack.

Woo, woo, woo——

Boom, boom, boom!

Immediately afterwards, amid the sound of attack horns and the low beating of war drums, the Arab Empire's reinforcements, aiming to open up the Warahan Corridor, finally launched an attack on Suifeng Fort.

Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick!

In an instant, the sound of horse hooves on the battlefield was like thunder, and they rushed towards Suifeng Castle with billowing yellow smoke.

Almost at the same time.

The ten Tang Dynasty navy warships outside Suifeng Castle finally made some movement.

Tom, tom, tom!

Accompanied by bursts of noise, the black barrels of red cannons poked out from the gun emplacements on the side of the warship facing the enemy;

Immediately afterwards, another Datang soldier pushed red cannons onto the deck of the warship. The black muzzles of the cannons were aimed at the Persian cavalry army that was charging on horseback outside the city.

"Prepare--"

"fire!"

Following the orders from Qianhu of the Tang Army on the warships, each warship communicated with command flags and issued the order to fire.

Amidst the sounds of burning fuses, the 120 red cannons mounted on the warships successively emitted the roar of dragons and tigers that resounded throughout the sky.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Boom, boom, boom!

One after another, the explosive bombs smashed into the Persian cavalry formation that was approaching Suifeng Fort in a dense charge formation. The shock wave generated by the explosion immediately knocked the enemy cavalry to their knees and made them mourn;

The explosive shell fired by the red cannon had hundreds of iron nails inside. The iron nails flying at an explosive speed seemed to have no essential difference between the human body and the armor;

The hit on the body of the war horse made a big hole, and it was bleeding out, and it couldn't be stopped at all!

"Enemy attack——"

"Disperse quickly, the enemy is attacking——"