Chapter 929: Generals Gather, Strategic Deliberations III (1/2)
Chapter 929: Generals Gather, Strategic Deliberations (III)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”I've exchanged blows with Dalun Ruozan before. Given my understanding of him, he should already be discussing a night-time operation with them. If my assumptions are correct, the target of their operation should be here.”
As Wang Chong spoke, he suddenly pointed a finger at a certain place on the model, immediately drawing everyone's attention to it.
……
”The daytime part of our battle with the Great Tang has already concluded, but the nighttime part has yet to begin…”
At the same time, to the east of Talas, behind the hills, inside a typical golden Western Turkic tent, Dalun Ruozan, Duwu Sili, Huoshu Huicang, Dusong Mangpoje, and the rest of the Turkic and Tibetan generals were gathered.
Unlike the Tang side, they were not gathered around a topographical map of Talas, but the precious map of the continent belonging to the Ü-Tsang Empire.
”On the surface, the commander of the Great Tang forces is Gao Xianzhi, but in reality, their commander is the one that we're all familiar with, the youngest son of the Wang Clan. Given my understanding of him, he will definitely try something tonight. In the southwest, he used this move, and he won't let such an opportunity pass.”
Just like Wang Chong had with Dalun Ruozan, Dalun Ruozan had drawn the same conclusion about Wang Chong. These two mortal foes had far too great an understanding of each other.
”In addition, during the daytime, we lost a great deal of soldiers. Unlike the Great Tang, we won't be getting reinforcements, so I conclude that Wang Chong will definitely make us the main target of his attacks. He will use every method at his disposal to slowly grind away at our manpower until we crumble away!”
If Wang Chong had been listening in, he would definitely have been flabbergasted, as Dalun Ruozan had reached exactly the same conclusion from his analysis as the generals in the reception hall belonging to the Lord of Talas.
”Gonjo Jiebu, what is the status on the fence and sentry posts I had you construct?”
Dalun Ruozan turned to a Tibetan general behind him.
”Reporting to Great Minister: the carriages have been unloaded and the soldiers ordered to begin construction. All construction should be done in around four hours.”
Gonjo Jiebu was an extremely burly and rough-faced general, with a scimitar hanging from his waist.
”Very good. Make sure that all the soldiers have the passwords for the patrols. In addition, make sure that the outer perimeter has many torches. Any person approaching, whether friend or enemy, must be rigorously inspected. If they are our own men, they need to be even more rigorously inspected!” Dalun Ruozan said.
Duwu Sili suddenly spoke. ”Isn't Great Minister making too much of a fuss? Isn't this too cautious for some nighttime patrols?” With his hands held behind his back, he had been quietly listening, but the more he heard, the more his thick brows creased.
Dalun Ruozan was a Great Minister of Ü-Tsang, and though they had only interacted with each other for a short time, he had won Duwu Sili's approval. But Duwu Sili found it hard to just blindly go along with Dalun Ruozan's extreme vigilance. Dalun Ruozan had not even been like this during the battle in the morning.
”Haha, Great General has never fought with that person, so it's natural that you don't know. That person's art of war is different from anyone else's. In the war of the southwest, he had the Tang disguise themselves as Tibetans or Mengshe Zhao people multiple times. There was a torrential downpour going on at the time, so our encirclement was broken many times, and our advantage was slowly whittled away until we were defeated.”
Dalun Ruozan softly chuckled, not at all angry.
Buzz!
Dalun Ruozan's words took Duwu Sili, Shamask, Chekun Benba, and the other Western Turkic generals by surprise. They had all heard somewhat about the war of the southwest, but never to this level of detail.
”That's too despicable!” Chekun Benba viciously said.
The Turks were accustomed to open battles, frank clashes of saber and sword. If the enemy disguised themselves as Western Turks and set up an ambush, the Western Turks would truly fall into the trap.
”Great General, do not find this strange. Great Minister is only being careful, and there is no harm in being cautious. This is for the sake of the entire army,” Huoshu Huicang sternly said. ”Moreover, the battlefield is currently covered in corpses. The Great Tang might already be implementing their plan, taking the armor off those corpses. In this battle we lost nearly forty thousand men. If the Great Tang dispatches forty thousand men disguised as us and launches a night raid, in our situation, we won't be able to last and will inevitably suffer a gruesome defeat.”
Both Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang were richly experienced in Wang Chong's inclination for using disguised troops to launch ambushes and were extremely wary of such tactics. Duwu Sili might not have understood, but this pair felt obligated to guard against the possibility.
Duwu Sili said nothing, but his brows creased even more tightly. In small numbers, disguised troops were no problem, but a large number was a completely different matter. If that boy from the Great Tang really was so crafty, then these precautions were absolutely necessary.
”Then we will do as you say and have my subordinates do everything they can to assist you. But if the Great Tang can raid us, then we can also try attacking them. Far better to attack than wait for our deaths,” Duwu Sili harshly said.