As early as when Su Dingfang led his army into Gaochang, he realized that although they were both countries on the grassland, Gaochang's army should have the lowest combat effectiveness, and could not even catch up with the defeated Turkic army.
The specific reason is that they have been too stable in recent years. The entire country has not fought a war for two or three decades. The people in the army have never seen a war. Although some troops still conduct training in peacetime, it is just a cover-up and there is no real war training at all.
To put it bluntly, Gaochang Kingdom had been living in comfort for too long and had no sense of war at all. The remnants of the defeated Xueyantuo army were like rats crossing the street, but when the Gaochang army faced them, even they were able to beat the Gaochang army away, not to mention the elite troops of our Tang Dynasty. They were definitely not on the same level.
The battle had lasted less than two hours, and over 15,000 soldiers had been killed or wounded. Most of the remaining soldiers had thrown down their weapons and surrendered. They now had only one question: Why did you, the Tang Dynasty, attack us? Even though we were slacking off and not carrying out your orders, we had already agreed that we were your vassal state.
"This is our Royal Highness, the Crown Prince. Kneel down."
Kneeling in front of Li Xiang was Gaochang General Ke Te.
This man was one of the few generals in Gaochang who could lead troops, but looking at his fat body, Li Xiang knew that this guy was probably not that good. When he caught this guy just now, he was discussing life with several women in the tent.
"Your Highness, are you mistaken? We are the army of Gaochang. Our two families have long been allied. We are a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty."
Kote knelt and crawled to Li Xiang's feet. He had no dignity at all at this moment. He knew that this time the Tang Dynasty was serious and it was not a tentative attack at all. The entire military camp had been captured. He also smelled the blood in the air just now. A lot of people had been killed.
"We in the Great Tang Dynasty do not need vassal states like you. When our Great Tang was in danger, you chose to sit on the sidelines and watch the fun. If this is also a vassal state, then we really don't need you. Now I give you two choices. Either order the generals around to report to me, or you will be killed by my sword."
Li Xiang drew out his sword and placed it on the guy's shoulder. If he dared to say no, Li Xiang would cut off his head in an instant. So many people have died tonight, and you won't be one more.
"No, no, no, I'll write it right away. Whatever you say is what it is. Please don't kill me. I have admired Datang for a long time..."
This guy has no backbone at all. If Li Xiang hadn't put the sword on his face, he would probably continue talking. Seeing his ugly appearance, Li Xiang was furious.
The other Gaochang soldiers behaved in a similar manner. They knelt obediently beside the Tang soldiers as ordered. Without the Tang soldiers' greetings, these people did not even dare to put their hands down. Being treated like this as prisoners, they could probably be ranked first among the Tang prisoners.
According to ancient records, the soldiers of Gaochang Kingdom were very brave, but Li Xiang found it difficult to associate them with the word brave. Although there were several other military camps around, this camp was the largest. As long as they took this place, it would be equivalent to taking over the entire western border.
Things are going so smoothly here. Li Xiang looked towards the royal city with some worry. The earliest news would be tomorrow morning. He wondered how Su Dingfang was doing?
Su Dingfang did encounter difficulties. When he just started to attack from the periphery, the soldiers on his side had already discovered him, so Su Dingfang did not launch a sneak attack, but immediately launched a strong attack. When it was almost dawn, the battle on Su Dingfang's side was over, but there was a problem facing Su Dingfang, that is, the King of Gaochang had run away.
According to the plan made earlier, Su Dingfang pushed Wadahan to the throne. From this moment on, Wadahan was the king of Gaochang Kingdom and was also canonized by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
Wadahan couldn't believe all this, but at this moment he had already sat on the throne of king. The entire royal city's more than 10,000 troops had all collapsed and were driven into the prisoner-of-war camp by the Tang army. As for whether they could be released in the future, it depended on Wadahan's ability.
The ministers of Gaochang Kingdom were killed or wounded. Originally there were more than one hundred ministers who were able to attend the morning court, but now there are less than fifty left. Since you want to resist to the end, we will massacre the Gaochang Royal City.
When Wadahan was dragged to the palace, he was also shocked by the situation outside the palace. Although he admired the Tang Dynasty culture and hoped to ascend to this position with the support of the Tang Dynasty, he had never thought that he would ascend to this position in this way. There were too many deaths. More than 3,000 people were executed in one night, and more than 10,000 people were imprisoned outside the city. If they did not express their submission, according to Su Dingfang's temper, these people would probably not survive.
"General Su, isn't this a bit too hasty?"
Seeing three more ministers being dragged away, Wadahan felt a little guilty.
In the past, he had hoped very much to sit on this position, but he never did it in this way. Although he is now the king of Gaochang, the vast majority of people in the country are opposed to him, so he has no way to have real power. In the end, he can only rely on the Tang court. This is definitely not what Wadahan wants.
"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. According to the will of our Emperor, Your Majesty is our friend. We must clear all obstacles for you to take power. Since these people are unwilling to serve you, why keep them around? They will only cause you trouble in the future. Let's use this opportunity to send them to where they should go. The rest of you will know how to serve you."
Although Su Dingfang was standing, he straightened his back beside him, showing no respect at all. Many Gaochang officials below were also angry but dared not speak out, but what could they do? If they were dissatisfied in the slightest, they would be immediately dragged out and beheaded by the Tang soldiers.
There were already several large boxes of heads collected from outside, and they didn't want to become one of them...