When Yuchi Baolin came out to assemble the troops just now, he had already thought of this result. He left a part of the troops he brought with him, and then assembled 3,000 elite soldiers to escort Li Xiang to the capital of Western Turkic.
According to Lord Zhao's idea, three thousand people might be a little too few. In fact, these people are already quite a lot. If there are a little more, it is very likely that they will go to fight. Li Xiang analyzed the situation of the Western Turks. With the soldiers in his hands plus the soldiers under Niu Jinda, there will be no problem in taking down the Western Turks if they are determined. After all, the elite troops of the Western Turks are all in the barracks of the Western Regions Allied Forces. Even if they go back to defend, they will never be faster than us.
"After I leave, the situation in the border area will be handed over to Lord Zhao. As long as your soldiers hold their ground, no matter who provokes us, we will be invincible. If anyone provokes us, we must fight back fiercely, but we must not pursue them."
Li Xiang was making the final instructions. This matter was too urgent, so Li Xiang could not delay here. He thought that there would be enough manpower after Yuchi Baolin came, but he did not expect this incident to happen again, so Li Xiang could only write a letter to Chang'an City, hoping that the court could send Changsun Chong or Cheng Chuliang over.
There is nothing wrong with Lord Zhao's brain, and he can manage the military camp, but if he really wants to lead troops to fight, he will be a little inadequate, so there must be a military general in the military camp. Although Gaochang Kingdom has military generals, those people have just surrendered and are not worthy of our trust.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. Although I am only a civilian, I can still defend this place. I will remember Your Highness's words. No matter who provokes us, we will stay within this city. If they push too hard, we still have artillery fire to deal with them. We will never leave the city to fight."
This is exactly what Li Xiang wanted. After hearing what Lord Zhao said, Li Xiang smiled and nodded, then gave Yuchi Baolin a look, and three thousand people immediately galloped away. These people had just rested in the military camp and were about to follow Li Xiang to the expedition. There was no trace of fatigue on each of their faces. They were all Li Xiang's old subordinates. At this moment, they were able to follow His Highness to the expedition again, and their whole bodies were as full of energy as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
After being out for an hour, Li Xiang looked back and saw that it was indeed his old troops. During the one-hour forced march, everyone's formation had not changed at all. This really made Li Xiang feel confident. This was the perfect combination of general and soldiers.
"Your Highness, shouldn't you praise me? I brought your old troops from Goguryeo to the northwest. I didn't embarrass you, did I? I didn't lead you astray, did I?"
Yuchi Baolin said very proudly that although this army had left Li Xiang for nearly two years, it was still the same as before leaving Li Xiang. These people were very energetic and not at all tired from the long journey. It seemed that they had rested for the past few days.
Li Xiang smiled and nodded. He agreed very much with what Yuchi Baolin said. Whoever the army was handed over to would likely resonate with their commander. If the commander was a wolf, then this was a den of wolves. But if the commander was a sheep, then this army would have no combat effectiveness in the future.
"Your Highness, there are unknown cavalry ahead."
Just as the two were about to speak, the messenger came running over from behind. As they moved forward, the sounding balloon was always in the air, with the war horses below pulling the balloon in the sky. This could be said to be the earliest adventure activity of this era. However, the soldiers on top had all undergone special training. They were not very adaptable at the beginning, but now they can stay on it for two or three hours. After two or three hours, someone else would have to go up.
"Formation."
After hearing this, Yuchi Baolin immediately ordered his men to defend. Li Xiang was in the army and was deep in enemy territory. If these people had any ideas, we must prepare in advance.
When Yuchi Baolin finished speaking, the cavalry behind him immediately formed a circular defense formation around him. The soldiers in the middle had already pulled out the crossbows, and they were pointing them in three different directions. Except for the direction we were coming from, the other directions were ready, just waiting for Yuchi Baolin's order, and our artillery would teach you a lesson.
As for the cavalry crossbows on the periphery, they are also ready. Their crossbows are different from those used by others. The crossbows used by these people are obviously larger than those used by others, so the range is much longer.
This was also redesigned when Li Xiang returned to Chang'an last time. It is a chain crossbow that can be worn on the arm. Li Xiang called it a close-range crossbow, which is similar to the Chong submachine gun in modern society.
But the chain crossbow carried on the back is different. It is like a semi-automatic rifle in modern society, with a longer range.
Now the soldiers on the periphery are using this type, and the soldiers in the inner circle are using smaller ones. If the enemy charges later, we can deploy them in echelons, snipe them in sections, and kill them on a large scale.
The coalition forces...
As soon as Li Xiang saw the flag on the opposite side, he immediately understood what was going on. It should be that General Kang Ying got the news, so he brought people here. He wondered if this general had any advice for him.
The enemy army stopped three miles away. They also knew that the Tang Dynasty had a warning range. If you rushed into this warning range in a daze, you might lose your life.
"May I ask, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, that our General would like to hear your response before the battle."
Two cavalrymen from the other side ran over with one hand raised, which meant that they were not carrying any weapons. No matter how the two sides were in conflict, answering each other in front of the battle line was a tradition of that era. If you didn't dare to go over, it meant that you were too timid and the soldiers below would look down on you. After all, no one wanted to follow a cowardly general.
Li Xiang saw that General Kang Ying had already come out. Li Xiang also did not bring any followers with him. Even a general of the enemy had such courage. Could it be that as the grandson of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, I don't even have this little courage? Wouldn't that bring shame to the entire Tang Dynasty?