Chapter 342: Crossing the river to block (Part 1)

Night fell quietly on the banks of the Amu River. A crescent moon hung on the dark blue sky. The silver moonlight shone on the endless desert, making the golden desert look a silver coat. In the night wind, the sound of the waves of the Amu River hit me faintly. The vast water surface sparkled and the water was churning. The Amu River dragged its heavy body and panted and pushed the rolling river water to the distant north.

On the shore, teams of Tang army scouts rushed past. They stared at the water surface. When there was a trace of movement on the water surface, the scouts immediately stopped the war horses and carefully inspected, fearing that they could miss any clues. On the other side of the city of Chalzhu, the Tang army was on full alert, and the water level of the Amu River was abnormally lowered, which made the Tang army alert.

By the Amu River, Li Qing'an was checking the water level reduction. Li Siye, the main general in charge of this interception, was also checking together. Currently, Li Siye is the deputy envoy of Anxi Jiedu, Dayuan military envoy and new army capital training. In addition to cavalry and shooting training in the Shaye, the subsequent fighting array training of the Anxi Army was carried out in Shiguo, and Li Siye was responsible for the training. This time, the Dashi Army intercepted the Dashi Army across the Amu River. Since the elite main forces of the Anxi Army were not returned in Hexi, the other part of the troops were placed in the north of the Mo, and some of the troops were transferred to Shule, preparing to use troops to Xinde and Punjab, with more troops dispersed. Most of the 40,000 troops in the river were Sogdian natives, and their combat power was slightly poor. Li Qing'an had no choice but to use the training of new soldiers to deal with the crisis in the river, which gave Li Siye, who had been idle, a place to use his skills.

Since Li Qing'an gradually felt the increasing pressure from Chang'an, his personnel secret tune gradually came out, and he used direct generals such as Li Fei brothers, Duan Xiushi, Cui Qianyou to suppress non-direct generals, especially some veterans who may be bought by Li Longji or directly threatened his status. He also used different means to control them. For example, Feng Changqing, after Li Qing'an was demoted to Henan Dao Observation Envoy, it was Feng Changqing who controlled his Beiting. Although Li Qing'an reconciled with him with a generous attitude, after the crisis first appeared, Li Qing'an was the first to demote him and appoint him.

He was the governor of Yincheng, managing the immigration of Tubo, and deprived him of military power. The second was Li Siye. Although Li Qing'an had a good personal relationship with him, Li Siye was also a potential threat to him. However, Li Siye was different from Feng Changqing. To some extent, he was a target that could be won. Therefore, Li Qing'an used a tactful way to send him to the distant Shi Kingdom to train new recruits. This was also Li Siye's own initiative. Judging from the information currently in charge of Li Qing'an, Li Longji's clutches had not yet reached Li Siye. Only then did Li Qing'an call him to the Amu River to deal with the Dashi Army.

At the same time, Li Qingan also wanted to use this opportunity to communicate with Li Siye to see if he could be completely pulled into his camp. In a crisis in the river, Li Qingan was considering more than just war.

"General, the river is clearly here in the afternoon, look!"

Li Siye pointed at the big stone with a bamboo pole and said, "But now it has dropped by more than a foot. It's so weird. This reminds me of the situation when I was fighting against Lianyun Castle. Is it God's will?"

"It cannot be God's will."

"What is it that's not God's will? It fell one foot inexplicably."

Li Qingan pondered for a moment and asked, "Can they break the water upstream and let the river flow?"

"It's possible!"

Li Siye waved his hand to the distance and said, "Come the guide!"

After a moment, several soldiers brought an old Sogdian man. Li Siye pointed at him and introduced to Li Qing'an: "He is a boatman who has lived by the Amu River for many years. No one is more familiar with the Amu River than him. He can speak Turkic language. The general can ask him directly."

Li Qing'an sat down on the big stone and asked gently: "My father-in-law? How many years have you lived by the Amu River?"

The old man had learned that the other party was the governor of Anxi, and he replied respectfully: "The villain is called Baji. He has lived by the Amu River for forty years. I know the temper of the Amu River very well."

"Then I'll ask you, the river suddenly fell by a foot. What's the reason?"

The old man stepped forward and observed it carefully for a moment and said, "This situation has happened several times before. It was a sudden rainstorm in summer, the river water surged, and a dam collapse occurred a hundred miles south."

Li Qingan immediately asked: "Is there any place where the Amu River is prone to collapse?"

"Yes! There are several places, the closest place here is the west bank, a hundred miles south. We Sogdians called Abalitang, which is a turn. The riverbed is shallow and the river water is basically parallel to the bank. The terrain outside the embankment is relatively low-lying. Once the heavy rain causes the river water to rise sharply, the river water will overflow, rush into the desert, and the river water in the downstream will decline."

Li Qingan looked up at the sky in the south. The weather was as clear as here and there was no heavy rain. He asked again: "If there were no heavy rains, would there be any other reason for the dam collapse?"

The old man replied affirmatively: "That is, someone deliberately opened the river bank and released water by man."

Li Qing'an and Li Siye looked at each other and it was true. It was done by the Great Food Army. This is very likely a sign of their attack. Li Qing'an frowned and asked again: "Brother-in-law, this river water has only dropped by one foot. Will it make crossing the river easier?"

"Yes, don't underestimate this decline." The old man pointed to the river and said, "Please look at the river. The waves have decreased significantly, so it will be much easier to cross the river. And according to my experience, the water level will continue to drop, and it will be easier to cross the river. I have seen the Dashi army crossing the river in a huge sheepskin raft that can transport 100 people to cross the river at a time, which makes people scary."

Li Qing'an nodded, "Brother-in-law, thank you!"

Let the soldiers take the old man away, Li Qing'an immediately said to Li Siye: "Now it is certain that the cannibals are going to attack, but we don't know when to attack. Maybe it's tonight, maybe tomorrow night, or maybe from other river sections. We can't be careless at all. You can immediately send additional personnel to patrol the coast, and report any movements. In addition, you must determine whether the dam is collapsed a hundred miles away. If so, we can roughly infer the other party's crossing position."

Li Siye agreed repeatedly and quickly deployed the corresponding plan. Li Qingan stared at the dark river opposite the river and couldn't help but say to himself: "Abu Muslim, do you really care about yourself?"

The Tang army scouts rushed on the shore. Soon, the Tang army determined the location of the dam collapse on the other side. A hundred miles south, just where the old man Baji mentioned, there was an abnormality on the river surface there. After putting the wood down, the wooden blocks quickly drifted to the other side. Moreover, the water level upstream did not decrease, so the water level began to drop here.

As the night gets deeper and the water level drops suddenly stop.

"Qilang, I seem to feel a murderous aura pounce on us!"

Li Siye's voice was very low. He stared at the opposite shore, holding the hilt of the knife tightly, his eyes full of murderous intent.

Li Qingan glanced at Li Siye, and he was a little surprised. Li Siye actually called him "Qilang". This was when he said it unknowingly. At this moment, Li Qingan suddenly felt that he had returned to the past. When he was fighting side by side with Li Siye, a touch of emotion quietly emerged in his heart. He smiled and said, "Would we want to compare again? Let's see who kills the most enemies?"

Li Siye looked at Li Qing'an in surprise. He saw a hint of relief in Li Qing'an's eyes and a warm feeling of friendship. He was also extremely moved. He suddenly laughed to the sky and said, "Okay! Let's compare again."

He turned his hand back, "Get my Modao!"

Li Qing'an also ordered his personal soldiers: "Give me a bow and arrow."

On the other side of the river, under the city of Chalzhu, the eight thousand food troops were already lined up. Qiyad rode on the war horse. His eyes flew away, looking at the other side with a deep hatred. He hated him to the bone. Day after day, day after day, a plate of moldy black beans, a bone-burning whip, and the heavy shackles not only handcuffed his body, but also destroyed his soul. The scenes that made him unable to look back on were floating in his mind. The experience of the prisoner of war not only humiliated his confidence, but also ruined his future.

Qiyade looked up the city tower, and on the city tower, he saw a thin figure, standing there like a tree, motionless. A hint of sadness arose in Qiyade's heart, Abu.

Muslims are also losers like him. He can understand the state of mind of a loser. The outcome is no longer important. What is important is that he has taken a step to revenge. This kind of courage cannot be understood by ordinary people.

"General Qiyad, we are ready!" A general of the big food squat stopped his war horse and reported to him.

Qiyade looked up at the moonlight in the sky. The night was dark, the crescent moon was like a hook, and a dark cloud floated by, covering the moonlight and casting a shadow on the earth. This was the time for murder, and he looked at Abu again.

Muslim, Abu on the wall.

The Muslim figure still did not change at all, as if the upcoming battle had nothing to do with him.

"Beat the drum! Three thousand troops cross the river!" Qi Yade issued an order for war in his tightly closed lips.

"Dong!Dong!Dong!" The low war drum sounded, and a total of 3,000 soldiers from the First Pioneer Army lined up toward the river bank.

On the shore, nearly a hundred huge sheepskin rafts were placed. The sheepskin rafts were made of logs and covered with sheepskin. They were huge in size. Such sheepskin rafts needed to be sewn with the skin of a thousand sheeps. This sheepskin raft once brought brilliant victories to the Abbassin army. The 200,000 army crossed the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and completely defeated the Umayaya army. Today, the Khorasan army will cross the Amu River in the same sheepskin raft and conquer the river.

The sheepskin raft can transport hundreds of people at a time, but considering that it will encounter obstacles, the sheepskin raft is not fully transported. One raft only carries thirty people and their war horses, ten of whom stand at the front with their shields to defend against the Tang army's bows and arrows, and the other twenty sit on both sides, row hard and row the raft to the opposite shore.

The first raft was launched. More than a dozen soldiers stood on the raft with their horses. Seven or eight people on both sides pushed into the river. The moment the raft entered the water, they quickly climbed onto the raft and rowed hard to move towards the opposite shore, followed by the second and third rafts.

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Chapter completed!