Chapter 407 Scorched Desert Earth

The situation in Shiva City was quickly controlled by the Tang army and quickly calmed down. Arslan breathed a sigh of relief. There was no large-scale burning, murder and rape that he was afraid of in Shiva City. Although Li Qingan had promised him that he would not indulge military discipline, Arslan was still extremely worried. Twenty thousand Tang troops rushed into the city with a huge murderous aura. Will Li Qingan's promise be fulfilled?

But the facts left Arslan speechless. The Tang army cavalry rushed past the streets and alleys, quickly dividing and surrounding the city of Shiva. They did not rob and rape, but had a very clear task, which was to drive all residents out of their homes and search for the food and food in their homes. Yes, it was food. The Tang army was not in a hurry to take away the property, but wanted food. Bags of wheat and bread were searched by the Tang army, and sheep bleated and blewed. They were killed by the Tang army with a knife and threw them into the carriage to be towed away.

Arslan was full of worry. He vaguely guessed the intention of the Tang army to seize food, perhaps targeting the 100,000 main army of the Arabs. If this is true, would the Khwarezmites become a weapon for the Tang army to deal with the Arabs?

Arslan didn't dare to think about it anymore. He whipped the war horse hard and ran towards the Khwarezm Palace.

The Khwarezm Palace is now the temporary military camp of the Tang army. The king and his concubines have been detained. More than 2,000 Tang soldiers are quickly searching for the palace's property. In a spacious palace, Li Qing'an and several Tang army generals are nervously deciding on the next specific action plan.

On the table was a huge and detailed map of Khwarezm. Li Qing'an got the latest information. The 10,000 vanguards of the Great Food Army were temporarily stopped west of the Amu River. It was obvious that they had already known the news that the Tang army appeared in Khwarezm. The current situation was extremely subtle. It can be said that they had reached a time when one trick was not careful and the whole game was lost.

"I was wondering whether we could change our strategy and no longer withdraw back to the river, but directly use 30,000 Tang troops to fight against the Dashi 100,000 army."

Li Qingan stared at the map in front of him and said slowly: "I also know that 30,000 is difficult to deal with 100,000, and we are not good at fighting in the desert, but we can defend cities and fight offensive and defensive battles with the enemy, which is what we are good at. And I infer that the Great Food Army has one of the biggest weaknesses."

Bai Xiaode and Tian Zhen looked at each other. If Li Siye had discussed tactics with them, they might have participated in the discussion together, but now it is Anxi coach Li Qing'an. In front of him, they had no room for talk.

Both of them bowed and said, "Please give the order to the general, we obey the order."

Li Qingan was stunned and immediately smiled, "Now is not the time for me to give orders. You are both generals who are experienced in battle. You should have your own opinions on the situation in front of you. Otherwise, how can I feel at ease to let you go out and stand alone? Cui Qianyou is in Mobei, Li Siye is in the river, Feng Changqing is in Xinde, and Li Guangbi is in Tochar. They can stand alone. Next time it is your turn. Tell me! Don't have any scruples."

Both of them smiled embarrassedly, and Bai Xiaode said, "Then I want to ask the general, is the biggest weakness of the Great Food Army the lack of military rations?"

"That's right!"

Li Qing'an nodded with satisfaction and said, "I obviously have an idea but I refuse to show my feelings. This is not what I hope. If you continue, why is the biggest weakness of the Dashi Army the lack of military rations?"

Bai Xiaode heard the praise in Li Qing'an's tone. He knew that he was right, so he couldn't help but feel excited. He picked up the wooden pole and pointed to the map and said: "From the terrain around Khwarezm, it can be seen that there are vast deserts around, especially the Karakum Desert west of the Amu River, which is thousands of miles wide and has no supply land. The 100,000 Dashi army marched eastward. Their purpose was to take the river, so they would inevitably carry a large amount of siege baggage, so that there would not be too much food and water. The subordinates thought that this was the reason why the Dashi Army did not go straight to the river, but had to detour through the Khwarezm hundreds of miles away from the river. They wanted to get supplies in Khwarezm, not fresh water, but should be food supplies. So this is the most serious problem of the Dashi Army. The logistics supply of the 100,000 troops was insufficient."

Tian Zhen next to him said, "Since that's the case, the general simply burned all the food and led his army to retreat south, causing the Dashi Army to trap the foodless Khwarezm. Wouldn't that be better?"

Li Qing'an nodded, "This is actually my initial plan, because we have four days left to burn the food and drive the Khwarezmians south. I calculated that it was too late, but suddenly ten thousand Dashi Pioneers disrupted my plan. If we implemented the original plan, perhaps these 10,000 people would not dare to chase us, but the main force of the Dashi Army would give up the Khwarezm's supply plan and turn back to Dashi. At that time, we might face the attack with the Khrasan army as the main force."

"Is the general afraid of the Khurasan army?"

Tian Zhen was still a little dissatisfied and said, "The Khurasan army is our defeated general, why are you afraid of?"

Li Qingan glanced at him and smiled and said, "Laotian, this is not a war, this is politics. The Kharasan army is destroyed, and Mansour will only be grateful to us. However, the 100,000 Dashi Army in the north are completely wiped out. Dashi may face division, and the pattern in the river will stabilize from then on. In this way, our strategic focus can turn to the east, so no matter what, I need the main force of the 100,000 Dashi Army to come to Khwarezm."

Tian Zhen bowed and said, "I was so slim to see, please forgive me, General!"

Li Qingan waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's okay! If you don't do anything about it, you can't consider it. You can continue to talk about tactics."

Tian Zhen pondered for a moment and said, "We have already seen the strength of Shiva City. The general defended 100,000 people with 30,000 people. As long as the food is enough, there should be no problem to stick to it for more than half a year. In addition, I suggest setting up a mobile cavalry outside to hinder the logistics supply of the Dashi Army. As long as the Dashi Army has no food, they will inevitably be in chaos within a month."

"How to solve the water source?"

Bai Xiaode said: "There is a dark river deep underground in the city, which directly leads to the Amu River. You can dig a well to get water. It is difficult to get poison from a big eater and it is difficult to cut off."

Li Qing comforted his hands and laughed, "We three cobblers beat Zhuge Liang, not bad! not bad!"

At this time, a soldier came to report, "General, His Highness Arslan urgently asked for the General."

"He came just right, invite him in!"

Li Qing'an turned around and said to Bai Xiaode: "You go to supervise military discipline, and you are not allowed to take the opportunity to steal people's wealth or rape women. The focus is on wealthier Muslim families, and search for all stored food and weapons. The Zoroastrians can let go."

He said to Tian Zhen again: "You will lead our troops to support Li Fei Yuanli. I am worried that Li Fei Yuanli's troops will be dispersed. If you are attacked by the Dashi Pioneer, the consequences will be serious. Let me tell Li Fei Yuanli again that the food will be transported back as much as possible. If you really can't carry it, you can burn it with fire."

Bai Xiaode and Tian Zhen bowed together and said, "I will obey the order!"

The two turned around and then, Arslan hurried into the room, saluted Li Qing'an, and said anxiously: "General, when will the chaos in the city end in the city?"

Li Qing'an asked him to sit down and ordered someone to pour him a cup of tea. Then he smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry, I have ordered that you no longer harass the Zoroastrians who support you, and now it is targeting Muslims."

Arslan's heart fell down. He took a sip of tea and asked again: "I wonder what the general has next? Why do we need to search for food? I heard that there is a lot of food in the warehouse, which should be enough for the Tang army to use."

Li Qingan smiled and said, "Snatching Shiva City is only the first step. Next, we will refuse to defend the city and fight against the main force of the 100,000 Great Food Army. Therefore, the food must be rationed. We must prevent Muslims from helping the great cannibals. Only by holding their food for life in our hands can they be obedient. Don't worry, since I have promised you that I will hand over Khwarezm to you intact, then I will naturally not break my promise."

Arslan was a little unnatural, and said, "General, I don't mean that. I am just afraid of intensifying the conflict between the two factions and it will be difficult to reconcile in the future. I wonder how the General is going to deal with Shifen?"

Shifen is the current king of Khwarezm. Arslan was determined to kill him, so after entering the city, he led his army to the palace. Unexpectedly, Shifen was strictly controlled by the Tang army. Arslan was full of worry. He was very worried that Li Qingan would not kill Shifen, which would become his obstacle in the future.

Li Qingan understood his thoughts and smiled faintly, "Shifen cannot be killed for the time being. His existence is conducive to stabilizing the Muslims in the city. As for whether to kill or not in the future, I just hope you understand one fact. Arabs will never allow the Zoroastrian country west of the Amu River. They dare not fight against the Tang Dynasty, but they can easily destroy you. Think about it yourself! Why don't I kill Shifen?"

Arslan understood what Li Qing'an meant, and he asked in a deep voice: "What the general means is that there will be two Khwarezmians in the future?"

"It is inevitable that two Khwarezmians will appear. If you have the ability to persuade Khwarezmians who already believe in Islam to convert to Zoroastrianism again, then I don't have to worry about anything. Otherwise, even if I kill all the Muslims of Khwarezm, Mansour will still kill you. Only by making Mansour afraid can he let you go, His Highness Arslan, as a king, I hope you can learn the necessary compromise."

Arslan was speechless. He knew that Li Qing'an was saying it was a fact. After fifty-four years, Khwarezm had already divided and had long forgotten him. If he could get the support of the Zoroastrians and restore his country again, it would be his great luck. How could he dare to hope that the Khwarezm people who believe in Islam would convert to Zoroastrian again? He had no ability to deal with religious conflicts well. Sooner or later, civil war would break out. Perhaps the only feasible solution would be divided into two.

He sighed, "I understand, thank you for your long-term considerations."

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Walking along the rolling sand dunes to the north of Shiva City for about forty miles, the huge sand dunes disappeared, and a large area of ​​semi-desert and semi-arid land came to me. Walking a few miles forward, there were unimaginable farmland at a glance. There were fertile land on both sides of the Amu River, and irrigation canals crisscrossed them. This is the famous Aral Sea Delta. The land is fertile. The Amu River brought abundant water, making it the cradle of the Khwarezm civilization. It is also the second largest settlement area of ​​the Khwarezm people. More than 100,000 Khwarezm people are distributed on the vast plain that stretches for more than 30 miles.

It was already tingling and bright. It was the late winter of December. White morning mist covered the barren land, the cold wind whistled, and the villages were silent like death. Many houses were still smoking. It was obviously just burned, with ruins everywhere, and a scene of decay.

Walking five miles further forward is Tucheng, the largest city in the Delta. At this moment, in the vast fields outside the Tucheng, the people of Khwarezm who were driven from all directions gathered, holding the elderly and young, wearing blankets, women holding children, men holding horses, carrying their meager property and the food they depend on for their lives on. There were also carriages and ox carriages carrying the elderly and children, and some of the food and property that could be taken away, the cry of children, the curse of the elderly, the screams of cavalry, and the Tang cavalry urged on both sides with spears.

The people of Khwarezm were trembling in the cold wind, and everyone's face was filled with fear and uneasiness. The news they received was that war between the Tang and Arab troops was about to break out on their land, and everyone had to move to the city of Shiva to take refuge.

In the wilderness west of Tucheng, there were surplus food collected from the Tang army from door to door. The Delta is a place where Khwarezm produces a lot of food. Every household has a little surplus food. Except for the part that can be carried away, the other surplus food will be burned.

The grain was piled up like a hill, and cavalry rushed over from time to time and threw bags of grain onto the hill. Since last night, the Tang army began to drive away the Khwarezm people in the Delta on a large scale and collect food. This was the second group of people. The first group of people was about 20,000 people had been sent away at the third update.

At this time, Li Fei Yuanli led a team of cavalry out of the Tucheng City and asked loudly: "How many people are there in this group?"

An officer came forward to report: "Report to the general, there are about 25,000 people in this group."

"Then you don't wait, and send them away immediately and order each of your brothers to get a bag of food."

"yes!"

The officer waved his hand and said, "I'm ready to leave!"

The trumpet sounded, and a thousand Tang cavalry responsible for escorting the group of Khwarezm people rushed from all directions. Each of them took a bag of food and began to urge the Khwarezm people to set off. The team began to set off south. The huge crowd grew longer and formed a huge refugee team. They bid farewell to their homes, supported the elderly and the young, and marched towards the city of Shiva. New Khwarezm people joined from time to time on the road.

Along the way, a team of Tang cavalry rushed from the south, and the head captain asked loudly: "Can General Li Fei be there?"

"At the gate of Tucheng." Someone replied.

The cavalry immediately whipped and ran towards Tucheng. The grain mountain at the gate of Tucheng had been ignited by the Tang army with tinder oil. The flames soared into the sky and the thick smoke rolled. Li Fei Yuanli felt very sad when he saw it. This was a white grain! It was a pity to burn it like this.

At this time, the cavalry team rushed over and the captain turned over and got off the horse and bowed half a kneeling, reporting: "General Lifei, General Tian came to assist in the transportation of grain under the order of the general, and it was almost here."

Li Fei Yuanli was stunned and couldn't help but curse: "His grandma, come earlier, I've burned the food!"

Soon, Tian Zhen led 5,000 Tang army cavalry to arrive. With Tian Zhen's order, the cavalry dismounted on the horse and rested. Tian Zhen strode towards Li Fei Yuanli. Seeing that the fire was rising from a distance, at least tens of thousands of stones of grain were engulfed by the fire, he couldn't help but frown and shouted: "Old Li, we will help you transport the grain. Why did you burn the grain?"

Li Fei Yuanli squatted on the ground and said angrily: "Who wants you to come earlier!"

"You're too anxious!"

Tian Zhen walked forward and complained: "The general just said that he would burn it when he couldn't take it away in the end, and he didn't let you burn it immediately."

"Luckily, I only burned a part of it, otherwise you wouldn't have been blamed for death by you."

Li Fei Yuanli stood up and pointed at Tucheng and said, "What I burned was only the scattered grains found from the Khwarezmian homes. There were more than 100,000 stones of official grains in Tucheng. I plan to burn the city together with the last fire."

Tian Zhen heard that there were still more than 100,000 stones of grain, so she was overjoyed, "Then I will carry this grain away."

"Don't worry, there will be many people driven here. At that time, I will pick some young and strong people to help you carry them together."

Speaking of this, Li Fei Yuanli suddenly remembered something and asked worriedly: "All you guys come here, are there any news about the vanguard of the Great Food Army?"

Tian Zhen nodded and said, "Actually, we should have arrived long ago, but we are not worried about the Dashi Pioneer Army, so we patrolled all the way along the west bank of the Amu River and found no trace of them. We should have retreated."

"That's good. I've always been worried that the Great Food Pioneer will suddenly come, and my brothers will be scattered below. If they come, the problem will be serious."

"It was because the general was worried about this that he ordered me to pick you up. I have ordered Zhou Zheng to lead five thousand troops to patrol along the Amu River. If there is any news, he will notify us."

"Okay then! You guard Tucheng, and I will go down and drive away the Khwarezmians."

After saying that, Li Fei Yuanli led his troops to the north.

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The large-scale migration of Khwarezmians in the Aral Sea Delta lasted for two days. Nearly 150,000 Khwarezmians were driven out of the villages and cities in the Aral Sea Delta. After the Tucheng was concentrated, they were taken to Shiva City one by one. Two days later, when Lifei Yuanli ignited Tucheng, the last group of Tang troops began to evacuate. The entire Aral Sea Delta became deserted, and the villages and cities were like dead lands. Groups of wild dogs were looking for food in the empty villages. Crows croaked and shouted on the branches and flew away in a daze. The cold wind blew across the earth, and the world was bleak.
Chapter completed!