Chapter 36: Crossing the Annuyue City Wall

The Tanju Ridge stretched for over forty li, with steep paths both uphill and downhill, making travel extremely difficult. That night, Li Qing’an led more than two hundred of his men to descend the mountain quietly. It was not until the second watch of the night that they finally managed to reach the foot of the cliff and hide behind a huge rock. In the darkness, the dark silhouette of the Annuyue city wall could be faintly seen in the distance.

“General, should we take this opportunity to capture Annuyue City?” He Yanming asked in a low voice.

Li Qing’an shook his head gently. “No, we must not alert them prematurely and ruin the commander-in-chief’s strategy.”

“Then how can we disguise ourselves as Annuyue people and go up the mountain to welcome our comrades?”

“A small number of people will suffice.” Li Qing’an’s gaze shifted to a valley on the right, where there was a small village with a dozen or so households.

“Yanming, lead your men there and bring all the Annuyue people. Kill anyone who refuses to come!”

……

He Yanming quickly led his team toward the small village. Li Qing’an once again stared at Annuyue City. In fact, before he descended the mountain, Gao Xianzhi had already instructed him, “The defenses of Annuyue City are weak. You may act as you see fit.”

Though his words were vague, Gao Xianzhi’s implication was that he could act on his own. Could he capture Annuyue City in one fell swoop?

As Li Qing’an pondered, a soldier rushed over to report, “Team leader He is returning.”

He Yanming arrived hurriedly, bringing over thirty Annuyue people. Seeing Li Qing’an, he smiled triumphantly and said, “General, it was surprisingly smooth. These Annuyue people are greedy for small gains. Just give each of them two hundred coins, and they’re willing to go up the mountain to welcome us.”

Li Qing’an glanced at the Annuyue people behind him—men, women, old and young—all with hopeful eyes in their gaze. He nodded and smiled. “Good. Select twenty of them. We’ll send twenty of our soldiers as well. They’ll change into their clothes and go up the mountain together to welcome the main force. Tell them that if they’re sincere and enthusiastic, I’ll give each of them five hundred coins.”

A soldier translated Li Qing’an’s words into Tocharian, and the Annuyue people immediately cheered. They took out musical instruments such as suona and drums, ready to follow the Tang army up the mountain.

Li Qing’an said to He Yanming, “You take these people up the mountain. You know Tocharian, so disguise yourself as one of them.”

He Yanming was stunned for a moment, cursing inwardly, “Damn it, why does bad luck always fall on me?” He quickly covered his foot and forced a smile. “General, could someone else go up the mountain? I twisted my ankle just now and I doubt I can climb.”

“Did you really twist your ankle?”

“Really, General, please look—my instep is swollen.”
“Ah! What a pity. If you had gone up one more time, you might have been promoted to lieutenant.”
“Lieutenant? General, my foot seems fine now. Look, it’s okay.”
“Good. Go quickly!”
Li Qing’an smiled and waved to everyone, saying, “Come here, everyone. I have something to say to you.”
……
Under the dark night sky and cold wind, the sky above Annu Yue City was exceptionally clear. Countless stars, like gems, adorned the night sky, shining brightly. Under this bright starry sky, Annu Yue City lay quietly asleep—midnight, the time when people slept deepest.
At that moment, nearly two hundred dark figures appeared outside Annu Yue City. They moved swiftly, as fast as leopards. At a low command, they rushed across a moat ten feet wide.
Annu Yue City was built on a huge cliff, with only one path in and out, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. The city was small, about a thousand steps in circumference, home to three or four hundred households, along with three hundred soldiers, under the rule of a noble as its lord.
“General, what should we do?” Li Fei Shouyu asked in a low voice.
In front of the Tang army was a huge rock fissure, five or six feet wide, forming a natural moat. A vine bridge connected the two sides. Next to the vine bridge on the opposite side was a stone house, likely containing a dozen soldiers. But at that moment, it was pitch black, and the soldiers must have been asleep.
It wasn’t surprising. In the hundred years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, no army had ever crossed Tanju Ridge to reach here. Moreover, Lianyun Fort ahead was heavily guarded. The people of Annu Yue could never have imagined that the Tang army would attack tonight.
Li Qing’an pondered for a moment. Taking Annu Yue City was not a problem; the key was not to reveal any clues.
“You lead a hundred men to the back of the city and block their escape route. Use a rocket as a signal, and we’ll launch our attack at the same time.”
“Understood!”
Li Fei Shouyu waved his hand and led a hundred men across the vine bridge quickly, heading to the back of the city. The stone house was silent; the soldiers hadn’t realized danger was approaching.
“General, there are five people!” Han Jinping pointed at the stone house beside him and spoke in a hushed voice.
Li Qing’an made a signal to act. Two Tang soldiers slowly blew several tubes of sedative smoke into the stone house. Moments later, Han Jinping led a few men in and soon came out dressed as soldiers from Annu Yue City.
Just then, a bright light flashed across the sky. A rocket soared into the air, its flame trailing a long tail before disappearing into the darkness.

“Go!” Over a hundred Tang soldiers rushed toward Anuyue City. They reached the foot of the city wall, threw their grappling hooks onto the three-zhang-high wall, and climbed up. Suddenly, a sentinel from Anuyue City heard something unusual, came to investigate, but was shot in the throat by Li Qing’an. With a muffled cry, he fell heavily from the wall. Suddenly, shouts of battle arose in the south of the city, waking those who were asleep. The soldiers guarding the city rushed south, not realizing that Li Qing’an’s group of over a hundred men had already entered the city silently through the north gate.

The ruler of Anuyue City was Ali Laicitz, one of the ten nobles of Xiaobuli. Anuyue City was his territory. He was awakened by the shouts of battle in his sleep. Thinking it was the Tibetans coming to abduct women again, he drew his sword in anger and rushed out of his residence.

“Lord, there are over a hundred enemy soldiers. They’re very strong; I can’t hold them off,” a soldier reported in panic as he ran over.

“Damn it! Are you scared like this just because of over a hundred Tibetans?”

“Reporting to the lord, it’s not the Tibetans—it’s the Tang army!”

“The Tang army!” Ali Laicitz was stunned. He couldn’t believe his ears. But just then, over a hundred Tang soldiers clad in bright armor appeared in front of him, surrounding him in a fan shape. Each of them had a bow drawn, aiming coldly at him.

“We are the vanguard of the Tang army. The heavenly troops of the Tang have arrived. Drop your sword, and we’ll spare your life!” a Tang soldier who spoke Tocharian loudly said.

Ali Laicitz was stunned for a long time before finally understanding. With a deep sigh, he threw his sword on the ground and turned to order his men, “The heavenly troops of the Heavenly Khan have arrived. Order everyone to surrender; resist at your own risk.”

Once the order was given, the soldiers of Anuyue City surrendered one after another. The Tang army easily captured Anuyue City without killing a single person.

……

Before noon the next day, the main force of the Tang army arrived at the foot of the mountain road. The mountain was thousands of feet high, with steep slopes and dense glaciers—its gradient almost vertical. As Gao Xianzhi had predicted, the Tang soldiers looked at the sheer cliffs below and trembled with fear; none of them wanted to descend.

“Commander, just kill us! We’d rather die at your hands than be crushed to pieces.”

Even the usually brave Hu soldiers seemed to have acrophobia, sitting paralyzed in the ice and snow, unable to be moved.

Only Xi Yuanqing, eager to earn merits, said impatiently, “Commander, why not let me go down first? I’ll capture Anuyue City.”

Gao Xianzhi simply shook his head and remained silent. He was still waiting for news from Li Qing’an. He knew Li Qing’an would never disappoint him.

At that moment, the sound of suona and drums suddenly came from the mountain path. The enthusiastic Anuyue people were climbing up the mountain, beating drums and gongs with flags flying high. The Tang soldiers looked at each other, none knowing what was happening. Dozens of Anuyue people grew closer, and a few soldiers from the scout camp suddenly realized that the flag bearer with his face painted black seemed somewhat familiar—he looked quite like their captain He, even with the same proud expression. “The Anuyue natives welcome the heavenly troops of the Tang Dynasty!” Everyone shouted in unison, “The heavenly troops of the Tang Dynasty are invincible! They will sweep away the Bulue people!” Gao Xianzhi frowned. How could they shout so in unison? It was obvious they had been trained. But he kept a calm expression and turned to the others with a smile, saying, “See? The Anuyue natives have come to greet us. Soldiers, cheer up! Let’s go down the mountain!” “Down the mountain!” The Tang soldiers, filled with enthusiasm, raised their arms and shouted together as the large army set off in a grand procession downhill.