Chapter 449: Fighting Among Allies

Things did not unfold as Geshu Han had expected. Li Qing’an opted for diplomacy rather than attack; he did not launch any assaults and instead maintained the status quo between the two armies. A few more days passed, and July arrived, bringing a slight coolness to the mornings and evenings. Geshu Han’s troops in the valley no longer felt as trapped as they had before, and their restless hearts gradually calmed down.

The armies continued to stand off, exactly as Geshu Han had hoped. He didn’t need to engage in a fierce battle with the Anxi forces. He would wait for Gao Xianzhi to take the first move, allowing himself to conserve his strength. His daily routine consisted of drinking the medicinal wine sent by Li Qing’an and constantly urging for more supplies from the rear. The medicinal wine indeed worked—although it didn’t completely cure his foot pain, it significantly reduced the discomfort, much to Geshu Han’s delight. Desiring to obtain this wine regularly, he wrote a letter of thanks, sending it to Li Qing’an with praise for its miraculous effects, and offered a large sum of money to buy more of these scorpions.

Li Qing’an replied, saying that these scorpions were extremely rare, found only in the hot and humid forests of Xinde and Punjab. He would send people to capture them and also sent a few more bottles of the medicinal wine for Geshu Han to use for recovery.

The tense atmosphere of war eased considerably due to this “diplomacy through medicinal wine,” and the possibility of conflict among allies seemed increasingly distant.

While the situation on the western front was calming down, three large-scale battles erupted in succession on the eastern front.

……

The Luogu Road, also known as the Tangluo Road, stretched from Hanzhong to Chang’an, covering 652 li in total. The valley itself was 420 li long, with 80 li of winding paths and 84 steep turns. There were two main entrances to the valley—Tanggu and Luogu—surrounded by steep ridges, deep ravines, and dangerous cliffs. Since ancient times, it had been a strategically important area.

It was the shortest route from Hanzhong to Chang’an, about 300 li shorter than the Baoxie Road. It had always been a vital path from Guanzhong to Hanzhong and even Bashu. Emperor Li Longji and Gao Xianzhi had taken this route to Chang’an. Previously, 10,000 troops from Guanzhong had been stationed at Luogu Pass to block the southern armies from advancing northward. As both sides gathered their forces, fighting for Luogu Pass became the focus of the conflict.

With drums booming like thunder and battle flags fluttering at Luogu Pass, the massive southern armies launched wave after wave of attacks on the positions at Laojunling. Arrows rained down like a storm, and the sounds of battle cries filled the air.

Guo Ziyi watched the surging southern armies with a stern gaze. With a single command, he ordered, “Fire!”

Five thousand archers fired simultaneously, unleashing a torrent of arrows at the dense crowd. Cries of pain filled the air as soldiers fell one after another. The relentless rain of arrows suppressed the attacking soldiers, preventing them from moving forward.

Several miles away, Li Longji stood on horseback beneath an apricot-yellow banner, watching the battle with concern. Yang Guozhong was also on horseback beside him. Most of the royal family and nobles who fled from Chang’an took the Ziwu Road to Hanzhong, while Yang Guozhong took the Luogu Road. Due to his high status and the lack of orders from the court to stop him, the guards at Luogu Pass did not hinder him and allowed him to pass through. He happened to encounter the Jiannan army marching north on the way.

Li Longji was overjoyed at Yang Guozhong’s arrival and immediately appointed him as the Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, ordering him to join him in marching toward Chang’an.

At that time, seeing that Luogu Pass could not be taken after repeated attacks, Yang Guozhong grew worried. He warned Li Longji, “Your Majesty, I fear that the troops from the north might take the Ziwu Valley and cut off our supply lines, especially our food supplies. If that happens, we won’t be able to advance or retreat. I’m worried we’ll be trapped and die in the valley. Your Majesty, we must urge our soldiers to fight to the death to capture the pass.”

Li Longji’s anxiety deepened, and he immediately ordered, “Pass my decree to Gao Xianzhi. Order him to send more troops to attack the pass at all costs—we must take Luogu Pass!”

When the decree reached the front troops, Gao Xianzhi became even more anxious. He knew Hanzhong was undefended, and if the troops from Guanzhong launched a surprise attack through the Ziwu Valley to cut off his supply lines, the consequences would be disastrous.

In fact, Gao Xianzhi himself did not intend to attack Guanzhong. Their forces were not strong enough, and in Guanzhong were Li Qing’an’s 70,000 Anxi troops and 50,000 Shuofang troops—a total of 120,000 soldiers. Although fewer in number, their strength far surpassed Gao Xianzhi’s troops. Especially Li Qing’an’s 70,000 troops were battle-hardened soldiers from Anxi. Gao Xianzhi knew better than anyone the strength of the Arab armies, and the fact that the Anxi troops could defeat them battle after battle meant they were far stronger than those under his command before.

Additionally, there were nearly 200,000 troops in Guanzhong. Though most of them were newly recruited, many were former imperial troops who could be deployed in battle after minimal training. With Ge Shuhuan acting treacherously and no news from the Baoxie Road, it was likely he wouldn’t dare confront Li Qing’an’s Anxi troops. With such forces and such divided loyalties, how could they possibly defeat the combined army of Li Qing’an and Guo Ziyi?

But Li Longji was eager to capture Chang’an, so Gao Xianzhi had no choice but to send troops reluctantly. At that moment, a rider rushed over and shouted, “The emperor orders General Gao to send more troops to attack at all costs and seize Luogu Pass.”
“At all costs? If everyone dies, what’s the point of entering Central China?”
Gao Xianzhi grumbled inwardly but ordered, “The third, fourth, and fifth armies must all engage in battle. The first to capture Luogu Pass will be rewarded with ten thousand strings of coins!”
Another 30,000 troops from the Jiannan army were deployed, creating a massive force of nearly 50,000 soldiers pressing against Luogu Pass. The army was like a tidal wave, with weapons as numerous as trees. Soldiers carried long ladders forward, drums beat loudly, and the sounds of battle echoed through the air. Three defensive ditches had already been dug in front of Luogu Pass—each two zhang wide and one and a half zhang deep—requiring wooden planks to build bridges across, adding great difficulty to the attackers. Moreover, Guo Ziyi had stationed 8,000 archers behind the ditches and scattered tens of thousands of small iron thorns within 100 steps of them, forming effective defensive lines.
At this point, the drums of the Jiannan army sounded again. 30,000 soldiers formed five phalanxes and launched another large-scale attack—the largest since the start of the war.
After several failed attacks, Gao Xianzhi learned from his mistakes and stopped forcing a direct assault instead adopting a positional battle strategy, advancing step by step. He used cavalry to shield soldiers from arrows by temporarily constructing 20 leather frames made of nailed wood, with wooden planks covered in raw cowhide on the front. Each frame was 10 zhang long and 2 zhang high, carried forward by 200 soldiers to block arrows. Behind each frame, thousands of soldiers could take cover. During attacks, each soldier held up a shield or wooden plank, creating a sturdy barrier. With these, the 20,000 troops were no longer afraid of the enemy’s sharp arrows.
Amid the thundering drums, the Jiannan army’s offensive wave reached 150 steps away from the ditches, within range of crossbows. Then, Guo Ziyi sneered and ordered, “Prepare the bed crossbows!”
The crossbowmen stepped aside as 300 bed crossbows were pushed forward from behind. Two soldiers pulled the strings tight in front of each crossbow, and each had nine arrows, allowing nine simultaneous shots with great power.
“Fire!”

At Guo Ziyi’s command, 300 bed crossbows fired simultaneously, releasing 2,700 arrows. The arrows struck like thunder, with immense force. Although the Jienan army’s leather shields could block ordinary crossbow arrows, they couldn’t withstand the power of bed crossbows. Instantly, the shields were pierced, and two-foot-long iron arrows shattered wooden planks and beams, leaving the shields in tatters. The powerful arrows penetrated not only wood and leather but also the soldiers hiding behind them. Cries of pain filled the air as soldiers lay dead in large numbers, and the collapsed shields revealed a panicked army.

At this moment, the 8,000 archers came into action. Their arrows flew diagonally into the sky, forming clouds of arrows that descended like swarms of locusts, striking the dense enemy ranks. The Jienan army’s shields and armor could hardly withstand the relentless barrage of arrows. Under the heavy assault from the Guanzhong archers, the attacking Jienan army suffered heavy casualties. Dead bodies piled up in front of the trenches, and blood flowed like rivers.

Gao Xianzhi stood on a platform observing the battle. He saw that Guo Ziyi’s army used powerful bows and occupied the most advantageous positions. The Jienan army lacked heavy weapons such as bed crossbows and trebuchets, making it impossible for them to break through the enemy’s arrow formation. Even before close combat began, nearly 8,000 of his own soldiers had already died. The cost of forcing an attack was far too high.

Gao Xianzhi sighed inwardly. They were all Tang soldiers, fighting each other over power struggles within the royal family. Instead of dying at the hands of foreigners, they died from their own comrades’ arrows. The fallen soldiers surely died with regret!

“Retreat!”
Gao Xianzhi gritted his teeth and made up his mind. No matter how furious Li Longji became, he could no longer send his soldiers to their deaths.

“Dong! Dong! Dong!” The sound of the retreat bell echoed across the battlefield. The Jienan army retreated like a receding tide, moving three miles away. Only corpses and soldiers struggling on the brink of death remained on the field.

Guo Ziyi also sighed and ordered, “Take all the wounded soldiers back and treat them properly.”

He shook his head. Such infighting among his own people filled him with disgust and sorrow, leaving no trace of joy from victory.

Li Longji’s face turned pale. Gao Xianzhi had withdrawn his troops—this disappointed him greatly. He felt that Gao Xianzhi hadn’t given his all and was holding back. These generals all spoke grandly about being willing to face any danger, but when it came time, they all found excuses, fearing too much loss for their own troops.

Li Longji said angrily, “Go! Summon Gao Xianzhi to me at once.”

A moment later, Gao Xianzhi hurried over. He knelt on one knee and said, “Your servant Gao Xianzhi pays his respects to Your Majesty!”

“Why do you want to withdraw your troops?” Li Longji demanded mercilessly.
“Your Majesty, we are not well-prepared and unable to break through the enemy’s arrow formation. In just one day, we lost eighty thousand soldiers, while the enemy suffered no losses at all. Your Majesty, it is very difficult to win this battle.”
“Is that your reason for withdrawing? Can there be no casualties in war?”
Gao Xianzhi replied firmly, “Your Majesty, there are certainly casualties in war, but unnecessary ones—I believe they are not necessary.”
Li Longji glared at him viciously, wishing to kill this man who dared to defy him, but he did not dare press Gao Xianzhi too much. He could only hold back his anger and ask, “Then what do you suggest?”
“I believe we should not rush into an attack. We should wait for the right opportunity.”