Chapter 28: The Border Tribes (III)

On a late spring morning, milky mist rose, enveloping the Blue Stone Fortress in layers.
Inside a stone chamber in the fortress, a tall, dark-skinned Tibetan officer dressed in brownish-red leather was rubbing his hands together, warming a bowl of highland barley wine. On the bed beside him lay a disheveled Han Chinese woman. Her lips were stained with blood as she stared intently at the Tibetan officer, as if ready to fight to the death if he took another step closer.
The officer’s name was Lu Yonggao, a centurion. Because his mother was a captured Tang woman of low status, he could not rise to higher ranks despite his military achievements. Recently, he had offended his superiors and was demoted to be the fortress commander here. The Blue Stone Fortress was located on the west side of Qinghai, deep in Tibetan territory—how could there be Tang soldiers? This assignment was nothing but a thankless chore, yet he had no choice! His days were spent drinking, playing gambling games, and having sex with women—quite boring, really.
Speaking of women, Lu Yonggao was especially annoyed. Tibetan women all had dark skin and rough texture; they were worthless after some time. Not long ago, he had managed to get a Tang slave girl from the Dafei Range, hoping to change things up and vent his anger. But to his surprise, the girl refused to comply, stubborn to the end. When he forced her onto the bed to satisfy his desires, she attacked him like a leopard, biting him fiercely in the groin. Shocked, Lu Yonggao quickly tied his belt and slapped the slave girl twice.
After that incident, he lost all interest and hurriedly changed into clothes before sitting on a stool to drink his wine.
“Stop crying! If you keep crying, I’ll give you to the others to enjoy thoroughly. Let’s see if you can still hold your head high!”
Annoyed by the slave girl’s sobbing, Lu Yonggao paused his drinking and snapped at her.
The slave girl, unafraid, raised her head and glanced at him disdainfully.
“You! You’re unreasonable!”
Angered, Lu Yonggao was speechless for a moment before angrily waving his sleeve and storming out.
He had said those words just to scare her; he didn’t want to give away such a beautiful girl to those brats.
Sighing as he left the chamber, Lu Yonggao exhaled a puff of foul air that turned into white smoke, drifting away into the distance.

Lu Yonggao had a highly contradictory attitude toward these Tang people. On one hand, he had Tang blood in his veins; on the other hand, he was a Tibetan soldier. Sometimes he would feel confused about which side he should stand on.
“Commander, Commander, there’s a cavalry unit coming from the east!”
A Tibetan adjutant stepped forward and whispered.
“Hm? Cavalry? Are they Tang troops?”
Lu Yonggao was deep in thought when the adjutant startled him, causing him to instinctively pull in his neck.
Seeing his commander in a dazed state, the adjutant knew he was still thinking about the soft, smooth body of that slave girl from last night. Winking and grinning, he said, “If they’re Tang troops, surely Commander would prefer to drown in pleasure, right?”
Lu Yonggao never expected this kid to dare tease him. He smacked him hard on the head and scolded, “Stop talking nonsense! Get to the point quickly. If you delay military matters, I’ll execute you first!”
The adjutant, realizing his flattery had backfired, pouted and said, “They probably aren’t Tang troops. I think they’re coming from Fusi City—mostly troops coming to take over the guard post.”
A dark cloud instantly covered Lu Yonggao’s face. Although being the commander of this stone fortress frustrated him, at least he still had some control over a small territory. But if soldiers from Fusi City came to take over, his carefully promoted subordinates would surely be replaced. In fact, although Tibet had a system for troop rotations, it wasn’t fully implemented. After all, Tibet was still a tribal state, and to reach compromises with various tribes, the chieftain had to make concessions.
But why would troops suddenly come for a rotation? Could it be that the Tang forces pressing at Chilin was just a decoy?
Full of doubts, Lu Yonggao went to the battlement and stretched his neck to look east. It indeed was a group of Tibetan light cavalry, precisely coming from Fusi City.
The Tibetan light cavalry soon reached the city gates. A Tibetan centurion wearing silver chainmail shouted loudly, “By order of the lord of Fusi City, we’ve come to take over the guard post. Please open the gates immediately.”
Lu Yonggao waved his hand and replied, “Since you’re coming from Fusi City, do you have an official letter from the lord? In these extraordinary times, I must be cautious to prevent Tang spies from sneaking in.”
The Tibetan centurion flew into a rage. Swinging his whip, he pointed at Lu Yonggao and cursed, “Lu Yonggao, open your eyes properly! Am I a Tang spy or not?”
Lu Yonggao squinted for a long time before finally recognizing the officer. Slapping his own head, he said, “It’s Lord Zaxila! Open the gates quickly and welcome him in!”
“Commander!”

Seeing Lu Yonggao’s carelessness, the adjutant hurriedly advised, “Think carefully! If they refuse to show you the documents, there must be something suspicious about them.”
Lu Yonggao glared at the adjutant and said, “What could possibly be suspicious? The commander of this army is Lord Zaxila, who is a favorite of General Tie Ren Xino Luo. Besides, this cavalry unit is well-organized, with complete armor. You don’t think they’re just a bunch of Tang people pretending to be someone else, right?”
“Lord, my lord!”
The adjutant was sweating profusely and tightly grabbed the hem of Lu Yonggao’s robe.
But Lu Yonggao shook him off impatiently, “In this Qingshi Fortress, I am the commander. It’s not your place to make decisions for me.”
He didn’t want to miss the chance to please Zaxila. Though he was just a thousand-soldier leader, he was directly under General Tie Ren Xino Luo. Who was Tie Ren Xino Luo? He was the general favored by Governor Dazhalugong. With such connections, why worry about his career prospects?
With these thoughts, Lu Yonggao’s bad mood from earlier, caused by the female slave, vanished instantly. He cheerfully said to Zaxila, “General, please wait a moment. I’ll order the gates opened right away.”
After saying that, he waved at the soldiers beside him and ordered, “Can’t you hear what I’m saying? Open the gates quickly!”
The soldiers exchanged glances and eventually ran toward the lower level of the fortress. After all, if anything went wrong, it would be the commander’s responsibility—what did they, mere lowly soldiers, have to do with it?
“Creak, creak.”
The heavy wooden gates slowly opened, making a scraping sound. A cloud of gray dust rose, making people cough nonstop.
To show his respect for Zaxila, Lu Yonggao led his adjutants and trusted subordinates to the open space in front of the gates, waiting for the allied forces to enter.
“In my personal capacity, I, Lu Yonggao, welcome General Zaxila. May you be blessed by holy water and the blessings of Shambhala.”
Lu Yonggao placed one arm on his shoulder and bowed slowly.
He kept his head bowed for a long time but saw no response. When he looked up, he was shocked and collapsed to the ground. The cavalry were charging at the gates like mad, slashing with their swords as they came, their eyes filled with deep hatred. The Tibetan guards at the gates didn’t even have time to understand what was happening before they fell in pools of blood, without even a moan.
“It’s the Tang army! It’s the Tang army!”
The adjutant pointed at a group of cavalry and shouted in alarm. Lord Zaxila, who had previously been so domineering and made the commander obey him completely, was gone. In his place was a young general wearing black armor and a black helmet. Those cavalry also threw off their Tibetan leather helmets, drew their Tang-style swords, and charged at them.

These people are not Tubo garrison troops at all—they are a group of disguised Tang light cavalry!
“Close the city gates, hurry up and close them!”
Lu Yonggao shouted loudly. There were five or six hundred of these Tang cavalrymen. If they all rushed in, how could his force of less than three hundred defenders hold them back?
But it was already too late—the cavalry’s momentum was immense. Under the leadership of the General in Black Armor, even though only fifty of the Tang cavalry entered, they immediately took control of the situation. They slashed at anyone they encountered; the snow-white swords emitted a terrifying glint, and with each strike, the Tubo defenders suffered deep cuts over three feet long. Blood flowed from the wounds, staining the stone ground red.
“Kill them all—leave none alive!”
The young man in black armor ordered almost in a roar, his sword pointed at Lu Yonggao.
“Lord Defender, let’s flee quickly!”
His adjutant pulled at Lu Yonggao’s robe, urging the paralyzed lord to escape.
“Yes, flee—let’s run away now.”
Lu Yonggao suddenly snapped out of his daze. He rushed to the stables with his adjutant and grabbed a Highland horse at random.
“Swish!”
He mounted the horse and whipped it hard. If he could reach the back side of Qingshi Fort, he could escape through the back door. By then, it would be impossible for the Tang army to catch up to him!
Ten steps, twenty steps—in the blink of an eye, Lu Yonggao had galloped thirty steps away. He could already see the small door at the back of Qingshi Fort and felt the blessings of Shambhala. A smile appeared on his lips as he tightened his grip on the horse’s flanks.
But a sudden “whoosh” shattered his dreams—a feathered arrow pierced the air and flew straight at his chest.
“Ah!”
Lu Yonggao let out a scream, his smile vanishing instantly. Desperately, he leaned forward, trying to reach the small door at his back.
“Whoosh, whoosh!”
Two more arrows hit his chest, and he fell heavily from the horse, staring blankly at the gap in the stone wall.
“Kill them all—avenge our brothers!”
The General in Black Armor shouted loudly. His black sword swung, severing yet another head.
With the clanging of iron horses, traversing countless mountains and rivers, they finally achieved dignity and pride.
Amidst the blood mist and howling wind, in this vast expanse, six hundred elite Tang cavalrymen charged with fierce determination, their chilling presence spreading throughout the night.