Chapter 77: The Blood Robe (II)

Outside Jiuqu City, the night was deep.
On a small hill not far from the city, piles of firewood burned brightly, emitting crackling sounds.
After three or four days of marching, the Tang army finally arrived at Jiuqu on the afternoon of May 21st, the eighth year of Tianbao. According to reconnaissance by scouts, most of the Tubo troops were confined within the city walls, and no Tubo soldiers were found outside Jiuqu City.
After discussing the situation with his military advisor, Tang army commander Gao Xiuyan ordered the entire force to hide and lie in ambush. After extensive scouting by hundreds of scouts, they finally found this hill over 300 zhang tall, 500 steps away from the city walls. Upon seeing this excellent natural cover, Gao Xiuyan was overjoyed and immediately ordered the Tang army to set up camp there.
The temporary campsite was chosen in a wind-sheltered depression. Firstly, the terrain here was significantly lower than the sunny side of the hill, making it easy for a large number of troops to hide. Secondly, a large river called the Chuan River flowed through the valley, solving the army’s water problem immediately.
“Work harder and set up this pole!”
Dou Qing pointed to the north corner of the tent and ordered an old copper-armored soldier.
“Ah, ah.”
The old soldier nodded quickly and carried a wooden pole toward the tent.
Strangely, the tent’s covering was not the common triangular coarse linen used by the Tang army but a mix of several curtains and skins sewn together. Due to the hasty preparation, anyone could see the crooked, thick seams at a glance. But in warfare, practicality came first. It wasn’t about crafting a fine coat for a lady—why worry over every stitch and thread?
What was even more unusual was that this hastily made tent was enormous, larger than twenty triangular tents put together.
From afar, it resembled a giant thatched hut wrapped in yellow cowhide. Though its appearance was ugly, it was full of novelty inside and out.
“General, once this last pole is set up, it’ll be done!”
Seeing Li Kuo approach, Dou Qing quickly bowed and reported the latest progress.
“Mm.”
Li Kuo nodded in satisfaction and patted Dou Qing’s arm. “Brother Dou, you’ve worked hard this time. If this plan succeeds, you’ll have made a great contribution.”
But Dou Qing refused to take credit, waving his hands. “What are you saying? If not for your brilliant plan, wouldn’t we all still be stuck here in frustration?”
“That’s not how it works. Without the efforts of my men, we couldn’t have finished so quickly.”
“You two, stop arguing.”

Li Zigu strode over with a smile and said, “Qilang came up with a brilliant plan and deserves top credit, while Colonel Dou took personal charge to ensure the project was completed on schedule, earning second place.”
“Third brother, you really are such a nice guy—everything nice gets said by you!”
Li Kuo had fully recovered from the shadow of being forced into marriage by his third brother, and his relationship with Li Zigu remained as close as before.
Li Zigu cleared his throat lightly and said, “This isn’t the time for jokes. Commander Gao wants to discuss important matters with you. Come with me to the central camp right away.”
“Mm.”
Li Kuo put away his smile and nodded.
In the central camp tent, the military commander Gao Xiuyan was pacing anxiously.
“Hiss”—the tent curtain opened, allowing a gust of cold wind in.
“You’ve come! Come in and take your seats quickly!”
Gao Xiuyan was clearly very anxious, his voice urgent.
Li Kuo and Li Zigu took their seats according to military rank and bowed to Gao Xiuyan.
“We’re late. Please forgive us, Commander Gao.”
“It’s alright.”
Gao Xiuyan waved his hand and sat down in the main seat, saying, “I called everyone here overnight. You must all be aware of the reason. We’ve been in the Jiuqu area for five days now. With such a large force traveling along the way, even if our concealment efforts were perfect, the Tubo people must have noticed us by now.”
“Commander Gao is right. Our scouts searched every mountain top but didn’t find a single person. In my humble opinion, there shouldn’t be any large Tubo armies within dozens of miles. They must have received word and retreated inside Jiuqu City.”
A Tang army general who looked like an officer patted his chest and spoke up first.
“Mm.”
Gao Xiuyan waved his hand, signaling him to calm down. “The reason we marched so quickly was to avoid leaking any information. It seems that no wall is completely airtight after all.”
He had originally planned to first defeat the Tubo troops stationed outside Jiuqu City before launching a concentrated attack to take the city, but now it seemed that plan was no longer feasible. Although the Tubo people were fewer in number, they had a strong city to defend themselves with. As long as they kept the city gates closed and refused to fight, he would be at a loss. Though he had 30,000 elite soldiers and 5,000 warriors from the White Wolf tribe, he didn’t have absolute confidence or the courage to attack the city by force.
Jiuqu City might not be as tall and sturdy as the cities in the Central Plains, but it was still dozens of feet high. His forces were only twice as many as the Tubo people’s, and even if he managed to capture the city, the losses would be severe.

Moreover, the purpose of their mission was not to capture the city but to besiege it in order to force the Tubo forces at Chiling to send reinforcements. Yet, wasting time outside the city clearly wasn’t a good strategy either. The garrison inside Jiuqu City numbered between 10,000 and 20,000, and the food stored there was enough to sustain the Tubo forces for two full months.

Two months! Gao Xiuyan smiled bitterly. Not to mention whether the Battle of Hehuang would have ended by then, even if their army could hold its own against the Tubo forces on the front lines, by then their own troops might already be dying of hunger before the Tubo forces were exhausted!

Fortunately, this kid Li Kuo had come up with such a brilliant plan!

Glancing at the young man, Gao Xiuyan felt a mix of emotions. As a military commander, he was in a conflicted state of mind. On one hand, he was glad that the young man had come up with such a clever plan, but on the other hand, he felt a strong sense of threat. Recently, this young man had performed too outstandingly, even overshadowing him somewhat!

Hmph, if he stayed humble, he could reward him; if he didn’t know when to stop, this would be a good opportunity to take advantage of him…

“Thanks to Lieutenant Li for coming up with such a brilliant plan. Now the Tubo forces are in trouble.”

Though he thought this in his heart, his face immediately showed a smile. “I called everyone here urgently today to tell you that the river channel has been repaired!”

Looking around at everyone, Gao Xiuyan said proudly, “In the past, Wang Ben used the Tianhe River to flood Daliang; today, I, Gao Xiuyan, use the Chang River to flood Jiuqu. I hope everyone will work together to take this strong city. Then, history will surely record our achievements in great detail!” (Note 1)

……

Note 1: In the 22nd year of King Zheng of Qin’s reign (225 BC), Qin sent General Wang Ben to attack Wei, using the Yellow River and other rivers to flood Daliang, the capital of Wei (now northwest of Kaifeng, Henan). Daliang was destroyed, the King of Wei surrendered, and all of Wei’s territory was taken.