Chapter 85: The Blood Robe (10)

“Once General Li and his men cross that row of dead trees, we’ll pull back the rope!” Dou Qing ordered his personal guards, staring at the moving lights in the distance. The danger faced by the 600 soldiers under Tong Wu had disrupted the plans of their commander—hoping it wouldn’t ruin everything!
The thundering sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the night. Hundreds of Tang cavalry rushed past like a storm, stopping for not a moment. Most of them carried two riders, with brownish-red blood dripping from their horses.
One hundred paces, eighty paces, fifty paces.
The Tang troops by the rocky gully finally understood why their commander had rushed here so urgently. Behind those hundreds of Tang cavalry were three thousand Tibetan cavalry! Although the Tibetans were in a hurry and had lost many horses at the valley entrance, they still had enough resources to deploy some light cavalry.
Cavalry battles relied on speed and sheer numbers. Faced with such a numerical advantage, even a brave commander like theirs wouldn’t dare to challenge them head-on.
Li Kuo was quite nervous. Though Yan Ji and Wu Ji had set up the trap pits on time, would the Tibetans follow the planned route? (Note 1) “Go!”
Swinging his whip fiercely, the young man led the hundreds of Tang cavalry toward the rocky gully.
In fact, the Tibetans weren’t as vigilant as Li Kuo had thought. After a rather unsatisfying “victory,” they grew confident and wanted to wipe out the Tang army once and for all to eliminate future threats.
Thus, the governor of Jiuqu, Esang, handed all his cavalry to his trusted deputy, Wei Huiqu, ordering him to kill all the Tang invaders before sunrise.
Although the military advisor Zhi Qiluo repeatedly advised their commander to be cautious of a feigned retreat by the Tang army, Wei Huiqu mocked him as cowardly and short-sighted. In his view, the main force of the Tang army had already been defeated, and there were less than 500 cavalry left to rescue them—so where was there any possibility of a feigned retreat?
“Order full speed! We must catch up with the Tang invaders before Yangjiaogou!”
Wei Huiqu drew his curved sword and pointed it at the night sky.
The Tibetans, already skilled in horseback riding and archery, followed their commander’s orders, urging their horses forward. The three thousand light cavalry formed a narrow strip of light, moving swiftly along the mountain paths.

Turning around a giant rock that was two or three zhang tall, the narrow mountain path suddenly widened, and the distance between the Tibetans and the Tang cavalry ahead gradually decreased. Wei Huiqiu was overjoyed. In the narrow mountain path, at most three or four cavalry could pass at once, leaving his numerical advantage completely unutilized. But now, on the open plain, he could rely on his three thousand light cavalry to wipe out the Tang invaders completely.

Judging from the bloodstains on the ground, the Tang invaders’ horses were severely injured, and their momentum had greatly diminished. With the endurance of plateau horses, they could soon catch up to them. By then, he could easily capture them all with just a flick of his finger.

“Order everyone to split into east and west teams to attack the Tang invaders!”

Wei Huiqiu narrowed his eyes, already convinced of victory.

“Understood!”

The military officer pulled out an ink-green command flag and hung it on the pole, waving it vigorously.

“The vanguard should split into left and right groups to encircle and attack the Tang invaders!”

“Split into two groups and surround them!”

These Tibetan cavalry were the best in the army. Having been mocked by the Tang people time and again, they were filled with anger. Hearing the orders, they were overjoyed. If the Tang invaders wanted to flee, could they outrun the wolves of the grasslands?

The sound of horse hooves was rapid and forceful, and the distance between the Tibetans and the Tang cavalry kept shrinking.

Fifty steps, thirty steps, twenty steps.

The Tang invaders were indeed desperate. They rode straight through the rocky gully filled with gravel and dead trees!

The Tibetan cavalry could not believe their eyes. A warhorse was a cavalryman’s second life, and mistreating their horses was an act of self-destruction!

The strategist Zhi Qiluo frowned and urged, “General, I think the Tang army’s actions are strange. There are clearly flat dirt paths on both sides of the gully—why aren’t they using them?”

Wei Huiqiu waved his hand impatiently. “The Tang people are terrified by us. They don’t care about such things.”

“Pass my order: march at full speed and encircle the Tang invaders from both east and west!”

In his eyes, the Tang people were invaders, demons who destroyed their homeland—deserving no mercy.

The Tibetan soldiers let out fierce cries, gripping their reins as they chased after them with murderous intent. Some eager soldiers even overtook General Wei Huiqiu’s horse and rushed to the front of the group.

Wei Huiqiu didn’t care about such misconduct. As long as he could wipe out the Tang invaders, the rewards he would receive would last him a lifetime. Why worry about such trivialities?

“Kill them!”

Nearly a hundred Tibetan cavalry had reached the rocky gully. Following their general’s orders, they bypassed the gully filled with dead trees and gravel, moving in a circuitous path from both sides.

“Ah!”

The horse took just a few steps on the soft soil before its entire body sank in. The immense inertia flung the rider off the horse’s back into a three-foot-deep pit!
The Tang people had dug deep ditches on both sides of the stone ravine!
Hundreds of Tubo cavalry were instantly pierced by the antler spears and bamboo sticks in the pit. Cries of pain and wails filled the air.
“Hiss.”
Wei Huiqu struggled to hold onto the reins, taking a deep breath. If he hadn’t moved a little slower, he might have been pierced to death as well. These Tang invaders were truly cunning!
Looking at his advisor Zhi Qiluo, Wei Huiqu felt his face burn with shame.
“Hmm, order the men to cross through the middle of the ravine!”
Wei Huiqu cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.
Although he had lost over a hundred cavalry, it was a drop in the ocean compared to the entire army. Once they crossed the rocky ravine, what tricks could those Tang invaders still pull off?
“The general orders us to head straight for the rocky ravine and cross over the dead wood!”
“The general orders us to cross the rocky ravine by stepping on the dead wood!”
Thousands of Tubo cavalry turned their horses and followed the path the Tang army had just taken. The rocky ravine was about ten zhang wide, and it would take only a moment for warhorses to cross it. But with the tangled and uneven dead wood across it, they had to slow down significantly to cross safely.
“Slow down the horses; there’s no need to rush!”
Zhi Qiluo shouted loudly, fearing that the soldiers might suffer accidents due to haste.
However, nearly a thousand soldiers at the front had already stepped onto the dead wood, and nothing seemed amiss. Though the rain-soaked rotten wood made creaking noises, it was quite thick and showed no signs of looseness.
“Follow up! Follow up! Eliminate the Tang invaders quickly and return to the tents!”
The commander roared loudly. He could clearly imagine thousands of Tang soldiers waiting to be killed, and a smile appeared on his face.
“Scratching sound!”
“Scratching sound!”
Huh? What was that sound? The commander was momentarily stunned, a question flashing through his mind.
“Scratching sound!”
The strange noise came again, and at that moment, the commander finally understood—it was the sound of the dead wood rubbing against each other. It was also a trap!
“Retreat quickly! Run! It’s a trap! It’s a trap set by the Tang army!”
But it was already too late. With a loud thud, dozens of pieces of dead wood were pulled out of the bank and fell into the ravine!…

Note 1: Horse-trap pits: A type of defensive structure. Pits are dug in strategic locations to trap enemy troops and horses. According to Li Jing’s “The Art of War by General Li Wei” in the Tang Dynasty, “Horse-trap pits are five feet long, one foot wide, and three feet deep. Deer-horn spears and bamboo sticks are buried in the pits. These pits are arranged in a shape resembling the character ‘character ‘Ya’’, looking like hooks, and covered with grass and fine dust. They are set up along key routes in military camps and fortresses.”