Chapter 88: Day by Day (3)

Endless clouds and layered mountains—suddenly, the long night faded away. A gloomy headwind swept through the wilderness, exposing all fear at dawn.
Under the orange-red sky, Tibetan soldiers pushed and shouted as they rushed backward toward the rear of the army, a chaotic tide of people.
Human selfishness and weakness were revealed unmistakably at this moment. What did comrades matter? Any obstacle in their path had to be kicked aside fiercely!
It was hard to call such a crowd an army—no discipline, no loyalty. They were nothing but bloodthirsty creatures with empty shells, surviving in the most primitive ways!
Soldiers who ran slower were knocked to the ground by those behind them and never got up again. Countless feet trampled over them, stepping past their heads.
“Crack!”
The sound of ribs breaking echoed, terrifying to hear.
“Boom!”
A familiar roar rang in their ears again. Tibetan soldiers screamed, covering their ears as they rushed forward.
“Bang!”
A massive millstone slammed into the center of the Tibetan army, splitting it in two!
Dozens of unlucky soldiers were crushed into flesh pies before they could understand what was happening. Blood seeped through the cracks in the stone, staining the withered trees red.
“Tang invaders! There are Tang invaders here too!”
The Tibetan soldiers’ voices were tinged with despair. A huge stone weighing hundreds of pounds blocked their path—no way out ahead, pursuers behind. What could they do?
The Tang invaders must have done this on purpose, splitting the army first before attacking each group separately!
Furious, the Tibetans worked in groups of three or five to push the stone, but it didn’t budge an inch. They kicked and cursed, trying every method yet unable to make this obstacle yield.
“Damn it!”
Etsang waved his fist in anger, looking back at his comrades struggling against the stone. The Tang invaders were truly cunning—laying a huge stone in the army’s retreat route to block the mountain path! Now, five or six thousand soldiers were trapped in the valley, and he was powerless to help.
However, Etsang was somewhat relieved that he had reorganized the king and generals during the retreat. Now, the more important figures had safely left the valley.
“Woo woo woo, woo woo…”
A deep horn sound rang out again. Hundreds of Tang flags suddenly appeared on the mountains on both sides, fluttering in the wind.
Etsang was extremely angry. These Tang invaders had hidden so many soldiers here—judging by the number of flags, there were at least three thousand of them!
“Retreat! Retreat!”

Esang gritted his teeth and finally issued the order. Although there were still five or six thousand infantrymen on the other side of the boulder, and they had no chance of survival once his troops retreated, for the safety of the Zanpu, he had no choice!
The Tibetan soldiers trapped by the boulder were panicked. They could clearly see their commander’s flag drifting farther away and hear the sound of the cavalry’s hooves fading. They knew what this meant—they had been abandoned!
With both sides blocked by the boulder, they had nowhere to retreat.
Suddenly, many Tang soldiers emerged from the mountains on either side. All of them were armed with bows and arrows, aiming tightly at the Tibetan soldiers below.
“Fire!”
Wang Xiaochun raised his eyebrows and gave the order to massacre. At that moment, he felt the emotions suppressed for sixteen or seventeen years burst forth instantly. All the humiliation he had endured over those years was avenged through those words!
Thousands of arrows formed a dense net, raining down on the soldiers in the valley.
“Swish!” “Swish!”
As soon as the arrows struck the Tibetan soldiers, they pierced through their flesh and dug deep into their bones.
“Ah!” “Ugh!” “Ugh!” These arrows were modified armor-piercing arrows capable of penetrating the Tibetans’ fine chainmail and sinking into their flesh. Their tips were coated with deadly poison that would spread through the bloodstream to the internal organs once inside the body. Even if a doctor like Hua Tuo were alive, there would be no way to revive them!
With just one round of shooting, the Tang army killed five or six hundred Tibetan soldiers. The space in the valley was so narrow that they didn’t even need to aim—just shooting arrows downward was enough to take a life.
“Second round, prepare!”
Wang Xiaochun stared coldly at the struggling Tibetan soldiers below, his voice devoid of warmth.
“Leader Zhang, the umbrellas can no longer hold! The Tibetans pushed boulders down from heights of dozens of zhang, shattering the umbrella frames!”
Tao Cheng stumbled over to Zhang Shouyu and cried out.
Zhang Shouyu’s face turned ashen as he tried to suppress his anger. “Didn’t I give you a thousand men? How is it that none of them can hold out?”
“Leader Zhang, those are boulders weighing hundreds of jin! The umbrella frames made of cured cowhide simply can’t support them. And everyone’s only armed with wooden shields, so…”
Zhang Shouyu glanced at the stone fortress city dozens of zhang away and sighed inwardly. The siege of the stone fortress had been going on for three days. Since Wu Hai’s vanguard captured the first stone plain, he had lost nearly a thousand men. Just as they were about to reach the fortress walls, the Tibetans shattered their hopes with a single barrage of boulders!

“I don’t care what method you use—you must reach the stone steps before nightfall!”
Zhang Shouyu paused and said, “The marshal has given me a strict order: if we can’t capture the stone fortress by sunset the day after tomorrow, our vanguard troops will be sacrificed!”
“I understand, I understand!”
Tao Cheng wiped away his tears and said, “Leader Zhang, just watch. I’ll definitely push that cart up the stone steps before nightfall!”
Zhang Shouyu patted his shoulder and said, “It’s not easy to survive in this place. Only by capturing that fortress can everyone live in peace for a few years.”
Tao Cheng’s throat tightened as he forced a smile. “Since Leader Zhang isn’t afraid, I, Tao, am not afraid either!”
“Brothers, let’s charge one more time!”
Tao Cheng resolutely turned and headed toward the stone plain, followed by a group of battered Tang soldiers. Though their foreheads were wrapped in blood-soaked bandages and their arms bound with layers of cloth, they showed no sign of weakness.
Their faces were filled with smiles, revealing an indomitable determination! It was a promise to defend their homeland, regardless of faith.
It was because of them that the Tang Dynasty was called the Tang Dynasty, and China was called China!
They were the heroes of the Tang Dynasty, the most honorable people!……