Chapter 16: Beacon Fires (II)

Dian Wuxi was not mistaken—the number of Tibetans beneath the Great Wall Fortress amounted to as many as ten thousand!
They belonged to the Wuhai and Jiuku tribes and were under the unified command and coordination of the governor of Dafechuan, Dazhalugong. Tieren Xinuoluo was the actual commander of this force. As a trusted general under Dazhalugong, he knew exactly what his commander intended. While the King sent envoys to Chang’an to seek peace, he secretly mobilized the troops from Wuhai and Jiuku to bypass the heavily fortified areas of Shanzhou and Kuozhou and head straight for Hezhou, where the Tang forces were weakest. Although the Tang had stationed guards there, the Chiling Mountains were so vast that they could not block every pass.
With the firm support of their high commander, they crossed the vast Chiling Mountains from the south and arrived at the foot of Shimen Mountain. The garrison commander there was stunned to see so many Tibetans before him and lacked the courage to fight them, so he firmly refused to open the gates. Tieren Xinuoluo was delighted by this and ordered an immediate advance on the Great Wall Fortress. Unlike previous raids of plunder and destruction, they brought plenty of siege equipment this time, determined to remove this “nail” from the map of the Tang Dynasty!
Thanks to the prosperity of the Kaiyuan era, the Tang Dynasty gradually grew stronger. In contrast, Tibet, engaged in battles with the Arabs, Uyghurs, and the Tang Dynasty, faced severe shortages of supplies and saw its strength decline. To ease internal conflicts, the King had to launch this war, using it as a weapon to threaten the Tang Dynasty while it was preoccupied. If they waited for the Tang to recover, the Tibetans were unsure they could defeat them.
Spear troops, archers, sword-and-shield soldiers, infantry, and light cavalry advanced toward the Great Wall Fortress one after another. Clad in chainmail and equipped with Tibet’s finest weapons, they marched bravely toward the fortress. Before setting out, the King told them that the Tang Dynasty in the east possessed countless riches and women. As brave warriors of Tibet, they were to seize these riches and bring them back to Lhasa.
Tieren Xinuoluo nodded in satisfaction, waving his sword and shouting, “First wave, second wave—charge! Third wave, provide fire support!”
Tibetan military organization was not as complex as that of the Tang Dynasty. A force of ten thousand formed a legion, with thousand-man units and hundred-man units beneath it, each led by a thousand-sergeant and a hundred-sergeant. Supervision and responsibility were hierarchical, and those who refused to advance would be executed on the spot! Thus, Tibetan soldiers were extremely brave and fierce, often fighting on despite multiple injuries.

Dian Wuxi gradually calmed down from his shock and anger. Although the Tubo forces were numerous and aggressive, he still had a chance to defend the fortress. Great Wall Fort was backed by Kanglang Mountain, which tightly blocked the Tubo forces’ path eastward. Unlike the numerous passes in the continuous Chilin Mountains, there was no other way through Kanglang Mountain except for this one pass. Thus, no matter how many Tubo soldiers there were, they could only climb up the narrow mountain paths. Their huge numerical advantage was completely nullified by the rugged and steep paths; he only needed to use the terrain to hold firm and wait for reinforcements!

Once his mind was at peace, Dian Wuxi made sensible arrangements.

“Zhongli, lead the first and second battalions to block the battlements. Use logs or stones—whatever it takes! I don’t want to see a single Tubo barbarian on those battlements! Even if you have to bite them off, do it!”

Dian Wuxi took a deep breath and gave his orders in a firm voice.

“As you command!”

Zhongli clasped his fists and gladly accepted the task.

“Xima Cha, take the third and fourth battalions and stand twenty steps behind Zhongli and the others. Keep shooting arrows at them from above. If the arrows run out, go get more from Colonel Cao—don’t show any mercy!”

Waving his hand lightly, Dian Wuxi made the most appropriate decision.

“Qian Zhong, lead the weak and old soldiers of the fifth battalion to the back and boil water. Heat oil—once it’s boiling, pour it on them. If it doesn’t kill them, at least burn off their skin!”

With ruthless determination, Dian Wuxi spoke harshly.

Li Kuo clenched his fists and said, “Brother Dian, the Tubo forces are very aggressive. I’m afraid you won’t have enough men. I still have about three hundred men under my command. Just give the order, and my men will not hesitate.”

Dian Wuxi laughed heartily and patted Li Kuo’s shoulder. “How could I forget you? I’ve reserved an important task for you. If you hadn’t come, I really would have struggled to find enough men. What a coincidence!”

After saying that, he pulled Li Kuo to a row of structures covered with black curtains.

Dian Wuxi ripped back the curtains, revealing fifty catapults!

“No wonder you were so calm, Brother Dian. You had a backup plan!”

A smile finally appeared on Li Kuo’s frozen face. With these catapults, every step the Tubo forces took would cost them blood.

“I’ll leave these catapults to you. Tear them to pieces!”

Dian Wuxi punched Li Kuo’s shoulder and laughed.

“Leave this to me, Brother Dian. Don’t worry!”

Li Kuo smiled brightly, giving a manly promise in return.

“Zhang Yanji, Zhou Wucui, Dou Qing, Pu Dachui—listen to my orders! The four of you lead your men to get the trebuchets ready and smash them hard for me!”
The young man’s command was decisive and forceful, without the slightest hesitation. In his gaze lay a promise to the old man by the Shui River, a promise to the people of Hehuang, and also a promise to the Tang Dynasty.
“Smash them!”
“Kill those barbarians! Smash one after another, smash the whole group!”
Under the firepower of the trebuchets on the fortress, each step forward for the two Tibetan regiments cost them a heavy price. Though the Tibetan soldiers wore fine chainmail and carried rhinoceros-horn shields, these seemed utterly ridiculous in the face of hundreds of pounds of boulders. Dozens of massive stones hurtled down from above, and the Tibetan soldiers instinctively raised their shields to protect their vital areas. But how could those wooden shields stop stones carrying such immense force?
“Bang!”
A boulder the size of a millstone struck the mountain path, instantly turning dozens of Tibetan soldiers into flesh paste. Blood seeped through the cracks in the stones, soaking the dry grass all around.
“Bang! Bang!”
Two more huge stones rushed down. Learning from their comrades’ fate, the Tibetan soldiers fled at full speed. Chaos ensued on the mountain path—soldiers who had just climbed up were pushed down by their comrades before they could understand what was happening, screaming in agony.
A boulder struck the leg of a soldier who was running slower, crushing it completely. The cracking of bones emitted a terrifying crunching sound, and the soldier let out a heart-wrenching cry. He was only about sixteen years old, with sweat beads forming on his pale cheeks. He struggled to climb down, but the broken leg was pinned under the boulder, preventing him from moving. Yet he refused to give up. He seemed to see his mother bringing over a pot of fragrant butter tea, smiling as she approached him. He seemed to see his father catching a mountain rabbit and running toward him with it in his hands. The young man gritted his teeth, drew his curved sword from his waist, and slashed at his broken leg.
“Ah!”
Another heart-rending scream pierced the night sky. After severing his leg, the young man dragged his injured leg as he slowly climbed down the slope. But after just a dozen steps, another boulder rushed toward him. His mother’s butter tea and his father’s rabbit vanished instantly—his world was now nothing but darkness.
The boulder, still clinging to blood and corpses, rolled toward the dense ranks of Tibetan soldiers, causing them to scream in agony as countless died or were injured.
“Great! Now let’s see if these barbarians still dare to act arrogantly!”
Zhang Yanji shouted loudly, waving his fist excitedly.

The trebuchets effectively contained the Tibetan forces’ attacks. No matter how brave and fearless the Tibetans were, they were still made of flesh and blood. There was no need to adjust any angles at all—just load the huge stones onto the trebuchets, operate the levers together to launch them, and kill a dozen or so Tibetans. The numerical advantage of the Tibetans now became an obstacle to their advance.

The massive stones came roaring like demons from the hell of Asura, sweeping everything aside, destroying everything, erasing everything. All life seemed insignificant in their presence; all flesh and blood were but insignificant insects. In just the first round, with over twenty trebuchets in action, four or five hundred Tibetan soldiers on the mountain path were reduced to flesh pies.

“Woo, woo, woo.”

A mournful horn sound echoed, and the Tibetan vanguard retreated!

The Tang army’s fierce and resolute defense stopped every Tibetan who tried to advance. The huge stones weighing hundreds of pounds terrified every Tibetan soldier who thought himself fearless.

Almost everyone’s gaze turned to their commander, Tie Ren Xinuoluo—should they advance or retreat?

Although the Tibetans had a large number of troops, the narrow mountain path was completely blocked by the trebuchets. One man holding the pass could stop an army of ten thousand. Could they capture this strong fortress within the given time?……

Note 1: A Tibetan minister, referred to as Ma Chongying in Chinese historical records. He once held the position of chief minister. For his role in helping Tsongden Gampo suppress internal rebellions, he won the trust of the king and was promoted to military commander, later becoming chief minister. Taking advantage of the An Lushan Rebellion within the Tang Dynasty, he was the first to propose attacking the Tang. After entering Chang’an, the Tibetan army plundered the treasuries and markets, burned houses, leaving Chang’an completely devastated in their brutal acts.