Chapter 135: The Battle of Stone Fortress (Part 2)

The scouts brought the latest intelligence: the 5,000 Tibetan troops were still in the valley behind Stone Fortress City, but the area was heavily guarded. Any major movement by the Tang army would surely be detected by the sentries.
“Set up tents!” Li Qing’an ordered in a low voice. Within moments, a small tent was erected. Li Qing’an and several officers entered it, lit a candle, and quickly unfolded the map drawn by the scouts to locate the valley where the Tibetan troops were stationed.
“Damn it, they’re all packed together!”
Li Fei Yuanli suddenly exclaimed excitedly, “Qilang, if we use gunpowder bombs to bomb them, it’ll be amazing! None of them will escape.”
Bai Yuanguang clapped his fists together excitedly, “Right! Add kerosene and set it all on fire!”
“Qilang, let’s do it!”
All their expectant eyes turned to Li Qing’an. He shook his head and smiled, “Of course I want to, but the commander has given us orders to launch the attack at the fourth watch—not a moment earlier, or it will affect the entire battle situation.”
“But if Stone Fortress City gets chaotic, they’ll light fires to call for reinforcements. By then, the Tibetan troops below might not give us a chance.”
Bai Yuanguang grew anxious. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and said, “Qilang, how about we just take Stone Fortress City directly? We have gunpowder—let’s blow it up!”
“That’s impossible!”
Li Fei immediately objected, “The cliffs of Stone Fortress City are 600 feet high. How can we get gunpowder up there? Even with trebuchets, it won’t work. Besides, the gunpowder bombs will fall back down and blow up our own people!”
“We can secretly send people up to place the bombs in the cracks,” Li Fei Yuanli retorted stubbornly.
“It’s easy to say. What about the 5,000 enemy troops below?”
“Enough, stop arguing!”
Li Qing’an silenced the three of them. He said, “The Battle of Hehuang isn’t just my fight. It’s a joint effort by 150,000 Tang troops, all under Commander Ge Shu’s plan. If I seize credit by attacking alone, it might be fine if we take Stone Fortress City, but if we fail and disrupt the overall strategy in Longyou, I, Li Qing’an, can’t bear that responsibility. Stop talking. No matter how good the opportunity, we must not seek credit. We’ll launch the attack at the fourth watch!”
He blew out the candle with a whoosh, pulled back the tent curtain, and said to Li Fei Yuanli and Bai Yuanguang, “We’ll launch the attack at the fourth watch. We can make preparations at the third watch. The task of using gunpowder bombs will be assigned to Old Bai, while Old Li is responsible for blocking the Tibetan troops. My order is simple: under no circumstances must a single Tibetan soldier be allowed to reinforce Stone Fortress City.”
“I’ll follow orders!”
“Old Li, you know what to do. There won’t be any mistakes!”

The two bowed hastily and left. Li Qing’an slowly turned his head, gazing northward. From there, he could see the vast Qinghai ice fields and the endless mountains. As soon as his troops moved, Ma Chongying’s main force would immediately be aware of it. It was uncertain whether Dong Yanguang could hold off the Tibetan army’s main force.
…
At the same time as Li Qing’an’s troops entered the mountains behind Chileng, Geshu Han’s 60,000-strong main force also arrived at the designated position. Along with 30,000 troops from Longyou, there were 10,000 troops each from Hexi and Shuofang, making a total of 50,000 soldiers ready to launch a fierce attack on Shibao City.
Standing ten miles away by the Waters of Elixirs, Geshu Han gazed from afar at this towering fortress covered in thick snow. It resembled the god of yaks on the Qinghai Plateau, its lofty spine rising into the sky, guarding the only passage over Chileng.
If they failed to capture Shibao City, it would not only mean the failure of the Hehuang campaign but also the end of Geshu Han’s career. This formidable fortress had already led to the downfall of Gai Jiayun and Wang Zhongsì—would it be the same for him as well?
No! No matter how many troops died, he would take it. “One general’s success comes at the cost of thousands of bones!” That had always been the case.
Geshu Han’s expression became extremely stern. He turned and asked, “What time is it?”
“Reporting to the commander, it’s already the third watch.”
“Good. Send orders to Zhang Shouyu and Gao Xiuyan—launch the attack at 3 a.m., on time!”
Geshu Han stared at the western sky, sighing softly. He murmured to himself, “Li Qing’an, it all depends on you to stop the Tibetan reinforcements.”
…
North of Chileng, a Tibetan army stretching twenty miles was marching northward. Among them, Dazhalugong rode on his horse, constantly looking toward Shibao City. He sensed something was amiss, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
He firmly believed that Geshu Han’s strategic goal must be Shibao City, at least for the first phase. If he were Geshu Han, he would first capture Shibao City before advancing step by step toward Dafei Chuan and Jiuqu. Attacking Dafei Chuan before capturing Shibao City was by no means the action of a great general.
Dazhalugong sighed. The king had fully accepted Shangjie Xi’s broader strategy, believing that Dafei Chuan was more important than Shibao City. He glanced back at the king’s chariot in the distance. He knew well that once the king made up his mind, it was hard to change—unless something truly infuriating happened, like Li Qing’an killing his daughter.

“Wait!” A thought flashed through Dazhalugong’s mind like lightning—what role did the Tang troops on Longju Island play? Geshu Han surely wouldn’t build a city there for no reason; there must be a purpose. If things continued as planned, the Tang troops on Longju Island would be utterly useless. Moreover, they were led by Li Qing’an, the commander of the Anxi Scout Army, a Tang general highly skilled in surprise attacks.
“Surprise attack!” Dazhalugong suddenly turned around, staring intently at Shibao City. He realized it must be that way—Li Qing’an’s role was to launch a surprise attack on Shibao City from behind Chiling. The Tang troops reinforcing the northern line of Chiling were meant to draw away the Tubo forces there. Behind Shibao City, there were now only fifty thousand soldiers.
Dazhalugong broke into a cold sweat. He seemed to see Shibao City falling to the Tang forces. Without hesitation, he whipped his warhorse hard and rushed back toward the Zanpu.
“Zanpu!”
Dazhalugong shouted loudly. Chizudezan, who had just fallen asleep, was awakened by his sharp cry. Feeling slightly annoyed, he put on an outer robe and stepped out of his tent, asking, “What’s the emergency?”
“Zanpu, I’ve just realized that the Tang forces’ target is still Shibao City. Li Qing’an on Longju Island is the surprise force deployed by the Tang.”
“Do you have any evidence for this?” Chizudezan wasn’t convinced by Dazhalugong’s words.
“I came up with this idea quickly. It must be true. The Tang forces stationed on the northern line are just a decoy.”
“General Dazhalugong, the Tang forces have a hundred thousand troops on the northern line, while the Li Qing’an you mentioned has only two or three thousand. Do you think I should believe in a hundred thousand or two or three thousand? Unless the Tang forces suddenly withdraw, then I might believe it. Perhaps their real goal isn’t Dafei River after all.”
“Well…” Dazhalugong was at a loss. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Zanpu, how about I send fifty thousand troops to reinforce Shibao City as a precaution?”
“Agreed. Send fifty thousand troops.”
Just as Dazhalugong was about to go back to mobilize the troops, urgent hoofbeats came from afar. A scout rushed over and reported loudly to the Zanpu and Dazhalugong, “I report to the Zanpu and the general! The Tang forces, who were marching south, have suddenly turned north and returned east of Chiling.”
“Ah!” Chizudezan was shocked. He realized Dazhalugong was right—the Tang forces on the northern line were merely a decoy. Their true target was still Shibao City. Before Dazhalugong could speak, he roared, “All troops, turn south! March toward Shibao City!”

The rear of the 80,000-strong Tibetan army became the front, marching mightily toward Shibao City, 200 li away.
……
At three o’clock in the morning, just a little before four, Bai Yuanguang anxiously looked up at Shibao City. It remained pitch black, and under the flickering moonlight, only its massive silhouette could be seen rising in the air, utterly motionless.
The 500 men under his command had already prepared ten small trebuchets. These were positions pre-selected by the scouts—a grassy area large enough to hold ten such machines. A few dozen steps away lay a mountain ravine fifty zhang deep, beneath which were dense Tibetan camp tents.
Another force of 1,500 men, led by Li Fei Yuanli, was tasked with blocking the Tibetans. They held bows and arrows, wore round shields on their backs, and carried swords at their waists, hiding behind a ridge 300 steps away across the ravine, waiting for the sound of explosions.
The night was eerily silent, filled with tension and oppression ahead of a great battle. Li Qing’an stared northwesternly, feeling an ominous sense. The Tibetans had left only 5,000 men to support Shibao City—Ma Chongying could only neglect it for a while, but he would soon realize he needed to send reinforcements. The key lay in whether Ge Shu Han could capture Shibao City as planned by noon to relieve pressure on himself.
“General, look!”
Suddenly, a soldier shouted excitedly, pointing at Shibao City. Li Qing’an looked up and saw a beacon fire blazing atop the city, its bright flames shooting into the sky, visible for hundreds of miles. It was an alarm, a signal for help—a bell marking the onset of a great battle.
“Pass my order—attack!”
The long-suppressed Tang army struck. They lit the fuses of the gunpowder bombs, and the ten trebuchets fired simultaneously, dropping the bombs into the ravine.
The fuses emitted hissing white smoke as they burned frantically in the air, falling straight into the ravine. At that moment, urgent bells rang within the Tibetan camp—a signal that the sentries had also spotted the alarm at Shibao City, causing chaos in the camp.
Just then, the gunpowder bombs dropped from the sky exploded violently. The deafening blasts nearly collapsed the valley; the immense force overturned countless tents. In the chaos, many Tibetans were killed or injured, with limbs flying into the air and hanging on trees and cliffs. More gunpowder bombs were thrown into the camp, causing one violent explosion after another—deafening booms, shrill screams, and cries of agony as people died.

The kerosene poured down began to spread and catch fire; the camps were set ablaze. With the wind at their back, the valley turned into an ocean of fire. Countless soldiers were engulfed in flames. They ran wildly with their arms outstretched, but after a few steps, they collapsed and slowly curled up as they burned to death.

Extreme terror gripped every Tibetan soldier, driving them mad. The camp was filled with hysterical screams as they trampled over each other in their rush toward the exit of the valley. Many Tibetan soldiers who had fought at Longju Island cried out, “Thunder! The gods are angry!”

The Tibetan soldiers were completely insane. All they could think of was to charge—out of the valley and far away from Chiling. But as soon as they reached the exit, the Tang army, who had been waiting there, fired a thousand arrows at once. Without needing to aim, the arrows rained down on the dense crowd of Tibetan soldiers. Caught off guard, most of them hadn’t even had time to put on chainmail, so they fell in large numbers, dying slowly amidst cries of agony.

Lun Zangqi’s eyes turned red from crying. Two such encounters had made him realize that it wasn’t the gods’ wrath but the Tang army’s thunderous attacks. He shouted desperately, “Don’t panic! It’s not the gods’ wrath! Stay calm!” Unfortunately, his cries were drowned out by the terrified screams of the Tibetan soldiers and the sound of explosions.

Nearly a hundred of Lun Zangqi’s personal guards pushed him onto his warhorse. They spurred the horse forward, breaking through the raging fire and rushing out through a crack in a cliff. Li Fei Yuanli, who was directing the defense, spotted this cavalry unit at once. It was the enemy commander! He roared and led a hundred soldiers with their large swords to confront them. Dozens of Lun Zangqi’s guards charged into the Tang army’s ranks, fighting desperately. Li Fei Yuanli was surrounded by three Tibetan centurions. Helplessly, he watched as Lun Zangqi and over twenty Tibetan soldiers fought their way through the encirclement.

Li Fei Yuanli roared and killed the three centurions one by one. By the time he rushed over, Lun Zangqi was already gone.

Despite the Tang army’s fierce attempts to stop them, hundreds of Tibetan soldiers determined to survive broke through the defenses and scattered across the mountains.

Li Qing’an led nearly a thousand men to block the road to Shibao City two li away. They shot down every single Tibetan soldier who tried to escape alone. By now, it was past the fifth watch, and a hint of dawn light appeared in the sky. As the sounds of fighting in the valley gradually faded, their ambush was coming to an end.

Li Qing’an turned to look at Shibao City again. The beacon fires were still burning fiercely, with sparks flickering on the city walls, indicating that a fierce battle was underway outside the city.

Nan Jiyun ran over and whispered, “General, while it’s still dark, let’s launch a sneak attack on Shibao City from behind.”
Li Qing’an smiled. With such intense explosions and raging fires in the valley, what chance was there for a sneak attack? He pondered for a moment. Although it was easier to climb up from behind compared to the front side of the mountain, it was still extremely dangerous. Especially since the Tubo army was already prepared, his force of three thousand was far too small—going up there would only be suicide.
Just then, Li Qing’an suddenly looked in the northwest direction as if sensing something. Dozens of miles away in the northwest of Chilin, scattered flames suddenly appeared, growing in number until they formed a light belt of fire stretching over twenty miles long.
Li Qing’an’s pupils narrowed to slits. The Tubo army’s main force had returned, in far greater numbers than he had imagined. He gripped tightly the hilt of his sword—once belonging to Gai Jiayun, the defeated general of Shibao City. What would this sword bring him today? Honor, or death?