Chapter 138: Slaying Eagles on the Cliffs (Part 2)

A blizzard unseen in decades suddenly struck the Qinghai region. The winds on Chiling howled violently, carrying snowflakes that swept across the land, sweeping away rocks and grass roots before piling up against the mountains.

Amidst the fierce onslaught of the blizzard, the attack on Shibao City was forced to halt. Nearly half of the more than 2,000 Tang troops were swept into the valleys by the storm. When the bad news reached the main camp, Geshu Han let out a deep sigh.

The strong winds shook the tents, and the few candles flickered weakly. Geshu Han sat motionless in the tent for a long time before slowly standing up and walking to the entrance, staring blankly at the gray sky and earth.

Days of hard work were wiped away by this blizzard. Once the snow stopped, he would have to start over, but none of that mattered. What mattered was the Tibetan reinforcements—they had been delayed for a full day and night. How much longer could Li Qing’an hold out?

Just then, a messenger struggled through the wind and said in a trembling voice, “General, the latest news from the northern front.”

“Ah! Hurry up and tell me—is Dong Yanguang still holding off the main Tibetan forces?”

“General, Dong Yanguang’s troops never moved south. He’s with the Shuofang army, besieging Shenwei City.”

“What!”

Geshu Han was enraged to the point of near fainting. Several guards quickly supported him. “General! General!”

Suddenly, Geshu Han coughed twice, spitting blood. He roared, “Damn this fate!”

After a while, he finally calmed down. He waved his hand gently. “Prepare paper and pen. I want to write a memorial to the Emperor.”

The guards laid out the paper and helped Geshu Han sit down. He picked up the pen, his hand trembling violently, and slowly wrote, “Your Majesty, I have failed to live up to Your Majesty’s grace. I am guilty…”

Geshu Han could no longer contain his anger. He let out a long sigh, tears welling in his eyes.

“If you want me to attack Shibao City, why add Dong Yanguang as well?”

Suddenly, Li Siyeh’s angry voice came from the entrance of the tent. “I want to see the general! Let me in!”

…

The blizzard halted the attack on Shibao City, but the attack on Chiling in the back mountains was even more fierce. Dazhalugong finally gained command, and the pent-up frustration inside him erupted. Ignoring the bitter cold, he ordered an attack anyway.

“Even if we die from the cold, we’ll die on the battlefield!” he roared, donning his armor and personally overseeing the battle. This time, he deployed 40,000 troops. The entire middle section of Chiling was submerged by the Tibetan army. They moved slowly under the raging wind and snow, but their goal was clear.

The sudden blizzard posed enormous difficulties for the Tang army’s defense. Not only was visibility drastically reduced, but more importantly, the effectiveness of their primary weapons—arrows—was greatly diminished in the storm, putting the Tang army in an extremely dire situation.
“Light a candle inside the tent!” Li Qing’an ordered in a low voice.
His personal guard, not understanding, hurried into the tent and lit a candle, casting a glimmer of light in the whiteout.
Li Qing’an drew an arrow, slowly drawing back the bow, and aimed at the tent sixty steps away. The tent had been swallowed by the snowstorm, completely invisible, with only a faint trace of light.
With a “whoosh!” the powerful arrow was shot and disappeared into the swirling snow.
“General!” A soldier slowly approached, holding Li Qing’an’s arrow, and shook his head gently.
“How far off was it?”
“It hit the side of the tent—five feet off target.”
Li Qing’an sighed inwardly. At that moment, Bai Yuanguang and Li Fei Shouyu rushed over, saying, “Seventh Lord, the situation is quite bad.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We tried just now—the gunpowder bombs launched by the trebuchets couldn’t land on the mountain path; the wind deflected them.”
“What if they miss?”
“That won’t work either. The wind is swirling, and it’s impossible to control it.”
Li Qing’an nodded and sighed, “I just shot an arrow sixty steps away—it missed the target by five feet.”
Bai Yuanguang and Li Fei Shouyu were stunned. If even Li Qing’an’s powerful seven-stone bow missed by five feet, what use were ordinary soldiers’ arrows? In the blizzard, all long-range weapons were ineffective.
The three fell silent for a moment. Then Li Qing’an said, “The only weapons we have now are boulders—boulders the size of houses. Rolling them down can not only injure the enemy but also block the mountain paths. We have fifteen such boulders at hand.”
Suddenly, a soldier shouted urgently, “General, come quickly! There seems to be movement below!”
The three rushed to the edge of the ravine and crouched down. The Tang army had buried three large jars at the edge of the cliff, and they could hear movements a hundred steps away.
After listening for a while, they indeed heard rustling sounds, likely coming from somewhere between thirty and fifty steps away.
Li Qing’an looked up sharply at below. All he saw was a gray haze, but the Tubo army was already right in front of them.
“Shoot arrows!”
He jumped up and shouted, “Shoot arrows quickly!”
The Tang army immediately fired arrows in large numbers. Though their effectiveness was greatly reduced, arrows were the only thing they could use in such a crisis.

Arrows rained down like a storm, stones fell like hail, piling down the mountain. Cries of agony filled the wind and snow—especially on the northern path, where the screams came from just twenty steps away. The Tibetan army was already very close.
“Move forward!”
More than 200 Tang soldiers pushed a huge boulder forward. The boulder was as tall as two men, resembling a small house. The Tang soldiers by the path scattered to the sides. With a shout, they pushed the boulder down the mountain. The massive object rolled down, crushing through the dense ranks of Tibetan soldiers, causing countless deaths and bloodshed.
But it was no longer the Zanpu who commanded the Tibetan army—it was Dazhalugong. His heart was as hard as iron. He knew well that in the blizzard, the Tang soldiers’ weapons would be ineffective, so he had to seize this opportunity.
“Charge forward! No matter how many die, keep going!” he screamed hysterically.
The path the Tibetans had just carved through was quickly closed again, and their army continued to climb up the mountain. More boulders rolled down from the mountain, killing countless Tibetans. They were crushed, then rushed back up. Explosions echoed along the path, flames soared, steel balls flew, and many Tibetan soldiers died in agony. Yet more enemies rushed forward, as if emerging endlessly from an inexhaustible source.
The Tang soldiers ran out of stones and boulders, and their remaining bows and arrows were ineffective. The defense line of Jiangdu Camp on the northern path was the first to be breached. Hundreds of Tibetan soldiers tore open a huge gap and charged in wildly.
Spear thrusts and sword slashes, wild shouts—Tang and Tibetan soldiers fought fiercely together. There were the crunching sounds of heads being cut off and the screams of those pierced by spears.
“Lin San, save me!”
Sun Mazzi from Runzhou had one leg severed. He fell to the ground screaming as dozens of swords slashed at him, turning him into flesh pulp. A Tibetan centurion raised Sun Mazzi’s head high and laughed maniacally.
“Ah!” Another scream—a young Jiangdu soldier was pierced in the chest by a Tibetan spear and flung high down the mountain.
Lin San’s eyes turned red. With a roar, he killed the Tibetan officer in front of him with a single swing. Suddenly, another burly Tibetan soldier rushed at him from behind, knocking him to the ground. The two struggled on the ground. Lin San flipped over, pressing the Tibetan soldier beneath him, then turned his sword and used all his strength to pierce the enemy’s chest.

Suddenly, his shoulder seized with intense pain as a spear pierced through it from the right side. His vision blurred, and his strength vanished rapidly. At that moment, he thought of his son and his wife, who was preparing dinner for New Year’s Eve—the lights were so soft, so warm, and his wife’s beauty had never been more exquisite. Then, another severe pain hit his abdomen as another spear went through his back, pinning him to the ground. Lin San’s vision gradually darkened. With a pained smile, he whispered, “My son, my wife, take care!” He lay there, pinned by the two spears, as snowflakes fell around him and his body grew colder and colder. Meanwhile, the central line was also breached, and over three thousand Tibetan soldiers surged forward. The Tang army fought desperately, and a brutal close-quarters battle erupted at the second line of defense. The Wolf Tooth Horn Valley served as a place to shelter the wounded. At that time, over a hundred Tang soldiers and female guards were carrying the last few wounded up the mountain when suddenly, more than two hundred Tibetan soldiers charged at them. The situation became critical. Over a hundred Tang soldiers turned to fight back, and several female guards also drew their swords and joined the battle. Li Fei Yuanli, lying on a stretcher, bit through the gauze, picked up the sword on the stretcher, and roared, “Damn you!” Like a mad tiger, he charged into the enemy ranks, slashing and killing more than twenty men in an instant. But he too was wounded, bleeding profusely. Just then, an arrow flew at him, hitting his lower abdomen. Without armor, the arrow pierced through his stomach. Li Fei Yuanli clutched his stomach and staggered backward two steps before collapsing to the ground. With a pained laugh, he muttered to himself, “Damn it, this time old Li is really going to die.” At that moment, a petite figure rushed to his side. “General Li Fei, let me help you walk.” It was Shi Sanniang. Li Fei Yuanli shook his head and pushed her away. “Sanniang, go quickly! You can’t carry me.” Shi Sanniang bit her lip, pulled him up, and leaned him against herself. Suddenly, she bent down, and her small frame managed to carry the seven-foot-tall Li Fei Yuanli as she struggled up the mountain step by step. By now, more and more Tibetan soldiers were flooding up the mountain. Li Qing’an led seven hundred soldiers from Anxi in a fierce battle at the central line. His black bow had been broken, his body covered in blood. Holding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, he fought desperately to drive back the enemy. The situation was now extremely critical.

Thirty steps away, Bai Yuan Guang and over twenty soldiers were surrounded by hundreds of Tubo troops. Bai Yuan Guang’s left arm had been severed; he roared fiercely, swinging his single arm with a sword to cut through the enemy ranks. Just then, Li Qing An suddenly witnessed a scene that shattered his heart: Bai Yuan Guang slipped, and a spear pierced his chest like lightning.

“Old Bai!”

Li Qing An let out a fierce cry and rushed toward Bai Yuan Guang without hesitation. The wild spirit of the Anxi army was unleashed; everyone roared, driving the Tubo troops back step by step and pushing those who had surged forward back down.

Li Qing An held Bai Yuan Guang in his arms. Bai Yuan Guang’s eyes were tightly closed—he was already dead. Tears streamed from Li Qing An’s eyes. The top scorer of the Anxi cavalry team had died on Chiling Mountain. He held Bai Yuan Guang in his arms and cried bitterly.

At that moment, He Yan Ming wiped away his tears and said, “General, we must retreat! We can’t hold on any longer.”

Li Qing An nodded and ordered those around him, “Everyone, retreat quickly!”

“Brothers on the north line, the general orders us to retreat now!”

Amidst the cries of retreat, the Tang army began to withdraw uphill. On the south side, since huge rocks blocked the path, few Tubo troops could advance, allowing most of the Tang soldiers to survive.

Li Fei Shou Yu also heard the order to retreat and shouted, “Retreat!”

He led hundreds of Tang soldiers from the south side uphill. Suddenly, Li Qing An remembered something. He turned and rushed to a tent in a corner of the cliff. The candle inside the tent had burned out, leaving it completely dark. He frantically searched through a wooden box, “Where is it? Where is it?”

“I found it!”

He found a tray of incense from the box, took out flint and steel from his pocket, and struck them twice with trembling hands. A flame appeared in his hand. He turned his back to shield it from the wind, lit the incense, carefully placed it in the compartment of the sand table, pulled out a wick and placed it in the center of the incense, then rushed out of the tent and headed uphill.

After running about ten steps, he suddenly looked back. By now, the Tubo troops were swarming forward. The wind had died down significantly, and heavy snow covered Chiling Mountain.

……

The Tang army retreated to their third line of defense, their last line of defense. The area here was narrow, just a mountain pass. Beyond that pass, up another ridge, lay the road leading to Shibao City.

The narrow pass was packed with Tang soldiers. After a fierce battle, there were still 1,500 Tang soldiers left, nearly half of them injured. The Jiangdu Camp suffered the heaviest losses, with less than 200 people remaining.

Li Qing’an sat on a large rock, while the female guard was disinfecting and bandaging his wound. He had been stabbed in his left arm, resulting in a deep cut; the blood had already clotted. It was only then that he felt the intense pain, but the pain from the wound paled in comparison to the sorrow in his heart. Bai Yuan Guang had died. In his memory, Bai Yuan Guang should have shone brightly during the An Lushan Rebellion and become a famous general of the mid-Tang Dynasty. Yet his own time-travel had changed history and altered Bai Yuan Guang’s fate.

“Qilang!”

Li Fei Shouyu walked over to Li Qing’an and said in a hoarse voice, “We still have twenty packs of gunpowder, fifty thousand arrows, two trebuchets, along with a small amount of food and clean water.”

“Leave the food and clean water for the seriously injured.”

After a pause, Li Qing’an asked again, “How is Lao Li?”

“He lost too much blood and fainted. It’s unclear whether he’ll survive.”

Li Qing’an smiled bitterly and said, “It’s also uncertain whether we’ll survive. Are there any movements from the Tubo army?”

“It seems there are no signs of an attack for now. They’re cleaning up the battlefield.”

Li Qing’an stood up, stretched his shoulders, and said with a smile, “Let’s go! Check on Lao Li.”

……

The straight-line distance between the third and second defense lines was only three hundred steps. There were several paths to reach them, which eventually converged into a small trail. The mountain path was winding, and it took two li to reach the top.

After occupying the second defense line, the wind weakened significantly, allowing the Tang army’s archers to be effective again. Thus, Dazhalugong decided to pause the attack temporarily and wait for the wind to strengthen before launching a full-scale assault.

“General, we’ve found a map of the Tang army. It’s very strange.”

One of the Tubo centurions pointed to a tent, “It’s right inside the Tang army’s tent.”

“Oh? Take me to see it.”

Dazhalugong hurried toward the tent. Inside, it was empty except for a sand table. He walked around the sand table twice, his eyes filled with surprise. The Tang army had actually created a model of the terrain around Qinghai using mud. Such a lifelike map was something he had never seen before. Dazhalugong immediately realized the great military significance of this map, especially for the terrain-rich Tubo region. It was even comparable to the Thunderbolt obtained from the Tang army.

At that moment, a Tubo soldier came in to report, “General, the Zanpu orders you to go down the mountain and report on the battle situation.”

“Good! I’ll go right away.”

Dazhalugong waved his hand and ordered, “Bring this map down the mountain as well. Be careful not to damage it.”

Dazhalugong walked briskly down the mountain, with dozens of Tubo soldiers carefully following behind, carrying the sand table covered with a cloth blanketed in snowflakes. As they passed through a steep ravine, the sand table was carried almost vertically downward. At that moment, a burning incense stick slipped out from beneath the table and fell into a rock crack. Everyone’s attention was focused on carrying the sand table, and no one noticed the incense stick fall.

The dozens of Tubo soldiers carried the sand table away, and the snow gradually covered and extinguished the incense.

……

The king’s tent was brightly lit, with the sand table placed in the center. Chizudzan and dozens of generals were curiously examining this unique map of the Tang army. Having successfully captured the Tang army’s second line of defense, Chizudzan was very pleased. Truly an experienced general, skilled at utilizing the weather to defeat the Tang army in just one battle. Pointing at the city of Shenwei on the sand table, he said, “See? It was this city of Shenwei that almost deceived us, making us think the Tang army intended to attack Dafeichuan.”

Shang Jiexi blushed. There seemed to be an undertone of mockery in the king’s tone. Stammering, he said, “Your Majesty, I believe that even if the Tang army aims to capture Shibao City, their next targets will still be Dafeichuan and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River.”

“Of course! But one must eat step by step—first secure Shibao City, then defend Dafeichuan. Prime Minister, do you understand?”

Chizudzan rebuked Shang Jiexi. Dazhalugong didn’t dare stand by; fearing Shang Jiexi might be too proud to admit fault, he stepped back. Suddenly, he saw a soldier at the entrance of the tent waving at him anxiously. He stepped forward quickly and asked, “What’s happened?”

“General, look quickly at the beacons at Shibao City!”

Dazhalugong gazed at Shibao City for a moment before finally seeing clearly. He was shocked—the beacons at Shibao City were burning brightly again. It was a signal of attack; they hadn’t been lit before!

Just as Dazhalugong headed toward the tent entrance, Chizudzan suddenly noticed something strange on the sand table—there were ten beacon towers on Chiling Mountain, when in fact, there was only one at Shibao City.

“Strange… What’s going on with these beacon towers?”

Shang Jiexi stepped forward to take a look and said with a smile, “Your Majesty, these beacon towers are likely part of the Tang army’s plan. They’re meant to be connected to the beacon towers at Shenwei City, Longju City, and those in Qinghai. Hehe! The Tangs really did make a detailed map—there’s even kerosene in the beacon towers, and it seems there’s a wire below. Could it be connecting to other beacon towers?”

As he spoke, he moved a candle and lit the beacon tower on Stone Fortress City. With a soft “whoosh,” the tower ignited, and surprisingly, all the beacon towers began to smoke.
Shang Jiexi laughed loudly, “Just as I thought!”
The Tibetan generals around him were instantly astonished, and Chizu Dezhan also smiled—this was indeed well done. The general standing beside Chizu Dezhan was Lun Zangqi, who, like all the other generals, was full of praise for this strategy.
Suddenly, Lun Zangqi smelled a very familiar scent—a scent deeply etched in his memory: the Thunderbolt of the Tang army.
He quickly reacted, pushing the Zanpu to the ground. At that moment, a red flame burst from the sand table in a violent explosion. The immense force shattered Shang Jiexi to pieces on the spot, lifting dozens of generals into the air, toppling tents, and even sending Dazhalugong, who was standing at the entrance, flying away with a powerful gust of wind.
The deafening explosion stunned the Tibetan army. When the black smoke cleared, Dazhalugong rushed in like a madman. The tent was filled with mutilated corpses. He cried out frantically as he searched for the Zanpu—until suddenly, he found him! Chizu Dezhan lay on the ground, covered in blood.
Dazhalugong felt his chest; there seemed to be a faint heartbeat. He picked up the Zanpu and screamed desperately, “Zanpu! Zanpu! Wake up!”
Finally, Chizu Dezhan was pushed by Lun Zangqi. Though severely injured internally, he wasn’t killed instantly. He slowly opened his eyes and said in a weak voice, “Defend Stone Fortress City!”
After that, he lost consciousness again. Dazhalugong slowly stood up, staring at the bodies of Tibetan officials scattered everywhere. His teeth gritted tightly. Suddenly, he leaped up and screamed with all his might, “The army shall attack the Tang army! Crush every last one of them!”
…
At that moment, the stone paths of Stone Fortress City were filled with the sound of battle cries. Li Siyeh led 1,000 heavily armored soldiers armed with halberds, climbing up the mountain ridges of Stone Fortress City despite the fierce wind. The Tibetan army never expected that the Tang army still had heavily armored infantry unafraid of the blizzard. By the time they realized it, the 1,000 armored soldiers had already rushed into the stone paths, and the two armies engaged in a final life-or-death struggle in the narrow passages.
Li Qing’an also faced a life-or-death test. 30,000 Tibetan soldiers launched a fierce attack, putting them on the brink of death.