Chapter 318: The Battle of Tubo (Part 2)

Thousands of Tubo warriors had already rushed to a distance of several hundred steps away. Their figures were somewhat unusual, and their voices were exceptionally high-pitched. Li Qing’an could now see clearly that all the thousands of Tubo cavalry at the forefront were actually women. The cold smile on the face of Tubo’s commander, Shangxi Dongzan, flashed through Li Qing’an’s mind—perhaps this was his surprise tactic: using women to confront the Tang army’s arrow formations.

Li Qing’an began to understand Shangxi Dongzan’s tactics. He always preferred unconventional approaches. Last time, he had launched a surprise attack on the interior of Anxi. Though the idea was good, it lacked thorough consideration. The same was true here—he used women as the vanguard in an attempt to make the Tang army hesitate and disrupt their formation. Had he not considered that a sword could kill enemies but also harm its wielder?

At that moment, all the Tang soldiers turned to look at Li Qing’an. Should these women be killed or spared? Li Qing’an narrowed his eyes and glanced at the sky. The weather had changed—what had been overcast clouds earlier had now turned into swirling dark clouds. Sand and dust filled the air as a summer rain was about to fall.

A cold smile appeared on Li Qing’an’s lips. He was mocking Shangxi Dongzan for trapping himself. He could have had a chance to fight the Tang army, but by involving so many civilians, he had lost heaven’s favor.

“Kill them!”

Li Qing’an softly gave the final order.

Five thousand archers stepped forward, their dark-colored Tang bows raised toward the sky. Deadly intent gathered in those bows. The rest of the Tang soldiers drew their long swords, restraining their restless horses as they waited for the moment to strike.

The women kept rushing closer. It was now possible to see them waving their hands, signaling to the Tang army that they had no weapons. Most of these women were trying to escape. They lived in Sabi Ze, where they only knew how to milk goats, herd sheep, and serve men. They had never experienced war like this before, nor had they ever been so close to death. They had no idea they had become scapegoats for Tubo’s commander, Shangxi Dongzan. As they ran closer, they were now less than a hundred steps away from the Tang army, within range of the arrows. At that moment, some of the herders behind them realized the danger. They tried to stop and turn to flee, but were forced to keep moving by the fierce Tubo soldiers wielding their long swords. Among the Tubo troops, Shangxi Dongzan smiled triumphantly. Didn’t the Tang army claim to be an army of righteousness? Could they really bring themselves to kill these women and children? If they hesitated even slightly, the women, children, and herders would disrupt their formation, allowing his army to charge into the Tang ranks.

“Advance another hundred steps and prepare for an assault!” As Shangxi Dongzan gave the order, chaos suddenly erupted ahead. The Tang army’s arrow formations fired simultaneously, with thousands of crossbow arrows shooting at the approaching group of women. Screams filled the air as these unprepared women were hit by arrows from their horses, who then trampled them, turning them into bloody messes. Terrified, the women turned and tried to flee. At that moment, heavy raindrops began to fall, bringing an unexpected summer storm to the Sabi Ze Basin. The Tang army’s archers could no longer use their weapons. Under Li Qing’an’s command, the cavalry charged forth with great momentum, attacking the Tubo forces. Tall and fierce, they quickly created a large gap in the Tubo army’s chaotic formation. The sudden downpour and thick mist reduced visibility drastically, further disorganizing the Tubo forces. Although the Tubo army still outnumbered the Tang forces by ten thousand, the herders who had led peaceful lives could not help them in battle and instead hindered their efforts to break through. As the Tang arrows mercilessly struck the approaching women, panic spread among the Tubo troops. Death and bloodshed terrified the Tubo women, who turned to flee, dragging their families with them. These civilians, unaccustomed to warfare, were terrified by the Tang army’s brutal killings. Even Tubo officers could not stop their panicked retreat. Their chaos was like sand blown away by the wind, revealing the solid rock beneath—fifteen thousand Tubo soldiers appeared, but it was too late. They could no longer maintain their formation, and the chaos allowed the Tang cavalry to break through their defenses. At this point, Shangxi Dongzan was filled with regret. He realized he had made a grave mistake. Heaven had given him the chance to win, but he had wasted it. He had forgotten that the Tang army’s crossbowmen could not shoot in the rain. If he hadn’t brought those herders, if he had launched the attack after the rain started, without the threat of the crossbowmen, the outcome of the battle on the plateau was still uncertain. Shangxi Dongzan failed to seize the opportunity of the heavy rain, but Li Qing’an took advantage of the Tubo army’s chaos and ordered a full-scale assault. The cavalry disrupted the Tubo army’s formation, and loud horn sounds came from the east. The Tubo army was now trapped between enemies, and the chaos was even worse. In the torrential rain, cries, pleas, and thick mist merged together. Soldiers and herders were mixed together, along with women, children, and the elderly struggling for survival. It became impossible to find soldiers or commanders, and the Tubo army’s defeat was inevitable.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Shangxi Dongzan ordered a breakout. What was once an anticipated battle turned into a one-sided pursuit and massacre with no suspense left—dead bodies lay everywhere, blood flowed like rivers, and limbs were scattered in all directions. Under the Tang army’s siege and pursuit, 15,000 Tibetan soldiers were killed or wounded, with less than 3,000 escaping. Eight thousand Tibetan soldiers were slain, over 4,000 captured alive, and tens of thousands of herders were killed; nearly 30,000 Tibetan herders were taken captive. They were surrounded by Feng Changqing’s army coming from the east. Feng Changqing stopped the Tang army from massacring them and captured them all alive.

The rain in the Sabize Basin came quickly and left just as fast. The torrential rain turned into a light drizzle, with fine raindrops like needle tips washing away the bloodstains on the grasslands. Li Qingan immediately stood on a high hill, watching coldly as the Tang army cleaned up the battlefield. He had just received news that the Tang troops in Yutian had blocked the Tibetan surprise forces from advancing northward. Thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements from Shule, the Tibetan army had been defeated. Tibetan general Jiazhasangji was killed in the chaos, and his head was sent over as a trophy of victory. However, the Tang army also suffered heavy losses—over half of their 4,000 troops were killed or wounded, plus more than 1,000 who died in today’s battle. At a cost of nearly 4,000 casualties, the Tang army captured Sabize.

The rain had completely stopped, and the battlefield was cleaned up. Groups of prisoners were being brought in. Before Li Qingan’s eyes, Tang cavalry escorted groups of captured Tibetan soldiers, who walked head down, many of them injured. In the distance, large groups of Tibetan women and children were driven by the Tang army, stumbling along with cries filling the air. Behind them followed groups of herders with panicked expressions and vacant eyes. Most of them had lost their families and possessions, unsure of their future or whether they would face massacre.

At that moment, a group of Tang soldiers rushed over, surrounding Feng Changqing. Feng Changqing bowed on his horse and said, “Your humble servant pays respects to the great general!”
“General Feng, you’ve worked hard!” Li Qingan nodded with a smile.
Feng Changqing also sighed, “Your humble servant originally thought it would be a fierce battle and was full of hope, but I never expected it to end so quickly. In fact, the two armies didn’t even engage in direct combat, which is truly regrettable.”
“That’s because the Tibetan army was only focused on breaking through and had no intention of fighting. It also shows that the Tibetans no longer have the means to turn westward. Otherwise, how could there be only 20,000 people in the Sabize region? By defeating them, I have fulfilled the task assigned to me by the court.”

Li Qing’an’s tone was relaxed, but he also felt a bit regretful. He had prepared thoroughly for this battle, expecting it to be a fierce fight, only to find it ended so quickly. Yet this was within his expectations—historically, in the Battle of Boxian Town, the Anxi army had also won easily, which was closely tied to the strength of the Anxi army itself.

At that moment, Feng Changqing glanced at the Tibetan women, children, and elders crying and walking along the road. A hint of compassion flashed in his eyes, and he asked, “General, what should we do with these herdsmen?”

Li Qing’an smiled faintly and said, “I want to kill them all!”

Feng Changqing was shocked and quickly waved his hands, saying, “General, absolutely not!”

“Why not?” Li Qing’an glanced at him. “Kill the elders, force the men to work as slaves, and turn the women into prostitutes in the army—don’t the Tibetans treat us Han people in just this way?”

Feng Changqing sighed and said, “That is the brutality of the Tibetan army. If we treat their civilians in the same cruel manner, how is that different from the Tibetan army? Moreover, since the General has abolished slavery in Anxi, using Tibetan slaves would be hard to justify, and it would also draw criticism from the court, harming the General’s reputation. Please reconsider!”

“I was just speaking hypothetically! Since I have abolished slavery, it naturally includes the Tibetans as well.”

Li Qing’an smiled and said, “I plan to send all these Tibetan prisoners and civilians to Yincheng. Let them live there as commoners, making a living by mining silver. Additionally, I don’t want to let go of the 30,000 Tibetan herdsmen sent by Shangxi Dongzan to Ula Ulan Lake.”

With that, he ordered Feng Changqing, “I’ll give you 5,000 cavalrymen, each with two horses. You must rush to Ula Ulan Lake day and night to bring back those 30,000 herdsmen along with their cattle and sheep. This will be credited to you as your first achievement!”

……

Lhasa, the Potala Palace. Amidst deep horn sounds, hundreds of guards and several ministers surrounded the young Tibetan king as he walked down the high steps. Fully armed, with a bow and arrow on his back and a long sword in hand, clad in armor, he was approached respectfully by Dalanang Xiedazan, accompanied by several Bon priests.

Although Buddhism had already spread to the plateau, the local religion, Bon, still held a dominant position in Tibet. The spread and adoption of religion required a long process of belief and strong promotion by the ruling class. Buddhism truly flourished in Tibet thanks to the efforts of this young king over the years.

The young king was none other than Trisong Detsen, the renowned ruler who revived Tibetan history. Born in the first year of the Tianbao era, he claimed to be the son of Princess Jincheng of Tang, though this was merely a pretext—Princess Jincheng had died two years before his birth. Trisong Detsen ascended to the throne after his father, Chide Tsongzan, died in the Battle of Shibu a few years earlier. At just eleven years old, he was far more mature than his peers, though troubled by concerns. A few days ago, a guard risked his life to tell him that the Tang forces were launching a massive attack on Tibet. The Tibetan army under Sabi Ze had been annihilated, and Qiangtang in northwestern Tibet was undefended. Meanwhile, the Tang forces in the east had captured Jiuqu and Wuhai, surrounding Dazhalugong at Baihai, with Baihai on the verge of falling.

Trisong Detsen was extremely anxious. He knew all this was due to General Dalun Nangxie Detsen withdrawing his troops near Lhasa. Tibet’s vast territory had no troops guarding its borders and remote plateaus, which seemed unbelievable. He also understood why Nangxie Detsen had done this—by controlling the army, he held absolute power. As a result, Shangxi Dongzan was driven away, and Dazhalugong was forced to leave Lhasa. Now, Trisong Detsen held sole control over Tibet, yet Nangxie Detsen didn’t even consider him as a king.

Glancing at Nangxie Detsen’s ugly face in the distance, Trisong Detsen was filled with rage. He grunted heavily. His minister, Jisang Jiagong, quickly whispered, “Your Majesty, stay calm!” Suppressing his anger, Trisong Detsen forced a relaxed smile and called out to Dalun Nangxie Detsen from afar, “Dalun, I’m going hunting with horses and falcons today. Come with me!”

Nangxie Detsen was a tall, obese middle-aged man around fifty, wearing a false smile. It had taken him over two years to drive away his political rivals, Shangxi Dongzan and Dazhalugong, and seize absolute power. The sweetness and intoxication of power made him forget himself for a long time, leading him to believe he was the true ruler of Tibet. He utterly despised the young king and never reported any matters to him. He even concealed the massive attacks by the Anxi and Longyou armies, thinking the Tang forces wouldn’t stay on the plateau long and would withdraw once winter came. If he could use the Tang forces to eliminate Shangxi Dongzan and Dazhalugong, that would be ideal.

Shangxi Dongzan had been defeated; his remaining troops retreated to Lake Namco, planning to return to Lhasa to plead for forgiveness. Now only one man, Dazhalugong, was left, trapped in Baihai. It was only a matter of time before he too would be captured by the Tang forces. In any case, he was determined to kill these two men. Even if the Tang forces failed to kill them, he would not spare them.

At that moment, Nangxie Dongzan, seeing the young king arrive fully armed, felt a hint of suspicion and stepped back two steps toward his guards. But upon hearing that the king intended to go hunting, he relaxed slightly and stepped forward with a smile, saying, “King, what’s the fun in going hunting? I’ve brought a few high priests today. Let them take turns telling stories to you! After a few days and nights, you’ll forget about hunting altogether.”

“Dalun, I don’t want to hear stories. I want to go hunting!” Chisong Dezan said innocently.

“The king is truly like a child!”

Nangxie Dongzan smiled and made a deal with Chisong Dezan, saying, “How about this? You listen to the stories first, and then go hunting.”

“Okay!”

Chisong Dezan jumped for joy, took down his bow and arrows from his back, and handed them to Nangxie Dongzan, saying, “I don’t need these anymore. Give them to you!”

Nangxie Dongzan reluctantly accepted the bow and arrows and prepared to take the sword as well. But just then, Chisong Dezan pointed behind him and shouted, “How did Dazhalugong return?”

Nangxie Dongzan was shocked. He turned around, but there were only his dozen or so personal guards behind him—no sign of Dazhalugong. The moment he turned, Chisong Dezan swiftly drew his long sword and thrust it into his chest. The blade was extremely sharp, piercing through Nangxie Dongzan’s fine chainmail. Nangxie Dongzan screamed, grabbed the blade, and stared fixedly at the young king, still unable to believe that this eleven-year-old boy dared to kill him.

When he saw contempt and anger in Chisong Dezan’s eyes, he suddenly realized he truly deserved death. Nangxie Dongzan collapsed to the ground. Chisong Dezan bit his lip, pulled the sword out violently, and thrust it into Nangxie Dongzan’s neck, severing his throat. Blood splashed all over him.

At that moment, Nangxie Dongzan’s stunned guards finally reacted. They shouted and charged forward, along with Chisong Dezan’s hundreds of guards, surrounding their master tightly. The two sides fought fiercely as they shouted at each other. Then, Chisong Dezan slashed off Nangxie Dongzan’s head, raised it high, and declared, “Nangxie Dongzan is dead! Those who surrender will be spared.”

Seeing their master dead, Nangxié Dazan’s guards had no desire to fight anymore. Some surrendered, others fled, and in moments they were scattered. Seeing that the situation was beyond redemption, Chisong Dezan turned to Jisang Jiagong, whose face was pale with fear, and said, “Go inform the military forces. Have all the thousand-commanders come to the Potala Palace to see me. I have something to announce to them!”

……

It was already late August. The Tang army’s attack on Bohai had lasted for two full months. At the beginning, the campaign progressed very smoothly. In early July, Geshu Han led around 50,000 Tang troops to attack the Tibetan army from both flanks, defeating Dazhalugong’s 20,000 troops in the small town of Domma. Dazhalugong fled south with 2,000 remaining soldiers to Xingxiu Fort.

Xingxiu Fort was a formidable stronghold built by the Tibetan army in a strategically advantageous and rugged location along the Xingxiu River. It was located west of Bohai, blocking the route to Luoshe. About a hundred miles to the south lay the famous Zishan, today’s Bayan Har Mountains, with their towering peaks covered in snow.

Xingxiu Fort sat atop a cliff about 100 zhang high, part of a branch of Zishan. There was only a narrow, winding path leading up to the fortress, making it another stone fortress. It had originally been built by the Tibetan army to store grain and defend against wolves on the plateau, but now it had become their last line of defense.

It could be said that the Tang army had already taken control of Bohai, driving away hundreds of thousands of Tibetan herders who lived there to Wuhai, and seizing large amounts of livestock. However, without capturing Xingxiu Fort, they couldn’t claim complete control of Bohai. It was like a nail driven into Bohai, keeping Geshu Han uneasy. He sent 50,000 troops to attack this isolated fortress repeatedly but failed to take it.

Lacking heavy siege weapons, they relied solely on the Tang soldiers’ own bodies to attack, making the assault extremely difficult and resulting in heavy casualties. After over a month of attacks, more than 8,000 Tang soldiers had died at the foot of the fortress. As they stayed on the plateau for too long, many Tang soldiers couldn’t adapt to the climate and fell ill and left. The Tang army’s numbers continued to decline. By mid-August, out of the 50,000 troops, only about 30,000 remained.

Despite failing to capture Xingxiu Fort, Geshu Han refused to give up. He had sworn before Li Longji that he would annihilate the Tibetan army. If even one soldier remained, it wouldn’t count as his achievement, and he wouldn’t accept the title of Prince of Xiping. Yet now, there were still over 2,000 Tibetan soldiers. If he couldn’t take Xingxiu Fort, he wouldn’t be able to occupy Bohai, and his hopes of becoming Prince of Xiping would be dashed.

Therefore, Geshu Han resolved to persevere—unless he captured Xingxiu Fort, he would never stop. Thirty thousand Tang troops surrounded Xingxiu Fort and attacked day and night. The Tibetan army’s counterattacks grew weaker and weaker; there were no more stones left, and the fort had been damaged beyond repair—any further damage would cause it to collapse. Of the two thousand Tibetan soldiers, less than six hundred remained, fighting desperately under the leadership of Dazhalugong.

That morning, the Tang army launched another attack. Ten thousand Tang soldiers advanced up the paths, with frozen half-sheep or whole cow heads being hurled down at them. These meats were the Tibetan army’s food supply, stored in the fort. With no stones left, they had to use these to resist the Tang attacks.

Thousands of Tang soldiers shouted and raised their large shields for defense, but nearly a hundred were still thrown off the cliff, their screams echoing through the valley. After two months of fighting, the Tang army was also exhausted. The high-altitude climate drained their strength, and many could no longer climb, panting halfway up the mountain. By then, Dazhalugong had given up hope of reinforcements. His only hope was the arrival of winter, forcing the Tang army to withdraw, giving him a chance to survive.

In fact, Dazhalugong wasn’t completely out of resources. He could still completely demolish the fort and defend the cliff, using tens of thousands of large stones. But he didn’t want to do that unless absolutely necessary. He needed to buy time, using those stones to hold out until winter—something far from easy.

Fortunately, both sides were exhausted. The defenders were nearly dead from fatigue, while the Tang army lacked the strength to attack and grew weaker by the day. This wasn’t the plains—after nearly two months of fighting, both sides were at their limit. It came down to who could hold out the longest.

The lack of offensive strength enraged Geshu Han. Shouting hoarsely, he ordered, “Pass my command: send the battle supervisors up. Anyone who dares to avoid fighting and fear death shall be executed on the spot!” He snatched the drumstick and beat the drum himself to boost morale. The loud drumming echoed, and dozens of battle supervisors climbed the mountain. The Tang army had no choice but to launch another desperate attack.

Just then, several scout cavalry rushed over, reporting in panic, “Report to the commander! Tibetan reinforcements have been spotted a hundred miles away!”

“What?”

Geshu Han was stunned. He grabbed the scout by the collar and shouted, “Hurry up! How many reinforcements?”

“At least… at least eighty thousand.”

“Clang!”

Ge Shuhan’s drumstick fell to the ground. He sat down weakly, staring blankly at the impregnable Xingxiu Fortress. He had spent too much time on this fortress and failed to set up any defenses. With 80,000 Tibetan reinforcements arriving, his dreams were shattered, and even his title as Prince of Xiping began to slip away from him. A bitter taste filled Ge Shuhan’s throat as he spat out blood. His personal guards rushed over, shouting, “Commander! How are you?” Ge Shuhan waved his hand gently and said in a very weak voice, “Pass my orders: the entire army shall retreat north to Jiuqu, abandoning Baihai and Wuhai.” In August of the 11th year of the Tianbao era, with the arrival of 80,000 Tibetan reinforcements, Ge Shuhan finally failed in his efforts. Realizing that the Tang army could no longer hold Baihai and Wuhai, he ordered a retreat north across the Yellow River to Jiuqu, where they could rely on the defensive fortifications of Jishishan to confront the Tibetan forces. Due to logistical shortages, the Tibetans stopped advancing after recapturing Baihai and Wuhai. The two sides temporarily ceased hostilities with Jishishan as the boundary. After nearly a year of planning, the campaign against the Tibetans ended with the Tang army achieving a 70% victory. Although the plan in the east was not fulfilled, complete victory was achieved in the west. At the beginning of September, Li Longji ordered rewards for the troops in Longyou and Anxi. Ge Shuhan was officially granted the titles of Prince of Xiping, General of the Cavalry, and Minister of Works. Li Qingan was promoted to Grand Protector of Anxi and ordered to withdraw from Shazhou immediately. At the same time, a secret decree for Prince Li Cong was quietly sent to Anxi. …