Chapter 32: The Mystery of Po Shui

Li Qing’an ordered He Yanming to lead 100 men to guard Jialan City, while he took the remaining 400 men through a secret route to continue marching eastward. Ten days later, Gao Xianzhi’s army also arrived at Jialan City.

In the palace of Jialan City, Gao Xianzhi studied a map, planning his next move. From the Chifotang Road, he could head straight for Xiaobolü, but that route was long and difficult, and his army of 10,000 men couldn’t handle the logistics. More importantly, there were nearly 10,000 Tibetan troops at Lianyun Fort. If they turned back to Xiaobolü and attacked from both north and south, the Tang army would be in grave danger! Moreover, capturing Xiaobolü would be meaningless without taking Lianyun Fort first. By capturing it, the 10,000 Tibetan troops in the northern valley of Telermanchuan would lose their support and retreat to Tibet—killing three birds with one stone!

Thinking this through, Gao Xianzhi marked Lianyun Fort heavily with a charcoal pen and decided to proceed as planned. He would divide his forces into three groups to attack Lianyun Fort. One group, led by He Chongjin, the governor of Shule, would take 3,000 cavalry along the northern bank of Telermanchuan to cut off communication between Lianyun Fort and the Tibetan troops there. Another group, led by Jia Chongguan, the governor of Bohuan, would march south from the Chifotang Road to block any Tibetan troops retreating from Lianyun Fort southward. Gao Xianzhi himself would take the central route, leaving the Telermanchuan valley and using the secret route to advance on Lianyun Fort.

The next day, the three armies set off separately, marching in great force toward Lianyun Fort.

……

Li Qing’an traveled day and night for nearly 20 days. In the middle of the night, they finally reached Po Le Chuan, 50 li away from Lianyun Fort. Po Le Chuan was one of the two tributaries upstream of the Wu Hu River—the other being Bo Mi Chuan. Lianyun Fort was located right along the middle section of Po Le Chuan.

With their mission complete, Li Qing’an would now wait for Gao Xianzhi’s main force to arrive. To avoid being detected by Tibetan scouts, the Tang army found a huge cave to hide in.

The soldiers were exhausted and could finally rest properly. They lay down and soon fell asleep. The cave was quiet, with the soldiers sleeping soundly, their snoring echoing throughout.

Li Qing’an lay on a sunken rock, with a military blanket beneath him just like the soldiers’. Yet he could hardly fall asleep. The moon had risen, its silver light streaming into the cave and casting it on his face. For over a year now, whenever the moon appeared, he would think of his past life. His memories of that life were vague. Intense military training had given him a strong physique, and the rest of his time was spent shooting arrows day after day on an archery range. He didn’t even have a mobile phone; he would only enter the prosperous metropolis during competitions. Still, he missed his old life terribly.

Li Qing’an sighed. He gently touched the long scar on his face—it had become his permanent mark. It seemed he remembered something as he took out a small copper mirror from his pocket. It was something Gao Wu had thrown at him that night. He had thought that feisty girl would give him a sword or arrow, not a copper mirror.

Thinking of Wu Niang’s peculiar intentions, Li Qing’an felt a wave of warmth. Using the moonlight, he looked at his face in the mirror. The wound had healed well, barely visible, mostly covered by his hair, with only a short line stretching from his forehead to his eyebrows. But this scar didn’t make him look grotesque; instead, it added a touch of masculine toughness to him.

“General!” came a low call from the cave entrance from a sentinel.

“What is it?” Li Qing’an stood up and walked toward the entrance.

“It seems the river level has changed.”

Li Qing’an was stunned and quickly followed the sentinel to the riverbank.

The Bo Le Chuan became wider in this area—thirty zhang wide, with rapid currents. The only narrow spot for crossing was just two li wide; elsewhere, the river flowed right up against the cliffs.

If Li Qing’an’s hundreds of scouts crossed the river, it wouldn’t be a problem. But for Gao Xianzhi’s more than ten thousand main forces, it wouldn’t be so easy. The main risk was being spotted by Tibetan scouts on the other side, who could then arrive in time to block them.

When Li Qing’an reached the riverbank, he saw that the water level had suddenly dropped significantly. They went into the river to measure it—the depth was less than three feet. It was almost possible to cross the Bo Le Chuan on horseback, whereas before the water depth was at least twenty zhang.

“What’s going on?”

Just as they were puzzled, a rumbling sound came from upstream. A white line rushed toward them like a herd of horses.

“The flood is coming! Run!”

Li Qing’an and a few sentinels ran desperately toward the shore. Just as they climbed ashore, the floodwaters surged past, and the water level returned to its original level.

Li Qing’an sat down on the ground, cursing, “Damn it! Made me run for my life.”

“General, it’s just the time it takes to burn one incense stick!” a sentinel gasped. “The water level drops only for that duration—strange, we don’t know why.”
Li Qing’an was also puzzled. It was truly odd that the river’s water level changed at regular intervals. After pondering for a while, he said, “Let’s observe for a few more days. Also, this secret must not be revealed to any other soldiers. If you dare leak it, I’ll kill you.”
The sentinels quickly replied, “General, rest assured. We will never reveal it.”
…
Li Qing’an observed for five days in a row and found that it indeed happened every day—the river’s water level would suddenly drop at the fourth watch, lasting only as long as it took to burn one incense stick, a very brief period.
Three days later, on the eighth day of the seventh month, Gao Xianzhi’s main force arrived at where Li Qing’an and his men were camped. Thanks to Li Qing’an’s advance scouting, their march went smoothly, and they arrived near Lianyun Fort on time.
Gao Xianzhi’s main force numbered eight thousand men. The military supervisor Bian Lingcheng also came with them. Besides five thousand Tang soldiers, there were also three thousand troops from the Shinigaki and Humin kingdoms. However, after nearly two months of marching, Bian Lingcheng became exhausted and suffered from altitude sickness and fell ill.
With the Tang army’s main force in place, the cave served as a temporary command post. An oil lamp was lit inside, its wick flickering, casting a dim light that dimmed and brightened intermittently. Gao Xianzhi was examining a map on a flat rock, with over a dozen Anxi army officers standing behind him.
After a long while, Gao Xianzhi sighed and said to Lieutenant Li Siye of the Mo Dao army, “The difficulty of the expedition to Xiao Bulu lies in the treacherous mountains and rivers. How to cross the Bolue River is my biggest concern. With ten thousand men crossing the river, the noise will be enormous, and it’s certain that Tibetan spies on the other side will detect us and try to ambush us halfway. But if too few soldiers cross, they may not be able to withstand the Tibetans. It’s a dilemma!”
“General Gao, why not let our Mo Dao army cross first? We can resist the Tibetans’ interception.”
Gao Xianzhi shook his head. “You Mo Dao soldiers are clad in heavy armor—how could you easily cross the river?”
Another general, Xi Yuanqing, stepped forward and bowed, saying, “General Gao, let me cross first.”
“General Gao, let me go first!” The foreign general He Lou Yurun also wanted to be the first.
“Stop arguing. If we’re going to cross, let’s all cross together,” Li Qing’an, who was standing in the back, interrupted their dispute with a smile. Gao Xianzhi glanced at him, seeing confidence in his eyes, and thought to himself, “He was the scout earlier—there must be something he’s discovered.”
“Seventh Brother, do you have any suggestions?”
Li Qing’an stepped forward and whispered a few words in Gao Xianzhi’s ear. Gao Xianzhi was astonished and nodded, then said to everyone with a smile, “Everyone, go rest! I’ll find a way.”

Everyone discussed it fervently before dispersing in confusion.
At the fourth watch, Gao Xianzhi brought a few personal guards and followed Li Qing’an to the banks of the Bo Le River. They tied a large stone to a rope and threw it into the river; the stone was carried more than ten feet downstream, showing how strong the undercurrents were and how deep the water was—about fifteen feet. Gao Xianzhi frowned, still somewhat skeptical of Li Qing’an’s words.
“General, look!” one of the soldiers exclaimed in surprise.
The water level dropped rapidly, and soon the large stones on the riverbed could be seen. Gao Xianzhi stared in astonishment at this scene. Suddenly, he knelt down and looked up, saying, “Heaven! Are You helping me succeed?”
After a while, the water level surged back to its normal level. Gao Xianzhi laughed triumphantly. With such divine support, there was no need to worry about defeating the Tubo army.
“General, I have a suggestion,” Li Qing’an said with a smile.
By now, Gao Xianzhi trusted Li Qing’an completely, so he replied without hesitation, “Speak!”
“General, in warfare, morale is the most important factor. Why not use this event to boost the soldiers’ morale?”
Gao Xianzhi stroked his beard and nodded. Li Qing’an’s suggestion hit the mark.