Chapter 33: The Bloodied Battle at the Fort (Part 1)

Lianyun Fort was considered one of the most formidable fortresses in the world, located at the northern foot of the towering Hindu Kush Mountains. It was the only route to Xiaobolü. Built halfway up the mountain, with steep cliffs behind it and the rapid-flowing Bole River in front, the fort was strategically positioned. To prevent the Tang army from crossing the Bole River, the Tubo army set up camps along the riverbank, deploying thousands of soldiers to guard the two-li-wide crossing point. It was practically impregnable, not to mention that over eight thousand Tubo soldiers were stationed there.

At the exact hour of Chen on July 13th, Gao Xianzhi’s main force arrived in a dense forest about five li north of the Bole River. Their advance had been kept completely secret, and the Tubo army was unaware of their arrival. This was not surprising—after six or seven years, the Tang army had not appeared here at all. The Tubo army could never have imagined that the Tang would come from such a distant place to attack Lianyun Fort.

At the same time Gao Xianzhi reached the north bank of Lianyun Fort, He Chongjin’s three thousand cavalry also arrived on time. However, bad news came: Jia Chongguan’s two thousand troops failed to make it. The messenger told Gao Xianzhi that the ice-covered mountains along the Chifotang Road were too steep; the soldiers dared only climb up but not down, forcing them to take a less accessible route to the west, which only increased their distance from Lianyun Fort.

Gao Xianzhi frowned deeply. Without flanking maneuvers, the Tubo troops surrounding the fort could escape via the south.

According to Gao Xianzhi’s plan, he would first attack Lianyun Fort, which had only a thousand troops defending it. After capturing it, he would turn to deal with the seven thousand Tubo troops outside. Jia Chongguan was sent along the Chifotang Road to block those seven thousand troops’ retreat route.

Now that things had reached this point, he had no other choice but to attack the Tubo troops outside first. But this would surely allow many Tubo soldiers to flee into Lianyun Fort through side paths, greatly complicating the siege.

“Pass my order: The soldiers must abandon all food, supplies, and baggage, carrying only three days’ rations. They must cross the river at dawn tomorrow!”

“General, this is impossible!”

Xi Yuanqing quickly intervened, “The Bole River is deep and swift—crossing it forcefully is dangerous. The Tang army could lose many lives. We need to find another way.”

Other generals also stepped forward to dissuade him. Gao Xianzhi smiled faintly and said, “Don’t worry. This mission is by the will of heaven. Before setting out, I will burn incense and pray to heaven for its help.”

Liu Dan, the judge beside him, chuckled and whispered to Wang Tao, the military officer, “How utterly mad this man is!”

Wang Tao also snorted. “Let’s see how he manages to cross the river then!”

It was past the third watch of the night, and darkness covered both banks of the Bole River. Ten thousand Tang soldiers, lightly equipped, packed up their weapons and warhorses, and quietly approached fifty steps north of the riverbank. The troops lined up, waiting to cross. On the opposite bank, thick mist obscured everything, and the Tubo army’s camp, two li away from the river, could also see no movement on the north bank.

Li Qing’an led his horse behind the troops. His scout unit was stationed next to the cavalry unit. Though not part of the main attacking force, they would also take part in the battle.

A sacrificial altar was set up by the river, with three kinds of animals on it. Gao Xianzhi knelt before the altar, praying to heaven. The entire army stood in solemn silence, awaiting orders to cross.

“Qilang, tell me, what exactly will happen to the water level?” Xi Yuanqing didn’t believe Gao Xianzhi’s claim of praying to heaven. He suddenly remembered what Li Qing’an had whispered to Gao Xianzhi that night in the cave, so he quietly went to ask Li Qing’an.

Li Qing’an smiled and softly told Xi Yuanqing the truth, “There’s no help from heaven. The water level will suddenly drop at the fourth watch, for the duration of one incense burn. General Gao does this to show divine will and boost the troops’ morale.”

Xi Yuanqing suddenly understood. He laughed softly and said, “The general is truly brilliant!”

“Look! The water level is changing.”

With a low cry from Li Qing’an, everyone looked at the river. Indeed, the white poles inserted in the water gradually became visible. There was a stir among the troops, and everyone’s eyes showed great surprise. Heaven had truly intervened! Many soldiers even knelt down and prayed to heaven.

Gao Xianzhi stood straight, staring intently at the poles, his expression extremely tense.

“General, enough!”

Li Qing’an couldn’t help but remind Gao Xianzhi. There was only time for one incense burn. Gao Xianzhi immediately stood up and shouted to the troops, “See? Heaven is helping us! We will surely win this battle!”

“Surely win!” the troops shouted in unison.

“Start crossing the river! Do not dismount! Cross within one incense burn—those who fall behind will be executed!”

At Gao Xianzhi’s command, the Tang soldiers entered the water and swam toward the opposite bank. The water was shallow, not even reaching the horses’ bellies. Well-trained, the troops crossed the river within one incense burn, even Bian Lingcheng, who was sick, made it across.

Shortly after the Tang soldiers crossed, the water level suddenly rose back to its normal height. The troops behind them exclaimed in amazement—it was miraculous! It was truly divine assistance.

With a wave of his hand, ten thousand Tang soldiers silently charged toward the Tubo army’s camp two li away.

Xiaobuli also held extremely important strategic value for Tubo. With Xiaobuli as a base, Tubo was able to control the central and northern parts of Tokharistan, drive the forces of the Tang Dynasty out of Tokharistan, and threaten the security of southwestern Anxi. As a result, the Tang Dynasty launched three expeditions against Xiaobuli over several decades, but all failed. To strengthen relations with Xiaobuli, Tubo’s king, Zhidezuan, did not hesitate to marry the beautiful Princess Galan to Xiaobuli’s king, Usilie, as his second wife. He also built Tubo military camps on the east bank of the Poyi River near Nieduo City, stationing nearly 20,000 troops there.

The Tang Dynasty’s three expeditions against Xiaobuli made the Tubo army highly vigilant. They stationed 8,000 troops along the Lianyun Fortress line north of Tanju Ridge, forming the first line of defense for Xiaobuli.

The Tubo commander currently guarding Lianyun Fortress was named Shangderuo, who served as the deputy commander of the Tubo troops in Xiaobuli. He lived inside Lianyun Fortress. These past two days, he had been extremely uneasy. Though there was no apparent reason, an inexplicable sense of anxiety kept waking him from his sleep. In his dreams, Lianyun Fortress was engulfed in flames and turned to ashes in an instant. Shangderuo woke up abruptly, feeling restless and unable to fall back asleep. Just then, he suddenly heard someone exclaim, “How can there be flames in the main camp?”

Shangderuo was stunned. He bit his hand—this wasn’t a dream. He quickly got up and went to the stone window, pushing it open. He was shocked to see flames indeed flickering in the distance at the main camp. His location was 15 li away from the camp; if he could see the flames, it meant the camp was already in flames.

“Ring the alarm bells!” Shangderuo shouted frantically and rushed outside the gate.

……

The Tubo main camp was ablaze. Rockets from the scout camp were fired into the camp, instantly setting the tents on fire. The Tubo soldiers woke up in terror and scattered in all directions.

“One, two, three!”

With a shout from the Tang army, the fences, thick as bowl mouths and three zhang tall, were finally pulled down. The fences crashed to the ground. The Tang cavalry shouted wildly, “Charge!” Two thousand Tang cavalrymen, like spirits in the darkness, rushed into the Tubo army camp from all sides. Wielding their long spears, they mercilessly slaughtered the fleeing Tubo soldiers.

Heads rolled, blood splattered everywhere, severed limbs littered the ground, and screams and wails filled the night sky. Li Qing’an led his scout unit to race back and forth around the main camp, intercepting Tibetan soldiers trying to escape. They mercilessly slashed at those Tibetans with no chance of survival. At this moment, Li Qing’an’s skilled archery came into full play—with each arrow he shot, a Tibetan soldier would collapse in agony. In the blink of an eye, an entire pot of thirty arrows was used up, leaving piles of corpses around him.

At that time, a Tibetan officer, enraged by the countless deaths caused by his arrows, charged at him on horseback, shouting loudly as he thrust his spear at his chest. Li Qing’an, holding only a bow and arrows, could no longer raise a spear to defend himself. He urged his warhorse to dodge, and as if possessed by instinct, the horse sidestepped the spear tip. In the split second when the two horses passed each other, Li Qing’an swiftly swung his sword horizontally. With a crack, the Tibetan officer’s head flew two zhang high, blood gushing from his neck and splashing all over Li Qing’an’s head and face. The pungent smell of blood almost made him unable to breathe.

With corpses lying everywhere, Li Qing’an’s vision blurred red, and he could see nothing. Then he heard a warhorse charging toward him, accompanied by the sound of weapons slashing through the air. In terror, he turned and ran. Just then, he heard a furious shout beside his ear: “Do not harm my brother!”

Immediately followed by a scream, the killing intent behind him vanished. Li Qing’an wiped the blood from his face with his battle robe and then realized it was Li Siyeh, nearly ten zhang tall, holding a halberd, standing beside him with blazing eyes. About ten zhang behind them, a Tibetan centurion was split in two, along with his horse.