Chapter 400: Storm Approaching

Upon learning of the fall of Naseeb, Li Siyeh flew into a rage. He immediately dismissed the commander of the Eastern Three Forts and, based on intelligence from scouts, learned that the Arabs had crossed the river eight li south of the Eastern Three Forts. Li Siyeh sent troops to retake Naseeb while strengthening defenses along the Amu Darya River. At the same time, he sent an urgent letter to Li Qing’an reporting the loss of Naseeb.

At that time, Li Qing’an had just arrived in Kujat to oversee the transportation of grain from Sindh. The battles in Sindh had already subsided, and Feng Changqing, leading 10,000 Tang troops, had defeated the Arab forces in Punjab. The remaining Arab troops fled to Persia. Feng Changqing promptly organized the shipment of grain northward. After over two months of effort, one million bushels of grain had arrived at the large warehouse at the eastern foot of the Pishin Mountains and was continuously being transported to Kujat.

It was then that news of Naseeb’s fall reached Li Qing’an. He paced back and forth on the dock in Kujat, his personal guards standing at a distance, not daring to disturb his thoughts. According to the report, the 3,000 Arabs had advanced deep into enemy territory alone, with no reinforcements. The main Arab forces had not attacked the Amu Darya River directly. Taking advantage of the snowstorm, they bypassed the Tang army’s defenses and launched a surprise attack on Naseeb. The more than a thousand Tang troops stationed there were forced to withdraw after suffering heavy losses. Li Siyeh had already assembled 10,000 troops to retake Naseeb.

Yet these details did not concern Li Qing’an. What interested him was the purpose behind the Arabs’ surprise attack on Naseeb. Those 3,000 troops must have been sent to their deaths. Moreover, Naseeb was not a strategic location—Tiemenguan was. So what was their motive? Surely not to steal a few gems, as they couldn’t take them back anyway. Li Qing’an couldn’t figure out the Arabs’ intentions. Perhaps it was a test to gauge the Tang army’s defenses and weaknesses. If that were the case, crossing the Amu Darya River in a snowstorm was extremely unwise—the snowstorms didn’t occur every day, and they wouldn’t be able to truly assess the Tang army’s defensive capabilities.

With his hands behind his back, Li Qing’an gazed westward. Who could have given this order? Was it Qiyad? He shook his head slightly. Qiyad would not send 3,000 elite troops to their deaths; he lacked the courage. Tactically, such an advance into enemy territory made no sense, unless 10,000 troops were sent, which might even allow for flanking attacks. It certainly wasn’t Qiyad’s idea. Then who?

Li Qing’an thought of one person—Mansur. Only Mansur would make such a bold decision. So, as the emperor of a country, what was his motive? From Mansur’s perspective, Li Qing’an faintly sensed an answer, but it was still unclear, like seeing flowers through fog.

At that moment, a commotion came from afar. Out of curiosity, Li Qing’an glanced toward the dock and saw workers rushing in that direction, as if something had happened.

“What happened?” Li Qing’an asked his bodyguard.

The bodyguard went to investigate and returned shortly later, reporting, “General, a fleet of elephants has arrived. Everyone has gone to the granary to see what’s going on.”

“Oh? Let’s go and take a look.”

Eager as well, Li Qing’an mounted his horse and rushed toward the granary. There was a huge granary, and a convoy of a thousand elephants was transporting nearly ten thousand bushels of grain. Almost the entire city had come out, with people of all ages going to watch the arrival of the elephant convoy. Soon, Li Qing’an also reached the granary.

“General, look!” several bodyguards shouted excitedly in the distance. “The elephant convoy is here!”

In the distance, a massive column appeared—a thousand elephants, carrying heavy loads of grain, marching slowly toward them. It was an extremely spectacular sight, with a group of cavalry flanking both sides of the elephants.

The cavalry guarding them also spotted Li Qing’an. Dozens of cavalry rushed over, and someone from afar called out, “General, your humble servant is here!”

Li Qing’an smiled. He recognized that it was Zhao Chongjie, whom he had appointed as the deputy governor of Sindh.

Zhao Chongjie rushed over, dismounted, and knelt before Li Qing’an, saluting militarily. He said excitedly, “Your humble servant, Zhao Chongjie, pays his respects to the general!”

“General Zhao, please stand up.”

Li Qing’an helped him up. Seeing him dark and thin, he sighed slightly and said, “General Zhao, you must have had a hard time on the journey.”

“Your humble servant managed to transport the grain back to the north. Although it was tough, I feel quite accomplished.”

“Well said. Come, sit down and talk.”

Li Qing’an sat cross-legged on the ground, and Zhao Chongjie sat down as well. Li Qing’an said with a smile, “Tell me about the situation in Sindh. The battle against the Persian army was said to be quite fierce. Please describe it in detail.”

Zhao Chong nodded and said, “It was indeed very dangerous. The governor of Sindh for the Arabs was named Ibrahim, a man extremely cunning. He used local Sindh troops to disguise themselves as the main force of the Arab army and march north from Punjab. General Feng led 15,000 troops to confront them. But on the way, they received news that the actual main force of 20,000 Arabs had taken a detour to launch a surprise attack on the large granary in Abro City. Only 3,000 Tang troops were guarding the granary, and it was night. Everyone was desperate, wishing they could fly back to the granary. But General Feng only sent 3,000 troops disguised as a larger force to rush back in panic, with his main force following behind. The generals didn’t understand, but General Feng just smiled without saying anything. Sure enough, within 20 miles, those 2,000 Tang troops were ambushed by the hidden main force of the Arabs. Then General Feng’s main force attacked from behind, catching the Arab ambushers off guard. Nearly the entire 8,000-strong Arab main force was wiped out. Ibrahim escaped with a few hundred men, killing over 4,000 and capturing 3,500. Rajid, who had fought against the general, was also captured. The Tang army suffered only over 800 casualties—a truly glorious victory.”

“As expected, you lived up to my trust. This battle was fought brilliantly.”

Li Qing’an praised repeatedly. He then asked, “How did General Feng know that the main force of the Arabs would be lying in ambush along the road?”

“Afterward, we also asked General Feng how he knew about the ambush. He said that since the Arabs used local Sindh troops to pretend to be the main force, the actual force attacking the granary might not be genuine either. He had intelligence suggesting that the main force of the Arabs was only about 8,000 strong. If they were using Sindh troops to attack the granary, they wouldn’t send just over 10,000 troops—there wouldn’t be such a ratio. It should be at least 1:3, with a total force of over 40,000 for it to be normal. This was the conclusion General Feng reached after studying the Arab commander through prisoners of war. Ibrahim’s habit was always to have three servants for every Arab soldier, so he inferred that the force attacking the granary was likely also a fake, intended to lower the Tang army’s vigilance, with the real main force lying in ambush along the way. And indeed, General Feng’s guess was correct.”

“Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat. General Feng has given me great insight!”

Li Qing’an was deeply moved. His biggest problem at the moment was not knowing the enemy—he didn’t know about the Arabs’ troop movements, nor why a force of 3,000 men had launched a surprise attack on Sebo. The key to these questions lay in his complete ignorance of the Arab army’s situation. The intelligence network of the Han-Tang dynasty in Damascus could only provide limited information.

Thinking of this, Li Qing’an asked again, “How much grain was brought this time?”

“Reporting to the Great General, this time we used 20,000 elephants to transport grain, along with numerous carts, carrying nearly 500,000 dan of grain in one go. After accounting for losses along the way, about 400,000 dan was delivered to the warehouses at Mount Boshan.”
“Don’t elephants fear the cold?” Li Qing’an asked curiously.
“Elephants prefer heat, but they’re not afraid of cold either. The main challenge is finding food for them along the way. Almost all the countries along the route mobilized to provide wild fruits and vegetables for them. This is the most difficult part. After this shipment, we’ll have to pause for a few months until spring before sending more grain.”
At that moment, Zhao Chongjie remembered something and took out a brocade box from his bosom, smiling. “I originally planned to send it to Suiye, but I ran into the Great General here. This is a trophy obtained by General Feng during his campaign in northern Tianzhu. He ordered me to deliver it to you.”
Li Qing’an already knew about Feng Changqing leading 5,000 cavalry to conquer more than a dozen small kingdoms in northern Tianzhu. The Lachhapatis had established these small kingdoms in northern Tianzhu, each acting independently, but they were all defeated one by one by Feng Changqing’s 5,000 elite cavalry. Seven of these kingdoms surrendered to the Tang army, and Feng Changqing seized large amounts of gold, silver, jewels, and nearly 1 million dan of grain, planning to send them to Suiye. Li Qing’an guessed that the brocade box must contain a rare treasure.
He took the box and asked, “What is it?”
“The Great General will know once he opens it.”
When Li Qing’an opened the box, he found a dazzling yellow diamond, the size of a baby’s fist—extremely precious. Even though Li Qing’an had seen countless treasures, this large diamond was something he had never seen before. He exclaimed in surprise, “Did General Feng capture this?”
“Yes. It was the national treasure of a small kingdom, embedded in their king’s crown. When they surrendered, they gave the crown to General Feng.”
Li Qing’an smiled and said, “Go back and deliver a message to General Feng on my behalf. Tell him that I’ve born a precious daughter. Let him consider this diamond as a gift for her. My queen is also about to give birth, likely to a son. Ask him to prepare another gift. I’ll compensate him. When he returns, I’ll treat him to red eggs and cakes.”
“Has the young prince been born?” Zhao Chongjie asked joyfully.
“Not yet! The midwife says it might be a son. Hopefully, she’s not jinxed.”
After joking, Li Qing’an wrote a short message on the spot, sealed it, and handed it to Zhao Chongjie. “Return to Sindh immediately and tell General Feng that the Arabs are about to launch a counterattack and may attack Sindh. Tell him to prepare for war! But there’s no need to worry too much. I’ve ordered Li Guangbi to assist Sindh in defending against the Arabs.”

Zhao Chongjie took the letter, put it away, stood up, and bowed. “Your humble servant shall take his leave now.”
“Go! Be careful on your way.”
Zhao Chongjie mounted his horse and rushed toward the granary. Li Qingan watched him go until he was out of sight before returning to the dock. There, at the Juzhanti Dock, Li Qingan issued orders to mobilize troops—sending 50,000 soldiers from Suiye to Hezhong, and 10,000 troops each from the Shi Kingdom and Ningyuan Kingdom westward. Together with the 30,000 troops already in Hezhong, this brought a total of 100,000 troops. He also ordered Juzhanti to send 500,000 stones of grain to Samarkand as military provisions.
At the same time, Li Qingan wrote to the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, asking him to follow the agreement and prepare to fight the Arabs alongside the Tang forces.
After issuing these orders, Li Qingan left Juzhanti and set off for Samarkand.
……
In the city of Nashapur, 10,000 Tang soldiers were already at its gates. Five days had passed since the Arab forces occupied Nashapur, and the snowstorm had ceased, turning both the city and its surroundings into a world covered in white snow.
To the sound of drums beating “thud! thud!”, the 10,000 Tang soldiers stopped advancing five li away from the city. They were not in a hurry to attack but instead set up camps on the spot. Gray tents appeared in the white landscape, standing out sharply, while the banners of the Anxi Tang army fluttered in the wind.
On the city walls, the Arab commander Shahim watched anxiously the situation outside. According to Qiyad’s orders, he had to hold out in Nashapur for ten days. If he succeeded in returning to Khorasan, he would be appointed governor of Libya by Mansur.
The great rewards tempted Shahim to ignore the dangers. He was determined to defend the city for ten days before trying to break through back to Khorasan. To that end, he made extensive preparations. He forced the Muslims inside the city to serve him, demolished the palace of the Small Shi Kingdom and the houses along the city walls to obtain large amounts of stones to supplement their inferior bows and arrows. Additionally, he sent people to block the two main gates with huge stones—knowing that Nashapur’s gates were not strong enough to withstand forceful attacks.
To boost morale, Shahim also ordered the confiscation of several wealthy merchants’ homes in Samarkand, obtaining large quantities of gems. He distributed these gems among the soldiers as rewards for fighting bravely under his command.
Although Shahim hoped the Tang forces would return after ten days, things were not going well. At dusk on the fifth day, the 10,000 Tang soldiers arrived as expected.
The arrival of only 10,000 troops gave Shahim a glimmer of hope. If they defended successfully, those 10,000 might not be able to capture Nashapur.

The sky darkened as night fell. Just as it grew completely dark, the sound of thundering war drums suddenly arose from the Tang army’s camp. The Abbasid soldiers on the city walls were terrified and stared anxiously outside. Activity could be seen in the Tang camp—dozens of giant ladders appeared from the tents, followed by a vast number of Tang infantry who advanced step by step toward the city walls.

“Prepare stones! Prepare for battle!” Shahim shouted fiercely. He couldn’t understand why the Tang army would choose to attack at night—visibility was poor in the darkness, and fate would decide who lived and who died.

Below the city, the Tang army’s commander was Li Siyeh, the governor of Hexi. He led his troops personally to recapture Nishapur, vowing to kill all the invading Abbasid soldiers.

With a calm gaze, Li Siyeh watched as fifteen giant ladders slowly advanced toward the city walls. Each ladder had a huge base equipped with wooden wheels, and they were pulled by fifty camels. The base of each ladder also served as a mobile defense platform, hiding hundreds of Tang soldiers beneath it.

The ladders consisted of a main ladder and an auxiliary ladder. The main ladder was fixed to the base, while the auxiliary ladder was highly flexible and could extend up to ten zhang, enough to reach most city walls. At the top, there were giant hooks designed to hook onto the walls.

Although Nishapur was the third-largest city in Hexi, this only meant it had a large population and prosperous trade. It did not mean its city walls were thick. In fact, aside from Samarkand and Bukhara, the cities of the Hexi region were not very tall, nor did they have moats like those of the Tang Dynasty. Nishapur’s city walls were only five zhang high, not thick, and lacked moats. They could be breached with battering rams, but the Tang army had not brought any. These fifteen ladders seemed to be their entire siege weapons.

Finally, the giant ladders reached the foot of the city walls. Long auxiliary ladders extended from the main ladders, growing higher and higher, until they slammed against the walls with a loud noise. The hooks firmly gripped the bricks. The Tang soldiers secured the main and auxiliary ladders, then climbed out of the bases and rushed swiftly toward the top of the walls. Arrows rained down from both sides, stones fell like hail, spears were thrown, and the sounds of battle echoed through the air. A fierce struggle began.

On the ladders, Tang soldiers climbed upward, holding shields in one hand and swords in the other, braving the hail of arrows from above. From time to time, soldiers were hit by stones, screaming as they tumbled down the ladders. The Abbasid soldiers on the walls were frantic, throwing stones down at them. Huge rocks rolled above the Tang soldiers, knocking down four or five of them at a time, who then fell to their deaths with agonized cries.

But the Tang army’s arrows were exceptionally sharp, shooting down like swarms of locusts. Whenever the Abbasid soldiers poked their heads out, they were immediately hit in the face by arrows and fell dead on the city walls. At that moment, Shahim personally led dozens of Abbasid soldiers to push against the scaling ladders with forks. With concerted effort and cries of battle, the iron hooks on the ladders gradually detached from the city walls and were knocked over by the Abbasid soldiers. The auxiliary ladders collapsed with a loud crash, and dozens of Tang soldiers on them fell off the walls, their screams filling the air. Continuously, Tang soldiers rushed onto the city walls but were quickly killed by the fierce Abbasid forces and thrown outside the city. The battle was extremely brutal. Li Siye watched coldly as the fighting raged on the city walls. In this siege, he had not used his strongest army—the 5,000 soldiers armed with halberds. With halberd soldiers attacking, the Abbasid arrows and stones would be ineffective, just as it had been when he personally attacked Lianyun Fort. This time, he had received orders from Li Qingan to test a secret weapon. Seeing that the time was ripe, Li Siye gave a slight gesture. Inside the tent, several shadowy figures, under the cover of darkness, quickly circled around the city walls and reached the eastern city. The Tang army’s attacks were concentrated on the northern city, and most of the Abbasid forces were also defending there. Only a small number were guarding the southern city, while the eastern city was completely deserted, with no Abbasid soldiers there because there were no city gates and no need for defense. Several shadowy figures rushed to the base of the city wall. They found a suitable brick and used iron picks to dig slowly along the cracks in the wall. The wall was made of stones with mortar in between. They removed the mortar, revealing a gap about an inch wide that led inside the wall. The shadowy figures then inserted iron hooks into the gap and pulled together, gradually pulling out the bricks. Eventually, three bricks were pulled out, creating a hole about two feet wide. One of the shadowy figures then took a package from behind him and took out a flat, circular iron object, heavy enough to weigh thirty or forty pounds. The shadowy figures carefully pushed the iron object into the hole. With a “click,” a flame ignited, illuminating the tense faces of the men in black. They carefully lit the fuse placed on top of the iron object.

“Hiss!” The fuse was lit and began to burn at a steady pace. At that moment, several shadowy figures rushed forward at full speed, fleeing desperately into the distance. In just a short while, they had covered barely over four hundred steps when a deafening explosion erupted, shaking the ground. The shadowy figures collapsed to the ground, clutching their heads in agony. The explosion was thunderous, with thick smoke billowing into the sky and debris flying far and wide. Soon after, another loud boom sounded as the east city wall was completely destroyed, leaving a huge gap over ten zhang wide. Color Wave City no longer had any defenses left.