Chapter 487: The Blood Battle of Qiemo (Part 1)

Qiemo City was originally a small town. Since the first year of Wu Zetian’s reign, when Tang general Wang Xiaojie recaptured Anxi, the Tang court had intermittently rebuilt the city. Over a decade later, Qiemo had grown into a medium-sized city with a perimeter of nearly 20 li and walls 5 zhang high. Especially after the Sabize Battle three years prior, Li Qing’an ordered further reinforcement of the city walls.

By this time, Qiemo had become one of the strongest cities in Anxi—its walls stood 7 zhang high and 5 zhang wide, wide enough to accommodate three chariots side by side. The moat outside the city connected to the Qiemo River, measuring 3 zhang wide and 2 zhang deep. Suspension bridges hung high above the northern and southern city gates, making it a fortress that was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Tang army had already realized that the Tubo forces would launch an attack on Anxi. They abandoned garrisons in smaller cities such as Lancheng, Nirangcheng, Nuzhicheng, Dianhecheng, and Qituncheng, concentrating all their troops in Qiemo. At that time, there were over 7,000 Tang soldiers in Qiemo, along with ample military supplies and food sufficient to hold out for a year.

Not long after the Tang troops from Sabicheng withdrew to Qiemo, scouts brought news that 30,000 Tubo troops were already 20 li away. “Dang! Dang! Dang!” The shrill alarm sounds echoed throughout the city. Tang soldiers climbed the city walls from all sides. At each corner, they set up 40 heavy trebuchets. More than 4,000 men from Qiemo were also mobilized, dressed in Tang armor and uniforms, to join the defense. Thousands of young women were tasked with bringing water and food to the soldiers on the walls. This was a critical battle—if Qiemo fell, all of Anxi’s territory south of the Tulun Desert would fall to the Tubo.

Fifteen minutes later, the Tubo army appeared at the edge of the oasis. The 30,000 Tubo soldiers were divided into three formations, marching heavily toward Qiemo. Three li from the city, they began setting up camps—clearly preparing for a siege.

Siege warfare was not originally the Tubo army’s strength; they couldn’t manufacture sophisticated siege equipment. But over the years, they had learned many advanced techniques from captured Han craftsmen and could now produce some large-scale siege instruments.

This time, the Tubo had traveled a long distance from Luoshe, having to climb numerous mountains, which prevented them from bringing heavy siege weapons like trebuchets and battering rams. They only carried hundreds of disassembled scaling ladders.

Although the Tibetans were reluctant to attack the city, Qiemo was an obstacle they could not bypass. They could not have large enemy forces behind them, as that would not only severely threaten their supply lines but also cut off their retreat. The Tibetan army set up a large camp three li away and assembled scaling ladders. Meanwhile, their commander, Shangjiasu, approached the city under the protection of hundreds of elite troops to assess its defenses. Shangjiasu was an experienced general, and the city’s formidable defenses made him frown. To capture the city, they first had to cross the moat, and the seven-zhang-high city walls made it extremely difficult to scale them. Yet these challenges could be overcome—if only they knew their enemy better. How many troops did the Tang army have in Qiemo? He narrowed his eyes, observing the Tang soldiers on the city walls. From his position on the south wall, he saw a dense crowd of soldiers—around four to five thousand. Earlier, he had also seen thousands on the east wall, which made Shangjiasu gasp in shock. By that calculation, the Tang army must have over ten thousand soldiers inside the city. Attacking with a ratio of three to one was highly disadvantageous for the Tibetans. Shangjiasu silently cursed Shang Xidongzan. Originally, if seventy thousand men had attacked Anxi, a ratio of seven to one would have made it easy to take Qiemo. But now, Shang Xidongzan himself was going to attack Toharistan, leaving him to tackle the tough task of Anxi with only thirty thousand men. Even if he managed to capture Qiemo without heavy losses, he would still lose more than half of his troops. What would he use to attack Yutian or Shule then? After pondering for a while, Shangjiasu realized that unless he fought fiercely, Shang Xidongzan would never agree to send more troops. With that thought, he turned his horse and headed back to his camp. On the city walls, Helou Yurun was also watching the movements of the Tibetan army. His greatest concern was that the thirty thousand Tibetans in front were merely the vanguard, with the main force hidden behind them—a tactic common among the Tibetans, who preferred to send a small force forward while keeping the main army behind. If thirty thousand were just the vanguard, then the remaining Tibetan forces could number seventy to eighty thousand. With only Qiemo and his seven thousand troops, it was impossible to resist an attack by a hundred thousand Tibetan soldiers. If Qiemo were indeed captured, Anxi would be in danger. Helou Yurun had been worried about this for days and had sent pigeon messages to the various states in Hexi, hoping that Li Qingan would receive his urgent messages and send reinforcements to Qiemo as soon as possible.

But days passed, and the Tang scouts still received no news of the main Tibetan forces or their rear guard. It remained the same 30,000-strong army, which reignited a glimmer of hope in Helou Yurun’s heart. If there were indeed only 30,000 men, he believed he could hold Qiemo City. At that moment, a small black dot appeared on the horizon, circling above Qiemo City. Helou Yurun immediately spotted it and was filled with joy—it was a messenger pigeon returning.
“General Helou!”
A soldier rushed over holding a pigeon message. “It’s a letter from Suzhou. The general has sent news.”
“Give it to me quickly!”
Helou Yurun stepped forward and took the pigeon message from the soldier. The slender message tube was red, indicating urgency, with a golden ring above it—Li Qing’an’s symbol as the Anxi Military Governor. Thus, the soldier could instantly recognize it as a message from Li Qing’an. Below the tube, the origin of the pigeon was usually inscribed, and this one read “Suzhou.”
In fact, even without reading the letter, Helou Yurun could roughly guess the situation. Li Qing’an had arrived in Suzhou, nearly a thousand miles away. He opened the pigeon message and found Li Qing’an’s handwritten note, containing just one short sentence: “Hold Qiemo City for four days, and you will be promoted and rewarded generously by the entire army. If you fail to hold it for four days, you will be executed!”
These few words filled Helou Yurun with passion. Li Qing’an had given him four days—no matter what, he would fight to hold the city.
Just then, the sound of drums echoed from the Tibetan camp. Thousands of Tibetan soldiers rushed out, armed with swords, bows, and sharp spears, carrying long ladders and wooden planks. They surged toward the city like a tide. The Tang army’s drums also sounded as 4,000 Tang soldiers were deployed on the southern wall, ready for battle. The first trial of strength began two hours after the Tibetans arrived at Qiemo City.
……
180 li south of Sabize, before dawn broke, in an open area surrounded by pine trees, Team Leader Lin Mu led 15 Tang army patrol soldiers around a pile of soil. A dead Tang soldier had just been buried there—it was already the sixth dead Tang soldier in their unit.
The night before, they had unfortunately encountered a pack of plateau wolves. After a bloody struggle, the wolves fled, leaving behind over a hundred dead wolves. But the patrol unit also suffered heavy losses—four soldiers were killed by the wolves, two were seriously injured, and those two eventually died during the night.

According to the Tang army’s rules, the bodies of fallen soldiers were to be burned on the spot, with their bones returned to their families. But right after the Tubo army had passed, there was a high chance that Tubo troops were still in the vicinity. The black smoke from burning bodies could be seen from dozens of miles away, undoubtedly exposing their position.

“Light incense!” Lin Mu said in a deep voice.

He inserted a wooden stick into the grave, and soon the other soldiers did the same, using this unique method to pray for their fallen comrades.

Sixteen Tang soldiers gathered in a circle, silently gazing at their six comrades who lay buried in the pine forest on the plateau. Piles of earth would be their final resting place.

After what seemed like a long while, Lin Mu took out a leather bag and handed it to the fire leader of the fallen soldier. “Pack up all his belongings! Don’t forget to include his hair as well.”

Lin Mu sighed and stepped out of the pine forest. He sat on a large rock, staring at the snow-capped peaks of the Kunlun Mountains in the distance. The deaths of his soldiers weighed heavily on his heart.

Lin Mu had always had a premonition that the Tubo army wasn’t just 30,000 strong—they must have a larger force following behind. This feeling made him refuse to give up his mission and continue searching in the southwest. Even if he couldn’t find the main Tubo army, he should at least locate their logistics base.

According to Tubo customs, when an army of 30,000 set out on a campaign, it would be followed by a herdsmen group of the same size, including the elderly, weak, women, and children. In essence, the entire tribe would accompany their able-bodied men on the expedition, though they moved more slowly and would fall behind. They often settled by lakes, about a hundred miles away from the Tubo army.

Lin Mu knew there was a lake called Wulan Lake about twenty miles ahead. The lake had geothermal heat, which made the grass there grow exceptionally lush. Even in winter, the sheep could find enough grass to survive. Lin Mu suspected that Wulan Lake was the Tubo army’s logistics base.

At that moment, the soldiers gradually came out. The fire leader said, “Captain Lin, everything is packed. Let’s go!”

Lin Mu nodded and stood up. “Let’s go! To Wulan Lake.”

The sixteen Tang soldiers mounted their horses and rushed southwest.

Eight miles away from Wulan Lake, the Tang cavalry reached a low hill. The lake, as blue as a sapphire, appeared before them. The Tang soldiers all reined in their horses, staring in shock at the scene ahead.

Tents were scattered all around Ulan Lake, with herds of cattle and sheep everywhere. It was clear this place was indeed a vital logistics hub for the Tibetans. But that wasn’t what shocked them—the real shock came from a massive column of Tibetan cavalry charging swiftly toward them. The column was at least five or six li long, comprising no less than 20,000 men.

Lin Mu grew excited. His guess was correct—another 20,000 reinforcements had arrived for the Tibetans. Thus, the total number of Tibetans preparing to attack Tomo City would be 50,000.

This was extremely important intelligence. Lin Mu shouted, “Move quickly!”

As soon as he spoke, several arrows flew at them. A Tang soldier screamed as he fell from his horse. From the forests not far to the south, a large group of Tibetan cavalry emerged, while another group rushed in from the north. Together, these two forces numbered around 1,500 to 1,600 men.

They were the outer defense troops of the Tibetan camp. The Tang sentries, riding across the barren land over a dozen li away, had been spotted by the Tibetans’ spies hidden in the forests. They didn’t rush to intercept them. Only when the Tang soldiers approached Ulan Lake did they attack from both sides, cutting off the retreat of 16 Tang sentries and surrounding them.

Although Lin Mu was shocked, he remained calm. He glanced around and saw that in the southeast corner, less than a hundred Tibetan soldiers blocked the path. Perhaps because 20,000 more Tibetans were charging toward them from the southeast, the number of enemies there was relatively small. Moreover, beyond them was a forest.

“Follow me!” Lin Mu roared, swinging his spear and charging toward the southeast corner. Over a hundred Tibetan soldiers, dark as charcoal, screamed as they fought back with their swords. The clash of spears and swords echoed loudly. Lin Mu, possessing great strength, pierced the chest of a Tibetan centurion with his spear, knocking him off his horse. He then drew his sword and slashed sideways—fast as lightning. Another Tibetan soldier screamed as his forehead was split open, blood spraying out.

At that moment, arrows rained down from the Tibetan army. The last five Tang soldiers and their horses were hit. The horses fell, and the soldiers tumbled to the ground. Hundreds of Tibetan soldiers rushed forward, tearing the five Tang soldiers to pieces.

The last ten Tang soldiers were on the brink of death. They had no choice but to fight their way out if they wanted to survive. Like wild tigers, the ten Tang soldiers fought desperately among the dense ranks of the Tibetan army.

Their spears pierced the Tibetans’ chests, and their swords sliced through their necks. When the spears broke, they used swords to strike, teeth to bite, and daggers to stab, their eyes blood-red and their roars thunderous. In moments, over thirty of the hundred Tibetan soldiers in the southeast corner were killed. Yet the Tang soldiers were also constantly hit by the Tibetans’ cold arrows. They cried out in pain as they fell from their horses, only to have their heads cut off by the fierce Tibetan soldiers.

Another two hundred Tibetan soldiers charged into the battle. Extremely brutal, they formed into dozens of small groups, constantly attacking the Tang soldiers in an attempt to isolate them and then surround and kill them.

The youngest Tang soldier was unfortunately knocked off his horse. He tumbled to the ground, and immediately dozens of Tibetan soldiers rushed at him like wolves, their eyes fierce as they stared at his head. The young Tang soldier was only sixteen. Faced with death, he cried out in terror, “Father, mother, save me!”

Lin Mu shouted, “Stop crying!”

He swung his sword desperately to kill a Tibetan soldier in an attempt to save the young Tang soldier, but after hearing a long scream, he gave up. Dozens of Tibetan swords had already torn the young Tang soldier to pieces. One Tibetan soldier held up his head and heart high, laughing triumphantly.

By now, only four Tang soldiers remained, watching helplessly as the young Tang soldier died. Lin Mu and the other three had bitten their lips through. They screamed frantically, mustering their last strength to fight with swords and spears, slaying one enemy after another until they finally broke through the encirclement.

But Lin Mu deliberately slowed down, shielding his three subordinates from the Tibetan soldiers’ pursuit. By then, he had been hit by three arrows, his abdomen split by a sword, and his intestines exposed. One hand held his stomach while the other swung his sword to kill. His horse was covered in blood and could no longer hold on. With a thud, its front legs collapsed, knocking Lin Mu to the ground. He could no longer stand and struggled to stay half-kneeling, using his sword to support himself.

The three Tang soldiers who had broken through the encirclement were shocked. They turned to come back and rescue him. Lin Mu cursed, “Go! Get back and report!” The three soldiers shouted, turned, and rushed into the woods. At that moment, over thirty Tibetan soldiers surrounded Lin Mu. They raised their swords high and stepped toward him. Lin Mu laughed bitterly and said to himself, “I will never die at your hands.” He turned his sword and thrust it hard into his own chest.

…