Chapter 488: The Blood Battle of Qiemo (Part 2)

The setting sun in Anxi cast a blood-red glow. Inside the Tibetan camp, the intense drumbeats continued to thunder, “Boom! Boom!” Fifteen thousand Tibetan soldiers surged forward like a raging tide, charging toward Qiemo City. This was already the third attempt by the Tibetan forces to capture the city in three days.

During the first probing attack, the Tibetans failed to break through the Tang army’s dense arrow rain, suffering hundreds of casualties before retreating. In the second attack, they were devastated by the Tang army’s trebuchets, losing a thousand men and forced to withdraw.

After these two attempts, the Tibetans had figured out the Tang army’s defense strategy: using trebuchets and crossbows from a distance and bows and arrows up close. At that moment, Shang Jiasu received news that another 20,000 reinforcements from Luoshe had arrived at the Tibetan camp.

The arrival of these 20,000 reinforcements greatly boosted the Tibetan troops’ morale. With this additional force, Shang Jiasu became even more confident. Now he had 50,000 soldiers at his disposal, enough to concentrate his forces and capture the Tang army’s fortresses one by one. His scouts also reported that the garrison at Yutian was not strong—meaning that once Qiemo Town was taken, the entire area south of the Turan Desert would fall under Tibetan control, opening the gates to Anxi.

It was the arrival of these 20,000 reinforcements that made Shang Jiasu determined to capture Qiemo City at any cost.

Amid the thundering drumbeats, the 15,000 Tibetan soldiers split into three formations and advanced together toward the Tang army’s front lines. Their dense ranks, seen from above, resembled a swarm of ants covering the land outside Qiemo City.

“Advance!” shouted the Tibetan general over the drumbeats.
“Charge into the city!”
……
“Advance!”

With roaring cries, the Tibetan army surged toward Qiemo City like an unstoppable force. This time, they used many siege weapons. First were rafts—ten large trees tied together. These trees, cut from nearby oases, were tall and straight, each measuring four to five zhang in length. Their branches were left intact, and after being tightly bound together, they formed temporary bridges that allowed the Tibetan soldiers to cross the moat. Hundreds of soldiers rushed forward on each raft, which also provided protection against the Tang army’s arrows and crossbows.

Next was the leather bucket, originally a defensive weapon used by the Han people to ward off rolling boulders and stones, now also mastered by the Tibetans. A leather bucket consisted of a frame made of thick wood covered with several layers of cowhide, coated with a thick layer of grease to make it extremely slippery. It also had a certain slope, so when boulders struck the cowhide, their force was easily dissipated, causing them to slide away. Although not all boulders could be stopped, at least 40% of them could be deflected.

One such leather bucket was three zhang wide and five zhang long, equipped with wooden wheels at the bottom to allow it to be pushed slowly. Hidden beneath each bucket were three to four hundred Tibetan soldiers.

Amid the sound of war drums, the 15,000-strong Tibetan army launched its attack. Rafts, leather buckets, long ladders, and the vast Tibetan army combined to form a spectacular black tide rushing toward the city.

On the city walls, the Tang army was already ready. Twenty heavy trebuchets in two rows to the east and west creaked as they were set in motion. Each trebuchet was loaded with a boulder weighing over a hundred pounds. It took 150 people to operate each trebuchet. Since the Tang army couldn’t spare that many troops, the commanders ordered the 3,000 civilian laborers of Qiemo City to operate the trebuchets.

The Tibetan army grew closer, reaching an range of 800 steps. If it were super-large trebuchets with 200 operators, they could have launched attacks, but the trebuchets in Qiemo City were smaller, with a range of only 500 to 600 steps. The commander in charge of the trebuchets was General Luo Shengjun, a practical warrior who had risen from a lowly rank to general. He was the defender of Sabi City and, under the orders of Helou Yurun, burned down Sabi City before retreating to Qiemo City.

Luo Shengjun watched as the Tibetan army’s advancing waves neared the city. The vanguard was now at 700 steps away. The Tang army’s crossbows fired, unleashing 300 four-foot-long iron arrows along with countless smaller arrows at the Tibetan army. Chaos ensued among the Tibetans; hundreds of soldiers were knocked down. The intense desire to attack tempted Luo Shengjun, but he refused to lower the red flag in his hand. As long as the flag remained raised, the 20 Tang army commanders did not dare give the order to fire.

At 600 steps, the Tibetan army finally entered the range of the trebuchets. Luo Shengjun finally lowered the red flag, and “Fire!” the 20 commanders shouted almost simultaneously.

The heavy trebuchets were activated. Twenty long throwing rods swung forward, hurling twenty massive stones into the Tibetan camp. The boulders screamed as they spun through the air, appearing swiftly above the Tibetan soldiers. The Tibetans cried out and scattered to the sides or took cover in the leather buckets.

With a muffled thud, a boulder crashed down, sending dust into the air. Several Tibetan soldiers, unable to dodge in time, were crushed to pulp. The immense force caused the boulder to roll further, plunging into the crowd of Tibetan soldiers, instantly filling the air with screams. Dozens of soldiers were killed, blood splattering everywhere, turning the entire boulder red.

Another loud crash followed as another boulder hit the sling. With a bang, the slick surface of the sling prevented the rounded boulder from sticking firmly, causing it to slide more than twenty steps away. This boulder failed to achieve its purpose.

However, not every boulder could be handled by the sling—it depended on the boulder’s smoothness. If the boulder was rough and jagged, the sling could not function effectively.

Another muffled thud echoed, accompanied by the sound of supports breaking. One sling collapsed, and hundreds of Tibetan soldiers hiding beneath it stumbled out, many injured by falling wooden pillars, groaning in pain.

The catapults fired again, sending twenty boulders rolling through the air before crashing down with a roar, toppling Tibetan soldiers and splattering blood everywhere. Slings were shattered, rafts broken. Then came the third, fourth rounds… With each round, hundreds died. Though the catapults were powerful, their limited number meant they couldn’t inflict massive damage. Over ten thousand Tibetan troops had already surged to the city walls. The Tang army on the walls fired thousands of arrows in unison—like hail and torrential rain—pouring down on the Tibetan forces.

The Tibetan troops raised their shields to defend, but many were killed by arrows. Amid the arrow storm, thousands of Tibetan soldiers placed long rafts across the moat with a thud, creating over twenty makeshift bridges. Huge ladders eight zhang tall were set up on the city walls. Fierce Tibetan soldiers rushed up the ladders, beginning to climb. The Tang army’s arrow rain struck them from above, while boulders and stones were hurled down. One after another, Tibetan soldiers screamed as they fell from the ladders, pierced by arrows or with crushed heads. Dead bodies piled up at the foot of the walls. More Tibetan soldiers frantically climbed the ladders, charging upward regardless of the danger.

At that moment, drums sounded loudly in the Tibetan camp again. Ten thousand more Tibetan cavalry rushed in, raising dust. They had crossed the 400 to 800 steps of range covered by boulders and crossbows at top speed. Boulders crashed down, toppling cavalry groups, while crossbow arrows were swift and powerful—one arrow could pierce two or three people. Horses screamed in pain, soldiers tumbled. Beneath the huge stones, there were gruesome corpses and pools of blood everywhere.

By now, the Tibetan army had deployed 25,000 siege soldiers, and the battle for the city had reached its most intense phase.

By the third day of the siege of Qiemo City, Tang Dynasty’s main force of 40,000 cavalry had arrived at Puchang Sea, located about 500 li away from Qiemo City—Puchang Sea being what is today’s Lop Nur. In the Tang Dynasty, Lop Nur was still a vast ocean with lower salinity than today, surrounded by highly resilient poplar trees and shrubs.

Puchang Sea in the Tang Dynasty was a necessary stop on the southern branch of the Silk Road in the west. Traveling 300 li west from Shazhou via Yangguan would lead to Puchang Sea, from where one could then head southwest along the Qiemo River to reach Qiemo City. Along the way lay a vast oasis, an important supply base for merchants and troops—what is today’s Ruoqiang County in Xinjiang. The Tang army built four small cities there: Nu Zhi, Dian He, Putao, and Qi Tun, which became a key military base. The Battle of Boxianzhen against the Tubo people took place here in the 11th year of the Tianbao era.

By the time Li Qing’an’s 40,000 troops reached this oasis, it was already dark. Another 30,000 Tang troops had rushed from Longyou without rest, having traveled for nearly a month. As they neared the battlefield, Li Qing’an became less anxious. To preserve the combat strength of his troops, he ordered them to camp there and rest overnight before continuing.

Under the cover of night, the exhausted Tang soldiers fell asleep, with only over a thousand sentries patrolling around the camp. Inside the main camp, Li Qing’an’s command tent was brightly lit. A huge sand table, three zhang wide and five zhang long, had been set up in the center. It covered all of the Anxi Army’s territories except Xinde and had taken nearly a thousand Anxi scouts a year to create.

Next to the sand table, Li Qing’an and several senior generals were discussing military strategies. On his return from Longyou, Li Qing’an did not take the route across the plateau south of the Qilian Mountains but instead passed through Dabuoga Valley and entered Ganzhou. This detour delayed their journey by a few days, but Li Qing’an prioritized the Tang army’s combat strength and supplies. Thus, after entering Hexi, the 30,000 Tang troops brought 50,000 warhorses, while Li Fei Shouyu in Hexi dispatched 10,000 elite troops to join Li Qing’an in Anxi.

Li Qing’an stood in front of the sand table, lost in thought. He was considering the overall situation—the battle of Qiemo City was just one part of it. He already knew that the Uyghurs had invaded the Göktürk stronghold and nearly wiped them out. But in the south, there were seven fortresses built by the Tang army—Yili City and Gongyue City—for defense, and 20,000 troops from Suoye were marching north. It would be difficult for the Uyghur cavalry to break through this defensive line.

He had ordered the 63,000-strong allied forces to divide into two groups. One group, led by the Göktürk troops, would move north of Jinshan to block the Uyghurs’ retreat route, while the other group, composed of the Tongluo and Shatuo troops, would head south of Jinshan toward Xuanchi to intercept the Uyghur forces from the front and prevent them from entering Beiting. However, to prevent the Uyghurs from taking advantage of the situation to attack Beiting again, Cui Qianyou’s 6,000 Han troops remained in Beiting.

In a sense, the complete annihilation of the Göktürks also met his expectations—he wanted these steppe tribes to fight each other.

Although Anxi was under siege from both north and south and the situation was dire, Li Qing’an also noticed some subtle signs of the enemy’s large-scale attack. Most notably, the invading forces were not numerous; the Uyghurs had sent only 30,000 troops. Such a deployment did not seem like a strategic offensive but rather resembled opportunistic plundering, which confirmed Li Qing’an’s assessment—that after years of weakening, the Uyghurs no longer had the strength to launch a large-scale invasion of Tang, so they could only send 30,000 troops for a raid-like attack.

Compared to the Uyghurs’ southern invasion, Li Qing’an was more concerned about the Tibetan forces’ attack on Anxi. Clearly, this was complementary to their attacks on Longyou—it was part of Tibet’s consistent strategy. In several invasions of Tang, the Tibetans often launched attacks from both east and west. Given that the Tibetans had sent 30,000 troops to attack Qiemo, the number seemed low, suggesting they might have other strategic intentions.

At that moment, General An Baozhen whispered, “General, I have a suggestion.”

An Baozhen was the younger brother of General An Baoyu of the Yulin Army. He was only 24 years old but highly capable. He had joined the army in Longyou at the age of 17 and followed Li Guangbi to Anxi. Starting as a squad leader, he gradually rose to the rank of lieutenant general through his merits and won Li Guangbi’s favor. When Li Qing’an returned west from Longyou, Li Guangbi assigned 10,000 troops to follow him, and he recommended An Baozhen to Li Qing’an.

Li Qing’an also appreciated this young general, so he nodded and said with a smile, “Go ahead and speak.”

An Baozhen had always followed Li Guangbi in Turfan and was well-versed in the situation there. He bowed and said, “General, I suspect the main force of the Tibetan army intends to attack Turfan. After General Li returned to Longyou from Turfan, only 8,000 Tang troops remained in Turfan, mainly stationed at several large silver mines. Turfan itself had only over 40,000 local troops, whose combat strength was weak—they could not match the Tibetans. Moreover, since the Tibetans are attacking Qiemo, I fear their ultimate goal is Shule. By occupying Shule, they can cut off support from the Tang troops in Anxi to Turfan. This is just my humble opinion; please consider it carefully, General.”

Li Qingan said nothing. In fact, he had thought of this possibility as well. By now, the Tang army’s influence had extended westward from Beiting to Khwarazm and southward to Sindh. If he were the Tibetan king, to resist the Tang army in the long term, he would need to choose the most advantageous base, and Khotan was undoubtedly the best choice—able to attack Yarkand to the north, Khwarazm to the west, Anxi to the east, and Sindh to the south. Moreover, it was connected to the Tibetan Plateau by mountains and rivers, allowing them to retreat to the plateau if they couldn’t hold on. Additionally, Khotan was rich in grain, which could provide a steady supply line for the Tibetan army.

With these thoughts in mind, he took a few small red flags and planted them in Bactria and Khotan one after another. He didn’t plant them in Small Bactria because he knew the Tibetan army couldn’t cross the Saya River.

Li Qingan had already confirmed the Tibetan army’s strategy of launching a western campaign, with attacking Anxi as a secondary goal and attacking Khotan as the main objective.

At that moment, a report came from outside the door from a patrol officer: “General, our patrol team found two Tang soldiers in the wilderness fifty miles away. They are both severely injured and very weak, but they say they have important information to report to the general.”