Chapter 490: The Final Battle at Qiemo City

Dawn was breaking, and the scenes of last night’s fierce battle in Qiemo City became visible under the sunlight. The sight was horrifyingly brutal—the moat was stained red, with piles of corpses piled up beneath the southern city wall, some reaching over three feet high. The burned siege ladders still emitted thin trails of smoke, and the air was filled with a pungent stench. In the distant battlefield, there were shattered siege engines and rafts, with bloody corpses scattered around large rocks.

He Lou Yurun stood on the city wall, staring at the corpses scattered outside. He felt a sense of dread. Judging from the situation, the Tibetan army had lost at least ten thousand soldiers. A battle lasting just over two hours had resulted in ten thousand casualties—one could only imagine how fierce the fighting must have been last night.

The Tang army was exhausted. Wrapped in military blankets or sleeping in sleeping bags, they huddled in sheltered spots beneath the battlements, sleeping soundly. Bloodstains were everywhere on the city wall, a sight that was truly shocking.

At that moment, a soldier rushed over and bowed, saying, “General, the count is complete.”
“How many?” He Lou Yurun asked.
“General, 1,266 of our soldiers have died, and 1,980 are injured.”

Nearly half of them lost in just one battle. He Lou Yurun sighed. If it weren’t for the sudden arrival of twenty thousand more Tibetan soldiers, the Tibetans wouldn’t have dared to commit such heavy losses—it was clearly due to the overwhelming disparity in troop numbers.
“General, more than two hundred of the laborers have also died.”
“Don’t mention those useless people!”

The mention of the laborers angered He Lou Yurun. If it hadn’t been for their mistakes last night in the west of the city, things wouldn’t have turned out so badly—the city had almost fallen. His gaze fell on the three solitary siege engines, which had also been damaged by last night’s fire and were almost completely burned, leaving only charred frames.

He Lou Yurun took a deep breath. With insufficient troops, he still needed the help of these laborers. With that in mind, he ordered his subordinates, “Give each family of laborers who died a hundred silver coins to comfort them. Also, recruit more laborers and have them dismantle five siege engines from each side to bring here.”

The officers nodded and went off to carry out the orders. He Lou Yurun then looked toward the Tibetan camp. There were still over forty thousand Tibetan soldiers. If they launched another attack like last night, he might not be able to hold out. When would their reinforcements arrive?

Just then, several small black dots flew across the sky. “Carrier pigeons!” a soldier shouted.

He Lou Yurun’s spirits lifted. He saw clearly—it was indeed a homing pigeon. Three homing pigeons circled for a moment before descending into the city. Soon after, a soldier rushed over.
“General He Lou, it’s a message from the Grand General.”
He Lou Yurun took the message tube. It still had the red gold ring, but no address was on it. Confused, he pulled out the tube—inside, it was empty, with no letter. He looked at the soldier who delivered it in confusion, and the soldier, frightened, shook his head, saying he knew nothing.
He Lou Yurun was stunned. Why was there no letter? And why wasn’t there an address on the tube? Suddenly, he asked, “What about the homing pigeons? Go ask the officers in Nu Zhi City if they recognize them.”
The soldier rushed off. At that moment, He Lou Yurun began to understand Li Qingan’s intention, but he still needed confirmation. Without sufficient evidence, he dared not guess. After a while, the messenger returned excitedly, saying, “General He Lou, those three homing pigeons are from Dian He City.”
“That’s indeed the case!”
He Lou Yurun slammed his fists together in excitement. Li Qingan’s army had arrived. He must have feared the homing pigeons would be shot down by the Tubo army, so he hadn’t sent the letter but used another method to remind himself.
Realizing this, he looked eastward as far as he could see—there was no sign of the Tang army. Yet He Lou Yurun’s mood became extremely cheerful. He turned around abruptly and shouted, “Tell the entire army that our reinforcements have arrived! Everyone must boost their spirits!”
The news spread throughout Qiemo City, and the whole city erupted in cheers.
……
Although Li Qingan was very cautious, his arrival was still detected by the Tubo army. The problem wasn’t that Li Qingan’s main force had been spotted by Tubo spies, but rather that the supply convoy sent last night had been ambushed by a force of about five thousand Tang soldiers. Two hundred carts of forage and three hundred carts of beef and mutton were seized, and nearly three hundred soldiers guarding the supplies along with five hundred logistics personnel were killed. Only two people escaped, and it was these two who brought back news of the Tang army’s attack on the supply convoy to the main camp.
Shang Jiasu was shocked. Five thousand Tang soldiers meant that the Tang army’s reinforcements had arrived. What worried him even more was that the five thousand Tang soldiers were heading south. Where would they go? There was no need to think—it must be Ulan Lake, where their forty-thousand-strong army’s logistics were based.

Shang Jiasu was extremely anxious. Although he had deployed 3,000 troops to defend Ulan Lake, the number was still insufficient. If the Tang army succeeded in attacking Ulan Lake, the consequences would be unimaginable—how could his 40,000 troops survive? Qiemo City was not like Hehuang; at least in Hehuang, they could plunder civilians. Here, for thousands of miles, there was no one living, so where could they get food? Currently, they only had three days’ worth of provisions, and even less for the war horses—just enough for two days. It would take at least three days to reach Ulan Lake from here.

Shang Jiasu became increasingly panicked. If his army retreated to Ulan Lake and lost its logistical support, those 40,000 troops would run out of food in the desolate highlands…

He felt a shiver run through him. The severity of the consequences filled him with fear. What could he do? How could he resolve this crisis? Looking at the tall walls of Qiemo City in the distance, he knew there was another solution: capture Qiemo City. The food inside the city could surely solve his immediate survival crisis.

Although they no longer had siege engines, they still had about 80 scaling ladders, allowing them to fight one more time. From last night’s battle, he had also identified the weakness of the Tang troops defending the city—insufficient manpower. If they fought again, Qiemo City could definitely be captured.

With this in mind, Shang Jiasu made up his mind. He firmly ordered, “Pass my command: attack the city again!”

In the early morning, as the sun just began to shine on the city walls and the battlefield hadn’t yet been cleared, the attack drums in the Tubo camp sounded once more.

“Boom! Boom! Boom…”

Groups of Tubo soldiers began to stream out of the camp and quickly gather in the open space in front of it. Shang Jiasu sent another 30,000 troops into battle, this time with the 20,000 fresh troops as the main force for the assault.

The thunderous drumbeats, sounding again just after a major battle, made people’s hearts seem to stop beating. Yet these drums plunged Helou Yurun’s heart into despair. He had thought the Tubo army would retreat south after learning their base had been attacked, but instead, they dared to attack Qiemo City again. This made Helou Yurun admire the strategy of the Tubo commander—undoubtedly a desperate move.

“Damn it! It’s so hard to get promoted just like this!”

Helou Yurun grew furious. He kicked a sleeping Tang soldier beside him hard. “Get up, you bastards! Damn it, the Tubo are attacking again!”

Only Helou Yurun’s angry shouts could be heard on the city walls as he woke the sleeping soldiers one by one. The soldiers were too exhausted; even the Tubo drums couldn’t wake them.

“Get up! You bastards, stop sleeping—get up quickly!”
The soldiers were awakened one after another. Rubbing their eyes, they stood up and stared blankly at the Tibetan army gathering in the distance. At that moment, the bells on the city walls rang again, their sound extremely shrill and piercing—“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
All the Tang soldiers rushed to the city walls. Aside from those severely injured, those with minor injuries had their wounds bandaged and they returned to battle. They rallied their spirits, nocked arrows, and prepared for another bloody fight.
“Brothers, the general’s tens of thousands of reinforcements are just a hundred miles away. If we can hold on for just two more hours, just two hours, we’ll be able to completely defeat the enemy. Brothers, today’s battle will surely be recorded in the history of the Tang Dynasty!”
He Lou Yu Run spoke in a hoarse voice, giving his soldiers his final call to battle. The Tang army was also quickly assembling. Including those with minor injuries, there were still five thousand combat-ready soldiers. He Lou Yu Run’s greatest concern was that the Tibetan army might attack from both the north and south simultaneously. They had forty thousand soldiers, so they should be able to handle it. His only hope was that after last night’s battle, the Tibetan army no longer had many siege weapons—hundreds of siege ladders had been destroyed last night. He believed the Tibetans didn’t have enough siege ladders to launch attacks from both sides.
fact proved He Lou Yu Run’s judgment correct—the Tibetan army indeed didn’t have many siege ladders, and they couldn’t launch attacks from both sides. Just as the Tang army got ready for battle, the first wave of Tibetan attackers, about fifteen thousand strong, charged forward. Three black phalanxes formed a column, flowing like a river, sweeping in from the southwest corner of Qiemo City.
As the saying goes, there’s always a trade-off. Although the Tibetan Red Army spent too much time destroying catapults last night and missed the best opportunity, it paid off today. Setting up new catapults wasn’t easy—it took at least half a day. So by now, the western city walls were empty, as the Tang army had lost its long-range bombardment capabilities.
The Tibetan army took advantage of this weakness. Led by five thousand raft troops, they charged forward in force. The rafts were meant to cross the moat but also to protect against the Tang army’s crossbows.
When the Tibetans were within seven hundred steps, the three hundred crossbows on the city walls fired simultaneously. Three hundred mother arrows and two thousand one hundred child arrows shot toward the Tibetan army. The Tibetans quickly raised their rafts, but the powerful iron arrows struck them, producing a series of “thud! thud! thud!” sounds. Most of the arrows stuck in the rafts.

This is experience—after a bloody battle, both sides discover each other’s weaknesses and exploit them. Without the devastating force of the trebuchet’s stones, the Tibetans could deal with the Tang army’s crossbows much more easily. Having fought the Tang army for nearly a century, the Tibetans knew how to counter crossbows. Similarly, the Tang army knew how to deal with the Tibetans’ siege ladders. Their ladders were made up of sections of wooden ladders temporarily tied together, covered with cowhide. Since the ladders needed to be seven zhang long, they were wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, thicker at the base and thinner at the top. This caused the Tibetans climbing the ladders to form a pyramid shape—with many people at the bottom and at most two people side by side at the top. If the number of attackers was small, the Tang army could deploy fifty men to deal with one ladder. In addition to bows, arrows, and rolling boulders, the Tang army also used fire oil, a powerful weapon against the Tibetan army. After a night of fierce fighting, the Tang army learned from last night’s lessons. Last night, most of their casualties were caused by arrows from below the city walls. This time, their soldiers would not lean out to shoot as they had before; instead, they would use the shooting holes in the city walls and the shields of their comrades for cover. The Tang army’s crossbows did not prove very effective. The first Tibetan phalanx rushed to the foot of the city wall. With a loud crash, they set up rafts and erected ladders against the walls. Instantly, arrows rained down from the city walls, along with rolling boulders. Arrows fell like rain, and stones like hail. Nearly a thousand Tibetan soldiers who first crossed the moat were hit by arrows and stones, suffering broken bones and torn muscles, crying out in pain. At that moment, the Tibetan army began to counterattack. Working in pairs, one held a shield while the other shot arrows in large numbers at the city walls. The dense stream of arrows above and below formed a net of arrows. As dozens of ladders were set up against the walls one after another, Tibetan soldiers swarmed up. Another 15,000 Tibetan soldiers joined the battle. By now, 30,000 Tibetans were fighting against only 5,000 Tang soldiers, in a desperate battle at a huge disparity. Dozens of ladders were doused with fire oil, and a fierce fire erupted amid screams. The more than a hundred Tibetan soldiers on the ladders suffered unbearably from the heat and jumped off… Two Tang soldiers carried crucibles and poured the molten iron from them onto the group of Tibetan soldiers on the ladders…

At several key points where the Tubo army launched attacks, fierce Tubo soldiers kept charging onto the city walls, only to be killed by the tenacious and brave Tang soldiers. Blood flew in all directions as both sides fought desperately for survival. One Tang soldier, his chest pierced by a long sword, mustered his last strength and pushed the Tubo soldier off the wall with him… A bloody and brutal battle raged in Qiemo City.

The Tubo army was like an army of demons from the wilderness; capturing Qiemo City was their last chance of survival. Their last ten thousand soldiers joined the fight, disregarding death and using every possible tactic at their disposal.

Below the suspension bridge, dozens of Tubo soldiers climbed up by stepping on the piles of their fallen comrades’ bodies. They worked hard to break the wooden wedges holding back the bridge, and once the chains came loose, the bridge collapsed with a thunderous crash…

The collapse of the bridge turned the tide of the battle. Three thousand Tubo soldiers clad in cowhide, carrying fifteen-zhang-long battering ram poles, charged at the city gates time and again under the cover of over a thousand shields. At this point, neither the Tang soldiers’ arrows, boulders, nor fire oil could shake this “thousand-legged iron beetle.”

“Boom!”

The city gates shook, and Qiemo City trembled as bricks and soil rained down. The “thousand-legged iron beetle” retreated a hundred steps before charging again at the city gates with immense force, accompanied by roars like those of wild beasts.

Another earth-shattering noise erupted as the city walls shook violently. The Tang soldiers on the walls lost their balance and fell one after another. The city gates were on the verge of collapsing, and the fall of Qiemo City seemed inevitable. Many Tang soldiers closed their eyes in despair.

Just then, a deep horn sound suddenly came from the distant fields, like a storm in the wilderness or thunder in the mountains.

“March! March on Qiemo City!”

Li Qing’an waved his battle axe as his royal horse galloped forward, its white mane flying and brushing against his golden helmet. Behind him, the banners flapped in the wind as tens of thousands of troops charged across the fields. Thirty-five thousand cavalry rushed forward, kicking up sand and dust that covered the morning sun. Their murderous intent was like a storm sweeping toward the Tubo army.

The darkness surrounding Qiemo was driven away at that moment. The Tubo army wailed in terror. They abandoned their attack, utterly confused.

“Gather! Resist!”

Shang Jiasu screamed in agony, but the Tang army rushed into their camp. Their warhorses, left behind, became the Tang army’s spoils. Swords flashed with blinding light, spears formed a forest-like array, and the Tang army’s roars echoed across the land as their cavalry charged at the Tibetan soldiers, who had not yet managed to gather.

Desperate as cornered beasts, the Tibetan army, though without warhorses, fought bravely. They simply formed ranks—some holding spears, others shields and swords, some drawing bows and arrows—in a last stand. But the overwhelming force of the Tang cavalry arrived in an instant, their fierce momentum blinding them; many cried out in despair.

Thirty-five thousand cavalrymen rushed into the Tibetan ranks like a storm, carving a bloody path through everything in their way—trampling, crushing, and defeating all. Tibetan soldiers rolled under horse hooves, their necks severed by swords, their chests pierced by spears. Heads rolled to the ground, limbs flew in all directions, and blood mist filled the air. Shouts of battle and screams of pain filled the fields.

The Tang army penetrated the Tibetan formation like mercury seeping through cracks, isolating and surrounding them one by one. Despite the Tibetans’ fierce resistance, the disparity in combat strength between infantry and cavalry forced them to retreat step by step, suffering heavy losses.

On the city walls, Helou Yurun finally spotted Li Qing’an’s royal flag. Wherever the flag went, victory followed. Overjoyed, he turned around and shouted, “Guys, follow me out to fight!”

The gates of Qiemo City swung wide, and thousands of Tang cavalry rushed out. Like sharp knives, they struck at the back of Shang Jiasu’s personal guard, quickly carving a bloody path. Helou Yurun swung his sword wildly, killing countless Tibetans. By now, they were less than twenty steps away from Shang Jiasu. With a loud roar, Helou Yurun declared, “Whoever captures the Tibetan chief’s head will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with five thousand strings of coins!”

Motivated by such generous rewards, the Tang soldiers became fierce as wolves and tigers. They rushed forward, competing to attack the Tibetan commanders just dozens of steps away, forcing the Tibetans to retreat in disarray. Dead bodies lay everywhere, and they were now less than ten steps from Shang Jiasu.

At that moment, a Tang army officer nocked an arrow and shot from his swift horse. Shang Jiasu couldn’t dodge in time and was struck in the left chest by an arrow. He fell off his horse and was rescued by his own guards. Seeing the Tang army’s fierce strength and realizing it was impossible to resist, along with their commander injured in the chest, Shang Jiasu’s hundreds of guards had no choice but to flee westward with their leader. As Shang Jiasu took the lead in escaping, their commander’s flag was cut down by the Tang army. The tens of thousands of Tubo troops finally collapsed in despair and fear. They scrambled to escape, abandoning their armor and weapons, scattering across the fields. But they couldn’t outrun the Tang cavalry and fell one after another as angry horse hooves rushed over them.
The dust cleared from the air, and the light of victory once again shone over the blood-soaked city of Qiemo.
In early summer, the border regions are delayed; grass and trees grow lush in the barbarian lands.
Horses race faster than birds; the sky seems to stretch beyond the setting sun.
The military commander leads a new army; troops are equipped in May.
Two million soldiers, their armor gleaming like gold.
Flags are raised above Kunlun; drums resound in Puchang.
The celestial general leads the army; heavenly might descends upon the vast wilderness.
……
(Qiemo City is Boxian Town, where the Battle of Boxian Town took place in the 11th year of the Tianbao era.)