Chapter 133 Dragon Colt Island

The sky gradually brightened.

The five hundred cavalrymen led by Wang Nandi escorted the people closer and closer to the border of the Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, they were also close to the Tubo garrisons. Although Wang Nan had elite cavalry, he still had to be extremely careful.

"General! There is a group of Tibetan soldiers ahead, about fifty people."

The scout reported this to Wang Nandai.

"Keep your formation. If the Tibetan cavalry tries to get close, charge them immediately."

The king rarely gave orders to his subordinates.

He specially selected elite troops who were good at riding and shooting.

Once the Tibetan cavalry approach, these elite troops will charge forward.

The king knew that the Tibetan soldiers guarding the border must know what happened in Kubahai.

"As ordered!"

The subordinates obeyed the order.

The Tibetan garrison soldiers were also skilled and courageous. After they discovered that the Tang cavalry was escorting nearly 2,000 Han slaves, they immediately summoned several surrounding garrisons, hoping to prevent or temporarily delay the Tang army from entering their patrol area through harassment.

At the same time, the Tibetan garrison reported the situation here to the great minister south of Qinghai.

Although their calculations were ingenious, they overlooked the king's rare bravery.

When fifty Tibetan cavalrymen approached from one side, Wang Nan ordered his men not to rush and to continue marching.

He led only a dozen of his personal guards and charged towards fifty Tibetan cavalrymen.

The Tibetan cavalry fled first.

After running for several miles, they confirmed that only a dozen Tang army cavalry were returning to attack.

He wanted to take down the king's dozen or so riders in one round.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

As the two sides approached, the Tang army drew their bows and shot arrows, and more than a dozen Tibetan cavalrymen fell off their horses.

The Tibetan cavalry were secretly shocked. They had not expected that the Tang army's archery skills were so powerful.

They took out slingshots and wanted to throw stones back, but Wang Nanzhi had no control over the distance of the cavalry. The strength of the Tubo soldiers throwing stones on horseback was worrying, and the Tang army was wearing Ming Guang armor, so even if the stones hit the Tang army, they would only suffer minor injuries at most.

Taking this opportunity, the king continued to order his guards to shoot arrows.

After two rounds, the Tubo army was defeated.

Wang Nan rushed in, wielding his long spear, and anyone whose horse crossed paths with his would be stabbed down by him.

After turning back and forth, none of the fifty Tibetan cavalrymen were left on horseback, and it was rare for Wang to lead his horses back.

At the same time, fifty Tibetan cavalrymen wanted to launch an attack in another place, but they were dispersed by the elite cavalry prepared in advance by the Tang army.

At this point, no Tibetan garrison could stop the Tang army.

At noon that day, Wang Nande led his cavalry to the upper reaches of the Huangshui River.

They crossed the frozen Huangshui River and saw the garrison cavalry belonging to the Anren Army.

After confirming his identity, Anren Army envoy Zhang Shouyu came to greet him personally.

Wang Nandi immediately took Li Xuan's military order and ordered the Anren Army to station along the Huangshui River.

Soon after, the Weirong Army, Chishui Army, Heyuan Army, and Lintao Army, under Li Xuan's military orders, all converged on the Huangshui River.

They were preparing to attack Qinghai.

……

When Wang Nandi led his men across the Huangshui River, Li Xuan had already arrived in the center of Qinghai.

I don't know whether it was luck or overthinking, but no one fell into the ice cave during the journey.

After setting foot on Qinghai, Li Xuan kept sending cavalry ahead of the teams to carve out the thickness of Qinghai.

Only after confirming that the cavalry could run did Li Xuan order the soldiers to continue moving forward.

Because of the high altitude of Longju Island, the Tang army could see the mountains on the island from a long distance away.

"General Nan, lead the cavalry to the north of Longju Island."

"General Xin, lead the cavalry to the east of Longju Island."

"General Che, lead the cavalry to the west of Longju Island."

"General An, you and I will stay in the south. Surround Longju Island and don't let anyone leave!"

Three miles away from Longju Island, Li Xuan gave orders to the soldiers.

They entered Tibetan territory alone, and Tibetan reinforcements are estimated to have not yet reached Kubahai.

Li Xuan wanted to prevent Tubo from finding out any information about him, and then launch a sudden attack.

Although I know it will be a tough battle, I can buy him some time.

The Tang cavalry quickly separated and galloped towards Longju Island.

There is a Tibetan garrison on Longju Island.

A few years later, Geshu Han conquered Qinghai and built Yinglong City based on this garrison.

"what sound?"

When the soldiers on Longju Island were cooking meat, they suddenly heard a "clang clang" sound.

I didn't realize it at first.

Gradually, the sound became louder and louder, like the beats of countless drums combined together.

"Those aren't our warriors, they look like Tang soldiers!"

The first people to see the Tang cavalry were the herdsmen on Longju Island.

They wanted to escape, but suddenly found that there were Tang cavalry on all sides.

They rushed into the garrison and informed the Tibetan soldiers inside.

"Close the garrison!"

The Tibetan soldiers in the garrison did not expect the Tang army to arrive, and they forcibly closed the garrison despite the fact that some herdsmen had not yet entered the garrison.

The garrison was just a small earthen city about ten feet high, with only a hundred or so Tibetan soldiers inside.

After the Tang army landed on Longju Island, they started a massacre, even sparing nomadic herdsmen.

These herdsmen all carry swords, they are all enemies!
If they were left alive, they would leave and report the situation, allowing Tubo to grasp their movements and put them in danger.

Some Tibetan herdsmen fled to the mountains during the crisis, and Li Xuan ordered his soldiers to search for them in the mountains.

Although the hill is high, it is difficult to hide in winter.

A crowd surrounded the castle. The Tibetan soldiers trembled on the small wall of the castle.

Even with the help of some herdsmen, they could not hide the cowardice in their hearts.

If the Tang army attacked by force, they would not be able to hold on.

"Warriors, we have no way to escape. The Tang army will surely kill us all. We have no choice but to defend. If we hold on, our reinforcements will surely discover the Tang army's movements and will soon catch up."

Although the Tibetan commander was very afraid, he still mustered up his courage and shouted to the warriors guarding the fort.

The Tibetan soldiers made up their minds to fight the Tang army to the death.

Li Xuan told the soldiers not to attack the fort rashly! There was no need to suffer unnecessary casualties at this time.

Holding a strong bow, he rode forward on horseback, and was 120 steps away from the Tubo castle.

The castle guard saw Li Xuan coming alone and couldn't help but sneer: "Does he want to shoot us at this distance?"

"Pfft!"

As the Tibetan commander finished speaking, an arrow hit him between the eyebrows and blood spurted out.

The other Tibetan soldiers were horrified. How could this be possible?

It was the first time they saw someone hit the target at such a long distance.

"General Tianmai!"

The Tang soldiers all raised their bows and shouted.

"Pfft!"

The castle did not have a protective parapet, so even if they crouched down, part of their bodies would be exposed, unless they all lay down.

That would mean handing over the castle.

Li Xuan shot arrows one after another, taking the lives of several Tibetan soldiers.

At the same time, Nan Jiyun also rode forward. He needed to make sure he hit the target within seventy or eighty seconds.

Other generals, who were good at shooting, volunteered to come to the front of the castle and shoot the Tibetan soldiers.

As Li Xuan's personal guard, Li Sheng is one of the top three sharpshooters in the army. He can never miss a target within seventy steps.

The Tibetan soldiers were so desperate that they dared not stay on the castle and jumped off the wall one after another.

Li Xuan waved his hand and the cavalry galloped to the foot of the wall. They could touch the wall by stepping on the horse's back. With the help of the soldiers next to them, they could easily jump onto the wall.

The soldiers took up bows and arrows and shot arrows at the soldiers in the city.

Some of them jumped down and opened the city gate.

The Tang army shouted and charged in, and after a quarter of an hour, they killed all the Tibetan soldiers inside.

"General Nan, send a few soldiers to stand guard on the hill! The other soldiers start cooking meat and feeding the horses with the grass on Longju Island."

On Longju Island, Li Xuan needs to rest and maintain his energy.

Wait until it gets dark before setting off.

He was more aware of the impact that a tired division could have on a large army.

The Tubo people certainly could not have expected that the Tang army would dare to march deep into their territory with more than a thousand cavalrymen and reach the area around Fuqi City.

There are three hundred good horses and some sheep on Longju Island.

These fine horses were all the best mares selected by Tubo, and there were also some top-quality horses from the Western Regions.

Tubo also wanted to continue Tuyuhun and create a BMW like "Qinghai Cong".

Li Xuan did not believe in evil, he would take these good horses back and set up a herdsman in the north of Huangshui City and let Liu Xi manage it.

……

Kubahai and the Tibetan cavalry were the first to arrive to provide support.

The cavalry commander was a general named Meilu Xiequ. One could tell his achievements by looking at the jade seal he wore.

In the 29th year of Kaiyuan, he led the soldiers to capture Shibao City.

He was of the same clan as the great Tibetan minister Moluqiongsang Woermang, and was deeply loved by Moluqiongsang Woermang.

"The Tang army would actually surprise our army at this time! It is said that the idiots of the Nanang family only held out for half an hour before two camps were destroyed by the two thousand cavalry of the Tang army!"

When Mei Lu Xie Qu arrived, he saw the burned tent.

There were traces of the Tang army burying pots to cook, with leftover sheep bones everywhere, and some pots still had sheep soup left, which made the Tibetan soldiers feel extremely humiliated.

After the Tang army captured this place, they ate and drank their fill before leaving.

"This group of Tang soldiers is so cruel, they don't take any prisoners."

Meilu Xiequ saw corpses everywhere. He heard that some soldiers had surrendered but were still killed by the Tang army.

"General, the border garrison discovered that about 500 Tang soldiers were escorting the group of untouchables into Tang territory. The Tang soldiers were very elite, and the soldiers of the garrison tried to harass them, but were caught up and killed."

A rider came running and reported to Molu Xiequ.

"Didn't they say that the Tang army had more than 2,000 cavalrymen and our army barely killed any? Only 500 cavalrymen left? Could it be that the Tang army chose to go far away and another part of them returned through the Qilian Mountain Pass?"

Meilu Xiequ frowned, thought for a moment, and suddenly raised his head: "No, they must want to launch a surprise attack on our army!"

Meilu Xiequ was thinking about what fortresses were nearby.

Their core area is south of Qinghai.

"General, will the Tang army launch a surprise attack on the Tuyuhun tribe north of Qinghai?"

The deputy general said to Molu Xiequ.

"It's possible! The snow hasn't melted yet, let's look for the horse hoof prints of the Tang army."

Meilu Xiequ nodded slightly, and he immediately thought of a way to grasp the whereabouts of the Tang army.

If the Tang army returns along the same route, then give up. If the Tang army really wants to go in a certain direction, give an advance warning.

The Tibetan cavalry began to follow the suspected footprints of the Tang army to find the whereabouts of the Tang army.

Li Xuan had nearly 5,000 horses under his command, so it was naturally easy for them to be detected.

Two hours later, the Tibetan soldiers followed a route and arrived at the edge of Qinghai.

When they saw the traces that crossed the Qinghai Sea, they immediately went back to report to Meilu Xiequ.

"What? The Tang army actually crossed Qinghai? Are they crazy?"

Meilu Xiequ's eyes widened in shock.

Their tribes and thousand-household units are everywhere in the Qinghai area.

He thought that the Tang army only dared to attack the periphery near the Tang border.

Once you cross Qinghai, you will reach the depths of Tubo.

"No! The Tang army went to the opposite side of Qinghai, it must be for the Han slaves in the north of Fuqi City."

Meilu Xiegong realized this immediately.

"General, they are courting death. The only Han slaves left in the north of Fuqi City are women and children. Even if the Tang army rescues them, what will happen? They can't ride horses, so they can only be transported by horses. In this way, they will definitely not be able to escape our pursuit."

The deputy general was overjoyed. If he could eliminate the invading Tang cavalry, he would not only be able to give an account to the Zamp, but also be able to strike a blow to the arrogance of the Tang army.

"Well, the Tang army is indeed extremely stupid! Report to Zhonglun immediately and ask him to lead the infantry to move here and block Qinghai to prevent the Tang army from escaping from Qinghai. In addition, ask the cavalry in the north of Qinghai to block the roads leading to the Kongdao of Qilian Mountain and Menggu area. By then, the Tang army will definitely escape from the north of Qinghai."

Meilu Xiequ gave orders to the soldiers.

The Zhonglun he mentioned refers to one of the Tibetan government ministers, Mujie Sangdongzebu, who was a famous Tibetan general who attacked Xiaoboluo and also frequently fought with the Tang army on the border, so he had rich experience.

If nothing unexpected happens, the young and strong Mojie Sangdongzebu will succeed Moluqiongsang Woermang as the next Dalun of Tubo.

Everything was ready. Meilu Xiequ led 10,000 cavalrymen under his command and also crossed Qinghai, following the footprints to pursue the Tang army.

Meilu Xiequ knew that there was an 80% chance that the Tang army would enter Longju Island, and the defenders of Longju Island could not be a match for the Tang army.

……

Longju Island.

It was not until the hour of Xu that Li Xuan woke up the soldiers.

The mutton had been cooked in the pot for several hours and was already tender and crispy.

After eating the mutton and drinking the mutton soup, the soldiers prepared to set off.

The horses were also well fed.

Li Xuan slaughtered the sheep on the island and transported them on horseback.

He sent dozens of scouts disguised as Tibetans in advance to observe the situation on the other side.

After marching all night, we successfully arrived at the west coast of Qinghai in the early morning.

This place is only a few dozen miles away from Fuqi City.

But according to the description of the people, the camp was about ten miles north of Fuqi City.

The Han slaves there mainly herded livestock, cultivated land, and made clothes for the Tibetans.

In other areas, as long as there is a request, we will recruit unconditionally.

Any woman who was a little bit pretty had long been sent to the interior of Tibet to be shared by the Tibetan nobles.

Li Xuan waited for a while at the coast and asked scouts disguised as Tibetan soldiers to conduct a detailed investigation.

After a while, they captured two Tibetan soldiers and brought them back.

The generals under Li Xuan could speak Tibetan and asked about the location of their destination.

The scouts put on their Ming Guang armor again and quickly galloped towards their destination.

Along the way, they encountered Tibetans. When they saw the Tang army, they felt like the sky was falling. They thought the front-line soldiers had collapsed and the Tang army had already reached here.

Not long ago, I heard the news that the Tubo army entered the Tang territory and more than 60,000 people died.

After detecting a large number of Tang troops, the Tibetan soldiers immediately reported the news to Fuqi City.

The message was also sent to the military camp north of Fuqi City, which was guarding the Han slaves.

But they were at most slightly faster than the Tang army and had no time to prepare.

An hour later, the Tang army arrived at their destination.

When they were several miles away, Li Xuan ordered the Tang army to change trains and prepare for battle.

There were many simple thatched huts and a Tibetan military camp, but they were all surrounded by a large fence.

There are five hundred Tibetan soldiers here. They are all old, weak, sick and disabled. They usually guard Han slaves and never participate in battles.

Although they learned the news half a quarter of an hour in advance, they had no time to prepare.

Therefore, they could only close the gate of the fence, hoping to block the Tang army and hold out until the soldiers from Fuqi City came to help.

The fence outside the camp was ten feet high to prevent Han slaves from escaping.

There are several doors in the east, south, west and north, but they are all ordinary wooden doors.

The Tibetan soldiers were standing in front of the gate in a state of extreme tension.

"Fire arrows!"

"Shhhhhh!"

When they attacked, the Tang army could see through the gaps in the fence that the Tibetan soldiers were holding spears and bows and arrows ready to defend.

Li Xuan gave an order and shot arrows inside.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The Tubo didn't even have complete armor, and the Tang army's arrows penetrated the fence, causing the Tubo soldiers to fall to the ground one after another.

The other soldiers were in disarray and did not intend to hold their ground, wanting to escape through other gates.

By the time the Tang army fired several rounds of arrows and rushed to the gate, there were no Tibetan soldiers guarding it.

"Step aside!"

Li Xuan shouted and dismounted.

"Oh!"

He flew forward and kicked the door down.

Unlike other military camps, this camp where Han slaves were held had many obstacles.

Some soldiers abandoned their horses and rushed in on foot.

Many Tibetan soldiers were caught up and killed by the Tang army before they could escape from the camp.

In just half an hour, Li Xuan completely controlled the camp.

He left a thousand cavalry outside to keep an eye on the reinforcements from Fuqi City.

What Li Xuan didn't know was that since Fuqi City was far away from the Tang Dynasty border, there were only one thousand Tibetan troops stationed there, and their combat effectiveness was very average.

When they learned that the Tang army was all wearing Ming Guang armor, they were so frightened that they closed the gates and dared not fight.

At the same time, they also sought help from the surrounding areas and reported to Moluqiongsang Woermang who was in the south of Qinghai!
"Everyone, we are the Longyou Army of the Tang Dynasty, and we are here to rescue you! Your families have already returned to the Tang Kingdom, so please don't worry!"

Li Xuan gathered the women together and spoke to them.

In fact, the people Li Xuan saved may not include their family members, and their husbands and sons may not be alive. Li Xuan said this to reassure them.

"General, we are very grateful that you can come and save us. How old are our children? How can we get back to the Tang Dynasty in this freezing weather?"

The women and children were originally very afraid of the Tang army. After hearing Li Xuan's words, some of them became very excited.

Finally, a woman mustered up the courage to speak up.

"I brought some leather clothes with me. You should also have some clothes left by Tubo. Wear more layers. We will have war horses to help us get around later!"

Li Xuan said to the women.

The women originally made clothes for Tubo.

"But none of us know how to ride a horse!"

When they heard the word war horse, their eyes darkened.

"All you have to do is sit on the war horses. These horses are docile, so you don't need to run, just walk slowly!"

Li Xuan said to them.

Once they spot the enemy, they will take the initiative to attack.

The women and children dismounted, used their spears as stakes, and used a group of war horses to form several layers of enclosure inside and outside. Even if the enemy wanted to rush in, they could not.

(End of this chapter)