Chapter 176: Smoke of War, Battle for Chiling
Changbao is a subsidiary garrison of Shibao City and serves as the forefront of Shibao City.

In fact, its existence or not is of no important significance, it only carries out patrol responsibilities.

"Boom!"

After the Tang army had marched for one day, two thousand cavalrymen of the Tang army's Da Dou army arrived at Chiling first.

The scouts from Changbao were the first to discover the Dadou army’s cavalry.

But the scouts did not dare to stop the Tang cavalry and could only convey the message to the commander of the Changbao.

There were three hundred soldiers in the fort, and they could only defend the fort.

They didn't need to send anyone to notify Stone Castle.

Because Shibao City is located on the commanding heights in the east of Chiding, the city is surrounded by cliffs with a height of hundreds of feet on three sides, and there is only a hillside path on one side for entry and exit. Standing on the city wall of Shibao City, you can have a panoramic view of the two mountain passes leading into Qinghai from the east and northeast.

There is Eagle Mountain Fort at the northeast pass.

After the Tang army broke through Yingshan Fort, they set up ambushes on the mountain and placed thunder stones and rolling logs because the mountain pass was narrow in many places.

There is another mountain pass to the west of Chiling, where there is Hongyan Fort, where 500 Tibetan soldiers are stationed. That mountain pass is also relatively narrow.

The others can no longer be considered mountain passes, they can only be described as "rugged paths" that are difficult for pedestrians to pass, let alone march.

The mountain pass on the east is the widest road leading into Qinghai, and it is also the place that the Tang army must defend.

Obviously, the defenders of Shibao City must have seen the two thousand Tang cavalry rushing towards them.

But the defender of Stone Fort City, Xinoro, was still watching and did not light the beacon immediately, because two thousand cavalry could not do anything to Stone Fort City.

The Dadou army cavalry ignored the long fort and rushed past the hillside of the stone fort city.

They brought Li Xuan's military order and were required to make certain arrangements in Jixin Valley to prevent the Tubo from seizing important areas.

"The Tang army actually came to the East Pass of Chiling at this time. What do they want to do? It looks like there are only two or three thousand cavalrymen at most. We have thousands of troops in the Qinghai area."

The defender of Stone Castle, Xinoro, watched with a frown, hesitating whether to light the beacon.

He knew that the Chiling area was heavily guarded at that time, and it would be impossible for the Tang army to launch a surprise attack.

Not long after, Xinoro saw another group of Tang troops coming from the city wall.

This Tang army consisted of only three or four hundred people.

Then, as they disappeared from sight...

Because from the stone fortress, you can't see the long fort slightly closer to the foot of the mountain.

Soon, a thick yellow smoke rose into the sky from the location of the fort...

"They're attacking the fort!"

Xinoro screamed in surprise, it turned out that the target of these hundreds of Tang troops was the long fort.

Other garrisons do not have such a unique geographical location as Shibao City.

Once besieged, without support, it would be quickly breached.

Moreover, the long fort was a garrison fort that could not throw thunderstones or rolling logs.

For example, in Shibao City, you only need to throw thunderstones and rolling logs into the passage down the mountain to kill a large number of people.

"General, do you want to go to the rescue?"

The deputy general asked Sinoro.

"We can't save them! It's possible that the Tang army is trying to lure them out of their lair. After we go down, the two thousand cavalrymen of the Tang army will turn around and attack us."

Sinoro shook his head decisively.

"The general is wise!"

The deputy general thought it made sense.

Now, after seeing the smoke signals, Enlanda Zhalugong on the other side of Chiling will send people to investigate the specific situation.

After returning from the Uighurs, Enlanda Zhalugong did not return to Lhasa City, but was ordered to stay at the Qinghai front to prevent Li Xuan from ignoring the Uighur military parade and launching a forced attack.

It was already winter, but the Tang army was still reluctant to attack.

Enlanda Zhalugong sent scouts to enter the Tang territory many times, but they were strangled to death by patrolling Tang cavalry.

The Tang army's border patrol soldiers were very tight-lipped, and Enlanda Zhalugong was not clear about the specific situation.

"Go and see what's going on?"

After hearing the report, Enlandazalugong on the other side of Chiling walked out of the tent.

He was not sure whether it was the Stone Fort City or the long fort in front of the Stone Fort City.

If it was Stone Castle City, a column of smoke would not be a sign of danger, so Enlanda Zalugon did not panic.

The Tibetan scouts quickly entered the East Pass of Chiling...

The attack on Changbao was led by Li Feishouyu himself.

Under his command were one hundred strong crossbowmen, one hundred archers skilled in archery, one hundred heavily armored soldiers holding shields, and one hundred soldiers wearing bright armor.

After arriving at the foot of the mountain where the long fort was located, Li Feishouyu ordered the siege ladders to be assembled.

Then head up the mountain.

The wall of the fortress is 15 feet high and only a few dozen feet long and wide.

This fort is affected by the mountain terrain, with the east side high and the west side low.

This means that attacking the fort is not difficult.

After Li Feishouyu looked at the terrain, he felt that there was no need to attack from the front.

Instead, he ordered his men to climb to high ground with the help of ladders, and use bows and arrows to suppress the high eastern wall.

That hilltop was about a hundred steps away from the east city wall and within the range of powerful crossbows.

There are about a hundred crossbowmen standing on the top of the hill. Li Feishouyu deployed fifty crossbows and fifty archers.

Archers are used for projectiles.

Since one ladder wasn't enough to climb up the mountain, the Tang army tied two sides of it together, which was just enough to climb to the top of the mountain.

The armored infantry stood guard on the side.

At this time, the Tibetan commander of the fort had changed his expression greatly.

They already understood Li Feishouyu's purpose.

But due to the lack of reinforcements and the fact that there were only 300 soldiers in the fort, they could not go out of the city to fight the Tang army head-on!
The commander of the long fort could only let his men hold up their shields and stay in the east city, as the Tang army infantry would definitely cooperate with the archers to attack from the east.

"Fire arrows!"

When everything was ready, Li Feiyuanli ordered the archers to shoot arrows.

He was on guard, fearing that Tubo would transfer all its troops to the East City, so he transferred 50 archers and 100 Mingguang armored soldiers to the West City, pretending to attack from the West City.

The defender of the fort had to divide his troops for defense.

Arrows were thrown from bows and crossbows were aimed, and all landed on the east wall of the fort.

The narrow city wall was filled with Tibetan soldiers.

Being dominated by the Tang army, the Tibetan soldiers could only rely on shields to dodge.

Although the casualties in one round of the Tang army were limited, the Tang army continued to attack for more than ten rounds, and several shields were shot through by powerful crossbows.

There were less than 200 defenders on the east city wall, and after enduring 20 rounds of bows and crossbows from the Tang army, dozens of them were killed or wounded.

"attack!"

The heavy armored infantry below raised their shields and carried ladders towards the city wall.

Another fifty crossbowmen followed and moved closer.

Li Fei Shouyu held a strong stone bow with a feather arrow on the string, ready to shoot at any time.

When the Tang army's armored infantry was twenty steps away from the Tubo city wall, the Tubo general held up his shield and shouted, "Prepare to defend the city, the Tang army is about to attack!"

Maybe because he was too excited, the shield did not cover his entire body, and part of his shoulder was exposed.

"call out……"

Li Fei Shouyu raised his bow and shot an arrow.

"Pfft!"

The shield hit the commander of the long fort directly on the shoulder, and with a shrill scream, the commander of the long fort's shield fell to the ground.

"Pfft!"

Twenty steps away, Li Feishouyu quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow at the commander of the Changbao in the neck.

The defender of the long fort fell on the city wall with his eyes wide open.

The other Tibetan soldiers were even more afraid.

"Hurry up, if we wait for the Tang army to come, we will all die!"

The deputy general shouted and ordered the soldiers to pick up their bows and fight back.

After hearing this, the Tibetan soldiers finally mustered up their courage and took up their bows and arrows.

At this time, the Tang army was almost at the bottom of the city wall.

"call out!"

When many Tibetan archers were preparing to shoot arrows, the Tang army crossbowmen pulled the trigger.

At a distance of less than ten steps, every crossbowman can hit the target he is aiming at.

The heavy infantry also took the opportunity to hook the ladders onto the walls of the Tubo garrison.

The heavy infantryman, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, showed a determined look and climbed up quickly.

Li Feishouyu led the crossbowmen to provide cover below.

Even if the Tibetan soldiers used their spears to poke the Tang army's armor and push them down, they would not necessarily be killed from this height.

Unless you stab a vital part.

But every time they show their head, they are hit head-on.

"Grandpa is here!"

Taking advantage of this opportunity, a Tang soldier holding a shield climbed up the city wall while shouting, becoming the first to climb the wall in this battle.

As he was about to go up, the Tang soldier drew his sword from his waist and killed a Tibetan soldier who was trying to stop the Tang army from going up to the castle.

This allowed another heavy armored infantryman to climb up.

They manned a ladder, shielding their faces with shields, in a defensive position.

When the third, fourth and fifth heavy armored infantrymen climbed up, the situation was basically decided.

The low castle was vulnerable to the powerful crossbows of the Tang army.

Li Feishouyu climbed up the city wall in a few steps and swept away the enemy together with his men.

When the Tibetan soldiers on the west wall learned that the Tang army was coming to attack them, they didn't know whether to flee or stay.

Because there were Tang soldiers under the city, using iron armor and shields to exchange fire with the Tibetan soldiers on the city.

The Tang army killed the Tibetan soldiers in the east and made them flee in panic. Li Feishouyu personally led dozens of armored soldiers to defeat the Tibetan soldiers in the west.

In just over an hour, some Tubo soldiers died, some surrendered, and the bridgehead for Tubo scouts changed hands.

Of course, Li Feishouyu did not plan to leave troops garrisoned there because it made no sense.

He sent a small number of cavalry to send dozens of captured prisoners back to Huangshui, while the rest marched towards Jixin Valley.

There are some supplies in the fort, and it can also be used as a transit point for storing food.

When Li Feishouyu led his troops passing under the slope of Shibao City, Shibao City defender Xinuoluo was very puzzled. Are they not going to attack Changbao?
The signal smoke had gone out, and Sinoro did not realize that the fort had been breached.

When Li Fei Shouyu passed by the hillside under Shibao City, he observed the terrain for a while and shook his head.

Even if a crossbowman stood a hundred steps away and shot arrows, he would be hit by thunderstones and logs thrown from the steep hillside.

And the Stone Castle is much taller than the Long Castle.

There were at least 1,500 soldiers inside.

Even if the Tang army managed to withstand the Tibetan thunder, rocks and rolling logs and reach the foot of the stone fortress, with more than a thousand soldiers guarding one wall, it would be impossible for the armored soldiers to climb up in a short time.

Tubo must have also prepared a city full of stones, waiting for the Tang army to attack.

When Enlanda Zhalugong's scouts arrived at Jixin Valley, they were blocked by the cavalry of the Dadou Army, so they immediately went back to report the situation to Enlanda Zhalugong.

"Whether the Tang army attacks Shibao City or not, we must recapture Jixin Valley. Disperse the cavalry that the Tang army has gathered."

Enlanda Zhalugong acted decisively and sent 5,000 cavalry into the east pass of Chiling.

He knew that this largest mountain pass connecting to Shibao City must not be occupied by the Tang army, otherwise they would not be able to provide support when the Tang army attacked Shibao City.

As for the Xishankou and Dongbeishankou, a few thousand soldiers can block them tightly.

Nlandazalugong didn't expect to be able to go around the other two mountain passes.

Other strongholds can be abandoned, but Stone Fort City must not be lost.

As long as Stone Castle is there, the lost stronghold can be easily taken back.

When Enlanda Zhalugong mobilized his troops, the cavalry of the Tang army in Hexi and Longyou rushed through the eastern pass of Chiling along with the Dadou army.

One team after another.

Judging from the formation, there are more than ten thousand cavalry.

The defender of Stone Fort could no longer bear it and lit a beacon fire.

This means that the Tang army is going to raid Qinghai or attack Shibao City, but the situation is not very critical.

The Tang army's cavalry in Jixin Valley were all used as infantry.

The horses were carrying defensive weapons or military supplies!
As long as the Tang army sets up the first line of defense and seizes the initiative, they can wait for the arrival of the infantry.

After all, it takes time for Tubo to deploy its troops.

When Enlandazalugong saw that the war had reignited, he sent someone to inform Moluqiongsang and Woermang.

Only the Tubo Dalun was qualified to mobilize soldiers across the entire front.

Moluqiongsang Woermang immediately ordered Chiling and southern Qinghai to form 60,000 soldiers to defend Shibao City.

If we encounter the Tang army's defense line, we must break through it.

As for the soldiers in Jiuqu, eastern Qinghai and northern Qinghai, Meiluqiongsang Woermang did not mobilize them immediately.

When the first 5,000 cavalrymen of Tubo arrived, they were ambushed by the caltrops scattered by the cavalry of the Dadou Army, resulting in the loss of hundreds of horses and hundreds of casualties.

They also saw the Tang army setting up deer horns in Jixin Valley. They outnumbered them by a large margin and did not dare to charge.

A day later, Xinoro, who was watching from the top of Shibao City, discovered that tens of thousands of infantrymen were continuously pouring into Dongshankou. They thought that these infantrymen must be coming to attack Shibao City, and in panic, they set fire to all three beacon towers in Shibao City.

This represents a matter of urgency.

When Tubo sees this signal, they will rush to support with all their might.

"According to the rules we set before, one beacon fire represents the arrival of the Tang army, two beacons represent the Tang army's fierce attack on Shibao City, and three beacons represent that the Tang army's army entering Dongshankou exceeds 50,000 people."

Meiluqiongsang Woermang had already arrived at Chiling and spoke to Enlanda Zhalugong.

There was no winter meeting in Tubo this year, but the hair and beard of Luqiongsang Woermang turned almost completely white.

He was already old, and after all the hard work during this period, traveling between Lhasa, Qinghai and Jiuqu, he was exhausted.

They thought that their mission to the Uighurs would be successful and this winter would be over.

Chidai Zhudan was even planning to let Meiluqiongsang Woermang return home to recuperate.

Unexpectedly, at this time, the Tang army suddenly launched a large-scale attack.

"Iron Blade City is the support of our Tubo to enter Helong, and we must not give it up. Please ask the Grand Council to dispatch some soldiers from eastern Qinghai and Jiuqu to help us. We must break through the defense line of the Tang army and make sure that the battle flag of our Tubo will always fly in Iron Blade City."

Enlanda Zhalugong asked Moluqiongsang Woermang.

Since the middle of the Kaiyuan period, Tubo had been winning fewer games than it was losing against the Tang Dynasty.

During the period when the Tang army lost Shibao City, Tubo's Damumen City, Hongji City and other cities were successively occupied by the Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, the Tang cavalry rode into Qinghai many times, but eventually had to retreat.

All this is because Chiling is controlled by Tubo and the Tang Dynasty is unable to operate in Jiuqu and Qinghai.

The reason why Tubo was able to control Chiling was because Shibao City was firmly held.

This meant that every time the Tang Dynasty launched an attack, even if it penetrated deep into the Qinghai coast and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River, it had to retreat to its original position after the war.

Nlanda Zalukong is a staunch supporter of Stone Castle City.

"Mobilize 10,000 infantry from Jiuqu to support us, and the Yulin Qianhu will also temporarily leave Jiuqu. Dispatch 10,000 infantry from eastern Qinghai. If the Tang army sets up a defense line in Jixin Valley, do not use cavalry to charge, but use infantry to fight them and break them. Dongshankou is several miles wide, and even if the Tang army has more than 50,000, it will not be able to defend tightly."

Meiluqiongsangwoermang followed Enlanda Zhalugong's advice.

Prepare to dispatch more troops to support and defend Shibao City with all your strength.

At the same time, the soldiers stationed in Dafeichuan and the vassal states of Subi and Tongjia were also rushing towards Chiling.

"Report... There is smoke rising from the northeast mountain pass. It should be the Tang army attacking Yingshan Fort..."

"Report... Smoke is rising from the West Mountain Pass. The Tang army is attacking Hongyan Fort..."

The Tibetan messenger rushed into the tent and reported to Moluqiongsang Woermang.

"Eagle Mountain Castle and Red Rock Castle each have only 500 soldiers, and the castles are not as strong as Iron Blade Castle, so it is difficult to defend for a long time."

Meiluqiongsang Woerman frowned and said, "Why would the Tang army waste its forces to attack Hongyan Fort and Yingshan Fort? If they don't want our support, can't they just block the narrow mountain pass?"

He felt that this was not an important castle and could be recaptured if lost.

"Go back to Dalun. It will waste a lot of our troops to defend Eagle Mountain Fort and Red Rock Fort."

Nlanda Zalukong's suggestion was to ignore the two castles for the time being and instead defend the Stone Castle.

Li Xuan was full of tricks and deceived Tubo badly in the Battle of Li River. They were afraid to provide support from a small area and fell into Li Xuan's trap.

Meiluqiongsang Woerman nodded. He did not plan to provide support, mainly because if he sent too few people, it might be useless, and if he sent too many people, he might not be able to capture Jixin Valley.

"Report... There is smoke rising from the area around Hemaburg..."

In the next three hours, Moluqiongsang and Woermang received more than a dozen reports of the Chiling Fort being attacked.

If we don’t provide support, these garrisons will be doomed.

Having seen too many life and death situations, for the ultimate victory, this was just an insignificant abandonment for Meiluqiongsang Woermang.

"Your Excellency, if all these forts are abandoned, it will be difficult for us to obtain any information from the other side of Chiling."

Nlanda Zalugong noticed this keenly.

He always felt that Li Xuan had ulterior motives in doing this.

"Take over Chicken Heart Valley and defend Stone Castle!"

Meiluqiongsangwoermang uttered these words, which showed his determination.

Enlanda Zhalugong looked at the map. He, Moluqiongsang and Woermang all knew that Li Xuan liked to launch surprise attacks.

Therefore, Jiuqu and Qinghai dared not mobilize more soldiers to guard these garrisons.

Except for Hongyan Fort and Yingshan Fort, all the small Tibetan forts were small cities only ten feet high. The elite troops of the Tang army raided them and captured them all within an hour.

However, the locations chosen by the Tubo people for Hongyan Fort and Yingshan Fort were tricky, and they also had a stockpile of thunderstones and rolling logs.

An Zhongzhang and Li Feiyuanli did not have a surprise attack like Li Feishouyu did when attacking Changbao. After arriving, they could only attack from all sides.

The attack on Yingshan Fort started in the morning and ended when it fell at sunset. More than 200 Tang soldiers were killed and more than 100 were injured.

The Red Rock Fort was not captured until dusk, and nearly 300 Tang soldiers were killed and 200 were injured.

This was when the Tang army attackers were all wearing iron armor and had the protection of powerful crossbows.

Without armor and powerful crossbows, casualties would increase by at least three times.

With the fall of Hongyan Fort and Yingshan Fort, the Tang army took control of the entire Chiling.

Although Shibao City was still impregnable, the Tang army had already blocked Dongshankou. At least before the Tang army withdrew, Shibao City was one of the baits of the Tang army.

Of the 3,000 archers, 2,000 crossbowmen, and 5,000 soldiers left behind by the Tang army, 70% were ambushed at the northeast and west mountain passes.

Led by Yang Jinghui and a main general from Hexi.

The remaining 30% of the soldiers were lying in ambush at other small mountain passes.

The main purpose was to block the news and to deter Tubo...

(End of this chapter)