Chapter 186: Conquering Five Cities and Beheading the Tibetan Prime Minister
"Pfft!"

Li Xuan shot an arrow and killed a Tibetan soldier 120 steps away.

The Tibetan soldiers did not notice it at first and thought they were hit by stray arrows from below.

But Li Xuan shot several arrows in succession before the soldiers defending the city reacted.

The Tang army had an extremely skilled archer one hundred steps away.

Even if the crossbow can cause damage at this distance, it cannot aim.

Lun Xijia Zang wanted to climb up the city wall, but was stopped by his followers.

After learning that he could shoot people from more than a hundred steps away, Lun Xijia Zang thought of Li Xuan first!

Due to lack of information, he did not know that Li Xuan had reached Jiuqu.

Lun Xijia Zang's mind immediately went to the fact that Nang Shangjie Xiuting and Enlanda Zhalugong from Qinghai had been defeated, so Li Xuan came to Jiuqu.

That would be terrible.

Li Xuan was still harvesting the lives of Tibetan soldiers on the city wall.

As long as they confronted the Tang army's archers, they would definitely be attacked by Li Xuan.

There is always a flaw in the shield.

He never missed a beat and one person made hundreds of people unable to raise their heads.

Lun Xijia Zang has already confirmed that this is Li Xuan.

Only Li Xuan has such bravery.

Not only Lun Xijia Zang had this guess, other Tibetan soldiers also thought so.

Their train of thought was similar to Lun Xijia Zang's. They all felt that Qinghai had been defeated. Pessimism and depression permeated the entire Baigu City.

This time, the Tang army still did not attack to the end.

An hour later, the Tang army retreated.

"Damn it! They tied the Han slaves in the city to the city walls and hanged them."

Lun Xijia Zang, who was furious, gave orders to the commander of Baigu City.

He was going to vent his anger on this.

"Big talk, no..."

The commander of Baigu City was shocked and tried to dissuade him immediately.

"Do you still want a way out?"

Lun Xijia Zang began to suspect the commander of Baigu City again.

"My loyalty to Tubo is evident to heaven and to the sun and moon...but this is not what a righteous army would do."

The commander of Baigu City bowed quickly.

"Five years ago, Tang Hexi Army Commander An Bozhu attacked Qinghai. He clearly captured many of our men and alpacas in the battle of Yuhai. When he was surrounded, he killed all the captives and burned all the alpacas, so he escaped. This great theorist did this to boost morale."

Lun Xijia Zang made a seemingly reasonable statement, and finally gave a stern order: "Do as ordered by this great theory, and do not disobey it."

"As ordered!"

The defender of Baigu City could only obey the order.

Taking advantage of the temporary retreat of the Tang army, the Tibetan soldiers escorted dozens of Han slaves, including several female slaves, to the city wall.

As these Han slaves struggled and shouted, ropes were put around their necks, and the other end of the ropes was tied to the parapet.

"Bang bang bang!"

The Tibetan soldiers, with red eyes, were ready to carry out orders.

The Han slaves were like lambs to be slaughtered, with no power to resist, and were pushed off the city wall with wailing.

Their legs kicked wildly and their faces turned blue.

In an instant, all the Han slaves lost their breath and died with despair written on their faces.

Lun Xijia Zang was not allowed to be pulled up, so he was left hanging like that.

He didn't notice that the eyes of the slaves guarding the city had changed at this moment.

Not only the Tibetan slaves, but also the slaves of other Hu people, Tuyuhun, etc., no longer had the will to fight to the death, and they didn't even have the slightest desire to fight.

……

In front of the northwest gate of Baigu City, Li Xuan also saw this scene.

He didn't know what was going on at first. After the spy went forward to take a look, he came back and reported to Li Xuan: "General Li, the person hanged on the city wall seems to be... a Han Chinese."

After hearing this, Li Xuan was silent for a while.

He pinched his face with his right hand, and veins on his hand bulged.

This shows that Li Xuan was very angry.

He always adhered to the bottom line of the war, but the Tibetan defenders did things that had no bottom line.

Li Xuan always believed that the Han slaves in Tubo were not slaves.

They were originally good people who cultivated the Han land, but were labeled as slaves after being abducted. Tubo could call them slaves, but the Tang Dynasty could not.

Just like the last time he raided the area around Fuqi City in Qinghai.

Some say that he lost hundreds of his warriors for a few slaves.

Li Xuan has always scoffed at such remarks.

"General Li, I request your order to attack the city. After taking Baigu City, close the city gates and kill everyone!"

After hearing the news, Che Shensai ran over to ask Li Xuan for orders, ready to put on armor and go into battle himself.

He once left his hometown for helping the Han people and killing a Hu man. Fortunately, Li Xuan recalled him and appointed him as the deputy envoy of Lintao Army.

So Che Shen Sai has always hated such things.

"Prepare rockets tonight and attack the city immediately!"

Li Xuan agreed to Che Shensai's request, but did not agree to massacre the city.

The army was mainly composed of Han people, and when they learned about this incident, they were outraged.

Even the Hu soldiers felt that this was a humiliation to them.

The harassment continued twice until night, when Li Xuan shot and killed dozens of Tibetan defenders again.

The aroma of mutton wafted through the military camp. After the soldiers had eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to their tents to rest.

Li Xuan decided to continue the feint attack for the first time at midnight.

The second time was at Yinshi, when the attack was officially launched.

Use the northwest city to contain.

Geshu Han and the God of Chariots were stationed at the southwest gate, equipped with powerful crossbows, iron armor, and jumping weapons.

Place most of the ladder trucks at the southwest gate.

"Whoosh..."

At midnight, stone cannons opened the way.

The Tibetan defenders forced themselves to boost their morale.

However, what they got was the result of another feint attack.

Although Lun Xijia Zang ordered the soldiers to keep a close eye on the situation, some of the Tibetan soldiers were so tired that they fell asleep with their heads covered.

"Whoosh..."

At the hour of Yin, when people were most sleepy, the Tang army's stone cannons sounded again.

Just when the Tubo people were half asleep and didn't take it seriously, the Tang army pushed barrier carts and ladder carts, carried ladders, and quickly rushed towards the northwest gate of the Tubo city.

The crossbowmen and archers followed the main army.

A group of soldiers holding torches appeared and came up to the archers.

When the Tang army archers ran to the city wall fifty steps away, they put arrows on the bowstrings.

This is a specially made arrow with the arrowhead coated with multiple layers of animal fat. Even if the arrow flies at high speed, it is difficult to extinguish.

The archers began to draw their bows, and the soldiers holding torches lit the arrows.

Rockets are different from ordinary archery. The bow cannot be fully drawn. The purpose is not to kill with bows and arrows, but to take advantage of people's fear of fire.

After the rocket is launched, it can continue to burn for a while.

"Whoosh..."

The flames flew onto the city walls and some fell into the city.

Magnificent fireworks bloom in the sky at this time and night.

Fortunately, there was thick snow on top of the wooden houses in the city, otherwise they would have been burned down.

"Oh no, the Tang army is really going to attack the city!"

When the Tibetan soldiers saw the Tang army launching rockets, they knew that this time might be different.

"Woooo..."

They blew the horns loudly to wake up the sleeping soldiers in the city.

But the horn had sounded too many times in the past two days, and many Tibetan soldiers did not come out of their houses because of the horn.

Lun Xijia Zang was concerned about Baigu City, so he woke up first.

After he came out of the room, he saw flames everywhere, and immediately went up to the city wall with his followers.

Sure enough, at the north gate, the Tang army had pushed the ladder truck to the edge of the city wall.

Crossbow arrows were flying everywhere, and Lun Xijia's followers quickly used their shields to block the flying crossbow arrows.

"Warriors, defend Baigu City with your lives, and you will also receive the Pharaoh's Certificate and the Golden Certificate."

Lun Xijiazang shouted while shaking the knife.

The Tang army attacking from the north were Tuyuhun soldiers wearing chain mail, and Li Xuan's promise also worked for them.

Even if they are not the first to reach the city, those who participate in the siege will not be treated unfairly.

No one doubted Li Xuan's credibility, and everyone in the army knew that Li Xuan's words were his bond.

The Tibetan soldiers were demoralized, while the Tuyuhun soldiers bravely climbed the city walls.

Even if they were hit by stones, pierced by crossbows, or struck by spears, they still kept advancing.

The archers stopped firing rockets when they saw that the Tuyuhun soldiers had arrived at the city.

Only the crossbowmen continued to fire at the city walls.

Li Xuan led the Shen Ce Guards and, with the help of the light of fire, continuously harvested the lives of the Tubo defenders, reducing the pressure on the Tuyuhun soldiers.

A captain of a thousand men was even shot to death by Li Xuan.

This made Lun Xijia Zang and the defenders of Baigu City even more afraid to move easily.

In addition, the slaves who were helping to defend the city were not contributing, which caused the Tuyuhun soldiers to frequently jump onto the city walls. Although they did not gain a firm foothold, the Tang army was able to reach the city walls so quickly, indicating that the city was in danger.

While the battle at the northwest gate was in full swing, Geshu Han and the elite Tang troops were climbing the southeast gate under the cover of rockets.

The Tubo people thought that there were no catapults or crossbows here, and it was not the main attack area of ​​the Tang army.

So many slaves were placed here to assist the Tibetan soldiers in defending the city.

The intensity of the Tang army's siege was beyond the imagination of the Tubo.

Within half a quarter of an hour, the Tang army rushed up the city wall.

The god of chariots was wearing iron armor and holding a large shield. He climbed up the ladder in three or two steps, then quickly jumped over the city to support the first climbers.

"Clang!"

He drew out his sword, deflected the thrusting spear, then cut left and right at close range, killing the two men.

Several more spears attacked Che Shensai from behind, but none of them broke through his armor.

Because Li Xuan asked Che Shen to wear double armor, plus inner armor, a total of three layers of armor.

Most people can't even walk like this, but the god of cars is brave and strong enough to walk as if it were flat ground.

He rolled over and grabbed several spears behind him.

Those Tibetan soldiers were unable to withdraw their weapons, so Che Shen killed them one by one with his sword.

The God of Chesai was like a god of war, wielding a sword and a shield, and slashing wherever he went. Within a few steps, no Tibetan soldier dared to come forward.

Those slaves surrendered directly. After all, they were slaves, not even "servants", just like anyone else.

More Tang soldiers took advantage of this opportunity to rush onto the city wall and killed the Tubo defenders on the wall, forcing them to retreat step by step.

"Open the gate!"

The god of chariots held a broadsword and gave orders to the surrendered slaves.

The slaves dared not disobey. They came to the capstan and slowly opened the gate. The Tang army under the city filed in... "Report... The South Gate has been lost..."

Since Baigu City was built along a valley and the north and south walls were blocked, the Tubo soldiers reported the loss to Lunxi Jiazang only after the southwest gate was lost.

"Ah...how can it be so fast?"

Lun Xijia Zang widened his eyes and screamed.

"The Tang army in the south had more crossbowmen and archers. They were very fierce, and those slaves didn't put up any resistance, so they fell directly..."

The soldier who escaped back answered to Lun Xijia Zang.

"If I had known, I would have hanged those slaves on the city wall as well."

The whole cheek is covered with gritting teeth.

"Da Lun, what should we do now?"

When the commander of Baigu City found out, his mind went into a mess.

Perhaps the Tang army is rushing here.

"Fight to the death!"

Lun Xijia Zang let out a loud cry.

"Breakout!"

"Go and bring the horses out of the city quickly to cover Dalun's breakout."

This time, the commander of Baigu City did not listen to Lun Xijia Zang's words, but gave orders to his personal guards.

There are more than a hundred horses in the city, so we can only give it a try.

"No one is allowed to break out. Everyone will die on the city wall."

Lun Xijiazang raised his knife and said, "Since Songtsen Gampo, has there ever been a great monk captured alive by the Tang army?"

"Take the great theory away quickly."

After hearing the words of the commander of Baigu City, Lun Xijia Zang's followers immediately forcibly subdued Lun Xijia Zang and dragged him down from the city wall.

Everyone hopes that Lun Xijia Zang is alive, even if there is only a glimmer of hope.

"Rebellion, I will kill you."

No matter how much you talk and curse, it will be of no use.

"If Dalun lives, I will be willing to die."

This is all the defender of Baigu City can say.

In fact, since Tubo unified the snowy plateau, no prime minister had ever been captured or killed by the Tang army.

Of course, in the 17th year of Kaiyuan, the system of one major theory was changed to one of three major theories. If not for this, the major theory would not have been able to be discussed in detail.

But Dalun is ultimately the prime minister of a country.

Tubo was famous along the Silk Road, and its prime minister had very high status.

Just like when the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty led the army to war, it was normal for him to be defeated. But if he was captured alive or killed, it would be enough to "go down in history".

After Lun Xijia Zang and the defenders of Baigucheng left the city wall, they lost their command. The Tibetan soldiers and slaves saw this and lost all their will.

The Tuyuhun soldiers were able to climb the mountain first and gain a firm foothold.

Some Tubo soldiers died, while others surrendered.

The slaves knelt down and surrendered without even a second thought!

"See who will get this military achievement!"

When Li Xuan saw the city fall, he put down his bow and arrow.

He did not go into the city to rob the Tibetan great theorists of the Tibetan Buddhist canon.

He conquered Jiuqu and achieved heavenly power!
Even if you capture the great theory alive, it is just icing on the cake.

You must always leave some benefits for your generals as opportunities for promotion.

The generals all understood that it was Marshal Li who gave them this opportunity.

Before the war, Li Xuan had already said that the target was Tubo Dalun, regardless of life or death!

To prevent them from breaking out, not only were heavy troops deployed at the two gates, but cavalry also mounted their horses in the dark, holding torches in the snow!

On the other side, the defender of Baigu City and Lun Xijia Zang were already on their way to break out...

They gathered hundreds of infantrymen and prepared for a naive breakout!

Unless they have Li Xuan's bravery, it would be impossible to do it.

Che Shensai led his troops down from the southwest tower and rushed straight into the city.

Even without the sparks, the snow and the moon still illuminate the city, allowing the soldiers to distinguish between friend and foe.

Anyone who refused to surrender was chopped down by the Tang army.

But hundreds of Tibetan infantrymen were seen rushing towards the southwest gate in an organized manner.

Hundreds of Tang soldiers in armored formations fought against them. Under the leadership of Cheshensai, every soldier in the Tang army fought bravely and the enemy was defeated as soon as they charged.

At this moment, about a hundred cavalrymen took the opportunity to run and rush towards the Tang army.

But the war horses in the city had just started and had no impact power at all.

"Form a gun formation and stop them."

The god of cars shouted.

He felt that there were important Tibetan figures among these people, and the Tibetan prime minister mentioned by Li Shuai was very likely among them.

The roads in the city were already narrow, and after the Tang army dispersed the Tibetan infantry, they formed a gun formation in an instant.

Some war horses bumped into the spears and neighed.

Some war horses stopped in front of the gun array.

The Tang army took advantage of the opportunity and stabbed the men on horseback one by one.

"Protect the theory!"

The commander of Baigu City still wanted to let the soldiers protect Lun Xijia Zang.

But his words were of no use. Seeing no way to escape, the Tibetan soldiers surrendered one after another.

Even the deputy general of Baigu City and Lun Xijia Zang's followers were afraid of death and wanted to live in disgrace.

There were only two people on the war horses: the defender of Baigu City and Lun Xijiazang.

"Da Lun, I will die in battle!"

The defender of Baigu City shouted loudly and rode his horse towards Cheshensai who was holding a knife.

When he thrust his spear, Che Shensai grabbed the bottom of the spear blade and pulled him off his horse with a sudden pull.

When the defender of Baigu City was about to stand up, several spears stopped him.

Lun Xijia Zang was unwilling to be humiliated, and followed the general of Baigu City in charging.

He used a knife.

"clang!"

However, he was too old, and the knife slipped out of his hand when he collided with the car god Sai.

"Old man, you come down too!"

Che Shensai took the opportunity to grab Lun Xijia Zang off his horse.

Baigu City, conquer!
In a short period of time, the Tang army successively conquered Shudun City, Wanxiu City, Hongji City, Damomen City, and Baigu City.

When the siege came to an end, it meant that Jiuqu had completely fallen.

The vast area west of Jiuqu and the Bailang Qiang area were all incorporated into the territory of the Tang army.

At daybreak, Li Xuan entered Baigu City, followed by the Shen Ce Guards.

After conquering Baigu City, Li Xuan ordered the soldiers to put down the bodies of the Han slaves on the city wall and instructed Cen Shen and the soldiers to bring them back to Hehuang for burial, which could be regarded as returning to their roots.

"General Li, the interrogation revealed that the guards of Baigu City and the Tibetan generals were all captured alive by General Che!"

A military officer ran over and gave Li Xuan instructions.

"Take me there!"

Li Xuan came to a training ground in Baigu City.

At this time, Lun Xijia Zang was cursing in Tibetan, and Li Xuan couldn't understand.

Now Lun Xijia Zang was tied up like a dumpling, becoming the first prime minister in the history of Tubo to be captured alive by the Tang Dynasty.

When Li Xuan arrived, all the Tang soldiers, including Che Shensai, looked serious and stood straight.

Since the establishment of the Jiedushi in Hexi and Longyou, no one has had a higher prestige than Li Xuan.

The system of clear rewards and punishments, the strict military discipline, the noble character, the supernatural power that surpasses that of an overlord, the love for soldiers like sons, and the kindness towards the people are all filled with unparalleled charm.

Therefore, the 150,000 soldiers in Longyou feared and obeyed him, respected and loved him.

Lun Xijia Zang also realized that something was wrong around him. He saw a group of masked soldiers and young men supporting them slowly walking towards him. He immediately blurted out in Chinese: "You are Li Xuan!"

"It's down!"

Li Xuan arrived in front of Lun Xijia Zang.

"The Tubo Kingdom is prosperous and will never fail. Our great Zamp will eventually defeat the Tang Dynasty!"

Lun Xijia Zang didn't want to lose his composure, so he spoke with a stiff neck.

"Don't think that the Snowy Plateau is a natural barrier for the Han people. Conquering Jiuqu is only the beginning."

Li Xuan sneered.

Because of years of fighting, the Tibetan people complained about Chidai Zhudan and he was eventually killed by his once loyal ministers.

If it weren't for the An-Shi Rebellion, when the elite troops of Helong were withdrawn to quell the rebellion, Tibet would never have been able to annex Helong and occupy Chang'an in history.

In this life, as long as he is there, Tubo will not stand a chance.

"Li Xuan..."

"I just want to ask you one question: who ordered the hanging of those Han people?"

Lun Xijia Zang wanted to say something but was interrupted by Li Xuan, who stared at him with murderous eyes.

"Hehe... This is what I did. It's really refreshing..."

Lun Xizang snorted softly.

"As a great prime minister, is this all you can do? Come on! Drag him to the tower and execute him!"

Li Xuan issued the military order in a deep voice.

The guards immediately stepped forward, grabbed Lun Xijia Zang, and dragged him out of the training ground.

"Li Xuan, you are a famous general who is feared by the world. Do you still want to kill prisoners? Even if you kill prisoners, how can you kill the prime minister of a country?"

The commander of Baigu City questioned Li Xuan here.

"I didn't kill the Tibetan leader because he was captured, but because he killed innocent people of the Tang Dynasty first."

Li Xuan said lightly.

"I gave the order to kill the Han slaves. It has nothing to do with the Great Theory!"

The commander of Baigu City jumped up to defend himself.

"Drag them out and kill them together!"

Li Xuan waved his hand.

Then the commander of Baigu City was also dragged away by his guards.

Li Xuan looked at the other prisoners again, thinking that someone else would jump out.

But when they saw Li Xuan's gaze, they all lowered their heads at the same time.

On the southwest tower.

"Pfft!"

The head of the commander of Baigu City fell to the ground next to Lun Xijia Zang.

Lun Xijia Zang was calm, as he was reminiscing about the time when the alliance was held in Jixiaoma Garden, when many people, such as Ruben, vied to pay them a visit. That was the most glorious time of his life.

When the knife flashed, he suddenly woke up, because he seemed to see the man just now stepping into Jixiaoma Garden and summoning the Tibetan tribes.

"After I die, there will be a Lunqinling in Tubo!"

"Pfft!"

Before his head fell, Lun Xijiazang made a great wish...

(End of this chapter)