Chapter 234 Tubo is waiting for snow, the ballad of Chang'an

"Zanpu, take this opportunity to call back the more than 70,000 cavalrymen from the subordinate tribes on the Dafei River."

The young king of Tuyuhun suggested to Chidai Zhudan.

There are his troops.

Now the loss of Qinghai by Tubo is a foregone conclusion. Even if it is left homeless, it must first protect its own troops.

"Report to the Zanpu, this is inappropriate! The Tang army has withdrawn its cavalry to prevent our army from withdrawing from Dafei Mountain. With its fences and fortifications, Dafei Mountain is impregnable. If we withdraw from Dafei Mountain, even though it is only a dozen miles away from us, a charge by the Tang army's armored cavalry will be enough to defeat the subordinate troops."

Mojie Sangdongzebu reported to Chidai Zhudan.

He was worried that the Tang army would take advantage of this to continue expanding the battle and not give Tubo any chance.

"Zanpu, we should take this opportunity to withdraw from Dafeichuan. Use the soldiers in Dafeiling to attract the attention of the Tang cavalry again. We must make decisive moves now!"

The Tibetan Minister of State Affairs, Nanangzhong Bajie, said to Chidai Zhudan.

He was the elder brother of the Tubo Queen Nanang Mangmojie Xiden and a tribute minister of Tubo. He was deeply trusted by Chidai Zhudan. The Nanang clan was headed by him and had a great influence in Tubo.

At the same time, he was also the captain of the Tianma Imperial Guards of the Tubo Luoshui.

If they don't retreat now, they will suffer even greater losses if they want to retreat later. Nanangzhong Bajie believes that they must act decisively at this time.

Mojie Sangdongzebu did not refute, and it was indeed the right thing to do at the moment.

Although the Zhangzhung King, Tongjia King and other kings looked unhappy, they had to let their tribesmen become baits for the sake of their own lives.

For a moment, all the ministers and kings, including Chidai Zhudan, turned their eyes to Moluqiongsang Woermang.

At this time, he was already sitting at the table, his mind was extremely depressed.

He was already in poor health and had caught a cold that he hadn't recovered from.

A white-haired old man who caught a cold stood on a viewing platform several meters high for a whole day. The weather was extremely cold and the north wind was blowing.

It would be strange if it didn't fall down!

Moluqiongsang Woermang replaced Xinuolu Gonglu as the Grand Councilor of Tubo in the year of the Earth Dragon.

Soon after that, in the years of the Earth Dragon, Earth Snake, Gold Horse, Gold Ox, Water Monkey, Water Rooster, Wood Pig, Water Goat, and Wood Monkey, he took over the throne and summoned meetings for the king. During his nearly twenty years as prime minister, he was extremely powerful.

He formulated many military, political, and civilian laws, and his prestige in Tubo was unmatched, not even the previous Xinolo Gonglu could compare to him.

This year is the 42nd year of Chidai Zhudan's reign and the end of the Fire Dog Year in Tubo.

He felt that he would never see the spring of the Year of the Fire Pig.

Meiluqiongsang Woermang could no longer speak, but he kept listening quietly to the ministers' conversation.

Seeing the ministers and the Zamp coming together, he stretched out his trembling hand and pointed to the sky!

For a moment, Chidai Zhudan and the ministers were puzzled.

"Snow……"

Meiluqiongsangwoermang used all his strength to utter this word.

At this moment, Chidai Zhudan and the ministers suddenly realized.

The Tang army's deployment was obviously intended to prevent them from escaping. If they retreated, they would definitely suffer a blow.

There has only been a little snow this winter, but no heavy snow yet.

The weather is gloomy and heavy snow will come sooner or later.

When the heavy snow comes and the snow accumulates to a certain thickness, it will be time for them to withdraw.

The Tubo people grew up on the snowy plateau. Although heavy snow affected their progress, they were familiar with the route and held alliances and traveled on ancient roads many times in the snow.

In this way, the Tang army, with its troops coming from Shuofang, may not dare to advance deep into the enemy's territory. Even if they pursue them in depth, the Tibetan soldiers are more resistant to the bitter cold and there is a chance for them to turn defeat into victory.

Listening to the people shouting and horses neighing outside, Chidai Zhudan's heart was bleeding. He agreed with Meiluqiongsang Woermang's suggestion.

He ordered people to carry Moluqiongsang Woermang into the big tent, and gave him warm soup and medicine to recuperate.

……

Outside Dafeichuan, the 30,000 Tibetan cavalrymen who were surrounded by the Tang army tried again and again to break through the Tang army's blockade, but each time a large number of horses were forced to stop and were besieged and annihilated by the Modao army and heavy armored infantry.

Tens of thousands of powerful crossbows were divided into five square formations, two miles away from the Tubo Dafeichuan camp.

It was not only to defend against the Tibetan infantry coming to support, but also to prevent any fish from breaking through.

With tens of thousands of powerful crossbows, even if a hundred cavalrymen managed to break through, they would be easily shot and killed.

The Tang army obviously overestimated the courage of the Tubo king and his generals.

They watched their own cavalry being surrounded from miles away, doing nothing.

The infantry in the Tang army camp also held spears and lances to block the Tibetan cavalry's attempt to break out to the north.

Because if we break through from the north and bypass Qinghai, there might be a glimmer of hope.

This part of the Tibetan cavalry was relatively strong and never surrendered to the Tang army.

Even Li Xuan personally led his guards and kept charging into the battle.

Because of the long battle, Geshu Han's spear was broken, but he did not change weapons. He still charged bravely into the Tibetan cavalry with the half-broken spear in his hand, which amazed the soldiers.

Geshu Han turned over a new leaf at the age of forty and joined the army with his servant Zuoche.

Although he had some reputation in the previous Battle of Yuhai, he was still not very influential in the army.

It was thanks to Li Xuan's recommendation and trust that Geshu Han became known to Helong.

And after today's battle, Geshu Han's reputation will be further enhanced.

Almost all the other powerful generals of the Tang army gathered here and charged with their personal guards.

They were able to turn their horses around calmly in the increasingly smaller encirclement, while the Tibetan cavalry could only run into the long spears of the Tang infantry.

The main force was so close, but there was no support, which made these elite Tibetan warriors feel disheartened.

Failing to break through the defense for more than a dozen times in a row dealt a heavy blow to the Tibetan knights both physically and psychologically.

By dark, the remaining 20,000 riders could no longer run.

The infantry in front and behind surrounded them like an iron barrel.

Under the command of Li Xuan, the Tang cavalry also withdrew from the battlefield in batches.

More than 100,000 infantrymen surrounded the Tibetan cavalry.

The Tang army did not surround the enemy randomly, but formed an orderly manner, forming more than 200 infantry phalanxes, one layer after another, like the Bagua, and the crossbowmen returned to all directions.

The Tang army's cavalry were on the left, right and rear of the infantry formation.

At this moment, even if Chidai Zhudan wanted to rescue his subordinates, he was powerless to do anything.

Under the cover of the infantry, the Tang army's powerful crossbows fired at the Tibetan cavalry who were like targets.

"Boom boom boom..."

Along with the sound of crossbows being released, men and horses continued to fall down, and screams were heard everywhere.

As long as Tubo does not surrender, the Tang army will continue to shoot.

Unable to bear it any longer, the Tibetan cavalry and infantry dismounted and tried to escape.

Soon they were stabbed back by the Tang army infantry.

At this time, the Tang army had more than 200,000 infantry and cavalry, and the Tibetan infantry were doomed to fail in their attempt to escape.

After another hour, some of the Tibetan warriors who had lost their minds threw away their weapons, dismounted, knelt and surrendered.

The other Tibetan warriors seemed to be infected and laid down their weapons in large numbers.

There are no more holdouts.

Only the sounds of drums and horns coming from Dafei River are intriguing.

"All generals, listen up. After clearing the battlefield, move the camp to about five miles away from the Tubo camp. The Bailang Qiang tribe, Taoyang Tuyuhun tribe, and Hexi Hu tribe will surround the Tubo soldiers stationed on Dafei Mountain."

Li Xuan issued military orders on the battlefield. At this time, he felt that victory was certain and Tubo would no longer have a chance of turning the tables.

Because of the card of Su Bi Meilingzan, Li Xuan has not moved.

Wang Nande, Nan Jiyun and Duan Xueshi have already been deep in the heart of Tubo for six or seven days, and it seems that Chidai Zhudan has not received the news yet.

Surrounded by mountains, there are only these two ancient roads to enter Lhasa. Even the Tubo people themselves did not dare to take those unknown roads.

Although the Tang army suffered casualties in this battle, their morale was higher than before, and the shadow of the surprise attack on the Ningkou army was swept away.

Li Xuan personally killed the fierce Tubo general Shang Duore'er to avenge the Ningkou army envoy Dugu Dan.

In the hearts of the Helong soldiers, Li Shuai is a belief and a benchmark, an omnipotent hero. As long as Li Shuai is there, there is no battle that cannot be won.

They just need to fight for military merit and medals with their lives.

Those soldiers who followed Li Xuan to fight were even more overwhelmed when they saw Li Xuan beheading the general and pulling out the flag.

Especially Pei Ying, after the baptism of iron and blood, he also recognized himself.

Li Shuai killed the Tibetan general, who was very difficult to deal with, with just one strike, without any delay.

On the battlefield, the Shen Ce Guards only needed to guard Li Xuan's two wings. Any enemy who confronted Li Xuan head-on could only be a match for Li Xuan.

The various Hu tribes in Hexi, the Tuyuhun soldiers in Taoyang, and the Bailang Qiang tribe worshipped Li Xuan as a god.

Li Xuan is not only a god of war, but also selfless and clear about rewards and punishments.

The seeds of awe took root in their hearts, and were passed down from one generation to the next. Even if one day Li Xuan offended the world, they would not dare to lead their troops to confront him.

"General Li, the Tibetans didn't take the opportunity to escape. They will definitely be defeated."

It was thought that Tubo would take this opportunity to withdraw its troops, but Tubo still stayed in the camp in a defensive posture.

The Tang army had a sentry post on the nearby mountain, and the Tubo camp was in full view.

As long as there is any change in the Tubo camp, a signal will be sent out immediately.

Because the Tibetans had too many troops, it was difficult to conceal them from the Tang army even at night. "The Tibetans only needed to cut off two arms, but they fantasized about cutting off only one arm. It was precisely for this reason that they would lose their entire heads. Therefore, between gain and loss, people must be decisive!"

Li Xuan said slowly.

In any case, it is a fact that Tubo’s military strength is decreasing.

"I guess that the Tibetans wanted to use the wind and snow to block our army before the heavy wind and snow arrived. But they did not expect that after some time, General Wang and General Nan would overcome the difficulties and reach Dafeichuan."

Cen Shen bowed to Li Xuan and told him his guess.

The other officials all nodded, thinking that Cen Shen was right.

The Tubo people were born in the snowy plateau, and this is the only reason why they have not retreated until now.

"It is estimated that General Tianwang and General Nan will be able to reach Wuhai City in ten days. Tubo does not have much time. If there is a heavy snowstorm during this period, it will be a blessing from heaven."

Li Xuan looked up at the night sky.

It was another night without stars or moon, but thousands of bonfires brought warmth to the soldiers.

Li Xuan had to admit that Tubo was better at dealing with plateau wind and snow.

The Tibetans grew up in high altitude areas and were born to be tough warriors.

The snowy plateau of this era was warmer and more humid than before, making it more suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry.

But the snowy plateau is still the snowy plateau, and the wind and snow will never stop falling just because the weather gets warmer.

The Tubo people were familiar with the mountains and roads, so it was not easy for the Tang army to pursue them.

The next day, morning.

"Reporting to General Li, in yesterday's battle, our army killed more than 33,000 enemy infantry and cavalry, and captured more than 17,300 of them. The Tibetan cavalry, fully equipped, were almost completely wiped out."

"We obtained more than 30,000 intact Tibetan war horses. We also obtained tens of thousands of armors, weapons, and bows and arrows..."

After Gao Shi counted the gains, he reported to Li Xuan.

Then he sadly reported to Li Xuan: "3,700 of my border troops were killed and 3,100 were injured. 3,200 of the Bailang Qiang, Taoyang Tuyuhun, and Hexi Hu cavalry were killed and more than 2,000 were injured, most of whom were Bailang Qiang casualties."

In a frontal charge, even if Li Xuan killed eighteen fierce generals in a row and won the victory with a crushing force, there would still be heavy casualties. When the Tibetan cavalry finally broke through, they did so at the risk of their lives.

But as a battle that laid the foundation for victory, Li Xuan accepted it with great reluctance.

Even his personal guards, who were wearing inner and outer armor, had more than thirty killed and more than twenty wounded.

"Gather the bodies of the soldiers and register their names and hometowns. Have the logistics team transport them back to Hehuang for burial, and Judge Liu will preside over the funeral. The soldiers and horses of the Bailang Qiang, Hexi Huqi, and Taoyang Tuyuhun should also be taken to Hehuang for burial."

"Military achievements must be carefully counted and approved! No omissions or false reports are allowed. Violators will be subject to military law."

"The military merit of capturing prisoners is shared by the whole army, and everyone has a share!"

Li Xuan gave instructions to Gao Shi in a low voice.

In the chaos of war, it is difficult to count military achievements.

Except for the Tibetan soldiers who were shot to death.

A soldier knew how many people he had killed.

Most of the cavalrymen who participated in the battle were responsible for pursuit and interception, but they did not achieve any success. Some of them lost their horses and failed to knock the enemy off their horses.

Of course, for powerful generals like Geshu Han, Zhang Xing, and Li Feiyuanli, the number of people they killed may not be remembered.

Li Xuan only knew that he had hacked to death eighteen fierce generals of Tubo, but as for the other centurions, big five hundred, and small minions who were beaten to death, he could not remember clearly.

But as long as the number of enemies killed by the soldiers does not exceed the total number of enemies killed, it is considered correct.

If it exceeds, a detailed check is necessary.

Because the soldiers who died in battle also killed the enemies.

The reason why the credit for capturing prisoners was shared by the entire army was because Li Xuan felt that in order to stop Tubo, every soldier was essential, including the infantrymen of the various armies who did not participate much in the battle.

"As you command! Your subordinates will conduct a thorough investigation!"

Gao Shi accepted the order.

"Send the infantry to escort the prisoners to the Redwater City camp for safekeeping!"

Li Xuan didn't want these Tibetan captives to get in the way, so he prepared to move them away.

Together with the captives from Fuqi City, there are more than 20,000 people in total, who will contribute to the construction of Jiuqu in Qinghai in the future.

There were already many Tibetan people in Jiuqu, engaged in farming, animal husbandry, iron smelting, and craftsmanship.

Li Xuan did not think that the "warriors" had a strong sense of nation. They had not been educated and were a nation made up of many tribes. The righteousness of the country and family was not as important as a full meal.

"Cut off the heads of the eighteen most valiant generals of Tubo and send them to the Tubo garrison in Dafeiling. They are not united and can be used!"

Li Xuan asked Li Feiyuanli to do this.

"As ordered!"

Li Feiyuanli accepted the order.

In the following period, the Tang army had horse meat to eat every day.

Although horse meat was not as tender as mutton or as delicious as beef, it was supplied in almost unlimited quantities and the Tang army enjoyed the meal very much.

In this battle, tens of thousands of war horses died on both sides. In the cold winter, the Tang army no longer had to worry about food problems.

Li Xuan ordered people to prioritize processing the horses' internal organs.

Although it doesn't taste good, Li Xuan knows that it is good for soldiers to eat more animal offal.

……

When the Tang army's camp moved to five miles away from the Tubo camp, the Tubo people were already in an uproar.

The news that Li Xuan successively killed 18 fierce generals including Shang Duore'er, Chenbale, and Nangcuo fermented overnight and spread to the ears of every soldier.

It would have been fine if they had all died in the chaos, but they were all killed by Li Xuan alone.

Li Xuan had always been a nightmare to the Tibetans. After this battle, from slaves to warriors, all of them believed that Li Xuan was a god from heaven and difficult to defeat.

As a result, the entire army was in panic.

Chidai Zhudan and the nobles saw it all and remained silent.

As they ordered their subordinates to be on high alert, they would occasionally look up at the sky...

At Dafeiling Mountain, there were stationed infantrymen from the Tuyuhun, Tongjia, Dangxiang, and Zhangzhung tribes of Tibet, as well as five thousand Tibetan warriors and ten thousand Tibetan slaves.

They knew about yesterday's battle and the disastrous defeat, but they didn't know what happened to the eighteen warriors who were made into gods.

Now they knew, eighteen heads were neatly placed in front of them.

These are the eighteen most courageous people in Tubo.

That Shang Duore was a fierce general who was known to be able to fight against the famous Tang Dynasty general Wang Zhongsi.

The Tibetan captives who carried the heads of these brave generals up the mountain also told them that the Tang army had captured nearly 20,000 warriors, and these brave generals were all killed by the Tang Marshal Li Xuan himself.

The subordinate tribes of Tubo were constantly attacked, their morale dropped to the lowest point, and pessimism spread all over the hills.

The ordinary soldiers of the Tuyuhun tribe had already started to have evil thoughts. They had not forgotten the exploitation they had suffered from the joint efforts of the nobles and Tubo.

Jiuqu Tuyuhun surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and was said to be living a very comfortable life.

They also want to follow suit...

……

Changan.

"The general entered Chang'an without a crown and armor..."

"Xuan Yu becomes a great artifact, and ascends to the Yellow Heaven for sacrifice..."

The battles in Qinghai and Dafeichuan were in full swing, and songs were constantly heard in the streets of Chang'an city.

It's a very common colloquialism, but it can make the common people in Chang'an think of one person.

General Li, the hero of the Tang Dynasty!
And the implication behind it is extremely sinister.

Some people use the fact that Li Xuan commanded an army of 300,000 at a young age as their starting point.

It implies that Li Xuan will lead his troops into Chang'an and launch a rebellion in the future.

Some use Li Xuan's name as the entry point.

Because "Xuan" is a jade wall for offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, and the emperor offers sacrifices to heaven and earth.

It was as if there was a pair of big hands pushing the cause. In a short time, the ballad about Li Xuan spread throughout Chang'an and became known to every household.

In this situation, Gao Lishi knew that someone was trying to frame Li Xuan.

Therefore, no news was allowed to reach Xingqing Palace.

As long as the palace servants and guards don't talk about it, Li Longji won't know.

Gao Lishi was a very sober minister. He had been concerned about many disasters for a long time, but he did not dare to tell the truth because he was afraid that Li Longji would be angry.

The decisive battle with Tubo must be at a critical moment. It is already November and rumors are spreading.

Gao Lishi couldn't let the saint doubt Li Xuan.

……

In mid-November, the Right Guard Cao Liuji sued his father-in-law Du Youlin for "falsely claiming to be a prophecy, conspiring with the East Palace, and criticizing the emperor."

As Du Youlin's son-in-law, Liu Ji's words were naturally taken seriously, and people thought that Liu Ji was sacrificing his own relatives for the sake of justice.

Du Youlin's other daughter was made a concubine by Li Heng.

Therefore, the charges of falsely claiming it was a prophecy and framing the Eastern Palace were completely established.

(End of this chapter)