The Great Tang General

Bayankala Pass.

The snow-capped mountains standing on the plateau are like the backbone of the earth rising towards the sky, majestic and severe.

Under the vastness, the continuous snow-capped peaks are like a winding silver dragon. The mountain pass road between these mountains, connecting the north and the south, is particularly eye-catching.

Although the weather was clear, the sun in the sky did not provide much warmth, and the wind at the mountain pass whistled like a knife scraping bones.

In the open area at the mountain pass, a fortress stands tall.

This is the Suirong City of the Tang army. After the Tang army occupied the Bayankala Pass, they sent Tibetan captives to build it under the supervision of Han craftsmen.

However, due to the terrain, Suirong City was not very big and could only be considered an ordinary castle. Even the Suirong Army could not be stationed there.

Although the Suirong Army and the Dingrong Army were established at the Bayankala Pass and the Xiangride River respectively, most of the troops of the two armies were stationed in Baihai City.

The Tang army mobilized Tubo, Xiangxiong and other tribes and captured more than 100,000 people. Under the leadership of Gao Shi, they built a large city "Baihai" as the seat of Baihai County.

Construction began when Li Xuan was appointed prime minister and was completed when he was dismissed. The entire city can accommodate 100,000 soldiers and civilians.

Relying on Baihai City, the government developed animal husbandry, agriculture and handicrafts, and planned to build it into an important transit station on the ancient Silk Road to India.

Suirong city.

Duan Xueshi, Nan Jiyun, Qu Huan and other main generals gathered together.

In addition there were Li Sheng, Zhang Wanfu, Dang Jian and some generals from subordinate tribes.

"Reporting to the Governor, the Tibetan army has already taken action and is heading towards Suirong City."

When the generals were discussing military affairs in the hall, scouts came in to report.

"The Chidai Zhudan has been introduced to Tubo and has had a miraculous effect. Although Tubo is determined to attack Baihai in the north, a considerable part of their troops are tied up in the country."

Baihai Governor Nan Jiyun said to the generals.

He admired the King of Qin's clever move very much, and released the insignificant Chidai Zhudan to return to Tubo, thus destroying Mashang Zhongbajie's nearly ten-year rule in one fell swoop.

This meant that Mashang Zhongbajie could only send 100,000 warriors and slaves.

In order to unite its forces, Tubo gathered 100,000 troops and marched from the Qaidam Basin to the Xiangride River to attack Dingrong City.

Because the Bayankala Pass is located on the main Tang-Tibet Ancient Road out of the Snowy Plateau, and was repaired at great expense by the Tang army, it is easy to pass to Dafeichuan, and then to Qinghai and Jiuqu.

The Bayankala Pass is also easier to deploy troops and is closer to Baihai City.

Enlan Dazhalugong's first goal was to capture Baihai City as a logistics supply base.

"Maxiang Zhongbajie wants to improve his status and ease national conflicts through victory in the Northern Expedition. I guess he has already held Chidai Zhudan hostage. As long as we can defeat this 100,000-strong army, Tubo will inevitably fall into civil war."

Qinghai Governor Duan Xueshi said.

No one can resist the temptation of power. Mashang Zhongbajie has been in power for nearly ten years. How could he give up power just because the old king came back?

"It was all thanks to Commander Duan's strategy to show the enemy weakness, so that Tubo took the initiative to launch an attack!"

Nan Jiyun said to Duan Xiushi.

They were worried that Tubo would not dare to take the initiative to attack, so they deliberately "bluffed" and let the Subi and Tongjia people wear their leather armor to lure Tubo.

This made Tubo believe that most of the Tang troops in Baihai had been recalled to Chang'an to quell the rebellion.

They just recruited the Tongjia, Subi and other affiliated Hu tribes to make a show and scare them.

The Tibetans were confident enough in their own fighting power. They only regarded the elite Tang army as their opponent and did not take the Subi, Dangxiang and other tribes seriously.

"It is expected that Tubo will arrive tomorrow. The plan must be carefully arranged without any mistakes. In order not to disappoint the King of Qin."

Duan Xueshi said cautiously, "A journey of a hundred steps begins with the halfway mark. The more critical the moment, the more careful arrangements must be made."

Now they don't know that Li Xuan has been made the crown prince.

Duan Xueshi believed that this was an opportunity for the Tang Dynasty. As long as they defeated the 100,000-strong Tibetan army, they could strategically eliminate the Tibetans once and for all.

The road leading to the snowy plateau was firmly controlled by the Tang army. As long as they were adequately prepared, they could enter the snowy plateau at any time.

"We did not do the work of protecting An Lushan. We should work hard now to win the honor!"

Nan Jiyun spoke to the generals in a serious tone.

"As ordered!"

The generals replied with their blood boiling.

They were all holding their breath as they hadn't fought for a long time.

This great battle with Tubo was the time for their release.

From the moment Tubo failed to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty as scheduled, the war was doomed.

After the Tang army generals discussed the specific plan in Suirong City, they began to deploy their troops.

Outside Suirong City, in the dangerous area of ​​Bayankala Pass, there were two thousand Tongjia and Subi soldiers.

They go out of town during the day and return at night.

As Tubo advanced, the Tang army's space was compressed, so the number of Tang army scouts leaving the city gradually decreased.

Due to the difficulty in expanding intelligence, Tubo still did not find any problems.

As Duan Xiushi had expected, Enlan Dazhalugong was ready to launch an attack on Suirong City immediately upon reaching the Bayankala Pass.

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.

Now that the old king has returned and the internal situation is unstable, Enlan Dazhalugong knows that the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for them.

November 10th.

Leading the way were teams of Tibetan warriors wearing chain mail, and beside each warrior were two Tibetan slaves holding spears.

The Tibetan army flags with various ferocious beasts painted on them fluttered in the wind, and the soldiers' faces were red from the cold.

Behind the infantry is the cavalry.

The Tibetan cavalry was only on the sidelines. In the battle to capture the Bayankala Pass, cavalry were not suitable for running, so infantry warriors could only be the main force.

At noon, the Tubo vanguard was less than three miles away from the Bayankala Pass.

The Tang army was in a commanding position and had already seen the Tubo army.

The Tubo army also probably knew the details of the Tang army.

Before the front army attacked, Enlan Dazhalugong personally arrived at the front army position to boost morale.

"Warriors! The Tang army ahead is a jackal that has been bullying our Tubo for a long time. They have demanded tens of thousands of our cattle and sheep, leaving our families without meat to eat. In the battle nine years ago, our brothers and father were all killed, and some were even enslaved by the Tang army. This is a hatred that we will never forget..."

"Once upon a time, this was our land, and my family grazed here. But now it has been decorated by the Tang army, desecrating the gods and nature. The civil unrest in the Tang Dynasty is a punishment from the gods..."

"Now is the time for us to avenge our humiliation. I hope you will not fear death and fight for the golden treasure. Any man who kills a Tang soldier will be rewarded with fields and livestock..."

Enlan Dazhalugong motivated his soldiers in all aspects, from national hatred and family feuds to rewards for military merit.

There were indeed many Tibetan soldiers who wanted to seek revenge.

They were brainwashed by the Tibetan nobles and did not care about cause and effect, only hatred.

"Revenge... revenge..."

Tens of thousands of Tibetan soldiers shouted in unison, shaking the mountains.

The Tang army not far away heard it clearly.

"set off!"

Enlan Dazhalugong nodded with satisfaction. He gave an order and the vanguard army attacked!

The vanguard general of Tubo was Shangqiemo, who was of the same clan as Mashang Zhongbajie, the Nanang clan.

He led the vanguard warriors, who ran on the snow like wolves and tigers.

The infantry and cavalry in the rear followed closely behind the warriors in the vanguard.

"The Tibetan soldiers are approaching. After pushing the thunderstones and rolling logs, retreat immediately!"

Zhang Wanfu gave instructions to the two thousand Suobei and Tongjia soldiers stationed at the mountain pass.

If these troops were to fight against 10,000 Tibetan soldiers, they would surely be defeated.

The Bayankala Pass was neither the main battlefield of Tubo nor the main battlefield of the Tang army.

Because the Tang army had 40,000 border troops and 60,000 affiliated Hu troops, it was also a 100,000-strong army.

Armor has more advantages!

Even in a head-on clash, the Tubo army is no match for them.

Li Xuan was aware of the importance of Qinghai, Jiuqu, and Longyou to the Tang Dynasty. He only transferred 40,000 troops from the more than 80,000 troops in Longyou to Chang'an.

The remaining 40,000 were all stationed in the Baihai area.

He also used the prestige of General Tian to mobilize 60,000 troops from Tuyuhun, Subi, Bailang Qiang, Dangxiang, Xiqiang and other tribes to strengthen this line of defense.

If it was just a defense, the Tang army's strength would definitely be enough to deter the Tubo army.

However, Duan Xueshi and Nan Jiyun wanted to take advantage of this hard-won opportunity to defeat Tubo's Northern Expedition Army, inflict severe damage on Tubo, intensify its internal conflicts, and create opportunities for the destruction of Tubo.

History has proven that as long as Tubo becomes strong, it will inevitably covet the Western Regions, the Hexi Corridor, and Longyou.

Only by eliminating Tubo can we prevent its harm from happening again.

After nine years of training, the Tang army could also ignore the cold miasma on the snowy plateau.

The Tang army also had lighter and warmer cotton-padded clothes. They also gave the cotton-padded clothes to the Hu tribes fighting for the Tang Dynasty, which not only kept them warm physically, but also warmed their hearts. They were full of fighting spirit and had the momentum to share the same hatred and enemy with the Tang army.

"Follow me to charge and kill the Tang thieves."

Getting closer and closer, Shang Qiemo commanded the warriors to climb the sloping road deliberately designed by the Tang army.

"put!"

When the Tubo army climbed to the middle of the slope, the Tang army put down the prepared thunder stone rolling logs.

"Rumble..."

Huge pieces of thunderstones and rolling logs smashed down.

"Oh!"

On the slippery high slope, Tubo could not stand steadily to begin with, and faced with the overwhelming force of thunder, rocks and rolling logs, he could not help but feel a little scattered.

Some Tibetan soldiers were hit by the thunder and stone rolling logs and rolled down with them.

"Don't panic, climb from the side, this is the only trick the Tang thieves can use."

Shang Qiemo commanded his men, using their spears as staffs, and began to climb in all directions.

With such a spacious mountain pass, it was impossible for the Tang army to stop tens of thousands of Tibetan soldiers.

Moreover, the slope is only fifty meters long, and especially in places with obvious roads, it is less than thirty meters.

The Tang army pushed down thunder stones and rolling logs one after another, stopping the Tibetan soldiers for a while and killing and wounding hundreds of them.

A quarter of an hour later, all the prepared thunderstone rolling logs were rolled.

"retreat!"

Zhang Wanfu ordered his soldiers to run to Suirong City.

Suirong City was built with its back to the mountain and had only three gates.

The Tang army crossed the rugged terrain and entered the city from three gates.

When some Tibetan soldiers rushed up the mountain pass, they pursued the Tang army with spears.

But due to insufficient numbers, they could not stop the Tang army.

“Puff…Puff…”

When they were about to catch up with the Tang army, hundreds of trained javelin soldiers deliberately fell behind, throwing javelins from more than ten steps away.

Most of the fast-running Tibetan soldiers had no armor, and more than thirty of them were killed in an instant, which frightened the other Tibetan soldiers and they dared not chase them anymore.

After all the soldiers entered, the heavy gate was lowered to prevent the Tubo from breaking into the city gate.

Suirong City can accommodate just 2,500 soldiers.

On the wall of Suirong City, there were five hundred Tang army crossbowmen, ready to go.

To prevent the crossbow strings from freezing, there were a lot of charcoal fires on the city walls to keep the soldiers defending the city warm.

"Siege!"

Shang Qiemo arrived at the city of Suirong and ordered an attack without further explanation.

The siege ladders are ready. We can use this small city as an ant to attack it and it will be taken overnight.

"Shhhhhh!"

But before they got fifty steps within Suirong City, powerful crossbows were fired.

One by one, the Tibetan soldiers fell in the snow, and their blood melted the snow.

The Tibetan soldiers were not afraid of death and continued to fight.

They endured the cold and risked their lives to hook the siege ladders onto the parapet. The brave warriors who were determined to be the first to arrive climbed up with all their might, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other.

Suirong City was two meters high. Due to the sufficient guards of the Tang army, the Tibetan soldiers were stabbed by several spears as soon as they showed their heads. They had no way to escape and had to fall down the city.

The Tang army crossbowmen drew their crossbows in front of the fire. Although some crossbow strings broke, most of the powerful crossbows were able to be fired.

As long as we can win this war, we will not hesitate even if all the crossbows are scrapped after the war.

The Tang army's powerful crossbows were far away, and their long spears were close by. They exchanged them with each other and worked together as one, making it impossible for the Tubo army to capture Suirong City in a short time.

Although they were full of enthusiasm, the Tang army, in addition to the 500 crossbowmen, also selected 2,000 Tongjia and Subi people, each of whom was a brave warrior picked from ten miles away. They were promised generous rewards so that they would share the honor and disgrace with the Tang army. Facing the overwhelming Tibetan soldiers below, they did not show any fear.

Zhang Wanfu was in charge of the south, while Prince Suobi and Changqing were in charge of the west and east. The army was roughly divided into two groups.

One group was defending the city wall, and the other group was roasting a fire under the city. There was delicious mutton in the pot on the fire, so the rotating soldiers could replenish their strength at any time.

"Why are these Subi people so powerful?"

Still have doubts.

He was sure that this was a Suobi person, after all, the Cai Bangshang clan of Tubo originated from Suobi.

But these Suobei people were extremely brave, and the Tibetan warriors, even wearing chain mail, had difficulty reaching the parapet.

After only two hours of attack, there was already a mountain of corpses outside the city.

"General, Dalun orders you to capture Suirong City within one day. Dalun will lead the main force to attack Baihai in the west!"

Enlan Dazhalugong sent a messenger to speak to Shangqiemo.

"Go back and report to Dalun, I will definitely capture Suirong City within a day!"

The main force had already climbed up the mountain pass. Seeing that Suirong City was difficult to capture for the time being, Enlan Dazhalugong prepared to launch a surprise attack on Baihai City.

In Enlan Dazhalugong's opinion, Baihai City is the most critical, and we cannot miss the opportunity just because of the fierce resistance of Suirong City.

The Tang army chose to defend Dingrong City, which shows that its troops were not sufficient.

The Tibetans had difficulty transporting food and supplies, so they attached great importance to the resources in Baihai City.

If we ignore Baihai City and directly attack Subi, Tongjia and Dafeichuan, it will undoubtedly plant hidden dangers in our rear.

Under the military order of Enlan Dazhalugong, the main Tubo army entered the mountain pass and began to move westward.

However, the attack lasted until late at night. The soldiers were tired and exhausted, and they failed to capture Suirong City.

He personally supervised the battle and his voice became hoarse, but the Tang army's spears were still sharp.

Seeing the densely packed Tang army on the city walls, Shang Qimo began to lose some confidence.

But Shang Qiemo did not stop attacking. He wanted to use pressure to make the Tang army's fighting will collapse.

When these Suobei people served Tubo, they were not so good at fighting.

"Report... General, there is a cavalry unit charging towards us on the Tang-Tibet Ancient Road. They appear to be reinforcements for the Tang army."

Just when he was still tormented, a messenger came running over in a panic.

The Bayankala Pass is located on the ancient Tang-Tibet Road.

Tubo only thought that there were Tang troops in Baihai City, Suirong City and Dingrong City.

They thought there would be no Tang troops on the Tang-Tibet Ancient Road, so they just sent scouts to investigate.

"What...how many Tang army reinforcements are there?"

Shang Qie Mo was horrified.

Their main force went to attack Baihai City, but at this time, the Tang army reinforcements arrived, which was very unfavorable to them.

Although they still have several thousand soldiers, their morale is not high.

"It's difficult to detect them at night. We only know there are many of them. They are wearing the Tang army's Ming Guang armor. They should be border troops."

The scouts could not penetrate the terrain at all and could only survey the general area.

"Quickly report this news to Dalun!"

Shang Qiemo immediately sent a messenger to report to Enlan Dazhalugong.

Suirong City is some distance away from Baihai City, and the Tubo army cannot reach it in a short time.

He hoped that the army would return in time.

His army can give up attacking Suirong City and withdraw from the Bayankala Pass.

But what he was most worried about was that the Tang army's cavalry would attack the rear of the main force.

When two armies are at war, the most taboo thing is to be attacked from both sides.

"Woooo..."

Shangqiemo ordered the trumpeter to blow the horn. The Tibetan soldiers stopped attacking Suirong City.

He deployed thousands of soldiers and horses in the northwest of Suirong City, blocking the ancient Tang-Tibet Road heading south, buying time for Enlan Dazhalugong to retreat.

As long as Enlan Dazhalugong leads the main force back, they will definitely win.

Until now, Shang Qiemo still believed that the number of Tubo's troops was far greater than that of the Tang Dynasty coalition forces.

But it would not be easy for the Tubo army to stop the Tang army from advancing southward.

Zhang Wanfu immediately mobilized all the soldiers in the city, asked them to put on the stored armor, and ordered the crossbowmen to abandon their crossbows and switch to spears.

The army took a short rest to replenish their strength.

He was waiting for Li Sheng to lead his troops south.

For the Tubo army, they had not slept for a whole day and night, and every moment of waiting was torture.

After the initial setback and the extinguishing of their passion, the soldiers inevitably developed fear in the midst of hunger and cold.

The Tang army appeared even slower than the Tubo army had imagined. At daybreak, Qu Huan and Li Sheng arrived with 5,000 cavalry and 30,000 Tang coalition infantry.

It is obvious that the Tang army did not march quickly in order to conserve their energy.

The Tang army passed the terrain and found six or seven thousand Tibetan soldiers waiting for them in battle array.

The endless Tang army made Shang Qiemo feel depressed.

He finally realized that something was wrong.

"Squeak..."

The thousand-jin gates of Suirong City were opened, and two thousand soldiers of the Tang Dynasty coalition forces poured out from the gates.

Among them were hundreds of men wearing iron armor. They appeared behind the Tubo army and attacked the Tubo army in tacit cooperation with Li Sheng.

Shang Qiemo had not anticipated this outcome, he just hoped that Dalun's reinforcements would arrive as soon as possible.

Little did they know that Enlan Dazhalukon was also in big trouble.

Nan Jiyun led 30,000 Tang Dynasty coalition cavalry, and Duan Xueshi led 30,000 Tang Dynasty coalition infantry, waiting in the open valley.

Especially Nan Jiyun's 30,000 cavalrymen took the initiative to entangle with Enlan Dazhalugong's main force, making it impossible for them to retreat.

When Enlan Dazhalugong heard the message from Shangqiemo, he realized that he had fallen into the Tang army's conspiracy again.

This situation reminded him of nine years ago.

If we flee now, the army will be defeated just like before.

Therefore, Enlan Dazhalugong chose to use his main force to fight the Tang Dynasty head-on, and gave a death order to Shang Qiemo, requiring him to stop the supporting Tang army to prevent him from being attacked from both sides.

However, the cavalry of Enlan Dazhalugong and Nan Jiyun fought for half the night and did not gain any advantage. Moreover, Nan Jiyun was obviously stalling for time and did not fight a decisive battle with Tubo.

Duan Xueshi was good at commanding the army. He led his infantry to approach and formed a battle array to support each other, forcing the Tubo army to take the initiative to attack.

The Tang army used this set of tactics of flexible advance and retreat to perfection, which made Enlan Dazhalugun unable to stop.

When the news that Enlan Dazhalugong had encountered the main force reached the Bayankala Pass, Shangqiemo was already fighting with the Tang army.

It turned out that the Tang army in front of them was not the main force, and their main force had been tied down.

"Dangdang..."

"Puff...Puff..."

The two armies fought, with metal clashing and blood splattering.

At this moment, it was clear that the Tibetan army's northern expedition was in imminent danger.

“Break out of the mountain pass!”

There was no reinforcement, and they had no choice but to issue the order to break out.

He hoped that Enlan Dazhalugong could also break out.

Fight at a disadvantage and break through when outnumbered.

Defeat is inevitable.

These ambitious Tibetan teenagers and young men, who were determined to avenge their previous humiliation, followed in the footsteps of their fathers and brothers.

The Tang army showed their weakness to the enemy and used the terrain to teach them a severe lesson.

When Shangqiemo chose to break out, the Tibetan soldiers who had no combat experience fled in panic, with countless casualties.

Shang Qiemo originally wanted to escape under the cover of his personal guards, but he had already been spotted.

Zhang Wanfu led hundreds of crossbowmen to stop him. After a fierce battle, Zhang Wanfu personally chopped off Shang Qiemo's head.

The main general was dead, and the remaining Tibetan soldiers were disheartened and surrendered one after another.

"Imprison the captives in Dingrong City and leave a thousand soldiers to guard them. The rest of the soldiers will follow me to attack the rear of the Tibetan main force!"

Li Sheng issued the military order without any delay.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Even though Tubo had an army of 100,000, their quality was uneven and there were also many slaves.

On the whole, Tubo's combat effectiveness was far inferior to that in the early years of Tianbao.

Five thousand cavalry and more than thirty thousand infantry marched at a forced march.

Although it was freezing cold, there was fire flickering in the eyes of the Tang soldiers, which showed their desire for military merit.

In their eyes, the Tibetan soldiers had become prey, and whoever did not fight hard would lose the merit.

"The Tang army is damned!"

Enlan Dazhalugong was furious after he failed in another attack on the Tang army's infantry formation.

Mainly, the Tang army cavalry was divided into five teams, one team consisted of 5,000 iron cavalry, one team consisted of 1,000 armored cavalry, and the remaining three teams were light cavalry.

They cooperated with each other, especially the light cavalry, which harassed the Tibetan soldiers and attacked the Tang infantry.

Sometimes Nan Jiyun personally led the cavalry to charge.

When the Tubo were pursuing them, the Tang army used armored cavalry to cut them off in the middle.

The few open valleys became the grave of the Tubo army.

The main force of Tubo also did not rest all night, competing with the Tang army in willpower.

"Report... Report to you, tens of thousands of Tang troops are charging towards our rear."

In the afternoon, scouts brought shocking news to Enlan Dazhalugong.

"How could the Tang army leave 100,000 troops in Baihai?"

Enlan Dazhalugong had a painful look on his face, as if he had returned to the Battle of Dayuechuan.

"It is difficult to attack from the front, so we should retreat and break through to preserve our strength."

The Minister of State anxiously advised Enlan Dazalu.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that they have no choice but to retreat now, otherwise they risk being wiped out.

Even though they knew there would be heavy casualties during the retreat.

"Leave two groups of soldiers to guard the rear, and the rest will turn back to attack the Tang army in the rear."

Enlan Dazhalugong had no choice but to give the order.

He dared not imagine the consequences of failure. Having torn his relationship with the Tang Dynasty, there was no room for easing.

Even if the situation is eased, how much tribute, cattle, sheep and horses should be paid?

How should the old and young Zamps in the country deal with it?

"Woooo..."

At the sound of the trumpet, 20,000 Tibetan soldiers stayed behind.

Nan Jiyun saw through Tubo's intention and ordered the armored cavalry to attack together with the iron cavalry.

Divide the cavalry into two teams and attack from the flanks.

The rest of the light cavalry pursued Tubo, not giving it a chance to catch its breath.

The infantry under Duan Xueshi cooperated with the cavalry to attack.

The Tang army seemed to be a divine army sent from heaven. In the biting cold wind of the snowy valley, they rushed towards the Tubo infantry formation like a raging tide.

The defense line carefully constructed by Tubo was able to resist at first, but as a flaw appeared, the armored cavalry rushed in and it collapsed in an instant.

Soon after, the main force of Tubo confronted the troops led by Li Sheng and Qu Huan.

After the Tang army scouts learned of Tubo's intentions, the army stopped its forced march, straightened up their formation, and ate beef jerky to restore their strength.

Enlan Dazhalugong ordered the army to attack without hesitation.

It seems that the main force is cavalry, destroying the Tang cavalry. Open the road!

Li Sheng led the cavalry to fight and retreat, while Qu Huan led the infantry to block the enemy according to the terrain.

More than 30,000 infantrymen were deployed in dozens of square formations.

The Tibetan cavalry charged several times, but were stopped by the infantry. Li Sheng was very good at finding opportunities. He was an excellent archer on horseback and shot the Tibetan general who was chasing him to death.

A large number of Tibetan cavalry pursued, and Li Sheng leaned against the cavalry formation.

At dusk, Duan Xiushi and Nan Jiyun led their troops to completely encircle Tubo...

(End of this chapter)