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Chapter 1259 Taking Down Luntai
After understanding Lin Hao's extraordinary abilities, and with Lin Hao's guidance, Guo Xin finally accepted Lin Hao's somewhat unbelievable proposal.

A few days later, with everything ready, Lin Hao led five thousand white-haired veterans carefully selected from the Kucha army, along with more than two thousand new recruits from Chang'an, to take an oath and set off.

Guo Xin personally escorted them to the city gate, looking at this peculiar team, mainly composed of elderly veterans and supplemented by new recruits, with a complex expression on his face.

Finally, he patted Lin Hao on the shoulder heavily and gave him some advice:
"Be careful in everything you do. Luntai is a small city, so don't underestimate the enemy! These veterans and children are our precious strength, so don't lose too many of them!"

"Rest assured, Grand Protector, we will surely return victorious from Luntai." Lin Hao nodded solemnly.

Lin Hao then led his army directly north to join the three thousand elite troops from Xizhou.

Of these three thousand men, besides the original one thousand from Xizhou, who were veterans who had survived countless battles, there were also two thousand new recruits that Lin Hao brought back from Chang'an.

At this time, although Xizhou still only had more than two thousand troops, one thousand of them were new recruits, so their combat effectiveness not only did not decrease, but greatly increased.

The veterans brought this time are all seasoned veterans, extremely familiar with the terrain of Beiting. Their addition not only strengthens the forces but also brings crucial geographical intelligence.

After the two forces joined together, the total strength reached nearly 10,000 soldiers. Among the veterans of Kucha and Xizhou, they selected an old soldier familiar with the Protector-General of Beiting to lead them towards Luntai in the northwest.

The journey from Xizhou to Luntai was much easier than crossing the snow line, traversing canyons, and fording glaciers, and the ancient road they chose was relatively easy to travel. However, for most of the young people from Chang'an who came from the Guanzhong Plain, it was an unprecedented experience.

Especially on this arduous journey, the old and new generations of Tang soldiers have demonstrated an amazing fusion and inheritance.

The white-haired veterans used their decades of experience surviving in the Western Regions to teach the new recruits how to orient themselves, find water, withstand the cold, and even how to hide and camp in the snow.

They recounted their past battles with the Tibetans and other tribes in a calm tone, yet their stories were filled with lessons learned through blood and the wisdom of combat.

The young soldiers from Chang'an were initially filled with novelty and excitement, but their initial excitement was quickly replaced by exhaustion. However, under the guidance and encouragement of the veterans, they gritted their teeth, supported each other, and persevered silently.

In the ranks, you can often see young soldiers vying to help veterans carry their equipment, while the veterans, without even realizing it, will give the last bite of their rations to the young men to replenish their strength.

Lin Hao saw all this and felt somewhat gratified. This was exactly the effect he wanted: to make the war and the arduous journey the best adhesive, forging two generations into a true army.

After more than ten days of arduous trekking, the army finally arrived at the northern foot of the mountain. The scene before them suddenly opened up. Although it was still desolate, compared to the extreme drought of the southern foot of the mountain, the water and grass here were slightly more abundant. The rolling hills in the distance and the snow-capped peaks of the Tianshan Mountains in the distance could be vaguely seen.

This area used to be under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Protectorate, so the veteran from Xizhou pointed northeast:

“Governor, if we march east for another three days, we will reach Luntai City. This area is already within the range of Tibetan cavalry, so we must be extra careful.”

Lin Hao nodded and ordered the entire army to enter a state of wartime readiness, sending out more scouts to conduct thorough reconnaissance across a ten-mile radius. The troops slowed their advance and became even more concealed.

On the evening of the third day, the scouts sent towards Luntai brought back accurate information: Luntai City was only thirty miles ahead. The city walls were low, and the garrison was estimated to be no more than two thousand, mostly auxiliary troops. They were lax in their defenses and seemed to have no idea that Tang troops would come out from the Tianshan Mountains in the southwest!
"Good!" A cold glint flashed in Lin Hao's eyes, and he then gave the order to the exhausted army:

"All troops, listen to my command! Take cover and rest in the valley ahead, eat your fill and sleep soundly! At dawn tomorrow, we will attack the city!"

Upon receiving the order, two thousand soldiers silently poured into the designated hidden valley.

After Lin Hao's training and the help of veteran soldiers, the entire barracks was quiet and peaceful, with only a suppressed excitement and pre-battle tension permeating the air.

The soldiers silently inspected their swords, bows, and crossbows, ate their cold rations, and then, clutching their weapons and leaning against rocks or their comrades, tried to fall asleep and conserve their energy.

The low-lying silhouette of Luntai City seemed to be faintly visible in the twilight in the distance.

Lin Hao climbed a high slope, took one last look in the direction of Luntai City, and then turned back to look at the army resting quietly in the valley.

With 10,000 against 2,000, and with this being a surprise attack, the odds of victory are extremely high. Even disregarding the group of white-haired veterans, just the new recruits Lin Hao brought from Chang'an alone could easily take this place.

But the key to this battle is not victory or defeat, but how to take over the future governor's residence at the lowest possible cost.

And with this victory, the military spirit of this team, a blend of veterans and newcomers, will be completely ignited!
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As dawn approached, the wind on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains carried a biting chill, but it could not dispel the ever-burning fighting spirit in the hearts of the soldiers, while the Tang army was already at the city gates.

"Commander, watch us take this city for you!" An old captain with white hair and beard and scarred face stepped forward from the crowd, his voice as loud as a bell, carrying a pride that even the wind and sand could not erase.

Despite having fought alone for over twenty years, these white-haired soldiers still possessed the pride of the Tang Dynasty and were full of confidence in the face of the sturdy walls of Luntai City.

Behind him, thousands of equally white-haired veterans stepped forward in unison, their tattered armor creaking against each other, their cloudy eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.

They were once forgotten, and fought alone for more than 20 years, but the backbone of the Tang soldiers never bent!
Facing the not-so-high city walls of Luntai, they had confidence born from countless trials of blood and fire.

"That's right! Governor! Let those Tibetan bastards see how sharp the swords of our Tingzhou veterans still are!"

"We've defended Kucha for over twenty years, why should we be afraid of this little Luntai?"

"Please give the order, Commander! This humble general is willing to be the vanguard!" At this moment, the veterans were filled with fervor, and their voices clamoring for battle were endless.

These veterans, the youngest of whom are over sixty, and many of whom are even eighty or ninety years old (耄 refers to eighty or ninety years old, 耋 refers to seventy or eighty years old).

They should have been enjoying their retirement in their hometowns, surrounded by their grandchildren, but now they are forced to shed their last drop of blood for the Tang Dynasty in this remote and desolate land.

Looking at these weathered faces, etched with loyalty and vicissitudes, Lin Hao suppressed the bitterness in his heart, took a deep breath, and said:

“I know the bravery and loyalty of you old generals, but as I have been ordered by the Emperor to serve as the Grand Commander of the Western Regions, it is my duty to take this city. How can I stand idly by and watch you seniors risk your lives to charge forward?”

His gaze swept across the entire area, and he suddenly drew his sword from his waist, shouting sternly at the soldiers from Chang'an:

"In this battle, I will personally lead the vanguard! You all follow closely behind! Let the Tibetan defenders in the city see where the banners of our Great Tang stand! The Great Tang has won a complete victory! Attack!"

Before he finished speaking, Lin Hao's figure shot towards the city wall like an arrow! The speed of his warhorse and the agility of his movements left a faint afterimage behind him!

This was the darkest hour before dawn, and also the time when the defending troops were most exhausted and complacent.

The Tibetan sentries on the city wall, holding their spears, dozed off against the crenellations. They never dreamed that the Tang army, which had been compressed into the two isolated cities of Kucha and Xizhou and seemed to be barely surviving, would suddenly emerge from the depths of the Tianshan Mountains and besiege this city located on the edge of their territory!
When the city guards were awakened by the urgent alarm gongs and footsteps, Lin Hao leaped off his horse and scaled the several-zhang-high city wall! Before he could even stand firmly, a flash of sword light appeared!
With his superhuman leaps, indestructible body, immense strength, and ability to recover health, Lin Hao unleashed his full power on the city wall.

Of course, to restore the youth of more elderly soldiers, Lin Hao mainly focused on wounding them without killing them, rather than killing them indiscriminately. He targeted the officers to prevent them from continuing to command operations. "Enemy attack!" A Tibetan officer's cry was abruptly cut short as a flash of cold light sliced ​​open his throat!

As for the soldiers, Lin Hao would simply step forward and strike them with his sword, then move on to the next one; most of them were wounded but not killed.

Lin Hao moved like a tiger among sheep, his figure twisting and turning in the narrow space on the city wall. The horizontal blade in his hand transformed into streaks of deadly cold light. With each slash, a Tibetan soldier would fall to the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

Screams, the clash of weapons, and the thud of heavy objects falling to the ground erupted all at once from the city wall!
The Tang soldiers, both veterans and new recruits, who followed behind looked up at the god-like figure on the city wall and almost forgot to breathe!
"Commander, Commander, your martial arts are truly superb! I'm afraid even the legendary General Li is far inferior to you!" an old soldier murmured to himself, his face full of shock.

Li Siye, the Tang Dynasty war god who was seven feet tall, had a waist of eight feet, possessed immense strength, and whose Mo Dao could shatter men and horses in its wake, was the epitome of martial prowess in the hearts of all veterans of Anxi.

Some veterans who knew Guo Yuanzheng, looking at his youthful face, whispered among themselves with great curiosity:

"Although Grand Commander Lin was strong in the past, he was never this powerful. Could it be that he had a miraculous encounter upon returning to Chang'an? Did he meet a celestial being?"

"Shh, you'll know after this battle is over!" Guo Yuanzheng neither confirmed nor denied, only giving a vague answer.

This was actually something Lin Hao had instructed him to do beforehand. Not only him, but also the three hundred soldiers who accompanied Lin Hao on his return to Chang'an had received the message that Lin Hao had asked them to pass on, which was a way of giving these veterans a heads-up.

Under Lin Hao's terrifyingly efficient clearing, the resistance on the city wall quickly collapsed, and some even jumped into the city and opened the city gates.

"Great Tang! Victory!"

"Fight in!"

With the city gates wide open, the Tang army stormed into Luntai City with almost no effort!
At this moment, the Tang army, which had been accumulating strength for a long time, roared and surged into the city like a flood bursting its banks!

The ensuing battle was almost a foregone conclusion. The Tibetan garrison in the city was small in number and consisted mostly of weak auxiliary troops. Furthermore, their commander was killed by Lin Hao in the first instance, leaving them without effective command. They were quickly divided, surrounded, and annihilated one by one.

The sporadic resistance lasted for less than an hour before it was completely quelled.

A year later, the flag of the Tang Dynasty was finally raised once again in Luntai City, a strategic point at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains!

In 790, taking advantage of the decline of the Tang Dynasty and the severing of the connection between the Beiting Protectorate and the imperial court, the Tibetan Empire launched a major attack on the Tang Dynasty's strongholds in the Western Regions.

Luntai Shouzhuo City, as one of the important defense lines of the Beiting Protectorate, was captured by the Tibetan army during this period.

After the battle ended, Lin Hao immediately threw himself into the arduous post-battle cleanup work: taking stock of the battle losses, comforting the Hu people who had not escaped from the city, sealing the treasury, tallying the spoils, patrolling the city defenses, and arranging sentries.

Fortunately, he didn't need to do everything himself. After arranging the work, he went to the prisoner-of-war camp and absorbed the lives of the dying prisoners of war.

I was busy from dawn until the sun began to set, and only then could I catch my breath. The affairs in the city were basically sorted out.

Just as he was about to lead the group of white-haired veterans in a grand display of power, a young officer from Chang'an walked in with a solemn expression and hurried steps.

"Commander, the men have found some people in the city." The young officer's eyes were red-rimmed and his lips were tightly pressed together, as if he was suppressing immense emotions.

"Some people?" Lin Hao was a little confused. He pressed on, "Who are they? Is there anything difficult about it?"

"Governor, you should go and see for yourself!" The officer opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything, though his eyes were already red and filled with tears.

Lin Hao followed him out, and after wandering around the city, they came to a dirty and narrow alleyway where they met the group of people the boy had mentioned.

The young officer led Lin Hao through a messy street, walking further and further into the remote area, until they finally arrived at a filthy alleyway in the west of the city that reeked of a foul stench.

The place was piled with garbage, and the low, dilapidated mud houses resembled a beehive, many of which were only half a person's height and required one to bend over to enter.

Deep in the alley, in a slightly more open space, a large group of people stood in the dark.

Lin Hao's breath caught in his throat after just one glance. In fact, he had seen this scene before in Puchang City (Shanshan County), where he had recruited hundreds of soldiers!

Just like in Puchang City, these surviving soldiers and civilians of the Tang Dynasty could no longer be called "people" at this time; they were more like a group of skeletons that had crawled out of hell!
The group of people were all dressed in tattered Tibetan clothes, their faces weathered and their bodies emaciated from long hours of toil and hardship.

But when they saw Lin Hao, especially in his Tang army-style armor and the bright "Tang" banner behind him, their eyes lit up instantly, their chests straightened involuntarily, and they stood up straight as much as possible.

"General! Have the troops of our Great Tang returned?" An elderly man who looked like the leader stepped forward and asked in somewhat broken Chinese.

Seeing this scene and hearing their voices, Lin Hao had already guessed where these people came from.

These people before us are not prisoners of war or civilians! They are the soldiers and civilians of the Great Tang Dynasty who have been captured and killed in various battles over the years! They are the loyal souls of those who died in the fallen military towns and garrisoned cities, never surrendering!
"Indeed! I am the Grand Commander of the Western Regions, personally appointed by His Majesty!" Lin Hao solemnly saluted.
"You have all suffered. Now that the Tibetans have been driven out, you can once again be proud citizens of the Tang Dynasty!"

Luntai Garrison: Located near present-day Urumqi, it was one of the important garrisons under the Beiting Protectorate and also an important transportation hub on the Suyab Road.

Shabo Shouzhuo: Located sixty li west of Xiyan City in Tingzhou.

Fengluo Shouzhuo: Located west of Shabo Shouzhuo.

Yele City Guard: Located eighty li west of Fengluo Guard.

Juliu City Guard: Located eighty li west of Yele City Guard.

Zhangbao City Garrison: Located 150 li west of Luntai County.

Wuzai Shouzhuo: Located west of Zhangbao City Shouzhuo, it can be reached by crossing the Liyidejian River, which is seventy li away.

Yehe Shouzhuo: Located west of Wuzai Shouzhuo, it can be reached after crossing the Baiyang River, about 70 li away.

Blackwater Garrison: Located west of Yehe Garrison, it can be reached after crossing the Blackwater River, about 70 li away.

Donglin Garrison: Located seventy li west of Heishui Garrison.

Xilin Garrison: Located seventy li west of Donglin Garrison.