The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 422 You Don’t Understand Tang People
On the banks of the Gandis River, Rulaijie laughed and said, "My Tibetan children are braver than the Tang army!"

Wang Xuance looked at the teams of troops rushing out and was somewhat disapproving of his words. This old man was a very optimistic person, but also someone who had to be guarded against.

There are still capable people in Tubo, and he is one of them.

At this moment, he was sitting on horseback, holding the reins in one hand, and there were more than 5,000 soldiers behind him who had not rushed out, waiting for the general's order.

As the vanguard of the front army, Jiang Shiren was as brave as ever. It was said that during the Eastern Expedition, he fought with Liu Renyuan and others and made considerable military achievements.

"General Wang."

Amid the shouting and killing, Wang Xuance heard the old man's voice again. He looked back and saw that he was already behind him. He asked, "What's wrong?"

When Rulaijie saw the enemy's elephant army in chaos, he felt confident and said, "General Wang's troops are borrowed, the labor is collected from India, and the food and grass are also obtained locally. The Tang army did not pay much in this battle. Even if we cannot win this battle, we have all seen General Wang's wisdom."

Wang Xuance was still watching the battle situation as the troops marched across the river. He was indeed right. Compared with the Western Expedition to Tianshan or the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo, the cost of this war was indeed very small, so small that only two thousand troops were used, and they were the accompanying team of envoys.

As he said, the rest was borrowed.

Wang Xuance smiled and said, "After this battle, the Tibetan brothers will also be rewarded."

Rulaijie smiled and stroked his beard.

The old man laughed again. Every time he laughed, there was a bad intention, either it was a trap or a conspiracy.

Fortunately, Songtsen Gampo is not in Tubo now. If Songtsen Gampo had such a capable minister under his command, it would definitely be a very difficult matter.

While feeling thankful, Wang Xuance still looked calm.

Rulaijie added: "In this battle, there are 80,000 enemy troops. Even if we defeat their elephants, it will not end well. After all, there are 80,000 people. We can't kill them all."

Wang Xuance nodded and said, "Killing people is of course very laborious, especially when you have to chop a person down and kill him. Besides, they won't stand in a row for us to kill like we cut rice."

"It's because the general feels that this is too tiring and wants them to surrender."

Wang Xuance asked, "Didn't they surrender?"

"Yes." Rulaijie wanted to ask the general what should be done then. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but when he saw the other party's indifferent and calm expression, he frowned and remained silent.

Jiang Shiren rode his horse and led the vanguard into the chaotic Indian army formation, stabbing one man on the spot with his horse lance.

The warhorse under him did not stop. He put away the weapon in his hand, picked up the lance and threw it forward, piercing another person. He rode past, and while the opponent was still there, he pulled out the lance and rushed forward again.

The mad cattle had already run several miles away and had long since scattered, and some Indians were still trying to pull back the war elephants.

But the war elephants that had lost their order could no longer be ordered around.

The war elephant roared and trampled another Indian to death.

This situation was shocking. The war elephants were so frightened that they could not distinguish between friend and foe. Li Yibiao shouted, "Stay away from the war elephants."

"Yes!" The Tang army soldiers behind him shouted in response.

On the battlefield, dust obscured everyone's vision for a time. After charging into the enemy camp for half an hour, Jiang Shiren's body was covered with a layer of dirt. The yellowish-brown dirt was mixed with blood, making him look like a bloody native with a fierce look in his eyes.

On this battlefield, there were Tang people wearing armor and wielding Mo Dao and Ma Lance, moving quickly through the chaotic battlefield.

The Tibetans were dressed in animal skins and leathers, holding longbows and short swords.

There were also Indians wearing thin linen clothes and running barefoot, holding wooden shields and swords in their hands, and falling behind the Tang and Tubo armies.

The Tibetans on the other side were shouting loudly in Tibetan. They were surrounded by three war elephants and were in a dilemma.

"Damn it!" Upon seeing the situation, Li Yibiao put away his bow and arrow, and rode with a small team to rescue the Tibetans who were trapped by the war elephants.

Li Yibiao leaned down on horseback with his hand on the hilt of his sword. The war horse quickly rushed to the side of the war elephant. He pulled out the sword in his hand and stabbed it into the elephant's lower abdomen.

As the war elephant screamed, Li Yibiao slashed the giant beast's lower abdomen with the sword in his hand, and the spurting hot blood splashed all over his body.

The horizontal sword cut a gash of nearly half a meter.

When Li Yibiao rushed out again, he was still dripping with blood.

The war elephant fell down with a loud bang, raising a cloud of dust again.

The Tibetans who were originally surrounded by war elephants stood there in amazement. When the dust settled, they saw a Tang army general, standing alone, covered in blood, with a sword in hand.

Behind him were the Tang troops still rushing to his rescue.

Someone in the Tubo army saw the fallen war elephant and cheered.

The rest of the crowd cheered loudly.

Li Yibiao was filled with murderous intent and shouted, "Kill him!"

"kill!"

The Tubo army also shouted along.

Although there are only 10,000 of them, their fighting spirit at this moment is stronger than that of the 80,000 retreating Indian troops.

On the open plain battlefield, 10,000 soldiers led by the Tang army were chasing the 80,000-strong Indian army.

Jiang Shiren chased the fleeing Indians and killed them for more than ten miles.

The Indians continued to flee until the sun was high in the sky. When the wind blew, it blew away the dust here, and a battle that lasted for three hours ended.

Alonashun retreated more than thirty places, and most of the fleeing Indians fled to the Indian city of Kusumu.

The sun was still shining brightly in India in September, and sweat and blood were mixed together.

Jiang Shiren was about to turn his horse and leave when he saw an Indian man kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. He raised his lance and stabbed the Indian man in the heart.

Then he took the remaining soldiers back to the other side of the river.

As dusk fell, the retreating Alona Shun once again confronted the Tang army.

Wang Xuance ordered his men to clean up the battlefield. In this battle, more than 30,000 enemies were killed, more than 100 war elephants were seized, countless weapons and armor, more than 2,000 war horses, and more than 6,000 prisoners were captured.

Jiang Shiren looked at the war horses brought by the soldiers and shook his head, saying, "Their horses are not as good as the Tianshan horses."

Li Yibiao said, "It's a horse after all."

Jiang Shiren shouted to the Indians, "You guys, get all the captives to clean up the battlefield. All the bodies must be burned!"

Upon hearing this, several Indians knelt down, performed great obeisance, and hurried to do their work.

In this battle, the Indian elephant herd was defeated, and as one side gained strength while the other lost, the Tang army became more powerful.

Rulaijie came with several Tibetan soldiers. He saluted respectfully and said, "Thank you, General, for saving the Tibetan children on the battlefield."

Li Yibiao wiped his sword and saw that there were more and more gaps on it. He whispered, "Use more wisdom in the next battle. Your Majesty and Songtsen Gampo have a friendship between Tang and Tibet, so it is only right to help."

Several Tibetan soldiers who seemed to be the leaders spoke a few words in Tibetan. After Rulaijie understood, he bowed respectfully again and said, "Next time, they are willing to lead the charge for the Tang army. The Tang army is a good brother that they are willing to entrust their families to."

In fact, upon hearing about the friendship between the Tang and Tubo, several Tubo generals also saluted respectfully toward the east. Li Yibiao smiled heartily, put his sword back into the scabbard, and said, "Have a good rest. The battle is not over yet, and it will be even harder later."

Rulaijie saluted again.

The Tang army’s war in India will definitely become a story here. After all, not many people have seen the scene of ten thousand people chasing eighty thousand people in this lifetime.

The princess ordered people to spread the deeds of the Tang army and inform more Indians, so that the subjects scattered across India would come together to attack Alona Shun.

At night, Wang Xuance discussed the next preparations with the Tibetan elder Rulaijie, "Do you fight in the same way as the Sai people?"

Rulaijie shook his head and said, "The Tibetan children are all herdsmen. The Sai people don't use knives in war. They use guns, hammers and axes. Their nobles use daggers."

The old man was making milk tea while talking.

Wang Xuance hesitated and asked, "You guys use knives?"

Rulaijie didn't like rice. He scooped out a spoonful of milk tea and ate tsampa while drinking it. He said, "The Sai people like to recruit the poorest people and don't give them horses, so they rush forward. They are not as loving as us Tibetans. They are the coldest-blooded people."

"Moreover, our Tibetan children are good at throwing stones. When they are grazing, they use stones to drive away wild animals. A child herding cattle can use stones to drive away a pack of wolves."

Wang Xuance nodded with an understanding look.

"General, Alonashun has sent a messenger."

The two stopped talking, and Wang Xuance suddenly smiled and said, "Please invite the envoy here."

"Here!"

The messenger was a skinny old monk. He walked barefoot into Luocheng, entered the tower where the general lived, and bowed to pay his respects.

The princess asked a question in Indian.

The old Indian monk looked back and saw that there were monks outside carrying boxes. When they opened the boxes, they saw boxes of gold and silver.

The old monk said, "I am Xuanzang's friend."

Hearing him speak in the unfamiliar Guanzhong dialect, Wang Xuance strode forward and took out a cup made of elephant ivory from the box. The cup was elongated, curved at the bottom, and had some carvings on the top.

The old monk bowed respectfully and repeated, "I am Xuanzang's friend. I come from Nalanda Monastery."

Wang Xuance put down the cup in his hand and said, "I heard that Xuanzang was not so happy when he came to India."

The old monk's eye sockets were sunken, and he whispered, "At that time, Xuanzang and I had a debate."

"Debate? Do you think there is something wrong with Xuanzang?"

"Well, that's what we thought, and then Xuanzang left."

Wang Xuance looked a little unhappy, and asked, "Why did Alonashun ask you to deliver these treasures?"

"I hope the general will reconcile with Alonashun and from now on use the Gandis River as the boundary and not offend each other."

The princess stroked her pregnant belly, her eyes fixed on Wang Xuance's back. Of course, if Wang Xuance agreed to this condition, she would have no choice. In the future...

But when I got to this point, I heard him speak.

Wang Xuance said in a deep voice: "I was an envoy of the Tang Dynasty before, and I came to see the King of India. Who would have thought that you would treat the envoy like this? This is no longer a grudge between me and Aranashon, but a grudge between the Tang Dynasty and him."

The old monk added: "The Indians are suffering a lot. I hope the general will have mercy on them."

Wang Xuance asked back, "It was Alonashun who brought suffering to the Indians. Now you want me to stop fighting and end their suffering? This suffering was originally caused by you, yet you are telling me to save it? Do you have the nerve to say you want to free the Indians from suffering?"

Three rhetorical questions echoed in the house.

Rulaijie smiled and said nothing.

The old monk also fell silent.

Wang Xuance said: "It seems that you don't understand Xuanzang, and you don't understand the Tang people either."

The old monk whispered, "What are the conditions, General?"

Wang Xuance smiled and said, "Conditions? Let Alonashun follow me to Chang'an and let him dance in the palace of Tian Khan."

Hearing this, the old monk let out a long sigh and said, "I will tell Alona Shun."

"I won't give it away."

The old monk bowed again and looked back at the princess, but the look in her response was full of hostility. She was the daughter of the King of India and the legitimate daughter of India, unlike a usurper like Alona Shun.

The old monk left, but the Tang army still seized his treasures.

When there was no one else in the room, the princess bowed and said, "From now on, I will make all the Indian subjects speak the language of the Tang people."

Wang Xuance saw tears in her eyes and replied, "Now that we are out, we won't go back so easily."

She was very afraid that her husband would reconcile with Alonashun.

But at this moment, her tears were of joy. Some revenge must be taken, and Alonashun was unforgivable.

Now she has a new understanding of Tangren. Tangren will always avenge his enemies and repay his kindness, and he will always keep his word.

A few days later, the scattered war elephants were brought back. To the Indians, war elephants were very valuable assets.

For an Indian noble, owning even a war elephant was a great achievement.

They recovered three hundred war elephants, but the rest were still missing. The princess's subjects had the skills to drive and tame the war elephants.

So the Tang army set out again. This time, the Indians rode war elephants in the front, and the Tang army rode on horseback behind them, heading towards Qunu City.

The army marched northward and arrived at the city of Qunu.

Wang Xuance rode on his horse and said to Rulaijie beside him: "I came to Tianzhu with full sincerity, and my sincerity remains."

Rulaijie sighed: "The general's sincerity caused countless casualties in Tianzhu. It took five days and five nights to burn the bodies by the Gandis River."

"Hahaha!" Li Yibiao laughed, "Do you know what the sincerity of the Tang people is like?"

Rulaijie asked with a smile: "What kind?"

Li Yibiao explained: "Once we show our sincerity, there is no possibility of taking it back."

This time, Wang Xuance decisively rejected Alonashun's request and was determined to destroy him.

The Tang people had become an entity that could not be provoked. When they encountered idle Indian troops along the way, they saw that it was the Tang army coming and fled in panic.

A Tibetan man came back from exploring the way and said a few words to Rulaijie.

Wang Xuance could vaguely understand some Tibetan language, but he could only understand short sentences.

Rulaijie said: "That A Luo Na Shun is hiding in the city and doesn't want to come out."

(End of this chapter)