Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 723 Blazing Flames Burn the Gate, Suffocating to Death (Second Update)

The Tibetans on the city wall didn't pay much attention at first.

After all, it was just a fireball filled with poisonous smoke. As soon as the fireball landed and the smoke dissipated, people immediately used water to extinguish it.

However, the next moment, more and more poisonous smoke and fireballs landed on the city wall, and the city wall was covered in thick smoke for a time.

Just then, a new fireball fell directly from the sky. However, at the moment of impact, the fireball suddenly exploded, and black oil splashed all over the city wall. The next moment, the flames ignited the black oil.

A Tibetan soldier stepped forward and tried to extinguish the flames with water, but the moment the water was poured on, the flames instantly flared up.

He pounced on the Tibetan soldier's face, and instantly, the soldier couldn't help but howl loudly.

Just then, a general came up behind him and pushed him off the city wall.

The wailing stopped immediately.

A cold smile appeared on the face of the Tibetan general. Just as he looked at the flames to the side, a fireball suddenly slammed into him from above, and the black oil and flames immediately burst into flames on his body.

He immediately couldn't help but shout for help to the others, but at that moment, he was met with cold spears.

Countless fireballs landed on the city wall the instant thick smoke filled the entire wall, and then burst into flames.

These days, catapults have been constantly hurling stones at the city walls. Su Dingfang's real purpose was to use them to quickly determine direction and distance.

At this moment, after the first round of black oil was thrown up, the city walls were burning so fiercely that even the Tibetans themselves could not climb up.

But at that moment, a new fireball was thrown up, but this time, it was hurled hard against the wall.

Especially the location of those five crossbow bolts.

Flames quickly spread across the city walls, and eventually even the ironwood crossbow bolts began to burn.

"That's enough!" Li Wu turned to look at Su Dingfang.

"Not enough." Su Dingfang shook his head slightly and looked ahead, saying, "It will take at least another hour. I need to use up a third of the black oil you brought here. Isn't that only right?"

"Whatever you want." Li Wu shook his head indifferently, then looked towards the city wall.

The next moment, more fireballs were thrown directly onto the city wall, and the flames on the city wall began to burn even more intensely.

At first, the Tibetans tried to put out the fire with water, but the more black oil they poured on, the bigger the flames became.

After a third of the black oil was used up, Su Dingfang threw a large amount of wooden stakes, firewood, and even more things onto the city wall, fearing that the flames would not burn intensely enough.

The Tibetans were completely stunned by what they saw; they had no idea what the Tang people were planning to do.

Because of the immense flames, the Tibetans found it difficult to defend the city, but similarly, the Tang forces also found it difficult to attack. Even after the flames were extinguished, the extreme heat was unbearable for most people, making their offensive hesitant and easier to kill.

However, for some unknown reason, as the flames burned, those who were nearby immediately felt a tightness in their chest and a dizziness.

However, there were still people pushing forward from behind.

Before they knew it, the person had collapsed.

He stopped breathing.

……

The flames were raging, and Su Dingfang stood on the arrow tower, staring intently at them.

His expression gradually improved only after all the prepared tinder had been thrown out.

"How is it?" Su Dingfang turned to look at Li Wu.

Li Wu took a deep look at the city wall, then said to Su Dingfang, "The flames have already burned inside; there's a problem with the interior of the city wall."

"Will the impact definitely cause the city wall to collapse?" Su Dingfang asked immediately.

"It's fine in Chang'an, it's fine in Lanzhou, it's fine in Xichangzhou, it's fine in Supi." Li Wu nodded slightly indifferently.

"If things go wrong, whose responsibility do you think it would be?" Su Dingfang asked calmly.

"Do you still care about these things?" Li Wu glared at Su Dingfang, as if if things really went well, the military merit would fall on them.

"Haha!" Su Dingfang turned to the side and said, "Send the order to prepare to attack the city in half an hour."

"Wait a minute." Li Wu called out to Su Dingfang and said directly, "His Majesty said that you should wait an hour before attacking the city."

“An hour is too long.” Su Dingfang shook his head slightly and said, “Let’s start the operation in half an hour. It will take at least half an hour to push the battering ram to the city gate.”

Su Dingfang took the middle value between half an hour and one hour.

"Be careful." Li Wu looked at Su Dingfang seriously and said, "I always feel that there is a huge difference between here and before, in Supi, Xichangzhou, Lanzhou, and Chang'an, but I can't quite put my finger on what the difference is."

"Understood." Su Dingfang turned around and said, "Pass down the order: begin the siege in half an hour, but be careful and stop immediately if anything seems amiss."

"Yes, sir!" The messenger immediately turned and left.

Li Wu stood beside Su Dingfang without saying much, his gaze returning to the city wall.

So, what exactly is the difference?

……

With a loud "boom," the massive battering ram slammed into the city wall, instantly creating a thin crack.

The Tang soldiers behind them looked on in disbelief. Was the city wall about to collapse?
The Tibetans put a lot of effort into building this pass.

To defend themselves, they even completely blocked the city gates, so why is the city wall suddenly about to collapse?

With a loud "boom," the battering ram not far away struck again, and the people on this side immediately pushed the battering ram hard.

The impacts slammed hard against the city wall, but then, an eerie silence fell over the area above the wall.

With a loud crash, a section of the city wall suddenly collapsed from the middle.

The Tang soldiers around them immediately retreated instinctively, but as soon as they stopped, they saw the Tibetans behind the city wall looking on in disbelief and astonishment.

"Kill!" Without needing to say more, the soldiers around immediately drew their long swords and fiercely pounced on the Tibetans opposite them.

Seeing the fierce fighting already underway below the city walls, Su Dingfang drew his long sword and roared at his 30,000 soldiers, "All-out attack! Kill!"

"Kill!" A thunderous battle cry rang out instantly, and then countless black-armored cavalry and infantrymen charged madly toward the city wall.

Su Dingfang composed himself and turned to look at Li Wu beside him.

Li Wu's expression was somewhat strange. He looked at Su Dingfang in a low voice and said, "Something is not right. Although the flames have been burning for a while, none of the Tibetan soldiers on the city wall have rushed up... Tell the soldiers not to use ladders and not to go up the city wall."

Su Dingfang's heart sank as he looked at Li Wu's urgent warning: "Fine!"

With a loud crash, another section of the city wall collapsed.

"Alright, now we don't need to do it anymore." Su Dingfang smiled easily.

……

The densely packed Tang soldiers surged into Heishan Pass like a black tide.

Then crossbows cleared the way.

Every Tang Dynasty soldier carried two crossbows, ready to fire at the enemy in rapid succession.

Especially in the confined environment of the city, the crossbows of the Tang Dynasty were used to their fullest potential.

The sudden collapse of the city wall caught all the Tibetan soldiers in the city off guard; they were not even prepared for the Tang army to storm in from outside the city.

Heishan Pass was divided into three sections, and the first section was completely lost in a very short time.

After breaking through the second line, Li Dejian, who was in charge of commanding the front, immediately ordered his soldiers to slow their pace and mobilized more crossbows to the front. The Tibetan soldiers who were charging towards them were coldly and cruelly pulled the triggers.

Originally, the Tibetans had deployed more than 30,000 soldiers inside and outside the pass to defend Heishan Pass. Upon hearing that the Tang army had entered Guanzhong, the Tibetan soldiers in the rear rushed forward like madmen, trying to recapture the entire pass.

But this played right into Li Dejian's hands. Countless crossbow bolts flew up, reaping the lives of the Tibetans in the most effective way.

Within just a quarter of an hour, the second city gate was filled with corpses.

Blood flowed all over the ground.

Just as the Tibetans realized something was wrong and tried to retreat, the archers began to move towards the center, and a large number of cavalry charged up from behind them, flanking the retreating Tibetan cavalry.

They actually intended to leave all these Tibetan cavalrymen here.

Countless black-armored cavalrymen charged in from the rear, heading straight for the outside of Black Mountain Pass.

Xue Wanbei, Pei Xingjian, Fang Renyu, and others all charged in, and the second courtyard of Heishan Pass was quickly occupied by the Tang Dynasty.

The Tibetans, suffering heavy losses, instinctively retreated, but this retreat directly caused the entire army to falter.

Under the onslaught of crossbow bolts and cavalry, the entire army, in its retreat, couldn't help but trample each other, completely unaware that a portion of the black-armored cavalry had already broken through the Black Mountain Pass.

At this point, for the Tang army, all that remained was simple slaughter.

……

Once the entire battle had completely subsided, Su Dingfang led Di Renjie, Yin Yuan, and the others slowly to the checkpoint.

He glanced around briefly and realized that Li Wu had appeared on the city wall at some point.

Su Dingfang ignored Li Wu and slowly entered Heishan Pass.

Throughout the entire checkpoint, Tang soldiers were everywhere, carrying corpses.

Fang Renyu stood in the city and bowed to Su Dingfang, saying, "General!"

"Where are they?" Su Dingfang raised his head slightly.

Fang Renyu said with a wry smile, "General Xue, Commander Li, and General Pei have already marched towards Yunshan Pass, haven't they? It seems they intend to take advantage of the situation and capture Yunshan Pass." Su Dingfang turned to Di Renjie and asked, "Huaiying, do you think they can successfully capture Yunshan Pass?"

Di Renjie pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It will be difficult. Yunshan Pass is the highest pass among the three passes of the Tanggula Mountains. The Tibetans have already amassed troops there, but they are still stationed at Heishan Pass. Therefore, it will probably be in vain for the newly appointed general to go there this time."

Su Dingfang smiled and nodded, then looked at Fang Renyu and said, "Send someone to give the order: let the cavalry run free, but as for the infantry, withdraw them all."

Fang Renyu suddenly realized, and then cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"

If Xue Wanbei, Pei Xingjian, and Li Dejian were able to take Yunshan Pass with their cavalry, Su Dingfang would not mind sending reinforcements. However, the Tibetans would probably not give them any chance, because Yunshan Pass was the real weapon the Tibetans used to stop the Tang Dynasty.

……

In the darkness of night, in the west wing storeroom.

The ground was covered with corpses, all with the same pale and hideous faces.

Su Dingfang walked past, his hand on his long sword, glanced at them, then looked at Li Wu and asked, "Is there something wrong with these people?"

"Yes!" Li Wu nodded, holding his sword, and said, "They had no wounds on their bodies, yet they were dead."

Su Dingfang stood beside Li Wu and glanced outside the warehouse. It was now completely surrounded by a dense array of Thousand Bull Guards.

"Tell me, what happened?" Su Dingfang raised his head slightly. He had a feeling that something important was going on.

“These people all died on the edge of the city wall and on the steps leading down from it. No one killed them, but they all fell to the ground and died one by one.” Li Wu turned to the side and said, “It was because their deaths were so strange and inexplicable that later on, no one dared to go to the city wall. This is why when we attacked the city later, no one on the city wall stopped us.”

“Because they are all dead.” Su Dingfang nodded slowly.

“I checked it myself. They weren’t burned to death, nor were they suffocated.” After a slight pause, Li Wu said, “They suffocated.”

"Suffocated on the city wall?" Su Dingfang looked up in surprise.

"Hmm!" Li Wu nodded and said, "I asked the soldiers who were the first to push the sledgehammers to the city wall. They said that when they got to the bottom of the city wall, their legs suddenly felt weak for no reason. It was only because there was no reaction on the city wall that they recovered."

"Say what you want to say directly." Su Dingfang's expression turned serious.

Li Wu chuckled softly and said, "Generally speaking, you can only suffocate someone by covering their mouth with a blanket or something, but you can suffocate someone in such an open space."

"It's Qi!" Su Dingfang suddenly looked up at Li Wu and said, "Not only are medical practitioners researching high-altitude miasma, but Taoist practitioners are also studying it. In the Taoist view, the reason why high-altitude miasma occurs is because the Qi is thin on the plateau, making it difficult for the human body to adapt, which causes various inconveniences. But today..."

"How was your day?"

"Today's fire has burned away the already thin Qi of Black Stone Pass." Su Dingfang's eyes showed a trace of lingering fear. He then shook his head and said, "Fortunately, the flow of Qi in the world has allowed Black Stone Pass to recover its Qi quickly. Otherwise, we fear that many of our soldiers would have died as a result."

"So what?" Li Wu's expression calmed down.

“This can be used!” Su Dingfang turned to look in the direction of Yunshan Pass and said with narrowed eyes, “Next, I will use a great fire to burn away all the Qi of Yunshan Pass, and then take Yunshan Pass easily without losing a single soldier.”

Yunshan Pass is the highest and most heavily guarded of the three passes in the Tanggula Mountains.

However, the Qi energy there is also the thinnest.

With just a raging fire, all the vital energy in the entire pass could be burned away instantly, thus suffocating everyone in the pass.

……

Su Dingfang suddenly turned around, looked at Li Wu, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Li Wu felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Su Dingfang took a deep breath, then looked at Li Wu and said, "Brother Li Wu, there's a question that's only between you and me, is that alright?"

Li Wu calmed down and nodded, saying, "Is that alright?"

"Did you know about this Qi mechanism beforehand?" Su Dingfang asked seriously.

"What did you say?" Li Wu was a little confused for a moment.

"I want to ask, did you know in advance that this flame could burn Qi and then use it to kill people?" Su Dingfang looked at Li Wu with a solemn expression.

Li Wu was taken aback and subconsciously said, "How should I know?"

Halfway through his sentence, Li Wu suddenly stopped and looked at Su Dingfang with a look of surprise and suspicion.

Su Dingfang wasn't asking him; he was asking the emperor.

He was asking if the emperor knew that flames could burn away vital energy and cause people to suffocate.
He was even asking whether the emperor knew that the method of using black oil to burn the Qi mechanism could be used to attack the Tibetans' Yunshan Pass.
Otherwise, why would the emperor have specifically warned him to be careful of the flames?

Li Wu's expression was solemn. He gently closed his eyes, then opened them and looked at Su Dingfang, saying, "These words today only apply to you and me."

“Okay!” Su Dingfang nodded seriously.

Li Wu thought for a moment and said, "I was in charge of all the transportation of the black oil. I handled the purchase of black oil from the palace treasury, the West Market of Chang'an, and even the Western Regions. Before the test at Daming Palace that day, no one in the court had touched the black oil."

After a slight pause, Li Wu said, "Because unlike wax oil, tung oil, and black oil, the fumes from burning are poisonous, so they are rarely used, no..."

"What's wrong?" Su Dingfang asked subconsciously.

“Not only is black oil poisonous, but corpse oil is poisonous too.” Li Wu suddenly laughed and looked at Su Dingfang, saying, “You’re overthinking it, Brother Dingfang. You’ve got it wrong. I told you to be careful because of poisonous gas, not anything else. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“You’re right!” Su Dingfang nodded slowly.

Li Wu turned around, looked at the corpse on the ground, and said softly, "Actually, if possible, we, as his subjects, still hope that His Majesty can know everything under heaven, but... Over the years, His Majesty has done his best. Although he has not yet surpassed the late emperor, he is not far off."

"Isn't the only difference to destroy Tibet?" Su Dingfang smiled and nodded vigorously, completely abandoning his previous thoughts.

Li Wu nodded and said, "We have a general idea of ​​how to conquer Yunshan Pass. Is there anything else I need to do?"

"Send a large amount of flammable materials to the army." After a slight pause, Su Dingfang squinted and said, "Next, we will use up all the black oil, and then take Yunshan Pass in one go. Then, without stopping, the whole army will march to Baishan Pass and open up the three passes of the Tanggula Mountains in one fell swoop."

"Okay!" Li Wu nodded seriously.

"As for you, brother," Su Dingfang smiled and cupped his hands, "I'll trouble you to lead your men to guard this pass. The Tibetan shadow army might launch a surprise attack at any time and take it back in one fell swoop."

This time, Su Dingfang and his men captured Heishan Pass too quickly, so the Tibetan shadow army hidden in the snow-capped mountains was unable to react in time.

But with Heishan Pass already breached, when Su Dingfang marches towards Yunshan Pass, the most important pass in the entire Tanggula Mountains, the Tibetan shadow army will surely mobilize.

That was when they were in the most danger.

Because at that time, their battle lines were stretched thin.

……

After a long while, Su Dingfang walked out of the warehouse alone.

He swung the long, black-sheathed sword at his waist with a slight sway, his expression solemn.

Dozens of guards immediately gathered behind him and followed him out of the courtyard.

There are also dozens of guards protecting the courtyard.

Just as Su Dingfang reached the central courtyard, dozens of riders suddenly roared in from afar and finally stopped in front of the lanterns at the courtyard gate.

Su Dingfang raised his head slightly. Among the crowd, the leaders were Li Dejian, Xue Wanbei, and Pei Xingjian.

Further away, outside the south gate, an even bigger commotion soon followed.

Tens of thousands of cavalrymen roared back from Yunshan Pass.

In the darkness of night, any movement is especially noticeable.

Li Dejian, Xue Wanbei, and Pei Xingjian quickly dismounted, their faces solemn, and approached Su Dingfang, bowing in unison as they said, "General."

Su Dingfang lifted his gaze from the three men, then looked towards the south city gate, towards the direction of Baishan Pass, and then chuckled softly: "Well, three generals, have you taken Yunshan Pass?"

Li Dejian, Xue Wanbei, and Pei Xingjian immediately turned pale and bowed, saying, "General, this humble general is guilty."

"What crime have you committed? I tacitly approved of your charge forward. It's just that I'm a little disappointed that you failed to take Yunshan Pass. Although I know that your mission was mostly in vain, I still let you go!"

Su Dingfang turned to his personal guard and said, "Send someone to reheat the cold food and deliver it to the soldiers. Also, make arrangements for night watch and guard duty."

"Yes, sir!" A guard immediately cupped his hands in greeting, then turned and left to relay the order.

"Thank you, Commander!" Li Dejian, Xue Wanbei, and Pei Xingjian bowed in unison.

Su Dingfang calmed down and asked, "You've also made the trip to Yunshan Pass. How did it go?"

Li Dejian stepped forward slightly and said with a solemn expression, "Although the fire at Heishan Pass has been burning for more than an hour, the Tibetans at Yunzhong Pass have shown no intention of sending troops to rescue us. We don't know why, but the city gates are tightly closed, leaving us to return empty-handed."

The Tang army has reached Yunshan Pass, and Heishan Pass has undoubtedly fallen.

The distance in the mountains is not too far. Not to mention that news should be able to travel between them, the remnants of the Black Mountain Pass have already retreated from the Cloud Mountain Pass. Therefore, the Tibetan general at the Cloud Mountain Pass should know that the Black Mountain Pass has just fallen. Under such circumstances, he should immediately send troops to rescue it and take it back.

But they did nothing.

Su Dingfang nodded and said, "This is a war of annihilation. I'm afraid many generals have already prepared to die for their country. Similarly, they have also prepared for others to die for their country. The fall of Heishan Pass was within their expectations, but it happened much faster than anticipated."

"Yes!" Li Dejian and the other two immediately understood.

“Yunshan Pass is the most important pass for the Tibetans, so they will not allow any problems to occur there, even if all the Tibetans at Heishan Pass are wiped out.” Su Dingfang raised his head slightly and said, “From this perspective, the struggle and fighting at Yunshan Pass will be the most intense.”

"Yes!" Everyone's expressions turned solemn.

"Therefore, I hereby issue this order." With these words from Su Dingfang, Li Dejian and the other two immediately bowed respectfully.

“Starting tomorrow, the three of you will take turns leading your cavalry to charge at Yunshan Pass from Heishan Pass. Even if it’s just to reach the city wall and fire a volley of arrows, you must go.” After a slight pause, Su Dingfang squinted and said, “You can even go at night sometimes. I want them to never have a moment’s peace in Yunshan.”

"Yes!" The crowd clasped their hands in a gesture of excitement. Those familiar with Su Dingfang already knew that he had a way to break through Yunshan Pass.

Su Dingfang smiled faintly, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

(End of this chapter)