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

Chapter 724 A Knowledge Crush Beyond Its Time (First Update)
Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The entire Heishan Pass has been completely transformed.

Inside and outside the pass, all were neat and solemn Tang soldiers. Even in the distant mountains, one could vaguely see black dragon flags waving.

With a creak, the city gate burst open.

Dressed in red robes and golden armor, Su Dingfang rode out first, followed closely by more than a dozen generals including Li Dejian, Pei Xingjian, Xue Wanbei, and Fang Renyu.

Countless soldiers in black armor stood on both sides of the gate, leading their warhorses.

Su Dingfang rode past the soldiers and finally arrived at the forefront of the army.

A long, black-sheathed sword hung at his waist, and a long spear lay across his side on his horse.

Su Dingfang calmly turned around and saw Li Wu, dressed in black armor and looking just like an ordinary soldier, standing on the city wall.

No one understood the madness of this battle better than the two of them. If successful, the entire Tibetan Empire would instantly open its doors to the Tang Dynasty.

If they fail, Su Dingfang's morale will be severely damaged. Even if the emperor doesn't punish him, Su Dingfang will resign from his position as commander-in-chief. But if they succeed...

Su Dingfang looked past Li Wu and toward Chang'an.

His Majesty!

Su Dingfang's expression instantly turned serious. He then turned around, looked at Yunshan Pass nestled among the mountains, spurred his horse, and shouted, "Let's go!"

"Let's go, let's go, let's go..." The loud voice echoed continuously among the mountains.

"Hurry!" Countless Tang cavalrymen mounted their horses.

As the black banner began to move forward, the horsemen followed, with the foot soldiers behind them carrying a large amount of supplies, which had been transported from the rear over the past ten days, traveling together.

The densely packed soldiers in black armor, like a black tide, headed towards Yunshan Pass, the highest point in the center of the Tanggula Mountain Pass.

Li Wu stood calmly atop the city wall, his gaze passing over the distant Yunshan Pass and looking towards the vast Tibetan territory beyond.

A hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes.

He couldn't help but turn around and look into the warehouse at the very back.

For a moment, his fingers trembled slightly.

A hint of excitement rose in his breath.

……

Luoyang, Qianyuan Hall.

Li Chengqian stood in front of the entire Luoxie Road sand table, looking at Yunshan Pass, the highest point in the entire Tanggula Mountain Road.

He turned around and handed the urgent report he had just received to Changsun Wuji, saying, "Black Mountain Pass has been captured, and 23,000 Tibetan heads have been beheaded. This is the report from ten days ago. At this moment, Su Dingfang has already led his army to attack Yunshang Pass."

Changsun Wuji received the report of victory, then handed it to Han Yuan behind him before turning to Li Chengqian and saying, "Your Majesty, the current situation at the front is actually the most delicate. If we can successfully capture Yunshan Pass, then we can easily break through Baishan Pass and enter the Tibetan heartland. But if we are blocked for a long time, our supply lines will be stretched..."

Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly, knowing everything Changsun Wuji had said.

"Let's wait and see. This time, the use of fire to break through Heishan Pass should have given Su Dingfang some inspiration." Li Chengqian calmed down a bit and said, "However, what I really care about is the general guarding Yunshan Pass, Dama Rinchen, the prime minister of Tubo. He is the last wise minister left from the Songtsen era."

During Songtsen Gampo's reign, there were initially seven wise ministers, but due to internal strife, only four remained.

However, in recent years, apart from Gar Tongtsen and his son who died in the Tang Dynasty, two others also died of old age in Tibet, leaving only Dama Rinchen.

"It would be best if he died at Yunshan Pass, then Tibet would have no one left to resist the Tang Dynasty." A ruthless glint flashed in Changsun Wuji's eyes.

"I hope so." Li Chengqian looked at the sand table again and said calmly, "If it really can be so, then this battle will be the most crucial battle for the Tang Dynasty on the plateau."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji and Han Sui both stood up straight.

……

With a loud crash, the massive boulder tumbled through the air and slammed heavily onto the top of Yunshan Pass.

Three city guards, each wielding a shield, had just pushed their shields forward to meet them.

The next moment, the rolling stone was already crashing down from the sky.

With a loud bang, the three soldiers coughed up blood and retreated. At the same time, the rolling stone propelled them up from the city wall and they jumped down. Several Tibetan soldiers below, who were unprepared, had their heads smashed instantly.

The entire Yunshan Pass was silent. Then, several soldiers stepped forward and dragged the dead Tibetan soldier away.

The Tibetan soldiers standing densely on both sides bowed silently.

Throughout the entire Yunshan Pass, from the city walls to the city walls, the most abundant item was shields.

The Tibetans didn't understand why fire could burn down Heishan Pass, but they knew that what the Tang Dynasty ultimately used to drive the Tibetans out of Heishan Pass was crossbow bolts.

The seemingly endless barrage of crossbow bolts not only inflicted heavy casualties on the Tibetans but also protected the Tang army as much as possible.

Therefore, within ten days, they produced a large number of shields and sent them to the front lines.

While it's not accurate to say that everyone had one, it's true that everyone at Yunshan Pass carried a shield.

Because such a shield can not only resist crossbows, but also allow one to use their own body to resist rolling stones, fireballs and the like.

To prevent a repeat of the incident where the city walls were set on fire and eventually collapsed.

A white-haired general, clad in silver fish-scale armor, stood calmly inside the city gate tower, leaning on a long sword.

This person was none other than Dama Rinchen, the prime minister of Tibet.

His gaze swept across the vast open space and landed on the Tang army camp opposite.

Yesterday, the main force of 30,000 Tang troops arrived at Yunzhong Pass.

All day long, the Tang army did not launch an attack, but instead began to build military camps and deploy troops to explore the surrounding area, as if they were prepared for a long battle.

Today, war has begun.

……

Outside the city gate, Su Dingfang did not stand on the banner, but stood on the watchtower with Di Renjie.

Two watchtowers, each four zhang tall, were positioned on the east and west sides of the main camp, a height even greater than that of Yunshan Pass on the slope.

Yunshan Pass is located at the highest point of the entire Tanggula Mountain Pass, but precisely because of this, the mountain roads on both the north and south sides of Yunshan Pass are relatively gentle.

In addition, the distance between the mountains on both sides is relatively wide, making the town gate even wider.

To be honest, it wouldn't be so easy to burn down the city walls with fire.

Outside the military camp, tens of thousands of infantrymen stood on the ground holding crossbows, while more cavalrymen remained inside the camp.

Further ahead were nine catapults lined up in a row, one of which had just launched the rolling stones.

Su Dingfang placed his hand on the black-sheathed longsword, gazing across the entire fortified city.

From one end of the city to the next, there were countless Tibetan soldiers, numbering at least fifty thousand.

He could tell that the Tibetans had fully learned from the lessons of the fall of Black Mountain Pass. They had not only prepared a large number of shields, but all the soldiers in the city were standing on the left and right, leaving the central passage open.

Cavalry further back could easily use this road to attack directly to the north gate.

To avoid a repeat of the last time the city gates collapsed, and Tang cavalry charged into the city, using crossbow bolts as cover to break through enemy lines.

Even a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) outside the north gate, there were numerous densely packed barricades, along with shields on the city walls and large amounts of water stored both above and below the city walls, enough to ensure that the city walls could be set on fire again.

Su Dingfang smiled slightly. Although the Tibetans did not understand the tricks of the Tang Dynasty in breaking through Heishan Pass, they had made all the preparations they could. But unfortunately, this time Su Dingfang did not intend to burn down the city walls as he had done before.

Turning around, Su Dingfang gently waved towards the area below the watchtower.

The next moment, even more stones came crashing down on the city wall.

A few stones hit the city wall directly, but most of them flew over the wall and crashed inside. For a time, it was unclear whether Tibetan soldiers were being killed inside the city.

It appears that the Tang Dynasty craftsmen were calibrating the catapults, but in reality... they were indeed making adjustments.

Su Dingfang turned to look at Di Renjie and said gently, "Let's go, Huaiying, let's go see how the preparations for the well are going?"

"Yes!" Di Renjie bowed and accepted the order, then followed Su Dingfang down from the watchtower.

Yunshan Pass has a relatively flat terrain, and the valley outside the pass is even wider. In addition, the fall of Heishan Pass was sudden. After the fall of the city, Su Dingfang immediately sent Li Dejian, Pei Xingjian and Xue Wanbei to attack Yunshan Pass every day.

The garrison commander of Yunshan Pass didn't even have time to clear the stones and wood outside the city.

This greatly facilitated the army's siege of the city.

In particular, while attacking the city with catapults, they also collected large amounts of wood and rubble from the surrounding area while building siege equipment.

Countless stones were continuously hurled towards the city.

After a whole day, Dama Rinchen on the city wall finally realized something was wrong. The Tang army seemed to have given up on burning the city wall as they had done before and instead started throwing more stones into the city.

Although it caused a lot of deaths and injuries, many places have been avoided after people became familiar with them.

Dama Rinchen lowered his head slightly, wondering if they were using a smokescreen.

He couldn't help but feel uneasy, so he turned slightly to make arrangements and moved another three thousand troops into the city.

At this time, there were 50,000 Tibetan soldiers at Yunshang Pass, of whom 20,000 were inside the pass, ready to support the city walls at any time, and 30,000 were outside the city.

In addition, at Baishan Pass on the other side of the mountain, there are also 30,000 people ready to provide support at any time.

Even inside the northern gate, Dama Rinchen had already had it completely blocked off with stone slabs.

This is a national war, and no one can afford to be negligent. We must gather as many forces as possible to fight the Tang army, otherwise, if we lose this battle, the entire Tubo will be at the mercy of the enemy.

Not to mention the Turks in the northwest, who were ready to invade Tibet at any time, and a large number of cavalrymen in the northeast, from the direction of Chamdo, were also ready to kill.

But the real enemy lies ahead.

Su Dingfang is the most difficult person to deal with.

They broke through Heishan Pass in one battle.

That's quite a skill!

……

In the dead of night, the city walls and surrounding areas were brightly lit.

Every now and then a catapult would launch stones into the city. It seemed casual, but in reality, for every stone that was launched, someone would immediately send the calculated figures to the central command tent and deliver them to Wei Hongji, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace.

Wei Hongji then stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to Su Dingfang, and said, "General, everything is ready, we can begin."

Su Dingfang nodded calmly and asked, "Is Dama Renzeng still on the city wall?"

Pei Xingjian stood to one side, cupping his hands and saying, "It's still here, it's been here all night." Tonight, although the Tang army only occasionally threw in a stone, Dama Renzeng dared not relax for a moment, for fear that if he relaxed even slightly, the Tang army would immediately launch a full-scale attack on the palace.

Su Dingfang's eyes turned cold: "Issue the order: all catapults, aim at Dama Renzeng's direction, and each launch a rolling stone. Then wait half an hour, and the plan will begin."

"Yes, sir!" All the soldiers bowed in unison, their expressions solemn.

Su Dingfang waved his hand slightly, and everyone left the central command tent one after another, leaving only Di Renjie behind.

Di Renjie is now the Palace Attendant Censor and the Inspector of Luoxie Circuit, which is equivalent to half a military supervisor.

However, Su Dingfang didn't care much about these things. After all, the Su family's martial arts originated from the Su family of Jizhou, and he was also related to the Empress. At the same time, he was also a confidant of the Emperor. As for Di Renjie, Di Renjie was more of a supervisor of the generals in the army.

Su Dingfang valued Di Renjie's keen sense of smell.

"Huaiying, do you think Dama Rinchen has realized our plan yet?" Su Dingfang asked calmly.

Di Renjie smiled wryly and cupped his hands, saying, "I only just learned of the commander's plan. Even if Dama Renzeng racked his brains, he couldn't figure it out. And tonight, the more nervous he is and the more he concentrates his forces, the faster he will die that day."

Su Dingfang smiled slightly: "Isn't this good?"

"Yes!" Di Renjie bowed solemnly.

……

Inside Baiyun Pass, Dama Renzeng came down from the city wall, looking somewhat disheveled.

He never expected that all the catapults of the Tang Dynasty would suddenly attack him all at once in the dead of night.

If it weren't for his personal guards risking their lives, Dama Rinchen might have been crushed to death on the city wall.

Dama Rinchen retreated quite far back, because even as he came down from the city wall, the Tang people's rolling stones continued to rain down into the depths of the city.

It seems they are searching for his location.

Many Tibetan soldiers who were crouching on either side of him took his place as scapegoats.

Dama Rinchen finally managed to gain his footing behind the dense array of shields. Only then did he look up at the city walls, his eyes filled with doubt as he asked, "This shouldn't be happening. Why did they suddenly intensify their attack in the middle of the night..."

Before Dama Rinchen could finish speaking, a fireball suddenly appeared in the sky above his head and slammed into the ground before he could react.

The fireball exploded instantly, and streams of black oil shot out from the sheepskin pouch inside, with flames rapidly spreading in all directions along with the black oil.

"Put out the fire quickly!" Dama Rinchen immediately shouted the order.

A well-trained soldier quickly stepped forward and splashed a basin of water directly onto the ground.

The next moment, flames suddenly burst forth.

The Tibetan soldiers beside him didn't react in time and their clothes were immediately set ablaze by the flames. They were so frightened that they retreated. But at that moment, more fireballs fell from above, one of which hit him directly.

The sheepskin bag exploded open, and the black oil instantly ignited his entire body, causing it to burn fiercely.

"Help me, help me!" The soldier struggled and rushed in all directions, but at that moment, a spear pierced through his body.

His wailing stopped.

Dama Rinchen waved his hand, and the guards immediately stepped back, with Dama Rinchen himself also quickly retreating.

The city gate was relatively spacious, and there was at least a place to stand, especially under the city walls on the east and west sides, which were not the main targets of the catapults.

Dama Rinchen retreated to the very back, his expression solemn, and finally waved his hand gently.

A guard immediately stepped forward, picked up the assembled pump, filled it with water, and quickly sprayed it towards the black oil. However, the next moment, the black oil flames surged, and if the guard hadn't retreated quickly, he would probably have been covered in oil as well.

"What kind of fire is this? Why can't water put it out?" Dama Rinchen's brows furrowed tightly.

The Tibetans' knowledge, apart from their own ethnic heritage, mostly came from India and the Tang Dynasty; their exploration of the Western Regions was not in-depth.

There weren't many Western Region caravans coming to Tibet to begin with, and even fewer knew about black oil. Even the Arabs and the Qin people might not know how to extinguish the flames burning with black oil.

Just like throughout the Tang Dynasty, apart from Li Chengqian, there were actually very few people who knew how to extinguish the black oil.

At least Su Dingfang and Li Wu didn't know; they could only wait until the flames burned out.

Dama Rinchen raised his head and looked at the fireballs falling continuously from above, watching the flames spread throughout the entire city. His face grew increasingly gloomy.

Because he didn't know what Su Dingfang was trying to do.
Su Dingfang broke through Heishan Pass by burning the city walls with flames. Now, instead of throwing these things onto the city walls, he threw them all into the city.

What? Could he possibly be able to simply jump over the city walls and appear inside the city?

With his mind calming down a bit, Dama Rinchen turned to the side and said, "Don't worry about it for now. Just avoid them if you encounter them. Do you think they can set the whole city on fire?"

"Here!"

……

Su Dingfang stood on the watchtower, his eyes fixed on the city.

In the darkness, the flames illuminated everything in the city gate with exceptional clarity.

Su Dingfang chuckled coldly. What's the rush? This is just the beginning.

As fireballs soared into the air, flames quickly spread throughout the entire city gate.

The Tibetan city gates were still divided into three layers. The first layer was inside the north gate, with a large open space, which was used to prepare for the Tang army to attack the city.

Unfortunately, this was a mountain pass, and the space in the city was limited, so the Tibetans used it more for warfare when setting up their defenses.

The second layer consisted of the official residences, warehouses, and the residences of the generals.

The third section, closest to the south gate, is still an empty space.

At this moment, apart from the middle road, it is completely filled with Tibetan soldiers.

The flames quickly spread across the first level of the city gate.

Su Dingfang was willing to pay any price; he was prepared to throw all the black oil he had into the city gate tonight.

Of course, he knew that he might not have enough black oil.

So the nine catapults were set up separately, each covering a specific area. Once the flames in all nine areas had burned sufficiently, Su Dingfang immediately ordered, "Catapults, extend!"

At Su Dingfang's command, all nine catapults came to a temporary halt.

The next moment, the entire pitching rod began to slowly extend upwards by one section, reaching a length of three feet.

However, despite being only three feet long, once the three-foot-long throwing pole is extended, the effective range of the entire catapult increases by more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

If you factor in the distance it travels by splashing, it goes even further.

In the current special circumstances, it could almost certainly cause a devastating blow to the most important compound in the entire city.

More lightweight black oil was thrown into Yunshan City by catapults, and the flames in the city immediately surged even more fiercely.

At this moment, Dama Rinchen felt inexplicably uneasy, and he subconsciously retreated to the edge of the first courtyard.

“Something’s not right!” Dama Rinchen raised his head and turned to look at his personal guards, saying, “Tell the people on the city wall to be careful of a sudden attack by the Tang people.”

There are currently thousands of people on the city wall, and 20,000 people below are ready to reinforce the city wall at any time.

Although the spreading flames are not yet fatal to the defenders, their continued spread will eventually affect their actions.

In addition, there is the issue of sowing discord.

This was the perfect time for the Tang soldiers to seize the opportunity to attack the city.

Of course, this was the best possible purpose that Dama Rinchen could think of for Su Dingfang's actions; as for anything deeper, his understanding was ultimately limited.

"Prime Minister, the Tang people have made no other move besides throwing fireballs." A guard went to the city wall to relay the order, then quickly returned, though for some reason, he was panting heavily.

Dama Rinchen nodded slightly and said, "Be careful, and pass on the message that unless the flames reach us, do not move lightly."

Furthermore, the decision to bring in another three thousand men from outside the city makes me uneasy, though I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong.

"Yes!" The guard immediately turned and left.

Dama Rinchen turned around and looked up at the sky above.

Countless fireballs continued to rain down from the sky, spreading throughout the city as if there were no end in sight.

For some reason, Dama Rinchen felt a tightness in his chest.

But Dama Rinchen didn't know why.

Dama Rinchen had no idea that Su Dingfang had seen all of his actions.

"How much have you used?" Su Dingfang turned to look at Di Renjie.

Di Renjie respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the Commander, we have used the number 41."

"Pass down the message: continue. When you're halfway through, start throwing rolling logs and barricades. Throw everything in, as much as possible." Su Dingfang's expression was cold.

"Yes!" Di Renjie immediately turned around and went to relay the order.

Su Dingfang stared intently at the soldiers on the city wall, unaware of how much time had passed.

More flammable materials were thrown in, and the flames throughout the city began to burn even more fiercely.

At that moment, no one attacked, and the soldiers on the city wall began to fall one by one, never to rise again.

Upon seeing this, Su Dingfang's eyes immediately lit up with excitement, and he shouted, "Catapults, push forward!"

The catapults that were throwing flaming objects stopped immediately and then pushed forward without hesitation. At that moment, not a single arrow was fired from the city wall.

"Are they all dead?" Di Renjie had somehow returned to Su Dingfang's side.

Su Dingfang looked at Di Renjie with some surprise and asked, "You know?"

Di Renjie nodded and cupped his hands, saying, "Reporting to the Commander, I was once a local county magistrate in charge of criminal matters. There was a case where people died from burning charcoal in the winter. The current situation seems somewhat similar."

As he spoke, Di Renjie looked up and stared intently at the city wall in front of him.

"More or less, but I can't tell you the specifics." Su Dingfang turned to look ahead and said solemnly, "If nothing unexpected happens, everyone who enters this city tonight will die because of this."

"Yes!" Di Renjie immediately bowed.

"Go and pass on the message: stop every hundred steps, and if you feel unwell, stop immediately." Su Dingfang's expression became serious.

"Your humble servant obeys." Di Renjie immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Su Dingfang raised his eyes and looked across the entire first layer of the city.

The flames were raging, and the surrounding energy was being rapidly consumed, but the Tibetan soldiers below the city walls on the east and west sides were completely unaware.

(End of this chapter)