Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Chapter Seven, A Perfect Son-in-Law from the Hao Family

Li Ji had indeed stepped into a trap, and this trap was tailor-made for him.

Li Ji's appointment as the military governor of Shuofang was still in summer, but the news had already been reported to Luoxie by spies. Ma Chongying couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache - he had suffered from Li Ji's mistakes more than once or twice, and before, Li Ji was only a deputy commander in Longyou, but now he was the commander of a region. If this guy were to control the powerful Shuofang army, he would definitely be a major threat to Tibet!

He then discussed the matter repeatedly with his confidants and came to the conclusion that: "This autumn, when I send troops to attack Anxi and Beiting, Li Ji will surely lead the Shuofang army westward to plot against Liangzhou!"

Firstly, the Tang court had made such a decision last year, but at that time Shuofang was without a ruler, and there was a shortage of money and food, and the soldiers did not obey orders, so it could not be carried out; now that Li Ji is in charge of Shuofang, he is a favorite general of the Tang emperor, and he will surely replenish the food and food, and he will certainly not dare to disobey the Tang court's order.

Secondly, given Li Ji's personality, he is happy to hear about war. If there is an opportunity to recover Hexi, why wouldn't he come?

After repeated discussions, it was determined that the Shuofang Army could move westward in two directions: one was to pass through Herong City and directly attack the heart of Liangzhou; the other was to head south through Huining Pass and attack Lanzhou.

The first route is relatively shorter and more convenient, and if Guzang can be captured and Liangzhou recovered, the threat to the Tubo will be greater; the second route is more circuitous and has a higher safety factor, but it is not of much value in the overall war situation.

Ma Chongying said, "Li Ji is used to taking risks, and he will most likely come from the northern route. Although the northern route is narrow and difficult for a large army to travel, Li Ji is good at leading a few hundred elite troops to take us by surprise and win the battle. If he takes the southern route, his momentum will be great and he will not be able to deceive us. It will not be too late to observe his momentum and then deploy our troops."

Therefore, it was decided to set a trap for Li Ji in the northern route, lure him to Xiaping, occupy Changsong, cut off his retreat, and then send a large army to encircle and annihilate him.

"Even if we cannot capture Li Ji, we should at least severely weaken his power so that Shuofang will never dare to look at our Tubo with a second glance again! Moreover, if the Tang emperor is furious after the defeat and transfers him away from Shuofang, that would be the best outcome."

Ma Chongying deliberately reduced the number of troops on the western front—because for the vast, sparsely populated, and heavily fortified Western Regions, where the Tang army was very determined to defend, it was necessary to take a long and slow approach. It was meaningless to send hundreds of thousands of troops at once in the hope of achieving victory in one day—and instead, he kept a large number of troops hidden in Liang and Lan prefectures.

Among them, General Qilibuzang was stationed at Guangwu, leading a combined force of 20,000 barbarian and Qiang troops. Their main task was to promptly advance north and cut off the Shuofang army's retreat. If the Shuofang army actually came from Huining Pass in the southern route, they should return to defend Jincheng, the capital of Lanzhou, to await reinforcements. Ma Chongying personally led 30,000 infantry and cavalry, hiding in the area north of Guzang, as the main force to attack the Shuofang army. If Li Ji took Lanzhou from the south, he would send an elite force through Herong City and westward to threaten Huizhou, forcing the Tang army to return.

The arrangements were made, the bait was laid, and all that remained was for the fish to take the bait. Although some expressed dissatisfaction, saying that the Shuofang army numbered at most 50,000, and it was impossible for them to send all of them out, and that the northern road was narrow, so if they were to march towards Herong City, they would only be able to send 10,000 troops at most. They argued that it was really necessary to deploy 50,000 troops from both the north and south to deal with them.

Ma Chongying's response was: "I will not be at peace as long as Li Ji lives!"

The other party secretly scoffed: "Tch, you just want to regain the face you lost in the Battle of Linfan..."

Ma Chongying actually overestimated Li Ji. Even with Li Ji's abilities, he had only been stationed in Shuofang for half a year—moreover, he had also made a trip to the Uyghurs, wasting several months—which was not enough to completely grasp military power. Therefore, his westward expedition this year was purely for harassment and containment, and he had no intention of recovering an inch of Liangzhou.

Even if we successfully capture Herong City, we will eventually have to abandon it, because the city is located either near Liang or Lan, and when both the northern and southern states are in the hands of the enemy, there is no point in holding it for long.

Thus, Li Ji could only muster four thousand cavalry, and even with reinforcements from Anxi and Beiting, the total number was no more than fifty thousand. In contrast, without Ma Chongying's strategy, the Tibetans guarding Liang and Lan prefectures, along with various Hu and Qiang tribes who joined the army, numbered no less than twenty thousand. If the Tang army moved slowly and was surrounded by multiple enemy forces, becoming trapped in the southern mountains of Guzang, even if they ultimately won, they would suffer heavy losses.

Therefore, Li Ji led only cavalry, in order to be quick in and out of the way and not easily trapped by the enemy; at the same time, he kept his eyes wide open and his ears perked up, paying close attention to the surrounding situation at all times, in order to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the situation. If it were a large army of 20,000 to 30,000 men surging westward, he probably wouldn't have been so cautious.

This led Li Ji to discover clues to the trap, and he immediately ordered Gao Tinghui to be recalled and the entire army to retreat.

While the other generals were still somewhat hesitant, Bai Yuanguang, quick-witted, immediately volunteered: "This is all due to my lack of understanding... I am willing to stay and defend Herong City to the death, and cover the rear for the commander!"

Li Ji waved his hand: "No need to cover the rear."

He then explained, “The north side of the mountain is flat and open, making it difficult for a large army to lie in ambush. If the barbarian bandits were to deploy troops to await us, they would at least have to hide near Guzang. Even if they received the news in time and rushed over, they would not be able to reach us quickly. On the other hand, the south side of the mountain is full of ravines and valleys, which are convenient for hiding—but it is also the best battlefield for our Shuofang cavalry to gallop across! Therefore, we can ignore Liangzhou and focus all our efforts on heading south to break through the enemy in Lanzhou and retreat to Xinquan.”

In truth, if he wanted to escape, he could immediately mount his horse and turn around. The problem was that the few hundred men from the Anxi and Beiting armies were still in Changsong. Their troops had few warhorses, so their speed was certainly slow. Once the enemy caught up with them, there would be no chance of survival. Given even the slightest opportunity, Li Ji was unwilling to abandon his comrades and return alone. Moreover, his ambition was to recover Gansu and Liangzhou and rescue the Western Regions. He hoped that those young men from Xizhou would one day, as Bai Xiaode had said, serve as his vanguard. If he abandoned Gao Tinghui and the others, would he still be able to win over the hearts of the Anxi and Beiting troops?

Therefore, he repeatedly sent messengers northward on horseback to analyze the situation and urge Gao Tinghui to retreat.

At the same time, Li Ji ordered the Mingsha troops to advance first, with the four camps spreading out and each occupying a valley to block the advance of the northern barbarian bandits, thus ensuring the smooth flow of their rear.

It wasn't until nearly dusk the following day that the Anxi and Beiting troops left Changsong and returned to Herong City.

The reason is simple: the discipline of the Anxi and Beiting military camps was generally poor. On the one hand, it was precisely because Bai Xiaode treated his subordinates leniently that they supported him as their leader after murdering and assaulting Li Yuan. As a result, Bai Xiaode dared not be strict with them, leading to difficulties in maintaining military discipline and a relatively disorganized army. On the other hand, Gao Tinghui was originally a surrendered general who was parachuted into the Anxi and Beiting military camps. His personal martial arts skills, which made him a "warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men," were not enough to control the arrogant and fierce soldiers under his command.

Yesterday, Gao Tinghui led his troops to approach Changsong to assess the enemy's situation. Unexpectedly, the Changsong garrison fled at the mere sight of them. Taking advantage of the situation, Gao Tinghui stormed into the city, his soldiers scattering to plunder, reaping a considerable spoils. Later, Li Ji sent messengers with orders, but Gao Tinghui was unable to gather his troops quickly enough. It was only with great difficulty that he managed to assemble his soldiers, who were carrying large and small bundles, by which time it was already dark…

Forced to stay in the city for the night, Gao Tinghui was surprised to find that Li Ji had sent two more messengers late at night, ordering a strict retreat. Only then did Gao Tinghui realize the gravity and urgency of the situation. At the fourth watch, he sounded the drums, and by the fifth watch, they had hurriedly left Changsong City through the south gate. The soldiers, however, carried their loot on their backs, unwilling to abandon it—partly because the imperial rations had been consistently insufficient in recent years, leaving everyone desperately poor. Gao Tinghui whipped his men, urging them onward, and the fifty li journey took almost an entire day, finally managing to return to Herong City.

In those days, the normal marching speed was very slow. An infantryman could only travel fifty li a day, which was considered quite fast. The problem was that there was no alarm in the surrounding area for the time being, and Gao Tinghui demanded that they rush south. They didn't even rest to cook lunch, and they still dragged it out for most of the day... Li Ji was so angry that he almost hardened his heart and left them behind.

At noon that day, a report came from the south that Wei Gao and others had made contact with the barbarian army and were about to engage in battle. Bai Yuanguang repeatedly advised that the commander should go first—"I will stay and wait for Gao Tinghui and the others"—only then did Li Ji lead his troops away from Herong City, taking the shortest and most direct valley road and turning southeast.

There are several mountain valleys south of Herong City, all of which are narrow and rugged. Only after going south for twenty miles, there is a relatively flat area of ​​about ten miles in circumference—this is where Wei Gao reported that he had made contact with the enemy.

When Li Ji arrived, he could see from afar that the valley was full of barbarian flags, and the latter were lined up along the valley, stretching almost to the horizon. It was difficult to tell how many troops there were—there must be tens of thousands, while our side only had five thousand!

Upon receiving the news, Wei Gao rode quickly to see Li Ji. Upon meeting him, he said, "The barbarian bandits are endless, and we can hardly kill them all. What can we do?"

Li Ji inquired in detail about the battlefield situation, and Wei Gao replied, "This humble general arrived here yesterday, but it was too dark to set up defenses; starting today, we began to move earth and stones to build fortifications in order to block the valley road, but unfortunately the fortifications were not completed before the enemy arrived..."

Knowing his forces were outnumbered and his fortifications incomplete, he knew he would struggle to hold off the enemy. Therefore, relying on his cavalry, he deliberately opened a passage, allowing the barbarian army to enter, then trampled and charged. Initially, this was quite effective, with the barbarian vanguard routed. However, more barbarian troops continued to pour into the valley, and his generals deployed a detachment of armored soldiers to guard the entrance. Those who attempted to flee were executed, forcing their flanks to escape over the mountains… This allowed even more barbarian troops to enter the valley, forcing Wei Gao to retreat step by step.

Li Ji, observing from a high vantage point, concluded, "The main enemy force is here; the rest are not a threat." He immediately ordered the remaining three battalions of Mingsha soldiers to detour through another valley to provide reinforcements. Li Fengguo was the first to arrive, entering the battlefield from the flank and slightly halting the enemy's advance, followed by Gao Chongwen…

The valley, spanning only ten miles in circumference, couldn't possibly hold too many troops. It was estimated that only five or six thousand of the Tibetan army had entered the valley, but they still put immense pressure on the Tang army. In particular, Li Ji had originally relied on his cavalry to inflict heavy casualties on the Tibetan army, which had not yet built fortifications or dug trenches and whose ranks were not particularly well-organized, in the valley and its passageways. Who would have thought that the enemy's advance was also mostly driven by cavalry?

Judging from the banners, the Tang army was divided equally between genuine and fake Tibetans. The fake Tibetans were of limited fighting strength, lacking proper equipment and perhaps unwilling to fight to the death. However, the genuine Tibetans, especially their cavalry, were quite brave and had repeatedly thwarted Tang counterattacks. Li Ji, accustomed to dealing with Tibetan bandits, frowned upon seeing this: "Have the Tibetans also brought the main force of the Three Shangs and One Lun here? Or, after several years apart, have they acquired fine horses from Hexi, resulting in a dramatic improvement in their fighting strength?"

He observed his three generals, noting their disciplined movements, but ultimately, while they possessed great flexibility, they lacked true ferocity. After all, Wei Gao had never been on the battlefield before, Gao Chongwen had long served in Huaixi and was not skilled in commanding cavalry, and neither of them possessed the talent to break through enemy lines; as for Li Fengguo… as a Uyghur Tartar, why didn't you charge to the front lines? Was it due to limited ability, or a lack of courage?

Li Ji thought to himself, "If Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun were here, the barbarian bandits would have been defeated long ago!"

He immediately took the lance from the soldier and was about to charge forward when Yan Zhuang grabbed his belt and repeatedly advised him, "You are now a general, not a cavalry vanguard. The two armies are still locked in a stalemate, and there is still a way out. How can you rush forward recklessly and act like a lowly soldier?!"

Li Ji glanced back at him and said, “Although the outcome is still uncertain, the enemy has a large force while we have a small one. Moreover, the enemy from Liangzhou is also approaching. The longer we linger here, the more dangerous it will be for our army. If we don’t risk our lives now, we may soon find ourselves in a deadly situation.”

Yan Zhuang shook his head repeatedly, refusing to let go: "But as long as you are here, there will always be a chance for things to turn around; if you die, even if you are only seriously injured, our army will surely be wiped out! Let's hold on a little longer..."

Just then, another Tang army charged out from the valley behind them. The general in the lead raised his spear and shouted, "Life and death are at stake. How dare we be afraid? If the enemy is not killed, I will die!" He took the lead and led five hundred cavalrymen forward, rushing straight into the enemy formation.

Li Ji looked closely and couldn't help but clap his hands, saying, "Truly worthy of being the son-in-law of the Hao family!" He then glanced at Yan Zhuang and said, "With Chen Lizhen here, I don't need to go forward. Why don't you be lenient, Lord Yan?"

The charging cavalry general was none other than Chen Lizhen, a former general of Shuofang.

Li Ji, having ascended to a high vantage point, observed the command and deployment of his three generals—Wei Gao, Gao Chongwen, and Li Fengguo—and found them largely flawless and commendable. However, compared to Chen Lizhen's cavalry, they seemed to have fallen a level. Chen's cavalry, when closing in, surged like a whirlwind, and when dispersing, they scattered like sparks flying, swift and unrestrained, instantly tearing a large gap in the barbarian formation.

This is indeed someone who is used to leading cavalry, and cannot be compared with a newcomer who has just started. —Li Fengguo aside, Li Ji is not disappointed in him, but his expectations have inevitably been lowered.

It's said that Chen Lizhen married his wife through this very skill. Originally from Fanyang, he joined the army as a young man and later served as a cavalry colonel under Li Guangbi. After the defeat at Heyang, Li Guangbi was transferred to Henan and sent Hao Tingyu and others to relieve Suiyang and other places. Chen Lizhen followed them, leading a cavalry force straight into the enemy's formation, penetrating their midsection and emerging from their rear as if they were nothing. Upon seeing this, Hao Tingyu couldn't help but exclaim, "This young man's bravery is beyond my reach." After the battle, he recruited Chen Lizhen into his ranks and married his beloved daughter to him.

Li Ji had been training troops at Mingsha for the past few months, and often tested his generals. Wei Gao and Gao Chongwen could answer ten questions for every one they asked, and at least in terms of theoretical knowledge, they already showed the potential to be great generals. Li Fengguo was a little unclear in his speech and often mixed Chinese with Uyghur. Fortunately, Li Ji was also somewhat fluent in Uyghur, but he felt that Li Fengguo was quite experienced.

Chen Lizhen was the only one who was taciturn, lacked knowledge and was clumsy with words. Although Li Ji tried hard to win him over, he often felt that Chen Lizhen was just a clueless young man—he was only seven years older than Li Ji—and probably didn't have much of a future.

Just as everyone was anticipating the duel, Chen Lizhen arrived. His martial arts skills were so refined that they were almost on par with those of Gao Tinghui and other so-called "enemies of ten thousand men." Moreover, his command of the cavalry was effortless and swift as the wind! Li Ji, a seasoned veteran, saw Chen Lizhen's troops charge forward from afar and immediately made his judgment—this battle was won!

Chapter 8, Turning Defeat into Victory

Bai Yuanguang was in Herong City, waiting anxiously for Gao Tinghui to arrive, but neither did the troops from Anxi and Beiting. He paced around in a frenzy, cursing incessantly.

He was incredibly unlucky. He thought he was entrusted with the vanguard and would capture Herong City in one fell swoop, making him the hero of the battle. Little did he know that it was actually a trap set by the barbarian side... He was still completely unaware of it when the commander-in-chief exposed it with a single word. Moreover, it was he who let the Anxi and Beiting troops pursue the defeated enemy all the way to Changsong...

He must take responsibility for it. No matter how unruly he is, and having had fewer battles in recent years, which has given him a bit of a belly, he is still a veteran general of Shuofang. Bai Yuanguang still has the sense of responsibility. The Shuofang soldiers have always been arrogant, considering themselves the strongest in the world, unmatched. They believe that the Tang Dynasty's fall and subsequent restoration are entirely due to the efforts of Shuofang. The more proud the soldiers are, the harder it is for them to accept a general who shifts blame. If Bai Yuanguang runs away today, he will never be able to hold his head high in the army again.

That's why he volunteered to cover the rear, and he patiently waited for the Anxi and Beiting troops to return—or for news of their complete annihilation by the barbarian rebels to come back—before he would leave.

It wasn't until dusk that Gao Tinghui finally arrived at Herong City, albeit belatedly. Bai Yuanguang didn't bother to reprimand him—after all, they weren't from the same faction—and simply ordered, "The commander has already headed south, awaiting only Gao Jun's return—so hurry and follow me!"

However, the Anxi and Beiting soldiers, panting heavily, collapsed on the ground. Gao Tinghui repeatedly spurred them on, but just as one soldier got up, another went limp again... Bai Yuanguang grew impatient and immediately drew his sword, shouting, "The barbarians of Lanzhou are in the lead, and the barbarians of Liangzhou will surely follow. If you refuse to go, it's better for my soldiers to see blood again than for you to be killed by the barbarian bandits!"

He caught sight of a soldier from Anxi and Beiting out of the corner of his eye and immediately swung his sword down—"Do you want your wealth, or your life?!"

Blood splattered, corpses fell, and the Anxi and Beiting soldiers erupted in chaos, clamoring and grabbing their weapons, ready to confront the Shuofang army. Bai Yuanguang's eyes flashed with ferocity, and he immediately ordered, "Kill them all! We'll go after the commander!"

Fortunately, the fierce battle did not last long. Firstly, Gao Tinghui disregarded his status and knelt down to beg for mercy. More importantly, the Anxi and Beiting soldiers were outnumbered by the Shuofang army and had been running all day, exhausted. How could they possibly defeat the enemy? Thus, after killing dozens of people, the Xizhou soldiers finally surrendered, forced to abandon their looted goods and even their weapons. Under the escort of the Shuofang army, they left Herong City and hurriedly headed south.

They ran until dark before finally rejoining headquarters.

In the afternoon battle, Chen Lizhen launched a swift and fierce attack. Li Ji immediately judged that the outcome of the day was already decided, so he hurriedly ordered Wei Gao and others to go out and support Chen's troops in order to expand the victory as soon as possible. At the same time, he also ordered his personal guards to go ahead to the passage on the east side of the valley to prepare wood and stones for evacuation at any time.

As expected, Chen Lizhen launched a fierce charge, and the Tibetan army suffered a crushing defeat. No matter how the armored soldiers guarding the south entrance of the valley tried to stop them, most of them still fled in disarray. Chen Lizhen rode his horse back and forth twice about a mile in front of the valley, and the Tibetan army dared not come out of the valley to engage him again.

Seeing the sun setting and daylight drawing to a close, Li Ji figured that unless the barbarian general went mad, they wouldn't dare attack again today. He breathed a sigh of relief and sent someone back to urge them on—hurry up, or I'll leave you all here!

Upon hearing that the rear guard was approaching, Li Ji left Wei Gao to provide support and led the main force, carrying torches, into the valley to the east—the valley was also filled with torches to confuse the enemy.

After Bai Yuanguang, Gao Tinghui and others arrived, Wei Gao entered the valley with them. Before leaving, he blocked the valley entrance with the wood and stones he had prepared in advance, hoping to delay the pursuit of the Tibetan army.

On the Tibetan side, the commander-in-chief, Qilibuzang, hurriedly arrived from Guangwu. Due to the narrowness of the valley and his presence in the rear guard, he was unable to remotely control the battle within the valley. Upon receiving the report that the vanguard had suffered a setback and had been forced back along the road, Qilibuzang couldn't help but stamp his feet and sigh, "This time, we still cannot obtain Li Ji; the great plan has ultimately vanished like a bubble!"

Since the Tang army retreated before we even reached Herong City, Li Ji must have seen through Da Lun's scheme! Of course, it's also possible that the Tang army was forced to retreat by Ma Chongying's main force in Liangzhou, but that's unlikely—firstly, I'm closer to Herong City and can easily move stealthily by relying on the mountain terrain, while Da Lun is far from Herong City and has no cover on the plains, so he's unlikely to arrive before me; secondly, given the fighting strength of the Tang army ahead, they certainly haven't suffered any setbacks near Herong.

As darkness fell and further fighting became impossible, Li Ji, barring any folly, would surely flee that very night. Left with no other option, Qilibuzang dispatched several cavalry units to bypass the retreating Tang army via other valleys, hoping to ambush them en route.

However, apart from the valley through which Li Ji's main force retreated, the other roads were all more treacherous and narrow, making it difficult for large armies to travel, and often requiring a long detour. Moreover, in the darkness, if the Tibetan cavalry did not light fires, they could hardly move an inch, and if they did light fires, unless the Tang army only knew how to flee in despair, they would be able to discover their tracks long ago.

Thus, the Tang army marched swiftly through the night without rest, finally breaking through the mountains and stepping onto the plains the following afternoon. Several groups of barbarian cavalry harassed them from the side, but were all forced to retreat. When Qilibuzang's main force moved the earth and stones at dawn and pursued from behind, they could hardly even see the backs of the Tang army.

Ma Chongying arrived and joined Qilibuzang only after Li Ji had completely escaped the danger zone and approached Xinquan Shouzuo.

Just as Li Ji had predicted, Ma Chongying was forced to ambush near Guzang, the capital of Liangzhou, which was sixty li from Changsong and over a hundred li from Herong. Even at top speed, it would take a full day to reach them. Thus, after hearing that the Tang army had entered Changsong, he rushed south, but he was still a step too late. What he saw were only two empty cities, Changsong and Herong.

Immediately, Ma Chongying led 800 light cavalry westward along the mountain valleys, finally catching up with Qilibuzang and receiving news that the Tang army had successfully escaped danger. Ma Chongying was extremely annoyed, but upon reviewing his own arrangements, he found no flaws—"I didn't expect Li Ji to be so astute; he truly is a great enemy of Tibet!"

Qilibuzang said, "The Tang army's westward advance this time is mostly cavalry, which is why they can advance and retreat so quickly. I believe that Li Ji most likely has no intention of taking Liangzhou; he is merely causing trouble..."

Ma Chongying lowered his head, lost in thought and remained silent.

Qilibuzang continued, "Now that the great discourse has arrived, our army should pursue it relentlessly. If we can capture Xinquan, or even Feng'an Army, we can inflict a heavy blow on the Tang people—Li Ji will flee in panic and will certainly be caught off guard."

Ma Chongying shook his head and said, "No, I have no plan to directly take Hui and Ling prefectures. Our food and supplies are insufficient for a prolonged war. If we are bogged down under strong fortifications, it will be very dangerous. Besides, Li Ji has no intention of attacking Liangzhou..."

Suddenly a chill ran down his spine: "Could it be that this is just a feint to mislead me, while the main force of the Tang army is actually heading out of Huining Pass to take Lanzhou, or perhaps heading out of Dazhen Pass to take Qin and Wei?!" He hurriedly ordered Qilibuzang to return the army and garrison Longshang.

Li Ji, having just escaped danger, immediately dispatched a fast horse south to Dazhen Pass to deliver the message. The barbarian troops in Liangzhou had ultimately gone too far, only able to follow him and suffer losses; their exact numbers and commanders remained unknown. Meanwhile, those in Lanzhou spotted Qilibuzang's banners and estimated that the barbarian army attempting to cut off their retreat numbered no less than ten thousand. With ten thousand troops from Longxi, the forces between Lanzhou and Wei would surely be weak; perhaps they could break through and gain some advantage.

Li Ji was particularly worried that the barbarian army would pursue them and head straight for Xinquan garrison, or even Feng'an army. Therefore, he hoped that the Tang army inside Dazhen Pass could come out of the pass to provide support and contain them.

However, the troops from several towns in Guanzhong gathered near Dazhen Pass, but they only dug deep trenches and built high walls to guard against enemy invasion. Although Li Ji had reported to them, most of them dared not make any rash moves. In the end, only Li Sheng, the deputy military governor of Binning, personally led several thousand troops out of the pass and onto Qinyuan, crushing nearly ten thousand Western Qiang troops. Upon seeing the banners of the Zhenfan, he immediately retreated.

In a sense, Ma Chongying overestimated the Tang army—not in terms of combat capability, but in terms of their determination to recover lost territory. Since shifting his main force to the north to pursue the Western Regions, aside from this year, the Tibetan troops remaining in Longyou and Hexi numbered only twenty to thirty thousand, with auxiliary troops that could be temporarily mustered to eighty to ninety thousand. However, the Tang army maintained annual autumn defenses, often stationing no fewer than one hundred thousand troops east of Dazhen. If they could concentrate their forces westward, the Tibetans would find it very difficult to resist.

Unfortunately, the morale of these approximately 100,000 Tang soldiers was low. The court had not appointed a highly respected commander-in-chief, nor did it have a comprehensive plan to recapture Longyou. The main reason was that the main forces of each garrison were highly trained and experienced soldiers, requiring substantial salaries and rewards, and consuming large amounts of supplies. The Tang court could not afford to supply a large army for a long expedition, so a defensive posture was the only option. Furthermore, if the Tibetan army were defeated, they could retreat to the plateau, but if the Tang army were defeated and allowed to escape to Xiaping, Fengxiang and even Chang'an would be threatened. Therefore, it was difficult to make the decision to launch a major offensive.

The prevailing sentiment among the emperor and his officials was: let's wait a few more years, accumulate sufficient grain and supplies, and then proceed when we have enough money and provisions...

This led Ma Chongying to dare not delve any deeper, nor did he dare to pursue Li Ji relentlessly.

Li Ji first returned to Xinquan to guard the town, rested for a while, and sent someone to scout the route. Seeing that the barbarian army was not pursuing them, he breathed a sigh of relief and then let Gao Tinghui lead the nearly 1,000 people from Anxi and Beiting across the river back to the town.

Gao Tinghui refused to go, instead kneeling before Li Ji and pleading bitterly. What was he pleading for? It turned out that on the day of He Rong City, the Xizhou warriors were too exhausted to march, leading to a small skirmish with the Dingyuan City troops. In the end, they were forced to not only abandon all the looted wealth but also leave half of their swords, spears, and weapons in the city... If it had been a fierce battle with the barbarian bandits, the number of deaths wouldn't have mattered, but now the men were still alive, but the weapons were gone. He couldn't explain this to Bai Xiaode when he returned!

The Anxi and Beiting military camps were already very poor. With the loss of so many supplies, and with the number of mouths to feed remaining almost the same, they might really be unable to survive...

Seeing this, Bai Yuanguang was enraged and roared, "I saved your lives, and now you want weapons from me? You should know that there is a word in this world called—shame!"

Li Ji waved his hand, stopping Bai Yuanguang from continuing his outburst. He then looked at Gao Tinghui and said slowly, "Do not ask me for the abandoned weapons; you should ask the barbarian bandits for them. However, I also know that the brave soldiers of Xizhou are far from home and are suffering greatly. Their camp is also short of supplies. Since we are neighbors and share the same hatred for the enemy, how can I ignore them? You should go back now. After I return to Lingzhou, I will send a batch of supplies to Huizhou."

He then frowned and raised his voice, shouting, "But you must clearly inform Commander Bai, remembering the kindness of our Shuofang in helping you—this is not compensation for your family!"

After driving away Gao Tinghui, Li Ji stayed at Xinquan Garrison for two more days before setting off back to Mingsha. After settling his soldiers, he personally went to Lingzhou to summon his officers and discuss how to submit a memorial to the court—"Having returned defeated this time, how should we phrase our memorial?"

Hun Shizhi hurriedly said, "This time, the General marched west out of Liangzhou, outnumbered but outgunned, and returned safely with few casualties. He killed and wounded twice as many soldiers as the enemy. How can you say that he was defeated?"