In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

Tsangyang Suitaku nodded: "Yes!"

"Alright, that's nothing." Li Yuanchang waved his hand. At this moment, he was no longer thinking about the Tuyuhun battlefield, but about the entire Tubo.

The three strongest weapons of Tibet were its invincible high-altitude terrain, its powerful imperial army, and the deeply rooted Bon religion, which had been entrenched for centuries. These were enough to keep the Tibetan people fighting against the Han Chinese of the Tang Dynasty for generations.

If he makes good use of Tsangyang Shuituo, he plans to win over all eight of her older sisters and put them all to his own use.

However, that's a story for another time.

The next day.

At noon, Li Yuanchang led 800 guards and more than 2,000 logistics personnel to the Gongwang Plateau. He was going to personally command the encirclement and annihilation of the Dayan Army.

The war has dragged on to this point, and the battle lines are already quite long.

The vast majority of the auxiliary troops remained in the vicinity of Fuai City, responsible for logistics and garrison duties. The Far Eastern Army also left behind a considerable number of personnel and wounded soldiers at key hubs.

Including the men Li Yuanchang took with him, the Far Eastern Army on the entire Gongwang Plateau front only numbered 13,000, with an additional 3,000 auxiliary troops responsible for the safekeeping of warhorses and supplies.

Compared to the Dayan Legion's nearly 50,000 troops, the Tibetans still held a significant advantage on the surface. Moreover, with the shift in the balance of power, the Tibetans had returned to the most comfortable plateau region.

Li Yuanchang understood that this encirclement and annihilation would be a protracted war, and it was impossible to wipe them out in one battle, so he brought a large amount of food and medicine.

So much so that a journey that should have taken two days took almost five.

Moreover, November has arrived, and the weather has officially transitioned from autumn to winter. The temperature difference between day and night is extremely high, and you can feel the cold even without going to the plateau.

Once December arrives, the high-altitude region will become a nightmare, with every soldier subjected to more than ten times the environmental pressure, whether for transportation or combat.

Therefore, he has set a final deadline: the Dayan Army must be annihilated by the end of December.

The Gongwang Plateau is a vast expanse of white.

A massive plateau rises to the west of Tuyuhun, with some of its peaks covered in white frost and snow, shrouded in a persistent fog and cold air all year round.

The altitude of over 3,000 meters was like an insurmountable mountain blocking the way for the Far East Army.

And this is merely the entrance to Tibet.

When Li Yuanchang arrived here, he looked through his binoculars at this breathtaking scene of nature's artistry and couldn't help but marvel at it, feeling utterly speechless.

If it's like this here, how much more exaggerated must it be in the Tibetan heartland?

If the Industrial Age hadn't arrived, could the Han people have truly conquered this place?

Even he had a question mark in his mind.

The thunderous sound of hooves shattered the tranquility, pulling him back from his wandering thoughts.

"Giddy up, giddy up!!"

Xue Rengui led a team of about several dozen people to arrive.

"Whoa!"

"We pay our respects to the King of the Far East! May the King of the Far East live a thousand years!" Xue Rengui and the others knelt down.

This is a respectful title given to him within the Far East Army: "Long live Chang'an, Your Majesty," and "Long live the Emperor" is the absolute honor of being second only to the Emperor.

Get up.

"What's the situation on the plateau now?"

Li Yuanchang went straight into action, without any pretense, and hadn't even set up the central command camp yet.

"Your Highness, our army was ordered not to attack, nor dared to venture too deep into the plateau. The remnants of Dayan's forces have all retreated deep into the plateau. So far, we have only discovered that they have set up ambushes at Shichazi Pass and Pengshegou."

"The situation described above is still very limited."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang's lips curled up. He suddenly thought of Tsangyang Suitaku's words and couldn't help but tease, "It seems that Brother Dayan is under a lot of pressure from home and has to fight a desperate battle."

"Your Highness is right. Although we forced the remnants of Dayan into the plateau that day, they could have left some behind to cover the retreat while others fled back to the Tibetan homeland. But for some reason, they didn't do that," a general couldn't help but say.

Li Yuanchang laughed and said, "If we retreat any further, we'll be heading straight for the abyss."

"The army of 100,000 suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Tuyuhun, losing many soldiers and generals. Upon returning, they lost all prestige. In the Tibetan system, this was no different from death."

"Gardonzan's sons have all died in battle, yet we still haven't withdrawn him. This is to tell Dayan, 'I'm giving you one last chance.'"

"If he runs back now, not only will he die, but his family's honor and reputation will be thrown into the cesspool."

The generals nodded and began to discuss amongst themselves.

This is easy to understand; commanders on the front lines generally have this concern.

"By the way, Your Highness, although the remnants of Dayan's forces are still prepared to hold their ground, they have been sending out small groups of people during the days they have been besieged, trying to send messages into Tibet and request reinforcements."

"But they were all intercepted by our scouts. This is a secret letter." Xue Rengui took out a piece of paper wrapped in sheepskin from his chest. This was a type of paper used by the Tibetans due to their limited resources.

Li Yuanchang took it, opened it, and took a look.

The letter contained a request from Dayan Mangbuzhi to the Kuza family, another noble family in Tibet, for assistance. The letter stipulated how the spoils would be divided if the Far Eastern Army was defeated.

To win, Dayan spared no expense, making grand promises and even offering his daughter in marriage.

At the end of the letter, a map was attached, marking the location of the Tang army's garrison and guiding the Kuza family on their route of attack.

After reading it, Li Yuanchang simply chuckled.

It was no use. The reinforcements he could summon were far from enough. Although the Far Eastern Army was small in number, it had already spread out in a line with its "sky eyes" consisting of telescopes and scout camps. It was impossible for the Tibetan army to outflank them in Tuyuhun.

"Let's go."

"Let's go and meet this Dayan Mangbuzhi!"

"yes!!"

"..."

An hour later, the Far East Army's war drums thundered, shaking the entire Gongwang Plateau.

On the plateau, the Tibetans were on high alert, horns blared, and they prepared for battle.

The Tang army also entered the plateau one after another, but did not penetrate deep into the region on a large scale. Instead, they marched to the first line of defense of the Tubo, "Shichazi Pass", while ensuring safety.

The area is covered with rocks, and the road is rugged and difficult to traverse, making it challenging even for foot travelers. For warhorses, it's like wading through mud, making it a natural speed bump for cavalry.

The fact that Dayan Mangbuzhi chose this place as the first line of defense shows that he wasn't weak; he simply ran into gunpowder and Li Yuanchang.

The two armies faced each other across a pile of rocks several hundred paces apart, neither side showing themselves.

"The King of the Far East has arrived in person, where is Dayan Mangbuzhi?!" someone roared at the front of the battle, the sound shaking the plateau and spreading in all directions.

On a high point several hundred paces away, Tibetan military flags flashed incessantly, seemingly conveying a message.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Dayan Mangbuzhi arrived. He hid behind a huge rock, poked his head out, and roared down at the top, "Li Yuanchang, if you have the guts, come and seize the mountain!"