Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

"How about closing the wall?"

"It is still very damaged, and the gaps are being blocked with earth and stones - based on this estimate, enemy reinforcements will arrive in no more than three days."

Is it possible to take it down?

"We originally planned to rest for a day before launching a full-scale attack. Perhaps by the time I report this, Shimen Pass will have already been captured—who knows?"

"I hope so," Ma Chongying nodded, secretly calculating with his fingers, "The Mang Re army will reach Pinggao City by this morning at the latest. Whether or not they can breach the city, the garrison at Shimen Pass will be inexplicably terrified, and may even collapse on the spot..."

He naturally couldn't have imagined that Mang Re hadn't even reached the walls of Pinggao City.

Now, after Mang Re broke out of the plateau at Chenshi yesterday, he led five thousand elite troops along the north-south thoroughfare straight towards Pinggao, hoping to reach it by noon at the latest. Perhaps he could charge in directly without waiting for the garrison to hear the alarm and close the gates. The mountain pass is less than twenty li from the county town. If he doesn't need to conserve his strength, he might be able to achieve victory in less than an hour—afternoon is a very generous estimate.

However, as he traveled, Mang Reyou looked around and his brows gradually furrowed. He had fought the Tang army more than once and had ventured deep into Tang territory several times. He knew the Tang people's nature well. Even though it was after the autumn harvest and the weather was not yet very cold, there were still uncut wheat stalks and even some scattered ears of wheat in the fields and along the roadside. In normal times, there should be some farmers still busy at work—not to mention the ears of wheat, even the stalks could be cut and used as fuel for the winter—but why was there no one for dozens of miles around?

He ran in the middle of the column, selecting three hundred strong soldiers as the vanguard to attack the city first. However, just as the silhouette of the high city wall appeared on the horizon, a vanguard returned with a report: "Looking into the distance, the city gates are tightly closed, and there is no one to be seen!"

Mang Re was taken aback and immediately ordered everyone to stop.

"This must be a leak of information; the Tang people have already taken precautions!"

His mind raced, and the more he pondered the situation, the more perilous it seemed.

It was obvious that the Tang army hadn't just received the news. The absence of farmers in the countryside meant they must have already been alerted and either moved into the city or scattered to hide. If the Tang army had only just received the news and closed the city gates, the city would likely be in chaos, and according to intelligence, there were only two thousand weak soldiers. We would still have a chance to approach and scale the walls. But if they had been prepared… they could muster the able-bodied men in the city to help defend it, making it much more difficult to take.

If there is no external reinforcement, the small city of Pinggao is not difficult to take, after all, Mang Re's five thousand soldiers are all elite troops from the barbarian tribes, each one capable of fighting ten. However, if they come lightly armed and face a fortified city, they will first need to spend several days building siege equipment—relying on grappling hooks alone is probably not enough—while Tang reinforcements could arrive at any time.

He was unaware that Tang troops were still stationed at Baiquan, but he knew that the nearest pass, Muxia Pass, was within reach of Pinggao. If reinforcements were to arrive, they could reach Pinggao in a day or two at most. Although Muxia Pass did not have many troops, there were Liupan Pass and Longshan Pass to its south... Even if tens of thousands of troops came, it would probably not take more than three to five days.

Are I confident that I can successfully capture Pinggao City within three to five days? To be honest, the barbarian army is good at defending fortresses but not cities, and their skills and strategies for attacking cities are even worse.

Mang Re was in a dangerous place and dared not act rashly. However, having traveled a hundred li, he was reluctant to retreat. After a moment's thought, he ordered several small teams under his command: "Search the Tang villages from left to right and see if you can find any farmers."

Several small groups of barbarian soldiers went to carry out their orders and returned shortly afterward. Most of them found nothing, but one group managed to sneak into a small village. However, not only were all the houses locked and deserted, but when they broke into a few houses and searched inside, they found that even the stored grain and poultry such as chickens and ducks had been taken away.

This is also because Duan Xiushi had been stationed in Yuanzhou for a long time and liked to get close to the people and ask about agricultural matters. Therefore, he was familiar with the surrounding villages. Although he did not have time to move all the villages into the city, he cleared out all the villages near the main road in just one day.

Just then, the faint smoke of signal fire rose from the city walls again. With that, Mang Re had no chance of escape and couldn't help but stamp his foot and sigh, "If I find out who leaked the military intelligence, I will skin them alive and make an example of them!"

Ma Chongying devised this surprise attack strategy primarily based on the following considerations:

Firstly, the Tang army amassed a large force every year to defend against the autumn attack, leaving the Tibetan army with almost no opportunity to exploit. Moreover, the Tang army repeatedly rejected the Tibetans' requests for peace. They could disagree with using Longdi as the boundary and maintaining the status quo, but they had to offer a compromise. They couldn't just insist on Menggu and Chiling. Therefore, without a surprise attack, it would be difficult to break the stalemate on the eastern front.

Secondly, the Tang court had basically stabilized the east and had even appointed Li Ji as the military governor of Shuofang, which hinted at the intention to recover Hexi and Longyou. This would directly affect the Tibetan conquest of Anxi and Beiting.

Thirdly, every year during the autumn defense, the Tang army would concentrate heavy troops at the passes of Liupan Mountain, but would ignore the salient of Huizhou, and would not reinforce Huizhou with additional troops. Now, the troops guarding Huizhou are the rootless Anxi and Beiting military camps, which are said to be demoralized and lack the will to fight, making it easy to seize.

Thus, Ma Chongying painstakingly devised this plan, which aimed to threaten Guanzhong, cut off Ling and Yuan, and then easily seize Huizhou. Now, with Mang Re's surprise attack failing, the already uncertain outcome of the best result is out of the question, and even the moderate outcome of capturing Yuanzhou seems unlikely. So what should he do?

One path leads onward, hoping that Pinggao's generals are incompetent and his soldiers cowardly, perhaps still offering a chance to capture the city. However, any general with a sound mind can foresee the slim chances of victory. If they halt their troops beneath the fortified city and wait for the Tang army to encircle them from all sides, they will be annihilated—especially since their food supplies are insufficient, and the Tang are employing a scorched-earth policy…

The other option is to avoid trouble and retreat the way we came. While supplies will be insufficient for the return journey, as long as daily consumption is managed, we can barely make it out of the mountains and won't starve. However, this would mean not only gaining no merit in this battle, but also potentially being slandered by political enemies as cowardly and a failure to seize an opportunity upon returning to court…

After much deliberation, Mang Re, just as Duan Xiushi had predicted, chose the middle strategy—to attack Shimen Pass!

Shimen Pass is located more than seventy li northwest of Pinggao City. If one runs fast, one can reach it in a day and a night. Even if the pass receives a signal from Pinggao, the defenders will only have one night to prepare, so it may not be difficult to breach. More importantly, according to Mang Re's calculations, Ma Chongying's army must have already captured Huining Pass and divided its forces to advance eastward. In that case, he and the main force can attack from both sides and successfully break through the pass, thus escaping the danger zone.

Moreover, if we act quickly enough, before the Tang forces from all directions can gather, our Tibetan army can still attack Pinggao again and then defeat the Tang reinforcements one by one.

This is a strategy of seeking life in the face of death... no, a strategy of achieving merit where none has been achieved!

He then ordered the entire army to turn around and head north again along the main road, heading straight for Shimen Pass.

Chapter Twenty, Waiting for a Rabbit to Fall into a Trap

Ma Chongying was really worried about Shimen Pass.

He knew that it was extremely risky for Mang Re to lead a surprise attack eastward. If he failed to capture the city and was trapped in enemy territory, his entire army would likely be wiped out. Even if he successfully captured Pinggao City, he would still be isolated and without reinforcements. Unless his own army could quickly capture Shimen Pass, coordinate with it, or even charge into Xiaping and cooperate to defeat the Tang army that came to its aid one by one.

He then besieged Huining for two days and then for three more days. When he heard that his vanguard had reached Shimen Pass, but the Tang army at the pass was already prepared, he could no longer sit idly by. So he handed over the siege to his subordinates and personally rode eastward at full speed.

Upon reaching the vicinity of Hechi, they saw thousands of barbarian soldiers driving captured salt workers to diligently produce salt. Ma Chongying couldn't help but laugh, "Huizhou is practically in my hands now, why drain the pond to catch all the fish?" He ordered a reduction in the workload and forbade the arbitrary killing of salt workers—salt mining is a skilled job, after all; if there are unnecessary losses, I can't very well just bring in workers from within the country to mine salt again later—just as he was about to continue westward, he suddenly received an urgent report from the outskirts of Huining City—

“Wang Tongzhi and others, the generals of Huizhou, were sent out to make contact and arrange to set fire to the city to create chaos and help our army attack the city.”

Ma Chongying was overjoyed upon receiving the report: "This is proof that all the gods, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas are helping our barbarians!" He immediately ordered a message to be sent back, saying that the morale of the Anxi and Beiting expeditionary forces was low and their hearts were unsettled. Therefore, this invitation must be genuine and not a trick by Bai Xiaode. If he did that, he would only further demoralize his own forces. Such a good opportunity must not be lost, and we must take the opportunity to break through the city's defenses.

"If you capture any Tang generals below Bai Xiaode, do not kill them or humiliate them. Wait for my return, and perhaps I can persuade them to surrender."

If I could recruit dozens of Tang generals from Anxi and Beiting, then taking over the Western Regions would be twice as effective with half the effort.

When he finally arrived at Shimen Pass, although the Tang family flags were still flying, the walls were clearly damaged in many places, and since they couldn't move any large stones, they could only temporarily use some gravel and bamboo to block the way. His subordinate came to report: "Our army has been attacking fiercely for four days, and the Tang people have defended very tenaciously. However, I estimate that they have less than a thousand soldiers, and nearly half of them have already been lost. They are about to be defeated. Now that the Grand Master has personally come to supervise the battle, I believe that the next round of attack will be able to break through the pass."

Ma Chongying asked, "Is there any news about Mang Re?"

"Nothing yet. The daily beacon fires are being used to send messages, but what they say is hard to determine."

Ma Chongying smiled: "No news is actually good news. If the attack on Pinggao had failed, Mangre would most likely have come to attack Shimen Pass from both sides, but he hasn't. This shows that Pinggao is already in my hands... or is about to fall into my hands." Then his expression turned serious: "However, Mangre's army is isolated and cannot last long. They urgently need my reinforcements. We must take this pass as soon as possible!" He paused, then asked again: "How heavy are our casualties?"

The general replied, "Because the Grand Commandant ordered an urgent attack on the city, he dispatched all of our elite troops and launched a fierce attack for four days, resulting in considerable casualties—fortunately, most of them were able to be saved, and the dead numbered no more than a hundred."

Ma Chongying said, "These past few days, we've traveled hundreds of miles, attacking cities and passes. I know you're all exhausted. Don't let your guard down. Quickly capture Shimen Pass, then we can rest and wait for the Tang reinforcements to arrive." He then ordered the soldiers to rest for an hour. After an hour, he would personally lead the capture of the pass.

So, after resting and accumulating strength, the Tibetan army launched a new attack while it was still early.

Where they stood, there was a high mountain called Mount Sumeru. The Shimen River flowed from west to east, cutting the mountain in two, north and south, like a stone gate. A pass was built beside the gorge, named Shimen Pass. Three miles east of the pass, the mountain leveled out, and five miles further on, there was a town called Shimen Town, a place where merchants and travelers from the west would rest.

Mang Re led his army on a swift march, encountering no obstacles along the way, and arrived smoothly at Shimen Town. However, although the town gates were wide open, upon entering, they found it deserted and uninhabited. Mang Re panicked and hurriedly kicked open a door to inspect the place himself. He found the house in disarray, with most of the furniture and belongings scattered about, and the stove still warm…

He couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "They must have all fled as soon as they heard I was coming."

After all, he had led 5,000 elite troops along this main road for several days, so it was highly unlikely that the surrounding residents were completely unaware. However, the people of Shimen Town had clearly only fled recently—at most one night—unlike before at Pinggao City, where the Tang people had taken precautions and evacuated the people and emptied the city of supplies. Therefore, even if the nearby town of Shimen had received the alarm, it had not yet had time to send troops to defend the east.

Furthermore, the mountain road is so narrow and the pass is not spacious enough to garrison at most two thousand troops. Unless our main force is still blocked like at Huining Pass, if we come from the east to attack the pass, how can the pass have any spare strength to defend against us?

Feeling reassured, he ordered his soldiers to collect the food left behind by the townspeople, have a hearty meal, rest for two hours, and then surge towards Shimen Pass.

From Shimen Town to the mountain pass, it was less than five li, which could be covered in an instant. However, as they were marching, the vanguard suddenly stopped. Just as Mang Re was about to ask what was going on, a subordinate came over and reported: "General, there is a deep trench dug in front of the mountain, and it will not be easy for the army to pass."

Mang Re said, "We can go back and get a door panel from the town to cross the moat." He had barely finished speaking when he was suddenly startled and hurriedly asked, "When was the moat dug?"

"The soil is still fresh; it will last at most two days."

Mang Re was somewhat alarmed. Although he tried to reassure himself that the garrison at Shimen Pass must have received news of our attack from behind—look, even the townspeople of Shimen have fled; surely they would warn the pass—it was understandable that they had hastily dug trenches to block the attack; it was a last resort. But looking around, to the north was the swiftly flowing Shimen River, to the west was the wide trench of the mountain pass, to the east was Shimen Town, and only to the south was a vast, flat plain…

It's just like a pocket!

While he was pondering this, he suddenly felt a tremor beneath his feet, as if a thousand hooves were galloping. Almost simultaneously, the barbarian soldier who was about to go back to dismantle the door came to report: "The gate to Shimen Town is closed for some reason..."

Mang Re, eager to launch a pincer attack on Shimen Pass and escape the perilous situation, inadvertently made two mistakes: first, he failed to order anyone to remain and garrison Shimen Town; second, he failed to conduct a prior reconnaissance of the area around Shimen Pass. The main reason for his failure to raid Pinggao and his forced northward retreat was that his remaining provisions were dwindling, so he dared not eat freely. Having finally entered Shimen Town, he discovered that the townspeople had stored plenty of grain, so he allowed his soldiers to rest and eat their fill. After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, their blood drained from their organs, and their minds went blank…

After devising his plan, Li Ji personally rode to survey the terrain near Shimen Pass. He then ordered the forced relocation of all the inhabitants of Shimen Town to prevent them from being caught in the crossfire, and also ordered trenches to be dug at the mountain pass to block the enemy. Chen Lizhen believed that the barbarian army had little food and was about to empty the town of all supplies to prevent them from falling into enemy hands, but Li Ji smiled and shook his head:

“There is no treasury in the town; all the grain is stored in people’s homes. How can we empty it all in a short time? Moreover, the barbarian bandits have come in a panic. If they see neither people nor grain, they will know that our army is prepared and they will not easily fall into our trap again. If we hold the town, it will take more effort.”

The key point is that on the mountain ridge to the west of the road, there used to be a beacon tower, connecting Pinggao City and Shimen Pass. Although it had been mostly abandoned due to the lack of war, Wei Gao led his troops to repair it. They cut down trees, chopped grass, and piled up horse dung as fuel—the so-called beacon fire was said to use wolf dung, but even if they had prepared for years, it would have been impossible to collect a large amount of wolf dung. They kept an eye on the movements below the mountain and lit fires to warn of the enemy. Therefore, Li Ji could make a rough judgment about the movements of the barbarian army, mainly based on their speed and the time it took to arrive at the battlefield.

So the cavalry ambushed the left side of the road south of the pass, ready to strike at any opportune moment.

The trap set up by Li Ji, a strategy of waiting for the enemy to run into a trap, actually included Shimen Town as well. Although they left food to mislead the enemy, they couldn't be sure how long the Tibetan army would stay in the town or whether they would leave troops to defend it. But a moment in advance, they sent elite soldiers to scout inside. Seeing that the Tibetan army had all gone east, they naturally closed the town gates quickly.

Thus, to the north lies the Shimen River, to the west the Shimen Town, and to the east the wide moat below the Shimen Pass. Only the south is open, a smooth road, perfect for cavalry to gallop freely. It is conceivable that the barbarian army, which launched a surprise attack by sneaking through mountains and valleys, could not have ridden horses and must have been entirely infantry.

The warhorses galloped at speeds exceeding forty kilometers per hour, equivalent to nearly eighty li in Tang Dynasty feet—of course, in reality, it wouldn't take an hour, and even at full speed, it would only take twenty or thirty minutes at most—so the journey from their ambush location to the west of Shimen Town would only take about ten minutes. Ten minutes doesn't sound like a short time; in later times, it would be enough to leisurely smoke a cigarette. However, for thousands of soldiers to quickly change their formation into a battle column, change their facing direction from west to east, and organize into defensive formations, that little time was simply not enough.

Unless the enemy isn't the Tibetan army, but robots, and they need to be connected to a network...

Just as Mangre realized something was wrong and ordered his soldiers to turn around, before the order could even reach the lowest ranks, they saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance, and countless Tang cavalry surging towards them. Mangre was terrified—he had fallen into a trap! The Tang people were not only prepared, but they had also anticipated his arrival at Shimen Pass… Upon closer inspection, he saw the banners of the Shuofang army, and his mind went completely blank.

The fact that the Shuofang cavalry did not go to Lingzhou but instead headed south to Yuanzhou shows that the Tang people had already discovered Da Lun's strategy and had made a complete plan long ago!

As the Tang cavalry approached, they unleashed a volley of arrows, felling Tibetan soldiers before they could even raise their shields, further disrupting their ranks. The Tang cavalry then circled around on both flanks, aiming to completely encircle the Tibetan army, while the vanguard of several hundred abandoned their bows and charged straight in with their spears—the formation acting as a spearhead. A general in black armor and a dark cloak, like a black lightning bolt, instantly crashed into the Tibetan ranks.

It was Chen Lizhen, one of the top cavalry generals in Shuofang.

Li Ji did not charge ahead, but was surrounded by his guards, positioned slightly behind the center of the formation. Seeing Chen Lizhen had already entered the enemy ranks, he couldn't resist the urge to charge forward, but Yuan Jing'an grabbed his reins. Yuan Jing'an advised, "The commander-in-chief is the leader of the army; you must not act rashly."

Li Ji curled his lip: "The rebels are already in disarray, and their morale is surely low. Killing them now is nothing more than slaughtering chickens and dogs. What danger is there? Why can't I step forward?"

Yuan Jing'an replied without any politeness: "'A good rider falls from his horse, a good swimmer drowns, a good drinker gets drunk, and a good warrior dies in battle'—these are the words of your own words, General! We haven't even had the chance to kill the enemy yet, why should you compete for merit with a lowly soldier?"

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh, "If what you say is true, then my spear and mace are probably useless now..." He then glanced at Yuan Jing'an with a sly smile and asked him, "Do you want to go forward and kill the traitors to make a name for yourself?"

Yuan Jing'an hesitated for a moment before replying, "Of course I would like to, but I dare not ask... I fear that if we go, the commander will come forward again."

Li Ji waved his hand and said, "I swear, I'll just stay here and watch the battle, and I'll never go forward. Today's opportunity is rare, so I'll give you a favor and you can all go up and snatch a few heads."

Yuan Jing'an was overjoyed upon hearing this. Although the military commander's guards were honorable and received slightly more provisions than other troops, their primary mission was to protect the commander. Unless the commander was in danger, they had no chance to personally wield swords and spears to fight the enemy. However, he still kept to his duty and first asked Li Ji to send a separate battalion to protect him before leading more than a hundred cavalry guards into the battlefield.

Unfortunately, in that short delay, Chen Lizhen and the others had completely scattered the barbarian soldiers. The ensuing battle could be described as a massacre or a reaping... The five thousand men that Mang Re brought were all elite barbarian soldiers. Although they were in dire straits, their fighting spirit remained strong, and very few knelt down to beg for their lives. However, if the infantry did not form a strong formation, they would have been unable to withstand the charge of the cavalry. Moreover, in the chaos, they did not even have time to break formation...

Often, a dozen or so barbarian soldiers hastily formed small squads, making effective coordination difficult. The Tang cavalry would first open them up with a hail of arrows, followed by sword and spear attacks, maintaining a kill ratio of about ten to one. Many barbarian soldiers fled in terror, either falling into the earthen trenches in front of the pass and becoming prisoners, or leaping into the turbulent waters of Shimen River and perishing in the sea.

Just as victory seemed imminent, a soldier suddenly pointed and lit fireworks on the Shimen Pass, signaling that the pass was about to fall...

The garrison at Guanshang originally numbered only a few dozen soldiers. It was only after Ma Lin heard the alarm at Huining Pass that he urgently dispatched seven hundred garrison troops from Muxia Pass to assist in the defense, in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances. Before their departure, Ma Lin instructed them, "The barbarian bandits did not come to the Liupan Passes, but instead attacked Huining, which is truly unexpected. The Anxi and Beiting military camps are few and weak, and I fear they cannot hold it. If Huining Pass falls, the barbarian bandits will most likely come east to attack our Yuanzhou..."

Because he hadn't anticipated a surprise attack from the mountains, he wasn't worried about Pinggao City for the time being. Instead, he was concerned that the force attacking Huining was also a feint, and that the main force of the barbarian bandits would wait until he neglected the defenses of the Liupan Passes before launching a frontal assault. As a result, he only allocated less than a thousand men to defend Shimen Pass.

The general who was given the order was somewhat worried and asked Ma Lin, "If the enemy launches a large-scale attack on Shimen Pass, I'm afraid this small force will not be able to hold it."

Ma Lin instructed, "Go to the pass. If you see the enemy coming in force, report to me immediately. If you can hold out for seven days, you will be credited, and I will send additional troops to assist you."

He could only rob Peter to pay Paul, transferring some troops from Zhisheng Pass to Longshan Pass, from Longshan Pass to Liupan Pass, from Liupan Pass to Muxia Pass... At the same time, he urgently sent envoys to Binning Town to request reinforcements.

Fengxiang is closer, but the soldiers there dare not move.

When they finally encountered the enemy at Shimen Pass, the defending general panicked upon seeing the endless barbarian army stretching across the mountains. He immediately dispatched a fast horse to Ma Lin for help. Fortunately, soon after, soldiers from Shuofang arrived, informing my commander Li of his complete plans…

Chapter Twenty-One: A Sudden Change in the Situation

Knowing that thousands of elite cavalry from Shuofang were responding from behind, the defenders of Shimen Pass were determined to fight, which is why they were able to hold out for four days without retreating.

But manpower is finite, and Shimen Pass was not very fortified—it stood as a roadblock without any advantage of high ground, and had been abandoned for a long time, with many breaches in the earthen walls and insufficient repair supplies. Then, the Tibetan army arrived, rested for only one day, and disregarding the lack of powerful siege equipment, relentlessly attacked the pass, risking lives to pave the way. As a result, the defending troops suffered heavy casualties and became extremely exhausted, finally unable to hold out any longer.

After Ma Chongying arrived at the front line, his offensive was more intense than in the previous days. Finally, many Tibetan soldiers managed to breach the wall through the collapsed gaps. Seeing that there was no way to turn the tide, the defending general lit the beacon fire to indicate that the city was about to fall.

The fighting was still raging behind the pass and had not yet ended, but Li Ji still ordered the flags to be waved, instructing those on the pass: Retreat, don't panic, let the enemy go down to Ping.

He immediately ordered men to dismantle door panels from Shimen Town, construct trenches, and facilitate the garrison's retreat out of the mountains. At the same time, he commanded: "Quickly annihilate the bandits; those who do not surrender will be killed!"

The Shuofang cavalry formed several square formations, using arrows to shoot from afar and spears to pick off enemy soldiers up close, speeding up the clearing process and forcing the remaining Tibetan troops step by step toward Shimen River. In less than a quarter of an hour, the Shimen garrison withdrew—the seriously wounded or those with leg injuries had to give up, and in the end, less than four hundred men retreated outside the mountains.

The barbarian army pursued closely, but as soon as they emerged from the mountain pass, they saw more than a dozen cavalry units standing ready, their warhorses snorting and hooves puffing, poised to charge at any moment...