Chapter 134: The Battle of Stone Castle (I)

Chiling is located on the east side of Qinghai and has always been the throat of the ancient Tang and Tibet Road. It was named because the mountain was red. As early as the Han, Wei, Jin and Sui dynasties, Chiling was the outpost and barrier under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, it was the most prominent strategic position because it was the dividing line between the Tang and Tibet.

Chiling is high in the west and low in the east. Although the terrain in the west is high, it is relatively gentle, while the east is steep and steep, like a huge barrier lying across the ancient Tang and Turkish road. For a hundred years, it has been the bridgehead for Tubo to invade the Tang Dynasty.

The battle between 300,000 Tang and Tibet troops in Chiling touched the core interests of the two countries. The troops started to be dispatched in June and have been confronting each other for half a year. Gradually, the battle between Chiling has reached its most critical moment.

In the Tubo camp in Dafeichuan, a team of more than 10,000 Tubo imperial guards were storming. In the middle of the team, eight hundred Tubo strong men were carrying a huge wooden chariot. On the wooden chariot was a white felt tent wool wool, which could accommodate nearly a hundred people. Eighteen burly warriors stood in front of the tent. Among them, a Tubo nobleman in his fifties sat cross-legged. He was wearing a white robe with long sleeves and wide collar, and a high-quality lambskin collar. His hair was tied into silk. A red turban with straight pleated tubes were wrapped around the golden crown, and a short sword inlaid with gems was hung around his waist. He was Tubo Zamp Chide Zuzan.

For Tubo, the Hehuang Battle was also a battle that concerns the country's destiny. Tubo devoted all his national strength to deal with this battle. From the beginning to the end, Chide Zuzan was paying attention to the progress of the battle. However, after Fuqi City in Haixi was attacked by the Tang army, Chide Zuzan began to feel uneasy. Can Dazha Lugong really defend Chiling for him?

Immediately afterwards, Dazalugong captured Shenwei City, but was defeated on Longju Island. Two completely different battle reports finally made Chide Zuzan unable to sit still. He ordered a patrol to Dafeichuan and come to the front line to supervise the battle in person.

Ten miles away from the Tubo camp, Dazalugong led 30,000 Tubo troops to greet them. "Woo~!" The trombone sounds echoed in the ice and snow. Chide Zuzan stood up and waved: "The gods protect Tubo! The gods protect my army!"

"The gods protect Zanpu, Zanpu! Zanpu!"

Thirty thousand Tubo troops bent down and knelt down, calling Zanpu three times, with a grand momentum. The wooden chariot was slowly lowered, Dazhalugong took a step forward, knelt down and said, "My minister Dazhalugong, see Zanpu!"

Chide Zuzan hurriedly stepped forward and helped him up, and said with a smile: "General Dazhalugong, I am concerned about the battle between Tang and Tibet, and I will reward the army."

"I dare not, please Zanpu enter the military camp. I will report the war to Zanpu."

"Okay! I'm just about to hear it."

Tens of thousands of wooden chariots surrounded by Tubo Zanpu were heading towards the Dafeichuan military camp.

Dozens of Tubo generals in the military camp were lined up in two rows, and Dazalugong was describing the details of the two battles to Chide Zuzan.

Compared with the great victory of Shenwei City, Chide Zuzan was more concerned about the disastrous defeat of Longju Island. When he heard that it was Qinghai Dragon King who showed his saint, which led to the disastrous defeat of the Tubo army, his brows frowned. How could it be? Qinghai Dragon King appeared from the Tang Army castle, and he felt a little unbelievable.

Dazhalugong said: "When I first heard Lunzangqi's report, I didn't believe it. I thought it was his excuse to hide his failure. But later I asked more than 100 soldiers casually, and everyone's description was the same. The green dragon was indeed hovering in the air and thunder fell, causing heavy casualties to our soldiers. This was witnessed by thousands of people, and I thought it could not be fake."

Chide Zuzan pondered for a moment and asked, "What is the name of the Tang army guarding Longju Island?"

"I later investigated and heard that it was the general of Anxi, named Li Qing'an. I suspect that he attacked Fuqicheng. I saw our grain ship in his hands."

"Li Qing'an!"

Chide Zuzan murmured the name twice, and a deep hatred gradually shot out in his eyes, and gritted his teeth and said, "I know he is the first arrow of Anxi. He shot my princess to death in the abyss of Xiao Bolu. It's really a narrow road for enemies!"

Dazhalugong was also stunned, and after a while he said, "Please rest assured that this Tang general, I will definitely capture Zanpu alive and hand it over to Zanpu."

Late at night, everything west of Chiling was silent, and all creatures seemed to have hibernated. The cold wind blew the rocks like a knife, passing through the cracks of the rocks, making a roar like a ghost, which was creepy. At this time, two figures appeared in a valley in Chiling. They were moving quickly and skillfully. These were two Tang army scouts. They had five groups, each group of two, sent by Li Qing'an to investigate the distribution of the Tubo army in Chiling.

These two are old scouts of the Anxi Army, with rich experience. They are very good at protecting themselves and will never let the Tubo outposts discover them.

They were halfway up the mountain, looking for the place where the Tubo army garrisons were stationed. They had already discovered the traces of the Tubo patrol, so there should be Tubo army stationed nearby.

"Lao Liu, look over there!" A scout suddenly discovered several white things in a valley.

"It's a tent!" Another Tang army shouted in surprise.

"Shh! Sigh, let's go and see."

The two of them quickly climbed up the mountain. The back mountain of Chiling was not as steep as the front mountain. There were many valleys that were conducive to climbing, but it was limited to the mountainside. If you wanted to climb to the top of the mountain, it would be extremely difficult.

The two of them slowly climbed to the top and looked down from above. It was particularly clear that they took a breath and the air conditioner. They saw that the tents were arranged densely, filling the huge valley.

"I ordered it out, there were 295 tents in total."

According to their experience, there were twenty people living in each tent, plus some tents for storing grain. There were at least five thousand troops in this valley. They looked up at the top of the mountain. In the night, a mountain road stretched to the top of the mountain. There was a huge black peak, like a yak, lying on the top of the mountain, which was the stone castle city that guarded the Chiling Road.

"It's here!"

Two Tang troops marked the location of the Tubo garrison on the map with the faint moonlight, slowly climbed off the cliff, and quickly disappeared into the dark night.

On December 24, in Yinglong City, Li Qing'an officially handed over the defense of Yinglong City to the general Wang Rare, who came to replace him.

On the ice field of Longju Island, three thousand Tang troops were ready to go. There were both Anxi scouts who participated in the Xiaobolu Battle, Jiangdu Camp brought from Yangzhou, Han slaves rescued in Haixi, and 1,500 Longyou elite soldiers added to him by Geshuhan. In the middle of the team, there were dozens of petite soldiers, with red scarves on their left arms showing their uniqueness.

Behind the team were more than 500 plateau horses, carrying 3,000 Tang troops' food for six days, clear water and a large number of arrows, and dozens of heavy sleds loaded with turbulent oil barrels, gunpowder tanks and other military supplies.

The cold wind was so cold that even the air seemed to freeze. Three thousand Tang troops stood quietly in the cold wind, waiting for the final order to set off. Li Qing'an turned over and took a last look at the lonely Yinglong City standing on the empty ice field. He felt an indescribable loss in his heart. Will there be any remains of the castle on a small island in Qinghai Lake, thousands of years later?

"Set off!"

Li Qingan waved his hand and three thousand troops set out. In the darkness, teams of Tang troops set out, like three long black dragons, heading towards Chiling.

In the Dafeichuan military camp, Dazhalugong received emergency information from Shenwei City. A 100,000 Tang army appeared on Chiling North Road. The sudden military information made Dazhalugong's nerves tense suddenly. He never expected that the Tang army would launch an offensive in such a cold season. The military information was very urgent. The Shenwei Fort defenders issued three urgent reports in a row, requesting support.

But Dazhalugong was not moved by it. Years of military experience told him that the more urgent the moment, the more we should remain calm. It would not be that simple for the Tang army to launch an offensive at this extraordinary moment. There must be profound meaning in it.

Dazhalugong paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back. The Tang army's strategies were nothing more than two types. One was to attack from the northern line and bypass Chiling from the northern line, so as not to cross the Shibao City. The other strategy was to feint the attack on the northern line and attract his own troops to rescue, but the Tang army actually attacked Shibao City.

Both strategies are possible. Dazalugong squinted his eyes and stared at the roof of the tent. If he were Geshuhan, which strategy would he choose?

“Zampo is here!”

The shouts of soldiers came from outside the tent, and Dazalukong woke up from his thoughts. When he lifted the curtain, Zampo Chide Zuzan and Da Xiang Shang Jiexi walked in one after another.

Because Shang Jiexi went to Fuqi City to inspect, he came to Dafeichuan Military Camp one day later than Zanpu. Shang Jiexi was the governor of the rear and the general support for the Tang-Tibet War. In terms of this battle position alone, he was on par with Dazalugong, one responsible for the front-line battle and the other responsible for logistics support. However, in Tubo, Shang Jiexi was the prime minister of Tubo, that is, the prime minister of Tubo. Below one person and above ten thousand people, Dazalugong could not be compared with him. Both of them were never in harmony. After Fuqi City was attacked by the Tang army, it was his impeachment that caused Dazalugong to be removed from the position of second prime minister. This time he accompanied Zanpu to Dafeichuan for inspection, obviously there was a bit of a bad intention.

Dazhalugong did not dare to be negligent, so he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down, "See Zanpu!"

Chide Zuzan has been here for three days. He plans to return tomorrow, but unexpectedly, just as he is about to return to Beijing, he suddenly received news of the Tang army's large-scale attack, and he can't sit still.

"General Dazha Lugong, I heard that the Tang army has launched an offensive, but it is true?"

Chidezuzan was a little unhappy. He shouldn't have asked him, but Dazalugong reported to him immediately. Does Dazalugong dare to neglect him so much?

A cold sweat broke out in Dazhalugong's back. He heard the dissatisfaction in Zanpu's tone and hurriedly said, "Zanpu, I just got the news, and the Tang army did launch an offensive."

Shang Jiexi, who was standing beside him, snorted coldly and said, "Even outsiders like Zamp and I know, will General Dazha Lugong have heard of it just now?"

He took the word "outsider" very seriously, just to remind Chide Zuzan that Dazarugong had no intention of reporting to him.

Shang Jiexi's naked provocation made Dazalugong furious. New and old hatreds attacked him together. He couldn't control his anger and knelt in front of Chide Zuzan and said hatefully: "I have not reported it to Zanpu in time because I want to think about countermeasures. However, some people think this is a traitor. If Zanpu also feels that I do not take responsibility, then please Zanpu be removed from the position of former commander of the military. I am willing to go to the grassland to herd sheep."

A hint of anger flashed in Chide Zuzan's eyes. Dazalugong dared to coerce himself. He suppressed his anger and helped Dazalugong up with a smile.

"The enemy is in front of the enemy, so the general should not do this. The prime minister is also eager to discuss military affairs. The previous army will still focus on the general. I am just giving some reference opinions."

As he said that, he walked directly to the map, pointed to the location of Shenwei City and asked: "I heard that the Tang army has 100,000 troops currently under the Tang army. How many military and horses do our army have in Shenwei City?"

Dazhalugong sighed secretly, how could Zanpu participate in military affairs be just a reference? Helplessly, he had to answer: "There are 5,000 garrisons in Shenwei City, but Shenwei City was built by the Tang army. It is facing mountains in the west, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack, but the east is flat ground, and it is easy to attack. When the Tang army attacks, it is probably difficult to defend Shenwei City."

Chide Zuzan pondered for a moment and said, "Does the general think the Tang army is just here to attack Shenwei City?"

"I consider that there are two possibilities for the Tang army, either to open up the northern line, bypass Chiling, or to feint attack the northern line and transfer our army. Their real purpose is to attack Shibao City."

"Which general thinks is more likely?"

Dazhalugong frowned. In fact, both are possible. If he just wanted to capture Chiling, there was a high possibility of attacking Shibao City. But if the Tang army wanted to attack Dafeichuan, it would be easier to bypass Chiling. The key is that he did not know the strategic deployment of the Tang army.

But Zamp's question did not allow him to answer. He gritted his teeth and said, "I think it is more likely to attack Shibao City."

"I think the Tang army gathered heavy troops in Hehuang for several months, and it would not be as simple as capturing Shibao City. Capturing Dafeichuan, seizing the Nine Ques of the Yellow River, and occupying our logistics and grain production areas are the strategic goals of the Tang army."

Shang Jiexi slowly walked forward and glanced at Dazha Lugong with contempt and said, "General Dazha Lugong, the Tang Dynasty defined this battle as the Hehuang Battle, which means that they not only focus on the capture of one pass and one pass, because they won the victory of the Xiaobolu Battle, and the Western Front has already gained an advantage, so they can concentrate all their energy on Helong on the eastern front. With the great success of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he would never be satisfied with a small stone castle city. Since he ascended the throne in the second year of Kaiyuan, he has been committed to expanding deeply into Tubo. Now he is in his twilight years and can he have a few more years of life. Of course, he is unwilling to enter the coffin with regrets.

So this time he mobilized 150,000 troops from Shuofang, Hexi, Longyou and Anxi to fight this war with all his strength. Is he really just trying to seize the Shibao City? If it is just to seize the Shibao City, what is the point of cultivating Shenwei City and Yinglong City? Dazha Lugong, you are a general, and you may only be able to analyze the strategic intentions of the Tang army from intelligence, but you don’t understand the government affairs, so you can’t analyze the strategic intentions of the Tang army, but only look at the war deployments of the Tang Dynasty over the years, you can infer the true intentions of the Tang army. If I guess correctly, there should be a heavy Tang army army that has bypassed the Chiling North Line and is advancing towards Dafeichuan."

As soon as Shang Jiexi finished speaking, a hurry ran out of the door suddenly remembered the sound of running. A message soldier shouted outside the tent: "Report to the general, a Tang army brigade of about 80,000 people has crossed the northern line of Chiling and is coming towards Dafeichuan in a mighty way!"

Chidezu looked at Shang Jiexi with praise and then coldly said to Dazhalugong: "General Dazhalugong, what should I do next? I don't think I need to remind you again!"

Under the oppression of Tubo Zamp, Dazhalugong had to change his military deployment. He immediately ordered the mobilization of 30,000 Tubo heavy troops stationed in the middle of Chiling to reinforce Shenwei City, and mobilized 20,000 Tubo troops from Datong Valley to march eastward. This was to cooperate with the Tubo army in Chiling to defend Shenwei City. At the same time, in order to cut off the Tang army's retreat, he personally led 80,000 troops to march northward, preparing to fight against the main force of the Tang army that invaded Dafeichuan.

After a series of strategic deployments, in addition to leaving 10,000 troops to guard the Dafeichuan military camp, only 5,000 Tubo troops were stationed in Shibao City west of Chiling. This was the subsequent reinforcement of Shibao City, led by General Lun Zangqi.

There are two distances from Longju Island to Chiling's back mountain. One is walking on the ice of Qinghai, while the other is going ashore and marches in a low mountain on the plateau. One of the marches on the ice is relatively smooth. Tubo scouts generally do not appear on the ice, but patrol along the back of Chiling.

After Li Qing'an's three thousand troops arrived ashore at night, they quickly crossed the Tubo army's patrol route and penetrated into the depths of Chiling with a sharp knife.

On the evening of December 26, Li Qing'an's three thousand Tang troops came to a valley called Langyajiao. It was less than ten miles away from the Tubo Army stationed in the back mountain of Shibao City. You can reach it by climbing a mountain.

Along the way, they passed several heavy sites of Tubo Army stationed. Thousands of Tubo Army were originally stationed, but now they were all empty, including this Langya Corner, which is also the garrison. However, no Tubo soldiers are seen now, which means that Geshuhan's plan to mobilize troops has been successful, and the main force of the Tubo Army rushed to the northern line of Chiling.

After several days of rapid march, the Tang army was exhausted and sat on the ground to rest and recover. The Tang army wrapped in a thick military blanket, drank strong wine, and talked quietly.

Under a rock were five soldiers from Jiangdu camp, crowded like groundhogs, warming each other's body temperature.

"Damn it, this ghost place is almost frozen to death. I remember that at this time last year, I was lying in my wife's warm quilt. While drinking Jiangdu pear blossom wine, I was thinking about whether to have another baby with my wife. But now! I really don't know what kind of stubbornness is so swollen that I ran here to fight?"

Another veteran glanced at him and smiled and said, "Lin San, why don't you regret it when you count the money? Tell me yourself, how much money have you made since you entered the regiment training camp?"

"Then how much do you get?"

"You say it first, I will say it after you say it."

"Okay! I have a account here."

Lin San took out a small notebook from his arms, with a few lines of words written on it, and said with a smile: "There are records here. When training troops, I entered the top ten archery and received twenty guan coins; I got five golden hairpins when I fought in Liangshan, and I got fifty guan coins when I went to Anxi. I lost it, that's all."

Suddenly, he scratched his head and said, "No! I remember that there is still rice money from the Baguan Regiment Training Camp, why didn't I remember it? Damn, look at my dog's memory."

Lin San put away the notebook and poked the veteran with his arm and said, "Sun Mazi, it's your turn to say."

Sun Mazi laughed and said, "I forgot how much money I get!"

"You bastard! How dare you fool me."

Lin San turned over and threw the veteran to the ground, and cursed with a smile: "It's okay not to say it, then you have to tell me how you and your wife are intimate in daily life?"

"Shh! Silence!" An officer in the distance shouted in a low voice.
Chapter completed!