Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4801 Surprise
The staff nodded repeatedly, thinking that this approach was perfect. Although the Luyi Posthouse was small with only two gates in the north and south, the walls were high, the gates were solid, and they were located at a high place. When the enemy attacked, they could only attack from above and could not exert their full combat strength, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Since Lun Qinling was most likely a feint, the defenders could not be allowed to come out in full force to engage them, lest a misunderstanding arise between the two sides and a real fight ensues. Although no one cared about the lives of those slave-like soldiers, even animals had their value and could not be lost in vain...

Defending Naluyi was the most correct approach. Even if the worst-case scenario occurred, with thousands of soldiers defending the city and occupying the advantageous terrain, we were already invincible.

What's more, there are two thousand soldiers from Nuanquanyi behind Mount Orla who can cross the mountain pass to reinforce at any time...

"General, this is a brilliant plan. It will definitely make Lun Qinling give up!"

The staff did not hesitate to express their praise.

Lebujie laughed complacently for a while, but when he remembered that he was about to face Lun Qinling, he couldn't help feeling guilty and sighed, "This guy is known as the 'No. 1 General of Tubo'. Although the reputation is a bit undeserved, he still has real skills. If the Gar family had not become a thorn in the side of the Zamp, who would be willing to fight Lun Qinling?"

Before this, even the Zamp had admitted on different occasions that Zan Xiruo would definitely succeed Lu Dongzan as the Tubo Grand Minister in the future, and Lun Qinling was the "Grand Marshal of the Army". It was almost a foregone conclusion that these two brothers, one prime minister and one commander, would be in charge of Tubo's civil and military affairs, and no one doubted the talents of these two brothers.

But perhaps the reason why the Gar family was exiled to Qinghai Lake and ostracized by almost all Tibetan nobles was because these two brothers were too brilliant?
All the civil and military officials have been occupied by the Gar family, what should others do?
Groups are born out of interests, but the interests within a group can never be balanced...

The more outstanding and powerful you are, the more envy you will receive.

Especially when the trade of highland barley wine is controlled by others, who can tolerate this?

So even though everyone knew about Lu Dongzan's contributions to Tubo, when a crack appeared in the power of the Gar family, countless people immediately rushed forward and finally drove the Gar family out of Lhasa City and exiled them to Qinghai Lake, and the power gap left by the Gar family was divided up.

But now, the most brilliant star in the city of Luoshui, who was once famous in Tubo, has fallen to the level of a tribal chieftain, and even had to turn against the powerful Tubo and confront the nobles of Luoshui with his weak strength...

It's so sad how unpredictable things are.

……

The defenders of Naluyi quickly assembled,
Tubo was nominally unified, but in reality there was a serious internal power struggle and infighting. Songtsen Gampo defeated various tribes on the plateau by force and commanded the heroes with a tyrannical attitude, but he had no spare energy to eliminate and destroy these tribes.

When the country was strong, these tribes were obedient and submissive, but once the country declined, these tribes would become the source of internal divisions in Tubo. Even without the Han people attacking the plateau, these tribes themselves could tear the huge Tubo Dynasty apart...

The knowledgeable people in Tubo were able to see this hidden danger clearly, but they were powerless to change the status quo. They could only forcibly establish a hostile stance towards the Tang Dynasty in order to barely integrate the internal forces, temporarily suspend conflicts, and unite against external enemies.

Therefore, these troops that followed Lebujie to replace guard were equivalent to private troops, supported by the tribe's money and food, and obeyed Lebujie's orders.

Lebujie was wearing leather armor and covered with all kinds of gold, silver and ivory decorations. Although he was short and stout, he gave people a strong sense of oppression because of his sturdy body. With an iron spear hanging on a Desheng hook, he looked majestic and murderous.

Scouts kept reporting back the situation in Dayechuan. Lebujie stood upright on his horse in front of the gate, squinting his eyes slightly. He silently calculated in his heart that he had already understood the movements of the enemy.

All the merchants passing through here have been driven to the post station. These merchants, a mixture of Hu and Han, sighed and complained that Tubo was a "commercial wilderness" where the only rule for business was to break the rules. The tax rate set by the Zamp was a shit in the local area, and the amount of tax collected depended entirely on the mood of the tax officer. If it were not for the extreme shortage of supplies in Tubo, which led to the high prices of various goods and huge profits, no one would be willing to trade with Tubo.

But now it happens that there is a war. According to the usual practice of the Tibetan army, no matter who wins or loses this battle, there will be levies, such as compensation for clothing, pensions for the dead and wounded, money for frightened war horses, money to help the poor... There must be many names and endless items. This business trip is bound to be a loss, and the only hope is not to lose all the money.

The scorching sun above our heads gradually set in the west and slowly fell towards the distant mountains. The enemy was getting closer and closer, and the atmosphere in the entire Nalu Inn gradually became tense.

Although the Tibetans were brave and fearless, who would want to die if they could avoid death? War meant death, and no one could guarantee that they would survive. When they had to fight, they could face death with equanimity, but if they could avoid fighting, it was better not to fight.

When the setting sun hung over the western mountain peaks and the sky was filled with golden afterglow, a horse galloped from afar and approached in the blink of an eye. The knight jumped off his horse without waiting for it to stop. He staggered a few steps after landing due to inertia. After barely maintaining his balance, he knelt on the ground and shouted, "General, soldiers from Nuanquan Post came to report that the post station was attacked by Lun Qinling at dawn last night and the entire army was wiped out!"

Everyone was shocked. Lebujie's eyes were as big as copper bells: "How is it possible?"

He raised his head and looked at the vast Dafei River in front of him: "If Qinling raided Nuanquanyi, then who is facing us?"

No one answered, and there was no need to answer. If Nuanquan was really attacked by Lun Qinling, then the army in front of them that was crossing the Dayuechuan and heading straight to Naluyi was just flying under the banner of Lun Qinling.

To put it bluntly, before the war even started, Lebujie had already been tricked by Lun Qinling's "cover-up plan"...

Lebujie was embarrassed and annoyed. He glared at the deputy general beside him and cursed: "Are all the scouts dead? Why did you still not know that someone had cut off your retreat? Do you have to wait until Lun Qinling's army arrives at the gates of the city and gets beheaded before you know?"

The deputy general was in charge of scouts. Hearing this, he grinned and dared not argue.

It's not like he didn't send scouts to the mountains in the north, but with a powerful enemy in front of him, all his energy was focused on the enemy in front, and sending scouts to the north was just a routine matter, so the number of scouts was very small, and I think they were killed by Lun Qinling's scouts...

"What are you still standing there for? Send scouts to the north immediately. I want to know how many people Lun Qinling brought and where they went!"

"Yes!"

The deputy general retreated quickly, but he couldn't help muttering in his heart: All the scouts have been sent to the front of Dafeichuan, and are now investigating the enemy situation in the vast river. How can they spare any manpower to go north?
I can only go there myself with my guards...

Lebujie cursed.

The staff asked, "General, should we send troops to the north to intercept Lunqinling and the mountain pass?"

Lebujie rolled his eyes and said, "Do you think that is just a nobody who can be beaten back by a head-on attack? That's Lun Qinling! Maybe he is waiting for me to divide my forces now."

Then he looked at the Dafei River under the afterglow: "Lun Qinling is behind us, and in front of us is one of his brothers flying his banner. Although Nuanquanyi has a small number of troops, Mazhu is also a good fighter. Since it was conquered by Lun Qinling in one fell swoop, it is enough to show that Lun Qinling's troops are not small and very well-trained... Do you know what this means?"

The left and right aides and the generals were stunned for a moment. What did they mean?
It means there are enemies everywhere!
But in a moment several staff members reacted, their faces pale with fear, and they all stepped forward to grab the reins of the warhorse under Lebujie's crotch.

"General, are you going to take the initiative to attack? Absolutely not!"

"Since we know that the person who attacked us is Lun Qinling, we should adopt the most appropriate strategy and hold on and wait for help. How can we take the initiative to attack?"

"It is a taboo in military strategy to attack rashly without knowing the enemy's situation. General, think twice!"

"The walls of Nalu Post are high and the gates are thick, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. The post station is well-equipped with supplies, and the goods of these merchants can be collected at any time. We can hold out for ten days or half a month. If Qinling cannot be captured after a long siege, we will have to withdraw our troops. By then, the general will have achieved a great feat, so why take the risk?"

Lebujie's eyes lit up, and he waved his hand: "Since you all suggest this, I can only follow your advice... Come on, collect all the goods in the post station!"

"Yes!"

A group of soldiers rushed forward like wolves and tigers to check the goods. This was their favorite thing to do.

Merchants: “…”

Having made a fortune, Lebujie stroked his upright beard and said thoughtfully, "You are right. This is how a war should be fought. Safety comes first... But the problem is that this time we are facing Lun Qinling, who is the most cunning. How could he not think of what you can think of? Since he thought that we would defend the city and he could not break through the wall of Luyi, why did he run hundreds of miles and make a big circle to get behind us?"

The staff were speechless.

This is indeed the case. Since he had guessed Lebujie's response but still acted in this way, there can only be two possibilities: the other party is a fool, or the other party is dismissive of the defensive facilities of Luyi.

The other party is certainly not a fool. That is Lun Qinling, the most beloved son of Lu Dongzan, "the wisest man of Tubo". He is praised by the Zamp as the man who can inherit Lu Dongzan's mantle and the future number one general of Tubo!

Lebujie analyzed the current situation: "Defending Naluyi is what Lun Qinling wants to see, which means that doing so is very risky. In this case, why not take the initiative to attack? No matter who the commander of the oncoming army is, it is just bluffing and the troops are definitely insufficient. If I can defeat and annihilate it before Lun Qinling arrives at Naluyi, and then calmly return to Naluyi to defend it, wouldn't it solve the crisis of being attacked from both sides? Even if Naluyi is lost, as long as I defeat the army in front and capture or kill its commander, it will be a merit. Who let the commander of Nuanquanyi be incompetent and put us in trouble? By then, I will go all the way east from Dafeichuan to Dulan and then return to Luoshui City in the north. Not only will the Zamp not blame me, but he will even praise me..."

The more you analyze, the more determined you become.

In short, he knows his own limitations and is definitely not as good as Lun Qinling in terms of strategy and tactics, so he will never do anything that Lun Qinling wants him to do. On the contrary, he will definitely have a great opportunity to do something that Lun Qinling doesn't expect.

Didn’t the Han Chinese military manual say “attack when the enemy is unprepared and take advantage of their surprise”? That’s probably what it means…

(End of this chapter)