Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4823 Liemo Seashore
Three days later, Lun Qinling and Bolun Zanren finished reorganizing their troops at Naluyi, and Xiduoyu arrived with two thousand soldiers.

Xiduoyu is the fourth son of Lu Dongzan. He is tall, fat and mighty. Although he is not as famous as his brothers, he is quite liked by Lu Dongzan for his calm character. Whenever there is a war, tasks such as logistics, rearguard action and city defense are often assigned to Xiduoyu, and he never disappoints.

Five thousand elite soldiers were stationed at the Orla Pass. Lun Qinling and Bolun Zan were riding horses and whipping their whips, ready to go. Xi Duoyu stood on the ground with his hands holding the reins of two horses behind his back. His fat face was covered with sweat and he didn't bother to wipe it off. His eyes were full of worry: "Second brother has always been wise. I dare not interfere. I only remind you that if things are impossible, you must preserve them first. Don't bet everything on a desperate situation! Fifth brother is brave and unparalleled. He can defeat an army and kill a general as if it were nothing. But you should know that war is dangerous and swords and arrows are blind. You must obey the orders of second brother and don't be a hero in vain!"

Lun Qinling patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I know what I am doing. As long as you guard the Orla Pass and I don't have to worry about anything, we will be invincible."

"Don't worry, second brother. Even if I die here, I will block the mountain pass with my body and wait for you to come back!"

Bolun Zanren rolled his eyes and said impatiently: "You keep asking us to protect ourselves, but why do you have to talk about life and death? It would be fine if it were anything else, but you should eat less meat. You're panting and sweating after walking a few steps. You're so fat!"

Xiduo was not angry at being criticized by his younger brother, and smiled innocently: "Brother, I don't like women, nor do I like to lead troops in battle. I only like to eat. If you have to give up even these hobbies, even if you live a hundred years, you will still be unhappy. What's the joy of living?"

"Stop talking, let's go!"

"set off!"

"Woo woo woo--" The sound of the horn resounded through the sky, and echoed from the valley, becoming increasingly dull and desolate. Five thousand elite cavalrymen rushed into the Ola Pass and galloped across the mountain ridge.

Looking at the cloud of dust raised by the horses' hooves, Xiduoyu returned to Naluyi with great concern and ordered his soldiers to continuously reinforce the walls, gates and other defensive facilities, and to dig a trench around the walls to resist cavalry charges.

The Ola Pass is almost equivalent to the "life and death line" of the Gar tribe. It is not only the retreat route for Lun Qinling and Bolun Zanren, but also the last line of defense for the Gar tribe which is currently short of troops. Once the Ola Pass is lost, not only will Lun Qinling and Bolun Zanren become isolated troops waiting to be wiped out, but Fushi City will also have no strategic location to defend and will have to wait for the Tubo army to cross the Dayue River and attack in one fell swoop.

That's why his father sent him to guard this place. It was both a trust and a pressure.

Xiduoyu knew very well that he was not as smart as his eldest and second brothers, nor as brave as his third and fifth brothers. His only strength was that he was "good at defense". No matter what, he would stay at the Ola Pass and guard the Nalu Post Station to help his father and brothers' grand ambitions.

……

Brothers Lun Qinling and Bolun Zanren led five thousand elite cavalrymen to cross the Ela Pass, swooped down and arrived at the previously captured Nuanquan Post Station, where more than a thousand Tibetan soldiers who had come to reinforce were already repairing the wall. When they heard the scouts report that Lun Qinling had made a comeback, they were so frightened that they had no will to fight anymore and fled in panic, taking the food and fodder in the post station with them towards the south of Liemohai.

Lun Qinling's troops recaptured Nuanquan Posthouse without bloodshed, and without stopping, they chased the fleeing troops straight to Liemohai.

Liemohai is located about eighty miles south of Nuanquanyi. It is called a "sea", but in fact it is a large lake formed in a geological depression sandwiched between the remnants of two mountain ranges. Several water veins converge from the mountain tops and flow into it. The water surface is vast and there are flocks of water birds. There is only a winding road passing between the mountain and the lake on one side. The post station built by Tubo and the north of Liemohai also has a defensive function and controls the road.

This is a must-pass place on the Tang-Tibet Road and its strategic location is very important.

At this time, there were no less than ten thousand people gathered at the Liemohai Post Station. The main general was Subi Yangxiong, the elder brother of Subi King Subi Mojie. Because the Suobi Kingdom "reigned by a woman", he, the eldest son of the previous king, had to stay under his sister Subi Mojie. He was even forced to lead his troops to Liemohai for stationing because of Subi Mojie's suspicion, and completely stayed away from the core of the Suobi regime.

A day ago, he sent people to Nuanquanyi to recapture it, and planned to station troops to defend it. As a result, when Lun Qinling's army arrived, they fled the city without a fight. The angry Subi Yangxiong whipped several leaders severely with a whip, and then received an order from Songtsen Gampo - to resist Lun Qinling's invasion with all his strength and buy time for subsequent reinforcements. If things cannot be done, he should preserve his strength and retreat to Huashixia with the food and fodder in the city to hold on and wait for help.

Subi Yangxiong heaved a long sigh of relief. The Gar tribe suddenly launched an army southward with the support of the Tang Dynasty and successively conquered Naluyi and Nuanquanyi, causing the two defense lines of Dafeiling and Ola Mountain in the north of Tubo to fall one after another. Lun Qinling drove straight in and his army was at its peak. Just as he was feeling uneasy and unwilling to hold on to Liemohai and engage in a head-on battle with Lun Qinling, he received the military order from Songtsen Gampo, which was like listening to heavenly music.

He was unwelcome and suffered suspicion in the Subi State. He could only rely on a small number of troops stationed in Liemohai to make a living by extorting taxes from passing merchants and travelers. If his subordinates suffered heavy losses because of defending Liemohai, how would he survive in the future?
The Zamp is humane and knows that my life is not easy, so he did not force me to defend the country. In comparison, my sister Subi Mojie is much more excessive. Not only does she abuse my brothers and sisters, but she also exploits the people, causing widespread complaints and public outcry. Why don't I leave Subi and join the Zamp and serve him?
Perhaps one day he would make great achievements and gain the support of the Zamp, then return to the country to depose his sister and ascend the throne.

I don’t know from which generation this damn tradition of the Subi Kingdom was passed down, but only women can become the ruler of a country. In such a big world, how can there be such a tradition?
Absolutely ridiculous!
None of the generals on both sides wanted to fight. Lun Qinling was the best among the young generation in Tubo, with both wisdom and courage, and outstanding strategies. Now he has successively conquered Naluyi and Wenquanyi, and his troops were invincible. Who was crazy enough to stand in his way?

"General, since the Zamp has given the order, let's withdraw now!"

"Lun Qinling is very powerful, and his brother killed Lebujie with a nail hammer. No one can stop him!"

Supi Yangxiong raised his hand to suppress the chaotic speech, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, we are not welcome in Supi country. Now the king is so considerate of us and allows us to retreat at any time without fighting to the death. But if we really retreat before the battle and hand over Liemohai, how do you think the king will view us?"

Some people were puzzled: "What's there to be concerned about? It was the Zamp himself who issued the military order. It's not like we disobeyed the order and abandoned the city and fled!"

Others said: "Zanpu asked us to keep our lives as a priority, which clearly shows that he wants to use the general. If we flee, it may damage the general's importance in Zanpu's heart."

"It was the Zamp who asked us to withdraw. How can this affect the general's authority?"

"The Zanpu asked us to retreat because he was considerate and pitiful of us. But if we really don't have the courage to fight, why would the Zanpu employ generals? No one would employ a coward!"

Su Pi Yang Xiong said: "That's exactly the truth!"

He waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "Pass on my military order, the entire army will line up to resist the enemy and guard the post station! Even if we have to retreat, we must bring merit to the Zamp. If Lun Qinling wants to pass through Liemohai, we will let him peel off a layer of skin! We only need to snipe Lun Qinling, delay his progress and severely injure him in Liemohai, and then withdraw in an orderly manner after getting a merit!"

As a general guarding Liemohai, it would be a huge shame for him to retreat without fighting, no matter who gave the order. At that time, even if the Zamp wanted to reuse him, he would not be able to withstand the ridicule of others. How could a "defeated general" be qualified to be reused?
On the contrary, since there was an order to allow retreat, it would be much more save face if they relied on their superior forces to guard Liemohai, give Lun Qinling a head-on blow and then retreat calmly.

Although Qin Ling is very powerful, he is also afraid of facing him. But can't he just block him and delay him by relying on the advantages of terrain and military strength?

Those who didn't understand it clearly also understood and nodded. They immediately assembled their troops in formation to fight the enemy with great enthusiasm. They were not welcome in the Subi Kingdom, but now they were about to become troops directly under the command of the Zamp. Their status would be suddenly improved. Who in the whole Tubo would dare to look down on them in the future?
Now they had to stop Lun Qinling, demonstrate their fighting power, slow down Lun Qinling's advance, and then retreat calmly.

The road along the Liemo Sea is narrow and flat. The ground is alkaline soil that has been trampled on repeatedly for many years and is as hard as iron and stone. There are high mountains on one side and a large lake on the other side. One man can block the way for ten thousand men!

More than 10,000 men were lined up on the narrow road. The soldiers in the front row were half-kneeling on the ground, holding large shields. Behind each row of shieldmen were spearmen. This was a typical formation used by the Tang army to block the Tubo cavalry, and now it was learned by the Tubo.

Next came the archers. Although Tubo did not have powerful crossbows and the bow-making technology was not good, and even most of the arrows were made of bronze, the cavalry of the Gar tribe also only wore light armor and had very poor defense, which was a perfect logic of "spears are not good, but shields are not good either."

The wind blew off the lake, and the battle flags fluttered in the wind. Soon, the dust raised by the galloping cavalry and the sound of rumbling hooves could be seen in the distance.

The cavalry of the Gar tribe came from far away, and the first row of black shadows came swiftly, covering the narrow road, making the momentum of the charge even more invincible, like an overwhelming force or a mountain torrent.

When the enemy was about to be within the range of an arrow, Su Bi Yangxiong suddenly lowered his raised arm, and more than a thousand longbows shot at the same time. The bowstrings vibrated and the arrows flew out, drawing a parabola in the air and falling into the charging enemy cavalry.

Subi Yangxiong watched the arrows fall on the enemy cavalry, but was unable to stop the enemy cavalry for a moment. The enemy cavalry rushed through the arrow's range in front of the formation like lightning and arrived in front of the formation in a flash.

When they saw the enemy cavalry clearly, Subi Yangxiong and many generals took a deep breath and their eyes were bloodshot.

"Armored cavalry!"