Chapter 4798: Sneak Attack

Chapter 4798: Roundabout Attack
It is difficult for big countries to have long-term peace. The interests of both sides will always conflict, either because of territory, economy, or culture... Even if both sides are restrained and tolerant, their most basic interests will definitely be impacted. Everything else can be tolerated, but the loss of interests cannot be tolerated.

When you can no longer tolerate it, you have no choice but to go to war.

Of course, going to war does not mean that the two countries will exhaust all their national strength in a fight to the death, because a large-scale war will undoubtedly damage the interests of both sides, so they will still exercise restraint. Generally, they will weigh each other through local military conflicts and prepare their respective materials for the negotiating table.

This is the case with the Tang Dynasty and Tubo.

The Sui and Tang dynasties were able to devote all their national strength to the eastern expedition to Goguryeo. This was because several generations of emperors believed that Goguryeo’s military strength could not pose a threat to the empire and victory was a sure thing... Of course, failing to win when one should have is another matter, and any assessment is bound to be wrong.

However, neither dynasty launched a large-scale war against Tubo, a major threat to the empire's southwestern border, for a long time, because Tubo's unique geographical location formed a natural barrier that was difficult to cross.

It was not until Tubo received various kinds of assistance from the Tang Dynasty through marriage alliances that it successfully transformed from a serf society to a feudal society, and then recuperated and developed its own strength. Then, unwilling to be limited by the plateau, it sent its troops to the Hexi Corridor. Emperor Gaozong was forced to violate the principle of "big countries should not go to war" and send a large army to try to drive Tubo back to the plateau.

So the "Battle of Dayuechuan" broke out.

The "White Robe General" who destroyed Goguryeo and became the "God of War" was defeated in the Battle of Dafeichuan only two years later. Although there were various unexpected reasons for the defeat, it was a defeat. From then on, the Tang Dynasty could no longer stop the Tubo from swooping down from the plateau. The Qilian Mountains faced the Tubo army directly. Hexi, the Western Regions, and Beiting were all in danger...

……

Lun Qinling led his army from Fuqi City and rode non-stop all the way to Dafei Ridge on the south side of Qinghai Lake, where he met up with his brother Bolun Zanren at the foot of the mountain. The latter had left Fuqi City long before the Tang army's food and fodder arrived, and led a team of scouts to investigate along the ancient Tang-Tibet Road to find out the situation of the Tibetan troops stationed in various places.

"Zanpu has 7,000 troops stationed in Dafeichuan, 5,000 of which are stationed in Naluyi. The commander-in-chief has just been replaced by Lebujie."

After hearing Bolun Zanren's report, Lun Qinling raised his eyebrows and said, "It seems that the Zamp attaches great importance to our Gar family!"

Lebujie, who was in the sword of Bolunzan, was born into a prominent family. His brother was one of the four wise ministers under Songtsen Gampo.

One of them, Chisang Yangton, was in charge of the finances of Tubo and had great power. The fact that he was temporarily arranged to guard the Dafei River at Naluyi showed how much the Zamp valued the Gar family and the Tang Dynasty, and that he had long anticipated that there would be twists and turns in this area.

Bolun Zanren was a little anxious: "The ones who came to Dafeichuan with Lebujie to change the defense are all elites in their tribe. They are impossible to defeat!"

Lun Qinling shook his head: "Dafeichuan is the rear of Fuqi City, which can threaten the entire Qinghai Lake area at any time. Naluyi is even more tightly holding the throat of Dafeichuan. Even if we climb over the snow-capped mountains and bypass it, it will become a nail behind us. Lebujie can attack Fuqi City if he advances, and can cut off our retreat if he retreats, so we must destroy it completely. Besides, Naluyi dare not fight hard, so how can we attack the plateau and capture Luoshui?"

He took out the map and spread it on the ground, and Bolun Zanren carefully explained to his brother the deployment of the Tibetan army.

After watching for a while, Lun Qinling patted his brother on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Sometimes it is not wise to avoid fighting. Only by facing challenges head-on and overcoming all difficulties can we achieve great things. That Luyi is indeed a tough nut to crack, but as long as we can gnaw it down, the entire Tang-Tibet Ancient Road behind it will be less guarded, allowing us to march straight in."

In the Gar family, the eldest son Zan Xiruo and the second son Lun Qinling are both prestigious figures. Under Lu Dongzan, their words are final and no one can question them. The other three younger brothers worship them and treat them like gods.

Bo Lun Zan Ren knew that Naluyi was easy to defend but difficult to attack, but seeing that his brother was confident, he said nothing more: "Second brother, just give the order. How do we fight this battle?"

Lun Qinling pondered for a while and said, "I will lead two thousand elite troops to the west to bypass Dulan and cross the Eola Mountain, and then go around the southern foot of the Eola Mountain to attack Nuanquanyi. As long as we capture Nuanquanyi quickly enough, we can cross the Eola Mountain from the south before Lebujie reacts and launch a surprise attack from a high position. You lead the rest of the troops to cross the Dayuechuan River under my banner to attract Lebujie's attention. His mission is to guard Naluyi, so he will definitely not take the initiative to attack you. If we control the time well, we will definitely be able to attack Naluyi from both sides and pin Lebujie to death there!"

To the north of Qinghai Lake is the Dafei Mountains, to the north of the Dafei Mountains is the Eola Mountains, and the wide plain between the Dafei Mountains and the Eola Mountains is the Dafei River. Nalu Post is located on the northern foot of the Eola Mountains, with its back against the mountains and overlooking the Dafei River. It can swoop down at any disturbance on the Dafei River, thus occupying a favorable strategic position.

As for Qinling's strategy, he went around to the west and crossed the Ela Mountain, then sneaked along the other side of the mountain to raid Nuanquan Station, which was relatively less important and had fewer troops stationed on the ancient Tang-Tibet Road, and then crossed over the Ela Mountain and swooped down to Nalu Station at the foot of the mountain from a high position.

The tactics are good, but also very dangerous, especially since the troops, which were not originally in an advantageous position, will be divided again. If the timing of the attack is not well controlled, it is very likely that they will be defeated by Lebuje one by one.

However, Bolun Zanren trusted his brother so much that he did not question him at all. He nodded heavily and said, "This circle is not a short journey. Even if we rush at full speed, we need to cross the Ela Mountain twice, which will take at least three days. Moreover, the mountain road is difficult to travel at night, so we must cross it within a hundred days. Then we will make an appointment at dusk three days later to attack Naluyi from the front and back and defeat Lebujie in one fell swoop!"

"It's decided!"

The two brothers discussed the tactics and executed them immediately.

Bolun Zanren took out his own dagger and tied it to his brother's belt with a cloth belt, his tiger eyes filled with tears: "This dagger was given to me by my brother when I was ten years old. I have been carrying it with me for so many years. It always protects me from danger. I also hope that it can protect my brother to win the battle and avoid danger."

Lun Qinling patted his brother's shoulder heavily, smiling brightly: "If we say that we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate in conquering Luoshui City, how can a mere post station of Nalu stop our brothers from moving forward? Relax, Lebujie is just a show-off, and he is far inferior to his brother."

"Take care, brother!"

"Take care of yourself!"

The two brothers said goodbye with a smile, but they both had mixed feelings in their hearts.

If it is for the survival of the tribe, what is the harm even if they jump into the abyss and die in pieces? The warriors of the Gar family have never been afraid of death. But now the young and strong men of the family have to challenge the king entrenched in the plateau for the national strategy of the Tang Dynasty, and then shed their blood. I don’t know whether this sacrifice is worth it.

……

The two brothers divided their forces on Dafei Ridge. Bolun Zanren, under the banner of his brother, continued to cross Dafei Ridge and go straight to Dafei River, advancing towards Nalu Posthouse at the Ola Pass. Lun Qinling led two thousand elite troops along the path at the foot of the mountain all the way eastward. After running for more than a hundred miles, they headed south out of the Dafei Ridge mountain area when the water and grass were abundant, and plunged into the vast mountains and forests of Ola Mountain.

Compared with the Dafei Mountains, the Ola Mountains are more rugged. Therefore, although the border between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo is in the area of ​​the Dafei Mountains and the Riyue Mountains, Tubo's heavy troops defending the border are stationed on the Ola Mountains. With their backs against the mountains and their camps set up on high ground, they can swoop down when advancing or defend themselves when retreating. The Tang army in the northern front of the area can also guard against the Fuqi City on the west side of Qinghai Lake. It is extremely difficult to conquer it unless there are several times more troops.

The ridge is dotted with peaks, topped with snow that never melts, adding a mysterious and holy touch to this desolate mountain range. The snow on the mountainside slowly melts in early summer and flows down to both sides, first as a gurgling stream and then as a rushing river at the foot of the mountain. This is the origin of all rivers in the world.

Therefore, the foot of the mountain is covered with lush vegetation, dense streams, and crisscrossing gullies, making it extremely difficult to travel.

Although these two thousand men were the elite of the Gar family, it was as difficult as climbing to heaven to walk on such a difficult path. If they had not prepared to bring a guide who was familiar with this area, they would have been lost in the foothills long ago...

But because of this, they did not encounter any Tibetans during their sneak attack, which ensured the safety and suddenness of the raid.

Two days later, Lun Qinling led his troops out from the mountains and ravines. The 2,000 soldiers were already exhausted, and the neat equipment they had received from the Tang Dynasty when they set out was in tatters. But they had no time to catch their breath before they had to prepare for battle, because ahead of them was the Tibetan stronghold of Nuanquan on the southern foot of Mount Ela.

The troops took a short rest at the foot of the mountain, ate dry food, replenished water and fed the horses. Lun Qinling then got on his horse and pointed in the direction of the warm spring not far away. His tone was very inflammatory: "That's the warm spring. Tubo set up a stronghold here to support Naluyi on the northern foot of the Orla Mountains, so as to achieve the strategic goal of completely controlling Dafeichuan. If Dafeichuan cannot fall into our hands and Naluyi cannot be captured, it will always be a sword hanging over the head of the Gar family. Maybe now, or maybe in the future, it will eventually fall on our heads or our descendants! So even if there are famous Tubo generals here and they have stockpiled heavy troops, we have to eradicate them! Everyone, please fight side by side with me and use our blood to win a free territory for us and our descendants!"

"Who else dares to call himself a famous Tibetan general in front of Erlang? Let's follow Erlang and smash his head!"

"The Tubo people are too bullying. They won't give us a chance to live. We will fight our way up to the plateau and capture Luoshui City. We will make the Zamp and those nobles line up to kneel down and apologize to our Dalun!"

"We swear to follow Erlang till death and forge the glory of the Gar family with our blood!"

The low morale caused by the long journey suddenly boosted up. Lun Qinling waved his hand and took the lead on his horse to rush towards the warm spring in front. Two thousand people mounted their horses and followed closely behind him. The horses' hooves trampled on the ground, making a thunderous roar and rushing towards the warm spring like a hurricane.

More than ten miles away from Nuanquan, Tibetan scouts could be seen appearing from time to time ahead. They had obviously discovered this cavalry unit that descended from the sky and were reporting to the defenders in the city.

After revealing his whereabouts, Lun Qinling remained calm and ordered his subordinates to slow down their horses to give them a chance to catch their breath and recover their strength. When he could vaguely see the shadows of the rammed earth wall of Nuanquan, he urged the horses to shout, increased their speed to the limit, and charged forward with all his strength.