Chapter 160: Securing the Sacred Mountain of the Turks, Raising the Fame of the Gu Clan (Part One)

The roar of killing surged like waves shattering the shore, exploding thunderously from deep within the snowfield.

Gu Quan charged at the forefront, his armor reflecting the cold moonlight, as he spurred straight ahead to engage the enemy.

—Kill!

There was nothing else but killing!

Whether it was Gu Quan, or Gu Yan and the other Gu clan disciples, including those soldiers who had been tempered through years of battle—every single one of them at this moment remembered only this one simple word.

The Gu clan needed this battle!

The entire Nine Provinces needed this battle as well.

What they had to do was, just like Gu Chen of old, kill until the world submitted, kill until no one in all four directions dared claim supremacy—only then could the entire Nine Provinces welcome true stability.

The sudden battle cries completely shattered the silence of the entire Baidaochuan.

Before the Turkic garrison could react at all, the great battle had already begun.

Gu Quan kept swinging the long spear in his hand, charging at the very front on horseback. The spear swept out again and again, and no one could withstand even a single strike from him.

This was the terrifying aspect of the Luoshu Xielü Qi—it could swiftly adjust Gu Quan's personal attributes according to the environment.

At court, it would shift attributes from martial prowess to governance.

When formulating tactics in the tent, it would push Gu Quan's command attribute to its limit.

And now, in this kind of direct melee, it could push Gu Quan's martial value to its maximum.

Such was the case now.

Gu Quan was invincible—none could stand against him!

His martial attribute had originally been as high as eighty-three points, but with the aid of the Luoshu Xielü Qi, his martial prowess directly exceeded ninety points.

Ninety points—

Based on Gu Yi's judgment over such a long period, this could already be called the pinnacle of the human realm.

In other eras, Gu Quan might not have been the absolute strongest of his time.

But in the present, he could absolutely be called a god of slaughter among men!

And don't forget—this was still a surprise attack!

No one could have imagined that the Tang army would be able to cross the Yin Mountains and strike directly at Baidaochuan.

Amid the chaos—

The entire Turkic garrison, as casualties continued to mount, shifted from chaos to collapse, and this collapse only grew worse and worse.

"Kill!!!"

Shouts of killing rose on every side.

Gu Quan brandished his long spear, letting the scalding fresh blood stain the pristine white snow.

He needed no further commands.

The five thousand troops, tempered through years of special training, immediately formed a wedge-shaped battle array, like a venomous bone awl stabbing straight into the Turkic supply camp.

The dull thud of hooves trampling the snow mingled with the clang of weapons clashing.

In the next instant, accompanied by the wails of Turkic soldiers rising from all directions, black smoke billowed from the fodder piles, carrying sparks straight up into the sky.

Within the firelight, Gu Quan's silver hair streamed as every thrust of his spear claimed a life.

In the eyes of the Gu clan disciples, this scene seemed to overlap with the Gu Chen recorded in the clan annals—the same thunderous momentum, the same unmatched might.

"Fire!!!"

"It's on fire!!"

One panicked cry after another rang out.

Although snow covered the ground everywhere, don't forget—this was the place the Turks used to stockpile fodder, and this fodder was precisely the best accelerant!

—The situation had completely changed!

The one garrisoning this vital ground was a trusted general of Jieli Khan.

He knew full well the importance of this place.

Now that war had fully broken out with the Great Tang, if anything went wrong here, the so-called alliance of the Eastern Turks would be utterly finished.

But no matter how unwilling he was to yield, what could he do?

In great battles, the worst thing is chaos.

Because once any sign of disorder appears, it will drag down the entire army, causing total collapse beyond any hope of salvation!

And now, that was precisely the case!

He wanted to rally his troops, he wanted to stabilize the formation, but the moment this great fire fully ignited, this battle had in fact already ended.

No matter how unwilling he was, to reduce casualties he could only retreat.

Abandoning completely the fodder that represented the Eastern Turks' last hope.

This was an extremely difficult choice.

But it was also the only way out at present.

Gu Quan did not choose to pursue.

For him, the objective of this battle had already been achieved.

This rising great fire was the final funeral dirge for the entire Eastern Turks—even if those soldiers fled, it would ultimately be in vain.

The Eastern Turks were finished.

Even if Jieli Khan could hold the entire Yin Mountains, once the fodder was burned, the livestock of every tribe would inevitably go hungry. Regardless of this battle's outcome, the internal conflicts of the Eastern Turks could no longer be suppressed!

What he had to do now—was to advance on Dujin Mountain!

To utterly dismantle the Eastern Turks at the root of their survival.

And this campaign could likewise point its blade at the heartland of the Western Turks, laying complete preparations for future attacks!

A great fire blazed across the heavens.

The ever-raging flames melted the surrounding ice and snow, making what should have been bitterly cold weather feel scorching hot.

Gu Quan reined in his horse at the edge of the sea of fire, watching the routed Turchi soldiers scatter like startled birds.

Burning fodder rose like crimson dragons into the sky; melted snow mingled with blood into streams, flowing ceaselessly across the ground.

This battle not only burned forty thousand hu of Turchi grain, but utterly sealed the fate of the entire Eastern Turchi — once the starving, freezing tribes began devouring one another, the so-called overlord of the steppe was nothing but a candle guttering in the wind.

In truth, for Gu Quan.

He could now fully marshal his army, directly pursue the Eastern Turchi rout toward Yinshan, and coordinate with Li Jing's main force to trap them from front and rear and take Jieli Khan outright.

This was the safest way to fight.

And likewise a guaranteed victory.

But doing so would mean giving up the best opportunity to pacify the Western Turchi in the future and return the Western Regions to the Nine Provinces.

The Western Turchi would surely grow wary.

If it were the Gu Quan of the past, he might well have done exactly that.

But ever since that day when he chose to ruin his own face to help Li Shimin, he had become an entirely different man.

For him.

If in this life he could help Li Shimin fulfill his ambition, and restore the Gu clan's renown to the glory of its former peak, that would be enough.

He would not give up any opportunity!

News spread without cease.

The Eastern Turchi remnants naturally raced toward Yinshan at full speed, reporting conditions from every quarter.

Defeat reports!

Nothing but defeat reports!

After Jieli Khan gathered all the elite forces from the four directions to Yinshan, the situation facing the tribes on every front was naturally dire beyond measure.

They simply could not fight — they could only choose to surrender or to die.

But they could retreat — Jieli Khan could not!

Now he was consumed with regret, wishing he could slap himself, endlessly berating himself for why he had ever, in his greed, allied with the Great Tang before it had unified the realm.

The blood bag had turned on its master!

In just a few short years, the entire Nine Provinces had already slipped completely beyond his control; offense and defense had utterly reversed.

But how could he possibly be willing to accept it?

Not only did he fear Li Shimin would kill him outright, he was equally unwilling to relinquish the power in his hands!

He could only fight!

But with the return of the defeated army from Baidaochuan, a despair unlike any other finally descended upon the entire Eastern Turchi.

Yinshan.

"What! Baidaochuan has been broken by the Tang army?"

Jieli Khan's eyes went wide, his face full of disbelief.

The others in the tent were equally stunned.

Finding it hard to accept any of this.

"Impossible! The Great Khan holds Yinshan, the Tang army has not broken through — how could Baidaochuan possibly fall?"

"It was the Gu clan," the defeated general's voice trembled as he told Jieli Khan of the situation at Baidaochuan.

But did it still matter?

The moment he uttered the two words "Gu clan," every illusion instantly vanished from the hearts of all present!

— The Gu clan!

Those two simple words instantly caused the atmosphere within the entire tent to change sharply.

Who under heaven did not know what the sons of the Gu clan excelled at most?

Surprise attacks!

Jieli Khan had previously been wondering why Gu Yan of Shuofang had never once coordinated with the Tang army from start to finish.

Now everything was clear.

He had been preparing a fatal blow!

The expressions of all present changed drastically. The importance of Baidaochuan was self-evident, and they could not help but begin to consider what would become of their tribes' livestock.

Jieli Khan's expression at this moment was equally grave.

But in the end, he was no ordinary man either.

He immediately beckoned, and the next moment his trusted confidant walked straight out of the camp tent and returned with several dozen guards.

Each of them had a saber strapped at his waist.

Seeing this, the surrounding tribal chieftains' expressions changed instantly as well, and they hurriedly looked at Jieli Khan and asked: "Great Khan, what is the meaning of this?"

"My lords... there is no need for any wild imaginings."

Jieli Khan's expression was dark as he looked at the wary faces before him: "This Khan fears that you may have lost your wits and leak this news!"

He had to suppress this news.

He could not let the various tribes within the Eastern Turchi collapse first!

It was already the end of the first month!

Each tribe still had some stored fodder — if they could hold out until spring came and the flowers bloomed, there would still be a chance in everything!

The atmosphere within the tent instantly turned murderous.

Everyone stared fixedly at Jieli Khan, fury burning in their eyes.

They were all tribal chieftains.

Moreover, the fact that they had survived to this day and still stood at Jieli Khan's side already proved the extraordinary nature of their respective tribes.

Now that Jieli Khan was treating them like this, how could they not be angry?

But being under his control, no matter how angry they were, what could they do?

They could only obey.

Jieli Khan's face was deadly serious as he looked at the crowd. He first asked if anyone had something in mind; upon seeing their silence, he then revealed his plan!

He would feign surrender to buy time!

Once spring came and the flowers bloomed, the fodder problem would be resolved, and he did not believe the Tang army could keep waiting on the steppe like this!

Even if they were not yet willing to give up, by then grass would cover the land in every direction, and they would have plenty of time to contest with the Tang army.

Although the tribal chieftains had never once shown the slightest sign of opposition from beginning to end.

Jieli Khan still had people place them under control.

And then—

He sent his own envoy to the Tang camp.

Tang camp.

"Jieli wants to surrender?" Upon hearing this, a look of joy flashed in the eyes of all the officers and soldiers.

Only Li Jing's expression remained relatively calm.

He did not believe Jieli Khan would be so easily dealt with; if he truly wanted to surrender, there was no need to have held out so long at Yinshan.

Yet he did not speak up.

He simply let the envoy keep talking, and without giving any reply, had someone take him straight out.

"What does the General mean by this?"

The officers all sensed something was off with Li Jing and immediately asked.

Jieli Khan surrendering.

For them, this would be a Great Merit!

After all, before setting out on campaign, Li Shimin had said that he wanted Jieli Khan to kneel before him.

Wasn't this the chance?

"Do you really believe Jieli is sincerely coming to surrender to our Great Tang?" Li Jing said calmly, looking at the crowd: "If he truly wished to surrender, why wait until today?"

Li Jing still enjoyed a very high reputation within the army.

Hearing this, the officers all fell into thought.

"Our Great Tang's military might is at its peak now. If my guess is right, this move by Jieli is certainly meant to stall for time."

Li Jing laid out his judgment again, but suddenly seemed to think of something; his gaze shifted sharply as he asked the officers: "Didn't we say ten days ago that the Grand Tutor had already set out from Shuofang?"

"Any news now?"

At this, the officers instinctively shook their heads.

With Yinshan blocking the way,

News from Baidao Plains could not travel so quickly.

"Set this matter aside for now. Send men at once to gather intelligence on the Grand Tutor."

As he spoke, Li Jing walked straight to the map and stared intently at the area beyond Yinshan.

Something major must have happened within the Türks.

Otherwise, Jieli Khan would absolutely never have suddenly made such a choice; even as a stratagem, it would not go this far.

"Yes, sir!"

The officers did not hesitate and immediately cupped their fists and departed.

Countless scouts poured out of the camp and finally brought back the full situation across Baidao Plains.

And upon learning this news—

The entire Tang army camp fell utterly silent.

A thousand-li forced march;

Straight to the destruction of the enemy's fodder depot;

Cutting off the enemy's core from the very root.

Still the familiar style of the Gu family's sons, yet it all felt like a dream.

Pulling off such a feat in the current blizzard conditions—the hardship and peril involved were beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Although they still held a great advantage at present,

The Gu family's move was effectively a guarantee for them: whether or not Yinshan fell, the Eastern Türks could no longer possibly counterattack.

Every doubt dissolved in an instant.

No wonder Jieli Khan had conceived the idea of surrendering.

"General, shouldn't we—" a deputy general began urgently, but before he could finish, Li Jing had already raised a hand to stop him.

He paced to the map, his gaze sweeping over the men like an eagle's: "No. These past days, several Eastern Türk commanders have vanished without a trace—there's something fishy going on."

Li Jing also had his own contacts inside Yinshan.

Under the current circumstances, there were certainly tribes willing to surrender to Great Tang; they were simply too weak and too lacking in influence.

Firelight cast his silver hair like frost, yet could not conceal the sharp glint leaping in his eyes.

"In years past, Marquis Zhaolie said that peace lies only beneath a sharp blade."

He suddenly drew the blade at his waist; its edge sliced through the stagnant air of the tent—"The moment has come!"

"Unless Jieli comes in person with bound hands to surrender, the army's offensive must not stop!"

"A moment's hesitation could let the enemy rally their forces."

Military orders weigh like mountains, and the generals within the tent answered in unison.

The news from Baidaochuan had only made them more confident; for every soldier of Great Tang, the merit of this battle was already secured.

As for whether Jieli Khan surrendered or not—they no longer cared!

If he doesn't surrender, they'll simply march straight into Yinshan.

Now that Baidaochuan had already been lost, they judged that Gu Yan's next move would surely be to coordinate with them in a pincer attack, advancing on Yinshan.

Under a pincer attack, how could there be no chance of earning merit?

It wasn't only they who thought this way.

Jieli Khan himself harbored the same thinking; to prevent such a situation, he could only split off troops to guard against another surprise attack on his rear.

The situation across all of Yinshan grew ever more dire.

No one could have anticipated that the Gu clan would abandon the current strategic opportunity, abandon Yinshan, and head elsewhere.

(End of chapter)