Chapter 162: Securing the Turkic Shengshan, Lifting the Fame of the Gu Clan (Part Two)

——The whole world looked on in astonishment.

Whether it was the entire Great Tang, or the Western Turks and even the Western Regions, all were watching this very battle.

The Nine Provinces had indeed been in turmoil for far too long.

The glory of former years had long since slowly faded away with the passage of time.

This battle was the very first one in which the Nine Provinces would make its name resound anew.

So long as this fight could be won—

Setting aside what came after, for at least several decades to come, no one would dare to offend the Nine Provinces again.

In fact, if the Western Turks had chosen to act at this moment—

The situation of the Yinshan-besieged Jielie Khan might still have had room to change.

But given the relations between the Eastern and Western Turks—

It was already good enough that they did not help the Great Tang now; there was simply no way they would choose to aid Jielie Khan—on the contrary, they could hardly wait for Jielie Khan to die quickly at the hands of the Great Tang.

Although some might worry whether, after Jielie Khan's death and the complete destruction of the Eastern Turks, the Great Tang would turn its sights on them—

Such worries were, after all, extremely few.

There was not even anyone who would bring the matter up of their own accord.

The greed deep within the human heart was laid utterly bare at a moment like this.

For the various tribes of the Western Turks, if Jielie Khan were to die and the Eastern Turks be defeated, those rich pastures would all become theirs.

Compared with all the things that would need to be considered later, the tangible benefits right before their eyes were what everyone cared about most.

At Yu Jin Mountain.

Unlike the Baidaochuan that served as a granary, although this place was the sacred mountain of the entire Turkic people, in truth there were not that many defenders stationed here.

No one had been able to anticipate—

That Gu Quan would give up the current opportunity to pincer-attack and sweep clean Yinshan, and instead turn to launch a direct assault on Yu Jin Mountain.

In fact, Gu Yi rather felt that Gu Quan's move was entirely deliberate.

Under the regulation of the Luoshu Harmony Regulator, his current judgment of the overall situation and his commander attributes had already reached their absolute peak.

He meant to make others misjudge his intentions.

And then, through that, reduce the resistance faced by his own army and do something different.

This move, in terms of the battlefield, could absolutely be called a great gamble.

But sometimes—

Not every great gamble on the battlefield ends in failure.

Now, it was exactly so.

Gazing at the distant Gaoshan, Gu Quan still gripped that long spear in his hand; although his whole body was already wrapped up, he still could not ward off the howling cold wind, and his entire frame was frozen a deep red.

Yet his expression remained as solemn as ever.

Beside him, Gu Yan and the others were the same.

This battle meant far too much for the Gu clan, and for the entire Nine Provinces.

When the banners belonging to the Gu clan and to the Great Tang took root upon this Turkic sacred mountain, the collapse of faith alone would be enough to shatter everything.

And when that moment came—

It would be the very best opportunity for the Nine Provinces to expand once more.

Countless thoughts kept flashing through Gu Quan's mind, and even the hand gripping the long spear could not help but tighten its hold a few degrees more.

He did not hesitate.

When he felt the distance was already sufficient, he immediately swung the long spear in his hand and bellowed: "Kill!!!"

"Kill!!!"

"Kill!!!"

"Kill!!!"

"."

The great army, long since poised and ready, instantly answered with shout after shout.

Amid those war cries that roared like Lei Ting, Gu Quan immediately led the army under his command straight at Yu Jin Mountain.

——The silence was broken in an instant.

Whether the Turkic garrison, or the believers dwelling on the mountain, all became aware of the scene in a flash.

Seeing that the Tang army had already come charging up—

They instinctively began to panic.

"The Tang army is here!"

"It's the Gu clan! It must be the Gu clan! The divine clan from the Central Plains has come!"

"Ahura heavenly gods, please save your believers!"

"."

Shouts upon shouts rang out in an instant.

But seeing that Gu Quan was charging ever closer, it seemed as though that steadfast faith truly took effect at this very moment.

The chaos within the entire Turkic ranks actually did, at this very moment, gradually subside.

The will to live born from the heart;

And the faith that absolutely could not allow the Tang army to set foot upon the sacred mountain.

In that brief instant, the entire Turkic side steadied itself at once, and the garrison began to meet the Tang army in battle.

Even those on the mountain came charging down wielding lances to join the fight.

This age has always been like this.

The power that faith can bring will surpass fear.

Even though they had already confirmed that these men must be the elites of the Gu clan, they could not simply allow the Gu clan to ascend the Shengshan.

Those who could dwell and hold this place were almost all the most devout believers within the Turks.

—The great battle officially begins.

Unlike the frontal assault on Baidaochuan, the true difficulty of this battle lay in the ascent.

Gu Quan could not allow anyone to set fires and create chaos.

Nor could he allow these men to completely turn into a routed army.

He could only fight head-on, killing until the very end, before he could formally ascend the Turks' Shengshan!

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

The sounds of clashing weapons rang out one after another, accompanied by the cries of warhorses, trampling out scarlet blooms of blood upon the snow.

The biting cold wind, laden with shards of ice like countless sharp little knives, scraped viciously across the warriors' faces, tearing their battle cries into shreds.

The blizzard hung low like a curtain, blurring vision, yet unable to mask the thick stench of blood on the battlefield — that smell, mingled with melted snow, seeped into every inch of the Shengshan's soil.

This was destined to be a bloody slaughter.

For Gu Quan.

The good thing was that the Turks had made no preparations beforehand; they had no chance to exploit the terrain and could only fight them head-on.

Moreover, these men were far from being the Turks' elites either.

Even though they held a great numerical advantage, they could not gain any real edge.

If only this march did not require climbing a mountain, but was fought on flat ground instead.

For these men to block the Tang army would be nothing but a fool's dream.

But—

To ascend Mount Otügen under such circumstances was likewise extremely difficult.

Empowered by faith, the Turks — already maddened, already casting their lives behind them — threw themselves wildly against the Tang army with their very lives to halt them.

The entire Mount Otügen.

Had completely transformed into a bloody meat-grinder.

This battle was destined to be bloody.

At the same time, Yin Mountain.

"Still no news of the Grand Tutor?"

Li Jing gazed at the assembled generals before him, his brows tightly furrowed as he spoke.

The officers immediately nodded.

Seeing this, Li Jing's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

Had something gone wrong?

Could it be that the Western Turks had intervened in this battle?

In his younger years he had fought in concert with Gu Yan on the battlefield, so he did have some understanding of Gu Yan's abilities and character.

By his judgment, no matter what, Gu Yan should by now have already led his troops to fight his way over.

Yet now there was not a single scrap of news.

What on earth had happened?

"Send out more scouts at once. Whatever it takes, we must get word of the Grand Tutor." Li Jing could not help but speak again. "Furthermore, the assault on Yin Mountain absolutely cannot stop."

"We must attack fiercely!"

"Exhaust all of their supplies!"

"This time, no matter what, we must pin them down here!"

It had to be said, Li Jing's abilities were still reassuring.

Though he could not compare with the present-day Gu Quan.

He was certainly superior to Gu Yan.

Precisely because of this, Li Jing still trusted his own judgment greatly — if no accident had occurred, given Gu Yan's character, he would certainly have come to pincer them from front and rear.

Something must have happened!

He needed to get to the bottom of it, and have every deployment ready in advance.

"General."

At this moment, his deputy Zhang Gongjin at his side suddenly frowned slightly and spoke: "Could the Grand Tutor have gone off to attend to other matters? The Gu clan's tactics are always hard to fathom."

At these words, among the generals present some could not help but nod as well.

The Gu clan's tactics were something outsiders found hard to see through.

But there were also those who would deny it.

"Given the present situation, what matter could possibly be more important than attacking Yin Mountain?" Vanguard Su Dingfang spoke up at once.

The men nodded again, and a buzz of discussion followed.

Li Jing too remained frowning, pondering both judgments carefully, until after a moment he waved his hand: "From my understanding of the Grand Tutor, the Grand Tutor should not have gone off to do other things."

His words were not put too directly.

But the meaning within them was already quite clear.

Gu Yan, after all, was not Gu Quan.

If Gu Quan were still alive, Li Jing might have made the same judgment.

He knew Gu Quan's capabilities.

But Gu Yan was, after all, still lacking somewhat.

In matters of such great importance as these, given Gu Yan's character, he should not have taken risks to create complications.

He cut off the topic.

He had the officers and soldiers carry out his orders.

Countless scouts filed out one after another from the great Tang army camp, braving the wind and snow to gather intelligence, and some among them had even already rushed toward Baidao Chuan.

But still, there was no news at all.

The situation grew ever more grim.

The Tang army had never relaxed its assault on the entire Yin Mountain range.

It was not only Li Jing who was curious about where Gu Yan had gone — Jieli Khan was just the same.

A hidden threat that had vanished without a trace, under the current circumstances, could bring him a pressure that others could hardly imagine!

But in the end, no one could have anticipated the Gu clan's movements.

Within the Tang camp.

Just when everyone felt the situation growing ever more bizarre, Li Shimin's message was finally delivered over.

In the letter, he commended the officers.

Then he brought up another matter — that was, telling them they need not concern themselves with Gu Yan, only need to do their own part well.

This letter finally put the matter to rest once and for all.

Regarding the Gu clan's sudden disappearance, everyone instinctively assumed Li Shimin must have some other arrangement.

Li Jing included thought the same.

And after that, he began the full-scale assault on the entire Yin Mountain range.

He did not necessarily need Gu Yan to attack from both front and rear.

Jieli Khan had now been driven completely to a dead end; even relying on himself alone, he could still break through Yin Mountain.

Why then did he care so much about this matter?

It was entirely out of worry that some enemy might suddenly appear.

He was the commander-in-chief of three armies — he absolutely could not let any detail slip by.

— The situation changed once more!

Jieli Khan was already in utter despair.

The Tang army's successive assaults had forced him to place all his elite troops at the front, yet he worried every moment that some problem might arise in his rear.

The Gu clan's name truly rang out too loudly.

Ever since Gu Xiao of years past, every so often a descendant would once again stage a miraculous surprise attack.

How could he not worry about this hidden threat?

Under such circumstances, the fighting across the entire Yin Mountain range likewise grew ever more unfavorable.

The external pressure caused internal conflicts to become increasingly irreconcilable, and an atmosphere of total defeat finally rose in the hearts of all.

And Jieli Khan had no choice but to make a decision.

— He was going to flee!

At Du Dgin Mountain.

Days of continuous slaughter had stripped this sacred mountain of the Turks of all its former holy glory.

— Corpses lay strewn across every hill and vale.

The dull clang of armor striking frozen earth was ground to pieces by wind and snow; broken blades and shattered spears jutted at angles from the snow, like savage bone splinters.

On those fallen bodies, congealed blood was winding into rivers through the seams of their armor, blooming into dark crimson blotches of every shape across the pure white snowfield.

An air of despair hung over the remaining Turks.

Human strength must, in the end, run dry.

So-called faith was still not enough to hold them up in defending this sacred mountain in their hearts.

Especially when they watched with their own eyes those Gu clan disciples and Tang soldiers, like death gods themselves, slowly advancing up the mountain, while the so-called gods had long ceased to show themselves — this kind of faith would, in the end, crumble bit by bit under doubt.

In truth, the Tang army's casualties were not small either.

Even though these men had been trained for years, they could not withstand such brutal fighting.

Even among the Gu clan disciples, there were casualties.

On this road of restoring the Gu clan's renown, each and every one of them had given their all, and likewise sacrificed everything for the faith in their hearts.

The road ahead was now clear.

"Heavenly God! Why do you still not send down your thunder?" A white-haired old woman knelt on the broken ice, her withered fingers clawing desperately into the blood-soaked snow, her clouded eyes webbed with blood vessels. "Your faithful are bleeding! These demons wearing human skin — they will trample your holy temple!"

An infant in swaddling clothes convulsed violently in its mother's arms; dark red liquid seeped from beneath the woman's bloodstained beast-hide garment, yet she felt nothing, only screaming hoarsely toward the sky: "If you truly have mercy, strike them dead with heavenly thunder! Strike them dead—"

The cry cut off short — a long spear grazed her ear and slammed into the ground, the snow it kicked up mixed with ice shards cutting three bloody gashes across her cheek.

Mercy?

There was no mercy!

How could the wails of the common folk of the Nine Provinces from years past have been any weaker than these?

When had they ever received merciful treatment?

Stability exists only beneath the blade.

Unless every enemy from all directions is beaten into submission, when will the Nine Provinces ever know peace?

Gu Quan's gaze remained steadfast; he stepped steadily forward over broken swords and shattered halberds littering the ground, the ice crystals congealed on his black armor refracting cold light beneath the sun.

He raised his hand, and behind him, the great army immediately split into two columns, driving the wailing crowd like lambs to the corner of the altar.

Gu Yan gripped his long spear tightly; the spearpoint reflected the flickering firelight on the altar—this was the last struggle of the Turkic people.

"Push!" Gu Quan barked.

More than ten strong men roared in unison; the moment the ropes tightened, the three-zhang-tall statue emitted a grating, teeth-chilling creak.

Cracks spread upward from the statue's base; its exquisitely carved face twisted and deformed as it collapsed, and as it crashed to the ground, a wave of snow and shattered stone erupted toward the crowd.

Several young Turkic men lunged forward like madmen, but were instantly pinned at the throat by Tang spears.

Gu Quan removed the gilded Tang banner from his waist and drove its pole deep into the shattered forehead of the statue.

At that moment, another crimson banner embroidered with the character "Gu" unfurled; the scarlet silk crackled fiercely in the howling north wind, like two blades driven into the hearts of the Turkic people.

Desperate wailing reached its peak.

Some tore at their own hair; some buried their faces in the snow and sobbed; others frantically banged their foreheads against the corpse of the fallen statue, blood droplets welling from their brows and splashing onto the "Gu" banner, spreading like tiny red plum blossoms.

The cold wind swept across the empty altar.

It whipped the two banners planted atop the mountain peak into a furious crackle.

Until this moment.

Only when they saw all the Turkic people had been subdued did the soldiers, exhausted, begin to collapse onto the snow.

"Hahahaha~"

Gu Yan was the same—yet as he looked at the Gu clan banner, he laughed out loud, calling to Gu Quan: "Brother, from this day forward."

"Will these barbarians of the four directions remember the Weight of Name of our Gu clan?"

His eyes were bloodshot.

Added to the blood staining his body from continuous fighting.

At this moment, he truly looked like a demon risen from hell—no trace of humanity remained.

Gu Quan nodded silently, his eyes equally bloodshot.

He gripped his long spear tightly, planting it into the ground to support himself, and after several deep breaths, said, "Rest for one day. Tomorrow, I will lead two thousand troops."

"This place, I leave in your hands."

"If my guess is correct."

"Once Li Jing and others break through Yin Mountain, Jiali Khan will flee westward—this is the only road to cut him off."

Gu Quan's tone remained as serious as ever.

He was about to act.

Since the assault on Duqin Mountain, he had been holding back the Turkic forces from descending, all to achieve surprise.

They absolutely could not waste more time here.

Hearing this, Gu Yan and the others instantly grew solemn; somehow finding strength, Gu Yan even sat up straight: "Brother, I'll go with you."

"We brothers—"

Before he could finish, Gu Quan shook his head and cut him off: "You are the current head of the clan! You are also the Grand Tutor of the court, the Champion Marquis of Great Tang!"

Gu Yan froze completely.

Gu Quan stared hard at him, pointing to the banner beside him bearing the Gu clan's emblem: "This glory must be yours."

"Don't waste your father's arrangements from years past."

As he spoke, he released his grip on the long spear, planting it beside Gu Yan, then picked up the horse spear nearby.

The joy of victory vanished instantly.

Looking at Gu Quan before him, Gu Yan felt his nose sting, yet could not utter a word.

Even Gu Yi felt an inexplicable heaviness.

Gu Quan was destined to gain no glory; the moment he chose to take that step, all of this had already been sealed.

He had become an invisible guardian.

For both Great Tang and the Gu clan.

And Gu Yi understood.

For the future Gu clan, men like Gu Quan would never be unique.

No one could stop Gu Quan.

On the second day, Gu Quan led two thousand troops straight toward Juyan Sea.

Though Gu Yan's heart ached terribly,

he could only hold Duqin Mountain.

This, too, was the responsibility of the clan head.

Yin Mountain.

Jiali Khan retreated.

Faced with the Tang army's increasingly fierce assault, he had no choice but to make this decision.

As Gu Quan had predicted, Jiali Khan—unaware of the Gu clan's movements—could only flee westward, relying on the Western Turks to block the Tang forces, hoping to rise again one day.

This was Jiali Khan's only option.

Li Jing would pursue.

He was never a man to hesitate—he would certainly press the advantage.

—The stalemate was shattered.

By now, Jiali Khan had lost all capacity to resist; he could only throw everything into retreat.

Internal unrest had spiraled beyond his ability to control.

Most crucially—

The disappearance of the Gu clan had always been a thorn in his heart, and this feeling kept Jieli Khan walking on thin ice, able only to constantly comfort himself within.

The cold wind howled.

Upon this vast ice plain, Jieli Khan relied on his knowledge of the terrain to swiftly head west.

But the Tang army always stayed tightly clamped on his tail.

Whether those surrendered generals or surrendered tribes, they all became the Tang army's best survey maps.

And precisely because of this.

The entire Turkic interior had already reached a vicious cycle, with surrendered soldiers and deserters growing ever more numerous.

Turkic camp.

Listening to the reports of his trusted subordinates.

Jieli Khan's face grew increasingly grim, and he suddenly barked: "To the Shengshan!"

The deserters were growing more and more numerous.

At this point, Jieli Khan had no other recourse.

Perhaps only by heading to the Shengshan could this trend be stopped.

Moreover, heading to the Shengshan could also replenish provisions, and would not delay the retreat.

This was his only option at present.

Hearing this, all his trusted subordinates immediately nodded.

They too understood the severity of the situation.

"Tell everyone not to rest. Push through a little longer. Once we reach the Shengshan, we can continue to defend using its terrain, and there will still be a chance!"

Jieli Khan forced himself to remain calm and once more issued orders.

The trusted subordinates immediately accepted the order and departed.

Beneath the snowy night.

The entire Turkic army broke camp once more, hoping to use this move to pull away from the Tang army.

—The Shengshan!

Perhaps every Turk held deep longing for it in their hearts.

Upon hearing of Jieli Khan's arrangement, even that air of despair gradually weakened somewhat.

The great army galloped forth.

The bright moonlight reflected off the snow, illuminating the road to Yidujin Mountain for Jieli Khan.

Gusts of cold wind howled.

Under the influence of this atmosphere, every single person in the entire Turkic army began to yearn, yearning for the heavenly deities they worshipped to help them escape the crisis before them.

Even Jieli Khan himself was no exception.

Their speed grew faster and faster.

Just before dawn arrived, the silhouette of all of Yidujin Mountain gradually emerged beneath the moonlight.

Seeing this, everyone's speed increased even more.

Thus they charged forward at full speed.

Every person's expression grew increasingly fervent.

And just as dawn arrived.

They finally reached the Shengshan they had so longed for, but what followed was a volley of rolling stones and arrows, along with the sound of battle cries rising from the entire peak.

"Boom—" The battle cries from the peak exploded like thunder.

Despair washed over everyone's heart like a tide, shattering their last psychological line of defense.

At this moment, the golden crow shone upon the snow.

The first ray of morning light split the clouds like a sharp sword, falling straight onto the peak of Yidujin Mountain.

Everyone's eyes were stung by the sight before them—those altars that had borne the Turks' thousand-year faith had already collapsed, the idols inscribed with scriptures lay shattered to pieces, replaced by two banners fluttering in the wind.

Crimson silk snapped loudly in the wind, with dark patterns outlining the totems of the gray wolf and Zhu Que.

Despite the great distance, everyone could still clearly recognize that familiar design—those were the war banners of the Gu clan and the Great Tang!

Sunlight poured down, and against the reflection of the white snow, it seemed to dye the banners into flowing flames, dazzling to the eye.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had instantly seized everyone's throat.

The curved blades in the hands of the Turkic soldiers clattered to the ground, some stumbling from their horses and collapsing into the snow, muttering to themselves;

Even Jieli Khan's most elite trusted commanders were pale as paper, their pupils filled with disbelief and despair.

The collapse of faith;

The fear of death.

At this moment, they finally utterly destroyed the last remaining will of everyone.

In that instant of deathly silence, the battle cries abruptly ceased.

The next moment, roars like thunder once again rang out.

"Can the bones of the Eternal Heaven serve as flagpoles?"

"Watch as your deities are annihilated—"

"Will you die on your knees today, or crawl and surrender!"

—Boom rumble!

These shouts, like thunder, exploded directly within everyone's mind.

Even Jieli Khan, at this moment, fell directly from his warhorse.

——————

"In the second month of the fifth year of Zhenguan, Yan led light cavalry on a thousand-li forced march, arriving at night beneath Dujin Mountain, cutting down the Tujue's golden sacrificial tent to Heaven, and burning forty thousand hu of grain and fodder.

The chieftains of the Tiele peoples, beholding the black-armored riders, knocked their foreheads to the ground and wept, saying: 'In former days Lord Huo's golden crown shone over Mobei; now the Gu clan's frost-blade pierces the yurts!'

The remnant Tujue folk sang a mournful song: 'The sacred mountain has fallen, the mare doth cry; the banner-staff is snapped, the bride's gown laid by.'

A separate tale from the lanes of Chang'an:

That night, when Yan broke the foe at the sacred mountain, a white rainbow spanned the Dipper, its light like a pale silk sash hanging over the wilds. Within the rainbow three hundred black-armored cavalry were dimly seen, their helmets matching the style of the Renzhang and Wunian eras of the Han.

An old soldier of Lingzhou pointed to the sky and wept aloud: 'This is not the valor of Yan alone — it is the loyal souls of the Gu clan's immortal warriors, undying, transformed into starlight to guard the Nine Provinces!'

An old Tujue proverb still survives among the elders: 'See the white rainbow — flee through ninefold gates; meet the Gu banner — kneel like a pine.'

From then on, there were no war drums in Monan, only the sound of Tang banners tearing the wind!"

— *Old Book of Tang*, Biography of Gu Yan

(End of chapter)