Chapter 166: Pacifying the Turkic Holy Mountain, Raising the Name of the Gu Shizi (Part II)

—The world looks on.

Whether it be the entire Great Tang, or the Western Turks, or even the Western Regions, all are focused on this current battle.

The Nine Provinces have indeed been in chaos for too long.

The glory of the past has long since dissipated with the passage of time.

This battle is the first battle for the entire Nine Provinces to regain its fame.

As long as this battle can be won.

Not to mention what follows, at the very least, for decades to come, no one will dare to offend the Nine Provinces again.

Actually, if the Western Turks were to strike at this moment.

The situation for the trapped Khan Jieli at Yinshan might perhaps see some changes.

But given the relationship between the Eastern and Western Turks.

It is already good enough that they are not helping the Great Tang; it is impossible for them to choose to help Khan Jieli, and they are even eager for Khan Jieli to die quickly at the hands of the Great Tang.

Although some might worry about whether the Great Tang would target them if Khan Jieli were to die and the Eastern Turks were completely destroyed.

But in the end, they are a very small minority.

No one even takes the initiative to bring this matter up.

The greed in the human heart is manifested vividly at such a time.

For the various tribes of the Western Turks, if Khan Jieli dies and the Eastern Turks are defeated, those fertile grasslands will all become their pastures.

Compared to the things that need to be considered later, these tangible benefits right before their eyes are what everyone cares about most.

Yuduqin Mountain.

Unlike Baidaochuan, which serves as a granary, although this place is the holy mountain for all the Turks, there are actually not many guards here.

No one could have possibly anticipated.

That Gu Quan would abandon the current opportunity to sweep Yinshan from both sides and instead turn to attack Yuduqin Mountain directly.

Actually, Gu Yi feels that Gu Quan is doing this entirely on purpose.

Under the adjustment of the Luo Book Harmonizer, his current judgment of the overall situation and his command attributes have already reached their peak.

He wants others to misjudge his intentions.

And through this, reduce the resistance against his own army and do something unexpected.

This move, in terms of the battlefield, can absolutely be called a high-stakes gamble.

But sometimes.

High-stakes gambles on the battlefield do not all end in failure.

Today, it is just so.

Looking at the high mountain in the distance, Gu Quan still grips that long spear; although his entire body is wrapped up, it still cannot block the howling cold wind, and his whole body is frozen red.

But his expression remains as serious as ever.

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

This battle means too much to the Gu Shizi and to the entire Nine Provinces.

When the banners belonging to the Gu Shizi and the Great Tang take root on this Turkic holy mountain, the collapse of their faith will be enough to pierce through everything.

And when that time comes—

It will be the best time for the entire Nine Provinces to expand once again.

Countless thoughts flash through Gu Quan's mind, and even his hand gripping the spear tightens a bit more.

He does not hesitate.

Feeling that the distance is sufficient, he immediately waves the long spear in his hand and shouts, "Kill!!!"

"Kill!!!"

"Kill!!!"

"Kill!!!"

"."

The army, which had long been poised for action, instantly responds with shouts.

Amidst these shouts that sound like thunder, Gu Quan immediately leads his army to charge directly toward Yuduqin Mountain.

—The silence is instantly broken.

Whether it is the Turkic garrison or the believers living on the mountain, they all instantly notice this scene.

Seeing that the Tang Army has already charged up.

They instinctively begin to panic.

"The Tang Army is here!"

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

"Ahura, save your believers!"

"."

Shouts ring out instantly.

But seeing Gu Quan charging closer and closer, it seems that their firm faith is truly playing a role at this moment.

The chaos within the Turks actually begins to subside at this very moment.

The desire for survival from within their hearts;

And the faith that they must never let the Tang Army ascend the holy mountain.

In this short moment, the entire Turkic interior stabilizes, and the garrison begins to engage the Tang Army.

Even those on the mountain come with blades to join the battle.

This era has always been like this.

The power that faith can bring transcends fear.

Even if they have confirmed that these people are definitely the elite of the Gu Shizi, they cannot let the Gu Shizi ascend the holy mountain.

Those who live and stay here are almost all the most devout believers within the Turks.

—The great battle officially begins.

Unlike the offensive on Baidaochuan, the real difficulty of this battle is the ascent.

Gu Quan cannot let people set fires to create chaos.

Nor can he let these people completely turn into a routed army.

He can only fight head-on, and only by killing to the end can he officially ascend this Turkic holy mountain!

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

Clang!!!

The sounds of weapons clashing ring out continuously, accompanied by the sounds of warhorses, stepping out scarlet blood flowers on the snow.

The biting cold wind, carrying ice shards, acts like countless sharp little knives, scraping fiercely across the soldiers' faces, tearing their shouts into pieces.

The blizzard hangs low like a curtain, blurring vision, but it cannot cover the thick smell of blood on the battlefield; that scent mixes with the snow water and seeps into every inch of the holy mountain.

This is destined to be a bloody slaughter.

For Gu Quan.

The good thing is that the Turks had no preparations before this; they had no chance to use the terrain and could only fight them head-on.

And these people are far from being the elite of the Turks.

Even if they have a great advantage in numbers, they cannot create any advantage.

If this trip did not require climbing a mountain, but was on flat ground.

For these people to stop the Tang Army would undoubtedly be a pipe dream.

But—

To ascend Yuduqin Mountain under these circumstances is also extremely difficult.

Under the blessing of faith, the Turks, who have already gone mad and cast their lives behind them, use their own lives like madmen to block the Tang Army.

The entire Yuduqin Mountain.

Completely turns into a bloody meat grinder.

This battle is destined to be bloody.

Meanwhile, at Yinshan.

"Have you still not received news of the Grand Tutor?"

Li Jing looks at the generals before him, his brows locked in a frown as he asks.

The generals nod immediately.

Seeing this, Li Jing's brows furrow even deeper.

Has some accident occurred?

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

He had cooperated with Gu Yan on the battlefield in the past, and he knows something of Gu Yan's abilities and character.

According to his judgment, no matter what, Gu Yan should have led his army to strike by now.

But now there is no news at all.

What kind of accident could have happened?

"Immediately send out more scouts; no matter what, we must find news of the Grand Tutor," Li Jing cannot help but say again, "Additionally, the offensive against Yinshan must not stop."

"We must launch a fierce attack!"

"Exhaust all of their grain and fodder!"

"This time, no matter what, we must drag them all here!"

It must be said that Li Jing's ability is still reassuring.

Although he cannot compare to the current Gu Quan.

He is definitely superior to Gu Yan.

It is precisely because of this that Li Jing still trusts his own judgment very much; if no accidents had occurred, given Gu Yan's personality, he would certainly have come to coordinate a pincer attack with him.

An accident must have occurred!

He needs to scout it out clearly and make all preparations in advance.

"General."

At this moment, the deputy at his side, Zhang Gongjin, suddenly frowned slightly and spoke: "Has the Grand Tutor gone to do something else? The fighting style of the Gu Shizi is always elusive."

Once these words were spoken, some of the generals present could not help but nod.

The fighting style of the Gu family is difficult for others to see through.

But there were also those who disagreed.

"In the current situation, what could be more important than attacking Yinshan?" Vanguard Commander Su Dingfang spoke immediately.

Everyone nodded again, followed by a burst of discussion.

Li Jing was also frowning, carefully pondering the judgments of both sides, until a moment later he waved his hand: "Based on my understanding of the Grand Tutor, the Grand Tutor should not be doing anything else."

He did not say this too directly.

But the meaning behind it was already very obvious.

Gu Yan is, after all, not Gu Quan.

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

He knows Gu Quan's ability.

But Gu Yan is, after all, still lacking.

In such a major matter as the current one, given Gu Yan's personality, he should not risk creating complications.

He cut off this topic.

He ordered the troops to act according to his commands.

Countless scouts left the Tang Army camp one after another, braving the wind and snow to gather information, and some had even rushed to Baidaochuan.

But there was still no news at all.

The situation was becoming increasingly severe.

The Tang Army had never relaxed its attack on the entire Yinshan.

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

The pressure brought upon him by a hidden threat that had inexplicably disappeared in the current situation was unimaginable to others!

But in the end, no one could guess the movements of the Gu family.

Inside the Tang camp.

Just as everyone felt the situation becoming increasingly strange, the message from Li Shimin was finally delivered.

In the letter, he commended the generals.

And then he mentioned another matter, which was to let them not worry about Gu Yan and just focus on doing their own part.

This letter finally put an end to the matter.

Regarding the sudden disappearance of the Gu family, everyone instinctively assumed that Li Shimin naturally had other arrangements.

Including Li Jing, who felt the same.

And subsequently, he began a large-scale attack on the entire Yinshan.

It was not that he absolutely required Gu Yan to perform a pincer attack.

Now that Jieli Khan had been driven to a dead end, even relying on himself alone, he could still break through Yinshan.

Why was he so concerned about this matter?

It was all because he was worried about the sudden arrival of enemies.

He was the commander-in-chief of the three armies and could not overlook any detail.

—The situation changed again!

Jieli Khan was completely desperate.

The successive attacks of the Tang Army had forced him to place all his elites on the front line, yet he was constantly worried about what problems might arise in the rear.

The reputation of the Gu family was simply too resounding.

Ever since the days of Gu Xiao, every so often, descendants would emerge to pull off miraculous surprise attacks.

How could he not worry about this hidden threat?

Under these circumstances, the war across the entire Yinshan was also becoming increasingly unfavorable.

The external pressure caused internal conflicts to become increasingly unmanageable, and an atmosphere of impending defeat finally rose in everyone's hearts.

And Jieli Khan had to make a decision.

—He was going to flee!

Yudukenshan.

After days of continuous slaughter, this sacred mountain of the Turks had completely lost its former holy glory.

—The mountains and plains were covered in corpses.

The dull thuds of armor striking frozen earth were crushed by the wind and snow, and broken blades and spears were stuck diagonally in the snow, like hideous bone fragments.

On those fallen bodies, congealed blood wound like rivers through the gaps in the armor, staining the pure white snowfield with dark crimson spots of various shapes.

An atmosphere of despair shrouded the remaining Turks.

Human strength always has its limits.

So-called faith was still not enough to support them in protecting this sacred mountain in their hearts.

Especially when watching those Gu Shizi and Tang Army soldiers, who were like death gods, slowly advancing up the mountain, while their so-called gods had long failed to appear, this faith would eventually collapse due to doubt.

In fact, the casualties of the Tang Army were also not small.

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

Even among the Gu Shizi, there were casualties.

On the path to restoring the prestige of the Gu family, every one of them had exhausted their strength and given everything for the faith in their hearts.

The path ahead was now clear.

"Oh, Heavenly God! Why have you not yet sent down your thunder?" An old woman with white hair knelt on the crushed ice, her withered fingers digging deep into the blood-soaked snow, her cloudy eyes filled with bloodshot veins. "Your believers are bleeding! These demons in human skin, they are going to trample your temple!"

The infant in the mother's arms twitched violently; dark red liquid flowed from beneath the woman's blood-stained animal skin, but she was oblivious, only crying out heart-wrenchingly to the sky: "If you truly have mercy, strike them down with heavenly thunder! Strike them—"

The screaming stopped abruptly as a long spear grazed her ear and nailed into the ground, the kicked-up snow mixed with ice shards leaving three bloody gashes on her cheek.

Mercy?

There is no mercy!

Could the wailing of the people of the Nine Provinces from years past be any weaker than this?

When had they ever received merciful treatment?

Stability only exists under the sharp edge of a blade.

Until all foreign enemies from all directions are beaten into submission, when will the Nine Provinces ever see peace?

Gu Quan's gaze remained firm, stepping steadily over the broken swords and spears, the ice crystals on his black armor reflecting cold light in the sunlight.

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

Gu Yan gripped his long spear, the tip reflecting the flickering firelight on the altar—that was the final struggle of the Turks.

"Push!" Gu Quan shouted deeply.

More than ten strong men exerted force in unison, and the moment the ropes tightened, the three-zhang-tall statue let out a teeth-grinding creak.

Cracks spread from the base of the statue, its exquisitely carved face twisting and deforming as it collapsed; the moment it crashed to the ground, the splashed snow and rocks pelted the crowd.

Several young Turks rushed over like madmen, only to be held back by the spears of the Tang Army pressed against their throats.

Gu Quan took the gilded Tang flag from his waist and drove the flagpole fiercely into the shattered forehead of the statue.

Another red banner embroidered with the character "Gu" was raised at this moment, the scarlet silk snapping in the howling wind like two sharp blades thrust into the hearts of the Turks.

The desperate wailing reached its peak at this moment.

Some tore at their own hair, some buried their faces in the snow and sobbed, and others kowtowed frantically to the fallen statue, the blood dripping from their foreheads onto the "Gu" flag, blooming like red plum blossoms.

The cold wind swept across the empty altar.

Blowing the two banners planted on the summit until they snapped loudly.

Until this moment.

When they saw with their own eyes that all the Turks had been brought under control, soldiers began to collapse onto the snow one after another from exhaustion.

"Hahaha~"

Gu Yan was the same, but looking at that Gu family banner, he laughed heartily and called out to Gu Quan: "Brother, from this day forth."

"I wonder if these barbarians of the four directions will remember the name of our Gu family?"

His eye sockets were blood-red.

Coupled with the blood stained on his body from the continuous fighting.

At this very moment, he truly looked like a demon god who had slaughtered his way out of hell, with no human appearance left.

Gu Quan nodded silently, his eyes equally bloodshot.

He gripped his long spear tightly, plunging it into the ground to support himself so he would not collapse, and after taking a few deep breaths, he said, "Rest for one day; tomorrow I will take two thousand men."

"This place is left for you to garrison."

"If my calculations are correct..."

"Once Li Jing and the others break through Yinshan, the Jieli Khan will surely flee west; this place is the only road to intercept him."

Gu Quan's tone remained as earnest as ever.

He was going to make his move.

Since the start of the offensive against Yudukin Mountain, he had been blocking the Turks from descending the mountain, all for the sake of taking them by surprise.

He absolutely could not delay too long in this place.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yan and the others immediately turned solemn, and not knowing where the strength came from, Gu Yan even sat straight up: "Brother, I will go with you."

"We brothers—"

Before he could finish, Gu Quan shook his head and interrupted him, "You are the current head of the family! Furthermore, you are the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty, the Champion Marquis of our Great Tang!"

Gu Yan was stunned into silence.

Gu Quan stared at him intently, pointing to the banner belonging to the Gu family beside him: "This credit must be yours to take."

"Do not let down Father's arrangements from years past."

As he spoke, he released the long spear in his hand, stuck it beside Gu Yan, and turned to pick up the horse lance nearby.

The joy of victory instantly dissipated.

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

Even Gu Yi felt an inexplicable heaviness.

Gu Quan was destined to never receive any credit; the moment he chose to take that step, everything about today had already been determined.

He had become an invisible guardian.

Both for the Great Tang and for the Gu family.

And Gu Yi understood this as well.

For the future of the Gu family, people like Gu Quan would certainly not be the only ones.

There was simply no one who could stop Gu Quan.

The very next day, Gu Quan led two thousand troops and headed straight for Juyan Lake.

And although Gu Yan felt immense pain in his heart,

he could only hold Yudukin Mountain.

For him, this was also a responsibility belonging to the head of the family.

Yinshan.

The Jieli Khan had retreated.

Facing the increasingly fierce offensive of the Tang Army, he had no choice but to make this decision.

And just as Gu Quan had judged, with no knowledge of the Gu family's movements, the Jieli Khan could only choose to flee west, using the Western Turks to block the Tang Army's forces in hopes of making a comeback another day.

This was the Jieli Khan's only choice.

Li Jing would naturally pursue.

He was never a man who would hesitate; he would naturally choose to press the advantage.

—The stalemate was completely broken.

By this moment, the Jieli Khan had completely lost the strength to resist; he could only exhaust everything to retreat.

The internal unrest of hearts had reached a point he could no longer stabilize.

The most critical thing was—

The vanished Gu family remained a thorn in his heart; this feeling left the Jieli Khan walking on thin ice, and he could only constantly console himself in his heart.

The cold wind howled.

On this vast ice field, the Jieli Khan relied on his knowledge of the terrain to move rapidly toward the west.

But the Tang Army remained tightly on his heels.

Whether it was the surrendered soldiers or the surrendered tribes, all had become the best maps for the Tang Army.

And it was precisely because of this.

The entire Turkic interior had reached a vicious cycle, with more and more deserters and defectors.

The Turkic camp.

Listening to the reports from his confidants,

the Jieli Khan's expression grew increasingly gloomy, and he suddenly barked, "Go to the Holy Mountain!"

The deserters were increasing.

At this very moment, the Jieli Khan had only this one method left.

Perhaps only by heading to the Holy Mountain could this trend be halted.

Furthermore, heading to the Holy Mountain would allow them to replenish provisions without delaying the retreat.

This was his only choice at present.

Hearing this, the confidants all nodded immediately.

They also understood the severity of the situation.

"Tell everyone, let them not rest, endure a little longer; once we reach the Holy Mountain, we can continue to defend by the terrain, and there will still be a chance!"

The Jieli Khan forced himself to remain calm and issued the order again.

The confidants immediately took the order and left.

Under the snowy night.

The entire Turkic army broke camp again, longing to use this move to put distance between themselves and the Tang Army.

—The Holy Mountain!

Perhaps every Turk had a deep longing for this in their hearts.

When they heard the Jieli Khan's arrangement, even the atmosphere of despair weakened slightly.

The army galloped.

The bright moonlight reflected on the snow, pointing the way for the Jieli Khan toward Yudukin Mountain.

Gusts of cold wind whistled.

Influenced by this atmosphere, everyone in the Turkic army actually began to yearn, longing for the gods they believed in to help them escape the crisis before them.

Even the Jieli Khan himself was the same.

Their speed grew faster and faster.

Just before dawn arrived, the fall of the entire Yudukin Mountain gradually appeared under the moonlight.

Seeing this, the crowd's speed increased even more.

They rushed forward like this, fleeing at high speed.

Every person's expression became increasingly fanatical.

And just as dawn arrived.

They finally reached the Holy Mountain they had imagined, but what followed was a barrage of rolling stones and arrows, as well as the sounds of battle cries rising from the entire peak.

"Boom—" The battle cries from the summit sounded like thunder.

Despair washed over everyone's hearts like a tide, crushing their final psychological defenses.

At this moment, the golden sun illuminated the snow.

The first ray of morning light split the clouds and mist like a sharp sword, landing straight on the summit of Yudukin Mountain.

Everyone was stung by the sight before them—the altars that had carried the faith of the Turks for a thousand years had collapsed, the statues carved with scriptures were shattered, and in their place were two banners fluttering in the wind.

The crimson silk snapped in the wind, with black patterns outlining the totems of the Azure Wolf and the Vermilion Bird.

Although separated by a great distance, everyone could clearly recognize the familiar style—those were the battle flags of the Gu family and the Great Tang!

The sunlight poured down, and against the backdrop of the white snow, it seemed to dye the banners into flowing flames, stinging people's eyes so they could not open them.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had instantly gripped everyone's throats.

The curved blades in the hands of the Turkic soldiers fell to the ground with a "clatter"; some stumbled and fell from their horses, collapsing into the snow and muttering to themselves;

even the Jieli Khan's most elite confidant generals turned pale as paper, their pupils filled with unbelievable despair.

The collapse of faith;

the fear of death.

At this moment, it finally completely destroyed the last remaining will of everyone.

In this moment of deathly silence, the battle cries ceased abruptly.

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

"Can the bones of Eternal Heaven serve as a flagpole?"

"Watch as your gods are annihilated—"

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

—Rumble!

These shouts were like thunder, exploding directly in everyone's minds.

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

——————

In the second month of the fifth year of Zhenguan, Gu Yan led light cavalry on a thousand-mile surprise raid, arriving at Mount Dujin by night to strike the Turkic Heaven-Worshipping Golden Tent and burn four hundred thousand hu of grain and fodder.

The various Tiele chieftains gazed upon the Black Armor and kowtowed, weeping, "In the past, Marquis Huo’s golden crown dazzled the northern desert; today, the Gu family’s frosty blade pierces the dome of the yurt!"

The remaining Turkic masses sang in sorrow: "The Holy Mountain collapses, the mares wail; the banners snap, the brides don mourning clothes."

A separate account from the alleys of Changancheng:

That night, when Gu Yan broke the enemy at Shengshan, a white rainbow pierced the Dipper, its light like a plain silk ribbon hanging over the wilderness. Within the rainbow, three hundred Black Armor iron cavalry were faintly visible, their helmets resembling those made during the Renzhang and Wuwu years of the Han.

An old veteran of Lingzhou pointed to the sky and wept, "This is not the courage of Gu Yan alone; it is truly the undying loyal souls of the Gu family immortals, transforming into starlight to guard the Nine Provinces!"

A proverb among the Turkic elders still remains: "See the white rainbow, flee nine layers deep; encounter the Gu banner, kneel like a pine."

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

—— "Book of Tang: Biography of Gu Yan"

(End of this chapter)