Chapter 127: No One Understands Tibet Better Than Me

"Don't panic! The Tibetans have no siege engines! Hold your positions!"

"They don't have many scaling ladders. Crossbowmen, form up—shoot anyone who comes up! Then use fire oil to burn the ladders!"

"The Tibetans came from far away. They couldn't possibly be wearing armor while crossing the snow mountains! Don't panic!"

"Watch out for udos. Sword-and-shield soldiers to the front, shields facing outward. Don't shoot arrows blindly down from the wall!"

"Don't show your heads! Don't show your heads! Don't show your heads!"

Under the protection of a group of sword-and-shield soldiers, Fang Dafu patrolled along the city wall, shouting at the top of his lungs as he walked. For a moment, the somewhat chaotic defenders gradually began to fall into order.

Fang Chongyong was very timid, afraid of having his head smashed by a Tibetan udo, so he would relay his instructions to Fang Dafu, who would then shout them out. Not only was his voice loud and resonant, but it also carried a convincing authority.

Not many people in the small city knew the Tibetans' methods of siege warfare. The troops here had, up to this point, almost never clashed with the Tibetans. Moreover, most of the veterans from the early Kaiyuan era had already retired and were no longer present.

But Fang Chongyong happened to be an outstanding master of "armchair strategy"!

Not only did the experienced Niu Xianke pass down "secret manuals" to him, but he also had the Tibetans' own military regulations as reference. It was no exaggeration to say that of all the soldiers in this city, Wang Sili included, not a single one understood the Tibetans better than Fang Chongyong.

Just by glancing at the Tibetans' siege progress, Fang Chongyong already understood in his heart that the enemy perhaps did not expect to take the small city tonight.

Their military regulations clearly spelled out the playbook!

To put it more plainly, the Tibetan army's attack on the small city of Shazhou was nothing more than following the principle of "speed is the essence of war." Could it be that they were only attacking the small city?

Given the Tibetans' habit of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops at the drop of a hat, perhaps in this wave of offensives, the small city of Shazhou was likely only one among many. Other places, even Guazhou, could not be ruled out as targets.

As long as the Tibetans captured any single city along the Hexi Corridor, they could use the resources within that city to build quality siege engines, and then encircle and attack the small city from all sides.

Being safe tonight did not mean they would remain safe hereafter.

In ancient times there were no satellite maps and no wireless communication, so it was impossible to know how the fighting was going elsewhere in Hexi.

Bang!

A stone struck the shield of the sword-and-shield soldier nearest to Fang Chongyong, making Young Master Fang, who had been calm and composed just a moment ago, jump with fright. He had personally witnessed the power of the udo—a sword-and-shield soldier beside him had carelessly exposed half his shoulder and was immediately struck by a stone hurled from an udo, his shoulder instantly going limp and drooping!

"Stop shooting arrows at the base of the wall."

Fang Dafu shouted, and the signalmen on the wall raised their torches and waved them. The soldiers who had been shooting arrows immediately stopped.

The Tibetans' attack had already stopped, lasting less than half a shichen. It was clearly just a probing assault. During the siege, fifteen scaling ladders were destroyed—very likely their entire stock for this operation. With no siege engines left, they stopped. This was entirely consistent with the laws of warfare.

The so-called "scaling ladders" were, to put it plainly, folding ladders. When not in use, they were folded up for easy transport and carrying; when deployed, they were extended for siege assaults. They could adapt to city walls of standard height. Their advantages were ease of manufacture and low cost; their drawback was that they were easily destroyed by the defenders.

"Your Excellency has a sharp eye. This was the Tibetan army luring us into shooting arrows down from the wall. The siege was merely a feint. In the coming days, I fear there will surely be bloody battles."

Wang Sili, clad in Mingguang armor, came over and said.

"Heh, these Tibetans don't know that this official had already learned of their plans and stockpiled a massive quantity of bows, crossbows, and arrows in the small city. Even the goods brought by the foreign merchants from the Western Regions were confiscated by us!

I'd like to see what these Tibetans think they can use to fight this official!"

Fang Chongyong said, brimming with complacency.

Back then, he had played the part to the fullest. In order to "prove" that his intelligence was top secret rather than fabricated, Fang Chongyong not only strengthened the local defenses of Shazhou but also purchased military supplies in bulk. Horizontal swords, bows, crossbows, arrows, and other such "consumables" on the market in Dunhuang were swept clean by the prefectural office!

Fang Chongyong admitted there had been an element of gambling, but he had gambled correctly!

"Lord Fang truly has eyes and ears everywhere. He is indeed worthy of being the son of Jiedushi Fang!"

Wang Sili could not help but remark with admiration.

The Tibetans stopped their attack in less than half a shichen for a very simple reason: they discovered that the small city of Shazhou was heavily defended.

The resistance they encountered was not at all what one would expect from a sudden ambush with no preparation.

So the Tibetans were not stupid either. Since their siege engines were not in place, then... they might as well wait for daylight. The forces below the city were primarily cavalry and mounted infantry, truly unsuited for storming a city wall—the cost-to-benefit ratio was far too low.

Moreover, the Tibetan army's armor and baggage train were all in the rear; right now they were only a light cavalry force.

"There's no problem here, but as for the outer city..."

Wang Sili said with deep concern, looking at the scattered torches below the city, unable to tell whether the Tibetans had actually withdrawn or merely left a few scouts below the wall to put on a show of strength.

Recently, Shazhou had received reinforcements sent by Wang Zhongsi, and Fang Chongyong boldly adjusted the deployment.

He abandoned the defense of Shouchang County to the south, called on the local populace to relocate to the outer city, and transferred the Guest Troops under Guo Ziyi that had been stationed in Shouchang County to the outer city to strengthen its defenses. This concentrated all Tang forces within the area along both banks of the Ganquan River (Dang River), separated only by a single river, allowing them to keep watch over and support one another.

With Guo Ziyi there, Fang Chongyong believed the outer city could still be held.

However, this move met with fierce resistance from the local people of Shouchang. Fang Chongyong had no choice but to issue a written guarantee: if the Tibetans did not come, the Shazhou prefectural office would cover the relocation expenses. Only then did those people reluctantly move to the outer city.

In hindsight, it was clear that Shouchang County to the south had already been captured by the Tibetans—though of course, they had only taken an empty city.

"The Ganquan River is flooding, and the local canals of Dunhuang are suffering. Alas, what is to be done about this year's autumn harvest?"

Wang Sili shook his head and sighed.

Whether it was the outer city or the small city, neither was situated right against the Ganquan River, so there was no danger of the cities themselves being destroyed. The Ganquan River, this mother river, had a bad temper—all the locals knew this. When the snow mountains melted, the water volume was enormous, surging like the Yellow River. When the climate turned bitterly cold, it simply dried up. Its temper could be called capricious.

That was why local settlements were all situated at some distance from the Ganquan River. Generally speaking, they did not worry about the river flooding.

By the Tang dynasty, the Dunhuang region had already formed a water management system with the Ganquan River (Dang River) as the main trunk canal and the Majankou Weir as the central hub.

Seven major trunk canals—the Yangkai Canal, Beifu Canal, Duxiang Canal, Yiqiu Canal, Shennong Canal, Yin'an Canal, and Donghe Canal—had been built to thread through the Dunhuang oasis, with over a hundred branch canals arranged in a feather-like pattern along both sides of the trunk canals.

Weirs and sluice gates were also installed on the trunk canals, together forming the well-developed, networked agricultural irrigation system of the Dunhuang region. The locals depended on this irrigation system for their livelihood. As long as the climate was stable each year, the harvests were relatively stable too; they did not rely on the heavens' favor.

So when the Ganquan River flooded and burst its banks, what the local people of Dunhuang worried about was not drowning, but rather the canals accumulated over many generations being destroyed by the floodwaters!

The farmland here all relied on "precision irrigation." Judging purely by "technological sophistication," it far surpassed the farming standards of the Central Plains.

Because the Dunhuang region had low winter temperatures, the soil froze, making deep plowing impossible.

And in early spring, the river's runoff was small, unable to meet irrigation demands. Therefore, the fields that needed spring wheat planted in early spring and legumes sown slightly later generally had to be plowed and prepared in advance during the autumn of the previous year.

Thus, autumn plowing became the beginning of one production cycle, which ended with the autumn harvest. According to the "Detailed Regulations on Water Usage for Dunhuang County, Shazhou" promulgated by the Shazhou prefectural office, one agricultural production cycle required six rounds of irrigation: "autumn water irrigation," "spring water irrigation," "watering damaged seedlings," "second watering of wheat fields," "second watering of millet and hemp," and "watering for hemp and vegetables."

Moreover, the number of irrigations for most farmlands each year, the duration of each irrigation, and the types of fields to be irrigated, and so on.

All of these details were stipulated in detail in the "Detailed Regulations on Water Usage for Dunhuang County, Shazhou."

When Fang Chongyong first read through this document, he was immediately astounded and deeply impressed. Under conditions of limited productive capacity, the ancients had taken institutional management to the utmost extreme—truly not to be underestimated.

Fang Chongyong felt that this flood likely had no strong connection to the Tibetans. However, with Dunhuang County now under siege, it would clearly affect the repair of the canals and affect the harvest from the fields. The ensuing consequences could not be underestimated.

"Alas, indeed. This year will not be easy."

Fang Chongyong sighed and said.

Suddenly, a thrown stone flew up from below the city, dark and vicious, heading straight for Fang Chongyong's forehead. At that moment, the sword‑and‑shield soldiers beside him had already been withdrawn, leaving no defense.

At that instant, a city‑guard soldier behind Fang Chongyong, quick of eye and hand, rushed forward, yanked Fang Chongyong, and the soldier's own back took the stone head‑on!

The man instantly felt his internal organs shift, but fortunately the small camel‑skin armor he wore, sewn together with rope into a flexible leather cuirass, absorbed most of the force.

A Duan, angry, shot an arrow backward along the stone's trajectory, and soon heard a thud as someone fell from a horse below the city.

"Are you all right, brave man?"

Fang Chongyong hurried forward, helped the man to his feet, and went to check on this lifesaver, only to see that the burly soldier seemed completely unharmed!

"Hehe, it's fine, it's fine."

The man, who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, with a youthful face, patted his chest, stretched his arms and said, "My skin's still solid; that little trick of the Tubo Uduo is just a game."

"Good! From now on you are my personal guard!"

Fang Chongyong patted the other's arm and said. Because the young strong man was so tall, he couldn't reach his shoulder.

Beside them, Wang Silie showed an awkward expression, then patted the strong man's shoulder and said, "Zhang Guangsheng, from now on follow Lord Fang. He is the son of Jiedushi Fang, with limitless prospects. Your military registration will be properly handled by the army office."

"Heh, alright! Pleased to meet Lord Fang! I will obey your orders!"

Zhang Guangsheng clasped his fists and saluted Fang Chongyong.

Wang Silie shook his head helplessly; this man had just entered the army this year, his family had not settled in Dunhuang long, they were from Shaanxi Zhouzhi (now Zhouzhi), and his father, a militia soldier, had gone to Hexi and never left.

Originally Zhang Guangsheng had already been recruited by Wang Silie as a personal guard, but now that Fang Chongyong spoke, Wang Silie found it hard to argue with him; better to make a friendly concession, as such courtly favors might be useful later.

Sure enough, after dawn, Fang Chongyong led Wang Silie and representatives of the local gentry up to the city wall and found the town already surrounded by Tubo troops. They were besieging without attacking, and it was unclear what they intended.

Soon, Tubo scouts on horseback below the city shot an arrow toward the rampart.

The defending soldiers handed the arrow, tied with a letter, to Fang Chongyong for inspection. The letter, written in Chinese, read: "Our army has taken Guazhou, cutting off the Tang army's route to the Western Regions. Defending the city is meaningless; open the gates and surrender. Our troops will not kill a soul, otherwise after the city falls we will bathe it in blood for three days."

Fang Chongyong handed the letter sent by the Tubo to everyone for reading, then, in a serious tone, said:

"Putting aside whether this is a Tubo fabrication or not, even if it's true, they say they won't kill anyone, but they never said they won't make you slaves or servants."

"As slaves, isn't life and death still at the whim of others?"

"I will share the fate of Shazhou; what do you think?"

Fang Chongyong looked around at the crowd and said. Zhang Guangsheng, alert, gripped the hilt of his broadsword tightly, watching Fang Chongyong's movements closely.

But both Fang Chongyong's and Zhang Guangsheng's worries were unnecessary.

The Tubo serf system's demand for slaves had become fanatically extreme, much like the manuscripts that shouted "ban zai" in Fang Chongyong's past life. The Tubo high‑command's lenient orders often failed to be enforced at the grassroots, let alone elsewhere.

Thus, wherever they arrived, they would enslave the locals. Only those local magnates who had fought them desperately and inflicted significant casualties were granted the title "Sheren" to manage areas difficult for the Tubo to govern.

In short, the martial Tubo despise cowards. So when facing them, whether to protect yourself or to seek refuge, you must pick up a sword. Without a sword, you're not even fit to be a dog; you're only worthy of being a slaughtered pig or sheep.

Led by Zhang Quan, the local gentry instantly knelt and shouted, "We shall stand with the Lord, sharing heart and virtue, and share the fate of Shazhou!"

"Very well. From now on, the city's food supplies will be rationed, mobilizing the locals to defend the city. Those who disobey will be treated as Tubo traitors and killed without mercy!"

Fang Chongyong uttered a harsh remark and led the men away from the rampart.

There were many matters requiring meticulous planning that had to be handled in private, unsuitable for public disclosure.

The town's blockade had not yet been lifted, and Shazhou's troubles were even more unfathomable. So far, no one around Fang Chongyong knew how far the Tubo had progressed, and he wasn't even sure whether Guazhou still existed.

Faintly, Fang Chongyong thought the Tubo had no need to lie about such 'trivial' matters. Guazhou was most likely already fallen.

If the Tubo had taken Guazhou and now took Shazhou as well, the Western Regions and the Central Plains would be split in two. The resulting chain reaction might even overwhelm the Hexi Jiedushi Office.

Fang Chongyong was deeply worried, sighing that the Tubo's latest move was truly swift as the wind!

……

In the early summer of the first year of Tianbao, the Tubo took advantage of the brief period when snow melt raised river levels and the riverside pastures were lush, gathering elite troops that had not yet seen combat, drawn from various units, and split them into three columns to attack Hexi!

One Tubo detachment feigned an attack on Datou Bagu, captured the new city, and then engaged in a back‑and‑forth struggle with the Tang army between Datou Bagu and the new city.

Another Tubo main force advanced along the Ming River (Shule River) to attack Guazhou, taking the city in one blow. Guazhou's prefect Le Tinghuan died in battle, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Because of the massive casualties, the Tubo sacked Guazhou in a rage, leaving almost no chickens or dogs alive.

Another Tubo detachment attacked Shazhou, occupying the uninhabited Shouchang County without a fight, then met defeat at the small city of Shazhou and Luocheng, and was forced to besiege both cities, urging surrender.

The urgent military report reached Chang'an; the Tang Emperor Li Longji learned that Guazhou had fallen, erupted in fury, and was so angry he didn't eat all day.

Soon after, he issued an imperial edict, removing the Hexi Jiedushi Xiao Jiong from office, demoting him to the post of Qizhou Prefect, and appointing Wang Zhongsi as the new Hexi Jiedushi!

Having just changed the era name and already suffered such a loss, Brother Ji could no longer tolerate it; he would definitely seize a chance to redeem himself!

(End of chapter)