Chapter 299: A Nation Trains Soldiers for One Hundred Fifty Years

Xu Qubing, leading his remaining troops, left Wei Yuan. To repay Fang Chongyong's magnanimous kindness, he told the Hexi Jiedushi a secret known only to a few Tubo insiders.

From Wei Yuan, heading south along the Datong River, after less than fifty li, there is a smuggling path used by Tubo people and Great Tang merchants, affectionately called the "Tea‑Horse Trail" by both sides.

Because the Longyou region has been long blocked by Tang forces, trade is cut off. Therefore merchants from Chang'an do not go to Shanzhou; instead, after reaching Lanzhou they like to make some "extra money" before heading through the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions.

Mainly to obtain cheap horses needed for the journey.

Meanwhile, the Tubo people in the Wei Yuan and Datong areas need to sell their grazing cattle and sheep for other necessities. Thus this Tea‑Horse Trail leading directly to the Datong region came into being.

How exactly does it work?

Both banks of the Datong River near Wei Yuan are very narrow, unsuitable for cargo transport but passable on foot. So the Tubo people pack the goods—cattle, sheep, even dairy products—secure them on wooden rafts, and let the cargo drift downstream along the Datong River.

In short, goods travel by water, people travel by road, without interfering with each other.

At the entrance of the Tea‑Horse Trail lies a modest ferry and a town of a few dozen households, which handles receiving, transshipping, and unloading there!

Great Tang merchants use this route to sell their cheap tea bricks and tea cakes to Tubo nobles, while the Tubo Eastern Dai of the Datong and Wei Yuan areas sell livestock products at this market town. All of this is hidden from the authorities of both states.

Of course, traveling upstream from Lanzhou to the trail's entrance is still laborious. Yet, given the tea bricks and cakes are not heavy or bulky and fetch exorbitant prices, hiring rope‑pullers to haul upstream and using wooden rafts to support the cargo is not a major expense.

The Eastern Dai where Xu Qubing resides employs this very tactic. Because his ancestors came from the Great Tang and he has some private connections there, he personally manages this smuggling line and runs it regularly.

Fang Chongyong recalled his time as Inspector of Shazhou, when he and En Landa Zalu Gong also dabbled in smuggling, and he instantly saw the connection!

No wonder they say great minds think alike!

Killing creates no value, but smuggling does! The Great Tang and Tubo are locked in fierce war, yet what does that have to do with civilian trade between the two nations?

After all, Tang tea is a staple for Tubo nobles. Some Tubo aristocrats even collect tea from various Tang regions and varieties. The abundance of types makes the Chang'an elite sigh in envy.

If smuggling didn't play a role here, it would be pure nonsense.

"The Tea‑Horse Trail…"

Fang Chongyong stared silently at the swift currents of the Datong River.

Great Tang official maps never mark these routes, yet when Fang Chongyong led his troops here, he discovered that large‑scale marching was possible.

In fact, it's not just that; even the minor roads directly linking Wei Yuan to the Datong region number at least five.

The issue is whether a large force can ride horses there, carry its baggage, and sustain long‑term supply.

Fang Chongyong concluded that these paths only allow a lightly equipped force of about three thousand to reach Datong with seven days of dry rations. Neither armor nor heavy weapons can be brought, let alone horses.

Thus, Fang Chongyong never considered this at all. The only road from Wei Yuan to Datong was the marching grain road.

However, the information Xu Qubing supplied opened a new avenue: could the inadequate river transport on the Datong River be used in a "people‑cargo separation" scheme, allowing the army to traverse the Tea‑Horse Trail and strike the Tubo from the side‑rear of the Datong region?

If it weren't for the brutal difficulty of rowing upstream on the Datong River to Wei Yuan, large‑scale marching would be unimaginable, and Fang Chongyong would fear the Tubo using this route to ambush him.

Seemingly confirming Xu Qubing's claim, Fang Chongyong, at the westernmost Datong River ferry port of Wei Yuan, found many crudely made wooden rafts—left behind by Tubo people after transporting baggage downstream to Wei Yuan.

These rafts are no longer reusable; if needed they can be chopped for firewood or used as timber for constructing spike fences, and are usually stacked on the riverbank to dry. Of course, they can also serve as smuggling tools. The Yellow River at Lanzhou still carries grain transport, demanding many boats and timber.

Thus, in any case, there will always be a market for these rafts.

Seeing the densely piled rafts before him, Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh, "The Tubo's governance of their own country is truly coarse!"

The Tubo Eastern Dai near Wei Yuan has taken "profiting at the public's expense" to the extreme—supplying smuggled horses, cattle, and sheep to the Great Tang, and even selling the rafts used to transport military grain!

Do the Tubo high command truly know nothing about this?

Fang Chongyong suspects not; perhaps there are unspeakable reasons, since such matters are common in the Great Tang as well.

"Jiedushi, we are short of timber for spike fences; should we dismantle all these rafts?"

He Changqi, seeing Fang Chongyong arms crossed in thought, pointed at the piled rafts and asked in doubt.

"We aren't lacking that amount of wood."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand lightly, as if muttering to himself, staring absentmindedly at the heap of rafts.

……

On the third day after the Tubo lost the logistics base at Wei Yuan, they already knew it had been seized by Tang forces.

Consequently, the Tubo army tasked with attacking Shanzhou's northern route executed a maneuver that later baffled Fang Chongyong: they fortified Datong, blocked the marching grain road from Wei Yuan to Datong, and entrenched heavy troops at the exit.

They waited to ambush the Tang forces during a raid. This tactic mirrored what Fang Chongyong did at the grain road's far end—akin to beating a wolf with a bamboo pole, fearing both sides.

What Fang Chongyong and the Tang generals didn't understand is that although Wei Yuan is the Tubo's main logistics base, the Tubo army also has its own frontline supply depots, requiring material transfer from Wei Yuan. It's a form of dispersed deployment, spreading risk.

Moreover, Datong itself has farmland and pastures, able to supply a substantial portion of the troops' food. The biggest factor affecting the Tubo northern front is not grain but the large stockpile of arms in Wei Yuan—arrows and armor—that can no longer be sent to the front.

Because the Tubo northern route army lacks weapons and cannot replenish them, the Longyou River source garrison felt a sudden relief in military pressure. The Tubo forces withdrew to defend the pass at Datong, leaving only a few hundred cavalry to scout Tang movements and chase stray scouts, shifting to a passive defense.

Although pressure on the northern front eased temporarily, the Tubo on the southern front intensified their assault on Stone Fortress City!

A few days after losing Wei Yuan, the reorganized Tubo troops surged toward Dingrong City opposite the hill of Stone Fortress City and captured it in one stroke. They left three thousand elite troops camped outside Stone Fortress City, forming a mutual corner with the Tubo forces at Dingrong City, surrounding Stone Fortress without launching an attack.

Another day passed, and ten thousand Tubo troops on the southern front assaulted Anrong City (Huangyuan County), engaging the Tang forces in an open‑field battle outside the city. After a minor defeat, they withdrew leisurely back to the camp outside Stone Fortress, awaiting a Tang attack.

The Tang army did not pursue.

Wang Zhongsi strictly ordered the various units of Longyou Town not to engage independently; only when Tubo forces reached outside Anrong City could they be confronted.

Two days later, another ten thousand Tubo troops charged Anrong City, fought the Tang again outside the city, were again defeated, and retreated back to the camp outside Stone Fortress.

Even a fool can tell what the Tubo are aiming for, but we have no means to counter them unless we fill them with our own lives like minced meat.

Facing a Tubo army that disregards soldiers' lives, fighting a war of attrition is the most foolish strategy. Whenever the Tubo clash with the Great Tang, almost every time—even when the Tang suffer crushing defeats—the Tubo suffer even higher casualties.

But victory depends on whether strategic objectives are achieved, not on the number of heads cut.

Seeing the Tang army not taking the bait, the Tubo began sending waves of 500 attackers at Stone Fortress each time, withdrawing to resupply before the next assault, conducting round‑the‑clock, ten‑shift siege attacks!

Now Wang Zhongsi could no longer sit idle.

He urgently ordered Li Guangbi, who was recuperating in Huangshui County, to rush to Anrong City with the incomplete Tianwei army.

When Li Guangbi's troops arrived, the Tang army had already amassed over thirty thousand troops at Anrong City, ready to engage the Tubo forces calmly on the narrow yet broad mountain road east of the Great Fei River.

Two days later, Wang Zhongsi personally led eight thousand elite Tianwei troops, plus five thousand fresh troops from various Longyou units, storming Stone Fortress, crushing the Tubo camp, beheading two thousand, and lifting the siege of Stone Fortress.

The Tubo army did not collapse; they fought while retreating, pulling back all the way to the Great Fei River.

Recalling the painful memories of the Great Fei River campaign, the Tang army halted upon reaching the abandoned Wanji City and once again withdrew to the frontline base at Anrong City.

At this moment, Wang Zhongsi was deeply worried; he had already deployed his last reserve unit, and almost all the elite troops of Longyou Town were near Anrong City, fighting the Tubo army for Stone Fortress City.

He did not dare to move even a single troop, for that would disrupt the fragile military balance. In the rear, only the battered He Yuan Army remained as a lone force; could it truly keep the rear safe?

……

In Fang Chongyong's previous life, south of the Menyuan Basin, there was an ancient road beloved by hikers, safe and scenic. During the Northern Song, the Mongols called it "Qihan Kaigou", meaning "white little path".

Because by the Northern Song it had already become a dedicated smuggling route west of Lanzhou for horses and tea, it was affectionately called the "Tea Horse Trail" by the various peoples.

That night, Fang Chongyong led three thousand foot soldiers of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, leading horses along the Tea Horse Trail. Silver moonlight shone overhead, reflected in the mountain springs of the valley, the sound of rushing water filled his ears, dense forest surrounded him, and occasional calls of unknown birds drifted through.

These people did not seem like marching troops, but rather like explorers; everyone's mood was relatively relaxed.

"Fang Jiedushi, that move of yours is truly brilliant! The Tubo could never dream of you taking the Tea Horse Trail, looping behind Datong, and striking them with a blade."

Beside him, He Changqi couldn't help but flatter, saying so. It wasn't merely flattery; in fact, before being reminded, not a single member of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army had thought of that.

"Thanks for the kind words; I also think the Tubo are unlikely to have thought of that."

Fang Chongyong chuckled, usually as steady as a thousand‑year‑old turtle, and now, for once, he showed a hint of pride.

All the way, they used wooden rafts to 'transport' supplies, having first dispatched troops to seize the Tea Horse Trail crossing and receive cargo there. The rest of the troops, in uniform and light gear, marched for a day along the mountain road that clung to the Datong Riverbank, arriving here.

A march without baggage is simply delightful—almost like tourism!

And because this Tea Horse Trail is a 'smuggling‑only road', its condition is far better than expected! If it weren't for the many fist‑sized stones on the ground that might break a horse's leg, cavalry could ride here.

Fang Chongyong felt extremely proud; Guo Ziyi had already arrived with the Chishui Army to take over Wei Yuan's defense, leaving the rear secure.

Now all they need to do is charge forward; the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, the tip of the spear, isn't meant for holding the line.

"Stop! A large contingent is approaching!"

He Changqi's Yuanmen Two Dragons ahead lifted a horse lantern with a Changsuo high into the air, and the more than two‑thousand‑strong formation halted instantly.

Not far away, a densely packed column marched toward them. Its leaders lit torches, while the rest remained silent, the darkness only revealing vague silhouettes.

Putting himself in their shoes, Fang Chongyong sensed this column was unusual and instantly became fully alert.

"Have the march guide ask a question in Tubo language."

Fang Chongyong whispered to He Changqi, explaining that the two opposing columns, only an arrow's distance apart, had simultaneously stopped.

"Which Eastern Dai are you from, troops!"

The Tang army's guide asked, noting that the man was a personal soldier of the Lun Gongren household and was well‑versed in Tubo military knowledge.

"Tuodai Eastern Dai, subordinate to Zanpu's Second Guard! Which Eastern Dai are you?"

The opposite side asked in Tubo language.

"Fang Jiedushi, we are the direct troops of Da Zha Lugong."

The march guide muttered softly to Fang Chongyong, his hands trembling.

"Ma De, why does the old me always run into ghosts when I take a night road!"

Fang Chongyong cursed Da Zha Lugong in his mind for not playing by the rules; this elite Tubo unit taking a shortcut at night must have a huge motive!

"Hand over my Divine Artifact!"

Fang Chongyong said to He Changqi. After a moment, he told the march guide, "Just say we are the Nangxia of Naxue Small Eastern Dai."

Naxue Small Eastern Dai is subordinate to Sun Boju, a Eastern Dai of the Su Pi District.

The prefix "Small" is added because its household count is low, placing its administrative rank half a level below, distinguishing it from ordinary Eastern Dai.

"We are the Nangxia of Naxue Small Eastern Dai."

The march guide shouted toward the distance.

"Send your rations over, and move aside so you don't block the way."

The Tubo Guard shouted from their side, and the moment they opened their mouths, information exploded.

Fang Chongyong thought to himself that slipping a few rations over wouldn't be impossible. But the horses were still bearing armor; such a number of horses clearly exceeds what this so‑called Small Eastern Dai could possess, and it would inevitably be exposed.

At that moment, He Changqi handed over the iron horn that Fang Chongyong frequently used.

Fang Chongyong raised a shield with one hand to ward off a Tubo Udu ambush, while holding the iron horn in the other. He placed the horn to his mouth, turned, and shouted to the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army soldiers, "The nation has trained troops for a hundred and fifty years; today we seal wives and protect offspring! Brothers, kill, wealth is right before our eyes!"

Upon hearing this, Yuanmen Two Dragons reflexively blew the horn without a second thought!

Wuwuwuwu!

While the Tubo Guard was still stunned, the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army soldiers, like tigers and wolves spotting prey, recklessly lunged forward!

The Yinqiang Xiaojie Army and the Tubo Guard, which normally have horses to ride, could not ride on the Tea Horse Trail.

Both the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army and the Tubo Guard, which normally wear armor, wore none during the march to conserve stamina.

Both sides' heavy weapons, such as maces and Changsuo, remained hung on the horses and could not be taken down.

The two most elite units among the Tang army and the Tubo army met in a narrow valley that should not have intersected, and on this moonlit, star‑sparse night, a bloody melee erupted!

(End of chapter)