Chapter 93: Atypical Border‑Town Battle

In Fang Chongyong's impression, a border‑town battle should be clashing steel and iron horses, cavalry charges, fighting on the vast steppe or desert, with occasional scenes of riders being thrown from their mounts.

The bright Mingguang armor gleamed in the sun like a symbol of victory; the cavalry, like a torrent, gathered in a high‑speed charge, crashed, and finally fell silent; and the locust‑like rain of arrows felled the marching infantry as if reaping wheat, leaving the air thick with the scent of blood.

The frontier should be like this, and must be like this!

Yet at this moment, before Fang Chongyong, another scene unfolded.

The reckless Turkic men, daring and enduring the lake's slight chill, waded through the water, treating Baiting Hai as if it were a "Baiting Ditch," heedless of their own safety.

Then, with a momentary slip, they would fall into a shallow pit on the lakebed, splash a few times, and vanish!

Baiting Hai is very shallow, averaging just over one meter and less than two meters deep. In theory, one should be able to wade a path to the Baiting Fort at the lake's center.

But often, "average" is a frightening term that fails to reflect the core and full picture of the problem.

Some spots are three meters deep, while others are no higher than the knee; thus the "average" depth should, in theory, be non‑lethal.

In reality, however, the outcome was like that of the Turkic scouts now "probing" the lake: after an hour or two of wading, many drowned and no viable "road" to the Baiting Fort was found.

On the Baiting Fort's watchtower, Fang Chongyong stared wordlessly at Xin Yunjing, pointing at the wading Turkic men and asking in bewilderment, "Are these people sick? Do they really think they can forge a path?"

The nearest of them were still several li away from the land at the lake's center where Baiting Fort stands.

As for the farther ones, they were already beyond Fang Chongyong's sight.

"During the Han dynasty, a Baiting Fort was erected at the center of Baiting Hai to monitor Xiongnu movements. This deployment was tailored to the terrain, not a haphazard, grab‑everything construction."

Xin Yunjing gave a brief explanation, without voicing the doubt in his mind.

The Baiting Army was not large, but it was divided into left and right forces.

The left force was stationed south of Baiting Hai, guarding the lake's pasture; the right force and the yamen were based at the central Baiting Fort, overseeing the Turkic activity.

When the Turkic suddenly turned hostile, the left force was too few to stop the surging Turkic onslaught, so they escorted the pasture staff and withdrew with thousands of horses to Chiwu Zhen.

Meanwhile, the right force at Baiting Fort was encircled by ten thousand Turkic cavalry, unable to leave the waters of Baiting Hai.

Of course, the so‑called "complete encirclement" was merely the Turkic setting up a few camps around the perimeter and dispatching many roaming cavalry to patrol.

After three days of siege, they began sending scouts to wade experimentally, apparently to find a shallow route, then ride horses through the water to the lake's center to assault Baiting Fort.

This reckless move almost caused Fang Ya, who had been trembling all day inside Baiting Fort, to smash his glasses!

"The Turkic pose little threat to us; their target is Liangzhou City. The supplies at Baiting Fort will last a year."

Xin Yunjing forced a laugh, explained to Fang Chongyong, treating him as a complete battlefield novice.

In fact, Fang Chongyong has now "studied" the Tibetan "military law manual," and previously learned some marching and combat tactics from Cui Qianyou, so he is no longer a pure outsider, but a half‑filled bucket of water‑shaken novice!

In Fang Chongyong's view, their current predicament is far less optimistic than Xin Yunjing's description.

Indeed, the lake‑center area where Baiting Fort sits houses a large granary stocked with ample military provisions. The garrison at Baiting Fort is small, so they can ration and last a year without issue.

But people can't survive on food alone!

In the cold winter, should they light fires for warmth?

For daily cooking, do they need fuel such as dry straw or animal dung?

If you tally it up, the Baiting Fort garrison lacks everything except reinforcements.

The Red Water Army, stationed just over two hundred li to the south, could break the siege by "using horses as boats" according to Hexi customs in a day or two.

The current issue isn't their situation, but the Turkic movements themselves, which defy the usual geopolitical patterns.

Modern Turkic are no longer the once‑million‑string‑controlling, Eurasian‑spanning steppe nation. The original Turkic were long extinct; today's Turkic, called the Later Turkic Khaganate, not only see their territory shrink dramatically but also suffer severe internal fragmentation.

In the autumn of the 15th year of Kaiyuan, Tibet wrote to the Later Turkic Khagan Pi Jia, inviting him to raid the Tang border together. After weighing pros and cons, Pi Jia not only refused but forwarded the Tibetan letter to the Tang for political intrigue.

Sensing Pi Jia's "sincerity," Ji Ge Longyan was overjoyed, hosting a banquet in the Purple Palace for the arriving Later Turkic minister Mei Lu Chuo. He also permitted the Shuo‑fang troops to establish a market at Western Shouxiang City, exchanging tens of thousands of bolts of silk each year for Turkic warhorses to bolster the cavalry and improve horse breeds.

By the 22nd year of Kaiyuan, the Later Turkic minister Mei Lu Chuo had poisoned Khagan Pi Jia. Yet, while the poison was taking effect but before Pi Jia died, he ordered troops to kill Mei Lu Chuo and his clan's followers.

After Pi Jia's death, Tang Xuanzong sent the Minister of Rites Li Quan to conduct the mourning rites and, for the temple and stele, commissioned the historian Li Rong to compose the inscription.

This marked the beginning of full reconciliation between the Tang and the Turkic, whose aftermath sparked fear and unrest among the Khitan and Xian in Youzhou, stirring unrest.

Initially, the Tang pacified the Khitan and Xian to divide and weaken the Turkic; once the Turkic reconciled with the Tang, the "might makes right" logic dictates that the next chapter will see the Tang allied with the Later Turkic Khaganate to confront the Khitan and Xian.

Now that Khagan Pi Jia is dead, the Turkic have installed his son as Khagan Yi Ran.

Yi Ran was once conferred by the Tang, but died of illness shortly after ascending; his younger brother succeeded as Khagan Bi Jia Gu Duo Lu, and the Tang dispatched the Right Jinwu Guard General Li Zhi to confer upon him the title Khagan Deng Li.

Deng Li was a child; his mother Po Fu participated in governance, which the people resented, and Deng's paternal uncles divided command of troops—those in the east called themselves "Left Kill," those in the west "Right Kill."

In other words, the Turkic attacking Liangzhou could be from Deng's direct line or from his paternal uncles.

This complexity makes the current battle situation both tricky and bewildering, rendering even the most seasoned diplomatic tactics ineffective.

Because the Tang cannot even ascertain who truly pulls the strings behind the scenes!

Xin Yunjing could not help but tell Fang Chongyong these matters; having long dealt with the Turkic and even enlisted Turkic merchants to launder loot, he knows a bit about the Later Turkic Khaganate's politics.

On the surface, this is merely the Turkic moving south to invade Liangzhou, which could be dismissed as a steppe people "cutting grain" after autumn.

Yet, considering the Turkic's current situation, the reasons and implications are far from simple!

"Can a sheepskin raft be used to cross a river? I've heard Tibetan people often cross rivers on sheepskin rafts, inflating them into boats—very convenient."

Fang Chongyong suddenly raised a strange point.

Upon hearing this, Xin Yunjing's expression shifted slightly, thinking to himself, "This is not good!"

A sheepskin raft is made by stitching together goat or ox hide. Ancient peoples long knew "sewing leather into a bag" and inflating it for crossing water; its history is ancient, with clear records before the Han dynasty.

Before the Tang, sheepskin rafts were called "leather bags."

When Fang Chongyong crossed the Yellow River at the Wulan Pass, he did so aboard a sheepskin raft!

This transport was common in the upper Yellow River. Using sheepskin rafts to ferry people and cargo was widespread along the Yellow River banks in Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia, so Fang Chongyong's question was not idle at all but highly pertinent.

If the Turkic were to inflate a fleet of sheepskin rafts and paddle from the Baiting shoreline to Baiting Fort, it would indeed be a hassle!

The Baiting Army was organized with 1,700 men—left and right forces together totaling 1,400, plus 300 "naval" troops, equipped with flat‑bottom, shallow‑draft "warships." However, because Baiting Hai had seen no battles for years, the "warships" had long been converted into fishing and cargo vessels, and their bed crossbows had been removed!

Describing it as "unmaintained armaments" would not be an exaggeration.

"It's like this: sheepskin rafts are commonplace in Liangzhou, seen everywhere."

Xin Yunqing said casually, then pulled Fang Chongyong aside and lowered his voice to ask:

"Brother, from my observation the Turkic are now deliberately playing dumb to lull us. If my guess is correct, tonight the Turkic are very likely to attack Baiting Fortress by riding goat‑skin rafts.

Our defending force is small, relying entirely on the Baiting Sea as a natural barrier. If the Turkic attack regardless of casualties, I'm afraid... the situation would be worrisome.

I intend to set an ambush tonight, catch the Turkic off guard. What do you think?

Xin Yunqing asked in a deep voice.

When the situation turned grim, he decided to find someone with a backer to shoulder it together; that way, as long as he survives this battle, whatever comes later won't be punishable.

In the Hexi Corridor, I've never heard of a siege defense that turned out spectacular; except for Liangzhou City, all other cities are easy to attack and hard to defend. Even this tiny Baiting Fortress, without the surrounding lake's protection, a mere five‑hundred garrison and an unremarkable keep would be of little use.

"Soldiers do not tire of deception; why not hang fishing lights on those few useless vessels, send them out to patrol at night, so the Turkic clearly see them and think our defense is empty and unprepared.

Fang Chongyong added a sentence, clearly endorsing Xin Yunqing's idea.

Defend a city? That's not his temperament!

If it weren't for future plans, wouldn't Fang Chongyong be fine just loafing around under the title 'Fang Yanei' in Chang'an, waiting to die? Why bother coming to the Hexi Corridor to eat sand?

Since we're already here, why bother defending a damn city!

"This..."

Xin Yunqing was startled, carefully considered Fang Chongyong's suggestion, and instantly felt the move was overly underhanded!

Sending out the 'warships'—already converted into fishing and cargo vessels, barely better than nothing and lacking combat power—to patrol actually restricts the Turkic's avenue of attack and clarifies the direction of defense!

That's reviving the 'dead' warships!

The warships have little combat power; the Baiting Army knows this, but the Turkic do not! Sending them out at night to roar and blaze on patrol still has strong deterrent effect!

And while Baiting Fortress sits in the middle of Baiting Sea, the 'island' in the center is far larger than just the fortress.

In fact, besides the fortress there are granaries, armories, etc.; overall it resembles a small village.

This is the cleverness of Han‑era frontier army site selection!

If the Turkic attack, where the Baiting Army's elite troops are ambushed is crucial; a tiny detail can decide the outcome of the first battle.

That is the so‑called "being prepared prevents disaster; the one who calculates more wins"!

And once the first clash hurts the Turkic, the Baiting Army can ensure the subsequent defensive rhythm stays in its control, persisting until winter arrives and the Baiting Sea freezes.

Once the Baiting Sea freezes, the Turkic can gallop to Baiting Fortress in the time it takes a incense stick to burn—a moment of life‑or‑death!

But this is only a theoretical danger; it's still far from now.

The Baiting Sea's waters here usually don't freeze until just before the New Year. By then the ice is rock‑hard, and people and livestock can walk on it as if on flat ground.

Ji Ge flatly rejects any notion that the Turkic could run amok in Liangzhou for months; if that were true, he shouldn't even talk about 'standing shoulder‑to‑shoulder with Taizong'—better to abdicate outright, as such a blow to imperial prestige cannot be ignored.

Because today's Turkic are far from the Turkic of Taizong's era!

Thus the obvious truth is that tonight's defense is crucial for the Baiting Army.

Basically, a victory would ensure a clean retreat from this crisis.

Xin Yunqing also hadn't expected that this Fang Yanei from Chang'an, though small in stature, understands military strategy quite well!

Usually a kid that size, surrounded by Turkic forces, would be terrified; not being scared already shows strong mental fortitude. This Fang Yanei can even devise underhanded plans—truly 'gifted', born to be a general.

"Very well, then tonight brother should lead a hundred men to guard Baiting Fortress, while I deploy elite troops to ambush near the granary.

Xin Yunqing suggested calmly, clearly treating Fang Chongyong as a colleague with whom to discuss major matters.

Just think about it: if the Turkic launch a night raid, they'll target the Baiting Army's granary. Burn it down, and the Baiting Army can't stay inside Baiting Fortress.

"From now on, transport all the grain and fodder from the granary into Baiting Fortress. Deploy the warships, let the elite troops use bows to shoot the Turkic who are probing the lake, show the warships' might, and make the Turkic also feel apprehensive.

Fang Chongyong added a sentence.

Xin Yunqing nodded slightly; indeed, that was his plan as well. Since at night the Turkic will avoid the warships' patrol routes, letting the navy display its might by day is only natural.

Anyway, those Turkic moving in the water are like live targets, essentially bait sent by the enemy to test the Baiting Army's strength.

……

"What? No soldiers? Our Tang realm spans ten thousand li—how can we have none? How did you, the Minister of War, become like this!"

Inside the Zichen Hall of Daming Palace, Li Longji shouted at Zhang Shougui, who also served as Minister of War!

"Your Majesty, the troops in Hexi are already engaged on the front lines against the Tubo, Liangzhou is empty, and the Turkic's sudden southward move was unforeseeable."

Zhang Shougui bowed with clasped hands helplessly and said.

Soldiers aren't chives; you can't just make them grow by saying so!

In Hexi and Longyou, over two hundred thousand frontier troops stand ready, confronting the Tubo along the long border; removing any unit could cause the defensive system to collapse.

Now the priority is not to raise troops, but to understand why the Turkic, despite internal fragmentation, are sending forces to attack Hexi! And which specific contingent is this expedition?

Also, the Red Water Army has already moved north of Baiting Sea, aiming to drive the wandering Turkic cavalry north of the sea. Could this strategic mobile force's deployment affect the war against the Tubo?

These issues are hard to explain; Zhang Shougui didn't know how to tell Li Longji.

"Your Majesty, perhaps we should recruit thirty thousand robust Han youths in Hexi to relieve the pressing emergency."

Li Linfu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up with a suggestion.

Hearing this, Zhang Shougui's face flushed with anger as he glared at Li Linfu! The latter lowered his head, awaiting Li Longji's approval.

(End of chapter)