Chapter Eight: A Rampart of Corpses

On the battlefield, the morale of opposing sides shifts in tandem; if the enemy is seen to be in high spirits, one's own troops may inevitably suffer a decline.

The Turkic Bulugen tribe was first exhausted by Luo Shixin’s feint and then ambushed by Duan Zhigan’s forces. Although their formation remained intact, their morale was severely shaken.

"Charge!" Luo Shixin raised his iron spear and led the Tang dynasty's Yue Cavalry in a fierce assault against the Bulugen tribe.

Bulugen was furious. Had his men not been exhausted, he would have welcomed Luo Shixin’s direct cavalry charge. But there are no "ifs" on the battlefield. As a veteran Turkic commander, Bulugen knew full well that retreat was not an option; to retreat now would almost certainly result in a rout. Over eighty percent of casualties in war occur during the pursuit.

War is often spoken of in mystical terms, but in essence, it is simple: maximize one’s own advantages and exploit the enemy’s weaknesses. The strengths of the Tang army lay in the physical stamina of its soldiers and horses, as well as equipment clearly superior to that of the Turks. The Tang army's weaknesses were not enough to drag them down. Consequently, the Tang Yue Cavalry immediately gained the upper hand, and the Turks' numerical advantage could not offset this disparity.

Luo Shixin charged at the forefront, his whistle piercing the air as he drove into the enemy ranks. He and Zhang Shigui attacked from both flanks simultaneously. Bulugen had not expected the Tang forces to be so formidable, and just as he realized the danger, his formation was sliced into three segments by the Tang cavalry.

"Die!" Luo Shixin swept his iron spear in a wide arc, knocking three or four Turks from their saddles. In a large-scale cavalry melee, falling from a horse meant certain death. As the saying goes, "one force subdues ten techniques." Luo Shixin’s innate strength was fully unleashed on this chaotic battlefield; his iron spear became a lethal nemesis to the Turks—touching meant death, and grazing meant expiration.

In contrast, Zhang Shigui’s attacks were far more restrained. Although skilled with a horse-spear, he now wielded an iron-reinforced bow, firing arrows in rapid succession, often at point-blank range. His arrows flew like the wind, the sound of them cutting through the air incessant. The Turkic cavalry could not even get within twenty paces of him before being shot from their mounts.

Within a short time, the two sides had carved through each other’s formations.

When Bulugen tallied his men, his veins bulged with rage. He had led over two thousand cavalry to pursue Luo Shixin, and the loss of four or five hundred men was already frustrating enough. But after this engagement, fewer than a thousand remained in their saddles. In just a brief moment, five or six hundred of his men had been wiped out, while the Tang army had lost fewer than a hundred. A six-to-one casualty ratio was a humiliating disgrace for the Turks.

Duan Zhigan decapitated a Turkic rider whose lower body had already been trampled into pulp, mercifully ending the man's suffering. "Well fought!" he exclaimed. Zhang Shigui, too, marveled inwardly, stealing a glance at the stern-faced Luo Shixin.

Even Qin Wang Li Shimin might not have achieved such a staggering feat. The Turks were not like the scattered rebel leaders of the late Sui Dynasty. While those thirty-six rebel kings and seventy-two warlords boasted of tens or hundreds of thousands of elite troops, they were, in truth, merely peasants who had just picked up weapons; some could not even provide a cheap spear for every man. When Yang Guang was besieged at Yanmen Pass, the Sui Empire had mobilized hundreds of thousands to rescue him, yet they had failed to break the Turkic encirclement. Had Princess Yicheng not risked her life, Yang Guang likely would have become a prisoner of the Turks.

Twelve hundred cavalry against two thousand, yet the Tang force held an overwhelming advantage and achieved a decisive victory. The Tang soldiers were jubilant, while the Turks were crestfallen and defeated.

Luo Shixin brandished his iron spear and shouted, "Brothers, do you have any strength left?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The thousand Tang riders roared in unison, their voices echoing toward the heavens.

Luo Shixin bellowed, "Form up on my flanks! Follow me to take the head of the Turkic commander beneath the black banner!"

Luo Shixin charged ahead, his horse galloping like wind and lightning. Seeing his bravery, the Tang soldiers were galvanized, roaring like wild beasts: "Long live the Tang! Glory to General Luo!"

The Tang cavalry charged with reckless abandon. Bulugen’s remaining thousand men, lacking the stamina and morale of the Tang, were shattered by this surge of spirit. Though Bulugen was unwilling to yield, the Turkic line before Luo Shixin crumbled like tofu under a blade.

"General, flee!" a Turkic lieutenant shouted. "As the Tang say, as long as the green hills remain, there is no need to worry about firewood!"

Bulugen hesitated, but Luo Shixin gave him no chance. His iron spear spun, sending the Turks into a panic. The only thought remaining in their minds was a bitter regret that their parents had not given them more legs to run with.

Seizing the moment of the Turkic retreat, Duan Zhigan pushed forward and captured Red Mountain Fort. Though small, the fort was difficult to attack; had the Turks not retreated, capturing this stronghold of four hundred paces would have cost hundreds of lives.

"We won!" Luo Shixin shouted. The Tang army had achieved a significant victory: fewer than three hundred Turks escaped, while over seventeen hundred were left behind. Their own casualties were under two hundred, most of which were minor injuries.

...

Armored sledges, equipped with shield walls, sped across the snow. Ignoring the cutting, knife-like wind, Chen Ying stood on the command tower, scanning the distance.

The shield walls and even the horses pulling the sledges were covered in white silk. This practice drew criticism from Wei Wenzhong, as cloth was effectively currency in this era, accounting for one-third of the Tang Dynasty's total fiscal revenue. Chen Ying had brought three thousand bolts of silk from Chang'an to support Lingzhou, intended as rewards for meritorious soldiers, not for such use. Yet, Chen Ying had not only diverted these rewards but also wasted over a hundred sledges and hundreds of bolts of silk.

Chen Ying did not feel the need to explain every detail. In his eyes, the lives of his soldiers were priceless and could not be measured in goods. So long as he could reduce casualties, he did not care about the cost. He knew that the white silk served as excellent camouflage for the troops' movements, and that was enough.

By now, the Tang camp at the hot springs was deserted. Four thousand men, including the units of Duan Zhigan and Luo Shixin, along with the personal guard, laborers, and craftsmen, were moving toward Boguli City on snow sledges.

Chen Ying waited anxiously. With the heavy snow, communication was difficult. He had stationed several light sledges as mobile signal towers, equipped with wolf dung to light signal fires if the capture of Red Mountain Fort was confirmed. Though these mobile towers were defenseless if discovered, they were the best he could do.

At Red Mountain Fort, the Tang soldiers were clearing the battlefield. They counted heads for merit, though many had been crushed by horse hooves; eventually, 1,151 heads were collected. They also seized over two thousand horses, though more than half were wounded or unusable.

The fort was too small to house all two thousand of Luo Shixin and Duan Zhigan’s men. Luo Shixin ordered the soldiers to stack the Turkic corpses outside to form a wall. Using hot water, they froze the mangled bodies into a gruesome rampart. Fortunately, the fort had stores of coal, or even boiling water would have been a problem.

Just as the corpse wall reached three feet high, a scout arrived in a panic.

"General Luo! A massive force of Turkic cavalry is approaching from the south—at least seven or eight thousand riders!"