Chapter 23: Lianyun Fortress

  To the south of the river T'ieh-le-mu-ch'uan, at a distance of half a day's journey, there is a fortified city; this is the stronghold of Tibet in the western countries, the fortress of Lan-ka (now Langar, on the southern source of the Surkhab).

  Lianyunbao is not large, with a circumference of only about three or two miles, and can only accommodate one or two thousand troops. The construction of the city is very rough, compared to the cities of the Tang Dynasty, it has a world of difference.

  Tibet was a slave state on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and its rise was due to Songtsen Gampo. Songtsen Gampo was a figure of the Tang Taizong period, less than 100 years ago, which means that Tibet's rise is also less than 100 years old.

  Before Songtsen Gampo, Tibet did not have a written language. It was Songtsen Gampo who sent people to study in the Kashmir region and then created the Tibetan script, which enabled Tibet to embark on the path of civilization.

  However, due to its short duration and poor foundation, it is far inferior compared to the accumulation of China's thousands of years of civilization.

  Furthermore, Tubo is located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the land is barren and the people are poor, with extremely weak national strength, and underdeveloped science and technology. It is impossible to have a solid city.

  Not to mention compared with the cities in the interior of the Tang Dynasty, even compared with Shule, Lianyunbao is still far behind.

  However, the terrain of Lianyunbao is very dangerous, with mountains to the south and the Teleman River to the north, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. More importantly, Tubo has built a military camp 15 miles south of Lianyunbao, relying on the mountain, with thousands of Tubo troops stationed there, echoing with Lianyunbao. Once Lianyunbao is attacked, these Tubo troops can provide timely reinforcements.

  The Tibetans stationed their troops in two places here because Lianyunbao was too small to accommodate so many troops.

  Inside Lianyunbao City, there are only a few houses, and most of them are just tents. The Tubo people prefer living in tents rather than houses, so the city doesn't have many buildings.

  Hundreds of tents are scattered all over the place, with no order or discipline. The Tibetans have no strict laws and are not good at organizing and managing, which is why they ended up in this state.

  The ground in the city is uneven, at first glance, it's no different from the dirt roads in modern rural areas, and it doesn't look like a city at all. There's not a bit of cleanliness, but rather stagnant water, yak dung, horse manure, scattered all over the place, looking just like a cowshed.

  Among them, there was the largest tent, which was the commander's tent of Tubo General Gesang Suozhe. Gesang Suozhe was eight feet tall, with a handsome face and sun-tanned skin, a characteristic skin tone of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

  At this time, Gesang Suo was completely unaware that the Tang army had already crossed the Telemei River and approached Lianyun Fortress. He gathered his troops and was enjoying himself.

  In the tent, several tables were set up, and more than a dozen subordinates were accompanying him in drinking wine and appreciating music and dance.

  The wine is Tubo's highland barley wine, the meat is Tubo's yak meat, and the beauty is a beautiful woman from Xiaobulü.

  Kesang Sochi held a small silver knife in his right hand, cut off a piece of yak meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it loudly. He picked up the wine cup, took a sip of the fine Qingke wine, smacked his lips with relish, and closed his eyes in enjoyment.

  Five little beauties with revealing outfits sang and danced energetically, fine sweat seeping from their delicate faces.

  They were indeed hardworking, but Gesang Suo had little interest in them and was dismissive. The land of Xiaobo was small and the population was sparse, making it difficult to find beautiful women. So-called beauties were just tall among dwarfs, pretty among ugly girls, not truly beautiful women.

  If it weren't for the sake of Su Shi's kindness and generosity, Gesang Suo wouldn't even have the interest to take them in.

  "Alright! Alright! You can go now!" Gesang Suo was very impatient, waving his hand at the five beauties as if shooing away flies, muttering to himself: "With your looks, you can't even arouse my interest. Hmm, that night when I was drunk doesn't count!"

  The five beauties knew Gesang Suo but he showed no interest in them, so they didn't dare to stay long and left quickly after paying their respects.

  "This damn place, there isn't even a beautiful woman, it's really like being in hell!" Gesang Suo cursed.

  "Your Excellency, why not petition Zanpu to send us to defend Shicheng City?" One of his subordinates fawned on him, saying: "The Great Tubo occupies Shicheng City, and the Tang people can't do anything about it. Moreover, the brave warriors of the Great Tubo can enter the Hehuang region at any time to plunder, and from time to time they can seize beautiful women."

  "Indeed!" As soon as the beautiful women of the Tang Dynasty were mentioned, more than a dozen Tubo generals' eyes lit up and their mouths began to water: "Princess Wencheng is so beautiful, she's a model for all under heaven. Although the women of Tang may not be quite up to her standard, they're not far off either. Setting out from Shigucheng, it's almost certain that we'll get our hands on some beauties."

  Shi Bao City was originally built by Emperor Yang of Sui, but it fell into the hands of Tubo at the end of Sui and the beginning of Tang. Shi Bao City is strategically located, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Tubo occupies Shi Bao City, advancing and retreating freely, threatening the Hexi region.

  Because of the convenience of Shigong Castle, Tubo's raids on Hexi were extremely frequent and gained a lot, which was one of the few good things about Tubo.

  As soon as this matter is mentioned, the Tubo general will never end, and some people boast that they want to fight into Chang'an and force the Tang Dynasty to surrender.

  "Report to the General, the Tang army has arrived! The Tang army has arrived!"

  Just as they were having a good dream, a guard rushed in hastily, shouting loudly from afar, his voice like thunder, as if afraid that others would not know.

  "Has the Tang army arrived?" Gesang Suo was taken aback at first, then threw his head back and burst out laughing: "Haha! You're really funny, let's have a big cup!" He raised his wine cup, drank down a full cup of Qingke liquor, smacked his lips, and had a face full of smiles.

  It's harder for him to believe that the Tang army has arrived than it is to climb to heaven!

  One is that Lianyunbao is located in the midst of the majestic mountains of Congling, making it extremely difficult for the Tang army to attack and conquer, with challenges too numerous to imagine.

  Secondly, since the Tele River is swelling with water and cannot be crossed, how can the Tang army come to attack Lianyun Fortress?

  Although Gesar did not go to Trilemchung, with his understanding of this place, he had absolute confidence that the Tang army could not cross the Trilemchung River.

  This is a military situation of utmost urgency, but Gesang Suo actually treated it as a joke, as something to drink with wine, and the imperial guard almost fell to the ground.

  However, this matter is not over yet. Ge Sang Su poured a full cup of Qingke wine, with a smile on his face, and beckoned to the guard, saying: "Come! Your words are interesting, in this place where birds don't even leave droppings, it's rare to hear such funny talk, you've earned your merit, I'll reward you with a cup of fine wine!"

  "Ah!"

  Qin Wei fell straight to the ground with a thud and immediately fainted.

  Kesang Soinam's words were too hurtful.

  "Report to the General, the Tang army has arrived at the city gate!"

  Ge Sang Suo glanced at the imperial guard who had fainted on the ground, curled up his lip in disdain, and was about to scold him when another imperial guard rushed in frantically, shouting from a distance.

  "This joke has already been said by someone else, you dare to plagiarize and claim it as your own, you should be punished! Come on, take him down and give him ten military lashes!" Ge Sang Suo's face turned stern, his voice low and menacing, like a sudden clap of thunder.

  "Ugh!"

  This loyal guard was extremely depressed, the actual military situation would be punished, what kind of reason is this? He really couldn't bear this blow, and simply fainted.

  "Long live the Great Tang!"

  Ge Sangsu coldly gazed at the fallen imperial guards, about to order their execution, when suddenly the Tang army's war cry shook the sky!

  "Bang!"

  Kesang Sochi slammed the wine cup in his hand onto the ground, shattering it into pieces, and the highland barley wine splashed everywhere.