After Marrying a Vegetative Princess, I went crazy with joy! - Chapter 151
Chapter 151
In the city of Lhasa, the capital of Tubo, inside the royal palace, Songtsan Gampo stared at the battle report in his hand, struggling to comprehend the situation for a long time. A mix of shock, fear, and relief flickered across his face like passing shadows.
“My father-in-law has been defeated…” Songtsan Gampo’s expression twisted with anger. Just a few days ago, he had allied with over ten tribes. At that time, his spirits were high! The 150,000 troops stationed outside Song Zhou were Songtsan Gampo’s greatest source of confidence. It was all part of his plans with Lu Dongzan.
As long as Tubo could win against the Tang army once, Tubo would appear invincible. When the Tang dynasty recognized this and chose to engage in a full-scale war, Tubo could retreat to the plateau, benefiting from the Tang’s resource depletion during mobilization. With the geographical advantage of the highlands, the Tang forces, however formidable, would be helpless. Plus, the tribes that had joined the alliance earlier would become part of Tubo.
This way, Tubo’s influence could expand northward, which was Songtsan Gampo’s minimal goal. If the Tang dynasty responded slowly, Tubo could easily unite with other tribes for a decisive invasion. If they negotiated another Treaty of Wei River, demanding land and compensation from the Tang, Tubo could achieve even greater heights. Songtsan Gampo and Lu Dongzan had placed Tubo’s fate on the line in this battle, and they never imagined they would fail.
How could they lose with 150,000 troops against 50,000 fatigued soldiers? The Tang army was undoubtedly formidable, but the Tang people were also human beings, possibly less physically fit than Tubo warriors. Three times the enemy’s troop count – it seemed inconceivable to lose!
Songtsan Gampo’s only concern was that the Tang army would remain within their walls and not confront Tubo’s forces. However, this concern was unlikely to materialize. The Tang dynasty had never taken a passive defensive stance against foreign invasions. How could the proud Tang people tolerate Tubo’s provocation? Furthermore, the Tang Emperor would inevitably grow discontented if the situation continued.
Therefore, Songtsan Gampo was confident that the Tang army would initiate an attack on their own whether it took half a month or a full month. By then, Lu Dongzan must have made ample preparations, and if the Tang commander-in-chief proved fearless, they would have marched out of the city to face the enemy.
Tubo’s 150,000-strong army would be an unstoppable force in such a scenario. In any case, this first step seemed like a sure success. However, unexpectedly, disaster struck right at this crucial juncture. Lu Dongzan was defeated, and it appeared inexplicable. The Tang army had arrived only the previous night, and the very next day, they left the city and defeated Lu Dongzan.
Were they exhausted soldiers? A significantly smaller force than Tubo? These explanations now seemed laughably weak. The Tang army had launched a direct assault, and in the heat of battle, they had overcome Tubo’s 150,000-strong army. Lu Dongzan, the Tubo general, had been surrounded by 150,000 troops but had been breached and killed within enemy lines.
What astonished Songtsan Gampo the most was that everything he and Lu Dongzan had anticipated had hardly gone off course. The only variable was the Tang army’s commander-in-chief, Su Li!
The man they had once considered just a well-connected figure in the military, receiving preferential treatment, had played a pivotal role in this monumental battle.
Charging into the enemy formation solo, effortlessly slaying a thousand soldiers. Breaking through the front of 50,000 troops and circumventing the protection of the middle 80,000 troops to kill Lu Dongzan… Without the consistent accounts from many of Tubo’s escaping soldiers, Songtsan Gampo would have found it impossible to believe, no matter how it was presented. Even legendary divine beings would struggle to accomplish such a feat.
Nevertheless, the harshest reality for Lu Dongzan was Tubo’s loss. They had faltered right from the start, rendering any future battles meaningless. Regardless of alliances with other tribes or grand plans, they had become illusions devoid of significance. Moreover, the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, was a principle deeply ingrained in the surrounding ethnicities of the Tang dynasty.
The reason other tribes had been willing to align with Tubo stemmed from Tubo’s undeniable strength. While Tubo might not have been capable of defeating the Tang dynasty outright, their ability to threaten the Tang for months with a 200,000-strong army had not gone unnoticed. To outsiders, this demonstrated Tubo’s actual might and suggested that the Tang dynasty had reservations about confronting them.
Crucially, Tubo could mobilize 400,000 troops, whereas the entire Tang dynasty had around 600,000. In a genuine alliance with those tribal allies, their combined strength would surpass one million. With the right timing, they might even replicate the success of the Treaty of Wei River. Songtsan Gampo’s promises to these tribes had been logically compelling, making it easy for them to believe.
However, harsh reality had delivered a stark blow. Tubo’s 150,000-strong army had been decisively defeated by the Tang dynasty’s 50,000 weary soldiers. In this light, Songtsan Gampo admitted that were he the leader of another tribe. He would seriously consider switching allegiance to the Tang dynasty and striking against Tubo, a more reasonable course of action.
Fortunately, Tubo could withstand this setback. The Tang dynasty’s army would inevitably face altitude sickness upon entering the highlands, which meant Tubo wasn’t in an unbearable situation. Songtsan Gampo had already devised Tubo’s next steps moments ago. All Tubo forces would retreat to the plateau, urgently conscript elite soldiers, and prepare for contingencies.
Furthermore, envoys would be sent immediately to the Tang dynasty to seek surrender. Given the Tang Emperor’s penchant for taking credit, sincere pleas for surrender would likely be pardoned generously. The natural barrier of the plateau would protect Tubo from destruction.
Although this ambitious gamble had failed, they would honestly rebuild their strength. Under Songtsan Gampo’s vigorous leadership, Tubo could regain its former glory within another thirty years. The Central Plains dynasty’s future was uncertain, and opportunities would always arise. Whether seized by him, his son, or his grandson, as long as the legacy continued through generations, they would eventually strive for control over the Central Plains.
Thinking along these lines, Songtsan Gampo’s mood couldn’t help but slightly improve.
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Krozam
“Conscript elite soldiers?” Since when were conscripts elites, lol?