Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"How is this possible?" a Tibetan officer groaned. "How is this possible? Even if he lost Stone Castle, Brunzanren still had a complete army... What on earth was he thinking? Why did he abandon Shudun Castle and go to fight the Tang people? He should know what the consequences would be if he was defeated, right?"

He is much smarter than you, a fool! Gong Ren thought to himself. Even though Brunzanren lost his head and Shudun City, he was still furious when he heard that his uncle was attacked by a fool. Neither the Tuyuhun nor the Tubo people spent too much effort on the defense of Shudun City. The city was located on a flat land. The square city wall was only more than two feet high. There were not many parapets and shooting towers. It was okay to use it to deal with the Tartars on the grassland. If it was the Tang people, they could capture it in two days at most. If it were me, I would also choose to lead the troops out of the city for a field battle.

"I would do the same if it were me!" Qin Ling's voice was as cold as iron: "The Tang people are better at besieging fortresses than us. If we are surrounded in the city, the Tuyuhun people outside the city will see that the situation is not right and will turn against us. Then we will have no chance at all!"

"That's right!" said the messenger. "After the Tang people conquered Shibao City, they spread the word that they were ordered by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to rescue the Tuyuhun tribes. Whenever they encountered a migrating tribe, if they were Tuyuhun people, they would comfort them with gentle words and let them go. If they were Tibetans, they would take away their livestock and sell their children as slaves. When General Brunzanren left Shudun City, many places had already become unstable!"

"Tell us the whole battle situation from beginning to end, starting from the fall of Shibao City, and be careful!" Qin Ling said.

"Yes!" The messenger licked his cracked lips and began to tell the story. He started from when Brunzan received the news of the fall of Stone Fort. A Tibetan officer asked, "Wait a minute, are you saying that it only took the Tang people two days to capture Stone Fort?"

"Yes!" The messenger nodded: "I know this is ridiculous, but it's true!"

"idiot!"

"Could this guy have been bribed by the Tang people?"

"It fell in two days? How is this possible?"

"Are the guards all blind? If they stand on the wall and throw stones down, the Tang people will not be able to climb up in two days!"

Curses erupted around the fire. Everyone here had witnessed the fortification of the Stone Fort. The food stored inside was enough for the soldiers to eat for almost two years. According to the Tibetan army's plan, the Stone Fort was enough to stop the Tang army for more than half a year, and that was on the premise that the Tang army was willing to pay a lot of blood. However, the Stone Fort fell on the second day of the siege, which could only mean one thing - the defender failed in his duty!
Qin Ling swept his cold eyes over the crowd, and the officers returned to silence. Gong Ren knew that his father would usually remain silent at the beginning of a meeting, preferring to listen to what others had to say first. Apparently, his father believed that there was a hidden story behind the fall of Shibao City.

"Did the Tang people capture Shibao City at night?" Qin Ling asked.

"Yes!" The messenger nodded tiredly, "But the situation at that time is not very clear. We only know that the Tang people burned down the granary in Shibao City. Without food, the defenders were forced to surrender!" At this point, he paused for a moment and smiled bitterly, "According to a guy who escaped, the Tang people got the help of the gods, flew to the top of Shibao City, and set fire to the granary."

This time, even Qin Ling showed an expression of disbelief: "You mean, the Tang people can fly?"

"Yes, at least that's what the guy who escaped said!" The messenger smiled bitterly, "According to him, several huge spheres floated above Stone Castle, and the Tang people were in the pod under the spheres. The people inside threw fire down and burned the granary!"

There was silence around the fire. Some people wanted to laugh but did not dare to laugh out loud. Gong Ren felt a chill seeping into his bones. At first he also wanted to laugh, but another thought flashed through his mind - if this was true, if the Tang people really learned to fly, what should he do?
"Does Brun Zanren know about this? I'm asking about the fact that some people said that the Tang people could fly and captured Shibao City from the sky?" Qin Ling asked.

"He knows! But he doesn't believe it!" replied the messenger.

Qin Ling did not ask any more questions and fell into silence. The messenger did not dare to continue speaking either. The suffocating silence remained by the fire. After a long while, Qin Ling raised his head and gestured to continue. The messenger continued to narrate. When he talked about how Brunzanren led his troops to attack but encountered a counterattack from the Tang army on the way, Qin Ling interrupted him again.

"You mean that the Tang people divided their army into six groups and marched in parallel, with a distance of six or seven miles between them, right?"

"Yes, that's why the general is preparing to lead the troops to attack!"

"And Brunzanjian was attacked by the Tang army at dawn when he was still quite a long way away from them? He was only discovered by the scouts he sent out!"

"Yes!" replied the Courier.

Qin Ling crossed his hands and supported his chin. His thick beard on both cheeks framed a motionless face, like a beeswax mask. However, Gong Ren noticed that his father's bald forehead was covered with tiny beads of sweat. He must have encountered something extremely difficult, which was rare!
"I think Brunzanren was just unlucky. He was discovered by a team of Tang scouts from a distance, that's all!" a Tibetan officer shouted.

"Discover, then report back, and then send troops to fight? That's all? Do you know what you are talking about?" Someone sneered and retorted: "The Tang people are divided into six teams, and each team is six or seven miles apart, and they are parallel and parallel, and they are on the grassland. How many scouts must the Tang people send out to discover the enemy dozens of miles away? It's a joke!"

"Then what do you think is the reason? Did the Tang people get the protection of the gods? Did the gods tell them where the Brunzan blade is? Then why are we still fighting? We might as well kneel down and beg for surrender from the Tang people!" someone retorted.

"I didn't say that the Tang people were blessed by the gods. I just said that this matter is not that simple. The Tang people must have used some special methods. If we don't figure it out first and then go to fight, we will probably lose!"

"You will lose only if you think you will lose, you coward!"

"Say it again!" Someone stood up and put his right hand on the hilt of the knife in a threatening manner.

"Stop!" Qin Ling's voice suppressed the noise present: "It's getting late, retreat, everyone retreat!"

Gong Ren stood up and was about to obey the order, but was stopped by Qin Ling: "No, not including you, Gong Ren, you stay, everyone else leave!"

Gong Ren sat down again. He did not feel very happy. Instead, he had a headache. His father must be in big trouble. He was afraid that he would not be able to sleep well tonight.

"Brun Zanren did nothing wrong. If I knew the Tang people were setting up such a formation, I would have fought a battle instead of just fleeing westward!" Qin Ling said to himself, "But he lost the battle. The Tang people discovered his army and launched a night attack. It was only because he was discovered by scouts that the Tang people could have easily defeated him without a single soldier, just like they did when they captured Shibao City! Gong Ren, what do you think?"

"Father, I think given the current situation, we should think more about the worst!"

"Think more of the worst?" Qin Ling laughed, "Yes, after losing Shudun City, we can't lose again! Yes, it sounds ridiculous that the Tang people can fly, but the problem is that the Tang people have already won twice, and they won inexplicably!" "Father, do you mean that you believe this is true?"

"No, I don't believe it! But we have no choice now!" Qin Ling smiled bitterly, "We can't lose again. If we lose again, not only will we be finished, but our family will be finished too."

"Father, you mean the Zamp will—"

"Yes!" Qin Ling nodded: "Not only the Zamp, starting from my father, our family has continued to grow and become more and more prosperous. In addition to the Zamp, there are many other families who are jealous of us, but they have no chance. If the opportunity comes, they will not give us a chance to stand up again!"

"Isn't it possible for my uncle to do this? He is a great minister!"

"You know the male yak, right?" Qin Ling shook his head. "If the male yak is not injured, even the strongest wild wolf will not dare to attack it. But if it is injured, the situation will be different. All the wild wolves will rush over and tear it into pieces. Zan Xiruo is the prime minister, but he can hold that position firmly because of our support. Otherwise, a dagger and a cup of poison can get rid of him!"

"So what should we do now?"

"Don't rush into a decisive battle with the Tang people. Find out the situation as soon as possible. If possible, find a way to get Shudun City and the prisoners back from the Tang people without fighting!"

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Shudun City.

After dawn, Huliang walked into the living room as usual. On the table was the breakfast of the day: boiled eggs, pancakes, highland barley porridge with goat milk, and some fried pickled meat. Huliang had just started eating when he saw Yanliang and Gao Yannian coming in from the outside. Seeing the breakfast on the table, they complained: "What the hell, don't you have any vegetables or fruits? Even dried berries and nuts would be fine!"

"There's none in the Tibetan warehouse!" Hu Liang said, "Just make do with it, Your Majesty!"

"I'm not your Majesty!" Yan Liang muttered as he sat down at the table. He picked up an egg and peeled it while saying, "Do you know? Qin Ling has crossed the Qilian Mountains and returned to Qinghai. However, he didn't come towards us, but marched westward. He must be trying to avoid us!"

"That's not surprising!" Hu Liang replied, "We won too quickly and with too much momentum. He probably doesn't know how many troops we have, and crossing the Qilian Mountains must have exhausted his soldiers. If he just rushed up like this, he wouldn't be Qin Ling!"

"Yes!" Yanliang gestured to Gao Yannian, who brought him a honey bottle. He poured some into his bowl of porridge and took a bite: "Add some honey to make it easier to drink. By the way, what are you going to do?"

"If we follow father's original plan!" Hu Liang replied, "we should burn this place, then retreat with the spoils, spend the summer in the Huanghe River Valley, and rest the soldiers. Shibao City is in our hands, we are safe there, and it is also much closer to Longyou. When the horses are fat in the fall, we can come again!"

"Well, this is a very good plan!" Yan Liang nodded: "First, severely damage Qin Ling's prestige, burn his lair, take rich spoils, and attack again in the fall. Do you have your own plan? I remember that father should have given you full authority!"

"Do you want to fight a battle with Qin Ling?" Hu Liang asked.

"I have this idea!" Yan Liang said with a smile, "I think we can win. Really, with the hot air balloon and the telescope, we can definitely win. If we win this battle, then everything will be over!"

"You have quite a big appetite! Qin Ling has never lost in all these years!" Hu Liang said.

"I haven't lost either, and neither have you!" Yan Liang replied nonchalantly, "He hasn't lost, he just got lucky. If he was reborn in Haidong, he would have been finished long ago!"

"The only reason we haven't lost is because we are still young and have fought too few battles!" Hu Liang said with a smile.

"That's you, but I've been through hundreds of battles!" Yan Liang sneered.

"It's a pity that most of the people we fought were Ainu and Mohe people!" Hu Liang smiled and said, "You have a point, but father told us to quit while we are ahead!"

"Father is in Chang'an City, so of course he wants to be invincible! If he were here, he would definitely not be so conservative!" Yan Liang said, "When did he become so conservative when dealing with Goguryeo and Prince Zhongdaeong?"

"Okay!" Hu Liang was persuaded by his brother, or he was eager to try it in his heart: "We can stay, but we have to act according to the situation. Also, we have to transport the spoils and prisoners back first, just in case!"

"So you agree!" Yanliang laughed. He picked up the spoon and pointed at Huliang, then at himself: "You won't regret it! We two brothers are going to show that old guy Qinling a little bit of our power!"

A few days later, Shudun City welcomed a special guest, Qin Ling's son Gong Ren. After he revealed his identity to the Tang sentry, he said that he was carrying a letter from Qin Ling and asked to meet the Tang general.
"Qin Ling's messenger?" Hu Liang raised his hands so that the guards could tighten his belt for him, and asked curiously, "He also said that he is Qin Ling's son? Is that confirmed?"

"The captives have confirmed it! It is indeed Qin Ling's son, named Gong Ren!" the officer reported, "Do you want to see him?"

"See him! Why not?" Hu Liang smiled and said, "Take him to the house by the garden. I'll be there soon!"

"You go in and wait for a moment! The general will be here soon!" The Tang officer pushed open the door and made a gesture of invitation.

Gong Ren nodded, walked in and sat down. He looked around and saw the familiar furnishings. They were almost the same as before, except that the owners had changed. It seemed that the Tang people did not encounter fierce resistance when they entered the city. There were not many signs of damage to these houses! (End of this chapter)