Chapter 508: The Five Tiger Generals! Bachicheng!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
These places are all of high elevation, and given the abilities of the Tibetans, they're definitely occupying the summit. This offers them a high vantage point with which to spot the enemy and also facilitates their charges. Charging down the mountain will allow the Tibetan highland steeds to reach their maximum speed as quickly as possible, truly making them difficult to defeat! As for those at the base of the mountain, both infantry and cavalry will find it hard to gain speed, making their opponents even more difficult to deal with.
Wang Chong's mind was restless, his brow slightly furrowing in thought.
"Do you know who's leading these soldiers that Huoshu Huicang left behind?" Wang Chong suddenly asked.
"Bachicheng!" a tanned vice-commandant immediately offered. He was responsible for the scouts, so he clearly understood the situation.
"This person is one of Huoshu Huicang's Five Tiger Generals. In terms of strength, he's probably much stronger than the deceased Batunlu! Moreover, unlike Batunlu, he's an excellent commander, and he's incredibly skilled at breaking through defenses. He's both brave and wise! When General Li remained to hold the enemy back by offering himself as bait, he formed his soldiers into one of the most powerful defensive formations, the Golden Fortress Formation, to tightly surround him. But that Bachicheng still successfully led his soldiers in breaking through the defense and shattering the Golden Fortress Formation!"
"General Li was famous for his Golden Fortress Formation," an officer added. "Using that formation, he was able to defend against many foes in Anxi and Beiting. But I didn't think that it would be broken by the Tibetans on this journey south!"
At the mention of the deceased Li Zhengyi, everyone felt a great sorrow.
Wang Chong was also slightly moved by this recount. He had heard of Li Zhengyi's Golden Fortress Formation. Apparently, Li Zhengyi had come up with the formation himself, and even Hu Great Generals like Gao Xianzhi and Fumeng Lingcha had praised it for its toughness. One could just imagine how formidable Li Zhengyi's Golden Fortress Formation must have been to earn the praise of these Imperial Great Generals.
And for the Tibetans to break through the Golden Fortress Formation that not even the Turks or the Arabs could break through was a testament to Bachicheng's strength.
It looks to me that this person has incredible offensive capabilities. He must at least have an offensive war halo that can cover his entire army! Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
Although Li Zhengyi had lost, failing to fulfill the imperial decree, he had expressed his sincerity through his death. At a time like this, Wang Chong naturally wouldn't continue to criticize him, and he certainly wouldn't use the occasion to doubt his ability.
"My apologies; I've made Milord see an unsightly scene," Xu Shiping finally said after a few moments. Both he and his fellow officers had regained their composure.
Wang Chong waved his hand and calmly said, "Milord is too polite. I only have respect for General Li."
Xu Shiping nodded.
"Milord, we currently have a severe lack of manpower, and Bachicheng is a powerful opponent. Moving south at this time truly isn't a wise move. Your subordinate means that we should prioritize getting in touch with the other troops and wait for reinforcements from the Imperial Court before considering moving south. Although the 60,000 soldiers of the reinforcement army suffered heavy casualties, quite a few of my brothers managed to survive. Other than our group, we also have people here, here, and here. If we can get in touch with them, we'll at least be able to protect ourselves." Xu Shiping's finger drew an arc across the model as he pointed out several locations.
"If we can get in touch with these areas, we would be able to gather almost 20,000 soldiers, which would be of great help to Young Master's plans."
Wang Chong subconsciously turned his gaze to those places. Slowly, his brow began to crease.
Tibetans occupied the areas between all these places, and they were all very far from each other. The farthest was perhaps almost one thousand li away. It would take an extremely long time to gather all these people, but Wang Chong had only three days before Lion City fell, and he had to get there as quickly as possible.
"Milord, honing the edge won't delay us from cutting firewood and to act with great haste does not always mean more speed. Your subordinate means that there's no harm in waiting a few more days to gather more soldiers and then make a decision…" Xu Shiping began to probe.
"No!"
Before Xu Shiping could finish, Wang Chong frowned and immediately rejected Xu Shiping's plan.
"We cannot delay the move south. It has to be immediately carried out!"
These words were absolute and brooked no questions.
Xu Shiping and his officers were left stunned. Wang Chong had always given the impression of a genial and approachable person. None of them had expected him to make decisions with such resolve.
Xu Shiping brought his head very low and deferentially said, "We will naturally obey Milord's orders."
Wang Chong was a descendant of a prestigious clan of ministers and generals, and he had already proved himself by defeating their great foe Batunlu. He also had King Song's token in hand and was this army's highest commander. Xu Shiping naturally wouldn't object to Wang Chong's orders at this time.
"The only reason Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao haven't begun a large-scale mobilization to the north is that Lion City is holding them down. If we don't think of a way to deal with those roadblocks as quickly as possible and get down to the Erhai plains, then once Lion City falls, it won't just be Tibetan cavalry waiting for us at the passes. Right now, it's not a question of if we should take this sort of risk. We don't have a choice. We have to break through!" Wang Chong's eyes shone as he explained.
"But what do we do about Bachicheng?" a commandant said. "This man is powerful and skilled in strategy, and has the geographic advantage of the passes. We alone won't be any match for him."
"Hmph! Leave that to me!"
Wang Chong snorted, utterly unconcerned.
Bachicheng truly was a formidable character, but skilled in strategy? Hah, there was no one in this generation who could compare to Wang Chong in strategy. Even the Great Tang War God Su Zhengchen had lost to him. His battle against Batunlu had already proved his ability to break through more than one thousand Tibetans, and it was now time for him to prove his skills in strategy!
Leading cavalry wasn't his only specialty in war.
"Inform the army to prepare to move out. You're all dismissed!" Wang Chong ordered with a wave of his hand.
……
Rumble!
The sound of horses galloping across the earth echoed through the mountains, along with the sounds of high-pitched neighing and the clattering of metal.
On the summit of this high peak was a man fully clad in armor, even his face covered in a mask. Only his icy eyes were exposed to the furious gales, their gaze looking down upon the world, sweeping to and fro across the earth. Under this general's feet glimmered a massive Halo of Thorns, making this general seem like a god.
Even the most fearsome of his Tibetan subordinates kept a distance of several zhang from him. None of them dared to get too close, and kept their heads slightly lowered and timid expressions on their faces.
"What have you discovered?"
Bachicheng stood erect on his horse, his droning voice devoid of emotion.
Waves of heat spread out from his body, making those nearby feel like they were on fire.
"Reporting to Milord, there is no news for the moment. We have already defeated the Tang army, and Longxi's Geshu Han is being held down by the King of Generals. The Great Tang has no troops that they can use at the moment. All we need to do is wait for the Great Minister and General to destroy Lion City and all of the southwest will be in our Ü-Tsang's range."
Though the reporting Tibetan commander spoke respectfully, he kept his distance behind Bachicheng.
Bachicheng had an explosive temper and was prone to inflicting corporal punishment on his subordinates. Moreover, he cultivated a fire technique, which further stoked his anger and made him easier to provoke. Although this man was a commander in the army, he did not dare to contend against one of the Five Tiger Generals.
Creee!
A shrill cry came from within the clouds, then a green gyrfalcon flew out of them.
"Something's happened!"
All the commanders on the mountaintop appeared surprised at the sight of this gyrfalcon. Meanwhile, Bachicheng raised his brows, his eyes spewing out cold light.
He had never feared war. On the contrary, he desired it.
"Someone, quickly go and see what's going on!" a Tibetan military officer ordered one of the nearby elite scouts.
"There's no need. Let them come!"
Bachicheng waved his hand, a look of contempt in his eyes.
Rumble!
It took only a few moments for black tides of steel to quickly come into view, leaving behind clouds of dust as they approached the pass. The black Great Tang war banners waving in the tide indicated who they were.
"It really is the Great Tang reinforcements. Interesting!"
Bachicheng watched the approaching Tang army, his eyes shining with a cruel light.
"Milord, it looks like the remnants of those evil creatures. I didn't think that they would dare approach!"
Behind him, several officers offered their opinions.
"I'd like to see what they plan to do," another officer sneered.
At the start, they had believed that the Great Tang had dispatched a new reinforcement army. If that really was the case, then the forces that they had with them truly might be insufficient. But if it was just the remnants of that defeated army, the situation was completely different. They had fought a battle with them not too long ago, so these Tibetans were extremely familiar with their war banners and armor!
As the Tibetans silently waited for Tang army to approach, that cloud of dust stopped thirty to forty li from the mountains.
"What are those fellows up to?"
At the summit, the officers frowned, and even Bachicheng appeared confused.
But before the Tibetans could react, a chorus of neighs came from the distance, and the earth shook once more. The dense ranks of the Tang army were turning around and heading back into the distance.
"Hmph, these craven cowards actually want to run!"
"Haha, I truly did overestimate them. It looks to me that they didn't even think that we would be guarding here."
……
The Tibetan officers suddenly noticed something.
"Hmph, a mix of infantry and cavalry! Do they think they can still run with this kind of army?"
Bachicheng grimly laughed, and with a swish and a burst of sparks, he pulled out the scimitar at his waist, letting its cold edge gleam in the void.
"Since they've come over, let's go and greet them! All soldiers, hear my order! Blow the horns! Immediately move out and kill them for me!"
Bachicheng's eyes glowed with savagery and cruelty.