Chapter 55: The Sortie

While the officers and men of the Baoyi Garrison were all wavering in uncertainty, Zhao Huai'an threw his head back and laughed aloud.

"Ha, ha, ha! I laugh at the petty thieves of Nanzhao for their lack of wit, and at their commanding general for his lack of strategy. Can they really hope to dupe me with such clumsy tricks?"

With that, Zhao Huai'an shouted to the men in the camp below:

"Our army still hovers its banners, and every soldier regards the military standard as a totem. Even on a good day, the Nanzhao army would consider it a supreme stroke of luck to capture a single flag, let alone a dozen or so!"

"Too absurd! Simply too absurd!"

Zhao Huai'an stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

All around him, the subordinate officers and soldiers joined in the shouting:

"Too absurd! Simply too absurd!"

The deafening roar echoed out of the stockade, carrying all the way to the great embroidered standard of the Nanzhao army in the distance.

At this moment, a young commander clad in magnificent armor gazed in surprise at the stockade ahead.

He had not expected the Tang army within the fortress to maintain such high morale under these circumstances, and he could not help but feel a genuine surge of admiration for their talent.

Nanzhao had risen from a mere vassal of the Great Tang step by step to become the overlord of Southeast Asia, and it had achieved this entirely by absorbing the civilization and talent of the Tang.

Currently, many ministers in the Nanzhao imperial court were descendants of the Tang people from Sichuan who had been captured during the Tianbao era, and they remained loyal subjects of Nanzhao to this day.

Therefore, this young commander saw no problem in persuading the Tang soldiers to surrender, provided the individual possessed genuine capability.

Furthermore, this young commander was deeply concerned about the current political situation within Nanzhao. Owing to his lofty position, he knew that Nanzhao was not as glorious as its outward appearance suggested. The nation had been plagued by years of continuous warfare; a decade ago, it had invaded Annan and annihilated an army of tens of thousands, and four years ago, it had attacked Chengdu and crushed another twenty thousand.

Time and again, the country had raised armies only to see them repeatedly crushed, draining its national strength to a hollow shell.

Thus, this man had no desire to waste precious military forces attacking the formidable stockade before him. He turned his head and asked a Tang scholar standing nearby:

"Sir Yan, who is the commander defending this stockade?"

The scholar surnamed Yan was clearly well-versed in the dispositions of the Tang army and could readily identify even a rising figure like Zhao Huai'an:

"Reporting to Your Highness, the commander defending this stockade is called Zhao Huai'an. He was formerly a tooth-general of the Lizhou army that resisted our forces at the Dadu River, and later made his name at the Battle of Baishushui. He can be considered a distinguished military commander from Sichuan."

Your Highness? Was he not the Crown Prince?

Indeed, the commanding general before them was none other than Meng Longshun, the Crown Prince of the Nanzhao Kingdom.

Upon hearing the words of the scholar surnamed Yan, Meng Longshun smiled faintly:

"It would seem, then, that this Tang general will be difficult for me to employ."

He was well aware of the Lizhou army, having annihilated them at the Dadu River. Since this Tang general was a remnant of that very force, the blood feud between them ran deep.

Yet the scholar surnamed Yan cupped his hands and smiled:

"Your Highness, possessing the brilliance of the sun and the moon, who in the world would not follow your lead? How could this Zhao Huai'an be an exception? Besides, what harm is there in sending someone to test the waters?"

Meng Longshun did not take these words literally. As a Nanzhao noble who had studied in Chang'an from a very young age, his mastery of classical Chinese learning was profound, and he possessed a deep understanding of Tang culture.

He knew that the phrase "possessing the brilliance of the sun and the moon" was used to describe the Heavenly Khagan of the Great Tang. He, Meng Longshun, was merely an ordinary man; how could he possibly be placed on a par with such a celestial being?

Nevertheless, although he knew it was nothing more than flattery, he was somewhat pleased, as it demonstrated the man's loyalty to Nanzhao.

With that, Meng Longshun turned his head and instructed a mounted warrior behind him to ride forth and urge the enemy to surrender.

After a moment of thought, Meng Longshun added an extra condition:

"Should he be willing to submit, promise him the post of a grand prefect."

The Nanzhao army modeled its structure after the fubing system of the Tang; the military force under a grand prefect could number three to four thousand men, making it a position of genuine military authority.

The mounted warrior acknowledged the order, whipped his horse into a gallop, and charged toward the front lines to persuade the enemy to surrender.

At that moment, Meng Longshun even made a wager with the scholar surnamed Yan:

"Sir Yan, if that general is willing to surrender, will you present me with that Sogdian beauty? And if he is not willing, you may freely choose any concubine from my tent."

Upon hearing this, the scholar surnamed Yan knew instantly that regardless of whether Zhao Huai'an ultimately surrendered or not, his Sogdian beauty was bound to slip through his fingers.

Just as the two men were chatting idly, an exclamation of shock suddenly erupted from the front lines, followed closely by someone shouting:

"Oh, no!"

A moment later, a horseman galloped back, dismounted, and shouted to Meng Longshun:

"Your Highness, those shameless Tang soldiers launched a sneak attack! He Luosheng was struck by an arrow, fell from his horse, and was killed!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Longshun's face darkened instantly, and he cursed furiously:

"He Luosheng was holding my sword, yet those Tang soldiers actually killed him?"

At that moment, Meng Longshun's mind was consumed entirely by the desire to vent his rage. He issued a stern command at the top of his lungs:

"Pass my order: breach the stockade and slaughter all the Tang soldiers, leaving not a single suit of armor intact!"

The messenger acknowledged the command, whipped his horse into a gallop, and relayed the order to all units.

After a moment, Meng Longshun managed to recover his previous poise and said with a gloomy expression to the somewhat stiff-spened son of the Yan family:

"Later, come to my tent and take away whichever woman catches your eye."

The son of the Yan family knew that the Meng Longshun before him was in a state of extreme fury, and he realized that if he refused, that blazing anger might well be directed at himself.

Therefore, he cupped his hands and expressed his gratitude.

Yet at this moment, in this man's mind, that Zhao Huai'an undoubtedly possessed the courage of a bear and the gall of a leopard.

***

Once again, Zhao Huai'an praised Wang Jin's archery skills in front of all the officers and men. Just moments before, Wang Jin had achieved success with a single arrow yet again, shooting dead the enemy's envoy of persuasion.

However, he knew in his heart that the revenge of the Nanzhao people would arrive swiftly. Therefore, he divided his troops into two shifts to rest and prepare to rotate in battle.

To everyone's surprise, the opposing Nanzhao army abandoned its attack once more, even beginning to dig trenches on the spot as if preparing to establish a permanent encampment.

Looking at these men acting just like the previous Nanzhao forces, a sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.

Could these Nanzhao troops be trying to lure me into a night raid?

Zhao Huai'an sneered. Did these Nanzhao people really look down on him, Big Zhao, to such an extent? Did they think him such a fool?

However, since the enemy could set an ambush, could he not stage a counter-ambush?

Thinking of this, he glanced back at the Nanzhao troops and instructed Zhao Liu:

"Old Liu, stay here and keep watch. If anything happens, report to me immediately."

Zhao Liu was puzzled:

"Big Zhao, where are you going then?"

To his surprise, Zhao Huai'an walked away without looking back and replied:

"To sleep!"

Zhao Liu was dumbfounded, silently cursing Big Zhao for having truly nerves of steel.

Indeed, not only did Zhao Huai'an go to sleep himself, but even the elite shock troop he had hand-picked ate and drank their fill before settling down to rest within their tents.

That's right, he still decided to raid the camp tonight!

Who says that just because the enemy knows you are coming for a night raid, you cannot go through with it? This was a matter of "you fight your way, and I'll fight my way."

***

Half-asleep, Zhao Huai'an was shaken awake by Zhao Liu, and the first words he heard were:

"Big Zhao, wake up! Those Nanzhao troops have broken camp and are heading west."

Zhao Huai'an shook off his drowsiness and snapped to attention immediately:

"Heading west? Are they retreating?"

With that, Zhao Huai'an wrapped himself in a padded jacket without even donning his armor and rushed up to the watchtower.

As far as the eye could see, the Nanzhao soldiers, who had been fortifying their camp only that morning, were indeed abandoning it and fleeing. They were retreating in such haste that they had even left behind some of their baggage carts.

Watching the Nanzhao troops continuously fleeing westward, the various squads along the stockade walls raised their spears and shouted aloud, celebrating their victory.

At this moment, Wang Duo rushed over, accompanied by several other squad leaders from the army, all of them wearing broad grins.

Wang Duo spoke first:

"Lord Commander, this is truly a joyous occasion! The Nanzhao army has fled without a fight. Our forces have escaped a calamity; surely great fortune awaits us."

Yet Zhao Huai'an's brow remained tightly furrowed. He suddenly posed a question:

"Could the enemy be doing this to trick our army into sallying forth from the stockade in pursuit?"

Zhao Huai'an immediately thought of the story in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* where Lord Cao lured Zhang Xiu, but he shook his head almost instantly:

"No, that can't be right. What purpose would this serve for the enemy? Our army has already accomplished its mission of blocking them. What does it matter even if we don't pursue?"

Zhao Huai'an then asked for the opinions of the other squad leaders present, and they offered all sorts of differing views.

In the end, Lu Zhongyuan shouted out:

"Bah, who cares about all that? Our army will just hold the stockade and go nowhere!"

His phrasing was rough, but the logic was sound.

Zhao Huai'an had no better alternatives; he would simply respond to all changes by remaining unchanged.

Now that the enemy had retreated, the night raid was naturally out of the question. Therefore, Zhao Huai'an sat atop the watchtower, eating his tea-steeped rice.

***

Time slowly passed, and the sky grew increasingly dark. Yet Zhao Huai'an noticed that columns of Nanzhao troops were continuously retreating westward.

They had not even left a single detachment to guard the Baoyi Garrison in the stockade, fleeing westward like a swarm of bees.

At this point, anyone with half a brain realized something was amiss.

Knowing more than the others, Zhao Huai'an suddenly realized: could the Honorable Commissioner Gao Pian have already arrived with reinforcements?

Though he pondered this in his heart, Zhao Huai'an still had no intention of sallying forth from the stockade.

He well understood the principle that one should not block a retreating army.

Thus, it remained until nightfall. As the Nanzhao troops continued their western retreat—and because the Tang soldiers in the Golden Horse Stockade steadfastly refused to come out—the cavalry detachment that had previously been keeping a quiet watch also voluntarily withdrew.

Just as Zhao Liu was about to instruct the men to kindle fires and cook dinner, Zhao Huai'an suddenly shouted down from the watchtower:

"Pass my order: the Elite Vanguard, the Shock Troops, and the Assault Cavalry, prepare to follow me out of the stockade!"

Hearing Zhao Huai'an's shout, Wang Jin, Gao Renhou, and Guo Congyun—three commanders—dropped their bowls and chopsticks, shouted their acknowledgment, and rushed back to their respective units to assemble their troops, clanking in their armor.

At the same time, Zhao Huai'an climbed down from the watchtower, tossed a brief instruction to Zhao Liu:

"Go slaughter twenty sheep to reward the army tonight!"

With that, Zhao Huai'an took the helmet handed to him by his adopted son Zhao Wuzhong, pulled down the face guard, and joined the three assembled squads to march straight out of the stockade in pursuit of the retreating Nanzhao troops.

Watching Big Zhao charge off in such a fiery rush, Zhao Liu told Niu Li to carry out the orders, then scrambled up the watchtower hand over fist.

Once at the top, he caught his breath heavily and, by the fading, faint light of dusk, saw Big Zhao leading three squads of elite soldiers charging directly at the Nanzhao troops.

Those Nanzhao soldiers were among the rearguard. Having just completed their task of covering the retreat and finding no pursuing forces, they had been withdrawing with peace of mind.

Yet none of them expected that the Tang stockade, which had remained entirely inactive until now, would suddenly disgorge a force of armored troops. Armed with great sabers, iron axes, and spiked clubs, they instantly drove a wedge straight into the middle of the formation.

Incapable of mounting any effective resistance, the Nanzhao soldiers had long since shed their heavy armor to flee for their lives and were completely unable to withstand these armored troops.

After several renowned warriors among the enemy were cut down in succession by the Tang array, the Nanzhao troops lost all will to fight and fled wildly toward the west for their lives.

At that moment, however, another troop of cavalry burst forth from the west. The horseman at the very front wielded a heavy lance, successively skewering several Nanzhao soldiers, while the riders behind them hacked and slashed wildly at the fleeing enemy with their horizontal sabers.

With hostile cavalry blocking the front and armored infantry pressing from behind, the Nanzhao soldiers, completely bereft of the will to resist, fell to their knees in surrender one after another.

Zhao Huai'an first kicked over He Wenqin, who was flushed red with the bloodlust of battle, and then roared at the top of his lungs:

"Not a single prisoner is to be killed! These are all laborers!"

With that, gazing at the no fewer than three to four hundred Nanzhao soldiers kneeling upon the ground, Zhao Huai'an threw his head back and laughed aloud.

This battle was a victory!