Just when the Jiannan Army on the East Road annihilated tens of thousands of enemies in two cities, the Anxi Army of Gao Xianzhi on the West Road also had a good record. Since the capture of Bodhisattva Laocheng, the capital of the Great Bolu Kingdom in early April, Gao Xianzhi has marched all the way into the western Tibetan plateau.

Although the price of 20,000 casualties was paid in the city of Bodhisattva Lao. But Gao Xianzhi did not flinch because of this, his target was Luoqi City, the capital of Tibet. In Gao Xianzhi's dictionary, there is no word for retreat. Although he expected that the Northern and Eastern Route armies would put great pressure on the Tibetans, he never pinned his hopes on others.

The western plateau set foot by the 50,000 Anxi troops is called the Yangtong tribe, which is a vast and boundless desolate land, and it is a desolate plateau area in the western frontier of the Tubo State. More than 100 years ago, Songtsen Gampo, the wise lord of the Tibetan Kingdom, led his troops to conquer here, ending a glorious history here called the Zhangxiong Kingdom, and it also became the most vast and desolate rear area in the western border of the Tibetan Kingdom.

Under the iron hooves of the 50,000 army, the scattered tribal soldiers and horses on the plateau could not resist at all, and the Anxi army attacked all the way and swept the entire Tubo tribe in the southern part of the plateau, but the Tubo army did not even have a shadow. Gao Xianzhi was not willing to take action against these tribes who were already living hard, but he had to do so, because his supplies had become a big problem. He had to plunder all the resources of the army wherever it went to supply the army. Whether it was the small tribes scattered along the lakes of the wasteland, or the various beasts encountered by the army on the plateau, he would never let go. Gao Xianzhi even organized a large-scale hunting campaign, in which tens of thousands of soldiers and horses shot thousands of antelopes and yaks in a valley, which became the rations of the army.

Fortunately, although the plateau is desolate, there are really a lot of wild things here, which somewhat relieves Gao Xianzhi's pressure, so that his army can smoothly advance eastward until it reaches the first city in the plateau, Qionglong Silver City.

Qionglong Silver City was originally the country of the conquered Zhangxiong Kingdom, and more than 100 years ago, it was still a densely populated and prosperous capital. After the conquest of Zhangxiong, the Tibetan soldiers and horses occupied the capital. At the same time, Songtsen Gampo issued an order for the people of Zhangzhung to move to the left side of the city of Luo. The reason is that the western region is desolate and unsuitable for people to live here, and as their lord, it is an act of cherishing the people. In fact, the purpose of Songtsen Gampo was to concentrate the population, increase the number of births, and increase the national strength of the sparsely populated Tibetan state.

The unappreciative people of Xiangxiong did not want to accept such an order, and they dragged their children and daughters to flee in all directions. It was originally a country of Zhangxiong composed of dozens of tribal alliances, and at this moment they were scattered and lived nomadically in the desolate land of the plateau. Songtsen Gampo ordered his soldiers and horses to capture the tribesmen on the plateau and forcibly escort them to the southeast to a land rich in water and soil, but these tribes resisted. Where there is resistance, there is killing, and after a hundred years, there are few traces of people on the plateau. Small tribes live in pursuit of water and grass, or hide in snow-capped mountains and valleys, and gradually become barbarian people.

And Qionglong Silver City fell into the hands of the Tubo people, and it became a place for the Tubo soldiers and horses to defend the western border. Fortified walls replaced white castles, tall towers replaced ornate castles, and the city was transformed from an ornate capital to a fortified city in the wilderness. Everything that once happened has changed dramatically in a hundred years.

Gao Xianzhi's goal is Luo Some City, then he needs to capture Qionglong Silver City, after nearly half a month of wasteland trekking, he needs to occupy this city as his foothold, and get the supply resources he needs from this city.

In mid-April, when Wang Yuan's Jiannan army launched a siege battle against the city, it seemed that there was a coincidence, and Gao Xianzhi's army of 50,000 also launched a fierce attack on Qionglong Silver City. The 50,000 army was like a red-eyed wolf, launching a tidal attack on this Qionglong Silver City. The number of defenders of Qionglong Silver City was actually not a lot, and the 20,000 soldiers and horses who were originally stationed here and more than 10,000 soldiers and horses who had withdrawn inland from the Great Bolu Kingdom converged together, and fought a bloody battle with Gao Xianzhi with the advantage of the city.

After a day's siege, Gao Xianzhi's soldiers and horses suffered tens of thousands of casualties, but they did not break through the walls of Qionglong Silver City. That night, Gao Xianzhi's subordinate Feng Changqing offered a plan, and Gao Xianzhi adopted his plan. That night, Gao Xianzhi led the army to attack the city overnight, invested all the troops and siege equipment, and frantically attacked the west gate of Qionglong Silver City. The Tibetan defenders in the city had to deal with this madman Tang general with all their might, placing tens of thousands of soldiers and horses on the western city wall to resist the Tang army's attack. And Feng Changqing took two thousand soldiers and horses to the east of the city under the cover of night. There were more than a dozen guards with strong martial arts under Feng Changqing's tent, and after they touched the city wall, they fell down the rope ladder, and the 2,000 soldiers actually touched all of them into the city without knowing it.

After that, the war became much simpler, Feng Changqing took 2,000 soldiers to set fire to the house in the city to create chaos, and even touched the city lord's mansion and set fire to the house of the city guard, killing all his wives and children. The city was a mess by Feng Changqing, and under the internal and external attacks, Gao Xianzhi finally succeeded.

After this battle, although Gao Xianzhi's army of 50,000 was left with 40,000, Gao Xianzhi cleared the obstacles leading to the city of Luoqi, occupied a place to settle, and received supplies of grain and grass in the city, and gained a lot.

Further into the valley under the plateau, there is the capital of the Tubo people. Gao Xianzhi is not a reckless person, he is just a person who relies on himself, and at this time he also has to consider the consequences of marching alone. Without knowing the battle situation of the other two soldiers, his rash advance would be encircled, and Gao Xianzhi had not yet swelled to such a point.

After discussion, Gao Xianzhi decided to send a sentinel to find out the news. There is no need to contact the other two lines of soldiers and horses, but only need to go to the left and west of the city and inquire in the market, and you can hear the news of the defeat and the victory, and then you can roughly judge the situation of the other two lines of soldiers and horses.

……

In the northern border of Tibet, the Hexi Longyou United Army, under the leadership of Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi, advanced to the area of Zhaling Lake and Ngoling Lake for the second time to launch an attack. For the two main generals, the previous failure is vivid, and it is already a shame in their hearts.

This time there is a chance to return here to compete with the Tibetans, and both of them are determined to prove themselves.

The Tibetans still gave up the city of Doma because the city was in ruins, and their choice was still to hold the stone castle. This time, their forces outnumbered the Tang army, and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses reinforced from the city of Luo formed a strong force of nearly 80,000 with the army stationed in the north, filling the stone fortress city to the brim. Rensang, the general of Beichuan Metropolis, said that as long as the Tang army dared to appear under Shibao City, they would reproduce the lesson given to them last winter and kill none of them.

The 60,000 soldiers and horses of Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi knew that they appeared under the Stone Fort City under such a situation of inferior strength and inferior momentum. There is only a short time left before the quicksand zone thaws, and in April, the snow on the Kunlun Mountains will melt, and the thick ice in the valleys along the way will break and melt. Under the erosion of the current, the land of the hard quicksand will also become an abyss that devours people. But attacking an enemy of 80,000 with 60,000 soldiers and horses, no matter how strong the shame of Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi was, they did not dare to do so.

So they could only camp a few miles away from the city, and they could not take the initiative to attack the city. The only chance was for the Tibetans to take the initiative to attack the city. That may be where Tang Jun's opportunity lies. You must know that only 10,000 of the 60,000 soldiers and horses of Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi this time were infantry, and the rest were all cavalry. This is the family foundation that Longyou and the Hexi Army have accumulated for many years. The remaining 10,000 soldiers and horses were mobilized from Shuofang by order of the imperial court to make up for the shortcomings of the Longyou and Hexi armies. However, these 10,000 soldiers and horses were completely reduced to logistical forces for carts to transport grain.

The only winning chip for Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi was their 50,000 cavalry. They are waiting for the best opportunity.

Opportunity always favors those who are prepared, and it is the one who creates them. In mid-April, when the other two lines of soldiers and horses were in full swing, Ge Shuhan and Li Guangbi, who had spent more than ten days under the city without a single battle, ushered in their glorious moment.