Side Story Chapter 19 - Arrival at Longxi! (1/2)

“Mm.”

Li Taiyi, wearing casual clothes, nodded from atop his horse.

As a Prince, Li Taiyi should have had a personal carriage, but he did not take it.

As a commander, he needed to set an example with his actions in order to enjoy the whole-hearted support of his men.

Leading one’s troops was a basic principle for a commander.

Li Taiyi looked behind him.

Though there were only one hundred people, their gathered energy was comparable to the three thousand soldiers in front of him.

These men were those that Wang Haibin had gathered and trained.

Though they had belonged to different squads, after a few days, they appeared like soldiers who had worked together for many years. This was yet more proof of Wang Haibin’s ability to train soldiers.

Li Taiyi turned his head and shouted, “Move out!”

The force of more than three thousand men marched out like a raging torrent.

As the army marched through the city gate, a figure high on the walls watched Li Taiyi with bright and brilliant eyes.

……

Ten-some days later, after crossing numerous mountains, Li Taiyi’s force of three-thousand-some soldiers finally arrived at the Longxi base.

Tents were set up for ten-some li, their pennants flapping in the wind.

Compared to the peace and quiet of the capital, this place was heavily guarded and tense.

“Welcome, Third Prince!”

In the Longxi base, a muscular and bearded general walked out, his expression somber as he personally welcomed Li Taiyi.

Guo Dingguo!

Li Taiyi instantly recognized this man as the highest commander in Longxi.

Although his beard was rather unkempt, the man possessed a pair of sharp eyes and radiated a vigorous energy. It felt like a mountain was walking over rather than a man.

And this was actually rather close to reality.

The terrain of the empire was complex, and Guo Dingguo was currently like a sturdy mountain that assured the safety of the western border of the empire and the nearly one million civilians living along it.

And from what Li Taiyi knew, this Great General possessed brilliant martial arts and was well-read in military texts. Whether it was old-style soldiers or newly-established units, he would need just a few times to see through their flaws.

Guo Dingguo commanded high prestige within Longxi.

“General Guo, what is the situation?”

Li Taiyi dismounted, a look of respect on his face.

General Guo glanced over Li Taiyi’s army and indifferently said, “It’s rather tense. We’re currently playing out scenarios in the strategy tent. Since Your Highness is here, you might as well participate.”

Li Taiyi could tell that General Guo was merely offering out of courtesy, and he was actually very reluctant.

The empire was in a tense situation, and for Guo Dingguo, Li Taiyi’s several thousand men were hardly useful for anything. And at a time like this, the Imperial Court had sent a Prince over for ‘tempering’.

This was just causing trouble.

It would have been much stranger if Guo Dingguo had a good impression of him. It was actually quite decent of him to suppress his anger and treat him politely.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Li Taiyi kept his opinions to himself and faintly smiled.

“I must trouble General, then.

“Haibin, bring up those things.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Wang Haibin respectfully said from atop his horse.

“Right, Your Highness, the army has its own rules and is different from the palace. During your stay at Longxi, please do not act too excessively.”

Guo Dingguo swept his eyes over the convoy, his eyes spotting the giant crates loaded onto the carts as he spoke.

He had already noticed at least thirty of these giant crates.

The status of a Prince was special, meaning that he could not be treated like an ordinary soldier, and Guo Dingguo had already prepared himself. After all, this was the famously unreasonable Prince Xuan.

But if the Third Prince was this ‘extravagant’ and had brought so much ‘luggage’ with him, bringing his habits from the palace to the army, it would have a bad influence on the army.

“Heh, General Guo, be at ease. I understand.”

Li Taiyi softly chuckled.

These were naturally not his luggage, and Guo Dingguo had clearly misunderstood. But Li Taiyi did not explain, as Guo Dingguo would naturally understand in the future.

“Please!”

Guo Dingguo slightly frowned, but he quickly regained his composure and began to lead the way.

Li Taiyi nodded and followed Guo Dingguo to the main tent.

Meanwhile, the three-thousand-some soldiers began to work on unloading the thirty massive crates and on setting up camp.

As Li Taiyi approached the main tent, he could already hear the sounds of a fierce argument.

“The Tibetan cavalry come in and out like a gale, and many civilians have already died. The people are in a panic!”

“We have to stop him! These bastards! Do they really think that the Great Tang can’t do anything to them with only infantry?”

“Damn them!”

Li Taiyi’s eyes flashed as he lifted the curtain and walked in.

Seeing that someone was coming in, the tent fell silent, its occupants turning to look. When they saw Guo Dingguo come in with Li Taiyi, they froze for a moment, but they quickly understood and saluted him.

“Paying respects to the Third Prince!”

For them, Li Taiyi was simply a Prince who was seeking military achievement. They naturally could not take any risks and showed all due courtesy.

“There is no need for everyone to be so polite,” Guo Dingguo said. “His Third Highness has just arrived. Everyone, continue your discussion so that His Highness can understand the situation on the border.”

“Yes, Milord.”

Everyone nodded, understanding Guo Dingguo’s intentions.

It was not uncommon for Princes to ‘temper’ themselves on the border, and they usually just went through the motions. This was clearly true for the Third Prince as well. General Guo’s meaning was that they should operate normally and not worry themselves too much over the presence of the Third Prince.

On the other end, Li Taiyi saw this and knew what they thought of him, so he found a place where he could listen.

An officer with dark tanned skin pointed at the leather map on the wall of the tent and sternly said, “General Guo, through our discussion, we have discovered several villages that have suffered the heaviest raiding. I advise garrisoning soldiers here so that they can provide reinforcements when needed.”

This map was rather scorched and old, but it presented a clear picture of the border between Longxi and Ü-Tsang. The area this officer was pointing at had a high concentration of villages.

“No, the Tibetans are crafty people. Once we go over, they’ll immediately switch targets,” another stalwart officer argued, stepping forward. “Moreover, we Tang primarily have infantry, while the Tibetans are excellent riders. Let alone fighting them in a head-on confrontation, we wouldn’t even be able to catch them.”

“But if we don’t do this, what will happen to the civilians? Are we going to just watch as the Tibetans slaughter them?” the tanned officer replied in agitation.

“You know of our situation. We lack soldiers, and the soldiers we do have are infantry that have to defend such a large area. If we scatter our forces too much, who would be able to take the consequences if the Tibetans exploited this weakness? What would we do if something happened to the capital?” the other officer retorted.

The tanned general was immediately rendered speechless.