Side Story Chapter 26: The Rumored First Prince!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
It wasn’t long before the numerically superior Tibetans had suffered devastating casualties.
Almost the entire battlefield was covered in the bodies of Tibetan soldiers.
Bwoooom!
At this moment, a heavy horn blared.
“It’s the retreat signal!”
Ormu’s face was black from all the smoke and ash. He was startled by this noise, and then immediately came to his senses. As he rode his horse back to the Tibetan ranks, he loudly called out, “Retreat!”
The Tibetan soldiers felt like they had been pardoned, immediately turning around and heading back to the Tibetan camp.
Wang Haibin’s three thousand elites pursued, killing another wave of Tibetan soldiers, and with this, the battle came to an end.
“Retreat!”
“Retreat!”
Countless Tibetan soldiers cast off their armor as they frantically fled.
They had battled with the Longxi army for many years, but never had they encountered a terrifying opponent like this. These three thousand troops alone possessed such frightening fighting power. What would happen if the remaining tens of thousands of soldiers charged over?
It was no wonder Huoshu Songren’s army had been defeated.
“!!!”
As the tide of Tibetan soldiers receded, Guo Dingguo and the Longxi generals were flabbergasted. They had never imagined that the three thousand soldiers sent by the Third Prince would be capable of defeating a foe many times their number.
Bang!
After a momentary silence, the Longxi soldiers raised their weapons to the air and excitedly roared.
“The Great Tang is invincible!”
“Third Prince!”
“Third Prince!”
When Third Prince Li Taiyi had first arrived at Longxi, everyone had viewed him with disdain, but now, through his own actions, Li Taiyi had won the support and adoration of the Longxi army.
In the distance, the blood-drenched Wang Haibin heard the heaven-shaking cheers coming from behind him, and after a momentary daze, he smiled.
In the past, just like the Longxi soldiers, he had been prejudiced against the Third Prince, but these prejudices no longer existed.
This Prince seemed to be a walking miracle.
With the battle over, Guo Dingguo joyfully issued an order. “Someone, immediately inform the Imperial Court of the victory at Longxi! Ü-Tsang has been pushed back!”
Whoosh!
A few moments later, a messenger bird took to the skies, heading toward the capital of the Great Tang.
……
“What? His Third Highness was victorious!”
“That’s right. I heard His Third Highness used a fire attack, and without losing a single soldier, he pushed back an army of one hundred thousand soldiers!”
“That’s too exaggerated, isn’t it? I heard about some sort of ba… ballistae! I heard that His Third Highness developed them himself. With one shot, it can take the lives of one hundred enemies!”
“This will help vent the emotions of the people of Longxi!”
The news of the victory shook the capital.
Everyone from the Tang Emperor to his court officials was stupefied, particularly when the usually terse Longxi Great General Guo Dingguo effusively praised Li Taiyi, giving him every possible compliment. Such a thing had never happened before.
And as the news from Longxi spread through the capital, the civilians began to chatter.
On the streets and alleys, in the taverns and tea houses, countless storytellers began to recount this exciting tale to the people, vividly retelling the details of the battle and drawing countless listeners.
“You could not have known what it was like. His Third Highness standing there in his armor, his cape flapping in the wind, appeared like a god…”
The storytellers all had excited looks on their faces.
In the capital, there were far too many astonishing tales about the Third Prince.
One month later, the Longxi army completely pushed the Tibetans out of Longxi and back to the plateau, and the crisis was swiftly resolved.
The once-hedonistic Prince had now totally changed the impression the people of the capital had of him, and had increased his prestige both within and without the court.
……
Clang!
In a resplendent hall within the Imperial Palace of the Great Tang, the sound of shattering pottery was accompanied by a furious voice.
“Bastard!”
The Second Prince gnashed his teeth as he clenched his fists and pounded on the sandalwood tea table. The floor was littered with the shards of a celadon tea cup, mixed with hot, steaming Longjing tea.
“Second Brother, calm yourself!”
Seated next to Li Chengyi, Li Longfan pursed his lips.
“There must have been a mistake at some step of the plan, but given Third Brother’s style, there’s no way he’ll come back alive.”
“Fourth Brother, we were too simpleminded.” Li Chengyi raised his right hand and cut off Li Longfan, after which he deeply sighed.
“Otherwise, given that you leaked to the Turks Third Brother’s route and number of reinforcements, he would not have survived until now.”
Li Longfan’s heart thumped at Li Chengyi’s words, and his eyes showed a hint of panic.
“Second Brother, what are you saying? How could I have connections with the Turks?”
Li Longfan was frantic. Consorting with the enemy was a grave crime, and he had been very careful. How had his second brother known that he was communicating with the Turks?
“There’s no need to worry. I know that you were doing it for my sake, so I have not exposed this matter to anyone else.”
Li Chengyi smiled, his face radiating brotherly love, but his eyes had an imperceptible chill within them.
“Thank you, Second Brother!”
Li Longfan’s eyes gleamed, and he immediately sat up straight and bowed to Li Chengyi.
His second brother was reminding him to not have any second thoughts.
Seeing that Li Longfan had understood, Second Prince Li Chengyi did not linger on the matter.
“The current situation is beyond my control. It seems like we’ll have to strike first while we still have the upper hand, and go to First Brother!”
Li Chengyi’s eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
……
Half a month later, Li Taiyi returned to the capital, bringing with him his three-thousand-some personal soldiers and Guo Dingguo, who had returned to receive a reward.
Bang!
As Li Taiyi passed through the western gate, cheers erupted from the capital.
“Third Prince!”
“Third Prince!”
Li Taiyi faintly smiled at these cheers.
This expedition to Longxi had been worth it.
In Taihe Palace, in front of the officials, Li Taiyi received a personal reward from the Tang Emperor, as did all the soldiers and generals.
The matter of Ü-Tsang came to a close.
After receiving his reward and bidding farewell to Li Taiyi, Guo Dingguo returned to Longxi to continue presiding over the border.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and all in the capital was calm and peaceful.
After the Longxi matter, the Second Prince had seemingly realized that his third brother was not that easy to deal with, and he had not done anything as of late.
“Reporting!”
In Jade Dragon Palace, as Li Taiyi was reading through the Spring and Autumn Annals and cultivating, a guard rushed in.
“Your Highness, we’ve just received word of a major victory against the Turks. The First Prince is leading the victorious army back to the capital!”
Buzz!
Li Taiyi trembled as if he had been jabbed by a needle, and he instantly raised his head.
The First Prince!
These words seemed to have a magical power, throwing his heart into turmoil.
Since his rebirth, he had subconsciously avoided these words.
While Fourth Prince Li Longfan was difficult to deal with and Second Prince Li Chengyi was even more vicious and sinister, the two of them put together were no match for First Prince Li Xuantu, who was leading an army on the border.
In the end, this was his greatest opponent!
The First Prince was talented in both martial and civil pursuits. At the age of five, he could write literary prose, and at the age of seven, he was an accomplished martial artist. Not only was he the Tang Emperor’s most favored child, he was also the Prince most revered by the people.
Most importantly, when it came to politics, the First Prince had a decisive nature. When he found a plausible solution, he would immediately execute it, never showing any indecision.
The Tang Emperor greatly approved of this trait.
He was talented and capable when it came to military pursuits, and all of the generals and Great Generals of the Great Tang admired him.
From the first time he followed the Tang Emperor on patrol on the border, First Prince Li Xuantu had displayed an astonishing ability for command.
On the battlefield, he would always be able to sharply identify the flaws in the enemy formation, able to seize the right moment to reverse the situation and achieve victory.
In the several years since he had begun to involve himself in military affairs, the First Prince had accomplished many things, and his prestige in the military was extremely high. He had the support of both the officials and the great clans.
At this young age, the Tang Emperor had already invested him as Crown Prince.
And now, when the Turks were ascendant and threatening the Great Tang and the Central Plains, the First Prince had received the decree and gone north to fend off the Turks.
In the end, he had not let everyone down. Even though the Great Tang had been the weaker side, the First Prince had worked with the northern garrison army and attacked again and again, constantly seeking opportunities to strike at the Turks.
With this stubborn and unyielding fighting style and his incredible understanding of the art of war, Li Xuantu’s army had worn down the foe. The Turks had lost numerous soldiers, and the speed of their advance was slowed again and again. Ultimately, after a long stalemate, the Turkic army decided to withdraw.
The threat of the Turks from the north was brought to the end, and the First Prince returned, victorious, to the capital!
Li Taiyi raised his head and said to himself, It seems like there’s no avoiding it!
No matter what, I’ll have to confront him eventually!
When two tigers struggled, one would come out injured.
He was well aware that someone of Li Xuantu’s personality was certain to battle it out with him once he got back to the capital.