Faced with this question posed by the Tibetan king Dama, the Tibetan generals present were naturally at a loss for words.
However, this did not stump the clever Tibetan generals.
Immediately, orders were given to a messenger to rush to the battlefield and convey the emperor's decree to the Tibetan cavalry commander, Baima, in order to ascertain the identity of the enemy commander.
Clearly, none of the generals, including the Tibetan king Dama, considered this Han cavalry force of over ten thousand men as a worthy opponent on the battlefield.
To the arrogant and overconfident Tibetan generals, this was nothing more than a small training exercise.
Strictly speaking, it's no wonder the Tibetan generals underestimated their enemy.
In reality, they took advantage of the internal turmoil in Daxin to launch an eastern expedition. During the campaign against the various prefectures along the Hexi and Longyou lines, the Anxi border army, which was fighting against the Tubo army, appeared to be no match for them.
For example, in the Battle of Longyou, the Tibetan cavalry general Baima led 10,000 cavalry vanguards and, in just two rounds, routed 50,000 Anxi border troops.
For example, the Tibetan king Dama personally commanded 200,000 Tibetan troops to fight against 100,000 elite Anxi border troops who were returning to reinforce Chang'an.
With a simple trick, the elite Anxi border army, which was known as "invincible in battle and unconquerable in attack," was routed and fled back to Chang'an in panic.
Since the Tibetan army's eastward expedition, in every such battle, whether it was a victory against overwhelming odds or a battle where the many defeated the few, the scales of victory have always tipped in the Tibetans' favor.
As a result, emboldened by his repeated victories, the already arrogant Tibetan king, Dama, became even more conceited, often adopting an attitude of "heaven is number one, earth is number two, and he is number three."
This inadvertently fostered arrogance among the Tibetan generals under his command, who believed that the Tibetan army was invincible and that the enemy was nothing but clay chickens and dogs.
That's why we see this bizarre scene: a Tibetan general sending messengers to the battlefield to find out the identity of the enemy commander.
A moment later, the messenger finally delivered the Tibetan king's decree to Baima Er, who was fighting against the Xuanjia Army cavalry on the battlefield.
The latter wielded a long sword and held his own against several armored cavalrymen on horseback.
Clang!
Suddenly, Baima unleashed a powerful sweeping attack, forcing back several Xuanjia cavalrymen who were attacking him.
Baima looked at Zuo Liangcai, who was fighting desperately not far away, and shouted sharply, "General, do you have a name to give?"
Over there, Zuo Liangcai, who had once again thrown a Tibetan cavalryman from his horse while gripping the sturdy shaft of his spear with both hands, replied without even raising his head:
"Zuo Liangcai is the vanguard commander of the Longcheng Western Expeditionary Army under Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin!"
Having said that, he once again spurred his horse, brandished his spear, and charged into the enemy ranks.
Soon, information about Zuo Liangcai's identity was relayed back to Dama Tsangpo by the Tibetan messengers without delay.
"Zuo Liangcai?"
Dama muttered to himself, "Judging from the name, he certainly has the air of a dragon among men, a general among men!"
As he spoke, he shook his head and continued, "It's a pity he was a short-lived man. He had such great martial arts skills, why did he have to follow any famous master instead of joining the ranks of that short-lived Chen Huai'an? What a pity, what a pity!"
After saying that, Dama seemed to lose interest, waved his hand, and said, "Pass down the order to annihilate this Han army's cavalry, leave no one alive!"
"This will also discourage Guo Dingfang and the remaining Anxi border troops in Chang'an from their desire to hold out for reinforcements!"
"Understood!"
However, on the ever-changing battlefield, before the messengers of the Tibetan king Dama could set off, Zuo Liangcai suddenly commanded the Xuanjia cavalry to change formation.
The Xuanjia Army transformed their dense wedge formation into an inverted triangle attack formation.
Zuo Liangcai, alone on horseback with a spear, stood proudly at the top of the inverted triangle attack formation, his long spear pointing directly towards the Tibetan camp.
Zuo Liangcai roared, "Target: Tibetan camp! Charge!"
"Kill them!"
In an instant, shouts of battle erupted outside Chang'an City.
Zuo Liangcai launched a surprise attack on horseback, forcefully carving a gap in the Tibetan cavalry's ranks with his lance.
Behind him, eight hundred elite troops continued to widen the gap in the enemy's defenses that General Zuo had torn open, creating space for the Xuanjia cavalry to charge ahead.
In the blink of an eye, the Xuanjia cavalry, who had been struggling to cope with the encirclement of the Tibetan army, seemed to have been reborn and unleashed astonishing combat power.
Under the command of their commander Zuo Liangcai, they managed to split the 30,000 Tibetan cavalry surrounding them in two using an inverted triangle attack formation.
Immediately afterwards, they marched straight in and attacked the Tibetan camp.
"good!"
"very good!"
"Well done!"
On the city wall of the east gate of Chang'an, General Guo Dingfang, the General Who Guards the West, was leading the Anxi border troops guarding the city to the top of the wall to watch the battle.
After witnessing Zuo Liangcai leading his troops to fight against overwhelming odds, tearing through the Tibetan cavalry's defenses and heading straight for the Tibetan camp, I couldn't help but burst into tears and cheer repeatedly.
In his heart, a strong belief arose: "I am grateful that His Highness Prince Jin has not abandoned me; I will follow him to the death."
Guo Dingfang couldn't help but lean against the city wall and roar to the sky: "The reinforcements from Longcheng have arrived, the siege of Chang'an has been lifted, and a great victory over the Tibetan enemy is just around the corner!"
"General, but in my humble opinion, the reinforcements from Longcheng number only a mere ten thousand men. Can they possibly withstand two hundred thousand Tibetan bandits?"
The next moment, the voice of a border general from Anxi was like a bucket of cold water, pouring down on the heads of the generals who were about to cheer.
It's chilling to the bone, so cold it makes you feel cold inside.
Yes, after such a fierce battle, only these ten thousand soldiers are fighting on the battlefield.
In the end, the commander-in-chief, determined to die, led his troops in a surprise attack on the Tibetan camp.
To the generals of the Anxi border army, who were somewhat disheartened after a series of defeats and being trapped in Chang'an, this scene was undoubtedly a heroic act of sacrificing themselves to defend their country against foreign aggression.
There was absolutely no hope of them defeating the Tibetan enemy.
Hahaha!
At this moment, Guo Dingfang suddenly burst into laughter and said to the general who had raised the question, "He Dongshi, do you dare to make a bet with this general?"
"We're betting on this Longcheng uprising. This desperate raid on the Tibetan camp is actually a tactic to lure the enemy deep into our territory!"
"The main force of the Longcheng reinforcements must be somewhere in the mountains near Chang'an, preparing for battle and waiting for the Tibetan enemy to fall into their trap!"
Sure enough, Guo Dingfang had just finished speaking.
Meanwhile, the Xuanjia cavalry, who had already raided the Tibetan camp, turned their horses around and fired rockets from their horse-mounted weapons, setting the Tibetan tents ablaze.
After a volley of rockets, they spurred their horses and galloped away without hesitation.
The direction of retreat was north of Xiangji Temple!
Hahaha!
Guo Dingfang burst into laughter again, tears welling in his eyes, and said, "Well, wasn't my guess right? Gentlemen, just wait and see—"
"His Highness Prince Jin's army in Longcheng must be somewhere outside Chang'an, waiting to avenge the Anxi border soldiers who died fighting for me, and the innocent people who were brutally murdered by the Tibetan barbarians!"
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