Side Story Chapter 26 - The Rumored First Prince! (1/2)
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.”