Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4875 Prince's Sorrow
Sairugongdun was shocked when he saw Bolunzan rushing forward with his blade and heading straight for Gongri Gongzan. Although he was indeed worried about Gongri Gongzan's safety, he was more afraid of some unexpected accidents in the chaos of war. He did not think that the Gar tribe wanted to take Gongri Gongzan's life.

At the moment, the momentum of the fierce attack led by Bolun Zanren and the armored cavalry was obviously aimed at Gongri Gongzan. This surprised Sairu Gongdun and he was terrified. What if Gongri Gongzan died in the army, how would he explain to Songtsen Gampo?
How to explain when facing accusations from the Tubo tribe?

Sairu Gongdun's eyes were red with anger. He led his guards to block Gongri Gongzan and shouted to him, "I will stop the enemy army. Prince, please leave immediately!"

Gongri Gongzan was also a little dumbfounded. The Yalong tribe was the foundation on which Songtsen Gampo unified Tubo. The tribe's men were the most capable and fearless of death. However, at this moment, the vanguard army composed of thousands of people was like chickens and dogs under the impact of the enemy's armored cavalry. They were defeated after a slight contact. Even though the soldiers fought to the death, a hole was torn in the formation under the fierce attack of the enemy, and more than a hundred cavalry rushed forward violently, and they were unstoppable.

This momentum showed that the other party was trying to kill him, the Tibetan prince. The sense of security brought by his noble status in the past disappeared in an instant, just like a prey being chased by tigers and leopards in the wild, and he felt cold all over.

At this moment, he no longer had any ambition to turn the tide. All his previous conclusions that no one dared to kill him as a prince were overturned. He shouted to Serugundun in panic: "General, please stop the rebels. I will retreat first!"

He turned his horse around and ran away with his guards.

However, he was in the center of the army, with troops all around him. This dense formation was originally intended to ensure his safety, but now it became a hindrance that prevented him from quickly leaving the battlefield.

When he shouted, Bolun Zanren, who had already fought with Sairu Gongdun not far away, immediately noticed that it was already daybreak. He looked up and saw Gongri Gongzan slowly retreating surrounded by a group of bodyguards. Although his face was facing away from him and he could not see it, the armor he wore, which was extremely rare in the Tibetan army, indicated his noble status. Bolun Zanren placed the nail-headed hammer on the Desheng hook in front of him, untied the longbow from his back, and pulled out the arrow equipped with the Tang people's fine steel three-edged arrowhead from the quiver. He drew the bow and arrow, and the string was like a full moon. When a gap appeared in the formation surrounded by a group of bodyguards, he took aim and loosened his fingers. With a "bang", the bowstring vibrated, and the arrow shot out like lightning, hitting Gongri Gongzan's back in an instant.

The sharp triangular arrowhead had an excellent armor-piercing effect. The inferior wrought iron armor had very poor defense, and the back was a place that was not given much attention for defense. A thin layer of armor woven from iron sheets was instantly penetrated. Gongri Gongzan screamed "Ah" and fell off his horse.

"prince!"

Witnessing Gongri Gongzan being shot down by an arrow, Sairu Gongdun's eyes were bloodshot and he shouted loudly. He had no intention of continuing the battle and ordered his guards to tangle with Bolun Zan's blade, while he rode back to where Gongri Gongzan had fallen off his horse. He dismounted and made way for the prince's guards who were surrounding him and calling out in grief. He then saw Gongri Gongzan lying on the ground with an arrow piercing his armor and hitting him in the back, his hands and limbs still twitching.

He cut off the arrow shaft with a scimitar, then Sairugundun turned Gongrigongzan over and held him in his arms. He saw that Gongrigongzan's face was as pale as paper, his eyes were dull, and although his mouth was still moving, he was breathing out more than inhaling, and it was obvious that he was dying.

Sai Rugongdun felt as if his heart was weighed down by lead and his whole body was cold.

How dare the Gar tribe kill the prince? !
In any case, he was a Tubo prince, the only heir to the Zamp and the symbol of Tubo royal power. He was killed like a wild dog. It is conceivable that no matter how ecstatic the tribal leaders were, they would certainly strongly condemn him on the surface. The Gar tribe would surely become the target of public criticism, and no Tubo tribe would dare to cooperate with him!

Is Lun Qinling stupid?

Or did Bolun Zanren act on his own without considering the consequences?

The sounds of fighting were getting louder and louder. Lun Qinling had already crossed the mountain pass and swooped over with his main force.

Without much time to think, Sairu Gundun found a carriage, placed Gongri Gunzan on it, and led his army to retreat southward and flee.

The weather on the plateau is strange and changeable. It was sunny just now, but in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered and blocked the rising sun. The sky and the earth became dark, and the cold wind was howling and snow was flying.

But Lun Qinling's burning heart was not cooled by the heavy snow at all, and he was in an extremely excited state.

In one battle, he defeated the main force of Sairu Gongdun and the reinforcements of Gongri Gongzan, and completely opened the road to Lhasa City. Even though he was cautious, he couldn't help feeling a little proud. Just thinking about the Gar tribe rushing to the Lhasa City, returning to the core of Tubo power and dominating the plateau, he felt proud.

This time he did not take advantage of the situation to pursue the enemy. After Sairugundun was defeated, he could only retreat to Gechuanyi, the last line of defense of Luoshui City. This place was hundreds of miles away from Gechuanyi. If they chased the enemy all the way, their troops would be exhausted and their supplies would be insufficient. Once they encountered an enemy counterattack, it would be easy to turn victory into defeat and ruin the good situation. Therefore, he ordered the entire army to stay on the spot and collect enemy prisoners.

After the army was reorganized, it set out again to capture Gechuanyi and approached Luoshui City. That was when the six tribes of Nacang rose up to respond. By that time, the overall situation had been settled, and the Zamp had no choice but to recognize the status of the Gar tribe and had to sign the treaty under humiliation.

The situation is very good.

However, the news that the captain under his command who was collecting prisoners looked panicked made Lun Qinling dumbfounded and felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

"What did you say? The prince is dead?!"

Lun Qinling couldn't believe his ears. Gongri Gongzan was a Tubo prince who was surrounded by an army of ten thousand and had the full support of Sairu Gongdun. How could he have fallen off his horse and died?

"Where is the prince's body?"

"Some prisoners said they were loaded onto a carriage and taken away by Serugundun."

"So no one saw the body?"

Lun Qinling breathed a sigh of relief. If Gongri Gongzan's body was not seen, it was most likely a rumor. Perhaps Gongri Gongzan really fell off his horse, but the soldiers who did not see clearly at a distance mistakenly thought that he was dead, and the rumor was formed due to false information.

But he was still nervous. Although the prince had never been on the battlefield or charged into battle, he was skilled in archery and horse riding since he was a child. How could he fall off his horse for no reason?

Seeing the captain hesitating and hesitant to speak, Lun Qinling shouted angrily, "What else?"

The captain then hesitated and said, "The captives said...it was the fifth general who shot the prince down with an arrow."

"Where is General Wu now? Call him here and I will ask him in person!"

"Yes!"

The lieutenant withdrew, and Lun Qinling stood up and paced back and forth in the tent, feeling extremely anxious. Although he was too sure that it was Bo Lunzan who shot Gong Ri Gong Zan to death, because he had repeatedly warned him not to kill Gong Ri Gong Zan, but thinking about his brother's reckless and impulsive character, he felt that this might be true...

Thinking about how Luoshui City and the various Tibetan tribes would react after Gongri Gongzan was shot dead by Bolunzan, Lun Qinling felt his scalp tingling... Was the Gar tribe going to become the enemy of the entire Tibetan people and cut themselves off from the Tibetan people? !
"Brother, you called me?"

Bolun Zanren, who had just taken off his armor, pushed the door open and walked in. His body was covered in sweat and white steam was rising in the cold wind and snow. When he entered the room, a layer of white frost had already formed.

Under normal circumstances, Lun Qinling would have been concerned about his health and told him not to catch a cold, but now he didn't care about that at all and asked sternly, "I warned you not to kill Gongri Gongzan, why did you disobey the military order and shoot him?"

Bo Lun Zan Ren was confused: "Ah? Gong Ri Gong Zan is dead? It has nothing to do with me!"

Lun Qinling was furious: "Your fifth general hit the target with one arrow from a hundred steps away, yet you refuse to admit it?"

"It's not that I don't admit it. I was so excited about killing that I saw a fully armored soldier in the enemy's ranks leaving the battlefield. I shot an arrow at random. Who knew that it happened to be Bolun Zanren! Besides, I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted to injure him and prevent him from escaping... How could it be such a coincidence? Oh my, it seems like it was God's will."

Hearing Bo Lun Zanren's cunning excuses and refusal to admit it, Lun Qinling suddenly frowned and stared at him suspiciously.

The brothers grew up together from the same mother and knew each other too well. The stubborn one said what he did was what he did, and what he didn't do was what he didn't do. He rarely made excuses. Moreover, how could he, who was always poorly eloquent, come up with such sophistry?
Not right.

Bolun Zanren was a little flustered under his brother's fierce gaze. His eyes flickered and he spread his hands and said, "I've already said it was just a coincidence. Besides, I've already killed you, so what? If you think it's not good for the tribe, you can just tie me up and send me to Luoshui City to apologize to the Zamp. I won't hold any grudges against you, brother!"

Lun Qinling felt that this kind of rogue excuse was not something that Bolun Zanren could say. He looked him up and down and suddenly asked, "Do you have any private contact with Tang Ren?"

After saying this, he realized that something was wrong. Bolun Zanren had never had a good impression of the Tang people, so how could he have any connection with them?
A thought occurred to him: "The Tang army came to deliver aid. Did they meet you?"

Bo Lun Zan Ren: "Ah... yes, we did meet."

"Is that Zhang Daan?"

"Correct."

"What did you say?"

"He didn't say anything. He just admired my martial arts and invited me to visit Chang'an if I had the chance. He wanted to make friends with me."

"Bastard!"

Lun Qinling glared angrily: "Do you know what it means for Gongri Gongzan to be killed by you? What are the consequences? You still don't tell the truth now. Do you really want to push the tribe into an abyss of no return?!"

"Hey, brother, don't say anything shocking," Bolun Zanren, who always respected his brother, didn't care at this moment: "It's already killed, so what? Besides, there are so many people in Tubo who hope Gongri Gongzan will die. Even if the Zamp is angry, he dare not do anything to us. The most important thing for him now is how to ensure the safety of the little prince. How can he care about settling accounts with us?"