Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5207 Breaking Through the Barrier
The Iron Gate Pass is a strategically important and impregnable pass. If the Iron Gate cannot be destroyed with gunpowder and the Tang army cannot break into the canyon, then even if the Tang army doubled its numbers, it would be impossible to capture the pass.

All the officers and soldiers watching the battle were somewhat worried.

Wang Xiaojie waved his hand and said, "The iron gate is indeed indestructible, but it is not actually built into the mountainside. With the craftsmanship of these barbarians, they may not be able to make it a single unit. Send someone to blast it again and carefully observe whether there is any obvious shaking between the iron gate and the mountainside."

Such a massive and heavy iron gate must have been fixed to the mountainside with iron bolts or something similar. The iron gate itself was indestructible, but the iron bolts were not necessarily so.

Soon, after suffering more than ten casualties, the Tang army launched another bombing raid...

The captain who delivered the news was very excited: "Reporting to the general, the iron gate is thick and difficult to destroy, but when the gunpowder exploded, the iron gate shook noticeably compared to the mountain wall!"

Wang Xiaojie was overjoyed: "As long as there is some shaking, that's good. If we bomb it a few more times, the joints will definitely loosen. If we can't damage the iron gate, then we'll blow off the bolt!"

"Yes, Your Excellency understands!"

Upon learning that the Tang army could not destroy the iron gate, Maslama rushed over. Seeing the iron gate standing firm and impregnable after the thunderous explosion and billowing smoke, he was overjoyed and danced around like a monkey, making strange noises.

"Come on! Come and fight me! Aren't you Tang people brave, skilled in battle, and invincible? Come and fight me!"

Auf paid no attention to the man's arrogance, frowning and watching with suspicion as the Tang army charged forward against rolling logs and stones, placing gunpowder below the pass and igniting it.

Every so often, gunpowder would be detonated, causing the entire gate to tremble with a deafening roar, and the smoke would linger in the mountains for a long time.

If gunpowder couldn't destroy the iron gate, why did the Tang people continue to bomb it despite the casualties?
When he saw the two heavy iron gates begin to shake noticeably under the continuous bombardment, he finally understood what the Tang army's intentions were.

Terrified, he shouted, "Quickly, quickly, the entire army retreats!"

Maslama, who was shouting loudly, was puzzled: "The Tang army has been blocked, why retreat?"

Before Auf could explain, there was another loud crash, and the iron gate collapsed with a bang, sending dust flying everywhere.

Despite repeated bombings and shaking, the iron bolt remained unbroken, but the mountainside could not withstand the force and shattered. The iron bolt was pulled out, and the massive iron gate was pushed inward by the blast wave of the gunpowder explosion, crashing to the ground and crushing the soldiers behind it into a bloody pulp.

The Tang army's heavily armored infantry, who had been preparing for a long time, launched a charge, surging into the canyon like a tide as they stepped over the collapsed iron gate.

Maslama was still holding the longsword, maintaining his previous gesticulating posture, and was momentarily unable to come to his senses.

How could such a thick and sturdy iron gate suddenly collapse?

Seeing that he was dazed and unresponsive, Ouf kicked him in frustration: "Lead the troops to retreat, I'll cover the rear!"

"Oh!"

Maslama snapped out of his daze and quickly grabbed his longsword and ran backward.

Meanwhile, the Arab army guarding the pass was like a flock of sheep thrown into disarray. Previously, with the iron gate and the strategic pass as obstacles, and seeing the layers of corpses below, they thought the Tang army was nothing special. But now, the iron gate had collapsed, and the Tang army, clad in iron armor and wielding swords, charged into the canyon. All the fear of being dominated by the Tang army surged into their hearts in an instant, and they no longer had any will to fight to the death.
With Maslama leading the retreat, nobody understood what was happening; they only knew that the manager had fled, so they just followed suit...

The moment the iron gate collapsed, the Arab army, which had been holding the pass with high morale, immediately collapsed. The chaotic soldiers retreated along the canyon, their formations and order completely broken. The canyon was narrow, winding, and difficult to pass through, and countless soldiers trampled each other.

Maslama was retreating rapidly, trying to escape the defenses set up by the army left at the southern entrance of the canyon. However, before he had gone far, he felt rapid footsteps and deafening shouts behind him. Turning around, he saw fleeing soldiers rushing towards him like wolves and pigs. Maslama was so surprised that he stumbled and cried out that something was wrong. Before he could regain his balance, soldiers rushed past him, causing him to lose his footing and fall to the ground. Then, countless fleeing soldiers with red eyes rushed past him.

Screaming as he was trampled, Maslama could only curl up to protect his head, chest, and abdomen as much as possible, while desperately trying to move into a corner of the mountainside...

……

The narrow and winding canyon was not conducive to cavalry maneuverability, so the Tang army sent heavily armored infantry to attack into the canyon first. These soldiers were covered in heavy armor, which made their movement slightly inconvenient, but their vital organs were covered by iron armor, making them almost impervious to swords and spears. They were unharmed by enemy swords and arrows, but their horizontal slashes could kill the enemy to pieces. In addition, archers fired from behind and forward, which was similar to "infantry and artillery coordination tactics". Therefore, although the enemy still had the advantage of terrain and defense, they were defeated and had no power to resist.

Ouf mingled among the crowd, repeatedly shouting commands, but the Arab army was demoralized and its morale was broken. They all rushed south in a panic, and no one was willing to listen to his commands and fight back.

The more desperate they were to escape, the more chaotic things became. Countless people fought and jostled each other in the narrow canyon, even coming to blows, causing congestion and stagnation. They could only watch helplessly as the heavily armored Tang infantrymen slaughtered them like cattle and sheep with their swords.

While the victims screamed and wailed in agony, the killers were also not happy.

The canyon was too narrow and winding, allowing only five or six people to walk side by side. The Arabs blocked the canyon, and the Tang army could only kill the enemies in front of them and then step over their corpses to move forward.

Before long, the canyon was filled with the dense corpses of Arab soldiers. Blood gathered and flowed on the gravel ground. Tang heavy infantrymen stepped on the enemy's corpses and slowly moved forward. The ground was uneven and slippery, and they kept slashing with their swords, pushing the battle line between the two armies southward.

Led by Wang Xiaojie, the cavalry slowly entered the canyon, treading on the broken corpses of the Arab soldiers and the blood-soaked, crimson sand and gravel as they made their way forward.

The road through the canyon was winding and twisting, with towering, blade-like cliffs on both sides that blocked out the wind. The heavy stench of blood and entrails lingered for a long time, and the warhorses kept snorting and swishing their tails, finding it hard to bear the smell.

After traveling for two hours, the view suddenly opened up, and the canyon came to an end. A gentle breeze blew outside, and the mountains and fields were lush and green. The yellow and green grass stretched all the way to the southern horizon.

The expected enemy position to block them did not materialize. Below the hillside, heavily armored infantrymen were chasing after the fleeing Arab army, but their heavy armor hampered their movement, and the further they chased, the further they fell behind.

At this point, it was clear that there was no need for heavily armored cavalry to charge into the enemy lines. Wang Xiaojie made a decisive decision: "All cavalrymen, abandon your heavy equipment, travel light, and follow me to pursue the enemy!"

"Here!"

Behind him, thousands of cavalrymen discarded all their armor, carrying only quivers, swords, and longbows, and followed Wang Xiaojie out of the canyon, over a huge natural rock wall, and then charged down the hillside. The dust rose as their hooves pounded the grass, rumbling like thunder, and surged towards the retreating Arab army like a tidal wave.

From Kesan City to Iron Gate Pass, the Arab army was relentlessly pursued by the Tang army, never having a moment's peace. Even in their sleep, they had to keep one eye open to guard against a nighttime surprise attack by the Tang army. By the time they fled here, they were not only exhausted and mentally drained, but most importantly, they had suffered extremely heavy losses of horses.

With the Iron Gate Pass now fallen, the more than 10,000 routed soldiers fled in disarray, but due to a lack of horses, they could not go far. They could only watch helplessly as the Tang army's light cavalry attacked from behind. The Arab soldiers offered almost no resistance, dropped their weapons, and knelt on the ground, begging to surrender.

The Tang army all looked at Wang Xiaojie.

Without hesitation, Wang Xiaojie declared, "Leave no one alive, kill them all without mercy!"

This place is nearly a thousand miles away from Kesan City, and our logistics have long been cut off. How can we bring the thousands of prisoners captured by our three thousand men back to Kesan City?
What if there's a mutiny?
What to eat along the way?
Did the injured Arab army provide medical treatment?

Each one of them is an extremely difficult problem, and they are simply unsolvable.

It would be easier to just cut the Gordian knot and kill them all at once.

As for "killing prisoners of war," it violated the laws of the Tang Dynasty... After killing them, they were buried on the spot. Even if word got out later, who would come here to investigate?
Without any evidence, Wang Xiaojie did not believe that the military commander of the Anxi army was causing him trouble.

Furthermore, the so-called "no killing of prisoners" generally refers to the fact that in battles with the surrounding nomadic tribes of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty wanted to demonstrate that it was a land of etiquette and would not kill indiscriminately. On the other hand, it was also to prevent the nomadic tribes from being frightened out of their wits. Anyone who knew that being captured meant certain death would inevitably fight back desperately, which would bring unnecessary casualties to the Tang army.

But the invaders were not among them.

Why should we bother with "benevolence" and "etiquette" when our enemies invade our territory and kill our people?
"Here!"

Once the order was given, the officers and soldiers raised their swords and, with swift strokes, slaughtered all the Arabs who had abandoned their weapons and had no will to fight.

The Arabs cried out and ran, but ultimately met a tragic end under the sword, their corpses lying everywhere on the grasslands.

Wang Xiaojie took the lead, chasing the enemy's trail all the way south.

The only remaining cavalry unit in the Arab army today is the guard of Auf and Maslama. If they can catch up with and eliminate them, it will mean the complete annihilation of this Arab army.

They finally caught up with the fleeing Arab army, who were blocked by the river and had nowhere to go, as the sun set and the Wuhu River, shimmering with gold, appeared at the edge of the green carpet-like grassland.

Without any hesitation or delay, the Tang army slowed down slightly and recovered their strength before urging their horses on again, first firing a barrage of arrows before launching a charge.

Wang Xiaojie brandished his sword, and his warhorse leaped over the corpses of men and horses on the ground, heading straight for Auf and Maslama on the riverbank.

Looking at the soldiers around him being shot dead by arrows, Auf knew that the situation was hopeless and he was doomed. His bloodshot eyes glared resentfully at the charging Tang army, then he turned around and walked into the surging river.

Maslama, pale and trembling, followed Ouf into the river.

But when the river submerged his armor, he suddenly broke down, knelt in the water and cried loudly. Wang Xiaojie, who was charging from behind on horseback, grabbed him by the hair and dragged him back like a dead dog...

(End of this chapter)