Chapter 151: Preparation

While the Tang soldiers rested, the mountain tribesmen, who had spent the past two days recuperating, swung straight into motion. Though lacking in formal discipline, traversing rugged mountains, scaling heights, and navigating steep terrain were innate abilities for them, making them exceptional raw material for mountain warfare.

Now was the moment to put their strengths to use. Thousands of men were organized and sent into the mountains to fell trees with a single directive: select trees standing around four meters tall, slender enough to be chopped down directly, and manageable for two to three men to carry back.

The tools they used were standard-issue Tang implements brought by the later-arriving infantry. Sharp sabers, axes, and wide two-man crosscut saws made the tribesmen feel like tigers with wings. Trees as thick as a child's arm, complete with branches and leaves, were felled one by one, then hoisted by several men and delivered to the camp.

This process served as a form of training as well—fostering cooperation, organization, and strict obedience to orders. Bit by bit, these rules and regulations were instilled into their hearts, taking root imperceptibly.

The camp was a hive of mountain folk. Old Fourth Kang’s booming voice echoed all around them, rarely carrying a kind word.

"Are none of you eating? Or did your women squeeze your balls soft? Move faster! Don't wait until our men wake up before the work is unfinished. Do you really think that money is easily earned, just lying there for the taking? We Tang people trade our lives and bleed for every inch!"

"Not enough, not enough! Go cut more! Even if you have to strip the entire forest bare, you must reach the required quota. Military law is merciless; if the count falls short when the time comes, the superiors will chop off my head, and I’ll chop off yours first!"

......

Accustomed to complete lawlessness, the tribesmen were far more receptive to such unvarnished, blunt speech. Far from taking offense, they threw themselves into the labor with even greater vigor, knowing full well what these trees were meant for.

To storm and conquer fortified cities, siege equipment was indispensable. A large portion of the logistics in the Tang army was dedicated to constructing various engines of war. Naturally, a small force like theirs could not enjoy such luxury; they had to do everything themselves.

Liushe lacked siege experience in this era, so he had to improvise according to his own understanding. Scaling ladders were out of the question to build in time, but fortunately, the surrounding area was a dense expanse of mountain forests with trees of every description. Accounting for the height of the city walls and the necessary angle of inclination, the timber needed to be at least four meters tall to successfully bridge the ramparts.

He did not micromanage the specifics, choosing instead to wander around the camp with a group of tribal chieftains. Maliqi and the others grasped his intentions at a glance.

"When do we strike?"

"When my men wake up," Liu Ji replied without concealment.

None of the chieftains had anticipated it would happen so soon. The Tangs had arrived less than a day ago, leaving them with barely twenty-four hours of preparation. As they watched the city's defenses grow increasingly formidable, their unease deepened.

With fewer than two hundred Tang soldiers, taking such a perilous fortress was entirely different from raiding a local lord's stockade. Excessive casualties would severely impact the cooperation between the two sides, especially since marshaling hundreds of men from each tribe was already a heavy burden.

Yet the arrow was already nocked on the bow; release was no longer in their hands. Despite their anxieties, no one voiced any objections. Liu Ji had led them on an inspection, and everything was proceeding smoothly. Even the restless elements were working obediently under the suppression of their respective chieftains. For such troublemakers, later eras offered plenty of remedies; he was almost hoping one or two would jump out to serve as negative examples.

Matters had to proceed step by step. Imposing harsh military discipline right from the start would drive away more than half the men, defeating his original purpose and casting a shadow over their favorable relations with the mountain folk.

At present, it was a dilemma. War permitted not the slightest indulgence; the price of leniency was paid in lives and blood. He had no choice but to rely on a straightforward method: forging an image of invincibility through victory after victory, and then using his prestige to gradually establish military law and discipline.

That was why he had resolved to wage a proper siege rather than resorting to clever stratagems or other tricks.

Among all the reinforcements, Duoguli was the first to wake up. Of course, Zhuoma creating an endless ruckus beside him was a major contributing factor. From setting out to deliver messages to returning with the army, he had slept less than anyone else, yet his energy remained remarkably high. True to his hunter roots, he was thoroughly accustomed to sleeping in the wild.

Upon rising, his first order arrived immediately. He was dispatched with a select group of mountain tribesmen to the towering mountain flanking the city of Kapisa. When he returned over two hours later, officers like Zhang Wujia and Xu Guangjing had all been summoned to an open space within the camp to hold a pre-battle council.

Liu Ji’s philosophy was simple: fight in the open so that every participating officer knew his duty, understood how to execute it, could voice difficulties and shortcomings for resolution, and ultimately achieve the objective.

"Come, Duoguli, you've arrived just in time." Catching sight of him, Liu Ji beckoned, pulling him into the circle and pointing to a schematic drawn on the ground.

"This is the city of Kapisa. Its highest wall is no taller than two men, while the lowest section, right here, is only about three meters—roughly two paces high. This will be the focal point of our assault. Based on observation, the garrison rotates shifts three times a day. The morning relief occurs near the end of the Yin hour and the beginning of the Mao hour. That is when we will launch our attack."

The map had been compiled over the past few days based on reconnaissance. Such flat diagrams were simple and comprehensible, requiring no descriptive text for anyone to understand. Zhang Wujia and the other officer nodded knowingly as they listened.

Having explained the plan in Han Chinese, he switched to the Bolu language and asked Duoguli, "What did your reconnaissance reveal?"

"There is no path, but I can climb up."

Liu Ji knew his temperament—reticent, but if he made such a claim, he was certain of success. "Once your men are in position, upon seeing the signal from the camp, fire a blazing arrow into the city as our signal to launch the general assault."

"Understood," Duoguli replied crisply, acknowledging the order.

Having settled that front, Liu Ji switched to the Kacha tongue to issue assignments to the mountain tribesmen.

"Old Fourth Kang, you are in charge of commanding their movements. Are those things prepared?"

Old Fourth Kang responded in the same Kacha dialect, "Ready. One thousand pieces, counted by my own hand. There can be no mistake."

"Good. Your men will draw the defenders' attention from the front so they have no leisure to look elsewhere. I do not require the tribesmen to capture the walls, but you must create the overwhelming momentum of a city falling. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Subordinate will not fail your expectations."

With the duties distributed, he clapped his hands together, stood up, and surveyed his surroundings.

"We have already witnessed the combat prowess of the Nepalese, but under desperate circumstances, we must not underestimate their determination to hold out to the death. Prepare yourselves for a hard-fought battle. Two hours."

He raised two fingers, elevating his voice, "Two hours is all I give. I want my banner planted atop the walls of Kapisa, and no other outcome."

An incomparable confidence radiated from his face, inspiring every single person present.