In 751 AD, the expansion of the Tang Dynasty and the military front of the Arab Abbasid Dynasty collided fiercely in Talas (now Talaz, Kazakhstan) in the Western Region. The elite Tang army of the Anxi Protectorate, led by the famous general Gao Xianzhi, went deep alone. In the end, they suffered a disastrous defeat due to the defection of the Allied Geluolu tribe before the battle.
The story is not a grand narrative focusing on the general, but follows the perspective of an ordinary veteran of the Tang Army - Fire Chief (squad leader) Li Cong. In the Shura field where the entire front line collapsed and corpses littered the fields, Li Cong lost all his brothers. He was not a born hero, but relied on the tenacity and pragmatism honed over many years of guarding the border in Congling (Pamir Plateau) - a wisdom he called "survive", and began a purgatory-like journey home.
He must struggle to survive among the pursuers of the black-clad army, the unpredictable tribes of the Western Regions, and the harsh natural desperation of the Pamir Plateau. Along the way, he abandoned the armor and glory of an imperial soldier and learned to sneak like a wolf, forage like a gerbil, and trade like a Sogdian merchant. This was not only a bloody defeat spanning thousands of miles, but also a profound interrogation of the empire's beliefs, the boundaries of civilization, and the value of individual life. When Li Cong finally looked back at the Congling Snow Mountain where countless comrades were buried, what he realized was the survival law for ordinary people that transcended victory, defeat, honor and disgrace.
