Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 866 Forbidden Army
Zhang Quanwen suddenly felt a little bored. He kicked the horse's belly and came to the front of the team. A Tubo soldier with a big face was holding a white flag and sitting at the front of the team. The top of the flagpole was shaped like a leaf. At the tip of the spear, he turned back to Akuansang and asked: "Why are you raising the white flag? You should know what this means, right?"

"The Tang Dynasty's riding activities are very frequent here, and they often launch raids on our people!" Akuansang replied: "I was ordered by the superiors to send you back safely!"

Zhang Quanwen didn't know what to say for a while. Along the path, they passed a small village that was burned down. It must have been burned down a long time ago. The houses were all charred and collapsed. Weeds grew wildly in the fields and were covered with thorns. Akuansang asked the soldiers to rest and drink their horses here. Zhang Quanwen stood by the well and looked around. It seemed that he had been here too: there were only a few foundation stones left in the tavern at the head of the village, and only a few wooden stakes in the vineyards and pomegranate trees beside it. He still remembered that he had received the reception here. Hospitality from the squire of the village: The girl with chestnut hair presented herself with plump pomegranates and newly brewed wine. The squire asked him to leave a calligraphy treasure for the wine shop with a smile on his face. "It's a great honor for the governor to come to our village!" He said with a smile: "The descendants of this old man will point to the plaque of this wine shop and tell the story of your condescension to visit!" What did he write in the first place? Zhang Quanwen could no longer remember. He only hoped that the old man's descendants could save their lives.

"Zhang Langjun!" Akuansang's voice came from behind: "The horse has finished drinking. Let's just rest here for a while and eat something before we go on the road?"

"I don't like it here!" Zhang Quanwen shook his head: "Let's change places!"

In the evening, Zhang Quanwen and his party stopped by a canal. There are many such canals in Hexi. These canals separate the snow water flowing down from the Qilian Mountains and irrigate local fields and orchards. Akuansang ordered to camp next to the canal and sent people to cut firewood in the orchard not far away. Since there was no rest during the journey, Zhang Quanwen only felt sore and numb all over his body. Fortunately, Akuansang had someone send him a bag of wine. He took a few sips, stretched out by the campfire, and used a piece of sheepskin as a pillow. He knew it was not good to sleep on the ground like this, but he was too tired, so he closed his eyes and hoped that he could dream about the past and the happy things in the past...

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Chang'an, Political Affairs Hall.

"General, look at this, it's from Longyou!" Zhang Wenguan handed over a memorial. Wang Wenzuo took it casually, opened it and frowned: "Ganzhou fell, and the governor was sent back by the Tubo people?"

"Yes, Longyou asked how to deal with the Ganzhou governor!" Zhang Wenguan said.

Wang Wenzuo stroked his beard. He was not surprised by the fall of Ganzhou. In fact, the three years he had given local officials, relatives, and family members to protect him and the local people were simply money to buy their lives. The governor of Kaicheng did not surrender to him. Unexpectedly, after all, they have been holding on for such a long time. The situation in the city can be imagined. After all, there are only a few people who can really take advantage of the city in desperate situations, but the Tubo people don't want to send him back for a copper ransom. This is a bit strange, what is its purpose?

Wang Wenzuo read the memorial back and forth several times and asked: "Why are the Tubo people so easy to talk to, so they put back the complete text of Zhang Zhang?"

"I heard that the one who besieged the city was Qin Ling's son Gong Ren. That Zhang Quanwen opened the city in exchange for the lives of the people in the city! Gong Ren admired him very much, so he sent him back!"

"Admire?" Wang Wenzuo sneered: "Is this a problem for us?"

Zhang Wenguan smiled but said nothing. As Wang Wenzuo said, the Tubo people really posed a problem for him. Ordinarily, Zhang Quanwen had been trapped in the isolated city for so long, and all the food in the city had been eaten up. In order to save the lives of the people in the city, he surrendered, which should be considered excusable. Even if the court did not praise him, at least he should not punish him; but now he is During the war with the Tubo people, he just handed over Ganzhou, an important town in Hexi, to the Tubo people. If he simply let it go, it would be unjustifiable. Punishment would chill the hearts of the Hexi guards and the people (after all, it was the Central Committee of the Tang Dynasty that used them as blood packs to drain the strength of the Tibetan people, and it was the Central Committee of the Tang Dynasty that kept trying to spread the pie without sending troops to support them. You can't just punish them without going to death, right?) ; If there is no punishment, I am afraid that this kind of thing will set a precedent. After all, the next time I am surrounded, I will say that I have exhausted all my strength. What should I do if I open the city and surrender in order to protect the lives of the people in the city? Then why fight?

"Xiang Zhang, what do you think?" Wang Wenzuo put the memorial back again, the anger on his face had disappeared, and he returned to his usual state of no joy or anger.

"In my opinion, it's better to put this matter off for a while!" Zhang Wenguan said.

"Procrastinate? What do you say?"

"Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong with this whole article! After guarding Ganzhou City for such a long time, the city has almost run out of food. Without food, people will be in chaos. Even if you want to continue guarding, you still have to guard the city. In less than a few days, by surrendering to Kaicheng at this time, he has fulfilled his duty as a courtier of the Tang Dynasty and saved the lives of the people in the city. It can be said to be the best of both worlds. Punishing him will only chill people's hearts, but it cannot be done at this time. First of all, what if the Tubo people surrounded any city, defended it for a few days, and then said that they were at the end of their rope and wanted to open the city? The court in Chang'an couldn't see clearly what was going on in the city, so the battle couldn't be fought. The old man thought it would be better to lock him up in a yard and hold him for a year and a half. When the war with the Tubo people is almost over, then we can explain his situation clearly. He should be punished and praised. Compliments!”

"What Prime Minister Zhang said is, let's just say that Zhang Quanwen is ill and ask Pei Xingjian to send him to Chang'an and find a place to raise him for a year or two. Let's wait until the war is over!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile, Zhang Wenguan's suggestion is indeed the best of both worlds: Zhang Quanwen did the right thing, but it is a war period now, so it would be better to wait until the war is over and give him an explanation.

"Then let's do it according to the general's method!" Zhang Wenguan picked up the writing brush and quickly wrote two lines on the memorial and put it aside: "By the way, the use of troops against Tubo is related to the safety of the Tang Dynasty and the dispatch of military supplies. What are your plans?"

"I can't say planning!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "After several years of improvement, the waterway from Luoyang to Chang'an has been well organized. In recent years, the grain from Longyou and central and western Guanzhong does not need to be transferred to Chang'an. The food around Chang'an There are two million stones in the granary, which is barely enough for one dozen!"

"Since the general is already well-prepared, the old man will not cause trouble!" Zhang Wenguan said with a smile: "But there is one thing I have to say in front of you. Soldiers make the country great! After Da Feichuan, the Tang Dynasty had already lost to the Tubo Empire. too much!"

"Please rest assured, Prime Minister Zhang!" Wang Wenzuo looked solemn: "I will never let Qinling win again this time!"

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"The key to winning or losing a war is suddenness!" Yan Liang looked at the map for a long time and said to Master Shen who was standing aside: "Uncle Shen, you have been in the army for a long time. If you send troops to Qinghai this time, how can you be surprised?"

"Young Master Yanliang, let's put it this way! We can only control three points of things on the battlefield at most, and the remaining seven points depend on the gods and Buddhas." Shen Faseng sighed: "I, like you, have never been here in this life. From the west, there are very few Westerners among the athletes who have been called up. In my opinion, we should let some of the soldiers go to Long first and get used to the local customs before we talk about the rest."

"But this may be discovered by the Tubo people! They can easily find that there is an army on the opposite side that they have never seen before!"

"That's better than being acclimatized in the spring next year!" Shen Faseng said: "Believe me, what will happen even if the Tubo people find out? Can they still stop the hot air balloon and the telescope?"

Shen Fanseng's last words touched Yanliang, and he laughed: "You are right, I will talk to Hu Liang. I'll leave you in charge of the advance team!" "That's easy to say!" Shen Fanseng laughed: " I thought this would be the end of my life, but I didn’t expect to have this opportunity, so thank you, sir!”

After discussing with Shen Faseng, Yan Liang rushed to the North Gate Imperial Army Office to discuss with Hu Liang about sending troops to Long. So far, there are more than 6,000 knights from all sides who have come from Hebei Haidong in response to the call. Counting the accompanying soldiers, the total number has exceeded 24,000. Yan Liang has been busy these days. The troops were organized and trained, which kept him busy.

"You want to go to Long first?" Hu Liang frowned: "It's winter now, and it's not easy to go to Long!"

"What Uncle Shen said makes sense!" Yan Liang said: "Our people are all from the East. Instead of going to Long to fight in Qinghai next spring, it is better to set off now so that we can at least adapt to Long for a month or two." At this point, he paused for a moment: "And on the journey from Chang'an to Longshang, we can also see the results of the training. It is better than having trouble happen at the last minute!"

"That's true!" Hu Liang nodded: "It's really hasty to form an army with tens of thousands of people. Why did my father recruit soldiers from the East Kingdom? It's not like Longyou has no soldiers!"

"You don't understand my father's painstaking efforts!" Yan Liang sighed: "Longyou is a powerful force in the Tang Dynasty and has its own system. In the eyes of their generals, you and I are just dolls who make things happen because of others. If we It's okay if dad takes charge personally. If we go together, I'm afraid he won't be able to command at all. Since dad wants you to command this battle and accumulate prestige, he must at least prepare a force for you to bring these troops from all directions. Once the warriors are organized into an army, they will naturally listen to your orders. If you have an army that obeys your orders, it will be much easier to deploy other soldiers and horses! "

"Well, you've thought it through, but I didn't expect this!" Hu Liang said with a wry smile.

"You have two jobs. You have to take care of the affairs of the palace guards and the emperor, and you are also preparing to send troops to fight against Tibet. It's strange that you think so carefully!" Yan Liang said angrily: "If I were you, I would hurry up and The envoy of the North Gate Imperial Army has resigned and is focusing on the matter of sending troops to Tibet. Now that everything has come to my attention, who should be the general, you or me? "

Hearing Yanliang's complaint, Huliang laughed twice: "Okay, okay, I will tell my father about my resignation tomorrow, but you also know that this job is not something that just anyone can take. I guess you still want to Stay there for a few more days, my brothers, please bear with me!"

"Okay! You can figure it out yourself!" Yanliang sighed: "In the final analysis, this is your business. If the war goes unfavorably, my father will probably have to go into battle himself. Then the first thing he will do when he arrives in front of the army is If I use you to establish my authority, even if I don’t kill you, my future will definitely be lost. We have many sons, so you have to think clearly!”

Hu Liang shuddered and nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, it will take three days at most. I will resign from the North Gate Imperial Army within three days!"

Taiji Palace, Ganlu Palace.

"Hey!" Queen Yang put down the memorial in her hand and looked surprised: "Hu Liang please resign from the North Gate Guards Army! What's going on?"

"I heard that he wanted to concentrate on preparing for the war against Tibet!" Wang Shaojian said with a smile: "I couldn't do two things at once, so General Hu Liang resigned from the North Gate Imperial Guard!"

Queen Yang rolled her eyes and asked, "Then who is in charge of the North Gate Imperial Army now?"

"It hasn't been decided yet!" Wang Shaojian said with a smile: "According to the usual practice, the guards should take turns to supervise!"

"Well, I remember that my uncle once served as Si Wei Shaoqing, right?" Queen Yang said suddenly.

"Your Majesty has a good memory!" Wang Shaojian responded quickly.

"Attached to the orchid, to ban the troops, the Si Wei Xie is idle, and the hook Chen is not surprised." Empress Yang suddenly said: "Since ancient times, this Si Wei Shaoqing has been in charge of the palace gate guard and stationed troops!"

Queen Yang had said everything, but Wang Shaojian still didn't understand: "What does the Queen mean by hoping that uncle will be in charge of the Imperial Army?"

"It is an old rule in the Han Dynasty that the queen's relatives should be in charge of the guards." Queen Yang said: "You can reveal this meaning to Prime Minister Zhang and the other three and see what they mean!"

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Political Hall.

"So, the queen means to let Yang Sijian take charge of the Imperial Army?" Zhang Wenguan asked.

"Three people!" Wang Shaojian showed an embarrassed smile: "If you give a villain a hundred courages to report this kind of thing, you won't dare to lie about it!"

"King Han, General! What do you two think?" Zhang Wenguan turned his eyes to the two people next to him. King Han and Wang Wenzuo looked at each other and smiled. King Han said with a smile: "Since Her Majesty the Queen has spoken, of course we ministers cannot but give face. General, what do you think?"

"King Han is right!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Originally, the North Gate Forbidden Army cannot be controlled by one person. Even if there is no war in Tubo, I will ask Hu Liang to resign in a few days. Now that the queen has spoken, then It’s just right!”