Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

In the documents found in the Dunhuang Buddhist Grottoes by later generations, when mentioning Nie Chi Zanpu, the founder of the Xibonye royal family, there is such a description: "At that time, because the nine tribes in the Tibetan region could not bear the political affairs of the twelve small states, they called an alliance meeting. Discuss: Where can we find the true king with the power of divine transformation? At this time, there was a voice in the air: "If we need the king of the people in the snow area, there is a nephew of King Mu of the deity lineage in the Jade Shell Golden City of Mu Territory." The god king Nie Chi Zanpu can be welcomed as the king of Guizhou. So each of the twelve small states sent one person to greet him. The leader stretched out his neck and used it as a sedan to carry him back. In Tibetan, it means "the hero who uses his neck as a throne".

It can be seen from this record that the emergence of the Xibonye royal family was itself the product of the oath meeting. It is not difficult to understand the important proportion of oaths before gods in the political life of Tubo country. And Zan Xiruo's proposal to reduce the frequency of oaths before gods will undoubtedly weaken the "divinity" of the Zanpu family, which is of course unacceptable to Dusong Mangbojie.

Zan Xiruo pondered for a long time and then said: "Zanpu, have you ever thought that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty did not swear an oath with his ministers once every year!"

"That's the Tang Dynasty, not Tubo!" Dusong Mangbojie said.

"That was the Tubo of the past!" Zan Xiruo said: "Yes, Nie Trizanpu became king because he was a descendant of the gods, but how much land did Nietri Tsanpu rule when he became king? The twelve small states are actually ten The two larger villages only have tens of thousands of tribesmen in total! But now Tubo has a vast territory, and the people of all ethnic groups and states are like grains of sand on the seashore and swarms of bees in the forest. They are much larger than those in the past. It’s different.”

Dusong Mangbojie's face became more and more ugly as he listened, and finally said: "What exactly do you want to say, Prime Minister?"

"If Zanpu wants to rule all nations instead of just being the lord of a region on a plateau, then it would be best for you to learn more from the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Yes, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty also claimed to be the son of God. But he did not rely on his bloodline, but on his virtue, to be blessed by God!"

"You -" Dusong Mangbojie was furious when he heard this. He stood up suddenly, drew his sword and shouted: "Zan Xiruo, do you want to die?"

"Zanpu, don't be anxious!" Facing Dusong Mangbojie's fierce look, Zan Xiruo was not afraid at all, he sat there motionless: "It's better not to draw the sword, the sword can hurt others as well as yourself! "

Dusong Mangbojie looked at Zan Xiruo, took a deep breath, and returned the knife to its sheath: "Zan Xiruo, let's go! For your father's sake, I will spare you this time!"

"Thank you Zanpu!" Zan Xiruo bowed to Dusong Mangbojie and walked back out of the door. When he reached the door, he said in a deep voice: "Zanpu, you may not believe it, but what he said just now is totally true. Sincerity. You should know very well how your ancestors passed away. The blood of the gods cannot protect them. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty are much safer than your ancestors!"

Seeing Zan Xiruo's figure disappearing from the door, Dusong Mangbojie threw his sword aside and sat on the ground with a long sigh of relief. With only a sword, Dusong Mangbojie was not confident that he could subdue Zan Xiruo one on one. Zan Xiruo's last words just now deeply moved Dusong Mangbojie. Although the Tubo royal family gave their ancestors such lofty-sounding names as "Seven Kings of Tianchi", "Six Kings of Zhongle" and "Four Perfect Kings", and praised these kings for being loved by their subjects, He has extraordinary wisdom and the blood of a god. But in fact, few of these kings could die on their couches. Coups, assassinations, poisonings, and rebellions filled the records of the early Tubo royal family. For example, Dusong Mangbojie's father and great-grandfather did not die normally. Of course he knew that the middle and lower classes in Tubo might believe in his divine bloodline, but the upper-class nobles definitely didn't believe so.

"Zan Xiruo, Qin Ling, Sita Yu, Bren Zan Ren!" Dusong Mangbojie chanted the names of the leaders of the Gar family, and subconsciously clenched his right hand into a fist.

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"That's the Qilian Mountains over there!" Tenzin tightly held the rope of the hot air balloon pod and pointed to the vague white mountain road in the distance.

The mountainous Qilian Mountains stretched out below them, stretching and twisting as far as the eye could see. This is simply a huge blue dragon, Hu Liang thought to himself: The twists and turns of the mountains are covered with white ice and snow, and below are the pale green coniferous forests, and below that are large tracts of meadows, melted The snow water flows down the valley and merges into streams, irrigating large areas of land on the plains at the foot of the mountains, forming patches of farmland, pastures, towns, and villages.

"It's so beautiful!" he sighed.

"Yes!" Denzin agreed: "From here we can only see the Hexi side, and the other side of the Qilian Mountains is Qinghai!"

"Yeah!" Hu Liang nodded without saying a word. His attention had been completely attracted by the majestic scenery below the hot air balloon. Looking down from four to five hundred meters in the air, the villages and towns turned into small and large villages. The squares, woods, pastures, and farmland turned into a piece of mottled cloth, and people and horses could not be seen clearly at all. Only large groups of troops could be seen, like groups of ants. He grabbed the edge of the pod with both hands, stuck his head out, and looked hungrily at the scenery below.

"Young Master, Young Master, be careful, be careful!" Tenzin saw Hu Liang's actions and hurriedly advised: "The wind is strong in the sky, this thing is shaking violently!" As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind blew in the face, The pod shook violently, and Mauriang stumbled and almost fell out of the window. Fortunately, he subconsciously grabbed the rope on the edge of the pod and did not fall out.

"Hurry, hurry!" Tenzin complained as he pulled Hu Liang back into the cabin: "Why are you doing this? This hot air balloon is dangerously tight. Why do you have to come to a place like this with your rich body!"

"Hahaha, it's really fun!" Hu Liang was shocked and laughed: "Tenzin, you don't understand, the feeling of looking down from the sky is addictive. I came up once and I can't forget it. I think about it so much!"

"Hey! Just like the general, you are born with the courage of a tiger!" Tenzin said with a smile: "You are different from us ordinary people!"

"Tiger courage!" Hu Liang laughed: "Dengzin, spring will start soon. I am going to lead an army to Qinghai to fight against the Tibetans. Are you willing to go with me?"

"Of course I'm going!" Tenzin smiled and said, "Not only are I going, but I'm also going to take my people with me. To be honest, as soon as I received the general's message this time, I understood that it was time to use my Tenzin. Well, even if I risk my life, I still have to repay the kindness of the general!"

"That's good!" Hu Liang said with a smile: "I heard from the generals in Longxi that the Qinghai side has high terrain and cold weather. If you walk faster, you won't even be able to breathe. The Tubo people are not afraid of death. The front team They are all dead, and the rear troops are not coming forward. It is very difficult for everyone. You are a Tibetan, what do you think?"

Danzeng smiled nonchalantly and said: "Those Tang people and Tubo people in Longyou lost more than they won in the war. Naturally they felt guilty and found all kinds of excuses for themselves! The terrain is high, the weather is cold, and the roads are rugged. Can it be loose? Isn't the state high and cold and the terrain rugged? Didn't the general beat the shit out of us before? Don't worry, sir, as long as we all work together and follow the strategy given by the general, we will definitely beat Qinling that time. Get down!" "Hahahaha!" Hu Liang laughed: "You are more confident than me, okay, I will rely on you this time!"

"Don't worry, sir!" Tenzin knelt down and said, "Please use my men as the vanguard. We will definitely win this time."

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The spring of 682 AD arrived later than in previous years, and nature seemed to be frightened by the ongoing war. The frozen Yellow River did not thaw until the end of March, and the melted snow seeped into the soil, making it impassable. The trees beside the road sprouted spores, and farmers began to appear sparsely among the fields. The armies of both countries retreated in defensive postures, and peace envoys exchanged messages with each other. It seemed that the war that had lasted for more than a year had finally begun to breathe peacefully.

But this was just an illusion. On the third day after the Yellow River thawed, two brothers, Hu Liang and Yan Liang, led 20,000 cavalrymen from Lanzhou all the way to Shanzhou. They were accompanied by 500 cavalrymen. A four-wheeled carriage not only carried a large amount of baggage and food, but also eight hot air balloons and corresponding accessories.

In order to avoid being discovered by the Tubo army in front of them, Hu Liang and Yan Liang decided to take action after the Yellow River thawed. The thawed Yellow River itself was an insurmountable obstacle that could greatly block the activities of Tibetan scouts and spies. Secondly, they first walked to the southeast for almost 150 miles, and then turned to the northwest. In this way, if the Tibetans discovered the activities of the Tang army carefully, they might think that it was just a garrison or other normal movements. After seven days of marching, Finally, the Huliang brothers finally arrived in Shanzhou, which was the seat of the Longyou Jiedushi and the direction where the pressure from the Tubo army was greatest.

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Although it was still far away and the pattern on the flag could not be seen clearly, through the mist, Tenzin could still see that it was a white flag with red edges, and the darker color in the middle should be the army number or the general's surname. After a while, after witnessing it with his own eyes, Tenzin reined in his horse, bowed his head and thanked the gods and Buddhas that he was finally right.

"Who are you?" the knight in front shouted vigilantly. Behind him, a small group of infantry had formed a formation. Obviously they were also very wary of Tenzin and the others.

"I am Danzeng, the captain of the Xuanjie School under the Songzhou Governor's Mansion!" Danzeng shouted loudly: "This time, under the order of General Hu Liang, I will go to Shanzhou as the vanguard of the army!"

"Captain Xuejie under the Songzhou Governor's Mansion?" The knight took a few steps forward. At this time, he could already see clearly the attire of Tenzin and his accompanying subordinates. Apart from the armor and weapons on their bodies, they looked similar to those of Tubo and Qiang Hu. There was no difference, he pulled out his sword: "Don't move, why did the people from the Songzhou Governor's Mansion come to Shanzhou? Also, why are your people like this? They are exactly the same as the Tubo people!"

"I was ordered to serve General Hu Liang after receiving a message from General Wang Chang'an!" Tenzin laughed: "As for dressing up like a Tubo, that's not surprising. I and many of my subordinates are It’s Tubo who surrendered to the captives, so he looks exactly like the Tubo people!”

"Tubo surrendered?" The knight glanced at the army behind Tenzen. He roughly counted two to three hundred riders: "There are so many Tubo surrendered in Songzhou?"

"Of course! There are more than a thousand people in total, and I brought more than 700 people this time!" Tenzin was a little impatient. He raised his right hand: "If you don't believe it, you can come and check it yourself. I have the seal. Get off your horses!" He turned around and shouted.

Seeing all the strange soldiers on the opposite side dismounting, the Longyou Army knight was a little unsure. After all, the distance between the two sides was only twenty or thirty steps. If they were enemies, it would be too bold to dismount in front of them.

"Okay, let me come and check it out!" The knight's tone became much gentler, and he ran over on horseback. He checked the seal sent by Denzin, and after checking it, he hurriedly returned it to Denzin: "The military situation at the frontier is urgent. It's rude. Please forgive me!”

"It's okay!" Danzeng collected the seal, made a gesture to let his men mount their horses, and said to the knight: "Isn't this still east of Shanzhou? Are you so nervous?"

"There is no way!" The knight smiled bitterly: "The Tubo people have become very sharp in recent years, and the scope of their reconnaissance and scout activities has also become wider and wider. We have no choice but to do so!"

"I understand!" Danzin pointed behind him with his riding crop: "The Grand Governor is not far behind. Why don't you send someone back to the city to inform you first, so that you can be prepared!"

"So fast!" The knight hurriedly called someone back to the city to report the news. He followed Tenzin and walked half a mile east. There was a dry high ground for camping, and Hu Liang's team stopped there. , lit the campfire, tended the horses. The ground under the horses' hooves was so soft that it slowly sank under the tread. They passed smoldering campfires, rows of war horses, and wagons laden with grain and cured meats. On a higher bare rock, they passed a tent made of thick felt, with Brother Huliang inside.

"How is the situation in Shanzhou?" Hu Liang asked straight to the point.

"I can only say that it's not bad!" The knight smiled bitterly: "Qin Ling went to Hexi. The one who stayed in Qinghai was his youngest brother Brenzanren. This man is famous for his cunning and wisdom. Everyone said that he might be older than his brother. It’s still difficult to deal with!”

"Really?" Hu Liang laughed: "Then it seems that I made the right choice to camp here. At least I can let the Tubo people know about our arrival later. Is this Liu Rengui Liu Gong in Shanzhou City?"

"Yes, it's Mr. Liu!" the knight replied: "I have sent people back to the city to notify him. He should be here soon!" (End of Chapter)