People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1096 Returning to Beijing one after another, the undercurrent is surging

Golden pot of jade liquid, nine-turn fragrance.

Li Xuan poured the wine with her own hands. Yuan Ming picked up the wine glass, bowed towards the palace, and then drank it all.

"Your Majesty, please." Li Xuan reached out and bowed, Yuan Ming nodded, glanced at Yuan Wanqing, nodded, turned around again, and got into the carriage.

Li Xuan got on the horse and waved her hands slightly. The Nanchang palace guards beside her were already guarding both sides of the carriage.

The sound of horse hooves resounded at the city gate, followed immediately by two hundred Qianniu Guards in red clothes and golden armor, who roared in.

The two hundred or so guards in black clothes and black armor behind them bowed slightly to Li Xuan, and then each went to the Chang'an left and right guard station.

When Yuan Wanqing saw this scene, his expression changed slightly, his eyes dim.

It turned out that the King of Nanchang had already arranged everything.

The two hundred left and right guards are inconspicuous among the nearly 100,000 troops in Changluo, but if placed in a key position, a hundred people can also pose a fatal threat.

When the King of Nanchang was in Chang'an City, unless there was a holy order, there were only more than 20 royal guards who could be used openly, and there was very little they could do.

Of course, Yuan Wanqing also knew that Prince Peng's Mansion was in Kaihuafang, where there were many princes and nobles, and each family had many guards. In addition, there were patrolling Jinwu Guards and hidden Qianniu Guards all around.

Under the water, there is still a lot of power that King Nanchang can use.

But on the surface, the only ones he can use are his own royal guards.

Now that there were two hundred more cavalrymen on the left and right who followed him on the battlefield, the King of Nanchang's say in all matters in the capital suddenly became more important.

Many methods against the two hundred left and right guards flashed through Yuan Wanqing's mind, but King Nanchang's method of letting them return to the left and right guards' camp blocked all the loopholes.

This cunning guy.

……

Yuan Wanqing looked up at Li Xuan, and saw Li Xuan looking at Yuan Wanqing gently, nodding and saying: "Sir, please!"

"Okay!" Yuan Wanqing nodded slightly, then got on his horse and followed Li Xuan to lead the way for Yuan Ming.

Li Xuan is the king's lord, and Yuan Wanqing is the confidant of the Queen of Heaven. One on the left and one on the right, they lead the way forward.

The two of them were standing outside the city gate waiting for people. They already attracted special attention. Now there were two hundred Jinwu guards guarding them. When they entered the Golden Light Gate, the talismans on the yellow covered car clearly appeared in the eyes of the surrounding people and officials' families. inside.

Everyone stepped aside and bowed deeply.

After the group of people disappeared from sight, there was an uproar all around.

The courtiers who were on an envoy from somewhere came back, and were greeted by King Nanchang and Yuan Wanqing at the same time.

Li Xuan was not only the current king of the county and governor of the border state, but most importantly, he was also a close confidant of the emperor.

As for Yuan Wanqing, the mark of the Queen's cronies on him is heavier.

These two people welcomed and guarded him at the same time. This was far from a treatment that ordinary people could match.

Just as everyone was in an uproar, more than a dozen carriages appeared behind the city gate at the same time.

The purple-covered carriage at the head was gorgeous and expensive, and more carriages behind them contained various gift boxes.

A hand stretched out from the front carriage, and then an elegant middle-aged face with a hint of gloom appeared between heaven and earth.

Wu Chengsi.

Wu Chengsi, wearing a black hat, poked his head out of the carriage, frowned and asked, "Isn't Master Yuan Zuo here?"

"Replying to the master, no." The butler on the side stepped forward and held his hand.

"It looks like something happened." Wu Chengsi looked up at the noisy city gate, nodded, and said, "Let's go into the city."

"Yes!" The butler bowed and then stepped away.

Then, the entire convoy began to slowly move towards the city gate.

Not long after, Wu Chengsi and his party had completely disappeared at the city gate.

……

The snow is getting bigger and bigger.

A burst of rapid hoofbeats came from the southwest, and immediately, a young man in luxurious clothes stopped outside the golden gate.

Immediately, more than twenty Qianniu Guards quickly caught up from behind.

Many people inside and outside the city gate looked over in surprise. Are so many dignitaries returning to the capital today?

On the city wall, the gatekeeper couldn't help but frown.

Why did King Si Zheng suddenly return to Beijing?

But then he sighed helplessly.

No one in the court knew that King Si Zheng himself did not have much thought about his official appointment in Jinzhou.

In fact, everyone in Jinzhou did not want Prince Zheng to interfere more in Jinzhou affairs.

Nowadays, everyone is happy.

The governor of Jinzhou sent King Zheng back to Beijing under various names from time to time. The name was to let him help Jinzhou win something, but in fact he still kept him away from Jinzhou.

Generally speaking, governors from various places and those who paid tribute to the Imperial Academy returned to Beijing after the 23rd year of the twelfth lunar month.

King Si Zheng is a bit of a playboy, so returning to Beijing a few days early is not a big deal.

But unfortunately, today I caught up with so many people returning to Beijing together.

He was sent as an envoy to Tubo, the governor of Hezhou, and inspected the Honglu Temple Qing Yuanming; Zhou Guogong, Wu Chengsi, the governor of Fenzhou; he succeeded King Zheng, and Li Jing, the farewell driver of Jinzhou.

There are also the suburbs of Nanchang King and Yuan Wanqing.

Here, people feel more and more that there seems to be invisible undercurrents surging under the water. Especially at this time, the prince has not returned to Beijing.

……

In the Zichen Hall, Li Zhi raised his hand slightly, and while flipping through the memorial in front of him, he said: "Yuan Qing, please get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yuan Ming quickly bowed and stood up.

Looking around casually, Li Jingxuan, the secretary of the Zhongshu Order, stood at the top on the left, followed by Pei Xingjian, the Minister of the Ministry of War, Li Xuan, the king of Nanchang, and Lang Yuan Wanqing, the author of the book.

Today, we need to have a good discussion about Tubo.

"Tell me, what is the situation inside Tubo today?" The emperor leaned back slightly and looked at Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming cupped his hands and said in deep thought: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I traveled from Changzhou at the end of February of the second year of Yifeng, passing through Dangxiang, Supi, Tanggula Pass, and arrived in Tubo.

According to my observation, there are countless large and small states and provinces in Tubo, but they are generally divided into three areas: the desolate land in the northwest, the old land of Xiangxiong in the southwest, and the richest land in Tubo in the southeast. "

Li Xuan stood aside and nodded lightly.

This is the same as his understanding of Tubo.

The real core of Tubo is still in the southeast.

"However, although the northwest is bitterly cold, the warriors are strong and fierce. Especially in the area near the southern exit of Tanggula Mountain, the northwest army is the main force. It is definitely a hard nut to crack." Yuan Ming handed over his hand, and then said: "As for Xiangxiong, I have many ministers. From what people and hearsay say, it is more logical, the bustling scenery is definitely not inferior to the capital of a state in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Zhi's face darkened.

The Tang Dynasty is now prosperous, and more than several generations of people have been working hard to make progress.

Although the period from the chaotic times of the late Sui Dynasty to today has only lasted for a short period of time, thousands of years of cultural accumulation are ultimately indispensable for its prosperity.

But as for Tubo, Songtsen Gampo and his ancestors only existed for a few generations. Earlier, Tubo was just a desolate land with no cultural accumulation of thousands of years.

There is only one reason that allowed Tubo to reach its current situation.

wealth.

In these years, Tubo gained countless wealth from the Western Regions, Tianzhu and other places, and these should have originally belonged to the Tang Dynasty.

……

"Let's talk logically. How has the war in recent years affected the Tubo monarchs and ministers?" Li Zhi's expression calmed down, his eyes passed over Pei Xingjian and Li Xuan, and his mind settled.

"Yes!" Yuan Ming thought for a while and continued: "After I arrived at Luochang, I didn't see my monarch at first, and I didn't even see the ministers who were dealing with foreign affairs. They even directly sent a large army to put me under house arrest at the post station. During this period, I was not allowed to see anyone for half a year, until after the great victory in Feichuan, the Tibetan people relaxed their jurisdiction."

"Thank you Yuan Qing, continue." Li Zhi leaned forward slightly with a serious expression. What he really cared about was the changes after the Tubo defeat in Dafeichuan.

"After the Battle of Dafeichuan, Tubo relaxed its control over the ministers and others. Although the ministers still stayed in the palace, their subordinates could go in and out of the city." Yuan Ming earnestly handed over his hands and said, "After the defeat of Dafeichuan, , although Qin Ling and others still choose to block the news, the casualties are so serious, how can they avoid everyone."

In the battle of Dafeichuan, apart from the Tuyuhun, Dangxiang, Yangtong, Supi and other large and small tribes, the Tubo tribe suffered at least 40,000 to 50,000 casualties. There were also elite warriors of the tribe who were chased and escaped on the road. The casualties were at least over 60,000.

There was even a heavy armored cavalry of two thousand men.

All elite.

Even though Tubo still has the same number of troops, they are equally elite, and they can even be replenished quickly.

But even if they were replenished in time, the Tubo people still lost more than 30% of their overall combat power.

……

Yuan Ming explained everything in detail, and everyone in the palace listened attentively.

Especially Li Xuan.

Because the next attack on Tubo will be based on him.

"The Battle of Supi last year had little impact on Tubo." Yuan Ming raised his head and glanced at Li Xuan, then raised his hands to the emperor and said: "On Qinling, the true losses of Qamdo were concealed, but I still knew it from some channels. The turmoil among the Tubo monarchs and ministers.”

Li Zhi nodded gently. Although the arrangement of secret guards in Tubo had been somewhat restrained after Dafeichuan, there were still many people on hand.

Especially after absorbing Li Xuan's arrangement in Luoxue, the secret guard's strength expanded even more.

After the defeat on the front line, Lun Qinling vented his anger on all the opposing forces inside and outside Luosu.

The arrangement of the secret guards was naturally being swept away, but fortunately they predicted it in advance and stopped early.

"In the battle of Supi, the King of Nanchang easily broke into Qamdo and then retreated completely, which greatly shook the Tibetan people's confidence in the original Supi defense line."

Yuan Ming said with some amazement: "Even Lun Qinling is a little shaken. There are rumors that Lun Qinling once said that all the nobles in Qamdo will be moved to Luosu, but if Su Pi doesn't fight this battle , then it will have a great impact on the morale of the entire Tubo."

"So, they still have to touch each other. King Nanchang, are you ready?" The emperor turned to look at Li Xuan with a cold expression.

"Your Majesty, I originally thought that the Tubo people would use Su Pi, Yang and the cavalry as a cover, and then I would kill them... I was originally worried that there would be some losses, but now that the main force of the Tibetans wants to have a chance to confront me, in my opinion, it is It's a good thing, it will be easier to defeat them." Li Xuan's words made all the officials in the palace stunned.

"How do you say it?" Pei Xingjian, who was standing above Li Xuan, asked across the emperor.

The emperor didn't pay attention, because Pei Xingjian, the Minister of War, had the most say in the next decision.

Li Xuan bowed slightly and said calmly: "Originally, I attacked the enemy. Due to the restrictions of the terrain, the enemy was superior and we were inferior. But now the enemy wants to attack me. The enemy is inferior and I am superior."

"If the terrain is limited, we will set up traps." Pei Xingjian nodded in agreement. He already understood what Li Xuan wanted to do. He said softly: "But this requires more ordnance and supplies, and the generals need to listen more to orders. Everything is like an arm using its fingers, rising from all sides, and it can be defeated in one battle."

"So, is King Nanchang's plan feasible?" The emperor looked at Pei Xingjian.

Pei Xingjian nodded directly and said: "It's feasible. I think the King of Nanchang may have a back-up plan. He seems to want to capture Yangtong and then connect with Tuyuhun in the west?"

Seeing Pei Xingjian looking over, Li Xuan handed over his hand and said: "Yes, the terrain of the West Tuyuhun is low. Once someone in the army is injured, they can be treated as soon as possible to avoid excessive casualties in the army and get rid of worries. Enter the Tibetan mainland."

"But first, it's Tanggula Pass." Pei Xingjian stared at Li Xuan.

(End of this chapter)