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

Chapter 1603: Lanzhou City
Shanzhou, with its capital at Huangshui, is located outside the Riyue Mountains on the east side of Qinghai Lake.

In the early years, Tubo occupied Eastern Tuyuhun, and Shanzhou became the front line of the Tang Dynasty's resistance against Tubo invasion.

The troops are heavily stockpiled and the city walls are towering.

Today, four thousand black-armored cavalrymen quickly emerged from the Huangshui River and headed quickly towards Lanzhou, further east of Shanzhou.

Yes, Shanzhou has fallen.

Li Xuan was dressed in black clothes and black armor, with a single bundle of silk cloth on his left arm, his right hand on the long spear at the side of the horse, his body leaning on the horse's back, and quickly charging towards Lanzhou.

Using the identities of Xue Shao, Zhao Gong and Fan Yunxian as imperial envoys, Li Xuan successfully tricked open the gate of Shanzhou.

After taking Huangshui, Li Xuan rushed directly to Lanzhou without any hesitation. However, Lanzhou was not as easy to take as Shanzhou.

Lanzhou has a very important status, and it can even be said to be the center of the Northwest.

Ganliang and Shasu leading to the Western Regions, and Changzhou and Shanzhou leading to Fanzhou, all used Lanzhou to transport food, manpower and military equipment.

It can be said that the throats of all the northwestern roads are in the hands of Lanzhou.

It is also because of this that the Lanzhou governor has always been valued by the imperial court, and after his term of office, he can easily be transferred back to the central government.

A slightly lower level is the Vice Minister of the Six Ministries, and a higher level is directly the Minister of the Six Ministries.

Cui Zhiwen and Wei Daijia both served as governors of Lanzhou.

Cui Zhiwen was transferred from the governor of Lanzhou to the position of Shangshu Zuocheng, and Wei Daijia was transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

They all hold real power and responsibility.

The current Lanzhou governor, Song Shijiang, was the Sima of Lanzhou when Wei Daijia was in power. Later, when Liu Shenli led a large army to fight against Tubo and Tuyuhun, he was already the governor of Lanzhou.

Now, eight years have passed, and he is still the governor of Lanzhou.

The court was in turmoil, and it was not easy for this person to remain unscathed.

In particular, although he had some dealings with Wei Daijia, Liu Rengui, and even Li Xuan, this man was definitely a cold-hearted person, and it was not easy for others to connect with him.

It was not easy for Li Xuan to take Lanzhou, especially since it took him too long to pass through the Nanshan Gorge in Qinghai, and the news had already spread to Changzhou.

There is no way around it. Li Xuan needs this news to reach Shanzhou first, so that he can take over Shanzhou without any effort.

Shanzhou governs three counties: Shancheng, Huangzhong and Huangshui.

Fighting out from the Sun and Moon Mountain on the east side of Qinghai Lake is Shancheng.

Shancheng is the Xining city of later generations.

To the east of Shancheng is Huangzhong, and further east of Huangzhong is Huangshui.

Huangshui is the later Haidong City in Qinghai, 130 miles away from Shancheng to the west.

It is only two hundred and sixty miles from Huangshui to Lanzhou.

Compared with the Qinghai Nanshan Canyon on the east side of Qinghai Lake and the rugged and difficult Riyue Pass, although the road from Huangshui to Lanzhou is still a valley area, there are not many obstacles after all.

Li Xuan raised his head and looked at the mountains on both sides and the cavalry galloping. He was confident that he could reach Lanzhou in one day.

Since Tubo was conquered by Li Xuan, Shanzhou and Lanzhou had long since given up their harsh strategies for warfare.

Countless merchants and travelers traveled between the south of Qinghai Lake and the east of Qinghai Lake, passing through Shanzhou and Lanzhou to Longyou and Chang'an in the Central Plains.

Large amounts of green salt and jade were sent to the court to supply the needs of the world.

Many of the original city fortresses became places for collecting taxes.

When the 4,000 Right Guard cavalrymen, holding high the Right Guard flag, roared past, the tax collectors and officials along the way did not stop them.

After all, Li Xuan had led his troops back and forth between Changzhou Fanzhou and Chang'an more than once.

The officials and soldiers along the way were no strangers to his military flag.

Just when he rushed out of the valley, the gate of Lanzhou West City opposite suddenly slammed shut.

Li Xuan's luck was still a little lacking.

……

Countless soldiers rushed up the city wall in a hurry, and the rapid sound of gongs and drums echoed throughout the city.

Qiu Zhenmu approached Li Xuan and said, "General, let's attack the city. As long as we attack the city, we will definitely be able to capture Lanzhou City."

Attack the city and capture Lanzhou City.

Li Xuan was riding on a horse, looking at the Lanzhou city opposite with his eyes slightly narrowed.

Then, he said softly, "The messenger from Changzhou was one day and one night ahead of us. The governor of Lanzhou should have known the details long ago. Do you think there is a cavalry in Lanzhou city right now, waiting to rush out when we charge?"

Qiu Zhenmu's expression couldn't help but change slightly.

Lanzhou is different from Changzhou.

They had a deep understanding of Changzhou's Right Guard, but they had less contact with Lanzhou's Zuowei Guard and Zuotun Guard.

"General Min Wengu of the Left Guard once crossed the Qilian Mountains from Ganliang Road with General Hua Dazhi of the Right Guard to attack Tuyuhun. He is also an experienced person. If they attack the city rashly at this time, when our army lacks siege equipment and is forced to give up the cavalry advantage, how can we stop the cavalry of the Left Guard from charging out?"

Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said sideways: "Brother Qiu, Cui Ding, the two of you will each lead a thousand cavalrymen and continue eastward along the south bank of the river and the northern foot of Gaolan Mountain. I want to know what the current deployment of Zuoweiwei is like."

"Yes!" Qiu Zhenmu and Cui Ding immediately bowed solemnly, and then each led a thousand cavalrymen to the north and south directions.

Lanzhou City was built on the south bank of the Yellow River.

The Tao River flows from Taozhou and merges with the Huangshui River flowing from Shanzhou at Hewan Town west of Lanzhou City.

The mighty Yellow River directly washes out a fertile valley. In summer, the north bank of the Yellow River is an endless field.

Therefore, even if the food and grass transportation from Chang'an is occasionally insufficient, Lanzhou can still temporarily hold on for a period of time.

But it's winter now, and there's not much point in occupying this place.

……

Li Xuan sat on the horse, calmly watching Qiu Zhenmu and Cui Ding's backs going away, but he himself did not move at all.

After a moment, Li Xuan turned sideways and said a few words to Li Zhu beside him.

Li Zhu turned around quickly, and then he rode forward himself until he was within an arrow's reach of the city. He stopped his horse and shouted loudly to the city wall: "The current Sikong, the Right Guard General, the Pacifier of Luoshui Road, the Governor of Fanzhou, the Governor of Fanzhou, and King Peng Xuan have been ordered to return to the capital. Please ask the Governor of Lanzhou to open the gate to welcome him."

There was a panic in Lanzhou City.

The soldiers on the city wall only knew that someone was attacking the city, but they didn't know who it was.

But I never thought it was Li Xuan.

General Song behind the city wall couldn't help but sigh. He knew that with just this one sigh, the morale of the people on the city wall was completely destroyed.

Under such circumstances, his plan to let Li Xuan into the city and ambush and kill him directly failed completely.

General Song glanced at the city gate. The soldiers of the Zuowei Guard inside the city gate became a little flustered after knowing that the person outside was Li Xuan.

Li Xuan defeated Lun Qinling, destroyed Tubo, and invaded the Western Regions. In the hearts of these Western Regions soldiers, he was a god of war in the army who could be compared with Pei Xingjian, Su Dingfang, Li Ji, and Li Jing. But now they want to ambush him. What's going on?

The current Sikong, the General of the Right Guard, the Pacifier of Luoshui Road, the Governor of Fanzhou, the Governor of Fanzhou, and King Peng have been ordered to return to the capital. Shouldn't they make way for the road?
……

The sound of heavy horse hooves echoed in the street.

Then, an elderly general wearing ancient armor, with a long sword on his wrist and a tall stature, appeared on the long street on horseback.

The war horses crossed the long street and appeared under the city gate. The old general waved his hand, and the soldiers around him immediately blocked the city gate completely.

Then he walked up the city wall step by step.

When General Song saw the person coming, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and stepped forward and bowed, saying, "General Min."

General Min Wengu of the Zuowei Guard garrisoned Lanzhou for several years and enjoyed great prestige in the army.

Min Wengu nodded to General Song and said, "Your Excellency, I can prevent King Peng from leading his army to attack, but how to appease the people is your business."

"Okay!" General Song finally calmed down, looked to the side, and raised his hand slightly.

Ten Fuyuan crossbows have been raised, and the sharp crossbows are aimed at Li Zhu outside and Li Xuan further behind.

……

Behind the women's wall, General Song will appear.

Song Shijiang, who was about forty years old, dressed in a black robe and had a thin face, stood behind the parapet and shouted to Li Zhu, "Please ask King Peng to come forward and speak."

Li Zhu turned around immediately, Li Xuan waved at Li Zhu, and Li Zhu immediately rode back on his horse.

Li Xuan looked up at the sky and saw a hawk flying quickly in a place invisible to the naked eye. Everything in the city on the ground was in its sight.

Li Xuan turned sideways and gave Li Zhu a few words of instructions. The next moment, Li Zhu had led several hundred cavalrymen towards the mountain on the south side.

Seeing that Li Xuan had no intention of moving forward, General Song turned sideways and looked at Min Wen Gu.

Min Wengu took a look and then sighed: "King Peng is indeed a wise general in the army. The envoy's tricks have long been seen through."

General Song knew this very well, but he was still unwilling to believe it. Now that Min Wen Gu has pointed it out, there is no need for him to deceive himself.

"Old general, what do you think King Peng is doing now? He hopes to rely on these people to build weapons that can break through Lanzhou City, right?" General Song said, and even he himself felt amused.

The city of Lanzhou is high and has deep moats, making it extremely strong, with an unimaginable number of city defense equipment.

In the early years, Tibetan soldiers often crossed Shanzhou and rushed to Lanzhou City, but the city defenses of Lanzhou City had never fallen.

The city defenses are tight, so even if Li Xuan launches a fierce attack, the Song army is confident that they can hold out for three months and then wait for reinforcements from Chang'an.

Especially now that it is winter, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attack the city.

General Song didn't believe that Li Xuan would stay under the city of Lanzhou for three months.

Min Wen Gu shook his head slightly and said, "It's not that easy. King Peng has always had many strategies. He never targets the strongest part of Lanzhou City. He will definitely start from the weakest part of Lanzhou City. Be careful!"

"The weakest point in Lanzhou City?" General Song's expression changed slightly. Where is the weakest point in Lanzhou City?

Soon, General Song saw it.

……

A towering mourning tent was built in the east of Lanzhou City, and dozens of soldiers dressed in white linen mourning clothes knelt on the ground, weeping and kowtowing.

Seeing this scene, General Song felt his scalp tingling.

Seeing Li Xuan walking forward from the front of the mourning shed, General Song waved his hand and said, "Remove the crossbow arrows, quickly remove the crossbow arrows."

Seeing Li Xuan stop from a distance, General Song gritted his teeth and shouted at Li Xuan with a ferocious look on his face: "What is King Peng doing?"

Li Xuan looked back at the mourning shed with a sad face, then turned to look at General Song and said in a calm voice: "Emperor Zhongzong died of illness in Luoyang. I was in the Western Regions at the time and could not return to Luoyang to offer sacrifices to Emperor Zhongzong. What's wrong with setting up a mourning shed today and offering sacrifices to Emperor Zhongzong in this place only a step away from Longxi?"

What's wrong?

General Song was almost about to curse out loud. This was not just inappropriate, it was extremely inappropriate.

Taking a deep breath, General Song suppressed his anger and asked, "Why did King Peng not go to Dunhuang when he returned from the Western Regions, but chose to go to Tuyuhun and threaten Lanzhou? King Peng did this sinister thing. Is he planning a rebellion?"

(End of this chapter)