First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 642 Entering Champa

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The banner was fluttering, and the fine flags of the vanguard were quickly arranged on the left and right. They were waiting in awe, and the Chinese army slowly stepped forward.

Li Daliang, the governor of Jiaozhou, was dressed in military uniform and sitting on horseback.

Fan Fanzhi did not dare to delay, and took the lead to step forward, folding his hands and bowing with Central Plains etiquette: "Fan Fanzhi of Linyi State, together with the people of Linyi, met Governor Li."

Seeing that Fan Fanzhi was so knowledgeable, Li Daliang naturally couldn't rely on him. After all, Linyi State was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, and Fan Fanzhi was also the king of Linyi who was conferred by Emperor Li Yuan. Although it was a small country, in terms of etiquette and law, his status was Noble, status equal to the prince of Tang Dynasty.

Li Daliang got off his horse, strode forward, and helped the elderly Fan Fanzhi up, saying, "King Lin Yi, please be polite. I am Li Daliang, the governor of Jiaozhou."

After Fan Touli and others came forward to greet him, Fan Fanzhi pointed sideways at Wang Jiayan and said, "Please also invite the governor to get in the car. The palace has prepared a small amount of wine so that the governor can receive the wind and wash away the dust."

Nowadays, everyone in Zhenla is watching eagerly from dozens of miles away. Lin Yi is asking for help from the Tang Dynasty. Fan Fanzhi's attitude is also extremely low, and he actually invites Li Daliang to ascend the throne.

If it were another general with a big heart, he might actually agree to such a great favor. After all, Wang Jia is not someone who rides casually.

However, Li Daliang was honest and upright by nature, and he immediately refused sternly after hearing this, saying, "Thank you very much, King Linyi, for your kindness, but it is inconsistent with etiquette. King Linyi will go first, and the capital will follow."

Seeing Li Daliang abiding by etiquette, Fan Fanzhi felt happy. He was really afraid of meeting that kind of arrogant general. If an arrogant Tang general came, he would not dare to disobey even if he was ordered to lead his horse and kick the pedal. ah.

After being polite, Fan Fanzhi boarded the king's carriage, and Li Daliang got on his horse, following closely behind him. Fan Zhenlong and other Linyi civil and military officials felt much better when they saw this, and looked at Li Daliang with kindness in their eyes.

The Zhenla Army was stationed at Dalang Mountain, more than sixty miles southwest of the city.

When he heard that the flag of the Tang Dynasty had entered Champa, Ishnavarman's heart instantly turned cold, and his whole person was so gloomy that it was daunting.

If the remaining army outside Temu City had not been defeated, Ishnavarman would have had some confidence and would not have been so passive. But now Ishnavarman faced many difficulties.

The most important ones are three aspects.

First, there is a lack of food and grass;

Second, the morale of the military is unstable;

Third, there is insufficient military strength.

In addition, there are many rebellions in the newly occupied Funan land. After all, Funan has a long history, and the Funan Kingdom has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It is difficult to accept that the former subordinate tribes are now invading their territory, and they have to face the pressure from the Tang Dynasty.

Ishanavarman was in a stalemate for a while. If he retreated, the newly occupied Funan homeland would be difficult to stabilize, and he could only withdraw to the royal capital in despair. In this way, Ishanavarman would have to devote all his country's power to After fighting for more than half a year, Zhenla's national strength was almost exhausted, and in the end, it returned without success, which became a big joke.

This was a situation that Ishanavarman could never accept.

After thinking for a long time, Ishnavarman took the initiative to compile the book and ordered it to be submitted to the general of the Tang Dynasty.

"Li, Governor Li, may I ask if Ishana is in the letter first..." Seeing Li Daliang holding Ishanavarman's letter and deep in thought, even the old and prudent Fan Fanzhi couldn't bear it and hesitated. asked.

Li Daliang regained his composure, handed the letter to Fan Fanzhi, and said: "Yishana first agreed to withdraw his troops and would not use troops against Linyi, but he asked to continue to invade Funan."

Hearing this, Lin Yi's civil and military officials were instantly overjoyed.

"That's great, promise him now." Fan Zhenlong slammed the desk and shouted in surprise, "There's nothing to hesitate about. Quickly promise him."

As soon as these words came out, Li Daliang's face suddenly darkened. Fan Fanzhi hurriedly reprimanded: "Shut up, Governor Li has made his own decision, why do you need to make noise?"

"Who are you?" Li Daliang glanced at Fan Zhenlong faintly.

Fan Zhenlong was stunned when he heard this. It was not that he had already met you by name outside the city before. It turned out that you didn't remember this prince and grandson. He immediately said: "I am Fan Zhenlong, the grandson of Linyi."

"What official position do you hold?" Li Daliang continued to ask.

Fan Zhenlong was stunned and immediately said: "I am Wang Sun, Wang Sun, why do I need an official position?"

"Since this son has no official position, how can he discuss national affairs here?" Li Daliang snorted coldly and looked at Fan Fanzhi.

Fan Fanzhi was shocked and immediately glared at Fan Zhenlong, "Get out, get out."

Fan Touli was also angry, stepped forward and kicked him over, "You idiot, get out of here."

Seeing that his grandfather and father were so angry, Fan Zhenlong immediately did not dare to disobey and left the palace in despair.

"Shu Zi is ignorant. Governor Li, don't be angry. I apologize here." Fan Fanzhi had a smile on his wrinkled face and humbly confessed.

"The words of King Linyi are serious." Li Daliang immediately returned the favor. If it was Fan Fanzhi, considering that he was older and had the crown prince personally, Li Daliang would give him a little favor. But Fan Zhenlong's words were ignorant and fearless, and his actions as a superior As the governor of the country, it is naturally impossible to be polite to him.

"King Haojiao Linyi knows that Funan is also a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. If Zhenla raises unjust soldiers and invades my vassals, the Tang Dynasty will naturally not sit idly by and ignore it," Li Daliang said solemnly.

Linyi's monarchs and ministers were immediately shocked when they heard this. When did Funan become a vassal state of the Tang Kingdom? They didn't hear that King Funan sent envoys to pay tribute. For this, they just thought that the Tang Dynasty relied on its strong national power and acted tyrannically.

Li Daliang didn't say much when he saw this. There was no need to waste words. He immediately said: "The governor has brought five thousand troops this time. He will definitely hold Zhenla to account and restore his homeland of Funan. However, there is one thing that requires King Linyi's help."

Fan Fanzhi was frightened. He originally thought that the best result would be if the Zhenla army retreated, but now the Tang army still wanted to go to war against Zhenla, and also wanted to help Funan recover its homeland. He also wanted Lin Yi to help him. Could it be that he was asked to send troops from Linyi? Once he did, he would completely offend Ishnavarman.

Immediately he had to say cautiously: "Captain Li doesn't know something. I, Lin Yi, are not good at fighting. I only have more than 2,000 imperial troops to guard the palace...".

Li Daliang waved his hands when he heard this and said bluntly: "I don't want you, Lin Yi, to send troops." In fact, Li Daliang wanted to add something in his heart. If you take Lin Yi's rabble with you, it will be a burden.

According to Wei Fengwei's news, the Zhenla army in Dalang Mountain was no more than 10,000 people. He brought over 5,000 soldiers from three states under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Jiaozhou. Although the gap in strength was large, Li Daliang If you have that confidence, you can defeat Zhenla's army.

Although the soldiers in Jiaozhou are weaker than those in Guanzhong, the Du Zhidao generals who have been in charge of the military in Jiaozhou are not mediocre. The basic training is still in place, and it should be no problem to deal with the Zhenla people.

"Then Governor Li, what are you doing..." Fan Fanzhi felt relieved when he heard that Lin Yi was not allowed to send troops, but he was still worried about what to do if Li Daliang's request went too far.

"Our army has come a long way and doesn't carry much food and fodder. As soon as we get enough food and fodder, why don't we ask King Lin Yi to bother us," Li Daliang said without changing his expression and his heart not beating.

However, when Fan Fanzhi heard this, he was immediately overjoyed, "Captain Li can rest assured that all the food and grass for your army will be paid for by Lin Yi."

Li Daliang looked stunned.

　I've been adapting to my new job these past two days, and it seems to be fine so far.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)