Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 584 Invasion
Pingliang.

The wind whistled across the wasteland, and a skull swayed and fell to the ground.

A leg bone rolled with the wind and sand to the feet of a Tibetan boy. He bent down and picked it up.

"Nobutong, what are you looking at?"

"I want to make a bone flute."

The Tibetan boy named Yebutong looked at the bones in his hand with bright eyes, showing his love and admiration for the music.

"Haha, this bone can't be made into a bone flute. Good bone flutes are made from eagle bones, and inferior ones are made from the bones of sixteen-year-old girls. These died on the battlefield and are old, so their bones are loose."

Yebudong smiled foolishly twice, then put the bone in his pocket and took it back to the camp.

He walked quite a distance and gradually a huge camp appeared in front of him, with more and more people around him.

Suddenly, a long horn sounded.

The cavalrymen came roaring and shouted in Tibetan.

"Assemble!"

"Everyone assemble, General, lead us to Chang'an!"

"Charge into Chang'an..."

Yebudong turned a deaf ear to the shouts and only listened to the melody of the horn and whistled along with it.

His whistle was not sharp, but it made the sound of the horn, which was full of murderous aura, sound soul-stirring.

After walking for a while, he arrived at his own station. When his master Lang Jiezan saw him, he took out a whip and whipped him.

"You're running around again? Why don't you come with me to fight?!"

Yebudong was Langjiezan's slave and also his guard. Langjiezan was a poor son of the Lang family. Because his family had an old friendship with Dazhalugong, he was able to serve in Dazhalugong's central army this time.

I originally thought that robbing the Tang Dynasty would be an easy job, but it turned out to be a tough battle. From last year to this year, not only did we not get any gold, silver, or precious stones, but many guards died.

Therefore, Lang Jiezan had no choice but to let little slaves like Yebudong ride on horses and follow him into battle.

Yebudong had nothing, let alone armor and weapons. The horse he rode didn't even have a saddle or stirrups. There was only a broken bit and reins, and both the horse and the steed belonged to Langjiezan.

The only things that belonged to him were a set of tattered clothes and a dagger, and he also belonged to Lang Jiezan.

"Charge into Chang'an!"

Small teams gathered together into a vast army and began to march eastward.

Yebudong rode a slow horse, staggering along the road.

He neither looked at the road nor pulled the reins, but just used a stone to polish the bone he had picked up.

This is a very laborious task.

Up ahead, Lang Jiezan was happily chatting with people about this strategy.

"General Shang Duore has attracted the main force of the Tang army in Qinlong. We will bypass Guo Ziyi and attack Chang'an directly."

"If this happens, Guo Ziyi will catch up with us and we will be in danger of being attacked from both sides."

"The general knows what's going on. Did you see the Han man next to you? He is a Tang general from Jingzhou. He got involved in the internal strife of the Tang court and escaped to join you, bringing you valuable military intelligence."

The person who was talking to Lang Jiezan was a personal guard general under the command of Dazhalugong's younger brother Ma Chongmu, so he knew a lot of inside information, which made Lang Jiezan very envious.

"So, can we win this battle?"

"Let me tell you, the Tang Emperor is going to die. When we get to Chang'an, they won't even have an emperor."

Lang Jiezan raised his eyebrows and felt excited again about this long war that had made him very tired.

The front of the team.

Under the tall banner is Dazalugong.

He was in his forties, in the prime of his life. Although not tall, he was very strong, with a face full of curly beard and sharp eyes. He looked energetic, with his hair loose like a yak on the plateau.

At this time, he was riding a horse, playing with a telescope in his hand.

"You mean, this was also made by Xue Bai?"

"Yes."

The person who answered had short hair, only an inch long, and was wearing a monk's robe. He was Li Qiwu who had escaped from Chang'an.

Li Qiwu had just arrived at the Tubo army not long ago, and the expression on his face was not happy, because he actually looked down on Dazalugong from the bottom of his heart. He disliked the extremely strong odor on this barbarian, which was a mixture of cow dung and sheep stench, mixed with the bloody smell brought by years of fighting on the battlefield.

The reason why Li Qiwu came this time was because he received an order from Li Longji to contact Dazhalugong and borrow his military power to seek restoration.

"General, it is better to call him 'Li Qian'." Li Qiwu said, "Although he is rebellious, the emperor has never denied his identity."

Dazalu Gong said: "I heard that the huge stone cannon used to attack Stone Castle was also made by him?"

"Yeah, I have to admit, he's a genius."

"In that case, why don't you pass the Tang Dynasty into his hands?"

Li Qiwu sighed and said, "Shall I tell you a story?"

"Okay." Dazaru said respectfully.

"Many years ago, I was the governor of Shan County and opened the Yellow River for shipping. I dug up auspicious signs in Taolin County and presented them to the emperor. The emperor was very happy about this and renamed Taolin County Lingbao and changed the reign title to 'Tianbao'. But after Li Qian became regent, the first thing he did was to issue an edict forbidding all places from offering auspicious signs. Li Qian also had a confidant named Hu Laishui, who was from Pinglu County on the other side of Taolin County. His parents were conscripted for labor and were swept away by the Yellow River. Hu Laishui hated me very much for this. After he gained power, he often spoke ill of me in front of Li Qian, wanting to get rid of me."

This story is very long. Although Dazha Lugong knows Chinese, he still has to think about it before he can understand it. In short, Li Qiwu and Xue Bai are not compatible.

But based on this alone, he still didn't dare to believe Li Qiwu, so Li Qiwu told a second story.

"During those years, I was an official outside and did not return to Chang'an. But I still have a large house in Chang'an, located in the best area of ​​Xuanyangfang, covering a large area, adjacent to the house of Lady Guoguo."

At this point, Li Qiwu also explained Yang Yuyao's identity to Dazha Lugong, and vividly described how Yang Yuyao competed with the dignitaries in Chang'an in terms of luxury, exaggerating it. Unfortunately, the power of words still cannot restore the prosperity of Chang'an that year.

"My house covers a vast area and is as luxurious as the Lady Guo's mansion."

When talking about this, Li Qiwu looked completely proud and was full of boasting.

Dazalugong was also very yearning after hearing this, and thought to himself that if one day he could march to the gates of Chang'an, he would definitely break into the city, rob all the gold, silk, and children, and return home with a full load.

"After Li Qian became regent, he issued an edict to forbid the nobles in Chang'an from competing with each other and restricted the specifications of the houses of officials. I had no choice but to sell my ancestral home. At that time, I knew that Li Qian was not on the same page with us. He was hypocritical and wanted to start with us in order to please the common people."

"Another incident happened before. During the Tianbao period, I was still the governor of Jingling County. I let my retainers live in my house in Chang'an. A candle was accidentally knocked over, and the fire spread to Lady Guo's mansion. At that time, Li Qian was there, and she and Lady Guo's sisters had a violent affair."

Dazha Lugong raised his eyebrows and asked, "How could that be? According to your Han etiquette, the seniority is not right, right?"

"At that time, Li Qian's identity had not yet been revealed." Li Qiwu said: "Besides, those shameless and despicable people didn't care about these things at all, and only thought with their lower body."

"You Tang people are so dirty."

Dazalugong made a comment and imagined the romantic life in Chang'an City, and a yearning arose in his heart.

Li Qiwu sneered twice and said, "In fact, the situation is far more dirty than the general thought. The 'sister' I just mentioned refers to Yang Taizhen, the favorite concubine of the emperor. That night, she happened to go out of the palace to meet Li Qian secretly. Because of the fire, she was trapped in the well of the ruins. It was because of this incident that the emperor began to suspect their affair."

"Since Li Qian became regent, not only has his confidant Hu Laishui slandered me in every possible way, but he is also dissatisfied with me because of the Yang sisters. He will not use me, and will definitely get rid of me sooner or later. Such a narrow-minded person must not be allowed to ascend the throne and take power no matter what."

After hearing this, Dazha Lugong understood more clearly the intrigues within the Li Tang royal family. Li Longji would rather unite with foreign enemies than let his lost grandson succeed to the throne. There were quite complicated grievances behind it.

Gao Hui had promised him that when he arrived in Chang'an, it would be a time when Emperor Tang Li Cong had just died and the court was in chaos. Now that Li Qiwu had arrived, through these secret stories, he understood the whole story better and had more confidence in the plan.

But at the same time, Dazha Lugong's original awe of the Tang Dynasty also faded, and he began to despise it. It turned out that the Tang emperor who was so powerful that he could shake the world was just a human with seven emotions and six desires.

"Don't worry, we have invited the general this time, and he will definitely help the emperor get rid of the evil grandson." The Han general riding on the other side said loudly.

He is Gao Hui, originally a general of Jingzhou, who has been secretly passing military intelligence to the Tubo army. In the previous battle, it was because of his intelligence that Dazalugong defeated Guo Ziyi's army and led Wang Nandi's troops to bypass elsewhere.

Li Qiwu once reported Gao Hui to Xue Bai, but Gao Hui was actually ready to flee. This self-torture trick once allowed Li Qiwu to gain Xue Bai's trust, and he contacted some dignitaries in Chang'an, including Li Chenghong, but was unfortunately discovered by Yan Quanming.

"When the time comes, Lord Tang must not forget the promised reward." Dazalugong laughed.

"Of course." Gao Hui and Li Qiwu responded in unison.

By the evening the army was very close to Pingliang City, one of the gateways to Chang'an.

Dazha Lugong ordered his troops to station troops at Hushan on the north bank of the Xijing River.

He was not in a hurry, but Li Qiwu was more anxious than him. When he heard that the camp had been set up, he immediately ran over to urge them to do so.

"General, what's going on? This place is only a few hundred miles away from Chang'an. If Li Qian's scouts find us, they can send a message at a speed of 500 miles and the news will be delivered to Chang'an in one day."

Dazalugong said: "You also know that it is a post letter for changing people and horses. My army cannot run like a post letter, the horses will explode. Since we can't fight to Chang'an in one day, it doesn't matter whether we arrive early or late."

"How can it be the same?" Li Qiwu said, "If we arrive one day earlier, the emperor can control the situation one day earlier."

"When your emperor died, the funeral procession took seven days. Our army has come all the way to Chang'an. Isn't that enough?"

"But if the news reaches Chang'an and Li Qian deploys defenses in advance, it will be difficult to fight."

Dazalu Gong said: "If the news reaches Chang'an, Li Qian's troops will be afraid and surrender to the emperor. If so, they don't even need to wait for us to arrive, and the mission will be accomplished."

Li Qiwu was secretly dissatisfied when he heard this, but he did not dare to show it on his face and remained silent.

He lingered for a while, stole a few glances at Dazalugong, and suddenly asked, "General, have you drunk?"

Dazalugong waved his hands, but he did seem a little confused and breathless, as if he was drunk.

He was not the only one feeling this way in the army. Many soldiers and herdsmen felt tired, weak, sleepy, dizzy, chest tightness and diarrhea. As they had lived on the plateau with thin air for many years, every time they went to a place with a lower altitude, they would feel a little drunk because they were not used to the rich air here.

On the contrary, every time the Tang army invaded Tubo, they often could not adapt to the thin air there.

This year he had already adapted to the height of Mount Long. Today he headed eastward, where the terrain became lower and lower. By the evening, Dazalugong had yawned several times.

"As you can see, our soldiers have been fighting for more than a year. Now they have to go to such a bad climate. They are exhausted."

Li Qiwu was stunned for a moment, wondering why the man was talking fine during the day but suddenly changed his attitude at night?

"General, what do you mean?"

Dazalugong half-closed his eyes and said casually: "This march is harder than expected."

Li Qiwu asked: "Then?"

"The Tang Dynasty is rich, and we helped the Emperor to suppress the rebellion, but we only got that little reward. The soldiers are very reluctant." Li Qiwu understood what Dazha Lugong meant and said, "In this case, I will ask the Emperor to give me another 20,000 pieces of silk. How about that?"

Dazha Lugong waved his hand lazily, and immediately a soldier unfolded a map and placed it in front of him.

He lightly pointed his finger at the locations of Anxi and Beiting on the map without saying anything.

Li Qiwu understood that this meant that the Tang Dynasty wanted to cede Anxi and Beiting.

He was in a dilemma, and stood there hesitating for a long time. Finally, he said, "This matter is not for me to decide. Why don't we wait until we get to Chang'an to report to the emperor and then discuss it?"

Dazalugong was not in a hurry, he smiled and said, "Okay."

Li Qiwu had no choice but to beg and plead with him, promising more gold, silver, jade and silk, and finally made Dazhalugong promise to arrive within five days.

After leaving the tent, he was angry and couldn't help cursing inwardly.

"You are such a jerk. I thought I didn't know what you, a barbarian, were up to. You thought you could get a reward from the emperor by sending troops to scare Li Qian. You are dragging your feet and want to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. You are a jerk who doesn't keep your word and has no knowledge of poetry, books or etiquette!"

Despite the criticism, Li Qiwu also believed that Dazha Lugong had grasped the schedule of the march just right. Advancing slowly while gathering news from Chang'an would indeed allow the Tubo army to proceed at ease and maximize their benefits.

It’s only a few days anyway, how could the situation change drastically?

Thinking about these things, Li Qiwu walked through the camp. Suddenly, his ears moved and he stopped.

He faintly heard the sound of a flute.

Being extremely sensitive to music, he immediately walked some distance in the direction of the sound. Gradually, he could hear the melodious and lingering sound of the flute, which was like a return to nature.

“Actually.”

Li Qiwu murmured, quickened his pace and continued to move forward.

He was surprised to hear such a wonderful flute music among these barbarians. In his opinion, there were only a few people in the world who could play the flute at such a high level.

The retired emperor, Prince Siqi, Li Guinian... Who ended up here?

As the sound of the flute got closer, the tents in front became more and more shabby, and there were even no tents. The slaves in dirty clothes lay on the ground, like stones blending into the space between heaven and earth.

Li Qiwu was a very elegant person. He liked tea, poetry, Zen, and music even more.

Because of this, he was one of the most beloved members of the royal family by Li Longji, but because of this, he was envied by Li Linfu and was banished to Jingling. Although he was unsuccessful in officialdom, his love for elegance came from his heart.

Walking through the land covered with cow dung, Li Qiwu finally saw the flute player.

He originally thought that it would be a famous person captured by the Tubo army, such as Dong Tinglan or Lei Haiqing.

But under the moonlight, what he saw was a thin figure.

It was a young man who was concentrating on playing his flute with his eyes closed. His breathing was as even as the breeze blowing through the mountains.

He was unaware of Li Qiwu's approach.

After the song ended, the boy raised his head and looked at the moon in the sky.

"I play the Qiang flute to listen to the moon over the mountains, without any worries in the golden boudoir thousands of miles away." Li Qiwu sighed.

The young man turned around, his eyes fearful, and asked, "Poetry?"

"what?"

Li Qiwu was stunned for a moment and unexpectedly discovered that the young man in front of him was actually a Tibetan and a slave.

He could hardly believe that such a beautiful flute music came from a Tibetan boy. But music is like this, it is the most talent-intensive thing in the world, and therefore the most precious.

"Tang poetry, it's Tang poetry, are you reading it?" the young man asked, his eyes full of longing.

"Do you like poetry?"

"Yes." The boy nodded vigorously.

Li Qiwu asked, "What's your name?"

"Nobutong."

"Who taught you that song just now?"

"No one taught me." Yebudong tried hard to speak the Chinese he knew, "I like to play the flute."

As he said this, he handed the flute in his hand to Li Qiwu.

What surprised Li Qiwu was that it was actually an extremely rough bone flute. The texture of the bones was not good and there were several cracks on it during the manufacturing process.

"Is this an eagle flute?" Li Qiwu said, "You call it 're'."

"Bone flute, the bones I picked up."

Li Qiwu smiled, handed back the bone flute, and took out a xun that he carried with him from his sleeve.

He nodded to Yebutong and then started playing a piece of music called "Qingbei Music" composed by Li Longji.

In terms of skills, he was much better than Yebutong, but this time, he knew that he could not immerse himself in the music as completely as Yebutong.

After the song, Li Qiwu handed the Xun to Ye Butong.

"Thank you."

Ye Budong was overjoyed, his eyes sparkling with surprise, but he asked, "Really?"

"Reward you."

This immediately became the most precious thing Yebudong owned. He quickly took it with both hands, put it to his lips and started playing without even wiping it.

It was also "Drinking Cup Music". He was very unskilled in playing it for the first time, and there were many mistakes and flaws. However, his music somehow had more emotion, something that was more touching.

Li Qiwu stroked his beard with satisfaction.

He had heard that some people from Anxi would go to the vast desert to look for gems. Although there was a high chance that they would become bones buried under the sand, there was also a very small chance of finding a priceless treasure.

This Tibetan boy, Yebudong, was the treasure he had found, and he planned to present him to the emperor.

To ask for a slave, Li Qiwu only needed to negotiate with the slave's owner. He bought Yebudong from Lang Jiezan for ten kilograms of tea.

"I can capture as many worthless slaves as I want. The tea that Tubo cannot grow is valuable." Lang Jiezan said.

After bringing Yebutong back, Li Qiwu called an interpreter and told Yebutong a story.

"When I was the governor of Jingling, I met a man who looked very much like you. He was born in a humble family and had an ugly appearance, but I could see his talent at first sight, the art of tea. With my appreciation, he has now become a world-famous tea master. Sooner or later, you will hear his name. His name is Lu Yu."

Ye Budong opened his mouth excitedly and said, "Lu Yu, the Tea Saint, I know."

This is a studious slave.

"You will be the next Lu Yu I discover."

"I don't know how to make tea."

"You can play." Li Qiwu said, "I will present you to the emperor. He will soon rule the country again, and you can become his favorite musician. Do you know the Liyuan?"

Ye Budong shook his head but was obviously very interested in this matter. He stared at him closely, his eyes shining and full of curiosity.

Li Qiwu couldn't help but smile, and patiently described what the Pear Garden was like and the prosperity of music during the Tianbao period.

Ye Budong was fascinated by what he heard and even trembled with excitement.

If he were Dazalugong, he would have tried his best to lead his troops eastward to help Li Longji restore the throne.

For a monarch with such superb musical skills, Yebudun felt that it was only natural to help him annex Tubo.

It's a pity that he is just a small slave.

It doesn't matter. Dazhalugong and Li Qiwu will handle those important matters, and he only needs to go to Chang'an to kowtow to the emperor.

The army marched forward again, and Yebudong was already full of anticipation.

However, three days later, news came from the front that was completely beyond the expectations of Dazha Lugong and Li Qiwu.

~~
"The Emperor of Tang and the Emperor Taishang have both passed away, and Li Qian has ascended the throne and become the Emperor..."

"what?!"

Li Qiwu screamed and fell to the ground.

He staked everything and made a bet, but in just one moment of opening, he lost everything. Unlike some gamblers, at least they lost slowly step by step and enjoyed the process.

Li Longji, Li Cong, Li Heng and Li Chu were all dead. He didn't even have anyone to turn to, and he couldn't gain Xue Bai's trust. Returning to Chang'an would only mean death.

Li Qiwu was no longer in the mood to listen to the intelligence. He was only thinking about his own future. After much deliberation, he decided to flee to Anxi.

However, just as he was about to open his mouth to make his request, Dazha Lugong suddenly stood up and issued a military order.

"Order the whole army to march immediately and attack Chang'an!"

Dazha Lugong suddenly changed his original unhurried attitude and did not plan to attack any counties along the way, but headed straight to Chang'an.

For him, he had previously been thinking of sitting back and watching, hoping to reap the benefits, but now that the result of the infighting in the Tang court has come out, he can seize the fruits of victory as quickly as possible.

"General, I want to go to Anxi for you..."

"Want to go?"

Dazha Lugong patted Li Qiwu on the shoulder and said, "You are also a member of the royal family of Li Tang. Do you want to be the emperor?"

"what?"

“I’m actually very far away…”

Before Li Qiwu could finish his words, he was taken away without even a chance to refuse.

Perhaps the news of the approaching Tubo army really scared Xue Bai.

The next day, news came back from the front again -

The Tang emperor personally led the army to fight against Dazalugong and had already marched past Liquan.

The two sides unexpectedly met on a narrow road under such unexpected circumstances...

(End of this chapter)