Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 257 Putting aside the facts, there is nothing wrong with you?
  Later experiments have proven that in the process of conveying something orally, information will inevitably be omitted and distorted. Especially for people with lower education levels, the information will be more distorted when oral.

As information ferments among the crowd, it often does not necessarily develop in the direction expected by the person who spreads the information, and is likely to go in a strange direction.

Fang Chongyong's original intention was to let the personnel selected by each army see with their own eyes that Lanzhou's treasury was full, so that after they returned to Shanzhou, they could tell the actual situation to all armies, so as to stabilize the morale of the army.

But Fang Yanei ignored that this was the Tang Dynasty, and the education level of the Qiu Ba people was very low.

Unless they are specially trained messengers who can convey the general's words intact, these Qiu Ba will tell others what they have seen and thought, add some exaggeration and jealousy.

Thought it was a good conversation piece.

At first, when the Qiu Ba people who went to Lanzhou to visit the treasury returned to the army, they all made a big announcement: There were countless silks and silks in the treasury in Lanzhou, piled up like mountains. The granary is full of grain, and even the mice in the granary are full of fat.

Generally speaking, these people are saying that the imperial court is very rich and there is absolutely no problem with military pay and so on.

Because the information conveyed by these people was similar, they could verify each other. In addition, the [-] silks shipped back were indeed distributed, and each person received two pieces of silk.

Everyone is quite satisfied.

The two bolts of silk are a bit missing, but the sincerity is there.

Therefore, all the soldiers and generals in Longyou have no doubt that the imperial court will replenish the military pay in the future.

This is also the original intention of Fang Chongyong's empty city plan.

But the news changed as it spread.

Originally, all the troops in Longyou, especially the lower-level soldiers, were already very dissatisfied with the imperial court's arrears of military pay from time to time.

Military envoys from various armies also said daily, such as "Longyou transportation is difficult", "Many places in the court require money", "The saint has tried his best", etc. In short, they emphasized that the court was very difficult, money was needed everywhere, and the saint was already poor. I can't even ride a carriage or take a bath in a hot spring, blah blah!

Therefore, we frontier soldiers must be considerate of the court and the saints. Originally, there was no war to fight, and it was not unusual to be in arrears with military pay.

The country still supports you when there is no war. Aren't saints unkind? You have been fishing all day long, so ask yourself, how many Tubo people have you killed in the past few years without fighting?

Putting aside the facts, there is nothing wrong with you?
  Arguments like this always leave dumb people at the bottom speechless.

Therefore, although the lower ranks of the Longyou Army were dissatisfied, they could only suppress their anger. Who told us not to fight now? Without war, the value of soldiers cannot be reflected. This is also an objective law.

But this time, what did everyone see? The treasury in Lanzhou is full of money and silk! It’s not that the court has no money at all, it’s that it doesn’t want to give it at all!
  Damn it, you obviously have money, but you don’t pay it! It's really too much! There are tens of thousands of soldiers on the right side of Longxi, but they are only given [-] pieces of silk to send out beggars!
  If you don’t have money and can’t pay the military, it’s unfair to use your strength. If you have money but you don’t pay the military, that’s subjective malice!

Its heart is awkward!

Under Fang Chongyong's showy manipulation, the dissatisfaction among Longyou's army became even more serious! If it hadn't been for the cancellation of the Anren Army's designation, the shock effect would have been too great. I'm afraid that the second mutiny of the Longyou Army would have come like a tsunami!
  Even so, the complaints from the grassroots soldiers continued to reach the ears of the military envoys.

In desperation, envoys from various armies, including Wang Nannan, Ge Shuhan, Gai Jiayun and others, once again gathered at the Yamen of Longyou Jiedu Mansion.

Fang Chongyong specially called Gao Xiuyan, explained the situation to everyone, and emphasized that this was part of the "strategy of war."

Money needs to be distributed, and morale needs to be encouraged!

After all, no one would "feed" the soldiers before starting a war, right?

Soldiers who have received generous rewards will only try their best to protect themselves on the battlefield, worrying about making money but not spending their lives. This truth is indeed common sense, and Wang Nan and others have nothing to say.

To put it bluntly, after Fang Chongyong promised that the court would give him a large reward when the war was over, these people reluctantly returned to the armies and explained the situation to the generals at all levels.

Finally the matter was dealt with.

However, matters within the Longyou Army are easy to deal with. After all, there are many ways to operate. But Fang Chongyong had absolutely no influence on the affairs of the Tubo people.

The pace of war continued and steadily moved forward without stopping.

Information from the scouts ahead is constantly gathering. The Tibetans are hoarding heavy troops in the northwest and southwest directions. Naturally, these people are not coming to the Hehuang Valley to see the scenery!
  According to Fang Chongyong's estimation, this time the Tibetans probably wanted to launch a "pincer offensive" to attack the Tang army in the Hehuang Valley from the northwest and southwest, concentrate their superior forces on a battle of annihilation, and cut off the connection between the Hehuang Valley and Lanzhou!
  Time passed day by day, and the selection of the Tianwei Army was also in full swing.

As Fang Chongyong's previous strategy of "looking at plum blossoms to quench thirst" began to ferment, countless people from all armies signed up enthusiastically, and the selection was extremely fierce, even to the point of choosing one from three.

Because the registration was so enthusiastic, Fang Chongyong visited in private and learned the inside story.

It turned out that the sergeants of each army no longer had any hope of receiving additional rewards, and they did not even believe that the imperial court would make up for all the arrears of military pay.

They agreed that the imperial court would continue to implement the existing "elite first" strategy and ensure that a group of elite troops were fully paid in the face of limited supplies. Give the remaining "Teletubbies" as much as you can, as long as they don't starve to death.

The Tianwei Army is obviously an elite field army that gathers the best of all Longyou armies, the latest among the new.

It’s no surprise that registrations have been overwhelming.

These days, no one at the bottom wants to be a Long March athlete just to stand out. Everyone just wants to earn a living. Being a soldier is nothing more than food. There is no such complicated truth. Family, country, world, etc. are far away from them.

After learning the true thoughts of these Qiuba people, Fang Chongyong had to sigh with emotion for the simple survival wisdom of the people at the bottom. In fact, they guessed correctly, the future development path of the Tang Dynasty army was indeed like this.

With productivity stagnating or even regressing, and military expenditures being cut, only a small number of elite soldiers can live a better life. Therefore, at the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, elite soldiers emerged in endlessly, and one was equivalent to ten.

Now, on the contrary, the senior generals in the Tang army are still dreaming of the Spring and Autumn Period, believing that the Tang Dynasty can continue to expand its territory in the future, and they can also gain promotion channels through continuous expansion and continue to climb up.

……

More than ten days later, the five Lun brothers returned to Shanzhou with a team of people, accompanied by Cen Shen and others.

In order to celebrate their success and go on their way, Fang Chongyong took out the few kilograms of pepper that Brother Ji had given him and added them to the mutton ingredients. After smearing the mutton with butter, he separated it from the tempeh and added it to a sheet. Inside the huge pancake, bake it in the oven.

The baked biscuits have an extremely strong flavor and are extremely delicious.

This famous Chang'an dish called "Gulouzi" is not that unusual. It can be made anywhere, but it requires more tools.

The only necessary material was pepper, which was extremely rare and valuable at this time. If there is no pepper, this dish will lose its soul, so don’t eat it.

The five Lun brothers were in Wuwei, Liangzhou, which was a transit station on the Silk Road. Naturally, there was no shortage of pepper brought by the Hu merchants in the past, so they didn't feel strange. It feels even more intimate to be able to eat Gulouzi now.

However, Cen Shen has lived such a long life and has only eaten pepper a handful of times, so she has long forgotten the spicy taste. Gulouzi, which is expensive and difficult to make, is not something he can afford to eat every day, even without pepper.

Now that he could have an authentic ancient meal at the Yamen of Longyou Jiedu Mansion, Cen Shen was so excited that he shed tears of happiness. He didn’t know if it was because Fang Chongyong tried his best to add pepper to the mutton. Others thought he was It's because the heat is so intense that I can't stand it.

"Fang Jieshuai, when can we take action?"

After drinking for three rounds and everyone was almost half full, Lun Weizhen, the oldest of the five Lun brothers, asked Fang Chongyong.

"It's almost time."

Fang Zhongyong put down the wine glass in his hand, pondered for a moment and said.

His strategy of "pacifying the soldiers" backfired. The resentment in the army was even greater than before. This battle was a timely battle. Even if he was not fully prepared, he had to bite the bullet and go into it.

"Fang Jieshuai, will the Tubo people not be fooled?"

Cen Shen asked doubtfully. Not for anything else, the main reason is that Fang Chongyong's plan is too outrageous. It is not a bad idea that a normal person can come up with.

"Don't worry, Judge Cen, the Tubo people will definitely be fooled!"

Before Fang Chongyong could speak, Lun Huaiyi, one of the five Lun brothers, interrupted.

He was afraid that Cen Shen and Fang Chongyong would not believe it, so he continued to add:
  “There are many mountains in Tubo, and the plundered goods can be distributed independently among the Dongdai, with clear rights and responsibilities.

This time, Jieshuai was trying to lure a partial division of the Tibetan army into action. If this part of the Tubo army succeeds, they will be able to monopolize the looted goods.

This is absolutely beneficial to strengthening Dongdai's strength. They will definitely be tempted to take action. "

On Huaiyi explained to everyone.

This statement is convincing.

Within Tubo, "Ru" is similar to a military district. One Ru is responsible for ten Dongdai, and Dongdai is similar to the military palace of the Tang Dynasty.

However, there are some differences in the nature of Dongdai and Ru.

There are many people in Dongdai who belong to Ruxia, who have had feuds with each other for hundreds of years. Only Dongdai can unite as one and control the military and civil affairs.

This will cause a big problem, that is, in every war, how to distribute the spoils and how to send troops cannot be coordinated by all parties. The "Da Lun" around Tubo can only organize and smooth out the various mountains. His duties are similar to the "March" of the Tang Dynasty. General Manager".

The Great Treatise itself held the position of prime minister in Tubo, and was in charge of military affairs and operations, etc., and had great power.

This will cause the big talk to pose a fatal threat to Tubo Zampu! There were frequent conflicts with Tubo Zanpu, resulting in disunity in military orders.

Since the superstructure of Tubo is relatively poor, but the grassroots organization is very strong, from time to time there will be Dongdai who bypass military law and combat deployment and act privately to seek the interests of Dongdai.

Fang Chongyong's plan this time was not to let the Tubo lectures change the combat policy, but to attract a certain group of Tibetans to take action without authorization and start a "secret war" without destroying the peace agreement between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet.

The Tubo people would not say it when they were beaten, and they would not say it if the Tang army took advantage. To be clear, everything is the fault of the party members!

"In this way, tomorrow you will lead the troops to Xingxuchuan and act according to the plan. At that time, someone will set off the fire as a signal, and I will personally lead the five thousand cavalry of the Lintao Army to support you."

Fang Zhongyong drank the wine in the glass and said.

After sending everyone away and returning to the bedroom, Fang Chongyong extinguished the candles without any explanation and threw Pei Xiu down on the bed. The two lingered on the bed for most of the night, then hugged each other and fell asleep.

……

On the grassland in the north of Xingxuchuan, groups of sheep are grazing. From a distance, they look like white waves.

In the memory of uninformed outsiders, Zhang Shouyu, who had been executed and was now in a "state of death", led dozens of his men, posing as leisurely herdsmen, grazing here.

What they are doing now is very dangerous, which is to lure the Tibetans from the north of Xingxuchuan to the grasslands north of Datong City, and then go south to plunder food.

Of course, it is not ruled out that the Tibetans would be bold enough to occupy Datong City and stay here without leaving. Although this possibility is relatively small.

"Brother, do you think Jieshuai's plan will work?"

A former Anren sergeant, also dressed as a herdsman, came over on horseback and asked.

"Nothing will work, just do it."

Zhang Shouyu waved his hand obediently and said.

How could he know if it would work? He had never seen anyone more outrageous than Fang Chongyong! The plan of such an outrageous person can only be said to be extremely terrifying if you think about it carefully.

"Brother, it's been three days and the Tibetans haven't come yet. Do you think they will stop coming?"

The talkative soldier asked again.

As soon as he finished speaking, smoke and dust billowed in the distance and came straight towards the sheep!

There is no need to elaborate on this situation! Zhang Shouyu was extremely excited!
  "The Tubo people are coming, run! Run!"

Zhang Shouyu shouted!

After saying that, he rode his horse and ran wildly in the direction of Datong City.

His soldiers, who were on death row, also ran along, completely ignoring the grazing sheep and wanting to run as fast as they could.

Groups of Tibetan cavalry did not stop at all when passing by the sheep, and did not bother to care. They directly chased Zhang Shouyu and the others.

The herdsmen always have a place to live, and the grazing sheep cannot escape. He rushed to the herdsmen's residential area, robbed their belongings, and then drove the sheep northward on the return trip. This private work was completed.

The leader of the Tubo army was the Tubo general Shang Yexi, who was born among the top nobles of Tubo.

The "Shang" family and the "Lun" family are two powerful factions in Tubo respectively. The "Lun" family includes the former Lun Qinling (Gar Chizheng Zanzhuo) family, while the "Shang" family is the Tubo Zanpu family. of maternal relatives.

The Tubo great Lun Wei Kilixu who led the troops this time is the current leader of the "Lun" department. Zanpu's paternal family was the Qu family and the Luo family, which had been jointly eliminated by the Lun family and the Shang family decades ago.

At present, Tubo is in a state of "political alliance", and whoever has the ability speaks.

Since Kilixu is leading the army, of course the people of the Shang family will not be so obedient. They didn't mind causing some trouble for Kilix while they were full. This group of soldiers and horses is a partial division of the Tubo Army, intending to attack Shanzhou from Xingxuchuan, and belongs to the Northern Route Army.

The main force of the Tubo army was the Tuyuhun Old Road who walked on the front line of Shibao City and belonged to the Southern Route Army.

Although Fang Chongyong's original estimate was lacking in reasons, the effect was exactly right.

Shang Yexi led [-] light cavalry and attacked Datong City. After discovering that the city was abandoned, they were unwilling to divide their troops and garrison them. Instead, they went south along the Xingxu River and attacked the Heyuan Army station. They planned to grab a handful and run away. Anyway, the cavalry came and went like the wind, and they were not afraid of the large Tang army that was slow to respond.

The alert Shang Yexi suddenly felt that something was not right!

It went so smoothly without any obstacles.

Is the intelligence true and the Longyou Tang Army really fell into chaos due to internal strife?

The arrow was on the string and had to be fired. Shang Yexi saw the smoke being lit in the south, and his heart suddenly fell to the ground.

This is only right. If you don't light up the smoke when you are attacked by a sneak attack, that would be wrong.

Shang Yexi led his troops into the village north of Shancheng, but was surprised to find that there was no one in the village. But it looks like all the belongings in the house are still there and the barn is full.

He immediately ordered a food grab. The well-trained Tubo cavalry immediately divided their forces, loaded the food, hung the bags on the horses, and then fled north as fast as possible!

Tang Jun will definitely suffer this dumb loss!
  Shang Yexi didn't want to fight Tang Jun head-on at all, he just earned it if he grabbed it.

(End of this chapter)