Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 308 Eat two fish for one fish

"Jie Shuai, this is..."

Brothers Wu Cheng'en and Wu Chengxun, nicknamed the "Two Dragons of the Yuanmen", looked at Fang Chongyong with confused expressions, recalling where they had seen each other before.

"The governor of Shazhou?"

Wu Chengxun suddenly remembered that after he defeated Tubo, he went to Liangzhou City to receive the reward, and seemed to have met Fang Chongyong at a banquet.

It's just that the other person was young back then, and his body seemed much thinner and shorter than now!

"Haha, thank you for remembering what happened back then. I have looked up to you two pioneers for a long time."

Fang Chongyong shook hands with the two of them and said.

"Fang Jie is handsome!"

Wu Chengen and Wu Chengxun knelt down and kowtowed, bursting into tears. How they got here in the past few years is unclear.

Longxi County, Xiangwu County and other places in the eastern part of Weizhou are the gateway to Guanzhong. This time Tubo made a sudden advance with partial forces, which really scared Ji Ge.

Fang Chongyong helped the two dragons of Yuanmen up again and said loudly, deliberately letting all the generals in the handsome tent hear!

Among them, the Tubo army captured Diezhou (Diebu County, Gansu). The Jishi army guarding Diezhou was defeated and retreated to Huaidao County, Danzhou (Zhouqu, Qinghai).

Theoretically speaking, if the soldiers of this Tibetan army are not afraid of death, and the Tang Dynasty is defeated in the next key battle, then this partial division already has the capital to fight to Guanzhong and make a leisurely trip to Chang'an!

The Tubo people invaded three states, and Weizhou was in danger, which made Brother Ji angry.

After analyzing the military situation, Wang Zhongsi chose to concentrate his forces to defend the front line of Shibao City, and then barely managed to keep Shanzhou intact.

Fortunately, Wang Zhongsi saved Shibao City, otherwise he would most likely have been immediately dismissed by Brother Ji and investigated!

Not only that, Li Linfu's shortcomings in military affairs were infinitely magnified this time. Facing the defeat at Longyou's front line, he was slapped with a confused face by Brother Ji. Li Linfu was stunned and couldn't say a single word of defense.

In Longyou, the Tang army itself suffered from the disadvantages of geographical advantage and division of troops. The Tubo army can be mobilized at will on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and attack wherever they choose. The defense zone of the Longyou Jiedushi is naturally divided into three by the mountains!

This is also the main reason why in Fang Chongyong's previous life, after An Lushan's rebellion, Brother Ji also killed An Sishun.

In fact, it's just average, not a big problem.

The Tubo army pursued them relentlessly and attacked Minzhou again.

The remnants of the Momen Army integrated a small number of border troops in Minzhou. After a short rest, they did not defend the city. Instead, they took the initiative to move to the Longma Mountain area at the junction of Minzhou and Weizhou. They defeated the Tibetan pursuers at Longma Mountain and beheaded 5,000 people. .

As for why these two people refused to leave the military camp and go home to live in seclusion?

Because the Wushi family in Liangzhou is a local wealthy family, if they go home and live in seclusion, wouldn't it be true for the rumors of "family rebellion"?

"We are going to attack Tibet soon, and you two will be the vanguard.

If you are killed in this battle, this commander will erect a monument for you!

Wrapped in horse leather, wouldn't it be a happy death for a man to die in his proper place? "

Who told An Sishun's uncle to have a second marriage with a son (that is, An Lushan)!

This principle also applies to Yuanmen Erlong.

Today we only have pickles and tofu, so you can just eat that.

Once you're in battle, just charge forward without worrying about anyone sharing the credit for your efforts. "

When the time comes, the family will have to rebel even if they don’t!

Only if the two of them continue to serve in the army as ordinary soldiers and are willing to take the blame can they prove that the Wu family has no other intentions.

"please!"

Without thinking, Yuanmen Erlong grabbed the tofu with his hands and stuffed it into his mouth. He felt that the tofu on the plate was salty, smooth and tender, and tasted extremely wonderful!

The Tubo army was beaten hard and had to return to Minzhou Prefecture to govern Minle County. The Momen Army continued to set up defenses and camps in the Longma Mountain area to prevent the Tibetan army from attacking Weizhou.

After Tubo is conquered, we will be bold and generous men, drink from big bowls together, and eat big chunks of meat! Have fun! "

On the other hand, the Tubo army stormed Taozhou (Lintan County, Gansu Province) where 7,000 Momen troops were stationed. The two armies fought bloody battles at the foot of Wulu Mountain for three days, leaving corpses everywhere. Finally, the Momen army retreated to Minzhou (Minxian County, Gansu).

This scene was watched by everyone in the handsome tent, and their expressions ranged from admiration to confusion. Some people seem to have seen Guo Zhiyun, who was so powerful in Longyou back then; others remain calm, as if nothing happened.

He Changqi put a few pieces of tofu on two plates respectively, walked over and handed them to Yuanmen Erlong, and then quietly stepped aside.

If you are the first in this battle, the commander of this section will promote you to the vanguard of the war!

"Yuanmen Erlong, you have eaten in the same pot as so many generals in the Hexi frontier army.

Tubo's 400,000 troops divided into three groups to attack the Longyou Jiedushi defense area, focusing on Shibao City.

Rebellions usually involve the whole family, and it is safer to kill them. Even if there are unjust killings, they don't care so much.

……

"He Laohu, give the two civilians a vanguard march!

Is there something wrong with Wang Zhongsi's arrangement?

The two sides faced off near Longma Mountain, and the situation in western Weizhou was precarious.

Fang Chongyong pointed at the gurgling cauldron, laughed loudly, and said cheerfully.

Fang Chongyong personally took the plates that the two had finished and encouraged them.

As for the other two routes, the Tubo army was overwhelmingly powerful and bullied the Tang army's small number of soldiers, and both made considerable progress.

In the study room of the main building of Xingqing Palace, Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty threw a frontline battle report directly into the face of Right Minister Li Linfu!

Although the Tibetan army was weak, and the road ahead was rugged and required climbing over mountains and ridges, it was unable to support the logistics of a large army. But after all, the Tubo people had penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty this time and penetrated the defense zone of the Longyou Jiedushi.

"The humble position will never let down the high expectations of Commander-in-Chief!"

Wu Cheng'en and Wu Chengxun knelt on the ground and kowtowed, making a thumping sound like pounding garlic.

"What does Wang Zhongsi do for a living? Does he still want to continue working as the governor of Longyou?

Gonu! What do you think I should do now?

Are we just going to watch the Tubo people conquer cities and territories in our Tang Dynasty? "

Li Linfu asked himself, even if he was in Shanzhou, he would not be able to change the situation. Diezhou, Taozhou, and Minzhou are all lower states of the Tang Dynasty. They have a large number of impoverished counties and few border residents.

The Tang army deployed heavy troops to guard it, but it was actually just to block the Tibetan people's route into Guanzhong.

But even in these three useless places, the living conditions are much better than those on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where the Tubo people live, so the Tibetan army's fighting will is very high. After autumn every year, the Tibetan people need to spend the winter in low altitude and warm and humid places.

Fighting and aggression are their hard needs for survival.

Therefore, Longyou Town suffered a loss in this confrontation, which is just a daily battle in the border towns. Brother Ji is angry entirely because of his mentality of "I am the best in the world".

But when it comes to military affairs, if you don’t understand, you just don’t understand, and you can barely pretend to understand. When something goes wrong, it’s not that easy to blame someone!

As an old coin, how could Li Linfu be so hard on Brother Ji?

He crossed his arms and saluted Brother Ji, and said slowly: "The former general of the Shence Army was virtuous, brave and good at fighting. He repeatedly performed extraordinary feats and was trusted by saints.

Now, the sage asked him to serve as the governor of Xuanwu Army, and the edict to be sent to Bianzhou is still on the desk of Weichen.

Originally Wei Chen planned to wait until the saint's birthday this year before letting General Fang go to Bianzhou so that he could celebrate the saint's birthday in Chang'an.

Now we can move forward and let General Fang lead the Shence Army to Weizhou in the name of Xuanwu Town. After repelling the Tubo people, he can then go to Bianzhou to take up his post. "

Li Linfu, who didn't understand military affairs, understood Brother Ji's thoughts very well.

Today's Brother Ji just wants the world to be stable and prosperous. If prosperity cannot be achieved, stability must be maintained without any hassle.

The Tubo people invaded Weizhou, which made Brother Ji, who was in charge of Chang'an, feel unsafe. That's why the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty became angry!

As for why the soldiers and horses in Hexi were not mobilized, it was because...there were no airborne troops in this era, and it was impossible to build tunnels deep in the mountains. The Hexi Qiuba people could not cross hundreds of kilometers of mountains with no mountain roads and an altitude of more than 2,000 meters!

The Hexi soldiers could only barely support Shanzhou, and could not support Diezhou, Taozhou, and Minzhou in the southernmost part of the Longyou Jiedushi defense zone. This was also the tricky part of the Tibetan troops. They know where the Tang army is more powerful, so they won't give it away in vain even if they know they can't get a bargain, even if they are not afraid of death.

"That's okay."

Brother Ji sighed helplessly, no matter which emperor he was, he would only hate the lack of people when they are needed. These two groups of Tibetan armies just hit the upper limit of their strength against the Tang army. Their purpose was to allow Wang Zhongsi to move his troops southward and weaken the defense strength of Shibao City.

Wang Zhongsi also saw the Tubo people's intentions, so he concentrated most of his main forces on the Shanzhou front line and did not fall for the trick. The other two routes each have an army from Longyou Town, one with 4,000 people and the other with 7,000 people. They cannot yet support each other.

Trying to push back the Tibetan army numbering "ten thousand people" would be as difficult as climbing to the sky!

Now Tang Jun only needs a new force to revitalize the chess game.

Of course, this army cannot be the frontier army in Hexi. They are either from Guanzhong or Jiannan.

Not to mention the few soldiers in Jiannan Town, the mountain roads are still rugged and difficult to navigate, so they are obviously unable to carry out the military order to support Longyou. Therefore, the Shence Army's westward expedition to Longnan was actually just "a choice that was not a choice" and had no choice at all.

"The matter of Jiaozi must be dealt with in advance. Don't wait for my birthday. Soldiers cost money. It's time to send Jiaozi."

Brother Ji said to Li Linfu in a deep voice, no longer wanting to discuss war-related topics with him.

Anyway, Fang Youde hasn't left Chang'an yet, so he can just say hello to Li Linfu after he leaves Xingqing Palace.

"Back to Saint, we are already taking care of the matter of Jiaozi. It has been raining continuously for more than a month now, and Guanzhong is likely to be flooded this year. Do you want to use the Green Seedling Method..."

Li Linfu asked with a troubled face.

In a year of severe floods, the harvest is bound to fail. If the harvest fails, a large number of homesteaders will go bankrupt this year.

The so-called "green crop method" should be further investigated and piloted in a certain state or county that produces a lot of grain. However, looking at this situation, it is estimated that one farmer after another will go bankrupt in the Guanzhong area this year.

In the Tang Dynasty, being the prime minister was originally a game of "beating drums and passing flowers". The prime minister's term is about four years. As long as there are no problems during his tenure, he will have a good reputation. But Li Linfu couldn't play drums and pass flowers, because he had been the right prime minister for so many years and would continue to be the right minister. He was always the last one to beat the drums and pass flowers.

Instead of bringing up the Young Crops Law when something goes wrong and offering low-interest Jiaozi loans to farmers to save their land, it would be better to propose it now before Jiaozi is implemented to appear to be "foresighted."

If Brother Ji nods, if something happens in the future, it will not be his responsibility!

If Brother Ji denies it, Li Linfu will bring up Qingmiao Loan again after something big happens, and he will get twice the result with half the effort!

What a win!

“Of course we have to lend young people loans!

Ge Nu, Ge Nu, do you still need me to remind you about this kind of thing? You should have been prepared a long time ago! "

Brother Ji scolded him with a displeased look on his face! It seems that he has seen through the other party's little thoughts!

"The lesson from the sage is correct. Then I asked Liu Yan to speed up the process, send out the handouts in advance, and arrange the promotion of the Green Miao Method in advance."

Li Linfu said with a smile on his face and a low eyebrow.

"Go! We must not delay the matter of military expenditures.

Before the Shence army goes out to fight, the reward must be sufficient! All rations and weapons must be prepared!

This time I will kill as many Tubo people as they come, and none of them will be allowed to escape! "

Brother Ji said fiercely, his expression was similar to that of an incompetent and furious old man who lost a game of chess on the street.

Brother Ji actually doesn't care whether the Qiuba people in the border army are living well or not, whether they are happy or not. But he was very afraid that Weizhou would be captured by the Tubo army and the gates of Guanzhong would be opened wide. That would be great fun!

Bai Juyi wrote "today the border defense is in Fengxiang", that is because after experiencing the Anshi Rebellion, the vitality of the Tang Dynasty was severely damaged and could not stop the Tubo people;

If Li Bai writes something like "Today the border guard is in Fengxiang" in the near future, Brother Ji will really be upset.

"Wei Chen will definitely handle it well."

Li Linfu bowed without changing his expression, turned around and exited the study. After I came out, I found that my back was completely wet with cold sweat.

In fact, during the Kaiyuan period, the Tang army made a bigger joke, and some Jiedushi envoys were killed by the formation. At that time, Ji Ge took it indifferently, because he was sure that he could completely control the situation, and he was not a Tubo man at all.

But now, Brother Ji has become irritable and anxious. The Tubo people attacked Weizhou, which made him panic.

Is he really afraid of the Tubo people? Li Linfu silently asked himself a question that he didn't dare to think about in detail.

……

“The entrance to the Dadou Valley is where the Dadou Army is stationed.

The exit of Dadou Valley is Ebaoling! On the Ebao Ridge, the Tubo people built a city and stationed heavy troops in the city.

After conquering Ebao Ridge, we can attack the Tibetan horse herding land from a commanding position. "

On a tattered map, Fang Chongyong picked up the charcoal pen, drew a circle in the shape of a certain hill, and said to the generals around him.

This sentence is actually correct, or it is extremely correct. It is a classic "correct nonsense".

The key to defeating Tubo in this battle lies in Ebao Ridge. Everyone present knows it. They don't even need to look at the map to know what is going on there.

The logistics base where the Tubo people are located is also the target for Fang Chongyong and his team to attack this time. It is a valley and high platform terrain. The Tubo people have a wooden village here but no city.

The Ebao Ridge is at the top, and the valley is at the bottom, next to the river. There are cultivated land and grassland here, where you can grow food and graze livestock at the same time, providing a large amount of food and grass for the Tibetan army.

This area is higher than the area where Dadou Army is located, but it is lower than the altitude of the narrow mountain road in Dadou Valley.

If the Tang army wanted to attack here, the march route would show three adjacent areas: "lowest - highest - higher". To put it simply, climbing over a mountain is difficult, but once you have climbed over the mountain, it is not difficult.

And Ebao Ridge is right at the top of the mountain! Still guarding the exit of Dadou Bugu! After passing Ebao Ridge, it is a smooth road!

There is no need to say whether the Ebao Ridge is the winner of the battle. The key lies in: How did the Tang army win the Ebao Ridge, which was heavily guarded by the Tubo people?

All the generals looked at Fang Chongyong without saying anything.

"No need to worry too much, the commander in this section already has a strategy to defeat the enemy.

Let the soldiers have enough to eat and drink today, and bring dry food for seven days.

Tomorrow morning, we will set off for Ebaoling!

I'm very busy tonight, I still have some preparations to do, so let's get going. "

Fang Chongyong seemed to deliberately not tell others the key to breaking the situation in order to prevent the news from leaking.

In his opinion, this battle is about quickness and superiority of troops. To defeat Tubo, you don't need to waste time with the opponent at all. It only takes one night to decide the winner!

(End of this chapter)