Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 438 Where in life do we not meet each other

Hun Yao, like Pugu Huai'en, is also from the Tiele tribe, but he is a "Hun tribe". His father Hunshi had served as the governor of Shuofang, and his position in Shuofang's army was very unusual.

Compared with Pugu Huai'en, Hun Yao got along much better in Shuofang's army. After all, the Pugu tribe now needs to prove their "loyalty", while the Hun tribe has already proven its loyalty very early on and is regarded as "one of its own" by the Tang Dynasty.

Hun Yao has an even appearance, a short stature and a bit stocky. His Chinese character face is full of traces of wind and sun, and his face looks a bit old.

After seeing Fang Chongyong and Yan Zhenqing, he just clasped his fists and saluted very reservedly: "Greetings to Fang Jieshuai and Yan Xianggong. The last general is here to lead the army into Lingzhou. Li Jieshuai and his party are ready to hand over the seal and Here is Li Jieshuai’s personal letter.”

Hun Yao took out a letter from his arms and handed it to He Changqi, who handed it to Fang Chongyong.

This letter may have been written by Li Guozhen, but Fang Chongyong did not recognize his handwriting anyway. He could only confirm from the seal that it was from Shuofang Jiedushi.

However, the content of the letter is very concise and very humble.

Li Guozhen said that he knew that he had made a big mistake and was willing to return to the court to accept punishment. Shuofang Jiedu entrusted Fang Chongyong to deal with all matters in the government office.

The letter was given to Yan Zhenqing, who, after reading it, was completely speechless, just like Fang Chongyong.

You might say that Li Guozhen and others are good officials, but they are doing a lot of work at the border and have no idea how to end it.

But if you want to say that they are "bad officials", these two people are not doing things for their own career. They are also fighting for military glory for the officers and soldiers of Shuofang Army.

Without enemies, where would military success come from? Is it an accident that you want to deal with the Huihe people?

The deep meaning is really sad.

"If Shuai doesn't go in this section, are you going to detain me and force me to Lingzhou City?"

Fang Chongyong asked meaningfully.

Hearing this, Hun Yao was so frightened that he quickly folded his hands and saluted, saying, "Commander Jie is joking, but I never meant it!"

"Well, then you can go back and resume your duties. Let's just say that this section commander will go to the Feng'an Army station to inspect."

Feng'an Army?
Hun Yao didn't understand Fang Chongyong's brain circuit for a while.

How could he go back to life? He is here to lead the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army!

Because he was worried that Fang Chongyong would "think too much", Li Guozhen specially asked military envoys from the Economic Strategy Army to come and greet him. This was a great honor.

Seeing that Hun Yao still looked confused, Fang Chongyong patiently explained: "The commander is here for the first time in this section and is inspecting the defense area. Is there any problem with this?"

"No problem, no problem, it's the general who was rude."

Hun Yao was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and quickly apologized and left.

After he left, Yan Zhenqing asked: "Li Guozhen wrote such a letter. It seems that there is no accident in taking over Shuofang Town. Why not just go with the flow and go to Lingzhou City?"

"Well, Mr. Yan can go on his own, but I won't go anyway."

Fang Chongyong said with a mysterious smile, unwilling to reveal his inner plan.

Lingzhou, that is a group of howling Qiu Ba, who have planned to completely fall out with the Uighurs and use the heads of the Uighurs as a ladder to military success.

No matter which Jiedu envoy goes there, he will be coerced by those people. Shuo Fang's army wants to fight, but is Fang Zhong brave enough not to fight?

What to do if those Qiu Ba rebel?
You know, blocking people's way of making money is like killing your parents! Why can't Yan Zhenqing see through such a simple truth?

Fang Chongyong secretly wondered in his mind that compared with Lao Zheng, Lao Yan still lacked a little bit of vigilance in plotting!

"It's better than this. It won't work without handing over the responsibilities. Why don't your Highness go to Feng'an Army Station and I go to Lingzhou City to take charge of the handover of duties.

What do you think, Your Highness? "

Yan Zhenqing asked tentatively.

"That's fine. I'll ask my subordinate to record affairs and join the army, Feng Changqing, and lead five hundred people to escort you to your post."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly.

Yan Zhenqing gave him such face and was willing to take responsibility, so Fang Chongyong naturally wanted to give him this face.

"Hey, there's no need. There are a lot of Shuofang's troops in Lingzhou. If they make trouble, even three thousand people can't stop them. It's better to send a few of them to their posts to reassure them."

Yan Zhenqing obviously didn't think that Bian Zhenqiu Ba could do anything.

The impression in his mind was that the central authority of the Tang Dynasty was at its peak, commanding the border towns like an arm. As for those border town generals, Qiu Ba, they would definitely have no choice but to listen to whatever the central government said.

In this case, why do we need hundreds of people accompanying us as escorts?

Fang Chongyong was speechless and had to give up trying to persuade Yan Zhenqing.

There was no talking all night, and at dawn the next day, the two parted ways.

Fang Chongyong led the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army westward along the Yellow River, preparing to go to the Feng'an Army garrison. And Yan Zhenqing took more than ten of his subordinate officials to Lingzhou City, preparing to succeed Zhang Qiqiu as the Shuofang camp envoy, and Jiedu stayed behind.

……

The station of Feng'an Army is Feng'an City. This city is on the north bank of the Yellow River. To the south is the Yellow River for easy access to water, and to the north is the vast desert.

From Wulanguan to Lingzhou, you must travel along the Yellow River. The places farther north are either Gobi or desert, and cannot maintain the water and food necessary for the journey. To go to Lingzhou, you must pass through Feng'an City.

This city is almost on the only road from Hexi to Lingzhou. The Feng'an Army set up a card here to collect tolls to make up for the lack of military expenditure. To a certain extent, it is a self-contained system.

Two days later, Fang Chongyong arrived at Feng'an City with three thousand soldiers and horses under his command.

Before they crossed the pontoon bridge, they saw dozens of Shuofang troops waiting at the ferry south of the pontoon bridge, seemingly to lead the army across the river.

The Hetao area is the territory of Shuofang Army, and the Yinqian Xiaojie Army has 3,000 people. For such a conspicuous target, if the local garrison was not alert, it would be truly derelict of duty.

"Fang Jieshuai, please come this way!"

A lean general of the Tang Army came forward, with a calm face, he cupped his fists and saluted, and then made a gesture of invitation.

"Well, no need to be formal, let's enter the city."

Fang Chongyong also nodded with a calm expression, and the two of them walked across the pontoon together.

Che Guangqian, who was walking behind, deliberately slowed down and asked Anaye in a low voice, who was wearing military uniform and pretending to be a soldier: "There seems to be something wrong with this person? Is he Fang Jieshuai's enemy? Do you know him?"

"Enemies?"

Anaye was stunned, then waved her hand and said: "How is that possible! If it was an enemy, Prince Pingxi would definitely kill him first without asking anything. This is called striking first. It was not him who was in chaos in Bian Town. It’s whatever it is, and the emperor can’t see it.”

Anaye grew up in Hexi, and there was always war and chaos. If a few officials are killed in Bian Town, as long as they keep it secret, they will be killed. It is not a big deal.

She had seen this situation quite a bit before.

"Then...something doesn't feel right."

Che Guangqian crossed her arms and said to herself thoughtfully.

Feng'an City is very small, covering an area similar to those ancient border towns in the Han Dynasty. There is no way that eight thousand Feng'an troops can be stationed here.

So the so-called garrison is actually a military control organization with Feng'an City as the center and three hundred soldiers as a camp. Feng'an Castle is a castle with a stone wall as its main body. The main body is surrounded by a wooden fence, and there are many camps that do not interfere with each other and are connected to each other. More peripherally, there are Hu and Han merchants doing business here.

It can be regarded as a small city that only maintains the defense of the core area.

After the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army arrived at Feng'an City, the envoy of the Feng'an Army who had greeted him at the shore of the pontoon transferred the garrison outside the city and handed over the defense of Feng'an City to the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army. This is a great deal of face to Fang Chongyong.

After the handover of defense was completed, Fang Chongyong screened away the rest and brought the Feng'an Army envoy to the signing room for a secret discussion.

"It's not easy living under someone else's roof, isn't it?"

Looking at the listless Xin Yunjing in front of him, Fang Chongyong asked with a smile.

"Fang Jieshuai, I'm not having a very easy life these days, I'm just like a ball being kicked around.

It’s hard to describe the taste without even mentioning it. "

Xin Yunjing let out a long sigh, finally able to express his complaints!
He had already reached the position of military envoy of the Da Dou Army in Hexi. He was originally very comfortable, but later Ge Shuhan came and there were no vacancies in Hexi, so he was assigned to serve as the military envoy of the Jingsai Army in Youzhou.

This is the last effort in local relations in Hexi. The Jingsai Army is more than a step ahead of the Da Dou Army! It's obviously a promotion.

However, another change occurred later. Pei Min, who had a stronger central background, came and served as the envoy of the Jingsai Army. Xin Yunjing was kicked out by An Lushan and sent to Hedong Kelan Army as a military envoy. Then An Sishun was transferred to Hedong Jiedushi. In order to facilitate the placement of his own people, Xin Yunjing was kicked to Shuofang Army as military envoy to Feng'an Army.

Except for the time with the Jingsai Army, at other times, Xin Yunjing was disliked because he was not "one of our own" and was kicked away at will.

Even among the Shuofang Army, it was only because the Feng'an Army was close to the Hexi Corridor, and Xin Yunjing was from a wealthy local in Hexi and had some connections there, so he could speak out if anything happened.

Otherwise, he will continue to get kicked.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, this was the situation of the border troops. You say you can fight, but in fact many people can fight. Real promotion still depends on military merit. Otherwise, you have to rely on interpersonal relationships and go with the flow.

If you have connections, don’t others? However, how many people can be promoted through military service?

From this point of view, Li Guozhen's "private" behavior may not be a kind of "going with the flow." Fighting the Huihe people was not the "public opinion" of the Tang Dynasty, but it was the "public opinion" of Shuofang's army.

"Back then, I knew that Fang Jieshuai was not just a thing in the pool, and he would definitely become famous in the future.

Looking back today, Fang Jieshuai's achievements in fighting Tibet and sweeping across the Western Region far exceeded my expectations.

After all, I was blind. "

Xin Yunjing couldn't help but sigh and sigh.

When he was young, he had a very high self-esteem and thought that his life should be a distinguished and glorious one!
Back then, he was the youngest military commander in Hexi! He was so arrogant!
However, what happened next did not seem to go as smoothly as expected.

When he was young, Xin Yunjing discovered that some people who were far more capable than him were still hanging around at the bottom of the military and living a very unsatisfactory life.

When he grew up, Xin Yunjing discovered that some people who were far less capable than him were dominating the upper echelons of the military and living like a duck in water.

While he enjoys the benefits brought by his personal connections, he is also constantly under pressure from stronger backgrounds and connections.

The taste is really different in life, which is embarrassing and helpless, and it cannot be explained to outsiders.

"If you were not in the Feng'an Army, you would already be in Lingzhou City at this moment, so why come to Feng'an City?"

Fang Chongyong laughed heartily at Xin Yunjing and waved to him, signaling him to come over.

"Do you want to make meritorious deeds?"

Fang Chongyong asked in a low voice.

"How can you not think about it?"

Xin Yunching immediately became excited!

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, signaling to Xin Yunjing to be calm.

"Actually, Li Guozhen and the others are wrong. The Huihe people will not attack Lingzhou City no matter what."

Fang Chongyong said with great conviction.

Xin Yunjing nodded slightly and said, "Actually, the general also thinks so."

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong was greatly surprised. Unexpectedly, there are still sensible people in Shuofang's army!

You really can’t underestimate the world’s heroes.

“How come you see?”

Fang Chongyong asked knowingly.

"There is nothing to say. The Uighurs are not willing to take the responsibility of destroying the oath monument, and they have no determination to completely break up with the Tang Dynasty.

The reason why they are making a fuss now is to improve their own status and increase the price of horses. By the way, they can better annex other Tiele tribes and expand their sphere of influence.

If they attack Lingzhou City, they will fight to the death with the Tang Dynasty. Even if Shuofang's army could endure it, the saint could not.

Therefore, the general thought that the Uighurs were likely to attack a certain stronghold of Shuofang Army, but it would definitely not be Lingzhou. Feng'an City and the three surrender cities further north are all possible. "

Xin Yunjing expressed his doubts.

Fang Chongyong waved his hands indifferently and said: "There is no need to beat around the bush. In fact, you and I both know that the Huihe people's target must only be Feng'an City, not the Zhenwu Army. Otherwise, do you think I will really use Xiaoyong Will the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army, who is good at fighting, be brought to Feng'an City to see the scenery? "

Xin Yunjing touched his head in embarrassment, then clasped his fists and saluted: "It is indeed as Commander Ji said! The general is ready for a bloody battle with the Uighurs in Feng'an City!"

Why can't it be from the Zhenwu Army?
Because the Zhenwu Army's defense area was the three surrendered cities in the north, and it was also the face of Dingshuofang in the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, why was it named "Suffering City"?

Isn't it just to let the grassland peoples remember what will happen if they don't listen to the Tang Dynasty?
If the Uighurs attack Shuangcheng, no matter which one they attack, Datang will be alert.

The next "Turk" has already appeared, and it's time for the whole country to destroy it!

Therefore, as long as the Huihe people still retain the most basic sense of reason in their minds, they will not attack any of the three surrendered cities!
So after picking and choosing, only Feng'an City, the city closest to Hexi, was the target of the Huihe people.

Because the Uighur power itself is in the area west of Lingzhou, for example, north of Ganzhou in Hexi, there are many tribes near the city of Uighur. Feng'an City not only has lower influence, but is also closer, making it more suitable for the Huihe people to launch a surprise attack!
It's not that there are no sensible people in Shuofang's army, Xin Yunjing is one of them. It's just that he is not among the core of power of the Shuofang Army and has nothing to say about the policies pursued by the Shuofang Army.

"If I were Huihe Yehu, this trouble would be huge, but the blow to Datang should not be too severe, and it should not be a complete blow to the Tang Dynasty.

The Feng'an Army and the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army alone may not be able to control the situation. "

Fang Chongyong touched the beard on his chin and thought about countermeasures.

Xin Yunjing chuckled and said: "Commander Jie, how about this? You write a letter to Liangzhou, and the last general also writes a letter to Liangzhou. It's not convenient for Shuofang's army to count on, but Chishui army can still count on it. To help with defense, in the end we will all It depends on the outcome.”

Thirty thousand elite troops of the Chishui Army were stationed in Liangzhou, and their actual job was to "put out fires" everywhere.

It is also appropriate to help defend the defense area west of Shuofang.

"After all these years, your clever mind has not lost a bit."

Fang Chongyong sighed.

(End of this chapter)