Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 441 The Facts Are Not Important

Guli Peiluo was dead, really dead, completely, in full view of everyone.

It is obvious that the grassland nobles have been eating greasy meat for a long time, living a life of debauchery without paying attention to maintenance, and they are also old.

All these mean that this person cannot stand the hardship.

Guli Peiluo's death was accidental yet inevitable. Even if he died immediately in the Huihe tent, Fang Zhongyong and others would not feel strange.

There was such a person at the beginning of Kaiyuan, who had been living on the edge of a knife. Now it is almost the twelfth year of Tianbao, so what's so strange about Guli Peiluo dying of illness?
However, the place where this person died was a little bit tricky! The timing of his death was not appropriate!
Even if he died in Lingzhou City, Fang Chongyong had a way to conceal the truth.

Don’t ask. The answer is that you have never seen Guli Peiluo. You Huihe people can look for him wherever you want!
However, Guli Peiluo died on the bank of the Yellow River floating bridge, and there were thousands of witnesses around, including the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army. It would be extremely difficult to conceal the news!
Seeing that this Uighur Yehu had died suddenly, most likely from a heart attack, Fang Zhong was so angry that he couldn't even speak, and stood there in a daze for a long time.

It was Che Guangqian who stepped forward and whispered, "General, go to Lingzhou first and take charge of the situation! We can work out the rest later!"

"Everyone, let's go back to Lingzhou City first. We can talk about anything later."

Fang Zhongyong looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice.

Yan Zhenqing and others naturally would not make mistakes in such matters, and they quickly crossed their arms and saluted in response.

Amid a depressing atmosphere, the group arrived at the Shuofang Jiedushi's office in Lingzhou City with great concerns. Fang Chongyong also asked He Changqi to take over the defense of Lingzhou City with his men.

After taking a seat in the lobby of the government office, Fang Zhongyong dismissed the ordinary officials in the government office and only left the senior leaders of the Shuofang Army, Yan Zhenqing, and the generals of the Silver Spear and Filial Piety Army to discuss the aftermath.

"General Fang Jie, now that Guli Peiluo has died suddenly in public, the Huihe people must be able to conceal the truth.

If the other party sends someone to call for punishment, how should we deal with it?"

Yan Zhenqing asked a very sharp question, which is actually the issue that everyone is most concerned about.

If Fang Zhongyong is willing to take on the important task, then all the people in the Shuofang Army will obey his orders. If he shirks his responsibility at this moment, it is hard to say what unknown things will happen.

After all, Guli Peiluo is dead and cannot be resurrected. What to do next is something that no one can escape and must face seriously.

Fang Zhongyong can handle this matter, so he is undoubtedly the leader! He can convince everyone!
"This commander believes that we should directly inform the Huihe people of the whole incident, return Guli Peiluo's body, and finally bring an army to investigate the culprit."

Fang Zhongyong looked around at everyone and said.

After hearing this, Yan Zhenqing thought he had heard it wrong.

He asked doubtfully, "Does General Fang mean that we should launch an expedition against the Huihe people?"

"Yes, Guli Peiluo led his troops to attack Feng'an City, but was captured by the warriors of my Silver Spear Filial Piety Army. He was originally going to be sent to Chang'an to be dealt with by the Saint, but he was actually afraid of the might of the Tang Dynasty and frightened himself to death.

Now the Tang Dynasty wants to ask the Huihe people for an explanation. Why did Guli Peiluo appear in Feng'an City? That place is under the jurisdiction of the Shuofang Army!"

Fang Zhongyong said confidently.

Seeing him like this, if someone didn't know the whole story, they might really think that everything was the fault of the Huihe people. Fang Zhongyong's "selective narrative" is really a model of being proficient in journalism, saying everything in a way that is beneficial to him.

"If this is the case, there will be a war between the Tang Dynasty and the Huihe. How can it end peacefully?"

Yan Zhenqing sighed with emotion.

Everyone in the hall nodded slightly and whispered to each other. Some people agreed with Fang Zhongyong's idea, while others thought he was too tough.

But many things are obvious. Now that things have developed to this point, the facts are no longer important.

What is important is the momentum, the face, and the ruling power of the Hetao region!

In this situation, it is useless to reason. The only way is to use fists to determine the winner and the loser.

As expected, Che Guangqian clasped his fists and bowed to Yan Zhenqing, saying, "Mr. Yan may not have personally fought on the battlefield and killed anyone, so he doesn't know what these barbarian beasts are like.

Even if we say that this is all a misunderstanding and the Uighurs understand that we are not lying, they will still pretend not to understand what we are saying!

Guli Peiluo died, and his successor needed to avenge him in order to rally the hearts of the eleven Huihe clans and make them submit.

Otherwise, who would recognize him as the new leader of the Uighurs?

He also needed to defeat the Tang army and have the saint confer him the title of Yehu, so that he could gain a legitimate foothold in the local area. The grassland people would not give in to weakness.

Now that things have come to this, why don’t we speak more confidently? "

Che Guangqian's words were recognized by everyone present. Even Yan Zhenqing had to admit that a war was inevitable.

What's more terrifying is that the next battle is one that neither the Tang nor the Huihe can afford to lose. This has nothing to do with personal grudges, nor is it a hasty decision made by the commanders of both sides under impulse.

I don't want to fight, and I respect you, but I have to fight, because it's all for survival!
Fang Chongyong never expected that he would bring the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army to Shuofang, win the battle, but push the Tang Dynasty into the arena of the decisive battle.

This was not his original intention, but many things in the world are often like this. You did the best you could, but you still couldn't achieve your ultimate goal.

Man proposes, God disposes. This is the truth.

No one had expected Guli Peiluo's sudden death.

Judging from the subsequent results, whether Fang Chongyong's great victory in Feng'an City was a blessing or a curse remains to be seen. At least it was not as exciting as when the battle had just ended.

"General, I am willing to send Guli Peiluo to the Huihe people to test their strength."

Feng Changqing clasped his fists and bowed, asking for instructions.

Fang Chongyong was clear about rewards and punishments when managing his troops. His generals usually rushed to make contributions whenever they had the chance, and this time was no exception.

Yan Zhenqing and the people of the Shuofang Army felt a little unbelievable when they saw this situation.

"There is no time to lose, you should go now and be firm in your attitude.

Within five days, let the Huihe people give an explanation to the Shuofang Army. "

Fang Chongyong made a prompt decision and said that he had already regarded himself as an official "Jiedushi of Shuofang".

"General Che, I will write a letter later. You take the letter and go to Wuwei City in Liangzhou in person to give it to Li Guangbi, the governor of Hexi.

Just say that the Huihe people are ready to attack, and let him send part of the Chishui Army to assist in the defense of the western section of the Hetao line. The Feng'an Army, with its small number of troops, will definitely not be able to stop the Huihe people."

Fang Chongyong ordered Che Guangqian.

"Understood! I will definitely deliver the letter!"

Che Guangqian clasped his fists and bowed, saying that he was not in a hurry to leave. He had to go to the signing room of the governor's office in the government office later to discuss the details with Fang Chongyong.

"Prince Yan, you and I will jointly write a letter to the court to inform the sage of the cause and effect of this matter.

We cannot conceal such a major event from the imperial court."

Fang Chongyong said to Yan Zhenqing.

"It is only natural that this matter should be reported to the court, and this official has no reluctance to do so."

Yan Zhenqing saluted Fang Zhongyong with his hands crossed.

"The Hun army and the Jinglüe army have contracted their defenses and withdrawn from the camps north of the Yellow River. They have set up camp on the south bank of the Yellow River and have closely patrolled all the floating bridges to prepare for any surprise attacks by the Huihe people at any time.

Without further ado, go to the main camp and issue this commander's order!"

Fang Chongyong gave instructions to Hun Yu, the commander of the Jinglüe Army.

"Order!"

Hun Yu clasped his fists and saluted, then strode away. He was convinced by Fang Zhongyong. Just from his calmness and reaction speed in dealing with the crisis, Hun Yu felt that Fang Zhongyong was no ordinary person!
At least he is much stronger than Li Guozhen.

"plum……"

Fang Zhongyong looked at Li Guozhen, not knowing how to address him now. He didn't know his courtesy name, and his official position had been handed over. What official position did he still hold?

He was wondering in his heart, but Li Guozhen said a little embarrassedly: "General, just call him by his name. There is no need to be so particular in the army."

Now Li Guozhen feels very ashamed and extremely incompetent, especially compared with the young and promising Fang Chongyong. He feels like he has lived a wasted life.

"Well, Li Guozhen, this commander now appoints you as the judge of Shuofang Jiedushi.

You go to Taiyuan, the seat of the Hedong Jiedushi, and then ask for help from An Sishun, the Hedong Jiedushi.

Let him mobilize the Jingbian Army, which is closest to the Zhenwu Army, to move westward to assist in the defense of Yulin!

When you come back, you must resign immediately and then return to Chang'an to report on your work." Fang Zhongyong used the tone of a superior giving a military order to a subordinate, and instructed Li Guozhen to do his job impartially and without hesitation.

This "son of a royal family" was not pampered at all.

The mess between the Shuofang Army and the Huihe people was caused by Li Guozhen and Zhang Qiqiu. Now they are cleaning up the mess themselves, and not beating Li Guozhen with ten military sticks is already polite enough.

Hearing this, Li Guozhen respectfully saluted the other party with his hands crossed, without any intention of refutation, let alone daring to act rashly.

In fact, he was also very guilty. After hearing Fang Zhongyong's military order, his heart finally settled down.

If he really wants to get angry, given the current situation, Fang Chongyong can find any excuse to put Li Guozhen in jail, and then send him back to Chang'an to make trouble in the Zongzheng Temple!

It would be fine if they could defeat the Huihe people this time. As for what happened between Li Guozhen and Zhang Qiqiu, the court would probably punish them lightly and not make things difficult for them.

After all, the Tang Dynasty did not suffer great losses at the hands of the grassland people when they were on duty, so everything would be fine.

Haha, what if I lose?
Fang Zhongyong lost the fight only because he was not as skilled as his opponent and his career was affected, but he could basically get away with it.

But Li Guozhen and Zhang Qiqiu probably didn't have such good luck. Exiling them, or even exiling their entire family, was considered a great favor from Brother Ji.

If things go wrong, it could lead to "forced suicide".

Now Fang Chongyong appointed him as a judge of the Jiedushi and asked An Sishun for help. This was to give him a chance to "make meritorious contributions while guilty", but also to some extent "had bad intentions".

Because Fang Chongyong was not familiar with An Sishun, and even had some conflicts with him, he was not sure that he could borrow soldiers and horses that could be used.

If Li Guozhen succeeded in asking for help, it was because An Sishun gave face to Fang Chongyong. If the request for help failed, then Li Guozhen would probably have to bear the blame.

This was an open conspiracy. Even though Li Guozhen saw Fang Chongyong's intention, he had to grab this life-saving straw.

After conveying the military order, everyone filed out. Fang Zhongyong immediately ordered people to prepare pens and ink and wrote a memorial.

In his memorial, he described in detail how the Uighurs were ready to make trouble and set up a trap to trick the Shuofang Army into buying inferior horses; how Li Guozhen and others killed them and made the matter worse; how Uighur Yehu led his troops to show off his strength outside Feng'an City; how the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army won the battle and captured Guli Peiluo.

At the very end, he "inadvertently" told Ji Ge and the court that Guli Peiluo had a sudden illness while crossing the river and died in full view of many people.

Then I asked Brother Ji what to do next.

Of course, although the request in the memorial seems very humble, in fact, no matter what Brother Ji says, Fang Chongyong will act according to the established plan.

Brother Ji was a person who liked to give blind orders and only looked at the results afterwards. Fang Zhongyong didn't know what would happen if he didn't follow his orders. But if the final result was bad, then bad luck was inevitable.

Even if you follow Brother Ji's instructions every step of the way!
After finishing the memorial, Fang Zhongyong handed the draft to Yan Zhenqing and said, "Mr. Yan, please take a look at this and see if it works."

Fang Chongyong's point was made very clearly, but in the eyes of literati, such a memorial was still too straightforward.

Not cool enough!
Yan Zhenqing smiled and said, "Marshal Fang Jie has said everything that needs to be said. I will polish it and send it to Chang'an. This is not difficult."

This time, when dealing with the aggressive Uighurs, Yan Zhenqing truly felt what "refreshing" meant in Fang Chongyong.

He made quick and accurate judgments, and then quickly issued orders, so that his subordinates could execute them efficiently. Before others could react, he had already arranged everything.

Yan Zhenqing did not see how the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army beat the Huihe people, so it is difficult to comment. That includes the power of the army, and perhaps others would say "he can do it too."

But how did Fang Chongyong respond quickly to the unexpected death of Uighur Yehu like cutting the Gordian knot, and quickly take control of the Shuofang army and seek external aid for defense?

This is what Yan Zhenqing saw with his own eyes.

Just looking at his calm judgment and execution in the face of danger, he deserves the word "outstanding".

Many people have many plans but no decision. They think a lot but cannot make up their minds. By the time they make up their minds to make a decision, the situation has already changed dramatically. The optimal solution in the past may have become a foolish solution.

From this we can see that Fang Chongyong is a person who usually does not show off his abilities, but he is very powerful at critical moments!
Yan Zhenqing made a silent judgment in his heart.

……

"Give this letter to Li Guangbi."

In the Shuofang Jiedushi's office, in the Jiedushi's special signing room, Fang Zhongyong sealed the letter, whose ink had just dried, with wax and handed it to Che Guangqian.

"Don't worry, Marshal Jie, it's just delivering a letter, it's a small matter."

Che Guangqian made a solemn promise.

Fang Zhongyong shook his head and sighed helplessly:
"I thought that by teaching the Huihe people a lesson, the conflict between us and them could be eased, and we could sit down and have a good talk with them.

Unexpectedly, the sudden death of the Huihe leader made the matter even more serious. The new Huihe leader will definitely fight a bloody battle with us in order to be canonized by the court. Now the arrow is on the string and has to be shot. There is no turning back.

This general had no friendship with An Sishun, and was even thankful that he didn't bother him. The only foreign aid was the Chishui Army in Hexi.

If they can help hold the front line of Feng'an City, we can focus on dealing with the Huihe people in Lingzhou without having to worry about them outflanking us."

In fact, Fang Chongyong was also very worried that the Zhenwu Army in Yulin would be outflanked by the Uighurs.

In the past, the Uighurs had no need to attack the surrendered city, but now that the Uighur leader Yehu had died in unclear circumstances, they no longer had any scruples.

The situation is completely different now.

It is possible that the Uighurs attacked one or even several of the three surrendered cities.

However, doing so requires long-distance detours and carries great strategic risks!
Fang Chongyong intuitively felt that the Uighurs would not do such a thing.

But there are exceptions to everything, and no one can say for sure whether there will be a madman among the Uighurs.

In military affairs, there are too many times when life is at stake. Doing something knowing it is impossible and surviving from death is often the way to victory.

Fang Zhongyong frowned slightly, as if hesitating about something.

"Is the commander worried that An Sishun will not help defend Yulin?"

Che Guangqian asked in a low voice?

"That's true. This battle with the Huihe people may not have an outcome within a few days. It is not uncommon for it to last for a year or two.

If you defend too long, you will lose. How can I not worry? "

Hearing this, Che Guangqian came over and whispered, "General Jie, I have a plan to test the waters a little, which may help you resolve your worries!"

Ok?
Hearing this, Fang Chongyong immediately became interested!

"Okay, tell me in detail!"

He patted Che Guangqian on the shoulder and laughed.

"General, we can send people to Chang'an to spread rumors that An Sishun has a personal grudge against you and is trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife. We deliberately let the Huihe people bypass Yulin and enter the Hetao area from Hedong.

The Hedong Jiedushi also had a memorial office in Chang'an. How could An Sishun not know about these rumors?

This is just throwing a stone to test the waters!"

Che Guangqian suggested calmly.

"Great! This is a great move!"

Fang Chongyong clapped his hands and laughed. This intellectual was a man with a lot of bad ideas in his head, and bad things kept coming out of him.

He has many ways to cheat people.

Seeing Fang Chongyong agreed, Che Guangqian immediately asked for battle and said, "General, after I went to Liangzhou, I rushed back to Chang'an without stopping. It will only take six days. When I return to Chang'an, I will spread the relevant rumors. By then, An Sishun will have to send troops to help defend Shuofang in order to prove his innocence."

"Well, let's do it this way!"

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, obviously very satisfied with this "testing the waters" strategy.

It is a typical example of low investment, quick results and no future troubles! This is the so-called "conspiracy for positive use".

Even if An Sishun knew that it was Fang Zhongyong who did it, he could do nothing about it, and there was no solid evidence.

Anyway, Fang Chongyong and An Sishun can't pee in the same pot, so it doesn't matter what the future holds.

"There is no time to lose, let's go now!"

Fang Chongyong breathed a sigh of relief and instructed Che Guangqian.

(End of this chapter)