Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 92 The wind is coming!
"I don't know... what kind of poem I want to write and what is the title of it?"

Fang Chongyong asked Cui Xiyi, who was sitting on the main seat, with his hands raised.

It is impossible to write poetry without a proposition.This night banquet is usually themed with "month".

This kind of topic is the best to write, but there are too many famous articles written by predecessors, so it is not easy to write.

"Since it's a night banquet, of course it's about the moon."

Xiao Jiong said with contempt.

However, although his tone was arrogant, what he said was very reasonable.

It's just that Cui Xiyi didn't want to agree to him so simply. Xiao Jiong came to Liangzhou obviously to "wreak havoc".In other words, he is preparing to replace himself in the near future.Therefore, it would be really strange if Cui Xiyi felt happy.

There is a big, unobtrusive problem here!

Cui Xiyi only served as Hexi Jiedushi last year, and according to the general regulations of the Tang Dynasty, the term of Hexi Jiedushi is four years.

Why did Cui Xiyi tend to be replaced in his second year in office?
There may be some unusual reasons here.

Cui Xiyi was silent, and the atmosphere at the table gradually became awkward and dull.

At this moment, an orderly soldier wearing leather armor hurriedly rushed into the banquet, raised his hands to Cui Xiyi and shouted loudly: "Commander Jies! The Tubo army is rushing to attack Dadou Valley! The Kang army envoy is leading Dadou The sharp soldiers are fighting with the Tibetan army."

These words shocked everyone!

Dadou Valley is a key passage two hundred miles west of Liangzhou City.It is a tunnel in the Qilian Mountains with a large width. It is the only way for Qinghai to enter the Hexi Corridor.

"Zizhi Tongjian" says: In the fifth year of Daye of the Sui Dynasty (609 AD), Emperor Yang returned east from Zhangye (now Zhangye, Gansu).After a big battle to pull out the valley, the mountain passes are dangerous and the people are coming out. The wind and snow are dim,... more than half of the soldiers died of freezing, and even eighty-nine of the horses and donkeys died.

In order to prevent the Tibetans from breaking through the Dadou Valley and attacking Liangzhou, the Tang Dynasty specially set up the Dadou Shouchuo here. Later, it was upgraded to the Dadou Army and the number of troops continued to increase. Now there is a standing army of 500 people. Three hundred war horses.

"Separate seats, those who have military positions, order soldiers with this section commander!"

Cui Xiyi stood up and hurriedly walked outside the Huamen Tower.Almost at the same moment, most of the people at the table stood up in a hurry and left with Cui Xiyi, leaving only those like Fang Chongyong who made up the numbers, or the civil servants in Jiedu Mansion.

This scene happened so hastily that Fang Chongyong was completely over before he even understood what happened.The remaining cats and dogs also started to get up and leave, leaving uneaten leftovers on the table.

The high stools, cushions, and large and small tables left during the banquet were all left in a mess because of the haste when the guests left, as if they had been robbed.

"The prestige of the Tubo people is really extraordinary."

Fang Chongyong also stood up, and couldn't help talking to himself with emotion.

The officials of the Jiedu Mansion in Liangzhou had a night banquet. They heard that the Tubo people had attacked Dadou and pulled the grain, so they got up and left without mobilizing.It would be unimaginable for something like this to happen in Chang'an.

Chang'an has been filled with the aura of singing and dancing.The people there seemed to think that it would never be possible for an army to invade Chang'an.

He walked to the wooden fence on the edge of the third floor of Huamen Building, looked up at the bright moon hanging in the sky, and felt mixed emotions in his heart.

"This is Liangzhou, where prosperity and warfare intersect.

Grape wine luminous cup, if you want to drink the pipa, immediately urge;
Lord Grim drunk lying on the battlefield, how many people have fought in ancient times. "

Fang Chongyong slowly walked downstairs while reciting poetry. As soon as he came out, he saw Fang Dafu looking worried and walking back and forth extremely anxiously.

"Lang Jun, the soldiers and horses in Liangzhou City are dispatched frequently, something serious has happened!"

Seeing Fang Chongyong coming, Fang Dafu couldn't help asking.

He also served in the army back then, so he is not an uninformed person.Just now a group of cavalry, numbering no less than a thousand, left the city directly from the city gate near Huamenlou, but they disappeared.

Liangzhou's reaction to the invasion was so fast that Fang Chongyong couldn't believe it.I just don't know what happened to the Chishui Army garrison twenty miles away.Tubo people don't come early or late, but they come at this time, they really pick their time.

"The Tubo people made a surprise attack on Da Dou Valley."

Fang Chongyong said in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Fang Dafu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's okay, it's more than 200 miles away from Liangzhou City."

"Yes, there are still more than 200 miles to go..."

Fang Chongyong sighed lightly, and there was no sense of relaxation on his face.

He knew the approximate location of Dadouba Valley, but he didn't have a field trip and didn't know what the terrain was like.But one thing is for sure, if the Tubo army gets through the big fight and pull the valley, it will be able to kill in the Hexi Corridor!
For example, two months before Fang Ya Nei came to Liangzhou, the Tubo army had penetrated Dadou Bago and reached the gates of Liangzhou City, where they fought a decisive battle with the main force of the Chishui Army.

This kind of operation may seem a bit confusing at first glance.

Because from a strategic point of view, these Tibetan troops are almost like delivering food.This made Fang Chongyong unable to understand and guess the thinking mode of the Tibetan people.

However, Niu Xianke told him that since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the strength of Tubo has been unmatched by the surrounding barbarians.

To put it simply, although the Xiongnu back then, the Xianbei, Turks, etc. later looked very bad.But comparing their army with the elite Tibetan army, those people were nothing.

Several abilities to launch a war, such as mobilization, recovery, and execution, are all top-notch.

Although the Tubo were a peripheral ethnic minority that began to rise in the early Tang Dynasty, their thinking and cultural mentality were based on the "Central Empire" model.This is the only example in ancient Chinese history without a semicolon.

In other words, nomadic peoples such as the Turks may dream of one day entering Chang'an and becoming the masters of the world, accepting court from all directions.This is also one of the reasons why there are so many nomads who have taken refuge in the Tang Dynasty, and why Ban generals can be accepted in large numbers.

The spirit of Datang is "self-centered, the whole world is one family", surrounded by courtiers of the central government, accepting the canonization of the central government, which has formed a cultural mentality.

Turks, Goguryeo, Khitan, Xiren, Cile, Sogdian, no matter who they were, they knew very well that they were "barbarians" and were vassals who paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty.

But Tubo is different. They do not consider themselves "barbarians".

The Tubo nobles generally agree that Tubo is the central empire located on the top of the mountain (Qinghai-Tibet Plateau), and it should be the object of pilgrimage by the surrounding peoples, not the other way around.

In other words, the Tubo people were very interested in robbing Chang'an, but in their hearts they despised the mediocre Tang Dynasty Chang'an and did not have the "weak mentality" of the surrounding grassland peoples.

They believe that all the good things in the world should be transported to Luoxie (Lhasa, Tibet) to be piled up.Places that should be conquered include but are not limited to Datang, Tianzhu, and the Abbasid Dynasty in West Asia.They should not bow their knees to serve a big country like the Tang Dynasty as a courtier.

This kind of mentality that is so arrogant that it is almost impossible to communicate is the spiritual pillar of Tubo's national militarism, and it is also the endogenous driving force for Tubo to expand almost every day since its rise.

The Tubo people had no brains to fight and pull the valley to attack Liangzhou. It may be true that this group of Tubo troops were delivering food.But the Tubo army must have a plan, and where the plan is, it is likely to be taken by surprise.

Not even in Hexi!

The Tang Dynasty had suffered too many losses from Tubo. If the Tibetans did not consider the habit of concentrating superior forces to fight annihilation wars and not sparing human lives, they would surely pay a heavy price in the end.

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but feel tight when he remembered what Niu Xianke had said to him back then.He always felt that the Tubo army had other plans and fought lively in Hexi, but it was not necessarily for Hexi.

Niu Xianke said that Tubo's main attack direction can only be Longyou.

In Hexi, most of them were "offensive as defense", so that the Chishui army could not go south to attack the Tubo army that was fighting with the Tang army in Longyou.Their strategic purpose is in order, and it's not just random boxing.

As for tens of thousands of people dying in Hexi, according to the habits of the Tubo people, they probably don't care much about it.

Fang Chongyong outside Huamen Tower felt for a moment that the Tibetans were walking the Chishui Army like dogs.

Every time the Tubo army came in a hurry, the Hexi Chishui army had to rush two hundred miles to Dadoubagu to fight a decisive battle with it.

When the Chishui army was tired of killing, the Tubo people retreated from Dadou Bugu, leaving many corpses on the ground.This wave of offensive is over.

On the surface, it seems that the Tibetans have suffered a lot.But if a strategically superior force like the Chishui Army moves south to Longyou and flanks the Tibetan army attacking Longyou from the north, what will be the final outcome?

Maybe it will create the kind of big victory that has a major impact on the strategic landscape.

After all, the Chishui Army has 13000 cavalry in the government accounts!In fact, it’s just a lot more!
Because this powerful army was constantly harassed by the Tibetan people, it had to be stationed in Hexi and could not move.Then the Hexi Jiedushi could not ignore the local defense and dispatch the Chishui Army to Longyou to fight.

Because the Hexi Jiedushi is on the same level as the Longyou Jiedushi!

Could it be that the strategy of the Tibetans is smarter?

A terrible idea popped up in Fang Zhongyong's mind.

He found that it seemed that the Tang army did not take the strategic initiative when fighting the Tibetan people, even though the capital in their hands was extremely rich.

"Mr. Lang, it's already curfew. Cui Jieshuai just sent someone to escort us to the other courtyard where we went last time to rest."

Fang Dafu saw Fang Chongyong in a daze, so he came over and said calmly.

"Got it, let's go."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, a little frustrated.

He really wanted to do something for Tang Jun, and he had thought a lot before he came here.But when things came to an end, it was always such an emergency and embarrassment, and it didn't help even a little bit.

Seemingly sensing his mood, Fang Dafu said with a smile: "Little Langjun, the days are still long. There will be many opportunities in the future."

"Yes, there are plenty of opportunities."

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly.

……

Dadouba Valley starts from the mouth of the canyon in the north and reaches Erbo Ridge in the south.Stretching for fifty miles, the existing ancient roads of the Han Dynasty can only pass two people side by side at the narrowest point, but the overall area is not small.

The moon and stars are sparse tonight, and the hills of Dadou Valley are densely covered with torches.The Tang army erected wooden fences at key points, while the Tubo army faced them with heavy armored infantry with only their eyes exposed.

Although well prepared, the Tang soldiers of the Da Dou Army still could not prevent the Tibetan army from infiltrating from the south side of the fence to the north side step by step.The ground was covered with dried blood, which looked like black oil emerging from the ground under the firelight.

The tactics of the Tubo people were not very good. The first wave was the vanguard holding a square tower shield. These people were almost consumables.

The second wave was dominated by iron armored soldiers composed of small nobles among the Tubo people, and they were the main force in the charge.

These armored soldiers are all wearing chain mail made of iron blades and ropes, with only their eyes exposed, and they are not afraid of Tang Jun's swords, swords, bows and crossbows.

These iron blades are precisely forged by Tubo craftsmen using the method of the Western Regions, and the forged embryos are very thick.And each blade must be forged until less than one-third of its original thickness remains.Its armor is strong and durable, and compared with armor of the same protection level, it is much lighter.

Often a Tibetan heavy-armored soldier rushing in front could create a gap several men wide in the Tang army's line.

As for the bow and arrow, the Tubo people think it is a "dark" weapon. In their hearts, only throwing stones to lock Udo is a bright weapon!They don't like to use bows and arrows at the beginning of the war. Of course, this is also divided into ruled areas. It can only be said that Tubo, the core area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is like this.

Soon, the Tang army on the other side of the fence couldn't stop Tubo's fierce offensive, deserters began to appear, and the front collapsed rapidly.

The Tibetan heavy-armored soldiers pushed open the fence and swarmed forward.The weakness of today's fighting army was beyond their expectation.Of course, there is also a possibility, perhaps because the Da Dou army had already been disabled when they fought Liangzhou City last time, and they didn't even hold the battle line after the bloody battle.

The Tubo people rushed into the pass of Dadouba Valley like a tide. In the darkness, the Tubo people are already familiar with the road.

It is wide in the south and narrow in the north. Crossing the barrier is the Hexi Corridor.At that time, you can go to Shazhou (Dunhuang) to make trouble, or go to Liangzhou to make trouble.

Here, heavy infantry is invincible.There are many hills, and the flat land in the middle is so thin that even the cavalry cannot move forward.

At this moment, a young Tubo nobleman wearing heavy armor found in disbelief that a long and large knife penetrated his body!He was "pierced" on this long knife like a meat skewer!
"Li Siye, Lieutenant of Zhaowu School of the Anxi Army, is here, and the Modao team stepped forward to kill the enemy!"

There was a roar in the valley, and countless torches lit up behind Li Siye, as did the hills on both sides.Soon the jar filled with the smell of kerosene was thrown from the hill, and landed at the vital point where the Tubo army gathered:

The terrain began to change from wide to narrow, the route of attack was blocked, and they retreated backwards... probably a large number of people would die in the ensuing pursuit.

The fire began to spread, and the Tibetan army fled in fear, trampling on each other to no avail.The exquisite chain armor had no power to resist in the face of the raging fire. One after another, the little Tibetan nobles fell into the sea of ​​fire, and the valley exuded the disgusting smell of meat.

On a nearby high hill, Cui Ganyou, who was already a top ten general in the Great Fighting Army, bowed his hands to a general of the Tang Army with Sogdian blood and said: "Mr. It’s a Jedi. Now the Da Dou Army can annihilate them all without relying on other reinforcements.”

The general who listened to his report was Kang Taihe, the envoy of the Great Dou Army, one of the nine surnames of Zhaowu, who had a deep foundation in Liangzhou, and had been guarding Chang'an Palace for more than ten years, and was deeply trusted by Li Longji.

"Those are not big things, I will take credit for you."

"Returning to the army, this battle relies entirely on the Modao team sent by the Anxi Army to come for support. The general will not dare to take credit." Cui Qianyou said reservedly.

The previous experience made him realize that it is impossible for a capable person to develop his strengths without a background.When the faction of the chief executive around him is unknown, it is not a bad thing to keep a low profile.

Facing the thorny situation on the border between Tubo and Datang, the Tubo people have tricks, and Tang Jun actually has coups.The Tang army used the method of "riding infantry and maneuvering thousands of miles" to concentrate superior forces and annihilate a part of Tubo by predicting the direction of action of the Tubo people.

It's just that this situation was directly ordered by the Datang Center, bypassing the Jiedu Envoy. For example, this time, Cui Xiyi was not notified in advance.

Kang Taihe stroked his beard and laughed.

After this battle, he will return to Chang'an to enter the palace to enjoy the blessings in rotation.The days of licking blood have passed for decades, and enough is enough. Before he left, he planned to recommend Cui Qianyou as the deputy envoy of the Great Fighting Army. The army is organized at the first level, and it is not like the Baiting army who can arrange military envoys at will.

"Thank you Kang Jun." Cui Ganyou bowed deeply to him.

"Hey, it's okay, it's all for the saint."

Kang Taihe said with a haha, while the two were talking, the battle under the valley had come to an end.

(End of this chapter)