Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 318 The winner and the loser
After Feng Rushan received the order, he went back and thought carefully. He did not transfer 100,000 troops to the border of Xixia and Hehuang. Instead, he asked Li Xingze for instructions and went to the border of Hehuang with his bodyguard first.

Feng Rushan was a veteran on the battlefield. He knew very well that although the Tubo and Qiang in the Hehuang land had many soldiers and horses, their combat effectiveness was average.

In addition, the leader of the Tubo Kingdom was seriously ill and people were in panic. With one hundred thousand soldiers and horses, it was not difficult to capture the land of Hehuang.

But the speed will definitely not be faster. If it drags on for a long time, the Liao Kingdom and the Zhou Dynasty may not let Xixia annex Hehuang.

But he couldn't persuade Li Xingze, so he thought about it and came up with a good idea.

That is to make Tubo completely chaotic. The Qiang people who are ready to take action will not miss this good opportunity and will definitely use troops against Tubo.

As long as you find the right time, you have a chance to quickly capture Hehuang before Liao and Zhou Dynasty can react.

And if you want Tubo to be in chaos, you need the leader of Tubo to die before you have a chance.

However, the leader of the Tubo Kingdom has been seriously ill for a year or two, but his life is very tough. According to the information received, it is estimated that he can survive another year or two.

Feng Rushan issued a military order to Li Xingze that Hehuang must be captured within half a year.

Although even if he couldn't take it off, Li Xingze wouldn't really do anything to him.

However, he was favored by Li Xingze, which made the Dangxiang officials in Xixia very dissatisfied. If he really failed, the Dangxiang officials would definitely not give up this good opportunity.

They will definitely take the opportunity to deal with him.

Although he was not afraid, he was worried that it would cause internal unrest in Xixia.

Therefore, the land of Hehuang must be taken within half a year.

After much thought, Feng Rushan came up with a good idea.

In other words, it was Li Xingze's uncle, the then Prime Minister, who inspired him a lot.

In order to allow Li Xingze to succeed to the throne, Wu Zang and Pang instigated the prince to kill the late emperor, and then made Li Xingze the emperor.

Feng Rushan also wanted to use this strategy to induce the Tubo prince to kill the Tubo leader.

However, it was naturally impossible for him to really support the Tubo prince to inherit the throne. Instead, he used the excuse of helping the Tubo prince to allow Xixia's troops to enter Hehuang openly.

Feng Rushan told Li Xingze this strategy, and Li Xingze agreed with it, so he took his guards to the Hehuang border.

.........

Many people think that Tubo was founded by Songtsen Gampo, but this is not the case, or not entirely.

Tubo was originally a tribe on the plateau. Later, under the leadership of Songtsen Gampo, it unified the plateau and officially established a country.

Although Tubo was a country, it was a tribal system, somewhat similar to the regime of nomadic peoples.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Tubo fell apart and was divided into several tribes.

Each tribe still calls itself Tubo, but they are not unified.

Hehuang Tubo is one of them. Compared with the Tubo tribe living on the plateau, although the Hehuang Tubo tribe survives in the cracks, life is relatively easy because of mutual constraints.

Like Tibet on the plateau, they were retreating steadily and lost a lot of territory because of the expansion of Xixia.

The name of the leader of the Tubo Kingdom in Hehuang was Suolang Dajie. He had three sons, among whom the eldest son was his most satisfactory heir.

The third son's maternal clan is from the second largest tribe in Hehuang and Tubo, besides the tribe directly under the control of Suolangdajie.

With the support of the second largest tribe in Hehuang, the third prince also had the capital to compete.

After Solangdajie became seriously ill, he delayed deciding on a successor because he was worried about the forces behind supporting the third prince.

Although he is the king of Tubo in Hehuang and has the most powerful power, the third prince is his son, and he naturally has some supporters in the tribe. With the support of the tribe from his mother's tribe, he can easily Lang Dajie did not dare to make his eldest son his heir easily.

He didn't even dare to use troops to get rid of these people.

He had no choice but to be surrounded by powerful enemies. Once he mobilized his troops and triggered civil strife in Hehuang and Tubo, the destruction of the country was not far away.

Solangdajie waited for a year or two, but not only did he not come up with a solution, but the third prince became more and more powerful.

Feeling that his health was getting worse, Solangdajie knew it was time to make a choice.

"Cough cough cough..."

Solangdajie covered his mouth and coughed violently. When he stopped, he saw the blood on his hands and his eyes were very dull.

"Come, go and invite the eldest prince!" Solangdajie ordered.

"Yes!" The guard guarding outside the door responded after hearing this.

Not long after, a middle-aged man with a height of two meters and a very strong build walked in.

"My son has met my father!" the middle-aged man saluted.

The land of Hehuang was originally Han territory, but was later occupied by Tibet.

The Tibetan people in Hehuang have lived in Hehuang for more than two hundred years. Except for some living customs, the names are completely based on the Han people.

To put it simply, it has been Chineseized.

In fact, not only Hehuang and Tubo, the Liao Kingdom and Xixia also vigorously promoted Han rituals, and the titles of officials were imitated by the Han people.

After all, the Han people have a long history and have various perfect systems and cultural heritage.

Whether it was the Liao Kingdom, Xixia or even Tubo, they were all nomadic peoples at the beginning, and gradually changed from nomadic democracy to half-farming and half-pastoral.

Naturally, we have to learn from the Han people in this aspect.

Solangdajie looked at his son with complicated eyes and said, "Gelsang Norbu, get ready and go to Dazhou."

"Did the father ask his son to go as an envoy to the Great Zhou Dynasty?" Kelsang Norbu asked in surprise.

"No!" Solangdajie shook his head and said, "You hide your identity and don't come back."

Kelsang Norbu looked at his father in disbelief and said, "Father, are you going to compromise with Mavis? Do you know that once the third brother succeeds to the throne, Mavis will definitely usurp the throne?"

"How could I not know about Mavis's wolfish ambition? But now many tribes support Mubatu, and with Mavis's support, even if you inherit the throne, when I die, do you think you can do it safely? At that time, you will only lose your life." Solangdajie said sadly.

"Father, as long as you clear out the supporters of the third brother, wouldn't it be enough to unite other tribes and destroy Mavis?" Kelsang Norbu retorted.

That was the throne, how could he give up.

Solangdajie smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, "You think I haven't thought about it? How many tribal leaders still listen to me after I've been sick for so long?"

This is the bad thing about the tribal system. It does not have complete control over the other tribes.

The tribes below are like vassal states. Although the tribe he is in charge of is still the strongest, it has actually been divided into two factions because of his serious illness.

The true strength of the tribe controlled by Mavis, plus those attracted by the third prince Mubatu, has surpassed him.

The remaining small tribes, except for some who took refuge with Mavis, all had ambiguous attitudes.

Now he can't even fully mobilize the tribe he is in charge of, let alone the other tribes.

He asked Kelsang Norbu to leave because he sensed that Mavis was about to lose his patience. According to his judgment, Mavis will force him to have a baby in the near future.

He did this to save Kelsang Norbu's life.

Seeing that Kelsang Norbu wanted to say more, Solangdajie waved his hand and said: "Stop talking, you can leave quickly. I have people prepare a lot of gold and silver for you, which will be enough for you to be rich and prosperous for a lifetime. Remember to go." Don’t reveal your identity, Da Zhou.”

"Father, we still have a chance. Are you willing to allow a villain like Mavis to ascend the throne?" Kelsang Norbu looked at his father pleadingly.

Solangdajie closed his eyes and said: "I don't want to, but I don't even want Hehuang and Tubo to be destroyed in my hands. If we really use troops, it will be difficult to eliminate Mavis. Once Xixia or Dazhou notice , will definitely take the opportunity to send troops, and then it will be a disaster for Hehuang and Tubo."

Seeing his father's determination, Kelsang Norbu took a deep look at his father and saluted, "Father, Kelsang Norbu understands. I will do what you say."

After saying that, Kelsang Norbu turned and left.

Back at his mansion, Kelsang Norbu could no longer hold back the anger in his heart and threw something.

Soon the hall was in a mess, and Kelsang Norbu panted heavily and sat down.

After resting for a while, Kelsang Norbu shouted: "Dugeqi!"

"My subordinate is here!"

A strong man wearing armor walked in.

"Order people to pack up all the valuable things in the house and don't make too much noise." Kelsang Norbu said.

Although he was unwilling, there was nothing he could do.

Although he also has many supporters, they are no more than the third prince Mubatu at best.

Solangdajie will pass the throne to Mubatu. He will continue to stay here. When Mubatu succeeds to the throne, he may not be let go.

Du Geqi heard the words and did not respond, but said: "Your Highness, someone is coming from Xixia."

Kelsang Norbu was stunned and asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Where is the person?"

"His Highness was furious just now. I didn't dare to say anything. The person who came just sent a message and asked His Highness to meet tonight in Mujia Town, five miles away from the east city."

Kelsang Norbu pondered for a while and said, "Find a few warriors and accompany me in the evening."

"Yes!" Du Geqi responded and asked, "Your Highness, do you still need to order someone to pack things?"

"Take care of it." Kelsang Norbu thought for a while and said.

……

At ten o'clock in the evening, Kelsang Norbu quietly left the city and came to Mujia Town. Under the leadership of Du Geqi, he came to a wealthy family in the town.

This family is not Tubo, but Han, specializing in doing business in Tubo and Zhou Dynasty.

There are many such Han merchants in the Hehuang land, and here they are even more prosperous than in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In Dazhou, they have to hold every county magistrate carefully, for fear of offending.

But it is different in Hehuang. Both the Qiang and Tubo people need to obtain some supplies that they are in short supply through these merchants. Therefore, the status of capable Han merchants in Hehuang is not low.

This family's surname is Wu, and the owner's name is Wu Zhuan. He is in his forties and is somewhat fat.

Few people know that Wu Zhuan is a Xixia spy lurking in Hehuang.

But Kelsang Norbu knew because Wu Suan had approached him before.

When he arrived at Wu's house, Wu Zhuan welcomed him in enthusiastically.

When he entered the living room and saw a middle-aged man sitting in the main seat, Kelsang Norbu said with an ugly face: "What do you mean?"

Just when Wu Xian was about to explain, the middle-aged man on the main seat stood up with a smile, waved his hand for Wu Xian to go down, and slightly cupped his hand and said, "I have met the eldest prince."

Kelsang Norbu said with a gloomy face: "Who are you?"

"I am Feng Guang, the son of Duke An of Xixia." Feng Guang said with a smile.

Gesang Norbu's eyes flashed slightly and he said: "Xixia and I have a grudge against Tubo, so aren't you afraid that I will keep you?"

Feng Guang said indifferently: "Xixia and Tubo do have enmity, but there is no enmity with Hehuang Tubo, right? And I came here this time to save the life of the eldest prince, so naturally I am not afraid."

"Save my life? That's a joke." Kelsang Norbu sneered.

"Haha." Feng Guang said with a smile: "Now the leader of Tubo is seriously ill, and the third prince is very powerful and has the support of Mavis. Even if the eldest prince inherits the throne, how many days can he sit on the throne?"

When Kelsang Norbu heard this, his face was gloomy, but his heart was moved.

Now Solangdajie has made it clear that he wants his third brother Mubatu to inherit the throne. If he can get help from Xixia, he may really have a chance.

Thinking of this, Gesang Norbu sneered: "You Xixia people will be so kind to help me?"

"There is no free lunch in the world. We in Xixia can help the eldest prince secure the throne, and even help you destroy the Qiang people and unify Hehuang. And as a price, the eldest prince needs to become a vassal state of Xixia." Feng Guang said.

When Kelsang Norbu heard this, a flash of emotion flashed in his eyes. If Xixia could really help him ascend the throne and become a vassal state of Xixia, what would it matter.

What's more, by that time, if he breaks the agreement, Xixia will be unable to do anything to him.

In recent years, Hehuang and Tubo have been living in the cracks, and they have already figured out the thoughts of Xixia and Dazhou.

No matter it is Xixia or Dazhou, they will not let the other side easily occupy Hehuang. As long as one side sends troops, the other side will follow suit.

With the Great Zhou Dynasty in check, Xixia did not dare to send troops to Hehuang.

Gesang Norbu was silent for a while and said, "I can agree to your condition, but only if Xixia can help me get rid of Mavis."

As long as Mavis can be eliminated, Solangdajie will definitely pass the throne to him, and Mubatu will no longer be a threat.

Kelsang Norbu was not stupid, and he naturally knew that it was easier to invite gods than to send them away.

Therefore, he directly asked Xixia to help him get rid of Mavis. In this way, when Dazhou received the news, he would definitely increase troops on the border and force Xixia to retreat.

By then, when he ascends the throne, who will care about Xixia?

Although Feng Guang didn't know what Kelsang Norbu was thinking, he could guess some of it. He shook his head and said: "The Mavis tribe has many troops. If I, Xixia, send troops, those small tribes will also participate. Although I, Xixia, are not afraid, but We can’t destroy them all, right? If so, if the eldest prince becomes the King of Tubo, how much strength will Tubo still have?”

"this…"

Kelsang Norbu was startled when he heard this, was silent for a while, and said, "Just tell me how Xixia is going to help me?"

"We Xixia can send an elite army to the eldest prince. I think the eldest prince has a way to let this elite army enter the capital of Tubo without anyone noticing? With this army and the identity of the eldest prince, he can completely control the capital. The King of Tubo has been ill for such a long time, so it's time for him to take a good rest. What do you think, the eldest prince?" Feng Guang said with a smile.

"You want me to rebel and seize the throne?"

Although Feng Guang smiled brightly, Kelsang Norbu found this smile very scary.

"As the saying goes, to become a king or lose a bandit, the means are not important, the result is the most important. If we really wait for the King of Tubo to die of illness, we will certainly be prepared, even the third prince will be prepared. We don't know what the result will be then. "The failure of Xixia will only result in the loss of some soldiers and horses, but has the eldest prince ever thought about the consequences of failure?" Feng Guang asked.

(End of this chapter)