Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 505 Why isn’t it my Han land?
Voivodeship.

Gal Dongzan once again stood on the tower he had always dreamed of, caressing the mottled wall, and remembered that he had climbed to the top of the tower with his two most outstanding sons...

Now standing here again, they are no longer here.

"Zan Xiruo, Qin Ling..."

Silently chanting his son's name, Gardongzan muttered to himself: "This time, I must succeed."

Galdongzan had no intention of continuing to be an enemy of the Tang court. It was not worth it to gamble the fate of the country with the powerful Tang court. After assisting the Zamp to stabilize the political situation, he took advantage of his special situation to gain benefits from both sides to make up for the losses. Then, after the Tang and the Arabs had decided the winner, he would take the opportunity to grab a bite of soup. This was the most rational choice.

Galdongzan also planned to make this choice and sent envoys to negotiate peace as soon as possible.

However, the Tang Emperor Li Zhi was too vindictive and completely ignored their requests for peace, forcing them to choose the Arab Empire. The Arab Empire threatened to cut off all economic exchanges and support, forcing them to fight a decisive battle with the Tang court.

This time Tubo has risked everything. If it is defeated, the country of Tubo will cease to exist and will return to the situation of chaos in the past.

"Big theory!" Schmidt strode closer.

Compared to before, his attitude was much better, and he believed his father's judgment of the old man in front of him.

"Gar Dongzan is as agile as a fox, so you should not trust him easily. But he is a rare wise man in the world. Learning from him will be of great benefit to your future."

Schmidt was still a little unconvinced. Is there anyone in the world wiser than his father?
It was not until I saw him break through the Tang Dynasty's defenses with ease that I believed that the old man in front of me was truly powerful.

"Your Excellency General Schmidt!"

Galdongzan was very polite. Tubo was no longer qualified to be compared with the Caliphate. His attitude was completely like that of a minister of a lower country treating a general of a higher country.

This satisfied Schmidt's vanity very well.

Schmidt slowed down his tone and changed from questioning to asking: "The Tang general was defeated, why didn't we pursue and drive the Tang army out of Qinghai. In this way, Tubo can also monopolize Qinghai and directly attack the Tang court's Liangzhou and Longyou, and even threaten Chang'an."

Galdong praised: "General Schmidt doesn't know that we were able to win this time because Cheng Wuting was unable to convince the people, Wang Xiaojie was impatient and arrogant, and Xi Junmai acted on impulse. Now the Tang army knows shame and is brave, the army is gathered in one place, Cheng Wuting is steady and calm, and is holding on and waiting for reinforcements. We are not strong enough to break it by force. If we attack by force, all three armies will be exhausted. When the Tang reinforcements arrive, our army will be exhausted. Instead, we will lose the current good situation..."

Schmidt thought for a moment and said, "This method is not appropriate. I read the military tactics of the Tang people, and there is a tactic called besieging a point and attacking the reinforcements. We now have enough troops to besiege Cheng Wuting, so why not trap him? As long as we trap Cheng Wuting and cut off his contact with the Tang reinforcements, we will force the Tang reinforcements to step up their support, and we will rest where we besiege the Tang army. When the Tang reinforcements arrive, they will be exhausted, so we can attack them forcefully and defeat them."

"This move is very powerful and is just right for this place."

Galdongzan also secretly praised it in his heart. If he really wanted to fight against the Tang army, this trick was indeed practical.

However, this is not the situation that Galdongzan wants to see. To besiege a point and attack its reinforcements, the key point is that the army besieging the enemy must have the strength to suppress the besieging army and the reinforcements coming to rescue.

If this cannot be done, surrounding a point and attacking reinforcements will give the opponent the opportunity to attack both inside and outside.

It is true that the Tang army came from a long distance and their physical strength would be greatly affected, but Gal Dongzan was not completely sure that he could win. Moreover, even if he was, he could not do it.

Schmidt did not care about casualties at all, as those who died were not the Arab soldiers.

Galdongzan was different. This time, Tubo was gambled on the fate of the country.

Under his rule, Tubo already had the rudiments of a great dynasty. There were soldiers for foreign wars and people for the country. Soldiers could open up new frontiers and people could produce, complementing each other. Unlike countries like Tuyuhun, where all the people were soldiers, they could not sustain long-term warfare.

But with the consumption over the years, Tubo can no longer maintain this healthy ecology.

This time, the fate of the country was at stake, and it was almost a matter of men fighting and women luck.

If we fight this battle of siege and reinforcements again, even if we take advantage of the Tang army's fatigue after traveling a long distance and achieve the final victory, it will be a pyrrhic victory.

What will be the result?

After such a tragic victory, are they still capable of taking over Qinghai Lake?
After such a tragic victory, are they still of any use to the Arab Empire?

They will be abandoned by the Arab Empire as they are of no use, but the Tang Dynasty has a strong foundation and even after this defeat, it still has the confidence to stabilize the overall situation.

So this battle cannot be fought.

Whether winning or losing, Tubo will not have the last laugh.

Galdong praised: "General Schmidt only knows one side of the story. The key to besieging a point and attacking the reinforcements is that the point you besiege must be a place that the opponent must rescue. If we don't take Fu'ai City, then Fu'ai City is a place that the Tang army must rescue. We can besiege Fu'ai City to fight the Tang court reinforcements. Now the place where Cheng Wuting retreated is not a place that the Tang army must rescue. The Tang reinforcements are not here to rescue Cheng Wuting. Their goal is to capture Fu'ai City and recapture Qinghai Lake. We besiege Cheng Wuting with heavy troops. What if the Tang army goes straight to Fu'ai City?"

"This?" Schmidt obviously did not understand the essence of Chinese military tactics and was speechless for a moment.

Gal Dongzan continued, "When the time comes, when Fu'e City is attacked, we will have no choice but to withdraw the siege on Cheng Wuting and return to Fu'e City to provide assistance. We will be in a passive situation. This tactic is called attacking the enemy and then rescuing them. General Schmidt must also know this."

Schmidt nodded, convinced by Galdonzan, and asked, "Then how should we respond?"

"Stand still!"

Gal Dongzan's eyes sparkled with wisdom as he said, "Fuai City is the core area of ​​Qinghai Lake. Controlling Fuai City is equivalent to controlling half of Qinghai. The Tang court will not give up. We will wait for them to tire themselves out, raising livestock and farming right under their noses, forcing them to fight us, so as to consume their energy and give them an opportunity to fight."

"General Schmidt, you know the situation in Tibet. We have done our best to contain the 60,000 to 70,000 Tang troops and their logistics for the Arab Empire. The real battlefield will be in the Western Regions, not Qinghai Lake. The key to victory lies in the great Arab Caliph and your father, who is as famous as the Sword of Allah, not an old man like me."

Schmidt also thought it made sense and nodded subconsciously. For a Tubo like this, he really shouldn't have too high expectations of him.

Gal Dongzan smiled and said, "So, in my humble opinion, it is better to set up defenses along the Fuai City line and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. Inside the defense line, graze and farm, so that we can also produce some output. After all, relying solely on support from the country is not a long-term solution. The food of the country is also cultivated by the people of the country with hard work, so it is good to reduce some of the burden on the country."

Schmidt was even more moved when he heard this.

In fact, there were differences of opinion within the Empire of Tubo and the Caliphate on whether to support Tubo. After all, Tubo was not a neighboring country that could be supported casually.

Food was also transported by sea to the Bay of Bengal, then across Nepal and over mountains.

Although roads have been built in recent years, the effect is not obvious, and when winter comes, the mountains are still blocked by heavy snow.

Now, the support provided by the Arab Empire to Tubo is more about utilizing the Arab Empire's powerful maritime merchants to purchase grain from nearby Southeast Asia and then transport it to Tubo.

Even so, it is still a huge expense.

It was his father Amr ibn As who made the decision against all odds, and promised that as long as Tubo could not contain the Tang army and create value for them, he would immediately cut off all support.

Hearing that Galdongzan was so considerate of them, Schmidt was so moved that he almost cried. He said, "Everything will be subject to the arrangements of the Great Theory."

Galdongzan convinced Schmidt and looked towards Chang'an.

Naturally, Galdongzan would not be so kind as to consider the interests of the Arab Empire. He knew that Tibet was no longer capable of swallowing up the entire Qinghai Lake.

Therefore, he planned to use Fu'ai City as a base and, with the help of the power of the Arab Empire, take control of half of Qinghai Lake in his own hands.

They cultivated land and raised livestock within the defense line and relocated the indigenous Tuyuhun people towards Qinghai Lake.

When the Tang army defeated Tuyuhun, some Tuyuhun people fled to Tubo and were protected by Tubo.

In recent years, Tuyuhun has been either pro-Tubo or pro-Tang. Many Tuyuhun people dislike Tang and have fled to Tubo. In ancient times, population was the primary productive force, so Tubo naturally welcomed everyone who came.

Tubo was a multi-ethnic country, and Tuyuhun occupied a large part of it.

Galdongzan planned to establish a stronghold at Qinghai Lake, and then arrange for the people to live at a distance, letting them farm and raise livestock so that they could produce food to support the soldiers on the front line and completely take over half of Qinghai Lake for himself.

The biggest advantage of this is that if one day the support from the Arab Empire is cut off, they can directly supply daily necessities to the frontline soldiers through the rich Qinghai Lake instead of transporting the supplies down from the plateau.

As long as they can build such a line of defense and rationally develop the rich land of Qinghai Lake, Tubo still has a future.
-
Castle Castle.

Chen Qingsi took a pot of wine and poured it on a tall tombstone.

The tombstone reads "Su Dingfang's Tomb".

Leading the group were Song Lingwen, who was holding a Mo Dao and wearing lacquered leather armor, and Zhang Rendan, a young man in military uniform who looked very heroic, and the guards who stood guard far away.

Su Dingfang was naturally not buried in this place, but he died of illness here, and when his remains were being prepared, he left behind a few old clothes.

Su Dingfang was invincible in battle. Although he could not match Li Ji in terms of political capital among the upper echelons of the court, his prestige among the soldiers in the army was unmatched.

In order to commemorate this god of war, the guards of Stone Fort City spontaneously built a cenotaph for him at the highest place in Stone Fort City using his old clothes.

After Chen Qingsi found out, he brought some wine and had a few drinks with him.

Looking at the precipitous terrain of Shibao City and thinking about the heavy burden he was carrying, Chen Qingsi left behind a poem by Li Bai called "Hu Wu Ren".

Hu Wuren, Han Daochang.

Chen Qingsi wrote the last sentence, feeling deeply that the verses of the Immortal Poet were the most touching.

Chen Qingsi poured the last drop of wine in the pot into his throat and said, "Mr. Su Xinggong, I, Chen Qingsi, will not give up even a single cent of the advantage you have gained with your life to Tubo."

Then he turned and left...

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the long robe whistled and rustled, as if echoing...

Back at the government office in Shibao City, Chen Qingsi ate the corn rice prepared by the soldiers, and some game. It was obvious that the local officials had prepared a special meal for him.

The other party was kind-hearted, so Chen Qingsi did not refuse.

Invite Song Lingwen and Zhang Rendan to dinner...

He looked at the timely intelligence sent from the front line on the table and ate his meal with relish.

As a young boy, Zhang Rendan had a big appetite and ate voraciously.

Song Lingwen seemed to be hesitant to speak. After all, he was a man of letters and had some basic knowledge of poetry.

The poem "Hu Wu Ren" was so inspiring that Song Lingwen wanted to ask for advice, but he felt it was not the right time and was scratching his head.

"I want to see your chief steward!"

A soft female voice came from outside...

Chen Qingsi recognized who it was and raised his head and said, "Let him in."

Soon Chimaro walked into the hall.

Chen Qingsi brought Chimalo with him before the expedition. If the Tang army wins the battle with Tubo this time, they who are gambling on the fate of the country will be doomed.

By then, on the plateau, the royal power will be lost, and the nobles will fight for their own interests.

This was also an opportunity for the Tang Dynasty to directly interfere in the internal affairs of the plateau and support pro-Tang forces.

Judging from the distribution of aristocratic power in Tubo, the Lu family is exactly the best choice.

Because without Lu's current situation is extremely dire...

Because of her engagement with the Zamp, Meilu had always been a staunch supporter of the Zamp.

If there was no Chen Qingsi, the Lu family would not have become the one that controlled Tubo, and Chimalo would have become a legendary queen mother who assisted three generations of Tubo kings.

Unfortunately, due to Chen Qingsi's interference, Gal Dongzan's kingly way turned into tyranny, and he increased his power as prime minister by suppressing the Meilu family.

Without the Lu family, they were severely damaged.

Afterwards, Chimalo instructed the Molu clan to use the Tang court to get rid of Galdongtsen, but the young Zamp abandoned him and chose Galdongtsen to stabilize the situation in Tubo.

The Lu family abandoned him again...

This directly turned the once powerful Tubo into a marginalized figure.

Once Tibet falls into chaos, the weak will die first, as expected.

Without Lu, they were not considered weaklings, but they could not sit at the table either, and the final result was the food on the table.

Of course, if there was support from the Tang Dynasty, the situation would be different.

Chimalo's eyes were slightly red, and he looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Song Lingwen and Zhang Rendan were unsure of Chen Qingsi's relationship with them for a moment and were considering whether to leave.

Chen Qingsi asked, "Madam Zhuo, is there anything wrong?"

Chima Luo's eyes were slightly red, and he said, "Hu Wu Ren, Han Dao Chang, do you really hate us Tubo so much?"

"Of course!" Chen Qingsi answered directly: "The Tubo people have come down to the plateau many times to kill our Tang army soldiers. How can I not be disgusted?"

Chimaro said: "We just want a good piece of land to survive."

"So you come to grab our Han family's land?"

Chen Qingsi sneered at this.

Chima Luo said: "Qinghai is Tuyuhun's land, how come it became Han's land?"

Chen Qingsi said: "Mrs. Zhuo has studied in the Hongwen Academy for so many years. You must know the saying 'Everywhere the sun and moon shine, it is Han territory, and wherever the rivers flow, they are Han subjects'. Even your plateau is my Han land, so how can Qinghai Lake not be my Han land?"

(End of this chapter)