Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 515: A Miracle Through the Ages
Chen Qingsi didn't know what to say for a moment and had a strange feeling.

He had never personally experienced what it was like to be in the deep mountains and old forests that Xi Junmai described.

But he was sure of one thing, that if possible, Xi Junmai would not give up the pursuit of Mangsong Mangzan.

Who would be willing to give up such overwhelming wealth?

Since Xi Junmai has given up, it is enough to show that it is dangerous enough and there is a high probability that something bad will happen if he goes deeper into the wilderness.

It is really incredible that Mangsong Mangzan could easily escape from such a dangerous place and walk out of the mountains.

Chen Qingsi didn't believe that there were any hunters who knew the way around Mangsong and Mangzan.

This is the Kunlun Mountains. Even in the future, we cannot get a glimpse of the full picture. No matter how powerful the hunter is, can he hunt deep into the mountains?
What Qinghai Lake and the plateau lack the least is resources. There is no such thing as hunting in the mountains for survival.

Could it be that the Tibetan nobles deliberately spread false news in order to stabilize the morale of the army?
Chen Qingsi asked someone to find Murong Wuyi.

Murong Wuyi was the deputy prime minister of Tuyuhun. His son was already an official in the Tang court and was a core member of the pro-Tang faction. This time he served as a guide to assist Chen Qingsi.

"General Manager!" Murong Wuyi had a happy look on his face and called out from afar.

The country of Tuyuhun was a tragedy, sandwiched between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, either bullied by the Tang Dynasty or bullied by Tubo. The Tuyuhun people were not weak, they lived in Qinghai, and combined the characteristics of nomadic fishing and hunting. Their individual combat power was very strong, but they lacked a leader like Maodun or Songtsen Gampo who could gather the self-esteem and cohesion of a nation, so they were bullied in various ways. The nobles in the country wandered between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, and were divided into the pro-Tang faction and the pro-Tubo faction. Both sides expressed their support for Tuyuhun, and the dispute continued. Today, the winner has been decided.

It is obvious that their pro-Tang faction is the savior of Tubo.

Murong Wuyi looked like he had finally won, but when he got closer, he bent down realistically and said with an apologetic smile, "What do you want, Chief Steward?"

Chen Qingsi asked, "There are many old acquaintances of yours on this plateau, right?"

Murong Wuyi's face changed drastically and he said, "They are all traitors. I have already severed contact with them. We are irreconcilable."

Chen Qingsi waved his hand and said, "Don't misunderstand me. I don't doubt you. I just want you to contact the people on the plateau and help me understand the situation of their Zamp. Now Tubo can't protect itself, and they are not having a good time. Find a few people who have a good relationship with you and have some status to do this. If they perform well, it will only take a word to make up for the mistakes."

Murong Wuyi was very tempted. He could sell favors and make merit at the same time. Where could he find such a thing? He immediately said, "Don't worry, General Manager. I will arrange this matter for you."

Just when Chen Qingsi became suspicious, he was in a military camp west of Wuhai City.

Several core members of the Chen family gathered together.

There are five people in total, namely the head of the family Chen Fangpu, the family elder Chen Zuoqiu, the family general Chen Judao, and two rising stars Chen Yangxiu and Chen Jizhong.

The first person to speak was Chen Fangpu. He looked at Chen Judao with a bit of fear and horror, and growled, "What on earth do you want to do? This is a matter of life and death..."

Facing his brother's questioning, Chen Judao pursed his lips, remained silent for a moment, and said: "I, I don't know."

Chen Fangpu almost fainted from anger.

Chen Zuoqiu, the seventy-year-old elder of the clan, slapped his hands on the ground and shouted angrily, "I don't know, I don't know, you don't know? You caused a huge disaster, and you said you didn't know. Do you want our Chen family to be buried with you? You are usually a steady person, how could you be so unwise?"

Chen Judao was only afraid of his brother, but he had little respect for this old man. He said, "Can you blame me for this? I really think I want to. Who would have thought that things would develop like this? Who would have thought that there would be two people in the world who are so similar?"

"Wang Xiaojie broke through and joined our army. He thought he could catch a big fish and get a good reward. But when his mask was removed, the face of a Zamp was revealed."

"I was really shocked at that time, and I was wondering how the Zanpu could become a general in the enemy's army."

"Somehow, they hid him and had the flag bearer put on his armor and pretend to be Wang Xiaojie and handed him over."

"I didn't think too much about it at all. I just thought this face was very useful, so I hid it."

"Later... the old fox Dalun was so angry at Chen Qingsi that he came down from the plateau without knowing his own limitations. He escaped again after just a few days. He never expected that his whereabouts would be exposed and he was targeted by the Tang army."

"The real Zanpu has disappeared, so I thought the fake one in our hands might be the real one, right?"

Chen Fangpu's eyes revealed a hint of excitement. The Chen family's position in Tubo was somewhat awkward. They were the top tyrants, but they were at the bottom of the tyrants. They had to act according to people's wishes...

Now that he had a Zanpu who was so real that he could pass for the real thing, he suddenly thought of a man named Cao Cao.

Cao Cao of the Han people relied on his political advantage to control the disobedient emperor and thus developed from a small prince in the Central Plains to the ruler of the Central Plains.

But if the news can be concealed, there will be more room for maneuver.

Now the news that the Zamp is in their hands has spread, and it is difficult to deal with the aftermath of the situation.

Chen Judao continued, "I originally wanted to bring him to my brother and let you decide what to do. But Wang Xiaojie was too cunning. He pretended to be dead and stupid all the way. He knew our Tibetan language, but pretended not to know it. He pretended to be affected by the climate and soil when he had recovered, and lay like a dead dog all day. We didn't avoid him when we talked, so he heard things that were very similar to the Zamp. When we fled back to Wuhai, he pretended to be the Zamp and escaped. Our people caught him, but his whereabouts were exposed."

Do you still understand Tibetan?
Chen Fang Pu asked, "What are your plans?"

Chen Judao shook his head and said, "I don't know."

He felt that he was useful, but he didn't dare to think about how to use it.

Everything he did was not the result of careful consideration. He just felt it was useful, and then he waited passively, and it developed step by step into the current situation.

To put it simply, I took a shit and didn't know how to wipe my butt.

"You!"

Chen Fangpu was a little depressed. Originally it was indeed a godsend opportunity, but now it was an opportunity amid crisis.

"Elder, what's your opinion?"

Chen Zuoqiu said: "The man we have is the Zamp, his name is Mangsong Mangzan, not Wang Xiaojie. Today, they can no longer give in."

Since Songtsen Gampo established the system of three ministers and one theory, Chen clan, as the last of the three ministers, has been at the end.

With the rise of the Gal clan, the four great powers became five, with the Chen clan at the end.

Later, the Lu family was suppressed, and the five powerful families became four again, with the Chen family at the end.

The Wei clan was destroyed by the great priest, and the four great powers became three, with the Chen clan at the end.

After the deaths of Qinling and Dongzan, the Gal clan was in name only. The three strong forces became two, and the Chen clan was still at the bottom.

But this time, although he was at the bottom, he was already second, second only to the Nan family.

No matter what, the Nan family will not sit idly by and watch the Chen family grow in power.

Just take this opportunity to emulate Cao Mengde of the Central Plains!
Chen Fangpu understood Chen Zuoqiu's meaning and made a decision.

"Take me to see our Zamp!"

Chen Fangpu, under the guidance of Chen Judao, met Wang Xiaojie who was under house arrest. Wang Xiaojie was sleeping at the moment...

Looking at Wang Xiaojie's face, Chen Fangpu was surprised and said, "How could there be someone in the world who looks so similar?"

Chen Zuoqiu was also stunned. He originally thought that they looked alike, but this resemblance was only a little similar. It was not until he saw them with his own eyes that he realized that they were like twins.

"If I had not confirmed that the young master had only one son, I would have suspected that this person was the young master's offspring."

Chen Judao said: "It's just that they look alike at first glance. As long as you get to know them more, you can still detect subtle differences. Zamp is calm, resourceful, and generous, while this man is rough and impulsive, but also a bit cunning. With more in-depth contact, you can still tell them apart."

"No problem!" Chen Fangpu said, "How many people are really qualified to have in-depth contact with the Zamp? In our hands, if we say he is real, then he is real."

Chen Judao shouted to Wang Xiaojie on the bed, "Get up, don't pretend to be asleep. Your face is valuable, but your body is not. A few more holes can be used to say that you were injured by the Tang army when you escaped."

"No, no, no!"

Sure enough, Wang Xiaojie was pretending to be asleep and thinking of a way to escape, but when the other party threatened him, he gave in regardless of whether it was true or not.

General Wang is the one who knows how to advance and retreat.

Wang Xiaojie looked at the group of people in front of him and complained bitterly. He felt that he was really going to become the Tibetan king.

Ordinary people might be willing to cooperate, after all, the Zamp is equivalent to the Tubo King, even if it is fake, the treatment will not be bad. Maybe you can even sleep with those beautiful highland beauties in the Potala Palace...

But Wang Xiaojie is different.

Wang Xiaojie is a domineering, impatient man who loves face, is ostentatious, blindly arrogant, and has a lot of bad habits. But one thing is beyond doubt, his loyalty and bravery...

No matter when, Wang Xiaojie was proud to be a citizen of the Tang Dynasty and a general of the Tang Dynasty. He didn't care whether he was made the Zamp of Tubo or respected as the emperor.

So when Chen Fangpu negotiated with Wang Xiaojie, Wang Xiaojie had only one request: "After the matter is done, let me go back to Central Plains."

This request stunned Chen Fangpu, Chen Zuoqiu, Chen Judao and the others.

They didn't expect that the general of the Tang Dynasty in front of them would give up his position as the King of Tubo and actually want to go back?
Are the generals of the Tang Dynasty really more powerful than the kings of Tubo?
Moreover, Wang Xiaojie was still a criminal. If it weren't for him, how could Fu'ai City have fallen?

Chen Fangpu knew that he could not let him go back, but as a temporary measure, he agreed.

Voivodeship.

Chen Qingsi called Cheng Wuting and Xi Junmai to discuss secretly the matter of taking Wuhai.

What Chen Qingsi said about the overall situation in response to Chimalo was his truest thought and also a move he had made.

The Tang army has been on the passive defensive all these years, mainly because it is too convenient to go up and down the mountain from the plateau, but it is very difficult for them to go up the mountain.

But there is a way to prevent this situation. Taking over Wuhai City is like driving a nail into the mountainside seven inches above.

As long as they occupied Wuhai City, if Tubo wanted to go south, they had to capture Wuhai first. If they bypassed Wuhai, they would be courting death. As long as the Wuhai defenders blocked the way up the mountain, as many people as went down the mountain would die.

Chen Qingsi knew that Su Dingfang had planned to attack Wuhai City more than once, but how could Gal Dongzan, one of the most outstanding strategists at the time, and the famous general Lun Qinling not know the importance of Wuhai City?

Lun Qinling has stationed troops in Wuhai City since he broke off relations with the Tang Dynasty...

Even Su Dingfang couldn't find an opportunity.

But now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Wuhai City has always been defended by the Gal clan. The Gal clan has been greatly weakened this time and is only in name only. Wuhai’s defense force must be weak...

As Tubo is about to fall into civil strife, the nobles and powerful people will focus on the power struggle on the plateau and will not care much about Wuhai City.

So that's how the opportunity came about.

What Chen Qingsi said to Chimalo was to let them know that the Tang Dynasty, just like in the previous years, had no intention of going to the plateau, and would just drive them out of Qinghai and then withdraw its troops.

But even with all the preparations, Wuhai City is still difficult to capture.

A section of the way up the mountain is very dangerous, and siege equipment cannot be transported.

Even if the military strength of Wuhai City is limited, it will still be difficult to defeat them as long as they prepare in advance.

Xi Junmai suggested: "I think we can break through Luozhengu..."

Chen Qingsi asked, "Is that the road Hou Junji and Zanpo took?"

Xi Junmai nodded and said, "Yes, in the past, Hou Junji pursued the Khan of Tuyuhun, and the soldiers and horses ran through the Polo Valley on ice and snow, which became a legend. But Zanpo led the Tubo army through the Polo Valley, which I find incredible. Why did Zanpo do the same thing as Hou Junji? I sent people to investigate and found that there were several hidden caves in the Polo Valley, where some non-perishable food was stored. It should be the Tubo people who secretly prepared it..."

Chen Qingsi exclaimed in admiration: "This must be Gal Dongzan's hidden trick."

Xi Junmai said: "Originally there was no way to Po Luo Zhen Valley, but after walking a lot, there is a way, and we can carry out a surprise attack..."

Chen Qingsi also found it interesting and said, "Draw up a plan."

Just at this moment, news came from outside that Murong Wuyi wanted to see him.

Chen Qingsi asked Cheng Wuting and Xi Junmai to prepare and invited Murong Wuyi to come over.

"General Manager, I have already found out the news. It is said that when Chen was retreating, he encountered Zanpo who was trapped in a siege and rescued him. Zanpo was seriously injured and is recovering."

Murong Wuyi told Chen Qingsi the news he had obtained as if he were presenting a treasure.

Chen Qingsi looked at him strangely. This was not right.

He counted the time again. The Tubo Chen clan was the first to run away, and the Tang army inflicted the least damage on them.

When they were running, Xi Junmai was chasing Mangsong Mangzan. Where did he rescue people from?

Did Xi Jun buy it?

Xi Junmai had driven Mangsong Mangzan off the plateau at that time, so the two sides would never confront each other.

Unless Xi Junmai is lying...

Or maybe this Zamp is not that Zamp.

If Chen Qingsi didn't know that in history Wang Xiaojie was treated with courtesy by the Tubo people because he looked like Mangsong Mangzan, he would never have imagined that such a coincidence existed in the world.

Now that he knew who the Zamp on the plateau was, there was no need to explain...

(End of this chapter)