Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 516: Falling into a trap
Maduo River.

A man who looked like a beggar stuck his head into the source of the Yellow River and drank the water in big gulps. The feeling of the cold water stimulating his skin made him feel like a human being again.

The beggar only pulled his head back when he had difficulty breathing.

He glanced at the three people beside him and said, "Zanpo, you guys should wash too."

The beggar was none other than Mangsong Mangtsen, the king of Tubo. However, he no longer looked like a king. His clothes were ragged, his eyes were sunken, his cheeks were thin and bony, and he had lost a lot of weight. The word "emaciated" was the most accurate description of him.

In particular, a large section of his beard was cut off. Plateau men have more hair, and although Mangsong Mangzan was not very old, he had quite a lot of beard. But in the mountains, it was impossible to maintain it, and a carbuncle grew on his jaw. In order to squeeze out the carbuncle, he cut off his beard.

Zanpo was the same as the other two people, so thin that they looked like human beings.

Zanpo glanced at the two of them.

The two of them also understood and looked around vigilantly.

Only then did Zanpo feel at ease to drink water and wash up.

All of this has become muscle memory.

Mangsong Mangzan was moved by all this and said, "It is all thanks to you that I escaped from danger this time. After we return to Luosi, we will share our wealth and honor. I will never let you down."

He meant what he said: The vast Kunlun Mountains are unfathomably deep and mysterious. There are countless snakes, insects, rats, and ants, and potential dangers...

More than a hundred of them went into the mountains, but only four of them survived.

This is because most of the elite troops under his command were soldiers from the former Zhangzhung Kingdom. The Zhangzhung people lived on the snowy plateau. Their living environment was even worse than that of the Tibetans. The whole country made a living by hunting on the plateau and had rich experience in survival in the wild.

Even so, only four people survived.

During this time, Mangsong Mangzan had seen all kinds of death, including falling to death, starving to death, being bitten to death by poisonous insects, being eaten by big bears and beasts, and even vomiting to death from eating something bad, and dying from diarrhea...

The strange and bizarre ways of death made Mangsong Mangzan, who had been living in Lhasa, feel like he was living in hell.
Zanpo drank her fill of clean water, wiped her face hastily, and gave the drink to another person.

Mangsong Mangzan asked, "Do you know how long it has been?"

Zanpo shook her head and said, "Looking at the weather, it's been at least two months."

In the mountains, there is no sunlight. At first, I could count the days by the temperature difference between day and night, but later, I simply didn't have the energy to calculate the time.

Either looking for food and water, or resting and sleeping.

If there is really no food, then eat people...

Anyway, I made it through.

Mangsong Mangzan said resolutely: "We must return to Luosi immediately and not let those scoundrels succeed."

When trapped in the mountains, Mangsong Mangzan discussed the matter with Zanpo, wondering who had leaked his whereabouts.

In the end, two results were obtained: Nanan family and Chen family.

There are many powerful people in Tubo, and the Nan family and the Chen family are the only two top ones, and they are also the most likely to become the second Gar family.

If something happened to him, no matter who supported him, his inarticulate child would be able to influence the Tibetan government.

This is also the situation that Mangsong Mangzan is most afraid of. Once the two strong men take control of Luosi when he is away, there will be no room for maneuver.

Fortunately, now the Nan and Chen families are checking each other, so there is no suspense as to whether one family will dominate the market.

Zanpo was also worried about Gar's situation, so the group drank some water and hurried to Wuhai.

Looking at the deserted Wuhai City, Zanpo shouted excitedly: "We're here, we're here!"

He crawled forward and shouted, "Open the door, the Zamp is back. Who is on the tower, Bu Shang? Let him out..."

Because Wuhai City is an important military outpost, it has always been controlled by the Gal clan.

Bu Shang was also one of the core generals arranged by the Gal clan to garrison Wuhai City.

However, Zanpo did not wait for Bu Shang, but a stranger appeared on the tower. He looked at Zanpo who looked like a beggar downstairs and cursed: "Where did you come from, you wild man? What nonsense are you talking about? Get out of here, or I will make you suffer."

Zanpo pulled back her hair and shouted, "I am Zanpo, Zanpo of the Gar clan. Don't you recognize me?"

After Lun Qinling's death, Zanpo took over from his brother and commanded the troops in Wuhai City.

He cannot recognize everyone, but he believes that there is no one who does not recognize himself.

"Are you really General Zanpo? Didn't you die in battle to protect the Zamp?" A questioning voice came from the city wall.

Zanpo didn't doubt it. It was normal to hear the news of his death after he had been missing for so long.

At this time Mangsong Mangzan also came over. He saw that Zanpo did not gain the trust of the people on the city wall, so he thought about clearing his name. He was so hungry that he wanted to go into the city early to eat something, anything.

"I am Mangsong Mangzan, the guard of General Dezanpo..."

Before he could finish his words, the soldiers on the city wall started cursing: "What a fake! The Zamp is in Pibao City, get out..." Then he took out the bow and arrow on his back and aimed at them.

Zanpo was so scared that she quickly pulled Mangsong Mangzan away from the range of the arrows.

The two looked at Wu Hai City in shock.

Zan Po asked, “Don’t they know me?”

Mangsong Mangzan caught the hidden meaning of the words. Zamp was doing well in Pibo City...

Pibao City was the earliest capital of Tubo, but after Songtsen Gampo unified Tubo, he moved the capital to Lhasa, which became the military and political center of Tubo.

Tubo had been developing around Lhasa for thirty years. How could it be possible that the Zamp was in Pibao City?
Pibo City is now the fief of Chen family...

Mangsong Mangzan was not good at military affairs, but he had a strong sense of politics and exclaimed, "Quick, run!"

He pulled Zanpo and ran down the mountain road...

They did not run far, but hid in the pit on the right side of the mountain road.

Sure enough, within an hour, a hundred riders galloped past, as if they were looking for someone, and their aura did not seem to indicate any good intentions.

"This..." Zanpo is still confused and can't tell what it is.

Mangsong Mangzan whispered, "Just now the guards said that the Zamp is in Pibo City. Don't you find it strange that he is in Pibo City instead of Luoshui? Pibo City is now the territory of the Chen family... I guess that the Nan family controlled Luoshui and supported the little boy as the Zamp to command Tubo. The Chen family was unwilling to submit, so they created a fake Zamp to compete with them in Pibo City. During the time we were away, the plateau has been divided."

Zan Po turned pale and asked, "What should we do?"

Mangsong Mangzan said confidently, "It's okay. Now that we know the situation, everything is under control. The reason I ran away is that I'm not sure who controls Wuhai City now. If it's the Chen family, it's fine. If it's the Nan family, we've fallen into a trap."

Nan Shi controlled the final say by controlling his son. His presence was a burden, so killing him would put an end to it.

As for Chen, the Zamp in the other party’s hands must be a fake.

A lie can be concealed for a while, but not forever.

His real appearance can just replace the fake one. Then he can form a strategic alliance with him and fight against the Nan family together. Although this move may make him fall into the puppet land, he will have the opportunity to clean up the mess, which is better than being hungry now.

Mangsong Mangzan holds the wisdom in his hands.
-
Voyage City!
Chen Qingsi is handling Qinghai's government affairs.

Looking at the resources of Qinghai Lake, Chen Qingsi let out a long sigh. It is such a good place, but there is no one here!
The resources around Qinghai are so abundant. There is China's largest inland saltwater lake, inexhaustible salt fields, vast grasslands, and abundant fresh water resources. It can be described as a Feng Shui treasure land.

If Qinghai's resources are fully developed, they can fully support the internal strength of a large country.

The only drawback is that the population is too small and the roads are inconvenient.

"No wonder Tubo attaches so much importance to Qinghai Lake."

Chen Qingsi looked at the detailed topography and resource distribution map of Qinghai Lake in his hand and sighed with emotion.

Chen Qingsi originally planned to destroy Qinghai. After all, the Tang Dynasty did not need Qinghai's resources now. He destroyed the grasslands and banned farming and animal husbandry, leaving Tubo no chance at all.

Now that Tubo was defeated so quickly and so thoroughly, Qinghai naturally does not need to suffer this hardship.

Chen Qingsi wanted to take this opportunity to see if he could develop Qinghai and truly integrate it into the Tang Dynasty's system.

It turns out that the most difficult thing is not that a good cook cannot cook without rice, but that there is too much rice and no good cook.

Qinghai has suffered from wars in recent years and has a insufficient population. The Tuyuhun also surrendered their capital, causing Qinghai to become a war zone and the population is even smaller.

Chen Qingsi planned to migrate some people from the Tiele tribe here, such as the Tiele tribe of Qibi Heli, the Turkic tribes of Ashina She'er and Zhishishili.

As the most loyal and most meritorious foreign generals of the Tang Dynasty, Qibi Heli, Ashina She'er, and Zhishishili were no less powerful than any Han generals. Their tribesmen sacrificed their lives for the Tang Dynasty and they deserved to own the Qinghai pasture.

Of course, this is just Chen Qingsi’s initial idea. Whether it will be implemented depends on the decision of the court.

"General Manager!"

Cheng Wuting's voice came from outside.

"Come in!"

Chen Qingsi put down the documents in his hand and saw Cheng Wuting come in and motion for him to take a seat.

"How is it? Wuhai City is not suitable for attack yet?"

Chen Qingsi was a little anxious. The battle was going so smoothly, so he was eager to go back. Even if he couldn't make it in time for the birth of his second child, it would be good to see him earlier.

In addition, he was somewhat worried about the situation in Chang'an. He didn't know whether Di Renjie, Zhang Jianzhi and others could handle the current major case.

But we have to wait until we capture Wuhai City and establish a defense line in Wuhai City before we can leave with peace of mind.

Even though there was a plan to attack, the opportunity to attack never came.

The current situation in Tubo was just as he had expected, because he did not continue the attack but instead settled down and waited for withdrawal, and civil strife had already broken out.

Among them, the Chen family intended to hold the emperor hostage to control the princes, but the Nan family did not recognize the emperor in the hands of the Chen family and directly said that the emperor in the hands of the Chen family was a fake.

After a while of quarreling, the two sides went straight into battle, calling on their friends and having a great time fighting.

Originally, now was the best opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Wuhai City, but the defenses of Wuhai City have been strengthened instead.

This caused a headache for Cheng Wuting and Xi Junmai, who were planning a curious attack on Wuhai City.

Chen Qingsi also felt strange at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he understood the reason.

The Nan clan supported the new Zamp, while the Chen clan respected the fake Zamp. This fake Zamp was most likely the Tang general Wang Xiaojie.

Wuhai City is now controlled by the Chen family. Chen family is afraid that the real Zanpu will appear, so they have strengthened the defense of Wuhai City. His purpose is not to defend against the Tang army, but to defend against their Zanpu. He is worried that the missing Zanpu will suddenly appear...

To this end, they drove away the Gar soldiers from Wuhai City and took control of the city themselves.

This also led to the failure of the surprise attack plan to be implemented...

"It would be great if we could contact Wang Xiaojie."

Chen Qingsi had actually determined with a high probability that the person supported by the Chen family was Wang Xiaojie, but the Chen family kept a close watch on Wang Xiaojie, and did not allow outsiders to have any close contact with him, citing his injury as an excuse. The insider that Murong Wuyi had found only took a look from a distance and determined that it was the Tibetan Zanpu.

But Chen Qingsi knew that at that time the Tubo Zamp was still trying to survive in the wilderness in the mountains.

However, Chen Qingsi could not say that Wang Xiaojie was the current Tibetan Zamp, because this matter was too unbelievable and even the novel did not dare to write it that way.

But he is the fact.

What a coincidence, Wang Xiaojie really looks very similar to Mangsong Mangzan.

Chen Qingsi had never seen Mangsong Mangzan, and he had never even seen what Wang Xiaojie looked like. Even if he knew that the two looked alike, he had no way of saying it.

Because the matter was too unbelievable, there was even news in the army that Xi Junmai lied about military intelligence and failed to successfully intercept Mangsong Mangtsen, allowing Mangsong Mangtsen to escape back to Tubo.

Xi Junmai was so angry that he had no place to complain, and Chen Qingsi could not openly show his partiality.

After all, it is now a recognized fact that "Mangsong Mangtsen" appeared in Tubo.

Cheng Wuting said: "No..."

Chen Qingsi sighed.

Cheng Wuting said with some excitement: "Wuhai City really has no chance, but our people have captured two people. One of them said he was the Tibetan Zamp, and the other said he was the Zanpo, and they were heading towards Fu'ai City."

Chen Qingsi asked hurriedly: "How did you catch him?"

Cheng Wuting looked strange and said, "They came to our door on their own. They looked like beggars and found our people, saying they wanted to see the chief steward."

Chen Qingsi asked, "Doesn't the man who claims to be the Tibetan king look very similar to Wang Xiaojie?"

Cheng Wuting shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of it. The people I arranged are all from the Longyou Army. There should be no one who doesn't know General Wang. If they are really similar, there shouldn't be no explanation."

How is that possible? Is there something wrong with the historical records?

Chen Qingsi asked: "No matter what, let's talk about it after we meet them. Bring them to Fu'ai City quietly and don't alarm anyone."

Chen Qingsi didn't know for a moment whether this Mangsong Mangzan was real or fake. If it was true, it would be interesting as he would have walked into a trap.

Three days later, Chen Qingsi met Mangsong Mangtsen in Fu'ai City. The first time he saw the Tibetan king, he immediately understood why he was not like Wang Xiaojie.

Given his emaciated appearance, if you throw Wang Xiaojie and him to the gate of the Potala Palace, the guards will have to kneel before Wang Xiaojie.

The current Mangsong Mangtsen is even less like Mangsong Mangtsen than Wang Xiaojie.

Chen Qingsi had never met Wang Xiaojie, so he couldn't confirm it.

Cheng Wuting looked at him for a long while and said excitedly, "General Manager, I can still tell a little bit about General Wang from his eyebrows, nose and mouth..."

(End of this chapter)