Tang Dynasty: The seventh rank of official residence, and you will be given the Ten Thousand People

With a bang, the whole hall was in an uproar. No one expected that Hun Ji, a traitor, actually killed the deputy minister of the imperial court and even attacked the marriage team of Tang Dynasty.

No wonder the always tough Empress Dowager Chimalun agreed to Tang Envoy's request without even thinking about it.

Compared to the war between the two countries, this compensation is indeed not much.

Thinking of this, several peace ministers immediately jumped out and pointed to the national power and begged.

"Guoliqi, you promoted this thief Hunji. Now that he has committed a heinous crime, what else can you say?"

"Yes, killing compatriots and assassinating Tang envoys are all serious crimes!"

Faced with the accusations from the ministers, Guo Liqi felt angry that damn Hunji was so rough in his work.

What to do now? What should he explain to the court and the Queen Mother Chimalun?

After some weighing, Guoliqi thought it was time to draw a clear line between himself and Hunji.

Otherwise, not only will his official position be lost, but his life will also be implicated.

With this thought, Guoliqi took a step forward.

"Zuzan, Queen Mother, Hunji has committed such a serious crime and must be taken back to the Snowy Mountain to be executed.

"As for the old minister who did not know the person and was deceived by him, he is willing to fine himself two thousand copper coins and go home to reflect."

After speaking, he knelt on the ground.

Looking at Guoliqi who was avoiding the important and taking the easy, the Queen Mother Chimalun raised a sneer on her lips.

"Of course you have to bear the main responsibility. Someone came to take off Guoliqi's waistband and put him under house arrest in the sacred mountain."

"At the same time, send a large army to Baiquan City to capture the traitor Hun Ji!"

"Respect the Queen Mother's decree!" The ministers knelt on the ground and beat the ground loudly.

Just as the eight thousand Tubo army rushed towards Baiquan City, Liu Zi drove the cattle, sheep and horses back to Baiquan City.

"Look, my lord, Lao Liu is back. I didn't expect the Tubo people to be so generous and give us so many things."

Cao Wei lay on the wall and pointed excitedly at the black sheep under the city.

Fan Xin was also very happy to see that the Tubo people had given so much compensation.

Said with a smile.

"Killing and marrying the team is equivalent to declaring war on the Tang Dynasty. Chimalun is a smart person and she will not choose to attack now."

Seeing the cattle and sheep being taken over by the Youzhou army, Fan Xin shook his head.

"Let's go. After collecting the apology, we should hand over the mess here to the court."

Cao Wei was stunned and said in surprise.

"My lord, do you mean that Yao Chong plans to lead an army to support us?"

"It's not Yao Chong, it should be Li Longji's people. We have sent three letters for help. It's time for the court to send people here, both in public and private matters."

Fan Xin sneered and looked up in the direction of Shanzhou...

In Shanzhou, Jiedushi Yamen.

Ever since Guo Zhiyun set up the Jiedushi Yamen here, Shanzhou has become the command center of the army.

Hundreds of officials come and go from here every day.

In the study room, Guo Zhiyun put down his brush and rubbed his forehead. Seeing that the attendant was about to speak but hesitated, he said calmly.

"Did Yao Chong come to ask for help again with a letter?"

The attendant nodded, looking worried.

"Your Majesty, Yao Chong is also the prime minister of the dynasty after all. Now he has gone to the Yamen three times to rescue King Yan. I'm afraid it won't be good to continue delaying it, right?"

Guo Zhiyun snorted angrily.

"You think I don't know the consequences of offending the prime minister? It's not what I was ordered to do."

"But so many days have passed. It stands to reason that Fan Xin and his team should have died in Baiquan City."

"We should go and negotiate with Tubo on behalf of the Tang Dynasty."

"Okay, go and invite Yao Chong!"

The attendant bowed and not long after leaving, Yao Chong walked into the study with a gloomy face.

"Hmph, Guo Jiedushi is so arrogant. I have come to visit you three times and you don't even have the right to see him!"

"Old Yao Ge mistakenly blamed the envoy. He was busy setting up the Jiedushi Yamen these days and was a bit confused, so he neglected it."

Guo Zhiyun laughed and personally helped Yao Chong sit on the chair.

Although he knew that Guo Zhiyun was talking nonsense, there was nothing Yao Chong could do against him.

After all, he is a feudal official who is favored by the emperor, but he is a prime minister who is about to retire and return to his hometown.

"Envoy Guo Jiedu, this is the third letter for help sent back by King Yan."

"The number of the marriage team is less than a hundred. The Tibetans may attack the Tang camp at any time. If you continue to refuse to save me, don't blame me for going to His Majesty to impeach you!"

Seeing that the distress letter was sent five days ago, Guo Zhiyun was secretly relieved.

It was almost impossible for hundreds of people to block the Tubo attack for such a long time.

This time he could finally go through the motions openly and honestly.

After making a decision in his heart, Guo Zhiyun looked up to the sky and sighed, patting his thigh.

"Well, since Prime Minister Yao is determined to save King Yan, I will take the risk and go to Baiquan City."

"What, you want to go to Baiquan City yourself?"

Yao Chong originally just had the attitude of giving it a try, but he didn't expect that Guo Zhiyun would go in person.

"Yes, King Yan is your majesty's personal protector after all. If the court turns a blind eye after the incident, it will be unjustifiable."

"Without further ado, let's set off now."

Since Baiquan City belonged to the Tubo people, for the sake of safety, Guo Zhiyun specially led an army of 50,000 to leave Shanzhou and headed west.

It wasn't until half a month later that the army appeared at the gate of Baiquan City.

"Report to the Jiedushi! There is no one in the city and there are corpses everywhere. It seems that a particularly fierce battle took place!" Several scouts knelt on one knee and said.

"Did the Tubo people kill the marriage team and then run away?"

Guo Zhiyun frowned, thought for a moment and waved his riding crop.

"The entire army has followed the order and marched into the city in wild goose feather formation to search for traces of Her Royal Highness the Princess and King Yan!"

The three armies shouted and poured into Baiquan City. There were broken corpses everywhere along the way, which made Guo Zhiyun secretly shocked.

At the same time, I was glad that I didn't come to rescue Fan Xin, otherwise I don't know how many people would have died in such a brutal battle.

However, as the search team deepened, he gradually discovered that something was wrong.

Because all the corpses lying on the ground were Tubo corpses, not a single Han corpse.

"Jiedushi, could it be that the Tibetans buried all the corpses of Heqin's team in order to cover up others' deception?" The deputy general on the side helped analyze.

Guo Zhiyun nodded: "It's possible. I ordered my subordinates to dig three feet into the ground. I don't believe that the bodies of so many people will disappear."

However, what Guo Zhiyun and others did not know was that an elite Tibetan cavalry was coming towards them quickly.

"He is protected by the Great Guard. Twenty miles ahead is Baiquan City. What do you think we should do if Hunji is unwilling to surrender?"

A Tibetan lieutenant on horseback bent down and shouted loudly.

The man named Qimeng laughed twice.

"With the Queen Mother's order, Hunji will resist us unless he no longer wants to live!"

"Come on, let's catch this audacious fool!"

"Drive!" Qimeng flicked his riding whip and ran towards Baiquan City like black lightning.

After half a stick of incense, eight thousand Tubo cavalry arrived at the foot of Baiquan City.

Call!
The deputy general reined in the horse suddenly, pointed at the city wall and shouted loudly.

"Dadu Protector, look! Han soldiers!"

"What, Han soldiers?"

Qimeng raised his head and looked at the city wall, and was shocked at the sight.

I saw soldiers wearing Tang Dynasty armor everywhere on the city wall.

And none of their Tubo guards were anywhere to be seen.

"Daduhu, the Tang people must have taken advantage of the opportunity of Hunji to kill Heqin's team, and took the opportunity to sneak attack on our city!"

"How about we fight in?" the deputy general said angrily.

Originally, they were still thinking about how to explain to the Tang Dynasty after capturing Hunji.

Who would have thought that they had even occupied the city, so what else could they say?

Qimeng was the second-ranking general after Lun Qinling. Although he was angry, he did not get carried away.

He made a cursory observation of the number of defenders on the city wall, which was probably around 2,000. From this, he deduced that the total strength of the Tang army should be between 50,000 and 70,000.

The gap between the two sides is so big that if they blindly attack the city, they will probably lose more than they gain.

After thinking about this, Qimeng suppressed the anger in his heart and shouted towards the defenders on the city wall.

"My general, the Protector of Tibet, has been ordered to investigate the case in Baiquan City. Let your general come out to see me!"

The defenders on the city had long noticed this Tibetan cavalry.

So he quickly went to the city to report to Guo Zhiyun.

When he heard that the cavalry sent by Tubo had arrived, Guo Zhiyun's expression changed slightly, and he felt like he had been tricked.

The Tubo people would have come sooner or later, but they came at this time. It was obvious that someone was setting him up.

He knew without a doubt that this person must be Fan Xin.

"Damn it, no wonder there aren't any Han corpses. You set up a trap for me to take advantage of my feelings!"

After spitting hard on the ground, Guo Zhiyun mounted his horse and walked towards the city gate.

Now it is time for the two countries to form a friendly alliance. If this incident caused a war, he would not be able to explain it to the Emperor of Tang Dynasty.

When he arrived at the city gate, Guo Zhiyun ordered his men to open the city gate. There were 50,000 troops inside. He was not afraid of Tibetan attacks.

"Are you the garrison general of the Tang Dynasty?"

Seeing Guo Zhiyun coming out, Qimeng asked with a gloomy face.

"Yes, this general is Guo Zhiyun, the military commander of the Duyou Festival, who has full authority over the affairs of each state." Guo Zhiyun said in a nonchalant manner.

Although he fell into Fan Xin's tricks, he was still the military governor of the Tang Dynasty and could not lose his limelight in front of foreigners.

"Okay, okay, as long as someone is in charge." Qimeng laughed angrily.

"Baiquan City is our own city in Tubo. It is guarded by 20,000 troops. Can you tell me where they are now?"

"This……"

Guo Zhiyun looked embarrassed for a while. The bodies of the Tibetan people were lying in the city. If others saw them, wouldn't he be convicted of destroying the alliance between the two countries? "

It's a pity that the more I'm afraid of something, the more I don't know who hung the Tibetan body on the edge of the city wall.
The strong wind blew the body and it fell to the ground with a thud, causing a large amount of dust.

"Ah, it's Deputy Prime Minister Gailixu, General Hunji, and General Gale!"

Seeing the corpse's face, the eyes of the eight thousand Tibetan cavalry were red.

That's all for Hunji. They didn't expect that the despicable Han people would even cut off the head of Gai Lixu, who advocated friendship between the two countries.

For a time, everyone was filled with righteous indignation and demanded a fight to the death with the Tang Dynasty people.

Qimeng waved his hand to signal the army to be quiet. He endured the pain in his heart and walked to Gai Lixu, holding his corpse in his arms.

When passing by Guo Zhiyun, he paused and didn't look back.

"Envoy Guo Jiedu, right? I have remembered your name, and I will personally take your head in the future to avenge the massacre of 20,000 clan members!"

Guo Zhiyun wanted to say that it was not me who killed these people, but Fan Xin's fellow.

But there are no Tubo cavalry figures anywhere in front of them.

"What should we do about Jiedushi? Killing 20,000 Tibetan people is a big deal. I guess the Tibetan court will not let it go. If your Majesty tracks it down, we will be blamed."

"Hmph, what else can we do? Of course, we should report the whole matter to His Majesty."

Guo Zhiyun snorted heavily and was about to turn his horse around and return to Shanzhou.

Unexpectedly, a sound of gongs and drums suddenly sounded in the distance, and a group of common people could be vaguely seen at the end of the ancient road walking towards this side.

"In this dangerous place on the border, who is so careless about life and death?"

"Returning to Jiedushi, the people heard that you defeated the powerful Tibetan army, so they came here to comfort the army!"

"Ah, no, Guo Jiedushi has fainted. Someone come quickly!"

Compared with the joy of the people of the Tang Dynasty, the atmosphere in the Potala Palace far away in Tubo was solemn.

"So, the Tang people took advantage of the Hunji rebellion to invade our Baiquan City and killed 20,000 garrison soldiers?"

From a high position, Queen Mother Chimalun stared coldly at the corpse on the ground, her hands tightly clasped on the armrests, her nails breaking due to the force.

Twenty thousand soldiers died in Baiquan City in vain.

How does she explain to those pious citizens?
Qimeng knelt on the ground, pressing his knees with his hands and his eyes turned red.

"Back to the Queen Mother, this matter was witnessed by the last general. When the army arrived, the Tang army was inside cleaning the battlefield, if not to report back."

"The general has already perished with them!"

Hearing this, Queen Mother Chimalun looked up to the sky and sighed, closing her eyes in pain.

"Who is the general of the Tang army who massacred my Tibetan people?"

"Guo Zhiyun, the commander of the Duyou Festival!"

"it is good!"

The next moment, Queen Mother Chimalun opened her eyes suddenly and slapped the bone bucket with a heavy palm.

"Summon Guoliqi to the palace immediately for an audience, and at the same time write a letter to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the most stern tone, scolding them for not keeping their word!"

"promise!"

As the bells of the Potala Palace rang, some ministers who usually stayed at home walked towards the palace on the mountain.

Among them was Guoliqi who was punished. When the ministers heard that the Tang Dynasty had killed 20,000 Tibetan soldiers, their eyes were all red.

They all shouted to declare war on Datang!
"The Queen Mother, I think that the Tang Dynasty has strong soldiers and horses. It is not suitable for us to fight against it alone. We can try to unite some like-minded countries!"

As the Prime Minister, Guo Liqi was the first to stand up and speak.

Queen Mother Chimalun nodded and said with a gloomy expression.

"The Tang Dynasty's eagerness to expand its territory offended many countries. We just took advantage of this to unite them."

"In this way, I will appoint you as the Plenipotentiary Prime Minister, responsible for contacting the Later Turkic Khanate in Mobei, as well as the Tuqishi Khanate in the Western Regions, and the Great Food Kingdom in Black!"

"Ask them to join us in attacking the Tang Dynasty. I want to see how Li Longji can defeat it this time!"

Guo Liqi knelt on the ground and worshiped in excitement.

"The Queen Mother is wise, I will contact the Black-clad Shiguo immediately and ask them to borrow troops to attack the Tang Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)