Daming Super Dimension Company, President Zhu Yuanzhang!

Chapter 64: The white-haired veteran of Tang Anxi asks for help!

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a long time and couldn't figure out how to describe it.

In the end, he just said: "I guess you have other plans!"

Xiao Ran quickly waved his hand and said: "What are you thinking about? Whoever goes out has to dress up. Besides, I'm going to see him later, but he's a person I admire very much!"

After saying that, Xiao Ran disappeared instantly, leaving only Zhu Yuanzhang with a confused look.

Zhenguan Dynasty

Li Zhengdian

This time, Xiao Ran reached Li Shimin's side in a serious manner. It was just a coincidence that Li Shimin happened to be in the Li Zheng Palace.

However, there was also a misfortune, that is, Li Lizhi was not here, so it could be said that Xiao Ran's outfit was in vain.

Seeing Xiao Ran coming over, Li Shimin was a little surprised, "Why are you here?"

He had just returned to court and had not yet begun to deal with today's political affairs. He came over to have dinner with Queen Changsun.

Xiao Ran said: "Isn't this an order from Datang? Come and ask if you want to go."

Li Shimin immediately made the decision: "Go!"

Empress Changsun looked a little amused at the excited Li Shimin. She patted Li Shimin's arm and said, "Even if we go, there's no rush, right? At least we'll finish the meal first."

After saying that, she looked at Xiao Ran again and asked, "Has Xiao Ran eaten?"

Xiao Ran chuckled and said, "Not yet." He originally wanted to come over to have a meal, and with Zhu Yuanzhang's teasing, naturally he didn't eat.

Empress Changsun smiled and said, "Just right, let's have some together."

Xiao Ran nodded and sat down at the desk with Queen Changsun and Li Shimin. The palace officials began to serve the dishes in an orderly manner.

Seeing that Queen Changsun and Li Shimin were about to use their chopsticks, Xiao Ran hesitated and asked: "Princess, don't you eat together?"

Empress Changsun immediately understood that it was a lie to come over to Li Shimin to take the order together, but it was true that she took the opportunity to come over to see Li Lizhi.

So she asked deliberately: "Which princess are you asking about?"

Xiao Ran choked for a moment.

Li Shimin glanced at Xiao Ran and said, "Good boy! I asked you why you were so arrogant today! It turns out that was your intention!"

Although they all thought Xiao Ran was good, when they saw someone coveting his daughter, Li Shimin suddenly couldn't stand Xiao Ran.

Seeing that they seemed to have misunderstood, Xiao Ran quickly explained: "No, no, I am doing this because of the order. As for the princess, I am looking for her because I have something to give her."

Empress Changsun first gave Xiao Ran a piece of food, and then said: "Li Zhi, I don't know what she has been busy with these past few days. She should be in her palace now, but you want me to help you call her out?"

Xiao Ran waved his hand quickly, "No, no, no, let's eat first. There's no rush. I'll have to talk to His Majesty about this list later."

After hearing this, Queen Changsun just nodded with a smile.

After eating, Empress Changsun waved her hand and asked everyone in the palace to go down, and also had the door closed.

Li Shimin then asked: "Whose order did you take?"

Xiao Ran straightened his face instantly and said, "It's Guo Ziyi's nephew, Guo Xin!"

Seeing Xiao Ran's serious look, Li Shimin was a little surprised, "It's rare for you to look serious like this."

Xiao Ran said: "That's Guo Xin, I really admire him, and the Anxi soldiers he led! They have been guarding the border for forty years! From a high-spirited young man to a gray-haired man, and finally to the whole city. White hair, never lose Mo Dao! How can such a person not be admired?"

Li Shimin was also a little shocked and asked quickly: "What is going on? Please tell me in detail."

Xiao Ran said: "This matter is a long story. After the Anshi Rebellion, most of the garrisons in Beiting, Hexi, and Longyou were transferred to the interior. The Tang Dynasty border was empty, and Tubo took the opportunity to occupy the Longyou and Hexi states."

“In the first year of Daizong’s Dali, facing the weakly defended Western Region, Tubo sent troops to attack the Anxi Protectorate in a massive attempt to annex the entire Western Region in one fell swoop. Under the leadership of general Guo Xin, the Anxi Protectorate repelled the invading Tibetan troops many times. , not one of the four towns in Anxi was lost."

"But after that, Tubo changed its strategy, and its offensive and defense became even weaker. Hexi and Longyou areas fell one after another. The fall of Hexi caused Tubo to cut off the connection between Anxi and Beiting and the Tang Dynasty. Anxi and Beiting became a piece of land outside the Central Plains. enclave."

Li Shimin frowned, "In this case, wouldn't Anxi have lost contact with Datang?"

Xiao Ran nodded, "Yes, there is no information at all in Anxi during this period, so even Guo Xin can't find anything, because they can't contact Datang at all, so how can there be records?"

Li Shimin frowned and suddenly said in shock: "They have persisted for forty years under such circumstances?!"

Xiao Ran pursed his lips and nodded seriously.

Li Shimin was very shocked. This is forty years! How did they persist for forty years without supplies from the court, without additional troops, and with enemies on all sides?

No wonder Xiao Ran's face was full of admiration when he mentioned this person. Only then did Li Shimin believe that Xiao Ran was not dressing up like this for his daughter.

Retracting his thoughts of outer space, Li Shimin asked: "Didn't the imperial court take the initiative to rescue them?"

Xiao Ran said: "How could he have that ability during Daizong's time? By the time of Tang Dezong's time, they didn't even know that there were still people in Anxi defending. Because there was no contact, they all thought that Anxi had fallen long ago."

"In the second year of Emperor Dezong's reign, the Anxi garrison organized a breakout and sent envoys via the Uighurs in the hope of getting in touch with the Tang Dynasty and increasing their troops in the Western Regions. This could be said to be their last hope, just to be able to Send the message."

"After the envoy arrived in the Tang Dynasty, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty learned that Anxi and Beiting had not fallen for more than ten years. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were still fighting bloody battles to defend the territory. The emperor and his ministers were all in tears. Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict to make Xiangxin the capital of Anxi to protect Wuwei County. King, Li Yuanzhong is the Protector of Beiting, and all the soldiers guarding the city have been promoted to the seventh level."

Li Shimin said in an appreciative tone: "This is what it should be! My soldiers of the Tang Dynasty have fought bloody battles for decades, so such a reward is not a light one!" Xiao Ran sighed and said in Li Shimin's doubtful eyes: "But this is What's the use? At that time, the imperial court had no ability to send troops to reinforce Guo Xin! At that time, the treacherous minister Lu Qi was in power. Because of his series of wrong decisions, the national income was halved, and Dezong was busy cutting down the vassals, so where could there be troops to reinforce Guo Xin? Xin!"

"So what the envoys brought back was only the appointment and Dezong's condolences. The Tang Dynasty could not give them a single soldier. The defenders of Anxi still had to face a Tibetan army several times their size. They could risk their lives to send this message out. There have been heavy losses, but unfortunately the reality is disappointing.”

Xiao Ran couldn't even imagine how desperate it would be when the soldiers fought tooth and nail to break out of the encirclement, just to be able to send the news to the court in order to have a chance of survival, but found out that it was all in vain.

Li Shimin closed his mouth tightly and said nothing.

After all, Queen Changsun is a woman and needs to be more emotional. At this time, she couldn't help but start wiping her tears.

Li Shimin patted Empress Changsun on the back and said nothing.

Xiao Ran sighed and continued: "Since then, they have lost contact with the imperial court again. In the third year of Dezong Zhenyuan's reign, Tubo invaded Beiting Protector's Mansion. Li Yuanzhong's successor attacked Gu and led troops to defend the city. Due to the large gap in military strength between the two sides, Beiting fell. Yang Xigu led his troops to retreat to Xizhou, but was killed by the Uighurs. All Beiting soldiers were destroyed, and Anxi became an isolated city."

"The next news about Anxi soldiers was two years later. It was the eminent monk Wukong who returned to Tang Dynasty from Tianzhu and passed through Qiuci City in Anxi. He found that the flag of the Tang Dynasty was still flying at the top of the city, and the soldiers guarding the city were all white-haired veterans. .”

"It turned out that after the fall of Beiting, Guo Xin mobilized the people of the city to defend the city to the death and defeated the Tubo army many times. In order to boost morale, the Anxi Army also minted its own currency, named Tang Jianzhong, to show the soldiers' support for the Tang Dynasty. miss."

History is always heavy, especially when you watch soldiers die for their country.

And what about Guo Xin and the others? The imperial court even gave up on them. They knew they could not win, but they still refused to give up and defended the city!

How can anyone not admire such a person and such a soldier?
Li Shimin's eyes were red, and the hand that had been comforting Empress Changsun trembled.

"It's me, Datang, I'm sorry for them!" Li Shimin finally cried.

Empress Changsun supported Li Shimin, and Xiao Ran also poured a glass of water for Li Shimin.

After drinking the glass of water, Li Shimin's mood became more stable.

He didn't look at Xiao Ran, but his eyes were blank and he didn't know what he was thinking about writing, but he said: "You continue."

Xiao Ran had no choice but to continue: "After knowing what the Anxi soldiers did, the eminent monk Wukong was moved by it, so he chanted sutras in the four towns of Anxi for two years to pray for the fallen soldiers. The next year, three of the four towns of Anxi, Shule and Khotan, and Suiye were lost one after another, leaving only Qiuci, where the Protectorate’s Mansion is located.”

"And there is another record, it was the third year of Yuanhe during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty. At this time, it had been more than forty years since the Western Regions were isolated from the Tang Dynasty. After more than forty years of perseverance, the young men who guarded the city had already turned into gray-haired old men. What remains unchanged is the belief in protecting Datang."

"Kiuci is the only city in the western region that still flies the flag of the Tang Dynasty. In the winter of the same year, the Tibetan army besieged Kucha City. The elderly Guo Xin led thousands of white-haired soldiers to watch death on the city wall. The people in the city also spontaneously came to the city Head, prepare for Anxi’s final battle.”

"After a day and night of bloody fighting, Guo Xin's blood spilled on the city, and all the white-haired soldiers in the city died in battle. At this point, the Anxi Tang army was completely destroyed, and the Western Region was completely occupied."

Li Shimin's originally calm emotions surged into his heart again, "I am the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, and the people of the Tang Dynasty!"

He only said these two sentences, and the sadness in them was hard to ignore.

Xiao Ran sighed faintly, "A lonely city thousands of miles away is full of white-haired soldiers. They are Han people in life and Tang Dynasty souls in death. This is the most realistic portrayal of Guo Xin and the Anxi veterans."

Li Shimin became more and more sad as he listened. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Seeing Li Shimin so excited, Xiao Ran was afraid that he would vomit blood, so he quickly said: "But it's not certain whether Guo Xin is dead or not."

These words attracted Li Shimin, and he asked in a hoarse voice: "What does this mean?"

Xiao Ran said: "The ending of Guo Xin is really uncertain, because they lost contact with the Tang Dynasty. If the city is captured, information can be found from the Uighurs, but there is no record of Guo Xin's whereabouts."

"In fact, there is no record of the time when Anxi finally fell. At that time, the eminent monk Wukong returned to his country and passed through Shule Town, where he met the garrison envoy Lu Yang; when he arrived at Khotan Town, he met the garrison envoy Zheng Ju; when he went to Qiuci, he saw Anxi The Great Protector, the Jiedushi Envoy of the Four Towns, and the Prince of Wuwei County, Guo Xin, arrived at Yanqi Town and met with the envoy Yang Riyou, indicating that the four towns in Anxi were still guarded by the Tang army at this time."

"It is recorded that only Khotan among the four towns in Anxi fell in the sixth year of Zhenyuan of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty. As for the final fall of Anxi in the third year of Yuanhe of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, it was speculated by later generations of scholars after consulting various materials. There is no concrete evidence. evidence."

Li Shimin is not as excited as before, although his voice is still a little hoarse.

He asked: "What about Guo Xin? If the enemy beheaded his confidant, would there be no record?"

Xiao Ran said: "Who knows, anyway, according to historical data, Guo Xin's whereabouts are unknown. If he surrendered, I don't believe a word of it, but maybe he was lucky and was seriously injured and was picked up outside. Have you gone back?"

Although he knew that this hope was almost impossible, Li Shimin said: "I hope he is still alive at that time. It is best to forget everything and live a good life."

Xiao Ran smiled and said nothing. If possible, he also hoped.

Empress Changsun showed a gentle smile, looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, you'd better go freshen up quickly."

Li Shimin thought of how he cried just now, in front of Xiao Ran, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Oh, no, it's very embarrassing.

After all, he can be regarded as Xiao Ran's elder. It is really embarrassing to cry in front of a junior!
So Li Shimin stood up and was about to wash his face. By coincidence, as soon as he opened the door, Li Lizhi came.

Originally, Li Lizhi heard that Xiao Ran was coming, so she hurried over, but before she could summon someone, the door opened automatically.

No matter the door opened, it was still her father standing behind her, and it was a father with red eyes and a depressed expression.

Li Shimin didn't expect it to be such a coincidence. He saw Li Lizhi as soon as he opened the door.

It's good now. Even at such an old age, I was still crying. Not only did Xiao Ran, a junior, see me, but my daughter also saw me!
At this time, Li Shimin wished he could drill into a hole directly!

Li Lizhi thought for a long time and asked softly: "Father, what happened?"

Li Shimin shook his head. His voice was much better than before, but still slightly hoarse. "It's nothing. Why are you here?"

Li Shimin didn't say anything, and Li Lizhi didn't dare to ask. She could only tell the truth: "I'm here to see the young man."

(End of this chapter)