The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 159 A Preliminary Study of Tubo
"In this war with Tubo, apart from food and fodder, what other battles do you think there were?" Li Ying asked.

Yang Yuhuan thought for a while and said, "There is still morale. General Dong suffered a series of defeats and his deputy general was killed in battle. The morale of the Hexi Army must have reached the bottom. On the contrary, the Tubo Army has won a series of victories, sweeping away the haze of defeat by you in Xiaoboluo. I heard that Tubo has already intended to conquer Hexi."

"What impact will the low morale of our troops have?" Li Heng asked in more detail.

Yang Yuhuan said: "It will make our army lose the will to fight, and the number of deserters will increase. What's worse, some soldiers with weak will will think of rebelling against the Tang Dynasty and joining Tubo. This is not good news for you. But perhaps it is for this reason that the saints let you, an undefeated general, station in Hexi. As long as you go to Hexi, the morale of our army will definitely be greatly improved."

Li Ying smiled and said, "You didn't forget to praise me while you were talking. You were originally talking very well, but because you praised me too much, your incisive words lost a bit of their brilliance."

"I just like to praise my husband. I don't care whether the words are interesting or not." Yang Yuhuan took Li Heng's hand and made a face.

Li Heng smiled dotingly and asked, "Do you think Tubo will really attack Hexi?"

"This is something I could not have anticipated, and I need your help in explaining it to me." Yang Yuhuan said this, and waited earnestly for Li Heng to speak.

"Yes, but no." Li Heng pondered and then explained: "I say Tubo will, because Tubo's successive victories have not only made a huge difference in the morale of the two sides, but also changed the strength of the two sides. Tubo will definitely take this opportunity to plunder in Hexi. I say Tubo will not, because Tubo knows that it is not in its advantage to fight with the Tang Dynasty in Hexi, so it will not stay for long. It is very likely to plunder and return immediately."

Yang Yuhuan then asked, "My dear, when do you think Tubo will come to Hexi to plunder?"

Li Xian said: "According to the customs of the Tibetans, it is usually in the spring and autumn."

Yang Yuhuan was puzzled: "Spring and autumn are the busy farming seasons. Our Tang Dynasty usually sends troops in summer and winter. Why are they doing the opposite of us?"

"Two reasons." Li Heng explained patiently, "The first reason is the weather. The land occupied by Tubo has a cold climate, especially in winter, which is not suitable for them to gather troops. In summer, the Tang Dynasty is too hot. They are used to the cold and cannot stand the heat. When they arrive in the Tang Dynasty, many soldiers fall ill. The second reason is their motive for sending troops. Most of the Tubo troops send troops to plunder. Autumn is the harvest season, so they can come back with a full load."

"I see." Yang Yuhuan nodded and thought: "This is what the Art of War calls knowing the weather."

Li Heng was surprised and asked, "You still read the Art of War?"

"Watch it occasionally." Yang Yuhuan said.

Li Heng smiled and said, "Are you planning to use military tactics against me?"

"Yes." Yang Yuhuan threw herself into Li Heng's arms and said with a smile, "I don't know which plan can win my love."

Li Heng hugged Yang Yuhuan and said, "If you stand in front of me, I will fall into your trap."

"Is it a beauty trap?" Yang Yuhuan giggled.

Li Ying asked, "What do you think?"

"Not only that." Yang Yuhuan smiled sweetly, "But no matter whether it is or not, I will only use the beauty trap on you, my dear."

"Yeah." Li Ying moved closer to Yang Yuhuan and said, "I really want to keep looking at you like this."

Yang Yuhuan said: "There has always been a Husband-Waiting Stone, but no Wife-Waiting Stone. If you become a Wife-Waiting Stone, I'm afraid you will be laughed at by the world."

"Laugh if you want to. I'm willing." Li Ying said.

Yang Yuhuan stared at Li Heng and said, "Then my dear, I will look at each other and become the husband and wife stone."

Li Heng's mind flashed with a scene of two stones facing each other and a bunch of tourists watching. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'll accompany you for the next three days."

"Okay." Yang Yuhuan nodded happily, thought for a moment, and said, "And there's sister Mu Jin, my dear, please don't neglect her."

Li Ying asked, "What has she been busy with these past two days?"

"Making ice." Yang Yuhuan replied, "Ever since my husband taught Sister Mu Jin some strange knowledge, she has slowly learned how to make ice. In the future history books, there may be stories about Sister Mu Jin making ice." "It's possible." Li Ying agreed, "Would you be envious?"

Yang Yuhuan shook her head and said, "Sister Mu Jin is smart and has good character. She deserves to be recorded in history books."

As the two were talking about this, Zhang Mujin just walked in.

Zhang Mujin walked straight to the two of them and said to Li Ying, "Your Highness, the skill of making ice has matured and can be presented to the saint."

"Thank you for your help." Li Heng smiled knowingly, "We were just talking about you and you happened to be here."

Zhang Mujin said: "If Mujin has done anything wrong, please correct me, Your Highness."

Li Heng said: "I didn't say you were wrong, you did a great job, and my wife is still praising you."

Yang Yuhuan pulled Zhang Mujin to her side and said to Li Heng, "Sister Mujin has done a great deed, my lord, you must reward her."

"Mujin..." Zhang Mujin wanted to refuse.

Yang Yuhuan interrupted her, and then the two of them looked at Li Heng in tacit understanding.

Seeing the looks of the two, Li Ying secretly felt relieved.

He was glad that these two girls were truly thinking of him, otherwise, with their abilities, he would probably never have peace.

Li Ying thought about it, glanced at the sky outside, and said with a smile: "How to reward, it's up to you to decide."

"Okay."

Yang Yuhuan and Zhang Mujin nodded together and made suggestions respectively, and Li Heng followed their advice.

……

……

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Heng temporarily left his family and entrusted the affairs of Anxi to An Sishun, Xin Yunjing and others, and went to Hexi with Gao Xianzhi and others.

When he arrived at Liangzhou, the capital of Hexi, Li Heng looked at the familiar scene and couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

Li Siye, who was standing at the gate of Liangzhou, asked curiously, "Why did His Highness come here so quietly, and no one came to greet him?"

Without waiting for Li Heng to speak, Feng Changqing said, "General Li, you don't know that only by coming quietly can you truly understand the administration and defense of Hexi, which will facilitate Your Highness to make the next deployment."

"That's true." Li Siye nodded.

Li Heng asked, "General Li, do you know the strength and deployment of troops in Hexi?"

"I know a thing or two." Li Siye replied respectfully, "Hexi leads eight armies and three defenses, with more than 73,000 soldiers and more than 19,000 horses, and more than 1.8 million pieces of clothing per year. The Chishui Army is in Liangzhou City, with more than 33,000 soldiers and more than 13,000 horses. The Dadou Army is more than 200 miles west of Liangzhou, with 7,500 soldiers and more than 2,400 horses. The Jiankang Army is 200 miles west of Ganzhou, with more than 5,300 soldiers..."

Li Siye finished talking about the military strength and deployment of Hexi in one breath, and finally added: "But these are the previous numbers. Now Dong Yanguang has suffered several defeats and 30% of his troops have been lost."

(End of this chapter)