The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 263: Each Country Has Its Own Conditions
Longyou, Shanzhou.

When Wang Zhongsi received the imperial edict from Li Longji asking him and Prince Rong Li Wan to report the battle plan, he felt a headache.

During this period, due to the defeat in Jiannan and the loss of Songzhou, Longyou lost a relatively close source of logistics, and food, wages and military equipment became increasingly scarce. In order to cope with this situation, he took a series of measures to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

For example, in addition to increasing revenue, they levied commercial taxes on the Hu merchants along the Silk Road, and asked Shuofang, Hedong and Hexi to support Longyou.

In order to save money, he asked the soldiers to engrave their names on their weapons, and they had to return the weapons after training or fighting.

However, these measures are only temporary solutions and do not address the root cause.

Wang Zhongsi increasingly felt that Longyou was a big pit, and whoever came here to take charge would have to constantly fill this pit if he wanted to achieve something.

Wang Zhongsi lamented for a long time, and had no choice but to choose a more risky strategy.

His original strategy was to wait until Jiannan successfully negotiated peace with Nanzhao, and then join forces with Jiannan to launch an offensive.

But now, due to the pressure from Li Longji, he could only take the risk to help Jiannan take Songzhou first, and use the victory of Songzhou to demonstrate that the Tang Dynasty was still strong in Jiannan, so as to force Nanzhao to retreat, complete peace talks with Nanzhao, and then advance to Mohuanchuan.

After Wang Zhongsi determined the strategy, he summoned all the generals to make plans, and then sent people to Jiannan to negotiate with Prince Rong Li Wan.

……

Anxi, Qiuci.

Li Ying returned to Qiuci after a long absence, because three days later, he would complete his wedding with Aqisi here.

Of course, this is just one of the reasons.

In addition, he had been away from Qiuci for some time, and he needed to come back to check in person whether all the major and minor matters in Anxi were still developing according to the original plan.

No matter how much he trusted Gao Xianzhi, he had to do this.

Li Heng first met with officials of all ranks and local clans in Kucha, and then listened to reports from several important figures.

This time, Bai Xiaode was the first to report.

Bai Xiaode said: "Your Highness, I don't know whether the Tibetans are cautious or for some other reason, they have always refused to send a large force to receive my false surrender. I have no way to achieve a big victory. I can only eliminate several Tibetan strongholds and annihilate a small Tibetan force."

An Sishun, who had not been seen for a long time, said: "After Tubo conquered a place, it made the people there become second-class people, or even slaves. In contrast, the Tang Dynasty would appease its people and treat them equally. Since His Highness took over Anxi, he has been lenient, fair and strict. Tubo knows this very well, so they are naturally cautious."

The equal treatment that An Sishun talked about is actually not that equal.

After all, there are thresholds for ordinary Hu people to obtain household registration in the Tang Dynasty, and even if they are registered, they will be looked down upon.

For example, Gao Xianzhi was often called Gaolihu.

However, this kind of contempt is a "long-term culture" and has little to do with the policies of the Tang Dynasty. Generally speaking, the policies of the Tang Dynasty still maintain Li Shimin's attitude of "I love you all the same."

Moreover, compared with this kind of cultural contempt, Tubo was actually oppressing them, so generally speaking, the surrounding ethnic minorities, if given a choice, would mostly choose to join the Tang Dynasty rather than Tubo.

Tubo itself also knew this a little bit, so as to instigate the rebellion of the ethnic groups surrounding the Tang Dynasty, they basically adopted the attitude of "if they can persuade as many as they can, then so be it", but if they can't persuade them, they won't force it.

Of course, this strategy of Tubo was not a shambles, but a choice based on its own national conditions. Because not all countries have the qualifications and strength to be gentle to other countries, Tubo did not have the national strength of the Tang Dynasty. For them, any policy of gentleness was not as cost-effective and direct as looting and enslavement.

Moreover, Tubo had to rely on looting and enslaving others to motivate soldiers to fight for their lives. Even the "high-level intellectuals" who believed in Buddhism and belonged to the Roman Empire did not dare to violate such rules.

Bai Xiaode, who was a member of the Kucha royal family, agreed with An Sishun and said, "It's just a pity to waste an opportunity."

"No problem." Li Heng smiled slightly. "Strategies like feigning surrender are determined by the circumstances. They are not something that can be easily encountered. In a war with Tubo, strength should be the main factor."

"That's right." Bai Xiaode bowed to Li Ying and stepped aside.

Gao Xianzhi then stepped forward and presented a thick stack of documents to Li Heng.

As Li Heng watched, Gao Xianzhi said, "The military farms and water conservancy projects in Anxi are progressing steadily according to the previous plan, and the trade routes are more prosperous than before. In terms of population, refugees from the Central Plains, tribes from nearby cities, escapees who have hidden in the upper classes, and even people from other countries have all migrated to Anxi. The population has doubled since Your Highness took over Anxi ten years ago."

Li Heng nodded and asked casually, "With so many more people, will Anxi's settlement be enough?"

"Enough." Gao Xianzhi replied, "Since taking Suiye City, Anxi has controlled most of the Ili River Valley. The land in the Ili River Valley is fertile and very suitable for the development of military farming."

"Very good." Li Heng responded and continued to look down at the information in his hand.

Gao Xianzhi continued, "Your Highness, there are more people in Anxi and more food. Do you want to increase the troops?"

Upon hearing this, Li Heng closed the document, looked up at Gao Xianzhi, and asked, "What do you think, General Gao?"

"This..." Gao Xianzhi was stunned for a moment, then said, "I think it is not necessary for the time being."

Li Ying asked, "What's the reason?"

Gao Xianzhi said: "There are two reasons. First, given Anxi's location and status, the court will not allow Anxi to have too many soldiers. If we increase the number of soldiers without permission, it will only make the court think that we have ulterior motives. Second, it is not the quantity of soldiers that matters, but their quality. Too many bloated soldiers will weaken the combat effectiveness of the army. Therefore, it is better to use the excess supplies to improve the treatment and equipment of the existing soldiers."

"That's what I think too." Li Heng smiled. "General Gao already had an idea, but he came to ask me. I guess he must have encountered some problem."

Gao Xianzhi said, "Your Highness, I can't hide it from you. Recently, more and more people have joined the army. I know that most of them want to gain status through military merit, and some of them want to take advantage of the situation. If we accept them all, it will waste food and money. If we reject them all, we are afraid that their good intentions will be dampened and they will become alienated from us."

Li Heng asked, "Does General Gao have any solution?"

Gao Xianzhi said: "General Duan has offered a good plan."

The General Duan that Gao Xianzhi mentioned was Duan Xueshi.

Duan Xueshi was also a fierce general in history. He performed very well from following Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, Li Siye, and Ma Lin in battles to becoming a military governor. In addition, he was loyal, filial, and honest, a rare and pure person.

Li Ying looked at Duan Xiushi and asked, "General Duan, what good plan do you have?"

Duan Xiushi stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Highness, there are many people who have joined the army. We cannot accept them all, but we cannot refuse to accept them either. In this case, it is better to train them into a standing army, let them work on the farm during the busy season, and train in their spare time. Then select those who have performed well in the training and recruit them into the army. This way, we can both ensure their promotion and select useful people."

Duan Xueshi's strategy was not a major breakthrough or innovation. He just made some minor improvements based on the actual situation in Anxi.

(End of this chapter)