Tiantang

Chapter 242 The momentum is like a rainbow and the crown is full of anger!

Chapter 250 The momentum is like a rainbow, bursting with anger!

Li Heng's face was extremely gloomy, and the corners of his mouth were twitching slightly.

Right Prime Minister Yang Guozhong, Left Prime Minister Chen Xilie, General Chen Xuanli, Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, Hubu Shangshu Zhang Jiyong and other powerful officials, all the core members of the entire Tang court gathered in Li Heng's study in Xingqing Palace (formerly the imperial study of the old emperor), the expressions are very complicated.

The Tubo people dared to send soldiers to invade the country, and a war had already begun, which made many people a little bit astonished and even more unacceptable.

It is obvious that the marriage has been completed and the peace agreement has been signed, why did the Tibetans go back on their word and capture the border of the Tang Dynasty?What an asshole!

Li Heng had a gloomy face and remained silent.

Chen Xuanli hesitated for a moment, and took the initiative to say, "His Royal Highness, in my humble opinion, the Tubo people's invasion of the border has a lot to do with Zhang Xuan's ineffective governance in Longshuo. The Tubo people just made peace with my Tang Dynasty, and the court married Princess Wanchun Yu Chisong Dezan, what kind of favor is this? But the Tubo people provoked the war at this time, which shows... there must be something inside!"

"My minister thought that this matter must be thoroughly investigated." Chen Xuanli gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice.

He had an almost deep-seated hatred for Zhang Xuan in his heart. Once he seized the opportunity, how could he not do his best to frame Zhang Xuan.

As soon as Chen Xuanli opened his mouth, Zhang Jiyong also followed, "Yes, Your Highness, what General Chen said is true. I think that the Longshuo feudal town is so important. Zhang Xuan is so young and has little knowledge, so it must be embarrassing. As soon as the war broke out, it cost the imperial court countless money and food, Zhang Xuan, as the governor of Longshuo, cannot escape the blame."

Hearing this, Li Heng raised his eyebrows a little, but he didn't respond.

Yang Guozhong frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Does Tubo need a reason for committing crimes? Over the years, how many Tubo people have committed crimes? What does it have to do with Zhang Xuan? Zhang Xuan has only been in Longshuo for a short time, so he blamed Tubo for committing crimes. On Zhang Xuan, Chen Xuanli, Zhang Jiyong, thanks to the two of you who can speak!"

"Your Highness, Guozhong has long said that the Tubo people are unreliable. Zhang Xuan strongly opposed the kinship before, saying that the Tubo people were plotting something wrong. They must want to use the opportunity of the kinship to invade our Tang territory. This has been planned for a long time. For the imperial court, the most urgent task at present is to deal with the war as soon as possible and drive out the Tubo thieves!"

"It is true that Zhang Xuan is young, but his aspirations do not lie in his age, but he has no ambition to live a hundred years. Everyone in the world knows whether Zhang Xuan has talent or learning. The worst thing is, I don't think the talents of Zhang Xuan are inferior to those of General Chen and Master Zhang. How much. At the beginning, King Rong forced the palace, but Zhang Xuan was ordered to turn the tide..."

Whether it is out of his own political interests or because of the good relationship between Zhang Xuan and the Yang family, Yang Guozhong must support Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Jiyong and Chen Xuanli turned red, and were about to refute a few words, when Li Heng said in a deep voice, "Stop arguing, what are you arguing about, I'm already upset enough!"

Li Heng glared at Zhang Jiyong and Chen Xuanli, and said calmly, "A month ago, as soon as Zhang Xuan arrived in Longshuo, he sent a secret report to the palace, saying that Tubo had gathered tens of thousands of soldiers and horses on the front line of the river, and said that Tubo was plotting something wrong. , I asked Ben Gong to deal with it. It's a pity that Ben Gong didn't take it to heart, and now it seems that it is so."

"The Tubo people are wolves with ambitions, and it's common for them to backtrack on their promises... I know this."

"The top priority is how to deploy the battle against Tubo—what did Prime Minister Yang, Prime Minister Chen, and Zhang Xuan say?"

Li Heng looked at Yang Guozhong and Chen Xilie.

Yang Guozhong winked at Chen Xilie, Chen Xilie cleared his throat, and said in a low voice, "Return to Your Highness, Commander Zhang said, asking the court to urgently order An Sishun from Jiannan to Chen Bing in Songzhou to prevent Tubo from dividing troops to invade Jiannan." South; on the other hand, urgently ordered Hexi Ge Shuhan's troops to enter the two states of Gansu and Liangzhou to form a deterrent to Tubo."

"In addition, request the court to exempt the peace with Tubo and detain the Tubo prince Chisong Dezan in the Tang Dynasty. If the court allows, Zhang Xuan will escort Chisong Dezan back to Chang'an immediately, and the court will deal with it."

"Zhang Xuan is willing to personally lead Longshuo's [-] troops to fight to the death with the Tubo people, and he will definitely take back Qinghai. Even..." Chen Xilie hesitated for a while, and then said softly, "Even, we can take the opportunity to occupy the old place of Tuyuhun and divide the Hezhou prefectures. Advance three hundred miles to Tubo territory, take the former land of Tuyuhun as our own and bring it into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and permanently set up the Governor's Mansion of Hefang, under the jurisdiction of our court."

As soon as Chen Xilie said this, Li Heng gasped.

He stared at Chen Xilie in a daze, and hissed, "Chen Xiang, if you can fight back and bring the territory of Tuyuhun's hometown into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it will naturally be gratifying, and it must be a great achievement to open up the territory. But...it is not easy to win the old place of Tuyuhun from the Tibetans!"

"A joke, a big joke. Your Highness, Zhang Xuan is so overjoyed that he forgets about it. He resisted Tubo in Longshuo, and I am really worried!"

Chen Xuanli sneered lightly and said, "How is this possible? Tuyuhun's former land has been occupied by Tubo for many years, and if it goes deep into Tubo's territory, even if it can be temporarily captured, it is impossible to hold it for a long time. It is even more empty talk to include it in the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

Seeing the crisis, Chen Xuanli and Zhang Jiyong not only did not fulfill their duties as courtiers, nor talked about how to deal with the Tubo people, but instead chattered behind Zhang Xuan's back to frame Zhang Xuan, even Chen Xilie frowned.

He glanced at Chen Xuanli, and said calmly, "His Royal Highness, you don't have to take it seriously. What Governor Zhang said is just a strategic idea. If Governor Zhang can expel Tubo and take the old place of Tuyuhun into the Tang Dynasty Territory, why not do it for the imperial court?"

Li Heng pondered for a while, then waved his hand abruptly and said decisively, "What Chen Xiang said is very true, it is justified. Immediately send an urgent order to Long Shuo from [-] miles away, asking Zhang Xuan to mobilize troops and horses to fight against Tubo, vowing to regain every inch of our Tang Dynasty Territory. At the same time, send orders to Jiannan and Hexi, and order Ge Shuhan and An Sishun to mobilize the army to guard against Tubo."

"Stop the kinship with Tubo, use Longshuo soldiers to escort Princess Wanchun back to Beijing, take down the Tubo prince Chisong Dezan, escort him to Chang'an, and wait there."

"Summoned, canonized Zhang Xuan as the general manager of the Pingfan army. In an emergency, he has the right to dispatch the troops and horses of Hexi and Jiannan towns. Tell Zhang Xuan that if he can win the old place of Tuyuhun for the court, he will be crowned king and worship him soon! "

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The twelfth year of Tianbao is summer, at three o'clock on the first day of July.

Outside the city of Lingzhou, Zhang Xun, Nan Jiyun and others led the Shence Army with 2000 people, and the [-] Huihe cavalry led by Prince Gele and Princess Su Hudong who came to reinforce the battle lined up neatly, forming two groups. There is a distinct army and horse phalanx.

The army is ready to go. Before that, Guo Ziyi's 2 people have rushed to the aid of Shanzhou in advance to help the remnants of Shanzhou to hold on to the city. They are currently confronting the tens of thousands of Tubo cavalry in the open area of ​​​​Qinghai.

Boom boom boom!
The sound of the thundering army drum suddenly sounded. Zhang Xuan, dressed in armor and holding a sword, was the first to gallop out of Lingzhou City on horseback. Behind him were Feng Changqing, Hua Nuer, Xiao Shisanlang and others.

Zhang Xuan galloped alone in front of the two army horse phalanxes, turned his horse's head, and faced the ten thousand high-spirited Shence army and ten thousand fierce Uighur cavalry, he suddenly raised the sword in his hand .

The sound of the drums stopped suddenly.

Zhang Xuan shouted loudly, "Boys, the Tubo people have invaded our borders, plundered my flesh and blood, and offended the majesty of the heavenly court! The court has ordered this commander to raise an army of [-] troops, and go west to Qinghai to fight to the death with those Tubo bandits!"

"*****************************************************************************************************************************************!

"The Tang Dynasty is mighty and invincible, and our army is invincible!"

The soldiers shouted in unison, swords and guns collided, the sound shook the sky, and the momentum was like a rainbow.

Zhang Xuan turned his horse's head and held his sword high in the direction of Qinghai, "March into Qinghai, recover the lost ground, and set off!"

Zhang Xuan took the lead and galloped away first.

Behind him, more than a hundred guard soldiers held high the hunting flags of "Longshuo Metropolitan Governor", "Lingwu County Duke", and "Three Towns' Pacifier", and followed closely behind.

After that, Zhang Xun and other generals led a team to follow.

2 soldiers and horses acted with great momentum, and the smoke and dust billowed, covering the whole field.

Standing on the tower of Lingzhou City, Feng Changqing watched the army going away, and the high-spirited military flag gradually disappeared in the smoke and dust that covered the sky, and he couldn't help sighing softly, "I wish the general governor a victory and an early triumphant return!" Come back!"

Most of Longshuo's soldiers and horses were transferred to the front line of Qinghai and Helong, either to guard against the Tubo people, or to fight with the soldiers and horses on the other side of Stanley, leaving the rear empty.Only a few thousand defenders remained in Lingzhou City, and Feng Changqing guarded the rear, with full authority to manage Longshuo's government affairs and defense, and at the same time allocate supplies and supplies for the army.

This is also a heavy responsibility.It can even be said that Feng Changqing's burden is very heavy. Whether he can be a good logistics manager will directly determine the success or failure of Zhang Xuan's battle ahead.

……

……

Shancheng.

Shancheng is the closest city to Tubo in the Tang Dynasty. The city defense is not high, and it is a city of military settlements.

The 300 cavalry in Stanley took Shancheng as their base camp, successively invaded and occupied three adjacent cities including Linfan and Gulang, and eight border castles of the Tang Dynasty, including Baimaying and Huangshui, and advanced more than [-] miles into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Stanley was stationed in Shancheng, leading [-] soldiers and horses, while the remaining [-] people invaded various cities and fortresses. In the past few days, the Tubo people wantonly plundered food and people in the surrounding areas. All of them fled into the city of Shanzhou.

The setting sun is slanting to the west, and the wilderness in Qinghai is billowing with smoke, which is endlessly bleak and chilling.Many fertile fields have been trampled on, and on the official roads or trails criss-crossing the fields, there are occasionally ruined military flags and some armor and weapons left by the Tang army when they retreated.

Stanley in full armor stood on top of the Shancheng city tower, staring at the big city of Shanzhou in front of him.

He was really hesitant in his heart, whether he should enter the army immediately, go to take Shanzhou, and fight with Guo Ziyi's soldiers and horses.But he was also worried that Zhang Xuan's Longshuo army would be reinforced, and his own army of 3 troops would go deep alone, fearing that they would be ambushed by Zhang Xuan.

"Your Highness, Second Prince, urgent report: Great Governor Longshuo of the Tang Dynasty led 2 troops westward from Lingzhou to reinforce Shanzhou. They have reached the outskirts of Shanzhou and joined forces with Guo Ziyi's [-] troops."

Stanley suddenly turned his head and sneered, "Is this Chief Commander Zhang finally here?"

……

……

Shanzhou City.

Standing on the tower, Zhang Xuan also stared in the direction of Shancheng, with a very gloomy expression on his face.The destructive power of the Tubo people on the front line of Qinghai far exceeded his imagination. Within a hundred miles, almost all the villages were burned by the Tubo people.

Fortunately, Zhang Xuan had already made arrangements for the army to cover the retreat of the border residents, and the casualties were not large.

Although he knew that this was a necessary price that he had to pay for the success of a major event, Zhang Xuan still felt deeply guilty and endlessly angry.

Guo Ziyi, Zhang Xuan and other generals stood behind him respectfully, not daring to say a word.

Zhang Xuan went up to the tower, and had stood silently on the tower for more than an hour without saying a word, anyone could see that he was already standing at a point where his anger was about to erupt.

Zhang Xuan suddenly turned his head to look at Guo Ziyi, and said coldly, "Guo Ziyi, quickly send people to escort the border residents out of Shanzhou and resettle in Hezhou, and tell the border residents that all their losses will be borne by the Metropolitan Government. Help them build another home, give them land and food."

"Send 1000 people to guard the border people to Hezhou and hand them over to Li Guangbi. Li Guangbi will understand what I mean."

"The general obeys orders!" Guo Ziyi didn't dare to neglect, and bowed to accept the orders and left.

Zhang Xuan sighed softly, and said emotionally, "Everyone, the people of Qinghai Sea have suffered, and the Tubo army has caused disasters to several states. This is my commander's fault."

Zhang Xun said softly, "The governor doesn't need to blame himself. Tubo's crimes have always been like this."

Zhang Xuan slapped the city wall with his hands angrily, and shouted, "This time, the commander will not only drive these Tibetan dogs out of the territory of the Tang Dynasty, but also drive straight into Tubo. It's a shame for Yixue today. I don't know what you think ?”

"Follow the command of the governor!" All the generals bowed and agreed in unison.

"Come on, whoever goes to the Tubo people in Shancheng will write a letter of war for me!" Zhang Xuan yelled again.

Nan Jiyun was just about to take the order to speak out, but saw Xiao Shisanlang had already stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "The final general is willing to go!"

Zhang Xuan stared deeply at Xiao Shisanlang, nodded silently, "General Xiao, go early and come back early, take care of yourself!"

In front of outsiders, the two of them are naturally "business as usual".

Xiao Shisanlang nodded, "Please rest assured, the governor, the final general will definitely fulfill his mission."

Zhang Xuan strode down the tower, wrote a letter of war in his own hand, and handed it to Xiao Shisanlang.Xiao Shisanlang didn't bring any soldiers to guard him, so he rode his horse and went straight to Shancheng alone.Shancheng is more than a hundred miles away from Shanzhou, and at Xiao Shisanlang's speed, he can return tomorrow afternoon.

Zhang Xuan was not worried about Xiao Shisanlang's safety.Firstly, if the two countries were at war without beheading the envoy, Xiao Shisanlang would send a letter away, and the Tubo people would not do anything to him; Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses contend, and if they simply escape for their lives, the Tubo people will not be able to keep him.

Zhang Xuan went back to the bedroom and sat silently. Hua Nuer brought a cup of tea and said softly, "Drink a cup of tea to calm down the anger. The big battle is coming, you must not damage your body!"

(End of this chapter)