Tibet

Bai Xiaode pondered for a moment, then sighed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the ministers on the big and small Bolu side have neglected it, and they are indeed responsible!"

Li Ye shook his head, "I don't want to hold people accountable, I just want to understand the current situation."

"Reporting to your majesty, there is an army of Gui Nhen over Xiao Bolu. There are about a thousand people, all locals. We ministers will send money and food there on time every three months."

"Are they still there?" Li Ye asked.

Bai Xiaode nodded, "Replying to Your Majesty, they are still there. When the minister came back from the river, he happened to meet the soldiers returning from delivering supplies. A thousand Gui Nhen troops were intact."

"So the Quy Nhon Army did not intercept the Tibetan Army?"

Bai Xiaode sighed. "This is the key. They were stationed on the north bank of the Poyi River. They guarded Xiaobolu, but they watched the Tibetan soldiers go from the north bank to the Shishi Kingdom. This is Wei Chen's inference, and it should be the case!"

Li Ye nodded. Of course he couldn't blame Bai Xiaode for this matter. The key was that the defenders were not Han people, but locals. Of course they would be lazy and slippery, let alone work for the Tang army to intercept the Tubo army and just turn a blind eye. Watching the Tibetan soldiers go west.

These defenders did not know what was happening in Tocharo and Hezhong, so they did not report to Bai Xiaode.

Although the defenders were just a formality, they at least saved Xiao Bolu.

Bai Xiaode felt ashamed and said to Li Ye: "Report to Your Majesty, I will definitely destroy the Tibetan army and re-establish the military city in Dabolu, completely blocking the way of Tibet's westward advance."

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "General Bai is already old, so stop traveling across mountains and rivers. Let the young people do it. Leave this task to General Xi!"

Xi Wanli is currently the deputy governor of Anxi, inheriting the legacy of his father Xi Yuanqing. Xi Yuanqing went to Xiaobolu in the fifth year of Tianbao. He suffered internal injuries due to cold and lack of oxygen, which caused the root cause of the disease. He finally died of illness in the thirteenth year of Tianbao.

Bai Xiaode understood in his heart that the emperor was determined to implement the county system in Anxi. If he became an obstacle, the emperor would not hesitate to let Xi Wanli replace him as the governor of Anxi.

Bai Xiaode nodded slightly, "General Xiao Xi is indeed more suitable for the expedition than Wei Chen!"

Bai Xiaode finished his work report and left first, but Li Ye waved his hand and smiled at the ministers: "Everyone, sit down for a moment. Privy Council Guo wants to report to everyone the latest situation in western Liaoning."

Guo Ziyi stood up and said: "Early this morning, Wei Chen received an urgent report from Zhang Dian, the governor of western Liaoning. It is very likely that a war will break out in Liaodong next spring. The Shiwei tribe and the Juluobo tribe have formed an alliance to jointly fight against the Tang army heading north."

Wei Jiansu asked: "May I ask the Privy Councilor, when did they start forming an alliance?"

"It should be two months ago that after the Tang army destroyed Heishui Mohe, only Shiwei tribe was left in western Liaoning. Knowing that the danger was coming, they sent envoys to Juluobo tribe and Bayegu tribe to prepare for the three families to join forces to deal with it together. Tang Jun!"

"Why is there the Baye Ancient Tribe again?" Zhang Li asked in confusion.

"The attitude of the Beyegu tribe is unclear now, but the Shiwei tribe and the Juluobo tribe have clearly formed an alliance and are currently actively preparing for war."

Wei Jiansu pondered for a moment and asked: "How could Zhang Dian know such detailed information? Does the Privy Council understand the reason?"

Guo Ziyi leaned forward and said: "Zhang Dian wrote a report before and mentioned this issue. Among the five divisions of Shiwei, Nan Shiwei had a closer relationship with the Tang army. For this reason, Nan Shiwei was regarded as a traitor to Shiwei and was punished. The other four tribes were surrounded and destroyed, but the young chief escaped by chance and fled to Liucheng to tell Zhang Dian about Shi Wei's situation.

Now it is mainly Xishiwei and Dashiwei who have a tough attitude. Xishiwei has a close relationship with the Bayegu tribe, and Dashiwei has a close relationship with the Juluobo tribe, so they are both looking for reinforcements and are preparing to assemble an army of 200,000. In a decisive battle with the Tang army, the Tang army in western Liaoning alone may not be enough, and the court must send more troops to western Liaoning. "

"Xishi Wei is Mengwu Shiwei, right?" Li Ye suddenly asked.

Guo Ziyi nodded, "That's right. The Western Wei is also called Mengwu Shiwei, and the Dashi Wei is also called Da Da Shiwei. Shiwei and Khitan have the same origin. The south is called Khitan, and the north is called Shiwei. They are both very strong and good at fighting. , originally the five families were divided, and they were in the same situation. After Heishui Mohe was destroyed, they were devastated, but they reunited. "

At this time, Li Ye said slowly: "There is nothing to say. The soldiers will block it, and the water will flood the soil. The reason why I tell you is because we have to send troops and allocate money and food."

At this time, Wei Jiansu asked: "Your Majesty, where are the grain ships from Linyi State?"

"We've probably arrived in Quanzhou!"

Li Ye immediately understood what Wei Jiansu meant, "What does Wei Aiqing mean by transporting grain directly north to Liaodong?"

"That's exactly what Weichen meant. Of course, not all of it will be transported. It is estimated that there are still more than 100,000 shi of grain stored in Liaodong. It will be enough to transport 300,000 shi north to Liaodong. This will also prevent us from transporting grain on a large scale."

Li Ye nodded, "This plan can be implemented."

He then said to Guo Ziyi: "The fleet should be resupplying in Mingzhou. The Privy Council immediately sent an eagle letter to Mingzhou and transferred 300,000 shi of grain to the north."

Guo Ziyi bowed and said: "Wei Chen will make arrangements!"

After arranging money, food and materials, everyone dispersed. Guo Ziyi took two steps quickly and caught up with Li Ye, "Your Majesty!"

Li Ye stopped, smiled slightly and said, "What else does Guo Aiqing have to do?"

"In the Battle of Western Liaoning, your Majesty will consider who will be the main general, or will you let Governor Zhang directly command the army?"

"Privy Councilor thinks Governor Zhang is not enough?"

"Your Majesty, Commander Zhang is a very competent commander in Liaoxi, but I am always cautious and always like to consider the worst. I think Commander Zhang is still a little short of maturity in large-scale battles."

Guo Ziyi said it very implicitly, implying that Zhang Dian was not experienced enough as a commander in a major battle. Li Ye nodded, "Does the Privy Councilor have any recommendations?"

"Your Majesty, both Ma Lin and Li Sheng can take on the important task, but considering the cooperation with Commander Zhang, I recommend Ma Lin!"

Ma Lin was previously the commander in Liaodong and was Zhang Dian's boss. His qualifications and connections made him more suitable to be the commander, and Ma Lin also had political skills. After taking Kyushu, he used a little skill to make the Japanese in Kyushu obedient.

Li Ye nodded, "Tomorrow morning! The Privy Councilor and General Ma will come to see me together, and we will discuss the strategy for the Liaoxi War."

At night, Li Ye was thinking about the overall situation in his study. There are still three places where wars are going on, one is the Bolor, the other is Liaoxi and Jinshan. If the implementation of the county system in Anxi next year triggers rebellion among nobles from various countries, it will also involve a problem of suppressing the rebellion.

There is also the Huihe, but so far, the Tang Dynasty and the Huihe are still at war. Although the Tang Dynasty did not have a ceasefire agreement, there are other ways of expression, such as the use of alliances between the Tang and Tibet to express a ceasefire.

The grassland nomads will also use the way of paying homage to the court to seek reconciliation and ceasefire.

But so far, the Huihe has not come to the court to seek reconciliation, and even when he ascended the throne, the Huihe did not send envoys to congratulate him. The Huihe problem still needs to be solved, and Li Ye wants to find a different solution than before.

Li Ye thought about this problem. If the time is right in the future, he could build a city in the center of the grassland, and then build a railway to connect it with the Central Plains, so that the Central Plains Dynasty can become the most powerful force in the grassland. This is the most effective way to solve the thousand-year-old problem of the grassland.

While thinking, the door opened and someone brought in tea. When Li Ye saw the person clearly, his eyes suddenly lit up.