Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2793 Wei Qing's Second Expedition, Old Friends Gone

In July of the seventh year of Jian'an, even with the support of people on the plateau, the army of the Great Jin still had to trek for more than half a year.

The 30,000-strong entourage was reduced by a full 30% before they finally reached the plateau.

Without high-speed rail, the cost of bringing a large group of people up to the plateau is always heavy.

In this battle against the plateau, the Great Jin did not bring too many troops; 3 men were sufficient.

After all, Northern Tibet had already submitted to them, and the Northern Tibet's forces were also under their control.

Furthermore, if the number of troops were too large, there would be no need to fight this battle, as the logistical pressure would drag the empire down.

The logistical pressure of going to the plateau is far more terrifying than that of expeditions to the grasslands.

When they went on an expedition to the grasslands, after transporting ten cartloads of grain and fodder, there might not be much left, maybe only two or three cartloads.

If it were a plateau, it wouldn't be entirely impossible for them to have used up all ten cartloads of food and still not made it to the top.

Marquis Changping, Wei Qing, the Left General of the Imperial Guard, despite his physical limitations, personally accepted the submission of the Northern Tubo under the leadership of Cen Wenben, as the general in this battle.

Wei Qing has been bedridden for the past two years, his condition fluctuating like Bai Qi's. Although his health hasn't completely collapsed, he hasn't been able to fully recover.

The Imperial Medical Academy staff changed batch after batch, but they still couldn't find a solution.

Ultimately, everyone has their limits.

Let alone these imperial physicians, even if Sun Simiao were to come back from the dead, he couldn't solve every problem.

Perhaps realizing that his time was running out, Wei Qing, who had not attended court for more than a year, had Yang dress him in his court robes once again and, dragging his ailing body, came to the palace.

On that day, the imperial guards bowed their heads, and the emperor descended the steps. Li Xiang personally helped this old brother, with whom he had supported each other for many years in the chaotic world, into the main hall.

None of the court officials expected that the Marquis of Changping, who had not attended court for more than a year, would come to court for the last time in his life to request permission to go to war.

Upon hearing that the Great Jin Dynasty had the opportunity to reach the plateau, this old general, who had missed his fifth campaign beyond the Great Wall due to illness and had regretted it for many years, wanted to spend the last years of his life on the battlefield, rather than on his sickbed.

Li Xiang agreed to his good friend and brother-in-law's last request, which may have been his last request in his life.

He couldn't bear to refuse, nor could he refuse.

He didn't want Marquis Changping to have any regrets before he left.

Therefore, the elderly Marquis of Changping embarked on his journey once again, which was also the last journey of his life.

Huo Qubing and Wang Ben served as his deputies, and one-third of the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy accompanied the army to take care of his health.

At the very least, we can't let this old general fall on his way to the plateau; we must at least fulfill his last wish.

Even the crown prince was brought out to replace Li Xiang and accompany Marquis Changping on his final journey.

With the completion of Wei Qing's investiture ceremony, the Northern Tubo, one of the three branches that split Tubo, now belonged to the Jin Dynasty in terms of its population and land.

Perhaps knowing his time was running out, Wei Qing, disregarding his health which had deteriorated again after arriving on the plateau, quickly led his Jin army into a war of unification against Eastern and Western Tubo. Over three months, the two sides clashed five times. Although Wei Qing was outnumbered, the equipment advantage of his troops was significantly inferior to that of the Tubo forces.

On the surface, they may have fewer people, but in reality, their quality is much higher than the other side's.

Therefore, with five victories in five battles, they basically wiped out most of the forces of the Eastern and Western Tubo.

From then on, both the Eastern and Western Tubo Kingdoms completely lost their ability to counterattack and could only rely on the terrain of the plateau to put up a stubborn resistance.

With these five battles as a foundation, as long as the Great Jin continues to fight in this battle, it is only a matter of time before they conquer the entire plateau. It's just a matter of how long this process will take.

Unfortunately, at this very moment, Wei Qing's body finally gave out. The old general, as he had wished, completed the last leg of his life amidst the flames of war, falling in battle for the empire.

However, he did not live to see the moment when the entire plateau came under the rule of the Great Jin Dynasty.

As Wei Qing passed away, the Crown Prince, acting as a precaution, handed over the entire army to Wang Ben for command, allowing him to handle the remaining tasks.

From then on, the historical mission of helping the empire conquer the plateau and bringing this land under the rule of the Great Jin Dynasty was officially handed over to Wang Ben.

The Crown Prince, Huo Qubing, and Cen Wenben, who had been away from their hometown for many years, along with Wei Qing and some important figures from the Northern Tubo who had surrendered to Jin, officially embarked on their journey back to Luoyang.

In March of the eighth year of Jian'an, Wei Qing returned to the capital, and the whole country was filled with grief.

Li Xiang posthumously conferred upon Wei Qing the title of Duke of Bing, granted him the honor of receiving imperial sacrifices, bestowed with secret artifacts from the Eastern Garden, a jade burial suit, and allowed him to be buried in the imperial mausoleum. He was also granted a pardon for nine deaths, posthumously awarded the titles of Grand Commandant, Minister of War, and Grand Protector of the North, and bestowed the posthumous name "Wulie" (武烈).

Wei Qing's passing, like Wang Meng's three years ago, was a significant blow to Li Xiang.

The deaths of Wang Meng and Wei Qing were not comparable to the deaths of Wang Jian and Lian Po at the same time.

After all, the level of their feelings for each other was not on the same level.

But little did anyone expect that Wei Qing's passing was not the end, but merely the beginning.

In April of the same year, Bai Qi, who had been bedridden for many years, finally passed away in Nanjing.

In September, Xue Rengui, who had retired to his hometown in Hedong many years ago, suddenly had a whim and put on the white robe and silver armor that he had worn when the two first met. With his hair turned white, he came to Luoyang to see his king for the last time.

On September 10th of the eighth year of Jian'an, Xue Rengui passed away in the Luoyang Palace.

Xue Rengui saw the king one last time, but he also collapsed in front of the king.

In the eighth year of Jian'an, the emperor, who was already fifty-seven years old, lost three of his beloved generals in that year.

Undoubtedly, although the country was peaceful and prosperous in the eighth year of Jian'an, it was still an extremely sorrowful year for the empire.

For Emperor Li Xiang, it was also a year of immense sorrow.

Li Xiang posthumously conferred upon Bai Qi the title of Duke of Wu'an. His eldest son inherited the title of Marquis of Yuan County for three generations, with the fief increasing to ten thousand households. He was granted a red-inked iron certificate, pardoned from three death sentences, posthumously awarded the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and Grand Protector of the South, and bestowed the posthumous title of "Wu Huan".

Xue Rengui was posthumously granted the title of King of Liaodong. His son inherited the title of Marquis of Longmen for three generations, with his fief increasing to ten thousand households. He was granted a certificate of pardon for nine deaths, posthumously awarded the titles of Grand Commandant, Grand Protector of the North, and Grand Governor of the three prefectures of You, Tang, and Ji, and was given the posthumous title of "Zhongwu" (Loyal and Martial).

(End of this chapter)