Tibet.

Chapter 1430 Urgent News from Western Liaoning
Bai Xiaode pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "Your Majesty, I neglected the matter of Big Bolor and Small Bolor, so I am indeed responsible!"

Li Ye shook his head. "I don't want to pursue responsibility. I just want to understand the current situation."

"Your Majesty, there is a Guiren Army in Xiaoboluo, about a thousand people, all locals. I will send money and food there on time every three months."

"Are they still there?" Li Ye asked.

Bai Xiaode nodded and said, "Your Majesty, they are still here. I came back from the river and happened to meet soldiers who were delivering supplies. The 1,000 Guiren troops are all intact."

"So the Guiren Army did not intercept the Tibetan Army?"

Bai Xiaode sighed. "This is the key point. They were stationed on the north bank of the Poyi River. They managed to hold on to Xiaoboluo, but they watched helplessly as the Tibetan soldiers went from the north bank to the Kingdom of Qishi. This is my inference, and it should be true!"

Li Ye nodded. He certainly couldn't blame Bai Xiaode for this matter. The key point was that the defenders were not Han people, but locals. They would of course be lazy and slack, and it was even more impossible for them to work for the Tang army and intercept the Tubo army. So they turned a blind eye and watched the Tubo soldiers go west.

These defenders also had no idea what was happening in Tokharistan and Transoxiana, so they did not report to Bai Xiaode.

Although the defense was just a formality, at least they managed to save Xiaoboluo.

Bai Xiaode felt ashamed and said to Li Ye: "Your Majesty, I will definitely destroy the Tibetan army and rebuild a military city in Dabolü to completely cut off the Tibetans' westward advance."

Li Ye smiled and said, "General Bai is old, so he shouldn't travel across mountains and rivers anymore. Let the young people do it. Let General Xi do this mission!"

Xi Wanli currently serves as the deputy governor of Anxi, inheriting the legacy of his father Xi Yuanqing. It was in the fifth year of Tianbao that Xi Yuanqing went on an expedition to Xiaobolü. He suffered internal injuries due to the cold and lack of oxygen, and eventually died of illness in the thirteenth year of Tianbao.

Bai Xiaode understood 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 gently, "General Xi is indeed more suitable for the expedition than me!"

Bai Xiaode finished his report and left first, but Li Ye waved his hand and said to the ministers with a smile: "Everyone sit down for a while, Guo Shumi will report to you the latest situation in Liaoxi."

Guo Ziyi stood up and said, "Early this morning, I received an urgent report from Zhang Dian, the governor of Liaoxi, that it is very likely that a war will break out in Liaodong next spring. The Shiwei and Kuluobo tribes have formed an alliance to jointly resist the Tang army heading north."

Wei Jiansu asked: "Excuse me, Privy Councilor, when did they start the alliance?"

"It should be two months ago. After the Tang army wiped out the Heishui Mohe, only the Shiwei tribe was left in Liaoxi. They knew that danger was approaching, so they sent envoys to the Kuluobo and Bayegu tribes, preparing for the three tribes to join forces to fight against the Tang army!"

"Why is there the Bayegu tribe again?" Zhang Li asked in confusion.

"Right now, the attitude of the Bayegu tribe is unclear, but the Shiwei and Kuluobo tribes have clearly formed an alliance and are currently actively preparing for war."

Wei Jiansu hesitated for a moment and asked, "How did Zhang Dian know such detailed information? Does the Privy Councilor know the reason?"

Guo Ziyi bowed and said, "Zhang Dian wrote a report back earlier, mentioning this issue. Among the five tribes of Shiwei, the Southern Shiwei had a closer relationship with the Tang army. Because of this, the Southern Shiwei was regarded as a traitor of Shiwei and was surrounded and destroyed by the other four tribes. The young chieftain escaped by chance and fled to Liucheng to tell Zhang Dian about the situation of Shiwei.

Now it is mainly the Xishiwei and Dashiwei who are taking a tough stance. Xishiwei has a close relationship with the Bayegu tribe, while Dashiwei has a close relationship with the Kuluobo tribe. So they are all looking for reinforcements and preparing to gather an army of 200,000 to fight a decisive battle with the Tang army. The Tang army in Liaoxi alone may not be enough, so the court must send more troops to Liaoxi."

"Xishiwei is the Mengwu Shiwei, right?" Li Ye suddenly asked.

Guo Ziyi nodded, "That's right. The Western Shiwei is also called Mengwu Shiwei, and the Great Shiwei is also called Dada Shiwei. The Shiwei and Khitan have the same origin. The southern one is called Khitan, and the northern one is called Shiwei. They are all very fierce and good at fighting. Originally, the five families were divided and at odds with each other. After the Black Water Mohe was destroyed, they united again because of the loss of their teeth." At this time, Li Ye said slowly, "There is nothing to say. If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If a flood comes, we will flood it. The reason I told you all this is because we are going to send troops and allocate money and food."

At this time, Wei Jiansu asked, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, where is the grain ship from Linyi?"

"We've probably reached Quanzhou!"

Li Ye immediately understood what Wei Jiansu meant. "Minister Wei, do you mean to transport the grain directly north to Liaodong?"

"That's exactly what I meant. Of course, we don't want to ship all of it. Liaodong probably still has more than 100,000 dan of grain in stock. We only need to ship 300,000 dan to Liaodong, which will also save us from having to transport grain on a large scale."

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

He then said to Guo Ziyi: "The fleet should be replenished in Mingzhou. The Privy Council should immediately send an eagle letter to Mingzhou to transfer 300,000 dan of grain to the north."

Guo Ziyi bowed and said, "I will make the arrangements!"

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

Li Ye stopped and smiled slightly, "What else does Mr. Guo want to say?"

"In the battle of Liaoxi, Your Majesty, who will be the commander-in-chief, or should you let Commander Zhang lead the army directly?"

"The Privy Councilor thinks that Commander Zhang is not good enough?"

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

Guo Ziyi's words were very subtle, implying that Zhang Dian was not experienced enough as a commander in a major battle. Li Ye nodded and asked, "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-chief of Liaodong and had also been Zhang Dian's superior. His qualifications and connections made him more suitable for being a commander-in-chief. Ma Lin also had political skills. After taking Kyushu, he used a little skill to subdue the Japanese in Kyushu.

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

At night, Li Ye was thinking about the overall situation in his study. At present, there were still wars in three places, one was Bolor, the other was Liaoxi and Jinshan. If the implementation of the county system in Anxi next year triggered a rebellion by nobles from various countries, it would also involve the issue of suppressing the rebellion.

There are also the Uighurs, but so far, the Tang Dynasty and the Uighurs are still in a state of war. Although the Tang Dynasty does not have a ceasefire agreement, there are other ways of expression, such as using alliances between the Tang and Tubo to express a ceasefire.

Nomadic peoples of the grasslands would also seek reconciliation and ceasefire by paying homage to the imperial court.

But so far, the Uighurs have not come to the court to seek reconciliation, and even after Li Ye ascended the throne, the Uighurs have not sent envoys to congratulate him. The Uighur issue still needs to be resolved, and Li Ye wants to find a solution that is different from the past.

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 on the grassland. This is the most effective way to solve the millennium-old problem of the grassland.

As he was thinking, the door opened and someone brought in tea. When Li Ye saw who it was, his eyes suddenly lit up.

(End of this chapter)