Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 760: A Time of Life and Death
"Some time ago, Tubo invaded Hexi, killed our people and occupied our cities, and also sent envoys to Bianzhou to cede the five states of Hexi.

When the emperor met the envoys, officials would stand by his side, pretending to be guards, to protect the emperor in order to prevent the Tibetan villains from causing trouble.

Afterwards, the government sent spies to inquire about the Tubo envoy, who said: The emperor is unusually elegant, but the person who shadows the emperor is a true hero.

The government then sent troops to chase the messenger and beheaded him!

It is said that the government has three swords, one to kill bandits, one to kill corrupt officials, and one to kill the emperor. The first sword was obtained from the Tibetan king, named: Swift Wind Phantom, and it has killed countless bandits.

As for what the second and third knives look like, and how the government will beat the Tubo, please listen to the next chapter to find out what will happen next. "

In the lobby on the second floor of Zhuangyuan Building in Bianliang City, a storyteller was telling a story with saliva flying, but he stopped at the crucial point.

Every table below the stage was filled with people, listening with rapt attention.

The "legends of current affairs" told by the storyteller allowed the common people in the audience to experience the pleasure of killing and decisiveness of those in power.

In other words, when they were listening to the story, they were Fang Qing, fighting against the Tibetans on the front line!
"Have you heard? Lanzhou has been lost, and now the Tibetans are preparing to attack Longyou. It is said that the cavalry are already wandering around Chang'an.

Recently, many refugees from Guanzhong have come to Bianzhou. I heard from them that the Tibetans are advancing very fast and cannot be stopped at all!"

He Baiwan, a wealthy man from Bianzhou, was enjoying listening to a book when suddenly a strange voice reached his ears.

Lanzhou is lost?
He Baiwan was startled and immediately thought to himself that it was not good. For a big businessman like him who was closely tied to the court of Bianzhou, he had a large number of "military" orders, including military boots, military uniforms, flags and other military supplies.

It can be said that it is closely related to the current situation!

If the Bianzhou army was defeated, it would mean that the front line would not gain any benefits. As for the rest, it was only a matter of time before they were taken advantage of by the imperial court, but the method was unknown.

Anyway, no matter what, the Tubo army's unstoppable success in Longyou is not a good thing!

The capture of Lanzhou meant that the Tibetan Northern Army had opened up the key node to Longxi and was connected with the Tibetan Southern Army in the Hehuang Valley, so they no longer had to go through the Dadouba Valley to support each other.

Next, the Tibetans who joined forces set their sights on Weiyuan and other places south of Lanzhou. The roads from these places to Dazhen Pass were basically rugged and extremely dangerous.

However, once you pass Dazhen Pass and go east, you will reach the Guanzhong Plain, where there are no more strategic locations to defend.

By then, this place will be a paradise for the Tibetans! This is no joke.

“Who says it’s not true? But given the current situation in Guanzhong, how can we possibly stop the Tibetans?

If I were a Tibetan, I would directly make Princess Jincheng's brother the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tibetan army would have a lot of trouble next.

Who wouldn't be able to hold the emperor hostage to control the princes? It's fine to just listen to the storyteller's story, but he really thinks the Tibetans are people who eat raw meat and drink blood."

The other one shook his head and sighed, looking worried.

It was a pipe dream for the Tibetans to conquer Bianzhou in one go. However, since everyone could establish a royal family of the Li family to rule a region, why couldn't the Tibetans do the same?
You know, Princess Jincheng married to Tubo, and the one who was announced to the public was the nominal mother of the current Zamp. Princess Jincheng's brother Li Chenghong was still alive, and he was nominally the uncle of the current Tubo Zamp.

It is even possible that he was his biological uncle (but Tubo would not acknowledge that the Zamp’s biological mother was Princess Jincheng).

After hearing this man's rant, He Baiwan's heart sank. Before, he thought that "a mere Tubo" was no match for the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army. Fang Qingrang could defeat the Tubo with one hand.

The advantage is definitely in my hands!
Because in the impression of He Baiwan and others, the Tibetans are similar to wild beasts like lions and tigers. How could humans not be able to deal with wild beasts!

However, after hearing some inside information today, He Baiwan suddenly felt that things might not go so smoothly.

Because the Han people are good at making alliances, supporting the emperor, and manipulating puppets, and the Tibetans may also play the same tricks! This is difficult to deal with!

He Baiwan quickly got up and left, heading to Kaifeng government office to find Fang Chongyong.

……

Wang Yunxiu had been in Bozhou for only two days when Wang Yanshu personally sent him back to Bianzhou. In fact, it was not that Wang Yanshu wanted to get involved in such family affairs, but Fang Chongyong issued a transfer order to him, asking him to "return to Beijing to report on his work."

To put it simply, it means to let Wang Yanshu serve as the commander of the imperial guards in the imperial palace of Bianliang City.

As soon as this decree was issued, even if Wang Yunxiu was still angry, she had to return to Bianzhou. How to avenge her father was another matter, but she couldn't ignore her brother's future.

However, compared to the major events of the Tibetans, Wang Yunxiu's mood was obviously just a "small matter" not worth mentioning. After Wang Yanshu arrived in Bianzhou, he found that the atmosphere in the government office was very tense, and it was obvious that something big had happened.

"Brother-in-law, I have already advised my sister about Li Baoyu's matter..."

In the study of Kaifeng Prefecture, Wang Yanshu scratched his head and whispered, feeling a little uncomfortable with the serious atmosphere here.

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand gently, signaling him not to speak.

"Your Majesty, news has come from the front that a large number of refugees from Longyou have fled to Guanzhong, and the Tibetans' offensive is accelerating!"

Li Quan reported to Fang Chongyong with his hands folded, his face looking very unhappy.

The details of how the Tibetan army conquered Lanzhou are still unclear, but it is an indisputable fact that the defense of this area was weak and there was no organized main force of the Tang army.

The Tibetan invasion was a very skillful move, a typical "divide and conquer" tactic, and it had already completed the first phase of the strategic mission.

Fang Zhongyong estimated that the first stage of Dazha Lugong's strategy was to cut off the Hexi Corridor so that the Tang army could not concentrate. Then the Tibetan armies in the north and south would control the two strategic points of Liangzhou and Hehuang Valley respectively, and then join forces to move eastward.

The failure to capture Shazhou did pose a great threat to the Tibetans' first-phase strategy, but it did not affect the overall situation.

Now the Tibetans began to implement the second phase of their strategy, namely: to gather their forces and march into Longyou and Fengxiang Prefecture, and finally to Chang'an!
Of course, the Tibetans were not very clear about the situation in Guanzhong, so their strategy was conservative. According to Fang Zhongyong's speculation, as long as he did not support Guanzhong, the Tibetans would advance thousands of miles and support the puppet regime in Chang'an!
The entire battle situation will collapse faster!
By that time, everyone will be like someone walking on a watermelon rind, sliding wherever it takes them.

Therefore, their task now is to integrate the resources in Guanzhong before the Tibetans defeat Li Baochen, and to pin down the Tibetans in the area west of Fengxiang Prefecture so that they cannot move eastward!
This is a matter of life and death. Once the Tibetans enter the Guanzhong Plain, the situation will be difficult to handle!
"What does the Privy Council suggest?"

Fang Zhongyong asked in a deep voice, his palms covered with sweat.

"Sir, there is no time to lose. The Central Army must march out immediately. General Che's 10,000 men cannot stop the Tibetans."

Li Quan suggested worriedly.

Why did Che Guangqian want to go to Guanzhong?
Because they wanted to put a knife to the backs of Li Baoyu and Li Baochen to stop them from fighting among themselves and to stop them from daring to surrender to the Tibetans!

However, this number of troops is more than enough to express strategic intentions, but not enough to guard against the Tibetans. Fang Chongyong, as well as Li Qi, the current emperor of the Bianzhou court, must immediately lead the central army into Guanzhong to stabilize the overall situation. With the arrival of the Tibetans, people's minds will change. Who can guarantee that Li Baochen and Li Baoyu will not be unable to withstand the pressure and directly surrender to the Tibetans?
The so-called "borrowing a knife to kill someone" strategy is completely useless. History has proven countless times that those who like to borrow a knife to kill someone will eventually become the knife in the hands of others and end up with no good end.

"Are there enough food, fodder, and weapons? How long can the food supply last?"

Fang Zhongyong looked at Liu Yan and asked. Although his expression was relatively calm, his tone was quite stern.

"Sir, there is absolutely enough food and fodder and military equipment. The stockpile can even last until next winter. However, when the spring plowing season comes next year, there may not be enough manpower, and we will need civilians to plow the fields.

Your subordinate... needs time to organize people to transport food."

Liu Yan said with difficulty.

Bianzhou has sufficient food and fodder because of the convenience of the canal. If Fang Chongyong fights the Tibetans here, he can beat them until they are trapped and starved to death. He can afford to fight for ten years.

But fighting in Guanzhong or even Longyou was a different story.

It's not enough to have food, we have to deliver it to the front line! Even if there is no shortage of food for people and horses on the road, there must be enough manpower to transport the food without affecting spring plowing and autumn harvest!
These things test the comprehensive strength of a regime, just like the barrel theory, the shortest board is the most fatal!
"Organize the refugees, organize the prisoners in the prisons, and organize the servants in the wealthy families to transport grain!

Everything is done to defeat the Tibetans! If there are no laws, make new ones! All the idle people in the villages should be arrested and organized! Don’t let the manpower be idle!”

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand and didn't want to listen to Liu Yan's explanation anymore.

"I have your order. I will do it."

Liu Yan saluted with his arms crossed and said, without further elaborating on those objective reasons.

Fang Chongyong's temper is obvious. He will push forward what he wants to do unless you can convince him to change his mind.

Now Liu Yan certainly couldn't find a reason not to send troops to deal with Tubo. At this moment, he had to send troops even if he had to sell everything he had. Otherwise, when the Tubo army swept across Guanzhong, the consequences would be disastrous, and by then he would probably have to fight the defense of Bianzhou!

"You can all prepare yourself. After I report this to the emperor, I will send troops to Guanzhong immediately. There is no need to wait for the opinions of Li Baochen and Li Baoyu.

When we reach Guanzhong, we will kill those who are unwilling to surrender without any reason."

Fang Zhongyong said with a cold face.

The Tibetans were ambitious this time, and it was clear that they were not just going to do something small. In history, they succeeded, and then the western border of the Tang Dynasty was in turmoil for a hundred years.

If history repeats itself, it won't be much better than that time.

In the face of this premise, whether it is Li Baochen or Li Baoyu, they are all not good enough. Their ideas are not important. If they are unwilling to unite to fight against the Tibetans, they are the Tibetans' accomplices.

Just destroy it!

Fang Chongyong never makes deals with others on major issues.

After everyone left, Wang Yanshu stayed behind, but his face was a little embarrassed. Compared with what those important officials of the court had just said, how to deal with the An family of Liangzhou was not so important.

In a word, in the face of national justice, all these things must be put aside.

Wang Yanshu could not help but sigh that Fang Chongyong did have his own difficulties. How to deal with the An family of Liangzhou was related to the overall situation of the fight against Tubo. Fang Chongyong could not ignore the life and death of the soldiers and civilians in the border areas for the sake of revenge.

"Brother-in-law, are you really going to send troops to Guanzhong? We haven't had these good days for a few years yet..."

Wang Yanshu sighed.

Even though he was in Bozhou, he could feel the prosperity of the court in Bianzhou. As the saying goes, a latent dragon should not be used. You can't go out and play before you are fully grown!

Deep down he felt that he should endure it for the time being.

“Someone also knows what you said.

However, one strike is enough to prevent a hundred blows. If the imperial court wants to become the imperial court of the people of the world, it must shoulder this responsibility for the people of the world.

You can think of it as a battle to establish a nation, but there is no way to escape anyway."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand gently.

Seeing that Wang Yanshu didn't seem to have anything to say, he nodded and continued, "Letting you be the commander of the imperial palace in Bianliang City, it seems that your position has become smaller, but your power has become much greater. It doesn't seem like a big deal now, but you will know in the future. This is an advance layout."

Fang Chongyong explained with a smile.

Wang Yanshu nodded, not quite understanding. He certainly knew Fang Zhongyong's abilities, but he also vaguely felt the strangeness and complexity of the situation.

Are the Tibetans the only enemies of Fang Zhongyong? Obviously not. At least Li Qi may become an "obstacle" in the future.

These troubles are constantly testing the skills and abilities of a powerful official.

"Your sister is in a bad mood, please try to comfort her.

There are many things that I cannot help myself. As for hatred, the instigator was Li Longji. Did I dig up his grave after entering Guanzhong?"

Fang Chongyong asked rhetorically.

Wang Yanshu remained silent. Wang Zhongsi was his father. What else could he say in the face of such a question? Wang Yanshu also knew that An Zhongzhang was only responsible for taking the blame. The order was given by Li Longji.

What should we do if An Zhongzhang doesn’t take action? Besides, no one expected Wang Zhongsi to be so stubborn and would rather break than bend!
"Brother-in-law, you... take care of yourself. The Tibetans are very fierce. My grandfather died at their hands."

Wang Yanshu sighed and said that his grandfather Wang Haibin died fighting against Tubo. The fate of these descendants of generals is often to die in a battle that is recorded in history books.

It is inevitable that a general will die in battle, there is nothing much to say.

After Wang Yanshu left, Fang Zhongyong sighed and fell into a state of anxiety.

Fortunately, he did not have to wait too long. That night, Li Baochen's eldest son Li Weicheng, brought Li Baochen's strategist Li Shiyu to the gate of Kaifeng government.

Fang Chongyong was overjoyed and immediately invited the two to his study to discuss the matter of recruiting them.

(End of this chapter)