Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 762 Targeted Preparation

Li Shiyu was still upset when he returned to Shangyuanyi outside Kaifeng. He wanted to discuss the terms with Fang Qing, but Li Weicheng interfered and they couldn't talk about anything.

Inside the house arranged by the post station, the oil lamp on the table emitted a dim light. Li Shiyu stroked the white beard on his chin and looked directly at Li Weicheng.

It was not until he saw that the other party had no guilt on his face that he sighed and said, "Don't you know that you are a bastard? Even if the commander-in-chief gave up his position, you can't control the military power. Why did you agree to it?"

"These things don't matter. Anyway, Li has already planned to serve in Bianzhou in the future and will not get involved in military power. As for who my father wants to hand over the military power to, Li does not care and will not interfere."

Li Weicheng said this calmly, as if he had made up his mind long ago.

The two sat facing each other, with serious expressions on their faces.

After hearing what Li Weicheng said, Li Shiyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was no power grab by his heirs or internal fighting in the family, he could listen to what Li Weicheng had to say.

"Appreciate further details."

Li Shiyu said seriously.

"Li Changshi has not lived in Bianzhou, so he does not know the situation here. Bianzhou is extremely wealthy, and the Bianzhou court governs dozens of states, and not long ago it conquered Xiangyang, so the change of dynasty is a foregone conclusion.

Even if a state can only support a thousand elite soldiers, Fang Qing can easily raise a force of tens of thousands of battle-hardened soldiers without any financial constraints.

After defeating the Tibetans, Fang Qing will ascend the throne and become emperor. At this time, if someone has military power and is stationed in a local area, he is not a confidant of Fang Qing.

Wouldn't that mean we will be the first to be liquidated? Why wait until that day?"

Li Weicheng asked back.

After hearing this, Li Shiyu fell silent. He was not a political novice who knew nothing. In fact, everyone could see the trend of the change of dynasty in the Bianzhou court, but they just didn't know when the uprising would happen.

The beginning of a new dynasty and the lingering of an old dynasty are two completely different states, and people’s choices are also completely different.

If they were to survive in the old dynasty, then as a separatist force, they would submit to the central government on the surface, but would have a lot of room for maneuver in private.

If you advance, you can expand your territory; if you retreat, you can live in a corner. The throne is passed down from father to son, just like a country within a country.

However, at the beginning of the new dynasty, the local armed forces would definitely be dealt with and the two-level rule of prefectures and counties would be re-established.

As a result, local warlords had no room to maneuver. They could either rebel against the central government or leave the scene in disgrace.

By that time, Li Baochen's family would definitely be regarded as a negative example, and would eventually become the subject of military exploits that the powerful people of the new dynasty would fight over!
Instead, it would be better to "retire now" and take advantage of the Tibetan invasion to step down from the high position. Even if he falls in the future, he will not die.

Many times, it is not entirely a bad thing for a warlord to lose control of the army.

On the one hand, although he has lost the ability to influence the political situation, on the other hand, he will no longer be used as a target!

"You mean, rather than being purged in the future, it is better to be humble now and let the court arrange a way out.

Is that what you mean? "

Li Shiyu asked in a deep voice.

Li Weiyue nodded. He knew very well that Li Shiyu was intelligent and talented. There was no need to say so much. The other party would definitely understand.

"Your words are not without reason, but I feel I have failed the Marshal's trust."

Li Shiyu sighed and stopped arguing.

The situation was stronger than the people, and the vanguard of the Tibetan army had already reached Weizhou. Although General Baochen had defeated the Tibetan army at Niaoshu Mountain west of Weizhou, the Tibetans had a strong military force, and even if they were defeated for a while, their foundation was not damaged.

In the next step, the Tibetans are very likely to bypass Weiyuan and head straight for Jingchuan, entering Guanzhong from Jingchuan, which is equivalent to bypassing the defense zone of Fengxiang Prefecture!
The risks faced by Li Baochen were huge and uncontrollable. After all, that was Li Baoyu's territory, and General Baochen was out of reach. If Li Baoyu gave in to the Tibetans or even surrendered to them, it would be a lot of fun.

When Li Baochen took refuge in Bianzhou, Fang Qing and the Bianzhou court would support him. They still had the strength to fight against the Tibetans.

No matter how miserable the future is, Li Baochen can come to Bianzhou and become a rich man. It is better than dying under the blade of the Tibetans.

"Let's set off back to Guanzhong tomorrow. But we still have to go to Kaifeng government office first and get Fang Qing's handwritten letter."

After pondering for a moment, Li Shiyu said to Li Weicheng, and the two temporarily reached a consensus.

As for what Li Baochen would decide, Li Shiyu didn't know, he had already tried his best.

No matter what, the meat is still rotten in the pot, right? At least the troops under Marshal Baochen are still in the hands of his son, which is better than having the military power seized by outsiders.

Li Shiyu could not help but sigh at Fang Qing's political skill. This move was like an enfeoffment order. Even if Li Baochen was not interested, his son might not be.

The subsequent development was probably that Li Baochen did not know which son was suitable to inherit the military power, so he had to divide the power and let each of them take charge of a certain area.

In the future, Fang Qing will be able to use both soft and hard tactics to take back the military power without bloodshed and without having to break off relations.

Whether it was Li Weicheng, Li Weiyue, or Li Weijian, no one had learned Li Baochen's ability to fight. Facing Fang Qing and the behemoth of the Bianzhou court, how much choice did they have?

It's really sad.

Li Shiyu was also annoyed. He was Li Baochen's staff member, not Li Baochen's father. Now that things have come to this, let it be.

The two discussed some details and then went to rest.

Li Weicheng and Li Shiyu could certainly sleep well, because even if the situation got any worse, they would just be a rich man in Bianzhou and they wouldn't have to worry about their lives and property.

But Fang Zhongyong, who had just finished negotiating with them, couldn't sleep at all.

In Fang Zhongyong's opinion, the matter of Marshal Baochen was just a minor matter. As long as the other party did not surrender to the Tibetans, there would be no trouble. He could be dealt with in a gentle manner.

The only thing Fang Chongyong was worried about was Tubo.

The geographical environment of Tubo determines its political ecology. When autumn and winter come, the people will definitely go down to the plateau to spend the winter.

Given the choice between freezing to death and dying in battle, most Tibetans chose the latter. The Tibetan army was fearless and fearless, not because they were attracted by the high positions and generous military merits, but because they just wanted to die in a more beautiful way. Therefore, when the Tibetan army engaged the enemy head-on, their morale was very high and they were very good at fighting. This was determined by the objective environment. The average life expectancy there was only in their thirties, and the lack of oxygen on the plateau would continue to damage their heart and lung functions. Even if they did not fight, they would still die early.

So, rather than dying in battle, it is more of a relief.

Late at night, the largest weapons workshop in Bianliang City was still brightly lit. Cart after cart of arrows, crossbows, and shields were being packed and prepared for shipment.

They will be transported to Guanzhong Zhongyin by mules, horses and other livestock. Che Guangqian has already led his troops to establish a forward base here.

This move was, on the one hand, to force Li Baoyu to submit and stop having any unrealistic ideas. On the other hand, it was also to prevent the Tibetans from suddenly entering Guanzhong and causing the situation to collapse.

If the Tibetans enter Guanzhong, we will have to fight to defend Chang'an.

"Your Majesty, the workshop is making weapons and armor day and night. Please rest assured that it will not delay the court's fight against the Tibetans."

Seeing Fang Zhongyong coming to the military workshop for inspection late at night, Ma Daifeng stepped forward and saluted. His eyes were red and his eye sockets were sunken, obviously due to lack of sleep recently.

On the shelf in front of me, there were maces one after another, and there were four or five kinds of maces, including forged iron bars, iron-clad wooden bars, and various hammers.

Farther away, the sound of hammering hammers could be heard, which seemed a little abrupt in the night. The craftsmen were working on the assembly line, one person was responsible for one process, and they were busy all the time.

Looking at all this, Fang Zhongyong felt relieved. Economic strength is the basis for fighting. He worked hard to govern the country in the past few years, and it was indeed used at the critical moment now!
He picked up an iron rod from the shelf and weighed it in his hand. It was very heavy! It felt good!
No matter who he is, even if he is wearing heavy armor, he has little defense against such blunt weapons. Even if there is no external injury, the terrifying kinetic energy will cause internal bleeding of the Tibetan soldiers. If they are hit hard by a stick, their bodies will immediately become stiff and they will lose their combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

This time, when they went to fight against the Tibetans, the main force of the Bianzhou Army replaced their weapons with blunt weapons and no longer carried horizontal swords and ordinary bows and arrows. Those things were useless to the Tibetan heavy infantry, just like tickling, and could not penetrate armor at all.

The horse lance, which had always been invincible, was no longer effective. Instead, weapons such as maces, hammers, and axes were very useful when fighting against the Tibetans. These weapons were in short supply in the Bianzhou armory, and the inventory was not enough.

Moreover, these things are consumables and may become unusable after a battle, so you need to prepare a large inventory.

Now everything is done at the last minute, working day and night.

If it were an ordinary separatist force, it would definitely be at a loss when faced with this situation, but Bianzhou has powerful logistics channels, which can bring raw materials from various states along the canal together here.

Then the final assembly will be carried out in the workshop in Bianliang City!

Fang Chongyong recalled some details of the Later Zhou Dynasty in his previous life. The reason why Guo Rong's elite troops were invincible and had the momentum to sweep across the world in just a few years was because the Later Zhou court expanded the military workshop when it rebuilt the city of Bianliang.

The output of armor alone far surpassed that of forces like Southern Tang.

In other words, they conquered the world not only by relying on veteran soldiers who had fought in many battles, but also by attaching great importance to military construction.

Fang Chongyong has been in charge of Bianzhou for many years and has also attached great importance to the number of armors. Every year, he gradually replaces the old armors that have been used for many years with new ones.

Although the number of armors has only been steadily increasing, the quality is already significantly better than those of the surrounding vassal states. This battle against the Tibetans is also a "big test" for the military construction of the Bianzhou court in the past few years.

Whether you work diligently or slack off on weekdays will soon reveal the results.

Thinking of this, Fang Zhongyong took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

He patted Ma Daifeng on the shoulder and said, "The workshop is in good condition. I am very satisfied. I killed the enemy on the front line, and you have contributed a lot. I will never forget it."

"I dare not die for the government!"

Ma Daifeng said excitedly, as if he had already seen the broad road under his feet, which he could never finish!
"Tibet! Tibet!"

Fang Chongyong looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky and couldn't help but let out a long sigh, feeling filled with emotion.

Tubo and the Tang Dynasty can be said to be a pair of half-brothers who live and hate each other.

When the Tang Dynasty rose, Tibet also rose. When the Tang Dynasty declined, Tibet invaded Chang'an and retreated, and also fell into an irreversible long-term decline.

The domestic political situation was in chaos, and it even died earlier than the Tang Dynasty.

If we extend the timeline, the greatest impact of Tubo on later generations was not the creation of a glorious empire, but the complete change of the ecology of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which permanently deprived it of the opportunity to compete for hegemony.

As a result, the Guanzhong Plain was also completely destroyed.

In short, after the Tubo, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has become a "dead zone". The impact of this event will be calculated over thousands of years, but the busy people at the moment have no feeling at all, let alone predicting what will happen in the future.
"Sir, is there anything I have done wrong?"

Ma Daifeng saw that Fang Chongyong didn't say anything for a long time and thought that he was dissatisfied with his job.

“No, the military workshop is now running smoothly, and you have made an indelible contribution to it, and there is nothing wrong with it.

I just feel that the Tibetans are so tenacious that they can never be killed."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand gently, said something incomprehensible, turned around and left.

He also had to go to the clothing workshop to check it out, and when it got light, he had to go to the gunpowder workshop to check it out. The closer it got to the war, the more he couldn't relax.

Although this is very tiring, if the commander can grasp every detail, he can improve his chances of winning on the battlefield and have a full understanding of his own situation.

There is no such thing as victory "naturally". The more preparation you have, the higher your chances of winning are. If your chances of winning are high, you can take a gamble. It's just like that.

Dazalugong had told Fang Chongyong a lot about some things in Tubo. The essence of the Tubo people was the heavy infantry. These people were the small nobles in Dongdai and the basic base of the generals.

These people are responsible for breaking through the enemy's formation during battles, and they are unstoppable. After breaking through the enemy's formation, the lightly armed infantry will rush forward.

As long as these "arrows" can be knocked down, the strength of the Tubo army will be greatly reduced! How to fight the heavy armored soldiers at a low cost may be the key to the victory or defeat of this battle!
Moreover, the Tibetan military system was modeled after the military system of the early Tang Dynasty, but there were still slight differences.

The small Tibetan nobles provided their own armor, which was passed down from generation to generation. They participated in the distribution of spoils after the war. They were more like the palace soldiers formed by Yuwen Tai back then. They were the backbone of the army and a talent pool for reserve generals.

Fang Chongyong did not dare to underestimate the enemy at all, and would never compare the Tibetans with the Uighurs and Turks, who were second-rate teams with poor organization and would collapse at the first blow.

What he didn't know at the moment was that Enlanda Zhalugong, who was far away in Lanzhou, had already led the main force of the Tubo army and marched towards Guanzhong, which was the Jingchuan line.

(End of this chapter)