Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 770: The Donkey of Guizhou

In the midsummer in Guanzhong, the daytime heat is unbearable, and people often can only feel the coolness of the night breeze and calm down at night.

Late that night, in the small signing room at the top of Lianyun Fort, Dazha Lugong, who had been drowsy during the day but was now full of energy, took out the letter that Fang Chongyong had written to "threaten" him and started reading it.

His current office hours are exactly opposite to others. In this letter, Fang Chongyong tells a story called "The Donkey of Guizhou".

There were no donkeys in Guizhou, so someone brought a donkey there. At first, the tigers there didn't dare to do anything to the donkey because they were worried that the donkey was very ferocious. But after testing it gradually, they realized that the donkey was not very powerful.

Then there is no more.

"…One day, the donkey brayed, and the tiger was terrified and fled far away. It thought the donkey was going to eat it, and was very frightened.

However, after looking at it back and forth, he found that it had no special abilities; he became more accustomed to its voice, and moved closer and closer to it, but in the end he did not dare to fight.

As they got closer, they became closer and closer, leaning against each other and rushing forward. The donkey was so angry that it kicked the donkey. The tiger was delighted and thought, “This is the limit of my skill!” So ​​it leaped forward, cut the donkey’s throat, ate all its meat, and left.

At that time, Fang Chongyong used this to imply that Tubo was just the "donkey from Guizhou" which was strong on the outside but weak on the inside and could not cause any trouble on the border at all.

Because of this letter, Dazhalu Gong knew that the governor of Shazhou at that time had seen through Tubo's strengths and weaknesses, so he did not dare to attack the Tang Dynasty.

If a governor of Shazhou had such ability, who would dare to act rashly in the face of the Tang Dynasty at that time?
But now it seems that Dazalugong feels a little humiliated as if he was hit in the face by a boomerang.

It turns out that the Tang Dynasty is the donkey! At least the Tang Dynasty is now the donkey!

As long as the tiger "gets a little closer, gets more intimate, and rushes forward", constantly testing the bottom line, then... taking control of Guanzhong may not be a delusion at all!
Dazalugong now uses the same principle when deploying troops. He does not rush his entire army into battle without caring about the consequences. Instead, he gathers his troops in a place within reach of Chang'an, hides there, reorganizes his troops, and then gradually tests the situation.

Just like the story of the donkey in Guizhou, where the tiger tested the donkey which looked strong but was actually weak.

At this time, a Dongben (the military chief of Dongdai, roughly equivalent to a captain of a thousand men, but with greater power) walked into the small signing room and reported to Dazhalugong: "Dalun, a thief passed through three sentries, shot and killed more than ten of my soldiers, and then ran away. I sent troops to pursue them, and five more were killed. The thief still escaped. Please punish him."

"How many thieves are there?"

This Dong Ben was talking in a lot of gibberish and Dazhalu Gong thought he had misheard.

"Only one person."

Dong Ben lowered his head and said with some shame.

"Take me to see it."

Dazalu Gong stood up and followed Dong Ben to the camp outside Lianyun Fort. A group of generals surrounded more than ten corpses, each with an arrow stuck in their body.

"He is a master archer in the Tang army, but there may not be only one person. You only found one person."

Dazalugong said calmly that he pulled out an arrow from a corpse and found that this carved feather arrow was finely crafted and could be called a work of art. There was a word "king" written on the arrow shaft near the feathers.

Those are the wrinkles on a tiger’s forehead!
Dazha Lugong felt inexplicably irritated.

According to Tibetan military law, when a large army sets up camp, it needs to have four visible sentries and three hidden sentries on the periphery. However, after arriving in Guanzhong, there were only three visible sentries left.

As for why, to put it simply, the weather was too hot, and the grassroots Tubo soldiers who earned 800 yuan a month couldn't stand it.

Military law is one thing, how to enforce it is another.

Tonight, they were ambushed by someone, and the enemy sneaked in quietly. They calmly shot and killed the unsuspecting Tibetan soldiers, and finally left calmly.

According to Dazha Lugong's speculation, there was only one person who sneaked in to kill people, but there might not be only one person supporting them from the outside.

Even if he is standing in an enemy position, Dazalu Gong would still say: Well done!

At this moment, he seemed to see the man who had not yet grown into shape, smiling and threatening in a joking tone: "You don't think you are a tiger and I am a donkey, do you?"

The elite Tang army sneaked into the Tubo army camp and killed people. This was a very risky journey. If they suffered casualties, it would be very unprofitable.

However, Fang Qing still sent someone.

Was he going to kill those ugly Tubo soldiers who dozed off at night due to the heat?

No, no, no, he wanted to disrupt the Tibetans' rhythm, undermine the morale of the Tibetan army, and then give it a try!
In other words, at this moment Fang Qing and his Bianzhou army are the tigers, and they are testing the Tubo army, the donkey!

Thinking of this, Dazha Lugong suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

“What happened today must not be made public.

Starting tomorrow, Nanang Chitojie will lead his troops to move out of camp and set up camp, and then gather 10,000 soldiers to attack Bingzhou to test the strength of the Tang army. "

Daza Lugong said in a deep voice.

Since Fang Qing has begun to test the strength of the Tubo army, he can also test the strength of the Tang army.

This is the Tiger’s reconnaissance before he goes all out!
"Da Lun, it's midsummer now, the heat in Guanzhong is unbearable, and the army is full of diseases. If we send troops hastily, I'm afraid it will be..."

Nanang Chitojie had been defeated before, and he was still frightened and dared not act rashly.

What he said makes sense.

Why was it so easy for the Tang army to find the sentries? Because the Tibetans were supposed to be wearing heavy armor when on duty. In that case, even if the Tang army had another hundred sharpshooters, they would not be able to gain any benefits.

Because of the heat, the soldiers had very poor physical strength and many of them were on duty while sick. No one was willing to wear full body armor weighing dozens of kilograms.

Even if their superiors asked them to wear armor while on duty, they would just pretend to do it and take it off when no one was patrolling.

As for why the Tibetans did not shoot against the Tang army...it was because the Tibetan bows were weak and useless, so they could only watch helplessly.

The "weak bow" here refers to poor archery skills, not just the weapon.

This evaluation was not only mentioned by Tang army generals who faced off against Tubo, but even the Tubo people knew it. Among all the arms in the army, Tubo archers had the worst quality and had no status.

Yes, Tubo paid some attention to bows and arrows, and even had people to maintain them. But when it came to archery, it was so abstract that it was hard to describe. In Tubo, not only did they not value archery, but they also discriminated against archers on a religious level.

The enemy is good at shooting, so wear thicker clothes when fighting! What's the point of shooting at him?
This was almost a consensus among the Tubo army.

As soon as we saw this wave of reconnaissance today, we knew that the person behind it knew everything about Tubo!
He knew the organization of the Tibetan army and how they usually set up their camps. He knew that the Tibetans were not used to the climate and water in Guanzhong and were greatly affected. He also knew that the Tibetan archers were very bad and could not achieve "equal counterattack."

This person knows all the habits of the Tubo army!
"If Fang Qing wasn't the commander of the Bianzhou Army, this trip would be much easier."

Dazha Lugong muttered to himself, sighed, and waved his hand to dismiss the generals beside him.

The person who knows you best in the world is definitely not your loved ones, but your enemy. The more you value your enemy, the more he knows you! To some extent, this can also be regarded as a kind of "deep love".

Dazha Lugong regretted a lot at this moment. He should have killed Fang Qing (who was called Fang Chongyong at that time) in one attack when he was not yet strong enough!

Now it seems that it is worth it no matter how high the price is!
Now, facing this enemy commander who knew the Tibetan army very well, Dazalugong felt a knot of regret in his intestines.

Back then, he told Fang Qing a lot about what happened in Tubo. He just wanted to find someone to talk to because he was depressed, not valued, and bullied by the bugs in Tubo to the point of wanting to kill someone.

How could Dazalugong have imagined that he would later be able to fight back against those insects and seize the military and political power in Tubo?

He never expected that the once god-like Tang Dynasty would fall into such a state, and that the former governor of Shazhou had to change the dynasty!
The power of the Tubo Zamp fell into the hands of others, and the power of the Tang emperor also fell into the hands of others. No matter how you look at this pair of brothers in distress, it feels like... fate has played a huge joke on them.

"Fang Qing, just use whatever tricks you have. Let me see what you can do!"

Daza Lugong looked at the stars in the sky, clenched his fists, and muttered to himself.

……

"God shot!"

"God shot!"

"God shot!"

Outside the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army camp near Baqiao Bridge in Chang'an, a group of soldiers drew their swords and shouted to the sky. The atmosphere was extremely heated.

A general with a quiver on his back dismounted and came to Fang Zhongyong who was standing in the crowd of soldiers. He knelt on one knee and saluted, saying, "Sir, I attacked the Tibetan army camp last night and shot and killed 19 enemy soldiers. None of my troops were injured or killed! Except for the five who were chasing me, the other 14 were all shot and killed by me personally!"

"it is good!"

Fang Zhongyong helped the man up, brushed the dust off him, turned around and said to Yuan Zai beside him: "Come here, record the merit! Reward him according to his merit after the battle."

"Order!"

Yuan Zai smiled and recorded the achievement in an account book: Wang Qiyao, entered the enemy camp alone and killed fourteen Tibetan soldiers.

Wang Qiyao was the first camp leader promoted by Fang Zhongyong after he broke up the Konghe Army and established the new "Sanyuan Camp".

This battalion has less than 300 people, but they can ignore the military's prosperity and formalities. All the troublemakers who are good at fighting but disobedient in each army are thrown here, and the camp leader is elected by fists!

So the camp owner must be the best fighter! There are no rules here, winning is the only rule!
Fang Zhongyong thought that there would be some capable people in the Control Crane Army, and he deserved to be elected as the camp leader. Unexpectedly, when the camp leader was selected, a lieutenant promoted by Che Guangqian when he suppressed the rebellion of Yuan Chao in western Zhejiang was selected.

But this Wang Qiyao is indeed capable. He is a kind and low-key person, and his archery skills are extremely superb. He can subdue those fearless soldiers.

In this battle against Tubo, Fang Chongyong arranged the men of the scattered camp to fight against the Tubo's logistics, carry out night harassment, capture prisoners, assassinate the main generals, etc.

The so-called "scattered troops" means they are used in a scattered manner without coordination with the main force. It can also be arrogantly said that one person is an army.

"According to what the emperor said, the deployment of the Tibetan army's sentries remains the same, and it's basically the same. But there are no secret sentries, and the internal guards are also extremely lax.

I have observed that the Tibetan soldiers are moving slowly. Perhaps there are many diseases among the soldiers and they are not used to the hot summer in Guanzhong. "

Wang Qiyao clasped his fists and reported to Fang Zhongyong that he had another mission when he entered the camp alone this time, which was to test the strength of the Tubo army and observe the opponent's condition from a close distance.

From Wang Qiyao's point of view, the Tubo army can be described in four words: strong on the outside but weak on the inside!
Of course, it is easy to hide and run alone. Wang Qiyao entered the camp alone and killed more than ten people and escaped unscathed. It seemed difficult, but in fact, it was safe. Outside the camp, there were also colleagues with superb skills to support him.

The Tibetan pursuers had no idea of ​​the situation and five of them were shot dead in an instant. How could they dare to chase them any further?

If Wang Qiyao and his group rushed into the Tubo army camp, they might be able to kill more enemy troops, but it would be difficult for them to escape unscathed.

Fang Zhongyong could certainly have killed the remnant of the "Zuosheying" of the Konghe Army and put an end to it all. However, anyone can kill people, but it is difficult to properly place them.

The scattered camp is the embodiment of Fang Zhongyong's love of "making the best use of things", letting heroes do heroic things and letting good men do good things. There is no right or wrong in swords, but the people who use swords have right or wrong!
“It’s time for a man to make achievements, just like our General Wang.

The opportunity is coming soon! Everyone disperse! Go back and sharpen your swords to kill the enemy!"

Fang Zhongyong shouted, and the soldiers who were watching scattered like birds and beasts. It must be said that Wang Qiyao's attack on the camp alone greatly boosted the morale of the Bianzhou army and broke the fear of the Tibetans in the army.

As the old saying goes, whether it is a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk! Whether it can fight or not cannot be determined by talking!

It depends on whether you can kill in the formation!
At this time, Yuan Zai quietly came over, leaned close to Fang Zhongyong and whispered: "Your Majesty, Che Guangqian just sent someone to report that part of the Tubo army has attacked from the east and is on the way to attack the Bingzhou prefecture. They should have already fought now."

"Well, send someone to inform them and follow the plan!"

Fang Zhongyong gave an order and said nothing more.

Previously, Che Guangqian had set up three lines of defense in the valleys on both sides of the Jing River, north of Bingzhou! It seemed like a lot, but in fact the valleys were narrow and it didn't take much effort.

This move by the Tibetan army was not very wise, because according to Dazhalugong's idea, the Tang army should leave Bingzhou and head west, and have a decisive battle with the Tibetan army in the open area around the shallow water source.

The isolated army advanced eastward along the Jing River. Even if they captured the capital of Bingzhou, they had to move south along the Jing River and slowly erode the defense line.

The Tubo army had only one purpose in this move, which was to test the quality of the Bianzhou army and see whether the Bianzhou army was the "donkey from Guizhou"!
If the Bianzhou army is a tiger, then Dazalugong will hold back and wait until the temperature drops and the Tubo army is in better condition.

If the Bianzhou army is vulnerable and just a donkey, then sorry, the Tubo army will march south in large numbers, launch a thundering attack regardless of cost, and launch the most ferocious attack, pushing Fang Chongyong and the Bianzhou army all the way to Puzhou, or even pushing them into the Yellow River to feed the fish!

"Sir, will General Che be unable to hold on?"

Yuan Zai asked in a low voice.

"It's possible, but it doesn't matter."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hands, not seeming to be worried.

He was holding back his ultimate move, waiting until the Tibetan army under Dazha Lugong was almost exhausted before using it. Although he could still make trouble for the Tibetans now, it was too early to injure them.

"Oh, write a letter to remind Che Guangqian not to resist and retreat southward little by little. You don't even have to stay in Bingzhou. You can just evacuate the people of Bingzhou to Chang'an."

Fang Chongyong instructed Yuan Zai.

Even though it was a set policy, Fang Zhongyong was worried that Che Guangqian would mess it up. Failure to defend Bingzhou was not a big deal, but scaring off the Tibetans would be a heinous crime.

He was now worried that Che Guangqian would confuse the Tibetan army and scare Dazalugong away.

(End of this chapter)