The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 439 Li Tang's Children
Several female guards also had solemn expressions. Madam Cheng was married to General Chumo, and was the daughter of Li Daozon, Prince of Jiangxia. Her brother was the current deputy general of the Flying Tigers.

Although Chu Mo and Jing Heng were both deputy generals, the troops were outside and always obeyed Jing Heng's arrangements.

She was the daughter of the Li Tang royal family. She had been very close to Princess Changle in the past, so she had more than ten female guards around her. When she got married, the royal family gave her the title of county princess.

A messenger came on horseback and said, "Report! The King of Jin and the Flying Tigers went to chase the Sogdians, and it seems they were ambushed."

Hearing this, she immediately jumped on the horse, tightened her armor, pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and said loudly: "Let's go! Let's go to help."

The soldier who came to report the news shouted, "County Lady, General Chu Mo has ordered you to wait here for the military order."

"Wait?" She wore an iron helmet, her eyes were full of heroism, and she said in a loud voice, "What are you waiting for? Waiting for bad news?"

The soldier who was delivering the message stopped in front and said, "We dare not let the county lady make any mistakes."

"Get out of the way!" she shouted again, the lance in her hand already against the throat of the messenger.

Seeing that the man was still standing there, she continued, "My brother is a general, and my father is the Prince of Jiangxia. We, the children of the Tang Dynasty, have never been afraid of fighting."

Only after the whip was swung did the soldier make way.

Princess Wencheng and her female guards rushed all the way in the cover of night. When they saw a fire by the lake, they rode towards the battlefield.

By the lake, Cheng Chumo, Li Zhi and others were besieged by a group of more than a hundred Sogdians.

Li Shen raised his knife and stabbed a Sogdian in the heart. It was his first time killing someone, so he shouted, "Ah!"

"General! Reinforcements are coming."

Hearing this, Li Jingheng looked towards the periphery of the battlefield and saw that there was indeed a troop of soldiers charging in. He wondered in his heart, "Reinforcements?"

A Sogdian came forward with his knife again. Li Jingheng had no time to think and quickly raised his knife to deal with him.

When the reinforcements arrived, the remaining Sogdians were caught off guard and fled in panic.

Princess Wencheng took the lead and led her men into the enemy camp. She raised her lance and stabbed one man through.

The originally tense war suddenly became one-sided, and more and more Sogdians fled to the west.

After the enemy withdrew, Li Jingheng stood there in a panic with a knife in his hand, his long hair fluttering in the wind, and his helmet was long gone.

Everyone stood by the lake, heard the neighing of war horses, and finally saw the reinforcements of more than 30 riders.

Li Jingheng looked at the female general riding a horse towards him in astonishment.

Cheng Chumo was also surprised and asked, "Madam?"

"I didn't expect that more than a hundred Sogdians would beat my brother so badly."

Li Jingheng put away the sword in his hand and said, "If we hadn't been ambushed, this wouldn't have happened."

Li Shen was delighted to see the person coming and said, "Sister Wencheng!"

Seeing that everyone was still safe and sound, Lady Wencheng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Well, your old man has come to Tianshan. I've sent someone to deliver a message and take you to see him."

Cheng Chumo washed his face with lake water and asked, "What is he doing here?"

"An order from the court."

She looked at Li Zhi and Li Shen and said, "We have fought and killed people before. Don't shout and scream all the time in the future. Be calm when killing the enemy and save your energy."

Li Shen bowed and said, "Thank you for your advice, sister!"

Li Zhi scratched the back of his head and suddenly felt ashamed.

After everyone cleaned up the battlefield, they found a lot of valuables in the Sogdians' packages. After dividing them, they went back.

At noon the next day, everyone returned to the camp in Tianshan.

Li Jingheng led his men into the camp and saluted, "General!"

Seeing that everyone in the Flying Tigers was covered in blood, Cheng Yaojin asked in a deep voice, "Did you encounter an enemy?"

"Old fellow, these Sogdians have become more and more rampant recently. I heard that many Arabs have gone to Talas City."

Cheng Yaojin glared at his son and shouted, "You bastard! You call me the general in the camp. You have no respect for your parents. Come here!"

"exist!"

"Drag this bastard out and give him ten blows!"

"Here!"

Cheng Chumo was dragged out like this.

The Flying Tigers have been out these days to collect information about the Arabs and the various Hu people in the Congling Mountains. Li Jingheng spread out a map and said, "We have explored many important roads. If we want to clear the Congling Mountains, we can only go through one city."

The city of Talas is located on the main road of the Pamir Mountains. Once the Tang army wants to attack the Pamir Mountains, they must capture this city.

Cheng Yaojin also looked solemn. If they really wanted to fight, the decisive battle would definitely take place in Talas City.

Li Zhi asked: "General, are we really going to attack Congling?"

Cheng Yaojin laughed and patted the King of Jin on the back, saying, "Fight! If we don't fight, your majesty wouldn't have let me come to Tianshan. When the army in the rear arrives, we will sweep across the Pamir Mountains and capture Talas City!"

Li Jingheng said: "Yes!"

But in order to attack Talas City, they must first capture Suye Water City. Li Jingheng did not understand why Suye Water City was called Suiye City on the map given by His Majesty. Perhaps it was to be renamed Suiye City after the city was captured?

Suiye City is very close to Issyk-Kul Lake, just on the west side, and there are many Sai people living around Suiye City.

It was a complex area inhabited by Hu people. The Tang army drove away the Sai people from the Issyk-Kul Lake several times, but there were still people who continued to test the waters. For this reason, the Flying Tigers stayed on the Issyk-Kul Lake for two months.

I thought Cheng Yaojin was a decisive person. According to previous expectations, this great general would probably send troops to attack Suye Water City the next day.

But the current situation is that General Cheng Yaojin did not do so. Instead, he stationed troops in the hinterland of Tianshan Mountains, stockpiled food and fodder, and even made arrangements to explore the terrain of Conglin.

For half a month, the army showed no signs of moving out.

Today's Tang Dynasty controls Hetao, south of the desert, north of the desert and the Western Regions, while the former small countries in the Western Regions, Gaochang and Yanqi, have all perished.

Yiwu, Shanshan, and Shule were relatively honest, but the Tang army had no interest in attacking them.

Half a month later, more and more people from the Western Regions joined the army and wanted to go into battle together with the Tang army.

Bai Fang gathered three thousand monks from the Western Regions, all of whom had just returned to secular life. He came to the camp in front of Tianshan and said in a loud voice: "General, Bai Fang, the chief clerk of Chongwen Hall, is here with three thousand soldiers from the Western Regions to serve you."

Someone in the army shouted, "We don't accept monks."

Bai Fang glanced at the bald Westerners behind him and said with a smile, "They have all returned to secular life. I hope the general will give them a chance to serve the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Zhi and Li Shen knew Bai Fang, so after joking around, they had the gate opened and brought the person in.

"Isn't Protector Pei coming?"

Bai Fang said: "Protector Pei is settling the rear, waiting for the general's order."

Not long after, Duke Qibi Heli of Liang arrived at the Tianshan camp with a troop of 1,000 Uighur cavalrymen.

Li Zhi bowed respectfully and said, "Mr. Liang."

Qibi Heli smiled and said, "After going out, I found out that Ashina She'er was leading his troops to the north. There were not many Uighurs who could join the war. I talked to that idiot for a few months. After Ashina She'er pledged allegiance to the current Tian Khan, he became more arrogant. After all the talk, I could only borrow a thousand cavalrymen from him." In fact, the Tianshan Mountains today have the feat of flattening the Tianshan Mountains by various countries in the past. After destroying Qiuci and Yanqi, the stories of the various countries' expeditions to the Western Regions are still being passed on by word of mouth.

The heroic deeds of those years still fascinate me today. At that time, the Turks, Uighurs, Tuyuhun and the Western Regions, with the Tang people as the core, jointly sent troops to conquer the country.

That was the largest battle fought by the Tang Dynasty in Tianshan, involving nearly 300,000 soldiers and horses.

This time, the Khan of Heaven has been replaced, and people from Tianshan and even the Western Regions are willing to fight like they did in the past. The passion of the old generation has not cooled, and the people of the old generation are still there and are willing to send troops together.

Cheng Yaojin was over fifty years old and looked like a reckless man who did not follow the rules, but when it came to war, this great general was extremely careful.

Inside the camp, everyone was looking at the map.

Bai Fang led three thousand monks from the Western Regions, and he was also considered a general. At this moment, he was looking at Qibi Heli with admiration, as if Qibi Heli was emitting a unique light.

Seeing the other person's eyes, Qibi Heli cleared his throat and said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Bai Fang whispered, "I wonder if Lord Liang can accept me as his adopted son."

The big tent suddenly became quiet. Qibi Heli felt very embarrassed. Why should he worship his adoptive father in front of so many people?

He coughed violently for a while before saying, "I have a child."

Bai Fang's eyes were very sincere.

Qibi Heli said sadly: "We don't accept monks as our adopted sons. You used to be Xuanzang's disciple, so we can't accept you."

"I am no longer Xuanzang's disciple."

"Get out!" Qibi Heli said with a stern face.

"Yes." Bai Fang immediately sat down again.

With the intention of watching the show, everyone turned their gazes away and discussed with each other in a low voice.

Cheng Yaojin asked, "Will the troops attacking Congling be too many?"

Li Jingheng replied: "Our main camp only has 10,000 soldiers."

Di Renjie, who was temporarily appointed as a military officer by the general, stepped forward and explained, "Including the 40,000 troops from Anxi Protectorate and Tingzhou, there are 50,000 troops that can be mobilized. If we go to various places in the Western Regions to recruit soldiers, we can recruit 20,000 soldiers."

There were roughly 70,000 troops. Since the Eastern Expedition, the Tang Dynasty had not had any large-scale wars, except for the battle in India, where the troops were borrowed by Wang Xuance.

Li Zhi sat outside the big tent, thinking.

Li Shen took a small step forward and asked, "Royal brother?"

Li Zhi was at a loss and asked, "What?"

"My brother asked us to come to the Western Regions to build the four Anxi towns. It's been almost a year, and we haven't accomplished anything."

Li Zhi said dejectedly: "What else can we do? When faced with a war like this, we can only put it aside."

Li Shen nodded seriously and said, "My brother and sister will definitely forgive us."

"At worst, after we defeat Congling, we can build the four towns of Anxi."

The two brothers have long been accustomed to it, accustomed to doing whatever they want.

Although I have been to the south of the Yangtze River and to the Western Regions, and have traveled all over the country, I have achieved nothing so far.

Today, Brother Prince Wei has become a literary master in the Central Plains and enjoys a high reputation.

The King of Wu’s brother was so famous in Shandong that he put a lot of pressure on the noble families and aristocratic families.

Among the brothers in the family, they are the most useless.

Li Shen felt that the time had not come for Brother Prince Jin yet, and that he was still a late bloomer, and would definitely achieve something in the future.

"Renjie?"

Di Renjie, who was about to dispatch food and grass, turned around and said, "Prince Jin, Prince Ji."

Li Shen asked: "What are you going to do?"

Di Renjie replied, "A batch of grain and grass has been transported from Tianzhu. It was first transported from Tianzhu to Tubo, and then the Tubo people sent it to Qinghai Road. Now it has been transported from Qinghai Road to Anxi Protectorate and is about to be transported to the camp. The general asked me to receive the grain and grass. The documents along the way have been delivered."

Li Shen said: "We will go with you."

Seeing that Prince Jin and Prince Ji were both quite free, Di Renjie nodded.

The three of them rode out of the camp and walked a few miles before they saw food and grass being delivered. Di Renjie explained, "The general means that the food and grass along the way are not ready, so we can't move. We have been waiting for food and grass for a month."

Pei Yan and Zhang Jianzhi came to transport the food and fodder, and Xue Rengui also accompanied them.

Di Renjie dismounted and said, "I am Di Renjie, the military officer of Tianshan Road."

Zhang Jianzhi rode on his horse, looking at the grassland at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, and asked in confusion, "Tianshan Road?"

Di Renjie explained: "This is the name given to this place by the general."

Xue Rengui got off his horse and said seriously, "I am Xue Rengui."

"I have heard of General Xue's reputation for a long time."

Pei Yan also dismounted, ordered the soldiers behind him to stop, and stepped forward and said, "These grains and fodders were sent from India, but I'm afraid they don't taste very good."

Li Zhi said: "As long as it's food."

Xue Rengui also said: "At worst, I can feed the horses."

One of the current sources of food and fodder is the rice grown in the hinterland of the Tianshan Mountains and even on the southern slopes, which allows them to barely be self-sufficient.

There is also the food and fodder in Songzhou. As long as they are dispatched in an orderly manner, there will be no problems.

Di Renjie took the dispatch document from Pei Yan, confirmed it, and ordered people to bring the food and fodder into the camp.

Zhang Jianzhi asked, "When will we set out to fight?"

Li Zhi looked to the west and said, "I don't know what the general is waiting for. Now the army is standing still."

Li Shen whispered, "Tens of thousands of troops need to be mobilized, it won't be that fast."

Pei Yan also said: "When General Zhang Shigui arrives at the Anxi Protectorate, Protector Pei and General Liang Jianfang will set out. I will report to the general right away."

When they learned that the Tang army was preparing for war, more and more people from the Western Regions came to join the army spontaneously, and many of them were the former Tuyuhun people. These old people now live in the Hexi Corridor and most of the time they move around in the Anxi Protectorate.

In the late autumn of the fourth year of Qianqing's reign, Lou Shide, the Anxi Inspector Censor, came to the Tianshan camp and brought a rumor about the court.

Some people suggested that the emperor move the capital to Luoyang, but the emperor refused.

The emperor told his subjects that in the early years of the Zhenguan period, the Turkic army was approaching the Wei River and was about to take over Guanzhong. The 800-li Qinchuan was about to change hands. At that time, some people suggested abandoning Guanzhong, retreating and moving the capital to Luoyang.

But His Majesty refused to move the capital to Luoyang and chose to defend Chang'an. Later, General Li Jing led the northern expedition against the Turks.

The same is true of the current Tian Khan, who refused to move the capital to Luoyang and still stayed in Guanzhong. The year-long debate on moving the capital during the Qianqing period finally came to a conclusion.

Li Shen was deeply convinced by the news and said, "Even my father would refuse to move the capital. The children of the Tang Dynasty should do the same."

(End of this chapter)