Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 411 Advance as retreat
"Your Majesty asked us to find a way to help the Zuosilo tribe on the plateau enter Hehuang?" Wang Shao said in surprise after reading the contents of the letter.

"What does Zichun think about this?" Gu Tingye asked.

"The Zuosilo tribe entering Hehuang is indeed a brilliant move. The Zuosilo are descendants of Tubo, and it is relatively easy for them to annex the Tubo tribes in Hehuang. But Western Xia will not let them enter Hehuang, and may even take advantage of the situation to chase them into Hehuang! Moreover, the Qiang and Tubo in Hehuang will not agree." Wang Shao frowned.

Even though the Zuosilo tribe could not defeat the Western Xia, its current strength is still stronger than the Qiang people in Hehuang and Tubo combined.

The reason why the Zuosilo tribe had no interest in the Hehuang area before was entirely because it was sandwiched between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia.

The Qiang people and Tubo in Hehuang were not stupid either, so how could they allow the Zuosilo tribe to enter Hehuang?

"But this is the order of His Majesty, and we have to obey it. And I think the Zuosilo tribe is also the key to breaking the deadlock." Gu Tingye said.

Wang Shao thought about it carefully and said in surprise: "Zhong Huai wants to take advantage of the situation and make the Tibetan tribes feel threatened by the Song Dynasty and take the initiative to welcome the Zuosilo tribe into Hehuang? If so, I think the possibility is very small."

No matter how stupid the Tubo in Hehuang were, they knew that neither the Song Dynasty nor the Western Xia would want the other to occupy Hehuang.

Rather than welcoming Zuo Silu into Hehuang, it would be better to ask for help from Western Xia.

Even though it is easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away, it is still difficult.

But if the Zuosilo tribe is allowed to enter Hehuang, we will really have no way to get them away.

What's more, they are all Tubo, and the Zuosilo tribe is the strongest among the tribes that split from Tubo.

For those in power, although everyone is Tibetan, they are not of the same kind. But it is different for ordinary people.

In their view, everyone is Tibetan, and the Zuosilo tribe is the strongest.

Even without annexation, over time, ordinary people from various tribes would slowly flow into the Zuosilo tribe.

Therefore, no matter what, the Tubo in Hehuang would not allow the Zuosilo tribe to enter Hehuang.

"No, I'm talking about the Qiang people! After all, the road to the plateau is in the hands of the Qiang people." Gu Tingye said with a smile.

"How could the Qiang people welcome the Zuosilo tribe into Hehuang?" Wang Shao shook his head.

"It is impossible."

Gu Tingye smiled and said, "But what if the Qiang tribe loses again?"

"That's impossible. The Qiang people know the situation of the Zuosilo tribe and are clear that the Zuosilo tribe is unlikely to send troops to help them. What's more, the Song Dynasty is still there and the Zuosilo tribe is dependent on the Song Dynasty." Wang Shao shook his head.

"It's normal and natural."

Gu Tingye nodded and said, "You should have won over some people in the Qiang tribe. If the Qiang tribe loses again, you can let those people guide the upper class of the Qiang tribe to propose to surrender to the Zuosiluo tribe on the plateau. For the Qiang people, the Zuosiluo tribe has a relationship with the Song Dynasty. After they surrender, the Song Dynasty will not continue to attack them.

Although Zuosilo is powerful, as long as they recover, the Zuosilo tribe cannot do anything to them even if they betray them. After all, Western Xia is eyeing the plateau.

When the Qiang people surrender, we will withdraw our troops, and Zuo Si Luo will be able to enter the Hehuang area in the name of helping the Qiang people."

"But will Xixia sit idly by and watch the Zuosilo tribe occupy Hehuang?" Wang Shao frowned.

"will not!"

Gu Tingye smiled slightly: "But for Xixia, occupying the plateau is the most important thing. Now that snow has fallen on the plateau, Xixia cannot advance in a short time. Xixia will never think that the Zuosiluo tribe will give up the plateau, and will only think that the Zuosiluo tribe is just to help the Qiang people and get the help of the Qiang people.

Therefore, they were happy to see the Zuosilo tribe consume its strength in Hehuang. As long as our Song Dynasty withdrew its troops, Xixia would at most provide secret guidance and would not interfere in the affairs of Hehuang.

Xixia hoped that Hehuang would become more chaotic so that once they had taken over the plateau, they could attack Hehuang.

As long as the leading troops of the Zuosiluo tribe can gain a firm foothold in Hehuang, Xixia will focus on Hehuang, which will make it easier for ordinary people to migrate. By the time Xixia finds out, it is too late. Xixia can't just leave the plateau and send troops to Hehuang, right?
If that were the case, the Song Dynasty could have sent troops to occupy the plateau and see if Xixia could hold out."

After listening to Gu Tingye's plan, Wang Shao exclaimed: "Zhong Huai's talent is beyond my reach!"

Gu Tingye’s calculations are no longer limited to the battlefield.

"Zichun, you're too serious. The success of this plan depends on you. Not only must you make sure you can convince the Qiang high-level officials, you also have to go to the Zuosilo tribe in person and explain our plan to them." Gu Tingye said.

This plan still needs the cooperation of the Zuosilo tribe. If it is submitted to Bian Jing and someone is sent there, it will take too much time and may not be able to explain it clearly.

As the commander-in-chief, he couldn't leave either, so Wang Shao had to go there in person.

"These are all trivial matters, but Tubo has just been defeated. Are you sure you can persuade Tubo to send troops again?" Wang Shao said.

"This is easy. We just need to retreat to advance, and Tubo will take the initiative to send troops." Gu Tingye said confidently.

Wang Shao thought about it for a moment and understood what Gu Tingye meant. He said, "Then I'll get ready and set off as soon as possible. Otherwise, the heavy snow on the plateau will block the road and it will take a lot of time."

"Yes!" Gu Tingye also knew that time could not be wasted.

Wang Shao and Gu Tingye discussed their plan carefully and wrote a letter with details, which they asked the imperial guards to take back. Then Wang Shao made preparations and went to the plateau in person.

A few days after Wang Shao left, Gu Tingye found the leaders of the various Tibetan tribes and told them that he had received an imperial edict to withdraw troops from Hehuang.

If Gu Tingye had said before that he wanted to withdraw his troops, the leaders of the various Tibetan tribes would naturally be happy to do so.

After all, the Qiang people were losing ground at that time, and they thought that they were no longer their opponents.

But now they have just suffered a great defeat. If the Song Dynasty withdraws its troops and loses a thug, even if they can defeat the Qiang, the loss will not be small.

But Gu Tingye insisted on withdrawing his troops, saying that he had received an imperial edict and could not disobey.

Before, Zhao Xing sent people to deliver the letter into Hehuang, so naturally he could not hide it from them. They also knew some things about the Song Dynasty, and the generals did not dare to disobey the court's order easily.

It had been more than a year since Gu Tingye served in Qinzhou and led his troops into Hehuang, during which he also bribed some people among the Tubo tribes in Hehuang.

Under the instruction of Gu Tingye, these people secretly instigated the various Hehuang Tubo tribes to reach a consensus and prepare to send troops again. They asked Gu Tingye to send troops for help and then withdraw after the battle.

Gu Tingye accepted a bunch of gifts before pretending to be reluctant and agreeing.

However, Gu Tingye made a request that this time the troops had to go out under his command.

The Tibetan tribes hesitated for a moment and then agreed.

They also recognized their own command capabilities.

The reason why they were able to defeat the Qiang tribe several times before was because they followed Gu Tingye’s advice.

This time, they didn't listen to Gu Tingye and suffered a great defeat.

The next day, news came out that the Song Dynasty had withdrawn its troops.

Gu Tingye led his army, left Hezhou and headed towards the Song Dynasty.

After the Qiang people learned the news, they carefully confirmed that the news was true. After estimating that the Song army had withdrawn from Hehuang, they sent troops to recover the lost territory.

(End of this chapter)