The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 126: Why is the autumn wind sad for the painted fan?

"I can do everything! I can chop wood, wash clothes, and go into the kitchen. I can only eat one cake a day. I will definitely listen to you... wuwu..." The little girl knelt on the ground, kowtowed and cried.

"Stick your head out!"

"puff."

"My dear, kill me quickly with your sword... otherwise I will be dragged into the enemy camp and die!" The beautiful woman grabbed the dagger in her husband's hand and shouted at him.

Countless black smoke columns rose above Pengcheng. Shouts rose one after another on both sides of the Si River that passed through the city. Male and female soldiers were constantly taken to the side by the scolding warriors and beheaded. The bright red waves were filled with corpses of all shapes and sizes, and occasionally those who were not completely dead were thrashing slightly.

On the seventh day of May, the Martial Saint True Emperor of Daliang sailed to Pengcheng to supervise the battle.

On the tenth day, the imperial army's vanguards approached the Sishui River, lined up along the shore, and their flags covered the sky. The 100,000 Bian troops in the Xuzhou camp cheered on the other side of the river, accepting the emperor's inspection. On the eleventh day, Zhu Sheng ordered an attack, and the victory was achieved at midnight.

Shi Pu, the acting Grand Commandant, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and the Prince of Julu, climbed up Yanzi Terrace and burned himself to death with his wife, children, and clansmen. Deputy Envoy Li Shibo escaped by swimming and arrived at Xiaqiuye, where he met 50,000 reinforcements from Yan and Yun. He cried, "It's too late. The Zhu thieves have entered Pengcheng."

The seven-year battle came to an end.

The resentful Bian army slaughtered the stubborn Xu people until dawn. Since Li Guangbi moved to the city, 15,000 families of the Ya army, including boys and girls, were killed. The Yacheng was emptied and the corpses piled up like a mountain.

At noon, Zhu Sheng waded into Pengcheng, wading through the bloody stream, and climbed up to the Swallow Tower to check Shi Pu's head.

"Hahaha."

"Ho ho."

Playing with the charred head, the saint laughed heartily. It had been seven years since the war with Pu in the third year of Guangqi. He had waited for seven years for this moment, and in the end, he had the last laugh. Shi Sikong, how about today's event?
"Your Majesty, you will follow the will of heaven and the people, so how can you not win?" Li Zhen twisted his mouth and kicked Shi Pu's burnt and broken body out of boredom.

The saint conquered Xuzhou right after he became emperor. If this is not destiny, what is it? Wuning was known as the best army in the Central Plains. It defeated Heshuo many times, but was defeated in Yacheng. What does this mean? Even the stubborn bandits like Xuzhou fell under the sword of the Bian army. Once Xuan and Jin are killed, it will be the end of Li Keyong and Li Ye, the fake father-in-law and son-in-law.

If many people were still hesitant before, fearing the remaining power of the Li family for three hundred years, worrying about whether the foreign enemies had not been eliminated and whether the time was right, then now... open your eyes and take a good look. Li Zhen's self-confidence rose sharply, and he spoke in the tone of "swinging the sword to cut through the floating clouds, and all the princes will come to the west."

But Zhu Sheng was much more sober.

In the four battles of Xuzhou, every village could become a battlefield. Since the war began, the people have been unable to farm. In addition, the river network is dense, summer floods are constant, and a large number of people die; this has greatly weakened the Xu people. Without rewards, facing the crisis of family destruction, the warriors can grit their teeth and persist. But if they don't have enough food, the warriors will have no energy to fight even if they don't rebel. This is a very realistic problem.

Xu Jun was indeed fierce and never hesitated when fighting. But over the years, how many times had his formation been overwhelmed by exhaustion?

Furthermore, Ganhua Army had no strong fortress except Pengcheng, so the warriors could only run out and exchange their lives for others. Daliang had dozens of states, while Ganhua had only four states. People were not leeks. If the young and strong men were all killed, how long could the remaining orphans and widows hold out? In the later stages of the siege of Pengcheng, the main force defending the city was already women and even teenage girls.

In a world where warriors rule the country, women who have been poisoned by the trend can wield knives and fight on a large scale. Zhu Sheng was deeply afraid while sighing.

"Don't use empty words." Zhu Sheng imitated the emperor's tone and sighed: "Xuzhou is in decline, and it is not difficult to defeat it. But it is difficult to deal with powerful enemies like Zhao, Wei, Yan, Qi, and Tang who have beautiful mountains and rivers."

After Li Ye was honored as the Lord of Tang, the pseudo-imperial court had been downgraded by Daliang to the Tang State, which was on a par with the powerful vassal states; a new era had arrived. The sage was full of energy, but he had no idea what to do next.

Others can be ignored for the time being, as they are just mediocre people, but Li Keyong, Li Ye, the father-in-law and son-in-law, and the brothers Xuan and Jin must be eliminated first. Needless to say, the former has its own advantages. After destroying this pair of father-in-law and son-in-law who are in appearance but not in mind, there is no worry of following the footsteps of Dayan. However, Tongguan Road and Wuguan Road are more difficult than ascending to the sky, and the saint has psychological trauma. Puguan Road is easy, but if Chongying is not dead for a day, he will definitely break his teeth if he bites hard.

In the latter case, Xuan and Jin would be helpless, and Ziqing and Henghai would be lambs to be slaughtered. With the sea to the east and Youzhou to the north, how many years could they hold out if the armies from the west and south attacked fiercely? With the fertile land of Qi and Lu, and the salt profits from the East Sea and the Ziqing horse farms, Li Keyong could just wait for death.

Zhu Sheng prefers this route.

In fact, Zhu Wen did the same thing in his later generations. Li Keyong was indeed locked in the city twice by him to wait for the end of the world. If it weren't for the persuasion of Liu, Li Siyuan and others, his father-in-law would have run away long ago...

But will this...

Zhu Sheng hesitated.

Although Tang Lord Li Ye is still very weak, his potential is too terrifying. If we don't kill him in the cradle before he can fully develop his wings...

"What does Lord Jing think?" Zhu Sheng looked at Jing Xiang and asked. Jing Xiang had been appointed as the chief prime minister of the ruling affairs. After Zhu Wen ascended the throne, he cultivated his words and deeds and changed his title to "Lord Jing" in accordance with etiquette.

"I think we must first pacify Tang and Jin." Jing Xiang was confident: "Xuan and Jin have suffered heavy losses and are now dead bodies in the tomb. It doesn't matter if it's earlier or later. Ke Yong has a strong army. Although he has just defeated Hebei, his foundation is still intact."

"One-eyed dragon..." The saint stroked his beard, laughed twice, shook his head and said, "Go on, sir."

"His son-in-law Li Ye." Jing Xiang's expression became serious, and he pursed his lips and said, "He recruited gangsters and put more emphasis on production. I estimate that his population is no less than one million. He is now firmly in Guanzhong and wants to take Helong in the west. He probably has 100,000 soldiers. Moreover, he has won battle after battle and his morale is high. His power is no less than any other town except ours... If we don't take action soon, it will lead to disaster!"

At this point, he reminded me quietly: "Duke Xiao of Qin occupied the solid pass of Hangu Pass and held the land of Yongzhou. The king and his ministers held on to it to spy on the Zhou Dynasty... and he took Hanzhong in the south and Bashu in the west..." In other words, he had not yet obtained Shu Han, otherwise he would have gone down the river and fought his way out from southern Jing. If he couldn't kill anyone, he would have disgusted them to death.

Zhu Sheng immediately asked: "How do we do this?"

"Attack Hezhong and cut off this arm." Jing Xiang said succinctly. He occupied Shaanxi and Guo but ignored Hezhong. Are they out of their minds? Zhu Sheng patted Shi Pu's head, as if weighing the pros and cons. Seeing this, Jing Xiang added: "Chongying has been ill for a long time and his sons are weak. Sending a general to attack is like Pang Shigu's attack on Xuzhou. There is no reason why it will not succeed."

"But Hezhong is not like Xuzhou." Zhu Sheng looked at the Si River and fell into long contemplation.

Pu people have strong fortresses and Zhongtiao Mountain, and have the blood transfusion of neighboring Li Ye and Li Keyong. Moreover, unlike Xuan and Jin who came to rescue Pu, the reinforcements can be easily blocked by him. Li Ye's army can directly walk over the iron chain bridge of Pubanjin, unless the Bian army flies to Tongzhou. Li Keyong's route through the Fenhe Valley is also convenient and safe.

These three companies are in solidarity, and it would be difficult to plot against any of them.

Unless there is another way...

Thinking of this, Zhu Sheng suddenly came up with a plan. He looked at the civil and military officials and said, "If I raise an army of 200,000 to attack Li Keyong, Li Cunxiao will rebel against Luzhou outside, and the one-eyed dragon will be defeated in Hebei inside. In addition, Youzhou will invade again and again, and the people will be exhausted. They will be unable to resist and can only defend the isolated city——"

Jing Xiang immediately understood what the saint meant, and smiled in sync: "The alliance between Tang, Jin, and Pu is in danger of breaking up Li Keyong. The lips and teeth are in danger, so how can Li Ye and Wang Chongying not come to rescue?"

"Then lure and annihilate the main forces of the two towns in Taiyuan!" Kou Yanqing reacted quickly and took over the topic excitedly.

Jiang Xuanhui, who had been promoted from the head of the household servants to the Xuanhui Envoy, was confused by what he heard and whispered, "If I advance, both I and Li Keyong will die. Even with my stupidity, I can think of it. Li Ye..."

"Hahaha." It was so stupid that it made people pity him. Li Zhen waved his hand and explained: "Li Ye did not save Zhu Xiewusi from death. Would he still treat him as a husband? With Li Keyong's violent temper, would he still treat him as a son-in-law? The attack on Taiyuan was fake. The real purpose was to create a rift between Tang and Jin. As long as this fake father-in-law and son-in-law turned against each other, wouldn't it be easy to deal with them?"

Jiang Xuanhui was embarrassed and his face turned red. It seemed that this was a conspiracy to force the Tang Lord. Would he fall for it? I was really worried about him.

All the civil and military officials burst into laughter.

Zhu Sheng looked at Jing Xiang and Li Zhen with satisfaction, and said happily: "I have two prime ministers, who are more than a hundred times more solemn and noble than An Lushan."

This plan is indeed feasible, but we need to consider the matters of staying behind; after all, the Hu bandits who are wreaking havoc on the Wuchang army still regard the Tang emperor as the orthodox, and Du Hong, that useless person, has been driven out of Jingchu. The Shao bandits in the Runan direction, the Suzhou rebel general Hou Song, and the Shouchun Cai bandit Liu Hong'e are also making a lot of trouble.

A complete strategy quickly took shape in his mind.

It's good to have the initiative in the war. Lead the Tang Lord by the nose! If I don't move, how dare Li Ye?

Bang. Zhu Sheng slapped Pu's head on the parapet, looking at the surging bloody waves of the Si River, and said one sentence after another: "I have read the reports of all armies. I have been in the army for 30 years, and I have never seen anyone so stubborn. Kill the old and the young will come. The men are dead and the women are fighting again. This is really a barbaric place. Pass on my order, collect the heads of the Xu people, and build a nine-story Jingguan on the east bank; collect the bodies and intestines of the Xu people, and build a pile of skulls on the north bank, making nine mountains, to warn those who come later - the city that resists and refuses to surrender will be like the Xu bandits when it is broken!"

It makes people's ears buzz.

The family was plundered and the graves were swept, and even after death, the bodies were torn into pieces and humiliated. Poor Xuzhou men and women...

...

Bashang, the main camp of the Huorui Army.

Hundreds of bloody heads were hung together at the gate, looking like a row of black lanterns from a distance.

These warriors were all from Bianzhou in the army.

After being coerced by the mutinous Liu Zhijun in the Battle of Tongguan, the saint reorganized more than 1,700 warriors from Xu Bian and 6,000 rogue soldiers selected from Gao Hanhong into the Huorui Army and incorporated it into the Tiance Army's foreign army. But now in hindsight, this was a wrong decision.

After the tragic news of the fall of Pengcheng spread, the accumulated conflicts between the Xu and Bian soldiers suddenly broke out, and the Xu people were furious and started a fight with the Bian people. The sound of killing was deafening, and the camp was filled with black smoke.

Dongfang Tai, the captain of the city gates, ordered the closure of all gates in Chang'an and prohibited entry and exit. Some of the imperial guards stationed in Xingqing Palace received the order and went out in large numbers to quell the riot. When the fight was settled, more than 1700 soldiers from Xu and Bian were killed, with only left. The comrades of the Huorui Army sympathized with the Xu people and helped them chop off the heads of the Bian people and hang them at the gate...

It's another day when I'm pissed off by a warrior.

In the Penglai Palace, the saint sat down again.

Wenren Chuchu was explaining the history of the Tibetan war to him: "In the first year of Guangde, 200,000 Tibetans attacked the capital, and Daizong fled to Shaanxi, but was repelled by the King of Fenyang. In the first year of Yongtai, 300,000 attacked Liquan, but were repelled by the King of Fenyang. In the third year of Dali, 100,000 attacked Ling and Bin, but were defeated by Ma Lin. In September, they came again, and the King of Fenyang defeated 60,000 of them."

"In the eighth year of Dali, the Tubo invaded Lingwu and trampled on our crops before leaving. In October, the Tubo invaded Jing and Bin. The King of Fenyang sent Hun Yu to fight against the invaders. These were some of the larger scale invasions by Tubo during the reign of Emperor Daizong."

Rather than saying it is a history of the struggle between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, it is better to say it is a history of the battle between Guo Ziyi and Tubo. Without the King of Fenyang, the Tang Dynasty should have ended with the two saints Su and Dai... It is unreasonable that such a warrior with such achievements and prestige did not rebel!
If you put yourself in his shoes, if you had such a general under your command, you would definitely not be able to sleep.

"What happened after Prince Fenyang passed away?"

"In the third year of Zhenyuan, Tubo entered Wushan and Baoji, burned settlements, looted livestock and young men, killed the elderly and children, cut off hands and gouged out eyes, and then left. They also looted tens of thousands of men and women in Weiyang and Huating. Within a few months, they captured tens of thousands of dead people and cattle and sheep in the mountains, and the people of Jing, Long and Bin were wiped out." When Wenren Chuchu said this, he shook his head and sighed silently.

She couldn't bear to finish reading the history and didn't even want to read the rest.

The saint took the information she had sorted out.

In fact, the following content is also very simple, that is, when and what month did Tubo invade. But the sage found that Tubo's motive for aggression was very special. It seemed that they were not very interested in wealth, cattle and sheep. All military actions revolved around one theme - robbing people!
In the fourth year of the Zhenyuan reign, the invaders captured the five states of Jing, Bin, Ning, Qing, and Fu, and took away tens of thousands of craftsmen, officials, and civilians. The historians clearly recorded this invasion: "When they captured Tang prisoners, they gave them many gifts and held their wives and children as hostages."

My little beauty, just be my wife and I will give you everything you want. But if you dare to run away, don’t blame me for killing your son... This is probably the scene...

Of course, not only the Han people were robbed, but other ethnic groups were also robbed.

In the 17th year of Zhenyuan, he attacked Yanzhou, captured Linzhou, captured the residents, and plundered the Dangxiang tribes.

Funny thing is, some Tibetan generals who carried out these tasks were Han Chinese. During the Zhenyuan period, there was a man named Xu Sheren. Once he saw a captured Tang man crying, he said, "I am a descendant of Sikong Yinggong. During the reign of Empress Wu, my ancestors used military force to honor the royal family but failed, and my descendants fled to remote areas. Now it has been three generations. Although I hold military power, my heart has never forgotten to return home, but I can't pull myself away."

It's not that I'm disloyal to the Tang Dynasty, it's just that I have a family and ties in Tubo, so you guys should go.

In addition to the Pingxia tribes, the Tibetans also robbed the Uighurs - "At the beginning of Emperor Xianzong's reign, 50,000 cavalry entered Zhenwu Fuyuquan and seized the Uighurs who returned to the country."

The citizens of various countries who were kidnapped did not disappear, they were just Tibetanized.

The captured Lingyan Dangxiang were the ancestors of the Pingxia tribes. They and the Western Qiang in Tubo evolved into the six states of Dangxiang currently gathered west of Longzhou. They rebelled during the reign of Emperor Daizong and sent people to Chang'an to report the news and request to "return home"...

This part of the Dangxiang people still considered themselves as Tang people at that time.

A hundred years have passed, and I'm afraid none of these barbarians can speak Chinese. Would Tuoba Sigong and Mo Zangqiqi consider them as relatives? Fuck your mother's relatives, dog Dangxiang traitors, second Dangxiang!

Well, don't laugh.

The Han people were not much better off. From the beginning of Emperor Daizong's reign to the Changqing Conference, at least one million civilians and warriors were captured, and this was a conservative estimate.

After these people settled down in Tubo, the skilled talents performed for the Zamp, and there were also Han female musicians, dancers, and embroiderers in the Snowland Palace. Whenever Tang envoys came, the Zamp would invite them to play their native dialects... and watch them cry and wail with the envoys from their motherland, and treat this as fun.

Ordinary people suffered a lot. They farmed and herded cattle on weekdays, and followed their masters to fight in wars. Look familiar? They are similar to the bondservants of Jiannu. At this time, there were many Tibetan-skinned Han people in Huizhou, Jincheng, and Hewei. However... the Han people spoke in Hu language, but cursed the Han people on the city walls.

In addition, there are also the Persians and the Arabs. Wei Gao often captured soldiers from the West in Xichuan. The Amonan, who was an expert in both sword and spear, brought to Chang'an by my brother-in-law Zhao Fu was a Arab. This is why Hezhou City in Gansu is still called "Little Mecca" in the 21st century...

The gears of fate began turning in the ninth century...

The saints’ evaluation was: Western learning spread to the East in the classical era!

Although being captured was not their intention, it was inevitable that they would have to shed blood with these two Tubos this time.

The imperial court has made preparations to send troops.

It's not Hexi... The time to recapture Liangzhou has not come yet. Chang'an is more than a thousand miles away from Guzang City. What if I take Hehuang and my home is robbed? After several considerations, the sage decided to attack the nearest Jincheng, Hewei, and Huizhou first. It's easy to fight, the road is flat, and I can rush back in time if there is an emergency...

Delicious.

The most important thing is that taking over this vast and fertile land will not only provide strategic depth, but also provide horse farms and consumables.

He had long wanted to expand his cavalry.

It's not that there is a shortage of horses. With Tuoba Sigong, his father-in-law, and Lingzhou as three suppliers, there is really no shortage of war horses. There is a shortage of pastures. There is only one large pasture in the interior of the country, Shayuan, and Wugong County can barely accommodate some, but it is still too little. There is no way to occupy arable land. One hundred thousand cavalrymen are beautiful, but having enough food is the most important thing.

If we take back these three places, we will have pastures. What? The Tibetans also want to graze their horses? Why not just stop them from grazing on the land?

Getting pasture is the second benefit.

The third benefit is that there are a handful of consumables to be used. The converted Han Chinese, the Arabs, and the Tanguts can be treated leniently as appropriate, but as for the genuine Tibetans, the evil army is where they should go.

On the ninth day of the fifth lunar month, the virtuous concubine Zhu Xiewusi and the Xuanhui envoy Yu Wenrou gave birth to a boy for the sage on the same day, which made many people secretly buy wine to celebrate. Last month, Zhao also gave birth to a big fat boy. Including the son of Concubine Chen, the sage has given birth to four children. In his heart, he is becoming less and less interested in the son of Concubine Shu, Yu, but he can't show it.

"Why does the autumn wind make the painted fan sad?"

Let’s first think about what names to give the three children.

　Thanks to the alliance of the Sky Realm! He was appointed as the Grand Marshal and the Grand General, and the Commander-in-Chief of all military forces at home and abroad. He was also the Minister of the Court, the Chief of the Hundred Ministers, and was given the Nine Gifts. He was given Fanyang, Changshan, Cangzhou, Pingyuan and other 20 counties as thatched land, and was promoted to the King of Yan. He entered the palace with a sword and shoes, did not bow when entering the court, did not name himself when praising and bowing, and did not call himself a minister when reporting matters.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)