The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 129: Fighting for Captivity

On the first day of June, 3,000 troops under Qin Fengwei Fu Daozhao arrived at Luomenchuan.

Zhang Fan of Jingyuan, who was on his way to Jincheng, may have received instructions from his brother Zhang Jun. On the way, he sent his general Tuoba Lizhen to lead 2,000 armored soldiers and more than 10,000 men and women of the foreign tribes captured in Jingning, Jiangtaibao and other places to join the battle.

Ever since the imperial army marched westward, Wu Xiong, the governor of Bining, had been keeping a close eye on the situation, fearing that the emperor would seize the opportunity. But after watching for a long time, he discovered that the emperor was interested in Hewei. The troops discussed and decided that the Tibetans were easy to bully, so they might as well stop hiding in their old nests and take the opportunity to fight for their lives, so as not to be bullied by the dog emperor. So they sent all 7,000 infantry and cavalry to "serve the king."

Their main force was severely damaged during Wang Xingyu's fight with Li Maozhen, and some of them are sleeping at the bottom of Mibize Lake. There are more than 20,000 warriors in total, and now only these are left. We have to find a way to clean up and get ashore, otherwise we have to wait for the dog emperor to free up his hands and turn everyone into villains.

"I, I, I, you dog-foot I." Walking on the post road, Wu Xiong couldn't help cursing. If he didn't go, he would die sooner or later, and if he went, he would be used as a scapegoat. However, Bin Ning had no other choice but to choose the lesser of two evils.

"You better be more respectful to the emperor!" The soldiers were a little scared when they heard this, and waved their swords to remind him: "We fought with him in Qishan last year, and he may still be holding a grudge against us. How dare you be so rude? Go and fight well, and don't let him look down on us."

...

On the third day of the first lunar month, the morning sun was rising and a half-rolled red flag was seen flying out of the gate.

The sage has brought his personal guards, the six Guangrui schools, and the four commanders of the central army, 24000 brave infantry and cavalry, across the Luomen River to the west, and joined forces with soldiers from Fu Daozhao, soldiers from Zhao Chong, soldiers from Wuxiong, Tuoba Lizhen, the seven Tangut tribes under Cui Gong, and the evil people from Liu Zhijun, and set up camps on the low slopes, hills, river valleys, grasslands, and fields around Xiangwu. Including the conscripted civilians, there are more than people, truly everywhere in the mountains and plains.

He himself did not realize that he had such a deterrent power over the northwestern part of Beijing. Without waiting for orders, everyone came to serve on their own initiative. But...Wu Xiong, Fu Daozhao, these fence-sitters who change their views according to the wind, can you please get out of here? Do I need you to add icing on the cake?

At this time, Sangbaobao and Migazu could no longer sit still. The Tubo in He, Wei, Min, Wu, Tao and Lan states, as well as the larger Qiang tribes and Han powerful people were also panicked and sent envoys one after another.

"We are willing to offer cattle, sheep, gold, silver, armor and weapons... and ask the Heavenly Khan to withdraw his troops." Gou Jin was the first to arrive, representing the two captives Sang and Mi as lobbyists. As soon as she entered the camp, she knelt on the ground and cried.

"Who taught you to kneel down all the time? Stand up and speak."

"Yes, sir." Gou Jin's Chinese was very poor and her accent was very strange.

"Your surname is Gou... Are you a descendant of the remnants of the people?" The saint stood under the map, looked up and observed, and asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, my ancestors have lived in Lueyang since the Han and Wei dynasties. During the Tianbao and Zhide periods, they were conquered by Tubo. Because I have a skill, I am not a loser." Gou Jin answered with a sad face.

"Since you are the survivors of the Tianbao era... I am here to recover my country and my homeland, why should I be a captive?" The saint turned around and looked at Gou Jin. The power of time is so strong that it can make a group of people forget history and willingly become second-class people.

“……”Gou Jin didn’t know how to answer.

Why be a captive?

If you are among the barbarians, you should be a barbarian. If you enter China, you are Chinese; if you enter the barbarians, you are barbarians. Don't you understand this principle?

Dignity? His ancestors were indeed tortured a lot, but after being whipped many times, they knew when the lord would be angry. Gradually, they learned to guess and try their best to please him. In this way, they were beaten less and less. Although they would occasionally be punished and a few men and women would be killed and eaten as sacrifices, that was also a reminder of the duty of being a slave, wasn't it? Moreover, wasn't it because he abided by his duties and worked hard that he was treated as a human being by the lord and appointed as a respectable monk official?

The Tubo? The He and Wei had not seen war for fifty years under the rule of Tubo. The various tribes fought each other, but generally they kept restraint and maintained peace. The Tang territory was filled with ghosts and monsters, and beasts ate people. Who was the barbarian captive and who was the country of etiquette?

Why was he made a captive?...Tian Khan, why do you think so?

"Saint, don't pay attention to this Ning Geng." Mo Zangqiqi and others laughed. Ning Geng is the lowest class under the Tibetan hierarchy. The master can deal with it at will, just like killing a mouse. There is no clothes to wear. In the summer, they work in the fields with their buttocks naked during the day. In the autumn and winter, they go out wrapped in straw clothes made of wheat straw. At night, they sleep with pigs and sheep. There is no food to speak of. There are no bowls, chopsticks, cups or tableware. Food... whatever the livestock eats. What if they die after being abused like this? If they die, they die. Isn't the only meaning of Ning Geng's life to wait for death?

This startled Gou Jin, who angrily said, "I am not Ning Geng, the slave of a slave. I am a monk! I have been treated as a human by the lord."

Mei Zangqiqi said disdainfully: "A dog is a dog, a slave is a slave, even if he is a monk, he is still a dog slave. What, do you really think you are a noble of Dafan? Let me tell you, in my eyes, you will always be Ning Geng! You Han thieves who have forgotten your ancestors and cursed the Tang people on the city wall, and you who took the Tubo as your father and helped Tubo to kill and plunder the six states of Pingxia are all the same, you deserve to be skinned and crushed!"

He was furious when he said this. If the envoy was a fake Tangut, he would probably kill him. The day before yesterday, he was ordered to pacify the Tanguts of the nearby Yeli and Nihuang tribes, but the leaders of the other side ignored him and told him to get out.

This made Mo Zangqiqi furious. After all, he was appointed by the sage to pacify the Dangxiang people, and was one of the special officials responsible for handling the affairs of the Hewei, Fan and Han peoples. If the other party did not give him face, it meant that they were displeased with the sage, and if they went against him, they meant that they wanted to go against the court. At that time, Mo Zangqiqi wanted to ask the sage to send troops to sweep the surrounding areas by force and massacre several tribes as a warning.

"If you think the wealth is too little, we can discuss it again." Gou Jin ignored Mei Zang Qiqi, thought for a while and gritted his teeth and said, "As long as the Khan withdraws his troops, I dare not guarantee the other states and counties, but He and Wei will definitely be his vassal. We can also follow the Zhenguan story and pay taxes to join the king's army in the war. One hundred thousand heads of livestock, three hundred thousand shi of grain, and twenty thousand sets of armor and weapons, the tribes can still come up with it if they squeeze together."

"Hehe..." The saint laughed twice and replied with only one sentence: "No need to do that. Open the city gate within twelve hours to keep the whole city alive. The army is on guard and can move east or west. My men are very arrogant and don't know the rules. There are also Cai people. Once we conquer the city, I can't guarantee that they will not harm anyone. Go back and explain the pros and cons to Sang Baobao, Mijiazu and the soldiers and civilians."

Gou Jin's expression suddenly changed.

"May I ask how Tian Khan will rule after he recovers Hewei?" If they do not interfere with the interests of the people, they can unite to kill Sang Baobao and Mijiazu and open the gate to welcome the emperor. Otherwise, when the Tang army breaks through the city... Tian Khan, due to his status and reputation, cannot be too ruthless, but he has long heard of the Central Plains warriors in power. If the soldiers are all shouting to kill the captives to vent their anger at the siege, what else can Tian Khan do except hold his nose and pretend to be dead.

"The system is the same as that of China." The sage said it succinctly.

The same tactics were used in ancient times: registering all people, shaving their heads and changing their clothes, abolishing Buddhist temples, and releasing slaves... In short, the wheels were of the same gauge and the writing system was the same.

How else can it be governed? The bloody and brutal Tibetan slave and tribal system must be abolished, and the status of monks as one of the ruling classes must be brought to an end. He Wei must become the rear of the court; he did not come here with the intention of collecting war reparations.

"This..." Gou Jin made a judgment. The Khan's intention should be to not allow bargaining, and he must occupy Longyou. Then there are only two ways left, either fight with a strong enemy, and if you win, everything will be fine, but if you lose, you may be uprooted. The fate of Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje, Tuyuhun, Turkic, Xueyantuo, Shiguo... these forces are well known.

Otherwise, just open the gates and surrender the city, and we can all work together to destroy the Tibetans.

"Go." The saint waved his hand.

"Tian Khan..." Feeling the unfriendly gazes in the big tent, he stammered and tried to speak again.

Yin Shouzhi stared at him and asked loudly, "Do you want to get into the pot?"

"Goodbye..." The generals laughed.

"Be quiet." The saint pointed at the map and started talking about business: "Tell me, how should we attack Xiangwu City? I don't have any idea now."

He walked around the city in the morning and observed it. It was very complicated.

The old city was built up by Zhang Wen, Dong Zhuo, Geng Bi and others when they fought against the rebels in Jincheng and Longxi counties. In the 17th year of Yanxi, Jiang Wei led an expedition to the north, and Cao Wei's garrison commander Xu Zhi made another strong reinforcement.

After the Tubo conquered Long, they used the area as a base and springboard for invading the Tang Dynasty. Xiangwu and other cities were transformed into military cities, and a large number of stone forts and war fortifications popular among the Qiang people were built. Well, the chieftains who later relied on war fortifications to stubbornly resist Yue Zhongqi in Dajinchuan and Xiaojinchuan in Ya'an were the descendants of this bunch of losers.

It seems that the saint wants to test the quality first.

In addition, when Shang Yanxin was there, he also diverted the Wei River to dig a moat. According to the later meter system, the sage estimated that the width was no less than ten meters. The depth, which would be the flood season, the river water was almost level with the ground, and there were fish, was about five or six meters.

There are only 10,000 warriors under the command of Sangbaobao and Migazu, but if they decide to hold on... together with the civilians in the city and the conscripted tribal men... it will be very annoying.

It was not easy to attack a city these days. For a jade disk, Gao Huan used all his powers, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties, and Wei Xiaokuan was left staring at him, almost pissed to death. For a Taiyuan, Zhu Wen, who led hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege it, sighed in despair twice.

If he failed to take it, the Tibetans would look down on him. Then he would attack Hezhou and Jincheng, and their will to resist would be stronger. Besides, he couldn't afford to waste time. He lived in Chang'an outside Dazhen Pass, so he could fight with the Tibetans. Would Zhu Wen wait for him?

"Your Majesty..." After a long silence, Zhao Chong said, "In my opinion, we should fill the moat first. Then gather the Tanguts from the seven tribes of Cui Gong and the foreign men and women brought by General Tuoba Lizhen from Jingyuan, which is nearly 30,000 people, and drive them to attack the city and consume the tools for defending the city. At the same time, divide the tens of thousands of soldiers into dozens of groups, and let the warriors take turns to build earthen hills to surround the city. Xiangwu City is strong, but not big, and cannot withstand the mountains."

Building a siege? The saint's expression changed, and he nodded and said, "Go on."

"We need to send people to dig tunnels and attack from all sides. We also need to send people out to cut wood and pile it under the walls and outside the stone fort to burn."

This method is quite standard. This is how the Bian army attacked Tongguan. But it was winter, so it was difficult to dig tunnels and the effect of setting fire was limited.

While hesitating, the saint suddenly thought - am I too kind? If he joined the natives like other travelers, and treated the enemy like a massacre if they dared to resist, then now that they were marching into Longxi, under the temptation of high positions and generous salaries, and in the absence of deep hatred between the parties, would Xiangwu City dare to resist to the end? I'm afraid they would kill Sang Baobao and Mijia soldiers overnight and surrender.

Should I abandon some of the moral principles of the Spring Breeze and adapt to local conditions in some matters? As an emperor, as the monarch of the Tang Dynasty, can I adopt Mei Zang Qiqi's suggestion yesterday - to massacre a few Dangxiang tribes as a demonstration?
Will I eventually become a "overlord" whose hands are stained with the blood of the elderly, the weak, women and children, who has created countless dens of evil and is covered up by the writings of historians?
Even if he had reasons to convince himself, as a person from a country that had been invaded and massacred by alien races in its capital, it was difficult for him to agree with the saying that the strong prey on the weak. Otherwise, wouldn't it be tantamount to admitting that the 300,000 innocent souls were the kind that deserved to be exterminated in the eyes of the alien races?
Holding a sharp weapon, the sage suddenly felt murderous... He reflected for a moment - when did he start to think like a warrior... If he was like them, would there be any hope for the end of this century of bloody chaos? Although he suppressed his evil thoughts, at this moment, some of his deep-rooted values were shaken, and his mentality also changed a little.

"Let's fill the river and build the earth first." He stood up and said.

……

At night, the mist rising from the Wei River enveloped the valley where the sound of fighting echoed. At Foguang Temple, the chiefs of the Ga clan, Lun clan, Xiboye clan, Molu clan, Bei clan, Cuihai clan, and Bai clan gathered together.

Wearing black and red armor, Sang Baobao and Migazu looked at them and sighed deeply.

The great Fan is dead!

In the third year of Huichang, a melee broke out among the military governors of various towns, including Shang Bibi. Hundreds of thousands of troops in Hehuang killed each other, and Zhang Yichao took the opportunity to rebel.

In the fifth year of Dazhong, Shang Yanxin, the envoy of the Hewei tribe, led tens of thousands of tents to surrender to the Tang Dynasty in despair.

In the tenth year of Xiantong, Kuojieledeng led the rebel army to attack the capital, and the royal princess was killed by slaves...

In the fourth year of Qianfu, Xubudadze led the people to excavate the tombs of successive kings, and made Songtsen Gampo's head into a wine vessel. He also slaughtered nobles and monks and blasphemed the Buddha...

These chaos completely destroyed the Dafan people. To make matters worse, the Tang people came to attack again.

"What are you thinking?" Migazu looked at this group of "wandering ghosts."

"Surrender." Lun Jiqiong said expressionlessly. Anyway, he didn't reject the Tang Dynasty. Many of his family members worked for the Tang Dynasty and were even made kings and ministers. Lun Gongren served under the four saints Wu Zhao, Zhong, Rui, and Xuan. He defeated the Turks and shocked Hedong. He was promoted to the deputy commander of the Shuofang Army and the founding duke of Jiuquan County. When he died, he was given the title of king, and the National History Museum wrote a biography for him. Zhang Shuo personally wrote a sage's poem for him.

In terms of loyalty and integrity, he spent all his family wealth to recruit troops and escorted Emperor Suzong all the way to Lingwu. Most of his sons and daughters died on the battlefield during the campaign against An Lushan.

On Weixian, during the Jingshi Rebellion, the false emperor Zhu Ci threatened to kill him, but he refused. He was appointed as the deputy commander of Qizhen and fought against Tubo for many years...

A lot. Although they are not from his branch, they belong to the same clan.

Serving the Heavenly Khan is a lot better than serving the merciless Zamp. When the Tang army fought back, Lun Jiqiong was still secretly excited. If there weren't so many people around, he would have even wanted to laugh. How could a man die in such a remote place?
"You - traitor!" Migazu threw his hands in hatred.

"Gadebei, what about you?" he asked again.

Sorry, the Ka family, who had been persecuted by successive kings and had to hide in Weizhou to barely preserve their bloodline, had the same attitude towards Dafan as Li Zhen had towards Datang. The king's grave was dug up and his bones were shattered, and Kadebei clapped his hands in delight.

"What else is there to say? The Khan has 100,000 strong troops. What can we use to fight him?" Gadbei sneered and said, "The hatred between the Tibetans and the Tang Dynasty is a long-standing thing. Our generation has no grudge against the new emperor of the Li family, so we can surrender without worry. If the Lun family can be a loyal minister of the Li family, then so can we."

"Asshole!" Migazu stood up suddenly, slammed the table and cursed: "Being a slave to others is not as good as being your own master. There are so many tribes and so many people in Hewei, don't you want to do something big? If we can repel the Heavenly Khan, how can he not acquiesce to our separatist rule? At most, we can pay him some grain, livestock, and goods every year. This is the precedent of the Dangxiang Tuoba clan in Hengshan."

"You and Sang Baobao together only have 10,000 warriors. What should we do if we fail? Will we be exterminated along with you?" Gadbei snorted coldly and stared at the Miga soldiers: "You all know how the Tang people deal with disobedience. The Great Turks are so powerful, what do you think?"

"Traitor, traitor!" The Miga soldier spitted and pointed at the chieftains, his eyes red. "You are all a bunch of villains who change their minds according to the situation. You don't have the Zamp or the Great Fan in your hearts! If you don't help me, I will lead the eleven tribes of Tangut to fight!"

"It's all up to you." Everyone shrugged and left.

(End of this chapter)