Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 721 Di Huaiying's words make sense, it's worth a try (One update today)
The main road is wide and the palace is deep and layered.

Luoyang, Qianyuan Hall.

The afternoon sunlight streamed into the main hall, creating dappled patterns of light and shadow.

A huge sand table was placed on the right side of the main hall. Changsun Wuji, Li Ji, Cui Dunli, Li Daozong and others were on both sides of the sand table, while only Liang Jianfang stood beside the emperor.

Li Chengqian placed his hand on the edge of the sand table, withdrew his gaze from Lhasa in the far southwest corner, and then looked at Liang Jianfang beside him, saying seriously, "Duke of Dai, what do you think of appointing you as the Grand Commander of the Lhasa Road Army this time?"

Liang Jianfang immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your subject accepts the decree."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "In this battle, the court will divide into three routes to attack Tibet. One route will be against the westernmost Western Turkic tribes, with Qibi Heli as the commander-in-chief and Xue Rengui as the deputy commander-in-chief. Another route will take the mountain road from Supi to attack Tibet, with Xin Liao'er as the commander-in-chief. The last route will go through the Tanggula Mountains, with Su Dingfang as the commander-in-chief."

"Yes!" Liang Jianfang's gaze fell on the sand table. He knew that Xin Liao'er's route was actually just to lure in the Tibetan troops. He didn't expect them to actually be able to invade Tibet, but this route was necessary.

Otherwise, if they are not careful, the Tibetans might launch a surprise attack from the mountains, counterattack Supi, counterattack Changdu, and finally cut off the Tang Dynasty's most important grain transport route on the plateau.

At the same time, once they break through the Tanggula Mountains, they will have to send a force eastward back to Changdu to completely open up the road between Changdu and eastern Tibet.

Although the Changdu route is narrow, it is much more convenient and less strenuous for transporting grain and fodder compared to the longer route around Tanggula Mountain.

Large quantities of grain and soldiers poured into Tibet via this route, ensuring the continuity of logistics to the greatest extent possible.

“The Western Turkic tribes, the Tanggula Mountains, and Changdu must advance in three routes in coordination to draw away Tibetan troops. At the same time, no route should be allowed to advance too aggressively.” Li Chengqian’s gaze fell on the Western Turkic-Greater Bolu line. The Western Turkic route was the most likely to advance too aggressively because they were too far away from the main force.

Li Chengqian turned to Liang Jianfang and said seriously, "Therefore, we need someone to be stationed in Xichang Prefecture to mobilize the various tribes, especially to control the Western Turkic front."

Liang Jianfang's eyes dimmed slightly, but then he earnestly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I understand the importance of this matter."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction, looked at the sand table, and said with a smile, "Don't think that you are only staying in Xichang Prefecture to coordinate various matters. You must also take care of the spring planting, autumn harvest, herding, and trade routes in Xichang Prefecture... The support from the court to the army is ultimately too costly. Only when Xichang Prefecture, Supi, and Yangtong share the burden can the overall situation be better."

"Yes!" Liang Jianfang nodded seriously. He was now the Grand General of the Luoxie Road Army, and Xichang Prefecture, Supi and Yangtong were all under his jurisdiction.

"The Ministry of War has its own plans for the specifics of the military campaign, Su Dingfang has his own arrangements at the front, and you are in charge of the overall situation and ready to provide support at any time. I don't need to worry about this too much." Li Chengqian sighed slightly, then turned around and walked towards the entrance of the main hall, with all the officials following him.

The newly appointed Junior Secretary and Princess Yongkang's husband, Dou Sitai, sat behind a pillar in the corridor, taking notes with Li Yifu, Shangguan Yi, Pei Yan, and others.

He raised his head slightly and saw Xu Jingzong, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and a third-rank official, and Lu Dunxin, the Director of the Imperial Library, following behind the emperor.

However, among all the prime ministers and generals, Xu Jingzong and Lu Dunxin were even ranked last.

……

Li Chengqian walked to the palace gate, looked at the vast city of Luoyang outside the palace, raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Lhasa, and then said softly: "I do not expect the army to open up the Tanggula Mountain Pass in one year. My bottom line is three years. Once it reaches the fourth year, the pressure on the army and the burden on the court will become greater."

"Yes!" Liang Jian bowed solemnly.

As a high-ranking general, he naturally had a clear understanding of the current national strength of Tibet and the Tang Dynasty.

In the battle of Xichang Prefecture, the Tibetan army lost 40,000 elite troops. Although it was not crippling, they no longer had much strength to launch a counterattack in the Tanggula Mountains. However, if this continued for too long, especially if they were allowed to hold out for three years and recover, the overall war situation would be extremely unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, we must conquer the three passes of Tanggula within three years.

“Once the Tanggula Pass is opened, Su Dingfang’s army, the Western Turkic army, and even the Supi army will all invade Tibetan territory. At that time, you will need to move forward into the Tanggula Mountains to ensure reinforcements while leading the three armies to attack Lhasa.” Li Chengqian looked at Liang Jianfang and said, “At that time, you should start thinking about how to govern Tibet.”

Liang Jianfang looked up in surprise.

“Don’t be surprised. At that time, you will be the first Grand Protector of the Tibetan Prefecture.” Li Chengqian shook his head, seeing the surprise in Liang Jianfang’s eyes. “Don’t be too happy. According to the preliminary statistics from the Bureau of Military Affairs, the population of Tibet is at least over a million. How will you govern it then?”

Liang Jianfang was taken aback, and then his expression darkened.

The reason why the Tang Dynasty was able to quickly stabilize the three kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla was because their languages ​​were based on the Central Plains script.

However, Tibet was completely different. The Tibetan script was based on Tibetan colloquialism mixed with Sanskrit, making communication with the Tang Dynasty not easy. Overcoming the language barrier was the first hurdle for the Tang Dynasty in ruling Tibet.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I have made some preparations over the past few years. You should go to the Hongwen Academy and take a look for yourself. After that, you will need to consider these matters more carefully when you return to Xichang Prefecture. Anyway, I have entrusted these matters to you, so I will not worry about them."

"Yes!" Liang Jianfang forced a smile; he knew how difficult this matter was.

Tuyuhun was close to the Tang Dynasty, but at least thirty years have passed since the Tang Dynasty first destroyed Tuyuhun. Only now has the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Western Tuyuhun, leaving only the Eastern Tuyuhun with the city of Fusi.

This involves some clever governance methods.

The Tibetan Empire was more difficult and troublesome to govern than the Tuyuhun Empire. Although Liang Jianfang was serving as the governor of Xichang Prefecture, governing a place like Tibet was not an easy task for him.

"Consult others more, find more talented people, and when the time comes, recommend officials in the court for my approval. I will try my best to transfer them to Tibet." After a slight pause, Li Chengqian said, "By the way, this year's top scholar in the imperial examination, Li Chao, has good aptitude. Have him introduce you to more scholars from this year's cohort, and you can select some to take to Xichang Prefecture."

Li Chao was the second son of Li Yiyan, the Vice Minister of Works.

The newly appointed top scholar, personally selected by Li Chengqian, is now serving as a proofreader at the Hongwen Academy.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Liang Jianfang cupped his hands, letting out a slight sigh of relief.

Li Chengqian turned to look at the assembled officials in the hall, his expression becoming serious.

"Your Majesty!" The ministers bowed in unison.

"Although the main task this year is to conquer Tibet, we must not slacken our efforts in all aspects of life, including spring planting, autumn harvest, criminal law, flood control, administration, and military personnel. Remember this well," Li Chengqian said earnestly.

"Here!" The officials held their hands in awe.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and then said, "Issue an imperial decree that before the autumn harvest this year, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, and the Secretariat will each be assigned to one of the ten circuits of the empire to inspect the localities and ensure that all affairs of the empire proceed smoothly without any obstruction."

"Yes!" The ministers bowed again.

"Finally, we must be wary of the various barbarian tribes on all sides." Li Chengqian's eyes turned cold as he said in a chilling voice, "Last year, when Tibet started a war, the Khitan took the opportunity to stir up trouble in the northern frontier. This year, such a thing must not happen again."

The governors of all the northern border regions, the Protectorate General of Andong, the Protectorate General of Anxi, and all the southern prefectures must raise their guard.

Last year, the Khitans suddenly rebelled while the Tang Dynasty was at war with Tibet. In the end, Li Chengqian sent Ashina Zhonghe and Qiu Shenji and others to lead troops to quell the rebellion.

In just one month, Ashina Zhong and Qiu Shenji defeated the various Khitan tribes, beheaded the new Khitan leader Dahe Abugu, and returned home.

Among them, the tribes led by their leaders were either slaughtered or relocated.

For at least the next ten years, the Khitans will have little power to threaten the northern frontier.

"Your subjects obey the decree." Changsun Wuji and Li Ji bowed simultaneously to accept the order.

Li Chengqian turned to look outside the hall, gazing towards Mount Song. He said calmly but with anticipation, "My lords, the destruction of the Tubo Kingdom is the last thing I will do before I perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song. But to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song, it is not just about destroying the Tubo Kingdom. All aspects need to be taken into consideration."

The ministers' expressions immediately became serious.

"Five years, at the latest five years. I hope that together with you all, I can follow the example of the late Emperor and perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song. Do not disappoint me." Li Chengqian turned around slightly and looked at the assembled officials, his eyes filled with solemnity.

The assembled officials bowed in unison and said, "We will certainly do our utmost to live up to Your Majesty's expectations."

Li Chengqian smiled slightly and raised his head.

The gilded imperial couch above shimmered with light.

……

North of the Tanggula Mountains, there is a small town standing on the side of a major thoroughfare.

Tanggula Mountain Town.

The name is ordinary, but the location is extremely important.

To the south lies the vast, undulating Tanggula Mountains, to the east is Supi, to the west is Yangtong, and a hundred miles to the north lies an endless, deadly swamp.

At this moment, countless Tang soldiers clad in black armor were stationed in the military camp south of the town.

Some were drilling, some rushed out of the camp and into the Tanggula Mountain Pass, and others entered the commander's headquarters on the edge of the town from the military camp.

A densely packed group of over a hundred clerks were handling a large amount of military affairs.

Every day, a large number of files, including those on provisions, weapons, personnel, and tactical simulations, were delivered to Su Dingfang.

"Send this memorial to Chang'an by express courier, six hundred li away." Su Dingfang handed a memorial to his personal guard.

"Yes, sir!" The guard bowed and then quickly turned and left.

Su Dingfang then turned around and looked at Li Dejian and Di Renjie to the side, saying, "Everything is finally ready. These past few months have been really tough."

"Yes!" Li Dejian and Di Renjie nodded in unison.

At this moment, Di Renjie was already wearing a light green official robe and had risen from the rank of seventh-grade Imperial Censor.

At this time last year, he was still a Supervising Censor of the eighth rank, but now he has surpassed two minor ranks and become a Palace Attendant Censor of the seventh rank.

Although the rank of seventh-grade official is not high, the most important censor in the court is only sixth-grade, while the next rank, the vice censor-in-chief, is already fifth-grade.

The censor holds a lowly position but wields great power; this is the censor's life.

Even someone as low as the seventh-rank Imperial Censor, like Su Dingfang, the military commander, could be monitored and even impeached by Di Renjie.

This explains why, despite being a low-ranking official of the seventh rank, he was able to serve within the official residence of Su Dingfang, the former commander-in-chief. Of course, Di Renjie's efforts to appease the various Dangxiang tribes also played a role.

His trip to the Northwest was greatly aided by the Di family of Tianshui, since everyone could see that Di Renjie was a trusted confidant of the emperor.

Of course, neither Su Dingfang nor Li Dejian were exactly the emperor's confidants.

but……

Di Renjie looked up, his expression serious and slightly solemn as he gazed outside the room.

Since capturing Changdu, although the army has not launched a full-scale siege, their fighting with the Tibetans has never stopped for the past six months.

The Tibetans initially relied on the three passes of the Tanggula Mountains, frequently sending cavalry out of the Tanggula Pass. However, the Tang Dynasty was least afraid of fighting the Tibetans on the open plains. At least several thousand Tibetan cavalrymen lost their lives outside the Tanggula Pass before the Tibetans calmed down a bit.

It was at this time that more and more soldiers, weapons and provisions were sent to Tanggula Town, so the army began to steadily advance into the Tanggula Mountains, and built its own pass 20 miles away from the outermost pass of the Tubo people.

Although it wasn't very sturdy, it would be very difficult for the Tibetans to break out of the Tanggula Mountains again.

After all, the Tibetans were far inferior in both attacking and defending cities.

While Tanggula Town was stabilized, Supi in the east and Yangtong in the west both needed to be governed. While sending cavalry to assist the Tang Dynasty, they also needed the Tang Dynasty to provide them with resources and governance.

Of course, the Tang Dynasty wouldn't lose out either, as Su Dingfang also served as the Chancellor of Yangtong State.

"Today, the last batch of military equipment needed for the war has been delivered to the warehouse, and the plans of the court can now begin." Su Dingfang walked to the main couch and sat down.

Li Dejian immediately looked up and asked, "Is war about to break out?"

"Three days later, the army will set off one after another and enter the Tanggula Mountains. We will also take a good look at just how difficult the three passes of the Tibetans are to pass." Su Dingfang's eyes were cold.

Li Dejian and Di Renjie exchanged a glance; they both knew that a brutal battle was about to begin.

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The black banners rose from the Tanggula Mountains and marched towards the Tanggula Mountain Pass.

Countless black-clad cavalrymen followed and rode into the Tanggula Mountains. There were Tang Dynasty cavalrymen, Turkic cavalrymen, Tuyuhun cavalrymen... no, they were Tuyuhun cavalrymen from Xichang Prefecture.

In addition, there were a large number of Tangut, Yangtong, and Supi cavalry.

Almost everyone was traveling on horseback.

The further you go into the Tanggula Mountains, the stronger the altitude sickness becomes.

Many people in the eastern and western Tuyuhun, and even Supi and Yangtong, did not experience any reaction, but after entering the Tanggula Mountain Pass, their bodies immediately could not support them and they were forced to retreat from the mountain pass.

For quite some time before, Su Dingfang had been conducting similar tests.

Some people gradually adapted to the environment after entering several times, but others could never adapt and had to stay behind.

This battle has nothing to do with them.

This time, the military merit had nothing to do with them.

At Shanbei Pass, Xue Wanbei, Fang Renyu, Pei Xingjian, and others stood outside the gate to welcome the army in.

The black banner came to a halt, and Su Dingfang stopped at the checkpoint.

Xue Wanbei, Fang Renyu, and Pei Xingjian stepped forward and bowed in unison, saying, "Greetings, Commander-in-Chief."

Su Dingfang nodded calmly and asked, "What was their reaction?"

"The enemy has strengthened their defenses and has also sent another 10,000 men as reinforcements from the rear." Xue Wanbei said with a solemn expression.

“In a place like this, a large number of people isn’t necessarily a good thing.” Su Dingfang shook his head slightly, then slowly urged his horse into Shanbei Pass.

The entire level is spacious, but the buildings inside are not difficult; in fact, many places are just tents.

Of course, they have only been here a short time. There is no time to build a complete pass. It would be enough to build a city wall on the south side to prevent the Tibetans from breaking out of the Tanggula Mountains.

Su Dingfang didn't care about these things; what he cared about were the dozen or so catapults, ballistae, and siege ladders placed on both sides of the city wall at the pass.

There were also a large number of fireballs, crossbow bolts, rolling stones, rolling logs, and haystacks.

To break through the Tibetan pass this time, the only thing we can truly rely on is what Li Wu brought from Chang'an.

We passed through the entire checkpoint from the North Gate and arrived at the South Gate.

Su Dingfang reined in his horse and stopped, then looked out at the Black Mountain Pass across the way.

The winding mountain road is nestled between the mountains on both sides before turning upwards.

Keep moving forward.

The pass at the end of the line of sight appears like a black dot amidst the clouds and mist, hence the name Black Mountain Pass.

"Is it raining there?" Su Dingfang pointed to a patch of clouds obscuring the view in the distance along the mountain path and looked at Xue Wanbei beside him.

"No!" Xue Wanbei urged his horse forward and said with a solemn expression, "That is a patch of ice mist, a patch of ice mist moving among the mountains. A group of soldiers once strayed into it, and when they were found later, they had all frozen to death."

Su Dingfang's face darkened for a moment.

"It was after these things appeared that the number of times the Tibetans attacked the south began to decrease rapidly, and they haven't come over for the past half month." Fang Renyu stepped forward with a solemn expression, looking at the distant ice mist, and said, "This humble official believes that the Tibetans seem to have some way to control this ice mist, in case..."

“When the army is advancing, this thing is not scary. We just need to wait for it to pass and then avoid it. The real danger is when it suddenly turns back halfway through the march and cuts off the army. At that moment, the Tibetans suddenly discover…” Pei Xingjian’s words were only halfway through when everyone understood what he meant.

Attack when the enemy is halfway across the river.

"Why wasn't this piece of information among all the information we gathered before?" Su Dingfang turned to the side.

Xue Wanbei cupped his hands and said, "These ice mists were not seen in previous years, but for some reason, they appeared this year. We asked some elderly people from Supi in the army and learned that these things were there in the past, but they became rare after the Tubo occupied Supi. But this year..."

“The Tibetans have released it.” Su Dingfang shook his head slightly and said with certainty, “The reason this thing was not seen before is probably because the Tibetans found out how it appeared. Later, because it became an obstacle, they made it disappear. Now they have brought it out again, hoping to use it to hinder us.”

Xue Wanbei, Fang Renyu, Pei Xingjian, and others nodded solemnly.

"Gentlemen, do you have any ideas on how to get rid of them?" Su Dingfang asked, turning to the side.

"How about we light a fire?" Xue Wanbei cupped his hands and said, "Lighting a fire with torches to raise the temperature might be able to take care of them."

Unsure whether to reply, Su Dingfang continued, "Does anyone else have a solution?"

Di Renjie thought for a moment, then stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Perhaps this humble official has a solution?"

"Huaiying, what do you say?" Su Dingfang raised his head slightly.

“Torch cannot be used because it might create more fog, which would eventually cause the ice fog to spread. If it also brings cold wind, even if the army is not frozen solid due to its large number, it will still be very uncomfortable. If the Tibetans take advantage of the situation, the army will suffer a crushing defeat.”

Di Renjie cupped his hands and said, "My suggestion is to use water to soak the flags, then wave them to allow the ice mist to be absorbed into the flags as much as possible, and then slowly roll them away. I believe this is the best way."

"Tell me your reasons," Su Dingfang said, looking at Di Renjie with some curiosity.

"His Majesty once said that in the harsh winter of the North, igloos can be used to withstand the cold winds and low temperatures... The situation is similar now. We can use water to absorb the cold from the ice fog and roll it onto the flags to avoid harming the soldiers." After a slight pause, Di Renjie said, "If we use fire to scorch them, it will make the water and fire clash more intensely, which could actually hurt people."

"It's better to proceed slowly than hastily." Su Dingfang looked at Pei Xingjian and asked, "Shouyue, what do you think?"

Pei Xingjian cupped his hands and said, "This humble general also believes this to be the case."

Su Dingfang turned to look at Li Dejian and asked in a low voice, "Congyan, what do you think?"

“Di Huaiying is right, we can give it a try.” Li Dejian smiled calmly and said, “I originally thought that bringing enough crossbows would be enough, so that no matter how many enemies there are, we can completely deal with them.”

Everyone was taken aback, then bowed to Li Dejian.

This is indeed true.

No matter how many Tibetans come or how they come, they will eventually break into our sight from outside.

This process was enough for the well-prepared Tang soldiers to completely kill them with crossbow bolts.

“Everyone has their own way of solving problems, but Huaiying’s method is the most fundamental.” Su Dingfang smiled at Di Renjie and said, “In the future, this area will eventually belong to us. Whether it’s logistics or trade routes, solving these problems will also be our responsibility.”

"Yes!" The generals bowed in unison.

Su Dingfang calmed down and said, "Pass down the order to follow Di Huaiying's method. At the same time, make preparations and let's see how many people will come out to their deaths."

"Yes, sir!" The generals bowed, a murderous intent flashing deep in their eyes.

Su Dingfang turned his horse around and headed towards the pass, saying calmly, "The battle will begin in three days!"

"Yes, sir!" The crowd roared in agreement.

(End of this chapter)