Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 54 The Glory of the Tang Army
Li Zhi didn't know that Xue Rengui had hurried all the way and had already arrived at Songzhou City.

Songzhou City is built around the mountains, with towering terrain. It controls the Minling Mountains and the source of the river. It is adjacent to Helong on the left and reaches Kangzang on the right. It shields Tianfu and is a strategic location.

In those days, Songtsen Gampo led his troops to besiege Songzhou, but was later repelled by the Tang army.

Songzhou's status was enhanced and it became an important border town of the Tang Dynasty.

Yuan Xiuye, the governor of Songzhou, was different from other officials from aristocratic families. He had a face full of flesh, muscles and a beard, and he loved hunting the most.

He had already received orders from the Ministry of War to cooperate with Xue Rengui in the battle.

So when he learned that Xue Rengui had arrived, he invited him into the Governor's Mansion, held a banquet in the lobby, and treated him to fine wine and meat, as if he was very welcoming.

Xue Rengui noticed the flicker in his eyes and kept urging him to drink, obviously he had other plans. He drank a few glasses and stood up.

"Governor Yuan, I have been ordered by the Holy Saint to come to Songzhou to oversee military affairs. I cannot drink too much. I hope you will forgive me."

Yuan Xiuye ​​said with a forced smile, "How can Dajianer not drink? If General Xue doesn't drink, he is not giving me face."

Xue Rengui said in a deep voice, "I don't like beating around the bush with others. Whatever the purpose of the Yuan governor is, you can just draw up the rules, and I will follow them."

Yuan Xiuye ​​slammed the table and stood up, saying, "You are quite a straightforward man. I dare not disobey the imperial decree. However, if you don't have some ability, going to fight Tubo will only lead to your death. So don't blame me for not cooperating with you."

Xue Rengui asked, "What will it take for Governor Yuan to cooperate with me?"

Yuan Xiuye ​​grinned and poked his chest with his thumb.

"It's simple. Fight with me, and I'll obey you if you win."

Xue Rengui said to the Qianniu Guard beside him without any further ado, "Bring me my silver scissors halberd."

Yuan Xiuye ​​also ordered someone to bring a big axe and laughed.

"General Xue actually dares to use a halberd. It seems he is very confident in his martial arts!"

The halberd is a cold weapon for combat that combines the functions of a spear and a halberd. It can compete with bone clubs, hammers, boring tools, etc. in strength, and can also compete with spears, guns, and knives in skills. It can be regarded as the top weapon and has extremely high requirements for the user.

Xue Rengui didn't answer, and the two of them came to the open space outside the lobby.

Yuan Xiuye ​​raised his axe and chopped towards Xue Rengui with swift steps and the force of a tiger.

Xue Rengui dodged sideways, thrusting the long spear in his hand horizontally, slashing downwards, and slashing diagonally.

In just three moves, the axe in Yuan Xiuye's hand was picked up and flew away. It spun several times in the air and fell to the ground with a bang.

Yuan Xiuye ​​stared at the axe, stunned.

Xue Rengui threw the silver halberd to his men and said, "Thank you for letting me do this. General Yuan, please take me to the barracks to mobilize the troops."

Yuan Xiuye ​​was silent for a while, then took out his military token and threw it to him, saying coldly, "Go and arrange it yourself."

Xue Rengui didn't say anything more. He checked the military order to make sure it was correct, left the Governor's Mansion, and went straight to the military camp outside the city.

There are 25,000 soldiers stationed in Songzhou, divided into 25 battalions based on Zhechoufu.

There are 1,200 people in Shangzhechoufu, 1,000 in Zhongzhechoufu, and 800 in Xiazhechoufu.

As soon as Xue Rengui left, Yuan Xiuye ​​called over a deputy general and said coldly, "Go tell the captains of the upper and middle camps not to support Xue Rengui. Let that brat transfer the soldiers from the lower government."

The deputy general took the order and left.

Songzhou City is surrounded by towering pine and cypress trees, hence its name. South of Songzhou City is the source of the Minjiang River, Minshan Mountain.

The Songzhou camp was stationed at the foot of the mountain.

Xue Rengui led the Qianniu Guards into the camp, summoned all the soldiers in the camp with the military order, and inspected the troops in the parade ground.

An hour later, the soldiers of the 25th Battalion gathered on the parade ground.

Xue Rengui took a look and saw that the soldiers of Songzhou were in good order. Although their clothing and equipment were not as good as those of Qianniu Guards and Jinwu Guards, the soldiers all had a sense of toughness.

This is the murderous aura unique to soldiers who have been guarding the border for a long time, and it is stronger than that of the imperial guards.

Xue Rengui nodded secretly, rode his horse around the camps for a while, and soon took a look at the most powerful soldiers in several camps.

He returned to the command post and shouted, "First, fourth, fifth, and eighth battalion commanders, step out."

After the words fell, no general came out.

Xue Rengui's heart sank as he looked towards the troops and found that the generals leading the troops were all looking at him coldly with no expression on their faces.

Xue Rengui guessed that it was Yuan Xiuye ​​who was behind this again.

Although he is currently the General of the Central Army, he has no reputation in the Tang army.

In this unfamiliar frontier, it would be difficult to intimidate these soldiers with only fifty Qianniu Guards around him. Rashly killing them would easily cause a mutiny. He pondered for a moment, then spoke aloud, "Soldiers, the Sage has never forgotten you. This time, he specifically ordered me to come to Songzhou. Do you know why?"

The title of emperor was indeed more useful. As soon as he said this, the expressions of the generals and soldiers changed and they looked like they were listening.

A general asked, "Didn't His Majesty ask you to mobilize us to fight the Tibetans?"

This person was the deputy general sent by Yuan Xiuye.

Songzhou City only borders Tubo and Qiang people, and the Qiang tribes dare not provoke the Tang Dynasty at all.

Therefore, whenever there is a war in Songzhou, it is basically related to Tubo.

Xue Rengui said, "Yes, Your Majesty did ask me to mobilize troops from Songzhou to fight against the Tibetans. But think about it, why didn't Your Majesty allow me to go to Liangzhou and Lingzhou to mobilize troops there?"

Songzhou City is located on a high ground, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Tubo city adjacent to Songzhou is also difficult to attack.

Therefore, if the Tang army really wanted to attack Tubo, it would usually mobilize the Hexi army to attack Tubo from the direction of Wuhai.

Moreover, the armies of these three places are mainly composed of cavalry, which are the elite of the Tang Dynasty and are far more famous than the Songzhou Army.

The Songzhou soldiers were curious, and one of them asked, "General Xue, then tell us why the sage wants us to fight?"

Xue Rengui said: "The Saint is giving you a chance to redeem yourself!"

After hearing this, all the soldiers were stunned.

Xue Rengui said slowly, "You may not remember the defeat at Songzhou in the 12th year of Zhenguan, but the Tibetans remember it clearly."

In the 12th year of Zhenguan, Songtsen Gampo of Tubo defeated Tuyuhun, Dangxiang and Bailang Qiang successively, surrounded Songzhou and forced the Tang Dynasty to marry the princess with a tough attitude.

There was a custom in the Tang Dynasty for marrying off princesses. They would first defeat the princess and make her submit to the Tang Dynasty. Only then would they choose a woman from the royal family to marry her to the king.

Tuyuhun is an example.

When Songtsen Gampo failed to marry the princess, he sent troops to besiege Songzhou and said to those around him: "If the princess doesn't come, I will go deep into the enemy's territory."

Han Wei, the governor of Songzhou, did not take Tubo seriously and launched a rash attack, resulting in a crushing defeat at Gansongling.

The impact of this battle was extremely bad. The Qiang people in Jimizhou, who had originally submitted to the Tang Dynasty, rebelled one after another when they saw the Tang army was defeated.

After Songtsen Gampo defeated the Tang army, he became even more arrogant and sent a letter to Emperor Taizong of Tang: "If you do not agree to marry the princess, I will personally lead 50,000 troops to seize your Tang Kingdom, kill you, and take the princess."

Emperor Taizong of Tang was furious and ordered generals Hou Junji, Niu Jinda and others to lead 50,000 troops to fight against Tubo.

As a result, before the main force of the Tang army arrived, the vanguard Niu Jinda attacked the Tubo camp at night.

Tubo was defeated, and Songtsen Gampo hurriedly withdrew his troops and sent envoys to apologize in a sincere tone, expressing his willingness to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, Emperor Taizong of Tang was paying attention to Xueyantuo and Goguryeo, so he recalled his army and stopped pursuing them. He selected a princess from the royal family and married her to Songtsen Gampo.

However, although the Tang army regained its dignity, the shame of the Songzhou army remained.

Many Songzhou generals participated in the battle that year. They immediately clenched their fists and were filled with anger.

Xue Rengui continued, "At the end of last year, the Tibetans came to pay homage. The Tibetan envoys told the envoys of other countries how they had defeated the Songzhou army. Now, the news of the Songzhou army's defeat has spread to all countries."

The generals were all furious, and some cursed: "You Tibetan dogs, you are going too far!"

Xue Rengui shouted, "No matter how loud you curse, can you regain your dignity? The sage said that the Songzhou army is also a Tang army. He believes that you can face shame and be brave, so he sent me here. If you are afraid of the Tibetans, I will leave immediately and mobilize troops from Liangzhou!"

A fast horse galloped into Songzhou City and rushed straight into the Governor's Mansion.

Yuan Xiuye ​​was having dinner in the hall when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves. A horseman actually ran straight out of the hall. The man on the horse was the deputy general he had sent.

"General Yuan, I have something to report!" The deputy general dismounted.

Yuan Xiuye ​​frowned and said, "Why are you so panicked? I sent you to the military camp to pass on the order. Is there any other captain who dares not obey my order?"

The deputy general said in a deep voice: "General, all the commanders are refusing to obey orders. They are all vying to join Xue Rengui in the battle!"

Yuan Xiuye's eyes widened and he shouted, "What did you say? Are they all crazy?"

The deputy general said, "They are not crazy, they just want to restore the reputation of our Songzhou Army. Not only them, I have also decided to follow General Xue and fight against the Tibetans!"

Yuan Xiuye ​​looked at him in disbelief and said, "You...you..."

The deputy general bowed and said, "I'll take my leave." Then he turned and strode away.

Yuan Xiuye ​​cursed: "You bastard, have you forgotten who promoted you to deputy general? Come back!"

(End of this chapter)