Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 58 The Little Princess' Logic
The breeze gradually warms up, all things come back to life, and the willow trees in the palace have begun to sprout.

Li Zhi stood under a willow tree, gazing quietly at the Nanhai Pond. He saw a frog lying on a branch, floating on the water.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a "meow". He turned around and saw a cat behind him, staring at him intently.

This is a black and white kitten with a nice name, Wuyun Gaixue. It is Xu Jin's favorite cat.

Li Zhi looked into the distance and saw a small figure running towards him. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was Princess Gao An.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Princess Gao An immediately ran over after seeing Li Zhi.

Li Zhi picked her up and said with a smile, "Are you playing with the cat?"

Princess Gao An smiled and said, "Yes, I finally found my sister to borrow it to play with for a day."

Li Zhi nodded, looked at the surface of the pond again, and said nothing.

Princess Gao An turned her head to look at him and said, "Aye, are you worried about something?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Why do you ask?"

Princess Gao An put her hand on his brow and muttered, "Your brows are wrinkled like little boats."

Li Zhi sighed, "Yes, there is indeed something troubling."

Princess Gao An hugged his neck and said, "Tell me quickly, I will help you share your worries!"

Li Zhi kissed her apple-like cheek and said with a smile, "You are still too young to help me with my worries. Wait until you grow up."

Princess Gao An pouted her lips and said, "I'm not a child anymore. A while ago, Concubine Zheng was unhappy, but I made her happy."

Li Zhi laughed and said, "I am worried about the affairs of the previous dynasty. You don't understand."

Princess Gao An blinked and said, "Is it about General Xue?"

Li Zhi asked curiously, "You also know about Xue Rengui?"

Princess Gao An was very proud and puffed out her chest, saying, "My daughter heard people talking about how General Xue beat the Tibetans to a pulp."

After saying that, he started to chuckle.

Xue Rengui was a Qianniu Guard and had been staying in the harem for a long time. All the eunuchs and palace servants knew him, so this matter had already spread in the harem.

Li Zhi saw that she was quite mature, so he asked, "So what else have you heard?"

Princess Gao An asked, "That's all. Did General Xue win any other victories?"

Li Zhi shook his head and said slowly, "The Tibetans sent envoys here, wanting us to marry our princess to them."

Princess Gao An's face turned pale, and she hugged Li Zhi tightly, saying, "Yeah, you won't marry me off, will you?"

Li Zhi laughed and said, "What nonsense! Not to mention that you are my daughter, even if you were an ordinary Tang Dynasty girl, I would not marry them. It's just..."

Having said that, his expression became a little more serious.

Just now in the court, he said that although the Tibetans were internally unstable, they would withdraw their troops even if the princess was not married.

But in his heart, he was not completely sure.

If the result of this court meeting goes as he expected, then he, as the emperor, will win the trust and respect of all ministers.

If the result is not what he expected, the ministers will think that he is still too young to fully control the affairs of the court.

Princess Gao An was relieved to hear that she didn't need to marry him. She smiled and said, "Father, our Tang Dynasty is stronger than Tubo, right?"

Li Zhi said: "That's natural."

Princess Gao An said, "Then why should you be afraid of it?"

Li Zhi said: "I am not afraid, but our army is fighting in Western Turkestan and cannot mobilize the main force to deal with them."

Princess Gao An was stunned for a moment, then nodded as if she understood something.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Do you really understand?"

Princess Gao An snorted, "Don't look down on me. My son, you must understand clearly. The Tang Dynasty is me now, and Tubo is my fourth brother."

Li Zhi was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Princess Gao An said, "My fourth brother can't beat me normally, but every time I'm sick, he comes to bully me."

Li Zhi glared and asked, "Are you still fighting?"

Princess Gao An chuckled and said, "Is this just a joke? Do you think what I just said is correct?"

Li Zhi snorted and said, "It's just a barely acceptable metaphor. We are not really sick right now."

After a pause, he asked, "So after you got sick, did you have any way to deal with Shi Lang?"

Princess Gao An blinked and said, "It's very simple. I pretended to be well and scared him, and he ran away."

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, and something suddenly flashed through his mind.

The child's logic was simple, but sometimes, the simplest methods are the most effective. Simply spreading rumors that the Tang army had raided King Helu's tent and severely defeated the Western Turks would surely deter Tubo.

The Tang Dynasty was strong and Tubo was weak, so even if the Tubo people suspected it was a rumor, they did not dare to take the risk.

If the Tang army really defeated the Western Turks and then joined forces with the Tuyuhun and other Qiang tribes, it would be fully capable of destroying the country of Tubo.

During this period, the Tang Dynasty had a bad reputation and destroyed too many countries.

There is no king in any country who is not afraid of becoming the next victim.

Thinking of this, he smiled slightly and said, "Very good, you can really share my worries." He put Princess Gao An down and quickly returned to Ganlu Palace.

……

On the north bank of the Baron River, the Tubo camp.

The charcoal fire crackled, and the lamb on the brazier was already roasted, emitting a charming aroma.

Qin Ling seemed not to smell it. He sat in the middle tent, reading a letter with a serious expression.

Just then, a shout was heard from outside.

"Qin Ling, Qin Ling! All of you get out of here! I want to see Qin Ling. He's not the commander-in-chief, so what right does he have to order a retreat?"

The curtain was lifted, a cold wind blew into the tent, and a large group of people rushed in.

Several of them were carrying a large wooden board with a person lying on it, his body wrapped in cloth. It was Dayan.

Du Bu followed beside him, with a dozen personal soldiers around him.

Dozens of Qin Ling's personal guards also came in, with their scimitars drawn, and surrounded them.

Qin Ling waved his hand, ordered his guards to withdraw, and said to Dayan, "Deputy Prime Minister Dayan, your injuries have not healed yet, why don't you take a good rest? I will temporarily command the army."

Dayan cursed, "You coward! You wrote to the Tang emperor asking him to marry the princess, but he humiliated the envoy and kicked him out of Chang'an. Are you planning to withdraw in disgrace?"

Qin Ling said in a deep voice, "The Grand Chancellor has sent word that the news of our defeat has reached Luoshui City. The people are in great fear, and the ministers are rising up in rebellion. The Grand Chancellor is almost unable to control the situation."

Dayan said, "So you're scared? Win another battle and everything will be solved!"

Qin Ling shook his head and said, "Right now, the enemy's morale is high, and with the Tang army present, it will be difficult to win in a short period of time."

Dayan said angrily, "If I don't win this battle, how can I explain to those people who are loyal to me? I have waited for this day for more than ten years, do you know?"

Qin Ling glanced at him and said, "You must remember that only when Tubo is strong and stable can you restore your country. Otherwise, even if you win this battle, Tubo will be in chaos. Can you single-handedly fight against the Tang army?"

Dayan was stunned and said nothing.

Du Bu suddenly asked, "Is the domestic situation really that serious?"

Qin Ling said, "The people of our country fear the Tang as if they were a tiger. How could they not be alarmed by the news? I had hoped to marry the princess back to appease the people, but I failed."

Dubu said in a deep voice, "I heard that the envoy you sent has returned with a message."

Qin Ling said, "Yes, he said that the whole city of Chang'an was rumored to have heard that the Tang army had defeated the Western Turks."

Du Bu said coldly: "This must be fake news. From what I know, the Tang army advances slowly, it is impossible for them to win so quickly!"

Qin Ling glanced at him and said, "I know it's fake news, but this news will soon spread back to the country. Can the Zamp and the ministers tell the truth from the false?"

Dubu's heart sank. Tubo had many spies in the Tang Dynasty, and the news might have already been passed back to Tubo.

The Tibetan king was only six years old and had no opinion of his own. If he heard a few alarmist remarks from his ministers, he would definitely be frightened and order a withdrawal.

Qin Ling added, "There is another piece of bad news. The remnants of the Subi people have kidnapped Queen Dasu. The Subi Kingdom is likely to rebel again."

Subi was the most important horse-producing area of ​​Tubo, and many of the soldiers who went on the expedition were Subi warriors.

Upon hearing this, Du Bu sighed and said, "Father, at this point, the only way to recover our country is to temporarily withdraw our troops and stabilize the rear!"

Dayan opened his eyes wide, and suddenly raised his head, imitating a wolf and howling towards the sky, "Woo woo woo", his howl full of anger and sadness.

Under pressure from the Tang Dynasty, the Tibetans had no choice but to withdraw.

Qin Ling quietly issued an order to withdraw the troops, asking them to evacuate at night.

He also left behind a small team of 100 men, who deliberately beat drums to scare the enemy on the other side of the river and to cover up the sound of their retreat.

When the Qiang coalition heard the drumbeats, they were on alert all night. It was not until the next morning when scouts reported that there was only an empty camp left on the opposite side.

Xue Rengui, Murong Xin and others led the troops in pursuit, but unfortunately after chasing for a while, they gained nothing and had to give up.

After all, the Tibetan army withdrew in a hurry, and a lot of supplies and weapons were left in the camp.

According to grassland rules, the spoils are chosen by the strongest.

Xue Rengui took the lead and chose food and armor.

After the celebration banquet in the evening, he wrote a memorial, recording the war process in detail, and sent it to Chang'an by express horse.

(End of this chapter)