War horses are valuable war resources, and one of the important reasons why Datang's army can dominate the world is that the cavalry is invincible, so war horses are a resource that every Datang military town attaches great importance to.

With Gu Qing's temperament that he can't afford to lose, someone robbed him of five thousand war horses, and this thing must not be tolerated.

After the messenger returned to the camp, he reported the news that Ge Shuhan did not admit the account, Gu Qing was furious, and immediately ordered the drums to be beaten.

The rumbling drums spread throughout the camp, and soon the generals of the Anxi Army gathered in the tent and saluted on the left and right.

Pei Zhounan and Bian Lingcheng were also impressively listed, from the recent rumors circulating in Qiuzi City, the two of them also seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with Anxi Jun recently, and while secretly cursing Ge Shuhan in their hearts for looking for trouble, they also raised their vigilance, staring at Gu Qing day and night, for fear that he would make a big deal.

However, Gu Qing still made a big deal after all, and the drumming and gathering of generals was about to meet with the envoys of Hexi Jiedu, and the conflict between the two major military towns of the Tang Dynasty would be known by the Son of Heaven in Chang'an......

The atmosphere in the handsome tent was solemn, and Gu Qing sat alone in the main seat, his face sinking like water.

Li Siye, Chang Zhong and other generals were murderous and stood by their swords.

Pei Zhounan and Bian Lingcheng sat on Gu Qing's left and right respectively, looking anxious, and stopped talking.

After the three-way drum is finished, everyone will arrive.

Gu Qing got straight to the point, and said with a cold face: "You must have heard about it, Hexi Jiedu asked Ge Shuhan to intercept five thousand war horses of my Anxi army, and the marshal saluted first and then sent an official letter to question, but Ge Shuhan refused to admit it. Is it tolerable or unbearable, let's talk about it, what should I do? ”

Li Siye had a short temper, and shouted first: "The last general will ask for battle!" I am willing to lead the Modao Battalion to the expedition, dare to rob the things of our Anxi Army, and Lao Tzu will crush Ge Shuhan's eggs! ”

Chang Zhong clenched his fists, his face was full of anger: "The last general is invited to fight!" The Hexi Army is too much of a bully, and they must be taught a lesson! ”

All the generals in the handsome tent were dumbfounded, and the murderous spirit of the battle soared into the sky.

Pei Zhounan's eyelids jumped, and he finally couldn't help but say: "Master Hou, generals, don't be reckless in this matter!" Although the Hexi army deceived people too much, we must not provoke an incident, and cause the two major military towns to kill each other, if the emperor of Chang'an knows about it, he will be guilty. ”

The generals' eyes suddenly focused on Pei Zhounan, and their eyes were full of hostility.

Gu Qing's expression was calm, his eyes were half closed, and he said lightly: "According to Pei Yushi's meaning, our Anxi Army will endure this matter?" ”

Pei Zhounan hurriedly said: "Definitely." Hou Ye can go to Chang'an, detailing Ge Shuhan's move to drop the war horse, His Majesty has his own holy judgment, and the lower officials are willing to play with Hou Ye. ”

Gu Qing smiled and said, "I was bullied and asked an adult to complain, I haven't done this kind of thing since I was a child, my practice has always been that others bullied me, and I will return it with my own hands." ”

The generals echoed: "Master Hou said it well! Let's return it with our own hands! ”

Seeing the fighting spirit of the generals in the tent, Pei Zhounan's face suddenly became ugly, Bian Lingcheng looked left and right on the side, his eyes flickered, and finally his eyes fell on Pei Zhounan, it seemed that Pei Zhounan was the only one.

"Hou Ye, the Anxi Army is rashly provoking, if the two major military towns clash, Hou Ye should consider the consequences and hope that Hou Ye will think twice." Pei Zhounan stared at Gu Qing and said in a deep voice.

Gu Qing sighed: "Pei Yushi, you are the supervising Yushi of the Anxi Army, you can't turn your elbow out, let me ask you, who is provoking?" Who started first? ”

Pei Zhounan was stunned for a moment, and then explained: "It is not right for Ge Shuhan to drop the war horse, but if Hou Ye leads the army to provoke, the sin will be even greater, Hou Ye, you ......"

Gu Qing shook his head: "Five thousand war horses is not a small number, Ge Shuhan deceived me that there was no one in the Anxi army, and I dared to detain the war horses, let alone bear it." Hexi Jiedu Embassy is located on the road from Chang'an to Anxi, if we endure this time, the grain, grass, horses and weapons allocated by the imperial court to Anxi in the future will be intercepted and detained by Ge Shuhan without scruples, if he is not taught a lesson this time, the Anxi army will be more difficult in the future. ”

"Pei Yushi, we are not provoking, but forced to fight back."

Without waiting for Pei Zhounan to continue to persuade him, Gu Qing said awe-inspiringly: "Order the soldiers of all departments to gather soldiers and horses, including the Modao Battalion, the Divine Marksman Battalion, etc., and send 20,000 troops to the Hexi Jiedu Embassy!" ”

All the generals clasped their fists together and shouted: "Command!" ”

…………

The camp of the Anxi Army, which had been dormant for a long time, suddenly sounded the horn of march today, the drums in the camp rumbled, the war horses neighed, and the soldiers holding halberds, bows, arrows and spears gathered in a column, and drove out of the camp under the military orders of the generals.

Pei Zhounan and Bian Lingcheng rode on horses, standing by the gate of the big camp, watching the Anxi army come out of the camp, Pei Zhounan's face was like frost, and his eyes were anxious.

Bian Lingcheng said softly on the side: "Pei Yushi, Gu Hou Ye did this, I'm afraid that the Son of Heaven will be guilty, right?" ”

Pei Zhounan said coldly: "It depends on whether the Son of Heaven still favors Gu Qing, and it also depends on how the Son of Heaven weighs the importance of the two major military towns of Anxi and Hexi." ”

Bian Lingcheng's eyes flashed, but there was a gloating in his eyes: "Dispatch a large army to provoke, it is strange that the Son of Heaven can spare Gu Qing this time." ”

Pei Zhounan shook his head: "In the heart of the Son of Heaven, right and wrong are not important, punishment or non-punishment, the word 'pros and cons' is important." ”

Bian Lingcheng was stunned: "After such a big disaster, won't the Son of Heaven pursue it?" ”

Pei Zhounan said coldly: "Don't you believe it, Gu Qing's role is more important than Ge Shuhan. ”

Bian Lingcheng was puzzled: "Why? Ge Shuhan has great achievements, he is a victorious general who has been on the border for many years, Gu Qing has only fought against Tubo once, and he just won by luck, how can he compare with Ge Shujieshuai? ”

Pei Zhounan snorted and didn't speak again.

Of course, Gu Qing is more important than Ge Shuhan, but his importance cannot be clearly stated.

The border is secondary, and the imperial court is not short of handsome talents who command Anxi, but Gu Qing is the proposer and executor of the Pingtubo policy. No one can compare to Gu Qing's accurate grasp of the strategy of pacifying Tibet.

In fact, during the critical period when the Pingtubo policy was being implemented, Pei Zhounan would be sent to Chang'an every few days, and all the performances were the progress of Pingtubo. Judging from Gu Qing's recent inducement and layout of the Tibetan merchants, the plan is proceeding smoothly, more and more Tubo people are being fooled, and there are more and more cultivated land in Tubo that is replanted with medicinal herbs.

At such an important time, even if Gu Qing caused a big disaster, it was impossible for the Son of Heaven to punish him heavily.

is about to create a far-reaching Taizong Emperor Gaozong's exploits, and it seems that he will go down in history and rank above Taizong Gaozong, which is the "pros and cons" that the Son of Heaven values most now.

Twenty thousand soldiers and horses marched towards the east, Pei Zhounan rode on the horse and sighed faintly, and said: "I heard that Gu Houye kept making trouble when he was in Chang'an, and even dared to kill a state assassin. This Hou Ye's ability to get into trouble is really not small......"

Bian Lingcheng said softly: "Pei Yushi, the army has been launched, let's ......"

Pei Zhounan sighed: "Let's follow up, stop Gu Qing before he breaks into a bigger disaster, otherwise you and I will be condemned by the Son of Heaven." ”

…………

An army of 20,000 marched in the desert, waving flags and covering the sky and the sun, and from time to time from the front of the ranks came a long, low and whimpering horn.

Gu Qing rode on his horse, squinting at the end of the desolate desert, but his mind kept weighing the pros and cons of this dispatch.

Li Longji only has pros and cons in his eyes, while Gu Qing is speculating on Li Longji's pros and cons.

If you plan for the worst and send troops to clash with the Hexi Army this time, causing casualties, then with Li Longji's character, what kind of punishment will he make to himself?

Whether the punishment is light or heavy depends on how many chips Gu Qing has in his hand.

The first is Li Longji's trust in Gu Qing, and the second is the importance of Gu Qing as a person.

Trust may be true, if you are optimistic, you may have more than other courtiers, after all, he is Li Longji's savior, and he has not participated in the factional struggle between the DPRK and China, so such a person can be used with confidence.

It's just that Li Longji's trust is limited, and he can't completely trust a person, otherwise he wouldn't have sent Pei Zhounan to Anxi to supervise him.

Fortunately, Gu Qing still has an important bargaining chip, that is, the executor of the Ping Tu Bo Policy.

Gu Qing saw Li Longji's psychology of great joy, and now in Li Longji's eyes, the most important thing is to pacify Tubo and include it in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, as the person who knows the most about the strategy of pacifying Tubo, this chip is equivalent to a gold medal for avoiding death, as long as Gu Qing does not rebel, he will not be punished too severely if he breaks into a big disaster.

This is Li Longji's "pros and cons".

The army marched for half a month and had reached Yangguan, not far from the Hexi Jiedu Embassy.

Gu Qing ordered the army to camp at Yangguan and sent a messenger to send a letter to Geshuhan again.

The words of this letter were much more intense, accusing Ge Shuhan of ignoring the law, intercepting military funds without authorization, and detaining the war horses that originally belonged to the Anxi army.

The messenger sent the letter out and hurried back two days later.

This time the messenger did not come alone, but also a general of the Hexi Army.

As soon as he arrived at Yangguan, he saw the barracks outside the pass that were densely packed for more than ten miles, and the general couldn't help but be stunned, he didn't expect the temper of the commander of the Anxi Army to be so strong, and he sent out a large army without saying a word, wasn't he afraid that the Son of Heaven would condemn him?

After entering the camp, the guards took the general to the tent, and Gu Qing received him in a draped dress.

"Wang Sili, the commander of the Hexi Jiedu Envoy Brother Shu Jieshuai, visited Gu Houye, the envoy of the Anxi Jiedu."

Gu Qing's eyes narrowed, and he said slowly: "Zhonglang General Wang Sili?" You were sent by Goshuhan? ”

"Yes, I heard that Gu Hou Ye went east to hunt with the Anxi army, and the commander of Geshu was quite shocked, and the special general came to inquire about the actions and intentions of your army."

Gu Qing smiled and said, "It's not a hunting, let's be straight, I'm here for your Hexi Army." ”

Wang Sili was taken aback and said, "Dare to ask Gu Houye, what does the Anxi Army want?" ”

Gu Qing said coldly: "Two choices, return the war horse or the two armies raise sword soldiers, and fight a big battle." ”