Khotanese Town, one of the four towns in Anxi, is close to Tibet. If the name Khotan is not very famous, then it can be said that the town of Khotan is the place where jade is produced in Hetian, Xinjiang, in later generations.

Judging from the map, if the Tang Dynasty is on the offensive against Tibet, then Khotan is the bridgehead for the king to attack Tibet, if the Tang Dynasty is on the defensive, and the Tibet invades the attack, Khotan is the first line of defense in the Tang Dynasty, and the geographical location is very important, and it is a battleground for the two countries.

Interestingly, Khotan is an independent country, the surname of the head of the country is Wei Chi, and the king of Khotan of this generation is named Wei Chi Sheng. Therefore, to be precise, Khotan should be called "Khotan".

The successive lords of Khotan are very loyal to the Tang Dynasty, because the royal family admires the prosperity and culture of the Tang Dynasty, often send their children to Chang'an to study or become officials, and the Tang Dynasty is also very kind to this little brother who never abandons, not only send a large number of gifts every year, marry children and relatives, but also garrison troops at the request of Khotan, and set up the Bisha Governor's Mansion in Khotan.

In the 22nd year of Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong set up Qiuzi, Khotan, Shule and Yanqi as four towns, which were unified by the Anxi Protectorate and were stationed in the soldiers and horses, which is the famous "Four Towns of Anxi".

The idea of inviting other countries to station troops on their territory while the sovereignty of a country is still intact is very advanced, and it is still common in modern times more than a thousand years later.

It can also be seen from this that the relationship between Khotan and Datang is so good that it is not an exaggeration to say that it is "Yu Tie".

After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Khotan was often invaded by foreign enemies, mainly in the south of Tibet, because of the strong Tubo army, Khotan was devastated by Tibet, which is also one of the reasons why Khotan had to invite the Tang garrison. Later, after the Tang army was stationed, it was difficult to fight with Tubo, but after arriving in Gaozong, the combat power of the Tang army was gradually inferior to before, so Khotan was often lost.

During the period from Wu Zetian to Li Longji, Khotan changed hands several times, and Tubo and Tang Dynasty have been fighting in a saw-like manner for many years in order to compete for this strategic place, taking turns to plant red flags, and the competition is very fierce.

Gao Xianzhi was surprised that the Khotanese defenders were defeated and retreated so quickly, but it was not surprising that they had launched a war against Tibet without warning.

Gu Qing was a little puzzled: "Why did Tubo take the initiative to start a war?" You can't just fight for no reason, right? ”

Gao Xianzhi smiled bitterly: "What reason do you need to start a war?" Since Emperor Gaozong, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet has become worse and worse, and there is no need for a reason for the two countries to fight, because everyone understands that any reason is just a high-sounding fig leaf, and there are too many battles, and the fig leaf is no longer necessary. ”

"Anyway, Datang wants to swallow Tubo, and Tubo wants to swallow Datang, it's that simple. I have been in Anxi for many years, and the Tibetan thieves have always been undeclared war, often after a few years of peace, the Tubo suddenly entered the Kou, the place of attack is usually in Khotan in Anxi, Liangzhou in Hexi, and Shanzhou in Longyou. ”

Gu Qing muttered: "The ancient people are really simple and upright, and they don't need a reason to fight......

Gao Xianzhi glanced at him, his expression a little hesitant.

Gu Qing understood his expression, so he smiled and said: "Marshal Jie, now that it is wartime, the last general said that in case of war, the last general and his soldiers and horses will obey the dispatch of the marshal, and ask the marshal to take over the soldiers and horses of the four towns and prepare to resist the enemy." ”

Gao Xianzhi breathed a sigh of relief and sighed: "Gu Hou Ye understands the righteousness, and the foolish brother admires it. ”

After speaking, Gao Xianzhi's expression suddenly changed, and the listless appearance he had recently disappeared, and his whole person's momentum suddenly became fierce, like a peerless sword that had just been drawn out of its sheath, swallowing its edge without any scruples.

Since Gu Qing first met Gao Xianzhi, only at this moment did he look like a truly famous general in history.

"Send fast horses, summon the soldiers and horses of the four towns to Qiuzi City, and make the Jiedu Embassy beat drums and gather generals!"

…………

In the city of Qiuzi, in the palace of the Jiedu envoy, all the generals gathered together, many faces were unfamiliar, and most of them came in a hurry from the other two towns.

Gao Xianzhi's face sank like water, standing in front of the main case without saying a word, Gu Qing sat on Gao Xianzhi's right side, and Bian Lingcheng sat on Gao Xianzhi's left side as a prison guard.

The generals' faces were calm, obviously not surprised by the Tibetan raid on Khotan, they were accustomed to it.

Bian Lingcheng kept looking at Gao Xianzhi and Gu Qing, with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Originally, Bian Lingcheng thought that after the war, Gao Xianzhi and Gu Qing would make a big fuss because of the battle for the command of the four towns of Anxi, but at this moment, seeing Gao Xianzhi and Gu Qing's expressions were flat, Gao Xianzhi stood in the center as usual, obviously the command of this time to fight against Tubo was still in his hands, but Gu Qing didn't seem to mind, and willingly sat next to him to play a supporting role.

This...... The script is wrong!

Wasn't Gu Qing's purpose in coming to Anxi to seize power? What a good opportunity this war is, besides, Gu Qing has 10,000 elite soldiers and horses in his hands, and he is the supervising army, why don't he seize power? If the battle is still commanded by Gao Xianzhi, if it is slightly improper, Chang'an will issue an order to reprimand, and Bian Lingcheng will also be scolded, so Bian Lingcheng actually hopes that Gu Qing will take over the command.

The reason why most of the prison guards from ancient times to the present day are bad people is because they look at problems from different angles.

In the eyes of the commander, war is war, and war only needs to be won, and there is no need to think about factors other than war.

However, in the eyes of the prison army, the victory or defeat of the war is secondary, and they will only stand from a political point of view, and once they look at the war from a political point of view, then their position will be different.

The intricate relationship between the court, the complex and incomprehensible psychology of the Son of Heaven, and the intrigue within the army are all more important than the victory or defeat of the war, and for the sake of political needs, it is not hesitating to take the initiative to lose a war.

So at this moment, Bian Lingcheng didn't care much about Tubo entering the Kou, what he cared about was why Gu Qing didn't take Gao Xianzhi's military power, didn't His Majesty mean to let him come to Anxi to contain Gao Xianzhi? He didn't do anything at such an excellent opportunity, and took the initiative to give up his military power to Gao Xianzhi......

Bian Lingcheng secretly made a note in the little black book in his heart, and decided to turn around and go to Chang'an.

Gu Qing didn't know that he was about to be sued behind his back for the first time in his life, and his attention was on the generals in front of the hall.

Listening to the generals entering the roll call, Gu Qing listened carefully, but unfortunately, except for Ma Lu, there were no familiar names.

Gu Qing silently counted the famous generals of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, only Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, and Ma Luan, and most of the other famous generals were in other Metropolitan Protectorates, such as Ge Shuhan, the one who "Ge Shu carried a knife at night", or in Chang'an, such as Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi.

When all the generals arrived, Gao Xianzhi looked around and said slowly: "Ten days ago, the Tubo thieves sent 30,000 troops into Khotan, and the defenders of Khotan were defeated and retreated. ”

There was a sound of the collision of the armor leaves, and all the generals clasped their fists and saluted together, and said loudly: "Yes!" ”

Gao Xianzhi nodded, and said: "At the beginning of today, the soldiers and horses of the four towns of Anxi gathered in Qiuci, and the garrison of Qiuci Town immediately sent scouts to inquire about the movements of the Tubo thief army, and along the direction of the Yuhe River to find the defeated and retreating defenders in Khotan, contact with it, collect the defeated army, and the three armies prepared grain, grass and ordnance, requisitioned the people, and the cities of the Anxi Protectorate were closed, and the city was curfew. ”

"Yes!"

Gao Xianzhi turned his head to look at Gu Qing and said, "Does the deputy marshal have something to explain?" ”

Gu Qing smiled and said: "The last general has nothing to say, he has 10,000 soldiers and horses, 15,000 war horses, a number of grain, grass and weapons, and is at the disposal of Gao Jieshuai." ”

When Bian Lingcheng heard this, the pupils in his eyes shrank suddenly.

Gao Xianzhi smiled with satisfaction, Gu Qing's attitude in front of the generals was so humble, obviously giving him enough face, Gao Xianzhi secretly appreciated it in his heart.

Of course, to give face to face, Gao Xianzhi knows very well that if he really wants to bypass Gu Qing and mobilize the 10,000 soldiers and horses under his command, Gu Qing will definitely turn the table on the spot, what is the truth, what is a formality, everyone understands it in their hearts.

After pondering for a moment, Gao Xianzhi said: "You can't change generals in battle, this is a taboo for soldiers, the deputy marshal's 10,000 soldiers and horses are still controlled by you, and after the scouts find out the enemy's movements, then discuss the behavior of the soldiers and horses with the deputy marshal." ”

Gu Qing gave Gao Xianzhi enough face, Gao Xianzhi also reciprocated the favor, and gave Gu Qing enough face in front of the generals, he couldn't move the 10,000 soldiers and horses under Gu Qing's command, the situation was not too critical, Gao Xianzhi did not forget the holy decree given to Gu Qing by the Son of Heaven, and the holy decree stated that the 10,000 soldiers and horses of the left guard were controlled by Gu Qing, and Gao Xianzhi would never move Gu Qing's soldiers and horses until the last resort.

After the gathering, Gao Xianzhi ordered the generals to perform their duties, and then ordered everyone to disperse.

Gu Qing also said goodbye to Gao Xianzhi, planning to go back to the camp to rectify the soldiers, horses, grain and grass, and just left the Jiedu Embassy, when he suddenly heard someone calling him behind him, and Bian Lingcheng chased after him.

"Does the border supervisor have something to explain?" Gu Qing said curiously.

Bian Lingcheng looked around, pulled Gu Qing to a no-man's corner, stomped his feet and said angrily: "Gu Houye, why is the military power in Anxi still in the hands of Gao Xianzhi, didn't we say that we would contain Gao Xianzhi together?" ”

Gu Qing said blankly: "When will we talk about it?" Is the border supervisor not waking up from a hangover? ”

Bian Lingcheng changed color: "Last time in the Hou Ye's handsome tent, we were embarrassed...... Road...... No, no......"

The more Bian Lingcheng spoke, the slower he became, and his expression became more and more embarrassed.

Well, I didn't seem to have said it last time, but Gu Qing had the holy decree of the Son of Heaven, and the meaning of restraining Gao Xianzhi was obvious, and Bian Lingcheng subjectively determined that Gu Qing would inevitably seize power with Gao Xianzhi, so he had the illusion that they were allies with each other.

Gu Qing looked at him sympathetically and said sincerely: "The border prison army may have been too tired recently, do you want to go back to Chang'an to recuperate for a while?" I asked Your Majesty for an order, and I said that the border prison army had become ill from overwork, and they had vomited ten catties of blood, and asked Your Majesty to allow you to return to Chang'an, and maybe Your Majesty will give you a promotion after agreeing. ”