"Lao Tzu is really guilty of madness, so he thinks that entering the country of Tibet is a shortcut to great achievements!"

Guo Yuanzhen stood in a simple grass market, looking at the goods piled up on the earthen platform in front of him, as well as the people and Qiang people coming and going on the street, and let out such a sigh in his mouth.

The location he is in now is the Tibetan region in the eastern border of Tibet, that is, the vassal state of western Sichuan.

This vassal state does not mean dependence, it is the name of this Hu state, which is a Shengqiang regime located in the north of the Yajiang River, so the Sui period once paid tribute to the imperial court, but did not have much contact with the Central Plains Dynasty. Tubo opened up outward, and after annexing the Sun Bo Nu Kingdom, it destroyed the vassal state by the way during the Gaozong period, and named it Dazang.

It was also fortunate that the tribute was made, otherwise many years later, the existence of this vassal country would have completely disappeared without a trace.

More than three months ago, Guo Yuanzhen was instructed by His Royal Highness King Yong in Longzhou to reorganize his army and set off from Yazhou in Shuzhong, and entered the territory of Tubo with the intention of contacting some of the internal forces of Tubo. But now, after such a long time, he is still trapped in the Tibetan region and cannot travel.

After deducting the time spent on the journey from Longzhou to Shu and then from Shuzhong, Guo Yuanzhen and his entourage have been trapped in the Tibetan region for more than a month.

When he first entered the snow area, he was still wearing a heavy cotton coat and leather robe, but now when the sun is at its most intense during the day, he can even wear a single coat and even feel cold, Guo Yuanzhen is depressed.

Hearing Guo Yuanzhen's complaint, the entourage next to him said: "Now that the Fan country, the Gar family is in power, and the Tang Dynasty is constantly plundering our Tang Dynasty, and the Tang people are naturally regarded as an enemy country, which makes people vigilant and not easy to penetrate." Even the merchants who traveled here for a long time only dared to stay in the realm of Tibet, and if they went inward, there would be a lot more danger. ”

The name of the person who spoke was Guo Wanjun, although he had the same surname as Guo Yuanzhen, but he was a native of Shuzhong, and his family was engaged in trade with the Fan State in his family era, and he was also a wealthy businessman in Sichuan and Shu with a lot of money.

Guo Yuanzhen stayed in a small place in Tongquan County before, and he didn't have much contact with these Sichuan and Shu tycoons. But after being appreciated by King Yong, especially the Han King entered Sichuan to serve as the governor of Yizhou, Guo Yuanzhen was also promoted to the Governor's Mansion as a member of the army, and he was also regarded as the No. 1 person in Shu.

He is a pragmatic and knowledgeable person, cooperating with the King of Han to govern Shuzhong and operate flying money, so he simply married Guo Wanjun. This time, he was able to go deep into the Tibetan region of Tibet, thanks to the support provided by Guo Wanjun. After all, he was not an official envoy of the imperial court, and his use of power against the government was limited.

Hearing Guo Wanjun say this, Guo Yuanzhen couldn't help but sigh again: "The young Jinshi became famous, and he was so wanton, but he didn't want to waste Sichuan and Shu for 20 years, and he didn't make any progress. Fortunately, His Royal Highness King Yong added my appreciation, so I had the expectation to strive again. Now I donate my body and mind to His Royal Highness, and I only hope to create extraordinary achievements. Alas, how many twenty years are there in life? If this trip fails, even if His Highness is not guilty, what face will I have to see Your Highness......"

Speaking of this, Guo Yuanzhen is not without annoyance, he has been stumbling for many years, especially realizing the importance of opportunities, although in front of His Royal Highness King Yong, he often has a mixed attitude, but he also understands in his heart that at his age, his talents and qualifications have not yet been revealed, and only by following behind His Royal Highness can life be expected to reach glory.

He is nearly forty years old, and if he returns to the capital in a step-by-step manner, if he is unlucky and silent for a few years, he has already reached the age of preparing big materials and making coffins.

Therefore, Guo Yuanzhen also attached great importance to the dispatch of His Royal Highness King Yong this time, and even gave up the opportunity to follow His Royal Highness to fight in Long.

After all, he has no experience in commanding troops over the years, although he has also honed his extraordinary bow and horse skills when he was rampant in Tongquan County, but even if he goes to Long to fight with Tubo, I am afraid that it will be difficult to get the opportunity to lead an army alone and make merits on the battlefield, so it is better to find another way and go straight to the root.

"My brother and I have a friendship that depends on my life. This trip to Tibet is not my private affair alone, and if it can be successful, you will benefit a lot. His Royal Highness King Yong has always been stingy in employing people and things, and the Yang family in your Shu is an excellent example. ”

Guo Yuanzhen patted him on the shoulder and said seriously.

Those who can chat with Guo Yuanzhen and be friends naturally have some qualities.

Hearing Guo Yuanzhen say this, Guo Wanjun was silent for a while before continuing: "During the Vertical Gong period, Dazang also raised troops to resist Tibet in this realm, and the life of the king of Tibet was also very common in this realm, and it was not supported by the state ministry. If it is really difficult to enter Sun Bo this time, it is better to retreat and make trouble in Dazang. I also gave up my furniture, fought with the Ming Mansion once, the money and goods from this trip, recruited some Shengqiang State Department, let's directly attack Daowu City to kill the little king of the vassal country, and choose his royal children to give to His Royal Highness King Yong......"

Hearing Guo Wanjun's plan, Guo Yuanzhen only rolled his eyes, did this guy really think that His Royal Highness King Yongwang was greedy for the taste of a Tibetan woman, so he sent him to walk in the country of Tibet?

Guo Wanjun was still calculating there: "Although the king of the annexed land also enjoys the title of king, he is just a slave of the dead country. Previously, the Great Tibet was in turmoil, and its king could not be pacified, so he took the initiative to attract the army of the Tibetan State to suppress it, which was also a loss of people's hearts. During the Heavenly Grant period, the Great Minister of the Fan Kingdom directly recruited his kingdom guards to serve as the guards in the Luo Sa City of the Fan Kingdom, making the Daowu City even more empty......"

The overthrow of these small border countries was not concerned by a big empire like the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, when it comes to its internal affairs, the Datang officials are really not as familiar as these businessmen who have been here for a long time.

There was a rebellion in the Tibetan region of Tibet, which indirectly contributed to Wei Zhiprice's westward expedition during the Yongchang period, but the scale of the turmoil in the Tibetan region was far from implicating too much of Tubo's national strength.

When Guo Yuanzhen heard these inside information, he couldn't help but move his thoughts, and said to Guo Wanjun: "Brother, do you want to be the king of Fanbang once?" If you are willing, we will recruit the Qiang pawns to kill the king of the vassal land, as you have planned......"

After Guo Wanjun heard this, he shook his head again and again, and said with a dry smile: "I am only a vulgar businessman, how can I have such a measured spirit." What's more, how can my dignified Tang Wei man abandon his ancestors and join this state for the longest! ”

Seeing that Guo Wanjun refused simply, Guo Yuanzhen stopped inciting him. He also understood that this idea was not delusional, although the royal family was weak, after all, it was Tubo standing behind him. Moreover, the entire Tibetan region is of great significance to Tibet, and it is an important place for its barriers, and there is more than one state leader who supports it here.

It is still a little difficult for his party to completely disrupt the situation in the Tibetan region by buying a group of Shengqiang pawns.

But always waiting passively is not an option. Because of the continuous rebellion in the Tibetan region from the Yongchang period, the Tibetans imposed some military blockades on this area, and it was very difficult to reach Sunbo or further afield through this area.

But what Guo Wanjun said is also an idea to engage in a royal family that lives in nearby Daowu City. After all, in order to ensure control over the Tibetan region, the upper echelons of Tibet and the attached royal family must maintain relatively smooth communication channels.

Guo Yuanzhen still has no way to enter his country, let alone get in touch with the middle and upper echelons of his country. If he could borrow the channel through Tibet in the palace of the attached king, it would undoubtedly be of great help to him on this trip.

With such a clear idea and goal, Guo Yuanzhen no longer blindly complained, but began to approach Daowu City.

Originally, the vassal countries did not have cities, and in order to avoid attacks and vendettas between each other, the tribes used to build rocks on the mountains and prevent them. It was not until the annexation of this country by Tibet that a city was built in the heart of this region, which was Daowu City.

It is said to be a city, but in Guo Yuanzhen's view, this Daowu City is just a dirt fence. The walls of the city were not very high, the rammed earth was not enough to reach the ground, and tall people could see the inside of the city by tiptoeing in some areas outside the city.

Even so, Daowu City is still one of the prosperous areas that Guo Yuanzhen has seen since he entered the Fan region. There are Hu felt tents around the city, and there are pedestrians coming and going inside and outside, unlike other places where there are ditches and ridges, and the desolate birds do not lay eggs between hundreds of miles.

As Guo Wanjun said, the protective power of Daowu City is almost none. The group peeped for several days between the mountains on the left, and saw only more than a thousand native soldiers, and there were not even a few decent iron armors, patent leather armor, and simple equipment.

But this does not mean that Daowu City is free of danger, in the mountains a few miles away from its city, there is a Tibetan military camp, the number of garrisons in the city is unknown, but there are often soldiers out of the camp down the mountain, into Daowu City, perhaps for fun.

"The reason why I didn't approach Daowu City before was because the soldiers here were arrogant and treated my Tang people very unfriendly. If you sell goods in the city market, once you encounter the soldiers patrolling the city, most of them will have to be gone. ”

Guo Wanjun explained the reason why he was not close to Daowu City before, the Tibetan people and Zhuqiang in the Tibetan region are still more welcome to the Tang people, after all, the goods carried by the Tang people are the materials they urgently need and cannot produce by themselves, even if they don't use it, they can resell it and pour it into other parts of the Tibetan border, and they can harvest a lot.

However, these Rudai guards who entered the Great Tibet garrison from the Tibetan Kingdom were arrogant and arrogant, and killing people and plundering goods were just ordinary. Therefore, the Tang people who entered the Tibetan country from Sichuan and Shu to trade with the local tribes only traded in the grass markets in some remote areas, and did not dare to go under the noses of the Tibetan guards.

Although Guo Wanjun often travels to the Tibetan border, the information he can provide is very simple, and may help to judge the general situation of Tibet, but if it is specific to the defense strength of a city, it is not clear.

Guo Yuanzhen was hidden between the mountains, looking at the Daowu City set up by the mountains and rivers in the distance, with a thoughtful face.