A country's strength, to put it simply, means that it has a strong force when it comes to foreign affairs, which makes people feel fearful, invincible, and invincible. Internally, it is reflected in whether you can have strong control and organizational skills when accidents occur, minimize the harm of things, and find out the favorable points from unfortunate things to the greatest extent, and then give full play to him.

And the current Datang, in Li Ze's opinion, can barely do this. The response to the disaster in Henan made him see that the Tang Dynasty under his rule seemed to be a little stronger than he imagined.

Of course, not everyone is aware of this.

At this moment, another country adjacent to Datang, which is also a big country of 10,000 miles, once made Datang feel extremely threatened, Tubo Da Dian Delhi Chinan, when he heard that natural disasters in Datang continued, he was overjoyed at the moment.

The person who brought him the news was from Yizhou.

Sun Tonglin is really not easy, at such an old age, he followed the caravan and rushed all the way from Yizhou to Lhasa. Along the way, he almost lost his life several times. In addition to the difficult journey, the closest to death was a sudden attack by mountain bandits, if it weren't for the fierce combat strength of the accompanying guards, the current Sun Zhonglin is afraid that he would have become a bone frame in the mountains.

"Comment, this is the letter from King Liang of our family to you!" Respectfully presented Zhu Youzhen's letter to Delhi Chinan.

Delhi Chinan didn't rush to read the letter, but said in a deep voice: "A few days ago, I heard that your Southern Alliance suffered a big loss in the hands of Li Ze? ”

Sun Tonglin's face changed slightly, and he nodded: "It is true that he has suffered some losses, but it has not made Li Ze feel better, his pro-army, the most elite Right Qianniu Guard, was annihilated by us!" Although it is said that it has lost some ground, it has now regained its form, and the two sides are back in a stalemate. ”

Delhi Chinan sighed, he was quite happy when he first heard about the beginning of the war between the North and the South, and it was from that time that he began to actively prepare for counterattacks.

The Tang people are becoming more and more aggressive, and the whole of Qinghai, which has been occupied by them by more than a third, is still constantly infiltrating deeper, and in Qamdo and Yushu, the two serf rebel armies are even more troubled.

But when he was almost ready, news came from Datang's side. Li Ze once again defeated the Southern Alliance, seized a large area of territory in Hunan and Jiangxi, and drove the two Jiedu envoys of the Southern Alliance into the mountains.

It was like a ladle of cold water pouring him on his heart. If the Southern Alliance has no strength to contain Li Ze's strength for a while, once he launches a counteroffensive, then Li Ze will press it with all his might. Delhi Chinan, who has a full understanding of the Tang army, really doesn't feel that he has the ability to win in battle.

"But the king, Li Ze usurped the throne and stood on his own, did many injustices, and was arrogant for many years, but this time God is also punishing him." Sun Tonglin said.

"What do you mean?" Delhi Chinan asked puzzled.

"There was a catastrophe in the Northern Tang Dynasty, and Henan, Shandong and other places suffered waterlogging, dozens of counties became Zeguo, hundreds of thousands of people were left with nothing overnight, and countless casualties were killed. Sun Tonglin said with a smile.

"Is that true?" Delhi Chinan stood up suddenly: "I just heard that Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningbo and other places in the Tang Dynasty have suffered from drought. Li Ze didn't even know where his queen was sent, but he didn't know about the floods in Henan and Shandong. ”

"It is precisely because of this incident that I was entrusted by King Liang to come on this trip." Sun Tonglin said with a smile.

"You King Liang want me to launch a counterattack against the Tang army?" Delhi Chinan said with a smile: "I don't need to say it, I naturally want to do the same, the Tang people took me Qinghai, the Western Regions, how can I give up?" God helps, it seems. ”

As he spoke, Delhi Chinan opened Zhu Youzhen's letter, read a few lines, and said with a smile: "Your King Liang is generous, and you actually helped me with a million taels of silver for military expenses?" ”

"Our two families are allies, and it is right to help each other." Sun Tonglin said: "In the eyes of our King Liang, although our Southern Tang families can't achieve any big things, they are still very important to us. Once they are destroyed by Li Ze, it will be an extremely bad thing for us King Liang or for you. ”

Delhi Chinan sighed, "That's a good point. No one thought that a weak Tang Dynasty had developed to such an extent in just over a decade after Li Ze's rise, and they who were once regarded as weak by us have now become a problem in our hearts. Li Ze has to be admired. Although the southern families of the Tang Dynasty can't do anything, they can contain Li Ze's large number of troops, create some opportunities for us, and save them, I will naturally do it. ”

Sun Tonglin smiled and said, "But before I came, King Liang had some words for me to convey to you, and these things were not written in the letter. ”

"Oh, what are you King Liang going to say to me?"

"Dare to ask, are you preparing to launch an attack on the Tang army in the Qinghai region?" Sun Tonglin asked.

"Not bad. There is a severe drought in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, and this is a good opportunity for us. Originally, I didn't know about the flooding in Henan and Shandong, but now it seems that this is the opportunity God gave me. Delhi China laughed.

Sun Tonglin shook his head slowly.

Delhi China restrained his smile.

"What do you Liang mean?"

Sun Tonglin said: "King Liang, please talk about it, don't fall for Li Ze's tricks." At this moment in the Qinghai region, I am afraid that the Tang people have already opened their nets. ”

Delhi Chinan's eyes narrowed.

"Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningbo are indeed in a big drought, but you may not know that Li Ze's attempt to attack Tubo has been going on for a long time, Li Cunzhong's department has been raising this matter for several years, Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningbo have not paid a grain or a penny of taxes to the Chang'an Imperial Court in the past few years, dare to ask, where did all this money and grain go?" Sun Tonglin asked.

Delhi Chinan took a deep breath: "You mean, all these money and food of theirs have been saved, specifically to deal with me?" ”

"Yes!" Sun Tonglin said. "Otherwise, this time, why would Liu Ruyan, the queen of the palace, go to the Hetao? Is it really as they said in the Tang Weekly Newspaper, in response to the drought and to comfort the victims? If it was really for such a thing, any minister would be fine, why would he send Liu Ruyan, a person with such a noble status and a deep understanding of military affairs, to the Hetao? ”

Listening to Sun Tonglin's words, the Tubo nobles sitting cross-legged in the lobby all looked solemn.

"The reason why Liu Ruyan was sent was to use Liu Ruyan's identity to coordinate the forces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningbo and even the Western Regions. They are suffering from a drought, and they must have expected you to take advantage of the fire, so they must be ready and waiting for you! ”

"So, I can't go?"

"Of course not!" Sun Tonglin said: "If you drag them for a while, they can't stand it themselves." The army needs food and grass, and the victims are waiting to be fed, and if we don't go, they have no choice but to turn back and deal with the disaster. If they dare to come, why don't you lure them a little deeper? ”

"Shall we just watch such a great opportunity slip away from our eyes?" Delhi Chinan said: "Even if the Tang people gather the strength of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, plus the Western Regions, it will never exceed 100,000 people, but we can easily gather 200,000 troops." ”

"Dazhuan, on the battlefield prepared by the Tang people, are you really sure to win this battle?" Sun Tonglin said: "Okay, even if you win this battle, how much loss are you prepared to bear?" Have you calculated how many people there are in Tibet and how many troops can be recruited? And how many dingkou are there under Li Ze, and how many soldiers can be recruited? Such a war of attrition, Li Ze doesn't care, can you not care? ”

Xenobud said in a deep voice: "King, Sun Gong is right, Li Ze's recruitment system, soldiers will retire after serving for three to five years, so this person has accumulated countless experienced reserve soldiers in the country, these people may be re-recruited into the battlefield at any time, the gap between the two sides is too big, we can't afford to fight, and, in the economy, we can't fight." ”

Xenobud has been in the Tang Dynasty for many years, and he is a person who really understands the Tang Dynasty, and when he heard Xenobud say the same, Delhi Chinan was a little deflated after all.

"After all, we are a little unwilling, we have to do something!"

"Of course you have to do something!" Sun Tonglin said: "Comment, this time is the best opportunity to solve the peasant rebels in Qamdo and Yushu!" It is an opportunity to raise a large army to exterminate these two rebellions, especially in Qamdo, which are a great threat to our trade and commerce. Moreover, these two rebellions are the nails planted by the Tang army in Tubo, and to destroy them is to pull out the thorns on their backs. It would be even better if it could attract the rescue of the Tang Army. ”

"How could Tang Jun be so stupid?" Xenobud shook his head.

"Of course, they can't save these two rebel forces directly, but there is a great possibility that they will launch some offensive to disperse our forces. If this is the case, they will inevitably take the initiative to attack us, and then the battle will be fought on our territory. Sun Tonglin said with a smile: "When the time comes, you only need to keep retreating and keep luring them deeper, maybe you will have the opportunity to swallow part of their troops." ”

"Would they take such a risk for the sake of these two rebel forces?"

"Give it a try and you'll find out." Sun Tonglin said: "The two rebel armies on the left and right are to be cleaned up, if the Northern Tang Dynasty invests a lot in them and is reluctant to do so, there is a possibility of success." For us, it is a matter of benefit and no expense. ”