As soon as the words "fight to the death" came out, not to mention the earth-shattering, it really plunged Li Daozong and the other three into silence.

After a long time, Li Daozong said: "Mu Bai, you'd better think twice. ”

"Don't think twice. Even if I think four or five times, I make this decision. Qin Mubai looked at Li Daozong with a smile on his face, and said, "Lord Wang, the stakes are twists and turns, I don't have to ask you to give me a detailed analysis." All of you here are sensible people, and you can understand that this decision was definitely not made out of impulse. It can be said that since the day I joined the company, I have always been cautious and did not dare to cross the thunder pool by half a step, and obediently played the pitiful role of a good gentleman. Today is the only day I am proud of and proud of. Because, I can finally hold my head high and be myself again, even if I step towards perdition from now on, I have no regrets. ”

The three of them stared at Qin Mubai in unison, with different expressions. The only thing that is the same is that they don't seem to know Qin Mubai anymore.

"There's a kind." Hou Junji stood up suddenly, took the initiative to formally hug Qin Mubai for the first time, and said, "Hou's cheap life is no longer valuable, so I will go with you!" I don't want to listen to the rest of the nonsense anymore, so please take your leave! Qin Mubai, when you want to use Hou, let me know. Hou, play with you with your head - farewell! ”

Qin Mubai looked at him and smiled slightly, and nodded: "Please go." ”

Hou Junji left, striding into the clouds. After going out, there were several hearty laughs, shattering the silence of the night sky.

"Crazy man!" Li Daozong took a deep breath and said with his eyebrows, "Mu Bai, he is a gambler who loses nothing, you don't want to be taken away by him." Any decision you make now is not only related to the life and death of your personal and family honors and disgraces, but also on your shoulders, you also carry the peace and stability of the entire Kansai territory and the life and death of hundreds of millions of soldiers and civilians. Take a long-term view, and now your decision is related to the pattern and situation of the Tang Dynasty and the Chinese people in the next hundred years or even thousands of miles. This king wants you to think twice, not to say no. In the face of major rights and wrongs, men need to have the courage and determination to take responsibility, and at the same time, they need wisdom and skill. It is easy to give up life, but it is difficult to take righteousness, I hope you understand this truth. ”

"I understand what the prince means." Qin Mubai smiled lightly and said, "In the past, when Xiang Yu broke the cauldron and fought against the water, he must have thought a lot, but he had no other choice. Now, I'm just like him. Prince, do you think about it, do I have any other choice than to fight Gar Qinling? ”

Li Daozong fell silent for a while.

Su Dingfang said: "Mu Bai has a point. The Tibetans repeatedly provoked me rudely, and this time they killed our envoys to refuse to negotiate peace with us, and tricked us into going to the plateau to gather and annihilate them. is so sinister and vicious, even if we don't condemn and crusade against it, this matter of harmony will be absolutely in vain. In this way, how can the court let us go? On the issue of dealing with Tibet, there is no neutrality, only 'war' or 'peace'. Now that they have declared war on their own initiative, we have to fight back. Instead of being reactive, it's better to be proactive. At this point, I very much agree with Mu Bai's idea. As for the rest...... If you blindly consider the consequences and the way out, you will end up dead! ”

"Those who know me will also set the prescription!" Qin Mubai took a long breath and cast a grateful look at Su Dingfang, and said, "Not only is the battle situation going like this, but from the perspective of public and private interests and the overall situation of Lanzhou, we can only take the initiative to attack. First of all, the envoy of the defeat of the peace family was killed, and when this matter reached Chang'an, it would be a shock to the government and the opposition. As a result, my Tang Division is famous, and the main battle faction will definitely be active again and will have the upper hand, which is beneficial to me. On the downside, I don't think the imperial court will forgive us for going to war with Tibet without permission. Whether the war is successful or not, what awaits me in the end is perhaps the most cruel verdict. But I can't care about that much. Fighter planes are fleeting and require a high degree of secrecy. Do you want me to ask the imperial court for a letter and then arrange the war with Tibet step by step? ”

"Why not?" Li Daozong interrupted Qin Mubai's words and said, "Don't forget, if the imperial court gives you everything, you can take everything back at any time. The king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die. As a minister, the most taboo is to be bold and reckless. Why can't you just fly to Chang'an and ask Your Majesty to decide on this matter, and then follow the arrangement? ”

"It won't work, my lord." Qin Mubai said, "Not to mention that it takes a lot of time for this letter to travel back and forth in Chang'an, it is also unknown when there will be a decision under the dispute between the DPRK and China. None of these are the most important things. The important thing is that the people in the court do not understand what the current crisis in Lanzhou is. Since Gar Qinling dared to refuse to negotiate peace and attack Lanzhou, who knows if he had any other poisonous schemes? ”

Li Daozong was slightly stunned and said, "What do you mean...... Gaochang and Puchanghai line? ”

"That's right!" Qin Mubai frowned and said, "Gar Qinling is definitely not the kind of hot-headed reckless man, and he will not recklessly declare war on Lanzhou on his own. Now I have a very ominous premonition in my heart, and when I think about the situation in Lanzhou in front of me and the previous war, I vaguely feel ...... From the very beginning, we got into his trap and got deeper and deeper. At present, Liu Shanyin's death is just an appearance and an inducement, which makes me vaguely aware of his far-reaching and sinister intentions! ”

"Why?" Li Daozong and Su Dingfang exclaimed together.

"Garqin Mausoleum, by no means simple!" Qin Mubai took a deep breath and spit out heavily, and said, "Lord Wang, Dingfang, do you remember when we were in Chang'an last year, Tubo instigated Gaochang to rebel and took the initiative to attack the area around Liangzhou? ”

"Of course I do. What's wrong? ”

"It is estimated that since then, a huge trap has been set on Lanzhou's head." Qin Mubai said, "In the battle of Dafeichuan, the troops of Tubo Gar Qinling were defeated and abandoned for thousands of miles, so that Lanzhou recovered Tuyuhun. The prince once said that Garqinling joined the army at the age of ten and became commander at the age of fifteen, and he has never tasted defeat in a hundred battles. The defeat of the battle of Dafeichuan is undoubtedly an unprecedented stimulus for someone like him. He will never be reconciled! So I guess he immediately had the next series of actions - the first was to send envoys to Chang'an to ask for marriage from the alliance. Of course, the goal is only to stall for time and give yourself a chance to breathe. This can be easily proved - after the Tibetan envoy heard that His Majesty chose the prince's beloved daughter Li Xueyan as the princess and was ready to marry Tubo, he actually left! This is absolutely rare in the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries! It can be seen that Tubo did not come to propose marriage sincerely. The so-called dissatisfaction with the fake princess is just an excuse! ”

"Go on." Li Daozong's face was tense.

"Immediately, the Tibetan Tibetans, who had taken a breath after the whole rest, began a military operation." Qin Mubai said, "They first invaded Liangzhou with troops from Kunlun, cut off the Silk Road trade route and Lanzhou's external connection, and restrained the main force of Lanzhou so that we had no time to take care of anything else. Thus, time and space were won for the Gaochang rebellion. Immediately afterwards, at the instigation of the Tibetans and the Western Turks, Gaochang rebelled. Just when the court was fighting and the two factions were arguing, my father thought that the military situation was urgent, and he resisted the order to raise troops to the west of Yangguan, and went straight to Gaochang in 18 battles...... Two, have you ever thought about it, although my father is a tiger general, but the lone army is tired of the veterans of the division, and he has turned to fight for thousands of miles and eighteen victories, why is it so easy? ”

"Huh?" Li Daozong and Su Dingfang both exclaimed in surprise and said, "What do you mean by saying that it was a deceitful plan set up by Gar Qinling, who deliberately lost eighteen battles to Shubao?" ”

"Isn't it?" Qin Mubai's eyebrows tightened, and he said, "Although I can't be completely sure yet, there is at least a fifty percent chance!" ”

"Is his purpose to disperse the forces of Lanzhou so that I can take care of one thing and lose the other, so as to defeat each other?" Li Daozong's face changed suddenly, and he said loudly, "In this way, then Uncle Bao is in danger!" ”

"Not only that, Gar Qinling is also sitting on the mountain watching the tiger fight, watching my Lanzhou fight with the Western Turks and the countries of the Western Regions, so as to reap the benefits of fishing and release cold arrows behind the back." Qin Mubai's face also turned a little blue, and said, "If nothing else, my father has already encountered big trouble on Gaochang's side. At this moment, Garqinling only needs to send a brigade of iron cavalry out of Kunlun to threaten the second pass of Yuyang and stumble on Xue Wanche's department of Puchanghai, then Lanzhou is like being locked in an urn. The father and Xue Wanche became a kite with a broken string. Lord Wang, at such an urgent juncture, do you still want to persuade me to write to the imperial court to ask for a war? After those ministers argued for ten days and a half months, my father and tens of thousands of soldiers were probably already cold! ”

"Wow......" Li Daozong was inhaling cool air.

Su Dingfang said in a deep voice: "In this case, everyone should plan for the worst in advance!" Mu Bai needs to urge the marshal as soon as possible, please be sure to return to Lanzhou as soon as possible! He also ordered Puchanghai, Xue Wanche and Yuyang Erguan to be on strict alert to prevent a surprise attack by Tubo, and to escort the commander of the class. If we can successfully move this army back to Lanzhou, we can stop worrying about the future, and we can also strengthen our strength and have more confidence. ”

"Just what I want." Qin Mubai cut the railway, "Without further ado, I can't care about that much." Set the prescription, the pen and ink are waiting, and I personally wrote to ask my father to be a teacher. Besides, please make a hard trip. You led my Yifu Iron Cavalry with 10,000 horses, and set off to Puchanghai in the starry night to pass on my orders. Tell Xue Wanche Pu Changhai not to, but if the second pass of Yuyang is lost, he will dig his own grave and climb in, and Hugh will come back to see me again! ”

"No!" Su Dingfang solemnly received the order, and said, "That...... When will Xue Wanche abandon Pu Changhai and stick to the second pass of Yuyang? Is it necessary to let him stay until he has joined up with the commander before abandoning him? ”

"......" was in the hands of Qin Mubai, who was struggling to write, with a stagnant expression.

He pondered: Xue Wanche led more than 20,000 soldiers and horses to garrison Puchanghai, the purpose was to meet his father's headquarters in Gaochang, thinking that it would echo and support. But now, Gao Chang doesn't know anything about the situation, how should Xue Wanche make a decision then? - Make two extreme assumptions, one is that my father has realized the subtlety and stakes of the overall situation, and decided in advance to leave Gaochang and return to Lanzhou, which is the most ideal situation. In this way, Xue Wanche can join his father's soldiers and horses in the shortest possible time, and move back to the second pass of Yuyang together smoothly, sticking to the gate; At the other extreme, it is...... My father's soldiers and horses had fallen into the trap of the Garqin Tomb and could not get out, and even had been completely destroyed......

Qin Mubai's hand trembled. A cloud of ink dripped down and became several petals.

Li Daozong and Su Dingfang's faces both changed slightly. They had never seen Qin Mubai show such a frightened and flustered expression, even if it was fleeting.

"Mu Bai, what's wrong with you?" Li Daozong asked, "When did you make you so frightened?" ”

Su Dingfang, who was as careful as a hair, persuaded: "Mu Bai, you relax." The marshal has been fighting for half his life and no one can stop him, and both the wise and brave are scheming, maybe he has already escaped safely on the way to Lanzhou! ”

"Hmm......" Qin Mubai retracted his thoughts and answered, picked up a piece of paper again to write, and said, "As you said, everything is prepared for the worst in advance. If...... I mean, if my father's department has already collapsed, then Xue Wanche's department can't be put in again. ”

"You mean to say...... Let Xue Wanche not have to wait for the soldiers and horses of the marshal's department, and take the lead in withdrawing to the second pass of Yuyang? Su Dingfang was surprised, "Mu Bai, this is ...... That's not right! ”

Li Daozong's eyebrows were tightly locked, and he said: "Mu Bai, this king understands your mood at the moment, you must be eager to put on a pair of wings and fly to Gaochang to take your father back." But at the moment, you are in control of the overall situation, and everything must be based on the interests of the overall situation. You just said that you should prepare for the worst first, which is very calm and wise...... However, in public and private, we can't abandon Shubao. Instead, take a compromise solution. Let Xue Wanche take it for a month. Within a month, it is of course best if Shubao returns, and the two soldiers and horses retreat together to defend the second pass of Yuyang; If Uncle Bao doesn't return to ...... within a month"

"Just do what the prince says." Qin Mubai's face was like iron and stone, and he quickly wrote down a military order, took out his own capital commander seal and covered it heavily, blew dry the ink and handed it to Su Dingfang, and said, "Senior brother, please!" ”

Five words made Su Dingfang feel quite heavy. He has always known that Qin Mubai is not the kind of frivolous and shallow person. Especially after being in the position of the lord of Lanzhou, he is more stable and sophisticated, and his feelings have become complex and deep. At this moment, everyone knows how much Qin Mubai wants to pick up his father as soon as possible. Even if he ordered Xue Wanche to send him to Gaochang to save Qin Shubao now, it was human nature.

But Qin Mubai didn't do this, because Xue Wanche's department must not be lost, otherwise not only would it not be able to save Qin Shubao, but it would also lead to the fall of the second pass of Yuyang, which would make the Lanzhou portal open and collapse across the board!

So Qin Mubai made the most ruthless decision, expecting that something had happened on his father's side and it was irreparable...... Do your best, obey the destiny of heaven!

Li Daozong looked at Qin Mubai, his eyes were complex and deep. He knew very well that the Qin Mubai at this moment was no longer the Qin Mubai he knew when he was in Jinzhou in his early years. Now, he has dared to shoulder heavy responsibilities and go his own way, and he has become more and more mature in military and political affairs.

But this kind of maturity often comes at a great cost......

Su Dingfang led the elite cavalry of the 10,000 Yifu under Qin Mubai's command, and left the city in the starry night, with a heavy military order that was enough to determine the life and death of 10,000 people.

The night is like ink, and the cold moon hangs in the sky.

Qin Mubai stood alone at the head of the city of Lanzhou, raising his hands and looking at the northwest, as quiet as an ancient stone sculpture.

"Father...... You're already on your way home, aren't you? Do you know how much Saburo misses you......"