Wang Yuan lowered his voice and said, "Your Royal Highness the Prince, I was surprised when I learned that the imperial court was determined to use troops against Tibet. I also heard that Li Xiangguo and Yang Zuoxiang played together, and after the imperial court finally decided to let Wang Zhongsi lead the two armies of Longyou and Hexi to crusade against Tibet, it felt more and more that there must be something strange in this. This time I went back to the capital for this purpose. ”

Li Heng twisted his beard and said quietly: "What kind of strange things will be in this?" Tell me about it. ”

Wang Yuan said: "Your Highness, the crusade against the Tubo people is indeed because the Tubo people invaded my Tang Dynasty first. However, let the two armies of Longyou and Hexi bear this responsibility, and there will be a lot of articles in it. Although the Tubo country is a small exotic country compared with my Tang Dynasty, the Tubo people are brave and warlike, and their strength should not be underestimated. It is not unreasonable that our Tang Dynasty has always adopted the policy of harmony and affinity to stabilize the relationship with Tibet, that is, considering that there is no need to fight with the strength of Tibet, it will not be far away to fight with it until both sides are defeated, and the Turkic Khitan Xi people in the north will take the opportunity to threaten our Tang border. ”

Li Heng said: "I know all this, what are you talking to Prince Ben about?" ”

Wang Yuan said: "Your Highness will understand when you listen to me. Even if I Datang pursues a policy of peace and proximity, we also need to have heavy troops to defend the border with Tibet, so as to prevent and deter the Tibetans. Therefore, our Tang Dynasty surrounded Tubo from the east to the northeast and even the northwest, and there were heavy troops stationed in various places to deter. Although the strength of my Jiannan Dao is only tens of thousands, because the desert is a natural danger, tens of thousands of troops are enough. The 150,000 troops of Longyou and Hexi were stationed in the northeastern part of Tubo. Gao Xianzhi, the envoy of Anxi Jiedu, led an army of 70,000 and tens of thousands of local indigenous troops to sit in the northwest of Tibet. As a result, our Tang Dynasty garrisoned nearly 300,000 troops on the border of Tibet, which is the reason why the people of Tibet are frightened. ”

Li Heng said: "What does this have to do with the conspiracy of Yang Guozhong that you said? ”

Wang Yuan said: "Doesn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still understand? Since the four towns of Jiannan, Anxi, Hexi, and Longyou are all responsible for defending the border between the Tubo Kingdom and us, why is it only Wang Zhonghei who sent troops to attack Tubo this time? ”

Li Heng frowned and said, "Wang Zhongji has led the most troops and horses, and it is most suitable for him to send troops." Do you want tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Jiannan to cross the desert to attack Tibet? Isn't it sent to death? ”

Wang Yuan shook his head and said, "Your Highness, what about Anxi Town?" Gao Xianzhi has 70,000 male soldiers in his hands, and can also control 30,000 or 40,000 local indigenous soldiers and horses to fight together, and the available soldiers under his command can reach 100,000. And Gao Xianzhi has rich experience in fighting with Tubo, why didn't the imperial court send General Gao Xianzhi to lead a comprehensive army to crusade against Tubo? ”

Li Heng frowned and said, "What are you going to say?" Can you say it clearly? ”

Wang Yuan said: "Your Highness, this reason is actually very simple, the reason why this crusade against Tubo did not have anything to do with my Jiannan and Gao Xianzhi's Anxi Army, but General Wang Zhongsi led the two armies of Hexi Longyou to fight alone, the main reason is that among the three of my Gao Xianzhi and Wang Zhonghe, only Wang Zhongsi is the well-known person of His Royal Highness the Prince. ”

Li Heng was stunned and said, "You mean, this is aimed at Wang Zhonghei and this prince, right?" ”

Wang Yuan looked at him left and right and said: "Your Highness, think about it, this crusade against the Tubo people, but Gao Xianzhi and I also sent troops to assist at the same time to disperse the forces of the Tubo people. Let Wang Zhonghe, as the main force, destroy several cities in the land of the two lakes of the enemy in one fell swoop, and deal a heavy blow to the Tubo people. This is the best way to coordinate the battle and make it difficult for the Tubo people to use their troops, and it is also the method to ensure that Wang Zhonghe's main army defeats the attack of the Tubos. As far as I know, isn't it strange that someone proposed this tactic, but it was vetoed, and in the end it was only Wang Zhonghei who led the army and the Tubo people to fight hard? ”

Li Heng paced slowly, frowning, and said: "On that day, someone did put forward the idea of letting Anxi and Jiannan's army feint to attract Tubo soldiers and horses at the same time as Wang Zhonghe's troops, and not let Tubo soldiers and horses gather in the northwest to fight Wang Zhonghe. The veto was Yang Guozhong, who said that the three armies would be very costly, and that the Tubo people might seize the opportunity to break through one place, so it would be better to let Wang Zhonghe's army drive straight in. ”

Wang Yuan smiled: "This is a conspiracy. Yang Guozhong's statement is completely untenable. What's so costly? If you are afraid of attrition, why do you propose to fight against Tibet? Isn't it funny that a lot of materials, manpower, and energy were spent preparing for this battle against Tibet, but that they gave up the strategy of defeating the enemy army because they were afraid of wasting materials? It is even more funny to say that the Tubo people broke through one place, and it is obviously the wishful thinking of people who have never fought in the war. If the Jiannan Army and the Anxi Army were dispatched, it was actually just a feint, and it would not hurt the enemy at all, but it was just for the main force of Wang Zhonghei to strengthen the momentum and oppress the defenders of the Tubo State to defend the east and northwest so that they would not be transferred to the main battlefield for reinforcements. That's ridiculous. ”

Li Heng said in a trembling voice: "What do you mean is that Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu deliberately only let Wang Zhonghe's army fight, but with Wang Zhonghe's leading ability, my 150,000 troops in the west of Longyou Hexi can step on the land of two lakes and several cities in the northeast of Tubo." It seems that there is no need for your Jiannan Army and Gao Xianzhi's Anxi Army to send troops. ”

Wang Yuan sighed: "Your Highness, Your Highness, are you a piece of paper when you are a Tubo person?" How difficult is it to go deep into the territory of Tibet and fight against the Tibetans on the desolate and cold Gobi? You must know that the soldiers and horses gathered in the land of the two lakes in Tibet are as high as 80,000, and the number of troops is not small. Coupled with the right time, place and convenience, the number of wins and losses is not easy to say. Although Wang Zhongji fought with Tibet, he should not forget that the battle to recover Tuyuhun and Tubo was won with the assistance of all parties. This time he was alone, and the situation was very different. I dare to say that Wang Zhonghei may not dare to say in his heart that he will definitely defeat the Tibetans. ”

Li Heng frowned and pondered, on the night Wang Zhongsi left Beijing, he did ask Wang Zhongsi if he was confident at the send-off banquet. Wang Zhongsi said that he would win, but after getting drunk, Li Fuguo heard Wang Zhongsi and his generals say that the outcome of this trip is undecided, and everything depends on the will of heaven.

"Wang Yuan, the conspiracy you are talking about is that Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu deliberately recommended Wang Zhongsi to lead the army to fight against Tubo, if this battle is lost, Wang Zhongsi can be blamed, and at the same time, can it be used to hit me?"

Wang Yuan said in a low voice: "Your Highness, this is an obvious matter, I drank with Yang Guozhong at noon yesterday, and deliberately interrogated his tone. He was cautious and refused to let go, but I could deduce his thoughts from his words. The reason why Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu suddenly mentioned the matter of revenge against the Tubo people was to let Wang Zhongji lead the army to the battle. I think that the fact that my highness transferred Wang Zhonghei to the political hall and served as the secretary of the criminal department stimulated Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, so they joined forces to get Wang Zhongsi out of the capital to fight against Tubo. Of course, if Wang Zhongsi can defeat Tubo, once the army is defeated, it is impossible for Wang Zhongsi to return to the capital. Even the position of the knots will not be guaranteed. Once the worst happens, Wang Zhonghei will certainly not be able to turn over, and the crown prince will also lose the most powerful chess piece in your hand. At that point, it's going to be hard. ”

Wang Yuan's outspokenness surprised Li Heng and Li Fuguo, who was standing aside. In fact, in addition to Wang Yuan's remarks just now, in addition to his views on military mobilization, Li Heng and Li Fuguo both had a serious discussion in private about the motives of Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu's joint performance of the use of troops against Tibet and even the possible subsequent occurrence. also basically guessed the intentions of Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong. But Li Heng always believed that Wang Zhonghei could not lose this battle, so this conspiracy must go bankrupt, so even if he saw through this conspiracy, he also adopted the strategy of pretending not to know what to do. This time, Wang Yuan was able to say these words, and Li Heng, who was already very distrustful of Wang Yuan, began to dispel his suspicions about Wang Yuan.

"According to what you mean, isn't it that we have fallen into the tricks of Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu, and Wang Zhonghei will lose this battle?" Li Heng said in a deep voice.

Wang Yuan smiled and shook his head: "That's not necessarily. If you know about its conspiracy, how can you let it happen? I still have confidence in Wang Zhonghei and Wang Dashuai. After all, he has rich combat experience, and the number of soldiers and horses he leads is more than twice that of the Tibetan soldiers and horses, and I think that if no one is hindered behind him, the probability of Wang Dashuai winning this battle is more than seventy percent. Beware of villains, and more importantly, don't fall in love with war, taking the city is victory, don't be greedy for merit and fight for a long time. These need to be reminded by His Highness that Wang Zhonghei is here. In addition, Weichen is also ready to help Wang Dashuai, no matter what, this battle must be won, and the villain's conspiracy cannot be allowed to succeed. ”

Li Heng turned his head and said, "Oh? How can you help? ”

Wang Yuan said: "Your Highness, I have persuaded Your Majesty to allow my Jiannan Army to send troops to Bison City. After occupying the Bison City, the minister can send troops and horses to move in the northeast hinterland of Tubo, although he cannot fight with the main force of Tubo, but he can attack the soldiers and horses that escort grain and grass materials, which is all the minister can do. ”

Li Heng raised his eyebrows and said happily: "Your Majesty agreed?" ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Not only did Your Majesty agree, but Yang Guozhong also agreed." ”

Li Heng was surprised: "How could Yang Guozhong agree? I was about to ask you, didn't you make Yang Guozhong dissatisfied with you by doing this? ”

Wang Yuan said: "At a critical time, I can't care about his emotions. If Wang Zhonghei is really defeated, it will be a major matter related to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. As I said, I may ignore trivial matters, because I don't want to expose my allegiance to His Highness the Crown Prince. But if I don't come forward at a critical time, I will not live up to the prince's trust and cultivation of his ministers. Besides, Yang Guozhong's brain is not flexible enough, and I deceived him into believing that I was just putting on a show. In fact, I don't think that Yang Guozhong can come up with the real mastermind of the whole thing, and I am afraid that this whole thing is still Li Linfu's idea. ”

Wang Yuan beat him and finally put the biggest black pot on Li Linfu's head. And this is something that Li Heng and Li Fuguo both agree with.

Seeing that the expressions on Li Heng and Li Fuguo's faces had changed, especially the distrustful and defensive look in their eyes slowly subsided, Wang Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Coming to see Li Heng today, Wang Yuan knew that he would not be able to pass the customs without taking out some dry goods. In view of the fact that various things before caused Li Heng and Li Fuguo to become more and more suspicious and distrustful of themselves, when they came to the capital, if they were not careful, they might disappear into the capital silently. About Luo Yimen, about all kinds of ulterior things, that is the prince's fate. In order to protect his life, it is possible for the prince to make any kind of drastic move. If Wang Yuan wants to leave the capital safely, he can only pour ecstasy soup on Li Heng. Taking this major event as an example, it is obviously a very heavy gift to win trust, and it hits Li Heng's heart.