"I'm not a traitor." Dorji insisted in the face of his father, Turubaihu, who was trembling with anger. "I'm here for everyone. The Great Khan, the Han Dynasty's entry into Tibet is the trend of the times, the mandate of heaven, and the mandate of heaven cannot be violated. ”

As he spoke, he still carried the bloody scimitar in his hand, and just now he had used it to stab his second brother Omubu to death. Behind him, there stood four siblings, including Ilduqi, and even behind, the Mongol warriors under the command of five men.

"Great Khan, please order you and your four brothers, as well as the two Living Buddhas and Diba's subordinates, to lay down their arms and surrender at once." Ilduzi stepped forward with his knife in hand.

Gu Shi Khan looked at the five sons born to the concubine that time, and couldn't help but laugh angrily, "Hahaha, if I don't agree, are you going to raise your sword and kill me?" ”

"Even if you don't agree, it's useless, we have already routed the barracks below the mountain and captured the Potala Palace. Moreover, we have sent urgent letters to the Han troops in southern Tibet and Qinghai, asking them to lead their troops into Tibet. Ilduqi persuaded Gushi Khan, "Father, it was you who taught us never to fight a battle that we must lose. Why are you obsessed with it now? Against the big man, we will never have a chance of winning, it is a battle that we must lose. ”

Gushi Khan threw down the sword in his hand and dragged a chair away and sat down.

He picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it down.

"Do you think that if you really vote for the Han people, you will end well? Or do you think you are half Han Chinese, so you really think of yourself as Han? ”

Dorji said disapprerovingly, "Father, don't think of the Han as so hateful, look at the Mongol tribes in Mobei and Monan, they have subdued the Han one after another, and as a result, will they end up bad?" I can't see it, they are now all vassals of the Han lords, with their own titles and fiefs, and they still manage their own people, but they still hold the Han Dynasty's Yulu, especially when they trade and cooperate with Han merchants, open mines and build workshops, and cooperate in animal husbandry. ”

Gushi Khan glanced at his son disdainfully, "The Mongols are no longer nomadic, they are divided into grasslands and fixed in one place. They no longer hunted nomadically, but began to build castles, mines, and workshops, and the Mongolian nobles no longer rode horses and archery, but wore silk all day long, and talked about gold and silver trading, do you think they are still Mongols? ”

"I don't think it's a good thing, running around all day long, fighting and killing, and even drinking blood, is this kind of life a Mongolian? I don't think so, is it wrong to live a better life? Wouldn't it be good that young warriors don't have to die early on the battlefield? Father, you are old, your concepts are backward, and no one wants to live such a hard life all the time. ”

Tulubaihu felt that he and his son could not talk at all, that these young people had been completely affected by another life.

After another glass of wine, he let out a long sigh, his eyes swept over his sons, and finally he said, "I can order them to lay down their arms, or I can hand over the power of Wu Sizang to you, but there is one thing, you must let us go." ”

"You're leaving?"

Gu Shi Khan nodded, "I can't control your thoughts, and I won't stop you from descending to Han, but you can live the life you want." However, I don't want to kneel and bend the knee to that young Han Emperor. ”

"Okay, you can leave if you want, but people can't take it away." Ilduqi replied, "Also, neither of the fifth master and apprentice can leave. ”

"No, they have to come with me."

"No way." Dorji said toughly. He was well aware of the influence of the two masters and apprentices in Tibet, as well as their influence on the Mongols. If they leave, they will raise their arms in the Western Regions at that time, and if they don't do it, the Tibetan area will be in turmoil.

Qamdo, the intersection of Qinghai, Wusizang and Xikang provinces.

The 20,000 soldiers and horses led by Zhang Huangyan have already left Qinghai and entered Xikang, where he will rest and resupply before entering Tibet.

After leaving Qamdo, Zhang Huangyan had two routes to enter Tibet and march into Lhasa, one was the northern route, Qamdo to Nagqu and then to Lhasa, and the other was Qamdo to Jiaomuzong and then to Lhasa.

Zhang Huangyan's troops are not many, and it is not suitable for two ways to march troops, so he must choose one way.

"My subordinates think that we should choose the southern road, so that we can still get close to the army in southern Tibet. Echo each other and greatly increase our strength. If we can meet the northward march of the troops and horses of southern Tibet and the two armies converge, then our forces will be doubled and our chances of victory will be greater. The chief of staff of the division suggested to Zhang Huangyan.

"The soldiers and horses of southern Tibet may not listen to us." Zhang Huang said.

"That's okay, at least he's also a soldier of the imperial court, we're close to them, whether they send troops or not, at least it's a backup, we're no longer alone. In the unlikely event that the battle is really unfavorable, we may be able to retreat to southern Tibet to rest and recuperate. ”

For the chief of staff, the cunning rabbit has three holes, and a qualified chief of staff, every time he formulates an operational plan, he must have three sets of plans, in addition to the main plan, there must be a backup plan, and a rescue compensation plan must be prepared in case the combat plan fails.

"Report!"

"Report to the division, a group of Mongolians came from outside the camp, saying that they had something important to ask to see the division."

"Mongols, do you want to protest or reprimand?" The chief of staff smiled, "I'm too lazy to see him, so I just say that the division seat is not available." ”

Zhang Huangyan thought for a while, and stopped the guards who were going to pass the word, "Wait, you still ask them what they mean, if they really come to protest, I will be gone, if there is something important, it doesn't hurt to see it." ”

Soon after, the guards returned and brought back news that surprised everyone in the division, that Lhasa had mutinied, that the five sons of Gushi Khan had taken control of Lhasa, and that they were now inviting the Han army into Tibet.

"There must be a fraud in this."

The deputy division commander immediately spoke out, and he thought it was a fraud.

"I guess they've set up an ambush."

When everyone first heard the news, they basically didn't believe it. How can there be such a thing, the son of Gushi Khan mutinied? What are they trying to do?

While speculating, someone outside the door came to report again.

"Someone outside the camp claimed to be Jinyiwei and said that there was a military report about Lhasa."

"Master, I've verified my identity, it's indeed Jinyiwei."

Zhang Huangyan nodded, "Invite someone over." ”

The arrival of Jinyiwei sent detailed information about Lhasa, and after reading this information, Zhang Huangyan and the others were silent for a while. They also found it a little hard to believe the news, it was too hard to digest.

The Lhasa mutiny was actually true, Gushi Khan capsized in the gutter, this old guy was ready to send troops to the south to conquer southern Tibet, but before the army, the five sons born to his second concubine suddenly mutinied, killed the eldest son and second son of Gushi Khan, and put Gushi Khan and the fourth and fifth kings and Diba under house arrest.

"Are you saying that now these five mutinous sons of Gushi Khan have taken full control of Lhasa?"

"That's right, Gushi Khan and the others have already made their men lay down their arms." Jin Yiwei nodded.

The division headquarters immediately erupted in cheers, which was really unexpected.

"Great, now we just happened to enter Tibet and take over smoothly."

At this time, the brocade guard said, "However, according to my estimate, Gushi Khan's son may let Gushi Khan leave, but the fifth master and apprentice may be left behind." ”

Zhang Huangyan didn't care about these small details at this time, "It doesn't matter if the old dog of Tulubaihu runs away, as long as the Heshuo Special Department is lowered, he won't be able to make any waves." But the fourth and fifth generations remained, which is very important. In my opinion, without further ado, we should immediately go into Tibet, so as not to have many dreams at night and any more accidents. ”

"Yes, yes, yes, go into Tibet immediately, and take over first." The chief of staff and others also fully agreed.

Zhang Huangyan thought for a while, and then said, "In my opinion, we will march on the northern line, notify the southern Tibetan army, and let them go north, so that we will march to Lhasa on two routes, and just take over the north and south lines all the way." ”

"I agree." The chief of staff also agreed with this plan, anyway, now that Wu Sizang has descended, it doesn't matter which way he goes.

To the south of the eastern section of the Himalayas, here are also the later Sikkim, Bhutan, southern Tibet and other places, at this time, they are collectively referred to as southern Tibet, divided into Zheyu, Zhuyu, Menyu, Luoyu and other places.

The main domain was later the Kingdom of Bhutan, but at this time, they were in opposition to the Gelug sect, and they continued to resist the Gelug faction and eventually established their own kingdom, and in the 19th century, they finally became a vassal of Lhasa. However, some changes have taken place in this era.

The Gelug sect invited the Mongols and the Shute tribes to enter Tibet, defeated the other sects and the secular aristocratic alliance, and took control of Tibet. These failed sects and nobles retreated into southern Tibet.

In the end, the large and small kingdoms and princely states of southern Tibet, such as the main domain and Zheyu, finally united together and became the Tibetan government, which was nominally subordinate to Wusi Tibetan Province, but was actually managed by Xikang Province of the Great Han. The Han Dynasty sent officials, military attachés, instructors, weapons, and soldiers.

In the past two years, an elite team of soldiers and horses has been trained.

The purpose of this army is mainly to cooperate with the imperial court and the Han to enter Tibet one day. In addition, there was another purpose, which was to expand southward, and eventually connect Sichuan, Yunnan and other places with the imperial court.

Zheyu, the main domain and other places are now also called Zheyu County and the main domain county.

The prefect of Southern Tibetan Province is Gu Yanwu, a former senator of the Senate. And the garrison here is also a division, which is served by General Ma Wannianyou, the grandson of Qin Liangyu, a generation of heroines.

Although Ma Wannian is Qin Liangyu's grandson, his grandmother is a heroine, and she was awarded the rank of general long before her retirement, and she was also a marquis, and served as a governor. Ma Wannian's father, Ma Xianglin, is now also a general in the army, but Ma Wannian's ability to sit in today's position does not depend entirely on his background, he was already the garrison of White Emperor City when Liu Jun first served as the commander-in-chief of Yunyang. Over the years, it has been step by step, all by virtue of his own military exploits, that he has today's position.

In fact, if it weren't for his grandmother and father deliberately trying to suppress him, he would have become a senior general at the general level.

In Luoyu County, Ma Wannian and Gu Yanwu discussed together.

The Han army gained a foothold in southern Tibet, quickly unified the various departments, and now southern Tibet has been the same as Mobei and other places, the imperial court canonized the princes of the princely states here, divided the territory for them, and gave them the title grade, but at the same time the imperial court also set up a county here. One place, two sets of teams, the imperial court reserved a lot of rights for the princely states, but at the same time, the imperial court also rapidly expanded its control here.

Today, all parts of Shannan are basically under the leadership of the southern Tibetan government, and even under the tough leadership of Ma Wannian, a young man in the army, the garrison in southern Tibet has continued to use troops to the south, and has expanded southward to the north bank of the Brahmaputra River.

The Brahmaputra River crosses the Himalayas, flows through Luoyu County to the south of the mountain, and then turns westward, until it reaches the confluence of the Manas River in the main county, and the large plain area on the north bank of the section of the river about 1,000 miles away has now been captured by Ma Wannian in the process of actual combat drills again and again.

For this reason, the southern Tibetan army led by Ma Wannian did not fight with the original landlord Ahaoma Dynasty.

Historically, this area between China, Burma, India, and Bengal was also full of princely states and kingdoms. After his trip, there was the Mongol kingdom of Donghui, the medieval kingdom of Gamo, which, at its peak, ruled over a vast area from Nanlu in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal.

Later, the kingdom was in turmoil, and the Dai people in the northeastern part of Myanmar and Yunnan in China crossed the eastern mountains of Assam and conquered the tribes of the Gamo Wibo Kingdom, ending the long-term war and establishing the Ahom Dynasty, known as the Ahom Kingdom in history.

The Ahom people rose up and occupied the northeast of India in later generations, and after that, the Mughal dynasty in northern India arose, and the two tigers competed, and the Mughals continued to raise troops to fight, and the two sides fought endlessly, but each time the Ahom people repelled the Mughal army.

However, at this time, the strength of the Ahom people was also greatly reduced in the continuous campaign, and Ma Wannian suddenly killed from the north, which also dealt a heavy blow to Ahom.

Especially when the Han army finally destroyed the Burmese Donghu Dynasty in the east of the Naga Mountains, the Han army began to cross the Naga Mountains from the east of Burma and march westward, echoing with the Mawannian Tibetan army in the north, making the Ahom Kingdom fall into a situation of fighting on three sides, defending both the Mughals and the Han Dynasty.

As a result, Ma Wannian successfully occupied the Qianli Riverside Plain on the north bank of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Shannan.

However, Ma Wannian was not satisfied with this, he was still planning to join forces with the Han army in Burma, and then annex the salient of Ahom between southern Tibet and Burma.

As a result, after the occupation of this plain, there is only one Naga mountain range left between southern Tibet province and Myanmar province. As long as a large road is built in the mountains, then this plain in the south of the mountain can be connected to the Chindun River plain in Myanmar. In the southeast, you can directly connect to the Guizhou-Yunnan-Burma Highway and connect to Menggong, so it is equivalent to connecting the Guizhou-Yunnan-Burma Highway, which can go directly to Kunming and Guiyang.

With this road, southern Tibet is no longer an enclave in the south of the lonely mountain, and even the entire Wusi Tibet region is no longer far away, and it will not only be possible to enter Tibet from Gansu through Qinghai, or from Sichuan to cross the Daxue Mountain through Xikang to enter Tibet, and then there will be a road from Yunnan to Tibet.

The most important thing is that whether it is through Qinghai or Xikang into Tibet, all the way is a plateau area, and it is remote and difficult to supply. But the route to the south is different, the Burmese region is all plains, a few mountainous areas, and the north bank of the mountains is also plains, which can be replenished.

Even in the future, the imperial court can use the output of northern Burma and the southern Tibetan plain to directly supply Wusi Zang, with these sufficient materials and convenient passages, the imperial court can send more troops to station on that roof of the world.

However, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to overturn the kingdom of Ahom, or at least to convince them, so that they can honestly cede the northern region, so that the Han can build a road over the Naga Mountains here.

Ma Wannian tapped his finger on the northeast corner and said with a smile, "Once this highway is built, it will no longer be an enclave, although the mountains over there are dangerous, it is only more than 200 miles to cross this road, which is much easier than the Guizhou-Yunnan-Burma Highway." When the road is completed, the imperial court will be able to send a steady stream of soldiers and horses and transport supplies, and at that time, it will be able to destroy Ahom in one fell swoop and occupy the fertile plain between the Himalayas and the Naga Mountains. ”

As he spoke, his eyes also looked further south of the sand table, where there are many princely states, Bengal in the south, and Mughal in the west, all of which are good places for a flat river, especially Bengal, if you can conquer Bengal, you can have an outlet to the sea. At that time, sea ships could sail directly from the mouth of Bengal and sail north against the Brahmaputra River to Akhom, and with the Empire's powerful navy joining, the Empire's control over this land would be more secure. (To be continued.) )