Tanggula Mountain, from west to east, traverses between Tubo and Yangtong Subi.

The mountains are high and undulating, with only one road in between.

Even if Li Xuan had a way to take Subi and Yangtong, Tanggula Mountain was still an insurmountable obstacle.

"The minister once personally went to Tanggula Town to investigate, the mountain road is enough to the south for two hundred miles, the mountain road is tortuous, the mountain road is difficult to walk, if you want to take it completely, it is extremely difficult, if you don't want to sacrifice human lives to pile up, then there is only one way." Li Xuan looked up at the emperor and arched his hand and said, "The method of expulsion." ”

Before the emperor could figure it out, Pei Xingjian on the side had already spoken: "It's just a trick to cheat the pass, even if you can win one or two levels, it is difficult to win the entire mountain road, and the strategy is not enough." ”

"That's all." Li Xuan turned to look at Pei Xingjian, and said seriously: "If the DPRK gives 50,000 elites, piles up the front line, regardless of casualties, and adds oil, it will definitely be able to take down the entire mountain road, but after taking it, these 50,000 elites, I'm afraid that half of the death will not be left, Wenxi County Gong, is this feasible?" ”

"Nope." Li Zhi waved his hand directly and said: "The Turks in the north are uneasy, in the battle next year, what I can give, in addition to the original 10,000 or so guards, there are also 5,000 main forces of the right leading guards, with the right leading guard general Hei Ya Changzhi as the general."

In the other rear, Li Jinxing, the general of the right leading army, sat in Changzhou, commanded 5,000 right leading guards, 5,000 right guards, transporting grain and grass, and the other departments were located in Lanzhou to guard against the Turks. ”

To the northwest of Lanzhou, there are Ganliang Prefectures.

The Turks are uneasy and are likely to directly start a war in the entire northern Xinjiang, and it is very likely that troops will need to be transferred from Lanzhou at that time.

Originally, Li Jinxing, the general of the right leading army, was one of the original considerations to march into the army, but the current situation is not suitable for the full movement of the army.

"The attack on Tubo is a matter of the year after tomorrow." Empress Wu spoke on the side, looked at Li Xuan, and asked, "King Nanchang, next year's situation, how much grain and grass in Changzhou can support the front line." ”

"Returning to the Queen." Li Xuan seriously bowed his hand, and then said: "Changzhou is ripe this year, if there is no war, Changzhou can fully support the army's grain and grass, and at the same time can accept the two thousand displaced people in the DPRK and China, but once the war starts, the army's grain and grass consumption will double, and I am afraid it can only support five thousand cavalry, and even the further forward, the more it will be consumed." ”

Empress Wu nodded gently, there have been many wars in the past few years, and Empress Wu has also calculated these things in his heart, and this number is correct.

"You have grabbed a batch of gold from Qamdo this year, and that gold has already been purchased and will be sent to the front next year, there is no doubt about it, but after taking Qamdo, I am afraid there will not be much gain.

The war in the coming year still depends on the consumption of the savings of previous years, and if it is not possible to quickly take Tanggula Mountain, the logistics will not be able to support it after all. Empress Wu looked at Li Xuan deeply.

Li Xuan arched his hand, and then said solemnly: "Queen of Heaven, after taking Tanggula Mountain, you must not be in a hurry, within the mountain road, if I am stable, the enemy is in a hurry, and if I am in a hurry, the enemy is stable, the terrain is limited, and there is very little to play, so I can only compete with patience." ”

After a slight pause, Li Xuan arched his hand and said: "As for the consumption of military funds, it can be alleviated from two sides: first, after taking Subi, some of the wealth that cannot be moved away in Subi will be sold in the Central Plains; The second is to withdraw part of the troops after the front line is stabilized, defend in the land of Subi, Tongtian River, and Maduo, reduce the consumption of grain and grass, and then move forward in turns, so that you can take Tanggula Mountain at the minimum cost. ”

"In the final analysis, it still depends on the changes in the hearts of the people in Tubo when the army oppressed Tanggula Mountain." Li Zhi turned his head, looked at Yuan Ming, and asked, "Yuan Qing, the Tubo monarchs and ministers should have considered the situation after the loss of Subi and the loss of Yangtong, how will the changes between them be?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister can not have much contact, the minister's aunt speaks in vain, and Your Majesty's aunt listens to it." Yuan Ming's expression was restrained, and then he said seriously: "The ministers are in Luo, and the most contact is with ordinary people, and the people of Luo don't care much about Subi Yangtong, so when they learned that Subi was entered by Nanchang, although they were worried, it was only that. ”

"It's like the people of Chang'an, who lost to Baekje." Li Zhi himself said the same thing.

All the ministers present were terrified at the same time: "Your Majesty! ”

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Yuanqing, you continue." ”

"Yes!" Yuan Ming continued to speak, and said: "Most of the ordinary nobles and ordinary officials, although they are more worried, they believe in the Qinling Tomb more, after all, the prestige of the Qinling Tomb is enough.

Further up, middle-level nobles and officials know more, the battle of Dafeichuan, the battle of Qamdo, the king of Nanchang sent troops out of the ghostly, unpredictable, they are very worried.

When there is an accident, it is like a frightened bird.

The rest are the royal family and the upper echelons, and what they do more is to transfer troops. ”

Li Zhi nodded lightly and said, "They are afraid, but at the same time, they are also confident that they can defend Tanggula Mountain." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Yuan Ming bowed down and continued: "In the whole of Tibet, the further north you go, the more panicked the people's hearts become, but the more the army is, the more south, the more stable the people's hearts are, but it is the land of Zhangxiong in the west, which is unexpectedly quiet. ”

"Elephant Hung, Elephant Hung." Li Zhi turned his head to look at Li Xuan and asked, "King Nanchang, do you have any ideas?" ”

"There's a bit of a vague idea." Li Xuan arched his hand, thought about it and said, "Zhangxiong can contact the rebellion and create a little more momentum...... But the minister felt that there were still some shortcomings. ”

"You go on." Li Zhi saw that Li Xuan was thinking, waved his hand, and motioned for others not to disturb him.

Li Xuan bowed his head slightly and said: "In some cities, ordinary people don't care, the bottom believes in the Qinling, the top has its own army, and only the middle level is anxious, but this is not enough, we need to make more people worried, we need to make a bigger noise, and make them more ...... No, there's no need to panic, just discuss. ”

Li Xuan suddenly raised his head, looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, can you send someone to contact the land of Zhangxiong and promise them that once they destroy Tubo, then I will promise them to restore the country, but there is one request." ”

"Speak!" Li Zhi stared at Li Xuan with blazing eyes.

"Let them raise the banner of the minister, or rather, put the soldiers of Zhangxiong under the command of the minister, and act in the name of the right guard." Li Xuan looked at the emperor, although he was looking at the emperor, his eyes were a little fluttering.

"Go on."

"Yes!" Li Xuan arched his hand and spoke again: "Zhangxiong alone is not enough, Subi and Yangtong need to hang the military flags of ministers and other ministers, and then let Queen Subi and King Yangtong send envoys to enter Luo on a large scale, and ask the Tubo people to return the gold and materials that have been looted from Subi and Yangtong over the years, and make the momentum bigger." ”

"You want to cause a greater repercussion in Luo, and then let the Tubo lord be in the same vein and order the Qinling to send troops from Tanggula Mountain." Pei Xingjian immediately understood what Li Xuan meant, but then shook his head and said: "It's not enough, this is not enough, to talk about Qinling's momentum in Tubo, it is enough to suppress everything." ”

Li Xuan's expression suddenly became cautious, and he seemed to be a little hesitant.

"Does the king of Nanchang have any other plans?" Pei Xingjian immediately saw through Li Xuan's thoughts.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked at Li Zhi, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, the minister has a way to take risks. ”

"It's all like this, just say what you have to say, don't spit it out." Li Zhi smiled very easily.

In fact, this kind of army conquest, what I am afraid of is that there is no strategy, as long as there is a strategy, the rest is just the modification of good and evil.

"The minister wants to ...... I wanted Your Majesty to issue a holy decree to reprimand the Tubo lord for his sins over the years, but the words should be written sarcastically and harshly, and finally the angry Tubo lord was angry, and rushed to Tanggula Mountain to fight a decisive battle with the ministers. Li Xuan gave up his hand seriously.

"It's not difficult, but why are you hesitating?" Li Zhi looked at Li Xuan with some puzzlement.

Li Xuan seriously bowed his hand, and then said: "Your Majesty, the minister is really worried that once this strategy fails, then our army may not be able to endure for a long time, and we must send troops." ”

"You can do it again in late fall." Pei Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Li Zhi, and arched his hand: "If other strategies don't work, then you can do this strategy again in late autumn, even if the strategy doesn't work, if you attack once, under the cold and freezing, it is common for the guards to recover." ”

"But this year's grain and grass will be empty, and even the morale of our army will be affected." Li Xuan's expression brought a hint of worry.

Pei Xingjian smiled, looked up at the emperor, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the king of Nanchang is worried that someone in the court will attack him because of this, so he is worried." ”

"As long as there are no major losses and no defeats in the army, I will not hold you accountable." Li Zhi waved his hand absently.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Xuan's expression relaxed, and then said: "Now that Su Bi has not yet fallen, and the sheep have not yet arrived, if you want to attack the Tanggula Pass, there is still a year to go, please ask Your Majesty to let the ministers think more carefully, and there will inevitably be a more detailed military strategy." ”

"Yes, at least until the year after that!" Li Zhi sighed lightly and said, "Take your time, after a year, who knows what the time and place will be." ”

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed deeply.

"Alright, that's all for today." Li Zhi waved his hand and said: "The battle of Tubo, for the time being, our army has the advantage, so there is no need to be too anxious for the time being." ”

"Yes." The ministers in the palace gave up their hands at the same time.

Li Zhi's eyes fell on Yuan Ming, nodded, and said: "Yuan Qing will rest for the time being, and there will be a reward for the affairs of the Zhengdan Dynasty, and I hope that Qing will do his best in the court." ”

"Your Majesty, thank you, you will definitely die in your heart." Yuan Ming bowed solemnly.

Li Zhi waved his hand.

"The ministers are leaving." Everyone bowed their hands at the same time, and then slowly withdrew from the Zichen Palace.

……

Watching the ministers retreat, Li Zhi turned his head to look at Empress Wu and asked in a low voice, "Mei Niang, I always feel that there is something I have overlooked?" ”

"Yes." Empress Wu smiled and said: "Your Majesty's holy decree is sent to Tanggula Mountain, who will pass the decree, who will send it, the king of Nanchang is worried about this." ”

"He is worried about the impact of the DPRK and China on the front line." Li Zhi finally understood.

"Historically, the army has been on expeditions, and what the front-line generals are most worried about is gossip from the rear." Empress Wu sighed lightly and said, "With more troops in his hands, the King of Nanchang has also begun to be cautious. ”

"It's good to be cautious." The emperor smiled, and then said: "I still remember that he swore in front of me that he would definitely take some Luo for me, how can he suffer now......

Speaking of this, Li Zhi suddenly fell silent and said softly: "He is worried that he is not fast enough, and he is afraid that he is too fast." ”

Empress Wu sat aside, not knowing what to say.

At this moment, a rush of footsteps sounded.

The Emperor looked up.

(End of chapter)