The Yellow River has a huge height difference not far from the southwest of Lanzhou, which is indescribably steep.

In Fang Chongyong's previous life, the state built a hydroelectric power station there, also known as "Liujiaxia Reservoir". It has the functions of power generation, flood control, irrigation, and water storage, and is a very important infrastructure in Northwest China.

The Yellow River continues eastward from the location of the Liujiaxia Reservoir and divides off into a tributary called "Taoshui", which goes southeast. Since then, Taoshui has parted ways with the Yellow River, which is heading northeast to Lanzhou.

Both sides of Taoshui are the terrain of the Grand Canyon, but the width of the coast ranging from a few kilometers to more than ten kilometers is a plain, which is enough to settle down. More than 100 kilometers southeast of Liujiaxia Reservoir is where Datang's Linzhou is located.

It is also the Lintao County of Fang Chongyong's previous life.

However, at this time, it is not called Linzhou, and if there is no Anshi Rebellion, it will probably not be called Linzhou in the future.

For the time being, this is only Didao County, the economic center of southern Lanzhou. However, Didao County is the county of Longxi County since ancient times, and Jincheng, that is, Lanzhou City, only became a state in the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, today's administrative divisions have changed beyond recognition, not that the ancients before the Tang Dynasty liked to be demons, but with the Sui and Tang dynasties constantly opening up in the northwest, the old political pattern has not been able to keep up with the changes in the new situation, and the changes in administrative divisions are just advancing with the times.

More than ten miles east of Didao County, there is a post station of not small scale, which was converted from a military camp. Not far from a stronghold of the Tang army on a nearby high mountain, the post station is called: Wujie Station.

And this mountain is called "Gaochengling", and the next mountain is the martial step station. Gaochengling is similar to a border checkpoint, with dozens of defenders, but the location is very important, and pedestrians passing through here will be strictly inspected by Qiu Ba, who is on duty, for goods and customs clearance documents.

Next to the west of Gaochengling, it is a small market town with Wujieyi as the core, and it has a well-known name: Longmen Town!

forts; Post; Passing through this place, there are merchants and officials who come and go endlessly, as well as a market town called "Longmen Town". In front of the Wujie Post Gate, Fang Chongyong was in a trance, wondering if he had crossed into the movie.

In his memory, the "New Dragon Gate Inn" filmed by Tsui Hark back then was quite good-looking.

Fang Chongyong took out the map of the post road and looked at it repeatedly, and then found that these place names were written on the map in a grand manner, and then realized that everything was just a coincidence.

"Why don't you go into the station?"

He Changqi and the others all entered the post station to pack up, Pei Xiu saw Fang Chongyong standing outside the post station in a daze, and asked suspiciously.

"The sword has no eyes, and the rivers and lakes are far away; Heroes are short of breath, and children are long. ”

Fang Chongyong replied unintentionally, he didn't know what he was talking about at all.

The place names along the way made Fang Chongyong deeply uneasy. Because the names of places in ancient times, the reason why they were called were often very proven, and they were often related to war. A name may be a footnote to a major war.

For example, the "Di Dao" they are about to arrive, the general reference of the Northwest Zhuhu of Di Zhe, what Di Dao means is needless to say. In addition, the places where they passed through the "Fuqiang Valley" and "Anrong Pass" and other historical books are also named because of the war.

It is enough to show that the place where they are staying now is far from being as safe as imagined.

"Eh, your four sentences are good, although the words are not meaningful, but they feel catchy."

Pei Xiu couldn't help but admire, in her impression, Fang Chongyong was a powerful Qiu Ba, but she didn't expect that a dog could spit out ivory from his mouth.

"This is already the border town, just don't run around."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand indifferently, just as if he hadn't heard Pei Xiu's words.

The group sat down in the canteen of Wujieyi, and the post guard brought up Hu cakes, mutton, mutton soup and other meals, and was just about to retreat, Fang Chongyong hurriedly stopped him for questioning.

"Will there be a sneak attack from the Tibetans here?"

Fang Chongyong asked in a low voice.

If it weren't for the red official robe he was wearing, the post guard would almost have scolded his mother.

"Back to the official, how can it be, there has been no big war in Didao County for decades.

But back then, it was a terrible fight, and tens of thousands of people died.

At that time, Wujieyi was still the barracks of the Tang Army.

The battlefield was in the long castle not far north of Didao County, where General Wang Haibin Wang dragged several times the number of Tibetans. Several Tang armies surrounded and annihilated tens of thousands of Tibetans in the valley.

In this battle, a total of 20,000 heads of the Tibetan army were captured, 80,000 war horses were captured, and a total of 40,000 cattle and sheep were collected from Tibet.

However, General Wang Haibin died on the battlefield, which is a pity. ”

This post guard is a "military fan", and he tells the story of the war that took place near the Wujie Post decades ago, as if he was there in person.

As soon as he heard the words "Wang Haibin", Fang Chongyong suddenly became interested, because this person was not only Wang Zhonghe's father, but also because of this battle, Wang Zhongsi had the opportunity to be adopted by Li Longji in the palace and get the best education.

Unexpectedly, the battlefield of that year was actually nearby, and Wang Haibin was a military rank post back then!

Except for this post man, everyone present unconsciously looked at Fang Chongyong, after all, they all knew that Fang Chongyong was Wang Zhonghe's son-in-law, and Wang Zhongsi was Wang Haibin's son.

When this Fang Yanei heard the glorious achievements of his father-in-law and father back then, he couldn't help but feel some strange waves in his heart.

"Come on, come on, sit down and talk well, there's a reward."

Fang Chongyong touched more than a dozen Kaiyuan Tongbao from his cuffs, handed them to the post guard and said.

"Huh? Good, good, good. ”

The postman was overjoyed, saying that there were more than a dozen pennies to be taken for a few jokes, and this kind of good thing was really rare for people like them, who served the nobles before and after the saddle. The nobles of the Tang Dynasty did not treat their subordinates like "brothers" as they said in some film and television dramas.

It is recorded in the history books that once, a servant stole the salt of a certain magnate, and was directly killed by the magnate after the matter was revealed.

How much is a little salt?

In these years, the thinking of the powerful is so straightforward, and they like to solve problems in a physical way, which is unpretentious.

At this moment, the post guard of Wujieyi deeply felt that it was rare for a landlord like Fang Chongyong to be a fool.

"A few decades ago, let alone Wujieyi, even Weizhou, further east, was the target of a sneak attack by the Tubo people. At that time, the cavalry of the Tubo people was elusive, and we could only stick to a few county towns, and there was nothing we could do about the Tubo people. ”

The post guard began to talk about the military pressure faced by Longyou in the early years of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, and summarized it in one sentence: The people are in panic all day!

At that time, because of the rise of Tibet, the Tang army was beaten by the famous Tubo general Lun Qinling, so the Longyou region was in a state of extreme lack of elite soldiers. In the early years of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the Tubo army was on the offensive, and the military situation in Longyou was much worse than that in the Tianbao period.

The Wujie Post where Fang Chongyong is now is located was the front line at that time, and the place west of the Wujie Post was not absolutely safe, all of them were within the attack range of the Tubo people! Later, the Tang army gradually advanced the battle line to the place near Qinghai Lake through a major battle once every few years.

In the years before Wu Zhou, Datang's control over this area was very weak. It belongs to the state of "you say it's yours, that's yours, but we only look at who has the big fist", which belongs to the pure map development.

Now Datang's actual control of this territory has one thing to say, which is indeed the merit of Brother Ji, and of course, this is also Brother Ji's political burden. During the Wu Zhou period, there were many concessions to Tubo in Longyou, but Ji Ge could not retreat a single step.

If you get beaten, you have to get the field back!

This piece of land was firmly controlled by Datang during the Kaiyuan period. So Brother Ji will not let the Tubo people take it away anyway, this is Brother Ji's merit book, if he loses it, the political impact will be extremely bad.

In other words, no matter whether this piece of land on the border of Longyou is chicken ribs, fat meat, or even a barren land, as long as Brother Ji is still the emperor, Datang will do his best to defend it.

The battle between the Tang army and the Tibetans, as long as the Tang regime is still there, then the life-and-death struggle will continue, unless the Tibetans are willing to retreat to the plateau and eat stones honestly.

Thinking of the fierce competition between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo over Shibao City in history, it has almost reached the point of disregarding casualties and the strength of the whole country. If you think about it carefully, there is some meaning of the battle of wills.

After the Tubo people succeeded in the sneak attack on Shibao City, the following year they were served as the envoy of the Longyou Jiedu Huangfu Weiming, and they were beaten so that they could not take care of themselves and lost their troops.

The city of Stone Castle did not give the Tibetans an absolute strategic advantage.

After Ge Shuhan recaptured Shibao City regardless of casualties, the Tang army did not achieve an absolute strategic advantage over Tibet, and before the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, the defeat that should have been eaten was still eaten.

The competition between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo in the Hexi region is for control of the Silk Road; The competition for the Longyou region is for the national fortune and for one breath.

However, from another point of view, since this place was captured under the strong promotion of Brother Ji, it is a specific manifestation of the peak of Datang's national strength. So is it possible that in the future, due to the weakening of the national strength of the Tang Dynasty, Longyou will fall back into the hands of Tubo or some emerging grassland forces?

Thinking of this, Fang Chongyong didn't want to continue pondering, and the follow-up to the Anshi Rebellion had already given the answer.

He just didn't know if this place would have been able to hold if it hadn't been for the Anshi Rebellion. Because judging from what I saw and heard along the way, it is difficult for Datang to hold all the territory, and the manpower and material resources that need to be spent are incalculable, and it is completely losing money.

It is already very good to be able to keep Lanzhou and the Silk Road.

Overall, the outlook is worrying.

After sending away the post guards, Fang Chongyong said to the group: "Judge Cen and Pei Xiu will stay at the post station, and the others will go to the long castle in the north of Didao County with a certain person. ”

Going to the Long Castle?

Hearing this, Guan Chongsi asked suspiciously: "Fang Yushi, the Long Castle was destroyed in the war and was not rebuilt after the war, it is just a ruin, what is there to see?" ”

He got to the point.

To put it bluntly, that valley is now a wilderness, and there is not even a garrison, what does Fang Chongyong want to see?

Fang Chongyong waved his hand and said, "Didao County is the fork of the post road. To the north is Lanzhou, where the Long Castle is in the valley next to the post road. And continue to the west is to go to Shanzhou, the station of the Longyou Jiedu envoy.

If we miss this stop, we won't be able to go there in the future. Anyway, being idle is idle, so it's better to see. ”

Fang Chongyong understands very well that since he came to this world, he has been able to live well from the age of eight or nine to the present, not all because of God's blessing, nor because his father is Fang Youde.

It's that Fang Yanei himself always maintains the vigilant thinking of "harming the people" on weekdays, and always keeps a way out and prepares with both hands.

If you are prepared, you will not be in trouble, and it is a very simple and easy-to-understand truth. Maybe the preparation before it will save your life at some point in the future.

In the past, the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo people fought on the battlefield, do you know if the two armies will fight again here in the future? had the opportunity to look at the "test papers" of the last "exam", and Fang Chongyong, as a questioner in a small town, of course couldn't miss such a good opportunity.

……

The Tang Dynasty post station system had strict requirements for the date of officials on the road, and there was absolutely no delay in time, and there were clear requirements for when to arrive at what post station.

In particular, officials departing from Chang'an must apply for a "travel guide" at the Duting Station in Chang'an City, which specifically includes the official's identity certificate and travel itinerary.

However, on the whole, the so-called "strictness" is only to prevent officials from fishing on the road, and there is more time to spare. In fact, there was no restriction on the travel of officials in the past, but since some officials stayed at the post station for a month and refused to leave, the rules have gradually become stricter.

Fang Chongyong and his entourage took a look on the way to Shanzhou, and they were not in a hurry. However, the "envoy" sent by the palace rushed forward at a speed of more than 300 miles a day, changing horses and sprinting at the post station like meteors.

So when this eunuch named Bian Lingcheng rushed to Shanzhou with the appointment letter of the queen of Longyou Jiedu, Fang Chongyong himself was still wandering around Yanquan City (Linxia County) in Hezhou, that is, the station of the Zhenxi Army, and hurried slowly.

In the Yamen hall of the Longyou Jiedu Mansion in Shanzhou City, the military envoys under the command of the Longyou Jiedu gathered together for a meeting, and the sickly old general Du Hope looked helplessly at Bian Lingcheng, who was also dumbfounded, and didn't know what to say.

"That Fang Yushi, didn't you really come to Longyou?"

Bian Lingcheng asked cautiously, secretly screaming in his heart, he just wanted to go back quickly, and he didn't want to stay in Longyou at all.

"Ahem, ahem."

Du Hope coughed a few times, then sighed and said: "Longyou is very big, Fang Chongyong may have arrived in Longyou, but he definitely didn't come to Shanzhou, let alone Shanzhou City." Where is it, you have to go to the various post stations in Longyou to ask. ”

Now that someone in Tubo wants to come to Toucheng, Du Hope has been anxious, where can he take care of the little radish of Chongyong above!

Hearing Bian Lingcheng's appointment, many of the generals of the Longyou Army present were all unconscious, who will be the queen of the Longyou Festival, and it will be their bird business!

Only at this moment, Gai Jiayun, who is serving as the side general of Longyou Jiedu, is extremely unhappy.

Originally, Du wanted to be seriously ill, and he was about to be transferred or simply die in office. And now the Tibetan people are very ambitious, and they may want to do things at any time. In order to make the Longyou army more adaptable to the upcoming battle. It is a natural thing to let the successor succeed the festival.

When the time comes, we will win a battle, and then submit the credit book, and it is very likely that we will "turn positive" after staying.

What's the matter with this Fang Chongyong? People arrived first before they reached official positions?

Damn, he can serve as the queen without any merit, is it just because his father is virtuous?

The young and vigorous Gai Jiayun didn't think that his ability was not enough, he thought that he was probably because his father was not as powerful as other people's families.

It's just that the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty is a world of fighting for fathers, and Gai Jiayun seems to have nothing to say now, and it is even more impossible to oppose the appointment of the imperial court.

It's just a matter of staying behind, and the festival can only play a role when it's gone, and it's nothing great. The emperor took away the post he had left behind, whether it was public or private, and there seemed to be no problem.

Unlike outsiders' speculation, in the Tang Dynasty, the threshold for serving as an official after leaving behind was actually not high, because not every person who stayed behind could "turn positive" and become a festival envoy.

Not to mention Fang Chongyong, even if it is a civil official, there are many people who stay behind.

For example, Cen Shen wrote in "Sending Zhang Langzhong to Longyou to the Provincial Qinggong (when Zhang Qinggong was also full of festivals to stay behind)":

Zhonglang Feng is a hair, the only virtuous man in the world. The weak crown has been silver-sealed, and he was born with a Villeroy knife.

The family is also young, and the stars are high. I know a lot of people under the scenes, and I am drunk and lazy while reading.

Although this poem is Cen Shen's ass in the filming of Zhang Langzhong, Zhang Langzhong here is the queen of Longyoujiedu, and his original official position is not a big official.

"Du Jieshuai, what should I do now?"

Bian Lingcheng asked with a clear pretense of confusion.

If you don't stay in the new future, then continue to stay in front of the current one, what else can you do!

The unspoken rule is like this, but Ling Cheng can't say this, he said that he has to take responsibility!

At this moment, a herald hurriedly rushed in and shouted at Du Hope and the generals: "Du Jieshuai, generals, the big thing is not good, the Anren army has mutinied!" Now the Anren Army camp is empty! The soldier doesn't know where to run! ”

At this moment, Ge Shuhan, the envoy of the Anren Army, who was holding a meeting in the lobby, suddenly looked stunned, and found that everyone was looking at him in unison.

For Goshuhan, the situation has now become complicated.

The good news is that this time the People's Army mutinied, and he seems to have cleared the charge of rebellion.

The bad news is: a major crime of lax management of the army seems to be impossible to escape, and it cannot be ruled out that the subsequent culpability will be increased.

However, what is even more devastating is that Du Hope, who is old and sick, and has been overworked recently, heard the news, his eyes darkened, and he fainted in front of Bian Lingcheng, unconscious.

Jiedu made all the military envoys in the yamen hall look at Bian Lingcheng together.

That seems to say: Brother, it doesn't matter who stays behind. Now that there is an emergency, your appointment will be able to determine who will temporarily take over the post of festival envoy, and if you don't do it, you will die!

The attitude of the generals made this eunuch who just came to deliver the letter in a dilemma, and he didn't know what to do.

(End of chapter)