The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 340 Breaking Guazhou

Ultimately, the sage did not negotiate peace, and the meeting at Sheleyuan ended inconclusively.

Peace talks my ass.

During the Song Dynasty's campaign against Lingzhou, the various Tibetan tribes requested a joint military meeting, which the Song court granted. As the envoy was about to depart, Emperor Zhenzong suddenly said to his prime minister, "I have seen the 'Alliance Chart' and am quite familiar with the Tibetans' fickle and wolfish ambitions. There is no need to send another envoy; simply send one to inform them of the joint military meeting."

Do not give advance notice or inform them of the military operation plan. Just call them to fight when the time is right!
Before engaging in any dealings with the Tibetans, Emperor Zhao had to repeatedly reconsider the Pingliang alliance agreement. What had been agreed upon was deemed unreliable after discussion between the emperor and his ministers, and was immediately halted. The Tibetans' credibility had already been completely ruined by the Pingliang meeting and the counterattack at Yuanzhou.

Peace talks?

Several years have passed since we recovered the He and Wei rivers, yet we have not come to pay our respects. Now that I have come knocking on your door, you tell me everything is negotiable. What were you doing all this time? If it weren't for the pressure of our large army and its formidable strength, given its nature, we would probably have met you in battle without hesitation.

Moreover, having traveled thousands of miles, braving wind and rain, is it all for peace talks? Without a bloodbath, even with appeasement, who knows how many nights of peace they'll have? Talks should only be held after the power of those like Moluqili has been severely crippled and they've lost their dominance.

What the Tang Dynasty wanted was to Tangify Tibet, not for the Tang people to remain steadfast in the vast ocean of Tibet.

What they wanted was to exploit and bleed the Tibetans dry, not to support local chieftains and collect protection money every year.

The sage did not want to talk, and the Grand Minister of the Eastern Palace, Meilu Qili, was also unwilling to fight.

After setting up camps in and around Yifu City, they sent cavalry to sabotage water sources and harass the Tang army, while waiting patiently for the Tang army to retreat.
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The Tibetan nobles were not the Tanguts with IQs below 60, nor were they Vietnamese monkeys.

The Tang army's long march, coupled with the threat from their rear, favored a swift and decisive battle over a protracted conflict. Secondly, the logistical burden was immense—well, the Tang army's sweeping operations in this region were highly successful, and with the support of six prefectures, their logistics were sufficient for a protracted war.

The main issue is time constraints. They have the advantage of playing at home. Their disadvantage lies in their significantly weaker fighting strength and poor internal cohesion; they only banded together for mutual support and shared hatred of the enemy under the threat from the Tang people.

The Tibetans are still relatively "united" now. A hundred years from now, the Western Xia faction, the pro-Song faction, the self-preservation faction, and the completely undisciplined faction will all be there, killing each other every day with the help of their backers.

Therefore, this kind of unity obviously cannot be maintained for long.

The clans of Yanmiao'e, Yan, Shuwei, Zhelong, and Zongge were able to go to Bianliang to pay homage to the Zhao family, vying to serve as their lackeys. Naturally, the Li family was also eligible to wear their collars.

In mid-November, after being pressured by the royal army in Suzhou, the commander Long Zan led his troops to Guazhou to join forces with the general Zhang Shouxin of Shazhou to attack Zhang Chengfeng. They then dispatched 1,000 soldiers and 3,000 Yanqi horses, known as "sea horses," to the emperor stationed in Xihai.

The nine clans scattered in the area from Dadou Valley to Daxue Mountain in southern Ganzhou, including the Meixia, Laili, Dama, Xiaoma, and Yankangu clans, lived in constant fear, dreading that the Tang army would one day break into their homes. Therefore, their leader Wuzuo and others led their people to surrender, begging to be governed by Han laws and to join forces with the royal army to attack the bandits of Dongya Daxiang.

They have nowhere to run.

Some of these tribes had previously been scattered throughout the Hewei and Longshan regions, but had fled here. Unexpectedly, Emperor Li has now pursued them. His main force is in the south, the Tang-controlled area in the east, the Zhazhu tribe in the west, and Liangzhou prefecture in the north.

Dragnet!

Although they are just low-level henchmen and may not be noticed, once they are targeted, their families will be ruined.

The nine clans that came to join him numbered over four thousand tents, more than nineteen thousand people, and tens of thousands of livestock. This wasn't a large number; the number of mixed-race tribes conquered by Wu Xiong was probably much greater.

But the sage was very happy. Just like when he treated the two works of Ga De Bei and Lun Hong Yi, he made a gesture of spending a thousand gold pieces to buy horse bones, and greatly praised the loyalty of Lai Li Wu Zuo and others. He ordered the imperial kitchen to provide food, the imperial concubines to provide clothing, and gave them a certain amount of reward.

They selected four thousand strong men to form an army, which was called the Tibetan Army.

Yes, the sage is exploring a system for conscripting and managing foreign armies.

In the northwestern frontier, people live by water and grass. Especially in Qinghai, the geography, water resources, and climate determine that many prefectures and counties are not suitable for settling down and cultivating land, and even if they were, they could not support more people.

Without establishing stable household registration and a clear connection between people and their place of residence, it is impossible to generate a bureaucratic politics rooted in local conditions, prosperous commerce, effective taxation, and precise national defense and conscription that can be traced back to the local population.

In order to optimize the allocation of resources, the sage began to think about establishing a sound long-term tribal military system.

The various tribes still lived separately in different areas, but also lived together as a clan, nomadic and guarding the borders within a certain region.

Every three years, the pastoral areas are rotated. Every few pastoral areas must have a military city or vassal state as a stabilizing force.

Each ethnic group's population is registered annually.

Adult males were grouped into an army based on their tribe; for example, the various tribes of Tibet formed the Tibetan army. Four offices were established: the Western Cavalry Commander, the Infantry Commander, the Cavalry Instructor, and the Infantry Instructor, responsible for leading and training the local tribal armies. During the off-season each year, they would gather in Liangzhou and Xihai for training.

The sons of chieftains and the strong men of tribes were summoned to the capital and united into one army.

As a means of providing protons, blood, rapid assimilation, and upward mobility.

They also united the Turks, Tibetans, Northern Tanguts, Western Tanguts, Northern Uyghurs, Western Uyghurs, Western Tuyuhuns, and Lingxia mixed tribes into eight armies.

It was set up with two command centers and two training centers, with eight military headquarters above them. In the sage's rough idea, the Imperial Guard Command would later command the troops from Guanzhong and Longxi, the Imperial Guard would command the palace troops composed of noble sons, the Palace Guard would incorporate the reorganized troops of the regional military governors, and the military headquarters would command the troops of foreign tribes.

Hmm, doesn't this have a bit of the flavor of the Manchu Solon people or the Manchus stationed abroad during the Qing Dynasty?
This is certainly a major policy that requires time and effort.

The sage hoped to benefit his descendants and the Tang Dynasty. He himself was indeed somewhat of a killer, but he was afraid of the prevailing social atmosphere.

He could barely keep Zhu Jin, Murong Zhang, Wu Xiong, Zha Zhu, Li Zan, and Wang Shaorong in check, but his descendants were another matter entirely. If this system of various factions within the three armies could be successfully established and put into operation, it would be a generous gift to the Holy Tang Dynasty and the Crown Prince.

Once I turned thirty, many of my thoughts underwent subtle changes. I couldn't wait to eliminate everything for the empire, my descendants, and my family, leaving behind a controllable and manageable situation.

Time flies, and the sage has gone from having affairs with Luo, Zhang, Wu, and Hu to simply hugging and whispering with Xiaoli and Yuanyuan and that's it. He doesn't know if he's tired of it or what, but he always feels that his desires are not as strong as before, and all that remains in his heart is a sincere devotion to the Holy Tang Dynasty in the face of wind and rain.

In his heart, only the determination to restore the dynasty remained.

By late December, more than forty days had passed, and the Grand Chancellor of the Eastern Palace showed no sign of launching an attack.

Holy crap, they're really determined to just stand there and wait! Are they trying to stall until Emperor Li leaves?

Heavy snow fell again in the West Sea.

The cavalry that had been dispatched to sweep through the surrounding areas were also recalled. Meruqili and his group shoved over 200,000 horses and livestock, along with a great deal of supplies and equipment, into Yifu City and the surrounding villages, and there should also be many noble families among them.

But their territory is so large, can they move everyone in there?

Bullshit!

Therefore, after Qili retreated into seclusion, the sage dispatched Zhu Jin, Zhong Daoshi, Zhang Chengfa, and other generals to lead the newly surrendered Tibetan army, including Lai Liwuzuo, and the Long clan army to sweep away the Tibetans around Yifu City and along the northern coast of the Western Sea.

In the Western Sea region, the mountains are mostly barren and the plains are mostly flat, making it difficult to hide anything.

Over the course of these days, they have already bloodily pacified and subjugated more than ten small tribes, plundered countless livestock, property, and people, and captured thousands of noble families alive.

Among these nobles, the beautiful women were sent to the imperial tent to serve as maids. The next best were killed and distributed among the commoners. The rest, regardless of whether they were women, children, or the old and weak, were all dragged to the city walls and hacked to pieces in front of the Tibetan defenders, their cries echoing through the air, eventually forming a mound of corpses. In recent years, unless absolutely necessary, such as when Li Keyong refused to leave Zuo Fengyi, the emperor had disliked attacking fortified positions.

Qi Li's forces numbered large and well-defended, while Qi Li himself had about 100,000 miscellaneous troops, but only 30,000 core warriors, which could not withstand attrition.

But not tackling the key issues doesn't mean we're helpless against you.

If you don't come out of this place, I'll continue my killing spree. I'll slaughter your brothers, burn your pastures, seduce your women, and kill your parents, aunts, and uncles.

Even if they eventually can't hold on and are forced to leave due to circumstances, they'll have still made their share of the spoils and returned home with a full harvest.

I can come every year from now on, and launch a major sweep every six months. What will you do then? Will you still be able to unite with us?

Unfortunately, the weather deteriorated drastically, with wind, snow, and sandstorms filling the sky, severely reducing visibility. The temperature was so cold that the sage had to put his hands and feet inside Zhang Hui and Long Ci's bodies every day to keep warm. Livestock were unable to move, except for camels.

Extreme cold, a foreign land, and rumors of a fierce attack from Zhu Dalang in the rear—the army is filled with discontent. If this freezing continues for another half month, the entire camp will likely erupt in commotion, beating drums and shouting towards the imperial tent.

On December 27th, Zha Zhu came to report:
Following the Shazhou Incident and the internal strife within the Guiyi Army, a fierce battle took place in a garden. Zhang Shouxin, Song Huixian, and others, along with Cui Xuan, retreated to Guazhou. By the time they arrived, Zhang Chengfeng and the Tubo forces from Jinshan and Huahaizi had been besieging Guazhou for several days, their troops exhausted and weary. Upon their arrival, the allied forces decisively defeated the rebel army beneath the city walls.

Zhang Chengfeng led several thousand remaining troops back to Shazhou.

Shang Deqie, the city lord of Huahaizi and who called himself the military governor of Sapi, was beheaded by Zhazhu.

The remaining Tibetan troops, seeing the 20,000 Leopard Army soldiers leading the vanguard, were terrified and fled back to the basin.

He also relayed Du Hu's report:

Through the efforts of Du Hu, Cui Xuan and others, the leaders of the Gaochang Uyghurs, the Pugu clan and the Kingdom of Khotan, have announced that they will send troops to attack the Zhang clan's rebel army.

The coalition forces are now advancing towards Shazhou.

The sage was not surprised. It would probably take some effort for the entire Guiyi Army to defend the city.

Now that the army is divided, if the Leopard Army and the auxiliary troops recruited along the route, in coordination with Zhang Shouxin from both inside and outside, still cannot defeat Zhang Chengfeng's more than 10,000 exhausted troops, then the Leopard Army can be disbanded.

He hadn't expected Khotan to send troops.

I remember Xiao Zhao mentioning that this vassal state hadn't paid tribute for a century. Their sudden response—was it because they were afraid of me coming to them, or was it due to Du Hu's effective diplomacy? I've also heard that the Queen of Khotan is beautiful, virtuous, and considerate—a real beauty, though I don't know her name…

No, how did I start having designs on my subject's wife?
What a lousy habit! Could it be that Quan Zhong has come looking for you? Don't be arrogant, you need to cultivate diligently and pass the demonic test!
Our sage, Li, does not have affairs with the women of ministers—except for those who have committed crimes.

Once the Western Sea is pacified, the King and Queen of Yuchi should be summoned to the capital to reaffirm their status.

On December 29th, Jincheng reported that King Wu and Zheng Yanchang had led the palace guards and 15,000 infantry and cavalry, including Qiyan Shu and his troops who were returning to the capital, to meet at Didao, along with 20,000 auxiliary troops, to reinforce Guanzhong.

The sage breathed a sigh of relief.

Good son and Lao Deng bought themselves some valuable time.

But how did he persuade Consort Shu? Going against his parents doesn't seem to be this kid's style.

The King of Wu's decision not to come into contact with the army at the front lines was a consensus reached between himself and Zheng Yanchang before the troops were dispatched.

How did he break through Zheng Yanchang's constraints?

Upon closer reflection, the sage suddenly found it difficult to understand his son.

In his memory, the King of Wu was a quiet and reserved, often melancholic, and mediocre son burdened with many worries. Since he was old enough to understand things, he had no serious flaws, but of course, he also had no merits. He was even less attentive and focused than the King of Liang.

Is this an attempt to conceal one's shortcomings, or has the environment developed certain qualities that need to be showcased?

Hmph, I'm afraid Han Wo and Wang Tuan aren't entirely innocent either, otherwise how could the King of Wu have escaped?

Zheng Yanchang must have been under a lot of pressure. He hadn't even become the crown prince yet, and the courtiers were already scheming for their own benefit and making way for the heir apparent.

Forget it, let's put this matter aside for now.

Right now, I haven't thought about attacking the stronghold, and the Grand Minister of the Eastern Palace is unwilling to fight. This battle is truly disgusting.

Now that things have come to this, the key is how to get the group going.

Otherwise, if we keep dragging this out, when will we ever get anywhere?

"Come on, send men to challenge us day and night again." The sage ordered, "Also, assemble the auxiliary troops and prepare hoes! Since this old dog is unwilling to fight me in a group battle, I will block the Ox Heart River and cut off his water supply first. I don't believe that the water supply in Yifu City can meet the needs of his entire army!"

"Here!"

"Rest, rest." After the officials dispersed, the emperor returned to his bedchamber and picked up Zhang Hui in his arms.

The Empress wrapped her arms around his neck, her face pressed tightly against his chest, her cheeks flushed with shyness, and she playfully punched his shoulders and chest with her small fists: "What are you doing! You're so unseemly, what kind of saint are you? The maids are still here..."

If they don't hit me, fine, I might just fall asleep like this.

"What's wrong with him? He's asking for death by barging into hell when there's a path to heaven. Once we take down Tibet, we'll go back and wipe him out in the Heluo region, storm into Bianliang, capture his woman Chen, and his daughter Zhu Chacha will join you, his mother-in-law and grandmother! Three generations under one roof!"

After a few punches, the saint was caught off guard and had no time to spare.

The two of them snuggled into the warm woolen tent.

"I never imagined you were such a perverted man!" Zhang Hui was filled with shame and indignation, struggling incessantly, wishing she could dig a hole and disappear into it.

"My Lord, my Lord, I want to play too!" Nangong skipped over and pleaded, "Please let me join you."

"Go play with Yuanyuan," the sage replied vaguely.

"You shameless slut!" Rou Nu grabbed her and yelled, "Have you no shame? Are you trying to be as wanton as that bitch Zhang Hui, living like a slut every day?"

Nangong was furious. He pointed at the large wool tent on the wall, where two grotesque figures were projected.

Gritting his teeth.

Zhang Hui, I swear to kill you!

(End of this chapter)