Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 472 Comparing Comprehensive National Strength
Except for the first day of the Cold Food Festival, the sky was overcast and gloomy for the next few days, with dark clouds and rain threatening but not falling.

According to the original plan, Xue Rengui was to lead his army to Anxi after the Cold Food Festival.

However, when Zhang Jianzhi learned that Li Zhi was going to send reinforcements to Anxi, he immediately submitted a memorial to the emperor.

After reading it, Li Zhi had no choice but to order Xue Rengui to postpone his actions.

Zhang Jianzhi's memorial was simple: if reinforcements were sent to the front lines, Chang'an might face food shortages, and caution was advised.

In fact, over the years, with the planting of trees and the ban on logging in Yu County, the vegetation in the Qinling Mountains has gradually recovered, and the arable area in Guanzhong has also begun to increase.

The annual harvest of the people in Guanzhong is enough to supply Chang'an.

After the opening of Sanmenxia, ​​grain was continuously transported to Chang'an. The grain storage in Chang'an's granaries has increased from one or two tenths when Li Zhi first came to the Tang Dynasty to half a granary.

This amount of grain is enough to support another major war in the west.

However, there are actually two wars going to be fought this time. If the Tocharians start a war, the Arabs will definitely attack Kunlun and Tibet as well.

The garrison in Kunlun and Tibet consisted of 50,000 Tang troops and 30,000 local troops, while Anxi had 30,000 Anxi troops and 50,000 Zhaowu troops, totaling 160,000 troops.

When there was no war, Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian adopted the policy of military farming, reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land to enable soldiers to be self-sufficient.

However, once war breaks out, soldiers cannot engage in production and will only consume resources, and the transportation of food will also increase consumption.

Now, another 50,000 troops have been dispatched, bringing the total strength in the western region to over 200,000. All of them are being supplied with grain by Chang'an, putting immense pressure on the grain supply of Chang'an's granaries.

Over the years, through land system reforms, the Tang Dynasty saw a steady increase in grain production, with few minor disasters and only one major disaster: a drought in the Jiangnan region.

The granaries in all prefectures and counties had ample reserves, and the Tang Dynasty was indeed well-off, not unable to afford a war.

East of Guanzhong, there are canals connecting various places, making transportation convenient. If the war were to take place in the east, there would be no problem.

The situation was different within the pass; grain from Luoyang could only be transported to Chang'an via the Yellow River waterway at Sanmenxia.

Although the three stone gates of Sanmenxia have been blasted open, their transportation capacity is still very limited.

Therefore, if the war drags on for too long, such as three to five years, Chang'an's food supply may still run out.

Of course, if such a situation were to occur, Li Zhi could still lead his civil and military officials to Luoyang for a meal.

The Hanjia Granary in Luoyang is always full of grain.

So the problem isn't actually that big.

However, Zhang Jianzhi was a meticulous person, and he believed that in a war west of Chang'an, the issue of food must be taken very seriously and could not be neglected in any way.

He proposed sending officials to check the grain in the Chang'an and Hanjia granaries and confirm that the grain reserves were completely consistent with the records of the Ministry of Revenue before the war could begin.

Sun Tzu said: "War is a matter of vital importance to the State; a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."

Li Zhi dared not delay and immediately issued an edict ordering Prince Wu, Li Ji, to investigate at the Ministry of Revenue.

As for the grain to be investigated at Hanjia Granary, Li Zhi decided to send Crown Prince Li Hong to investigate it.

When Li Zhi summoned Li Hong and told him about this, Li Hong only made one condition: he hoped that Li Xian could go along.

Li Zhi frowned and said, "Hong'er, this is important business. Why did you bring him along?"

Li Hong hurriedly said, "Sixth Brother has many ideas. If we encounter any problems, I can ask him for help."

Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Alright, then let him go with you. Liu Lang is playful by nature, so don't let him lead you astray and make you forget the important matter."

Li Hong hurriedly said, "I've remembered it," and took his leave.

After Li Zhigang had made arrangements for this matter, Xue Rengui came to see him again.

He has already made all the preparations and selected all the soldiers.

The two deputy generals were Gao Kan and Li Yuanfang. Among the 50,000 Tang troops, there were 20,000 armored cavalry, 20,000 Tang cavalry, and 10,000 elite infantry.

He didn't know why Li Zhi had asked him to postpone the advance, so he came to inquire.

Li Zhi then told him about Zhang Jian's memorial to the throne.

"I have already sent people to inspect the granaries in Chang'an and Luoyang. Once the inspection of the Chang'an granary is completed and no problems are found, you may depart."

Xue Rengui said, "Your Majesty, since that is the case, may I allow Gao Kan to lead 20,000 cavalry ahead in case of any changes in Anxi?"

"What changes?" Li Zhi asked.

Xue Rengui said, "Since the Arabs can dominate the Western Regions, they are certainly not good people. If they see that we are actively preparing for war, they may very well launch a preemptive strike and a surprise attack on Kangguo!"

Kangguo was the leader of the Nine Sogdian States. It almost fell into the arms of the Abbasid Caliphate. If the Abbasid Caliphate were to attack the Nine Sogdian States, Kangguo would definitely be the first to be hit.

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "You don't need to be anxious. I believe Pei Xingjian has a solution. Leave the Western Regions to him. Just wait patiently."

Pei Xingjian never asked Li Zhi for reinforcements, which shows that he believed his 80,000 Tang troops were enough to deal with the Abbasid Caliphate.

Li Zhi sent Xue Rengui only as a precaution, to prevent the Abbasid Caliphate from deploying all four of its armies to the Western Regions battlefield, leaving Pei Xingjian outnumbered.

At present, the Abbasids only have 70,000 to 80,000 troops in Tokharistan, and Kangguo also has 30,000 garrison troops. Even if they cannot hold them off, with the reinforcements from Pei Xingjian and the other eight countries, the advantage is clearly in their hands.

In a sense, Li Zhi actually hoped that the Arabs would take the initiative to attack Kangguo.

In this way, our side can also take advantage of the terrain. As long as we defeat the main force of the Abbasid Caliphate and launch a counterattack, we can easily capture Tokharistan.

Upon hearing Li Zhi's words, Xue Rengui said no more and was about to take his leave when a palace attendant came to report that Gao Youdao and the other two had returned.

Li Zhi laughed and said, "You've returned just in time, Xue Qing. Let's listen to them tell us about the Abbasid Caliphate!"

The two were summoned to an audience.

After a while, the two of them came to the main hall together and paid their respects to Li Zhi.

"Your subject Gao Youdao (Du Yijian) pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Li Zhi carefully examined them and noticed that their skin had become darker and their faces showed signs of hardship. He sighed and said, "My two beloved ministers must have had a long journey!"

The two said in unison, "Serving the country, we dare not complain of hardship." Li Zhi said, "General Xue is about to go to Anxi to fight against the Arabs. Tell him about the situation with the Arabs."

The two agreed and recounted in detail what they had seen and heard during their trip to Damascus.

Xue Rengui listened quietly, then suddenly asked, "Gao Sheren, what do you think is the biggest problem with the Arabs?"

Gao Youdao thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, the Arabs may seem united, but in fact, they have sharp internal conflicts."

"how you said that?"

Gao Youdao said, "They use religion to unite people's hearts, which certainly has many advantages, but it also has drawbacks, as it can easily lead to conflicts. As far as I know, several generations of kings of the Abbasid Caliphate died from assassination, and by assassins from within their own ranks!"

After hearing this, Li Zhi nodded secretly.

Religions can easily branch out, such as Shia and Sunni, and Shia can be further divided into radical and conservative factions.

Religion can indeed inspire fanaticism, but excessive fanaticism can lead to irrationality. Radicals are extremely difficult to control, and a slight misstep can result in backlash.

Gao Youdao continued, "Furthermore, I've discovered that the Arabs, due to their rapid expansion, have poor relations with their neighboring countries. Currently, they are powerful, and others fear them; however, once they weaken, they will be attacked by all sides!"

In fact, the Abbasid Caliphate and Tibet are quite similar. Both rose to prominence rapidly in a short period of time, and both used religion to unite people's hearts and minds and grow stronger.

Gao Youdao stopped talking after saying that.

Seeing that Du Yijian remained silent, Li Zhi, eager to try, asked, "Does Minister Du have anything to say?"

Du Yijian hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I think the Arabs do not want a full-scale war with our Great Tang. On the contrary, the small countries around us hope that we will fight them."

“How come you see?”

Du Yijian said, "During our time in the Abbasid Caliphate, envoys from several countries approached us, trying to sow discord between us and the Abbasid Caliphate, and even trying to make us think that the Abbasid Caliphate would definitely attack us."

Li Zhi looked at Gao Youdao: "Gao Qing, is that so?"

Gao Youdao said, "That's true."

Li Zhi pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, this is not surprising. Those small countries are afraid that the Abbasid Caliphate will strike them with a thunderous blow, so they naturally hope that we and the Abbasid Caliphate will both suffer heavy losses so that they can watch the fire from the sidelines."

Du Yijian said, "If that's the case, why should we fight the Arabs and let those small countries reap the benefits?"

Li Zhi asked, "Minister Du, why do you think the Arabs don't want to fight us?"

Du Yijian said, "They know that our Great Tang is powerful, so they don't want to suffer mutual losses with us, right?"

"Do you think the Arabs will attack us again in the future?"

Du Yijian opened his mouth, but hesitated for a moment.

Gao Youdao said, "Once they resolve their internal problems and defeat the surrounding threats, they will definitely attack!"

Li Zhi said, "That's it. The Arabs are unwilling to fight us now because they are not fully prepared. Once they are ready, they will definitely attack again, won't they?"

Du Yijian finally nodded and said, "Yes."

Li Zhi said, "If that's the case, then we should fight this battle now. We don't need to care what other countries think, as long as we achieve our own goals."

Du Yijian took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subject understands."

At this moment, Xue Rengui suddenly asked, "Gao Sheren, Du Sheren, besides paying attention to the Arab army, have you noticed the staple food that the Arabs eat?"

Gao Youdao nodded and said, "I asked the locals, and they said that the main grains they grow are barley, wheat and dates."

"Do you think they have enough food?" Xue Rengui asked again.

Gao Youdao thought for a moment and said, "The Abbasid Caliphate has vast deserts, its land area is far smaller than that of our Great Tang, and its population is also smaller than ours. Moreover, they have been at war for years, so their food reserves should not be as good as ours."

Du Yijian chimed in, “That’s right. I also asked the ordinary people in Damascus, and they said that their taxes have been increasing in recent years. This shows that they don’t have much money and grain reserves, which is why they levy high taxes on the people.”

Xue Rengui nodded and asked no more questions.

Seeing this, Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "You two have worked hard. You can go and rest now."

After the two men took their leave, Li Zhi asked Xue Rengui, "Minister Xue, why did you suddenly ask about the grain from the Abbasid Caliphate?"

Xue Rengui said, "According to Anxi's intelligence, the Abbasid Caliphate has 50,000 troops stationed in Tokharistan and even more in Greater Bolu. They have stationed their troops in their vassal states, so their burden must be heavier than ours."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "That's right."

Xue Rengui said, "I believe that in this battle between our army and the Arabs, we can take advantage of their lack of logistics and prolong the war."

Li Zhi said thoughtfully, "You mean that in this war, we are not only fighting against their military strength, but also against their logistics?"

Xue Rengui replied, "That's right."

The struggle between powerful nations is essentially a contest of comprehensive national strength, not a battle over a single soldier.

The Tang Dynasty was better prepared for this war, while Mu'awiyah had just ended a civil war and still had many problems to solve within the country.

Under these circumstances, he was forced to send troops to the Great Bolu Kingdom, creating a standoff with the Tang Dynasty, and he must have been under tremendous pressure.

So Du Yijian was right just now, Mu'awiya really doesn't want to fight the Tang Dynasty, at least not now.

It was precisely at this opportune moment that Pei Xingjian proposed a plan to help Tokharistan restore its kingdom, thus creating the current stalemate that is advantageous to the Tang Dynasty.

Xue Rengui had clearly grasped Pei Xingjian's strategic intentions through Gao Youdao's words, which is why he asked about the logistics of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Li Zhi then realized what was happening.

This battle will be unlike any other battle.

The Tang army might have a certain advantage on the battlefield, but it was unrealistic to expect to crush the Abbasid army on the battlefield as it had done with Goguryeo, Baekje, and Japan. They might even suffer defeats.

Only by taking steady steps, remaining calm and focused, and preparing for a protracted battle can one hope to become the final victor.

(End of this chapter)