Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 367 Taking the Outsider's Side? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The world of Emperor Yuan of the Great Han Dynasty, Beidi Commandery.

Chen Tang led over 10,000 Imperial Guards and more than 20,000 auxiliary troops to the plains at the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains as the sun rose.

Wang Zhang opened the map and asked in confusion:

"General, the information says this land is fertile, is that really true?"

Chen Tang said:

"The Yellow River brings a hundred harms, but it enriches the Tao Plain... The Wuyuan County on the southern slope of the Yin Mountains is called the Qiantao Plain, the Shuofang County is called the Houtao Plain, and this is the Xitao Plain. All three of these areas can be irrigated with the Yellow River water, and at least tens of millions of acres of fertile land and grasslands of the same scale can be developed. They are the treasure land of our great Han Dynasty."

Historically, the Qiantao Plain and Houtao Plain would become the territory of the Southern Xiongnu, while the Xitao Plain would be firmly occupied by the Qiang people until the Tang Dynasty, when it would be brought back under the jurisdiction of the central government.

However, in the late Tang Dynasty, the Xitao Plain once again fell into the hands of foreign tribes, and the Dangxiang people lorded it over the area. It wasn't until the Ming Dynasty that it was brought back to the imperial court.

As for the Tangut people who occupied this area, because they were killed by Temujin, the Mongols killed millions of Tangut people and completely erased this ethnic group from history.

Now, Chen Tang plans to take action ahead of time to completely drive out the Qiang people in the Hexi region and vigorously develop the Beidi Commandery and the four commanderies in Hexi. Once it becomes a prosperous place, a large number of Han people will naturally migrate here.

As for the two areas of Qiantao and Houtao on the southern slope of Yinshan Mountain, they will also be developed vigorously. The Xiongnu people will either stay and work as laborers or be transformed into the Northern Xiongnu and wiped out. In short, they will not have an easy time.

Upon hearing the figure of tens of millions of acres of fertile land, Wang Zhang was breathless. He never imagined that there could be so much fertile land in the northern frontier.

Those common people whose land had been seized by powerful families now have a way to survive!
A military advisor accompanying the army asked:

"General, Huhanye was appointed Chanyu of the Xiongnu by two emperors of our Great Han. If we rashly kill him, will it incur His Majesty's wrath?"

Chen Tang waved his hand:

"Don't worry, His Majesty has ordered me to divide the Southern Xiongnu. If I encounter Huhanye, I will kill him."

Huhanye was successively enfeoffed by Liu Xun and his son Liu Shi, and his position was above that of the feudal kings. When Chen Tang first suggested killing Huhanye, Liu Shi was somewhat reluctant, but when Chen Tang told him about Cai Zhaoji being kidnapped, Liu Shi was moved to tears and immediately ordered that Huhanye be beheaded on sight.

Well, you can't preach grand principles to literary youth; instead, you have to tell them about the tragic experiences of talented men and beautiful women. Only in this way can you arouse their sympathy.

Liu Shi lacked a strong will and was easily persuaded. To prevent Huhanye from entering Chang'an during this period, Chen Tang repeatedly instructed Lao Gan before setting off that if he saw any envoys from Huhanye or the Southern Xiongnu, he should kill them immediately and not give them a chance to beg for mercy or submit. Otherwise, Liu Shi, who was easily swayed, would change his mind again.

To be fair, Tom Cruise really hit the nail on the head with Liu Shi, this artsy young man.

As the army slowly advanced northward, during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, Xue Ne led his army out of Dazhen Pass and headed west into Qin Prefecture, which is located in the present-day Tianshui area and served as a bridgehead for the Tang Dynasty's westward expansion.

Further west lies the Longxi region, the ancestral home of the Tang Dynasty. The battles between the Tubo and the Tang Dynasty mainly took place here and around Qinghai Lake.

Li Bai rode a smaller warhorse, controlling a drone in the sky to scout the surroundings.

Looking at the materials about the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty that Li Bai had brought, Wang Zhihuan said indignantly:

"The dignified General of the Left Guard actually divided the territory of the Great Tang Dynasty with Tibet, calling it the fiefdom of Princess Jincheng. This is truly the most ridiculous thing in the world!"

He was referring to three years ago when General Yang Ju of the Left Guard accepted bribes from Tibet and petitioned to cede the land of Jiuqu to Tibet as part of Princess Jincheng's dowry. Emperor Li Xian approved this, which was tantamount to handing over the gateway of the Tang Dynasty to Tibet.

The land of nine bends refers to the large loop area in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, which in modern society includes counties such as Guide, Guinan, Gonghe, Tongde, and Maqu.

This area is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, with abundant water and grass, making it ideal for grazing. Coupled with its advantageous geographical location, this greatly increased the strength of the Tubo Kingdom, which frequently raided the borders of the Tang Dynasty after occupying the region.

However, during Li Longji's reign, the containment of Tibet was very effective. From the Tibetan invasion of Taozhou in the second year of Kaiyuan to the third year of Tianbao, the border between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet was pushed westward by the Tang soldiers for nearly a thousand miles. They not only regained control of the Jiuqu region, but also took over the area west of Qinghai Lake.

It can be said that if the An Lushan Rebellion had not broken out, Tibet would have gradually retreated to the plateau under the encroachment of the Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, during the process of encroachment, some of the Tang Dynasty's military and civilians had begun to adapt to high-altitude areas, making them capable of attacking the core areas of Tibet.

Hu Ziyang said:
"The greatest worry of our Great Tang lies with Tibet. We can drive the Tibetans back with just a few tens of thousands of troops. And that An Lushan keeps exaggerating the dangers of the Khitan and boosting the strength of the three towns... It's not that I look down on the Khitan, but even if they really rebel, how much trouble can they cause?"

The Khitans were no match for the Tang Dynasty. On the contrary, An Lushan, who used the pretext of suppressing the Khitans, steadily increased his power. In the end, he nurtured a tiger that would become a threat, and incidentally set an example for all the military governors of the Tang Dynasty, thus starting the fragmentation and strife of the Tang Dynasty.

Yuan Danqiu, young and impetuous, upon hearing his master discuss the An Lushan Rebellion, immediately drew his sword and said:

"If I were to encounter An Lushan, I would cleave his head in two with a single sword stroke!"

Cen Xun was a few years older than him, and being from the Cen family, he had a deeper understanding of issues.
"The root cause of the An Lushan Rebellion lies in the court, not in the local areas. Otherwise, even if An Lushan were killed, Zhang Lushan and Sun Lushan would have emerged... Now that Your Majesty is blessed by the gods, you will surely be able to work hard to govern the country, correct all kinds of mistakes, and make the Tang Dynasty truly become the number one country in the world."

Compared to the Zhenguan era, Tibet had occupied most of the Western Regions, the major mountain ranges in the southwest, and all the land west of the Qilian Mountains. Now, the people planned to reclaim these lands one by one and drive Tibet to the plateau valleys to eke out a living.

Xue Ne overheard their conversation and rode over to say:
"Gentlemen, do not underestimate the enemy. The entire Tibetan region is armed, with millions of people. We must not be careless."

Li Bai retrieved the drone and said loudly:

"The Xiongnu in history were also a nation of soldiers, and also a large population. In the end, they were defeated by my second junior brother who led his army to the Wolf Mountain and fled to the northern desert. As long as the Tibetans don't have three heads and six arms and can't resurrect on the spot, we can keep killing them until one day we're all done for."

Xue Ne opened her mouth, thinking that this new kid was really arrogant.

However, the fact that Li Bai dared to call Huo Qubing, the general who sealed the wolf's lair, his junior brother shows that Li Bai held a higher position in the immortal's cave... With the participation of immortals, they might actually be able to wipe out the Tubo people.

At this moment, the vanguard scouts came over to inquire about the location of the central army camp.

Historically, generals from the imperial court would typically be stationed in Weizhou to command the army, but Xue Ne deviated from this practice and placed the central army camp at the forefront.

"Wherever the army is at war, that's where the general will command. If anyone is afraid of death, they can take off their armor and go back now. You only have one chance. If you try to leave after the war starts, the Bureau of Military Affairs will not let you off!"

Xue Ne was always strict in managing his troops. This time, Li Longji gave him full trust, which made the old general even more excited. He has already made a military pledge to build five mounds of ten thousand people each by the end of the year.

Time is of the essence, the task is urgent, and the Tibetans urgently need to offer their heads; we cannot be careless.

The group continued marching. At noon, Li Bai took out mooncakes from his satchel and distributed them to everyone. Each person ate one, and they were not hungry for half a day. It was perfect for replenishing energy during the march.

Wang Zhihuan took a bite of mooncake, looked around with his binoculars, and then noticed a group of people rushing towards them. One of his scouts went to meet them, and after they met, they went together to the central command location.

Xue Ne asked:

"What happened?"

A captain in the scout army reported:

Princess Jincheng sent someone to Taozhou, saying that the Tibetans' plundering of border people was unintentional. She would send someone to rebuke the Tibetans and hoped that the Tang Dynasty would not take rash action. She also sent a group of envoys, hoping to go to the capital to meet His Majesty.

Princess Jincheng was Li Xian's adopted daughter. She was ordered to marry into Tibet, but she was not highly regarded in history because she was seen as siding with foreign powers.

Despite being a princess of the Tang Dynasty, she believed in the old saying "marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog," and in the repeated conflicts between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty, she sided with Tibet.

For example, after Li Yi took over Shibao City, she ordered him to return it... she completely forgot who she was.

After hearing the news, Xue Ne gave his mooncake to the captain who had come to deliver the message, and then said:
"Behead the Tibetan envoy on the spot, and imprison all Tibetans who come to Taozhou. When I arrive, I will kill them as a sacrifice to the flag!"

The captain was terrified:
"General, Princess Jincheng is a member of the imperial family..."

Xue Ne shook his head and said:

“The sons and daughters of our Great Tang Dynasty would never be so short-sighted. I suspect that Princess Jincheng has been murdered and that this is a Tibetan impersonation… Just do as you please, and I will bear all the consequences!”

Now that Li Longji is in power, let alone Li Xian's adopted daughter, even his own daughter can't cause any trouble.

After the group of captains left, Xue Ne cupped his hands and said to Li Bai:
"Master Qinglian, my actions will surely invite criticism. If His Majesty disapproves..."

Li Bai took a lotus seed paste mooncake out of his satchel and handed it to him:

"Don't worry, no one will blame you. My master is waiting for the old general's good news. Don't let such trivial matters bother you. The more Tibetans you kill, the happier my master will be."

Hearing this, Xue Ne finally felt relieved and ordered the army to speed up their advance. Once they reached Taozhou, they were to slaughter pigs and sheep to reward the troops, and then hold a flag-raising ceremony to give the Tibetan rats on the plateau an unforgettable memory!

While the Kaiyuan world was gearing up for battle, in the Spring and Autumn world, Xi Shi arrived here after breakfast and rode her bicycle on her way.

She didn't need to bring a tent or any other supplies; she traveled light and moved very quickly.

By 3 p.m., the city walls of Diqiu, the capital of the State of Wei, were already in sight.

Meanwhile, in a courtyard within the city of Diqiu, an elderly man, about two meters tall with white hair and beard, was carefully examining the flashlight that Zigong had brought him, his face filled with utter astonishment.

"To see something from the celestial realm, I would die without regret!"

(End of this chapter)