Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 205 Traitor, Better to Kill Him! (Bonus Chapter 3)

The 13th day of the first month of the first year of the Xifeng era.

Huizhou, the central military tent.

From left to right, civil and military officials stand in formation.

Led by Zhang Heng, Gu Tingye, Zhong E, Bao Shun, Zhang Ding, and Zheng Xiao, a group of thirty to forty civil and military officials gathered together.

Many people showed signs of excitement.

What an achievement in expanding territory!
Once the army returns to the capital, they will surely revise the national history and leave their mark in the annals.

What man doesn't want to be remembered in history?
Even if the name left behind is inconspicuous, it is still a name left behind.

From his seat, Jiang Zhao looked down and said slowly, "Logically speaking, now that the borders have been expanded and the peace treaty has been concluded, we should return to the capital and hold a victory celebration banquet."

"But who would have thought that the Tubo Dongzhan and Qingtangmuzheng would take advantage of the conflict between the Great Zhou and the Western Xia, get involved in the dispute, and intend to seize Hezhou, Lanzhou and Diezhou."

"Fortunately, Wang Shao led 30,000 troops to guard the rear, preventing the situation from escalating too much." Many people's expressions gradually became serious.

It looks like we'll have to give Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng another beating.

Jiang Zhaoping said, "Now that the conflict between the two countries is nearing its end, it is time to give Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng a warning."

More than ten people were suddenly energized.

Compared to fighting the Western Xia, fighting the Tibetans was much easier.

It was practically free credit!

Jiang Zhao looked up and scanned them one by one.

In the end, their gazes fell upon Gu Tingye and Zhong E.

It was imperative to put Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng in a bad light.

But Huizhou and Suizhou also need to be guarded.

Since the territory has only recently been expanded, there are still many unstable factors, and it will take some time to suppress them by force.

Of course, this also meant that someone had to stay in Huizhou and Suizhou temporarily, and couldn't just reap the rewards of Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng's efforts.

The key issue is that not everyone is qualified to stay in Huizhou or Suizhou.

To eliminate all unstable factors, at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops must be left behind.

Apart from Gu Tingye and Zhong E, the others were all a bit lacking.

Even Zhang Ding, the eldest son of the Duke of Yingguo, still appeared somewhat immature.

Bao Shun, the leader of the Tibetan tribe, was also capable of commanding troops, but he was a Tibetan.

With just a glance, Gu Tingye understood his friend's meaning.

"This humble official is willing to be stationed in Huizhou and Suizhou," Gu Tingye said without any hesitation, bowing respectfully.

The opportunity to command tens of thousands of troops independently and hone one's ability to lead troops in a unique way is rare.

The difference between a general and a commander is significant.

"Good." Jiang Zhao nodded in satisfaction: "Then leave 30,000 troops to be stationed here and handed over to Zhong Huai to temporarily take charge of all military and political affairs in Huizhou and Suizhou."

As of now, he still has nearly 80,000 soldiers under his command.

Of the 70,000 troops stationed north, more than 50,000 remain. Of the 30,000 Shaanxi border troops under Gu Tingye's command, more than 20,000 remain. Together, they make up nearly 80,000 soldiers.

Thirty thousand remained in Huizhou and Suizhou, while the remaining fifty thousand went south to provide reinforcements. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were indiscriminately slaughtered.

After all, having gone through more than a dozen battles, large and small, the remaining soldiers were all veterans.

If you take into account the morale boost from a great victory, 50,000 against 100,000 wouldn't be a problem.

"The army will rest for a day and then march south immediately," Jiang Zhao ordered.

"promise!"

More than ten people bowed in unison.

January 19th.

Diezhou, the central military tent.

"Fifty thousand troops were stationed and marched south to Lanzhou, where they killed Renduo Baozhong."

After glancing at the military report, Dong Zhan's expression visibly darkened.

Renta Yasutada was his top general, and he was killed!
Ever since the Xihe army clashed with the main force of the Western Xia, he and Mu Zheng launched a joint expedition to try to reclaim some territory in the Hehuang region.

The two armies launched a joint attack, with a combined force of 60,000, creating a formidable force.

Mu Zheng was in charge of attacking Hezhou, while he was in charge of attacking Lanzhou and Diezhou.

However, the journey did not go as smoothly as expected.

Jiang Zhao actually left 30,000 troops behind to secure the rear.

This naturally led to a prolonged stalemate.

The commander of the 30,000 garrison troops was named Wang Shao. He was a man of great skill in military strategy and his application of military tactics was exceptional.

They used cities and fortresses as their base and defended them rigorously.

It involves attacking cities and capturing strongholds; with 60,000 men fighting against 30,000, it is naturally extremely difficult.

Looking across Hezhou, Lanzhou, and Diezhou, almost all of them are in a stalemate.

What can I do?

“Fifty thousand troops stationed here.” Dong Zhan’s breathing became slightly heavy. In order to facilitate the attack on Lanzhou and Diezhou, his thirty thousand soldiers were divided into two routes.

His top general led 10,000 troops, while he led 20,000.

This resulted in the troops in the two states being relatively dispersed.

Now, Jiang Zichuan, with 50,000 troops, has swept down the mountain.
The momentum is overwhelming!

Besides these four words, Dong Zhan had no idea how else to describe it.

After all, these 50,000 troops were no ordinary army.

This is the border army that had just killed Li Liangzuo, the ruler of Western Xia, and was at the peak of their morale, almost invincible!
The importance of morale to an army is self-evident.

Those with high morale even dared to chase and kill thousands of people in groups of only a few dozen.

Moreover, this was a border army of 50,000 men with good morale.

Having beheaded the ruler of Western Xia, the army's morale soared. Even if it were 50,000 men chasing and cutting down 100,000, Dong Zhan would not be surprised at all.

Their forces were already scattered, with only 10,000 or 20,000 fighting against 50,000, and on top of that, they were fighting an army at the peak of their morale.

No wonder Ren Duobaozhong was beheaded silently; of the more than 10,000 soldiers in Lanzhou, probably not one survived.

How do we deal with this kind of army?

Almost without thinking, an idea popped into my head.

Withdraw troops and negotiate peace!
"No."

Almost instantly, Dong Zhan broke out in a cold sweat and rejected his decision.

Peace talks are highly unlikely!

After all, the two sides had made peace agreements, and he was the one who violated the alliance.

Now, negotiating peace will be extremely difficult.

But what else can we do if we don't negotiate peace?

Head-to-head?
Not at all.

In terms of troop strength alone, Jiang Zhao has 50,000 men, and Wang Shao has more than 20,000. If you include the border troops guarding the eight prefectures of Xihe, the total number is more than 100,000.

We can't beat them!

Anyone with a modicum of common sense should realize that the Dongzhan and Muzheng tribes alone could hardly compete with Jiang Zichuan.

Dong Zhan's eyes flickered slightly, his heart filled with hesitation.

In just a few months, the political landscape of Tibet has changed dramatically.

Before the Western Xia moved south, the Dongzhan tribe and the Muzheng tribe kept each other in check, while the Great Zhou watched from the sidelines.

When the Western Xia invaded the south, the Great Zhou Dynasty fought against the Western Xia. The Tibetan Empire united against the Western Xia, hoping for a joint alliance between the Tibetan and Western Xia.

Now, with the Western Xia suffering a major defeat, the landscape has changed once again.

With the military strength of the Great Zhou, they were once again forced to remain on the sidelines.

The Dongzhan and Muzheng tribes could no longer unite against a common enemy.

He feared that Mu Zheng had secretly contacted Jiang Zichuan, and the two sides would join forces to deal with him.

After all, as the party that broke the alliance, the greater good rested with Jiang Zichuan.

quite a while.

Dong Zhan picked up his pen and slowly wrote a letter.

"Someone, deliver the letter to Minister Jiang."

Let's give it a try; what if we can negotiate a peace agreement?

Hezhou, the central command tent.

Mu Zheng's expression darkened slightly.

With the retreat of the Western Xia, the balance of power in Tibet changed dramatically.

Dong Zhan had signed a peace agreement with Jiang Zhao, but he feared that the two would join forces again and turn against him.

After pondering for a moment, Mu Zheng simply picked up his pen.

January 22nd.

Lanzhou.

Holding two letters in his hand, Jiang Zhao's gaze sharpened slightly.

Taking advantage of the Western Xia's weakness, it was a good opportunity to expand the Tibetan territory in the low-altitude areas.

The crossbow was effective against the Western Xia, and naturally it would be effective against the Tibetans as well.

However, it's really unnecessary for one to fight two.

Even if they win, it will be difficult to take over their territories in a short time, which could easily lead to rebellion.

Instead of doing that, why not team up with one of them and chase down the other to kill him!

Incidentally, it can also serve as a warning to others.

Jiang Zhao looked at the two letters, gradually focusing his attention on one of them.

Dongzhan!

(End of this chapter)