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

Chapter 206: Allying with Wu against Cao, making an example of someone!
On a small wooden table about ten feet long, letters between Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng were placed in one corner.

Jiang Zhao pondered for a moment.

They allied with Wu against Cao.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

Who is Wu, and who is Hou?
Mu Zheng is Wu, and also monkey.

Dong Zhan, on the other hand, was Cao, who was united against the enemy, and the chicken that was killed.

From a moral standpoint, Dong Zhan had made peace agreements with Xihe, yet he betrayed them by launching an attack.

This is something that cannot be tolerated.

How could they possibly allow Dong Zhan to attack or make peace at will?
From the perspective of geopolitical warfare, Dong Zhan governed the three prefectures of Xining, Huang, and Kuo, and his territory was seamlessly connected with the Xihe prefecture.

Expanding territory is undoubtedly much easier.

In contrast, the core area of ​​Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which was under the jurisdiction of Muzheng, had already entered the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region.

When dealing with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the issue of altitude sickness must be taken into account.

Defeating Mu Zheng is not difficult, but exploring the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is much more difficult.

In fact, to truly develop the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and establish effective rule, it was mainly necessary to emulate the measures of the Yuan Dynasty and utilize the power of "soft integration," that is, the influence of religious society.

However, once religion is involved, the specific implementation is undoubtedly very complicated and cannot be determined in a short time.

Defeating Mu Zheng but failing to expand territory is of little significance other than wasting manpower and military resources.

In comparison, the three prefectures of Xining, Huang, and Kuo, which were under the jurisdiction of Tuotu Dongzhan, were undoubtedly the better choice.

Once Dong Zhan is eliminated, the Qing Tang region will be completely "peaceful in a corner" and unable to cause any major disturbances.

After about ten breaths, the paper was laid flat.

Jiang Zhao held a vermilion brush and slowly applied ink.

One letter finished, and another began.

That was a letter to Dong Zhan.

Two letters were sent in succession.

Hezhou, the central command tent.

Mu Zheng gazed at the letter, reading it word by word.

[Tibetan Muzhengqi:]

Throughout history, entering another's country or invading another's land has been an act of deep-seated hatred.

You have violated Hezhou; your crime warrants a military campaign to punish you.

Xihe's victorious army is at its peak, with 100,000 elite troops; defeating you would be easy. However, Dong Zhan's betrayal and invasion of the border is an even greater crime!
Now I hereby command you:
They withdrew from Hezhou and then marched on Xining. The six armies of Xihe then personally led an expedition against the two prefectures of Kuo and Huang, which were to be captured within a month.

If the mission is accomplished, the three prefectures of Xining, Kuo, and Huang will be returned to Zhou, and the title of the Tibetan king and the title of the Tibetan tribes will be given to you.

They submitted humbly and pledged allegiance, returning north to Tibet, thus securing their royal power. Past transgressions were forgiven and all previous offenses were pardoned.

I will further instruct you on a few matters:
Firstly, remain content with your lot. Tibet is high and cold, and Emperor Taizong of Tang did not achieve complete victory. If you remain in your old territory, remain content with your lot, and you will live in peace.

Both sides should not form a false Xia dynasty. The situation is different now than before. The current emperor is a man of great talent and ambition, and his ambition is to unify the world. In the future, war will surely break out again, just like the conflict between Zhou and Liao. You should follow the general trend and adhere to the established order.

Thirdly, pacify Tibet. The various tribes of Tibet are in turmoil; if you pacify Tibet and prevent trouble, you will have the means to maintain your rule for generations.

Your best course of action is to submit to the emperor and remain in a corner of the country.

Jiang Zhaoshu, Minister of Rites, Minister of War, and Duke of Lu of the Great Zhou Dynasty!

January 26th, the first year of the Xifeng reign!

The letter, about a thousand words long, took Mu Zhengfang two incense sticks to finish reading.

"call!"

With a long sigh, Mu Zheng stood up and looked into the distance, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

The text, consisting of just over a thousand words, is not particularly complex. It mainly focuses on three aspects: condemnation, attitude, admonition, and appeasement.

The condemnation, of course, refers to the invasion of Hezhou.

Between the lines, even from the opening phrase "Tibet Muzheng's personal letter," one can sense a hint of fury.

Of course, this is not surprising.

Anyone whose rear area has been attacked would be furious.

The attitude, then, concerns the issue of peace negotiations.

The two major tribes of Muzheng and Dongzhan launched a joint invasion, attempting to seize the Hehuang region.

This move naturally enraged people.

But if we have to talk about who is more infuriating, then without a doubt it is Dong Zhan.

After all, Dong Zhan and Jiang Zhao had signed a non-aggression pact, but who would have thought that he would openly violate the pact?

In comparison, the measures taken by the Muzheng tribe are naturally more acceptable.

Peace talks? No problem!

However, as the weaker party, it is necessary to take a proactive stance and pay a certain price.

Therefore, Jiang Zhao hoped that he would withdraw his troops from Hezhou and instead turn around to attack Xining City, which was under the control of Dong Zhan.

(As shown in the picture: this is roughly the route of advance)

After achieving his goal, the territory of the three prefectures belonged to the Great Zhou, and the Tibetans of the three prefectures came under his control.

With Dong Zhan dead, the throne of the Tibetan king would naturally fall into his hands.

Afterwards, they submitted to the emperor and their past acts of territorial encroachment were forgiven.

Thirdly, admonition and reassurance.

The admonition was mainly a warning to him not to cause trouble.

The reassurance was to tell him that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is high in altitude and cold, and even Emperor Taizong of Tang did not truly conquer it.

Therefore, if he behaves himself and serves as the Tibetan king properly, the Great Zhou will certainly not launch an attack.

The statements included condemnation, attitude, admonition, and appeasement.

The letter has already conveyed Jiang Zichuan's attitude.

So, should they go around and attack Dong Zhan? In just a moment, Mu Zheng made up his mind, all hesitation vanishing from his eyes.

It's done!

The ruler of Western Xia was killed in battle, his territory was seized in the form of two provinces, and a series of unequal treaties were signed.

Given the strength of the Western Xia, it might not be able to recover from the blows for thirty years.

The key question is, who can guarantee that the Western Xia dynasty will still exist thirty years from now?
In other words, as long as the Great Zhou Dynasty didn't falter, Tibet was destined to remain confined to a corner of the country.

Even though it was a small, isolated place, it was essentially still a struggle between several major tribes.

If that's the case, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take this opportunity to get rid of Dong Zhan.

“Qusa, Bazhanjiao,” Muzheng called out.

About thirty breaths later, the two were summoned by the Tibetan soldiers and entered one after the other.

"Zanpu."

"Withdraw the troops and launch a surprise attack on Dongzhan via a detour," Mu Zheng said without any room for doubt.

"Yes, sir." The two bowed in unison.

Almost at the same time.

Diezhou, the central military tent.

Dong Zhan stared at the letter in his hand, his face full of hesitation.

The letter, which is over a thousand words long, mainly consists of condemnation, attitude, admonition, and reassurance.

The difference lies in the attitude; Jiang Zhao hopes he will withdraw his troops from Kuozhou.

Within ten days, the Xihe army will be able to march south.

At that time, the two sides will find a time to have detailed discussions and clear up any past misunderstandings.

"Withdraw your troops," Dong Zhan ordered after about half an incense stick's time.

Retreating is currently the best option.

With the death of General Rendo Bochū, only about 10,000 of the 30,000 troops that invaded Xihe remained.

The decision to seize Diezhou had failed and was destined to fail.

Continuing the stalemate for another ten days or so is pointless.

Rather than that, it would be better to withdraw the troops.

Firstly, withdrawing troops would convey Jiang Zhao's sincerity in negotiating peace.

Secondly, if Jiang Zhao does not agree to the peace talks, then he should turn around and guard Diezhou, and not come out of the city.

With over ten thousand soldiers defending the city, taking it down would be no easy feat.

End of January.

Lanzhou, the central command tent.

From left to right, civil and military officials stood in formation, all with solemn expressions.

"Wang Shao wrote a letter, specifically mentioning the situation in Diezhou and Hezhou."

The letter was placed on the wooden table. Jiang Zhao looked at the others and slowly said, "Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng have both withdrawn their troops."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhao unfurled a geomantic map and pointed directly to "Huangzhou".

"If Dong Zhan and Mu Zheng retreat, the main army will not have to travel south and can directly cross the river to develop Huangzhou."

"Once Huangzhou is captured, we will split into two routes: one will advance into Xiningzhou, and the other will head south to Kuozhou."

In fact, whether Dong Zhan withdrew his troops or not was not important; what was important was that Mu Zheng withdrew his troops.

Once Mu Zheng withdraws his troops, it will be the best option.

If Mu Zheng does not retreat, but Dong Zhan does, then it is a better-than-average choice.

Neither side should withdraw its troops; this is the worst possible choice.

Jiang Zhao was focused on Mu Zheng's decision to withdraw his troops, but he still wrote two letters, mainly because he was worried that Mu Zheng would not agree to withdraw his troops.

The two letters were sent in order to secure a "safety net".

Mu Zheng disagreed with withdrawing his troops, while Dong Zhan agreed to withdraw, which was Jiang Zhao's "safety net."

As for the fact that neither of them would withdraw their troops, it would mean that Xihe's garrison could fight two against one, which would be the worst possible outcome and the least desirable option.

Fortunately, both sides were fearful and not of one mind, and chose to retreat in order to protect themselves.

After Mu Zheng withdrew, Dong Zhan became isolated.

Dealing with him is not difficult!

"Dongzhan only has three prefectures, and its military strength is scarce, totaling only fifty to sixty thousand. Of these, ten thousand were wiped out in Lanzhou, five to six thousand were lost in Diezhou, more than ten thousand were stationed in Kuozhou, and the remaining twenty to thirty thousand were stationed in the capital city, with ten thousand permanently stationed in the three prefectures. In terms of military strength alone, it is already quite dispersed."

Jiang Zhao ordered, "Expanding territory should be done quickly rather than slowly. The 50,000 troops will rest for one day and then immediately advance westward."

"Yes, sir!" Everyone bowed in unison.

On the first day of the second lunar month, 50,000 troops were stationed and marched westward to Huangzhou.

In Huangzhou, there are several fortified towns with a total of more than 5,000 soldiers, while each town alone has about 1,000 soldiers.

With 50,000 troops against 1,000, the advance will be steady and unstoppable from beginning to end.

Huangzhou fell in less than three days.

On the fourth day of the second lunar month, the troops split into two groups.

Ten thousand troops, under the command of Zhang Ding, marched south to Kuozhou.

The remaining 30,000 to 40,000 troops passed through Huangzhou and entered Xining.

Primarily using crossbows and armored cavalry, crossbows were always used to clear the way in any battle between two armies.

Subsequently, over ten thousand armored cavalrymen charged into the enemy ranks, followed closely by infantry.

A single procedure ensures that no one can stand against it wherever it goes.

On the tenth day of the second lunar month, we expanded our territory to Xining.

On February 11, Wang Shao and Zhang Ding decisively defeated Kuozhou and captured Dong Zhan alive.

(End of this chapter)