Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

After testing, it was found that this thing had a much shorter range than a "musket," with an effective killing distance of only two or three zhang (approximately 6.6-7 meters), and its power was also small. However, the good thing was that this thing was used once and then discarded, while the lance was not disposable. The rider on horseback not only did not need to change his weapon, but he also did not need to make any major changes to his movements. After spraying the lance, he could simply thrust forward with the lance.

This made it popular among most of the trained soldiers—if it were like a musket, it would be useless after one use, and there wouldn't be enough time to change weapons at a distance of two or three zhang, everyone would definitely discard it like trash. The key is that the bamboo tube is very light, and after the gunpowder burns out and the iron shot is sprayed out, it is almost as light as a feather and will not affect the weight of the lance.

So they equipped some cavalry and asked the Grand Commandant to name it. Li Ji thought to himself, "This name is already there. This thing existed in my timeline." He smiled and said, "Cen Shen has a poem that says, 'Suddenly, like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of pear trees bloom.' When you see this thing emitting white light, doesn't it look like a pear blossom? So it can be named 'Pear Blossom Spear'!"

Everyone was thinking, "What? Pear Blossom? It doesn't look like it at all..." Originally, several generals were eager to try it out. If the Grand Commandant had given the naming rights, they would have suggested names like "Fire-Tipped Spear" or "Poisonous Fire Dragon." But now that the Grand Commandant has spoken, fine, let it be Pear Blossom Spear it is.

Especially just before the expedition was about to begin, news suddenly arrived that Cen Shen had died...

Cen Shen was originally a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue. At the beginning of the Yongtai era, he was demoted to the position of Prefect of Jia Prefecture. However, before he could take up his post, he encountered the chaos in Shu and was forced to stay in Liang Prefecture. Shortly afterward, the court sent Du Hongjian to Shu to suppress Cui Gan (also known as Cui Ning). Cen Shen then joined Du Hongjian's staff and went with him to Chengdu. After Du and Cui reconciled, he went from Chengdu to Jia Prefecture to take up his post.

Last year, after completing his term of office, he returned to the capital, but was blocked by bandits and forced to return to Chengdu. He soon fell ill and died in a post station in Chengdu at the age of fifty-two.

Cen Shen's reputation as a poet in the central government was not particularly high, but his poems were widely praised and sung in border towns and among the army. As for the Hexi region, Grand Commandant Li had a particular fondness for this kind of poetry, often praising the frontier poems of Wang Changling, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, Yan Wu, and others in front of his generals and officials—while preferring to appreciate the poems of his close friend Du Fu alone—a fact known to all. Thus, the Grand Commandant named his spear "Pear Blossom Spear" after Cen Shen's poetry, and since Cen Shen had just passed away, this name was deemed a fitting tribute and was thus finalized.

The "Pear Blossom Spear" wasn't actually very powerful, but its dual function made it a valuable asset. In this era of purely cold weapons, the debut of new firearms was enough to terrify the enemy, causing their morale to plummet—especially since it caught them completely off guard. The Tang cavalry's horses were all trained and unafraid of smoke and fire—especially since the smoke and fire were directed at the enemy—yet the barbarian mounts were utterly terrified. The first few ranks immediately fell into chaos, and even those behind often became uncontrollable, turning to flee.

In some ways, horses are more easily startled than humans, and their psychological resilience is far worse.

Infantry, when arranged in a tight square formation, are best suited for defending against the enemy; cavalry formations are relatively loose, but by no means without formations, allowing them to fight independently. As a result, the barbarian formation was thrown into disarray and was quickly broken through by Tang cavalry, who then charged from both sides, and the barbarian formation collapsed after only half an incense stick's time.

The crucial point was that Mang Re was nearly sprayed directly in the face, which reminded him of the tragic fate of Qilibuzang that day. This terrified him, and his limbs went weak and he lost control of his mount. The first wave of troops fled to the side. With their commander gone, the army lost all will to fight and was defeated by the Tang cavalry. More than a hundred were killed on the spot, and more than three hundred were captured. The remaining troops fled back in disarray, scattering across the open fields.

Mang Re finally managed to control his mount, but dared not turn around to fight the Tang cavalry again. A seasoned warrior, he knew the defeat was inevitable and irreversible. His only option now was to quickly shake off the Tang cavalry and find an opportunity to regroup his troops. If morale was still high, he would seek another chance to harass the Tang's rear—though he would likely not dare to directly confront the Tang heavy cavalry again. If morale had already been severely damaged and could not be restored quickly, then retreating to the foothills of Dongting Mountain and fortifying his position was the best course of action.

However, just as they had gathered a few hundred riders, a cloud of dust suddenly rose from the side, and a group of Tang cavalry galloped towards them.

This time, all the troops were light cavalry. Before the setback, Mang Re would never have taken them seriously. However, now that everyone was terrified and the soldiers had no will to fight, he really dared not confront them head-on again. What if he got entangled by the light cavalry and the heavy cavalry caught up from behind?

So he pointed his spear and said, "Don't linger in battle. Charge forward and then turn back to the foothills of Dongting Mountain."

Then they saw an enemy general leading the charge, clad in heavy armor and wielding—holy crap, the legendary horse lance! The general clearly had his sights set on Mang Re, and charged straight at him with his lance. Several barbarian cavalrymen who tried to stop him were all stabbed off their horses one by one by the lance.

Forced into a corner, Mang Re had no choice but to raise his spear to meet the attack. The two weapons clashed with a clang, the impact causing his arms to ache and his internal organs to feel cold.

The opponent's strength and ferocity were unprecedented in Mang Re's life, almost making him suspect that Li Ji himself had taken to the battlefield—however, judging from the general's age, he should be quite old, while Li Ji was said to be only in his early thirties, in the prime of his life. Although Mang Re also relied on his bravery in archery and horsemanship, and was ranked among the top generals among the barbarians, he was ultimately thrown into disarray by the sudden defeat, and could only use half of his full strength. As a result, he was relentlessly pressured by the general, unable to fight back or escape, and finally took a heavy blow to the shoulder, falling sideways from his horse.

Tang cavalry immediately rushed over and scattered the barbarian cavalry who attempted to come to their aid. When Mang Re finally straightened up with a leap, he glanced around and saw Tang cavalry eyeing him menacingly on all sides; not a single one of his own soldiers remained…

The Tang general, beaming with pride, pointed the tip of his spear at Mang Re's chest, barely inches away, and demanded, "Surrender or not?!"

Mang Re sighed helplessly, throwing down his lance: "I surrender..."

This Tang general was none other than Nan Jiyun. Li Ji did not allow Nan Jiyun to accompany Chen Lizhen to fight the enemy, but instead ordered him to lead two battalions of mobile troops to the east to cut off the enemy cavalry's retreat—"If General Chen cannot defeat the enemy, so be it; but if he can, Brother Nan can try to intercept and kill them, and achieve the great merit of beheading a general and capturing a flag!"

The commander of the Youyi Army was Ma Meng, and everyone knew he only got the position because of his former position as a subordinate of the Grand Commandant. His actual ability was far inferior to that of the other army commanders. Li Ji originally intended to use the Youyi light cavalry to intercept the barbarian cavalry, but he was certainly not comfortable entrusting the task to Ma Meng. Fortunately, Nan Jiyun was by his side.

Nan Jiyun lived up to expectations, capturing Mang Re alive, binding him with ropes, and bringing him before Li Ji. Upon learning Mang Re's name, Li Ji immediately stepped forward and untied him…

Chapter 54, Sitting and Watching Without Taking Action

Li Ji deeply resented the barbarians.

He thought to himself, "Why aren't you all staying on the plateau? What are you all doing rushing down there? It's always been the northern barbarians who threaten China. When has it ever been the turn of the Tibetans in the southwest? Especially before the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang dynasty had already forced Tibet to lose territory and become desperate, and was forced to sue for peace. Who would have thought that the east would suddenly fall into chaos, and Tibet would seize the opportunity to invade..."

However, it is only natural and common for China to suffer foreign aggression when it is in chaos. The problem is that the steppe kingdoms that have always been a scourge to China are now behaving themselves – referring, of course, to the Uyghurs – which makes the barbarians seem even more hateful and deserving of death!

Based on certain ideas derived from later generations, Li Ji was not keen on carrying out genocide. Even if he captured Tibetan soldiers on the battlefield, he would often imprison them instead of killing them. However, he never showed any mercy to the Tibetan generals and noble chieftains who were the main culprits. He would kill them one by one, or two by two, until they were all slaughtered to temporarily prevent future troubles.

However, upon capturing a high-ranking general of the barbarians for the first time today, Li Ji not only spared his life but also greeted him with a smile and personally untied his bonds. He reasoned that the battle was not yet over, and he needed to thoroughly understand the barbarian situation and the movements of their army to facilitate future campaigns. This kind of intelligence could not be obtained from ordinary soldiers, and he could only rely on this barbarian general before him—Mangremelongqixibi.

Although Li Ji has a tough personality, he still has a bit of softness in him.

Li Ji then spoke kindly to Mang Re and inquired about the internal affairs of the Tibetan army. Since Mang Re had already surrendered and his spirits were broken, he did not hide anything and answered Li Ji's questions in general. However, at the end, he asked Li Ji in return, "May I ask, today your army was able to make its lances breathe fire. Is this magic or a weapon?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits—this is an object called the 'Pear Blossom Spear'."

"Is it the same thing that injured Qilibuzang on the banks of the Weak Water?"

"They are different in size, but they are essentially the same thing. However, I cannot disclose the specific principle behind it." At this point, Li Ji suddenly remembered something and asked, "How is Qilibuzang doing now?"

Mang Re sighed deeply: "Severely injured and needing to recuperate, I don't know how many more years I'll live..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "I understand. I guess you were scared by my new gadgets, so you had no choice but to surrender and dare not cause any more trouble."

After Mang Re surrendered, the Tang army successfully entered Jiuquan City on the third day. They then escorted Mang Re to the foothills of Dongting Mountain and persuaded the garrisoned Tibetan troops to surrender. Li Ji stopped his horse midway, observed the mountain terrain, and nodded. He turned to Mang Re and said, "The place you have chosen is very good. If the fortification is completed, a thousand troops stationed inside can be equivalent to ten thousand cavalry. However, this fortification is more effective for defending the west than the east."

He paused, then asked, "What is this place?"

A guide nearby replied, "It was called Jiayu in Tang Dynasty."

Li Ji then returned to Jiuquan and summoned his generals to discuss the next course of action. Gao Chongwen said, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Now that our army has crushed the barbarian rebels and captured this city, we can quickly head west and head straight for Jinshan and Dushan. According to Mang Re, Mo Fang is still building fortifications on the two mountains, which are not yet complete. If our army is slow in its advance and the fortifications are completed, it will be difficult to attack them."

"This humble general requests to go first and, within five days, capture the old fortress of Yumen Army for the Grand Commandant. Then the Grand Commandant can divide his troops to monitor the enemy in Guazhou, lead his army directly to Hehe Garrison and Yumen Pass, exit through Xingxing Gorge, and coordinate with the Beiting Army and the Shatuo tribe."

Wei Gao objected, saying, "According to Mang Re, the Tubo Grand Master Shang Jie Xi is leading his army to attack Beiting. They are not far away. If our army advances rapidly, they will surely turn back and join forces with the enemy in Guazhou, thus pinning us down from the north and south. How can we safely leave Yumen Pass? Even if they do not turn back, it is more than 600 li from Yumen Pass to Yiwu. It will take more than ten days for our army to march. If we cannot control the enemy in Guazhou and allow them to cut off our rear, and with the main force of the Tubo bandits in front, it will be no different from trapping ourselves in a deadly situation."

He advised Li Ji: "It would be better to hold back for now, let the soldiers rest, and ideally, block the news of Mang Re's defeat and surrender, so that Shang Jiexi can safely go north. Once he is far away, the Grand Commandant can lead us to break through the two mountains and the old fortress of the Yumen army, cross the Ming River, and take Jinchang directly. According to Mang Re, Shang Ximo has given him most of his good horses and sharp weapons, and his original force of less than 10,000 has also been divided, with half of them located east of the Ming River. Therefore, Jinchang will be almost an empty city and easy to take. If we capture Jinchang, we can cut off Shang Jiexi's retreat."

All the generals nodded, agreeing that this was a prudent opinion. Only Old Jing frowned and interjected, "Mang Re said that Ma Chongying sent a surprise attack on Zhang Sancheng, cutting off the connection between Anxi and Beiting. Shang Jiexi is also personally leading a large force to attack Beiting. This autumn, he is determined to win. If our army advances slowly and lets him pass, and Beiting falls because of this, what should we do? In the end, those Hu people from the Shatuo cannot be trusted. Moreover, Jian Congshi returned and reported what he saw. Beiting is probably at its last gasp..."

Wei Gao frowned and asked, "General Ze Jing means..."

Old Jing hesitated, "Why not advance and defeat the enemy, confronting the main force of the barbarian rebels within the territory of Guazhou... Although, according to Mang Re, they still have over 50,000 troops under their command, with the momentum of our victory, we might not be no match for them... If we can crush the main force of the barbarian rebels in Guazhou, Anxi and Beiting can both be secured. After that, we can advance slowly without any problem..."

Wei Gao spread his hands: "In that case, a fierce battle is inevitable. Can you guarantee victory?"

Old Jing grinned, seemingly unwilling, but unable to refute it, so he could only remain silent.

Li Ji turned his gaze to Nan Jiyun: "What does Brother Nan think?"

Nan Jiyun thought for a moment and replied, "When I was defending Suiyang with Zhang Gong, we fought a hundred battles and repelled the enemy, but the reinforcements were slow to arrive. If it weren't for the Grand Commandant kidnapping Xu Shuji and forcing him to come to the rescue, his bones would have long since decayed. Later in Weibo, we split up to attack Jizhou. The Grand Commandant fought a bitter battle at Hengshui, while Zhaoyi Army advanced slowly. Hedong Town was abandoned halfway, and Wushun Army collapsed on the spot... From this, I realized that I can't trust anyone else. Only my own brave soldiers are the guarantee of victory."

"Before setting out, I inquired with Jian about the situation in Tingzhou. He said the garrison was short of provisions and weapons, and everyone was exhausted. Now, with Jie Xi personally leading 50,000 troops to attack, and Ma Chongying cutting off Zhang Sancheng, it's hard to predict how many days they can hold out. If our army is slow to advance, even if we capture Jinchang, the barbarian bandits might seize Beiting first... This might not be very advantageous for the Grand Commandant's campaign to conquer the Western Regions, would it?"

Yan Zhuang, who had been mostly silent during the military meeting, turned to observe Li Ji's expression. Seeing that Li Ji was frowning and staring at the map, Yan Zhuang understood and stood up, saying, "Gentlemen, please listen to what I have to say."

Because of his past record of collaborating with the rebels, most of the generals and officials in Hexi were unwilling to get close to Yan Zhuang, only keeping their distance out of respect for Li Ji. Yan Zhuang also knew that he was not well-liked, so he usually remained silent in meetings, especially military conferences. If he did have something to say, he would secretly report it to Li Ji afterwards. Therefore, his initiative to express his opinion was unprecedented, and the hall fell silent as everyone turned to look at him.

Yan Zhuang calmly said, "When I was serving as the Minister of Agriculture in Chang'an, I read through many old records. I still remember that during the Tianbao era, when the population was calculated, Liangzhou had 23,000 households, Ganzhou had 6,300 households, Suzhou had 2,200 households, Guazhou had 400 households, Shazhou had 4,300 households, Yizhou had 2,500 households, Xizhou had 20,000 households, and Tingzhou had 2,300 households—so you can see how poor Guazhou was."

"Now our army has come from Liangzhou, passed through Ganzhou, and arrived at Suzhou. You should be able to understand the situation in these three prefectures. To the south lies the Qilian Mountains, which are not easy to cross. North of the Qilian Mountains, even a dozen or twenty miles outside the main road, although it is not as central as the Central Plains, there are many streams and springs, which can be cultivated. Further north, although it is desolate, there are still some oases and pastures, which are convenient for animal husbandry. However, from Jiayuguan westward, water and grass are scarce, farmers are becoming fewer, and herdsmen do not often come and go."

"Therefore, Guazhou has only four hundred registered households. It is said that only within a fifty-mile radius of Jinchang can millet be grown. Although there is the Ming River to the east and a large marshland to the north, they often dry up and become deserted. They can barely be used for animal husbandry, but cannot yield any benefits from farming. The poverty of Guazhou is evident..."

Chen Lizhen was getting impatient: "What exactly does Lord Yan want to say?"

Yan Zhuang waved his hand, signaling the other party to calm down, and then slightly quickened his pace: "Yizhou is different. Although there are only 2,500 households, that refers to the registered households of our Tang Dynasty. The native Hu people can also cultivate the land. The area around Yiwu has many streams and ditches, and the soil is excellent." He turned to Jian Dao and smiled slightly: "Jian Dao has been there in person, so what I said is correct, isn't it?"

Jian Dao nodded and said, "Everything you say is true."

Yan Zhuang seized the opportunity to ask, "Ze Jun once said that the Northern Court ordered the relocation of the people of Yizhou to Tingzhou. May I ask, were all of them relocated, or were only the Tang people relocated?"

Jian Dao replied, "Most of the natives were unwilling to leave their homeland, and Li Beiting was also afraid of causing turmoil by forcing them to relocate, so he only relocated the Tang people."

Yan Zhuang nodded, then turned to the crowd and continued, “If the natives refuse to relocate, they will be unable to fortify their defenses and clear the fields. When the barbarians come, they will surely surrender. Thus, even with an army of 50,000, we can still gather wild grains and not fear that our supply lines will be cut off. If they attack Tingzhou urgently, I fear that Li Beiting will find it difficult to resist—and we cannot rely on the aid of Anxi—once Tingzhou falls, Xizhou will also fall into the hands of the enemy. During the Tianbao era, Xizhou already had 20,000 registered households, and its wealth was quite considerable.”

Finally getting to the point, he said in one breath, "As General Wei said, even if we successfully capture Guazhou, we won't get much in terms of supplies. Suzhou has just been recovered and is also poor. Therefore, the army's provisions will still have to be transported from Liang and Gan, which is a long and costly journey. However, we can still hold the three prefectures of Beiting. Moreover, in dire straits, they will not hesitate to drain the pond to catch all the fish, sweeping away all the grain in the city and countryside to hold out against our army for a long time. But can our army hold out for a long time?"

Chen Lizhen stammered, "The Northern Court might not be so easily defeated..."

Yan Zhuang smiled and said, "General Nan also said that we cannot rely on others, but can only rely on our own sons."

After hearing his analysis, most of the generals and officials frowned and remained silent, and even Wei Gao temporarily stopped insisting on his own position.

When the troops were initially dispatched, they were unaware of the Tibetan forces' movements and adopted a reactive approach, first securing their own position to avoid defeat before considering how to defeat the enemy. The initial assessment was that the main Tibetan force might concentrate its forces and resist step by step, or a portion might hold Su and Gua prefectures while the main army marched north to attack Tingzhou—a scenario that largely proved accurate. The only surprise was that Ma Chongying would launch a surprise attack on Zhangsancheng.

Unexpectedly, the barbarian army abandoned the cities of Fulu and Jiuquan, concentrating its main force west of Jiayuguan. Furthermore, Mang Re led his elite cavalry in an attack, only to be defeated in a single battle. Guazhou was thus left wide open, while Shang Jiexi led 50,000 barbarian troops to attack Beiting, but they hadn't gone far…

When the enemy situation is unclear, one can rely entirely on improvisation and not think too far ahead for the time being; but now that the enemy's movements are clear, everyone is hesitant. To be honest, as long as we act cautiously and avoid falling into traps, the possibility of losing is not high, but how can we seize the opportunity to gain greater benefits? We must plan carefully and cannot make a hasty judgment.

If what Lao Jing said is true, then there will definitely be a decisive battle, and the Tang army may suffer a crushing defeat, with this year's progress ending at Suzhou. If what Wei Gao said is true, it is relatively safer, but I fear that the Beiting army is not experienced in battle and may be defeated by the barbarian bandits in one fell swoop. In that case, they will still have the money and grain of three prefectures, and not only will the Tang army be unable to do anything to them this year, but it will also be much more difficult to make further progress in the future.

The best-case scenario is that the Tang army in Hexi advances slowly and successfully recaptures Guazhou, cutting off the retreat of the barbarian bandits, while the Beiting army can hold Tingzhou, so that Shang Jiexi's 50,000 main force, supported only by Yizhou, will collapse on its own without any need for an attack—that would be entirely a matter of luck.

After much deliberation, everyone finally focused their attention on Li Ji's face.

Li Ji placed his hands on the map, slowly raised his head, first looked around at his subordinates, and finally fixed his gaze on Yan Zhuang: "Mr. Yan just said that when calculating the population during the Tianbao era, how many households were there in the three prefectures of Beiting?"

“Two thousand three hundred households in Tingzhou, two thousand five hundred households in Yizhou, and twenty thousand households in Xizhou,” Yan Zhuang calculated silently with his fingers, then replied, “a total of eighty to ninety thousand Tang people.”

Li Ji then asked Jian, "How many troops does Beiting still have?"

"The three prefectures combined have less than 10,000 troops and no more than 1,000 warhorses."

Li Ji turned his gaze back to the map, and as if talking to himself, slowly said, "With less than ten thousand troops, we will surely be no match for the fifty thousand barbarian rebels. But I don't know how many days we can hold out... Even if we hold the cities, it's impossible for all one hundred thousand Tang people to enter them. Those scattered in the fields will surely be killed by the barbarian rebels. If Beiting falls, one hundred thousand compatriots will fall into the hands of the rebels, and the barbarian rebels will surely massacre them. I don't know how many will survive in the end..."

Compared to the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tibetan invasion of Tang China was not as brutal, because the vast majority of Tang people were captured and taken to the plateau to be enslaved by various noble tribes. Of course, while the rebel army might have killed about 10% of the population, and the Tibetan army at most 50%, it's hard to say how many years those 30-40% captured—the rest undoubtedly scattered or went into hiding—would have survived as slaves…

Most of the officers and soldiers didn't take Li Ji's words too seriously. After all, they had seen too much killing and looting in recent years. What did it matter if they were compatriots? As long as they weren't killed or captured right before their eyes, they could just treat them as numbers on paper. The world was vast, and there were so many Tang people. They could save them anywhere. What they were worried about was that once the barbarian army occupied Beiting, and might even take advantage of the victory to take Anxi, then the Western Regions would be completely lost. It would be extremely difficult to recover them, and the reopening of the Silk Road would be a long time coming.

With the Silk Road blocked, not only will the debts owed to merchants be impossible to repay, but there will also be no more willing to lose in the future. How long can Hexi Town hold out? As for the support from the imperial court in terms of money and provisions, there is absolutely no need to consider it—there will most likely be none, and even if there is, it will not be much.

Only Nan Jiyun slapped his thigh and shouted, "I've been feeling a bit stuck in my throat, but I couldn't figure it out. Your words, Grand Commandant, have enlightened me! Our army has the strength to fight, so how can we let these barbarian bandits get away so easily, allowing them to attack our allies and kill our Tang people? Back in Suiyang, I always resented our allies for sitting idly by and not advancing. Are we now going to follow the evil deeds of Xu Shuji and Helan Jinming?!" He then clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to the emperor and said, "I implore you, Grand Commandant, to make a swift decision and rush in to attack the main force of the barbarian bandits!"

Chapter 55, Determined to Save Lives

Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and others, during the siege of Suiyang, repeatedly cursed Xu Shuji and Helan Jinming for sitting idly by while their allies were trapped without coming to their aid. They often wondered, "If I were Xu or Helan, how would I lead the troops to rescue Suiyang? Although there are nearly 200,000 rebel troops under the walls of Suiyang, making a siege difficult, it's not entirely hopeless. Why are you only concerned with your own selfish interests and so disregard the overall situation?"

Today, the generals discussed the next military plan. Nan Jiyun felt that Wei Gao's suggestion to block information, postpone the advance, and first send Shang Jiexi to attack Beiting, while in accordance with military strategy, was not quite right. He pointed out, "What if Beiting cannot be held for long?" However, although he had spoken, he still felt he hadn't quite hit the mark, until Li Ji spoke, and then he suddenly realized—

Damn it! When friendly forces are in danger, they only think about their own troops, slowing down their advance and not rushing to their aid. How is this any different from the actions of traitors like Xu Shuji and Helan Jinming in the past?!

Recalling the comrades and civilians who died in battle and starved to death during the siege of Suiyang, Nan Jiyun was heartbroken, his eyes reddening. He immediately pleaded with Li Ji to make a swift decision: "Let's rush in and attack Guazhou, forcing Shang Jiexi to retreat."

"Let alone fifty thousand, even if two hundred thousand come, we shall fight! A true man has no reason to retreat!"

Xu Yu hurriedly said, "Grand Commandant, you pity the Tang people of Beiting and truly have the heart of a gentleman; General Nan is eager to go to the aid of your allies, which is also in line with the meaning of 'No Clothes'. However, in the end, the enemy outnumbers us, and it is difficult to guarantee victory in battle. As Sun Tzu said, 'A ruler should not raise an army in anger, nor should a general attack in resentment.' I urge you to think it over carefully."

Nan Jiyun glared and retorted, "Sun Tzu also said: 'Anger can be replaced by joy, and resentment can be replaced by pleasure, but a lost country cannot be restored, and the dead cannot be brought back to life.' Now, the Beiting army has 100,000 men. If they fall into the hands of the enemy, they will die and cannot be brought back to life. Does General Xu really have no mercy? Can a person without benevolence be considered a human being?!"

Xu Yu waved his hands repeatedly and said, "That's not what I meant. I hope the general will not be too angry and that we will plan carefully before we act."

Yan Zhuang interjected, "In my opinion, we should still advance hastily. However, once the main force of the barbarian army returns, we must carefully consider where and how to fight them before taking action. From Yumen Pass to Yiwu, there are no rivers or water and grass for over six hundred li. If the barbarian bandits have already arrived and hear that we have captured Guazhou, they will know that there is no way to retreat and will surely rush to attack Tingzhou and refuse to return. If they learn of our arrival halfway and are forced to leave due to the dangerous road, they will return. Their soldiers will surely be exhausted, and our army, having rested and ready, may not be without a chance of victory."

Li Ji nodded slightly, then a smirk appeared on his lips, revealing an inscrutable smile. He looked around at the officers and soldiers and slowly said, "I have read some of the legends and stories written by Judge Lü (Lü Xiqian). I wonder if any of you have read or heard of them? As for Wei Changli and Yang Weizhou, I'm sure all the officials in Hexi know perfectly well who they are referring to..."

Everyone smiled, but they didn't understand why the Grand Commandant had brought this up during the military discussion, so they didn't dare to smile too loudly.

Li Ji continued, “Many loyal ministers and generals, or heroes from humble backgrounds, in his legends and tales were wholeheartedly devoted to driving out foreign invaders, supporting the nation, assisting the emperor, and bringing peace to the common people. You must all think that I am the same. But in truth, my ambition is not to restore the nation, but to save people—in the second year of the Zhide era, when the current emperor was the Grand Marshal of the Army, I followed him eastward to retake Chang'an. The late emperor, in a moment of folly, actually promised all the treasures, silks, and women of the two capitals to the Uyghur reinforcements…”

He publicly criticized the late Emperor Li Heng. Because of his own status, no one took it seriously, but no one dared to agree with him or even nod. They could only listen quietly with their hands clasped.

"...In my opinion, it is unacceptable to offer tribute and gifts, but to hand over our fellow Tang people to foreign tribes is intolerable! Therefore, in front of Chunming Gate, I dared to pounce on the Uyghur Prince Yehu and give him a good beating—General Jing was there that day, which proves that what I said is true."