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

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 command 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.

To facilitate the attack on Lanzhou and Diezhou, his 30,000 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!

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.