Chapter 289: Lushan’s plan

Today is destined to be the day when Li Longji is in trouble. Gao Lishi has just finished appeasement, and the eunuchs come to report to the prince of Dongping and the general of the cavalry. An Lushan asked for a meeting.

Li Longji was already very tired. He was about to postpone it until tomorrow, but when he changed his mind, he said to Yu Chaoen: "Go and announce his visit!"

Yu Chaoen was a little uneasy. Although Gao Lishi's failure to retire from office certainly disappointed him, Li Longji's trust in Gao Lishi really frustrated him. Only then did he realize that he was just a eunuch. It was still a distant dream that he wanted to replace Gao Lishi.

When Li Longji ordered him to go to Xuan'an Lushan, he was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly woke up and left in a hurry. After a moment, An Lushan walked in quickly with a bunch of fat. Although he was fat, he was very flexible and half-kneeled to Li Longji to salute, "Among His Majesty An Lushan, see Your Majesty!"

In recent years, Li Longji liked this Hu man very much. He was understanding. Even though his son could not even imagine, he actually sent him a love-enhancing fragrance that could restore a man's might. Although the consequences of this love-enhancing fragrance were very serious, Li Longji was still very grateful to An Lushan and trusted him very much. Even with the contribution of An Lushan to defeat the Khitan, he even named him the Prince of Dongping, which opened the precedent for the Tang Dynasty to be crowned kings of a different surname.

At today's court meeting, An Lushan was considerate of himself in the details, which moved Li Longji. Li Longji looked at the honest and honest man and smiled and said, "You big fat man, I have resented you for one year's salary. Are you resenting me?"

An Lushan was so scared that his other knee fell down, kowtowed to Li Longji, and said in fear: "I just wish I could not die for Your Majesty!"

Li Longji laughed and pointed at him and said, "It's really Hu'er, he speaks without saying anything. Do you want me to die now?"

"I dare not! I dare not! I am just making an analogy. I am loyal to Your Majesty. Your Majesty asked me to go, but I dare not go west. Your Majesty asked me to jump into the sea. I dare not go down the river."

"Is that so? Then I asked you to return to Beijing to become an official, are you willing?" Li Longji asked with a smile.

An Lushan's heart almost stopped beating. He remembered what Li Qing'an said to him. The emperor deliberately transferred him back to Beijing. Could it be true? Or is His Majesty testing him? An Lushan's thoughts changed and immediately said: "I will obey Your Majesty's will."

"I am just joking with you and will not let you leave Fanyang. I also need you to watch Dongdamen for me. By the way, you are my dog ​​and an obese dog." Li Longji was in a good mood and joked with An Lushan.

An Lushan slowly let go of his heart. His back felt a chill, and sweat had already wet his back. He came to find Li Longji today for a purpose. He was always looking for opportunities. Today he inferred that Li Longji should be in a good mood. It just so happened that he performed well in the court today, and Li Longji should agree to his request.

At this time, he said carefully: "Your Majesty, I plan to attack Chishan this summer and pull out the important fortress of the Khitans. Please forgive me!"

Li Longji's smile slowly disappeared, and he pondered for a moment and said, "I am very moved by my dear, but the court is preparing to use large-scale troops against Tubo this fall, and the financial and material resources are concentrated in Longyou. I want to attack Chishan. I am worried that the court will not have the financial resources to support the two-line battles."

"Your Majesty, I have considered this matter. I plan to launch a blitzkrieg and attack Chishan with cavalry. In this way, I can take down Chishan in at most ten days, and there is no need for the support of the court's money and food. Moreover, if I take down Chishan, Fan Yang's pressure will be weakened, so I will concentrate my troops to train the court to share the worries."

Li Longji nodded and smiled, "Then tell me first, why did you suddenly think of going to fight the Khitan?"

An Lushan's head was buried deeply. After a while, his thick lips trembled and said, "Today, all the soldiers of the Anxi Army were granted official titles. I am afraid that I will not be able to explain to my subordinates when I go back, so......"

"You are very honest!" Li Longji praised: "This is the general I want to see. When I see someone else's high throne, I am not convinced. I have to work hard and fight. This is the result I hope to see after I enthrone the Anxi Army. All the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty can be shameless and advance, and strive to achieve meritoriousness and honor. I will never be stingy with that little official title. General An, I am sure of your request to attack Chishan!"

"Thank you for your understanding! Although I do not need the court to provide money and food, my cavalry may not be enough. I hope your majesty can agree to borrow cavalry from Shuofang."

"An Sishun is your brother, you can just discuss it yourself."

"No! No! The army is Your Majesty's army. I can only borrow An Sishun's sons. Without His Majesty's consent, I dare to borrow a soldier in Shuofang privately."

An Lushan's answer made Li Longji very satisfied. No matter how close his brothers are, they can only borrow their sons and nephews. The army is Li Longji's. Today, Fatty An performed very well and did have to reward him well. Li Longji said happily: "Okay! How many cavalry do you want to borrow? You can discuss with An Sishun, and I'll be sure."

What An Lushan wanted was this sentence. He had been waiting for this sentence for three years. He wanted no soldiers. He wanted the 20,000 most elite Shuofang Turkic cavalry.

"I will definitely fight to fight the enemy bravely and use the Khitan head to ask His Majesty for his merits!"

Just as An Lushan's plan to borrow troops was finally approved by Li Longji, Li Qing'an was taking Mansour to visit the West City of Chang'an. After a meal, their relationship had been much closer. Even Mansour proposed whether Li Qing'an could release the prisoners of war in the Great Food. Li Qing'an did not explicitly refuse, which means that the door to negotiations was not closed.

Although Li Qing'an's next step was to point his sword to Tocharo, the Tubo battle proposed by Geshuhan disrupted Li Qing'an's plan, forcing his Tocharo battle to be postponed. Of course, being able to deal with the Tubo people first and solve their worries is also one of the best solutions.

Therefore, Li Qingan also hopes to reach a settlement treaty similar to the armistice agreement with Dashi, so that he can have time to launch a war against Tubo. Otherwise, his logistics will not be provided for fighting on both sides. Li Qingan also knows that Dashi's main energy will be placed on Africa, which makes Dashi unable to fully counterattack the Tang army. Both sides have the intention to fight the war. Now it depends on who has the upper hand in the negotiations.

But this is not the purpose of Li Qing'an taking Mansour to visit Chang'an. It allows Mansour to understand the strong strength of the Tang Dynasty. Although this can play a certain role in the negotiations, Li Qing'an's intention is not here. Li Qing'an is a long-term person. He hopes that the broad mind of the Tang Dynasty can also absorb Islamic culture. He also hopes that Mansour, the successor of the Abbasid Empire, can understand the Tang Dynasty more deeply. War is not what he needs. He needs time to develop the Anxi economy, resettle immigrants, accumulate food and wealth, and consolidate his control of Li Qing'an's west of the Pamir Mountains.

War was not needed by the Tang Dynasty. Now it is no longer the prosperous era of Kaiyuan. Now it is the turning point of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline. In history, the Tang Dynasty was unable to suppress the Anshi Rebellion, which was largely the case that before the Anshi Rebellion broke out, the Tang Dynasty's military and economic foundation had been destroyed by continuous foreign wars and land annexation, so that the court finally compromised the Anshi Rebellion, which had affected thousands of years.

If any nation creates too many enemies, it will eventually perish. Tubo is the best example. The threat of the Han people always comes from the north. With the strong enemy of Tubo in the south and the Uighurs and Khitan in the north, it will be a stronger enemy in the west. This is not a correct national policy in any case.

Of course, the premise of all this is to drive the Dashi forces back to the west of the Amu River, beat them up and then establish friendship with them.

They walked slowly in the bustling crowds. Mansour held his hands behind his back and observed the most prosperous commercial market in the Tang Dynasty with great interest. The spacious streets and thousands of spectacular shops were piled with hill-like goods, exquisite porcelain, silk, fragrant tea, and snow-white paper. Every kind of goods is an expensive luxury in Damascus.

But what made Mansour feel the deepest was the confidence and health of the Tang people. Whether it was a high-ranking general like Li Qing'an or a humble porter who carried goods, their laughter was cheerful and confident. In front of them, a small porter would straighten his waist without any humble attitude.

‘This is a respectable nation’, Mansur thought to himself.

At this time, Mansour was attracted by a pair of exquisite Dayi white porcelain bottles on the counter of a porcelain shop. The porcelain bottles were as thin as white paper and crystal clear. He bent over and carefully observed the paintings on it. It was an ink-wash landscape painting. It was extremely exquisite, and Mansour showed reluctance in his eyes.

"Shopkeeper, how much does this pair of porcelain bottles cost?" Li Qingan asked with a smile.

The guy hurriedly stepped forward and smiled, "Customer, this pair of porcelain bottles is a display item in a small shop and is generally not sold. If the customer really wants it, I will ask the shopkeeper."

"No!"

An old man walked out and bowed and smiled, "The guest wants it, I'll give you this pair of porcelain bottles."

The old man had a sharp eye. He saw that Mansour and Li Qing'an and his group had extraordinary identities. They would not treat themselves badly when they gave them a pair of porcelain bottles.

"Thank you then!"

Li Qing'an smiled at Mansour and said, "Your Highness, this businessman said you are a guest from afar, so this pair of porcelain bottles is given to you."

"Ah! How can this be done?"

Mansour was stunned, and his eyes showed admiration. Is even a small businessman in Datang so unique? He took the porcelain bottle, quickly untied a pure gold dagger with gems from his waist, handed it to the shopkeeper with both hands, and said, "Although we Arabs are brothers everywhere, we don't owe strangers the friendship. You give me the porcelain bottle and I give you this dagger, so I feel at ease."

"This..." The shopkeeper was hesitant. He saw that the dagger was very expensive and didn't know if it should be taken. So he looked at Li Qing'an, and Li Qing'an nodded and smiled, "You just accept it!"

The shopkeeper took the dagger, thought for a while, and then quickly took out a sandalwood box from the cabinet and opened it. It was a pair of jade bottles that seemed to be used by Guanyin Bodhisattva. Of course, it was also porcelain, but it was the best-quality Dayi white porcelain with pictures of the palace maids on it. It was exquisite and obviously from the master's hand. It was obviously much better than the pair of porcelain bottles just now.

He handed the sandalwood box to Mansour and smiled: "This is the white porcelain fired by my old boss himself. It has not been many of them. This is the signature of our store. Please accept it! Your dagger is too expensive, and I can't take advantage of you."

Li Qingan did not translate, but the Sogdian translator who was following Mansour translated the shopkeeper's words to Mansour. Mansour thanked him repeatedly. After taking the pair of porcelain bottles, his eyes lit up. He wanted to present the precious porcelain bottles to the Caliph.

Seeing that the shopkeeper was neither humble nor arrogant, Li Qingan gave the Tang people a good face. He couldn't help but secretly applaud him, so he took out a famous thorn of his own and handed it to him and smiled: "If you have any difficulties, come to me even if you need help."

The shopkeeper took over the famous sect and immediately said 'Ah!' and hurriedly saluted Li Qing'an, "It turns out to be General Li. Xu Heng, a businessman from Chengdu Prefecture, has been heard for a long time and has defeated the Western Barbarians of the Great Shi. I am very impressed. Please accept my gift."

Li Qingan laughed loudly, and pointed at Mansour and said, "This is the crown prince of Dashi, can't you think?"

The shopkeeper scratched the back of his head, and the expression on his face was extremely strange. It was so strange that the opponents on the battlefield actually went shopping side by side.

After visiting the West City, Li Qing'an sent Mansur back to the Honglu Temple Guest House in the Imperial City. They would stay here and walk to the entrance of the guest hall. Pei Yong, the young minister of the Honglu Temple, stepped forward and said, "General, the news has been heard from Xingqing Palace. Tomorrow the General will receive the Grand Food Envoy in the Datong Hall. The Emperor invites the General to attend the meeting together."

"I understand, have the food and accommodation arrangements for the big food guests?"

"Please rest assured that we have arranged according to the highest specifications and will not neglect the guests."

Li Qing'an nodded, turned around and bowed to Mansour and smiled, "Your Highness is tired all the way. Please rest well. You can eat in the museum or go to the lunch place. Your Highness can make a decision for himself, and I will lose my companion for the time being."

Mansour hurriedly bowed to Li Qing'an and thanked him: "Thank you for your reception, which made me feel General Li's sincerity."

At this time, Li Qingan suddenly remembered something and said with a smile: "In another seven days, it will be the day of my official wedding. I will invite Your Highness to attend my wedding."

Mansour was very surprised. It turned out that the Tang army coach was not married yet. He smiled happily and said, "Okay! I will definitely come to participate."

Li Qingan gave a few more words to the officials of Honglu Temple, then said goodbye to the envoy of the Great Food and his party and headed towards Dugu Mansion. He needed to share the joy of being the king with his relatives.

In the Qinrenfang, in An Lushan's mansion, An Lushan's general Liu Luogu walked through the yard and hurried to the study. In the study, An Lushan was discussing the mobilization of Abus' army with another adviser Gao Shang. After the end of the Shibao City Battle three years ago, An Lushan began to plan for this elite Turkic cavalry. At first, he hoped that Abus's tribe would propose to migrate to Youzhou. For this reason, he offered generous conditions for Abus's ranch covering an area of ​​100,000 acres. The people of his tribe did not need to pay a single tax, but in the end he was still

Abus refused and told him clearly that his tribe would never go to Fanyang. An Lushan guessed that Abu saw through his intentions. At this time, his brother An Sishun was transferred to Shuofang Jiedushi. An Lushan was overjoyed and immediately negotiated with An Sishun on this matter, hoping that An Sishun could promote the eastward movement of Abusun's troops to Fanyang. Unexpectedly, An Sishun had an ambiguous attitude. Although he agreed, he actually did not take any action. Under An Lushan's repeated pressure, An Sishun had to find an excuse. He needed Li Longji's consent before he could let him go.

Now that Li Longji has agreed, An Lushan was overjoyed, and An Sishun had no reason to hold on. Now that An Sishun's problem has been solved, the rest is Abus' attitude, but An Lushan doesn't care much about this. As soon as Li Longji's decree is issued, Abus must comply with the emperor's mobilization, and the Secretariat has drafted the decree to send it to the palace, and news should be heard soon.

"Congratulations to the Grandmaster, the wish of several years has finally come true."

An Lushan's pumpkin showed a smug smile on his face and said, "I have been waiting for this day for three years. There has never been any item that makes me so persistent. It is really the elite combat power of this cavalry. It just makes up for the weakness of the cavalry of the Fanyang Army and complements my Youzhou Iron Cavalry. Moreover, the relocation of Abus's troops in the east can also bring me a steady stream of war horses. This is also a long-term deal. After getting this cavalry, I should plan to Hedong in the next step."

Gao Shang is one of An Lushan's two major strategists. Yan Zhuang was missing for many years and his whereabouts are still unknown. He became An Lushan's number one strategist. Although An Lushan has many staff members, An Lushan trusts and is resourceful, there is only Gao Shang. Gao Shang is about fifty years old and is quite fat. He has a long beard and a pair of slender eyes flashing with a cunning gaze.

He gently stroked his long beard and said, "But in order to be foolproof, the general should send someone to intercept Abus halfway to prevent him from escaping."

As soon as he finished speaking, a report from his general Liu Luogu came from outside the door: "Report to the Grand Marshal, there is news!"

"Come in!"

Liu Luogu was the eyeliner that An Lushan put in Chang'an. Every year, An Lushan allocated a large amount of funds to Liu Luogu, asking him to make friends with powerful people and bribe the eunuchs around Li Longji. Whenever there was any disturbance in the court, Liu Luogu sent a letter to Fanyang as quickly as possible. Liu Luogu walked into the room and bowed and said, "Report to the Grand Marshal, news came from the palace that the emperor had officially approved the Grand Marshal's memorial on the use of Abus's troops to Fanyang to assist in the war. The decree had just been sent to the Ministry of War and Shuofang."

"well!"

An Lushan applauded repeatedly, and he smiled proudly and said, "Now, I will make my dream come true, haha!"

Gao Shang next to him saw that Liu Luogu wanted to speak but stopped. He seemed to have something to say, so he asked, "Is there any news?"

Liu Luogu sighed and said, "The Grand Marshal asked Abus to come to the banquet in the evening, but he refused to come!"

"Retire him? Humph! I saw that he was fine in the morning, what would he have if he had any illness? Forget it, I won't invite him anymore."

An Lushan turned around and said to Gao Shang: "Mr. Chua said that Abus would escape, so where would he escape?"

"It should be escaping into the desert, but I have heard that Abus and Uighur Khan have a bad relationship. We should prevent him from calling him a Khan independently. I still have the same suggestion to control Abus and make him unable to escape."
Chapter completed!