Chapter 353: Fallen but not rebellious

Yiwu County, Yizhou, is the first state to enter Beiting, which is today Hami, Xinjiang. Since early March, Tang troops from all over the country began to gather in Yizhou one after another. Except for Xiao Bolu's army's long distance, most of the Anxi troops in Kucha, Yutian, Saiye, and Tingzhou have arrived. By mid-April, nearly 70,000 Anxi troops had gathered in Yizhou.

The dense Anxi tent is stationed outside Yiwu City, stretching for three miles, and there are still troops coming from the distant West and merging into this huge military camp.

Li Qing'an has been in Yizhou for more than a month. His daily work is to read a large amount of information sent from all over the country. Cui Ganyou led his army to advance eastward, but he would send two messengers to deliver the letter every day to report to Li Qing'an's daily advancement.

The second is the information sent by the Han and Tang dynasties from all over the Tang Dynasty. This was originally the intelligence system of the Han and Tang dynasties, but now it has been slightly transformed by Li Qing'an and has become his intelligence network. Yiwu has a pigeon letter transit point, and the information sent by the Han and Tang dynasties from all over the country gathers in Yiwu and gathers to Li Qing'an's desk.

The central army tent of the military camp is located in the middle of the military camp, and is a huge white tent. This is the place where senior generals of the Anxi Army hold meetings to discuss important matters. It is close to the central army tent and four small tents, which are connected to the large tent, sand table tent, Li Qing'an's bedroom tent, and a small conference room and a place where Li Qing'an handles daily documents.

At this time, Li Qing'an was in the sand table tent. He was staring at the sand table map in the Guanlong area with all his concentration. After several years of production, he not only owned the sand table in the entire Anxi area, but also had sand table maps in major areas such as Hezhong, Hexi, and Guanlong. The production was very detailed. Not only were the mountains, rivers and plains basically the same as the original appearance, but even the bridges, cities, villages, towns, and the population, grain and food production in various places, and even the military camps all put small signs on the sand table to make notes. It can be said that this is a very strategically valuable all-round three-dimensional map.

Of course, the army will be mobilized and the population will be moved, so this information must be updated in time.

The reason why Li Qing'an was concerned about Guanlong was because he had just received emergency information. Li Longji was going to patrol the Shuofang and personally negotiated the conditions for withdrawal with the Uighurs. Li Qing'an also received information that An Sishun refused to hand over the power. At the same time, he also received news that Geshuhan led his army into Dafeichuan. Both of these news were as expected. Whether it was An Sishun or Geshuhan, they would not be able to hand over military power so easily. Except for the Hedong Jiedushi, the only thing that is easy for him to deal with is He Luguang, the governor of the Five Prefectures of Lingnan, and none of the other five Jiedushishushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushushus

Li Longji's intentions were too obvious, which made other governors wary and tried every means to escape the seizure of power. This time, Li Longji went to Shuofang in person, nominally negotiated with the Uighur Khan, but in fact he was personally taking action to seize An Sishun's military power.

According to the information, Li Longji mobilized 200,000 troops to hunt Shuofang, but Li Qing'an knew that there were actually no 200,000, at least there were 30,000 troops missing from Li Qing. Li Qing's original plan was to lead 70,000 troops north, but in fact he only had 40,000 troops, and there were 80,000 Guanzhong troops. Li Qing'an did not take these troops seriously. The original Guanzhong army was a well-trained army, but Gao Xianzhi transferred 100,000 Guanzhong troops into Jiannan due to the lack of military strength in Nanzhao, and did not come back. More than half of this Guanzhong army was recruited new troops. It was not long after joining the army. A large part of them were pampered Yulin Army, most of whom came from famous families. They were okay as honored guards, but it was a bit difficult to ask them to go to the battlefield to fight.

But Li Qingan was more concerned about the Hedong Army crossing the Yellow River. He did not understand why Li Longji made this decision, which only means that Li Longji was extremely stupid, or that he had already decisively suffered any consequences in order to seize An Sishun's military power.

"Have you gone to invite Mr. Yan?" Li Qingan turned around and asked his personal soldiers.

"Report to the general, he has gone, and it will probably come soon."

"Yeah!" Li Qing'an nodded. He suddenly remembered something again and said, "Immediately send a pigeon letter to Chang'an, and I will find out where the imperial concubine became a monk as soon as possible."

This is also a piece of news that Li Qing'an just received. There was a secret in the palace that Yang Guifei actually left the Daming Palace and became a female Taoist priest outside the palace. Li Qing'an knew a little about it that Yang Guifei and Li Longji had a bad relationship, and had something to do with him. He was very worried about Yang Guifei's safety.

At this time, Rushi walked in through the small tent door next to her, holding a bowl of medicine in her hand, and said with a smile: "Does my brother care about the imperial concubine so much?"

Since the Byzantine Princess incident, Mingyue no longer believes in Li Qing'an's consciousness. In order to control Li Qing'an, she asked Rushi to follow Li Qing'an and take care of his daily life.

Generally speaking, as long as it is not a war, it is normal for the Tang army commander to go out and bring a woman with him.

Of course, there are female guards in the Anxi Army's barracks, which is a major feature of the Anxi Army. In addition to the Anxi Army, An Lushan's Fan Yang Army also imitates the female guards system established by the Anxi Army. In addition, there is a female archer in Gao Xianzhi's Jiannan Army, which is also a major feature.

In addition to these normal female soldiers, there are actually some special women in each army, that is, military prostitutes. Women are lubricants to stabilize the morale of the army. Their existence is very important to the army and is almost in major armies. Although the tradition of the Anxi Army is that there are no military prostitutes, every military governor will allow prostitutes to come to do business. The officers in charge of camping will set up more than a dozen camp tents outside the back door. After the soldiers obtain permission, they will come here to enjoy the taste of women in a steady stream. The soldiers call these camp tents "beauty tents". Of course, most prostitutes have nothing to do with beauties.

Rushi came to Yizhou with Li Qing'an this time. She not only had to take care of Li Qing'an's daily life, but also assisted the old Sogdian doctor Borodo to treat Li Qing'an's illness. To cure Li Qing'an's illness, it is not possible to cure it in a few months. It takes a long time to observe and constantly add medicine and reduce medicine. It takes at least three or four months, and even longer.

Treating Li Qing'an's illness requires some of Li Qing'an's privacy. It is not convenient for personal soldiers to make it even more inconvenient for other women. Only his own women are the most suitable.

"Brother, take medicine!"

Rushi handed the medicine bowl to Li Qing'an. Seeing a trace of unnatural flashes in Li Qing'an's eyes, she pursed her lips and said, "Is it my problem that embarrassing my brother?"

Li Qingan took the medicine bowl and laughed and said, "Where have you thought about it? The Imperial Concubine has been kind to me. She recognized Mingyue as her sister again. It is normal for me to care about her. Besides, she is my apprentice. You are thinking too much. I am afraid that she will be taken advantage of by evil people, so I have to protect her."

Rushi smiled and said, "I'm just asking casually. Why are you explaining so much?"

"If you don't explain this clearly, maybe you will write a report to your elder sister again, which will make my life difficult."

"That's because you feel guilty. What's there to say about this kind of thing?"

Rushi pointed to the medicine bowl and smiled and said, "Hurry up and take medicine! It will be cold in a while."

Li Qing'an drank the medicine in one breath. At this time, Yan Zhuang quickly walked in and smiled: "When will the general be able to let us see Anxi's young marshal?"

Li Qingan also smiled and said, "I'm working hard, hurry up!"

Yan Zhuang joked at Rushi again: "Miss Rushi, your responsibility is very important!"

Rushi blushed, and she quickly walked to the back tent with an empty bowl. Li Qing'an pointed to the chair and signaled him to sit down, "Sir, are you so happy, have you heard any good news?"

Yan Zhuang sat down, squinted his eyes and said, "Does the general think it's not good news?"

"I also think this is good news, so I asked the gentleman to discuss what we should do next?"

The smile on Yan Zhuang's face disappeared, and his eyes became serious. He pondered for a moment: "Actually, I have been considering this issue. If the emperor cuts his vassal like this, it will definitely cause very serious consequences. From the resistance of An Sishun and Geshuhan, it can be seen that these important officials in the frontier have already had the intention to resist. Geshuhan and An Sishun may not be able to cause trouble because of insufficient troops, but An Lushan is different. He has been in Hebei for more than ten years and has sufficient soldiers and food. In order to protect his military power, he has done everything he can. If the emperor insists on seizing his military power, he may have rebelled for eight or nine out of ten. Once An Lushan rebelled, the world will inevitably be in chaos. Will the general's chance come?"

Li Qingan shook his head gently and said, "There is another possible possibility that Mr. Wang did not expect, that is, An Lushan would not dare to act rashly, and instead deal with Gao Xianzhi. This is like I suppressing bandits in Hexi. Maybe An Lushan will also come to suppress bandits in Hedong. In this way, the possibility of An Lushan's rebellion will be very small, and the situation in the court and China will be stalemate, which can be maintained for at least a few years, so that I will have time to continue to operate Anxi."

Yan Zhuang understood what Li Qing'an meant. Li Qing'an didn't want to send troops to the Central Plains now. He hoped to win a little more time to prepare for the war. Indeed, this was very necessary. On the one hand, Li Qing'an could not have complete control over the Anxi army. Only his direct descendants and loyal followers would support him in fighting for the world. Many officials still supported the court, so he needed time to tighten the army. On the other hand, the four sides of Anxi were still unstable, and Tubo had the possibility of backlash. The Uighurs were still in strength. Once the Dashi resolved the domestic crisis, it would inevitably continue to advance eastward. But once Li Qing'an entered the Central Plains, it would be difficult for Anxi to remain so strong. In this way, Li Qing'an still needed time to completely solve the adverse factors around him.

Yan Zhuang walked a few steps behind his back, and then he walked to the sand table and stared at the mountains, rivers and rivers on the sand table. After a while, he slowly said: "Maybe I have a plan to make the situation in the Central Plains form the situation that the general wants, so that An Lushan will be stiff and not rebel."

"Sir, please tell me!" Li Qingan also walked to the sand table.

Yan Zhuang picked up the wooden pole next to him and pointed to Shuofang and said, "An Sishun's military strength is too small. The emperor's deprived him of military power this time and will definitely succeed. Inspired by this success, the emperor will definitely strike while the iron is hot and continue to deprive the vassal force, either Geshuhan or An Lushan."

Yan Zhuang general Mugan Longyou Qinghai area and said, "Ge Shuhan has led his army to Dafeichuan. The terrain in that area is very high, and people with weak bodies cannot enter at all, and the emperor cannot enter either, so he may not touch Ge Shuhan. I guess he is most likely to attack An Lushan directly."

Li Qingan didn't say anything. He listened quietly to Yan Zhuang's analysis. Yan Zhuang continued: "So to realize the situation that the general wants, the key is here. We must force him to give up his tough cuts on An Lushan."

Speaking of this, Yan Zhuang gently stroked his beard and smiled, "Did the general think of my plan?"

At this time, Li Qing'an's eyes fell on Hexi, and Yan Zhuang strode his palm and laughed: "The General is indeed a little clear!"

He pointed to Hexi with a wooden pole and said, "That's right! My plan is to enter Hexi again. Now Geshuhan has transferred the Hexi army. Hexi is extremely empty. It is a great opportunity to occupy Hexi. As long as the general sends troops to Hexi, the emperor will definitely be afraid and dare not use tough measures to deal with An Lushan. In that case, An Lushan's pressure will be reduced and his rebellion will be greatly reduced. After all, he will need time."

Li Qingan nodded slowly and said, "Mr.'s plan is very insightful!"

He took the wooden pole and pointed to the western part of Hexi and smiled: "Occupy all Hexi will be detrimental to politics. As long as I take down Shazhou and Guazhou, the gate of Hexi will be open to me. What do you think?"

"The general is right. In fact, it's enough to take Shazhou. And the general can write to the crown prince and the court, saying that he found Tubo sentry appeared in the Shazhou area. Now there are no soldiers in Hexi. I hope the court can allow the Anxi army to enter Hexi to defend. As long as the court or the crown prince agrees, the general will be famous for his troops. Moreover, when the troops from Shazhou will inevitably pass through Yumen Pass, Guazhou, and Guazhou will also fall into his pocket."

Speaking of this, Yan Zhuang suddenly turned his eyes and smiled proudly: "Don't there be Tubo Army armor in the trophy in the warehouse? So the general sent someone to dress up as Tubo Army to harass Dunhuang County and asked the Dunhuang County Magistrate to ask the general for help. Wouldn't it be even more famous for his troops?"

Li Qingan laughed loudly and praised with a thumbs up: "If you talk about conspiracy, no one in the world will be the right person."

Seven days later, a thousand Tubo army appeared thirty miles west of Dunhuang County. At this time, the Doulu army stationed in Shazhou had been transferred by Geshuhan, and there were only hundreds of village warriors in Shazhou. The appearance of the Tubo army caused great fear to the whole country of Shazhou. The people around them entered the city to hide their lives. On the one hand, the Chief of Sha Prefecture and the Dunhuang County Magistrate quickly reported to the court, ordering them to urgently send people to ask for help from the Anxi Army stationed in Xingxingxia and the Yiwu Army stationed in Yizhou.

Soon, Li Qing'an got a letter of help, and he immediately wrote to the court to explain the situation to the Zhengshitang and Li Yu. At the same time, he personally led an army of 30,000 through Xingxing Gorge and marched towards Hexiguazhou and Shazhou.

At the same time as Li Qing'an marched towards Shazhou, the grassland in the northern desert was also turned upside down by Cui Qianyou. On the vast grassland, more than 60,000 Tang and Hu coalition troops swept over, riding over the grasslands, and they killed and looted them all the way. A month later, the army arrived in the upper reaches of the Yakun River where the Uighurs tent was located.

The news of the coalition forces coming soon reached the Uighur tent. At this time, the main force of the Uighurs was still in the Jiuyuan area. The people who stayed behind the tent were Guchutle, the second son of Gele Khan, and Yanzhijialu, Zaiguo, and more than 10,000 troops left behind.

The terrified horn echoed on the banks of the Yakun River. Women, children and elderly people abandoned their tents and fled, and rushed to the golden tent for help. At this time, a military officer who reported the news rushed over and rushed to the door of the tent and exclaimed: "Your Highness, the enemy is less than thirty miles away from here, and is coming quickly. There are as many as 50,000 or 60,000 people, and it is unstoppable. Please leave quickly."

In the big tent, Prince Guchutler was urgently discussing countermeasures with a group of civil servants and nobles. When they heard the news, everyone's faces changed drastically. Guchutler said panic: "Everyone, the enemy has arrived, how should we deal with it?"

Jaeguo Yanzhigala hurriedly said, "Everyone listens to me. The enemy is powerful and we cannot resist. We must evacuate immediately. We cannot take any cattle and sheep property. It is important to save our lives!"

At this time, the curtain was lifted, and the Uighur general Ba Lan rushed into the tent and shouted: "You can take Your Highness away. I will lead the army to stop the Tang army. If you can resist for a moment, it will be too late if you don't leave."

After shouting, he took out the burial and turned over his horse, and ordered: "Speak the roar, assemble the army!"

"Woo——" A series of trumpets sounded on the grassland. This was the order to gather troops. More than 10,000 Uighur cavalry gathered from all directions. In a moment, ten thousand troops had already gathered. At this time, hundreds of officials and nobles including Prince Guchutler and Jaiguo Yanzhigaluo had fled south in panic. The grassland was full of women, children and elderly people riding horses. The tents were falling, and the milk collecting jars were poured over the ground. The flock of sheep fled in scattered. The old men and children, screams and cries were connected, and the scene was chaotic.

At this moment, a long black line appeared on the grassland more than ten miles away in the west. The Tang and Hu coalition forces arrived. When the general Ba Lan saw that the situation was extremely critical, he waved his sword and ordered: "Huihe warriors, come with me to fight!"

"Kill!" More than 10,000 Uighur cavalry waved their swords and rushed towards the enemy.

At this time, the general of the coalition army, Cui Qianyou, also noticed a large army coming from the other side. He waved his hand and said, "Slowly reorganize the army!"

The 60,000 troops immediately slowed down the pace of the attack, gradually stopped advancing, and began to quickly arrange formations on the grassland and organize the teams. They arranged in order of each tribe. In the middle were 6,000 Tang troops. As the Uighur army got closer, Cui Qianyou shouted loudly: "The army is ready to attack!"

Countless swords, guns, swords and halberds pointed at the Uighur army, like dense forests of weapons. The team began to run, and the two sides were getting closer and closer, less than two miles apart. When Cui Qianyou saw that the time had come, he shouted, "Beat the drum, impact!"
Chapter completed!