Chapter 280 Is there a time when the prosperous Tang Dynasty was rebuilt?
Returning to Shazhou from Xizhou, Li Yan sat in front of the sand table in the governor's mansion in Dunhuang.
Shang Qixin'er, the Tubo East Daoist, mobilized soldiers to attack the Hexi Corridor. This battle can be said to be more dangerous than the Jinshan Pass.
During the Battle of Jinshan Pass, it could be said that it was a deliberate calculation but not intentional. Li Yan grasped the movements of the Tibetan army, and used the monks of Daleiyin Temple to set a bait to ambush Shang Qixin'er's army.
But this time, the Tubo army came out from the Qilian Pass. The terrain of the Qilian Pass was wide, and Zhangye's small force alone could not stop it.
Although the army has gathered towards Zhangye, the number of troops capable of fighting in Longyou is still less than that of Shang Qixin'er.
What's even more dangerous is that there is Chisong Dezan behind Shang Qi Xin'er. If Shang Qi Xin'er really cuts off Hexi, the Tubo Zanpu in the rear will definitely march towards Longyou.
But what is behind King Jianning?
The imperial army was newly defeated, and it was necessary to borrow troops from the Uighurs to regain the capital.
Even if Longyou is attacked, the princes in the court may come up with a plan to abandon Longyou again.
It’s just that I don’t feel bad for selling my father’s land.
From the appointment of Fang Guan, the Hexi Jiedu envoy, to Longyou to promote the conversion of horses into mulberry trees, we can see the court's attitude towards Longyou.
That is to plunder as much as you can. For the imperial court, the two capitals are the key, and anything like Longyou can be discarded.
There was no Tang Dynasty behind Li Yan, only millions of soldiers and civilians in Longyou.
When he thought of this, Li Yan felt a lot of weight on his shoulders.
He had read the history books in the forum and the Han people's tragedy after Longyou was occupied by Tubo for a hundred years. He wanted to stop this no matter what.
At this moment, Xu Jun, the chief of staff next to Li Yan, opened the door and came in.
"Your Highness, General Yuchi's army has broken the siege of Chishui Army and will be able to rush to Wuwei City tomorrow."
Li Yan looked at the sand table and asked:
"How many days will it take for reinforcements from the rear to arrive?"
Xu Jun immediately said: "It will take half a month before the reinforcements from Beiting can reach Zhangye. However, the troops from Shazhou, Xizhou and Guazhou have already set off, and it will only take ten days to reach Zhangye."
Li Yan nodded, opened a chair and sat down, but instead of looking at the sand table in Longyou, he stared at the complete picture of the Tang Dynasty on the wall and said:
"Commander Xu, you said that we have a hundred thousand troops in the Tang Dynasty, and there are famous generals like Guo Ziyi, why was there a defeat in Qingqu?"
Xu Jun was stunned at this moment, "King Jianning, why don't you act according to common sense?"
Xu Jun had made strategic preparations for the Battle of Hexi and conducted detailed war games for the upcoming battle under Wuwei City.
Unexpectedly, King Jianning did not ask about the war in Longyou, but instead discussed the defeat of Qingqu.
Xu Jun was stunned at this moment. Although the defeat of Qingqu was only a few words in the history books, this defeat was also a stain on Guo Ziyi's career as a general.
However, this defeat, which was only recorded in the history books, destroyed tens of thousands of elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, and almost wiped out all the elite border troops mobilized by Shuofang.
The impact of this defeat in this era was so strong that even some small countries in the Western Region knew the news and were ready to take action.
Li Yan was also puzzled, why An Shouzhong, who guarded Xijing with only 4,000 men, could defeat hundreds of thousands of Tang troops.
If it were an army like the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army, it would be fine. The border troops in Shuofang, Longyou and other places were the most powerful armies of the Tang Dynasty in this era.
Xu Jun thought for a while and said: "The court is responsible for the defeat of Qingqu."
Xu Jun had no choice but to open the game forum, find a hot post discussing the defeat of Qingqu, and quickly browsed it.
Li Yan nodded and said: "Are you saying that the imperial court should not rush to use troops, but should first cut off the retreat of the puppet Yan, besiege the two capitals, and then attack Xijing?"
Xu Jun didn't know why, but he suddenly figured out something. He said: "It is not a strategic issue. Whether it is cutting off the retreat of the puppet Yan, or taking Xijing directly, there are actually pros and cons in strategy."
"A hundred thousand troops besieged Xijing, and only An Shouzhong's five thousand men guarded Xijing. There was no way there should have been such a defeat."
Li Yan became interested and continued to ask:
"Then why was there such a huge defeat?"
Xu Jun immediately said: "What I said was just behind closed doors. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
"But it doesn't matter. No one in my family has ever been convicted for his words."
Xu Jun then said: "The defeat of Qingqu was due to the Tang army's improper command and the puppet Yan army's last-ditch battle."
"But the root cause of this great defeat is actually the imperial court."
"All the princes in the imperial court think and calculate are nothing more than their own private schemes."
"Prime Minister Wei Jiansu, the head of the Wei family in Jingzhao, after the establishment of the puppet Yan Dynasty, there were also sons from the clan who served as officials in the puppet Yan Dynasty."
"The magistrate of Baicheng County who was beheaded by His Highness was also a descendant of Jingzhao Wei."
"These children of a wealthy family only have the honor and disgrace of their family in their eyes, and all they want to do is preserve the glory and wealth of their family. They are betting on both ends and plundering the people's fat and anointing. Are the policies they adopt righteous?"
Li Yan was stunned. He didn't expect Xu Jun to start from this angle.
Then Xu Jun added: "Your Highness also saw it when he arrived at Longyou. The fifth captain of the Doulu Army regards the soldiers as slaves, and all the men in Longyou are ashamed to be soldiers."
"The imperial court spent a lot of money to recruit soldiers, but the people they recruited were only gangsters from the market. The soldiers only ate food and received rewards. In the eyes of the people of Longyou, soldiers were no different from bandits."
"The elite soldiers of Longyou Shuofang are only skilled in bows and horses, but in a large army fighting, how can only one person be brave enough to help?"
"The imperial court, from the prime minister to the county magistrate, all serve only for their own selfish purposes. The reason why such a court can win the battle is because Guo Ziyi leads the troops well."
"Even so, a world-famous general like Guo Ziyi still wants to stigmatize himself to protect himself. It is not surprising that Qingqu was defeated."
Li Yan asked casually because of his feelings, but he didn't expect Xu Jun to express such a penetrating point of view.
He sighed and said, "If we want to recreate the prosperous Tang Dynasty, where does Staff Officer Xu think we should start?"
Xu Jun said categorically: "If we want to recreate the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the most important thing is to govern by officials!"
"Official administration?"
"The things in this world need people from all over the world. If the people who do things are selfish and do it for themselves, nothing in this world can be done well."
"Emperor Taizong can conquer the world because the emperor and his ministers are united. Only when the emperor and his ministers are selfless can the world be for the common good."
Li Yan nodded, Xu Jun was indeed right. In the early days of the dynasty, even if the court was not wealthy, the monarchs and ministers could act impartially, so the people often lived and worked in peace and contentment.
At this time, the army may have insufficient equipment and even insufficient soldiers after experiencing troubled times, but the army's combat effectiveness is very strong.
Taizong was able to capture Hexi with only a few thousand men, but now the imperial court had an army of 100,000, but was defeated by An Shouzhong's 5,000 rebels.
Xu Jun added: "I heard that during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the soldiers of the government were rewarded for their merits and punished for their demerits. People from poor backgrounds could also be granted the title of Zhu Kingdom. Children of princes and ministers who made mistakes would also be punished by military law."
"In this way, soldiers will naturally use their lives, those who are capable will be promoted, and those who are not will be demoted. Naturally, they will be victorious in every battle."
Xu Jun raised his hand to Li Yan and said, "Your Highness, please don't forget today's question. Only then can the prosperous Tang Dynasty be rebuilt."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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