Xue Bai moved swiftly, flipping over the map on the desk and throwing it to the ground. He pulled another one, picked up a charcoal pencil and quickly drew the marching route on it until it was densely drawn.
As if he was solving a difficult problem, he still fell into a dead end in his thinking, so he took off the map again and started over.
After doing this several times, he finally rubbed his forehead and dropped the pen in his hand.
They were far apart, and the information sent back to Chang'an was too much and too confusing, including the reports from Wang Nan and Guo Ziyi, which conflicted. He could no longer reconstruct the true situation of the northwest battlefield from them.
The only thing that can be certain is that Dazhalu Gong really divided his troops, but whether it was divided into four, five, or even six groups. In fact, no Tang army actually found out where each Tibetan army was going to attack, and the Tang army generals
I also have my own guesses.
For example, Wang rarely sent a memorial saying that the Tibetan army must drive back to Guanzhong, and asked to lead the army back to guard Chang'an; Guo Ziyi believed that this was a formation of suspicion caused by Da Zhalu Gong's old story, in order to make the Tang army run back and forth, consuming morale and food.
In any case, Chang'an was threatened.
It's like having a dagger pointed at your throat, although you're not sure whether the dagger is sharp or unsharp.
Xue Bai still didn't understand why Dazhalu Gong tried so hard to attack the Tang Dynasty.
Although many answers have been found, they are not enough.
This war, which has lasted for nearly a year, has almost brought down the Tang Dynasty's finances, but Tubo is also bearing the backlash brought about by the aggressive militarism, and its people's lives are not easy. How did Dazalu Gong grit his teeth and hold on?
The next day, Xue Bai discussed with the prime ministers, without asking them, directly stated his plan, and first inquired about the information. The decision-making must be based on a large amount of real information. However, the military situation on the battlefield is not like the situation in the official residence and the
The news in the market was so easy to find out, but Xue Bai's inherent power could not do it, and he was unwilling to appoint eunuchs as supervisors, which was difficult.
"Send another envoy to Jingzhou to find out the situation clearly." Xue Bai said with an indifferent expression: "Don't just cry wolf all day long. How can the Tubo army break through the defense line so easily?"
"I thought that Li Qiyun could be the envoy for this matter," Li Xian said.
"Can."
Wei Jiansu did not object to this matter, but after they were sure, he slowly said: "Old minister, please ask Your Highness to bring the saint and the Supreme Emperor to inspect the Eastern Capital."
Xue Bai didn't react much, just frowned and glanced at Du Youlin.
Du Youlin was a little distracted at first, but after observing his micro-expression, he stepped out and said blankly: "The situation is far from reaching the point where the emperor must flee, right?"
Wei Jiansu's euphemistic words were directly exposed, and his face darkened in displeasure.
Seeing that he had defeated Wei Jiansu in the argument, Du Youlin continued: "When the rebels of the An family attacked Chang'an, the saint and His Highness had not abandoned the city. Now it is just some vague military information. Wei Gong is going to persuade His Highness to watch the wind and escape?"
"
"The old minister is not advising His Highness to escape." Wei Jiansu said: "The situation is different. The terrain in Guanzhong is flat and there is no danger to defend Chang'an. In the past, the saint could defend it because Chang'an was lost and people's hearts dispersed. But now if the saint is in Chang'an,
, then the soldiers on the front line will be distracted, and when the enemy is so close, they will leave people who the army has to save, and a battle that could have been won will be more likely to be defeated."
Du Youlin didn't understand quickly, so he didn't refute immediately.
Wei Jiansu said again: "During the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty was still strong, but today the treasury is empty. Once the Tibetan army enters Guanzhong, where will His Highness mobilize the troops? It is better to prepare for a rainy day and go to the Eastern Capital first and then later.
If something unexpected happens, you can deal with it calmly."
This means that as long as one escapes early enough, no one can say that they are escaping, but they happen to be on patrol, and conversely, it can be said that it is precisely because of the absence of the emperor that Tubo can take advantage of it.
Of course Xue Bai couldn't agree and felt it was ridiculous.
But besides being ridiculous, he also felt doubtful in his heart - was Wei Jiansu's suggestion just because he was afraid of Tibet, or was there some other reason?
After being trapped in the palace for a long time, Xue Bai always had a strange intuition recently, and he felt more and more like he was living in a cocoon.
The memorials he saw every day were screened by hundreds of officials. Although many trustworthy people were appointed in key positions, the staff and subordinates used by these people may not be reliable. Even if they are reliable, there will inevitably be oversights.
He had another source of information. The Du sisters were still using their business in restaurants and teahouses to gather private information for him. This made him feel that he knew everything, but at a certain moment, he suddenly realized that this self-conceited "nothing"
The arrogance of knowing nothing is very dangerous.
Especially after easily defeating Li Chu's plot to launch a coup to destroy the Buddha, he did not find out where Li Chu's confidence came from. Is it useful for the courtiers to ask the Supreme Emperor to rule together?
At that time, Xue Bai felt contempt for Li Chu's arrogance, but recently he began to wonder if there was something he was not aware of.
So when he came to court, Xue Bai couldn't wait to see Du Jin.
"Send someone to keep an eye on Wei Jiansu. There is something wrong with him."
"What's wrong?"
"He advised me to go to Luoyang."
"I'm old and timid." Du Jin said, "What's wrong with that?"
Xue Bai said: "Don't forget, Li Cong is about to die."
Du Jin's eyes immediately changed, like a female cat that was enjoying the sunshine comfortably when she suddenly heard some noise and became alert.
She and Xue Bai had been planning for so long, just waiting for Li Cong to die so that Xue Bai could ascend to the throne of God. At this time, leaving Chang'an because of an unconfirmed news, Wei Jiansu was probably uneasy and kind-hearted.
"He doesn't want to get rid of you and establish a new king, right?"
"It's hard to say."
Du Jin leaned close to Xue's ear and whispered: "If you can't wait any longer, kill Li Cong."
"There is a possibility that Wei Jiansu may not have participated in any conspiracy. He just felt that something was wrong. Someone even deliberately asked him to jump out and force me to take action and be charged with regicide."
"That's right, just to kill a dying person, it's not worth it if you lose everything."
Xue Bai said: "Maybe I am too suspicious. Sitting in this position for a long time makes people easily become suspicious."
"When I send people to investigate, we will naturally find out." Du Jin said: "If there is a conspiracy, who do you think is the mastermind behind it?"
Xue Bai didn't answer for a long time, and finally uttered a name in a very uncertain and self-doubting tone.
"Li Longji?"
"He? He's an old man, so why should he?"
"He has both means and prestige. But without military power, he is completely incompetent."
Thinking of this, Xue Bai thought that he was indeed too suspicious.
Unless he personally kills Li Cong and is caught by officials, Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and other generals raise their troops to attack him. Otherwise, Li Longji has no military power and has no hope of restoration. Supporting him for the sake of a good posthumous title is the best thing he can do.
way out.
A few days later, Du Jin carefully inquired about the spies placed in Wei Jiansu's house, but found nothing unusual.
When Li Qijun arrived in Jingyuan, although he did not find out the movements of the various armies after the Tibetan troops were divided, he quickly reported to the court that the border troops were exhausted after fighting hard, but the enemy troops were still swarming in. Now the states and counties can only close the city and defend.
It is indeed possible for Tibet to drive directly into Chang'an.
This seems to confirm that Wei Jiansu's proposal was indeed based on the consideration of preventing Tibet from entering Guanzhong.
Therefore, Xue Bai had to mobilize another army to support Chang'an.
Among the series of bad news, there was not no good news. In the tight situation of the Qinlong battlefield, on the Jiannan side, Li Guangbi captured Yanchuan City and pursued the Tibetan army in the Xishan Mountains, expanding the territory for hundreds of miles.
When the good news came, all the officials in the court who had been in the gloom of war breathed a sigh of relief.
Wei Jiansu then discussed with Xue Bai, saying that if His Highness did not plan to inspect the eastern capital, it would be better to urgently dispatch a troop of troops from Jiannan to support the defense of Guanzhong.
In this battle at Yanchuan City, Yan Wu made great contributions, and Wei Jiansu thought he was the best candidate to lead the troops and return reinforcements.
Before Du Youlin could speak, Li Xian immediately rejected the candidate proposed by Wei Jiansu, believing that Yan Wu's troops had suffered heavy losses and that Luzhou regiment training envoy Tian Shengong could be mobilized to lead troops to support Chang'an.
This proposal was obviously for Xue Bai's consideration.
Now that the saint's health is deteriorating, the Tubo army is eyeing Guanzhong, and Chang'an may undergo major changes. Of course, Xue Bai must mobilize as many trusted soldiers and horses around him as possible.
~~
After half a month, the Tubo army did not enter Guanzhong, but the tactics of dividing troops and plundering were able to break through several military fortresses in the Tang Dynasty, which shocked the imperial court.
It was under this circumstance that Li Qijun sent back a secret letter.
The secret fold was sealed with fire paint, and there was no trace of it being opened on the road.
Xue Bai opened it and read it, admitting that it was indeed worthy of Li Qiyun's caution.
Some of the questions that had troubled him before seemed to have found answers.
The secret memorial stated that there were high-ranking officials in the court secretly colluding with Tibet.
Before, Dazalu Gong pretended to have peace talks, and everyone thought it was to paralyze the Tang Dynasty. Xue Bai even took the opportunity to form an alliance with Trisong Dezan to alienate the Tibetan monarchs. However, in fact, Dazalu Gong also used the same method and was already secretly
Contacted the ministers in the Tang court who opposed Xue Bai.
This also explains why Dazalu Gong would rather lose eight hundred to himself than hurt the Tang Dynasty by one thousand, because someone has been secretly passing on detailed information about the Tang Dynasty to Dazalu Gong.
Li Qijun is not just talking nonsense, but he has evidence.
That was when Tan Ma returned to camp and discovered that a Tubo herdsman brought only one ewe in the mountains. The ewe was bleating. Later, Tan Ma discovered that a lamb had gotten through the fence of the Tang Army camp.
came out and caught the lamb.
After disemboweling the lamb, they found a piece of information about the Tang Army in the lamb's belly. It included the Tang Army's troop deployment, the amount of food and grass left, and even the situation in Chang'an, including how many troops were defending the city and how much money the treasury could hold.
How much food is spent.
When the matter was handed over to Guo Ziyi, he was naturally shocked and finally understood why the Tang army had been repeatedly defeated recently.
This matter must involve important officials of the imperial court. Guo Ziyi was also worried that Xue Bai would be suspicious of him, so he asked Li Qijun to send a secret letter back to Chang'an.
It was a short letter that Xue Bai read over and over again for a long time.
The suspicion that had been dismissed once again came to mind.
Everything is related.
Li Cong is about to die. This is a secret of the Tang Dynasty. It should not be known to the Tubo people, but now Xue Bai is sure that Dazalu Gong must know it.
In that fake peace talk, Dazalu Gong successfully colluded with someone in the court and learned that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Cong, was in poor health. After his death, there would be a power struggle in the Tang court. Therefore, an autumn defense war was early
It started and was delayed until the second year.
So, who colluded with Tibet?
Xue Bai only thought for a moment and immediately thought of those who tried to oppose him in the matter of destroying the Buddha.
Li Heng, Li Chu, Li Xian, Li Mi, Yang Wan, Yang Yan, Wang Jin...
The real mastermind may not be among these people, but he must have used them to manipulate these important members of the clan.
As for how the mastermind contacted Dazalu Gong?
It must be more than just the sergeants of the army who are passing on the information. If Dazalu Gong had made detailed plans to pass on the military deployment to the Tang army, he would have defeated Guo Ziyi long ago.
The Tibetan army has only recently begun to achieve great victories. It can be seen that they have only recently opened up the road to the army.
Xue Bai couldn't help but be afraid when he thought back to his use of the Huxian case to crack down on military discipline.
When he made up his mind at that time, he had no idea what impact this would have. Looking back now, the improvement of military discipline must have played a role in preventing the army from being carefully infiltrated, and frightened a group of soldiers with their own agendas.
According to the situation of the war, it can be deduced that it was about half a year after the war began, that is, after February of the third year of the Yuan Dynasty, that Tibet received intelligence from the army. Before that, there should have been only information from Chang'an, which made Dazalu Gong identify this
The battle can continue to be fought.
"monk."
Xue Bai quickly figured out that this was the message channel between Dazalu Gong and Chang'an.
He confiscated the temple properties all over the world, and deliberately guided some monks to enter Tubo to preach, conduct cultural infiltration, and arrange for detailed work. In turn, Dazalu Gong took advantage of this matter.
When the monks entered Tubo smoothly with the connivance of the Tang court, not only did they hide Xue Bai's conspiracy, but they also brought about the situation that Dazalu Gong wanted.
No wonder, there are rumors that Dazhalu Gonghan's name is Ma Chongying, and he is the illegitimate son of a monk in the Tang Dynasty.
If all this is true, a huge conspiracy has been brewing unknowingly.
It was not like Li Heng and Li Chu who made small fuss. What the father and son did was just a cover-up for it, making Xue Bai take it lightly.
Before Li Cong died, Tubo would definitely not retreat.
The greater possibility is that around the time of Li Cong's death, General Dazalu Gong entered Chang'an, teamed up with someone within the Tang court, got rid of Xue Bai, and established a new king. After that, he took the gold and silk children promised by the other party, and
The married princess returned to Tubo with great pride.
~~
"Is that really true?"
"Wei Jiansu must have noticed it, or he may have wanted to lure me away from Chang'an."
"But I found nothing."
It was night, under the dim moonlight, Xue Bai and Du Jin talked about the previous topic again, but they were still at a loss.
"I've deduced it many times."
Xue Bai said slowly: "If Li Cong dies and I declare my accession to the throne, at this time, the Tubo army reaches outside Chang'an. As long as the soldiers and horses in the city are still under my control, I can wait until the king rarely comes back for reinforcements."
Du Jin said: "Unless someone opens the city gate and lets the Tibetan army enter the city?"
"I can control the entire clan."
"Are you so sure that Li Longji is plotting it secretly?" Du Jin asked, "What if it's not him?"
Xue Baisui was no longer so sure.
After becoming the prince, he had to deal with too many government affairs, which diverted most of his energy. He saw too few things with his own eyes and received too mixed information. He was no longer as sharp as before.
"As I sit here, it really feels like I'm sitting in a spider's web, slowly and unconsciously being wrapped into a cocoon by invisible threads."
"Maybe we are too suspicious. So far, except for Li Qijun's letter, there is no other evidence."
"Well, Tian Shengong is about to arrive in Guanzhong. With this army and horses here, it will be useless no matter how many plots and tricks they have."
"Don't think about it."
Du Jin stretched out her fingers to press Xue Bai's frown to prevent him from thinking about this anymore.
Then she leaned over and whispered: "Even Qinglan has it, I won't admit defeat."
Only Xue Bai knew how hard Du Jin worked to have a child.
…
The bright moonlight illuminates the vermilion walls of Daming Palace, and the night gradually becomes quiet.
In the distance, a baby's cry rang out, waking up Du Jin who had fallen asleep due to exhaustion.
She rubbed the hair around her ears, propped up her tired body, and said, "I want to see that child."
"I'll go with you." Xue Bai couldn't sleep, so he also got up.
"You don't trust me?" Du Jin said, "I am his godmother."
"Know."
The two walked through the corridor and opened the door, only to see Yong'er and the nanny busy taking care of the child. Yan Yan said from behind the screen: "My husband has approved this time tonight... Oh, Sister Du is here."
"Encountering some difficulties."
Du Jin's attitude towards Yan Yan was still quite cold, but he was very interested in her child and asked the nurse: "Have you fed it?"
"yes."
"I'll give you a hug."
"this……"
Yong'er quickly took two steps forward and blocked Du Jin with her small body.
Instead, it was Yan Yan behind the screen who said, "Let his godmother hug him."
It was strange that Du Jin was not very good at holding the baby, but as soon as the baby was in her arms, the baby inside stopped crying and seemed to like the smell of Du Jin.
"You're really smart." Du Jin teased, "You know who is the one who can work hard for you, in front of you and behind the horse."
These words were somewhat sarcastic and somewhat self-pitying.
But what does such a big child know? He just stared at Du Jin with his bright black eyes, looked at her, sighed slightly, and softly hummed a song that he listened to when he was a child.
~~
"Your Highness, the Emperor would like to see the young man."
The next day, Xue Bai received such a report again.
This is not the first time that Li Longji expressed his desire to see Xue Bai's child. Previously, he had declined the request because the newborn was frail and sick.
Now that he was aware of the conspiracy against him, he did not refuse anymore.
In terms of etiquette and law, if you refuse again, you will be caught in the wrong by the courtiers.
In addition, this is also an opportunity to test Li Longji. At least now, the process and escort of Li Longji to the Daming Palace are still under Xue Bai's control.
Only by truly solving possible crises can we best protect our children.
So, after Xue Bai nodded, he personally arranged for the chamberlain to go to Tai Chi Palace to pick up Li Longji and Gao Lishi.
In addition, there are also Zong Zhengqing Li Zhi and several people who live in the house.
It was rare for everyone to enter Shaoyang Courtyard, and they were arranged to sit in the front hall for a while. The waiter served the wine and said with a smile: "Your Highness knows that the Emperor likes to drink, so he specially prepared these fine wines."
"Haha, it's hard to be filial to this child."
Li Longji acted cheerfully and drank directly from the glass. As a result, the waiter's hand shook when he poured the second glass, and the wine got onto Li Longji's clothes.
Xue Bai had no choice but to ask someone to temporarily take the Emperor to change his clothes.
He actually knew that Li Longji could not be harmful to his children, but he still made this overly cautious arrangement.
This is not like his past style, but he is no longer the same person as before.
Li Longji was very easy-going and did not feel any displeasure because of this incident. He changed his clothes and couldn't wait to express his desire to see his great-grandson.
Xue Bai then asked the nanny to take the child out.
Perhaps because of Yan Yan's poor health, the child only weighed five kilograms when he was born. He is still small now, but his eyes are bright.
"Okay, okay."
Li Longji did not reach out to hug him, but just put his head forward and looked at it for a while, and said with a smile: "I am a little weak, but it doesn't matter. I was the same before. I just need to raise him up. Just looking at these eyes, I know that he will be an extremely intelligent person in the future."
Yes, good."
Xue Bai said: "Yes."
"Gao Lishi, bring me my gift."
"Here."
Soon, Gao Lishi took out a box and opened it. Inside was a jade pendant.
The texture of this jade pendant is not of the highest quality. What is strange is that it has a lifelike dragon engraved on it.
Li Longji personally took the jade pendant and handed it to Xue Bai, saying: "This is a relic of Emperor Taizong. It was passed down from Emperor Gaozong to my father. Now I will give it to this child."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."
"You and I are still separated. I just hope that this child will not be separated from me."
As he spoke, Li Longji showed a kind smile, making the child giggle.
Anyone who sees it will feel that the scene of four generations living under one roof is exceptionally harmonious.
"By the way, do you have a name?" Li Longji asked again.
Xue Bai said: "Not yet."
He seemed in no rush to name the child.
He can't tell why, maybe it's because deep down he's still not sure what his last name is?
"Then let me pick one up."
After Li Longji said this, he solemnly uttered two words.
"Li Zuo."
Everyone was stunned.
In the past, Li Longji always knew how to be cautious in state affairs, fearing that he would be persecuted for interfering with Xue Bai, but today he dared to interfere so directly in Xue Bai's family affairs without any hesitation.
It seems that naming this child "Li Zuo" is more important than the safety of the Supreme Emperor.
"Write your name on the royal jade certificate." Li Longji ordered again, "and then pass on the decree to confer Li Zuo as the king of Guangling County with a settlement of 5,000 households..."
This time he came to see the children, and that was all Li Longji did.
Regardless of his identity, he is just an old man who wants to meet his great-grandson.
Of course, he had hundreds of real great-grandchildren, and he had never seen any of them receive such attention from him.
From the beginning to the end, Xue Bai was observing Li Longji, trying to see if there was any conspiracy hidden behind that kind and kind expression. Unfortunately, Li Longji concealed it very well.
But Xue Bai will not be deceived by him, but thinks that the more enjoyable he is, the more false it is.
It is very possible that Li Longji did not hesitate to collude with Tubo in order to prevent the Tang Dynasty from being passed down to his son by Xue Bai and belonging to a different surname.
It was precisely because the birth of this child strengthened the Li Tang clan's determination to resist that they still named it "Li Zuo". Thinking about it, it is really ironic...