In fact, at the beginning of the first year of Zhengxing, Pugu Huaien did meet Yi Dijian.
That morning, he was shirtless and asked the doctor to check the miliary pus on his back.
"The gangrene is dark in color and the pus is clear and thin. Are there any other abnormalities?"
"Long-spirited." After Pugu Huai'en finished speaking, he added in a muffled voice: "Thirsty, irritable, constipated and red."
"Please open your mouth."
"ah."
"Jieshuai's tongue is pale and has a thin white coating, and his pulse is rapid but weak. It is indeed back gangrene."
Pugu Huaien was taken aback and asked quickly: "Then how long can I live?"
"Don't worry, Jieshuai. The scabies have just started to appear. You can take good care of it after I prescribe the medicine."
Having said that, Pugu Huaien knew that back gangrene was a terminal disease that could not be avoided by many ministers and generals, so he could not help but feel worried. However, no matter how he asked questions, the doctor only told him to feel at ease.
At this time, Pu Gujun rushed back from the city to see him. Pu Guhuaien quickly put on his clothes and told the doctor not to let anyone know that he had gangrene on his back.
Pugu Jian stepped back as soon as he entered, and mysteriously leaned into Pugu Huai'en's ear, whispering: "Grandpa, I saw my sister-in-law, and he wants to see you."
"Sister-in-law?" Pugu Huai'en pointed to the north and said, "What do you mean?"
"Yes." Pu Gujun nodded quickly, "He wants to see grandpa."
Both father and son knew that Xue Bai once captured Ye Hu and released him back to Uihe, so he must have supported Ye Hu in the civil strife in Uihe. On the other hand, Xue Bai continued to provoke the Tang Dynasty.
If the court finds out about your private contact with Echiken at this time, it will be a serious crime.
But Pugu Huai'en thought about it a lot and went to Yinshan to meet Yi Dijian in person.
Yi Dijian is about the same age as Xue Bai. He is less than thirty years old. He has a strong body, his eyes are as sharp as a goshawk on the grassland, and he carries a sense of arrogance.
He came with his wife, first to reunite Pugu Huai'en and his daughter, and then he said openly that he wanted to be the Khan of Huihe, and then the Pugu family would be his ktun.
Afterwards, the father-in-law and his father-in-law rode horses for a while on the grassland and had a long talk.
Yi Dijian was very clear about Xue Bai's intention to split Huihe. He knew that it was Xue Bai who had warned Ye Hu to be careful about him.
He had originally made a plan to get rid of Ye Hu, but in the end he fell short and made a big enemy. He couldn't bear to allow a Tang emperor who was hostile to him to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.
In addition, he now urgently needs money to reward his tribesmen, appease their restless hearts, and consolidate his position.
Therefore, he hoped that Pugu Huai'en could attack Chang'an with him, and then his children of gold and silk would belong to him, and the city of Chang'an would belong to Pugu Huai'en, which would be the best of both worlds.
The words of persuasion were also very moving. Pugu Huai'en devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Li family, but unfortunately he was not trusted by the current Tang lord, so it was better to discuss important matters with his son-in-law.
After thinking for a long time, Pugu Huaien frowned and relaxed several times. Finally, he thought of the gangrene on his back and finally shook his head.
"With Guo Ziyi in charge, I'm afraid that if I join the army, Shuofang's army will be reduced by half."
He didn't refuse it completely, he just asked Yi Dijian to get rid of Ye Hu first, and then he would wait for Guo Ziyi to die, and then discuss the big plan.
After all, nothing could be discussed during this meeting. After parting, Yi Dijian ordered to his men: "Let's go east and capture Fan Yang, who is east of the river."
"Khan, why don't you grab the ones who are close and run so far away?"
"Give my husband some face and make Lord Tang suspicious of him." Yi Dijian sneered, looked at the back of Pugu Huai'en as he rode away, and said, "Did you see it? Behind my husband's head is
There is something rebellious about it.”
…
After returning to Lingwu from Shuxiancheng, Pugu Huaien's attitude towards Pugu Jian was different.
He changed from his usual harshness, and would sometimes express a few words of emotion in front of Pu Gujian.
"More than forty people from my Pugu family died fighting for the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, I didn't even get the merit of being a dragon. Several of your brothers have died. If I am no longer here, how will you be able to support this family?"
Industry?"
Pu Gujuan said: "My child thinks that my father is devoted to the country and has never thought about his family."
"Idiot, if it wasn't for the Pugu clan, why would I fight so hard?"
"If that's the case, why didn't grandpa agree to my sister-in-law?"
"I have my own reasons."
Pugu Huai'en had a straight face and answered his son's question with a straight-to-the-point attitude. But after a while, he decided to tell the truth.
"I have fought with the current Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and I am scared of being beaten by him."
After hearing these words, Pugu Jian was stunned for a moment, then he gradually clenched his fists and said loudly: "How can a Pugu family man give up after losing once?"
"Crack!"
Pugu Huaien gave him a slap in the face and said, "I'll give you a few days to look good, and then you'll go crazy?!"
This slap restored his majesty. He thought about the gangrene on his back, pondered for a long time, and finally said: "Don't worry, I will find a good way out for the Pugu family to be as brothers with the country."
At first, Pu Gujuan didn't know what the way out was, until Du Wulang came to Lingwu.
~~
"Your Majesty asked me to ask Commander-in-Chief whether he can trust you?"
Facing Pugu Huai'en's murderous intent, Du Wulang was trembling inside but pretending to be calm on his face.
Pugu Huai'en glared and said in a deep voice: "I have given up my family and career for many years to serve the Tang Dynasty through life and death, and to carry out the battle. My descendants and clansmen died in battle without any calculation, so now your majesty doubts me?!"
Du Wulang was taken aback and quickly stood up and said: "Serious words, serious words, of course Your Majesty will not have any doubts about Commander-in-Chief."
"If this is the case, I would like to ask your Majesty to appoint the dog son Pu Gujuan as the rear guard of Shuofang's army."
"What?"
Du Wulang knew that Pugu Huai'en was straightforward, but he didn't expect him to be so straightforward and put forward the conditions directly.
But this condition was definitely not something he could easily accept for Xue Bai.
After Pugu Jian was retained by the Shuofang Army, it was equivalent to the fact that once Pugu Huai'en died, Pugu Jian would succeed him as the military envoy of the Shuofang Army.
Jieduzhi originally controlled all the power of one party and was equivalent to the princes of that party. If he continues to be hereditary, how is it different from sealing off the territory and splitting the land?
"If your majesty trusts me, please grant me the title of servant Gujuan as a rear guard for Shuofang's army." Pugu Huai'en faced Dongfang and repeated the salute to show his firm attitude, "If so, I feel your majesty's profound kindness, and I will definitely
I will die in return!"
If Xue Bai can agree, he really intends to die for Xue Bai.
Just like what he did for Li Heng and his son in the past, he went into battle to kill the enemy personally and sacrificed his loved ones, even if he killed his own son who surrendered to the enemy, no matter what.
As long as the king can give him the purest trust, he will repay the king with the most ardent loyalty.
"I know that Your Majesty has great ambitions to regain Hexi, contact the Western Regions, march to Qinghai, defeat Tubo, conquer Uighurs, and conquer all nations. For this reason, I am willing to fight on the battlefield and die even if I die. However, in these years, I have been fighting for the Tang Dynasty, and my tribe has
The casualties are heavy and the descendants are withered. If we can solve our worries, I will have nothing to ask for!"
"Jie Shuai, let's talk about this..."
Du Wulang originally wanted to say that he couldn't make the decision and had to report it to Chang'an. But then he thought about it and felt that he had to bear with it first and buy some time for Xue Bai.
"I have to think about how to report it to His Majesty. I... came all the way and have a severe headache. I can't think about such a big thing at the moment."
After stammering his excuses, Du Wulang said goodbye to Pugu Huai'en.
When he left this commander's residence, he couldn't help but complain in his heart. He secretly thought that it was over now. This trip here had actually forced Pugu Huai'en to rebel.
Suddenly, he was hit and fell to the ground.
"Ah, is Mr. Lang okay?!"
Du Wulang looked up and saw a sweaty soldier coming forward to help him up.
"It's okay, why are you running so fast?"
The soldier was originally worried that he had bumped into a distinguished person, and was frightened. Seeing that this man was easy to talk to, he felt much relieved. He carefully patted Du Wulang's body clean, saluted, and hurried away again.
"Hey, you..."
Du Wulang didn't know what urgent military situation could make him so anxious, so he turned back and glanced at the soldier tag on his body, which had his regiment and name on it.
In a hurry, I only saw the word "six".
But he said that the soldier hurried into the commander's house and reported a major event to Pugu Huai'en.
"Commander Jie, someone from the Beiting Protectorate has arrived!"
"Whose?" Pugu Huai'en was surprised, thinking that he had heard something wrong.
"It's Cao Lingzhong who serves under Yang Zhilie after staying in Beiting."
"How come?"
Pugu Huai'en thought for a while and ordered the group to be brought here so that he could receive them in person.
While waiting, he arranged a banquet and served good wine and food.
"The last general will meet Pugujie Commander!"
Cao Lingzhong walked into the hall. As soon as he saw Pu Guhuaien, his face showed reverence and his expression was excited.
He was originally a soldier in Hexi. During the An-Shi Rebellion, he followed Yang Zhilie to Beiting to recruit troops. He had heard about Pugu Huaien's heroic deeds and knew that he was a good general for the country, and he admired him very much.
"He is indeed a good man."
When Pugu Huai'en saw Cao Lingzhong, he nodded repeatedly, with admiration in his eyes, and invited the soldiers to enjoy wine and meat. The soldiers had a generous temperament, and there was nothing to be polite about, so they immediately drank to their heart's content.
During the dinner, Pugu Huaien asked about the situation in Anxi and Beiting, and Cao Lingzhong also talked about it.
"Two years ago, Feng Changqing led his troops to Anxi via Huihe. Has he arrived?"
Cao Lingzhong was raising his glass and drinking heavily, then put down his glass and said with a smile: "It turns out that the Commander-in-Chief knows that the last general was serving in the army in Yizhou. It was because he met Commander-in-Chief that he volunteered and returned to Beijing to report the news."
Pugu Huaien asked in confusion: "Why didn't Feng Changqing send the messenger back instead of entrusting it to General Cao?"
"Of course I have confidential military information to present."
"Can this handsome man see it?"
Cao Lingzhong said: "The commander-in-chief has made great military achievements and is loyal to the sun and the moon. You should be able to see it."
With that said, he took out a map from his military robe and presented it to Pugu Huai'en.
This map marked the military strength of Anxi and Beiting, as well as the distribution of Tubo's military strength. It also showed the strategy formulated by Feng Changqing, Yang Zhilie, Guo Xin and other local generals to regain the Hexi Corridor.
Pugu Huai'en looked at it and was speechless for a long time. Finally, he returned the map to Cao Lingzhong.
After traveling thousands of miles back to the Tang Dynasty, one can imagine the mood of these soldiers in Anxi. It was rare for them to drink to their heart's content. They drank too much all night, so they stayed in the commander's mansion.
The sound of breathing in the guest house came and went, but no matter how loud it was, it could not be heard outside the guest house.
The moonlight shines on the vast sky and earth. In the distance are the Helan Mountains, the Yellow River, and the endless Gobi desert. There is a sense of peace and tranquility in the world.
Pugu Huaien stood in front of the window, thinking a lot.
"Lock them all up."
"Jie Shuai? Why is this?"
"Once Feng Changqing regains Hexi, the emperor will be even less likely to agree to my request. Please delay.
On that day, another group of merchants left Lingwu City. After leaving the city, some people changed to fast horses and rushed towards Chang'an. They did not stop until they reached the next post house, and other post envoys passed the news.
Stop after stop like this, the letter was finally handed to Xue Bai's hands.
~~
Chang'an, Daming Palace, Xuanzheng Palace.
Xue Bai put down Du Wulang's letter and said to himself: "I thought that the hereditary succession of the vassal town started from Tian Chenghe, but unexpectedly, it was Pugu Huai'en who spoke first."
He didn't immediately think it was a bad thing.
At least Pugu Huaien has not rebelled yet, and his stated attitude is that he does not want to rebel. There is still room for maneuver in this matter.
It was impossible to give Pugu Jian the post of staying as a queen, which violated Xue Bai's bottom line.
Perhaps in the eyes of the world at that time, the succession of father to son was as natural as a family inheritance that should be inherited by descendants, but Xue Bai did not think so. An important change he planned to bring to Datang was to minimize the number of
After all, it is precisely when there is a problem with the allocation of resources that the country will be in chaos.
However, handling this matter also requires skills.
Xue Bai thought about it and finally decided to summon Guo Ziyi back to the court to report on his duties, so that the king could temporarily control Qinlong.
In fact, Guo Ziyi was Pugu Huaien's old boss and the most suitable person to intimidate Pugu Huaien. However, he was called back, which may mean that Xue Bai does not trust Guo Ziyi.
After Guo Ziyi received the edict, if he thought Xue Bai wanted to get rid of him, he might contact Pugu Huai'en to join the rebellion.
Therefore, Xue Bai's move was a very risky move. Yan Zhenqing and Du Youlin were very opposed to it and proposed to directly issue an edict to let Guo Ziyi replace Pugu Huai'en as the governor of Shuofang.
But Xue Bai said: "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if we let them have doubts and see if they really dare to rebel against me."
~~
In November, the court's arrangements reached Lingwu.
When Pugu Huaien heard that the emperor had called Guo Ziyi back to Chang'an to report on his duties, he was a little confused. He was wondering whether it was because Xue Bai suspected Guo Ziyi, and whether it was because Xue Bai had planned to use force to get rid of him, so he transferred Guo Ziyi.
Let the king rarely do his best.
He met Du Wulang several times to test Du Wulang's tone. Du Wulang only said that he had submitted his request to His Majesty.
"Perhaps Your Majesty wants to discuss it with Mr. Guo?"
Pugu Huaien didn't believe Du Wulang's sloppy words at all, so he simply found an excuse to keep Du Wulang in Lingwu in order to ask Xue Bai for an official position. Du Wulang didn't seem to want to leave, and was willing to stay and observe him.
manner.
It was at this time that Dazhalu Gong also sent someone to see Pugu Huai'en and made a proposal similar to Yi Dijian's.
However, Pugu Huai'en could feel from the words of the Tubo envoy that Dazhalu Gong had a guilty conscience this time. He did not have the courage to move his troops to Chang'an and break into the city. The bigger purpose was to use Pugu
Huaien came to contain Qin Long's Tang army.
It seems that a battle a year ago severely damaged the Tubo military strength.
Since Pugu Huai'en didn't even agree to the request to move to another place, it was even less possible for him to cooperate with Dazhalu Gong, but he still told Dazhalu Gong the news, that is, Feng Changqing had traveled thousands of miles and detoured to the Western Regions.
~~
Midwinter lunar month.
Dazarugong sat by the campfire, listened to the messenger's report, and cursed: "This servant is so undecided that he can't achieve great things."
"General, my mission this time was not fruitless. I got some important news."
"explain."
"The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty recalled Guo Ziyi to Chang'an because he was afraid that Guo Ziyi and Pugu Huai'en would join forces to rebel against him."
Dazarugong said with a cold face: "You still have to say it? Could it be that I wouldn't have thought of it?"
He did have this guess, but he also had many other guesses.
For example, he already knew that great changes had taken place in the royal capital, Trisong Detsen was buried in a sea of fire, Ma Xiang established a new Zanpu, and Tubo was currently experiencing serious civil strife. After a year of rest, the Tang Dynasty had not recovered its vitality.
But he already had the strength to fight another battle with Tubo. Xue Bai transferred Guo Ziyi at this time, perhaps to discuss strategy.
"General Yingming, of course he thought of it. The villain just said that he arrived at Lingwu and confirmed the matter."
"Can you confirm?"
"Yes, the villain bribed several of Pugu Huai'en's close aides. I found out that Pugu Huai'en wanted to give his son a post, but the Emperor of Tang Dynasty did not agree, so he transferred Guo Ziyi back at this time. He must have
It’s to deal with Pugu Huai’en.”
Therefore, after thinking about this matter for a few days, Dazalu Gong summoned his generals and explained a major matter.
Since the death of Trisong Detsen, many tribes in Tubo accused Ma Xiang of killing Zanpu and did not recognize the Zanpu he supported, so they took the opportunity to rebel.
Dazalu Gong had to put down the rebellion as soon as possible and stabilize the situation in Tubo. Because of this, he was worried about being invaded by the Tang army, so he thought of forming an alliance with Pugu Huai'en.
Now it seems that the Tang Dynasty is still fighting among itself and is unable to go west to Tubo, so he can safely deploy troops.
~~
Guo Ziyi finally returned to Chang'an. He was already gray-haired, but he was still energetic and had the majesty of a general.
Since Xue Bai took charge of the country, he did some things to plot against Guo Ziyi, but Guo Ziyi saw through it and did not reveal it. He pretended to be confused and pretended not to know. In the past two years, he has been silently guarding Qinlong and guarding against Tubo.
"This is Pugu Huaien's memorial, please take a look."
Guo Ziyi took it and looked at it, sighed and said: "Pu Guhuai'en is like this. The old minister is incompetent in leading the army and failed to teach him the way of loyalty in time. The old minister is willing to go to Shuofang's army and take him back to the capital with great righteousness. Your Majesty
Another general can be sent to replace him."
Xue Bai looked at Guo Ziyi deeply for a while, nodded, and said: "I know Mr. Guo's loyalty, but I am not in a hurry. Today, I have another matter to discuss with Mr. Guo, so come with me."
As he said that, he walked around the screen and walked to another royal table.
There is a large map on it, densely covered with markers.
Guo Ziyi's eyes quickly scanned different locations on the map, and she gradually figured out the context.
Xue Bai didn't let him guess for too long. He first clicked on Zama Zhisang Palace on the map.
"Trisong Detsen has been brought to Chang'an. There was civil strife in Tubo a year ago, and Ma Xiang planned to send people to kill him and establish a new king. He fled to the Tang Dynasty to seek asylum."
Then, Xue Bai pointed out some Tubo tribes on the map.
"This triggered the Supi, Yangtong, Faqiang, Mitang and other tribes to oppose Ma Xiang one after another, while Xiangxiong, Yalong and other tribes were also involved in this turmoil because they supported Ma Xiang. If I guessed it right
, Dazhalu Gong will soon divide his troops to maintain the stability of the domestic situation in Tubo. And I am calling Duke Guo back to the court at this time. On the surface, it is to show my gratitude, but in fact, it is to paralyze Tubo."
For Xue Bai, it is not appropriate to rush the matter of Pugu Huaien. For the time being, he can neither agree nor refuse, comfort Pugu Huaien and give him a glimmer of hope, as long as he does not rebel.
After the foreign troubles are resolved and the imperial court has established its prestige, it will be more confident to deal with Pugu Huai'en. You can even wait until Pugu Huai'en is dead and deal with Pugu Jian directly. At this stage, it is more important to take back the Hexi Corridor.
"My actual goal is here."
Xue Bai stretched out his finger and pointed at the location of Liangzhou on the map.
"I have ordered the king to be prepared at all times. When the time comes, he will immediately send troops westward to recover Liangzhou. What do you think, Duke Guo?"
Guo Ziyi was not dissatisfied because Xue Bai did not use him as the commander-in-chief, but said: "Two things, one is to mobilize troops and horses, and the grain and grass go first. If the king wants to send troops, the court should transport the grain and grass to Qinlong first; the other is, the veteran
I would like to persuade Pu Guhuaien to send troops to help the imperial court regain Liangzhou."
He said he was "persuading", but actually he was preparing to use the prestige of his former boss to persuade Pugu Huai'en.
And this is exactly what Xue Bai wants.
"Then please leave it to Mr. Guo."
~~
Soon it was the end of the twelfth lunar month.
Du Wulang did not expect that he would be celebrating the New Year in Lingwu, nor did he expect that Pugu Huai'en could be so stubborn and stubborn.
He felt that if he wanted a high-ranking official and a generous salary, he should follow the emperor's will and ask for the official position from the emperor. Even if he got it, what would happen to him?
Sure enough, a secret message from Chang'an came, telling Du Wulang in advance that the imperial court was preparing to send Guo Ziyi.
After the New Year is over, a public edict will be issued to let Guo Ziyi control the armies in the northwest.
In the eyes of some people, this is nominally to regain the Hexi Corridor, but in fact it is to let Guo Ziyi replace Pugu Huaien; only Xue Bai knows that this matter seems to be to deal with Pugu Huaien, but in fact it is to find a reason to mobilize a large number of troops.
food and grass without arousing Tibetan vigilance.
In short, Du Wulang had to prepare to leave Lingwu after receiving the news in advance.
On this trip, he had expressed his utmost sincerity on behalf of Xue Bai.
On the day of farewell, Pugu Huaien said: "I don't want much, it's just a guarantee from your Majesty."
"Yes, yes."
Du Wulang was no longer too lazy to argue with this stubborn ox, and responded: "In short, it is up to Your Majesty to consider it, and we will wait until after the New Year. It is time for me to rush back to Chang'an. If I go fast on the road, I may still be able to make it to the Lantern Festival."
"
After saying goodbye and leaving the city gate, Du Wulang was lining up and walking slowly when he suddenly noticed the whispers of the soldiers at the city gate.
"Since it was said that Beiting Anxi's comrades came back to report the news, how come there was no more movement after entering the Marshal's Mansion?"
"Shh!"
"That's important military information. Can you let me know?"
"Of course I know. I was wondering if Lao Liu disappeared with those people. Didn't you see that he respected General Cao that day?"
"I don't know, but I don't believe that Lao Liu became a deserter."
When Du Wulang heard this conversation, he suddenly thought of something and stopped...