Early morning on the second day of April in the first year of Xianheng year of the Tang Dynasty.
"They are all a bunch of rubbish." Gaozong had just sat on the dragon throne and suffered a disastrous defeat from his ministers. He suddenly heard a report from Si Yuan Taichang Bo (Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs), saying that the disaster relief work could not be completed within the time limit.
After a few more days of grace, he became furious and scolded Uncle Si Yuan Tai Chang bloody.
And at this moment, I suddenly heard Jiang Ke, the Taichang Bo of Sirong, reporting: "Your Majesty, we are reporting urgently from the west. A few days ago, the Tubo general Gar Qinling commanded an army and captured Baizhou and other 18 states, and also fought with Khotan.
We all attacked Kucha and transferred the city. Now the four towns of Anxi are in danger. Your Majesty, please send troops to rescue them quickly. Otherwise, I am afraid that the four towns of Anxi will not be restored to our possession by the Tang Dynasty."
"What are you talking about?" Gaozong was shocked when he heard the report. He took the memorial and read it slowly. His face suddenly turned livid. He threw the memorial on the dragon table and swore angrily: "The enemy only has tens of thousands, and we have only tens of thousands."
There are quite a lot of soldiers in the frontier army, and they were able to conquer eighteen states and barely protect four towns in Hexi. Dong Baoliang, the governor of Anxi, Zheng Guang, the governor of Liangzhou, and others really deserve to be killed!"
In fact, Gaozong's words also wronged Dong Baoliang and others. Although there were many soldiers in the entire Western Region Protectorate, they were dispersed after all. How could they compare with the Tubo army that was united in one place? In addition, the Tubo general Gar
Qinling was a famous general in the world, so it was inevitable that Dong Baoliang would suffer successive defeats because he underestimated the enemy.
The war in the west still needs to be managed. Gaozong sighed, and then asked: "The Tibetan traitors are so rampant, they are really bullying others! If we don't fight back, how can we lose face in the Tang Dynasty? Jiang Aiqing, who do you think you are?"
Can we send troops to recapture the four towns in Hexi and repel the barbarians?"
Jiang Ke thought for a while, then saluted and said: "Originally, the British Duke was the most suitable person for this matter, but unfortunately he passed away last year. Now that I think about it, the most suitable person is Xue Rengui, the general of Youweiwei. General Xue Rengui
In the prime of life, he was both wise and courageous. He captured the Tianshan Mountains with three arrows, and also made outstanding military exploits when he conquered Goguryeo. Later, when he was guarding Andong, he implemented benevolent policies, cared for the orphans and old people, and appointed those who were capable to follow their talents; he was loyal, filial, and righteous.
”
When Gaozong heard this, he immediately nodded and said, "I also care about Xue Qing. I wonder what the other ministers think?"
The ministers in the court all expressed their opinions when they saw the emperor. Even if they had opinions, they could only keep it. What's more, in the Tang Dynasty at that time, Xue Rengui's military ability was indeed unrivaled. In addition, Tubo was powerful, even if
Some soldiers who wanted to make meritorious deeds had no chance of winning, so they had to give this opportunity to Xue Rengui.
Since none of the ministers had any objections, Gaozong naturally struck while the iron was hot and immediately ordered Dongtai (Zhongshu Province) to draw up an edict. He appointed Xue Rengui, the general of Youweiwei, as the general manager of the Luosu Road march, commanded 50,000 troops to attack Tibet, and ordered his troops to attack Tibet immediately.
The order was sent to Pyongyang, and Xue Rengui was ordered to travel twice as hard and quickly return to Luoyang, marshal his army, and set off to conquer Tubo. He not only recovered the occupied territory, but also invaded Tubo territory and taught it a lesson.
Since it was the emperor's order and the situation was very urgent, it was natural that special things should be done. From the time when the master of Dongtai drafted the decree, to the approval of the minister of Xitai, to the emperor's seal, it took less than a stick of incense.
After the imperial edict was promulgated, Emperor Gaozong immediately sent people to rush through eight hundred miles to deliver the imperial edict to Pyongyang.
However, it was said that after receiving the order, the chamberlain who was responsible for issuing the order brought enough dry food and immediately prepared to go on the road, but was unexpectedly stopped by someone.
"My lord, wait a minute." A powerful voice was heard. That voice was full of an unmistakable flavor, which made the waiter Wang Gui have to stop.
"It turns out it's the King of Zhou. What's important for your Majesty? Please tell me quickly. Your Majesty has an edict, and I don't dare to delay it." Although time was tight and the task was heavy, when Wang Gui, the chamberlain, saw that the other party turned out to be King Zhou Li Xian, he also He had to stop and explain with a smile on his face. After all, Li Xianping was always generous and generous, and he benefited from him a lot. If he showed a cold face, he still couldn't do it.
I saw Li Xian cupping his hands and saying with a smile: "Did the prince go to Pyongyang to issue an order to General Xue?"
"Haha, your Majesty is really well informed, that's true. I wonder if your Majesty has anything you can do for me?" Wang Gui patiently said with a respectful smile.
But Li Xian smiled and said, "Nothing else. I just need my father-in-law to send a message to General Xue when he arrives in Pyongyang. I wonder if my father-in-law is willing to help me? I will definitely not forget my father-in-law's benefits."
After finishing speaking, Li Xian stretched out his sleeve robe to Wang Gui, and then handed a small piece of gold to his hand under the cover of the sleeve robe.
Wang Gui naturally also knew the principle of reciprocating a favor and said with a smile: "But please give me your Majesty's orders. I will definitely fulfill my mission."
"Haha, in that case, the little king would like to thank my father-in-law. All he needs to do is say a few words to General Xue. These words are, beware of anyone taking the opportunity to cause trouble and threaten Anton."
"It turns out that the king is doing this for state affairs. I really judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. If I had known this, how could I dare to get such benefits from the king? Please take this thing back, otherwise the villain will be ashamed. It’s hard to handle.”
Wang Gui originally thought that the message Li Xian asked him to send was for personal matters, but he didn't expect that it was for official matters. He couldn't help but feel ashamed and wanted to return the small piece of gold in his hand to Li Xian.
But I saw Li Xian laughing and saying: "My father-in-law traveled so hard to Liaodong, isn't it also for state affairs? Therefore, my father-in-law is definitely worthy of Xiao Wang's reward. Please don't shirk it and accept my father-in-law." Please give me this little bit of consideration, otherwise Xiao Wang will feel uneasy."
Seeing that Li Xian was so sincere, Wang Gui no longer shied away. He thanked Li Xian and rode on his horse.
While Wang Gui was on his way to Pyongyang, there was a quarrel within the court, and the direct reason was the competition for Xue Rengui's deputy in this war.
After all, everyone agrees that Xue Rengui is the most outstanding soldier in the Tang Dynasty today. I believe that as long as he sends troops, this battle will definitely have an absolute chance of winning, and no matter who it is, as long as he follows Xue Rengui as a deputy general, he will be able to easily share to great achievements in battle.
Therefore, the two sides started arguing around this core issue.
In fact, Emperor Gaozong originally preferred Pei Xingjian, the Young Master of Si Lie, or Wang Fangyi, the governor of Suzhou, but he knew that these two people would definitely be opposed by Empress Wu, because when Pei Xingjian was dissatisfied with Empress Wu when he deposed the king and established Wu, he made private discussions and offended him. After becoming Empress Wu, he was demoted to the position of Chief of the Governor's Office of Xizhou. Although he later returned to the court, Empress Wu was also very wary of her. Wang Fangyi was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan and was a close relative of Queen Wang, which naturally aroused Empress Wu's vigilance. .
Gaozong sent Xue Rengui as the leading general without Empress Wu's consent. He was already uneasy. If he sent Pei Xingjian or Wang Fangyi again now, he knew that he would be firmly opposed by Empress Wu. This would be fatal to the cowardly Gaozong.
It was a disaster, so Emperor Gaozong did not dare to talk about it anymore. In the end, he adopted the suggestion of the rear party members and appointed the right-guard general Ashina Daozhen and the left-guard general Guo Daifeng as deputy general managers of the Luosudao March to accompany Empress Wu on the expedition.
Combat.
Gao Dian had made his intention known, and was about to announce the disbandment of the dynasty, when He Lan Minzhi, the Taishi of Lantai, suddenly came out and said: "Your Majesty, I know that as a minister, I really shouldn't talk about the war, but the war in Tubo
The stakes are high, the Tubo traitors are arrogant, and without a wise and brave general it will be difficult to defeat the enemy, so I boldly recommend a person to Your Majesty. I believe that as long as this person goes out with General Xue, he will definitely be successful."
"Oh? I don't know who to recommend?" Emperor Gaozong saw that Helan Minzhi, who had always been taciturn in the court, also stood up to recommend talents. He couldn't help but be curious and asked with a smile.
"Haha, the person I mentioned is indeed both civilized and military. Even ordinary generals can't compare with him. It's just that this person comes from the royal family, and I'm afraid that the Holy One will not let him go." He Lan Minzhi is not stupid at all.
He actually knew how to provoke the generals, so that when facing the ministers, Gaozong could not protect him even though he wanted to lick the calf.
Sure enough, Emperor Gaozong laughed and said, "What are you talking about? Although my son is also a minister of the Tang Dynasty, he naturally has the responsibility to defend the land and resist the enemy. I don't know whether the son recommends a virtuous son or a prominent son? As long as
If he is indeed able to take on this responsibility, I will definitely allow him to go into battle to kill the enemy."
But I saw He Lan Minzhi bowing deeply to Gaozong, and then said seriously: "Your Majesty looks after me for the sake of the Duke of Sheji of the Tang Dynasty. Even the ancient sage kings are no more than this. How lucky is this humble minister? I can assist the sage king, Ribo
Having a name in history is also a blessing from the Holy One. In order to report to the Holy One, the ministers recommend King Zhou Xian. Your Majesty should know that in the battlefield of Goguryeo, King Zhou always took the lead, and all the soldiers of the three armies were killed. Therefore, in battles, he often defeated more with less.
, fought dozens of battles without a single defeat, which even General Xue could not match in his time. Now that the country is in trouble, it is the time for King Zhou to use force."
"It turns out that I want to recommend Xian'er, but I heard that you and Xian'er are relatively close, and Tong Xian'er seems to have some problems, so why don't you recommend him?" Gaozong was even more interested when he heard this, and couldn't help asking with a smile.
However, Helan Minzhi said with emotion: "Wei Chen was close to King Pei, so he knew that although King Pei's literary attainments were better than those of King Zhou, he was inferior in terms of military ability, so Wei Chen recommended King Zhou.
"Although I am not talented, I still need to learn from the ancients."
"Haha, you are a good person who 'does not avoid relatives when doing things internally, and does not avoid enemies when doing things externally'. If Zhi'er can do this, my expectations for you over the years will not be in vain. In this case, it is not impossible to let Xian'er go on an expedition.
Think about it, what do you think the ministers want?" Gaozong was happy and naturally agreed to Helan Minzhi's request. However, such a major matter must be approved by the prime ministers in the political affairs hall, so he asked again. (
To be continued.) This chapter has been completed!