Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 203

Dide said confidently, "Although the Khan has not yet made up his mind to convert, he has already ordered Ruixi and others to hold several debates with the shamans in the country. The Persian monks have all won decisive victories. Therefore, the matter of the Khan's conversion should soon be put on the agenda."

"If the Khan is willing to grant Master Ruixi the title of National Preceptor and establish the belief in the God of Light as the state religion, I will petition the Khan to write to the Tang Dynasty to lift the ban and allow the construction of temples in Chang'an and Luoyang to spread the faith."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Forget about it. China has Buddhism and Taoism, that's enough. There's no need for any more messy foreign beliefs." He also had a vague feeling that if the Uyghurs truly adopted Manichaeism as their state religion, would they decline?

Because he had some understanding of this little-known world religion in his previous life, he knew that the reason it was little known and had never been able to develop was because it disguised itself—coming to China to impersonate a branch of Buddhism, going to Europe to impersonate a branch of Christianity, thinking that this would reduce the resistance to its spread. Little did he know that the attitude of any sect is that heresy can be tolerated, but must be eliminated. Therefore, the more closely you imitate, the less popular you will be, and the more you will be attacked.

Manichaeism's basic doctrines are also quite pessimistic. Although it advocates a duality of good and evil, light and darkness, the purpose of its practice is not to eliminate evil with good or darkness with light, but simply to expel the darkness that has invaded the realm of light, so that the two will live in peace and not interfere with each other... Furthermore, it claims that all things are under the command of the God of Light and are absorbing the scattered particles of light. Therefore, killing or even eating meat is an effort to rob other kinds of life, which is theft.

The negativity of religious beliefs inevitably leads to the weakening of believers, a fact well-documented throughout history. Therefore, Li Ji was concerned that Emperor De might convert to the Islamic religion that advocated both scriptures and swords, or the Bon religion of the Tibetans and the emerging Tibetan Buddhism, but had no worries whatsoever about his plan to promote Manichaeism as the state religion of the Uyghurs.

As expected, Di De then began trying to proselytize to Li Ji... which caused Li Ji to flee in panic after only a short while. He thought to himself that it was all over, and this friendship would not last long. Devout religious people have always been difficult to deal with, and it was inconvenient to argue with them harshly. If this caused a dispute, it would ruin the friendship between the two families, which would be undesirable.

Li Ji, stationed in Zhangye, mobilized his generals and troops to attempt to restore the old Tang Dynasty military garrison in the Hexi region. Although the Hexi military governor had commanded over 70,000 troops during the Tianbao era, making it the head of the ten major military garrisons on the border (nine military governors plus the five prefectures of Lingnan), Li Ji had now restored more than half of them, but he only had less than 30,000 troops under his command. Even with the addition of the allied Qiang and Hu tribes, he couldn't muster 70,000 men. However, the old framework needed to be re-established as soon as possible.

From Heba Yansi onwards, over half a century later, more than twenty military governors have been stationed in Hexi, including many renowned generals such as Fu Menglingcha, Wang Zhongsi, and Geshu Han… and even Guo Ziyi, who once held a remote command of Hexi. The commanders surveyed the terrain, predicted the directions of the enemy from the north and south, and established various military garrisons and defenses—there must be a reason for this. Li Ji didn't believe that, having only recently arrived in Hexi, he could understand the military situation better than his predecessors—for now, it was best to follow the established practices.

In Liangzhou, because its strength was not yet sufficient to cross the Guzang South Mountain and Pipa Mountain, it was forced to abandon the two garrisons of Zhangye and Wucheng, and only stationed troops at Baishan Garrison in the west, and Wu'an Garrison and Mingwei Garrison in the north, and then restored the Chishui Army and Baiting Garrison. During this westward expedition to Ganzhou, it ordered the repair of Dadou Army and Jiaocheng Garrison, basically completing the defense system of Liangzhou.

As for Ganzhou, there was originally a Liaoquan garrison on the Zhangye River, and Jiankang Army was set up along the main road at the border with Suzhou. Although Li Ji told Emperor De to "stop here", he did not mean to stop at Zhangye City. Two days later, he ordered Hou Zhongzhuang to lead the army westward to restore the two military towns mentioned above.

As for the defenses south of Ganzhou, there were two small cities: Xi'an and Qilian. Li Ji turned back and led his army straight down to Xi'an. The barbarian troops inside the city numbered less than five hundred, and their morale had plummeted upon hearing of the fall of Zhangye. Thus, the Tang army easily captured the city in just half a day. They then advanced on Qilian, where their general Jiao Hui had already led a feint to patrol and create disturbances. They launched a pincer attack from the east and west, capturing the city in one fell swoop.

Standing atop Qilian City, Li Ji gazed eastward towards Yanzhi Mountain, listening to Jiao Hui's report on the arduous journey. He thought to himself that if this southern route could be opened, allowing the army to travel and supplies to be transported, Ganzhou would be much easier to defend. Alas—in the Central Plains, roads could be carved through mountains and bridges built over rivers, no matter how difficult; but fifty or sixty li west of Qilian City, there was almost no water or grass, so even if you opened up a major road for four carts, it wouldn't make a difference… Unless cars could travel, there would be no water for half an hour.

Looking further south, the Great Douba Valley came into view. Li Ji's ambition surged again, and he said to his men, "Now that we have captured Qilian City, we can march south through this valley, heading straight for Shanzhou, harassing the barbarian rebels from the rear, and responding to the war in Longyou..." Gao Ying advised, "Although we can enter Shanzhou via the Great Douba Valley, there is no sign of human habitation for over a hundred li. We must reach the Haowei River to reach the former Weirong Army. Moreover, I heard that after the barbarian rebels invaded, they abandoned this army. The road is long, and supplies will be hard to keep up with; without people, communication will be impossible. How can we threaten the barbarian rebels? This is a futile move. Grand Commandant, please reconsider."

Li Ji thought for a while and said, "After crossing the Haowei River, there will be signs of human activity... The goal is to make the barbarian bandits know that Ganzhou is under our control, and that the side gates are wide open. There is no need to actually engage them in battle. I plan to send a thousand elite soldiers forward for four days to the old fortress of the Weirong army, plant our Tang flag, cross the Haowei River again, and advance southwards. We can stop when we encounter the bandits."

Of course, he also knew that this journey was quite dangerous—he wasn't afraid of encountering strong enemies, but because there was no one along the way, it was easy to lose one's way. Once lost and running out of food and water, there would be no way back. Therefore, he searched the army for those familiar with the roads to serve as guides, and put Wei Gao in charge—Wei Chengwu was more astute than other generals, knew how to advance and retreat, and should not disappoint him.

Wei Gao accepted the order and led his army south three days later. Meanwhile, news of the fall of Ganzhou had already reached the barbarian army, and messengers were rushing towards the front-line command post in Chengji. This was because the defeated soldiers of Zhangye City had fled in panic into the Qilian Mountains, and after several days of wandering, nearly 20% had died of cold and hunger, finally reaching the northern shore of the Western Sea.

The so-called "West Sea" is the later Qinghai Lake. The population along its shores was relatively dense, so after the Tubo Kingdom occupied the area, they established the Yemaochuan Military Garrison between the West Sea and Menggu, which was one of the "Five Eastern Border Routes". The military governor of Yemaochuan Military Garrison was still Mangre. Because he was a confidant of Ma Chongying, he was not trusted by Shang Jiexi. As a result, most of his troops were transferred away, and he himself had no chance to fight and avenge his defeat. He was abandoned on the shore of the West Sea.

Upon receiving the news of the defeat, Mang Re was greatly alarmed and immediately dispatched a fast horse to the front lines. The journey of over a thousand li took eight days and a swift horse to reach the destination. Upon receiving the report, Shang Jiexi was furious: "Qilibuzang is utterly useless! Where is he now? We must hold Suzhou and prevent the Tang army from continuing westward. If Suzhou falls again, we will execute him without mercy!"

He wasn't surprised that Li Ji was advancing on Ganzhou, because given the situation, it wouldn't be easy for the enemy to come to the rescue of Longyou from the south, and given their character, they probably wouldn't just stand by and watch; they would most likely try to open a new front. Although the Tibetan army had previously swept through Weizhou with ease, Shang Jie had been keeping a close eye on Lanzhou out of the corner of his eye. As a result, Lanzhou hadn't received any warning, so he guessed that Li Ji was probably going to attack Ganzhou.

The original plan was for Qilibuzang not to seek victory, but only to avoid defeat and hold Ganzhou. Once he broke through Dazhen Pass and advanced into the Guanzhong Plain, Li Ji would surely retreat. You could ignore Longyou, but if Fengxiang and Chang'an heard the alarm, they wouldn't dare to attack in the opposite direction, would they? If his advance went smoothly, the Hexi army wouldn't have time to come back to reinforce him; even if the march was not smooth, after traveling 1,500 li, how much fighting power would the enemy still have? Moreover, at that time, Qilibuzang would also have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and recapture Liangzhou.

Because of his previous defeats, Shang Jiexi looked down on Qilibuzang—especially since that guy was Ma Chongying's personal confidant—and realized that the Battle of Ganzhou might not go smoothly. But... how come you've already lost Zhangye City in just one month? So while I'm advancing quickly in the south, you're retreating even faster in the north. For every inch I gain, you lose an inch—are you actually a spy for the Tang people?!

However, with the war still raging, it was inconvenient to severely punish Qilibuzang. They had no choice but to temporarily refrain from mentioning his past offenses and order him to hold Suzhou—they couldn't afford another such humiliating defeat! Unexpectedly, the messenger reported: "General Qilibuzang is currently at Yemaochuan… During the battle at Zhangye, he was ambushed by the Tang soldiers, and the weapon was poisoned…"

Previously, the Tibetans had been hit by a volley of firearms and collapsed. They never understood what those weapons were, so they could only temporarily classify them as concealed weapons. "The general was too badly injured to get up, so his personal guards risked their lives to rescue him and carry him to Wildcat River."

Shang Jiexi stamped his feet repeatedly, "Damn it!" On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes, and the Tang people even used hidden weapons. So, it is understandable that the defeat was caused by the serious injury of the commander. But Shang Jiexi's first thought was - that guy is finished. Even if he doesn't die, I will take this opportunity to wipe him out completely and never let him come back.

Then the second thought came to mind—wasn't Suzhou, and even Guazhou and Shazhou, now without any generals to guard them?

To temporarily dispatch generals from the army or from the Tibetan homeland would be too far away and not be of much use in an emergency. Shang Jiexi also considered that with Li Ji's current strength, having obtained Ganzhou, he might not have the strength to attack Suzhou. But better safe than sorry. After thinking it over, the closest option was Mang Re. So he ordered Mang Re to temporarily serve as the military governor of Liangzhou and rush to the aid of Suzhou.

Then they continued to mobilize their large army and launched a fierce attack on the Tang wall in front of them. However, Guo Ziyi was already stationed in Fengxiang, and Tang armies from all directions came to their aid one after another, inevitably slowing down the advance of the Tibetan army. Finally, after nearly a month of attacking, they captured Longcheng. The Jingyuan army suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat to Jiequanting in the northwest. With the fall of Longcheng, Li Sheng was isolated and helpless in Shanggui, and was in danger of being surrounded by Tibetan troops at any time. Therefore, he was also forced to abandon the city and retreat to Qinling County.

The barbarian army pursued relentlessly from the north and south, momentarily neglecting the line between them at Dazhen Pass, Qinyuan, and Qingshui, leaving a gap of over fifty li in the battle line. Upon receiving the report, Guo Ziyi ordered the Binning and Fufang armies, who were waiting for an opportunity, to select their elite troops and launch a central attack—their commander was appointed as the newly appointed Binning military governor, Hun Jian.

Chapter 42, The Loss of the Way Shocks the Barbarians

After the Tang family recovered Liangzhou, they allowed Li Ji to take all the newly recruited troops from Mingsha City with him, and also selected several thousand soldiers from Shuofang to accompany him. Since the Uyghurs had been quite submissive in recent years, and with Liangzhou recovered, Shuofang was no longer adjacent to the border of the barbarians, there was no need to station too many troops there.

Furthermore, taking the opportunity to weaken the power of Shuofang was Li Yu's long-held desire and scheme. As a result, Shuofang was not strengthened, but its town was split in two, and a Zhenwu Army was created.

This was the case on the northern front, but on the southern front, Li Sheng was appointed as the military governor of Longyou, leading the main force of the Binning army westward. According to the court's intention, Binning could be abolished, or the troops from Fufang could be used to fill Binning, and Fufang could be abolished—because it was simply impossible to supply so many military towns in Guanzhong. Since the battle line had moved forward, it would be better to gradually reduce and eliminate troops in the rear.

However, Guo Ziyi refused—though it wasn't the old general's personal instruction, it must have been at his behest—hoping that, as in the Zhide and Qianyuan eras, Shuofang would govern the three prefectures of Bin, Ning, and Qing. Li Yu thought to himself, "Don't talk nonsense. When we returned from Lingwu, we relied entirely on the Shuofang army and the Anxi and Beiting military camps. As a result, all the prefectures north of Fengxiang and Chang'an came under Shuofang's control. Only after Li Heng had secured his position in Chang'an did he establish the Binning military governorship, and then split Binning into Fufang and Danyan. He just wasn't willing to hand over half of his troops to Shuofang!"

If you restore the settings of the Zhide and Qianyuan periods, will I still be able to sleep in the Daming Palace?

After repeated power struggles and compromises among the various factions in China and Korea, it was ultimately decided not to abolish Binning, but to appoint Guo Ziyi as its military governor—but the old general would have to stay in the capital and oversee the region remotely, so there was no need for him to actually go to Binzhou to suffer. Shortly afterward, Li Yu appointed Hun Jian as the deputy military governor of Binning, who would actually be in charge of the region.

Hun Jian was originally from the Shuofang faction, so this appointment did not contradict Guo Ziyi's wishes. However, after Hun Jian entered the Northern Guard, he obeyed his father Hun Shizhi's instructions and behaved extremely respectfully. He also rarely visited Guo Ziyi's door and did not associate with his former Shuofang associates. Li Yu felt that this young man should be trustworthy.

He always felt that even the most arrogant generals outside the capital, once they entered the Northern Army and were nurtured by him, would not harbor any disloyalty—although he had only taken money from the imperial treasury to reward the Imperial Guards a few times, and in reality, he had no time or energy to get close to the generals. If we were to talk about relationships, the generals of the Northern Army were probably closer to and more afraid of eunuchs like Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming...

In short, Hun Jian was stationed in Binning and was ordered to reinforce Longyou this autumn. Guo Ziyi had both the Binning and Fufang armies stationed inside Dazhen Pass, waiting for a suitable opportunity to strike. When he heard that the barbarian army was attacking from two directions and had shown some weakness, he immediately ordered the selection of elite troops to go forward. Instead of sending Li Huaiguang, the military governor of Fufang, and his deputy Ma Sui, he directly named Hun Jian.

He said to those around him, “We are old and wish to expel the barbarians. We should place our hopes on the younger generation—such as Li Taiwei. Hun Rijin is young and brave, familiar with the terrain of Longyou, and has been selected by the emperor. How can we not make good use of him?”

Hun Jian's original name was Ri Jin, which was a Hu name. After joining the Wei, he changed it to Hun Jian. However, he had no courtesy name, so he asked his superior, Dou Wenchang, to give him one. Dou Wenchang was not very learned and could not come up with anything. In the end, he could only say, "Your old name, Ri Jin, is a good name. There is a saying in the Buddhist scriptures, 'The mind advances with each passing moment, and the mind advances daily.' Why not use the courtesy name Ri Jin?"

Hun Jian had followed his father Hun Shizhi and served under Li Tan, the military governor of Longyou, in defending against the barbarians. Therefore, he was quite familiar with the terrain and customs. After receiving the order, he immediately selected three thousand elite soldiers from two towns, secretly left Dazhen Pass, and took a small path to directly attack Chengji.

At this time, Hun Jian was still in Chengji, with his main force out of town. He only had 5,000 Tibetan troops and a small number of Qiang and Hu soldiers with him. Upon hearing the news, they were not alarmed and immediately went out of the city to meet him. Seeing that the Tibetan formation was not yet complete, Hun Jian personally led 200 elite cavalry to charge ahead. A Tibetan general tried to block his way, but Hun Jian dodged his spear and, as the two horses crossed stirrups, swiftly extended his arm and captured him alive, carrying him back under his arm. The Tibetan army was terrified, their morale plummeted, and they fought for over a hundred rounds that day before finally being unable to withstand the attack and retreating back to Chengji.

Shang Jiexi hastily ordered the troops attacking Jiequanting and Qinling County to return to reinforce, and Hun Jian seized the opportunity to lead his troops south, recapturing Shanggui. He then joined forces with Li Sheng and advanced westward along the Weinan route. Shang Jiexi was forced to retreat to Longxi, and Guo Ziyi seized the opportunity to order the troops of Binning and Fufang to launch a full-scale attack, joining forces with the Longyou and Jingyuan armies. They fought fiercely with the enemy east of Longxi City for several days, forcing Shang Jiexi to retreat again to Xiangwu.

Then suddenly news came that the Tang army had reached the vicinity of Menggu...

Menggu should be written as "Menggu" because it is not a valley but a mountain range. The ancients believed it to be the place where the sun sets in the far west—the Huainanzi states that "when the sun reaches Menggu, it is called Dinghun." It is located northwest of Shanzhou, south of the Haowei River, northeast of the West Sea, and south of Chiling. It was originally an important boundary mountain between the Tang and Tibetan regions.

In the early years of the Tianbao era, relations between the Tang and Tibetan empires soured. The Tang army then crossed Menggu and Chiling, invading Tibetan territory. By the thirteenth year, they had captured Fusi City west of Xihai, seizing the entire Xihai region and the Dafeichuan River basin to the south. Subsequently, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, forcing the Tang army to retreat eastward. Taking advantage of this, the Tibetans launched a counterattack, successively destroying Tang military garrisons such as Shenwei, Jintian, and Wuning, quickly recovering lost territory and further invading Longyou. They then established the Yemaochuan military garrison between Xihai and Menggu to defend the area.

Meanwhile, Wei Gao was ordered to lead a thousand elite soldiers south to Dadouba Valley. He first went to the old fortress of the Wei Rong army, set up his flag, and then crossed the Haowei River, attempting to penetrate deep into Shanzhou territory. However, he did not expect that he would get lost after only half a day of crossing the river...

Firstly, the terrain of the surrounding mountains is extremely complex, with no main roads, only some narrow paths trodden by cattle and horses, and very few people. Secondly, although a guide was found, this area of ​​northern Shanzhou is inherently desolate, and it has been in the hands of the barbarians for more than ten years. How could someone who happened to pass through ten years ago possibly remember it clearly and without any mistakes? Of course, one can roughly determine the direction based on the vegetation, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, and even the stars at night, but there are absolutely no straight roads in the mountains. Even a slight deviation can lead to a huge error.

For example, the destination might be the former fortress of the Baishui Army to the south, but the mountains make it impossible to pass. The only option is to temporarily detour to the west, but the further west one goes, the less one can find the road to the south...

Wei Gao, realizing he had lost his way, was filled with panic. He wanted to return the way he came, but was reluctant to give up. Seeing a mountain range ahead, he ordered his soldiers to climb it and look around to see if they could find a route south. If not… well, even if they returned empty-handed, they had to retreat. They had already ventured over three hundred li into the mountains, traveling for nine whole days without any supplies. If they didn't return soon, they feared they would all starve to death in this desolate wilderness!

The soldiers climbed a small ridge, and after a few hours returned to report that there were no roads to the south, only the continuous mountains, but they could see signs of human habitation to the west and wisps of smoke rising from chimneys in the distance. Wei Gao then led over a hundred soldiers up the mountain and planted the Tang family's banner in a prominent location.

Shanzhou has been under enemy control for a long time, especially in the desolate northwest of the prefecture, where there were originally few Tang people. So when they saw the smoke from the chimneys, they figured it must be either barbarians or Qiang and Hu people who had submitted to the barbarians. That's why Wei Gao ordered the flags to be planted to show that we had arrived. After taking a breather and observing the road on the mountain, we should return the way we came.

Unbeknownst to him, he had climbed a peak in Menggu, its western slope only forty or fifty li from the Western Sea, within the jurisdiction of the Yemaochuan military town. No sooner had he raised his flag than patrolling barbarian cavalry spotted him and hurriedly approached to investigate. Upon seeing the enemy approaching, Wei Gao immediately ordered a volley of arrows to be fired. Six or seven barbarian soldiers were felled, the rest fleeing in terror.

Naturally, an urgent report was sent to the army garrison at Yemaochuan. If Mang Re were still in the town, he would most likely have personally led his troops to investigate, making the strength of the Tang forces readily apparent—and by the time he arrived, Wei Gao would probably have already withdrawn. Unfortunately, Mang Re had just received Shang Jiexi's order and left to guard Suzhou in the north…

Upon receiving the order, Mang Re sighed, "The Great Lord disregarded the perilous situation in Hexi and insisted on attacking Longyou. He first abandoned Qilibuzang, and now he's trying to trap us. Does he really intend to completely eradicate our Great Lord lineage?!"

Because traveling from Yemaochuan to Hexi requires crossing the treacherous Qilian Mountains, the Zhangye River, originating from the western foothills of the Qilian Mountains, flows south along the mountains, then turns north through the mountains, reaching the heart of Ganzhou. This route, passing through the valley, is the most convenient – ​​the defeated army from Zhangye had previously escaped via this route. However, now that Ganzhou is in Tang hands, he has no way to cross it!

Even with tens of thousands of elite troops under Mang Re's command, the treacherous roads prevented them from venturing out to counterattack Ganzhou, especially since seventy percent of the garrison had already been transferred to the Longyou front. Therefore, if Mang Re wanted to take up his post, he would have to detour through the Mingshui River Valley between the Qilian Mountains and the Daxue Mountains, making a large detour from Guazhou to Suzhou… He thought to himself, if Li Ji is truly insatiable this winter, having already obtained Ganzhou, he will then plot against Suzhou. He estimated that by the time he arrived, Suzhou would already be in his hands; but if Li Ji did not continue his advance, his trip would be in vain, not only laborious but also likely involving Li Ji who would use the opportunity to send his trusted men to take over his Wildcat River…

How poisonous is the heart of such a grandiloquent person!

However, no matter how much he grumbled inwardly, he dared not disobey the order and thus hastily led three hundred soldiers westward. Mang Re had only been gone for two days when Wei Gao arrived. At this time, the army stationed at Ye Mao Chuan had only a little over a thousand soldiers. Upon hearing the news, the general hurriedly fortified the city and sent fast horses to report to Longyou and Luoxie at the same time.

Basically, by the time the urgent report reached Shang Jiexi's desk in Xiangwu City, Wei Gao's thousand men were already half-starved and had barely managed to return to Dadouba Valley. Fortunately, Li Ji, anticipating the perilous journey, had already ordered men to meet them at the valley entrance, thus rescuing Wei Gao and bringing him to safety. Wei Gao then went to apologize to Li Ji—but that's another story—

Little did he know that his furthest reach was Menggu, and that he had caused such a commotion that a large Tibetan army was thrown into chaos. This expedition had only encountered a dozen or so Tibetan cavalry, and he had shot down five or six with arrows—a truly fruitless effort. Therefore, he had to adopt a respectful attitude and beg the Grand Commandant's forgiveness. Of course, Li Ji offered kind words of comfort and did not blame him.

When Shang Jiexi received news of the Tang army's encounter with Menggu, he was greatly alarmed, thinking that Li Ji must have led his troops south after capturing Ganzhou to harass him from the flank! If only he had known, he wouldn't have let Mangre rush to Suzhou... He hurriedly dispatched troops back to reinforce the area. However, ten days later, Lhasa issued an order to withdraw the troops.

Firstly, the news of the enemy's attack on Menggu reached Lhasa, causing widespread alarm. Secondly, Piluoge of Nanzhao, having heard of the Tubo's major defeat in Longyou and Hexi last year, launched an attack this autumn, advancing up the Lancang River and capturing the border city of Yuji. The remaining officials all said that the campaign had been unsuccessful; although Weizhou had been captured, Qinzhou could not be recovered for a long time, and the Tang and Zhao armies had even invaded our territory—one in the northeast and the other in the southwest, two thousand miles apart, making rescue difficult. How could we not quickly withdraw our main force and switch to a defensive posture?

Shang Jiexi had no choice but to order a retreat. The Tang army pursued them from behind and recovered all the lost territory—the border was pushed back to the Tao River line once again.

The Tibetan army, numbering 150,000, suffered a defeat and was forced to withdraw from the battlefield, resulting in low morale. Many Qiang and Hu tribes who had been loyal to the Tibetans deserted, and even the genuine Tibetan soldiers lost no fewer than 5,000 men – not counting the losses in Ganzhou and Yuji City. Shang Jiexi returned to Lhasa, fearing the Zanpu's wrath, and indeed placed all the blame on Qilibuzang and Mangre. Trisong Detsen, considering Qilibuzang's severe injuries, did not punish him severely, only stripping him of all his titles; as for Mangre, he was demoted to Deputy Military Governor of Guazhou, ordered to defend Suzhou and atone for his crimes through meritorious service.

Shang Jiexi was not punished. In fact, Trisong Detsen was mature beyond his years. After reviewing the battle with his generals, he knew who was right and who was wrong. However, firstly, Shang Jiexi had been elected with a high number of votes and still held considerable power in the council of state. Secondly, given his advanced age and status, it was not convenient to replace him with someone else in a short time, lest it cause political instability. Therefore, he only summoned Shang Jiexi and reprimanded him a few times. The rod was raised high, but in the end, it fell gently.

When asked about his future plans, Shang Jiexi replied helplessly, "The Tang army is growing stronger every day, and it is probably difficult to recover Longyou. The only option is to temporarily adopt a defensive posture and quickly attack Anxi and Beiting, hoping to strengthen our national power after that and then compete with the Tang again." He suggested continuing to negotiate with the Tang family and demanding that the Tao River be used as the boundary, which was actually a way to lull the other side into a false sense of security.

However, Nanzhao must be severely punished, otherwise it would be insufficient to uphold the authority of the Zanpu! But the army has just returned, and it is not advisable to move again; we can only hope for next year…

Thus, the war between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet in Longyou temporarily ceased, allowing both sides to calm down, lick their wounds, and regroup. However, the war on the northern front continued. On one hand, Tibet still plotted to seize Anxi and Beiting, and even dreamed of taking over the entire Western Regions. On the other hand, Li Ji in Hexi was also eager to open up the Silk Road and rescue his comrades, Guo Xin, Li Yuanzhong, and others who were stranded abroad.

Li Ji had borrowed money from wealthy merchants like Yu Ling, agreeing to repay the principal and interest in five years. If he could successfully drive out the Tibetans and restore the Four Garrisons of Anxi, even if the Silk Road was temporarily blocked, the merchants would still have hope, and land prices in Liangzhou would surely rise. However, if he saw no light at the end of the tunnel after five years, the contracts he had issued would become worthless. He could certainly find various excuses, or even directly break off relations and refuse redemption, but not only would his credit be completely bankrupt, but he would also never be able to borrow a single coin or a foot of silk from Liangzhou again. With the Tibetan bandits eyeing his territory, how could he possibly maintain his position?

Therefore, he temporarily withdrew from Liangzhou and instead launched a large-scale recruitment and military buildup in Zhangye. He incorporated all the anti-Tibetan forces he had previously contacted within the prefecture, but they numbered only a little over a thousand... There was no other way; the Tang population in the prefecture was simply too small. Therefore, he had to send Yin Shen and Chang Heng to infiltrate Suzhou again to incite a Tang uprising, while simultaneously sending his advisors, including Gao Ying, back to their hometowns to recruit so-called chivalrous individuals willing to make merit in the western frontier and gain fame...

Chapter 43, A Sick Soldier

Wang Changling's poem "Frontier Ballad" reads: "Cicadas chirp in the empty mulberry grove, on the Xiao Pass road in August. Leaving the frontier and entering it again, everywhere is yellow reeds and grass. Travelers from You and Bing have all grown old with dust and sand. Do not emulate the chivalrous youths, boasting of their fine purple horses."

Back in the early Han Dynasty, the main force that repeatedly defeated the Xiongnu relied on the sons of good families from the six commanderies of Guanzhong, much like the so-called "wandering knights" of the Tang Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty prospered, the livelihoods of people in the heartland improved to some extent, and with the consolidation of land, a large class of wealthy farmers and small landowners emerged. This class could exploit the poor, but it was difficult to extract more wealth from them. However, they were blocked from rising to the ranks of the powerful and wealthy, making it difficult to join the ranks of large landowners. They could not compete with those from families that had been officials for generations in terms of studying the classics and composing poems. If they wanted to revitalize their family fortune, the only way was to join the army.

As a result, this social class was fond of martial arts—the so-called "poor scholar, rich warrior"—and they also possessed a certain economic foundation. They often acted swiftly and decisively in their localities, breaking the law with their martial arts, and even roaming through various prefectures, disrupting order, hence the term "wandering knights." The Tang court thus recruited these unstable elements into the army to resist foreign invaders.

On the one hand, frequent wars after the Kaiyuan era led to the intention of exporting contradictions; on the other hand, the Tang army crossed the Gobi Desert to the north, the shifting sands to the west, and conquered the Western Sea to the south. On multiple fronts, with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops, they were able to fight hard and win, which was also due to the strength of these wandering knights.

While the so-called "valiant warriors" were mostly proletarians who had lost their land, had no means of making a living, and had no choice but to fight on the battlefield, these proletarians had no resources and were not easy to gain merit and promotion, which inevitably greatly reduced their motivation to fight. Only the wandering knights of various prefectures had the financial resources to equip themselves with excellent weapons and the connections to pave the way for promotion. In terms of both combat effectiveness and fighting will, they were the backbone of the Tang army.

Just like the "good families of the six commanderies" in the Former Han Dynasty, the common people at the bottom just wanted to survive, and the high-ranking officials hoped to live comfortably. Only the middle class had the motivation to strive for advancement, thus becoming the most reliable and convenient source of soldiers for the rulers.

When Li Ji first trained the new army in Mingsha City, it was to avoid infiltrating too many seasoned veterans who had served in the military for generations. For example, generals like Yang Shigu and Li Ziyi from Weibo, although experienced, often shirked responsibilities and dared to incite their superiors if they were dissatisfied. The recruits were mostly from poor families of both Han and non-Han people, with a larger number of non-Han people such as the Hun clan. This naturally put a lot of pressure on military supplies and logistics.

Therefore, he wanted to recruit wandering knights and absorb the sons of military officers from various garrisons who had lost their chance for advancement due to the temporary peace in the Central Plains, to bolster the Hexi army. The advantages of these men were their eagerness for merit, their drive, some tactical skills, and their ability to provide their own weapons, saving the garrison commander considerable initial investment; their disadvantages were a lack of organization and discipline, and an excessive sense of individual heroism…

The problem is that in those days, new recruits from all walks of life were not likely to be obedient enough, and they were not the naturally organized and disciplined working class of the future... Since they all had to be organized and trained on the spot, the wandering knights and the sons of military officers did not have any major shortcomings.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, there was another unique type of wandering knight-errant. They came from official families and were relatively well-educated, but were unwilling, or felt inadequate, to succeed in the highly competitive imperial examination system. So they also roamed the land, some even joining the army. Many of the staff members of the former military governors' offices were of this type. For example, Gao Shi and Gao Fu first tried to serve under Li Yi, the military governor of Shuofang, and Zhang Shougui, the military governor of Youzhou, but were unsuccessful, and were forced to return to Chang'an to take the imperial examination.

Li Bai, too, possessed a chivalrous spirit. In his youth, he traveled far and wide, taking in the magnificent landscapes and writing countless masterpieces. Although he had no intention of joining the army, he never took the exams either, hoping that powerful figures would hear of his literary reputation and recommend him to the court, thus securing him a high-ranking official position.

As it turns out, Gao Shi's path was potentially viable, but Li Bai's path was absolutely not. Among the cultural figures or semi-cultural figures who voluntarily joined the army, starting as staff members rather than generals, the one who ultimately reached the top was Feng Changqing, who held full authority over the Anxi and Beiting garrisons and was appointed Imperial Censor.

Li Ji lacked cultured men under his command. Du Huangshang and Gao Ying were people he had personally invited from among the selected scholars, visiting them three times. There were no one like Feng Changqing who came to him voluntarily. Therefore, he ordered Gao Ying and others to return to the Central Plains to spread their reputation everywhere, inciting others that military merits in Hexi were easily attainable, hoping to recruit some similar talents.

However, before Gao Ying and his group could see any results, Lu Lun unexpectedly arrived from Guzang.

Cui Cuo had already informed Li Ji of Lu Lun's arrival in Liangzhou by writing a letter, enclosing the six "Frontier Ballads" along with the news. Li Ji indeed quite liked them—especially the one with the line "The forest is dark, the grass rustles in the wind." Therefore, upon hearing that Lu Lun was coming from Guzang, he hurriedly tidied his clothes and personally went out of the government office to greet him.

But to be honest, no matter how well Lu Lun's poems are written, even if they are comparable to Li Bai, they are not of much use to Li Ji now—otherwise he would have already found a way to fool Du Fu—what he seeks is a talent for governing the country and managing the world, or a brilliant person who is proficient in finance and planning, and whether Lu Lun has any potential in this regard is still unknown.

Li Ji personally welcomed Lu Lun, mainly with the intention of "spending a thousand gold pieces to buy a horse's bones"—after all, Lu Lun was the first scholar to take the initiative to come and serve him!

As for Lu Lun, although he had no worries about food and clothing in Guzang City, he was still uneasy because he had not yet met Grand Commandant Li and had not been able to finalize his duties and salary. Although everyone said that the Grand Commandant was afraid of his wife—which was not uncommon in the Tang Dynasty—and favored his "inner secretary," he believed that with the recommendation of those two, he would most likely not decline. But what if he did? Therefore, upon hearing that Li Ji was temporarily staying in Ganzhou and might not return to Liangzhou this winter, he earnestly requested Cui Cuo to send a team of soldiers to escort him to Zhangye to meet Li Ji.

To Lu Lun's surprise, Grand Commandant Li came out of his office to greet him. Overjoyed, Lu Lun quickly bowed in greeting. After being led into the main hall and exchanging a few words, Li Ji asked, "Your poems have the style of Wang Shaobo (Wang Changling), which I greatly admire. It's a pity there are so few of them. Do you have any other excellent works that you would be willing to display?"

Lu Lun thought to himself that there were only those six poems. As for the poems he wrote in the capital for social occasions, even his wife wouldn't approve of them, let alone the Grand Commandant. It wasn't that he thought highly of Grand Commandant Li's literary appreciation, but he felt that those sentimental writings about the wind and moon couldn't possibly match the spirit of a general like Li. So he racked his brains for a while before saying, "On my way from Chang'an to Liangzhou, I did acquire a new poem, which I humbly present to you."

So he struck a pose and recited in a low voice: "Traveling often brings illness, staying without food, returning home after ten thousand miles but not yet reaching my hometown. With disheveled hair, I lament beneath the ancient city, unable to bear the autumn air seeping into my wounds."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji frowned and asked, "Where did you see this, sir, and obtain this inspiration?"

Lu Lun's poem describes a soldier discharged from the army due to injury. He is thousands of miles from home, longing to return, but illness prevents him from traveling further. He plans to find a place to stay, but alas, his provisions and travel expenses are almost exhausted. He huddles beneath the ancient city walls, lamenting his fate. The autumn wind blows, deepening his pain, making it unbearable…

So Li Ji quickly asked Lu Lun, "Where did you meet this person and write this poem? It wasn't in my Hexi Town, was it?"

Lu Lun said, "This is what I saw in Jingyuan when I went north. It is said to be my hometown, but it is actually in Huaizhou."

The journey from Jingyuan back to Huaizhou was less than a thousand li, so the so-called "returning home after ten thousand li" was just an exaggeration. But for someone who was injured and penniless, it was still a difficult journey with no end in sight.

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh, then bowed to Lu Lun and said, "I deeply admire your compassion and empathy, sir. I will heed your warning and ensure that such tragedies never happen again in Hexi."

The previous six "Frontier Ballads" were alright; while they were quite uplifting, they didn't necessarily possess a high level of artistic merit. This poem, "Encountering a Sick Soldier," however, is different. It laments the enemy's suffering from hunger, cold, exhaustion, illness, and injury, subtly criticizing the court and various garrisons for their generous support of the army, yet failing to provide adequate care. Once the soldiers are no longer needed, they are discarded like weeds. Indeed, it is a superior work in both literary and ideological terms. Furthermore, Li Ji believed that although Lu Lun encountered "sick soldiers" from another garrison, his recitation of this poem today was a reminder to himself not to belittle his soldiers. Even if they could share food and clothing on the battlefield, once they retreat due to injury and can no longer support themselves, until there is no way to survive, will the soldiers, seeing this prospect, still have the will to fight to the death for you?

Li Ji believed that someone who could understand the hardships of the common people must have a benevolent heart. Regardless of his abilities, Mr. Lu's thoughts and character were commendable—which inspired him to consider using him for great purposes.

But in truth, Lu Lun hadn't thought that much about it. He simply wrote this old poem because it was somewhat relevant to military affairs, and that's why he put it out to appease Li Ji...

Li Ji's impression of Lu Lun improved subtly, and he immediately composed himself and asked respectfully, "Sir, instead of sitting comfortably in Guzang, you have come to Zhangye, which is still recovering. I suppose you have something to teach me."

Lu Lun replied with his hands clasped, "I am ashamed to say that although I have grand ambitions, I have never served in the army, nor have I held any official position to govern a region. My occasional thoughts may not be suitable for your use..."

"Please speak plainly, sir. I am all ears."

Lu Lun naturally had some explanation in mind, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to meet Li Ji. So, he boldly said, "Previously in Guzang, I saw merchants from the Central Plains continuously supplying goods to Xixia. They said that the Grand Commandant used the markets and shops of Liangzhou as collateral to borrow from them. With these supplies, we could strengthen our army, drive out the barbarian bandits, and completely recover Hexi. However, apart from Liangzhou, the prefectures of Hexi were originally poor and lacked abundant resources. In addition, with the continuous war and disasters, even if we recover them, we cannot immediately return the profits to the merchants..."

"What you say is true, sir. Do you have any brilliant ideas to teach me?"

"When Lun was in Guzang, he requested to review the old records. He learned that at the height of the Tianbao era, Ganzhou had no more than 6,000 households, Suzhou had 2,000, Shazhou had 4,000, and Guazhou had less than 500. It is likely that after the invasion and ravages by the barbarian tribes, the number of households would be even smaller, perhaps not even comparable to a county in the Central Plains. Therefore, if the Grand Commandant wants to ensure sufficient food and supplies for the army, the only way is to increase the number of households and encourage them to engage in agriculture. This is the only feasible approach."

The Hexi region has a sparse population, which is related to the land. There is only so much arable land, and it is impossible to support a large population! Of course, this only refers to the Han people who are registered as citizens. As for the Qiang and Hu people, the vast grasslands are still able to support a considerable number of them—the further west you go, the more there are.

But Lu Lun was right. Li Ji was indeed short of manpower. If there were more people, even without farmland to settle them, they could be incorporated into the army to at least garrison some less important but still necessary areas, thus freeing up the main force to focus on defending against the barbarians. So he asked Lu Lun, "I also want to recruit some refugees from Guanzhong, but none of the towns are willing to release them..." He was joking, of course. Other towns were also short of manpower, especially Guanzhong. After the war, there was more land than people. If refugees were found in the mountains, they could be allocated land immediately. Why would they need to come to your desolate Hexi?

Lu Lun smiled and said, "Why doesn't the Grand Commandant seek further south?"

"Sir, what you mean is..."

"Grand Commandant Wen and Commander Cui of Xichuan are related by marriage. Why not ask them to provide some people? You should know that during the An Lushan Rebellion, most of the refugees in Guanzhong fled to Sichuan. Those who could not return numbered no less than ten thousand households."

Li Ji frowned: "I am related to them, but would they be willing to provide me with people?"

"The native people are unwilling to give them up, and even if they were, they wouldn't want to migrate north. If Commander Cui were to send people to Hexi, they would mostly be tenants, villagers, or even bandits and prisoners. However, once they arrive in Hexi, they would be under the control of the Grand Commandant. With careful screening, they could be of some benefit. Now the Grand Commandant has acquired Liang and Gan provinces and is also in contact with the Uyghurs. Everything is scarce, except for horses. Shu is rich, but it lacks good horses. We can exchange horses for people. I believe Commander Cui will not refuse."

Li Ji stroked his beard, lost in thought and remaining silent. He felt that Lu Lun was too bookish, all talk and no action, and that his proposed strategies were basically not feasible.

First of all, even if I accept all comers, regardless of whether they are cats or dogs, thieves or prisoners, just to increase the population of Hexi, Xichuan still has to be able to provide the necessary resources and transport them. Even if Cui Ning's policies are harsh, how many criminals can Sichuan possibly have? As for the refugees who fled from Guanzhong, firstly, if they haven't committed any crimes, there's no reason to bring them to guard the border; secondly, those coming from Sichuan to Hexi must pass through Guanzhong and Longxi, and for various reasons—mostly lacking travel expenses—they couldn't return home. If they passed by their hometowns, would they still be willing to continue north?