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Because the situation reports coming from Qinghai and Anxi were very critical, and the degree of criticality was beyond everyone's surprise. Especially after receiving the emergency report from the generals of Anxi Town Army who took several months to send it to Chang'an, Li Longji was a little unable to sit still.

After staying, we hurriedly ended our visit to Huaqing Palace.

After recuperating in the hot springs to keep out the cold, he led his imperial chariot back to Chang'an. He had already made up his mind to go to war against Tibet. Now that the domestic rebellion had subsided, the Tang Dynasty had the power to defend Anxi and Qinghai. The remaining pride in his heart made Li Longji not allowed to be in his hands.

Lost Anxi and Qinghai.

Li Longji returned to Chang'an from his vacation on the eighth day after Guo Ziyi and his gang arrived at Huaqing Palace, which was exactly one and a half months after he left Chang'an for Huaqing Palace. The officials who stayed in Chang'an and the prince Li Bin who supervised the army did not expect to see Anxi and Qinghai

The incident made the emperor so anxious. Doesn't this seem to be the emperor's normal behavior over the years? But no one dared to question anything.

After Li Longji returned to Chang'an, he rested for two days and immediately summoned his ministers to discuss matters regarding Qinghai and Anxi.

Before a decision is made, a court meeting must be held.

After listening to the emperor's briefing on the situation in Anxi and Qinghai, and some ministers' additional explanations of the situation, many ministers realized how critical the situation in these two places was now.

The specific situation in Anxi is difficult to describe in words. The general situation is this: originally the area under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate was roughly equivalent to two-thirds of the size of China in later generations, but now it is

The total area that the Tang forces could control was only as big as Zhejiang, which was reduced by dozens of times. Of course, not all of these territories were occupied by the Tubo people.

When the power of the Tang Dynasty was rapidly weakening, the indigenous tribes did not obey the orders of the Tang Dynasty and took refuge with Tibet, or they became the boss and expanded their territory. The Turkic tribes in Anxi were not completely surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, but now the Tubo people are so

As soon as they intervened, there was a big commotion immediately, and the remaining troops of the Tang Dynasty in Anxi could only huddle in those large military towns and rely on strong cities to defend them.

As for the Tubo people, they didn't gather their servant tribes to attack the military towns guarded by the Tang army. Critical situations appeared from time to time. No one knows what the situation in Anxi and Beiting is now. After all, under the current situation, from Anxi and Beiting to protect the

It would take several months for the news from the government to reach Chang'an. During the war, the situation was changing rapidly. A few months had passed, and no one knew whether the four towns in Anxi had completely fallen.

Except for Liangzhou, Suzhou, Hezhou, Shanzhou, and Lanzhou, which are state capitals far away from Qinghai, they are still under the control of the Tang army. All other places in Qinghai have fallen into the hands of the Tibetans. In other words, the Tang army

The place where the power can reach is already a bit far away from the big lake in Qinghai.

After the situation in Qinghai and Anxi was reported, the entire court was completely silent. Except for a few people who knew the situation in advance, other ministers did not expect that the situation in these two places was so critical. When there was silence in the hall, the Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs,

Tongzhong

Guo Liaoyi stood up and reported loudly: "Your Majesty, the situation in Anxi, Beiting and Qinghai is extremely critical. I sincerely request your Majesty to immediately issue an order to send a large army to attack the Tubo people who attack our territory and pacify them."

The tribes in this area are rebelling!”

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal!" Wei Jiansu immediately stood up and expressed support for Guo Ziyi's proposal. "Anxi and Qinghai are in danger, and the imperial court should immediately send a large army to attack the Tubo people who are taking advantage of the situation."

Immediately afterwards, Yang Xi and Gao Shi also stood up and expressed the same intention. They also went to the palace to request orders to go out.

But someone immediately stood up and objected to the large-scale military campaign against Tibet now. They said that the civil strife had just subsided and the people needed to recuperate and recuperate. They must not start another war now, which would arouse public resentment! Prince Li Bin also stood up and said that the large-scale army was now being launched.

It is not appropriate for the army to attack Tubo. This is also the view he stated before, and he had a dispute with Guo Ziyi. Today he still insists on what he has said. However, because of the tough statements of many ministers such as Yang Xi, his tone was much weaker and he did not say much.

State it persistently.

But some ministers are strongly opposed to sending troops to conquer Tibet now.

This kind of situation is very normal. It will happen when any major government affairs are brought to the court for discussion. Even after the rebellion in Anlu Mountain, whether to raise troops to quell the rebellion was debated in the court for a long time. Many people opposed raising troops to quell the rebellion.

, it is recommended to send a messenger to persuade An Lushan to surrender, and it is not recommended to use violence to fight violence. The court suddenly became very lively.

, many ministers stood up to express their opinions, and they argued with each other, and some even became red-faced. Gao Shi, the Minister of Military Affairs, had a heated argument with a doctor of Hube named Wu, and almost got into a fight with his sleeves. Li

Longji didn't seem to be surprised by this situation and just let the ministers in the palace argue with his eyes.

The debate among the ministers soon became divided, because the majority suggested that a large army should be launched to attack Tibet now. They held more important positions and had more weight to speak. They refuted the opponents with a lot of analysis, and finally stood up to oppose it.

There are fewer and fewer people.

After the voices in the court became softer, Li Longji raised his eyes, glanced at the ministers who were panting and arguing in the hall, and said in the same voice as before: "My dear friends, the discussion was very lively, and I also

After hearing your arguments, it seems that the majority of people support sending troops to attack the Tibetans. Then I also support the outcome of today's court meeting and send a large army to attack the Tibetans."

"I have issued an edict: send an envoy to Qinghai to order the Tubo people to withdraw from Qinghai and Anxi," Li Longji ordered with a majestic look on his face: "At the same time, form a large army to attack the Tubo people who invaded these two places, and pacify the people in this area.

Rebellion! Change the Anxi Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate into the Anxi Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate, and order all the tribes in Anxi and Beiting to assist our Tang army in fighting the Tubo people, otherwise they will be punished for treason!"

After Li Longji's order, the court fell silent again, and many people were surprised. The emperor had not shown such majesty for a long time. In the memories of many ministers, the emperor's majesty had long been lost, even after the An Lushan rebellion.

At that time, the emperor's reprimands were full of anger and anger, but today, they saw the holy power that made people tremble.

No one stood up to oppose the emperor's decision, not even those who had shouted loudly just now.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Someone stood up and flattered Li Longji. After one person stood up and praised the emperor's wisdom, a group of people immediately followed him and said the same thing. For a while, the court was noisy again.

Li Longji waved his hand to signal the ministers to be quiet. After all the ministers stopped talking and stood back in the original train, Li Longji asked again: "Since the imperial meeting has decided to use troops against the Tubo people, I would like to ask you all

My dear, how should we send troops?"

This time Yang Xi was the first to stand up and express his opinion: "Your Majesty, I think we should use troops against Qinghai and Anxi at the same time to completely defeat the Tubo people in these two places. The Tubo national power is not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty, and the number of troops and combat power are not as good as those of the Tang Dynasty."

Compared with our army of the Tang Dynasty, this expedition should deal a severe blow to the Tubo people as much as possible, so that they will remember the lesson and never dare to attack our army of the Tang Dynasty again. I would like to ask for my order to go on the expedition!"

Then Guo Ziyi immediately stood up, supported Yang Xi's proposal, and asked loudly for orders. He was willing to lead an army to attack the Tubo people in Anxi, and vowed to put down the rebellions of various tribes in Anxi and restore order in Anxi and Beiting. He also roughly told

Let’s look at how to use troops.

But someone immediately stood up and opposed Yang Xi's suggestion of forming two groups of troops to attack the Tubo people. Their reason was that they would divide their troops in such a way that they would be easily defeated by the Tubo people. Not only would they not be able to achieve military success, but they would be even more vulnerable to the Tubo people.

Even the prime minister Fang Guan stood up and opposed it, and for a while there was a noisy quarrel in the court.

However, in the end, the supporters of Yang Xi and Guo Ziyi gained the upper hand in the argument. Li Longji seemed to be fed up, and dispersed the court meeting before the argument was over, leaving only the prime ministers of the Political Affairs Hall, Yang Xi, Gao Shi, and Wei Fangjin.

, Zhang Bian and other heavyweight ministers discussed the matter.

With fewer people, it was easier to unify opinions. After half an hour of discussion, the final result was finally reached. Two armies were formed to attack the Tubo people in Qinghai and Anxi respectively. "Your Majesty, if the war goes smoothly, it will be very easy."

Can

If you can fight in one battle, you can take full advantage and completely eliminate the threat of the Tubo people!" This is what Yang Xi said in front of other ministers after Li Longji finally made his decision. He also asked for orders to go out again, willing to lead all the troops.

, crusade against the Tubo people.

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A few days later, the imperial court issued an edict for an expedition, with Prince Li Bin as the marshal of the world's troops and horses, and Guo Ziyi and Yang Xi as deputy marshals, to form a large army to attack the Tubo people who invaded Qinghai and Anxi.

Guo Ziyi led the Yili Road marching general as deputy marshal, with Li Guangbi, Li Siye, Zhang Xun, Nan Jiyun, Cheng Qianli, Lu Chongben, Lai Yi, Guo Yingyi and others as sub-managers, with a total of 150,000 troops.

, arrived in Anxi in the sunshine, discussed the Tubo people in Anxi, restored the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate, and ordered the tribes in the western regions to follow the actions of the Tang army, otherwise they would be punished as treason.

Yang Xi will serve as the deputy marshal in charge of the general manager of the Xikai Road March. Gao Shi, Wang Sili, Pang Zhong, Liu Guangting, Pugu Huaien, Gao Fucheng, Hun Shizhi, Hun Yao, Chen Huiguang, Hao Tingyu, Li Baoyu and others will be the branch managers.

, led an army of 180,000 people out of Shanzhou to attack the Tubo people living in Qinghai.

Marshal Li Bin was not on duty, so the actual people responsible for commanding the war were Guo Ziyi and Yang Xi.

Guo Ziyi had the age, prestige, and qualifications to lead an army of 150,000 troops to attack Anxi, and no one would have any objections. Yang Xi was different. Although he made outstanding military exploits in the battle to pacify Anlu Mountain, he failed to raise an army to attack Tibet.

When the people are young, he will take charge of the deputy marshal's position and lead the army.

The expedition of a large group of generals who had been pardoned for their military exploits still made many people dissatisfied, even some of his generals were like this. Those generals who had never led an army under Yang Xi were just in their prime against their immediate superiors.

This fact is very unpleasant for young people.

But this is not what Yang Xi is worried about. He has many ways to make his generals obey him. What he is worried about is the opposition of the people around him.
Chapter completed!