Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4723 There Must Be a War

The father and son were silent about each other, and the sadness of the family's end was condensed in the air. The fate of being crushed to pieces even if they could barely survive in the cracks of big countries made people grit their teeth and tear their eyes, but there was nothing they could do.

"Bang!" Zan Xiruo slammed the coffee table in front of him, his eyes red as he said, "What a great country, a country of etiquette, but it's all a bunch of jackals, tigers and leopards, who chew up even the bones after eating meat. How different are they from those treacherous beasts in Luoshui City? I wish I could kill them with my own hands and skin them alive!"

Lu Dongzan frowned and shouted, "Getting angry is the most incompetent behavior. Instead of wasting your energy on this, you should think about how to avoid danger. Although both Tibet and the Tang Dynasty want us to die, there are ways to save us."

Zan Xiruo knew that his father was resourceful and had many clever ideas, so he asked hurriedly, "What's the plan?"

Lu Dongzan shook his head: "There is definitely no strategy. In the face of absolute power, any strategy is useless. The only thing we can use is the situation."

Zan Xiruo doesn't understand.

Lu Dongzan explained briefly: "If only one of us and Tubo can stay, who do you think the Tang Dynasty will stay?"

"Of course it's us. We have to rely on the Tang Dynasty for survival. Our strength is far inferior to that of Luoshui City. We are not a threat."

"If faced with the choice between pursuing national policy and destroying a country, which one would the Tang army choose?"

Zan Xiruo said: "That must be the achievement of destroying a country! The Tang Dynasty's goal is just to see us and Luoshui City both lose and restore regional stability. But if there is a chance to destroy Tubo, which general would let it go?"

Lu Dongzan's eyes flashed with ferocity, and he said fiercely: "So we have to keep calm and obey the Tang people's command, but at the critical moment, we have to drag the Tang people into this muddy water. Don't think of standing on the shore and pointing fingers and keeping ourselves out of trouble!"

*****
Chang'an in August is like a huge furnace. The eight rivers of Guanzhong that crisscross the city are mighty but cannot take away much of the heat. The trees on both sides of Suzaku Street are wilted and listless, and the cicadas on the flowers and trees in the courtyard are lazy and listless.

A huge ice jar was placed under the window, and gusts of cool breeze blew into the house, making it seem like a world away from the scorching heat outside.

Princess Gaoyang yawned lazily, stroked her temples, and forced herself to write and draw on the gift list with a brush. Fang Jun, who was standing beside her, held a warehouse list and gave some suggestions from time to time.

After drinking a cup of tea, Fang Jun threw the list on the table in annoyance, leaned back in his chair, and said impatiently: "It's just an ordinary gift, why do you have to be so careful and serious? Besides, Chang'an is thousands of miles away from Silla, and the boats and carriages are bumpy and bumpy. I don't know how much of the porcelain and glass will be damaged. Otherwise, can I just ask the navy to select some rare items from the warehouse and send them to Li Ke?"

Princess Gaoyang frowned, a little unhappy: "When giving gifts, the most important thing is the thought. How can you be so careless? A teacup or a mirror needs to be carefully selected. You are so ignorant."

Among all the princes and princesses, she and Li Ke had been close since childhood. She admired this handsome, cheerful and talented brother very much. Li Ke took great care of her because she lost her mother at a young age, and the brother and sister had a very deep relationship.

Now that Li Ke was a vassal in Silla, thousands of miles away, Princess Gaoyang still arranged for people to send gifts twice a year in summer and winter.

Fang Jun was impatient with all this and said helplessly: "You can send whatever you want. I have nothing to say even if you empty the warehouse. Can you let me go? It's too hot, I plan to take a shower... How about we go together?"

Princess Gaoyang rolled her eyes at him and waved her hand impatiently: "Let's go, let's go. The weather is probably only cooler in Furong Garden. Why not go to find your queen, or go to Zhongnan Mountain, where you can enjoy the beauty and the son. At worst, there is a little princess in the palace. She is always in love with you and you may be able to pick her up..."

There was too much jealousy in these words. Fang Jun smiled bitterly and shook his head, begging for mercy: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I regret my words inappropriately. I will change my mind and become a new man in the future."

"Pfft!"

Princess Gaoyang was amused by these fresh words. She waved her hands and said in a tender voice, "Go take a bath quickly. I'm annoyed just looking at you. Humph."

"Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Highness. I am deeply grateful. How about giving myself to you..."

After being driven out, Fang Jun went to a side room to take a shower, but the servant brought in a letter from Pei Xingjian. He opened it and read it carefully. It turned out that Pei Xingjian had returned to Beijing and was on his way to the palace for an audience. Presumably, His Majesty would summon all the ministers to discuss the situation in Tubo later, so in the letter he described in detail the events before and after his meeting with Lu Dongzan, so that Fang Jun could have a clear idea.

After reading the letter, he took out a tinder, lit it and watched it burn to ashes, then took a shower, changed into his purple official uniform, tied up the goldfish bag, brewed a pot of tea and drank half of it, then a eunuch from the palace came to read out the emperor's oral order and entered the palace for an audience.

Fang Jun then stood up slowly. The weather was too hot to ride a horse, otherwise he would be sweating when he arrived at Taiji Palace. So he took a carriage to Taiji Palace.

When we entered the palace and entered the Wude Hall, we saw several important ministers gathered around a huge sand table, pointing and talking. This sand table was made by the Ministry of War after spending huge manpower and material resources to obtain detailed intelligence and data. There was one set in the palace and another set in the Ministry of War. Each region made a separate set and filled several side halls of the Wude Hall. The one in front of us was the terrain from the south of the Helan Mountains to Tubo.

Fang Jun saluted Li Chengqian first, then exchanged greetings with several colleagues, nodded slightly to Pei Xingjian and Cui Dunli who were reporting matters, and then stepped forward to stand behind Li Chengqian, Li Xiaogong, and Li Ji...

On Li Chengqian's left was the position of the civil official, and there was only Liu Li.

The situation in Tubo should be controlled by the military, not under the jurisdiction of civilian officials. The reason why Liu Li was present was because once the situation changed and war might break out, civilian officials would be needed to give their opinions. Of course, the most important thing was to fully cooperate.

Liu Li looked calm, but he was quite depressed in his heart. Just by looking at the people in the hall, he could know how severely the civil officials were suppressed. The military was arrogant and domineering, and a group of famous generals were expanding outward. There was nothing but war. Couldn't they just stop for a few days?
As a civilian leader, Liu Li was under tremendous pressure...

Flags of various styles and colors were planted everywhere on the sand table. Cui Dunli gave a detailed introduction to the sphere of influence of the Gar family and the deployment of troops of various Tibetan tribes. Mountains, gullies, rivers and lakes were all reflected in front of him, as clear as looking at the lines on the palm of your hand.

Li Xiaogong patted Fang Jun on the shoulder, pointed at the sand table and praised him, "You have not been the Minister of War for a long time, but your achievements are outstanding. This one thing alone will go down in history. It's amazing."

Fang Jun was very modest: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. This sand table is the result of the full efforts of the military department. Countless people have contributed their wisdom and intelligence, and countless people have climbed on ice and snow, eaten wind and drank sand, or lived with snakes and insects and died in the miasma. They measured the north and south and traveled east and west with their feet. How dare I take all the credit for myself?"

He knew the importance of maps better than anyone else, so when he first took office as the Minister of War, he went against the majority's opinion and expended countless manpower and resources to survey the mountains, rivers, and terrain throughout the country. He even relied on caravans and spies to survey and map the neighboring countries. For example, if Goguryeo had not drawn a national map in advance, how could Emperor Li II have been able to advance so quickly and with such unstoppable force at the beginning of the war?
However, due to the limited transportation and communication conditions at that time, the price paid was extremely high. This small sand table in front of us condensed the efforts and even lives of countless people...

Li Chengqian affirmed this: "I heard that the Ministry of War has always done a good job in providing pensions and subsidies. We must not neglect it. Those who have made outstanding contributions and shed blood and sweat or even sacrificed their lives for the empire, whether they are officials, clerks, generals or soldiers, must be given the necessary care. The Tang Dynasty will not treat any meritorious person unfairly."

"Your Majesty is benevolent and magnanimous. This is a blessing to the country, to our ministers, and to all the people in the world!"

……

Li Chengqian pointed to the location of Luoshui City on the sand table and asked Pei Xingjian, "Mr. Pei, what do you think is the chance of Lu Dongzan winning if he goes to war with Songtsen Gampo with the full support of the Tang Dynasty?"

Pei Xingjian said respectfully, "Not even a cent."

Liu Li was surprised and asked, "Since there is no chance of winning, why waste countless food, fodder, weapons and armor to help Lu Dongzan? Although the national treasury has been somewhat full in recent years, there are still countless people suffering from hunger and cold in the world. Every penny should not be wasted."

This is the basic conflict between the military and the civilians.

Civil servants need political achievements, but political achievements cannot be obtained for nothing. They need persistent and unremitting efforts. However, when the national treasury is drained by the military, what can civil servants use to compete for political achievements? Without political achievements, how can they be promoted?

The same is true for the military. If they want to ensure the interests of the entire military, it is definitely not possible to put the weapons into storage and let the horses go to the mountains. Only continuous wars can gain more benefits. Titles, official positions, and wealth can only be obtained on the battlefield.

The military wanted to charge forward with iron cavalry and plant the flag of the Tang Dynasty everywhere, while the civil officials insisted that the world was at peace and the rivers and seas were calm...

Pei Xingjian glanced at Liu Li and said nothing. His current duty was to provide consultation and discussion to His Majesty as the Deputy Protector General and Chief Secretary of the Anxi Protectorate. Whether or not to fight and how to fight this war had nothing to do with him, and Liu Li's problem had even less to do with him.

Pei Xingjian's attitude made Liu Li frown. Strictly speaking, Pei Xingjian was not a military general. Although he had always been in the military, he was a civilian. When he returned to the center in the future, he would inevitably become a part of the civil service. However, he was eager to make profits for the military. It was simply foolish.

Cui Dunli said calmly: "The Ministry of War has predicted and deduced the situation of Tubo for more than ten times. It is unanimous that if Lu Dongzan is allowed to grow and completely control the entire Qinghai Lake area, it will cause great hidden dangers to the Tang Dynasty, especially the four counties of Hexi in the north of Qilian Mountain, which are always under the threat of his military force. The Hexi Corridor connects the Western Regions, and there must be no accidents. Therefore, this war is imperative. The minimum goal is to consume the Gar family. If it can make it and Songtsen Gampo lose both, it will be perfect. Once the strategic goal is achieved, Tubo will need at least 20 years to recuperate and gather, and the national policy of the Tang Dynasty can naturally be adjusted calmly."