Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4862: Unable to advance or retreat
It is not difficult to guess why Fang Jun was worried about the defense of Xuanwu Gate. First, he thought there might be another mutiny. After all, the gains and losses of Xuanwu Gate in the two previous mutinies had become an important factor in determining the outcome, and there must not be any mistakes. Second, he simply felt uneasy about Xuanwu Gate. After all, the composition of the Xuanwu Gate guards was too complicated, their positions were hard to predict, and their inclinations were unclear...

"General Li, what do you think of Wang Fangyi's abilities?"

Li Chengqian was also worried. He trusted Fang Jun's ability and even more so his vision. However, Wang Fangyi had little experience and was too young. He could not afford to lose the position guarding such a vital point as Xuanwu Gate.

Li Junxian thought for a moment and said, "This boy is young, but he is extremely talented. He is friendly, decisive, and able to keep up with the times and make continuous progress. Given time, he may become a famous general in the world. Duke Yue has always judged people by their standards. Since he has placed Wang Fangyi in such an important position, he must have full confidence in him."

Li Chengqian was quite surprised: "Such a high evaluation?"

Li Junxian laughed: "Duke Yue has a profound and unfathomable vision for people. I have never made a mistake until now. Rather than saying that I think highly of Wang Fangyi, it is better to say that I have full confidence in Duke Yue."

"Erlang does have a good vision, but he may not always make mistakes. At least I think Li Yifu is a good person, but I don't know why Erlang was so cruel to him. He used all his power to suppress him and finally cut off his career. What a pity."

Li Junxian could not respond to this and could only say, "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Since Erlang is worried about the safety of Taiji Palace, you can't let your guard down. Continue to screen the people in the palace, keep monitoring the royal family, and pay attention to the aristocratic families..."

Having said this, he suddenly paused, feeling inexplicably complicated: Why does it seem as if he, the emperor, has been deserted by his friends and relatives?
Who was the last person to be abandoned and rebelled against by the royal family, nobles and aristocratic families?

*****
There was heavy snow in Guanzhong, and the plateau was already freezing cold, with the water turning into ice.

Zishan Pass is located in a valley in a mountain range that stretches across the land. It looks like a saddle from a distance and is the most dangerous pass on the Tang-Tibet Road. The pass is located in the valley of the mountain range and is the only way for people to travel from north to south for hundreds of miles. It is even more dangerous than the Ela Pass. One man can block the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it.

Although the terrain is difficult to defend, it is located in the middle of the mountain, connecting the north and the south, so the entire pass is a wind outlet. It is better in summer, but now in the severe winter, the cold wind whistles through the pass, and there has been heavy snow for many consecutive days without even a drop of snow...

Wrapped in thick sheepskin coats and wearing felt hats, the brothers Lun Qinling and Bolun Zanren stood on the north side of the pass, watching the convoy that had just transported food and fodder struggling to go away in the thick snow, and sighed at the same time.

Bolun Zanren was furious and cursed: "The Tang people claim to be a country of etiquette, but in fact they are despicable and shameless. They want us to fight to the death with Luoshui City, but every time they only send us such a small amount of food. Even dogs are not as stingy as them!"

The Tang army calculated how many people and horses they had, as well as the length of the journey, and delivered food and fodder on time, but it was only enough for the daily consumption of the Gar tribal army. Once Lun Qinling led his troops to leave Zishankou and march south, he would immediately face the consequences of running out of food and fodder, forcing him to stay in Zishankou and make little progress.

But how could Sairu Gongdon, who was stationed at the foot of Zishan Pass, allow Lun Qinling to defend Zishan Pass honestly? He launched surprise attacks from time to time. Although he failed to recapture Zishan Pass, it made the Gar army panic and exhausted, and their morale was extremely low.

Lun Qinling had a blank expression on his face and turned around and walked back.

Bo Lun Zan Ren stomped his feet in anger and turned around to follow...

There are steep cliffs on both sides of Zishan Pass and a flat road in the middle where the Gar army's camp is stationed. The north wind blew past with snowflakes, and the bitter cold left few snowflakes behind as they were blown to the pass. As a result, when standing at the pass and looking south, the view was severely obstructed by the wind and snow.

But it was fortunate that this was the case. Every time Serugundun launched a surprise attack, he had to face the biting north wind blowing from the mountain pass, while the Gar army was in a commanding position and fought with the wind behind them, taking advantage of the weather and terrain, and defending the place like a rock.

The north wind made the tent rustle loudly, and the thick felt tent seemed like it would be blown away at any time...

Lun Qinling went into the tent. Bolun Zanren looked up at the soldiers who were still standing guard in the wind, snow and cold ahead, then lowered his head and went back into the tent. He felt very depressed and uncomfortable as he couldn't get rid of the feeling in his chest.

There was a brazier burning in the tent, which made it much warmer than the freezing cold outside.

However, as time went on, even the braziers became a luxury, because the cliffs around Zishankou were steep and there were almost no trees. If one wanted to find firewood to light the braziers, they had to go back to a shrubbery growing in a river valley a hundred miles north of Zishankou. It took more than ten days to go back and forth, and it was impossible to supply the entire army with firewood for heating, because most of the firewood had to be kept for cooking...

There was an antelope leg on the brazier, sizzling with oil and exuding fragrance. The bodyguard carefully sprinkled spices and fine salt on it, then used a knife to quickly cut the meat into slices and put them on a plate in front of the two brothers.

Bo Lun Zan Ren reached out from under the bed and took out a jar. He opened the lid and shook it. He poured wine into the ceramic bowl and sighed, "Pei Xingjian is such a stingy bastard. Not giving him food is fine, but sending him a few jars of wine will make him lose money. When I return to Fushi City, I will definitely find trouble with him!"

After drinking the Tang Dynasty's strong liquor, it felt like the whole body was burning. It was the most comfortable in this cold weather. However, even this kind of enjoyment could not be indulged casually because there was too little strong liquor...

Lun Qinling ignored his endless complaints, grabbed a piece of meat and put it in his mouth to chew, letting the aroma of the antelope meat and the taste of spices stimulate his tongue, then took a sip of liquor, and the enjoyment of food and wine dispelled the negative emotions in his heart.

In such a predicament, negative emotions such as complaints, anger, boredom, etc. are often more likely to make people collapse than the Serugundun who is lurking at the foot of the mountain. Once psychological problems arise, the day of defeat is not far away.

Bolun Zanren took a big gulp of wine, exhaled the smell of alcohol while chewing antelope meat, and asked: "Second brother, are we going to remain in a stalemate like this? Sairu Gongdun can get support and reinforcements almost every moment, but we can hardly keep up. With one side gaining strength while the other side losing strength, we can't hold on for long!"

Lun Qinling ate meat and sipped wine, and said slowly: "Aren't you just charging into battle and not planning strategies? Don't worry, wait."

"Wait, wait, how long do we have to wait?!"

Bolun Zanren was dissatisfied, his eyes were red, and he was very impatient: "I know we have to wait for news from big brother, but big brother has been deep in the tribes around Luoshui for more than half a year and there is no news at all. Maybe something unexpected has happened! We should rush down Zishankou and take Luoshui City directly, kill Zamp and avenge big brother!"

According to the original plan of Gar and his son, Lun Qinling followed the orders of the Tang army and raided all the way south to the city of Luoshui, while Zansiruo secretly sneaked into the heart of Tubo to instigate those tribes that were seemingly allied with Songtsen Gampo but actually at odds with him. As long as he could gain the support of more tribes, Lun Qinling would immediately break free from the control of the Tang army and march straight to the city of Luoshui. The rest of the tribes would respond one after another, capture the city of Luoshui in one fell swoop, and force Songtsen Gampo to abdicate.

When the Gar tribe returned to Lhasa, even if they could not become the new Tibetan king, they would certainly get the support of the entire Tibetans. Then they could turn around and fight a decisive battle with the Tang army. Even if they could not win, they could just abandon Fuxi City and withdraw to the south.

However, Zanxiruo's lack of action almost completely caused the plan to fail. Not to mention that it would take a fierce battle to remove the obstacle of Serugundun, what would be the point of continuing to advance towards Lhasa even if Serugundun was defeated?

Those tribes still support Songtsen Gampo. Even if Qinling is "Wu Hou in the world and Bai Qi is resurrected", they will only be defeated...

But Lun Qinling didn't believe that Zanxiruo had met with misfortune because of his delay in sending news. This was not only because he had confidence in his brother's talent, but also because he had confidence in the current situation in Tubo. The "exile" of the Gar tribe had made many tribes dissatisfied. How could they follow Zanpu as wholeheartedly as before when they were in a situation where their teeth would be in danger if their lips were cut off?
If even the Gar tribe could be exiled, which other tribe could not follow suit?
Therefore, even if they were afraid to agree to Zan Xiruo due to many concerns, no one would harm him. After all, they had to leave a way out. Lu Dongzan was not just any ordinary person, and if one day the Gar tribe regained the trust of the Zamp, then those who harmed Zan Xiruo today would suffer the cruel and ruthless revenge of Lu Dongzan and the entire Gar tribe, and even the Zamp would not be able to stop him...

Lun Qinling glared at his brother and scolded him, "When two armies are facing each other, the most important thing is to be calm and composed. Only in this way can you think carefully and leave nothing out. There is a saying in the Tang Dynasty that goes 'anger does not lead to war, and resentment does not lead to battle'. This is the truth!"

Bolun Zanren was somewhat dissatisfied and spread his hands, saying, "Why do Tang people talk so much? Are Tang people's words necessarily right?"

Lun Qinling was speechless: "When we were still living in caves on the plateau and eating raw meat and drinking blood, they had already created a splendid civilization. From the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in ancient times to the present day, they have fought more battles than we have seen yaks. The saints and sages summed up the truths one by one based on past experience and recorded them in books, which were passed down from generation to generation. How can we compare with them? It doesn't matter if we can't compare with them, we just have to learn from them. Otherwise, why do you think your father went to Chang'an in person to propose marriage to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"

Bolun Zanren was confused: "Aren't we helping the Zamp to rule Tubo with the help of the Tang Dynasty?"

"madness!"

Lun Qinling snorted coldly: "Father only has Tubo in his eyes. How can he care about the Zamp?"