Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 251: The Father and Son of the Dragon Palace Discuss Military Affairs

When Li Yong arrived at Ganlu Palace, Li Zhi was having dinner with Wu Meiniang.

"Sanlang, what do you want to talk to me about?" Li Zhi asked, looking up.

Li Yong saw that both of them were staring at him, and he immediately felt regretful. He hesitated for a long time before whispering, "I want to come and pay my respects to my father."

Li Zhi saw that he was not sincere, but did not expose him and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

"not yet."

"Then let's eat together."

So Li Yong sat next to Li Zhi and started eating.

Although the food was delicious, he had no taste for it. After finishing the meal with great difficulty, Wu Meiniang glanced at him, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

Li Zhi nodded.

After Wu Meiniang left, Li Zhi slowly said, "Sanlang, what's the matter? Shouldn't you tell me now?"

Li Yong lowered his head and said, "Father, I heard that the Arabs occupied the city of Lhasa and General Xue was almost defeated, so... I came to ask you if it is true..."

Li Zhi knew that his son was interested in military affairs. He stared at him for a while and said, "It's true."

Li Yong raised his head suddenly and asked anxiously, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Li Zhi said slowly: "Yong'er, when you encounter something, don't just ask others, you also have to learn to think for yourself."

"Think for yourself?" Li Yong said blankly.

Li Zhi stood up and said, "Follow me." Then he strode out of Ganlu Palace.

Li Yong followed him all the way east and soon arrived at the Shenlong Temple, standing in front of the huge map inside the temple.

Li Zhi stood in front of the map and said, "Since you are so concerned about Tubo, do you know where Tubo is located on the map?"

Li Yong said without hesitation: "West of Jiannan Road and south of Longyou Road."

Li Zhi nodded secretly, stepped aside, and handed him a long staff. He said, "Then do you know the direction of Xue Rengui's march?"

Li Yong stared at the map for a long time, placed one end of his long staff on the Tuyuhun area, and slid it slowly. It soon stopped in the Bailangqiang area and then slid towards the southwest.

"Father, is this the route?"

Li Zhi secretly praised and said, "Then do you know where the Arabs attacked Tubo from?"

Li Yong hesitated for a moment, raised his long staff and wanted to point it to the north, but unfortunately he was too short and couldn't lift it high enough.

Li Zhi picked him up.

Li Yong pointed the end of his staff towards the Pamir Mountains, then went down and asked, "Father, is this the direction?"

Li Zhi felt a little more surprised. He put him down and asked, "Yong'er, how did you know all this?"

Li Yong blushed and smiled, "I actually have a map myself, and I often play war games on it."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "War game? How do you play it?"

Li Yong lowered his head, put his two index fingers together, and said a little embarrassedly: "It's just using stones as an army. Some are enemies, and some are the Tang army. I will command them."

Li Zhi laughed dumbly and said, "Let me see you someday and teach me how to play."

Li Yong raised his head, nodded happily, and said, "It's actually very simple. Father will definitely learn it right away."

Li Zhi returned to the point and said, "Then let me ask you a more difficult question. Do you know the location where Xue Rengui and Lu Dongzan confronted each other? Or the location where Qinling fought against the Arabs?"

Li Yong said, "I heard that General Xue is stationed in Zaduo City, Lu Dongzan is stationed in Nagqu City, and Qin Ling is stationed in Gar City to resist the Arab army."

"Can you point out the place?"

Li Yong shook his head and said, "There are no such places on my map. There is only Lhasa City."

Li Zhi said, "The fact that you know all this shows that you are still very concerned. Just for this reason, I can tell you about the situation on the front line."

Li Yong was overjoyed: "Thank you, father."

Li Zhi looked up at the map and said slowly, "Last December, Lu Dongzan of Nagqu City took action."

Li Yong hurriedly asked, "Has he returned to Luoshui City to provide assistance?"

Li Zhi said: "No, he took the initiative to attack, forming a battle array in the open field, intending to fight to the death with Xue Rengui's troops!"

Li Yong swallowed his saliva, clenched his fists tightly, and stared at the map, as if he could see the Tibetan army lined up.

"Did General Xue accept the challenge?" he asked.

"Of course." Li Zhi nodded and said, "Xue Rengui's army has over 100,000 allied troops, twice the number of Lu Dongzan's troops. Naturally, they won't miss this opportunity."

"Our army engaged the Tibetans on the north bank of the Black River. The Tang army was the vanguard, the Tuyuhun and Bailang Qiang each led several Qiang tribes as the two wings, and the Dangxiang formed the rear."

"At the outset of the battle, our army advanced with unstoppable force, gaining the upper hand in a fierce battle with the Tibetan vanguard. However, shortly after the battle began, the Dangxiang Qiang suddenly rebelled and attacked our army from the rear."

When Li Yong heard this, he exclaimed, "Why would the Dangxiang rebel?"

Li Zhi looked at him and said, "On the battlefield, you must learn to consider various situations. Think about it, the reason why Lu Dongzan dared to fight was because he was not prepared."

Li Yong's face turned pale. He asked, "Is this the reason General Xue almost lost?"

Li Zhi said, "If he was defeated so easily, he wouldn't be Xue Rengui. He had already prepared a backup plan and secretly recalled the Dongnu Qiang. After the Dangxiang Qiang rebelled, the Dongnu Qiang joined the battlefield and held the Dangxiang Qiang back."

"With no worries, Xue Rengui was able to fight Lu Dongzan's army to the death. Although Lu Dongzan's army suffered heavy losses, they were also very tenacious and fought to the death. At this time, a Tibetan army crossed the pontoon bridge and attacked from the south, directly attacking our army."

Li Yong asked in surprise, "Is this Lu Dongzan's ambush?"

Li Zhi said, "Lu Dongzan already has a small army, so how could he have spare forces? Guess who is leading this army?"

Li Yong looked up at the map and said, "Father, can you tell me where the Black Water River is?" Li Zhi took the long staff from his hand and pointed to a river near Nagqu City.

Li Yong stared at the river, then suddenly shouted, "I know, son, it's the Xiruo tribe that's resisting the Liuzhao tribe!"

Li Zhi praised: "Yes, it is this Tibetan army. They used the empty city strategy. The main force quietly withdrew from Nichi City and came to the south bank of the Black River. They had already made preparations to cross the river."

Li Yong stamped his feet anxiously and said, "The Six Zhaos are really useless. They slipped away without us even noticing. This is really fatal."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Don't worry. Xue Rengui hasn't given up yet. He ordered the Bailan Qiang on the left wing to lead the other Qiang to hold off the Xiruo tribe. Our main force will continue to attack Lu Dongzan's tribe."

Li Yong suddenly realized, "I understand now. If General Xue's main force defeats Lu Dongzan's army first, our army will win. If Xiruo defeats the Bailan Qiang first, we will lose."

Li Zhi said: "That's right."

Li Yong thought about how Xue Rengui was finally saved by Su Dingfang, and he muttered, "Is General Xue still a step too slow?"

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "No, Xue Rengui defeated Lu Dongzan's army first."

Li Yong was surprised and said, "Doesn't that mean we won?"

Li Zhi said slowly, "After Lu Dongzan's forces were defeated by Xue Rengui's, they had no choice but to flee westward. Xue Rengui naturally wouldn't let him go and pursued him relentlessly. However, when they reached a basin, they were ambushed!"

Li Yong was surprised and asked, "How could there be an ambush? Didn't you just say that Lu Dongzan didn't have the strength to split up his troops?"

Li Zhi's face was solemn as he said, "Indeed, this ambush was not left by Lu Dongzan. Even he thought he was defeated and had no idea there was such an ambush."

Li Yong was stunned and asked, "Then where did this ambush come from?"

Li Zhi looked at him and asked, "Do you think there is any army in Tubo that has the strength to ambush Xue Rengui's troops?"

Li Yong blinked, his eyeballs suddenly bulged, and he exclaimed: "Could it be the Qinling tribe?"

Li Zhi said slowly: "It is the Qinling tribe."

"Isn't he... isn't he fighting against the Arab army?"

Li Zhi said in a deep voice, "Because the Niangbo and Dabo tribes had already recaptured Subiru and were marching towards Luoshui City, Lu Dongzan made two decisions."

"The first decision was to secretly plan a decisive battle with Xue Rengui's tribe. The second decision was to have the Qinling tribe abandon Gar City and retreat to Luoshui City to resist Subiru."

"However, Qinling did not obey his orders. Although he abandoned Gar City, he did not return to Lhasa City, but headed straight for Nagqu."

Li Yong trembled all over. It was not until this moment that he deeply realized what kind of enemy the Tang army was facing on the front line.

"Father, since Qin Ling came to help, why didn't you tell Lu Dongzan? If you had told him, wouldn't he have been able to cooperate better?"

Li Zhi said slowly: "Because Lu Dongzan is different from him, he may not agree with him giving up the capital. Besides, there is another benefit for Qin Ling to do this."

"What's the benefit?"

Li Zhi said, "Think about it, if Lu Dongzan knew that the Qinling tribe had set an ambush in secret, what would they do?"

Li Yong thought about it and shook his head, "I can't think of it."

Li Zhi said, "They will not fight to the death with Xue Rengui, but will feign defeat and retreat, luring Xue Rengui to pursue them."

Li Yong felt that his little brain was not enough, so he nodded vigorously, pretending that he understood everything.

Li Zhi said, "Feigning a defeat and truly defeating are two completely different things. If it's a feint, Xue Rengui might be able to see through it and be on guard, or maybe even stop pursuing."

"Only if Lu Dongzan is truly defeated will Xue Rengui pursue him without hesitation, and Qin Ling's ambush will have the greatest effect."

Li Yong's little head was already a mess, but he still said stubbornly: "So that's how it is."

Li Zhi said slowly, "Qin Ling's plan was very successful. He eventually ambushed Xue Rengui's forces. Lu Dongzan also took the opportunity to counterattack, and Xue Rengui's forces fell into a huge crisis."

"I understand, son. It was at this time that General Su Dingfang saved General Xue!" Li Yong said loudly.

Li Zhi laughed and said, "That's right. Qinling didn't know about Su Dingfang's army. In fact, after Su Dingfang conquered Xiangxiong, he had been keeping an eye on him. When he discovered that he was heading to Nagqu, he took another route and went around him."

"When Xue Rengui was ambushed by Qinling, Su Dingfang also attacked Qinling's tribe from behind. The main Tibetan army was ultimately defeated, with over 60% killed or wounded. They abandoned Nagqu City and fled south!"

After listening to this, Li Yong waved his two little fists and looked very excited.

He felt that Xue Rengui would lose because he was surrounded by three enemies, which was an unfair battle. If it was a one-on-one battle, he would definitely not lose.

"By the way, Father, how come General Su Dingfang entered Tubo from which direction? I don't know anything about it."

Li Zhi patted his head and said with a smile, "He entered Tubo secretly. He is a special force of our Tang Dynasty. You naturally don't know about it."

Li Yong said, "Because we were fighting a decisive battle with the Tibetans, the Arabs took advantage of the situation and occupied Lhasa, right?"

Li Zhi said, "That's right. It's okay to let them take advantage. After learning that we defeated the main force of the Tibetans, the tribes annexed by Tubo have all surrendered. Now the initiative is in our hands!"

The Tang Dynasty defeated the main force of Tubo in one battle and shocked the Western Qiang. Not only did Subi surrender to the Tang Dynasty, but also the Xiangxiong, Fa Qiang and Yaoniu Qiang surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

The Six Zhao tribe also marched straight in and was only a hundred miles away from Lhasa City.

If the Arab army continued to occupy the city of Lhasa, it would be surrounded by the Tang Dynasty.

The Fa Qiang tribe also provided a piece of news that the remaining Tubo troops had retreated to the Great Snow Mountain and seemed to be planning to go to India and no longer posed a threat.

If the Arabs did not withdraw from the city of Lhasa, they would be surrounded and beaten by the Tang army and its subordinates.

Li Yong suddenly asked, "Father, have the rebellious Dangxiang Qiang been eliminated?"

Li Zhi said: "They have been crippled by Xue Rengui, and the Tangut chieftain has been killed. Well, I've told you everything. It's getting late, so go back and do your homework."

When Li Yong heard the word "homework", he shuddered all over, fearing that Li Zhi would test him on his homework. He said goodbye and left quickly.

　I'd like to ask for a month's leave from everyone, as I need to save manuscripts for the Chinese New Year. Starting from tomorrow, I will update twice a day, and will resume three times a day after the New Year. Please forgive me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)