The past two years of the Tang Dynasty have been very difficult, and it has been very difficult since the troops were sent to destroy the Baekje Kingdom.
A war consumes too much. Not only the casualties and pensions for soldiers, but also the huge expenditures from the national treasury are like a bottomless pit.
Once the war started, countless amounts of food, grass and military equipment were thrown into the bottomless pit. The soldiers at the front ate every day, and the consumption of the national treasury was almost measured in hours.
In a good year, it's okay, and you can save more wealth. But in a year of natural disaster, a war can almost bring the country to the edge of bankruptcy.
Today Li Zhi is encountering this situation.
When Tubo invaded Tuyuhun, in any other year, there would have been no other sounds in the court, just one word and it was over.
However, this time, two voices appeared in the court. The other faction did not disapprove of the fight, but they were more rational. They knew that once a fight with Tibet broke out, countless lives, money and food would continue to pour into this bottomless pit.
Throw.
It is easy to start a war, but it is not up to the Tang Dynasty to decide when to stop the war.
Besides, Tuyuhun is not a hardcore vassal state.
Before becoming a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, Tuyuhun had wars and peace with the Central Plains Dynasty. When the Central Plains Dynasty was weak, Tuyuhun took advantage of the situation and invaded. When the Central Plains Dynasty was strong, Tuyuhun bowed down shyly.
During the founding years of the Sui Dynasty, Tuyuhun raided the borders of the Central Plains many times. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty couldn't bear it anymore and sent a large army to conquer. There were countless casualties in the battle, but the effect was not great. It didn't take long for Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun to regain the lost territory.
In the eighth year of Zhenguan, Tuyuhun finally encountered a tough opponent. With Li Shimin's temper, he would not tolerate Fu Yun, so he sent Duan Zhixuan, the general of Zuo Xiaowei, to march westward.
This time, Tuyuhun was beaten to the point where he lost his temper completely. Fu Yun was beaten by Duan Zhixuan to the point where he retreated to Qinghai Lake without daring to go back.
In the same year, Li Jing, the God of War of the Tang Dynasty, together with Hou Junji, Li Daozong, Xue Wanjun, Qi Bi Heli, Li Daliang and other famous generals who had once destroyed the Turks, under the order of Li Shimin, all the generals joined forces to beat Tuyuhun hard.
In just one meal, they were killed until the sun and moon shone brightly in Tuyuhun.
To be honest, if a lineup of famous generals like the Tang Dynasty came together to beat Fu Yun, Fu Yun should kneel down and thank nature for the gift if he was even a little grateful. The Tang Dynasty never used such a luxurious lineup when it defeated the Turks.
.
The World Cup champion team's beating of the national football team is nothing more than this, and it's pinched by the hand.
The final result of the Tang Dynasty was that more than 100,000 Tuyuhun troops were killed and hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep were seized. Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun was defeated and hanged himself. His son Fushun surrendered to the Tang army and was canonized as the new Khan by Li Shimin.
From then on, Tuyuhun completely returned to his hometown and became a vassal of the Tang Dynasty.
The royal family of Tuyuhun are all Xianbei, with "Murong" as their surname. Today, the Khan of Tuyuhun is named Nuohebo, and there is another Chinese named "Murong Zhonglie".
In Mr. Jin Yong's work "The Eight Parts of the Dragon", the young man Murong Fu, who was determined to restore the country, had all his tricks, and finally ended up crazy.
The country that Murong Fu wanted to restore was "Dayan". The name of the country was of course fictitious, but the character and events of Murong Fu have been verified. Murong Fu was actually a descendant of the Tuyuhun royal family, and the country he wanted to restore was the Tuyuhun Khanate.
Now that the Tibetan army is about to move at the border, Tuyuhun Khan Nuohebo is frightened to the point of losing his mind. There is a high probability that he will become the last Khan of Tuyuhun and the sinner of the family. It is self-evident in his heart.
After recounting the whole incident, Li Zhi stared at Li Qinzai's face and wanted to know his opinion.
Cui Sheng, who was writing furiously, also stopped writing and stared at Li Qinzai. I don't know whether he was waiting for Li Qinzai to speak so he could record it, or the uncle himself wanted to know what his brother-in-law was thinking and was trying to find a reason not to hate him.
Li Qinzai pondered for a long time and said slowly: "Your Majesty, the Tubo invasion of Tuyuhun cannot be ignored by the Tang Dynasty."
Li Zhi nodded, as if he had anticipated Li Qinzai's answer, and said, "I would like to hear the details."
"Your Majesty, the strategy of the Tang Dynasty is to go east first and then west. I know that Goguryeo in the east has not been eliminated, which is ultimately a worry for your majesty. Therefore, your majesty has been focusing on the east these years. He only wants to accumulate national strength and use it to support the whole country.
Cut it down with all your might."
Li Zhi nodded happily: "Jing Chu understands me."
Li Qinzai added: "Now that Tubo invades Tuyuhun, it is like starting a fire in the backyard of the Tang Dynasty. If your majesty ignores it, after Tubo destroys Tuyuhun, it is difficult to say whether it will invade the Tang Dynasty next."
"At that point, Your Majesty, the Tang Dynasty's strategy was forced to change. It could only put down Goguryeo first and use all its strength to deal with Tibet in the west. By then Tuyuhun had been destroyed, and the Tang Dynasty had lost its western barrier and strategic buffer.
Land, facing the Tibetan army, the Tang Dynasty will pay a greater price."
"Tuyuhun was not a loyal vassal state. It was a poor and poor country, so the courtiers thought they could help or not, but I felt that the Tang Dynasty should think from the overall strategic position."
"No matter how much Tuyuhun is not worth it, it is a strategic buffer place after all. For this reason alone, Tuyuhun cannot be abandoned."
Li Zhi's expression gradually became serious, and Cui Sheng, who was writing next to him, was also solemn, writing down every word Li Qinzai said on the paper.
Li Zhi nodded heavily and said: "What Jingchu said was reasonable, and I was awakened by his words. Yes, in fact, from the moment Tubo planned to destroy Tuyuhun, Datang was forced to change its strategy."
"Most of the courtiers have misunderstood. This is not a question of whether the Tang Dynasty will help Tuyuhun or not, but a question of whether the Tang Dynasty will help Tuyuhun. If Tuyuhun is destroyed and the Tubo people have come down from the plateau, the next step will be to invade the Tang Dynasty. Regardless of whether the Tang Dynasty attacks
If we can’t afford to fight, we will have to face Tibet directly.”
Li Qinzai breathed a sigh of relief.
What I'm afraid of is the kind of headstrong emperor who can't listen to any big principles and is arrogant and thinks that I am the greatest in the world.
Fortunately, Li Zhi listened, so Li Qinzai didn't mind saying a few more words.
"Your Majesty, the Tang Dynasty cannot support a major war now, but it cannot ignore Tuyuhun. This will not only lose the strategic barrier to the west, but also chill the hearts of other vassal states."
"I suggest that we first use diplomacy to intervene and mediate directly, and send more troops to Liangzhou to prepare for the attack. Diplomacy and military force will complement each other to exert pressure, so as to force Tibet to surrender and not dare to act rashly."
Li Zhi smiled happily and said: "I have listened to too many courtiers' advice in the past few days, and Jingchu's words are undoubtedly the safest and most in line with my wishes."
"That's right, we can't ignore it. If the late Emperor were alive, how could the Tubo thieves dare to be so arrogant? Although I am not as good as the late Emperor, I am not something that Tubo can manipulate at will."
As if he had decided on an important matter, Li Zhi raised his chopsticks and took a piece of beef from the pottery pot and put it into his mouth.
The king and his ministers chatted for a long time, and the meat in the pot had already cooled down, but Li Zhi didn't mind at all. Instead, he ate with relish, nodding happily while eating.
"This beef is starting to taste a little better now."