Chapter 233: To fight within, we must first pacify the outside!
In the middle of the night, the royal city was bustling with people, torches were erected, and the light of the fire was swaying.
Unlike other soldiers who were in high spirits, after the little prince finished speaking, he saw that the master's face turned ugly.
He murmured: "Master, I'm not sure whether it will mislead you?"
Li Yan's expression quickly returned to normal and patted him on the shoulder: "The so-called clues have the potential to mislead, but even if they are misleading, they can still provide many ideas. What you said is very good, don't be burdened...
"
The little prince said oh, still a little scared.
Li Yan looked at the palace city that was littered with corpses: "We will live in the noble residence in the royal city during this period. The palace needs to be vacated after reorganization. Until a clear edict arrives, even you are not qualified to live in it.
"
The little prince said: "I understand."
Li Yan nodded slightly: "Let's go! Go back and have a good sleep!"
But in fact, that night, countless people were too excited to sleep.
Li Yan was lying on the couch, staring at the roof, rarely falling asleep.
It wasn't until Xiao Hei lay down and licked his face with his tongue that he sighed leisurely: "One wave has not subsided and another wave has come up again. Forget it, go to sleep!"
Early the next morning, Li Yan, who had regained his energy, had just finished washing when he was recruited by Pei Xingjian.
When An Yuanshou and Qiu Ying arrived at the same time, Pei Xingjian's first words were: "Our army is running out of food and grass!"
Everyone's expressions darkened.
An Yuanshou said angrily: "The responsibility for the supply of food and grass lies with Governor Wei. Is it possible that Longyou has reached such a point that it cannot even provide food and grass for 50,000 soldiers? If not, I, the An family, will go bankrupt and have to provide enough food and grass!"
"
These were angry words. No matter how rich the Wuwei An family was, they would never do such a thing, but Li Yan also understood the old general's anger.
They had just captured the Tuyuhun Royal City and were in great momentum. While they were pursuing the victory, there was actually a crisis of food shortage in the rear.
Fortunately, we should present the city from the inside, cooperate with the inside and outside, and quickly enter the city to capture the king.
If we launch a siege normally, wouldn't we have to give up halfway and give the enemy a chance to counterattack?
Pei Xingjian stroked his beard gently and looked at Li Yan: "I heard that Sun Boru is rich in grain and is interested in making good friends with the Tang Dynasty. Can I buy grain from this place?"
Li Yan said: "It is feasible, but the situation in Tubo is also very delicate at this time. If we buy grain now, even if Sun Boru is willing to sell it, we may cause problems."
Pei Xingjian immediately said: "Maintaining the separatist situation in Tubo is very important to our Tang Dynasty. This method will not work!"
Qiu Yingdao: "Now it seems that we have to solve it on the spot in Tuyuhun."
Li Yan shook his head and said: "The Qiang people have gradually been reduced to abject poverty due to continuous battles over the years, and they have been plundered again by the Brenzan Blade. They can't even eat enough for themselves, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to provide food and grass for my army."
Qiu Yingdao: "It's not the poor Qiang people, it's the powerful Qiang chiefs! These Tuyuhun nobles take advantage of the caravans, but they are very rich. Their families must also have accumulated food. If they are all plundered, they will definitely alleviate the predicament of our army.
An Yuanshou said: "These Qiang chiefs are deeply rooted in this land. The reason why Tubo wants to support the puppet king's regime is to appease their hearts. We cannot act rashly."
Li Yandao: "Plundering the wealth of these powerful chiefs is a way to relieve anger. I also hate these traitors very much, but if they offer the city in advance, we will fall out immediately. Who dares to lead the way for our Heavenly Army of the Tang Dynasty in the future?"
Qiu Ying said solemnly: "It's not that I don't understand these principles, but we finally destroyed the puppet regime supported by Tubo, so we can't just retreat. It's the lesser of two evils, that's all we can do!"
The four of them fell silent.
If the supply of grain and grass in Longyou is cut off, we will have no choice but to resort to this strategy.
An Yuanshou was the first to change his mind: "We have to make preparations for this. Not only that, we also have to go to various ministries to seize cattle, horses and livestock to reward the soldiers and stabilize the morale of the army."
Li Yan secretly sighed: "The Qiang people in Tuyuhun also suffered. However, the Tang Dynasty actually had no shortage of cattle and horses. Every time a foreign war was won, a large number of livestock poured in. In the most exaggerated period, horses were sold at low prices.
The situation..."
It was clear that the battle was won, but when the loot was collected, it was found that the wear and tear equivalent to the war was not enough to make up for it.
This is the reason why Li Yan doesn't like fighting in his heart. Needless to say, if he fails, even if he wins, it is often difficult to recover his losses.
Agrarian dynasties were able to achieve great governance by always doing light corvee and low taxes, and sharing a common bond with the people, rather than purely relying on war to make profits. Even if they were victorious in every battle, the country would become poorer and poorer.
Of course, we must not make trouble at home, but we must also prevent plunder from foreign enemies, which is why the Zhenguan rule was so great.
Internally, he can imitate the rule of Wen and Jing, allowing the people to live in peace, and externally, he can defeat the barbarians, intimidate all countries, and make all the barbarians surrender.
Li Yan's thoughts turned around and he finally came up with a strategy: "I have an idea that can barely stabilize the situation in Tuyuhun."
The three people cheered up: "What's your idea?"
"Xing Buddha!"
…
"Grandmaster!"
In front of the royal city gate, Li Yan and Pei Xingjian personally greeted the monks from Dalun Temple.
Li Yan and Kumaru were already acquaintances. After being polite for a while, they got straight to the point: "There are many Buddhists in the Tuyuhun tribes, but they are not yet the mainstream. Please invite the masters and monks from your temple to accompany the army to practice medicine in each tribe."
, spread the Dharma, and influence the suffering people in Tuyuhun with compassion."
The subtext is that if the father of the Tang Dynasty wants to eat, he can only wrong the Tuguhun people first. If you suffer in this life, you can look forward to enjoying happiness in the next life.
Kumara clasped his hands together and said: "Amitabha, use the Buddha's Dharma to save all living beings, and make everyone do good and be reborn in bliss. This is the wish of my Dalun Temple. Thank you very much for it!"
Thinking that maybe while they were talking, he could apply medicine and save a few more people, Kumarajiva acted vigorously and did not want to delay for a moment: "I'll go now, poor monk!"
As he watched the monks receive medicine and join the army, Li Yan showed respect and bowed from a distance.
Pei Xingjian stroked his beard and said: "The Bon religion of Yongzhong is currently strong in the Tibetan country. We are really good at supporting Buddhism, but once Buddhism flourishes, I am afraid it will be difficult to contain it here."
Li Yan said: "Pei Gong, in my humble opinion, when the climate on the plateau changes and food production decreases, Buddhism can really flourish here."
Pei Xingjian thought for a moment and couldn't help but admire him: "Yuanfang, you are really a talented prime minister!"
Li Yan smiled bitterly silently.
This great talent is very cruel.
He realized firsthand why rulers like to use Buddhism.
When the people under the rule are really suffering, this kind of religious power is really the most labor-saving medicine.
He obviously didn't like Buddhism, but when the critical moment came, he couldn't avoid it.
Pei Xingjian noticed Li Yan's bad mood and comforted him: "This move stabilizes the border and protects our people of the Tang Dynasty. It is a great contribution. After all, personnel cannot be perfect, so don't think too much about it!"
Li Yan nodded. He was not so naive that all ethnic groups could live and work in peace and contentment. His priority was of course the people of the Tang Dynasty.
Moreover, Tuyuhun was continuously conquered by Qinling in history, and the people were squeezed out of existence. In comparison, it was already much better than before.
After calming down, Li Yan held his hand on the hilt of the chain knife at his waist: "In Tuyuhun, there is only one major thing left. The Tibetan army needs to be dealt with. Please ask for orders to personally capture Brenzan.
blade!"
…
Lovo border.
This is the border between Tubo and Tuyuhun. Six years ago, when Tubo destroyed Tuyuhun, the first step was to occupy this place.
Six years later, more than 10,000 Tibetan troops under Brenzan were also besieged here by the Tang army and gradually strangled.
The command of the troops was still left to the powerful generals such as Hei Te Changzhi. Li Yan was responsible for commanding the army and at the same time, delivering a thunderous blow at the critical moment.
But this battle doesn't require his thunderous strike.
At first, one could still hear Brenzan's horse riding back and forth, constantly boosting morale: "Fight to the death! Fight to the death! We, the Tibetan warriors, will fight to the death with the Tang people until every soldier is killed, and we will never give up!"
Suddenly, several figures rushed toward the Brenzan Blade, and the army was in chaos, and finally the commander's flag collapsed.
Regardless of the Tang army scolding them, as weapons fell to the ground, the Tibetan army fell to the ground: "Surrender! We surrender!"
Seeing Bren Chanren who was tied up and being escorted over, Li Yan was a little bit dumbfounded: "Fengxia, don't think you're okay?"
Brenzan didn't even hear the other party's name clearly, but he just couldn't accept it and kept shaking his head: "Impossible, impossible, my Tibetan warriors will not be so timid and cowardly!"
Li Yan was speechless: "This is not cowardice, it is because you treat soldiers as human beings. When the fear of war reaches the extreme, no matter what country you are from, you are not exempt from this common custom."
He pointed at the border: "The most important reason is that this is Tuyuhun, which is a foreign country for the Tubo people. Even though their hometown is not far away, they have to fight to the last soldier in Tuyuhun? Brenzan Blade,
Not to mention you, even if Qin Ling comes in person, he can't suppress the mutiny."
Bronzan still refused to accept it, and screamed: "What the second brother said is not wrong, everything is my fault, kill me! Kill me!!"
Li Yan admired their brotherhood very much, and then rejected him: "Shut up!"
One thing is true, Brenzan Blade eventually led troops to resist the Tang Dynasty. There were quite a few warring factions in Tubo. If this guy died heroically here, this prestige would be transferred to the Gar family invisibly.
Therefore, Li Yan would not kill him and turned to the surrendering Tibetan soldiers on the ground.
Qinling gave Brenzan 40,000 elite troops. At first, he moved around to recruit troops and horses. He had abundant food and grass and strong strength, which posed a huge threat.
But at this moment, the eyes of these thin, mentally exhausted soldiers were filled with numbness to war and desire for life, so they surrendered without hesitation.
The Tang army itself was short of food and grass, so it was impossible to provide food for these captives.
Kill prisoners?
Then give the Gar family a chance.
Li Yan ordered: "Collect the weapons, armor and mounts and return them all to Tubo!"
The Tibetan army was stunned and couldn't believe it.
The wise general shouted: "Thank you Zampong! Thank you Zampong!"
Li Yan stepped forward and chopped off the clever ghost with a knife, and said loudly: "Remember, the one who released you is Li Yuanfang, the general of Dingyuan of the Tang Dynasty. We, the Tang Dynasty, are willing to have good relations with Tubo, but it is the Gar family who is obstructing it and forcing you to join the war.
, now that you are alive, you must thank His Majesty the Tang Emperor for his kindness!"
His voice was heard far away and spread to all directions, and the Tibetan army shouted in unison: "Thank you, General Li! Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor of Tang!!"
Brenzan's mouth was blocked, and he struggled desperately after hearing this, his eyes filled with anger and sadness.
Li Yan looked at him and smiled slightly: "Although you are destined not to understand, in fact, I saved your life, which can be regarded as a reward for the lucky star..."
Historically, this guy died at the hands of the princess in an extremely ridiculous way.
Brenzan went into the palace to meet Zamp, who was called his father Zamp, who recognized Wang Xiaojie as his father. Zamp said he liked the golden knife on his waist. Brenzan presented the golden knife, and then when Zamp played with it, he was surprised.
Carefully slicing her little finger, the princess, who listened to the government without hanging the curtain, immediately turned against him and said that he was plotting to assassinate Zamp. The guards dragged down the Brenzan blade and chopped it off.
The murder of the youngest brother was actually a test by the central government. At that time, the eldest brother of the five brothers, Zan Xiruo, had been assassinated early, and the fourth brother was also suspected of being assassinated. Qinling did not know how to govern civilly, and there were repeated resistances in Tuyuhun, all because of the third brother Zan Po.
Barely able to maintain the situation, military supplies had to be maintained by Tibet, and in the end they did not dare to do anything.
The Tubo God of War responded by bullying Wu Zhou to establish his prestige. In the Battle of Suluohan Mountain, Lun Qinling defeated the Tang army led by Wang Xiaojie. The Tubo called it the "Battle of Tang Tombs", which may be an exaggeration.
, but the defeat was a miserable one.
Now Tubo will not have that chance, and Li Yan even ordered: "Take General Gar down, take good care of him, and escort him all the way back to Chang'an."
Brenzan was held in despair, and Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the battlefield being cleared up in an orderly manner.
First, cripple the foreigners, and then solve the internal affairs of the Tang Dynasty.
This is his style.
Before fighting within, you must first stabilize the outside!