Feng Changqing read the military report from Longyou to Zhou Jun, who understood the critical situation of the battle.
When Guo Ziyi led the Central Route Army to leave Chang'an and conquer the south of the Yangtze River, he left 80,000 troops to garrison the capital.
This 80,000-strong army was divided into three parts.
The first part, about 30,000 people, is stationed in Kuozhou in the Longyou area. The defense area borders Shibao City. It is a frontline force and is responsible for direct defense against the Tibetan troops who may move down the plateau.
The second part, about 20,000 people, is stationed in Fengxiang County northwest of Chang'an. It is mainly responsible for guarding Jingzhou, the only road from Chang'an to Liangzhou.
The third part, about 20,000 people, was stationed in Fufeng County to the west of Chang'an. It was the front camp outside Chang'an City and the last line of defense in front of the gate of Chang'an.
A few years ago, Tubo Zuzan was assassinated and died, so Tubo closed its borders.
During this period of power vacuum, many forces in Tubo began to conquer each other, and the civil strife lasted for a long time.
Sang Chiruo of Tubo spent about two years supporting the puppet regime, then liquidating his political opponents, and finally stabilizing the country.
However, due to the secluded state of the country, the outside world's understanding of the Tubo Kingdom has always been based on civil strife.
Coupled with the war between the Northern and Southern Tang Dynasties, the news that Sang Chiruo had gained power in the Tubo Kingdom was not spread to the outside world.
This resulted in Tubo suddenly sending troops, triggering a series of chaos.
Not only did Guo Ziyi not expect it, but also Zuo Xiang Gao Shi, and almost everyone in the court was unprepared for this.
Feng Changqing took the military report and said to Zhou Jun: "The Tubo people talked about Sang Chiruo. They changed the Tubo army's habit of looting everywhere in the past, put the cavalry in the front line, ignored the captured county, and rushed directly.
Already approaching Fufeng County."
Speaking of this, Feng Changqing looked at Zhou Jun with an incredulous look and murmured: "His Majesty said at the court meeting last year that Tubo had intentions of invading the border and must be on guard against it. At that time, the Ministry of War and the border
The generals all said that Tubo was in frequent civil strife and might not be able to invade the Tang Dynasty... I didn't expect that today, it actually worked."
When Yisi heard this, he said piously: "Your Majesty is protected by the gods and can see everything."
Zhou Jun thought to himself, I guess that in the final analysis, I have to thank the history books for the fact that Tubo moved eastward.
In the year 763 in history, Tubo colluded with Huihe, jointly invaded the Tang Dynasty, and captured Chang'an, which ultimately caused loss of life and immeasurable losses.
It was precisely because of this time that foreigners captured the capital of the Tang Dynasty that the surrounding foreigners saw the weakness of the Tang Dynasty.
From then on, chaos continued in the Tang Dynasty's frontiers and there was no end to it.
Feng Changqing frowned at this time and said: "Although Your Majesty has warned, the ministers in the court did not take too much precautions against the disaster of Tubo..."
Zhou Jun: "Last year, I had already ordered the Anxi and Beiting Protectorate to move the Yanqi Army and Han Haijun's stations eastward on the pretext of assisting in regiment training. Now, the two armies total 30,000 people.
Stationed in Ganzhou area."
Feng Changqing was surprised at first, then overjoyed. Finally, after thinking about it, he said: "Your Majesty, Tubo chose this time to invade eastward. I always feel that the timing is a bit strange."
Zhou Jun: "Are you trying to say that Tubo's attack was premeditated in advance?"
Feng Changqing nodded and said: "It is not as convenient as the Tang Dynasty for Tubo to mobilize its army. Tubo's great talk requires a golden account order to be sent to Dongben in advance, and Dongben must mobilize soldiers in each wing. The whole process often takes half a year...
In other words, Tubo's war mobilization may have started this spring, and at that time..."
Zhou Jun: "At that time, our army had just launched a crusade against Jiangnan."
Feng Changqing: "If what I have predicted is true, and Tubo and the pseudo-Tang Dynasty are really connected, then the Tibetans may also have mastered the firearms used in Jiangcheng.
Zhou Jun looked at Feng Changqing: "If Tubo really colluded with the pseudo-Tang Dynasty in this launch, then since those people in Jiangnan have found Tubo, there is no reason to forget about another country."
Feng Changqing took a breath: "What your Majesty wants to say is... Huihe?"
Zhou Jun: "The Uighur crown prince Hedari is now hiding in the Tang Dynasty. The current leader of the Uighur tribe has moved to Jianjian. He regards him as a major concern. In addition, the tea trade also makes him covetous. If he launches troops against the Tang Dynasty,
Naturally, Uighur will not be absent."
Feng Chang settled an account: "Tubo has an army of 200,000 this time. If the Uighurs mobilize the whole tribe, they will have about 100,000 cavalry. However, most of the Tang army's troops have been mobilized to the south and will not be able to return to defense in the short term. What can I do?
Is good?"
Zhou Jun: "The murder of the Uighur Khan is complicated and confusing. In fact, not all the Uighur tribes surrendered to the new Khan. On the surface, Yidijian unified the Uighur tribes, but he is unpopular. As long as war and attack are both effective, the Uighur army will definitely appear.
Internal strife.”
Having said this, Zhou Jun paused for a moment and continued: "The real trouble is the Tubo people."
Feng Changqing: "Since Your Majesty has expected that the Tibetans will advance eastward, and has prepared the Yanqi Army and the Han Navy in advance, it should not be difficult to repel the Tibetans."
Zhou Jun: "It is not difficult to repel the Tibetan army, but my intention is not only to repel it, but also to make the Tibetan army no longer able to invade the Tang Dynasty within a few decades."
Feng Changqing was stunned: "Your Majesty wants to annihilate the 200,000 Tibetan army?"
Zhou Jun: "Tubo is located on a plateau and has unique geographical advantages. The Tang Dynasty went to war with Tubo several times, but they always came back defeated."
Feng Changqing couldn't help but nod.
Xue Rengui's defeat in Dafeichuan, and Uncle Shen's defeat and death in Hehuang. To sum up, it is not that Tang soldiers are inferior to Tubo soldiers, but that Tubo's plateau advantages are too obvious, which makes the Tang Dynasty's logistics supply lines unable to
Keeping up will eventually lead to a fiasco.
This time, the Tibetan army walked down the plateau and voluntarily gave up its geographical advantage. As His Majesty said, this is the best opportunity to destroy the Tibetan army.
Zhou Jun added: "The advantage of the Tubo army lies not only in the geographical location, but also in its generals. Sang Chiruo is a descendant of Lu Dongzan, and the Tang army was defeated by him several times. Although this man is young now
, but it has already taken control of Tubo. If it is not eliminated, it will definitely become a serious problem in the future."
Feng Changqing recalled the military reports and found that in most battles where the name Sang Chiruo appeared, the Tang army was defeated.
Moreover, Sang Chiruo was originally just a member of a broken clan, without any military power in his hands, and was feared by the Tubo nobles. In just ten years, he was able to achieve his current status. He can indeed be called a hero.
After thinking about this, Feng Changqing said: "If your Majesty plans to completely annihilate the Tibetan army and then get rid of Sang Chiruo, then you must feign defeat and constantly lure the Tibetan army deep into the capital."
Zhou Jun nodded and said: "You are right. For the Tibetan army, the best bait is Chang'an City."
Feng Changqing suddenly realized: "No wonder His Majesty clearly guessed that the Tibetan army might advance eastward, but did not issue an order to mobilize the army. Instead, in the name of regiment training, he disguised the Yanqi Army and Han Haijun as government guards and quietly moved their bases."
Zhou Jun: "Since it is an ambush for Tibet, the movement of the army must be hidden. Not only the Ministry of War and the Privy Council were unaware from the beginning to the end, but even Liu Zai, the governor of Anxi, only thought that the movement of the army was for training.