Zhongwei Bridge in the west of Chang'an City is the only way from Chang'an to Xianyang.
The Zhongwei Bridge was built by King Zhao of Qin to connect the northern and southern palaces. The bridge is 6 feet wide and 380 meters from north to south. It has 750 pillars and 122 beams. It is the first horizontal bridge outside Chang'an City.
The first negotiation between the Tang army led by Guo Xin and the Tibetan army was arranged on the Zhongwei Bridge.
At both ends of the long bridge, the Tang and Tibetan armies faced each other in formations, with numerous weapons, but they followed the agreement and stayed 300 meters away from the middle of the bridge.
In the middle of the bridge, the Tang Army and the Tubo Army each sent ten men to escort their respective negotiators. They held up large shields and slowly moved forward. They came to both sides of the bridge and stopped.
Kong You, who was escorted by the Tang army, looked at the Tibetan mission on the other side of the bridge and saw the leader on the other side at a glance - Tubo Da Lun Sang Chiruo.
Kong You first confirmed Sang Chiruo's identity, then turned to look at the leader of the Zhanfeng battalion beside him.
The leader of the Tang army measured the distance visually, then carefully assessed the Tibetan army's defense. Finally, he slowly released his grip on the musket and shook his head at Kong You with some disappointment.
Seeing that he could not kill Sang Chiruo on the spot, Kong You was not discouraged. He smiled and said to the Tibetan people: "Da Lun is really trustworthy. He actually came here in person."
Contrary to the expectations of many Tang people, although Sang Chiruo's Tang Mandarin was not standard, the words were clear: "I know you."
Kong You: "Oh? Da Lun knows me?"
Sang Chiruo: "During the Battle of Dunhuang that year, Mr. Kong used molasses to write on big rocks, which caused ants to climb up, provoking the conflict between Buddhism and Bonism, and finally led to the defeat of our army..."
Listening to the past events mentioned by Sang Chiruo, Kong You didn't feel any guilt at all. Instead, he smiled and said: "If there were no ants back then, how could the Bon religion have become an ally? How would you have the power you have today?"
Sang Chiruo was silent for a long time, as if he didn't want to dwell on this topic anymore, and asked: "What is the purpose of Tang Guo's letter inviting us to talk?"
Kong You: "Our army hopes that Dalu will retreat at this point and evacuate Chang'an City."
Sang Chiruo smiled slightly, as if he had expected such an answer, and said: "Let me guess, Guo Ziyi's 400,000-strong army is deep in the south of the Yangtze River and cannot return to help. The Huihe people are now attacking Shuofang, and the north is
The Tang army is stretched thin, so that’s why we want our army to retreat?”
Kong You: "If I said that we are all vanguards under Marshal Guo, it won't take long for the 400,000 troops from the south to return to the defense and completely surround the Tibetan army. Would you believe it?"
Sang Chiruo burst out laughing: "I don't care about unscrupulous tactics! There is no way that you Tang soldiers are under Guo Ziyi's command!"
Kong You: "Oh? How can you see it?"
Sang Chiruo: "If the forwards under Guo Ziyi return to defend Chang'an, they will definitely come from the south. They will either appear at Xiangji Temple in the southeast or Tongguan in the east. But you guys were the first to attack.
They captured Jingzhou in the north. I would like to ask, why did the Tang army returning from the south sacrifice the near and seek the far away and go to capture Jingzhou in the north?"
Seeing Sang Chiruo reveal the plot of pretending to be Guo Ziyi's former army, Kong You didn't panic at all, but laughed instead.
Sang Chiruo was stunned and asked, "Why are you laughing?"
Kong You: "The Tubo army came from the plateau and marched all the way from Kuozhou. They were invincible along the way for thousands of miles... That big talk never thought about where did our Tang army come from?"
When Sang Chiruo heard this, he also had doubts in his heart.
Fighting all the way from the plateau, except for the 80,000 troops left behind in Chang'an, no other resistance troops were seen along the way.
The Tang army in front of us was not only large in number and well-equipped, but its adviser was the judge of Anxi who was the one who fought in the Battle of Dunhuang. Logically speaking, the army's organization and specifications should be high enough.
However, even if Sang Chi wanted to break his head, he couldn't figure out how this group of Tang soldiers appeared here.
Because, before Tubo sent troops, Sang Chiruo had fully investigated the distribution of troops within the Tang Kingdom.
Guo Ziyi's 400,000-strong army was dragged into Jiangcheng; in Hexi, Shuofang's army was used to defend against the Huihe people, so it could not be mobilized; as for other places in the Tang state, such as Anxi, Beiting, Hebei, etc., they were too far away from Chang'an, making it impossible to mobilize them.
Support came so quickly.
So, in Sang Chiruo's opinion, there are only two possibilities for why this Tang army appeared here.
First, the Tang court had the ability to predict the unknown and could predict the movements of the Tibetan army and the direction of the war in advance;
Second, someone informed the Northern Tang Dynasty about the movements of the Tibetan army in advance, so that the enemy could prepare, temporarily mobilize troops, and come to the rescue in time before Chang'an was breached.
The first guess is naturally impossible, so only the second possibility remains.
The news of the Tibetan army sending troops was leaked in advance.
Thinking of this, Sang Chiruo suddenly broke out in cold sweat, like a flash of light on his back.
Who informed the Northern Tang Dynasty about the Tibetan troops? What was the purpose?
While Sang Chiruo was thinking, a group of Tibetan nobles who were captured in the Battle of Fengxiang Pass were escorted to the bridge by the Tang army.
The second prime minister among the nobles, Dun Renzeng, as soon as he appeared, wailed in Tubo: "Big talk, there are traitors in the army who have betrayed us! Every move we make has been known to them for a long time!"
Hearing this, Sang Chiruo froze on the spot.
A Tang sergeant saw the Tubo noble talking indiscriminately and quickly stepped forward and removed the latter's chin.
Sang Chiruo looked at the Tubo nobles on the other side of the bridge and asked Kong You in a deep voice: "What does this mean?"
Kong You: "Big talk, consider my proposal. As long as you are willing to withdraw your troops from Chang'an, our army can return these noble prisoners to you."
Sang Chiruo knew that at this time, he must not lose his momentum, so he sneered and said: "Do you think that with these prisoners, you can force Tubo to retreat?"
Kong You: "These Tubo nobles are all your supporters, and they have supported you to the throne of Da Lun. If they die, your status in the Tubo Kingdom will be greatly affected... You are Karma
The descendants of your family have used many means to gain the power they have today. I am afraid your enemies in Tubo are no less than your friends. Many people will be happy to see you fail rather than succeed."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Although Kong You's words were about prisoners, in Sang Chiruo's ears, they unexpectedly revealed another meaning.
And this hidden meaning, to Sang Chiruo, was no less than thunder on the ground.
Sang Chiruo just speculated that the news of Tubo's troops was leaked to the Northern Tang Dynasty, which made the Tang army in front of him arrive in Chang'an in time like a divine soldier descending from the sky.
At first, Sang Chiruo thought that perhaps the Southern Tang Dynasty had leaked the news in order to force Guo Ziyi to withdraw his troops in time and reduce the military pressure on the Southern Tang Dynasty.
But now Kong You's words made Sang Chiruo realize that there was a bigger enemy behind him, and that was the royalist faction in Tubo.
Sang Chiruo used conspiracy to kill the previous Tubo ancestor and supported a puppet king.
This move had already caused dissatisfaction among many nobles in Tubo. Sang Chiruo originally thought that using iron-blooded tactics would make these nobles fearful and surrender.
However, this group of nobles were obedient on the surface, but secretly, in order to get rid of Sang Chiruo, they most likely deliberately informed the Northern Tang Dynasty about the Tibetan troops sending troops, so that the Tang court could mobilize troops in time and return to defend Chang'an. The purpose was to take advantage of the situation.
In the hands of the Tang army, it is best to kill Sang Chiruo. Even if he cannot kill him, the next best thing is to reduce his prestige in Tubo.
A whole set of ideas from beginning to end, the more Sang Chiruo thought about it, the more possible it became.
Thinking of the end, the more Sang Chiruo thought about it, the more scared he became, because now there are many old nobles who are loyal to the royal family in the Tibetan army and are leading the troops.
If these royal nobles really intended to be enemies with Sang Chiruo, then someone must have informed them of the defeat of Jingzhou Prefecture and Fengxiang Pass in advance, which caused the Tubo army to be ambushed by the Tang army again and again, resulting in the current situation.
situation.
Thinking of this, Sang Chiruo's heart was filled with confusion, but his face remained calm. He and Kong You then discussed the redemption of the captives, which was also completed without showing any signs of expression.
The first negotiation between the Tang and Tibetan armies came to an end just like this.