In fact, the boundary between Shazhou and Yizhou is a mountain range called Beishan. You can enter Yizhou through Xingxing Gorge, but Xingxing Gorge is on the boundary of Guazhou. The foot of Beishan in Shazhou is at least hundreds of miles wide.
The no-man's land, not to mention fifty miles, even a hundred miles, is meaningless to Shatuo's army. Both sides know full well that doing so is just to give Shatuo a face.
But fifty miles from the foot of the Snow Mountain, the Tang Dynasty had a long and narrow passage bordering Shazhou. It seemed that Shatuo suffered a loss from this plan, but when I thought about it, Shatuo actually did not suffer a loss either. This land was good for
Shatuo is also meaningless. More importantly, the Tang army has a way to advance westward, so they don't have to think about regaining the Hexi Corridor all day long.
Zhu Xie Shenglu understood this, but he couldn't make the decision. He left immediately and went back to report to the Khan, who would make the decision.
Guo Song was not worried that Shatuo would refuse. Once Shatuo refused, war between the two sides would be inevitable. It would not only be as simple as regaining Guazhou, but the Tang army would contact Ge Luolu and attack from the north and south, directly destroying Shatuo.
The return schedule is getting closer and closer. In the military tent, Guo Song stood in front of the map and meditated. The old guide Uncle Zhong drew two points on the map, respectively eighty and one hundred and thirty miles away from Dunhuang County. Here
The road is so steep that large vehicles cannot walk on it yet. If we must walk on it, we must build a bridge.
"Then let's build a bridge!" Guo Song said to himself.
At this time, the soldiers reported at the door, "Your Majesty, General Yao wants to see you!"
Guo Song put down his pen and said: "Let him in!"
After a moment, Yao Jin quickly walked into the tent, knelt down on one knee and said in military salute: "I'm sorry to see you, your envoy!"
"No need to be polite, get up!"
Guo Song asked Yao Jin to sit down and asked with a smile: "Are you all ready?"
Yao Jin nodded, "The army has been arranged. Please give me your instructions!"
Guo Song smiled and said: "Shazhou was originally the headquarters of the Tang Army's Doulu Army. Although the Doulu Army has long since disappeared, the army you led is the Doulu Army. Although I cannot make you the commander-in-chief, you dominate one area alone.
It’s a heavy responsibility on our shoulders, do you understand?”
"I understand the humble position!"
Guo Song added: "I don't like Shatuo either, but Shatuo is restrained by Ge Luolu and will not attack Shazhou for the time being. You should try your best to get along with Shatuo. Compared to Shatuo, Tubo is Shazhou's biggest enemy.
So I tell you to build a beacon at Dangjin Mountain Pass. Once the Tibetan army comes to kill you, you will know immediately and the army will withdraw to Dunhuang City. As long as Dunhuang City is defended, the Tibetan army will retreat without a fight. Shouchang County will definitely defend
If you don't live there, move all the people in the county to Dunhuang, destroy the county seat, and rebuild it later."
Yao Jin nodded silently.
"The third thing I want to tell you is to recruit Shazhou young people to join the army. I have talked with the squires, and they also support the recruitment of 6,000 Shazhou young people to join the army. In this way, your defenders will have a
If you have a thousand men, train them well and you will be able to defend Dunhuang City."
"Your humble position will definitely not disappoint you!"
Guo Song patted his arm and said, "I believe that one day you will also become a world-famous general."
.........
On the second day after Zhu Xie Shenglu returned to Shatuo, Guo Song also led his army to return to Zhangye.
Now that we have decided to open up a new road, it is crucial to be able to walk a large vehicle, but this road under the snow-capped mountains is indeed difficult to walk. At least for the first three hundred miles on the road, it is impossible to walk a large vehicle.
For this reason, Guo Song decided to open up a new road. The Daxue Mountain Road only took the Guazhou section, thus avoiding the Suzhou section where large vehicles could not be driven.
The Tang army did not completely return along the original route. After passing through the Guazhou section along the northern foot of the Snow Mountain, the Tang army turned north, entered Suzhou, and went directly south along the Suzhou official road. This time Guo Song specially brought
Thirty large vehicles were brought in. Except for two small sections of mountain roads that required bridges before large vehicles could pass through, the other areas were unobstructed for large vehicles.
This solves the problem of large and heavy vehicles traveling to Shazhou.
After marching for ten days, the army finally returned to Zhangye City.
Guo Song did not bother to go home, so he first came to the Jiedushi official office. After more than a month of expedition, there would be news from the court.
"The imperial edict officer came here and heard that the envoy was not there. They didn't know the way to the north, so they left the edict and went back."
Zhang Qianyi took out a volume of imperial edict and handed it to Guo Song, "Your Majesty, please read it!"
Guo Song took over the decree and unfolded it. It was indeed the emperor's reply to the recapture of Shazhou. He named himself the crown prince Shaobao, rewarded the three armies with 200,000 yuan, and gave double pensions to the soldiers who were killed or disabled in battle. He agreed with his recommendation and appointed Liu Zi.
As the governor of Shazhou, Shazhou's defense is arranged by himself.
Although this edict also included heavy rewards for the soldiers, Guo Song still felt that the tone was completely different from the edict for Ganzhou's victory. There was no excitement and joy in the words, and it became very dull, even a little cold, as if it was just a routine matter.
Guo Song vaguely felt that the emperor was treating this Shazhou victory coldly, and he felt an indescribable disappointment in his heart.
"What other news?" Guo Song asked calmly.
"Also, Han Xiangguo was dismissed as prime minister and was appointed as the observer envoy to Zhejiang and Zhejiang. Cui Youfu and Zhang She were both dismissed as prime minister and returned to their hometowns to retire."
Guo Song was startled, "In this way, there will only be two prime ministers left in the court. Does the emperor want to restore the two-phase system again?"
"Exactly like this, I heard that the imperial court now only has left and right prime ministers, but the emperor still gave up the multi-phase system he advocated before. It is said that Yang Yan now dominates the sky, and all officials below the third rank are appointed by him. The emperor trusts him very much, and also
There is Lu Qi, who was promoted from the sixth rank to the third rank overnight. He is currently the minister of household affairs and the envoy of Duzhi. He controls the financial power of the Tang Dynasty and is deeply favored by the saints."
"Then the other left prime minister should be Li Mi!"
"It's him, but I heard that he went to Bashu and temporarily served as the envoy to Jiannan. The governor of Chengdu was also appointed by the envoy's father-in-law. The imperial court began to control Bashu."
Guo Song perked up and asked, "Did Cui Kuan come to Beijing?"
"It seems so. He was named Duke of Shu, Grand Master, Tong Zhongshu's subordinate Ping Zhangshi, and served as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, but he was not named prime minister."
Guo Song understood that Cui Kuan's official position sounded glamorous, but in fact he had no real power and was completely ignored. Li Shi handled the Bashu matter very decisively and took advantage of Cui Kuan's opportunity to enter the capital to take back Bashu in one fell swoop. The following is just
After appeasing the Bashu troops and officials, Bashu basically returned to the imperial court.
"Any other news?"
Zhang Qianyi hesitated and said: "There is another news. Li Baochen, the governor of Chengde, died. His son Li Weiyue asked the emperor to appoint him as the new governor of Chengde and inherit his father's throne, but he was rejected."
This news made Guo Song secretly sigh. Last year, Tian Chengsi, the military envoy of Weibo, died of illness. His nephew Tian Yue led the army on his own. Li Shi had just ascended the throne and the throne was not stable. He had to admit Tian Yue as the new military envoy of Weibo. Now Li Baochen
If he dies, it must be Li Weiyue who takes the throne. Will the court recognize it? Li Shi has secured the throne and successfully controlled Bashu. Will he, like in history, want to use this opportunity to take back the Hebei states and eventually trigger the Jianzhong Rebellion?
When Guo Song returned to his home, his daughter's cuteness made him temporarily forget the troubles of the court. Although his wife Xue Tao was very happy after not seeing her for more than a month, she still carefully caught a hint of worry in her husband's eyebrows.
In the study, Guo Song filled the table with more than a hundred pieces of mutton-fat jade he got from Anxi. Xue Tao happened to come in with tea and saw the table full of mutton-fat jade. He couldn't help but smile and said: "That's why you went to Anxi."
?”
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Of course I didn't go to Anxi for them. This was a gift from the old prince. It was full in the house. I picked just this many. The rest were given to the soldiers."
Xue Tao put down the tea cup and picked up a few pieces of jade to look closely. They were indeed beautiful jade, which made her very fond of them. She smiled tenderly and said: "Put these jade pieces in my study for me to appreciate them slowly."
Guo Song stood up and said: "A good wife has an order, how dare you disobey your husband? Move now!"
"Let's talk tomorrow, husband, drink tea first!" Xue Tao quickly stopped her husband.
Guo Song took the tea cup, took a sip of tea and asked, "Does your wife know about my father-in-law's transfer to Chengdu?"
"I know, my father wrote me a letter, and I plan to tell you tonight, husband, is this good or bad?"
"If you go to Bashu, it's a good thing, but if you go to other places, it may not be a good thing."
Xue Tao was shocked, "Is there going to be another war?"
Guo Song nodded, "The emperor is still a little young. It seems that he wants to resolve the separation of vassal towns within two or three years. Hebei is not Bashu. I think he will suffer a lot of blood this time."
"Then will he transfer his husband to the Central Plains?" This is what Xue Tao is really worried about.
Guo Song pondered for a while and said: "He may have this idea, but neither Yang Yan nor Lu Qi will welcome me. They will definitely try their best to stop me. I should not be involved in this battle to level the domain, but I still want to
I would like to advise the emperor and ask him to carefully consider reducing the vassal status."