Author: Chris Webber

"I'm afraid that's not that simple!" Princess Pu'an's expression became serious. She waved her hand, and all the servants and maids in the room retreated, leaving only the two sisters.

"I also listened to the people who came back from Anxi Junzhen that although the Tubo people were barbaric, they were very different from the Turks: first of all, their troops were strong, no less than China; secondly, their soldiers were strong, simple and brave, and they were despised by long spears and crossbows; thirdly, their generals and commanders were brave and disciplined. How could such strong enemies be scared by a few false words? Besides, there were only three or four thousand tents who fled to Liangzhou with you and your wife? Even if the Tubo people really returned the pasture, can you let the Tuyuhun people obey you after you go back? Don't ask the emperor to send troops to protect you then!"

"Sister said this as if our couple had touched the Tang Dynasty!" Princess Xiping looked angry: "Don't forget that I married Tuyuhun for the Tang Dynasty, otherwise who would have wanted to go to a ghost place like Hehuang? Among our sisters, Gaoyang, Xiangcheng, Changle, etc., were married to the children of heroes and stayed in Chang'an. Only you and me who were not loved by others were married to the barbarians and went to the barbarians. To be honest, if I followed my original intention, I would like to stay in Chang'an forever like you now, even Liangzhou. When our couple returned to the land of Hehuang, the Tang Dynasty would have an extra barrier. Otherwise, in a few years, the Tubo people would have another extra cavalry. In the end, I would not be upset!"

Princess Pu'an was speechless for a while because of Princess Xiping's words. It turned out that Li Shimin, the Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, had many children, but he did not uphold the attitude of "justice to all his children". Generally speaking, Li Shimin showed the royal warmth that was rare in the royal family to the children born to Empress Changsun, such as Li Zhi, Li Tai, Li Chengqian, Princess Changle, Princess Xincheng, etc., and was relatively cold to other children of illegitimate children. The treatment of Princess Pu'an and Princess Xiping is relatively low among the daughters of illegitimate children, and they are all regarded as tools of political marriage. Princess Pu'an is better. She has been in Chang'an for most of the years, and Princess Xiping is in trouble. She is more than a round smaller than Princess Pu'an, but it seems that Princess Pu'an is much younger than her. Obviously, this is all due to the north wind and sand flying in the northwest.

As Princess Xiping said, she repeatedly asked the Tang Dynasty to send troops to take back the pastures and Tuyuhun tribes in Hehuang for her husband, not just for the sake of the couple. Due to the short horses on the plateau, the Tubo people's cavalry was average in combat, and the powerful were the perseverance and brave heavy armored infantry. Therefore, whenever the Tubo people defeated a nomadic people, they would take it under their command as a servant army. If the Tang Dynasty ignored it, when the Tubo people in Hehuang were recruited, their cavalry strength would definitely increase rapidly, and in the end, the Tang Dynasty would be the one who was unlucky.

"It makes sense for you to say this, so let's do it! I will enter the palace tomorrow to congratulate the emperor. You will go with me at that time. What should we do to the emperor together?"

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The next afternoon, Tai Chi Palace and Ganlu Hall.

""Now my sleep is no longer as good as before!" Li Zhi yawned, looking sleepy: "When I was a child, I had fun with my brothers all night, but the next day I was still energetic, not like now. I went to bed late last night, and I am now like this." As he spoke, Li Zhi's eyelids drooped down, as if he was about to fall asleep again.

Li Zhi, Princess Pu'an and Princess Xiping sat in the Liang Pavilion. The palace maids brought Hu cakes, butterfly, soup cakes, mutton soup, pickled garlic, and boiled eggs: "A memorial came two days ago. Henan was flooded and more than ten counties had no summer grain harvest. My meal was simple!"

"Your Majesty always has the heart of his parents and treats the people as innocent children. My little sister admires them!" Princess Pu'an hurriedly said.

"You don't have to be so polite to your family!" Li Zhi smiled and said, "Ninth sister, Seventeenth sister, you can eat some together!"

The two princesses responded, and Princess Pu'an reached out to pick up an egg, peeled the shell and smiled, "Your Majesty, I dreamed of the late emperor last night. I was confused in the dream. After waking up, I couldn't remember what I dreamed of. I only remember that the late emperor was very happy!"

"Oh?" Li Zhi smiled with interest: "Yes, after the late emperor retreated from Goguryeo, he often regretted this. If he had any knowledge underground, he would definitely be very happy!"

"This time Goguryeo is destroyed, the eastern territory of the Tang Dynasty will be stable, right?" Princess Xiping couldn't help but interject.

"It's not easy to say An Jing, but there are indeed many things missing!" Li Zhi stroked his beard under his chin and his eyes stayed on Princess Xiping: "Seventeenth Sister, why did you say this?"

"Seventeenth sister is also the daughter of the late emperor, so it's not surprising to think of this!" Princess Pu'an secretly said that although he was gentle on the outside, he was most taboo to the royal family in the government. In the years since he ascended the throne, one or two rebellion cases would be broken every two or three years, and there would always be several descendants of the Tian family. In fact, there were not so many blind clans who wanted to rebel. To put it bluntly, the emperor's hawks and dogs periodically eliminated outstanding talents who attracted suspicion in the royal family.

"My ninth sister, I'm asking Seventeenth sister, you don't have to answer for her!" Li Zhi's voice was still as soft as usual, but Princess Pu'an felt a chill that rushed straight to her back, lowered her head and dared not speak.

"Sister Jiu doesn't have to worry about me!" Princess Xiping was not afraid: "Your Majesty, I am still the same old thing. Now Goguryeo is gone. You can free your hands to the east of the Tang Dynasty. When can I send troops to send our couple back to Hehuang? In fact, I am not for my own home. After all, Tuyuhun is in the hands of our couple, and it is also the shield of Anxi Army Town of the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, if you delay like this, the Tuyuhun people will gain a foothold in Hehuang, and those Tuyuhun people will become outposts from the hawks of the Tang Dynasty to the Tubo people!"

Li Zhi picked up an egg and tapped the table twice. The cracks appeared on the outer shell of the cooked egg. He pushed the eggshell apart to reveal the smooth egg inside. After a while, he placed the peeled egg on the table: "Jiu Mei, for the sake of the late emperor, I will forget about what I do today. In the future, you must be cautious in your words and deeds and be a model for the royal family!"

"Yes, yes!" Princess Pu'an heard Li Zhi's words and hurriedly bowed and said, "I will never leave from now on, and I will devote myself to my mistakes and live up to your Majesty's painstaking efforts!"

Li Zhi nodded: "You two should go back!"

Princess Pu'an hurriedly kowtowed again, then pulled Princess Xiping to bow twice and left the hall. After leaving the Ganlu Hall, she let out a long breath and complained to Princess Xiping: "Seventeenth Sister, why are you doing this? If you and I were not a woman, I would have lost one hundred lives today!"

"Hmph, you are afraid of death but I am not afraid of death!"

"Is this a matter of fear of death?" Princess Pu'an sighed, "Forget it, I'm not thinking carefully, but you have heard your Majesty's words just now. This is for me and for you. From now on, you and I must be careful in your words and actions, otherwise Gao Yang and the others will be our lessons!"

In the Ganlu Hall, Li Zhi sat at the table. The peeled egg was still on the table. A layer of white oil had solidified on the mutton soup next to it, and it did not move. The palace maids and eunuchs on both sides did not dare to let out a mouthful or come forward to clean up. They just breathed intently, for fear of making a sound, which would lead to an unexpected disaster.

In fact, Li Zhi was not angry by Princess Xiping. His actions just now were not so much a punishment, but rather a kind of blow. He knew very well what Princess Xiping said was the fact: Tuyuhun and the Gansu-Qinghai region where he was located played a crucial role in the game between the two empires of Tubo and the Tang Dynasty. One of the very important reasons why the Tubo Dynasty was able to compete with the Tang Dynasty for more than two hundred years and almost remained with the Tang Dynasty was the geographical location of the Tubo Dynasty.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which emerged in the Tubo Dynasty, is an extremely closed geographical unit. Its southwest is the Himalayas, the Kunlun Mountains and the Pamir Plateau to the northwest, the Tanggula Mountains to the north, the Hengduan Mountains and the other Gaoligong Mountains, the Nushan Mountains, Yunling, Yulong Snow Mountains and parallel Nujiang, Lancang River, Jinsha River and other series of high-altitude canyons that gradually turn north and south.

It is not difficult to see that it is extremely difficult for the Tang army to enter the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, whether from the Guanzhong Plain, Sichuan or the Western Regions. But on the other hand, it is very difficult for the Tubo people to release military forces from outside. If we must say that there is a relatively convenient way out, it is to go northeastward - first cross the gap between the Tanggula Mountain and Hengduan Mountain and enter the Hehuang Valley and conquere Tuyuhun.

Then the Tubo people had many choices: they could compete with the Tang army for the Western Regions to the west, and cut off the Hexi Corridor to the northeast, unite the Turks on the grassland, and attack the Beiting of the Tang Dynasty, and go east to the Long Mountains to directly attack the Guanzhong Plain, the central area of ​​the Tang Empire. Therefore, Tuyuhun and its Hehuang Valley are located are crucial for this war. If the Tubo people are allowed to gain a firm foothold in Hehuang, the Tang army would have to set up defenses on three sides and not take care of each other at the beginning and end; and if the loyalty of the Tuyuhun people in the Tang Dynasty can be ensured, no matter how powerful the Tubo people are, it would be a small trouble on the border.

When Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered Li Jing to lead his troops to defeat Tuyuhun, he married his daughter to Wudi Yebaqindo Khan, who was the Tuyuhun people. The two children he gave birth to marry the county lord of Jincheng and Jinming of Tang respectively. It was obvious that he hoped to completely tie the Tuyuhun people to the chariot of the Tang Empire through generations of marriage and become a loyal front pawn of the Tang Dynasty. Although Princess Xiping had just spoken rudely, she was worthy of being the good daughter of Emperor Taizong and dedicated her life to the Tang Dynasty.

In the third year of Longshuo (663 AD), just when Wang Wenzuo was fighting the rebels and Japanese coalition in Baekje, the Tubos sent troops to defeat the Tuyuhun people and occupied the land of Hehuang. Princess Xiping and his wife led thousands of people to flee to Liangzhou of the Tang Dynasty (now Wuwei, Gansu). They were protected by the Tang Dynasty, and the remaining Tuyuhun tribes were scattered. At that time, Li Zhi was concentrating his efforts to deal with the Tiele rebellion and the war in Liaodong, and could not bring out many troops.

He had to send people to send cattle, horse and equipment to his sister and son-in-law who fled to his side, and set up a farmland and grassland to prevent the tribe from scattering. He sent envoys to Tubo to accuse him, ordering him to withdraw from the Hehuang Valley and return the annexed tribes. Naturally, the Tubo people would not be intimidated by the weak accusations of the Tang Dynasty. Time passed by on both sides in constant tug-of-war. The Tubo people were concentrating on recruiting tribes, arranging immigration, building forts, and turning them into their new expedition base; while the Tang Dynasty collected intelligence, hoarded food, and trained the army, and planned to eliminate Goguryeo, and finally "look good to you". Both sides believed that it was not the time for the war to start, and they were all restraining their subordinates, so these five years were the quietest five years in the local area.

"Xiping said it well. It is indeed time to give the Tubo people some color!" Li Zhi stood up and walked to the window: "But who should the chief general choose?"

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Pyongyang.

"According to the will of the court, one person must be left as the Protector of Anton Protectorate and govern the former land of Goguryeo!" Li Ji said in a deep voice. Compared to a few months ago, he was astonishingly old as he was. His gray hair was already all white, and his loose cheeks looked a little scary. This old man reminded Wang Wenzuo of a burning candle.

"The British Duke really has no time!" Xue Rengui's voice came from the side: "I'm afraid it's difficult to enter Chang'an City again!"

Wang Wenzuo turned his head helplessly and pretended not to hear it. He has understood what kind of person Xue Rengui is these days. To put it nicely, he is straightforward and not good at speaking, and to speak nicely, he doesn't matter at all. That's right, Li Ji has been so old these days, but as a subordinate, is it appropriate to talk about his boss so openly?

"Sanlang, who do you think will be the Anton Protector? Is it you, me, or Governor Gao?" Xue Rengui seemed not to notice Wang Wenzuo's alienation and asked directly: "I think it's just to choose from the three of us. Although Qibing Heli is older than us, he is too old. He probably will return to Chang'an to retire after this battle. It was originally a contest between Governor Gao, but Sanlang, you have made too much contribution and are qualified!"

Wang Wenzuo was upset by Xue Rengui's nagging. He was thinking about how to shut up the other party, but he heard Li Ji say on it: "The court had an order yesterday to order General Xue to return to Beijing overnight, and the court would send another dispatch!"
Chapter completed!