Author: Chris Webber

"Tubo's military campaign this time is very large. Not only in the Western Regions, but also in Longyou, but also in the Qiangs and Mizhou under the jurisdiction of Jiannan Road, the Qiangs and Mizhou were also very active. In the second year of Qianfeng (667), they sent troops to attack the Qiangs and Qiangs in Jiannan, and they received a lot of money. Mei Niang, you also know that the gifts from Longyou are from Hebei, three points from Jianghuai, and three points from Shuzhong. If Tubo is allowed to swallow the Qiangs and Qiangs, Jiannan Road will not be able to rest. Where can Shu silk be supplied to the Longyou army? The Shu soldiers have always been weak and unbearable to fight, so they have to order a good general to go, so they chose Wang Wenzuo!"

"Then he planned to be the governor's office of Songzhou and govern the Jiannan and the provinces! This place is bound by Minling, controls the source of Jiangyuan, and is adjacent to Helong on the left, and reaches Kangzang on the right. If you retreat, you can block the Tianfu. If you advance, you can advance Qingkang and cut off the thief's arm!"

"I didn't expect that the emperor would have such a big plan!" Wu sighed. The Jiannan Road mentioned by Li Zhi was the former Yizhou. It was named because it was located south of Jianmen Pass. Its area included most of today's Sichuan Province, the Lancang River in Yunnan Province, the east of Ailao Mountain, the northern end of Guizhou Province, and the Wenxian County in Gansu Province. Its capital is located in today's Chengdu.

Nanzhao was not independent in the early Tang Dynasty. Today, a large number of Qiang and Hu tribes lived on large areas of land in northeastern Yunnan, southeastern Guizhou, northern Sichuan, and southern Gansu. The local mountains are high and dense forests are dense, and the terrain is dangerous. In order to control these Qiang and Hu tribes and resist the rising Tubo Empire's attack, the Tang Dynasty enthroned many chief officials of Qiang and Hu tribes and established several banished states.

Songzhou is one of them. Its location is probably located in Songpan County, Aba Qiang and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan (Jiuzhaigou is located in the local area). This place is located at an important node of the famous ancient tea-horse road in later generations. From Songzhou, we head northeast through Wuzhou (Wudu, Gansu), Chengzhou (Xihe, Gansu), and Fengzhou (Fengxian, Shaanxi), and then we can reach Chang'an. Through Songpan ancient road, through the Minjiang River Valley, we can directly reach today's Dujiangyan, and from Dujiangyan, we can turn to the yak road to enter Tibet, and to the south, we can walk the five-foot road, Lingguan Road and other roads into the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and even connect Southeast Asia and India. The rise of Tubo forced the Tang Dynasty to set up the Songzhou Governor's Office in Songzhou to rule the local tribes and resist the aggressive Tubo army.

Compared with the main battlefields of Qinghai, Longyou and Anxi, which often invested more than 100,000 or even hundreds of thousands of troops in the Tubo War in the Tang Dynasty, the southwest front centered on Songzhou is less noticeable. But this does not mean that it is not important. For the Tang Empire, which was established in Chang'an, the east and west rivers of Jiannandao are the emperor's Western Palace. Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Longyou, Anxi and Beiting, the Shu brocade rewarded by hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the Chengdu Plain were from the mulberry garden and the Weaver Girl inch by inch, not to mention that through the trade of specialty products such as tea and salt, the empire could obtain huge commercial taxes, as well as a large number of plowing oxen, war horses, gold and silver, and medicinal materials.

More importantly, these Qiang and Hu tribes scattered in the mountains and forests are brave and good at fighting, hard-working, and with a little training, they are very good soldiers. If they are annexed by Tubo, they will become the new fuel for their external expansion war. Therefore, although the battle here is only a few words or even a word in history books, it is actually related to the fate of the two empires.

"Your Majesty!" An eunuch came in from the outside, knelt down and saluted, "Wang Wenzuo, the chief of the marching commander of the Anton Protectorate, asked for a visit outside the palace!"

"Speak of Cao Cao, Cao Cao will be there!" Li Zhi smiled and said, "Let him come in!"

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"Today, the saint was in the side hall of Yiluan Hall. When he learned that Wang Changshi had arrived, he would see him as soon as possible. He had never seen such favored slaves in these years! I believe that in another three or five years, the military officer would be able to enter the cabinet to serve as a minister. Please take care of me at that time!" Judging from the eunuch who led the way, his status was not low, but he half-turned his body, leading Wang Wenzuo in front of him, while saying flattering words in a feminine voice, which made Wang Wenzuo feel uncomfortable and said with a forced smile: "Whatever the Grand Superintendent said is for the emperor, and how dare you hope for such things!"

"Don't be humble, Wang Changshi, I have heard of your reputation in the palace. Isn't it ordinary people!" The eunuch chattered, but Wang Wenzuo's attention was attracted by the buildings on both sides. Compared with the Daming Palace and Tai Chi Palace in Chang'an, the palace city of Luoyang is not as magnificent and majestic, but it is much more exquisite and gorgeous. The twisted corridors, scattered mountains, stones, water pavilions, and flowers and forest gardens all show the designer's unique craftsmanship. From time to time, I see a corner of the monastery under the shade of trees. The low-hanging window curtain emits lights, and the sound of ding dong dong music came, as if it was a fairyland.

"Is it Xiantaixie there, or it was built in the previous dynasty. Legend has it that Emperor Yang of the previous dynasty was there to play the piano with Mrs. Xuanhua to cultivate!"

The eunuch also noticed that Wang Wenzuo was not very interested in his flattery, so he changed his mind and took on the role of a tour guide. People like him, Xing Yu are the best at looking at the style and identifying their faces. Since Wang Wenzuo is favored, he will try his best to please him at all costs. Once the direction of the wind changes, he will change his face, so naturally there is no need to mention it. This is the way to survive in the palace.

As the saying goes, "When you reach out and don't hit a smile, Wang Wenzuo also knows who the other person is, but he has always been so pleased with him, so he can't completely ignore him. When he arrives at the destination, he has been smiling happily with the eunuch, as if he has known each other for many years.

"Shi Wang, please wait here for me to come in and spread it!" The eunuch bowed to Wang Wenzuo to the ground, then came into the hall to report, and after a moment of coming, he came out: "Shi Wang, please, both of His Majesties are waiting in there!"

"I'm sorry!" Wang Wenzuo bowed to the eunuch, then came into the hall, and bowed to Li Zhi and Empress Wu after the first case: "I'm going to see the saint, Your Majesty the Queen!"

"My dear, get up and talk!" Li Zhi raised his hand: "Is it still hard to work all the way?"

"It's okay!" Wang Wenzuo said in a deep voice: "I will set out from Qingzhou and arrive in Luoyang in twelve days. Fortunately, there were no twists and turns on the road, and it went smoothly!"

"I remember that you went to Qingzhou this time to propose marriage. Is it a delay to summon you to Luoyang this time?" Li Zhi said with a smile.

"It's okay, the messenger has already agreed to Weichen's proposal by then, and the marriage has been decided!"

"Hahaha!" The queen on the side laughed: "Changshi Wang, Your Majesty said just now that if your marriage is delayed, you will choose a good-looking daughter from the royal family and adopt it as your adopted daughter before giving it to you! I didn't expect you have decided!"

"It's hard to marry your Li family's daughter!" Wang Wenzuo secretly complained, but said, "The emperor cared for his subordinates, but he couldn't repay him if he was a concubine!"

"You have made great contributions in Baekje, Goguryeo, and Japan. Originally, the Protectorate of the Anton Protectorate should be yours, but his qualifications are still a little lacking, so Gao Kan was the main position and let you be his deputy!" Li Zhi smiled and said, "I originally thought that after two years, when you get older, I transferred Gao Kan away and let you be the chief official of the Anton Protectorate. But the situation has changed now and the Tubo soldiers are prospering. I am going to let you go to Jiannan and become the governor of the Songzhou Governor's Office, how to control the military affairs of Jiannan!"

"Songzhou Governor's Office, control the military affairs of Jiannan?" Wang Wenzuo was stunned for a moment. Although he had been in the army for many years, the Tang Dynasty was too big after all. At that time, there was no Internet available for Baidu in later generations. All the knowledge was in books. Jiannan Road and Liaodong were thousands of miles apart, so he really didn't know where Songzhou was.

Wang Wenzuo's reaction was not surprised. He smiled and introduced the situation in Songzhou slightly. Finally, he said: "I have issued an edict to use Xue Rengui, the General of Right Guard, as the chief general of the Dao March of Lusa (i.e. Lhasa), the General of Right Guard, Ashina Daozhen, and the General of Left Guard, Guo Tie as deputy, and lead the Longyou troops to attack Tubo. Wang Aiqing, you are the governor of Songzhou and the governor of Songzhou, to control the military affairs of Jiannan, to recruit Kelan, Dangxiang and Qiang, and to restrain Tubo, how about?"

"There are those in their destiny in the end, and they really can't escape it! Fortunately, they are the one who leads the army alone and will not be pulled back by their teammates!" Wang Wenzuo secretly complained. He knew very well that this kind of expedition was that the army was inconsistent in its actions. Li Zhi's plan looked awesome. The problem was that there was no wireless telegraph or detailed map at that time. More than 100,000 troops rely on guides to split the troops and advance together in such a complex landform. The probability of playing with the opportunity to escape was much greater than that of success.

"General Xue is a senior in the army, and he is ten times more talented than me. I am aware of mediocre people. How dare I talk about military affairs? It is just that the matter of sending troops is of great importance. I know nothing about Songzhou and must be familiar with it for a long time to be competent."

"Your dear, you don't need to worry. At least you have to send troops to Longyou. After the spring of next year, you have enough time to prepare!" Li Zhi said with a smile.

"It would be fine if this is the case!" Wang Wenzuo calculated: "Your Majesty, I heard that the Shu soldiers were weak and were not durable to fight for a long time. I have two thousand victories in Baiji, Liaodong, and they are all good at shooting. After a hundred battles, I would like to ask Rong Er and other ministers to enter Sichuan to kill the thieves!"

"That's great! I have this concern. I planned to ask you to recruit soldiers in Longyou, Chang'an. Since you have it in Liaodong, that would be even better. I will ask the Ministry of War to report to you five hundred martial officials, so that you can only hire him."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Wenzuo hurriedly thanked him: "Your Majesty's land in Liaodong is wide and there are many soldiers under his jurisdiction. Jiannan is full of mountains and is conducive to infantry. Can you recruit another thousand Xuanrun crossbowmen and one thousand Danyang Vine-card soldiers to be spared!"

"Your dear, I'm considerate!" Li Zhi smiled and said, "But since you are the Grand Governor of Songzhou Governor's Office, you will have all the Qiang and Hu in the thirty-two governors of the states under your jurisdiction. Among them, Dangxiang, Kelan and Qiang are all brave and brave. If you get the law, wouldn't it be better than the conscripts of one soldier and one soldier from Liaodong and Jiangnan to conscript?"

"What Your Majesty taught is that, but Qiang, Hu and Hu are both tigers and wolf hearts. If they do not have the power to suppress them, they will only be afraid of being retaliated against. What is the difference between me going to Songzhou alone and entering the formation naked?"

"Your Majesty!" Empress Wu laughed and said, "The King of Kings, Chi Xin, is the country and uses his own troops to kill the thieves. Do you still dislike him for not being able to appease the Qiang, which makes the loyal ministers feel disappointed?"

"Minister dare not! Those who are not considered ministers, but are used to being in charge of grace and righteousness!" Wang Wenzuo hurriedly apologized, Li Zhi waved his hand and smiled and said, "What's wrong with being a subordinate? You are always in Dongyi, so naturally. What the queen said is that you specially gave you three thousand sections of Shu brocade to reward the soldiers!"

"Thank you for your reward!" Wang Wenzuo hurriedly thanked him. He was grateful and wary for Li Zhi's generosity. The emperor's thoughts were unpredictable. The generous and mean and ruthless were gathered together in him, making people dare not get close to him.

After the reward was issued, Li Zhi showed his tired face. Wang Wenzuo hurriedly said goodbye. Li Zhi comforted him with a few words of gentle words before he let him leave.

"Awu, do you think Wang Wenzuo is competent?" Li Zhi asked.

"If he doesn't work, I don't see anyone else! When he was in Baekje, he was also enemies from all sides and could also struggle. Now he is much better in Jiannan than when he was in Baekje!"

"If this is the case, it would be great!" Li Zhi let out a long breath: "In this way, I can hand over all the soldiers from Longyou and Anxi to Xue Aiqing."

Just as Li Zhi and his wife were considering the upcoming war, Wang Wenzuo left the palace and surrounded by guards to the inn. At this time, he was still digesting the amazing news brought by Li Zhi.

"Lord, be careful!"

Cao Wenzong stretched out his right hand to pull Wang Wenzuo's reins. It turned out that Wang Wenzuo was thinking about something and forgot to look at the road. However, a child in front of him chased the wooden ball and rushed into the road, shocking the mount. If Cao Wenzong had not pulled Wang Wenzuo's mount quickly and quickly, the child would have died.

"Don't you have eyes? You dare to hit my general's tiger carriage." Wang Pu rushed out and shouted sternly.

"Forget it, I'm distracted. Don't scare the child!" Wang Wenzuo jumped off the horse, looked at the child lying on the ground, and confirmed that there was nothing serious about being scared. He said to Cao Wenzong: "Give this child some money. If you have family, give it to your family. If you don't have family, send it home!"

"Here!" Cao Wenzong responded, picked up the child from the ground, asked around him first, and learned that the child's house was in the next house, so he got on the horse and went there. He sent the child home. He asked about the way to the inn. After walking two streets, he found that there were fewer and fewer people on the road and became more and more desolate.

"Isn't this Mr. Cao?"

A sarcastic voice sounded, and Cao Wenzong vigilantly lifted the reins and shouted: "Who?"

"It's me, the noble man Cao has forgotten so much, I guess he doesn't remember our brothers!"

While speaking, two people walked out of the alley in front. Their faces were rough and they looked quite straight, but there was a slick atmosphere between their eyebrows, which made people feel disgusted when they saw it.

"He Wu? Zhao Qi? Are you two?" After seeing the person's face clearly, Cao Wenzong's face changed drastically, and his eyes, which were always calm, also showed a fierce light.

"Yes, it's the two of us brothers!" The one who was at the top of the two smiled: "Hero Cao has been developing over the years, but he still remembers our brothers. It's really a good memory!"

"If Cao still dies one day, he will not dare to forget the appearance of the two of you!" Cao Wenzong's voice was cold, and his right hand was already pressed on the hilt of the knife around his waist, and he was about to take action.
Chapter completed!