Chang'an, Liangyi Hall.

"The merchants blocked the Tubo army? How is this possible?"

When the war in the northwest reached Chang'an, Li Zhi almost shocked his chin. His first reaction was that this must be fake news, just like Su Haizheng slandering Pei Xingjian.

His original strategy was to send Qibian Heli and others back to aid. To some extent, he believed that the northwest could not be defended, because there were not many troops stationed in the northwest, and they were mainly concentrated in the four towns of Anxi. However, in the battle of Khotan, the Tang army was defeated by Shule, which led to the capture of Shule by Tubo. There were rebels in Gongyue City north of the Great Protectorate, and they were attacked by the north and south. Su Dingfang was not here. How could he defend this? Even if the troops were dispatched, it would be impossible to hurry. It was said that when Qibian Heli and others came back, they would attract the Turkic troops and recover the four towns of Anxi, because it was impossible for Tubo to be allowed in the northwest. However, he did not expect that he would suddenly receive the news and a mere merchant blocked the Tubo army.

Liu Xiang said, "Report to Your Majesty, half a month ago, some news had actually reached Chang'an, but I didn't believe it was true. However, Tingzhou, Xizhou, and Shazhou successively received good news, and I was sure that all this was true. These three good news were sent by Tingzhou, Xizhou, and Shazhou recently." As he said that, he took out three official documents.

Pei Xingjian was busy fighting and did not have time to contact the court. Anyway, the court could not send troops to the Great Protectorate, but merchants from all over the northwest went to donate to the Great Protectorate, so the officials of all prefectures and counties knew about this.

"Submit it quickly." Li Zhi said hurriedly.

Zhang Desheng hurriedly submitted the letter to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi looked at it and was surprised, "This - this is really incredible."

Xu Jingzong suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that if this matter is true, it would be really scary."

Li Zhi was stunned and said, "What do you say about Xu Aiqing?"

Xu Jingzong said: "Everyone knows the strength of the Tubo army very well. It is comparable to our Tang army. Those merchants can actually block the iron hoof of Tubo. It can be seen that the strength of these merchants cannot be underestimated. Moreover, why do they spare no effort to support Pei Xingjian so much? This is really doubtful."

This is insinuated and pointed out. You must know that Pei Xingjian had scolded Wu Meiniang at the time and was a staunch anti-military faction, so he was demoted there. Moreover, Xu Jingzong knew that a person like Pei Xingjian would not easily change his political philosophy, and Pei Xingjian was both civil and military, so he would definitely not be able to return to the court.

Master Xu immediately said: "Xu Shizhong's words are wrong. This is not done by a merchant, but by all the merchants in the northwest, and even the people in the northwest. They do not support a merchant or Pei Xingjian, but support our Tang Dynasty.

Although the letter did not state it clearly, it was not difficult to see the reason. The reason why the stingy businessmen became so generous this time was mainly because they knew that the reason they had so much wealth was because of the court's northwest plan. They defended the northwest plan. They hoped to live under the rule of our Tang Dynasty, rather than Tubo or the old nobles of the Turks.

Isn’t this the loyalty to our Tang Dynasty and His Majesty. How can you question the loyalty of a commoner to the country? In the early years of Zhenguan, our country was in the most difficult time. At that time, several landlords were willing to pay and support the country to fight against the Turks like merchants in the northwest.”

Normally, Master Xu would not confront Xu Jingzong head-on, and he was afraid of causing trouble. However, when he heard the news, he was very moved. In fact, this incident also touched many people. However, Xu Jingzong spoke out and questioned, and Master Xu also understood what was going on. He just didn't want Pei Xingjian to take away the credit, which made him very angry.

Li Zhi also frowned and looked at Xu Jingzong, saying, "Xu Shizhong, the people in the northwest are also my people. Whether they are merchants or herdsmen, if you spread these words, how do you ask the people in the northwest to see the court? They fight for the country in this way, but they are questioned by the prime minister in the court. I don't want to hear these words again in the future."

Xu Jingzong's old face was as swollen as a pig's liver, and he hurriedly bowed: "The old minister knows the crime."

Everything has priority. Now that the Tubo army is approaching, you are still considering political struggles, you have done a little bit. Li Zhi is not confused. He valued Xu Jingzong in order to eradicate the entire Guanlong Group and eliminate all those who can threaten him. However, in terms of national affairs, he still relies more on Li Ji, Han Yi, Xu Shi and others.

Of course, Li Zhi knew that Xu Jingzong was a person and would not care about him. He said that he could only choose to adopt his own choice. This is the way of monarchs to employ people. Virtuous ministers have the uses of virtuous ministers, and treacherous ministers have the uses of treacherous ministers. The key is to take them all into his own hands. With Xu Jingzong's ability, he would not be able to reach the level of Changsun Wuji. Li Zhi was very relieved to use Xu Jingzong. If you make trouble, I will deal with you. It would be easy to turn your hand. He smiled and said, "I remember when Han Yi proposed the Northwest Plan to me, he mentioned this point, but I didn't think about it for a moment. I didn't expect that the Northwest Plan would really have such power, which really surprised me."

Xu Jingzong felt even more uncomfortable when he heard this. Korean artists were not here, but the emperor counted the credit on him.

Wei Siqian stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Tubo has repeatedly provoked wars and planned Tuyuhun and the northwest. It is already known to everyone by Sima Zhao, and its methods are very despicable. Now our army has entered the counterattack stage in the northwest, and Tuyuhun is also in the Heyuan area with the Tubo army. I think Your Majesty should immediately issue an order to counterattack Tubo in a comprehensive manner and teach Tubo some lessons."

Lu Chengqing hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this move is absolutely not allowed. I think our army has just wiped out Goguryeo, and the soldiers were very tired. I immediately launched a war against Tubo, which is probably not worth the loss. In addition, it is winter now, so it is not appropriate to start a war. Please think twice before you act."

Xu Jingzong stood up and said, "The old minister agrees with Shangshu Lu's suggestion."

Wei Siqian said very toughly: "But I am no longer the first time in the Tang Dynasty to give in. Tubo is not ruthless and has repeatedly betrayed his faith. This time, he must not give in anymore."

Although he is a civil official, he has a strong personality. You, Tubo, always stabbed the knife in the back, is it unbearable.

The debate between them is actually a microcosm of Chang'an at the moment. With the change of the situation, some people think that Tubo is too hateful. Now we have spent the most difficult moment, we must beat him up and give Tubo a little color. But some people think that the east has just been fought and the west has started war again, which is not good for the country's development. After all, war will kill people, and this is not Goguryeo, but the powerful Tubo. You have to think clearly about it.

But this is not a partisan dispute, but a difference in political ideas.

Li Zhi was also unsure of his mind for a moment, so he made a very compromise choice. He ordered Tuyuhun's prefectures, Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Shanzhou to transfer the guards to the Tuyuhun battlefield and send all the food and grass. He did not dare to do this at first because Tubo was coming in a fierce manner. He thought it would be impossible to stop it. He hoped to defend the junction between Tuyuhun and the Tang Dynasty, prevent Tubo from crossing the boundary, and wait for the commanders to come back. As long as they defended it, they would win, and they adopted a relatively conservative approach.

But he did not expect that Princess Honghua would be so fierce and full of things, which made him feel a little embarrassed. Moreover, he did not expect that Wang Fangyi, Wang Xuance, and Zhao Chi would block the Tubo army like gods. He felt very regretful. He did not believe the three of them at that time. Fortunately, it was not too late to repair the situation.

But the Northwest is too far away. The soldiers from the Central Plains went there and probably wouldn't arrive next year. He couldn't help, so he could only issue an edict to praise the local merchants. I was moved in Chang'an and shed tears. No matter whether they succeed or fail, they are the heroes of the country. We must reward them well, and so on. In short, I know what you do. I am very moved and promoted to Pei Xingjian's protector of Yutian. The four towns in Anxi are temporarily in charge. Pei Xingjian will be in charge of the four towns.

Although there are hidden dangers in this arrangement, the four towns of Anxi are all handed over to one person to command. Of course, there is a possibility of becoming a king. However, when facing a powerful enemy, there must be a strong government to resist and to do their own affairs. How to fight? Li Zhi can only choose to believe in Pei Xingjian, because there are no one there.

At this time, the battlefield in the northwest had completely reversed, and Tubo completely narrowed its front line, because after Tubo captured the important town of Yutian, he sent troops everywhere. Lu Dongzan knew that the northwest was empty, and the fact was the same. At the beginning, how did they fight and how did they have it? The Tang army could not defend at all. In some places, the Tang army had only 300 soldiers stationed at the Tang army. How could they fight?

But now the northwest quickly condensed into a rope, and Pei Xingjian's troops have expanded seven or eight times. Not only that, Pei Xingjian did not need to worry about the situation in Gongyue City and other places, so the merchants themselves started to work with them. Although the old nobles had stronger military power than merchants and were more capable of fighting than merchants, the merchants were very unfavorable in the early stages, but money and supplies were concentrated in the hands of merchants. They directly offered a reward to recruit generals to command troops, and they also dug up the other generals and soldiers. I will give you money and you will help us fight. What way out can you follow those people? You are not a slave. Therefore, in the early stages, the merchants quickly reversed the situation with the power of money.

Pei Xingjian even led a large army to recover strategic areas such as Shule in one fell swoop, and his troops were aimed directly at Yutian. A decisive battle was about to break out.

But at this moment, Lu Dongzan suddenly ordered Zan to give up Yutian and retreat to the foot of Kunlun Mountain.

Lu Dongzan was decisive in sending troops and retreating troops very decisively.

He had no choice. He originally wanted to take the opportunity to occupy the entire northwest region and Tuyuhun, which was the result he was most looking forward to. The process was also like this. At that time, smoke of gunpowder was everywhere. Seeing that the entire northwest situation was in danger, Li Zhi could only withdraw his troops from the east, but he did not expect that the people in the northwest would support the Tang Dynasty so much. You must know that the Tang Dynasty was also an invader to the northwest, and it did not last long for the rule of the local area. Especially the joining of merchants was unexpected by Lu Dongzan.

Merchants have money, so there are people who have money, and there are food, etc. All the strategic materials needed for the war. In addition, Pei Xingjian is not a vegetarian, and if Tubo wants to support Yutian, he has to cross the Kunlun Mountains. The road is not so easy to walk. If Yutian fights attrition with the Tang army, it will be too unfavorable for Tubo, especially now in winter. First of all, it is not enough to consume at all, and it is likely that the Tang army will cut off the retreat route. Because Tubo supports Yutian, there are only two roads, and one of them is still very difficult to walk.

Lu Dongzan was also dragged by the Tang army in Heyuan area and had not made any breakthroughs for a long time. His morale was obviously inferior to that of the other party, because there was continuous support behind the Tang army. In addition, Wang Fangyi, Wang Xuance, and Zhao Chiman were willing to die in battle and not retreat. Even the commander of the Tang army was like this, and of course the people of Tuyuhun had to fight to the end, otherwise it would be too embarrassing, and they were all gritting their teeth and resisting.

Lu Dongzan was very depressed. The battle was completely contrary to his expectations. He also knew that the situation was becoming more and more unfavorable to him, because he was also informed that the Tang army had eliminated Goguryeo. When the Tang army commanders and the elite troops returned, the situation would become more serious.

However, at this moment, heavy snow fell from the sky, forcing the war to stop.

This has its pros and cons for both sides. In the northwest, Pei Xingjian was very morale and was preparing to destroy the Yue and Gongyue at the foot of Kunlun Mountain in one fell swoop. This war was nominally initiated by them, so of course they had to destroy them. But in Tuyuhun, the Tang army resisted tenaciously, but in general, they were still at a disadvantage.

Both sides should also take the opportunity to calm down, thinking about whether to continue fighting or to quit.
Chapter completed!