Chapter 329 Guests on Snowy Night

Li Qing'an received a message from a flying pigeon when he was in Liangzhou. The Byzantine envoy had arrived in Anxi. Although Li Qing'an was still waiting for the court's reaction at this time, after receiving the news, he immediately set out to return. He was extremely concerned about the arrival of the messengers of the Byzantine Empire. He had been in a truce with Dashi for more than a year. Although he did not know the progress of the African battle, he knew that Dashi would not accept the fact that the river was lost in any case. Once the African battle ended, they would immediately turn around to attack the river. In this sense, the Battle of Talas is far from an end, but just a starting point.

Li Qingan was very aware of the various complex and dangerous situations he was facing. It seemed to be calm on the surface, but in fact, the murderous intent was hidden. Various crises were like undercurrents in a calm situation. It could be described as internal and external troubles if serious. The court was suspicious. Li Longji had already decided to kill him and used secret means to deal with him. This was an internal worry.

The external trouble is that Dashi is undead of the heart of the river. Dashi is not the Tubo Uighurs, it is a Western empire that is not as powerful as the Tang Dynasty. It cannot be defeated by a battle of Talas. It can be said that the war with Dashi takes several years or even decades to finally find out, but the war is not going on all the time. After a large-scale battle, it will often be calm for a few years. With the calm period of these few years, he can turn back to solve his internal worries.

Among the external troubles, in addition to the strategic enemy of Dashi, there are two traditional tactical enemies, Uighurs and Tubo. They have been involved in Anxi for a long time, so there is no need to mention Tubo. Not long after the Tang Dynasty resumed its rule over Anxi, Tubo sent troops to annex Anxi. Although the four towns in Anxi were later recaptured by Wu Zetian, Tubo's ambitions for Anxi have never stopped. The Battle of Xiaobolu and the Battle of Boxian Town, and after the Anshi Rebellion, Tubo annexed Anxi again. Tubo is a poisonous snake entrenched on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, swallowing and spitting the bright red poisonous letter and staring at the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty with greedily.

The Uighurs were a wolve hidden deep in the grassland. They were also ambitious towards Beiting. When the Tang Dynasty was strong, they clamped their tails and disguised themselves as hunting dogs guarding the house. However, when the Tang Dynasty weakened, their wolf ambitions were exposed without any concealment. After the Anshi Rebellion, they immediately sent troops to occupy Beiting and fought fiercely with Tubo for several years to compete for Anxi Beiting.

This time when the Tongluo tribe moved westward, the Uighurs couldn't help but show their sharp claws and invaded the west of Jinshan, making Li Qing Abe feel alert. Once Anxi and Dashi go to war, will the poisonous snakes and evil wolf watch the battle with an angel-like smile? No, definitely not! They will inevitably open their hideous bloody mouths on Anxi's back and abdomen without hesitation.

This is the cruel reality. The cruel internal and external troubles made Li Qing'an unable to breathe for a moment. If he had not decisively sent troops to Hexi this time, Li Longji would not know how to deal with him, and he would not know how much storm would be caused. Sending troops to Hexi was the key to his breakthrough. At least he could wake Li Longji up, so that he would not dare to act rashly in the open, so he could only secretly act and hit Li Qing'an's thoughts. He had already controlled Li Cong and Feng Changqing. They could not cause any big waves. The distant space of Anxi and Chang'an could allow him to make peace, so that he would have the time and energy to solve the increasingly approaching external troubles.

Byzantium is another key to solving external troubles. If Byzantium can be brought into the game, Dashi's strength will be cut off at least half. He will not have to do his best to deal with Dashi and can divide his troops to defend against Tubo and Uighurs. Therefore, the arrival of Byzantine envoys is extremely important to Li Qing'an.

In the snow all over the sky, Li Qing'an left Liangzhou under the escort of three thousand cavalrymen and rushed back to Saiye. At the same time, he handed over the army to Duan Xiushi, whom he trusted, and he continued to suppress bandits in Hexi.

In just one day and one night, Li Qing'an arrived in Ganzhou. In the evening, he arrived in Qilian City. His people were exhausted. Li Qing'an ordered the camp to rest.

Qilian City is a towering stone fort built on a mountain ridge, backed by the Qilian Mountains, overlooking a plain about a hundred miles wide. On the other end of the plain is the vast Yanzhi Mountain. On the vast plain, the Ruoshui River originating from the Qilian Mountains flows through. More than 30 miles southwest of Qilian City is Dadoubagu. This is the fault zone of the Qilian Mountains. There are several roads that can directly lead to the Qinghai Plateau. It is a shortcut for the Qiang people to travel between the Hexi Corridor and the Qinghai Plateau.

Li Qing'an was worried that the Longyou Army would enter the Hexi Corridor from here and cut off the rear route of the Anxi Army in Liangzhou, so he deployed 8,000 heavy troops in this area.

As night fell, Li Qing'an felt quite restless. He slowly walked to the city wall, and more than a dozen personal soldiers followed behind him. The city wall was cold and the cold wind blew his face like a knife, making his mind clear. He stared into the distance, and the dark Yanzhi Mountain in the distance seemed like a monster lying on the Hexi corridor.

At this time, Li Qing'an's nose cooled down. He raised his head and balls of snowflakes rolled in the air, falling down obliquely, and another night of snow fell.

"General, it's snowing, let's go back!" The personal soldiers whispered behind him.

Li Qingan nodded. He wanted to consider the negotiations with Byzantium, but the news sent by Suoye was too simple, so he could not make a comprehensive judgment, so he could only go back and think about it again.

As soon as he turned around, a sudden sound of horse hooves floated in the wind. Someone came. Li Qingan looked along the sound and saw a team of cavalry coming towards this side in the dark wind and snow.

Li Qing'an was puzzled. He quickly walked down the city wall. At this time, a gatekeeper rushed to report that Ge Shuhan, the governor of Longyou, came to visit.

‘Ge Shuhan!’ Li Qingan was stunned. He thought it was Anxi’s messenger, but he didn’t expect that Ge Shuhan came to visit. What did Ge Shuhan come to him for? How did he know that he was in Qilian Fort? Li Qingan understood after a second thought that Ge Shuhan must have received news from the Dadou Army and chased after him.

"Please see him in my room!"

As soon as Li Qingan returned to the room, his personal soldiers reported outside, "Master Ge Shuhan is here!"

"Please come in!"

The door opened, and a cold wind wrapped around a few snowflakes and rushed into the room. Ge Shuhan's burly figure appeared in the cold wind. His always cheerful laughter became very deep.

"Qing'an, I've been chasing you for a long time!"

They should meet in Chang'an, in Liangzhou City, or in Shanzhou, but they should never meet in this small town at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, which adds a bit of weirdness to their meeting.

Li Qingan didn't greet him warmly. At this time, the etiquette and hypocritical enthusiasm of greetings seemed so redundant. Ge Shuhan obviously did not come to reminisce about the past, nor did he come to protest his invasion of Hexi for no reason. Meeting here means that there will be important things between them to talk about, and this conversation may change a certain pattern of the Tang Dynasty.

"Please sit down!"

Li Qingan pulled a chair and Geshuhan sat down. Li Qingan didn't say anything. He threw a few hard wood into the fireplace. Soon, the flames in the fireplace became bright. Geshuhan silently stared at Li Qingan's face that was reddened by the flames. The thin face had a kind of hardness unique to the Western Regions men. There were two balls of fires in his eyes, and the beating flames burned with a kind of far-sighted wisdom.

Li Qingan slowly raised his head and looked at him, a kind smile appeared on his face. Ge Shuhan suddenly had an enlightenment that Li Qingan already knew what he was going to do.

"When I left, I happened to receive the news from the flying pigeons in the capital. The emperor had issued an order to agree to you to suppress bandits in Hexi, but asked you to return to Anxi in the spring."

Li Qingan shook his head and smiled and said, "Don't wait until spring, I will withdraw my troops and return to Anxi after receiving the official order."

"Are you really willing to retreat?" There was a sarcastic smile in Geshuhan's eyes.

Li Qingan smiled faintly and said, "Why not! I am the governor of Anxi, not the governor of Hexi. What is the purpose of stationing troops in Hexi?"

"Then what is your army stationed in Hexi now?" Geshuhan asked relentlessly.

"I won't say this anymore!"

Li Qingan waved his hand and smiled, "Since the emperor issued the order, I will do it according to the order. Let me tell you! When are you going to Fengxiang to suppress the bandits?"

Li Qing'an's last sentence hit Ge Shuhan's heart. This was his purpose of coming to find Li Qing'an. Fengxiang's suppression of bandits was of course a joke, but it was this joke that Li Qing'an had seen through the crisis situation facing his Ge Shuhan and also saw through his real purpose of coming to find him.

At this time, the crisis faced by Geshuhan is no less than that of Li Qing'an, and even more serious than Li Qing'an. After all, Li Qing'an still has a long distance barrier, inconvenient transportation, and blocked news. Longyou is different. Longyou is close to Guanzhong and the threat to Chang'an is the greatest. If Li Longji temporarily let Anxi go, the next step is very likely to be a knife against Longyou. In fact, he has already taken action. Li Xuan, the King of Xiliang, is now the deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu and the governor of Shanzhou, and the envoy of Zhenwu Army. Not only has he seized half of the military power, but he also serves as the envoy of the Longyou herds and the field envoy of the field envoy of the Longyou group, and also took away the financial power and military power.

Faced with the aggressive Li Xuan, Geshuhan was not prepared enough. More importantly, he lost his troops and generals in Tubo, causing him to lose his voice. Watching Li Xuan seize power step by step made him anxious. Li Qing'an suddenly sent troops to Hexi, and he solved the crisis in Anxi all at once. While Geshuhan was jealous, he also had the idea of ​​seeking help from Li Qing'an, so he rushed to Hexi overnight.

Although it was impossible for Fengxiang to suppress the bandits, Geshuhan knew in his heart that Li Qing'an must have a way to help him. He asked in a deep voice: "Apart from Fengxiang to suppress the bandits, can Qing'an have other good strategies?"

Li Qingan poured him a cup of hot tea and smiled and said, "Why should Brother Geshu be so nervous? The emperor refused to forgive me because I was the one who could not tolerate it after I was built. Brother Geshu has always been the favorite general of the emperor. This battle of Tubo was not completely won, and the emperor could still be appointed as the prince of Xiping County. I advise Brother Geshu to take the initiative to give up Longyou and become an official in Beijing. Even if he can't enter the Political Affairs Hall, he can at least serve as the chief official of the fifth supervisor of the Nine Temples. Even if a real man cannot defend the country and pacify the world, if he can govern the country and safeguard the people, I think it would be a waste of time."

Geshuhan lowered his head and said nothing. His aide Gao Shi also advised him like this, but Geshuhan knew very well that if he handed over military power, Li Longji would never let him go with his cruelty and viciousness. Others were not clear about the reason why Wang Zhongsi was killed back then, but his brother Shuhan still didn't know? It was precisely in order for his brother Shuhan to be able to sit firmly in Longyou that he finally killed Wang Zhongsi. Similarly, Li Longji would also kill his brother Shuhan to prevent future troubles in order to make his son sit firmly in Longyou. Everyone in Longyou can surrender, but his brother Shuhan cannot hand over power.

Brother Shuhan looked at Li Qing'an with a complicated expression. At this time, he found that Li Qing'an had a smile on his face. He suddenly realized that he immediately stood up and walked to the door to kneel down. He said in a deep voice: "My brother Shuhan swears to the sky that I came to find Li Qing'an today to ask for help sincerely. If I have his own ideas in my heart, God cannot tolerate me, and I will not let my brother Shuhan's descendants."

Li Qingan hurriedly stepped forward and helped him up, patted his hand and smiled, "Brother Brother Shu, don't have to do this, I can trust you."

Geshuhan also smiled and said, "I swear to make my heart clear!"

The two sat down again. At this time, Li Qing'an picked up the teacup and said slowly: "How is the relationship between Brother Geshu and Pugu Huaien?"

Geshuhan also heard that Pugu Huaien fled into the Uighurs for disobeying military discipline. He thought about it and seemed to have thought of something, but he couldn't see it clearly. He said, "I had a very good relationship with Pugu Huaien. At the beginning, I wanted to keep him in Longyou, but he couldn't bear to give up Shuofang Army, so he went to Anxi. Later, we had letters and exchanged letters. He wanted to ask me to transfer back to Longyou. Later, I heard that something happened to him."

"I also heard that he and Brother Geshu have a very good relationship, but they cannot be tolerated under military law."

"I can understand this, I don't mean to blame Qing'an."

Geshuhan didn't know what Li Qing'an suddenly mentioned Pugu Huai'en's intention, so he didn't say much, waiting for Li Qing'an's following.

Li Qingan smiled and continued, "I heard that Pugu Huai'en was doing well in the Uighurs. I heard that his daughter married the son of Gele Khan. He was named Zuo Khan and became the chief of the Uighur Pugu tribe. He was very glorious, but he hated me deeply and deeply hated the Tang Dynasty. He repeatedly persuaded Gele Khan to send troops to the Tang Dynasty. Of course, if Gele Khan sent troops to the Tang Dynasty, it would be targeted at Beiting, but if there was any way to make the Uighurs change the direction, from attacking the west to attacking the south, I think Brother Geshu's crisis will be solved."

Ge Shuhan was stunned when he heard this. Of course, he understood what Li Qing'an meant. The two military governors with the greatest crisis in front of him were Ge Shuhan Longyou and An Sishun. Li Qing'an meant that Li Longji would solve Shuofang first. If the Uighur invaded Shuofang in the south, he could just use the opportunity to dispatch troops and generals to seize An Sishun's military power. How could the Uighurs change direction to invade Shuofang in the south? This is why Li Qing'an asked him about his relationship with Pugu Huai'en, and let Pugu Huai'en work hard in the middle.

Li Qingan continued: "After solving An Sishun, the next goal of the emperor must be An Lushan, and then it will be Brother Geshu's turn, but I think that at that time, the situation had changed. The emperor should be calling Brother Geshu to quell the An Lushan Rebellion."

Geshuhan's heart was in a mess. He and the An brothers had a deep hatred. Of course, he hoped that An Sishun would be in trouble first, but letting him collude with Pugu Huaien to attack the Tang Dynasty seemed to be against morality, which made him a little hesitant. Li Qing'an seemed to know his thoughts and smiled and said, "Brother Geshu, don't worry, the Uighurs cannot become a climate. With me threatening them in the west, they dare not really invade the Tang Dynasty. They just wanted to put pressure on the court to save the face lost when they sent envoys to the capital last year and let the court compensate them for their losses. I know."

Of course, Ge Shuhan understood that Li Qing'an was the real beneficiary of this strategy, but letting Li Longji deal with Shuofang first, kill An Sishun, and force An Lushan to rebel is indeed in line with his Ge Shuhan's interests. It will cause trouble to the north and lead Shuofang to the north, which is the best way to solve his Ge Shuhan's crisis.

He thought about it for a while, suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly: "What if the emperor promoted the Longyou Army to support Shuofang and took the opportunity to seize our military power?"

Li Qing'an narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "Do you think the emperor will deal with the two military governors at the same time? Of course he will transfer the Longyou Army, but he can only transfer the army of Li Xuan, the King of Xiliang. Once Li Xuan leaves, isn't Longyou the world of Brother Geshu?"

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Chapter completed!