Chapter 517: Tubo Chess Game (Part 1)

The Tubo Bodong City, which is the Shigatse region in later generations, is actually just a tribal concentration. It is about 500 miles away from the Tubo capital, Lusie City, with a low altitude. It is flat and the Zang River (Yalung Zangbo River) is like a jade belt. Large areas of pure sapphire lakes can be seen everywhere. Most of the rivers and lakes are plateau meadows, with cattle and sheep in herds, and the land is fertile. The meadows are accompanied by fields of barley and wheat. This is also the most important grain production area in the Tubo region.

There are many tribes on both sides of the river, covering a vast area in a besieged city made of earth. The city tents are one after another, with extremely strict guards. On several towering posts, several Tang troops were patrolling back and forth. This is the temporary garrison of the Tang army expedition, and eight thousand Tang troops were stationed here.

Feng Changqing led 8,000 Tang troops from India to Nipola and entered Tubo. After nearly a month of difficult journey, the army arrived at the Tubo Bodong City. At this time, the 300,000 main forces of the Tubo army almost all left the local plateau. Less than 20,000 troops were concentrated in the area of ​​Lushecheng, while other tribes and small towns were either old, weak, women and children, or ordinary herdsmen, and no other army.

The Tang army's descending from the sky caused panic among all the Tubo tribes, and the elderly, weak, women and children fled their homes one after another. Some men temporarily organized a confrontation with the Tang army, but due to the huge gap in strength and their own battles, the Tubo temporary army was defeated in one battle, with heavy casualties and heavy casualties.

The Tang army swept all the way and reached the Bodong territory. At this time, the Tang army was also very tired after a month of plateau trekking and fighting. Seeing that the land in this area was fertile and sufficient supplies, Feng Changqing ordered the Tang army to station on the spot and rest, waiting for news of the scouts.

That afternoon, Feng Changqing was receiving a special guest in the Tang army's tent. The guest was named Mozangzhi, who was the host of the Tubo Jiapu Temple. The reason why he was special was that he was also a Han native of Longyou. He was captured by the Tubo army at the age of 20 and was slaved by the Tubo army. Three years later, he fled because he missed his hometown and almost died. He was rescued by the Lama of Jiapu Temple. Since then, he became a monk. Later, he went to Sangye Temple to worship Padmasambhava, the founder of the Red Cult of Tantric Buddhism, and devoted himself to studying Tantric Buddhism. Thirty years have passed. Because of his profound Buddhism, he has won countless believers and has become a generation of Tantric Buddhism masters.

This time, the Tang army suddenly came from Nipola, which frightened the Tubo people and fled to major temples to take refuge. Jiapu Temple also hosted tens of thousands of refugees. In order to save the disaster of the Tubo people, Mo Zangzhi stood up and came to visit Feng Changqing in person.

Feng Changqing's closest grandfather in his life was also a Buddhist believer. Influenced by his grandfather, Feng Changqing has always been courteous to Buddhists, and the arrival of Mo Zangzhi also made him particularly respectful.

The two exchanged a few greetings. Feng Changqing heard that Mo Zangzhi was once a Han Chinese, so he asked curiously: "Where is the master from?"

Although Mo Zangzhi had been in Tubo for many years, he did not completely forget Chinese. He put his hands together and smiled: "If you go back to the general, the old monk's ancestral home is from Puzhou, Hedong. He moved west with his father since he was a child. He was captured by Tubo at the age of 20. Thirty-three years have passed in a flash."

"Haha! What a coincidence. I am also from Puzhou, Hedong, and I am from Yishi County, Puzhou. Where is the master?"

"I'm from Jie County."

Unexpectedly, Feng Changqing was his fellow countryman, and Mo Zangzhi had a hope in his heart, so he sincerely begged: "The Tang and Tibet have always been the country of nephews and uncles. Tubo was deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty. Princess Wencheng and Princess Jincheng successively married Tubo to the west, bringing advanced culture and friendship to the Tubo. Although the relationship between the Tang and Tibet deteriorated in the past few decades, this was done by the upper class of Tubo and had nothing to do with the people of Tubo. I hope that the general Feng would be merciful. If you let these ordinary people go, the Buddha would be grateful to you."

Feng Changqing's face gradually became gloomy and he said unhappily: "I would like to ask the master, if my Tang people were hunted by Tubo cavalry, would the master go to the Tubo camp to dissuade the Tubo generals?"

Mo Zangzhi sighed and said, "The people of the Tang Dynasty on the border of Helong were deeply suffering from military disasters. Don't I know that I was plundered by the Tubo people, and I am a cattle and a horse, and will be a slave forever. I also advised Zanpu Chizudezan to treat the Tang people well. Although it was not effective, I was determined to save the people. Among the three thousand monks in my Jiapu Temple, at least more than 300 Han slaves were transferred to Buddha by me, and there were tens of thousands of Han believers. If possible, I would accommodate more Han people who were unfortunate."

Feng Changqing's face calmed down a little, and said, "The master is compassionate and devoted himself to saving all living beings. It is admirable. The Tang army is not a butcher. But now the Tang and Turkish countries are in a state of war, and there is no eyebrow. Besides, the Tubo people themselves are all soldiers, so it is difficult for me to separate the military and civilians. It is inevitable that ordinary people will be affected. If the master wants to save ordinary people, he should be more logical and advised the important Tubo officials to surrender as soon as possible. In this way, ordinary people will naturally not suffer from military disasters."

Mo Zangzhi couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "The general doesn't know. I came from a logic. Although I didn't see the important officials, several of my believers told me that there were differences within the Tubo people, including wars and peace, and the two sides had no disputes. If the general could contact the other party and reconcile, maybe both of them could reach a reconciliation intention."

This time, Feng Changqing marched into Tubo and received Li Qing'an's instructions in advance, either killing all the Tubo people and completely eliminating the hidden dangers of the plateau, or eliminating the Tubo people's army, eliminating the Bon religion, and changing from Buddhism to the country. The living Buddha became the leader of the Tubo people, instead of Zanpu, the Tang army was stationed in more permanently, making Tubo completely a subordinate country of the Tang Dynasty.

This is Li Qing'an's big game of Tubo. Half of it was playing chess in Tochar, and the other half made it on the plateau. The final goal was only one, completely destroying the biggest border trouble of the Tang Dynasty. Since the time when Feng Changqing was sent to Xinde, Li Qing'an began to set up this game, and now it has gradually reached the end.

Feng Changqing himself preferred Li Qing'an's first plan, which was to kill all the Tubo people. At the beginning, he did the same. From the beginning, he climbed over the snow-capped mountains and entered the Mang Domain, the first tribe of Tubo, he raised his butcher knife high and slaughtered all the way, with corpses everywhere and no one around thousands of miles. However, after entering the hinterland of Tubo, he found that it was unrealistic to kill all the Tubo people. Every time he went to a tribe, he found that the Tubo people had already escaped, and the cattle and sheep were taken away, and the food was burned, which made his supplies difficult. Moreover, because of his massacre, more and more Tubo tribes began to unite to resist him, and several of his scouts were missing.

Feng Changqing also began to realize that his troops were not strong enough, and it was not realistic to kill all the Tubo people. He gradually gave up the first plan and turned to the second direction. In layman's terms, it was to pull out all the feathers of the Tubo people and turn them from plateau eagles to plateau native chickens.

However, when Feng Changqing didn't know where to start, the arrival of this Tubo Buddhist master pointed out a way for him. There was a dispute among the Tubo people, which opened up a way for him to realize the second plan.

Thinking of this, Feng Changqing raised his eyebrows and asked tentatively: "Who should I contact? I mean I wish to reconcile."

Mo Zangzhi pondered for a moment, and then said, "After the expedition of Zanpu, Tubo, handed over the internal affairs to the Dalun Nangdongzan and Shangchen family. These two are great theories. They represent the two major forces in Tubo, the Naang family and the Shang family. The relationship has never been very good, and it can even be said to be hostile. Among them, Nangdongzan strongly advocates negotiations with the Tang army, while Shangchen family advocates resolute resistance. Both of them have very clear attitudes, so the generals came to Bodong, but the logic still did not respond, but they were stalemate."

"So that's it. Then who among them has the military power?"

"There should be all, the Shangchen clan has the upper hand, with 12,000 troops, while Nang Dongzan has only 6,000 troops in his hands, which is at a disadvantage."

Feng Changqing saw that the Tubo monk answered everything, and even the number of Tubo troops was revealed to him, which was really beyond his expectations. He couldn't help but show a sarcastic smile on his face and said, "Master tell me such important information, aren't you afraid that the Tubo people will tell you to treason?"

Mo Zangzhi smiled helplessly and put his hands together and said, "I just want to save lives and believe that peace is the most important thing. As for what kind of concessions the important Tubo officials should make, I can't control it. General Feng, I have already said that I have left."

Feng Changqing also clasped his hands and smiled: "Master, walk slowly, I will remember what the master said, harmony is the most important thing."

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Just the second day after Mo Zangzhi left the Tang army's garrison, a group of more than a dozen knights rushed from a distance, with dust flying, and gradually approaching Bodong Tucheng.

"stop!"

On the sentry tower, the Tang army sentry shouted loudly in Tubo language, and then a row of arrows shot up, nailed to the path, blocking the way for the team to advance. A follower turned over and dismounted and quickly stepped forward and shouted: "Please tell the chief general of the Tang army that the Tubo talks and Nang Dongzan came to ask for a meeting."

"You guys wait!"

The sentry went to report, and everyone stood by the roadside. A fat middle-aged man in the middle was the Tubo Dalu and Nangdang. He came from Luoshe City. The current situation in Tubo made him worried. The situation in Tochari was unclear. Dabolu was occupied by the Tang army and cut off the connection between Tubo's local area and Tochari. The battle in Longyou was also in a stalemate. Zada ​​Lugong was dragged by the Tang army and was in an unfavorable situation. There are more than 18,000 soldiers in Luoshe, but these soldiers are all old and weak, and all the elite troops were taken away by Zanpu.

Nang Xiedazan was very worried that once the Tang army defeated the last army of Luosai, the Tubo people on the plateau would become a flock of sheep and let the Tang army slaughter it. Nang Dongzan hoped to reach a political agreement with the Tang army, make certain concessions, and retain the last lifeline of Tubo.

He considered this, but others disagreed. There were differences in the strategies of the Tubo senior management to deal with the Tang army. Another great scholar, Shang Chen, advocated that the whole nation would fight the invasion of the Tang army with all their might, and would never agree to reach a shameful agreement with the Tang army.

The two argued over this issue for many days and were still difficult to compromise. Nang Dongzan was afraid that the Tang army would advance eastward to destroy the logic, so he rushed to discuss with the Tang army leader to find a political way to resolve the Tubo crisis.

Nang Dongzan waited patiently outside the siege. Time passed little by little, and there was no news about the leader of the Tang army, so he began to get anxious.

At this moment, the gate of Bodong Tucheng opened, and a Tang army officer came out and said, "General Feng asked Tubo Da Lun to enter the city, and the rest were waiting outside."

Several followers were about to go up to fight for it, but Nang Dongzan stopped them and said, "You are waiting outside and don't make trouble!"

He walked into Tucheng alone with several Tang troops. Along the way, the Tang troops lined up to greet each other. They set their bows and arrows, their swords were unsheathed, and their spears were sharp, and their eyes were staring at him, making Nang Dongzan feel uneasy. When he entered the big tent, he saw that there were swords and axes on both sides of the big tent, and there was a murderous aura in the big tent. In the middle, there was a general about fifty years old, black, thin and short, but he had an iron armor and silver helmet, and a battle knife was placed horizontally on the table in front of him. He was quite majestic. Nang Dongzan felt nervous and hurriedly stepped forward to give a tribute, saying in a less fluent Chinese: "Tubo Dalu Nang Dongzan meets the general."

Feng Changqing did not ask him to sit down, but said coldly: "I wonder if you are here to issue a letter of war or to discuss peace?"

"I'm here to negotiate peace!"

"I'm sorry, I don't want to negotiate peace, someone comes!"

The knife and axe around him agreed, Feng Changqing pointed at the nang Dongzan and shouted sternly: "Put this person out, cut off the head of the person."

Five or six Tang army men came up and dragged Nang Dongzan outwards, and soon dragged them to the door of the tent. Nang Dongzan shouted anxiously: "General, please listen to me, it's not too late to kill me again."

"you say!"

Several Tang soldiers stopped dragging but did not let him go. Nang Dongzan had a chance to breathe, and could not remember what to say in Chinese. He was so anxious that he said in Tubo: "General, there are millions of people in Tubo, you can't kill them all, and the general should understand this. There is nothing we can't talk about. If the negotiations cannot be reached, you can kill me to sacrifice the flag again, and I will die without any complaints."

A soldier next to him translated his words to Feng Changqing, and Feng Changqing nodded and said, "Let him come back first!"

The knife and axe driver let go of Nang Dongzan. At this time, Nang Dongzan's back was already wet. He stepped forward and bowed, "Thank you, General, for giving me a chance."

Feng Changqing ordered someone to put on a chair and said lightly: "Sit down and talk!"

"Thank you!"

Nang Dongzan sat down, and Feng Changqing said calmly: "I will introduce myself first. I am the deputy envoy of the Anxi Jiedu and the governor of Xinde of the Tang Dynasty. My name is Feng Changqing. Have you heard of it?"

"Ah! It turns out that he is a general. I heard of it many years ago and have long been honored by the general's reputation."

"Hmph! I'm afraid I've been recognizing my bad reputation for a long time!"

Nang Dongzan showed a look of embarrassment on his face, but he couldn't speak. Feng Changqing said again: "I am just carrying out the orders of General Zhao, and there is not much room for concessions. I hope you can understand this."

Nang Dongzan took out the handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his face, saying, "I know, I'm here with sincerity, and I hope the general can give me a chance."

"Okay! Then I will tell you the bottom line of negotiations. If you want to negotiate with the Tang army, the Tubo people must first remove their troops and leave no more than 500 soldiers."

Nang Dongzan was stunned. Isn’t it equivalent to surrender? Then what else can be discussed? He stuttered: “General, how can this be done? Tubo disarmed, will it be destroyed? Besides, Zamp is still in Tochar. To disarm, we must get his orders. We do not have this power.”

Nang Dongzan was just a peace talks, not a surrender. His ultimate goal was the same as Shang Chen's clan. He wanted to hold the Tang army back from Tocharo. Unexpectedly, the premise of the peace talks between the Tang army was to dismantle the army. What else would he talk about if the army was dismantled? Isn't that a trick with the tiger?

He was about to refuse, but he saw Feng Changqing's cold eyes. He suddenly remembered what he said just now. He couldn't agree to take him to sacrifice the flag. He was sweating all over his back. He forced himself to bite the words he wanted to say and turned a corner: "General Feng, I will tell you that I only have five thousand troops in my hand. I can promise the general to disband my army, but the other troops are in the hands of the Dalun Shangchen family. I need to talk to him first and try to convince him."

Feng Changqing understood in his heart, and without saying it, he stood up and waved his hand and said, "Send out the guests!"

He turned around and left, saying that he was sending off the passengers, but in fact he was driving them out. Several Tang soldiers swung wooden sticks and beat Nangdongzan, "Get out!"

Nang Dongzan ran away in a panic and fled. Although he encountered rudeness, he at least saved his life. He did not dare to stay. He ran out of Tucheng and turned over and shouted, "Go away!"

The group rushed eastward. At this time, Feng Changqing appeared on a wooden building and looked at Nang Dongzan and his party and walked away. A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. He was right just now. If he wanted to sit down and talk to the Tubo people, he would first disband the Tubo people's army. If they refused to disband by themselves, then the Tang army would come to help them disband.

"Transfer my order, and the army will immediately set off and march towards Luoshecheng!"

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Eight thousand Tang army cavalry went on an expedition again, without any guide. They just walked along the Zang River. They had no military rations and logistics and plundered all the way. The Tubo tribes organized resistance one after another, but their resistance brought them disaster. Feng Changqing issued a strict order, and everyone who resisted would be killed!

Although Feng Changqing indulged soldiers and even if the Tang army raped women, he turned a blind eye, he had an iron principle, that is, he should not plunder women and livestock. Women and livestock will become burdens for the Tang army and will affect the upcoming battle.

After a distance of 500 miles, the Tang army did not advance or divide the troops, but walked in preparation. They walked for six days and plundered and massacred along the way. Tens of thousands of young and strong Tubos were killed. The blood of the Tubo people dyed Zanghe red. That afternoon, the Tang army brigade arrived at Wuyu Tucheng, about thirty miles away from Lusue City, and Feng Changqing ordered the troops to be stationed on the spot.

Although he did not get the Tubo army, Feng Changqing knew that the Tubo people would never let him attack, so a hard battle was about to break out.

"I passed my order that all soldiers must not remove their armor, weapons must not be separated, horses must not leave their bodies, bury pots and make rice, camp, gather to gamble, make noise, and leave the brigade. Those who violate the order shall be killed!"

Feng Changqing's judgment was correct. Twenty miles away, a Tubo army of nearly 20,000 people was coming quickly.

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Chapter completed!