mtl008 Chapter 203 Although the territory of our Tang Dynasty is vast, we cannot lose even an inch!
Chapter 203 Although the territory of our Tang Dynasty is vast, we cannot lose even an inch!
As the national crisis ravaged the Central Plains, batches of Anxi elite troops had no choice but to temporarily turn eastward and rush to the national crisis.
After receiving the order, batches of soldiers went to the Central Plains, leaving the young man Guo Xin and other Tang generals to continue guarding the border of the dynasty.
Both those who returned to their homeland to quell the rebellion and those who stayed behind thought that this was just a minor disturbance.
But no one expected that this time they were truly standing at a node in the history of the Tang Dynasty.
The war intensified, and more and more soldiers left.
Finally, only Guo Xin's last troop was left here.
The hungry wolf of Tubo was watching with eager eyes, and the Anxi Protectorate with only one troop was like a piece of tender fat meat that made him unable to stop.
Tubo first began a harassment tactic, fighting and retreating, trying to find out the strength of the Protectorate.
Guo Xin had no choice but to accept the challenge, and he had to fight with a tough attitude.
He knew that the only reason Tubo had not launched a large-scale attack was because of the remaining power of the Tang Dynasty. No one believed that the Tang Dynasty would be so weak that it was unable to take care of its borders.
Young Guo Xin didn't believe it either. He looked back at Zhongyuan, his eyes full of confusion.
After fighting again and again, Tubo finally determined that this was not a trap set by the Han people, but a real piece of fat meat, and they began to act.
First, he sent troops to surround the Protectorate to cut off the possibility of support from the Central Plains.
The Tibetans' deployment of troops made Guo Xin realize that there were only two options left for them.
One is to break out before the encirclement is formed. The Tang Dynasty is now preoccupied with its own affairs, so it is very likely that they will not suffer. The worst result is that they will be sent as the vanguard to quell the rebellion.
The second is to stay and guard until the last moment.
In this way, there is a great possibility that it would be buried together with this protectorate under the attack of the Tibetans.
He wanted to discuss it with others, but when he walked out of the tent, all he saw were pairs of confused eyes.
He looked around again and took a look at the huge Protectorate. This was the real frontier of the Tang Dynasty. It was the frontier they had guarded for generations. Was he going to give it to the barbarians in his hands?
No, although the territory of our Great Tang is vast, not an inch of it can be lost.
In this way, he and his men began to embark on the road of perseverance.
Year after year, day after day, fifteen years passed.
The young man in his prime back then has grown into a middle-aged man.
It is true that the soldiers guarding the border fight bloody battles every year in tragic and heroic ways.
It is true that the soldiers guarding the border grow from having white hair to having hair covered with snow.
The loyalty of border guards who protect the motherland throughout their lives is real.
It is also true that the Tang Dynasty abandoned them to fend for themselves on the border of the Western Regions...
In the second year of Jianzhong (781), the border defense forces led by Guo Xin finally established contact with the interior. When he learned that the Central Plains dynasty was stable, he hurriedly sent envoys to the Central Plains.
No one knew how the envoys managed to reach the capital city called Chang'an step by step under the blockade of Tubo.
When the messenger appeared before the then emperor Emperor Dezong of Tang, dusty and in tattered clothes, he cried and he also laughed.
The messenger took off the red feather on his head that symbolized military intelligence, stood up straight, and shouted out the words he had been holding back all the way: "Hexi is here! Anxi is here! All the soldiers are here. None of them surrendered to the enemy, and none of them betrayed the country!"
The emperor burst into tears on the spot. He didn't expect that Hexi and Anxi were there!
He couldn't imagine how those soldiers had held out for fifteen years.
The ministers present were so choked with sobs that they could not speak, and their cries lingered in the hall for a long time.
But at that time, the Tang Dynasty no longer had the strength to go to war with Tubo.
An emperor is still an emperor after all, and no matter how strong personal feelings are, it is impossible to interfere with his decisions.
The messenger left. When he walked out of Chang'an, he turned around and took a last look at the city. His tears fell on the ground, making a ticking sound.
He didn't know how to face the brothers guarding the border, and the ticking sound continued all the way.
Upon hearing that the messenger had returned, the Anxi soldiers hurried to greet him.
The envoy brought two pieces of news this time. One was the emperor's commendation to them. All the border soldiers were promoted seven levels in a row. Guo Xin was appointed as the Grand Protector of Anxi and was conferred the title of Prince of Wuwei.
The second is...
"Where are the reinforcements? Where are the reinforcements?"
Faced with the questioning of his comrades, the returning messenger could only lower his head, as if he wanted to bury himself in the ground.
The bright eyes dimmed, and the hands that could hold weapons and fight the Tubo people to the death began to tremble.
They are desperate.
One day in 808 AD, the wind was cold and the snow was raging. This day finally came.
It was the most tragic day for this defending army.
Isolated and helpless, the Anxi defenders were besieged by the Tubo army in a fortress in Qiuci.
In the desperate situation, General Guo Xin, who was already gray-haired, drew his sword, raised his arms and shouted, and the soldiers responded, shouting and killing, shaking the sky.
The old soldiers and the wounded soldiers also helped each other to stand up. They seemed to have returned to their youthful days, holding broken swords and knives, and fighting bloody battles with the Tibetan army that rushed to the top of the city.
The city walls were filled with blood.
The miracle did not happen in the end. Due to the huge disparity between the enemy and us, all the Anxi soldiers died tragically and none of them survived!
They waited for half a century, but in the end, no reinforcements came from their hometown of Chang'an.
However, at the last moment of their lives, they still chose to use their flesh and blood to defend the territory of the Tang Dynasty to the death.
That day, the blue sky was our witness, the mountains and rivers were our witnesses.
The Anxi defenders finally did it: the city was full of white-haired soldiers, and none of them betrayed the Tang Dynasty!
How magnificent! !
The time when Li Chengqian and others traveled through time was the last day of 808 AD.
How could he, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty who understood the history of later generations, not calm down?
I tossed and turned all night and couldn't fall asleep.
Feeling bored, he got up and left the tent, looking at the quiet camp outside.
When the soldiers who were on night patrol saw him, they were all stunned, and then saluted solemnly.
Their eyes were filled with admiration for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. There was light in everyone's eyes, and a belief that they would win!
The Tang Dynasty at that time was like the rising sun, but who could have imagined that a hundred years later, at its most glorious and splendid moment, it would fall to the bottom overnight!
He must stop the tragedy from happening, he must!
At this moment, Li Chengqian saw Li Shimin standing outside the tent next door, also in a daze!
Obviously, he was also thinking about the history of Anxi Baifa's army.
The father and son looked at each other and both smiled bitterly.
At this time, Li Jing on the other side seemed to sense something and also walked out of the tent.
Including Changsun Wuji, Pei Xingjian and others who had also read history books, they all walked out of their tents when they heard the noise.
It was obvious that they were all unable to sleep and were thinking about how to deal with the situation in Anxi a hundred years later.