mtl008 Chapter 202: Anxi White-haired Soldiers
Chapter 202: Anxi White-haired Soldiers
Li Shimin wanted to fight a battle first to satisfy his desire, but Li Chengqian disagreed.
"No, Liu Rengui and the Silla army are still attacking Goguryeo's rear. If we launch an attack now, Yeon Gaesomun will probably collapse directly. You know, the enemy has an army of more than 30.
If these troops retreat back to the Yalu River, it will pose a great threat to Liu Rengui and his men, so it is better to continue to contain them."
Li Shimin asked, "Does Yeon Gaesomun not want to come back to help, and just watch the domestic situation in Goguryeo deteriorate?"
Li Jing explained: "They can't go back, either they defeat us head-on or they surrender.
Judging from the posture Yeon Gaesomun is showing now, it is obvious that he wants to confront us head-on, and is still hoping to defeat us before returning to resolve the domestic situation."
Li Shimin said disdainfully: "It's a naive idea, but Yeon Gaesomun is also a top figure. Surrendering without even fighting is definitely not his style!"
"That's it, you guys take some time to rest, and go down!"
Changsun Wuji, Pei Xingjian and others went down to rest.
But Li Shimin didn't feel tired at all. He looked at his eldest son and continued to ask, "You wrote that this time we traveled to Anxi after the An-Shi Rebellion. Do we need to prepare anything?"
"It's already been prepared. We will send over a batch of composite crossbows, as well as a large amount of food and gunpowder. There's not much we can do, after all, we only have three days.
But what can we achieve by holding on for three days? In the absence of reinforcements, even if Tubo is temporarily repelled by us, they can still make a comeback afterwards.
You must know that under your "people-friendly" policy, Tibet had already developed into a super empire capable of competing with the Tang Dynasty.
If the An Lushan Rebellion had not broken out in the Tang Dynasty, Tubo might not have dared to act recklessly. But there are no ifs. All this is the fault of you, the Heavenly Khan!"
Li Shimin said embarrassedly: "I have already made amends, hasn't history changed?"
Li Chengqian sighed: "Who can tell? Maybe the historical time and space we traveled through will develop along this line, or maybe it will still be the original time and space. Or even if we have killed Songtsen Gampo, those technologies still remain in Tubo..."
Li Shimin said sadly: "Is there no way to save Anxi after the Anshi Rebellion?"
Li Chengqian then became serious: "Yes, the only way is to open up the Hexi Corridor to reconnect the Tang Dynasty with the Western Regions, or to completely destroy the Tubo forces in the Western Regions in a war, but we only have three days, can we do it?
Was the imperial court capable of opening up the Hexi Corridor after the Anshi Rebellion?
It's too difficult...
Therefore, we must come up with something that will convince future kings and send it to Chang'an in the future, so that the Tang Dynasty can stand up again. Only in this way can we solve the problem fundamentally. "
Li Shimin thought: "You mean gunpowder, and the identities of our ancestors?"
Li Chengqian stood up and said, "The identities of our ancestors may be of some use, but we don't have time to return to Chang'an in the future, so it won't be of much use."
"That's gunpowder. You must leave the formula for the Anxi soldiers!"
Li Chengqian nodded heavily: "Not only should it be left for the Anxi soldiers, but it should also be sent to Chang'an.
As long as we have gunpowder technology, we can not only temporarily repel the siege of Tubo, but also use it to intimidate the city-states in the Western Regions and make them regroup under the Tang Dynasty.
With the assistance of the Western Regions troops and the power of gunpowder, it is not difficult to defend Anxi. Then we can let them contact Chang'an and even open up the Hexi Corridor.
But this is just my idea, I want to realize it..."
Li Chengqian sighed. There are too many variables. It’s difficult!
Li Shimin nodded and said, "That's settled. Do you want to take some of those compound crossbows and Mo Dao with you?"
"We can bring some with us, but it won't be very useful. We can't replenish the arrows we consume, so the main thing is food and grass. As long as we have enough food and grass, we can recruit Han people from the Western Regions as soldiers, or even vassal soldiers..."
The father and son discussed until late at night, and Li Shimin went downstairs to rest.
Li Chengqian was the only one left in the tent.
But he couldn't sleep, recalling the tragic Anxi Baifa soldiers recorded in history!
China has no shortage of heroes, either now or in the past.
Heroes are always there, but those heroes of the past are slowly being forgotten by the world.
The prosperous Tang Dynasty is an era that all Chinese people dream about.
It came step by step from the Li family in Longyou, and forged a splendid period in Chinese history during the heyday when all nations came to congratulate it.
People living in the Tang Dynasty never thought that the Tang Dynasty would decline.
The people of the Tang Dynasty at that time were proud, and they firmly believed that they could control everything in their own hands.
They disdained the monopoly of power by one nation and gave anyone who came to the Tang Dynasty the right to become an official.
It is an all-encompassing pride, a domineering demeanor that is above everything and freely controls the wind and clouds.
However, there is no empire that will always be prosperous in this world, and the sun will eventually set.
No matter how strong a heart is, it cannot withstand the devastation of betrayal, and even a powerful country like the Tang Dynasty is no exception.
It was the afternoon of December 755, 12 AD.
On that day, as the yellow sand rolled, a somewhat bloated man who was guarding the border stood up and roared the horn that caused the Tang Dynasty to decline.
The Anshi Rebellion broke out.
During this turmoil, many heroes emerged to save the world, but also many horrific tragedies occurred.
After seven years and two months, it was finally quelled on February 763, 2 AD.
Many heroes were buried in this turmoil. The protagonist of the story of the White-haired Soldiers was such an army stationed in the four towns of Anxi.
The commander of this army was named Guo Xin, the nephew of the famous general Guo Ziyi. His father, Guo Youming, was a half-brother of Guo Ziyi, who ended the turmoil.
A family of generals produces a tiger son. The young Guo Xin watched his elders go to the battlefield again and again, and listened to the stories of their elders returning home. The seed of wanting to be a soldier and serve the country was planted in his heart early on.
During the reign of Emperor Suzong of Tang, Tubo repeatedly invaded the territory of the Tang Empire.
In the first year of Shangyuan (760), the young Guo Xin was ordered to embark on a journey to inspect important border areas such as Hexi and Anxi in the Western Regions.
Later, he served as the governor of the Four Anxi Towns, responsible for guarding the four military towns of Qiuci, Yanqi, Khotan and Shule, and guarding the most marginal territory for the Tang Dynasty.
As a young man, Guo Xin dreamed of leading the most elite Anxi Army of the Tang Dynasty to establish his own achievements. However, at that time, he might never have imagined that the price to be paid for that achievement would be so heavy.
Although there were invasions from Tubo, the Tang Dynasty had elite soldiers and good generals. How could the foreign races ever set foot inside China's gate?
However, unexpected events suddenly occurred and An Lushan raised the flag of rebellion. The Tang Dynasty, which had been swaying in the wind and rain for decades, finally began to collapse from the inside.