"Behead?" Wang Zhaotang's expression changed drastically: "General Manager Guo wants to kill my head? That shouldn't happen, right?"
"No?" The colleague snorted coldly: "Didn't you notice when you just came in? Everyone in the tent was in high spirits, except Mr. Guo, whose face was ugly? Have you ever thought about why?"
"You don't look good? I didn't pay much attention! Why? Didn't the former army win the battle?"
"Hey! Old Wang, Old Wang, do you really have no eyesight? Mr. Guo's father was a veteran who followed the late emperor and fought against Dou Jiande. He was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He was admitted to the official position by the person who passed the test in Hongwen Hall. Waiting for the emperor, serving the emperor; and what about Mr. Xue? Although he is also the Xue family in Hedong, his family has already fallen into decline in his area. He is still a white man in his thirties. Do you think Mr. Guo can be willing to submit to such a superior? "
"What else can you do if you don't want to give in? This is the military!" Wang Zhaotang said.
"So you don't understand? Of course you and I can only obey orders, but who are they? Can you take General Manager Xue seriously? Besides, General Manager Xue is not a fuel-efficient lamp. He is the general manager of an army, but he and himself Ashina Daozhen went to lead the front army and let Mr. Guo lead the rear army and baggage. Do you think this is normal?"
"This -" Wang Zhaotang was dumbfounded. Normally, the commander of an army would personally lead the central army or the rear army, while the deputy general would lead the side army or the forward army. Like Xue Rengui, he would personally lead the front army and let Guo Daifeng take charge of the rear army and baggage. There really aren't many. He thought for a moment and then said: "Perhaps General Manager Xue has his own reasons. How do our subordinates know so much? Besides, in a dangerous place like Qinghai, it is not appropriate for General Manager Guo to command the front army, right?"
"Is it appropriate to let him command the rear army?" A colleague sneered: "Old Wang, this is not appropriate or inappropriate. After General Manager Xue arranges it like this, Mr. Guo will no longer think about making meritorious deeds. At least that's what Mr. Guo thinks. of!"
"Is he unhappy because of this?" Wang Zhaotang suddenly realized.
"What else could it be for? General Manager Xue asked him to garrison in Dafeiling. If the former army wins like this, what credit can Young Master Guo get in return? He can only be said to be loyal, diligent and prudent, with perfect luck, right? He Is this why you went through so much hardship and left Chang'an?"
"Isn't that good? After all, the battle is won!" Wang Zhaotang said with a wry smile: "It's good if you can save your life when you go out to fight. There are still many opportunities to make meritorious deeds!"
"Old Wang, what you said is wrong again. It's good to be able to save our lives in the war. It's us, the soldiers below, not Mr. Guo and Mr. Xue who are in charge of them!" The colleague laughed and said: "On the battlefield, we have to fight with swords and guns. They don't have to fight against guns and rush forward in the face of arrows and stones. They only need to wear the best armor and be protected by mounted guards. They stay behind the formation. If they win the battle, there will be no scratches on their oily skin; If the situation is not good, they will be the first ones to run away. Unless they are extremely unlucky, they will be fine no matter what! They just come here to get promoted to a higher position and to be given the title of wife!"
Hearing what his colleague said, Wang Zhaotang suddenly became speechless. After a while, he smiled bitterly and said, "Then, what should I do?"
"What else can I do? Just shut up!" The colleague laughed and said: "As long as you don't get into trouble with Mr. Guo, he won't be looking for trouble specifically for you. He is currently focused on other things. Right and wrong are just for power. If you stand out, troubles will come from talking too much. You should understand this, Old Wang, right?"
"I know!" Wang Zhaotang said with a bitter smile: "Brother, please give me some advice, otherwise I won't know how I died!"
After leaving the handsome tent and returning to his own residence, Wang Zhaotang took off his coat and lay down tiredly. The roof was dark. Indeed, the tent here was crude and the hay bed under his body was full of fleas, but at least it represented warmth and protection. What more could a veteran on the march ask for? Gradually, he fell into sleep.
In the early morning of the next day, Wang Zhaotang woke up as usual. He came to the camp and began to supervise the soldiers inserting sharp wooden stakes into the trench and building a launch platform for the "Scorpion". After yesterday's explanation from his colleagues, he knew that all these efforts were probably in vain. In order to compete for military glory, Guo Daifeng would probably disobey Xue Rengui's order and lead the rear army to leave Dafeiling and continue to advance. But he still worked meticulously, as if it was already an instinct.
On the third day, the expected thing finally happened. Guo Daifeng summoned all the senior officers and announced his order: the rear army was about to leave Dafeiling, carry the baggage, follow the footsteps of the front army, and continue west. Everyone remained silent, they exchanged glances, and no one wanted to be the first to speak. No one is a fool. Everyone knows the conflict between Guo Daifeng and Xue Rengui. If he goes against Shangguan at this time, he will only be regarded as Xue Rengui's person, and there will be no good end.
Guo Daifeng's eyebrows were raised, like two crossed swords. The silence in the tent made his patience even more exhausted. His eyes swept over everyone's face, and he said solemnly: "We are waiting for your order to trek Thousands of miles, just to kill thieves and make meritorious service, to report to the country, and to be rich and powerful. Now every day, military rations are wasted here, and the army and veterans are tired. Is this what the emperor wants? I want to lead you westward, but no one responds. Is it because I am afraid? Can you kill the Tubo thieves?"
"How can I be afraid of thieves!" The voice of the voice was a bit indignant: "It's just that General Manager Xue had already made a plan before sending troops. The rear army must guard Dafeiling to protect the baggage. At present, the General Manager has not sent any military orders. I If we go westward later, I'm afraid it will go against the plan!"
"Joke!" Guo Daifeng sneered: "General Xue asked me to garrison Dafeiling in the first place because the victory of the front army was uncertain, so the rear army was left as the rear. Even if the front army was unfavorable in the battle, it could still be reunited with the rear army and then return. War, now that the front army has defeated Tibet, how can we stick to the old rules?"
"General Manager Guo, if you remember correctly, the former army won, but they only caught up with the Tibetan people's winter livestock, and captured only some old and weak women and children, with no more than a thousand strong men. Where are their elite soldiers now?" We still don’t know who will win or lose between the two armies, so how can we act rashly? If we really want to send troops, why not send an envoy to ask the general manager for instructions before making a decision! "
"Asking for instructions from the chief manager?" Guo Daifeng was furious when he heard this. After becoming a famous general, he also achieved success at a young age. He prided himself on being both civil and military. What he hated most was that he was placed under Xue Rengui, whom he regarded as a martial artist, but was dismissed. The subordinate hit a sore point: "Nonsense, it takes more than ten days for the front army to get back and forth with my messenger. Soldiers need to be very fast. How can there be any reason to ask for instructions before doing anything? You are obviously afraid of the enemy, but you take advantage of the general manager's plan. Use it as an excuse!"
"Did you see that? What I said is right? I never thought that there would be someone stupider than you, at least a slap with a military stick. But you can rest assured, Mr. Guo will definitely tell you what happened before if you are so angry. forgotten!"
The whispers of his colleagues came to his ears, and Wang Zhaotang showed a wry smile. It seemed that his colleagues were right. There was indeed some ambiguity between Deputy General Manager Guo and General Manager Xue Rengui. Discord between generals was a taboo among military strategists. This would screw him up. It's okay, it would be terrible if the 100,000 troops in this Western Expedition also suffered the same misfortune.
"Come here, drag me down and beat you with forty army sticks!" Guo Daifeng shouted sternly. After saying that, his cold eyes swept over everyone in the tent. He wanted to see who else dared to jump out and get in the way. own business.
"General Manager Guo!" Wang Zhaotang stood up: "General, there is a plan to get the best of both worlds, which will not violate the original plan of General Manager Xue, but also allow the army to advance westward!"
"The best of both worlds?" Guo Daifeng looked at Wang Zhaotang. He had not forgotten the guy who came out to make him unhappy a few days ago. This guy wouldn't come out to make him unhappy again, right? No matter what, it doesn't take much effort to listen to his nonsense. If he still doesn't know what's interesting, I just have an extra rooster to scare the monkeys.
"Forget it, just tell me!"
"I obey!" Wang Zhaotang coughed: "Since we set out from the west, many soldiers in the army have fallen ill. Most of them are in the Dafeiling camp. There are about seven or eight thousand people. These soldiers have gone through these days. Their self-cultivation has improved a lot, but if they are allowed to travel a long distance to the West to Xingxiu Sea, they will probably fall ill again. Why not let them stay at the Dafeiling fortress, which does not violate the plan of the chief manager; Mr. Guo, you can Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds to lead strong soldiers to the west?"
After hearing Wang Zhaotang's words, Guo Daifeng's face looked much better. Although he looked down on Xue Rengui, Xue Rengui was still his boss anyway. Leading his army westward must have violated Xue Rengui's previous plan. The battle was over. When it comes to lawsuits, I always end up at the wrong end. Guo Daifeng made it clear that what he did was just relying on the emperor's favor for him. In addition, as long as he could win the battle, the merits and demerits would be equalized, and he could still make money. It was better than staying in Dafeiling without making any achievements. And if Wang Zhaotang's suggestion is followed, even if there is a lawsuit in the future, Guo Daifeng can say that he did not disobey Xue Rengui's orders and left enough troops to guard the camp. As long as he can win, no one will blame him again. Own.
After hearing the satisfactory suggestions, Guo Daifeng's impression of Wang Zhaotang also improved a lot. He nodded: "Well, just do what you said! In that case, will you stay and guard the camp?"
"General, obey the order!" This was the purpose of Wang Zhaotang's advice. He bowed and said: "Manager Guo, the road to the west is rugged and the transport of baggage is inconvenient. It is better to leave it in Dafeiling and be guarded by the general. !”
"Yes, that's what I meant!" Guo Daifeng smiled and nodded. He was not a fool. Originally, most of the rear army was infantry. If he brought all the baggage with him, he would not go to war, but to go to war. It's time to meet. He looked at Wang Zhaotang again with admiration and said with a smile: "Captain Wang, you don't have to worry. As long as you can defend Dafeiling well, I can count you a share of the military exploits of this westward march!"
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In Tibetan legends, comets are a symbol of disaster. When a long tail cut through the night sky, like a long sword across the sky, and the soldiers were whispering that this was a bad omen and were panicking about the coming battle, Gar Qinling looked at it with joy on his face. Staring at the night sky, speaking loudly for everyone to hear.
"Yes, this is a bad omen, but it is a bad omen for the Tang people. The Tang people's greed and arrogance have angered the gods, so the gods have brought disaster to them. That is a sign, and everyone can see it!"
"Yes, but isn't this ours?" Someone whispered: "Who can guess the mind of the gods?"
"Look, doesn't this meteor look like a long sword?" Qin Ling said with a smile: "This is the sword's edge, this is the hilt, and this is the guard. The direction the sword's edge points to is the direction of the Tang army. This is not An obvious sign?"
There was a deep cheer from the Tibetan soldiers. Indeed, the comet's tail was pointing to the northeast, which was the direction of the Tang army. The panic caused by the long march and various unfavorable news soon disappeared, and morale changed. Gotta get high.
"The direction pointed by the comet is our way forward. The gods are guiding us, and victory is ahead!" Qin Ling continued to shout loudly... But in fact, the Tubo people only had this road to go. After learning that After the Tang army crossed the Huang River Valley and approached Qinghai Lake, Qinling immediately led the main force of Tibet back from the Western Regions. He crossed the Altyn Mountains from Dangjin Pass, and then headed southeast along the north side of the Qaidam Basin. OK, pass through Dachaidan, Xiaochaidan, Wulan, and the final destination is Fuqi City.
Compared with the Hexi Corridor, this road is much more difficult. The Qaidam Basin is one of the driest places in inland Asia. It is difficult to find forage in the yellow-red wasteland and there is less drinking water. It is a dry and desolate land of low hills and wind-scarred, barren plains. They crossed a riverbed that was as dry as bones. The horses relied on brown and tough weeds that grew thickly under rocks and at the bottom of dead trees. Their prickly stems and leaves could easily scratch a person's skin. After a long journey, you can see a small oasis, which is the result of melting water from the snowy mountains.
The Tubo people who were accustomed to the cold and humid climate were very unaccustomed to this environment. They carried less and less food and had to eat fallen horse meat to satisfy their hunger. Death followed one after another, and more and more people were killed by the cruel earth. Qin Ling himself became increasingly haggard, his eye sockets were sunken, and his originally thick black hair became as brittle as straw. Like everyone else, he endured hunger and thirst, sharing the same piece of horse meat and a pocket of bitter water from the saltwater pool with the soldiers on foot.
In this way, despite experiencing all unimaginable difficulties, the Tubo people still returned to Fuqi City on the seventeenth day after crossing the Dangjin Pass.
"General, the Tang people have a large army, about 100,000 people or more. In order to avoid being found by the Tang people, Master Gongren retreated to Douco Lake with his livestock and tribesmen!"
"Yes! Gong Ren did a good job!" Qin Ling nodded with satisfaction, very satisfied with his eldest son.
Let me say a few more words. What Weber wrote is history. What does that mean? Weber wrote that history is just a background, a nail to hang the story on. Although it seems quite true, in fact it is still fake. After all, I have never been to A.D. Korean Peninsula, Japan, Liaodong, Longyou, Sichuan, and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the seventh century. Weber made this all up.
Finally, we routinely ask for votes, subscriptions, and rewards.
(End of chapter)
