"The wind is flying and the flag is flying
A big horn blows to sharpen swords and spears
The sky is blue and the fields are vast
Blue Sky Dome Ludui Hunting Ground
The front roars, the tiger and the eagle soar—"
After the victory, Hou Junji and his soldiers sang this military song of the Tang Dynasty, "Dajiao Song", and marched together like a city wall, aiming directly at Luoche City.
They are like pawns crossing the river on a chess board, with no way out and determined to move forward.
Behind them were mountains of corpses and fireworks filling the sky.
"Will the world regard us as demons, ghosts or beasts? It doesn't matter anymore!"
"We are just doing the only thing we can do at the moment!"
"Before we die, let the blood in our chests flow more freely and thoroughly!"
…
Hou Junji pointed his sword at the sky and shouted - "Brothers! Are you happy?!"
"happy!!!"
"Then continue to have fun! - Let the once arrogant plateau barbarians tremble under our iron hooves!"
"Just like Dongzan Yusong, who is coming to beg us to kill him!"
All the soldiers were full of enthusiasm and shouted in unison: "General Hou is mighty!"
"Brothers are mighty!" Hou Junji laughed loudly, "Continue to advance, the target is Luoxue City!"
"Tubo barbarians, Qinling children, get out of your turtle shells and come to fight to the death with your Grandpa Hou! Grandpa is going to take off your pants and see if you are all like Dongzan Yusong, who has no balls!"
"Hahaha-"
The unrestrained and wild laughter shook the thin air of the plateau. Liuyun seemed to be trembling and running around in a hurry.
Dafeichuan, in the headquarters of the main camp of the Kansai Army.
Qin Mubai, Li Ke, and Quan Wanji set their desks separately, and there were more than ten military officials, big and small, around them, all of whom were busy processing official military documents. After Hou Junji left, Qin Mubai asked Quan Wanji to temporarily take over the post of Marching Sima, taking charge of the army's logistics and internal affairs and being in charge of military orders and the execution of military law.
Three hundred thousand troops have just entered Dafeichuan, and there are a lot of military affairs. Therefore, Qin Mubai and others have been very busy in the past few days, so busy that they have no mood to tell dirty jokes.
After Qin Mubai led the army, Li Daozong, who originally led the army to guard this place, let out a sigh of relief. The two armies changed defenses, and Li Daozong, the acting governor of Lanzhou, still returned to Shanzhou and was responsible for logistics and food management.
Before leaving, all the generals bid farewell to Li Daozong. After the banquet, Li Daozong drank a little wine, took Qin Mubai and said privately: "Mubai, I shouldn't have told you about Yan'er at this time, but..."
"Your Majesty, if you have something to say, just say it." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "I am like half of your son, what else is there to be worried about?"
"Xue Yan became a monk after returning to Beijing." After Li Daozong said these words, he looked at Qin Mubai's face with straight eyes.
Qin Mubai was stunned for a moment, "A monk?..."
"They are not lay disciples of Buddhism who lead Buddhist practice, or fake Taoist nuns who pretend to be Taoists but are actually doing good deeds. They are really hiding in ancient temples in the mountains to refine elixirs and practice Taoism." Li Daozong sighed softly and said, "Now, there are no People know where she went."
"..." Qin Mubai was speechless for a moment, and sighed, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, it's all my fault."
Li Daozong shook his head and waved his hands, his expression a bit bitter, "I don't blame you. This is due to her temperament. To blame, we can only blame us parents for being too arrogant and doting on her. But having said that, she is like this now. Marry to Gaoyuan Qiang.”
"That's true..." Qin Mubai nodded silently.
"Okay, no more words." Li Daozong smiled at himself and bitterly, and said, "Use your troops well and don't think too much about anything else. Anything I have said to you before about Yan'er, you will Don't take it to heart, just treat it as a joke. From now on, you will pretend that there is no such person as Li Xueyan in the world. "
Qin Mubai didn't know what to say for a moment, so he nodded gently, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will do my best to fight the battle in front of me. I won't think too much about anything else now. The only thing that worries me is In the rear area, now that the prince is in charge, I can rest easy. In addition, my wife and children at home will be taken care of by the prince. "
"Don't worry." Li Daozong dropped these two words and returned to Shanzhou with more than 40,000 Lanzhou recruits and a large number of civilians who transported military supplies.
After the army was stationed, Qin Mubai summoned the generals and began to urgently discuss and arrange future strategies and tactics.
The general strategy is actually very clear, which is to join forces with Yuchi Jingde, who left Sichuan and Sichuan, to attack Tubo and march directly to Huanglong to capture Luoche City. But when it comes to tactics, it's not that easy.
The biggest problem before us is not military strength, military strategy, or logistics and food, but altitude sickness.
We had just arrived in Dafichuan, and many people, including Li Ke, had obvious altitude sickness - headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, tinnitus, chest tightness, etc. In more severe cases, there may be vomiting, diarrhea, facial edema, or even fainting and unconsciousness.
Most of those who suffered from altitude sickness were the reinforcements that had just arrived from the Pass and the Uighur soldiers from the grasslands. Most of the old Kansai Army headquarters, which were already active in this area, can adapt.
All of this was naturally expected by Qin Mubai, and relevant arrangements had already been made. One of the most important things is a special soup popular in the plateau area - "safflower soup". It is said that this medicinal soup was invented by Tibetan witch doctors to relieve altitude sickness. It is composed of medicinal materials such as rhodiola rosea, safflower, and astragalus. It is widely equipped in the Kansai army all year round. In addition, there are materials such as Tubo butter tea and plateau divine well salt as dietary supplements.
According to each person's physical constitution, the adaptability and adaptation time to altitude sickness are also different. Therefore, the soldiers can only gradually adapt. For example, we should first adapt to Dafeichuan for ten days and a half, then push thirty to fifty miles northwest, and station troops at a slightly higher altitude to rest and adapt for a period of time.
Therefore, the overall strategy can only be to advance step by step, battalion level, and it is impossible to lead the army to the plateau with a big horse and a golden sword immediately. If that were the case, before the Tibetans could lead their troops to counterattack, the Kansai Army would have lost most of its combat effectiveness.
"Then how did Hou Junji's troops fight on the plateau?" Someone asked this question.
Qin Mubai replied: "Most of the troops led by Hou Junji are veterans of the Guanxi Army who have been stationed in Dafeichuan all year round. Their ability to adapt to the plateau is inherently strong. This is one; second, Hou Junji chose By taking a horizontal detour to the Kunlun Mountains instead of going deep immediately, he actually followed the principle of advancing step by step and gradually adapted to the rising plateau. The third point... They have already given up."
After everyone listened, they were silent. Not everyone can play this style of play, and it is obviously not suitable for the current Kansai Army.
It was agreed at the military meeting that they would rest in Dafeichuan for ten days and divide all the soldiers into three groups through observation. The first group are those who can best adapt to the plateau and form the vanguard; the second group are those who can barely adapt to the plateau; and the third group are those whose altitude sickness is too strong and cannot adapt at all for a while. The last two groups of troops can only be used as backup troops, allowing them to be dispatched at the rear as appropriate, giving them a little more time to adapt.
Li Ke had just arrived from Youzhou, thousands of miles away. He was already unaccustomed to the climate and climate, and now he also suffered from altitude sickness. He suffered a serious illness and was finally unable to stay in bed.
Qin Mubai went to visit him at his bedside, but still said with a joking smile, "Your Highness is really as delicate and delicate as a weak willow! If I had known, I would have asked you to supervise logistics in Shanzhou, why bother coming here to get sick?"
"Are you still teasing me at this time?" Li Ke, who looked scorched, was about to get angry.
"Okay, don't be angry. Do you want some water?"
"Don't drink!"
"Eat some fresh fruit? This thing is quite rare in Dafeichuan!"
"Don't eat!"
"I just found two beauties, just outside the tent..."
Li Ke's eyes suddenly lit up, "Help me up and change my clothes!"
Qin Mubai clapped his hands seriously, "Tantai, you guys come in and change His Highness's clothes!"
Li Ke suddenly felt like a deflated rubber ball and became angry, "Get out!!"
Qin Mubai laughed heartily, "Your Highness, please calm down, your health is important. I am afraid that you will be poor and bored while you stay in bed to recuperate, so I am here to amuse you."
"You are not joking, you are clearly making fun of me!" Li Ke didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But my spirits are indeed better.
"Actually, I have something to tell you." Qin Mubai said.
"explain."
"Hou Junji killed Changsun Huan before he went on the expedition." Qin Mubai whispered, "You don't know this news yet, right? The Guanxi Army has already sealed it under strict orders."
"What?" Li Ke's expression suddenly changed, "Then does my father know?"
"I know. I was at Yumen Pass at that time. The King of Jiangxia would not dare not report such a big thing! But I estimate that His Majesty the Emperor suppressed the news secretly and did not tell Changsun Wuji. Otherwise, I really don't know what big news would happen. "Trouble." Qin Mubai whispered, "But the fire can't be contained, and Changsun Wuji will know it sooner or later. This means that we have completely broken up with Changsun Wuji, and there is absolutely no possibility of reconciliation between the two parties." , it will be life and death, no room left."
Li Ke furrowed his thick eyebrows and nodded slowly, "I understand. Even if Chang Sun Huan hadn't been killed, he still wouldn't tolerate me. Because he always felt that I was an alien with abnormal bloodline, someone with ambitions who could threaten him. Potential enemies of safety.”
"In the final analysis, isn't it because you are the son of His Majesty the Emperor?" Qin Mubai asked meaningfully.
"But I didn't think about those things!" Li Ke suddenly said seriously.
"What things?" Qin Mubai chuckled.
"Asking knowingly!" Li Ke was a little annoyed.
Qin Mubai touched his nose and smiled softly, and said: "Think about it, only you know; the reality is that His Majesty the Emperor may have some interest and wants you to give it a try."
Qin Mubai's understatement made Li Ke's face change drastically!
"Mu Bai, do you even think so?" Li Ke whispered in surprise, "Do you think I have different ambitions?"
"Wrong. It's not what I think you think; it's that many people think that you have this ability." Qin Mubai curled his lips and said, "Including His Majesty the Emperor."
Li Ke fell into silence. After a long time, he nodded helplessly and said, "I can't deceive myself. My father suddenly transferred me from Youzhou to Lanzhou without any intention in that regard. It is definitely impossible. But the idea of "abolish the heir apparent and establish the concubine" This kind of thing has been like a taboo in all dynasties, making people talk about it with anger! ... As far as I know, not only Changsun Wuji, but also Fang Xuanling, the minister of the court, is firmly opposed to this. I know my situation well. There is no chance. So sometimes I think that my father is doing this deliberately to put me in the spotlight and let me be a shield to protect the prince he really wants to establish!"
Qin Mubai's face showed a smile of relief. He nodded and said, "Your Highness, you are really smart."
"I have long been destined to have a tragic ending, right?" Li Ke added bitterly, and said, "The party struggle in the DPRK has become serious enough to affect the rise and fall of the entire empire. Its core and root is nothing more than the relationship between the prince and the prince. The eldest brother, the crown prince, has fallen, and I have left Youzhou, and only the King of Wei and the King of Jin are really going to fight. In every aspect, the King of Jin is far from the opponent of the King of Wei. The king joined forces, and King Jin had no chance of winning. Under such circumstances, if the father wanted to protect King Jin, the only way was to divert the attention of the eldest grandson and King Wei, and let them change the direction of the attack - so, there was Let me return to Beijing to supervise the army in Lanzhou!"
"You mean, what your Majesty really wants to establish at this moment is the King of Jin? And you and I are just playing the role of one of the two idiots fighting against each other?" Qin Mubai asked calmly.
Li Ke shook his head blankly, "I don't know... no one can know. I guess, maybe even my father himself doesn't know. In terms of bloodline ability, after the prince's eldest brother was deposed, King Wei had an overall advantage. , no one can compete with him anymore. However, several previous incidents have completely exposed his hypocritical and deceitful side to his father. Moreover, the King of Wei was too eager for quick success and lost his due position in the fight for the throne. He openly joined forces with his former enemy Changsun Wuji, and the only thing left was to blatantly force Gong Shengjia to join forces. This kind of blatant alliances and cliques were actually what my father was most taboo about. When Wuji suggested that King Wei come to Lanzhou to supervise the army, my father would not send me unexpectedly. This would be like giving him a hard slap in the face and giving him a stern warning. At that time, my father did not allow others to control the overall situation. No one dared to offend this taboo, no matter who he was!"
"That's right." Qin Mubai nodded in praise, "This time, King Wei was indeed too impatient or too panicked. Together with Changsun Wuji, who was also afraid of losing power, he did a big stupid thing."
Li Ke said: "After thinking about this clearly, I dare to guess that my father himself is a little unsure about the matter of establishing the crown prince. His old man suddenly pushed me on the stage. Maybe it has nothing to do with the establishment of the crown prince. He just wants to be the crown prince. Create an evenly matched opponent for Changsun and King Wei in the court to achieve the purpose of balancing the court!"
"You can see that your Highness is truly wise!" Qin Mubai praised again.
"So, instead of thinking so much, it's better to go back to basics and don't think about anything else - I'll just focus on fighting! No matter what happens in the future, the ship will be straight when it reaches the bridge!" Li Ke smiled calmly.
Qin Mubai nodded, secretly exclaiming in his heart: He is worthy of being a prince with royal blood, who has been surrounded by conspiracies and conspiracies since he was a child. Li Ke, who has gone through many trials, has made great progress in cultivation. Now his cold wisdom, sharp vision and calmness are far beyond my imagination. Originally, I wanted to persuade him not to think too much and just concentrate on fighting, but now it seems that the words can be dispensed with!