The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty were classified as "Longyou Dao", which was the largest administrative region in the Tang Dynasty. The Beiting Protectorate of Longyou Dao was mainly to protect against the Turkic tribes in the north, and the Anxi Protectorate was to protect against the Turkic tribes in the west.

Dashi and the small countries in the western regions, as well as Tubo in the southwest.

It can be said that the Anxi Protectorate's military role was very important in the entire territory of the Tang Dynasty.

More than a hundred years after the founding of the country, the once powerful Turks were wiped out by two generations of emperors, Taizong and Gaozong. Goryeo was also defeated by Gaozong. The former Xue Yantuo has been torn apart. It can be said that outside of the Tang Dynasty, the strongest

The only big enemy left was Tibet.

The Anxi Protectorate and the Hexi and Longyou Jiedushi were important military towns to guard against Tibet. Among them, the Anxi Protectorate was the first line of defense against Tibet.

Li Longji's decision to send more troops to Anxi actually had nothing to do with Gu Qing's memorial. Regardless of whether Gu Qing asked for more troops or not, Li Longji would increase his troops out of strategic considerations in the western region of the Tang Dynasty. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there has never been a military garrison in the Western Regions.

There were less than 50,000 people, which was also the case during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years of the Tang Dynasty.

It's just that Gao Xianzhi has been too outrageous in the Western Regions in the past two years, destroying countries and cities at every turn, and he only picks the soft ones. He accidentally encountered a tough opponent like Dashi, and lost half of the Anxi Protectorate in one encounter.

troops.

The consequences of this were very serious. This time, the Tubo invaded and captured the city of Khotan. They saw that the defense of the Anxi Protectorate was empty, and they could take advantage of it. If Gu Qing had not led his army to fight a beautiful ambush, the Tubo could contain it.

With the troops in Anxi, the strategic intention of sneak attack on the Longyou Jiedu envoy in Hexi is likely to succeed.

Li Longji saw the nature of this war from the military newspaper, and it was already in his plan to increase troops in Anxi.

Jinwuwei and Zuowei each mobilize 10,000 troops, which is not too strenuous for the defense of the capital.

The number of guards and horses guarding Chang'an City is about 20,000 to 300,000. Sending out 20,000 will not have much impact on Chang'an. As for the horses, money, food and weapons, Li Longji doesn't care at all.

Although the people of the Tang Dynasty are living a somewhat reluctant life now, a prosperous age is a prosperous age after all, and it can leave a reputation as a prosperous age in the history books. How the people live is another matter, but the national treasury is indeed relatively abundant.

Money, food, food.

Gao Lishi remembered Li Longji's words verbatim in his heart. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and said: "Your Majesty, you sent Lieutenant Commander Cui Lin to Fanyang secretly for an inspection a few months ago. Today morning

News has been sent back to Chang'an..."

Li Longji raised his eyebrows: "Oh, what's the news? Does An Lushan have any objections?"

Gao Lishi said respectfully: "The letter sent by Fu Chulin stated that Anlushan stationed 150,000 soldiers and horses in Fanyang and Pinglu and other places, but there was no abnormality in the food, grass, weapons and ordnance. Anlushan returned after paying his congratulations

When he arrived at Fanyang, he behaved in a responsible manner. There was no secret letter from the generals under his command saying that they were all barbarians, but that most of them were Han people. The secret letter that was inexplicably intercepted outside Chang'an last time was mostly untrue. Maybe someone

To frame Anlu Mountain and instigate discord between the monarch and his ministers..."

Li Longji frowned and said, "Did Fu Chulin really say that?"

Gao Lishi took out a letter from his arms, handed it to Li Longji with both hands, and said: "Here is the original letter sent by Fu Chulin. Please read it."

Li Longji read it carefully, then folded the letter and murmured: "Really An Lushan has no objection? This letter did not say anything bad about An Lushan, and there were many words of praise in it. Could it be that I

Are you worried?"

Gao Lishi said softly: "I think that your majesty is not overly concerned. Regardless of whether An Lushan has any objections, it is a fact that he holds 150,000 troops and horses in his hands. Your majesty's worries are not unreasonable."

Li Longji hummed and said: "It is indeed too much to grant him the title of military governor of three towns. Now it is difficult to dismount from riding a tiger. If you want to take back part of Anlu Mountain's military power, you will really fall into someone else's plan and cause disharmony between the emperor and his ministers. And... suddenly...

If we take back his military power, we may fear that the soldiers will mutiny and cause chaos, which will be troublesome..."

After pondering for a long time, Li Longji finally made up his mind and said softly: "General Gao, go and convey the order to the military headquarters of the three provinces, mobilize troops from Gyeonggi Province and Henan Province to change defenses, mobilize half and half troops from Xuzhou, Huazhou, and Luoyang, and cross the Yellow River to station.

Xingzhou, Jinzhou, Qingzhou, and three additional governor's offices were established. An Chongzhang, the former governor of Zhengzhou, was transferred to the governor's office to assist in the defense of the states north of the Yellow River. The generals and officials under the governor's office were appointed by Yang Guozhong after consultation with the provincial ministers."

Gao Lishi accepted the order solemnly and carefully recalled the place names Li Longji just mentioned in his mind, his face slightly moved.

Since the military power of Anlu Mountain cannot be regained, we can only take a defensive stance and deploy local soldiers to station in the three states of Xing, Jin, and Qing in the name of normal defense changes, and the three places will form a pin-shaped formation to defend Chang'an.

After An Chongzhang, the former governor of Zhengzhou, was a famous general who founded the country, his great-grandfather An Xing was worshiped as General Youwuhou and was given the title of Duke of Liang. He was one of the famous Sixteen Heroes of Wude. An Chongzhang was born in a general family.

If you are familiar with the art of war, your greatest advantage in using troops is to be good at defense. If you give him a city, he will be able to defend it motionless and impregnable.

Judging from Li Longji's mobilization of troops and appointment of governors, suspicions about An Lushan were not only not eliminated, but in fact became more serious.

If An Lushan really raises troops to rebel, then the three pin-shaped cities will be on the only way for the rebels to attack Chang'an. If An Lushan is left to guard it, it will give the Chang'an court enough time to respond.

.

The emperor was inherently suspicious, and once he became suspicious of someone, it was not easy to eliminate him. An Lushan's military power finally became a difficult-to-heal problem for Li Longji.

After writing down all Li Longji's instructions, Gao Lishi was about to resign when Li Longji suddenly said calmly behind him: "That assistant Chu Lin who was sent to Fan Yangpinglu, go and check him. If you find out that he accepted

An Lushan bribed him and secretly killed him with a stick after he returned to Chang'an."

Gao Lishi was stunned and hurriedly accepted the order.

…………

Shuzhou, Governor's Mansion.

Song Gensheng walked out of the governor's office wearing a fifth-grade light crimson official uniform and a scarf on his head.

Song Gensheng's appearance is much more mature than before. He even grew a beard, with a shiny black beard under his chin, which is neatly groomed. Compared with when he was the magistrate of Qingcheng County, Song Gensheng's eyes are brighter now.

A touch of stability and majesty.

After staying up all night and not finishing all his official duties until dawn, Song Gensheng walked out of the Governor's Mansion, stood at the door, stretched out and exhaled a long breath.

Half a year ago, Biejia, the governor of Shuzhou, was vacant. Gu Qing wrote a letter to Xianyu Zhongtong, the Jiedushi envoy of Jiannan Province.

After receiving the land, he wrote a letter of appointment and sent it to the governor's office of Shuzhou. Pei Di, the governor of Shuzhou, immediately transferred Song Gensheng from Qingcheng County to Shuzhou without saying anything.

Unlike others who studied hard while studying hard in high school and then worked hard to qualify for officialdom, Song Gensheng's official career was surprisingly smooth. He never passed the imperial examination.

Chai is equivalent to the second-in-command in administration.

Song Gensheng's official career was closely related to Gu Qing's status in Chang'an. The reason why Xianyu Zhongtong so happily gave Song Gensheng a farewell seat in Shuzhou had nothing to do with his personal feelings. Xianyu Zhongtong was not that kind of person at all.

When Song Gensheng was appointed as the official, it happened to be that Gu Qing had just been granted the title of County Marquis by the Emperor, and was promoted to the rank of General of the Zuowei Zhonglang. Especially, the reason for his promotion and title was actually to save the Emperor's life.

Xianyu Zhongtong was far away in Yizhou, but he also heard about Gu Qing's deeds. He couldn't help but secretly lamented that he was just a young man from a barren mountain village. Two years passed by, and unknowingly, that young man had become the emperor's savior.

A benefactor, and even given a title, he finally grew into a towering tree, and maybe Xianyu Zhongtong would even hug his thigh in the future.

After fully understanding Gu Qing's position in the emperor's heart, Xianyu Zhongtong immediately decided to make friends with Gu Qing. This thick thigh had a long history with him. He and Gu Qing had known each other since they were young. Gu Qing's fortune was related to

He has a deep connection, how can we not hug him with such a thigh?

When he was worrying about how to get closer to Gu Qing, a letter from Gu Qing helping Song Gensheng to be an important official arrived. Xianyu Zhongtong was overjoyed and appointed him without saying a word.

In the final analysis, Song Gensheng's official position was actually the inevitable result of the exchange of interests among the bureaucratic group.

Yes, Gu Qing, Xian Yu Zhongtong, and now Song Gensheng are all members of the bureaucratic group.

Xian Yu Zhongtong's affairs were handled quickly. After Gu Qing learned about it, he wrote a letter to thank him. He also told him that he had spoken kind words for him many times in front of His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine, which was regarded as a thank you for Xian Yu Zhongtong's favor.

As for Song Gensheng, the first thing he did after he entered the governor's office in Shuzhou was to visit Pei Di, the governor, with generous gifts. He spoke humbly and treated Pei Di respectfully. Not only that, he also asked for leave.

I went to the Yizhou Jiedu Envoy's House to ask for an audience with Xianyu Zhongtong. I also brought rich gifts and thanked Xianyu Zhongtong in person for his love.

Today, Song Gensheng is already a mature, dignified official who understands the rules well.

A great change, a crisis, experienced death, witnessed life and death, this man grew up overnight.

The black beard under his chin concealed his slightly childish face, and his ever-present smiling expression concealed his innocence and simplicity. His scheming was deeply hidden behind his smile. The officials of the Governor's Office praised him, and he took office.

He has never had any grudges since he came to power. He is the only person in the governor's office who is not involved in any grudges and yet can be definitely praised by all officials.

Standing at the gate of the Governor's Mansion, Song Gensheng shivered when a breeze blew by, and couldn't help but stroke his shoulders.

A cloak was draped over his shoulders. Song Gensheng turned around and found that the person covering him was his newly recruited servant named Qing Chongshu.

Today, Song Gensheng is a member of the state, and he is qualified to receive guests. Qing Chongshu was selected by him from among a group of down-and-out scholars. It happened to be the time when the state government's scientific examination results were announced. Song Gensheng accidentally discovered that this scholar was looking at the results.

Walking down the street in despair, he was almost hit by his carriage.

The two got to know each other, and after talking with each other, Song Gensheng felt that this man had a great strategy and was quite stable. He was especially good at analyzing the pros and cons. He was indeed a rare talent as a secret advisor. Song Gensheng should hire him as a secret counselor to help him.
Chapter completed!