Tibet

At this time, a guard shouted, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Everyone fell silent, and a dozen palace maids and eunuchs surrounded the emperor Li Longji and walked into the side hall.

Everyone bowed and saluted, "See Your Majesty!"

Li Longji smiled and waved his hand, "Dear ladies, please sit down flat on your back!"

Li Longji sat down in front of his case and saw the lapis lazuli stone on the case. He picked it up, looked at it, and said with a smile, "This is a good thing!"

Gao Lishi hurriedly stepped forward and said: "This is a souvenir from Governor Li to everyone, and your Majesty also has a copy."

Li Longji saw that all the prime ministers had one on the table, which was slightly smaller than his own, so he nodded, "Captain Li is interested!"

Everyone sat in solemn silence. Li Ye sat on the answering table on the other side. Li Longji said slowly: "Today is the report of Governor Li of Hezhong. I have asked the Ministry of War to copy the written report to everyone. If you have any questions, you can speak freely."

Everyone looked at Yang Guozhong. He was the right prime minister. He should be the first question. Yang Guozhong coughed and said, "I want to know how much loot was captured in total by Governor Li. The report only mentioned loot. How many, what does this mean?"

Although everyone wants to know this question, it is a bit inappropriate for Yang Guozhong to ask it like this.

Li Longji frowned slightly, but he did not interrupt Yang Guozhong's inquiry.

Li Ye said calmly: "Because the spoils of war are different, including money, food, population, land, etc., they cannot be counted uniformly and can only be expressed by a number."

"Let's talk about money! How much is it specifically?"

"About two million gold coins, and a lot of other items."

Yang Guozhong asked again: "How much does Governor Li intend to hand over to the court?"

Li Ye said lightly: "Of course. This time I brought back 10,000 camels and a large amount of supplies, including tinware, silverware, gems, carpets, velvet rugs, spices, medicinal materials, sheepskins, and even 10,000 camels. It's supplies for the imperial court. If sold, it will cost about one million guan."

Yang Guozhong wanted to ask about Qian Cai again, but he suddenly saw the emperor's stern eyes and immediately changed his words as he spoke, "Captain Li, who does Ju Zhan Ti belong to now?"

Li Ye said calmly: "Juzhanti was originally the land of Dongcao. Because of its important location, it was invaded repeatedly and the population was almost wiped out. Dongcao Kingdom abandoned it and now it belongs to Ba Khanna. It’s Ningyuan Country.”

"Why not belong to the Tang Dynasty?"

"Yang Xiangguo, what is important in Juzhanti is the strategic location, not the land and population. There is too much land in the river and there is no one living for thousands of miles. Moreover, the remaining population of Juzhanti are old, weak, women and children, which is huge. Even the Sogdians did not want this burden, so they directly agreed to give it to Bakhna, but we garrisoned 2,000 troops in Juzhan, and this strategic position actually belongs to us."

At this time, Wei Jiansu asked: "Why did Governor Li launch the Juzhanti War?"

Li Ye nodded, "Xiangguo Wei's question is a good one. This is also something I intend to describe in detail to Your Majesty and other prime ministers."

Li Ye took out a simple map of Hezhong and Tochar and asked the eunuch to hang it up. His map was darker and everyone could see it clearly.

"This is Rehai and Suiye!" Li Ye pointed at the map.

"Going directly south from here to Tochara, you will have to cross hundreds of snow-capped mountains. You cannot ride a horse, so you can only walk. People cannot breathe on the snow-capped mountains. It is difficult to go over mountains and ridges. It will take at least a year to reach Tochara. If there is not sufficient logistical support, all my troops will inevitably die on the way, so is there any way to go to Tocharo? The answer is yes!"

Li Ye pointed at Juzhanti, "Juzhanti is a huge gap, and it is also the only channel into the river in Tochara. After passing through Juzhanti, you can ride south and walk along the Yaosha River Valley. Twenty You can reach Humi City in five days, walk east for three days to reach the Shishi Kingdom, and walk for another three days to reach Xiaobolu. It can also be seen that Juzhanti is the strategic starting point for our Hezhong Army to control Tochara. The strategy Location is very, very important.

Before that, Juzhanti was occupied by the remnants of the Eastern Legion of the Great Eater, and its leader was Hamil Bart. It was like a poisonous snake, threatening all the countries in the river at all times, and also threatening the Tang army's control of the river, so whether it was To seize the strategic position, or to eradicate this poisonous snake, it is imperative for the Tang army to attack and raise the capital. "

Wei Jiansu nodded, "Director Li explained it very thoroughly, and I completely understood it."

At this time, Li Longji said to Li Ye: "I am very concerned about the influence of the Tibetan army on Tochara. Governor Li, please explain it together!"

The emperor has changed the topic and no longer mentions Ju Zhan Ti. The battle of Ju Zhan Ti is over.

Li Ye said slowly to everyone: "After decades of tug-of-war with the Tang army, it is impossible for the Tubos to break through from Longyou and Hexi. Then their goals can only be turned to Anxi and Beiting, directly from the Tubo Plateau. It is impossible to go to Anxi. It is blocked by the vast Kunlun Mountains. The only way is to walk northwest along the Xindu River Valley to reach the Big and Small Bolu Kingdom, and then take a circuitous route to the Bomichuan River Valley, or walk to Hepantuo. Shule Town can be reached by any road.

Especially the Bomit River Valley, also called the Wakhan Corridor, is the southern route of the Silk Road. It has abundant water sources along the way. As long as there is sufficient food supply, the Tibetan army can easily enter Anxi.

In the Battle of Xiaobolu in the sixth year of Tianbao, we occupied Xiaobolu and the north bank of the Poyi River, cutting off the Tibetan army's path to drink Pantuo. However, the Dabolu and the south bank of the Poyi River were still in the hands of the Tibetans. There are about 30,000 troops garrisoned, which is Anxi's biggest threat. "

Li Longji waved his hand, interrupting Li Ye, "What was the previous battle of Yushi Kingdom?"

"Reporting to your majesty, the battle of Zushiguo is actually a battle to relieve the siege, or a battle to defend Xiaobolu. Just now, the minister also said that the south bank of the Poyi River is in the hands of the Tubo people. The Tubo army marched along the Poyi River. Traveling westward from the south bank, they controlled the Shishi Kingdom, and Xiaobolu's food mainly came from Tocharo. This was equivalent to cutting off Xiaobolu's food route. Therefore, even though it was already autumn, he still sent troops forcibly, otherwise Xiaobolu Neither the people nor the defenders can survive the winter."

Li Longji nodded, "I understand, Governor Li continues to talk about Tocharo."

Li Ye pointed to the Bomichuan Valley Tunnel on the map and said: "After the Tang army cut off the Hepantuo Passage, the Tibetans wanted to attack Anxi, leaving only the Bomichuan Valley Tunnel. In this way, the Tibetan army will inevitably enter Tocharo and take a detour from Tocharo. In Bomi River, the Tubo army faced a serious problem, whether in Dabolu or in the Shishi Kingdom, that is, insufficient food. To solve the food problem, there was only one way to control Tocharo.

Once the Tibetan army takes control of Tochara and solves the problem of food shortage, the Tibetan army will probably increase its troops to 100,000. They will not only control Tochara and capture Anxi, but also go north to attack Hezhong. The situation is very serious. "

Li Longji frowned, "Have the Tibetan army already advanced westward?"

"Reporting to your majesty, I received news before I set off from my humble post. The Tibetan army has conducted several small-scale battles with the Tocharian coalition forces. They all ended in the failure of the Tocharian coalition forces. The combat effectiveness of the Tocharian coalition forces was too weak. The Battle of Talas At that time, they could only be used as logistics transportation, and five people on the battlefield could not defeat one Tang army."

Li Longji nodded slowly, "So we must capture Dabolu and completely destroy the foundation of the Tibetan army in the northwest to ensure that Anxi is safe."

Li Ye nodded, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. This is actually a continuation of the Battle of Xiaobolu in the sixth year of Tianbao. But frankly speaking, the 12,000 Tang troops in the river alone cannot defeat the 30,000 Tubo troops in Dabolu. military."

Li Longji nodded and said to everyone: "Do you have anything else to ask, Prime Minister? If you don't ask, today's report will end here!"