Tibet

After Gao Shi and Cen Shen came back from the river, Li Dai negotiated a favor for them, and both of them successfully became officials. Gao Shi became the governor of Qing, and Cen Shen also became the chief registrar of Taichang Temple.

Gao Shi was also lucky. Prince Li Heng traveled to Lingzhou and passed through Qingzhou, where he received a warm reception from Gao Shi. In addition, Prince Li Heng was a fan of Gao Shi, so the two met late.

Gao Shi supported Li Heng to ascend the throne from the land of Gyeongju, and was named a guest of the crown prince and a Hanlin bachelor by Li Heng. In fact, he became Li Heng's confidant.

In the afternoon, Gao Shi's carriage stopped in front of the Prime Minister's Gate, and Prime Minister Li Dai was already waiting at the door.

Gao Shi and Li Dai had a very good personal relationship. It was Li Dai who persuaded his son Li Ye to recommend Gao Shi to Hezhong, where he stayed for several years. After returning, Li Dai found Gao Lishi for him and obtained the information of the governor of Qing. Really lacking.

Gao Shi was naturally grateful, so when determining the prime ministership, Gao Shi strongly recommended Li Dai to Li Heng as the left prime minister.

Of course, Li Dai is the prime minister himself, so there is no suspense about joining the cabinet. He just needs to compete for the rank of prime minister. He mainly competes with Fang Guan, Pei Mian, and Miao Jinqing to become the left prime minister. Gao Shi reminded Li Heng in time and won over To live in Li Dai means to win over Li Ye in Jingxiang.

Li Dai stood out in this way and was honored as the left prime minister. Naturally, he was very grateful to Gao Shi.

However, Gao Shi did something else that offended Dugu Lie. Dugu Lie originally wanted to enter the phase, but Gao Shi advised Li Heng that if Dugu Lie entered the phase, the elements would definitely be very dissatisfied, and the elements would not be balanced.

In the end, Dugu Lie failed to become the prime minister. Li Heng consecrated Dugu Lie, Yuan Yuan and Changsun Nanfang as county kings, and named Dugulie and Yuan Yuan as Situ and Sikong. Changsun Nanfang was still named Prince Shaobao.

Although Dugu Lie received a bunch of lofty titles, he lost the opportunity to be photographed. He was strongly dissatisfied with Gao Shi. It was Li Dai who interceded in front of Dugu Lie on behalf of Gao Shi, and Dugu Lie finally understood that he had failed to be photographed. It was the emperor who wanted to balance the elements, so he reluctantly forgave Gao Shi.

This incident also deepened the friendship between Gao Shi and Li Dai. Today Gao Shi came to visit, and Li Dai warmly invited him to his study and asked the maid to serve him tea.

Gao Shi didn't care about drinking tea. He sat down and asked, "Jingwen, how is the battle situation in Yuanzhou?"

Li Dai stroked his beard and said: "The battle report said it was one victory and one loss. Guo Ziyi defeated Sun Xiaozhe's army in that city and recaptured Pinggao County. Wang Sili lost against Cui Qianyou in Qingzhou, losing more than 2,000 people and was forced to retreat. In Anding County, Li Guangbi fought with Li Guiren in Taiyuan, and they both won and lost. We are still in a stalemate with the rebels, but it is clear that the rebels have the upper hand."

"I heard that An Lushan is preparing to form an alliance with Tubo and introduce the Tubo army into Lingzhou?"

Li Dai looked worried, "The Tubo army has already appeared in Hehuang. Lingzhou has always been a major grain-producing area that they want to capture. It's just that it has just entered winter now, so the Tubo army has not continued to go north. Once spring starts next year, the Tubo army will definitely Going north, our army was dragged in Yuanzhou, Qingzhou and Hedong. There are only 20,000 troops of General Pei Fang in Lingzhou. Once the Tibetan army attacks Lingzhou, I am worried that the 20,000 troops will not be able to withstand it!"

"The prince went to Huihe to ask for reinforcements. I heard that Huihe asked for a high price, but the prince did not agree."

"How can I agree!"

Li Dai said angrily: "The Uighurs want all the young women in the two capitals and take them to the grasslands to give birth to them. Who dares to agree to such a shameful and humiliating thing?"

Gao Shi was silent for a moment and said: "But the emperor did not object clearly!"

Li Dai was taken aback, "No way! Will the emperor let go?"

"But the problem is that now the Tubo army has entered Hexi from the Dadou Valley, cutting off the Anxi Army's eastward aid route. With the heavy snow blocking the road, the Anxi Army has no food and has to retreat to Beiting. Without the Anxi Army's rescue, we How to resist the Tibetan army's northern attack? Dear brother, the emperor is so anxious that he can't sleep!"

Li Dai is no longer what he used to be. He has been honed by the officialdom and has become very mature. He immediately understood Gao Shi's intention.

"Brother, you must have come under the orders of the Emperor!"

Gao Shi was a little embarrassed and had no choice but to nod, "You and I don't want the prince to agree to Huihe's rude request, but we are facing a crisis again and are isolated and helpless. The only thing we can count on now is Jingxiang's Jianghan army. The emperor hopes that Li Ye He can lead his army to attack Chang'an and use the strategy of surrounding Wei and rescuing Zhao to force An Lushan to withdraw his troops from Yuanzhou, so that Guo Ziyi's army can go west to fight against the Tibetan army."

Li Dai nodded, "Of course I will put the overall situation first and persuade Li Dai to go north to Guanzhong to oppress Anlu Mountain. It is my duty to persuade Li Dai to go north to Guanzhong to suppress Anlu Mountain. In addition, I just received two Eagle letters from Ye'er at noon today, one is a letter from home, and the other One is a briefing from the South. Major changes have taken place in the South, and I plan to report to the Emperor early tomorrow morning."

"Why don't Jingwen follow me into the palace now? The emperor is worried and uneasy. Let's relieve the emperor's anxiety."

Li Dai put down the tea cup and nodded: "In that case, let's go now!"

Li Heng's Lingwu Palace was very simple. It originally occupied an area of ​​about 30 acres. It was originally Shuofang Jiedu Palace. After reconstruction, it was expanded to 50 acres. The front 30 acres were official offices and meeting halls, and the back 20 acres were Li Heng's harem. .

The poor living conditions were second to none. The severe situation in front of him made Li Heng unable to sleep or eat well.

At present, Anlu Mountain is on the offensive, while the Tang Army is on the defensive. The Tang Army's Longyou Army was all killed by Ge Shuhan in Tongguan. There are only 70,000 people from the Hexi Army, 60,000 people from the Shuofang Army, and some troops brought back from Chang'an. In continuous battles with the Yan army, supplies could not keep up with the losses, and the main force of the Tang army had dropped to 120,000.

The Tang army was short of soldiers and food, and the war situation was unfavorable. They failed in the battle for Fengxiang, and the Tang army had to retreat north. An Lushan's 200,000-strong army pursued them and began to launch offensives against Yuanzhou and Qingzhou. The Tang army's 120,000-strong army was relatively Dispersed, Guo Ziyi and Wang Sili each led 30,000 troops to defend Yuanzhou and Qingzhou, while Li Guangbi's 30,000 troops fought in Hedong.

There are still 10,000 troops guarding Huining and Wulan counties to prevent the Tibetan army from killing from Hexi. Only 20,000 troops are stationed in Lingzhou to protect the safety of the emperor and the court.

Although the troops are scattered and easily defeated by An Lushan's army, there is no way. Yuanzhou, Qingzhou and Huizhou can kill Lingwu County, and they must hold it. If Li Guangbi abandons the river and withdraws from the east, then Cai Xide's 100,000-strong army They will also follow and kill, and the situation will become more serious. In fact, it was Li Guangbi who contained the Yan army of 100,000 troops in Hedong.

However, it rained continuously all night, and Tubo's 100,000-strong army took advantage of the situation and mobilized in full force, occupying Jiuqu, Lintao and Hehuang. They also fought a great battle to pull out the valleys, occupied Ganzhou and Liangzhou, and cut off the Anxi Army and the Beihe Army. The Ting Army supports the Central Plains channel, and with the coming of winter, the Anxi Army and the Beiting Army are not allowed to withdraw.

Now Lingwu was facing the threat of 300,000 troops from Yan and Tubo. The severe situation forced Li Heng to send the prince to Uighur and beg Uighur to send troops to support him.

But the conditions of the Huihe people were too harsh. They wanted all the wealth and all the young women in the two capitals. Prince Li Yu did not dare to agree, so he had to send someone back to ask for instructions. However, Li Heng hesitated. In order to save his life and the country, he had already Are you considering whether to agree to Huihe's request?

At this time, Li Xian, the Minister of Rites who once served as the governor of Jingzhou, proposed a strategy to persuade Jianghan's army to attack Guanzhong and Chang'an from Shangluo Road, forcing An Lushan to withdraw his troops from Yuanzhou and Qingzhou, and Guo Ziyi could lead his army to resist the Tibetan army. The northern attack.

This strategy of encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao made the desperate Li Heng suddenly grasp a life-saving straw, and he immediately sent Gao Shi to negotiate with Li Dai.

"Father, don't worry. Li Ye's parents are also in Lingwu. Even if he doesn't save us, he will save his parents. As long as father keeps an eye on Li Dai and his wife and doesn't let them leave Lingwu, then Li Ye will definitely send troops. Guanzhong."

He is not a prince, but Li Heng's second son, King Li Xi of Yue, has been smart and smart since he was a child, and has been deeply loved by Li Heng.

Li Heng nodded, "I understand, let's hear the news about Gao Shi first!"

At this moment, a eunuch came to report, "Your Majesty, Li Xiangguo and Gao Hanlin want to see you!"

Li Heng quickly ordered: "Invite them in!"