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Part 11: Civil strife in the capital Chapter 34: Arriving at the front line

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    Chapter 34 Arrival at the front line

    The Qinghai Protectorate has been particularly lively recently.

    Qinghai was forcibly ceded from the Tubo people by Du He who took advantage of Tubo's defeat.  At first Li Shimin was a little reluctant, feeling that Qinghai was on a plateau and had a severe plateau climate that was not suitable for their survival, but Du He convinced him.

    There are only two reasons to convince Li Shimin. Qinghai is located near Qinghai Lake. The water and grass here are extremely good and it is an excellent place for horse herding.  In addition, Qinghai is also the largest freshwater salt producer and has a huge amount of edible salt.

    As a farming nation, what the Tang Dynasty lacked was the land to tame military horses and herd horses. However, Guanzhong Chang'an was located in the west of the Chinese territory, far away from the sea, and there was an urgent shortage of salt. Every year, the salt transported from Jiangnan to Chang'an was enough to pile up mountains and crush millions of people.  One hundred thousand troops.  With such a large amount, it is obvious how much the shipping cost will be.

    The existence of Qinghai can exactly meet this condition.

    After three years of development, Qinghai Racecourse has nearly 100,000 military horses, ranking third among all racecourses in the Tang Dynasty.  The salt fields within the territory have also been mined on a large scale, and so far they have fully met the needs of millions of people in Guanzhong, saving Datang an astronomical amount of money.

    Because of such great benefits, Li Shimin also paid special attention to Qinghai. He specially established the Protectorate in Qinghai and appointed Zhang Liang, the Duke of Changping County, as the Protector, responsible for protecting the stability of Qinghai.

    Qinghai is adjacent to Tubo and is the springboard for the invasion of Tubo. An army of hundreds of thousands will gather here.

    Because Qinghai is remote, its population is relatively sparse.  A large number of soldiers poured in for a while, making the people in the territory tremble with fear.  But then I discovered that every soldier and soldier has a very high degree of self-discipline. They rarely disturb the people. If there are occasional accidents and frictions, someone will eventually come over to deal with them.

    The officials responsible for the incident were not shielding and showing favoritism as people imagined, but they collected evidence seriously and were impartial. Gradually, the people felt at ease.

    After two months of travel, 40,000 elite troops led by Du He officially arrived in Qinghai.

    Qinghai Protector Zhang Liang had already swept the couch and was waiting for him. General Niu Jinda of the Zuowu Guard, General Liu Lan of the Left Army, General Xin Lieer of the Right Army, General Liu Boying of the Left Xiaowei and others who arrived were also waiting for him in Qinghai.

    They were not the Beijing troops stationed in the capital, but soldiers from Chongzhe Prefecture from various places. They were recruited and came to Qinghai to gather at the same time.

    When the Tang Dynasty fought, they always recruited soldiers from the government near the war zone, all of whom were from Qinghai. Therefore, Du He, the commander-in-chief of the three armies who was far away in Chang'an, was the last to arrive.

    When he entered the Qinghai territory, the generals who heard the news had already prepared a heavy-duty reception formation.

    "I've seen the chief manager" Zhang Liang took Niu Jinda, Liu Lan, Xin Li'er, and Liu Boying together to salute Du He.

    Du He turned over and dismounted, hurriedly stepped forward to help Zhang Liang up, and said with a smile: "Old General Zhang, there is no need to be polite Generals, please get up too. In terms of qualifications, Du He belongs to your juniors. Thanks to His Majesty's trust, he has been awarded the position of commander-in-chief."  . My combat experience is far inferior to that of you all. Fighting side by side, if there are any mistakes, I hope you will point them out" He said kindly, without putting on any airs.

    The generals were so busy that they didn't dare to do so, and they got closer to each other invisibly.

    Seeing this, Zhang Liang breathed a sigh of relief.  Among these generals, he is under the greatest pressure.  Ever since he learned that the commander-in-chief was Du He, Zhang Liang's heart had never been at peace.  He was not afraid that Du He was incompetent, but rather that he was afraid that Du He would be too capable, just like Huo Qubing.

    "Huo Qubing is a young hero, how amazing that is.  However, just because he is so powerful, he has an extremely arrogant temperament and never cares about other people's emotions.  When Huo Qubing's expeditionary army was returning to the army, they ran out of food and grass and many soldiers starved to death on the way.  But there was a foul smell in Huo Qubing's car.  That was the wine and meat rewarded by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to Huo Qubing.  Because there were too many of them, we couldn¡¯t eat them and they stunk on the road.

    No one is perfect, and it is natural that Huo Qubing was successful at a young age and had some flaws in his temperament.

    Du He and Huo Qubing are both young and successful. If Du He is as arrogant as Huo Qubing, the situation will be extremely serious.

    The early Tang Dynasty was not the dynasty of Emperor Wu. Most of today's generals with status and status are veterans who have fought for Li Tang and made military exploits.  If Du He is too arrogant and does not keep these veterans in mind, it will inevitably cause discord among the military and make it impossible to enforce orders and prohibitions.

    Now seeing Du He like this, Zhang Liang felt relieved.

    Du He had some calculations along the way. He knew that he was not as good as Li Jing, Li Ji, and Li Daozong.  The three of them not only have the ability, but also the prestige and the power to convince the three armies, which is exactly what he does not possess.  The only way to truly convince everyone is to use your true talents and knowledge to fight this battle well.

      Respect depends on one's own efforts, not what others give.

    Based on Du He¡¯s current power, he can indeed rely on Li Shimin¡¯s momentum to show off his power and make others awe him.  But this doesn't really convince people. What they convince is Li Shimin who is far away in Chang'an.  Only by actually fighting a winning battle and convincing them will be convincing.

    Therefore, from the beginning, Du He had no intention of showing off his power, and everything was based on strength.

    Regarding Du He's strength, the generals who came to greet him all knew something about him, and being able to defeat Hou Junji already explained everything.  The only barrier between them is their seniority, and Du He is still too young It would be unbearable for any of them to have a kid much younger than themselves gesticulating in front of them and teaching them how to do things.

    Du He didn¡¯t put on any airs, and they all felt that Du He, the appointed commander, had given them face, and they were naturally willing to support him.

    Du He and Zhang Liang walked side by side.

    Zhang Liang is in his fifties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a loud voice, and full of energy, which gives people the feeling of being fierce and flying.  If you really think of him as a fierce Zhang Fei, you would be totally wrong.  Li Shimin's evaluation of him is that he is "suave and upright, honest on the outside but deceitful on the inside." As one of the sixteen heroes of Lingyan Pavilion, he naturally has qualities that are difficult for ordinary people to compare with.

    "Old General, how are the soldiers gathering?" Du He said politely.

    Zhang Liang replied without hesitation: "Soldiers from all walks of life have been assembled However, I'm afraid it will be difficult to go out for a while" There was worry in his brows.

    "It's because of the plateau climate" Du He said the reason with a smile, not surprised at all. In his memory, Qinghai already has the characteristics of the plateau climate.

    Zhang Liang was surprised and said: "The General Manager is very human. It is indeed a plateau climate. The climate here is unique, and people who are not used to it will find it difficult to bear it for a while. The nearly 100,000 troops gathered were as if they were suffering from the plague, and one-third of the people were affected.  The remaining people also have more or less problems. Although they are not that serious, their morale is inevitably reduced It is not the time to go on an expedition. In addition, the 40,000 soldiers and horses brought by the general manager now seem to be very active.  , within a day or two, at least half of the people will die." He has been in Qinghai for three years and has adapted to the climate here. He has a deep understanding of the climate here.

    Du He knew the plateau climate very well, and nodded: "The situation in this battle is grim. We not only have to fight against people, but also against the sky. How are the old general's soldiers? They should be used to the climate here, right?  "

    Zhang Liang replied: "This is natural. It was the same in the beginning. It was a matter of life and death. After about a month, the situation improved slightly. After three years, I naturally got used to it."

    "One month, then we will rest for a month, let all the soldiers recuperate in Qinghai, conduct adaptive training, and let them adapt to the climate here as much as possible. So that they will not become soft-legged shrimps and be slaughtered by others." Du He said at the moment  He had the calmness that a commander-in-chief of the three armies should have, and did not overestimate Tang Bing's physical fitness. If he wanted to fight with God, he must be fully prepared.

    Zhang Liang admired and praised: "Wise decision" Du He's idea coincided with his. He relied on his experience in Qinghai over the years, so what did Du He rely on?

    Although Zhang Liang is a veteran, he has no intention of relying on his elders. In this conversation, he has recognized Du He's existence as the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces.

    Du He also noticed the change in Zhang Liang's tone and smiled slightly: "How is the situation in Xiangxiong and Tubo now? Is there any news?"

    Zhang Liang shook his head and said: "Tubo intercepted all external communications of the Xiangxiong Kingdom as early as the beginning of the attack, and we couldn't get any news. Recently, Tubo has been preparing at the border, and I believe it has got our intention.  In order to prevent us from cooperating with the Sang Shung Kingdom, they even strengthened their security. In the two months before the General Manager arrived, I sent spies ten times to contact the Sang Shung Kingdom, but in the end there was no news.  There is no gain at all. But this also proves that the Xiangxiong Kingdom is still there and has not been destroyed."

    Du He pondered for a moment and said: "Then how did Zhu Huo break through the Communist Party? Is it possible to follow the old path and regain contact with Xiang Xiong Kingdom?"

    Zhang Liang shook his head again: "I have thought about this, and asked about the possibility in detail. Zhu Huo came over the mountain. It is easy to go down the mountain, but difficult to go up. He came down, but couldn't go up. I still don't believe it, so I specially asked the army to  The soldiers who were the best at rock climbing tried it, but failed"

    Du He nodded and stopped asking any more questions. He also understood in his heart that Zhang Liang was indeed not an ordinary person to be ranked in Lingyan Pavilion. He might not have thought of what he thought of, and he should have tried every possible method.

    He looked ahead and thought: "It seems that I can only take action personally!"

      When Du He was still Du Changtian in later generations, he once climbed to the top of Mount Everest alone using Qinggong and stood at the highest point in the world.  Now his Qinggong is not at the level it was back then, but what he climbed was not Mount Everest.

    A month¡¯s rest should be enough for one round trip.  Notify Xiang Xiongguo that the inside should be coordinated with the outside, and the front and rear should be used.

    Du He was calculating in his heart, and finally said: "Old General, please ask someone to bring Zhu Huo to my military tent later. I have something to ask him"
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