Chapter 50 The strategy of besieging Tubo

At the end of August in the third year of Zhenyuan, Tubo Prime Minister Shang Jiezan gathered heavy troops and joined forces with the Qiang and Tuyuhun tribes to invade Longzhou (now Longxian County, Shaanxi).According to the battle report, the joint corps of Tubo has "several battalions for dozens of miles" and its strength is innumerable. The capital was shocked. On the fifth day of September, Emperor Dezong hurriedly dispatched generals Shi Jizhang and Tang Liangchen to lead their troops to Wugong (now west of Wugong County, Shaanxi) and Baili City (now west of Lingtai County, Gansu).

On the seventh day of September, the Tubo army plundered Siyang (now Qianyang County, Shaanxi Province), Wushan (now west of Baoji County, Shaanxi Province), and Huating (now Huating County, Gansu Province), massacring most of the local old and weak people, and the rest were either dug up. The eyes, or cut off the hands, let them fend for themselves, and then kidnap more than 10,000 young and middle-aged men, and prepare to take them to the Anhua Gorge (now west of Qingshui County, Gansu Province) and distribute them to the Qiang and Tuyuhun tribes as slaves. In order to show off their might and frighten the soldiers and civilians of the Tang Dynasty, the Tubo general said to all the captives very arrogantly: "You are allowed to face the east and cry away from the country!"

More than 10,000 people wept in unison, one can imagine how tragic and desolate the scene was.Unwilling to be humiliated, many people committed suicide by jumping off the cliff one after another. There were more than 1,000 casualties. After the main force of Tubo escorted the captives and returned satisfied, there was still a remaining force that had not yet filled their appetites, so they turned back to attack Longzhou.The local governor Han Qingmian, together with Su Taiping, the general of the Shence Army, attacked the Tubo barracks at night, and finally beat back the greedy bandits. The Tubo people burned, killed and looted like this every year, and they went deep into Guanzhong and threatened Chang'an at every turn, which was really unbearable for the monarchs and people of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Mi believes that there must be a way to attack the Tubo people fundamentally, so that the Tang Dynasty can completely get rid of this passive defense and passive beating situation. As mentioned above, Li Mi's approach was to "keep Tubo trapped by not using Chinese soldiers."Specifically, it is to use a series of diplomatic means to form alliances with Huihe, Nanzhao, Dashi, Tianzhu and other countries, and make full use of the inherent disputes between these countries and Tubo to urge them to turn their guns on the Tubo people. Let Tubo be surrounded by enemies and isolated and helpless, gradually weaken its strength, and finally let it stop completely!

Of course, this is a huge project that requires great diplomacy and effective action, as well as patience and time.However, these are not the most important.To realize this plan, the biggest obstacle is not from outside, but from inside. To put it bluntly, the biggest obstacle is Dezong himself. Because Dezong and Huihe have old grudges. Li Mi knew very well that Dezong definitely had no objection to forming alliances with countries such as Nanzhao, Dashi, and Tianzhu.Only Huihe is an untouchable scar in Li Shi's heart.To form an alliance with the Huihe people is tantamount to uncovering this scar...

So, this thing is hard. But no matter how difficult it was, Li Mi had to do it. In fact, from the day when he returned to pay homage to the Prime Minister, Li Bi had already been thinking about forming an alliance with Huihe.Once, Dezong and Li Mi were discussing the issue of the frontier army's farming. Li Mi deliberately revealed that he had a plan to weaken Tubo. Li Mi couldn't speak rashly. In the autumn of the third year of Zhenyuan, shortly after Tubo's latest invasion, the opportunity finally came - the current Huihe Khan Hegu Dulu repeatedly sent envoys to Tang Dynasty, demanding peace with Tang Dynasty.

It is conceivable that Dezong refused without hesitation. Just at this time, some generals of the frontier defense force came forward one after another, saying that the army lacked horses and asked the court to allocate them, but the court was too shy to meet the needs of the army.Li Mi said to Emperor Dezong: "If your Majesty can use the minister's strategy, the price of horses will definitely drop to one-tenth of the current price in a few years, and the army will not worry about lacking horses by then." Dezong hurriedly asked him what strategy he had. Li Mi said: "Your Majesty must promise to be open and honest, and be willing to wrong yourself for the sake of the empire and the people. Only when everything starts from the great plan of the society can I speak about this plan."

Dezong showed displeasure: "Just say it, don't be suspicious." At this point, Li Micai confided his plan: "I hope that Your Majesty can connect with Huihe in the north, connect with Yunnan (Nanzhao) in the south, connect Dashi and Tianzhu in the west, so that not only will Tubo be in trouble, but horses will also be easy to get. " As expected, Dezong's face turned black when he heard it.He said in a low voice: "The other three countries, do as you say; as for Huihe, absolutely not!" Li Mi: "I already knew that His Majesty would react in this way, so I didn't dare to bring it up. But in order to save the crisis of the empire, Huihe should give priority to it, and other countries can postpone it."

Dezong: "Only this Huihe, don't even mention it!" Li Mi: "As the prime minister, your majesty may not listen to what you say, but you must let me say it." Dezong was anxious: "I can listen to anything you say, but the matter of forming an alliance with Huihe can only be left to future generations to consider. As long as I live, don't even think about it!" Li Mi: "Could it be that the shame of Shanzhou back then made His Majesty hard to let go?" Dezong: "Yes! Wei Shaohua and the others were humiliated and died because of me. How can I forget it? It's a pity that the country is so difficult that there is no chance for revenge, but there is no way to reconcile with Huihe. This is the end of this matter, don't talk about it anymore!"

If it was someone else, they would definitely retreat at this time, but Li Mi would never retreat.Don't try to silence him until Dezong chops his head off, or dismisses his position. Li Mi went on to say: "The person who harmed Wei Shaohua was Dengli Khan, and Dengli Khan was killed by the current Khan Hegu Dulu. It can be seen that Hegu Dulu avenged His Majesty, and he has contributed to His Majesty. It should be accepted." How could there be any enmity with His Majesty for offering a reward?" Dezong changed color again: "According to what you say, it is right to reconcile with Huihe, and I must be wrong?"

Li Mi: "For the sake of the country, I know everything and say everything. If you just keep quiet and blindly cater, what face do you have to meet the spirits of Su Zong and Dai Zong!" Dezong stared at Li Mi's face for a long time, finally softened, and reluctantly said: "Let me Xu Sizhi (you let me think about it)." Of course Li Mi knew that the so-called "Rong Zhen Xu Sizhi" was just an excuse by Dezong. If Li Mi no longer insisted on it, it would be tantamount to giving up this plan automatically. Will Li Mi give up? of course not. In the following days, Li Mi mentioned this matter to Dezong fifteen times in a row, but was rejected fifteen times!In the end, Li Mi had no choice but to use his trump card and resigned to Dezong again. Dezong was helpless, and said: "I am not rejecting the advice, but I want to reason with you. Why do you have to leave at every turn?" Li Mi: "Your Majesty is willing to reason with your ministers, sincerity is a blessing in the world!" Dezong: "I can wrong myself, but I can't be sorry to Wei Shaohua and the others." Obviously, this is an excuse.Of course Li Mi would not let this excuse stand.He said: "In Yi Chen's opinion, it is Wei Shaohua and the others who are sorry for His Majesty, not Your Majesty who is sorry for them." Dezong was stunned: "How to say?" Li Mi: "At the beginning, when Dengli Khan was still a prince (named Ye Hu), he led his troops to assist us in the conquest of An Qingxu. Suzong just let his ministers have a banquet at the marshal's mansion, and the late emperor (Daizong) did not show up at all. Later, Ye Hu invited his ministers to visit his military camp several times, but Suzong never agreed. The first emperor did not meet him until the Huihe army was about to go out. The reason for this was that the Huihe people were like wolves, and they went deep into the hinterland of China. It has to be guarded against. When His Majesty was in Shanzhou, Wei Shaohua and the others did not think carefully, but let the eldest son of the royal family enter the Huihe military camp rashly, and did not discuss with them in advance the etiquette of the meeting between the two sides. Is it not that Wei Shaohua and the others are sorry for His Majesty? Even if they die, it will not be worth their crime of dereliction of duty." Dezong was speechless, with a helpless and embarrassing expression on his face. Li Mi saw it, and then said: "When Chang'an was conquered back then, Prince Ye Hu made great contributions in the great victory of Xiangji Temple, and planned to take advantage of the situation to plunder Chang'an. It was the late emperor who knelt in front of his horse to stop him, so Ye Hu did not dare to send troops. Entering the city. It can be seen that it is completely worthwhile to save the people after being humiliated for a while. Later, Ye Hu succeeded to the throne as Dengli Khan and once again sent soldiers from all over the country to the south to help us put down the chaos. Naturally, he was arrogant and arrogant. That's why I dared to ask His Majesty to perform worship and dance ceremony to him. Fortunately, His Majesty was so talented and refused to give in. I really can't imagine the scene at that time. If Dengli Khan forced His Majesty to stay in the barracks, it was called a banquet. In fact, house arrest, as long as ten days, the government and the public will definitely be shocked! Fortunately, His Majesty's majesty, the wolves dare not be too presumptuous. Afterwards, Khan's mother repelled the left and right, personally put a sable fur on His Majesty, and sent Your Majesty returned home on horseback. Your Majesty, if you compare your experience with that of the late Emperor at Xiangji Temple, who suffered the greater humiliation? According to Your Majesty, would you rather endure temporary humiliation to save the people? Will you never endure your own humiliation, and let the people suffer and the people suffer?" Dezong was completely speechless. In front of this veteran of the four dynasties who spouted lotus flowers and was eloquent, Dezong felt that he could hardly even speak. At that time, Li Sheng and Ma Sui were also present.Dezong was stunned for a moment, then turned his head and asked them: "I have always hated Huihe, but when I heard about Xiangji Temple, I also felt that I was a bit wronged. What do you two think?" Li Sheng and Ma Sui glanced at each other, then glanced at Li Mi, and said cautiously, "If it's really what Li Mi said, Huihe seems to be able to forgive me." Dezong let out a long sigh: "You are not on my side, what else can I do?" Li Mi knew that Dezong had compromised.However, in order not to embarrass the emperor too much, Li Mi hurriedly blamed the former prime minister, saying: "I think that Huihe is not hated, but the prime ministers who have always been hated! For example, Tubo, taking advantage of our country's troubles, sent troops to occupy Hexi, Longyou (now Gansu and the eastern part of Qinghai), thousands of miles away, brazenly invaded the capital, causing the first emperor to be dusted and Luanjia to be relocated. It is really hateful to form an alliance with Tubo!" Dezong: "I have been feuding with Huihe for a long time. I just suffered the robbery of the alliance by Tubo, and then I repeatedly rejected Huihe's marriage proposal. Now that I propose to reconcile, I am not afraid of being rejected by them and making fun of us?" Li Bi is confident: "Absolutely not. I can immediately write a letter to Huihe Khan, telling him that if he wants to get married, he must agree to five conditions: first, to be a minister to your majesty; second, to be a son to your majesty; Four, each trade of horses with our dynasty should not exceed 1,000 horses (since the reign of Emperor Suzong, Huihe often exchanged a large number of lean horses for silk from the Tang Dynasty and gave them to the Tang Dynasty. finances have caused a heavy burden); fifth, the Han people must not be held hostage for any reason. If Huihe Khan agrees to all five items, His Majesty will allow a marriage. In this way, our dynasty’s reputation will surely shock the Northern Wilderness and shock Tubo, which is enough Make Your Majesty flatten his chest." Dezong still felt uncertain about making the always arrogant Uyghurs profess ministers and sons: "Since the reign of Zhide, we and Uyghurs have always been called brotherly countries. Now if they are allowed to proclaim themselves ministers, will they be willing?" Li Mi said: "They have long wanted to make peace with our country, and the ministers have always had a good relationship with their Khan and Prime Minister. If a letter fails to negotiate, it is just another one." So far, Dezong had nothing to say, and agreed to let Li Bi start the marriage.Li Mi immediately sent a letter, and not long after, Huihe sent an envoy to submit a letter, not only proclaiming himself a minister and son, but also agreeing to all five conditions.Dezong was overjoyed, and said to Li Mi: "Why are the Huihe people in awe of you?" Upon hearing this, Li Mi quickly put the high hat on Dezong: "It's all because of your majesty's wisdom, what power does this minister have!" (Vol. 233: "This is Your Majesty's mighty spirit, how powerful is this minister!") Dezong asked: "Since Huihe has reconciled, how should we make friends with Nanzhao, Dashi and Tianzhu?" Li Mi replied: "After the reconciliation with Huihe, Tubo will not dare to invade the border easily. The second step is to appease Nanzhao. Since the Han Dynasty, Nanzhao has been subject to China. In the last years of Tianbao, Yang Guozhong's policy was wrong, which caused a rebellion. , Nanzhao took refuge in Tubo, but Tubo's taxes and labor were too heavy, and Nanzhao never wanted to become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. Once His Majesty appeases him, he can cut off Tubo's right arm. In addition, Dashi, This country has the strongest power in the Western Regions. Its territory stretches from Congling (Pamirs) in the east to the sea (Mediterranean) in the west. Find ways to ally with them." In mid-September of the third year of Zhenyuan, Dezong ordered people to send Huihe envoys back to China, and at the same time promised to marry Princess Xian'an (the daughter of Dezong) to Hegu Tulu Khan of Huihe, so as to tie the Qin and Jin Dynasties between the two countries. From this moment on, Li Mi's strategy of "uniting the four countries and attacking Tubo" finally kicked off.This was the fate of Tubo. In October of the fourth year of Zhenyuan (788 A.D.), more than 1,000 people, totaling more than 1,000 people, including his younger sister, Princess Gudulu Pijia, the Prime Minister of Huihe, and other senior officials, came to Hegu Tuolu Khan in a mighty way. Chang'an, marry Princess Xian'an.In his letter to Emperor Dezong, Gu Dulu Khan said in a very humble tone: "I was a brother in the past, but now I am my son-in-law, half-son. If Tubo is in trouble, the son should be the father to get rid of it!" (Volume 23 three) Subsequently, Hegu Dulu Khan expelled the Tubo envoys and announced the severance of diplomatic relations with them. In order to express his sincerity in being attached to the Tang Dynasty and to hope for a new beginning in the relationship between the two countries, Hegu Tulu Khan also obtained the consent of Emperor Dezong to change the name of the country from "Uyghur" to "Uyghur". In the next few years, although Tubo did not stop its invasion of the Tang Dynasty, its attack momentum has slowed down rapidly due to the constraints of the Uighurs.At the same time, Nanzhao, under the continuous instigation of the Tang Dynasty, gradually became close to Tubo, and "returned to the Tang Dynasty with a stronger ambition", and finally sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty in May of the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793 AD) to formally return to the Tang Dynasty. Afterwards, Tubo fought continuously with the Uighurs in the north, causing heavy casualties. In the south, they were threatened and restrained by Nanzhao and Tang Xichuan Jiedu envoy Wei Gao, and their military strength was greatly weakened.In the first month of the tenth year of Zhenyuan (794 A.D.), Yimouxun, king of Nanzhao, led an army to attack Tubo, defeated the Tubo army in Shenchuan (now Lijiang County, Yunnan Province), and took advantage of the victory to march, and captured 16 cities in a row. There are five princes and more than 100,000 troops. Since then, Tubo has been in a slump, its national strength is declining day by day, and it is still too busy to take care of itself, let alone invade the Tang Dynasty on a large scale.Later, even though Tubo occasionally made small moves on the border, they were all repelled one by one by Xichuan Jiedu envoy Wei Gao, and could no longer pose a substantial threat to the Tang Dynasty. Facts have proved that since Li Mi put forward the strategy of besieging Tubo, the once mighty Tubo has irreparably weakened.However, it is regrettable that Li Bi himself did not have time to see the successful results. As early as March in the fifth year of Zhenyuan (AD 789), Li Mi, who served in the Xuan, Su, Dai, and De dynasties and made outstanding contributions to the Su and De dynasties, passed away at the age of 68. Looking at Li Mi's life, he can be regarded as a rare legend in China's political arena for thousands of years. At the age of seven, Li Mi was summoned and appreciated by Tang Xuanzong for his precocious talent, and formed a friendship with Zhang Jiuling, the then prime minister; He had a good friendship and was immediately squeezed out by Yang Guozhong and returned to the mountains; during Suzong's Lingwu period, Li Bi came out of the mountain to assist him with all his strength and became the "Prime Minister of Commoner" who attracted the attention of the government and the public. The eunuch Li Fuguo was excluded, and he simply retired and returned to Hengshan. After Daizong ascended the throne, Li Mi, who devoted himself to practicing Taoism, was called into the court again, and became a Hanlin scholar. He was forced by Daizong to marry a wife and eat meat. It was the third time to leave the court; a few years later, Yuan Zai was punished, and Li Bi returned to the court, but not long after, he was not tolerated by the then prime minister Chang Gun, and was relegated from the court again; four years after Jianzhong, Li Mi Yingde Zong Zhizhao entered the court for the fifth time, but it was not until the third year of Zhenyuan that the 66-year-old veteran of the four dynasties finally agreed to Dezong to serve as the prime minister of the Tang Empire. Li Mi's life has been full of ups and downs, and his official career has been difficult, but he has never admired glory and profit, and lives in peace, neither happy with gains nor worried about losses.Although he last served as prime minister for only one year and eight months, he made a series of contributions to the court of Dezong in politics, economy, military affairs, diplomacy and other aspects, thus ensuring Zhenyuan to a large extent. The peace and stability of the overall situation in the empire during the years is enough to be called one of the most outstanding politicians in the Tang Dynasty and one of the most outstanding prime ministers!However, Li Mi's reputation in later generations is not directly proportional to his historical achievements.Today, when many people talk about famous figures in the Tang Dynasty, they usually say "Fang Mou Du Duan", then "Yao Chong Song Jing", and at most Di Renjie. As for Li Bi, I'm sorry, I don't know him. what about this? Looking through the history books, we found the answer—— Sima Guang said in the book: "Bi has a strategy and likes to talk about the weirdness of immortals, so he is underestimated by the world." Deceitful ways...so they are underestimated by the generation, although deceitful ways seek tolerance, they are not valued by the current king." Although "New Book of Tang Li Mi Biography" also admitted that "the two capitals were restored, most of them were schemes", and said that Li Mi "Entering and exiting is forbidden, and it is a matter of the four monarchs. The number is a disease of power and luck, and it is often avoided by wisdom." To put it bluntly, the reason why Li Mi was not respected by the scholar-bureaucrats at that time, and he could not get a fair evaluation in later generations was not because he had insufficient knowledge, moral character, ability, wisdom, and contribution. Because his personal religious beliefs are too out of tune with the orthodox ideology of Confucianism, and he is too different in his conduct in the world! The answer is actually that simple. In the thousands of years of officialdom in China, if a person wants to get along well and eat well, the most important thing is often not talent, morality, ability, wisdom, and contribution, but whether you can respond to your colleagues in the same breath. Please; to put it bluntly, it is to see if you can eat meat in the same pot and shit in the latrine with your brothers (including the superiors, of course)! If you dare to be like Li Mi, who likes to eat meat but you are a vegetarian, and you are lonely and self-admired when others like you, then you are "excluded from the people".No matter how hard you work and how outstanding your grades are, no one will say you are good.Not only did they not say hello to you, but they also excluded you in life and buried you in death!Who told you to always be arrogant and independent?Who told you not to mingle with the masses? Therefore, it is reasonable for Li Mi to have many official careers when he was alive, and to be lonely for thousands of years after his death. As the saying goes, a good person is more jealous, and a clean world is the same! This is the way the world is.It has been so in the past, it is so now, and it will probably be so in the future. However, having said that, Li Mi will certainly not care if future generations give Li Mi a fair evaluation.The reason is very simple - what kind of fame does a person want after death if he regards glory and wealth as floating clouds and abandons fame and fortune like nothing? Or Du Fu said it well: "Er Cao's body and name are destroyed, and the rivers and rivers will not be abandoned." The ancient Roman philosopher and emperor Marco Aurelius also said: "Everyone's life is short, the longest His posthumous fame is short-lived, and even this reputation is only sustained by poor generations of descendants, who will soon die too, who don't even know themselves, let alone those who are long dead." In a word, when a person comes into the world, he should act according to his conscience, act according to his conscience, act when it is time to act, let go when it is time to let go, do something and not do something, and wave his sleeves at the end without taking a single cloud. This is enough. Yes, that's enough, nothing to regret.