Chapter 2440 Foresight
Fang Jun couldn't help but feel worried.
Except that he himself is the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the war in the Western Regions is naturally within his responsibilities. In addition, the newly appointed Anxi Protector of Hejian County, Li Xiaogong, Sima Xue Rengui, and even Gao Fuli, whom he has never met before, are all in the Western Regions now.
Personal future is no longer Fang Jun's primary concern. He knows better than anyone how ferocious the Arabs are. In this era, Arab warriors armed with faith, in order to conquer land and spread their faith, do so without any legal or moral constraints. , raging like locusts, they don't care whether they are soldiers or civilians. Killing people in the fields is just normal, and massacring cities on slopes is even more commonplace.
Once the war fails, all Tang troops may be massacred...
However, even if Fang Jun wants to support the Western Regions now, he is powerless. The entire empire's military power is leaning eastward, and all eyes are focused on Goguryeo. How can there be any spare force to support the Western Regions?
If we go to the Western Regions, it will take at least a year to go back and forth. Once the war situation is unfavorable, it may happen in two or three years. The main force of the country is in Liaodong. If a guard horse is dispatched from Guanzhong to rush to the Western Regions, it will inevitably cause a war in the capital. The earth's defenses are empty.
Now that His Majesty Li Er is in charge, there is no risk of anyone causing rebellion. But next spring, His Majesty Li Er will lead several guards and horses to conquer Goguryeo. He will definitely leave the prince to supervise the country. By then...
If someone becomes disloyal and willing to take extraordinary risks to carry out military remonstrance, the consequences will be disastrous.
Therefore, no matter how worried it is, the current Anxi Protectorate can only rely on its own strength to fight against the Arab army. Even if it cannot win a complete victory, it must maintain its strength. Even if it loses some cities and land, it will not matter. As long as the Eastern Expedition is won , hundreds of thousands of troops returned to the country, providing the strongest support to the Western Regions every minute.
Fang Juncai didn't believe that the Arabs who practiced slash-and-burn farming could defeat the Tang Dynasty's Mo Dao team and musketeers who were armed to the teeth with just their sheer bravery!
I am afraid that Li Xiaogong is greedy for credit and is blindly optimistic about the situation. If something goes wrong, it will be difficult to reverse the situation...
Li Tai sighed: "Who would have known that the British general would sweep through all the countries in the Western Region, and all the barbarians would bow to his ears. In the blink of an eye, the situation would deteriorate to this point."
Fang Jun said: "Not only that, although the Arab army is attacking with force, the Anxi Protectorate is facing the enemy head-on. Even if there is a defeat, it will not lead to a rout. At worst, it will shrink to Gaochang, cut off the Silk Road, and fight with the Arabs." It will be a protracted war until after the Eastern Expedition , mobilize the army to support, and then fight to the death with the Arabs. What they fear most is the Tibetans. If the Tibetans come down from the plateau and penetrate into the heart of the Western Region, the Anxi Protectorate will be attacked from both sides. The whole army will be destroyed.”
"No way?"
Li Tai's face turned pale and he asked questions, but in his heart he believed that this was very likely to happen.
In the past two years, Tubo has been very tight-knit since his marriage proposal was rejected, which actually made him neglectful for a while. But everyone knows Tubo’s wolf ambitions. If it weren’t for Fang Jun’s “highland barley wine” plan, the nobles in Tubo fell in love with money, and they were busy gathering highland barley to brew wine and make a lot of money. The army has already taken advantage of the situation to attack the Tang Prefecture.
The two countries have long been at odds with each other.
Fang Jun rubbed his forehead and said depressedly: "Not to mention whether Tubo has enough strength to start a war with the Tang Dynasty. Their Zanpu is extremely far-sighted and only needs to send a strong army into Congling to intimidate the countries in the Western Regions, Anxi How dare the Protectorate turn a blind eye? In order to prevent being attacked from both sides, No matter what kind of request Tubo made, the Tang Dynasty had no choice but to agree. Otherwise, Tubo would invade the Western Regions in anger and cut off the Silk Road, and even march eastward to cut off the exit from Yumen Pass. The Anxi Protectorate would be left alone in the Western Regions. , completely cut off contact with Chang'an and became a lonely army."
Li Tai remained silent.
Although he is now focused on the cultural undertakings of the empire, he also has an unusual foresight in politics, and he can see the crisis after the loss of the Western Region at a glance.
Although the benefits of sea trade have already surpassed the wealth brought by the Silk Road, the Tang Dynasty must rely on the existence of the Silk Road to win over and coerce the countries in the Western Regions to obey the rule of the Tang Dynasty. Once the Silk Road is cut off or even abandoned, the Tang Dynasty will soon face conflicts with the Tang Dynasty. A deadly battle between the countries in the Western Regions.
What's more, without the input of the Silk Road, Guanzhong's status in the empire will soon be surpassed by Jiangnan. In order to prevent the situation of weak branches and strong branches from happening, the only choice is to abandon Chang'an and move the capital. Jiangnan.
Abandoning the most deeply-rooted areas of the Li Tang royal family and heading to the territory where the Jiangnan gentry has occupied for hundreds of thousands of years, the future political situation of the empire will fall into fierce turmoil. If you are not careful, the collapse of the empire is not impossible...
Fang Jun was half lying on the bed, frowning in deep thought, deducing the development of the situation in his mind. After a while, he suddenly shouted at the door: "Call Wei Ying in!"
"Here!"
The servant guarding the door took the order and left.
Li Tai asked: "Why did you call the guard eagle?"
He naturally knew that Wei Ying was the leader of Fang Jun's personal soldiers. He was smart, capable and loyal, but he just didn't understand why he called Wei Ying at this time.
Fang Jun explained: "If our expectations are correct, Tubo will indeed take the opportunity to send troops to Congling to invade the Western Regions. It is unlikely that they will openly go to war with the Tang Dynasty. After all, Tubo's domestic food reserves have long been destroyed by highland barley wine." There is not much left, and it is difficult to support a war, so their purpose is more likely to take advantage of the situation to coerce Datang into agreeing to some conditions that they would never agree to, such as... a marriage. "
Li Tai slapped his thigh and said angrily: "Mother! I know that Lao Shizi Zanpu is not a good guy. He failed to propose marriage twice. This time he will definitely use the same trick again! He doesn't think about it himself. , is he worthy of our daughter of the Li Tang royal family, let alone coveting our books on medicine, arithmetic, astrology, architecture, etc., he has no chance!”
In the past, Li Tai had expressed his disapproval of the marriage with Tubo. In his opinion, how could the golden branches and jade leaves of the Li and Tang royal family marry into a bitter and cold place like Tubo to serve the barbaric Lao Shizi Zanpu?
It's more about not letting go of face.
However, since he founded and took charge of the "Datang Culture Promotion Association", he has increasingly understood the importance of culture and knowledge to a country and a nation.
The Han dynasties came and went and changed over several generations. However, even in the last years of the dynasty, when the world was in chaos and the people were in dire straits, as long as a new dynasty was born, the political situation was stable and the people were in power, within a few years the Han dynasty would once again be prosperous and peaceful, with strong soldiers and horses, and the world would be impressed by its power.
Of course, this is due to the industrious nature of the Han people since ancient times, but more importantly it is because the Han people have the most advanced knowledge in farming, medical care, arithmetic, architecture, etc. in the world. With this knowledge, the Han people were able to once again build their homes on the abandoned land and become more prosperous than before!
The barbarians are different. They grow freely in frontier fortresses and face the worst natural environment. If they want to rise, they need to accumulate efforts for several generations or even ten or dozens of generations. However, once they fail, they will fall into dozens of Even hundreds of years of decline.
If the Tubo people had learned the knowledge of the Han people and relied on their fierce and brave temperament, wouldn't they have become the life and death enemies of the Han people?
Therefore, King Li Tai of Wei is the most resolute "hawk" in the court today. If the barbarians are not convinced, then beat them to convince them. Even if they cannot be defeated for a while, they still have to work hard and build up their strength for several years or even ten years. Fight to the death!
Marriage?
That is absolutely not possible.
Fang Jun was very pleased that Li Tai had such an understanding.
Throughout the ages, there have always been a large group of so-called great scholars who are greedy for comfort and why not eat minced meat. They advocate the gimmick of China as a great country and a state of etiquette. They believe that war is an unnecessary means and that once a war is started, it will cost nothing. Not to mention food and salary, people will die, so why not send one or two princesses to express the sincerity of the Central Plains dynasty, along with some gold and silver treasures and advanced technologies, turn gold and silver into jade and silk, and influence the barbarians with ethics. Wouldn't it be happy if everyone coexisted peacefully?
Is it because they don't understand the harm caused by this move?
Of course not.
Even though they have the limitations imposed by the times, they may not be able to be seen clearly by future generations, but these people who have been able to hold high positions, hold great power, and even control the lifeline of dynasties in various eras are all outstanding talents of the generation. There is no one. It was given for free. (End of chapter)