Chapter 4868 The Tubo Prince
The monarch and his ministers sat opposite each other, both puzzled by Lun Qinling's unreasonable and hasty attack, and they were at a loss to do anything.
After a long while, Sambuza asked: "How does Zampu plan to deal with the defeat of Serugondun?"
This is another difficult question.
Defeating an army, losing generals, and falling into a city and losing territory is a serious crime at any time. Even with the status and merits of Gongdun, one cannot escape punishment. But now Qinling's aggressive attack, regardless of the situation, is likely to cause internal turmoil in Tibet, and the disloyal people may be ready to take action. The entire deal with Seru Gongdun is bound to arouse a lot of resentment and fear, and will increasingly disturb people's hearts and minds. Self-danger.
Songtsen Gampo shook his head: "The Gar tribe received assistance from the Tang people, and the Qinling army was far superior to the Sairu tribe in terms of equipment, ordnance, and baggage. Although Sairu Gongdun was defeated, it was not a crime of war. How could it be Blame it on him?”
Sambuza nodded. Zampu must pay attention to internal unity. Indeed, compared to the internal unity of Tubo, the failure of a war is indeed insignificant.
"Then how should we deal with it now? Why not issue an order to have the leaders of the six tribes in Nacang arrive at Luoxue City immediately to discuss the strategy to deal with Qinling?"
Songtsen Gampo pondered slightly.
This approach is equivalent to calling the leaders of the six tribes of Nacang to Luoxue City and putting them under house arrest. Of course, it also means forcing them to choose sides.
After taking a sip of tea, he found that it was already lukewarm. He put down the tea cup and said, "That's fine. These guys always work both ways, so we can't always be so vague."
Forcing people to stand in line is a bit too drastic, but now that Lun Qinling is marching straight into the city and his troops are about to approach the city, he has to pay attention to the issue of internal unity. Otherwise, when Lun Qinling arrives at Luoche City, these people will suddenly rebel and raise troops to respond, which will be troublesome It's just too big.
It is necessary to prevent it before it happens.
Sambuza quickly refilled the kettle on the side and nodded: "Wei Chen will immediately draft an order and ask Zanpu to stamp it and send it to the Sixth Department of Nacang."
After a pause, he asked again: "How to deal with Qinling now?"
Songtsan Gampo was sipping his tea cup and said: "Let the prince lead his troops to the Dangla Mountain to reinforce Serugondun, but still use Serugondun as the commander-in-chief and the prince as the assistant."
Sambuza was stunned: "This..."
Prince Gongrigongzan of Tubo is eighteen years old this year. He married Princess Tuyuhun as his concubine and has just given birth to a son. Although the prince is considered talented and intelligent, he is sick, not strong enough, and has no experience in leading an army in war. How can he take on this role? Such an important task?
After all, no matter how weak he is, he is still a Tubo prince. Although he is called a auxiliary, Seru Gongdun is still a minister. When the time comes, it is hard to say who will be the master and who will be the auxiliary.
But soon he understood Songtsen Gampo's intention, which was to make sure that Serugondun could hold the defense line of Dangla Mountain after receiving reinforcements, so as to gain military glory for the prince, add resume, and prepare for his future succession.
After all, if a weak and sick prince has no outstanding achievements, it will be difficult to convince the public even if he succeeds to the throne.
But Songtsen Gampo only had such a son...
"Don't worry, Zanpu. We will select elite men to accompany the prince on the expedition to ensure nothing goes wrong."
Songtsen Gampo nodded, worried.
Doesn't he know that his son is weak and unfit to lead an army? If something happens to his son, wouldn't his succession to the throne be cut off?
But he had to do this, because he could not trust Seru Gongdun, so he could only send his son to lead the army to Dangla Mountain, not only to support Seru Gondun, but also to monitor, forcing Seru Gondun not to have any disobedience. .
It wasn't that he didn't trust Serugondun, a comrade who had fought side by side for many years, but that he couldn't trust human nature in making trade-offs in the face of interests.
If Seru Gondun was alone, he would definitely be loyal to him as Zampu and loyal to the death. But after all, there is an entire tribe behind him, and the interests of the tribe are far higher than personal moral integrity.
When personal loyalty conflicts with the interests of the tribe, no one knows what the final choice will be...
*****
The frozen Yak River could not stop the armored cavalry. Seru Gongdun did not dare to fight at all. He retreated southward until he reached the Dangla Pass and then stopped. It was not that he did not want to run but that he had fled here from Zishan Pass in one breath. Exhausted, even if he died in battle, it would be difficult to move.
Of course, the armored cavalry with both men and horses consumes even more energy. Even though they knew that Serugondun was unable to escape, they still had no strength to launch an offensive.
The two sides faced off at the Dangla Pass. One was at the pass and the other was at the foot of the mountain. No one could do anything about the other for the time being. Fortunately, Serugongdun was given a chance to breathe, allowing him to gather the remaining defeated soldiers and stabilize the defense line with the help of the terrain, and at the same time seek help from Luoxe City. .
As for whether he would be held accountable by Zamp for his defeat, he could no longer care. Looking at the dilapidated troops in the ice and snow, his heart was bleeding.
The reason why he was able to become a minister in Tubo whose status was only lower than that of Ludongzan was not only due to his achievements in following Zampu in conquering the north and south to unify Tibet over the years, but also because of the strong "Seru" tribe behind him. This was the guarantee. The foundation of his power and status.
But now more than half of the 20,000 tribal elites have been lost, and countless others have been injured. How can he explain to the tribal elders and how can he continue to maintain his power?
In the early morning of the next day, the sound of the horn awoke Serugondun, who was sleepy and restless. He jumped up. Fortunately, he had not changed his clothes when he fell asleep last night. He grabbed the scimitar on the table and walked out. He looked at his guards in shock. Question: "What happened?"
The guard said: "Lun Qinling has begun to attack!"
Serugondun quickly walked to the front surrounded by guards, and looked down from a high position. He saw densely packed enemies at the foot of the mountain launching an attack. Fortunately, the terrain of Dangla Pass was steep. Although he could usually walk on horseback, the mountain road was covered with ice and snow and it was difficult to walk at this moment. , and it is difficult for horses to speed up when charging, so the enemy can only abandon their horses and attack with infantry.
Without the power of the armored cavalry, the combat effectiveness of the Gar tribe has dropped by more than one level. Otherwise, the ability of Serugongdun would not have collapsed at the first touch. It is really that the charging formation of the armored cavalry in the field is too unsolvable...
Although they were all defeated at the moment, the Sairu tribe and the simply reorganized Subi State were defeated and guarding the mountain pass, making it difficult for the enemy to break through for a while.
However, before Seru Gongdon could breathe a sigh of relief, he first saw a few plumes of smoke rising from the position at the foot of the mountain, and then the dull sound of explosions reached his ears. It was the enemy who had used thunder. Serugondun could see clearly from his high position that thunder exploded in his own ice formation, and shattered shrapnel flew in all directions. A large number of soldiers fell in a radius of about ten feet, which was extremely tragic.
Serugondun tightened his grip on the handle of the knife, pursed his lips tightly, and his eyes were filled with panic.
It seems that the Gar tribe did not get many thunderbolts, but despite this, the thunderbolts, rockets, and armored cavalry made it difficult for the Tibetan army to resist. What would happen if the Tang army was equipped with these firearms and armor? A devastating scene?
Of course, the Tang people could not adapt to the climate of the plateau, and even if they had firearms and armor, they would not be able to exert their power... But what if the Tang people fully supported a certain Tubo tribe?
No matter Zamp or any tribe, who can stop it?
In a sense, as long as the Tang people are willing to fully support a certain Tubo tribe, the possibility of Tibet changing its destiny will be infinite...
Serugondun's eyes were deep.
The battle at the foot of the mountain lasted for half an hour. The Gar tribe advanced dozens of feet. Finally, due to the numerical superiority and tenacious resistance of the defenders, it was difficult to advance, so they had to terminate the battle and withdraw from the foot of the mountain.
The battle is over.
But Seru Gongdun didn't feel at all relaxed. He returned to the camp with a lot of worries and asked people to prepare food while eating and thinking about something.
After eating and drinking butter tea, the coldness in my body was driven away. Just as I was about to take a nap, a guard came in and reported: "Chief, the prince has led the reinforcements to arrive ten miles away."
Serugondun let out a breath, stood up, took a fur and put it on, then grabbed a fur hat with complex patterns and gorgeous decorations and put it on his head. He said in a deep voice: "Follow me to greet the prince." , the others must watch out for the enemy, and must not be attacked by him!”
"Yes!"
Serugongdun gave instructions and left the camp. He rode his horse and led a group of guards southward along the mountain pass. After crossing the entire mountain pass, he saw the faint flag in the distance in the wind and snow, as well as countless vehicles. War horse...
After going forward to reveal his identity, he was led by soldiers to ride forward for a while, and then he saw the Tibetan prince Gongrigongzan, who was wrapped tightly with only half of his face exposed.
Sairu Gongdun turned over and dismounted and walked quickly for two steps to Gongri Gongzan's horse. He knelt on the ground and said loudly: "My Lord, Sairu Gongdun, welcome the prince!"
"Oh my, it's time to wait for General Seru. Please get up quickly."
Gongri Gongzan on horseback actually turned over and dismounted, but his legs were weak probably because he had been riding for too long. He staggered and almost fell. The guards on the left and right were frightened and their expressions changed drastically. Fortunately, Sairu Gongdun reacted sharply. Support.
"Prince, be careful!"
Seru Gondun supported Gongri Gongzan, but found that the prince was trembling all over, and he couldn't help but be a little confused...
Gongri Gongzan grabbed Sairu Gongdun's arm, his teeth chattering: "Zanpu has something important to tell the general before I leave. Please quickly board the car with me and let me explain it in detail."
Serugondun was stunned. Is there anything that cannot be discussed until we reach the mountain pass?
However, seeing that Gongri Gongzan had boarded a gorgeously decorated carriage behind with the help of his guards, he had no choice but to follow.
"Phew! If the general comes a little later, I'm afraid I'm going to freeze to death!"
As soon as he got into the carriage, the guard wrapped a leather quilt around Gongri Gongzan, put a heater into his hand, and poured a mouthful of hot water. Gongri Gongzan's little pale face was It slowly turned red, and the body was no longer shaking as violently as before.
Only then did Seru Gondun suddenly realize that the prince was too cold to bear, but he still wanted to maintain the Tibetan man's fearlessness in the wind and snow in front of the entire army and refused to get on the carriage to keep warm. It was not until he saw him that he decided to get on the carriage. Reason...
Seeing Gongri Gongzan's thin body shivering surrounded by the leather quilt, Seru Gongdun sighed. Zanpu is a wise and mighty man, a great hero, but this heir does not look like a wise master...