Chapter 14: The Participation of Military Advisers

  Li Changguo shook his head, sold the fox fur for a good price, and returned to the military mansion. He asked Li Siye who this woman was. From her tone, he had an extraordinary relationship with the military mansion, so it was just right to ask Li Siye.

  However, Li Changguo was surprised when Li Siye smiled and said: "Brother, you've gotten yourself into a huge mess."

  According to Li Changguo's understanding of him, if there really was a big trouble, he would definitely be the first to jump out and help solve it. His smile suggests that it's not a big deal.

  In the next few days, Li Changguo was just competing with Li Siye in martial arts. The two were a perfect match and benefited greatly from each other's skills.

  Three days later, Li Changguo's gun was ready, and the two men's sparring reached a fever pitch, causing a stir throughout the city, so that all the Tang troops knew about it, even Gao Xianzhi was startled.

  Li Changguo was very satisfied with this gun and wanted to try his hand, so he looked for Li Siye to spar. The two originally thought that sparring on the school grounds would be enough, but they didn't expect that once they started fighting, it would be unstoppable.

  If it had stopped there, it would not have been a big deal. Just as the two were fighting intensely, a Tang military officer discovered them and was shocked to see someone who could fight Li Siye evenly. He immediately spread the news far and wide, and soon many Tang soldiers came to watch the battle.

  Even Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng, Duan Xiushi were shocked, rushed to watch, saw the two men fighting, was greatly inspired, repeatedly praised.

  Gao Xianzhi and Bian Liancheng personally beat the drums to boost the morale of the two brave generals.

  The two men wrestled for half a day, and Li Siye was defeated. Although he lost, he was convinced and delighted, and if it weren't for Gao Xianzhi holding him back, he would have dragged Li Changguo to drink again.

  The direct consequence of this battle was that Li Changguo became famous overnight, and all the Tang troops in Shule knew that there was a fire general named Li Changguo who was even better than Li Xianye.

  From then on, whether it was a school officer or a general, when they saw Li Changguo, they would respectfully call out "Li Huozhang".

  The Tang army was like this, respecting the strong. The stronger you were, the more respect you would get from others. Although Li Changguo was still a small fire chief, his military rank was far inferior to that of the captains and generals.

  Although Li Changguo became famous and a star in the Tang army, he still had to stay at the position of Huolang. Because promotion in the Tang army is not based on how brave you are, nor how capable you are, but rather on military merit. No matter how brave you are, without military merit, you cannot be promoted, and you have to stay where you are.

  Like Li Siye, he was the bravest of the three armies. With his prestige and bravery, being a general was not a problem for him; the problem was that he had not yet accumulated enough military merit to be promoted, so he could only humble himself as a company commander.

  Li Changguo is just such a case.

  That day, Li Changguo and Li Siye were practicing martial arts when Gao Xianzhi sent someone to summon them, wanting him to participate in the military council. Logically speaking, Li Changguo was just a small fire chief and didn't have the qualifications to participate in the military council, but everyone knew that Li Changguo's promotion through meritorious service was only a matter of time.

  Two people arrived, Li Changguo took a glance, there were many people in the military government, Gao Xianzhi, Bian Lingcheng and Duan Xiushi were seated, and there were dozens of school lieutenants and other generals, gathered together, not less than 110 people.

  It goes without saying that Gao Xianzhi is convening a mobilization meeting before the expedition, making final preparations for this southern campaign.

  Behind Gao Xianzhi's commander seat, a huge military map was hung, which was the situation map of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions. The main area was Congling and the core place was Xiao Bolu.

  Everyone will see Li Changguo arrive, without any surprise, with a natural look, who made Li Changguo the first general of the Anxi Protectorate? If he doesn't participate, who has the qualifications to participate?

  Li Changguo and Li Siye found a place to sit down, and the two sat together.

  Gao Xianzhi glanced around at everyone before slowly saying: "This time in the south, we must take down Little Bolu!"

  He was straightforward and directly stated the goal of the southern expedition.

  "This expedition to the south is aimed at cutting off Tibet's passage into the Western Regions, blocking them in the high mountains and dense forests, and not allowing them to set foot in the Western Regions!" Gao Xianzhi loudly declared his strategic intentions.

  Xiaobulü was very small, a small country in the Congling Mountains, with a narrow territory and few people, extremely weak national strength. However, it is located on the only way for Tubo to enter the Western Regions, and Tubo must pass through Xiaobulü to enter the Western Regions.

  In other words, as long as Gao Xianzhi takes down Little Bolu, he will cut off the road for Tubo to enter the Western Regions. Tubo will be blocked in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and will not be able to touch the Western Regions.

  "The Western Arabs are stirring, and their Eastern Governor is rallying the Stone Country, the Gao Luolu, and the Tujue Shi. High Xianzhi continued: "This time the Arabs are coming with a mighty force, extremely evil. If the Great Tang wants to wage war against the Arabs, it must first stabilize the Western Regions! To stabilize the Western Regions, we must block the Tibetans from entering the Western Regions! To block the Tibetans, we must take down Little Bolu!"

  Gao Xianzhi's expedition against Little Balur was not an isolated action, but a part of the Tang Dynasty's Western Regions strategy, with the ultimate goal of concentrating its forces to fight against Dashi.

  At that time, the Tang Dynasty had two main enemy countries, one was Tubo and the other was Dashi, also known as the Arab Empire. Among these two countries, although Tubo fought with the Tang Dynasty for over a hundred years, it was because of its weak national strength and poor military power, at most it could only harass the Tang Dynasty, unable to inflict significant damage on the Tang Dynasty, so Tubo was the second-rate enemy of the Tang Dynasty.

  The great food, also known as the Arab Empire, was the main opponent of the Tang Dynasty.

  The Arab Empire's conquest speed was hurricane-like, exceptionally swift in its rise, first conquering the Mediterranean coast and then annihilating the Persian Empire. After this, the Arab Empire was not satisfied, rapidly advancing eastward, encountering the Tang Dynasty in Central Asia, with both countries engaging in a fierce battle that lasted for over a century.

  For the Tang Dynasty, the Arab Empire was its main enemy in the westward expansion. Without defeating the Arab Empire, the Tang Dynasty could not continue to expand westward.

  It is worth noting that during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, on the eve of its demise, the Sassanid Empire sent envoys to Chang'an to seek aid from the Tang Dynasty. This was a golden opportunity for the Tang Dynasty to enter the Middle East at that time. Unfortunately, the Western Regions were controlled by the Western Turks at that time, and it was impossible for the Tang army to pass through the territory of the Western Turks to reinforce the Sassanid Empire. After careful consideration, Emperor Taizong ultimately refused to send troops.

  This event had a strong stimulus to the Tang Dynasty. After destroying the Western Turks, it began to operate in the Western Regions and prepare to dominate the Middle East. For this reason, the Tang Dynasty once wanted to put Peroz III, the last prince of the Sassanid Empire, back on the throne, and even set up the "Persian Governor's Office".

  The strategic goal of the Tang Dynasty at that time was not Central Asia, but the Middle East!

  For the Arab Empire, the Tang Dynasty was a formidable enemy. Without defeating the Tang Dynasty, the Arab Empire could not Islamize the conquered territories.

  Historically, the Arab Empire conquered vast territories from the Mediterranean in the west to Central Asia in the east but was unable to Islamize them within a short period of time because the Tang Dynasty held back the Arab Empire. It wasn't until after the Battle of Talas that the Tang Dynasty stopped its western expansion and the Arab Empire had the spare capacity to Islamize the conquered territories.

  It is clear that both countries have a strong desire for a big war and want to knock each other down, this battle is inevitable!

  It was precisely because of this that the two countries had been embroiled in a war that lasted for over a hundred years in Central Asia. The Tang Dynasty, with its powerful national strength, suppressed the Arab Empire and gained the upper hand. However, the Arab Empire was also a formidable force, although it suffered repeated defeats, it was defeated but not injured, and repeatedly fought back.

  Resolving the Tang Dynasty was the primary task of the Eastern Governor of the Arab Empire, for which he spared no expense in bribing the vassal states of the Tang Dynasty.

  Gao Xianzhi wanted to go west, and he had to stabilize the Western Regions. To stabilize the Western Regions, he had to take down Small Bolü, block Tibet in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which led to that famous mountain warfare in history.