Chapter 245: Stone Castle Falls, Waiting for Bloom

The time goes back to mid-March of the sixth year of Tianbao.

Li Xuan headed towards Chiling along the Dafeichuan Ancient Road.

When passing by the princess' Buddhist temple, Li Xuan and his men stopped to worship the temple.

Because the Tubo people did not believe in Buddhism, the Buddhist temple had become dilapidated. Not only was it surrounded by weeds, but even the walls had fallen off. Later, Li Xuan would have someone renovate the princess' Buddhist temple.

The Buddhist temple has become an important landscape and coordinate on the ancient Tang-Tibet Road.

Castle Castle.

A thousand Tang soldiers blocked them on the mountain.

These soldiers are from more than a dozen garrisons, including Chiling Hongyan Fort and Yingshan Fort.

The Tang army no longer needs to garrison a fort on Chiling; a stone fortress is enough!

In preparation for the war, Tubo stored a lot of food and firewood, and collected rainwater and snow water. As for food and drink, the Tubo soldiers had no worries.

As time passed, anxiety filled the hearts of every Tibetan soldier.

The defending general Xinuoluo looked out from time to time, but could no longer see the smoke and dust from Tubo.

The signal smoke had burned out, and Tubo seemed to have forgotten that it still had a strong city in Chiling - Iron Blade City.

Standing on the city wall, Xinuoluo could see the territory of the Tang Dynasty, where many people were cultivating land in Hehuang...

The Tang Dynasty has begun to cultivate those lands that have been abandoned for a long time.

Sinoro knew what this meant.

The spring of Tang people has come...

The defenders of Stone Castle are still trapped in the cold winter...

More than a thousand people have been staying in a bare mountain fortress for half a year. Not to mention the illness, the loneliness alone would make some soldiers sick.

Before, the Tibetan soldiers in Shibao City often went down the mountain on horseback to the Tang territory to beg for money.

Now we are left with only the fortified city and the red rocks.

On this day, the Tang army under Shibao City was solemn and all left the camp.

Xinoro, who had been "looking forward to the battle" on the city wall, thought that the Tang army was going to attack the city, and immediately called on the soldiers to take their positions and prepare to throw the long-stored thunder stones and rolling logs down the slope.

"Meeting General Li!"

When the soldiers saw Li Xuan, they shouted in unison.

Jingkong Eyun's voice made the Tibetan soldiers on Shibao City tremble!
Xinoruo knew Chinese and looked even more surprised.

He indeed saw a large banner and many flags.

Although there seemed to be only about a thousand cavalrymen, they were all equipped with iron armor.

After Li Xuan asked the soldiers to stop making formalities, he asked the general, "Are there any unusual behaviors among the soldiers guarding Shibao City?"

"Reporting to General Li, there is nothing unusual in the Tibetans on Shibao City. Their signal smoke seems to have burned out. There has been no signal smoke for more than a month."

The Tang army general replied to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and instructed Liao Zhengrong: "Take the ruler, belt and pearl pill off the carriage..."

"As ordered!"

Liao Zhengrong immediately pulled down the ruler and beads from the carriage.

Chidai Zhudan's carriage was specially customized, which not only allows people to lie down, but also allows people to shelter from wind and rain.

Every day, I have to give Chidai Zhudan good food and drink, for fear that this guy will die before reaching Chang'an.

That would be difficult to explain to Li Longji.

Chidai Zhudan got off the car with a sad face. He was familiar with this place.

In the 29th year of Kaiyuan, he stood on the Shibao City, looking at the Hehuang River and commanding the whole country.

Things are unpredictable. I came to Stone Castle again in such a humiliating identity.

He had thought about starving himself to death before, but after enduring for two days, Li Xuan placed a fragrant roasted leg of lamb in front of him, and he still couldn't help but start to eat it.

Death is a terrible thing, and he finally realized that he didn't have the courage to die.

"Zanpu, do you want to see the people in this city die? Or do you want them to live?"

Li Xuan walked up to Chidai Zhudan and said.

"Humph! One man can hold the Stone Fortress, and ten thousand men cannot break through. Attack this city, and at least ten thousand of you will die. Using one thousand for ten thousand, is there anything more worthwhile than this?"

As soon as the ruler and beads were put around his neck, he was very stubborn.

"I haven't attacked Stone Castle for half a year. Don't I have time to hold out for another half a year? Half a year is not enough. Won't the people above starve to death in a year?"

Li Xuan asked back, pointing to the towering Stone Castle and said, "Whether it succeeds or not is not up to you. Take the ruler, belt and pearl to the path below the Stone Castle."

After hearing this, Liao Zhengrong immediately carried the ruler and the pearl to the path leading up the mountain.

Xinoro, who was on the city wall, suddenly felt that the figure looked familiar.

But the distance was too far and he couldn't be sure.

At this time, a Tang soldier followed the army and climbed the mountain road alone, heading towards Shibao City.

The reason why Chidai Zhudan was not taken there directly was because they were afraid that the Tibetan defenders would become desperate and directly throw thunder stones or rolling logs to crush Chidai Zhudan to death.

When Xinoro saw a man coming up, he did not order an attack, but wanted to see what the man had to say.

"The people below are your kings. Why don't you open the city and surrender? When will you?"

The soldiers wearing iron armor shouted loudly in Tibetan towards the stone fortress.

"You dare to speak nonsense here, do you want to die?"

Sinoro picked up a powerful crossbow and aimed it at the troops.

He thought that the Tang army wanted to use this despicable trick to make them surrender.

"Whether I am talking nonsense or not, the general knows it in his heart. Our army has wantonly besieged Stone Castle. Where are your reinforcements? I have brought you a way out, but I am just an army follower. If you shoot me to death, the whole city will be buried with you."

The soldiers following the army were not afraid of him at all. They even patted their chests with a confident look. Civil servants like them had few opportunities to make meritorious service, so they must seize them.

The defender of Shibao City, Xinoro, was stunned and did not dare to fire his crossbow for a moment.

The Tibetan defenders were also a little panicked. When they heard that the Zamp was captured by the Tang army, they couldn't believe their ears.

The Zamp is a god descended from heaven!
Suddenly, the soldiers looked at each other and whispered.

Seeing this, the army took out a seven-inch golden arrow and shouted to the people on the city wall: "This is the golden arrow of the Zanpu. Have you seen it?"

The army was very close to the city wall, only three meters away from the upper and lower parts of Sinoro City.

After seeing the golden arrow of the Zanpu, Xinuo Luo was shocked: "It seems to be the golden arrow of the Zanpu!"

The Golden Arrow of the Zamp was the military token of Tubo and was always carried by the Zamp.

The fact that the golden arrow of the Zamp fell into the hands of the Tang army indicated that the people at the small entrance were most likely rulers and pearl-bearing people.

Xinoro felt a little depressed, as if the faith he had been guarding had collapsed.

The other soldiers were also at a loss, not knowing what to do next.
Xinoro thought about it and ordered a centurion who had seen the ruler-belt pearl to be lowered into a basket.

The army took the centurion down the mountain in great grace.

As they got closer, the centurion could see clearly.

The long beard is the symbol of Chidai Zhudan, so Chidai Zhudan is also called Mei Ajiong.

Although his spirits were not as good as usual, he was sure that this was the Zamp.

He met the Zamp twice, both times during alliance meetings.

"Zanpu!"

The centurion ran to Chidai Zhudan and bowed down.

Chidai Zhudan felt the long-lost dignity again.

When he wanted to say something, he saw Li Xuan suddenly put his hand on the hilt of the sword. He was immediately startled and said quickly: "Go back! I'm fine here!"

Chidai Zhudan knew that Li Xuan was as patient as a wolf. Shibao City could not outlast Li Xuan.

Rather than defending the city alone, it would be better to surrender directly, so as to avoid Li Xuan from torturing him.

The centurion was no fool. After bowing to Chidai Zhudan again, he turned to the foot of the stone fortress and told Xinoro what had happened.

Seeing that the soldiers had no morale, Xinoro hesitated, gritted his teeth, and ordered the stone fortress gate to be opened.

Teams of Tibetan soldiers took off their armor, dropped their weapons, and came down the mountain.

Li Xuan waved his hand and took the ruler, belt and pearl into the carriage.

The surrender of the Tubo general was within Li Xuan's expectations. In the Battle of Shibao City in history, Geshu Han attacked Shibao City for more than ten days. After the Tang army had exhausted all its strength and attacked the city wall, Xinuo Luo led more than 400 Tubo soldiers to surrender without fighting to the last soldier.

Li Xuan sent three hundred cavalrymen to escort the Tibetan soldiers except Xinuoluo to the area around Fuqi City.

Luo Xing brought the Shen Ce Guards to Shibao City to investigate. After confirming that there was no problem, Li Xuan climbed up to Shibao City.

Standing on the city wall, you can indeed see Hehuang, and the Northeast Pass and the East Pass are in full view. The red peaks and rocks are abrupt, and they look like blood in the afterglow of the setting sun.

"This pass will become history and will never be used again!"

Li Xuan looked towards Qinghai again. Although he couldn't see clearly, the words he said sounded like a oath.

From now on, the garrison in Shibao City will be more responsible for patrolling the eastern pass of Chiling.

He wanted to advance the territory toward the snowy plateau.

"Chiling got its name because the land is all red and there is no hair on the land. This name doesn't have a good meaning!"

Gao Shi suddenly said this.

"I heard a story from the people. Princess Wencheng married Songtsen Gampo and passed by the East Pass of Chiling. When she was resting, the princess climbed a mountain and looked west. She felt homesick and took out the Sun and Moon Mirror given by Empress Zhangsun. The mirror actually reflected the 108 districts of Chang'an and the surrounding scenery of Chang'an..."

"Seeing this, the princess was overwhelmed with joy and sorrow, and accidentally dropped the Sun and Moon Mirror, breaking it into two pieces. The eastern half faced west, reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun; the western half faced east, reflecting the light of the rising moon..."

"With this story as an embellishment, let's change the name of Chiling to Sun and Moon Mountain from now on!"

Li Xuan said to Gao Shi and other subordinates.

This is definitely not a true story, it is just a myth, but it has a beautiful meaning.

"Sun Moon Mountain is a very good name. If it is spread by the doctor, people will surely talk about it with great interest."

Gao Shi and his colleagues all thought that it would be better to change it to "Sun and Moon Mountain".

Qinghai and Sun Moon Mountain together have extraordinary charm.

The Tang army had just incorporated the Sun and Moon Mountains into its territory, and changing the name also marked a new beginning.

In this way, the name change was recorded and presented to the court.

Li Xuan took a look at the layout of Shibao City and had a general understanding of it.

The disadvantages of Stone Fort City are also quite obvious. It does not directly block the mountain pass, resulting in the road down the mountain being blocked, and it will become an isolated city.

Only with the advantage can the Stone Fortress be more powerful.

The situation was very disadvantageous but they were unable to make a comeback with the help of Stone Castle.

Li Xuan ordered the soldiers to clean up the city, and he stayed in Shibao City that night.

The next day, Li Xuan left and returned to Huangshui.

Shibao City was first guarded by soldiers from various garrisons, who would take over after the Suihe guards arrived.

He will definitely go to Qinghai again, but before that, he needs to go back to Huangshui to deal with some things.

Along the way, you can see many busy figures.

"Greetings, Marshal..."

When the people saw Li Xuan passing by, they all came to pay their respects.

At this time, the news of Li Xuan's enthronement as king had not yet reached Hehuang.

But in the hearts of the people, Li Xuan is a god-like figure.

After the Tubo were driven away, the abandoned land could be reclaimed.

"What kind of crops do you grow, fellow villagers?"

Li Xuan dismounted and asked the people.

"Replying to the Marshal, we grow cotton."

An old man answered Li Xuan.

"Han areas have not yet planted cotton on a large scale. Do you dare to work hard for a year?"

Li Xuan said solemnly.

Liu Yan had reported to him not long ago that when he was fighting a great battle before, some merchant caravans from the Western Regions came with cotton seeds.

Liu Yan followed Li Xuan's instructions and bought all the cotton seeds at a high price.

Due to the fighting, the military settlements could not be cultivated and could only distribute some of the cotton seeds to the people.

Let the people go to the vicinity of Sun and Moon Mountain, renovate the wasteland and plant cotton.

"They say that these are seeds that the Marshal got from the Western Regions, and they can keep us from freezing in the winter. We believe in the Marshal!"

The old man said so.

Although the other people didn't say anything, they could see the same meaning in their eyes.

They believe in the Marshal!

Li Xuan eliminated the powerful and divided their land among them, and gave horse meat to the common people.

The people of Xiping County all regarded Li Xuan as their father and mother.

They have also been told the precautions for growing cotton.

"I am the governor of Xiping County. I will not harm the villagers. Just plant it as I tell you. Once it blooms, there will be warmth in the world."

Li Xuan stepped forward and held the old man's rough hand to reassure them.

As long as cotton is grown, it can be exchanged for food.

He would make cotton-fluffing bows, teach soldiers how to do it, and have them fluff cotton for the people.

The people were moved by Li Xuan's words and touched by his approachable personality.

Who would have thought that the high-ranking and invincible Li Xuan could treat the people calmly.

"You are the father and mother of the government. I have never heard of an official like the Marshal in my life."

The old man became more and more excited as he spoke, and held Li Xuan tightly.

"My fellow villagers are my parents who provide me with food and clothing. I serve as an official to benefit the people. Although I am a general on the border, I have never forgotten that I am the envoy to Longyou and the governor of Xiping County. This is my mission, and you don't have to be grateful to me. I am looking forward to seeing the white flowers all over the ground under Riyue Mountain. I also wish my fellow villagers a good harvest."

Li Xuan said sincerely.

The people burst into tears.

Li Xuan's style of caring for the people influenced his colleagues such as Gao Shi and Cen Shen.

They also aspire to become officials like Li Xuan who work hard for the people.

The villagers knew that Li Xuan was busy with military and political affairs and did not try to keep him.

They are more confident about the legendary cotton.

After saying goodbye to the people, Li Xuan returned to Huangshui City. On the way, he met many people, some of whom were growing cotton and some were growing corn.

Many wheat fields are taller than your legs, and the lush green stretches as far as the eye can see.

The Hehuang area is a place where everything needs to be rebuilt.

Now the potential arable land in Jiuqu and Hehuang cannot be fully cultivated, so Li Xuan has to plan to relocate the people.

It would be better to wait until he becomes prime minister to move, which would be more convenient and appropriate.

After returning to Huangshui, Li Xuan ordered Liu Dan to quickly recruit soldiers to fill the vacancies in the army.

If the imperial edict arrives, the three armies of Shen Ce, Sui Rong and Ding Rong must be recruited as soon as possible.

We can send people to select a group of brave men from the armies of Suobei, Dangxiang, Tuyuhun, Tongjia, etc. to form the team, and then select a large number of Han people to fill in and train them on the plateau.

After Li Xuan dealt with some matters in the Jiedushi's government office, he had Huo Yiling brought up.

"It is said that you presented a piece of jade to the saint, with nine on one side and five on the other. What do you want to do?"

After Huo Yiling was escorted to Li Xuan, Li Xuan questioned him.

Li Xuan originally thought that there would only be some ballads, but he never expected that Huo Yiling would directly present Xuan Yu and even claimed that it was a sign from heaven.

Not a human being!

Fortunately, he had told Yang Yuhuan about similar things in advance, otherwise, with Li Longji's way of thinking, he would inevitably think too much.

"Please spare me, Doctor. This is all a misunderstanding. I trusted those unruly people and gave the jade disk to the Saint..."

Huo Yiling was not a tough guy. After being taken to Huangshui City, he was in a state of panic all day long. He fantasized countless times about how he would exonerate himself after meeting Li Xuan.

"So you're feeling quite wronged?"

Li Xuan laughed: "Even if you are blind and don't know the quality of jade, when you got the jade disk, didn't you know the meaning of this jade?"

"I really don't know..."

Huo Yiling denied it flatly.

"It's ridiculous that you can become a county magistrate!"

Seeing that Huo Yiling was stubborn, Li Xuan ordered impatiently: "Come here, drag Huo Yiling out and chop him off."

The emperor sent Huo Yiling over to represent that Li Xuan could kill anyone at will.

In history, when someone accused An Lushan of treason, Li Longji directly tied the accuser to Fan Yang and left it to An Lushan to deal with him.

(End of this chapter)