"Without soldiers, how can we fight this war?"

Zhang Fei scratched his head, unable to think of any way to stop the enemy's army with such a small number of troops.

Even Liu Bei and Guan Yu, who were good at using troops, couldn't help but frown.

It is nothing short of a fantasy for twenty or so people to defeat an army of two hundred thousand.

Even for them, it was difficult to come up with an effective strategy in such a situation where the enemy outnumbered us.

A skilled cook cannot cook without rice. If Liu Bei was really that capable, he would have been able to repel an army of 200,000 with only a few dozen elite soldiers. He would not have been defeated repeatedly and was forced to flee in panic by Cao Cao.

Even Zhuge Liang, who was standing by, couldn't help but feel curious when he saw this scene.

Although he came up with some temporary ways to defend against the enemy, after all, he was in two different eras and he himself had not read the history of the Tang Dynasty, so he was inevitably unsure whether his strategies would work.

……

[What is a famous general? If there are no conditions, create them yourself. ]

[At this time, Guo Ziyi was already 67 years old. The old man first went to Lantian, then to Shangzhou and Wuguan. ]

[Everywhere he went, he gave a tearful speech, calling on the scattered soldiers to join him in marching north to meet the enemy.]

[In this way, he was able to gather 4000 government troops.]

[What good are 4000 people against an enemy force of ? ]

[It doesn't matter. Guo Ziyi has a solution. He sent people to Lantian County next to Chang'an City. They waved flags and shouted during the day and lit bonfires at night, creating the illusion that the Tang army had already entered Lantian. At the same time, he sent people to sneak into Chang'an City and called on the people of Chang'an to spread rumors that Guo Ziyi had led an army of 10 to Chang'an City.]

[The Tibetans actually believed it, and they had already looted everything they needed to in Chang'an. They felt that there was no need to fight the Tang army to death over an empty city, so they withdrew.]

[A few days later, the Tubo army withdrew from Chang'an City.]

[Emperor Daizong Li Yu returned to Chang'an City, held Guo Ziyi's hand and said in tears that it was all his fault that he did not use his beloved minister earlier, which led to his fate.]

……

"So this is how it was solved. It's a clever trick."

Han Xin nodded.

The Art of War says, "Attacking a city is inferior, attacking its heart is superior."

Guo Ziyi deliberately created a strategy of confusing the enemy and frightened the Tibetans so that they dared not take the initiative to attack and then retreated. His attainments in military strategy can be seen from this.

Of course.

Han Xin previously thought that this battle was extremely difficult simply because he did not understand the background at the time and the demands of both sides.

If he really put himself in their shoes, he would be able to make better decisions.

……

"At critical moments, the old general is still reliable."

Liu Bei looked at the sky with emotion.

"At the age of sixty, you are still able to achieve great things. As long as I, Liu Bei, live, I vow to destroy Cao Cao and rebuild the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Bei was not the only one who had such thoughts. In fact, Guo Ziyi's deeds greatly inspired many frustrated people!
How can age be a shackle for a person?
Don’t we still have to rely on these old guys at critical moments?
"I shouldn't keep wasting my time like this." The originally disheartened man seemed to be infected as well, and some of his former spirit returned to his numb and empty eyes.

……

[At the same time as the Tubo rebellion, the second beast was also ready to make a move. Pugu Huai'en, who was reported by Tang generals for treason every day, actually rebelled.]

[There are many different opinions about whether Pu Gu Huai En really rebelled or was forced to do so. Let's see what happened. ]

【Didn't Pugu Huai'en team up with his son-in-law, the Huihe, to deliver a fatal blow to Shi Chaoyi at the end of the An-Shi Rebellion?】【After the war, Pugu Huai'en was ordered to send his son-in-law out of the border. When he arrived in Taiyuan, the governor Xing Yunjing refused to open the gate and refused to let him pass, saying that you and your son-in-law are both foreigners, so who knows if you are planning a rebellion.】

[Pugu Huai'en is so angry. I am sending my son-in-law here in accordance with the imperial decree. Why are you saying such hurtful things to me? It is a bit unreasonable.]

[Fortunately, Yun Jing did not listen, and refused to provide food and fodder for the farewell party.]

[Everyone should still remember Xing Yunjing, he was the one who took the lead in reporting that Pugu Huai'en was plotting a rebellion.]

……

"That's a bit unreasonable."

Guan Yu frowned as he watched this scene. Xing Yunjing's actions made him feel quite unhappy.

They haven't rebelled yet. Aren't you forcing them to rebel by making things difficult for them?
This is not what a real man does!
Even if they don't have any resentment, they will feel resentful if they are disgusted and bullied by you.

"Damn it, for such a despicable person to behave like this, I, Zhang Fei, really want to poke hundreds of transparent holes in him!" Not to mention Pugu Huai'en, even Zhang Fei, a bystander, was so angry!

Zhuge Liang couldn't help but laugh at the scene before him.

The two generals are still as passionate as ever. They can get so angry just by reading history.

Although Xing Yunjing's approach seems inappropriate, it is actually normal in the historical context of the Tang Dynasty.

The imperial court had so much trust in foreign generals like An Lushan, but he ended up doing something so treacherous that it was despised by people all over the world. It was normal for the Han people to be wary of him.

There is nothing we can do about it.

Just like Sima Yi had no moral bottom line, was treacherous, and violated the oath of Luo River, leaving an endless source of disaster for future generations and causing suspicion between monarchs and ministers in many dynasties in later generations - after the Anshi Rebellion, the foundation of trust among all parties was destroyed, and some regrettable tragedies were staged.

……

[Faced with Xing Yunjing's unreasonable behavior, Pugu Huai'en felt very aggrieved and wrote a short essay to complain to Emperor Li Yu. ]

【However, Li Yu ignored him. 】

[In fact, Xin Yunjing was not the only one who suspected that Pugu Huai'en might be plotting a rebellion.]

[There is actually a very important reason why Pugu Huai'en was suspected. We have mentioned this reason before. After the An-Shi Rebellion, the trust between the emperor and his ministers, and between the Han and the Hu people collapsed.]

[But Pugu Huai'en was a foreign general like An Lushan. ]

[Seeing that the emperor would not make decisions for him, Pugu Huai'en, who had no place to vent his grievances, was so angry that he actually rebelled. ]

……

"madness!"

Li Shimin frowned at the way Li Yu handled the problem.

There are conflicts and grievances among ministers. As an emperor, what does it mean for you to ignore them instead of trying to resolve the conflicts and appease all parties?
Isn't it obvious that you don't trust the ministers under you and want to force them to rebel?
Is this what a qualified leader and emperor should do?
Even if he really suspected that Pugu Huai'en had rebellious intentions, he should have focused on appeasing him first, stabilized him first, and waited for him to return to the capital, then slowly clipped his wings and took back his military power.

This is the reasonable approach.

People haven't rebelled yet, and you still have this attitude. Isn't it discouraging people?
To take a step back, even if the other party really has rebellious intentions, as an emperor, you should show trust.

In this way, when the other party really rebels, you can stand on the side of justice, and the court can stand on the side of justice and rebuke him with righteous words.

The stupidest thing to do is to do as described in Tianmu, to do nothing and indirectly force people to rebel.

In the end, he really rebelled, and the court had to send a large army to quell the rebellion. Apart from proving that he had indeed rebelled and was a traitor, what significance did it have for the overall situation?
It damaged the reputation of the imperial court and the reputation of you, the emperor, and the imperial court had to send a large army to quell the rebellion... Tell me, aren't all these your own fault?

How stupid!
……

[Faced with the aggressive rebels, Emperor Li Yu was in a headache and had no choice but to send Guo Ziyi to help. ] (End of this chapter)