After receiving Li Xiang's order, Midu Khan immediately mobilized all his troops and wandered around the border. In addition, there were 4,000 people coming from the Tang Dynasty, plus 6,000 people in Zatlk's hands, a total of 40,000 to 50,000 troops.
The generals on the Tubo border were already preparing to retreat, and even their vanguard had already left, but they didn't expect Tuyuhun to suddenly cause trouble, so these people immediately stopped and reported to Lu Dongzan as quickly as possible...
Lu Dongzan is now the chief of the camp. Songtsen Gampo has handed over all the power on the front line to him and only asked him to put out the rebellion in a short time, no matter what method he uses. Songtsen Gampo has already sensed the danger and no longer wants to reduce the power of the vassal states. He only wants to restore the previous situation, which is already very good.
Lu Dongzan, however, had no illusions. "Now that we've started, we have to see it through to the end. Do you think if you give these chieftains a bit of face, they'll just obey you completely?" That's simply impossible.
People's ambitions are limited, but when you let them see the hope of victory, the cage will not be able to trap their ambitions. They used to submit to you because they thought they could not beat you, but when they saw this glimmer of hope, many people wanted to give it a try. After all, no one wants to be a chieftain.
"Report to the Prime Minister, there is an urgent report from the border..."
While Lu Dongzan was thinking about these questions, a personal soldier ran in with a memorial from the border area in his hand, which was marked as urgent.
Lu Dongzan looked at the man with some surprise, then opened the letter with a look of doubt. He reasoned that even though the plateau was in chaos, the border areas should be fine. Tuyuhun had just been beaten by the Tang Dynasty, and their morale had been completely shattered. Could they still dare to cause trouble? They relied on the prestige of the Tang Dynasty to survive. If they dared to challenge us, we could beat them up again at any time. If they hadn't become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty last time, they would have occupied the rest of your territory long ago. What urgent border report could such people make?
When he saw the contents of the memorial, Lu Dongzan felt a little unsteady. If he had not grabbed the table next to him, he would have fallen down. Tuyuhun actually assembled more than 40,000 troops, many of whom were from the Tang Dynasty. What did they want to do?
Lu Dongzan has always believed that the information on the plateau is blocked and the situation here is unlikely to leak out. Even if it is leaked, the Tang Dynasty’s response will not be so fast. After all, there is Tuyuhun in between. Now that the Tang Dynasty’s army has arrived at the border, do they want to take advantage of the situation?
"Order the border guards to immediately withdraw to their original positions. They can recruit all the young and able-bodied men from all the surrounding villages into the army. If anyone dares to disobey, their village will be massacred."
It took Lu Dongzan a cup of tea to come back to his senses. Now, let alone withdrawing the border guards, even if he sent reinforcements, he had no one available. It was really like adding insult to injury.
After thinking it over again and again, Lu Dongzan could only write a letter to Songtsen Gampo, asking him to squeeze out 3,000 people no matter what. There was no war in the holy city anyway, and the people around were relatively stable. These 3,000 people would go to the border area, and we would suppress the rebellious chieftains. This was just a civil war. If the Tang army was involved, it would be a disaster.
However, Lu Dongzan did not write about the border affairs in great detail. He knew Songtsen Gampo very well. This man seemed to be of great talent and strategy, but in fact he was very timid. If he knew the situation at the border, let alone 3,000 people, it was likely that not a single person would be able to return. He wanted to withdraw all the troops to the vicinity of the holy city to ensure his own safety.
When Lu Dongzan came out of Chang'an City, he knew what was happening in the country, but he thought he could handle it. With his ability and the power in Songtsen Gampo's hands, he could deal with these rebellious chieftains even if he came back a little later. However, he did not expect that the development of things would exceed his expectations.
First, the chieftains dragged more people into the rebellion. Originally, there were only five chieftains who rebelled, but now the number has grown to nine. Judging from this trend, there is still room for further judgment.
Then came the report from the border that the Tang Dynasty and Tuyuhun were ready to take action, which made Lu Dongzan's previous method hopeless.
According to Lu Dongzan's idea, the border guards should be withdrawn, and then the forces in his hands should be combined to first defeat several of the most important chieftains, and then persuade the other chieftains. Now it seems that this is impossible. Once the border guards retreat, the people of the Tang Dynasty and Tuyuhun are likely to invade. Once they come in, it may become a war of annihilation.
"Pass on my orders. All your battalions, hold your ground and prepare fast horses for me. I'm going to the border. I want to see what that bastard Midu is up to."
After thinking it over again and again, Lu Dongzan felt that he should still go to the border. Although the chieftains here were making a lot of trouble, with this army watching them, you can't do anything to me, and I can't do anything to you, so there will be no big trouble for the time being.
"Prime Minister..."
Suo Langzelang, the team leader, said anxiously that if the prime minister left, he would probably be the general here. He has always had limited talents, but he is very loyal to Lu Dongzan, so he was able to get this position.
"Don't worry. After I leave, just hold your ground and don't come out. With your strength, they won't be able to do anything to you. It will only take me five days at most to make the round trip."
Lu Dongzan looked at his subordinate with some disappointment. This guy was not able to stand on his own. Of course, this was also the result of Lu Dongzan's deliberate training. If his subordinates were too strong, then what would he do? But sometimes he also hoped that his subordinates could be stronger and not ask him about everything.
"As you command."
Suo Langzelang was also worried, but he didn't have much time to think about it. When he came to his senses, Lu Dongzan had already gone to rest. The Prime Minister hadn't slept all night. After resting for two hours, he would take his men to the border...