"Tubō can actually defeat Tang that badly?"
Zhang Fei was openly skeptical.
He still remembered all those later records about Tubō nobles during the An Lushan Rebellion. Tang's martial might was at its peak—was Tubō really bold enough to rush in and start tugging at the tiger's whiskers already?
Kongming was not offended in the least. With a flick of his feather fan, he smiled and said,
"Let us assume this, Yide. If you were the ruler of Tubō and wished to expand your realm, what choice would you make?"
"I'd—"
Zhang Fei stroked his steel-bristle beard, inspiration striking.
"I'd copy Lü Bu and An Lushan, swear brotherhood with Gaozong and Empress Wu as my adoptive parents."
"Then I'd copy Sima Yi, secretly raise troops, and wait until—"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Kongming felt a headache coming on and lightly rapped Zhang Fei on the head with his fan.
"No joking around!"
"Alright, alright, I'll think properly."
Zhang Fei looked a little aggrieved. He felt his plan had distilled the wisdom of every age—how was it not viable?
But once he switched into serious commander mode and studied the terrain map behind him again and again, even Zhang Fei had to admit:
"If Tubō wants to expand outward, it really does seem that going through Qinghai and striking Hexi is the only path."
The map was simplified, but clear enough. Tubō was surrounded on all sides by continuous mountain ranges.
Only in the east was there a break in the mountains. Following it led to what later generations would call Qinghai Lake—and east of Qinghai Lake lay the Hexi Corridor.
Kongming nodded.
"To Tubō, Qinghai is a must-take."
"That land holds the remnants of Tuyuhun, defeated and destroyed by Tang, as well as the Dangxiang tribes who are on poor terms with Tang."
"Tubō will inevitably sharpen its blades and pour its national strength into taking it. If Tang is unprepared, then…"
[Lightscreen]
[It must be explained that Tubō's national strategy was extremely simple:
annex Tuyuhun and seize Qinghai.
Tubō first entered Tang's field of vision because it plundered Tuyuhun.
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin received Tuyuhun's tearful complaint: "Dad, someone's beating me!"
Before Erfeng could even finish investigating the matter, in the twelfth year of Zhenguan news arrived that Tubō had raided Songzhou.
With new grudges added to old, Tang gave Tubō plenty of "respect":
an army of fifty thousand was raised, with Hou Junji as Grand Commander-in-Chief; Zhishi Silì and Liu Lan as left and right wings; Niu Jinda as vanguard—four routes attacking together.
What Erfeng never expected was that before Hou Junji even set out, the vanguard under Niu Jinda had already crushed Tubō.
And Tubō knelt astonishingly fast:
not only returning all seized population and territory at once, but also sending envoys to admit fault—Lu Dongzan personally led the mission, offering five thousand taels of gold and hundreds of treasures, both as apology and as a marriage proposal.
Songtsen Gampo truly qualified as an outstanding ruler of Tubō. He and Erfeng even became a harmonious father-in-law and son-in-law pair. While he lived, Tang and Tubō enjoyed a "honeymoon period."
Li Shimin himself was a military strategist, and this was reflected directly in Tang policy: extreme emphasis on Tuyuhun.
Because this land lay between Tang and the troublesome Tubō, it served as a strategic buffer zone.
At the same time, it controlled all major routes around Qinghai, linking the Central Plains with the northern steppe, the Western Regions, Tibet, and southern Gansu.
For this reason, throughout the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin kept Tuyuhun under close watch. At the slightest sign of rebellion or independence, Tang intervened immediately with thunderous force—while also using marriage alliances to bind Tuyuhun firmly to Tang.
Thus, although Tuyuhun faded from prominence after its fall, it held a crucial position in every multi-pronged campaign Tang launched against the Western Turks.
By late Zhenguan, the Qinghai route had also become an important component of the Silk Road, one of Tang's economic lifelines.
Tuyuhun—Tang's most loyal follower under the Heavenly Khagan—was the first lock barring Tubō's eastward advance.
But in Li Zhi's era, cracks began to appear in this lock.]
Hou Junji looked up and immediately saw Changsun Wuji's schadenfreude-filled grin.
"The Duke of Lu truly has poor fortune,"
Changsun Wuji murmured softly, sounding sympathetic enough to make Hou Junji want to wrestle him on the spot.
That was just bullying!
Still, Hou Junji could not help but reflect—had his luck all been spent at Xuanwu Gate?
The luminous screen opening the way should have been a good thing. Yet after lingering in the capital for so long, anything involving him amounted to nothing more than passing mentions.
The moment he left Chang'an—boom—a massive revelation exploded.
If he had been present back then, clinging to His Majesty's leg and begging forgiveness on the spot, might he not be in such an awkward position now?
Hou Junji's inner lament did not affect Li Shimin in the slightest.
Hearing later generations call him a military strategist and praise that long analysis of Tuyuhun, Li Shimin nodded calmly.
"Such remarks amount to no more than two or three parts out of ten of my own thinking."
That's right. I really was that strong. That's exactly how I thought.
At the same time, his eyes widened as he memorized every bit of it, planning to ask Du Ruhui for the records that night to study them again.
Li Jing only dared to curl his lip inwardly—but his own battle intent surged.
The luminous screen's view aligned perfectly with his own. Better yet, this was the perfect chance to strike first and give Tubō a surprise!
Fang Xuanling promptly offered his advice:
"Seal Tubō's eastward path at Qinghai Lake, then open border trade."
The tragic state of Hexi in Zhang Yichao's later era had already shown Tubō's brutality. Fang Xuanling had no intention of letting war flames reach Tang's future lifeline.
Du Ruhui shared his old friend's view, but laid it out more systematically:
"Eight years later, Tubō will commit its full strength and still be defeated by our vanguard. Today, it is even less of a threat."
"Rather than force an expedition and risk altitude sickness, better to lock them in place—and use profit to drive them westward against the Western Turks."
Once Tang's ministers realized how weak Tubō actually was at this stage, things suddenly became very clear.
This Tubō was nothing more than Turks living on a plateau.
Nodding slightly and taking both Fang and Du's words into account, Li Shimin formed his own conclusion about the so-called "crack":
"Presumably… after Crown Prince Zhi destroyed the Western Turks, he believed the Western Regions were secure."
"And the only thing left in his eyes was Goguryeo—unfinished business from my reign."
[Lightscreen]
[Tuyuhun was a layer of insurance personally forged by Erfeng for the Hexi Corridor.
That insurance, neglected by Li Zhi, was torn open by Lu Dongzan himself.
Just as Erfeng once stubbornly seized Gaochang, Lu Dongzan precisely identified a window of opportunity for Tubō.
Beginning in 655, when Su Dingfang led the campaign against Goguryeo, Tang and Goguryeo entered a fourteen-year war under Gaozong.
The following year, 656, Lu Dongzan marched and took Bailan Qiang. By 660, using Bailan Qiang as a springboard, he began to nibble away at Tuyuhun.
At the same time, Lu Dongzan deliberately entangled Tang—slowing the Liaodong campaign while masking Tubō's movements.
In 662, Tubō allied with the Gongyue tribe, making a great show of rebellion against Tang. Li Zhi had no choice but to appoint Su Haizheng as Grand Commander of the Penghai Route to suppress them.
Facing Tang's celestial army, Lu Dongzan remained perfectly calm:
Give us money and grain, and we won't rebel. Otherwise, we'll run away—and rebel again once you leave.
Seeking quick resolution, Su Haizheng supplied the enemy with provisions in exchange for peace.
Lu Dongzan tasted the benefits and escalated further, deliberately confusing Li Zhi's judgment.
In 663, Tuyuhun—under relentless Tubō attacks—sent envoys to court, declaring their imminent destruction and begging for aid.
At the same time, Lu Dongzan also sent envoys, accusing Tuyuhun of attacking Tubō and requesting Tang to punish them impartially.
Li Zhi froze—and made the single stupidest decision possible: "No aid to either side."
Later that year, under Lu Dongzan's direction, the Gongyue tribe attacked Khotan again, forcing the Anxi Protectorate to intervene.
In 665, Lu Dongzan once more allied with Shule and Gongyue to attack Khotan, forcing Tang to send relief yet again.
Tuyuhun's pleas were no exaggeration. Tubō's own records state that from 659 to 666, Lu Dongzan personally oversaw the annexation of Tuyuhun.
The Tuyuhun envoys of 663 were likely the final voices of the pro-Tang faction within—but Li Zhi never truly listened.
After Goguryeo was destroyed by Li Ji in 665, discussions arose about punishing Tubō—and once again, Li Zhi lost his head.
Yan Liben argued: destroying Goguryeo cost little; attacking Tubō posed no problem.
Qibi Heli suggested feigning refusal to aid Tuyuhun, then encircling Tubō in one decisive strike.
Jiang Ke, descendant of Jiang Wei, angrily declared: Tuyuhun and Tang are as lips and teeth—save them first, talk later!
Li Zhi rejected them all.]
Li Shimin dimly recalled mocking Cao Pi's "the emperor did not listen" more than once during earlier stories from the luminous screen.
Who would have thought—Cao Pi had "did not listen," and Li Zhi had "did not permit." A perfect match.
"Indecisive!"
Li Shimin was furious.
"This is the foundation of Tang's downfall!"
Even before any blade was drawn, later generations had already confirmed that the strategic buffer of Tuyuhun and the insurance of the Hexi Corridor were his own handiwork.
That phrase from the future resurfaced in his mind once more:
"Truly, the grandson sells the ancestor's fields without a shred of pain."
Li Shimin immediately decided that when he returned that night, he would give Li Zhi a sound spanking.
After all, a two-year-old brat understood nothing. Taking a beating to clear the Tang emperor's qi and prevent pent-up rage was Li Zhi's first contribution to Great Tang.
Carefully hiding his delight, Li Shiji said cautiously:
"After all, Goguryeo was Tang's great enemy. Later generations see only Your Majesty's heroic conquest of the Western Regions, not the blood and sweat behind it—thus their eyes see only Liaodong."
Li Shimin smiled broadly.
"If that is so, then Maogong must have found Liaodong rather difficult."
"Perhaps you should train the navy instead—try taking Yizhou to hone maritime forces."
Li Shiji's little intentions were obvious to everyone. Emperor Yang had failed at Goguryeo; Li Shimin personally campaigned and still did not destroy it.
Then Li Shiji wiped it out.
With two emperors as contrast, that achievement shone almost blindingly bright.
So Li Shimin followed Li Shiji's words to their end—was your excuse for Crown Prince Zhi simply that you found Liaodong hard to crack?
Any trace of goodwill Li Shiji had toward Crown Prince Zhi was instantly thrown into Buyeo.
"Liaodong is a petty state. Why should Your Majesty act personally?"
"I request permission to destroy it myself and proclaim the might of Zhenguan!"
Gaozong? I don't know him
Li Shiji was going to be a Zhenguan great general.