Compared to Li Shiji and Su Dingfang, Li Jing had far fewer worries.
To rise and fall with the Emperor—princes, heirs, all of them were none of his concern.
Just last month, he had sternly warned his son: military treatises could be studied, the army could be entered, but under no circumstances was one to draw close to the imperial family.
And so, at this moment, he even had the leisure to pass a calm judgment:
"Lu Dongzan is indeed a man of talent."
"The methods he uses to trouble Great Tang were clearly learned from His Majesty's strategy of remotely controlling the Western Turks."
Li Shimin pondered this for a moment, a glint of interest appearing on his face.
"Why should Lu Dongzan toil and run about on that plateau?"
"Great Tang's territory is vast—could it not accommodate one Lu Dongzan?"
Du Ruhui silently thought: Your Majesty, are you trying to dig out Tubo's roots?
Songtsen Gampo's early death was all but inevitable. Even back then, with Princess Wencheng's marriage alliance and Tang physicians at hand, he could not be saved. Now, with no such alliance in sight, the young Tubo Zanpu's prospects looked grim.
Once that man was gone, with a youthful ruler and a doubting state, and no such powerful minister to steady the court, that plateau would inevitably become a stage for ambitious men.
Yet Du Ruhui suddenly sighed deeply.
"To know their foundations—victory will not come easily."
But he quickly rallied himself and asked,
"If Your Majesty were facing this situation, how would you decide?"
Li Shimin recalled his own thinking and answered with force:
"Those who side with Tubo—execute them!"
"Those who aid Tuyuhun—reward them!"
"Dispatch troops to Hexi to serve as Tuyuhun's backbone, and strike when the moment is right!"
"From the Western Regions, send elite forces, seek guides from Khotan, and launch covert attacks on Tubo's rear!"
Inflicting massive casualties was unrealistic—but setting fires was easy enough. As long as the Tibetans realized that their homeland was not a place of untroubled sleep, their actions would naturally become restrained.
Yan Lide grew slightly excited and could not help patting his younger brother on the shoulder.
That his brother's name appeared here at all meant he had already cast off the sole identity of a painter. He had finally made it through.
Yan Liben himself did not mind. Ever since realizing that transcendent painting alone could immortalize one's name in history, his mindset had become much calmer.
Besides…
He examined one of the paintings beneath his brush: the Emperor in furious rage, Zhangsun Wuji clutching the Emperor's leg and weeping uncontrollably, Hou Junji struggling to suppress a laugh, the others each wearing different expressions…
What was wrong with painting? Painting was fun.
[Lightscreen]
[It was precisely Gaozong's indulgent tolerance of corruption that made Tubo's annexation of Tuyuhun so smooth.
Gaozong did not wish to fight Tubo—but Tubo very much wanted to fight Great Tang.
Having successfully swallowed Tuyuhun, Tubo could strike west to seize the Western Regions, east to raid Longyou, and north to sever the Hexi Corridor—the Silk Road artery.
In 667, Lu Dongzan passed away, leaving two sons to manage Tubo's affairs: the elder Zanxi Ruo, the younger Qinling.
Because Tubo's chancellor bore the title Dalun, and because Qinling later seized power, history remembers him as Lun Qinling.
For these two young brothers, with Tuyuhun already annexed, the next task was naturally to weigh just how heavy Great Tang truly was.
Thus, in 670, urgent military reports from the Western Regions were rushed into Chang'an, instantly becoming the city's biggest headline:
Tubo general Lun Qinling had formally launched an offensive into the Western Regions, capturing eighteen prefectures in succession, including Kucha's Banhui City. The Four Garrisons of Anxi existed in name only.
Slapped in the face head-on, Li Zhi could finally sit still no longer. Upon receiving the news in April, he immediately decided to send out an army.
But when it came to choosing a commander, Li Zhi once again fell into his old habit—summoning chancellors to debate candidate after candidate, plan after plan.
By the time Xue Rengui was finally appointed Grand Commander and led troops into Qinghai, it was already August.
The climate of the early Tang was different from today, and Qinghai itself lay on a plateau with notoriously erratic weather.
Later, Cen Shen, who garrisoned the Four Garrisons of Anxi, would write, "In barbarian lands, snow flies even in August." Once August passed, winter could arrive at any moment.
Moreover, Lun Qinling's Tubo army was said to number four hundred thousand. In sheer numbers, the Tang army was at a disadvantage.
From the very start, Xue Rengui had no choice: only cavalry surprise attacks and swift, decisive engagements offered any hope. To drag things out meant certain defeat.
Thus, upon entering Qinghai, Xue Rengui chose to speak privately with his deputy, Guo Daifeng—despite their poor relations.
Guo Daifeng was a descendant of the loyal martyr Guo Xiaoke, and had served as Li Shiji's deputy during the destruction of Goguryeo. Strictly speaking, he had once been Xue Rengui's superior.
Whether by lineage or résumé, Guo Daifeng deeply resented serving under Xue Rengui.
Xue Rengui could only urge him to place state affairs first, patiently persuading him:
"I will risk altitude sickness to strike the enemy at Wuhai."
"You stay behind, guard the supplies well, and be ready to support me."
Leading elite light cavalry on a forced march toward Wuhai, Xue Rengui encountered the Tubo army at the river crossing.
He personally led the charge, shattering the enemy. The Tang army slew over ten thousand, seizing tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.
Elated, Xue Rengui drove the captured livestock back to Wuhai and sent men to Guo Daifeng to retrieve the supplies.
What left Xue Rengui pale with shock was that Guo Daifeng had ignored his orders entirely. After Xue departed, Guo had taken twenty thousand men and the baggage train and advanced slowly toward Wuhai, intending to claim merit for himself.
Midway, Lun Qinling, leading two hundred thousand troops, discovered this fat prize. After a fierce battle, Guo Daifeng abandoned the supplies and fled on the spot.
With no reinforcements forthcoming, Wuhai could not be held. Xue Rengui could only fight while retreating, pulling back toward Dafeichuan.
What made Xue Rengui spit blood was this: the two fortified camps he had ordered Guo Daizhao to construct—there was not a single piece of timber to be seen.
At Dafeichuan, the Tubo army completed its encirclement. After a brutal battle in which the Tang army suffered over ten thousand casualties, Xue Rengui negotiated peace with Lun Qinling at the front lines, and only then led the remnants back to Great Tang.
After this battle, the forty-year myth of Tang invincibility—built since the destruction of Illig Qaghan—was utterly shattered.
Xue Rengui was stripped of rank and reduced to commoner status. The divine general who had "fixed Tianshan with three arrows" fell from the stage.]
"This battle…"
Li Shimin sighed, now wishing nothing more than to drag Li Zhi over and beat him soundly.
"When Tuyuhun begged for aid, he would not send troops."
"When pro-Tang factions were under the blade, he would not send troops."
"In April, when there was no immediate danger, he would not send troops."
"Only after watching Tubo grow powerful, after watching loyalists suffer violence, without regard for season or timing—only then did he send troops!"
"How could defeat be avoided?"
"For this defeat, the primary blame lies with Guo Daifeng—Li Zhi shares equal guilt!"
As for Xue Rengui, he too bore fault—but his fault lay in not beheading Guo Daifeng on the spot.
The others could still echo Li Shimin's earlier words. That final sentence left them exchanging looks in silence.
Li Jing also sighed.
"Guo Daifeng disobeyed military orders—thus granting Lun Qinling his fame."
"Guo Jing was a man of exceptional courage and loyal service to Tang, a true hero. How could his son be so brainless?"
Guo Jing was Guo Xiaoke. Back when Li Shimin was still Prince of Qin, Guo Xiaoke followed him in the campaign for Luoyang—capable of slaying enemy generals in battle and offering sound strategy. Li Shimin had greatly admired him. Father and son differed far too much.
"Perhaps because his father died early…"
Li Shimin said this, then sighed again.
Su Dingfang sighed as well.
He no longer complained about his own luck. At least sweeping the streets had not been in vain—the light screen had said nothing special, which meant that the Goguryeo campaign and his later years were likely smooth enough. Being fully employed later and able to apply his learning was not a bad fate.
Xue Rengui, by contrast, served under two emperors and enjoyed favor under both, yet rose and fell repeatedly. His experiences were far too complicated.
Li Shiji sighed too, drawing a puzzled look from Su Dingfang.
"Why does the general sigh as well?"
Li Shiji put on a show, then sighed deeply.
"Strictly speaking, both men once served under me during the destruction of Goguryeo. Now that discord has brought shame upon Great Tang, I cannot bear to witness it."
Though the words "destruction of Goguryeo" sounded a bit grating, Su Dingfang expressed understanding—and sympathy.
But then Li Shiji rallied, raising his voice:
"Therefore, if we strike the Turks and Tuyuhun, I request to serve as vanguard! Only by breaking the enemy can this shame be washed away!"
Su Dingfang stared, dumbfounded, thinking Li Shiji truly had no shame at all.
This so-called disgrace had not even happened yet. And those two had merely served under him once in Liaodong—they were hardly disciples or protégés. What did the defeat at Dafeichuan have to do with him?
Li Shimin was equally amused and exasperated. He merely told Li Shiji that the military plans concerning Tuyuhun were still under discussion and dismissed him for the moment.
…
At the Chengdu prefectural office, Zhang Fei was already marveling in amazement.
"To think that a strategist separated by a hundred years could still foresee matters with such precision!"
Kongming calmly waved his feather fan, claiming no credit, and simply stated the facts:
"As the light screen said, after forty years of uninterrupted victory, the Tang army had grown arrogant."
"Dividing the spoils before the battle is even fought—how could such contempt for the enemy not lead to defeat?"