Chapter 138: Re-discussing Dafei River

An autumn rain had arrived.

Strictly speaking, it could not quite be considered autumn yet; the sunlight had only just passed the Beginning of Autumn solar term, and the weather remained very hot. Yet, there was already a faint taste of autumn in the rain. It was not particularly heavy, but continuous, stopping for a moment only to start again, persisting for an entire day and night.

It had come rather late. Even if it were to rain for ten or twenty days straight, it would be of no help to the autumn harvest in the Guanzhong region. Of course, raining was better than not raining at all; otherwise, what would become of next year's summer harvest? Consequently, word began to spread that the imperial court was once again discussing holding a grand rain-supplication ritual.

This was, admittedly, rather shameless. Yet, he could understand his father's frame of mind to some extent. In this era, everything was attributed to ghosts and deities; the successive years of disasters had placed immense pressure upon his father, leaving him with no choice but to take such measures.

While he was lost in these idle thoughts, Emperor Gaozong sent an eunuch to summon him to the imperial palace to discuss matters of state.

They gathered once more in Emperor Gaozong's imperial study. Seated in the room were several chancellors such as Yan Liben and Hao Chujun, as well as the heads of various ministries, along with another unexpected figure: the Left Chancellor, Jiang Ke. He glanced at him with a trace of surprise. This man had been stationed in Chang'an—why had he come to Luoyang?

Though filled with misgivings, he did not neglect proper etiquette and said, "Greetings, Father Emperor. Greetings, my lords and ministers."

"Take a seat," Emperor Gaozong instructed him to sit, then added, "Chancellor Jiang will be departing for Liangzhou in a few days."

Since they were currently in Luoyang and not monitoring the administration from Chang'an, he had not seen the official gazettes. Upon hearing his father's appointment, however, things fell into place. Not only was it raining in Luoyang, but the autumn rains had likely begun to fall across Guanzhong and other regions as well, meaning at least the autumn wheat and barley could now be sown. Thus, the Tibetan issue had once again been placed on the agenda.

He cupped his hands and said, "Chancellor Jiang, this subject wishes you a safe and smooth journey."

"I dare not accept such praise," Jiang Ke replied, his expression less than enthusiastic.

Emperor Gaozong continued, "The strategy that you, Chancellor Dai, Chancellor Zhang, Chancellor Liu, and Chancellor Jiang previously discussed—I have already read it."

"That was merely this ignorant and thoughtless subject speaking without a sense of propriety, blurting out the shallow thoughts in his heart. Please forgive me, Father Emperor."

"It was indeed shallow, yet it possesses certain merits. Let me ask you: why was the defeat at Dafeichuan so disastrous, and yet I did not execute Guo Daifeng?"

"This subject does not know."

"Take a look at the map." Emperor Gaozong tossed a map over and added, "See how far it is from Dafeichuan to Wuhai."

***

It was indeed very far. Unlike later generations, the region from Qinghai to Wuhai at this time—including Dafeichuan—was lush with water and grass, with many areas even consisting of swamps, making travel all the more difficult. Li Wei took a look and said, "This subject still does not understand."

"Xue Rengui, far away in Wuhai, had previously ordered Guo Daifeng to transport military supplies to Wuhai. In this campaign, the Tibetan forces were numerous, and Xue Rengui intended to seize the enemy's supply routes. Therefore, he advanced to Wuhai first, capturing tens of thousands of enemy cattle and sheep in order to disintegrate the Tibetan coalition forces. Tibet harbored the exact same intention. The journey from Dafeichuan to Wuhai spans several hundred miles; if they had escorted supplies to Wuhai with a small force, it would have merely been intercepted by the Tibetans. Urged on by Xue Rengui, they had no choice but to commit their entire army. Guo Daifeng's blunder was also caused by Xue Rengui failing to calculate properly in advance."

This was the most conventional narrative at present.

The reality, however, was quite different. Li Wei had even conversed with Xue Ne regarding this matter. Initially, both sides had severely underestimated the situation in Qinghai. The imperial court had been brimming with ambition, appointing Xue Rengui as the Grand General of the Luosuo Route Army. This name "Luosuo" was another transliteration of the city of Lhasa, meaning they intended to incorporate Tibet as a Dao commandery of the Tang Empire. Of course, ever since the defeat at Dafeichuan, the Tang court never used the term "Luosuo Route" again. Therefore, Xue Rengui had opted for speed, using Dafeichuan as a stronghold to advance on Wuhai, intending this as the first major battle. If this battle succeeded, they would likely use Doma City as a stronghold to advance toward the Xinnuoluo Post for the second battle. Or perhaps use the Humang Gorge as a third stronghold to advance toward the Gechuan Post for the third battle, and finally march on the city of Lhasa.

In short, Emperor Gaozong was furious after the defeat. Unlike the Song Dynasty, which could casually field armies of over a million and treat the loss of hundreds of thousands of men as a minor setback, the Tang Dynasty's total population was limited, and the empire did not maintain a massive standing army. They often appeared majestic and imposing, conquering territory here only for trouble to break out and be conquered elsewhere, before yet another crisis erupted. Coupled with the loss of one hundred thousand of the strongest soldiers and laborers among the corvée workers, Emperor Gaozong felt the blow deeply. He had dispatched Grand Censor Le Yanwei to investigate the causes of the failure, and had Xue Rengui, Guo Daifeng, and Ashina Daozhen escorted back to the capital in cangues and chains.

In the end, however, their death sentences were commuted, and they were merely stripped of their official posts to settle the matter.

After returning home, Xue Rengui reflected upon his actions. He realized he had underestimated the enemy from the start. If he had used the two prefectures of Shan and Kuo as strongholds—where the Tang foundation was solid—and lured the enemy in, he would have been confident of a crushing victory, formidable though Tsenpo's general, Qinziling, was in warfare. Yet a defeated general does not speak of valor; negotiating a private peace with Qinziling after the defeat and fleeing back was an even greater humiliation. Thus, he could only discuss it behind closed doors.

Regarding this, Li Wei still remained unconvinced. Even if they had fought from the prefectures of Shan and Kuo, a resounding victory was far from guaranteed, though a crushing defeat might have been avoided.

Later, Xue Rengui mentioned another matter to his son, which he had also touched upon during his self-defense. After entering Dafeichuan, however, Xue Rengui had grown uneasy. Abandoning the march on Lhasa, if he could simply secure a brilliant victory against Tuyuhun—much like the Sui Dynasty or Li Jing had done—he would have something to report upon his return. Of course, such discouraging words were spoken only to his son. Yet, right before leaving the Dafeichuan Ridge, he had indeed said to Guo Daifeng: "Wuhai is perilous and distant, and cart travel is arduous. If we drag heavy baggage along, we will miss our opportunity. Once we crush the bandits, we will return; why trouble ourselves with transport? There is miasma there, and we should not linger for long." He had planned to finish this battle, pacify Tuyuhun, and then lead the army back in triumph.

Thus, he laid down a strategy: he let Guo Daifeng and Ashina Daozhen command twenty thousand troops to garrison the Dafeichuan Ridge, guarding the grain and military supplies. He himself proceeded to the estuary of the Jishi River, where he heavily routed the Tibetan coalition forces. As for Guo Daifeng's two thousand troops, there was a deeper purpose to them. While he could attack the enemy and seize cattle and sheep, the Tibetans could do the same. However, by relying on the Dafeichuan Ridge, there were natural barriers to defend; two thousand troops could hold out for some time, by which point the attacking Tibetan soldiers would already be exhausted.

Then, he would lead his army back. If the grain stores were lost, what would happen? The morale of his own soldiers would undoubtedly soar. With the morale of the two sides contrasting sharply—one high and one low—he could defeat the hundreds of thousands of coalition forces in a single stroke. This was inspired by Xiang Yu breaking his cauldrons and sinking his boats.

Yet Guo Daifeng did not see eye to eye with him, nor did Xue Rengui take the time to build consensus with Guo Daifeng; he simply issued orders without any discussion. He had indeed ordered the transport of certain supplies, but not grain—after all, they had captured so many cattle and sheep, were they raising them as pets instead of eating them? There were also military equipment supplies, though most Tibetan weapons were still quite backward and of little use. He had never expected Guo Daifeng to disobey orders and march all twenty thousand troops, along with the civilian laborers, toward Wuhai. Upon hearing this, Xue Rengui was alarmed and hurriedly ordered him to quicken his march—which was the origin of Guo Daifeng's later self-justification. Yet Guo Daifeng remained unhurried and leisurely. Xue Rengui then dispatched two thousand elite troops to cover them, but everything was already too late...

Therefore, Xue Rengui had said to Xue Ne: "In this campaign, your father also committed many derelictions of duty."

This was what Xue Rengui told Xue Ne before setting out on the expedition to Goguryeo. Xue Ne was a man of few words; had it not been for Li Wei's apparent deep admiration for his father in their conversations, Xue Ne would never have spoken of it. Moreover, these words were told by Xue Rengui to his son on his way to Goguryeo—not as a confession of remorse, but to teach Xue Ne to learn from the successes and failures, including the climate of Tibet and so forth, passing all his knowledge to his son. Thus, it was quite trustworthy.

Still, Li Wei was not foolish enough to argue about it. Although Guo Daifeng's father had died in battle at Kucha, back when Li Shimin was campaigning against Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande came with reinforcements, many generals and advisors had urged Li Shimin to retreat and bide his time. Only Guo Daifeng's father, Guo Xiaoke, had argued that Dou's army had traveled far and was already exhausted, and by defending Hulao Pass they could annihilate the enemy in one stroke. Once Dou's army was destroyed, Wang Shichong's forces would naturally lose heart, allowing them to capture both rebels at once. Li Shimin followed this advice, and that battle became one of the most fierce and crucial engagements in the romance of Sui and Tang. Arguably, that battle accounted for at least one-third of the credit in the Tang Dynasty's unification of the realm. Therefore, the Guo family maintained close ties with many powerful aristocrats. As for Xue Rengui, while he had established numerous merits, at the end of the day, he was still of peasant stock. Furthermore, he did bear responsibility. Thus, Li Wei simply said, "What Father Emperor says is entirely correct."

"Yet why did I pardon Xue Rengui as well?"

"This subject does not know."

"When all is said and done, I was also in the wrong, having underestimated the Tibetans, and thus appointed Xue Rengui as the Grand General of the Luosuo Route. With both superiors and subordinates sharing a mindset of taking the enemy lightly, how could we avoid defeat?"

***

That explanation was acceptable, but Li Wei did not dare to chime in.

Emperor Gaozong continued, "That strategy you proposed—I have already put it into practice."

"This subject is unworthy of such praise," Li Wei said, though inwardly he was wondering why he had not heard a whisper of it. It seemed the matter had been kept strictly confidential; he simply wondered what purpose his father had in bringing it up today.

"However, the reports we have received are somewhat complicated. Chancellor Jiang, you tell him."

"As you command. Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Tibet is vast with complex terrain. The Ministry of War employed some shrewd and loyal Tibetan tribesmen to act as scouts, sending them into Qinghai and other Tibetan regions. Some went far, and those scouts have not yet returned, but scouts sent to closer areas have successively brought back news. Most tribes agree to our terms, but a minority remain loyal to Tibet and have killed our scouts. However, the situation is rather intricate. Firstly, regarding the tribal structures: some tribes operate under a hereditary system, others under an abdication system; some tribal chieftains hold immense power, while in others, the clan elders hold more authority than the chieftain; and in still others, the chieftains hold very little power. Furthermore, take tribes like the Dangxiang, which have eight major surnames that do not subordinate to one another—even those of the same surname live in different places. Some tribes are unified, while others are fractured.

"Then there is the matter of loyalty: some tribes are deeply loyal to Tibet, while others encompass many smaller sub-tribes within them, some loyal and some disloyal. For instance, the Yangtong; the entire Yangtong confederation has eighty or ninety thousand capable warriors and is a formidable tribe within Tibetan territory. They alternate between rebellion and submission, but not all of their clans surrendered or pledged allegiance to Tibet. For example, right now, some Yangtong tribes are dissatisfied with Tibet, while others remain fiercely loyal. There is one large tribe called the Molv clan that is extremely loyal to Tibet, and they are preparing to marry off a princess of their clan to the Tibetan Tsenpo. In other tribes, the chieftain is loyal to Tibet, but the common people are not.

"There is only one commonality: upon hearing the news, they all expressed their allegiance to our Great Tang, and some even stated that they can have their clansmen disguise themselves as merchants to transport the supplies back into their own tribal territories."

"Hong'er, did you hear that clearly?"

"This subject understands. Chancellor Jiang means to say that since our Tang Dynasty is suffering from poor harvests, even if we give them supplies because they are dissatisfied with Tibet, the members of their clans may not necessarily be willing to assist our Great Tang, and might even use those very supplies to turn around and fight against us."

"Your Highness, that is precisely what this subject means. Moreover, the languages are mutually unintelligible, the customs foreign, the habits different, the roads extremely treacherous, and it is very difficult for our scouts to infiltrate and gather useful intelligence. Furthermore, these tribes vary greatly in size—some number in the hundreds of thousands, while others have only a few hundred people—making the distribution of supplies extremely difficult. Even if we wish to provide subsidies, it is exceptionally arduous."

"Hong'er, do you have any stratagems?"

Li Wei inwardly groaned. What stratagm could he possibly have? Yet this father of his seemed to have tasted some sweetness from his previous suggestions, which was a good omen. He lowered his head and racked his brains. This was no laughing matter; once implemented, if these people truly used the weapons provided by the Tang to turn against them, he would be in a world of trouble. It seemed the people of Vietnam in his past life had done precisely that—receiving weapons, grain, and technology all provided by China, only to do what later?

After quite a while, he spoke up, "I do have a rather immature thought. Let me state it first for Your Majesties' reference."

"Speak."

"I heard some legends about wolves in the markets." Just as Li Wei finished speaking, he noticed Emperor Gaozong's expression darken, and he suddenly remembered—he had mentioned barbarians a few months ago and received a severe reprimand from his father. Since he and his father were both half-barbarian themselves, using wolves as a metaphor was quite inappropriate.