“An Lushan’s Northeast Army is well-equipped and well-trained. You want him to hold off the Uyghurs and then concentrate your forces on dealing with the Tibetans?” Li Bi instantly understood Lu Xuan’s meaning. “It’s similar to the strategy of the court officials. The armies of the Central Plains will gather in the west. Then the Northwest Army of the Anxi Protectorate will attack from the north, attacking the Tibetans from two directions.”
"There's not much to say about the overall situation; that's basically how it's fought. But if it were me, I would have the Northwest Army use a different tactic. They don't need to fight the Tibetans head-on; they just need to enter Tibetan territory and kill people. Kill everything that moves, including every cow, every sheep, and every person." Lu Xuan spoke words that sounded like genocide, his face changing color. Li Bi was stunned for a moment.
"Such bloodshed is against the harmony of Heaven."
"Is this your idea, or the idea of the officials in the court?" Lu Xuan looked up and glanced at Li Bi.
"The officials in the court will definitely say that. But if it were me, I would do it. However, the premise for such a campaign is that the western border defenses can be held." Li Bi was not a pedantic person and understood Lu Xuan's meaning.
“Holding it is not a problem. I will immediately start expanding the production of gunpowder and flammable oil. Then I will start supplying it to the border troops. A group of trained soldiers will go with them to provide support.”
As Lu Xuan spoke, he waved his hand towards the distance.
Dozens of soldiers rushed out and began operating a row of catapults on the training ground.
These were all small to medium-sized catapults, and they didn't launch stones, but rather incendiary oil canisters strapped with explosive charges.
With Lu Xuan's gesture, a flag suddenly fell. Ten catapults were launched simultaneously. About a hundred meters away, explosions and flames instantly engulfed the entire land.
"Although it's still quite a bit off from what I imagined, it's time to let those barbarians of the grasslands witness the power of heavenly thunder and earthly fire."
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Chapter 104 The Absurd Battle Situation
The world's attack on Tang did not frighten the Tang Dynasty; on the contrary, it even instilled a sense of pride in its people. Only when Tang became so powerful that everyone feared it would they unite to challenge it.
This intellectual wave was largely due to the court's far greater control over public opinion compared to previous dynasties. Take newspapers, for example; the Tang Dynasty now had three types of official gazettes.
These are the official gazettes of the Tang Dynasty. They generally announce various basic national policies, such as information on taxation and military service. They also intersperse information on military operations that are not classified.
The second type was the *Da Tang Min Bao* (Great Tang People's Gazette). This type of newspaper mainly announced news about people's livelihoods, such as grain and rice prices in various regions, natural disasters, plagues, and harvest conditions.
The last one, and the one that surprised Lu Xuan the most at the time, was that the officials of the Tang Dynasty had actually put together a Tang Dynasty Gazette.
As its name suggests, the Tang Dynasty Literary Gazette was a literary publication. It specialized in publishing articles and poems by renowned poets and writers, as well as travelogues and anecdotes. In the past two years, Lu Xuan had seen many familiar names published there: Li Bai, Cen Shen, Du Fu, Gao Shi, Wang Changling, and so on.
In a sense, this report allowed Lu Xuan to glimpse a glimmer of the Tang Dynasty's golden age. Unfortunately, it was only a glimmer in the literary world. Now, with the world turning against the Tang, the style of these reports has also undergone a dramatic change.
The newspapers nowadays are filled with frontier poems about serving the country and fighting the enemy. Reading them, the young men of the Tang Dynasty are filled with patriotic fervor, eagerly signing up to join the army, determined to teach those nomadic barbarians a lesson on the battlefield. Only now does Li Heng realize just how terrifying this newspaper system, which Lu Xuan had seemingly created casually back then, truly was.
In the era before the internet, newspapers, especially officially produced ones, were the uncrowned kings of that time.
It's worth mentioning that Xu Hezi secretly submitted the poem "Qingping Diao" that Lu Xuan had "copied" for her to the literary newspaper. Given Lu Xuan's status, even if he wrote something like "From afar, the Great Wall looks like a jagged saw; up close, the Great Wall's teeth are jagged," the people at the literary newspaper wouldn't dare refuse to publish it.
Moreover, this poem is considered a masterpiece throughout the ages. It instantly made all the noblewomen in Chang'an, and even the entire Tang Dynasty, envious. They all demanded that their husbands write them a poem of similar caliber.
For this, Lu Xuan was hated by countless greasy middle-aged men. Of course, some even secretly came to ask for poems, leaving Lu Xuan both amused and exasperated. He had to teach Xu Hezi a lesson several times before he could vent his anger. He actually understood that this woman just wanted to show off. After all, women are naturally such creatures who love to boast.
Encouraged by major newspapers, the Tang Dynasty's recruitment drive proceeded extremely smoothly. Although it was only the twilight of a golden age, it must be acknowledged that the Tang Dynasty during the Tianbao era still possessed a solid foundation.
Once the entire nation was mobilized, it immediately demonstrated formidable war potential. At the same time, the first conflict on the border began.
The western frontier. Two armies facing off.
It's worth mentioning that the commander of the Tang Dynasty in this battle was none other than the renowned general Guo Ziyi. Historically, he was also a key figure in suppressing the An Lushan Rebellion. While his actual abilities are uncertain, he was undoubtedly a competent general.
However, Guo Ziyi was currently brimming with confidence. Not long ago, he had personally witnessed the incredible power and destructive force of the Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire delivered by the Imperial Guards of the capital. Guo Ziyi was immediately excited. With this divine weapon, he could easily crush those barbarians in open battle!
This was one of the reasons he dared to venture out of the city for open battle. Although the overall strategy was to stall for time, a victory was still needed to boost morale. This task fell to Guo Ziyi. He was actually recommended by Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan didn't know this man's true abilities. He only knew that such a person existed. Unexpectedly, with just one sentence from him, Guo Ziyi's fortunes were turned around. Before this, Guo Ziyi hadn't actually been given much responsibility. Historically, he only rose to prominence during the An Lushan Rebellion.
As a competent military commander, Guo Ziyi naturally understood that the first use of this powerful new weapon was most effective. Therefore, the first battle had to be fought with the greatest possible success. This was because the imperial guard commander escorting the shipment had hinted that current supplies were limited and that caution was advised in its use.
More than sixty catapults were arranged in a staggered pattern. These catapults were naturally enhanced compared to those on the training ground. Their throwing distance was about three hundred meters.
At this moment, a group of Tang Dynasty artillerymen, trained in the Imperial Guard, were already on high alert. They awaited only the order to begin the first artillery barrage of the Tang Dynasty.
...
In Chang'an, the capital, Li Heng waited anxiously. Judging by the timeline, the Tang army had likely clashed with the Tibetans for the first time about four or five days ago. However, the efficiency of communication at that time was not comparable to that of later generations, so the capital was still unaware of the outcome.
Lu Xuan, Li Bi, and others accompanied Li Heng in the palace. However, Lu Xuan appeared much calmer than the other two. The vast majority of the first batch of Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire were sent to the western front. With any competent general, this first battle was invincible.
In recent years, he has also reformed the Tang Dynasty's postal system. This has improved efficiency somewhat; judging by the time, the battle report should have been delivered today.
The long morning had passed. Li Heng was becoming increasingly anxious and restless. Just then, a thunderous cheer erupted from outside the city. Lu Xuan smiled slightly, knowing that the situation was now settled.
Sure enough, after about half a cup of tea's time, a soldier rushed in, shouting all the way.
"A great victory on the western front! General Guo killed 30,000 in battle. The Tibetans suffered a crushing defeat and fled."
"Good..." A cheer erupted in the court. After all, a victory is always worth celebrating. Li Heng was so excited he almost jumped for joy. He was still young, not the one who would ascend the throne more than a decade later.
Lu Xuan silently calculated that this battle should make the Tibetans more cautious, which would buy the Tang Dynasty a lot of time. Once the second batch of Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire arrived, the situation on the western front would be basically stable.
However, reality is often more fantastical than fiction. Lu Xuan had originally anticipated that the Tibetans would slow their offensive to buy time for the Tang Dynasty. But a few days later, news arrived that caught everyone completely off guard: the Tibetans had retreated.
This wasn't the kind of retreat where troops simply retreat a few miles and set up camp. It was a complete withdrawal, a triumphant return home...
This move truly threw the officials of the Tang Dynasty into a frenzy. Discussions erupted. However, some astute individuals realized that the Tibetan king was likely no longer able to control the tribes under his rule.
We could make a living selling wool, but you insist on forcing us to rob. Robbery is fine, we've done it before. We're not against pulling off a big heist. Many small tribes join the war with this mentality.
When we got there, we found that not only did our robbery attempt fail, we got raped on the spot... What a load of rubbish! We're going back to selling wool...