Chapter 4871: Interest comes first

Chapter 4871: Interest comes first
Bo Lun Zan Ren said anxiously: "Why not? As long as the Zamp has no descendants, the tribes that support him will certainly not be as firm as before. After all, no one wants to see twists and turns in the inheritance of the Zamp position, which will harm the interests of everyone!"

Everyone followed the Zamp to fight wars in the south and the north and to unify Tibet. It was not for the sake of national justice, but simply for their own merits and family wealth, nothing more.

When a king without an heir is bound to have problems with succession in the future, everyone must prepare for it.

There are only a few people who are qualified to compete for the position of Zamp, and Lu Dongzan is one of them...

Lun Qinling shook his head and said, "How can it be as smooth as you imagine? Without a successor, the Tibetan tribes will surely fight against each other. Don't forget that the Tang people are fanning the flames. An unprecedented turmoil will wipe out all the foundation that Tibetans have accumulated over the years and return to the era of tribal warfare... That's not what we want."

To this day, the reason why the Zamp sits firmly on the throne of the Tubo leader is not only because of the powerful strength of the Yalong tribe and the support of the "Four Great Shang Clans" behind it, but more importantly, the various forces within Tubo have reached a balance after years of fighting, and the interests of everyone are protected and recognized under this balance.

Once the balance is broken, no one's interests can be protected, including the Gar tribe.

What all parties fear is not the outbreak of war, but the damage to their own interests.

Of course, if they could obtain external benefits to make up for their internal losses, they would naturally not care about the chaos initiated by Tubo, and even the fact that the king had no descendants would be the best situation.

The so-called "obtaining benefits from the outside to make up for internal losses" can obviously only be obtained from the assistance of the Tang Dynasty...

The Gar tribe's hypocritical behavior disrupted the Tang Dynasty's strategy and it was no longer possible for them to receive assistance from the Tang Dynasty. So if the Tang Dynasty chose another Tibetan tribe to support, it would become a strong enemy of the Gar tribe.

Therefore, the existence of Prince Gongri Gongzan is in the interests of the Gar tribe. On the contrary, if Gongri Gongzan dies suddenly, it means that the Gar tribe will suddenly have at least one powerful enemy, and the entire Tubo will fall apart...

Bolun Zanren could not understand this. His thoughts were very intuitive: "But with our strength, if Tubo is in chaos, we may be able to compete for the position of Zamp. Should we just give up like that?"

Lun Qinling had a headache. Discussing tribal strategy and national situation with this brother who had abundant military strength but serious lack of intelligence was really a brain-consuming matter. "We may seem strong now, but don't forget that it is because we have the support of the Tang Dynasty. Once the Tang Dynasty turns its support for our food, weapons and supplies to a certain Tibetan tribe, it will cause a situation where a certain tribe suddenly rises. By that time, will we still have the strength to unify Tibet and reproduce the great achievements of the Zamp in the past?"

Bolun Zanren seemed to understand: "That is to say, once the Zamp has no descendants, the entire Tubo will be in chaos. Whoever the Tang people support will be able to sit on the throne of the Zamp?"

"That's true in theory, but don't forget the Tang people's strategy towards Tubo. They will never allow a unified Tubo to emerge."

A chaotic, divided, and mutually offensive Tubo is in the interests of the Tang Dynasty, because the long-term strategy of the Tang Dynasty must be to conquer the plateau, destroy Tubo and incorporate the entire plateau into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, rather than allowing a powerful country to occupy the plateau, always ready to swoop down on the Tang Dynasty's territory.

The tent door was knocked loudly.

Lun Qinling cursed, "Do you think I'm deaf, or do you want to deafen me?"

Bo Lun Zanren simply stood up, opened the door, and raised his foot to kick the guy who was knocking on the door recklessly away.

As soon as the door was opened, the guard knocking on the door shouted, "General, the Tang people are coming! They are bringing baggage!"

Bo Lun Zan Ren raised his foot to kick, and he was stunned. He thought his ears were not working well, so he subconsciously asked, "What did you say?"

The successive capture of Zishankou, Yaoniu River and the approach to Dangla Mountain was no longer lip service, because it actually undermined the Tang people's strategy. The Tang people were already merciful by not sending troops to attack Fuqi City, so how could they continue to provide baggage aid?

Lun Qinling had already arrived at the door, and he pulled Bolun Zan aside, asking in a deep voice, "Where is the Tang people?"

"Thirty miles north of the camp! Our scouts have come into contact with the Tang army's vanguard, report back immediately."

Lun Qinling said decisively: "Blow the horn, assemble the whole army, prepare for defense, and deal with any unexpected situation!"

The guard was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "Yes!"

Turn around and run out to convey the order.

Bo Lun Zan Ren was puzzled: "Brother, do you think the Tang people will launch an attack?"

Lun Qinling shook his head: "That may not be the case, but we have to be on guard. After all, we have disrupted the Tang people's strategy. There is no guarantee that the Tang people will not get angry and teach us a lesson."

Of course, this possibility is not great, because if the Tang people go deep into this place, they will inevitably have to pass through the territory of the Gar tribe. Even if the sneak attack is successful, it will be difficult to return safely, unless Fuqi City, Dafeiling, Naluyi and other places are all captured in advance... But it is obviously impossible for no news to reach his ears.

But it's never a bad thing to be more cautious and take precautions...

The sound of a horn rang out in the camp, reaching the ears of every soldier through the wind and snow, waking up thousands of soldiers from their sleep. Because the incident happened so suddenly, the soldiers thought they were under attack, and the entire camp was bustling with activity.

When the whole army assembled and prepared for defense, another scout came to report that the Tang army had set up camp and rested in a valley 30 miles away...

Lun Qinling: "..."

Looking back at the campsite that had been in a mess in the middle of the night, I felt angry but helpless.

The Tang people chose to set up camp in secret, which meant they would not attack and that they were really coming to transport baggage. In this case, Lun Qinling could not wait for the Tang people to arrive at the camp after daybreak to meet them, but had to set out immediately to greet them.

Otherwise, who knows whether the Tang people would use courtesy before force?
The more I deal with the Tang people, the more I realize that their so-called "country of etiquette" is simply nonsense, especially those who claim to be Confucian disciples who are accustomed to talking about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and can find a high-sounding explanation for any behavior...

Taking a deep breath, he told Bo Lun Zan Ren: "Keep an eye on the camp. I'm going to meet the Tang general and see what kind of conspiracy he has."

Bo Lun Zan Ren was worried: "I'd better let me go. What if Tang Ren has evil intentions? Wouldn't brother be sending himself to the door?"

"Since the Tang people didn't choose to arrive at night, it's to reassure us and show that they have no ill intentions. But if I don't go there in person, they will inevitably find fault with us and make a fuss about it. You just need to defend the camp and remember that no matter what happens, you must not take the initiative to attack!"

"Yes! Brother, you must be careful!"

Bo Lun Zan Ren was worried.

"Don't worry, although the Tang people are full of talented people, I am not a free man! Come on, prepare the horses!"

In the wind and snow, Lun Qinling jumped on his horse and rode quickly with dozens of guards, disappearing in the wind and snow.

……

There is heavy snow on the plateau, but the wind is even stronger, so when it snows, there is not much snow on the flat ground, and most of it is blown to windy places. However, due to the cold weather, the snow on the road is frozen like ice, making it extremely difficult for people and horses to walk on it. If you are not careful, you will fall off your horse or people.

It took more than an hour to travel the thirty miles, and it was not until dawn that they encountered the Tang army scouts.

The wind was a little weaker now, and the snow was not falling as heavily as it had been at night. Seeing the Tang scouts coming towards them from afar, Lun Qinling raised his hand to order the guards to stop. When the two sides got closer, he said on horseback: "I heard that our allies had traveled hundreds of miles to the plateau to deliver food and fodder. I was overjoyed and grateful, so I came to greet them. I wonder which general is leading the army to help us?"

The Tang scout returned the salute on horseback: "My general is the military officer of the Anxi Protectorate, Zhang Da'an!"

Lun Qinling thought about it and said he had never heard of it. However, there were many talented people in the Tang Dynasty. It was impossible for someone like Pei Xingjian to trust him and entrust him with important tasks. So he said, "I am Lun Qinling. Please introduce me to General Zhang."

The Tang army scout smiled and said, "My general has been waiting for a long time and has already given orders. You only need to come into the camp to meet me as soon as you arrive. No introduction is needed. Please come in!"

Lun Qinling sighed. Sure enough, he was another smart man who could "anticipate the enemy's moves". He didn't know why the Tang people had so many smart people. "National destiny" was indeed a magical thing. When the national destiny was good, heroes and heroes would flock out. When the national destiny was bad, all the monsters would appear...

Upon entering the camp, Lun Qinling discovered that although it was still early and they had traveled a long distance, the Tang soldiers were already dressed neatly and patrolling inside and outside the camp. Although the soldiers' faces showed signs of fatigue, their backs were straight and their steps were steady. They were obviously the elite among the elite.

This made Lun Qinling very envious. The population of the Tang Dynasty was really too large. Among the tens of millions of people, at least more than a quarter were young and strong. The millions of soldiers carefully selected from the tens of millions of young and strong were naturally elite. In comparison, the entire Tubo population was only a few million. Even if each of them was experienced in fighting and skilled in archery and horse riding, how many troops could they gather?

Perhaps for a period of time, they could suppress the Tang Dynasty because of their strategic victory, but in the long run, there was absolutely no chance of winning...

Inside the tent, Lun Qinling met Zhang Da'an, the chief general of the Tang army who was in charge of escorting food and fodder. He was a young man with thick hair and beard but still youthful in his eyes and eyebrows. He was quite strong, with neatly trimmed nails on both hands. He looked like a talented young man with both literary and martial talents.

As soon as they met, the Tang general sneered and said, "The Grand Protector has issued an order: Since Lun Qinling likes to fight, let him fight to the end. If Luoshui City cannot be captured before the beginning of spring, the Tang army will set out from the four counties of Hexi, cross the Qilian Mountains, and raze Fuxi City to the ground!"