Chapter 242: Setting Aside the Facts, Are You Really Not at Fault at All?

Experiments in later generations have already proven that in the process of oral relay, the loss and distortion of information is inevitable, and the lower a person's level of education, the more severely the information becomes distorted when recounted orally.

And as information ferments among the masses, it often does not necessarily develop in the direction the person who spread it anticipated; it may very well go in a strange direction.

Fang Chongyong's original intention was to have the personnel selected by each army personally see that the Lanzhou prefectural treasury was full, so that after they returned to Shanzhou they would tell the truth to the various armies, thereby stabilizing the troops' morale.

But Young Master Fang overlooked the fact that this was the Tang dynasty, and the grunts' level of education was very low.

Unless they were specially trained dispatchers who could relay the commanding general's words verbatim to the letter, these grunts would all recount what they had seen and thought to others, embellishing it with added details.

As conversation material.

At first, when these grunts who had gone to Lanzhou to inspect the prefectural treasury returned to their units, they were all loudly proclaiming: the prefectural treasury in Lanzhou had countless bolts of silk piled up like mountains. The granaries were full of grain, and even the mice in the granaries were plump and sleek.

By and large, these people were all saying that the imperial court was very wealthy, and military pay and such was absolutely no problem.

Since the information conveyed by these people was largely the same and could corroborate one another, and furthermore the hundred thousand bolts of silk that had been transported back had indeed been distributed in full, with each person receiving two bolts of silk.

Everyone was fairly satisfied.

Two bolts of silk was a bit meager, but the sincerity was there.

Therefore, the soldiers and officers of the various Longyou armies all firmly believed that the imperial court would make up all the back pay in the future.

This was also the original purpose of Fang Chongyong's empty-city stratagem.

But as these messages spread and spread, the flavor changed.

Originally, the various Longyou armies, especially the rank-and-file soldiers, were already deeply dissatisfied with the imperial court's periodic withholding of military pay.

The army commissioners of each army would routinely say things like "Longyou's transportation is difficult," "the imperial court needs money in many places," "the Sage has already done his best" — in short, emphasizing that the imperial court was in great difficulty, money was needed everywhere, and the Sage was so poor he couldn't even afford to ride a carriage or bathe in hot springs, blah blah blah!

So we frontier soldiers should be understanding of the imperial court and understanding of the Sage. After all, with no wars to fight, withholding military pay was nothing unusual.

The country still feeds you when there are no wars to fight — isn't the Sage generous enough? You slack off all day long; search your consciences — in these past few years without war, how many Tibetans have you killed?

Setting aside the facts, are you really not at fault at all?

This kind of rhetoric always left the inarticulate grunts at the bottom with nothing to say.

So although the Longyou frontier army's rank and file were dissatisfied, they could only suppress their anger. After all, there were no wars right now, and without war a soldier's value could not be demonstrated — this too was an objective law.

But this time, what did everyone see? The Lanzhou prefectural treasury was packed full of wealth and silk! The imperial court wasn't short of money at all — they simply didn't want to give it!

Despicable — they clearly had money yet refused to issue it! Truly going too far! The Longyou frontier army numbered tens of thousands, and they were given only a hundred thousand bolts of silk — were they being treated like beggars!

Having no money and being unable to issue military pay is called falling short of one's ability; having money yet refusing to issue military pay is deliberate malice!

Their hearts are condemnable!

Under Fang Chongyong's string of outrageous maneuvers, the discontent within the Longyou frontier army grew even more severe! Were it not for the fact that the Anren Army's disbandment carried an enormous deterrent effect, a second mutiny in the Longyou frontier army would likely have come crashing in like a tsunami!

Even so, the grumbling of rank-and-file soldiers continuously reached the ears of the various army commissioners.

Left with no choice, the army commissioners of the various armies, including Wang Nande, Geshu Han, Ge Jiayun, and others, once again gathered at the Longyou Jiedushi's office.

Fang Chongyong specially sought out Gao Xiuyan to explain the situation to everyone, and emphasized that this was part of a "military strategy."

The money would be issued, and morale also needed to be stimulated!

After all, no one would "feed the soldiers full" before a battle even begins, right?

Soldiers who had received generous rewards would only try their best to preserve themselves on the battlefield, worried about having the life to earn money but not the life to spend it. This reasoning was indeed common sense, and Wang Nande and the others had nothing to say.

After much persuasion, once Fang Chongyong promised that after the war ended the imperial court would bestow substantial rewards, these men reluctantly returned to their respective armies and explained the situation to the officers at every level.

They managed to get through this matter for the time being.

However, internal affairs within the Longyou frontier army were easy to handle — after all, there were many methods available to work with. But when it came to the Tibetans' affairs, Fang Chongyong had absolutely no way to influence them.

The footsteps of war continued to advance steadily forward, not pausing for a single step.

Information sent back by forward scouts was continuously converging: the Tibetans were massing heavy forces in both the northwest and southwest directions. These people were naturally not coming to the Huangshui River valley to sightsee!

According to Fang Chongyong's estimation, the Tibetans most likely intended to launch a "pincer offensive," attacking the Tang forces in the Huangshui River valley from both the northwest and southwest, concentrating superior forces for a war of annihilation, and severing the connection between the Huangshui River valley and Lanzhou!

As the days passed one by one, the selection for the Tianwei Army was also proceeding in full swing.

Because Fang Chongyong's earlier strategy of "quenching thirst by imagining plums" had begun to take effect, those eagerly signing up from the various armies were countless, and the selection was extraordinarily fierce, even reaching the point of one in three being chosen.

Because the sign-ups were so enthusiastic, Fang Chongyong made some private inquiries, and only then learned the inside story.

It turned out that the soldiers in the various armies had given up all hope of receiving any extra rewards, and did not even believe that the imperial court would make up all the previously withheld military pay.

They unanimously believed that the imperial court would continue to pursue its existing strategy of "elites first," and under conditions of limited supply, would first ensure that a batch of elite units were fully equipped and fully paid. As for the remaining "antenna babies," they would be given whatever could be spared — as long as they didn't starve to death, that was enough.

And the Tianwei Army was clearly an elite field army that concentrated the cream of the various Longyou armies — the sharpest of the sharp.

It was therefore no surprise that sign-ups were so enthusiastic.

In this day and age, no grunt at the bottom joined the long-service soldiers to distinguish himself — everyone was just trying to earn a meal. Being a soldier for the rations was simply that; there were no complicated grand principles involved. Nation, state, and all that were very far from them.

Upon learning these grunts' true thoughts, Fang Chongyong could not help but marvel at the plain survival wisdom of the common people. In fact, they had guessed correctly — the future development path of the Great Tang's military would indeed be this way.

Under conditions where productivity stagnated or even regressed and military expenditures were cut, only a small portion of elite soldiers could live better. That was why in the late Tang and the Five Dynasties, elite soldiers emerged in endless streams, and those who could fight ten were commonplace.

Now it was instead the senior generals of the Tang armies who were still dreaming grand dreams, believing that the Great Tang could continue to expand its territory in the future, and that they too could obtain channels for promotion through constant frontier expansion, climbing ever higher.

……

More than ten days later, the five Lun brothers returned to Shanzhou with a detachment of men, and traveling with them were Cen Shen and the others.

To celebrate their success and send them off in style, Fang Chongyong brought out the several jin of black pepper that Brother Ji had bestowed, added it to the seasonings for the mutton, and after coating the mutton with beef tallow, layered it with fermented black beans one layer at a time, placed it inside an enormous flatbread, and put it into an oven to bake.

The baked flatbread had an exceptionally intense flavor and was extraordinarily delicious.

This Chang'an famous dish called "Gulouzi" was nothing remarkable and could be made anywhere — it just required quite a lot of equipment.

The one indispensable ingredient was black pepper, which at this time was still exceedingly rare and precious. Without black pepper, this dish lost its soul and was not worth eating.

The five Lun brothers had been in Liangzhou's Wuwei, a relay station on the Silk Road, so naturally they had no shortage of black pepper brought by passing foreign merchants to eat, and did not find it remarkable. Being able to eat Gulouzi at this moment made them feel all the more a sense of home.

Cen Shen, on the other hand, had lived this many years and could count on his fingers the number of times he had eaten black pepper, having long forgotten that spicy flavor. The exorbitantly priced and difficult-to-make Gulouzi was also not something he could afford to eat on a daily basis, even without black pepper.

Now, being able to eat a thoroughly authentic Gulouzi at the Longyou Jiedushi's office, Cen Shen was moved to tears of happiness — though no one knew whether it was because Fang Chongyong had frantically stuffed black pepper into the mutton, and bystanders all assumed he was simply overwhelmed by the spiciness.

"Jiedushi Fang, when can we make our move?"

After the wine had gone round three times and everyone had eaten to about half-full, the eldest of the five Lun brothers, Lun Weizhen, asked Fang Chongyong.

"Close enough, it's about time."

Fang Chongyong set down the wine cup in his hand and pondered for a moment before speaking.

His tactic of "pacifying the soldiers" had backfired; the resentment in the army was even greater than before. This battle would be a timely rain—even without thorough preparations, they would have to bite the bullet and go in.

"Fang Jiedushi, what if the Tibetans don't take the bait?"

Cen Shen asked with doubt.

For no other reason than that Fang Chongyong's plan was simply too absurd—a terrible idea that no normal person could ever have come up with.

"Judge Cen, do not worry, the Tibetans will certainly take the bait!"

Before Fang Chongyong could speak, Lun Huaiyi, one of the five Lun brothers, chimed in.

Fearing that Cen Shen and Fang Chongyong would not believe him, he continued to add:

"Within Tibet, factions are numerous and divided. Between the various Dongdai, they can independently distribute plundered goods, with rights and responsibilities clearly defined.

This time, the Jiedushi's aim is to lure a detachment of the Tibetan army into action. If this Tibetan force's operation succeeds, they can keep all the plundered goods for themselves.

This is absolutely beneficial to strengthening the power of their own Dongdai. They will certainly not be able to resist making a move."

Lun Huaiyi explained to everyone.

This explanation was convincing.

Within Tibet, a "Ru" was similar to a military district, with ten Dongdai under each Ru. A Dongdai was similar to a military command of the Great Tang.

However, the nature of the Dongdai and the Ru differed somewhat.

Among the Dongdai under a single Ru, it was common for them to have been blood enemies for centuries. Only within a Dongdai itself could they unite as one, controlling both military and civil affairs.

This created a major problem: whenever a large campaign arose, how to distribute spoils and how to deploy troops—none of the parties could coordinate. They could only rely on the "Great Minister" beside the Tibetan ruler to organize matters and pacify the various factions, a role similar to the "Campaign Commander" of the Great Tang.

And the Great Minister himself held the status of a prime minister within Tibet, overseeing military affairs and campaigns, wielding enormous power.

This would cause the Great Minister to pose a fatal threat to the Tibetan Tsenpo! He would frequently come into conflict with the Tsenpo, resulting in inconsistent military orders.

Because Tibet's upper structure was rather rotten while its grassroots organizations were robust, from time to time a Dongdai would act on its own, bypassing military law and campaign deployments, to secure benefits for its own Dongdai.

Fang Chongyong's plan this time was not to make the Tibetan Great Minister change his strategy, but to attract a particular detachment of Tibetans to act on their own initiative, staging a "shadow war" without breaking the peace agreement between the Great Tang and Tibet.

If the Tibetans took a beating, they would not say so; if the Tang army gained an advantage, they likewise would not say so. If anyone truly needed to be held accountable, it would all be the Dangxiang people's fault!

"If so, tomorrow you will lead your troops and march to Star River Plain, and act according to plan. When the time comes, someone will light a signal fire, and I will personally lead five thousand cavalry of the Lintao Army to support you."

Fang Chongyong drained the wine in his cup in one gulp and said.

After seeing everyone off, he returned to the bedroom and, without another word, extinguished the candle and pushed Pei Xiu onto the bed. The two of them fooled around wildly for most of the night before holding each other and falling into a deep sleep.

……

On the grasslands north of Star River Plain, flocks of sheep grazed; from a distance, they looked like white waves.

In the memory of outsiders who knew no better, Zhang Shouyu—already executed and now in a "state of death"—led dozens of his men, disguised as leisurely herdsmen, grazing livestock here.

What they were doing now was extremely dangerous: luring the Tibetans to head south from the north side of Star River Plain, striking straight for the grasslands north of Datong City, and raiding southward for grain.

Of course, one could not rule out the Tibetans boldly seizing Datong City and stationing themselves there without leaving. Though this possibility was rather small.

"Big Brother, do you think the Jiedushi's plan will work?"

A former soldier of the Anren Army, also dressed as a herdsman, rode over on horseback and asked.

"No point wondering whether it'll work or not, just do it."

Zhang Shouyu waved his hand indifferently and said.

How would he know whether it would work or not? He had never met anyone more absurd than Fang Chongyong! The plan of such an absurd person could only be described as terrifying the more you thought about it.

"Big Brother, it's already been three days and the Tibetans still haven't come. Do you think they might not come at all?"

This talkative soldier asked another question.

The moment his words fell, billowing dust in the distance charged straight toward the flocks of sheep!

In this situation, no further explanation was needed! Zhang Shouyu's heart surged with excitement!

"The Tibetans are here! Run! Run fast!"

Zhang Shouyu shouted!

After saying that, he rode his horse and galloped madly toward Datong City.

Those soldiers under his command who bore death sentences also ran along with him, completely ignoring the grazing sheep, wishing they could run as fast as possible.

The groups of Tibetan cavalry did not stop at all when passing through the flocks of sheep, nor did they bother with them, directly pursuing Zhang Shouyu and his men.

Herdsmen always had a place to live, and those grazing sheep could not run away. Rush to the herdsmen's living quarters, plunder their goods, and on the return trip drive the flocks northward—this private errand would then be done.

The commander of this Tibetan army was the Tibetan general Shang Yexi, born of Tibet's top nobility.

The "Shang" faction and the "Lun" faction were two rival power groups within Tibet. The "Lun" faction included the family of the former Lun Qinling (Gar Trizang Tsuktro), while the "Shang" were the maternal relatives of the Tibetan Tsenpo.

The Great Minister currently leading the Tibetan troops, Wei Qilixu, was the present head of the "Lun" faction. The Tsenpo's paternal family, the Qu and Luo clans, had been eliminated decades ago by the Lun and Shang working together.

At present, Tibet was in a state of "political alliance"—whoever had ability had the say.

Since it was Qilixu leading the troops, the Shang clan would certainly not be so obedient. They did not mind causing some trouble for Qilixu while filling their own bellies. This force was a Tibetan detachment, planning to attack Shanzhou via Star River Plain, belonging to the northern army.

The Tibetan main force, however, was taking the old Tuyuhun route through Stone Castle City, belonging to the southern army.

Although Fang Chongyong's original estimates had been somewhat off, the result had coincidentally hit the mark.

Shang Yexi led ten thousand light cavalry straight for Datong City. Upon discovering that the city had been abandoned, they had no desire to split forces to garrison it, but instead headed south along Star River Plain, striking straight for the Heyuan Army encampment. They planned to grab what they could and run—after all, cavalry moved like the wind and had no fear of the slow-reacting Tang main force.

The vigilant Shang Yexi, charging along, suddenly felt something was not quite right!

Too smooth—no ambushes encountered at all.

Could the intelligence be true? Had the Longyou Tang army truly fallen into chaos due to infighting?

The arrow was on the string and had to be loosed. When Shang Yexi saw wolf smoke rising to the south, his suspended heart finally settled.

That was more like it. If they were being ambushed and still no wolf smoke was lit, that would have been wrong.

Shang Yexi led his troops charging into the villages north of Shancheng, only to be surprised to find that not a single person was in the villages. However, the household items still appeared to be there, and the granaries were full.

He immediately ordered the seizure of grain. The well-trained Tibetan cavalry promptly dispatched personnel, loaded the grain, hung the bags on the horses' backs, and then fled north at top speed.

This dumb loss, the Tang army is done for!

Shang Yexi never even considered fighting the Tang army head-on; grabbing the grain is profit.

(End of chapter)