Ang Lee completely believed in Luo Dahu's judgment. The tyrants of Cuandi had coexisted for so many years. Although there were occasional conflicts, there had never been such a serious incident. Moreover, this incident happened after Pi Luoge married his two daughters to Cuandi. This was enough to prove that Cuan Chongdao's killing of King Cuangui and Cuan Rijin was Pi Luoge's plot.
Pi Luoge used his two biological daughters to create such a big conspiracy. His purpose was needless to say. It must be to mess up the relationship between the tyrants of Cuan Land and make them kill each other. Then, with the smallest price, he could take the entire Cuan Land into his own pocket.
"General Li, there is another news. The 20,000 elite troops of Nanzhao are deployed in the mountains in the western part of Kun Province. Now that Cuan Chongdao and Cuan Shouyu are fighting, Nanzhao is the oriole behind. They may send troops to take over Cuandi at any time."
Luo Dahu tactfully reminded Ang Lee not to let Nanzhao's army succeed in taking over Cuandi. Otherwise, it would be difficult to take it back.
Ang Lee naturally understood this. It was like the island of a big country in the future. Because it was not always guarded, it was invaded by the surrounding small countries. It was very difficult to take it back later.
"Luo Dahu, I understand what you mean. However, I have been preparing and did not slack off. I remember that the last time you came to Luzhou, you met a group of bandits. Did you meet bandits again this time?"
Ang Lee asked confidently.
"General, I did not meet any bandits this time."
Luo Dahu answered truthfully. After a pause, he said in surprise, "Has the general already wiped out all the bandits in Luzhou?"
Ang Lee laughed confidently. "If I can't even deal with three to five thousand bandits, how can I deter the tyrants of Cuandi and Nanzhao in the future? Moreover, I have just ordered the conscription of 1,500 men to increase the size of the army to 5,000 men."
Luo Dahu was stunned. He quickly said, "General is mighty. I believe that you can defeat Nanzhao's conspiracy. Cuandi will definitely belong to the Tang dynasty."
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction. He patted Luo Dahu's shoulder and said sincerely, "Luo Dahu, we are acquaintances now. There are some things that I must tell you. < > "
"General, please speak."
Ang Lee paused... "I know that you are a loyal subject of the Five Zhao. you want to restore Dengzhao and kill Pi Luo Ge. but do you know how difficult it is?"
"General Li, our lord's death was unjust. No matter how difficult it is, we must avenge him and restore the Deng Ming Edict."
Luo Dahu's voice was very.
Li An pursed his lips, trying his best to put on a smile that did not hurt Luo Dahu: "Luo Dahu, I know that you are a very loyal person, but do you understand the people of Deng Hai Zhao? Up until now, how many people in your Deng Hai Zhao still care about your Imperial Lord? What kind of attitude they have towards Pilo Court, do you know?"
Luo Dahu sighed. "It is Pi Luo Ge's hypocrisy that has deceived some people. Most of the people have forgotten that they are Dengzhao's people."
Ang Lee shook his head. "It is not that they have forgotten their homeland. It is because most of the people only want to live a peaceful life. Your lord can give them a peaceful life. Pi Luo Ge can do the same. They do not care whether they are Dengzhao's or Nanzhao's. They just want a peaceful life. In other words, in the future, you will receive less and less support."
"Even so, we will not give up."
Luo Dahu was a little angry. He looked at Ang Lee. "General Li, what do you mean by this? Are you asking us to give up?"
Ang Lee sighed and said seriously, "What I mean is that you should leave a way out for yourselves, or change your way of life."
"What do you mean by change our way of life?"
Luo Dahu was confused.
Ang Lee explained, "What I mean is that you can choose to be loyal to the Tang Dynasty and be a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty. You can also work hard for the Tang Dynasty to guard the southwest border. In this way, you can limit the expansion of Nanzhao and you don't have to live a life of bloodshed every day. You should understand that as long as Nanzhao does not fight against the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty will not attack Nanzhao. In this way, a small number of loyal ministers of Nanzhao will not be able to restore the old country. "But I am not willing.
"But I can't accept it. Does the general not intend to help us?"
Luo Dahu still did not give up.
Ang Lee said helplessly, "I am a minister of the Tang Dynasty. Without His Majesty's imperial edict, I dare not help you restore the old country. However, I will help you within the scope of my power. Also, you'd better go back and think about my suggestion. Put down the hatred in your heart and join the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty is in need of people. If you join the Tang Dynasty, you will have a promising future."
Luo Dahu looked up forty-five degrees and did not say a word.
Ang Lee patted Luo Dahu on the shoulder. "No matter what you choose, we have the same interests in crushing Nanzhao and occupying Cuandu."
"Yes, General Li, on the point of opposing Nanzhao's expansion, our goals are the same. I will consider General's proposal. It is getting late, so this one bids farewell. If there are any new developments, this one will return to report to General."
Luo Dahu bowed respectfully and turned to leave.
Ang Lee asked his bodyguards to send Luo Dahu away and immediately transferred some people to Cuandu to understand the local situation. He did not want to rely on Luo Dahu, an outsider, for all the information.
The reason why Ang Lee suggested Luo Dahu to join the Tang Dynasty was completely out of kindness. He could not bear to see Luo Dahu and the others walk on a path of no return that was difficult to succeed. This was somewhat different from his original idea.
The recruitment work that Li Kunxiong was in charge of went very smoothly. After the army eliminated a large number of bandits, the people of Luzhou had long respected the army as if they were gods. They all wanted to join the army. There were 1,500 recruits, but 20,000 people signed up to join the army.
This made Ang Lee very happy. He asked Li Kunxiong to carefully select the best to join the army. < >
The new recruits were led by the veterans, so their training was naturally smoother. Some of the new recruits with particularly good physiques even managed to defeat the veterans as soon as they joined the army. This made Li An very happy.
The situation in Cuandu was not optimistic. The training of these recruits must be carried out quickly. Ang Lee's focus at the moment was to train the soldiers and pay attention to the situation in Cuandu.
At the moment when Cuandu Wudi's lair was captured, Ang Lee thought that the bandits in Luzhou had basically been eliminated. This was indeed the case. For a long time, there had been no bandits attacking civilians. However, half a month later, bandits attacked villages again in Luzhou and kidnapped civilians. This made Ang Lee very angry.
This time, the bandits seemed to have become a lot smarter. They no longer formed a large camp. Instead, they lived in groups of three to five in caves and shacks in the dense forest. The neighboring residences were at least half a mile apart. Furthermore, they often changed their residences. As soon as something happened, the rest of the bandits would all run away.
In other words, these remaining bandits had become roving bandits. Furthermore, they formed small groups of three to five people. This made them very small targets. Furthermore, once they encountered the army, they could disguise themselves as city hunters. This made it difficult for the army to guard against them.
Anything that was challenging was an opportunity for training. Ang Lee naturally would not let these roving bandits ruin his reputation. Since the army said that they were going to eliminate all the bandits, how could they let these remaining roving bandits go? Furthermore, this was also a good training for the army. It would allow the army to better learn how to fight in the jungle.
In the following days, Ang Lee sent out different numbers of soldiers to the mountains every day to eliminate the roving bandits. According to the characteristics of the roving bandits, he set up a variety of pursuit plans. Each plan was a great training for the army. The army's jungle warfare level continued to improve.
###
In the Zichen Hall of the Great Ming Palace, the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Longji, was looking through Ang Lee's memorials. He did not feel that there was anything wrong with Ang Lee's decision to recruit another one thousand and five hundred soldiers. However, he was still a little unhappy with this decision. However, when he thought about how far away Luzhou was from the capital, he knew that it would be very troublesome to ask him for instructions on everything. As a result, he understood Ang Lee's painstaking efforts.
"Your Majesty, the Right Chief Minister requests an audience."
Li Longji nodded his head and said softly: "Let him in."
"Your Majesty."
"Right Chief Minister, is there anything important?"
Li Linfu clasped his fist and said: "Your Majesty, An Lushan, the Military Governor of Pinglu, has submitted a memorial to the Ministry of War. He requested an increase in weapons and provisions to deal with the frequent invasions of the two Tibetans. However, the national treasury is not sufficient. The Ministry of War does not know how to respond."
Hearing this, Li Longji frowned: "The national treasury has been consumed too much. Even the expenditure of the palace has been reduced. I'm afraid that we can't give him too much. What is your opinion?"
Li Linfu rolled his eyes and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Pinglu is located in the northeast of the Tang dynasty. It is the gateway to deal with the Zhen state and the two Tibetans. If Pinglu is lost, Hebei Province will be in danger. Once something happens to Hebei Province, Tongguan and the capital will be shaken. Therefore, in my opinion, it is safer to invest as much as possible."
Li Longji nodded slightly: "Right Chief Minister, Pinglu is an important place. We can't be careless. For the time being, send the existing weapons and provisions in the national treasury there. Don't let An Lushan suffer. After all, he is a Hu. Only by caring for him can he be more loyal to the Tang dynasty."
"Your Majesty is wise."
Li Linfu echoed and said softly: "Your Majesty, I heard that Ang Lee found a large-scale gold mine in Luzhou. It produces a lot of gold every day. In this way, it will definitely be able to enrich the national treasury."
Li Longji said with a smile: "I'm afraid that won't work. Although the tyrants of Cuandi have already apologized and want to be my loyal minister, I think that these people are not sincere. It's hard to guarantee that they won't rebel against the Tang dynasty again. The situation in the southwest is still very dangerous. Also, Ang Lee has already submitted a memorial to use the gold mine in Luzhou to support the army to quell the rebellion in Cuandi. Oh, by the way, Ang Lee has expanded the army by 1,500 people, so the demand for the army's provisions will be even greater. I can't affect the development of the army and the situation in the southwest just to fill the national treasury."
Since the various tribes in Cuandi had followed Piluo Ge's suggestion and surrendered to the Tang dynasty, the army's duty was no longer to be ready to quell rebellions at any time, but to strengthen its strength and deter the tyrants in Cuandi, so that they would not dare to act rashly.
Li Linfu rolled his eyes and cupped his hands: "Your Majesty, I heard that the army is invincible in Luzhou. With only a small number of soldiers and horses, they wiped out all the bandits that had been a problem for many years with almost no casualties. They are deeply respected by the people of Luzhou. With such a powerful army, it is more than enough to stabilize the situation in the southwest. There is no need to increase the number of troops. Ang Lee's intention to increase the number of troops this time is thought-provoking."
Li Longji did not take it seriously and said with a smile: "What do you mean, Right Prime Minister? Do you think that Ang Lee will rebel against me?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have no such intention. I just feel that the strength shown by the army in suppressing the bandits is more than enough to deter the tyrants in Cuandi. There is no need to increase the number of troops."
"Right Prime Minister, you don't have to worry too much. I will now issue an edict to stop the size of the army at five thousand. I will also urge Ang Lee to train the army as soon as possible. I am still waiting for him to return to the capital."
Li Longji said happily.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
After Li Linfu left, Li Longji frowned and thought about the reason why Ang Lee suddenly increased the number of troops.
Why did Ang Lee suddenly increase the number of troops? Could it be that the situation in Cuandi has changed dangerously again?
Li Longji cursed in his heart. He soon received news that Cuan Chongdao and his group had killed Cuan Gui Wang and Cuan Rijin, the father and son of the Tang dynasty, causing Cuandi to fall into chaos.
After learning of this situation, Li Longji immediately destroyed the edict. He felt that Ang Lee increasing the number of troops must be related to this matter. Regardless of the military strength, an appropriate increase in the number of troops would increase the confidence to deal with the situation in Cuandi. Not to mention five thousand troops, as long as Ang Lee could stabilize the situation in the southwest, even if the number of troops increased to ten thousand, he could accept it.
####
In Nanning Province, Cuan Chongdao's main force firmly controlled Nanning Province. Kunzhou City was also under the control of his son, Cuan Fuchao. Cuan Qi and Cuan Shouyi were completely tied to Cuan Chongdao's chariot. They could only fully support Cuan Chongdao and his son and try to establish a new order in Cuandi.
Cuan Shouyu, the son of King Cuan Gui, had obtained King Cuan Gui's commander's seal. He firmly controlled the six thousand elites left by King Cuan Gui before his death and gradually gathered the defeated troops. He had a total of ten thousand troops. However, compared with the nearly thirty thousand troops of Cuan Chongdao's group, his strength was obviously weaker. Fortunately, the camp was strong enough to offset the lack of troops.
Cuan Chongdao concentrated twice the number of troops and continued to besiege Cuan Shouyu for more than a month, but he still couldn't do anything to Cuan Shouyu. This made him very anxious. Of course, Cuan Shouyu also didn't have the ability to fight back. The confrontation between the two sides was in a stalemate.
In Cuan Shouyu's main tent, the main general, Cuan Shouyu, was drinking. He was in a very bad mood.
Cuan Chongdao had been besieged for a month, causing him to feel very irritated. Moreover, his wife, the Princess of Nanzhao, had been raped by his father, causing him to feel very uncomfortable. This was also the biggest reason why he refused to save his father.
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