The mountains shout out thanks, and the emperor's grace is vast.

Prince Shaobao, Doctor Guanglu, sounds very majestic, especially "Prince Shaobao". It sounds like the image of a powerful official who covers the sky with one hand, is arrogant and domineering, and can only die one day, waiting to be eliminated by the little emperor and the little eunuch one day.

.

However, those who truly understand the official system of the imperial court know that both official positions are actually empty positions.

Whether it is Prince Shaobao or Guanglu Doctor, they all have empty titles and do not have any real power. At most, they can stand a few positions forward during court meetings. When traveling with full ceremonial guards, the ceremonial guard will have two more indications.

A plaque of status, oh, by the way, the salary may be increased by a few stones every year.

An imperial edict can explain many problems and even predict God's will.

From this imperial edict, Gu Qing clearly judged that no matter how great his military exploits were and no matter how much face he gained from Li Longji who was far away in Chang'an, he would never be promoted to another title.

Originally, Li Longji was reluctantly given the title of Marquis of Qingcheng County. It was said that the annihilation of 20,000 Tibetan troops was a great achievement. However, Li Longji was only willing to give two false titles, but was unwilling to be promoted to a title.

It was probably out of a defensive mentality towards the frontier army commander.

Nowadays, Li Longji has realized that the power granted to An Lushan is too heavy, and he is wary of it. It is impossible for him to hold up a second An Lushan. But the merits of annihilating the enemy must be rewarded, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the government and the public.

, giving two virtual titles is the most appropriate choice.

Prince Shaobao and Doctor Guanglu are both second-grade, and their official positions have been promoted very high. He was awarded the second-grade title at the age of 20. Others cannot say that Li Longji is wrong. Instead, they will think that Gu Qing is extremely favored and has a bright future.

Li Longji was generous and easily dealt with Gu Qing's great achievement.

After reciting the imperial edict, Gu Qing stood up to thank him and respectfully took the imperial edict with both hands.

Chang Zhong, Li Siye and other generals came forward one after another and congratulated Gu Qing on his promotion to Shaobao with joyful expressions. Although they were just two false titles, they were still real second-grade official positions, especially the crown prince Shaobao, which was considered extremely high.

It is a kind of honor. In the future, when traveling as a guard of honor, a plaque with the title "Prince Shaobao" will scare many people.

After thanking the generals, Gu Qing looked at Liu Hongbo and Gao Lang and said, "Are the two generals sending additional troops to Anxi as ordered, or will they serve under the Anxi army from now on?"

Liu Hongbo clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty's decree is that these two men will be assigned to the Anxi Army. The general is willing to follow the Marquis and make new achievements."

Gao Lang also clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to follow the Marquis to make new achievements."

Gu Qing frowned and said: "The current Jiedushi of Anxi is still Commander Gao Xianzhi, and I am also a general under Commander Gao. What do you do with me?"

Liu Hongbo smiled, but changed his words at the right time: "Yes, I am willing to follow the commander-in-chief Gao Jie to make new achievements."

Gu Qing smacked his lips. From the time they led the army to the camp gate until they finished reading the imperial edict, they never mentioned Xianzhi. Judging from their attitudes, they regarded Gu Qing as the lord of Anxi.

Was it a mistake they made carelessly, or did they do it deliberately? They came from Chang'an. Does their attitude also represent Li Longji's thoughts?

Looking at the densely packed army of 20,000 people with no end in sight, standing quietly in the desert outside the camp, cavalry accounted for about a quarter of the 20,000 army, and the rest were infantry. This time, the military department of the imperial court gave normal conditions.

Configuration, but the infantry units seem to be very complete, including halberds, bows, arrows, spears, hooks, sickles, etc. It is a standard wartime configuration.

As for the military appearance, Gu Qing observed carefully for a while and found that they were still slightly inferior to the more than 10,000 left guard soldiers under his command, and the formation looked a bit loose.

Thinking about the reason, Gu Qing suddenly understood.

The 10,000 left guard soldiers and 5,000 Khotan troops he brought from Chang'an suffered thousands losses in the fight against Tibet. However, the soldiers insisted on training every day according to the new training method he created, and they all had rankings in the daily training. A big reward. The soldiers trained hard in order to get a big reward. The physical fitness they had gained in the past two months was naturally much better than the 20,000 soldiers in front of them.

"Okay, here's the order to expand the camp immediately, build barracks, and let the soldiers settle down first. Also, Chang Zhong went to buy meat and buy more. The soldiers have been tired from the long journey, so today we will have a good meal to catch the wind for everyone. "Gu Qing ordered.

Liu Hongbo and Gao Lang clasped their fists to say thank you.

He entered the commander's tent and chatted with the two generals for a while. When Gu Qing asked about the awards of other generals, Liu Hongbo told Gu Qing that his majesty had already read the merit list sent to Chang'an, and all those who should be awarded and should be promoted would be approved. There are many people on the list of meritorious service, from Chang Zhong who took the lead in launching the frontal charge, to Shen Tian who made the first contribution in this battle, and the marksman who played an extremely important role, etc., all have awards. The Ministry of Military Affairs will soon issue an award order.

When Gu Qing asked about the emperor's reward for Gao Xianzhi, Liu Hongbo hesitated for a moment and said that the emperor only awarded Gao Xianzhi Jiatjin and nothing else.

Gu Qing's expression was a little strange.

This is interesting. Strictly speaking, Gu Qing is just a general under Gao Xianzhi. He was awarded the title of Prince Shaobao, but he only gave Gao Xianzhi the title of "Special Advancement". Although it was an empty title of the second rank, but no matter how you look at it this time, It was Gu Qing who played the leading role, but Gao Xianzhi, the genuine Jiedu envoy, was indifferent.

It seems that Li Longji is still dissatisfied with Gao Xianzhi, especially when Gao Xianzhi and Gu Qing discussed the division of troops during the battle against Tibet. As a result, Gu Qing's troops achieved the most outstanding results, while Gao Xianzhi's side waited for work and only annihilated more than 10,000 Tibetan troops. In terms of military achievements, Not as good as Gu Qing. As a famous general, Gao Xianzhi's performance this time was actually good, but compared with Gu Qing, it was a bit inferior.

Having disappointed Li Longji time and time again, Gao Xianzhi was probably destined to be transferred back to Chang'an.

"Why are the cavalry only given so little? Only five thousand, are they allocated by the Ministry of Military Affairs?" Gu Qing asked dissatisfied.

This time, Gu Qing completely annihilated the Tibetan army. Gu Qing tasted the benefits of cavalry. Thousands of people lined up and charged, which was simply unstoppable and almost invincible in the plains.

Liu Hongbo smiled bitterly and said: "They are allocated by the Ministry of Military Affairs. The king's army of the Tang Dynasty always has such a ratio when going on expeditions. After all, our war horses are limited."

Gu Qing shook his head: "What you said is wrong. War horses are indeed limited, but good steel is used on the blade. Where is the blade in the Tang Dynasty? Of course it is the Anxi Protectorate. We here have to face powerful enemies such as the countries in the Western Regions and the great food Tibet. , and it is in the open area of ​​​​the desert, how can it be used with too few cavalry?"

Gao Lang also smiled bitterly and said: "Master Hou, the general and General Liu are just generals who obey the orders of the Military Department. We will take whatever the Military Department gives us. It's useless for you to tell the general."

Gu Qing sighed and said, "Where is the food and grass? How much food and grass did the 20,000 soldiers and horses bring in total?"

"I only brought enough to support the army for one month, and the imperial court will gradually replenish it."

"Where are the weapons and arrows?"

"It's also the usual practice. Lord Marquis, the Ministry of Military Affairs is not that generous. It is barely enough for the army."

Gu Qing said disdainfully: "That's because you don't know how to get it. Do you know how much stuff I brought with me when I led my troops from Chang'an? For a team of ten thousand people, I brought fifteen thousand horses, as well as twice as many grains, grass and weapons.

Considering the size of the army, you generals only focus on leading troops, but you don’t know how important logistics is..."

Liu Hongbo smiled bitterly and said: "That's because the Marquis has a lot of face in Chang'an. The general doesn't have as much face as the Marquis. Even if he asks the Ministry of Military Affairs to ask for it, he won't pay attention to the general."

Gu Qing sighed: "That's all, you settle down first. I will take care of the war horses, food, grass and weapons. There are so many people in Anxi, how can we not provide enough food? I don't even have the dignity to earn some benefits for the soldiers.

Now there are 20,000 more people, alas..."

I couldn't help but touch my face, which was as smooth and elastic as ever.

Gu Qing said with a sad face: "I don't know if my face can still be sold for a good price..."

Nowadays, Gu Qing is more and more aware of the importance of logistics. In the battle with Tubo, if he had not sacrificed his money and face, and just pulled out 15,000 war horses from Yang Guozhong's mouth, as well as twice the weapons of the army, that battle would have been

I really don’t know whether to win or lose. With sufficient logistics, Gu Qing has the confidence to calmly arrange an ambush.

So this time Gu Qing was still determined. He had to dig something out from Chang'an. The emperor couldn't send hungry soldiers. He had no food, no weapons, and no horses. How could he be loyal to the emperor and serve the country?

Counting on his fingers, Gu Qing now has more than 30,000 troops under direct command in the camp outside Qiuci City. The 20,000 troops are under his command. In terms of military power, he is already in the Anxi capital.

Hufu had an absolute advantage, and Gao Xianzhi became increasingly weak.

Li Longji's plan to replace Gao Xianzhi with Gu Qing has basically been realized today. Gao Xianzhi's status in Anxi has become increasingly marginalized. What is missing now is a legitimate identity. Gu Qing estimates that Li Longji will also give this identity to Li Longji in the near future.

he.

Why can we safely hand over the western defense line of the Tang Dynasty to Gu Qing, a young man in his twenties? Naturally, the result of the last time Gu Qing commanded the Anxi Army to annihilate the Tibetan invading enemies gave Li Longji sufficient confidence. That battle

The price paid for by hard work and sacrifice has now come to pay dividends.

…………

Liu Hongbo and Gao Lang looked tired, and the hard work of traveling long distances was clearly evident on their faces.

Gu Qing asked the two of them to go to the camp to rest first and hold a banquet in Qiuci City tomorrow to welcome the two generals.

After the two of them retired, Gu Qing called Han Jie.

"Find one of your guards to go back to Chang'an quickly and do something for me." Gu Qing ordered.

"What does the Marquis want to do?"

"Go back to my house first. I will write a letter with the housekeeper and two businessmen brothers and ask them to prepare generous gifts. Those two guys must have made a lot of money during the days since I left Chang'an. I asked them to take five thousand guan and pay them back.

Yes, Your Majesty rewarded me with a hundred taels of gold, and I took it out as well. Then I checked to see if there are pearls, corals, rhinoceros horns and other treasures in my storehouse, and I gave them all away."

Han Jie was surprised and said: "Master Hou is quite generous, who are you going to give it to?"

"Yang Guozhong." Gu Qing said with a distressed look on his face.

"Why send him?"

"Because Yang Guozhong told me that his twelfth concubine is very beautiful and is willing to give me as a teacher to help me lose my virginity. This generous gift is my betrothal gift." Gu Qing said without thinking.

Han Jie's eyes widened and his mouth opened in an O shape, looking like he was about to be shattered.

"Hou...Master Hou, isn't it a bit expensive?"

This time it was Gu Qing's turn to be shocked: "Do you believe it?"

"To be honest, I don't really believe it."

Gu Qing was so relieved that the IQ of the guards around him had developed exactly as he wanted. If it was too high, he would feel inferior, if it was too low, he would look like a retard, and as a leader, he would look like the chairman of the Disabled Persons' Federation...

"I will write a letter to Yang Guozhong, flatter the right prime minister, and ask him to get me some food, fodder and weapons for the war horses. In the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, there was no shortage of such things."

…………

The news that Gu Qing was named Prince Shaobao quickly spread throughout Kucha City, and both the officials and the people were shocked.

The prince Shaobao, who is in his twenties, is unique since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Today, the emperor promotes talents in an eclectic way.

However, after the officials and people of Kucha City were shocked, they still quite agreed with the fact that Gu Qing was given the title of Prince Shaobao. When the Tibetans almost came to the city, and the war had almost reached Kucha City, it was Gu Qing, the deputy envoy of Jiedu, who decisively ordered to go out of the city to welcome him.

The enemy set up an ambush dozens of miles away from the city and wiped out the Tibetan army, saving the city of Qiuci from the ravages of war and saving the city's officials and people from a military disaster that would have destroyed their families and killed their families.

Not to mention anything else, just for this contribution, the officials and people of Kucha City were grateful to Gu Qing throughout his life. In their eyes, no matter how high the emperor of the Tang Dynasty awarded Gu Qing, it would not be an exaggeration.

People who have never been involved in war do not understand what heroes mean to them.

Gu Qing did not make any publicity about his promotion. After settling the 20,000 soldiers from Chang'an, Gu Qing immediately entered the city and entered the Jiedushi Mansion, where he found Gao Xianzhi in the backyard.
To be continued...