Chapter 66 Gao Xianzhi's Concerns
Gao Xianzhi listened and sighed heavily, saying, "It's more than 7,000 miles to Chang'an. If we report to the Ministry of War first, it will take more than a month to travel 600 miles round trip in winter, and..."

Gao Xianzhi hesitated for a moment, but chose to speak frankly:

"Moreover, the power structure in the court is complicated. If this matter is reported to the Ministry of War, I am afraid that it will take a month to reach a conclusion. If it takes too long, after winter and spring, it will be very difficult to advance in summer."

Li Ying asked, "Why is it more difficult to advance in the summer?"

Gao Xianzhi said: "The terrain of Xiaoboluo is high. After mid-spring, the snow melts and the river rises rapidly in summer, which makes it difficult to march. Moreover, our Anxi soldiers are good at infantry and cavalry combat, but not good at crossing rivers. If we can send troops in winter or spring, we can march quickly and catch them by surprise. But if we send troops in summer, before we see the enemy, I'm afraid that one in ten soldiers will be killed or wounded."

This is what Gao Xianzhi did ten years later in history. Li Heng asked this question deliberately just now because he wanted to see whether Gao Xianzhi's military ability was outstanding after missing ten years of experience.

It seems that Gao Xianzhi is still very strong.

An Sishun said, "General Gao is right. If the court delays until summer to reach a conclusion, we can only send troops next winter, but the Little Bolor Kingdom may not last until then."

Gao Xianzhi, An Sishun, and Feng Changqing each expressed their own ideas, and finally stood up together and said, "Your Highness, please make the decision!"

Li Heng pondered for a while and said, "We definitely cannot wait until next winter to fight again. If Xiaoboluo falls, we will not have Xiaoboluo's internal support, and we will not have Xiaoboluo's food and grass support. It will be even more difficult for us to fight then."

Li Heng paused, then continued:
"I am the envoy of the four towns of Longyou Road, and my father has granted me the power to act at my own discretion. Now that Tubo has threatened the safety of our Tang Dynasty, I have no choice but to shoulder this heavy responsibility. I suggest that we immediately organize the army, gather food and supplies, and as soon as the envoys from the small Bolor Kingdom arrive for help, we will send out 10,000 troops and march immediately."

Feng Changqing said: "Your Highness, why do you have to wait for the envoys from the Kingdom of Little Bolor? The Kingdom of Little Bolor is small and weak, and they cannot launch the main attack."

"General Feng is loyal and brave." Li Heng smiled. "Although we are the main attackers in this battle, we are fighting on the territory of the Little Bolor Kingdom after all. They come to us for help, so we have a legitimate reason. This is the first reason. Second, we are traveling a long way. If we don't have an insider to scout the way, it will be troublesome for us to fight. Moreover, if we go to rescue them, they should also provide us with some food and grass in case of emergency. Third, the Hexi Jiedushi General Wang's troops are stationed in Guazhou and cannot arrive in time. We can wait for the Little Bolor Kingdom's envoys to come over in the next two days and have them dispatch the troops stationed in Guazhou."

Before Feng Changqing could say anything, An Sishun was a little surprised and asked quickly, "Your Highness has already asked Hexi to send troops for support?"

If Hexi could provide support with troops, the problem of insufficient troops in Anxi would be completely solved.

Li Heng asked in confusion, "Didn't General Gai tell General An about this?"

"No." An Sishun shook his head.

Li Ying thought to himself, "It seems that Gai Jiayun thought that I sent Wang Zhongsi to Guazhou just to prevent him from mutiny."

An Sishun didn't know about this, but Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing knew about it. When Li Heng asked Wang Zhongsi to station troops in Guazhou, they were both present, but their idea was the same as Gai Jiayun's.

The two then realized that Li Heng had already made plans, but that was several months ago.

This is amazing!
Li Heng did not dwell on this matter too much. After thinking for a moment, he said, "General Gao will be responsible for organizing the army and mobilizing troops and supplies. General Feng will order someone to take my order and rush to Guazhou to mobilize troops at an urgent speed of 600 miles. In addition, send two more groups of troops. One group will report this matter to the Ministry of War and present it to the emperor. The other group will have Zhang Song, the governor of Beiting, assist in the defense of Anxi."

An Sishun saw that the other two had their own division of labor, but he did not, so he quickly said, "Your Highness, I will be the vanguard and make up for my crime."

"Okay, I'll agree to your request." Li Heng nodded, "You can do it on your own."

"Here."

The three men took the order and retreated.

But Gao Xianzhi looked worried. Li Heng noticed Gao Xianzhi's expression and said, "General Gao, please stay."

Gao Xianzhi stopped when he heard this.

After Feng Changqing and An Sishun left, Li Heng asked, "I see that General Gao seems to be worried, why not speak up?"

Gao Xianzhi hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness has made careful arrangements. I am just worried that we will not cooperate well."

"Oh?" Li Heng had indeed not expected this question, and asked seriously, "Why are you not cooperating well?"

Gao Xianzhi said, "General An was previously under Gai Jiayun. General Wang Zhongsi should have sent Gao Shi here. I have naturally followed Your Highness all the way. I am worried that when we get to the front, the three of us will have our own ideas and will not be able to reach a consensus. We may even be greedy for merit and make rash advances."

"Uh..." Li Heng was stunned.

Li Heng previously thought that he could easily win by using four famous generals of the Tang Dynasty, but he forgot that if the generals were too powerful, it would cause conflicts and result in one plus one being less than two.

Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "I will give you the power to command the front. Is this feasible?"

"Not necessarily." Gao Xianzhi shook his head. "I was just promoted to the military commander, and I lack experience. General An has been guarding the border for more than 20 years, and Gao Shi boasts of his great talent. The two of them may not be willing to submit."

Li Ying asked, "Who do you think is feasible?"

Gao Xianzhi said, "If Gai Jiayun had not been in trouble, I would have thought that General An could have been the commander-in-chief. But Gai Jiayun was in trouble. If General An were the commander-in-chief, I would not obey him. The soldiers who followed me to search and confiscate Gai Jiayun might not obey him. They might even worry about being retaliated by General An and cause a mutiny. As for Gao Shi, he was born into a scholar family. The soldiers might be skeptical about his military ability. If he were the commander-in-chief, I'm afraid the morale of the army would be low and the morale of the army would be unstable."

Gao Xianzhi's words were very straightforward and hit the core of the contradiction.

The three of them, plus Feng Changqing, are all famous generals in history with outstanding military abilities, but that was achieved through their own efforts.

Now, they all lack prestige.

Li Heng asked, "What should we do about General Gao's intention?"

Gao Xianzhi said: "The three of us are all obedient to Your Highness. Moreover, Your Highness is a prince, and you have investigated and prosecuted Huangfu Weiming and Gai Jiayun, forcing the Arabs to withdraw their troops. You have gained great fame. If Your Highness can take charge of the central army and let the three of us be the generals, no one will disobey you. But..."

"Just what?" Li Heng asked.

Gao Xianzhi said: "It's just that your Highness is not feeling well. The climate is cold and the mountains are thousands of feet high. I'm afraid your Highness's body can't stand it."

Although Li Heng was an envoy of the imperial court and had the power to act at his own discretion, and could nominally supervise military and political affairs, if he lost the war, the criticism from the court would definitely be enough to make him suffer. By then, not to mention gaining power, it would be doubtful whether he could even obtain the qualification to travel.

So he must win this battle!

Thinking of this, Li Heng stood up and said, "To protect my country, why fear life and death! If I can use this body to protect Anxi forever, I am willing to leave my life in that iceberg!"

"Your Highness is righteous!" Gao Xianzhi was shocked after hearing Li Heng's remarks.

(End of this chapter)