Tibet.

Chapter 1391: Meeting at Suiye
Forty thousand Qarluk cavalrymen charged towards the Tang army along the slope, like a flood bursting through a dam, or as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was splitting apart. The momentum was extremely terrifying.

But Xi Wanli remained calm, staring at the 40,000 charging enemy troops. The enemy's vanguard had already reached three miles away. Xi Wanli ordered, "Fire the signal arrows!"

Nine gunpowder arrows flew into the sky and exploded in the air. More than a hundred scout cavalrymen who were ambushed on both sides of the enemy army suddenly appeared.

In fact, Sabat had already seen these hundred or so scout cavalrymen, but because the number of the other side was too small, he did not take it seriously.

More than a hundred scout cavalrymen raised their bows and shot together. Hundreds of gunpowder arrows shot into the enemy crowd. The burning gunpowder arrows fell to the ground and immediately caused a huge fire on the ground.

The Tang army allowed the Karluk cavalry to occupy the advantageous terrain of high ground, but the disadvantage was that the Karluk cavalry could only run along a fixed route.

The Tang army spread three thousand barrels of kerosene and buried hundreds of large iron fire mines.

A raging fire suddenly ignited below the 40,000 Karluk cavalrymen, instantly engulfing the 10,000 cavalrymen running in the front. The cavalrymen screamed in agony, and then hundreds of iron fire bombs exploded one after another, "Boom! Boom!"

There was a deafening explosion on the grassland, the soil and grass were blown everywhere, and the enemy cavalry were blown to pieces, with flesh and blood flying everywhere, and even people and horses were blown away.

The raging fire and explosion caused the Qarluk cavalry to plunge into hell in an instant. Thick smoke billowed, flames raged, the war horses neighed wildly, and fell down because they could not endure the burning. Countless people were burned and screamed like ghosts.

The cavalrymen at the back turned their horses around and fled. The thousands of cavalrymen in the front had no way to turn back and escape, so they had to bite the bullet and continue to charge at the Tang cavalry. However, what greeted them was a head-on attack from 30,000 cavalrymen.

The Tang army did not use explosive arrows because the grass was very soft. If the arrows did not explode when they hit the ground and were stepped on by the Tang cavalry from behind, it would be a waste of time.

The Qarluk cavalry was defeated, and the 30,000 Tang troops chased them all the way, killing nearly 25,000 enemies. Sabat fled north in a hurry with more than 14,000 people. They fled the Yili River Valley with the Qarluk people and fled back to their old nest in the Xuanhai area.

In this battle, the Qalluk tribe suffered heavy losses. A few years later, the Kunjian army marched south and defeated the Qalluk army. They annexed most of the Pofu Qalluk tribe. The few remnants retreated to the west of the Yibohai Sea, and Sabat was also killed by his son.

The Qarlugs became the whetstone for the Kunjian tribe's resurgence.

The Qarluk army was badly defeated, and Lifei Shouyu's army was responsible for cleaning up the battlefield. The 40,000 Tang troops continued to advance westward and passed through Gongyue City a few days later.

Gongyue City was a military city built by the Tang army to monitor the Yili River Valley. It had a garrison of 300 people. Although the Qarlugs occupied the Yili River Valley, Shaya Khan did not dare to turn against the Tang Dynasty, and they did not harass Gongyue City.

Although the new Khan Sabat was strongly anti-Tang, he was in office for too short a time and was defeated by the Tang army before he could deal with Gongyue City.

Gongyue City was named after the Gongyue Ridge where it was built. The logistics of the 300 Tang troops were originally provided by the three Tuqishi tribes. Although the Qarluk people annexed the three Tuqishi tribes, they had not yet had time to split them up and digest them.
As the Qarluk people fled north in panic, no one cared about the three Turgesh tribes. They returned with some of their cattle and sheep, and resumed living and grazing on the land where their ancestors had lived, reproducing and taking on the task of supporting the Tang troops guarding the border again.

Since most of the Turgesh men were killed by the Qarluk people in the war and young men were in short supply, the Tang army officers and soldiers in Gongyue City became the hope for the Turgesh tribe to reproduce.

For a full ten years, five consecutive Tang army garrisons married Turgesh girls and lived in the Yili River Valley.

Decades later, a Turkic tribe with obvious Han Chinese blood formed in the Yili River Valley. They were called Turkic Han people. The tribal leader Yuchi Mingyuan was named Gongyue Khan by the Tang Dynasty and served as General Yili. He and his people lived in the Yili River Valley for generations.

At this time, the commander of the Western Expedition Army, Bai Xiaode, had already led 20,000 troops to arrive in Suiye first, and Guo Xin and Li Chenghua also entered into new roles respectively.

Guo Xin was appointed as the Sima of the Western Expedition Army, and Li Chenghua was promoted to the position of Chief Censor and appointed as the military supervisor.

Although Li Chenghua is a woman, she is the commander of the internal guards. With her qualifications and skills, no one dares to treat her as a woman, and no one dares to look down on her.

Li Chenghua lived in Suiye Posthouse, which became the temporary office of the Internal Guard. She had nearly 500 Internal Guard soldiers under her command.

Three thousand five hundred Tang Dynasty girls also temporarily lived in Suiye City. Every day, someone taught them to read and write. Li Fang was also learning to read and write. He could speak fluent Chinese and had learned Thousand Character Classic, but it was far from enough.

There were many scholars in Suiye, which laid a good foundation for Wang Changling. He was taught by a professor from the official school named Li Jinhua.

Li Fang liked reading, especially reading. He not only studied with his master wholeheartedly, but also spent most of his time reading. Li Fang also lived in the Suiye Posthouse, and Li Chenghua found an old servant to take care of his daily life.

In the afternoon, Li Chenghua came back from outside, but saw Li Fang sitting alone in the pavilion reading. Li Chenghua felt really pity for him, because this child was obviously a teenager, but he always treated him as a young lady.

The child was too quiet and gentle. He was rarely seen speaking. He hardly uttered a word on the way from Samarkand to Suiye.

Now that everyone is familiar with it, things are a little better.

Li Chenghua walked into the pavilion and asked with a smile, "What book are you reading, sir?"

Li Fang unfolded the cover for her to see. It turned out to be Zhuangzi. Li Chenghua smiled and asked, "Do you like it?"

Li Fang nodded, and Li Chenghua sat down next to him and said with a smile: "News about your father should arrive in the next few days. I guess you will return to Chang'an with more than 3,000 young ladies. Are you looking forward to it?"

Li Fang's eyes flashed with worry, and he whispered, "Auntie, are you going too?"

Li Chenghua was stunned. This child actually had a little dependence on her. The maternal love in her heart suddenly rose, and she said softly: "I'm afraid I can't leave. Your father just appointed me as the military supervisor. I can only return to Chang'an after the war is over!"

Li Fang lowered his head for a while and said, "I can also go to Chang'an after the war is over!"

Li Chenghua nodded, "Okay! I'll make the decision this time."

Li Fang smiled slightly, but with some uneasiness in his eyes, he asked, "Will my father punish my aunt?"

Li Chenghua laughed, "No, your father and I have a very good relationship. He is not only my lord, but also my friend. There are many things that others cannot persuade him about, but I can persuade him."

"But I read in a book that emperors are very scary and that serving an emperor is like serving a tiger. Is my father very fierce?"

Li Chenghua said softly: "Your father is different from other emperors. Although he is a member of the royal family, he was born in poverty and relied on his own ability to conquer the world step by step. Your father is very tolerant and broad-minded. He will definitely like you. You still have a grandfather and grandmother, especially your grandmother. She loves her grandchildren very much."

"But I am a Hu people?"

Li Chenghua shook his head and said solemnly to the young man, "Remember this. Whether you are a Hu or not depends on your father. If your father is Han, you are Han. If your father is a Hu, then even if your mother is Han, your child is also a Hu. This is the rule of us Han people. Do you understand?"

"I understand!"

Li Fang nodded slightly, and he said a little embarrassedly: "Auntie, there are two young ladies, can we..."

Li Chenghua understood immediately that the two little maids who had always served him grew up together and had a very good relationship.

"Okay! Tell me their names and I'll take them over."

Li Fang pulled out a delicately folded piece of paper from the book and handed it to Li Chenghua, "It's them two!"

Li Chenghua took a look and couldn't help laughing. One was called Wang Xiaoe and the other was called Wang Xiaoya, both were thirteen years old.

"I know, I'll find it for you tomorrow!"

At this time, a female soldier of the inner guard came over quickly and bowed, saying, "General, General Bai asks you to come over. The 40,000-strong imperial army has arrived!"

Li Chenghua was overjoyed that 40,000 reinforcements had finally arrived.

(End of this chapter)