People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1595: Li Xuan Returns to Chang'an
Late September, southern foothills of the Pamir Mountains.

The grass and trees turned yellow and frost formed.

On this piece of land later called the Pamir Plateau, a two-meter-high city wall appeared on the northern shore of Kola Lake.

On both sides of the city, countless cattle and sheep were grazed and collected by various herdsmen.

A large amount of food and weapons were sent into the city.

After resting here for a night, Xue Shao and Zhao Gong set out on their journey north again.

Amid the vast green mountains, a mountain path leads directly north.

Zhang Daan rode on horseback and scanned the food and weapons, then said, "The commander-in-chief set out in May and arrived at the Congling Mountains in June, but he did not underestimate the enemy and rush in. Instead, he first spent a month expanding and repairing the Congling Town under the Congling Mountains. In July, when the food and grass were ready, he marched north of the Congling Mountains."

Xue Shao, whose lips were a little pale, nodded slightly and didn't say much.

Although his physique was still in good condition, he had exhausted all his strength after marching from Lhasa, across the Great Snow Mountain, to Big and Small Bolor, and arriving at the foot of the Pamir Mountains.

Even though I kept drinking ginseng to replenish my strength, it was still very difficult to endure.

On the contrary, Zhao Gong on one side and Fan Yunxian behind him looked normal.

Zhao Gong listened carefully to every word Zhang Da'an said and analyzed every step of Li Xuan's battle plan in the Western Region.

"Making full preparations before suddenly attacking is indeed Dalang's usual method." Zhao Gong smiled faintly, then looked at Zhang Da'an and asked, "Mr. Zhang, Dalang has not been idle in the past month and a half, right?"

"Yes." Zhang Da'an nodded and said, "The north and south of the Pamir Mountains have always been the must-pass places of the Silk Road. If we control the south of the Pamir Mountains, we can control half of the Silk Road... The Left Guard and the Right Guard left the Big and Small Bolor successively last year, coordinating with the four towns of Anxi to mobilize troops and also gathering intelligence."

Zhao Gong immediately understood: "So, the secret money and grain channels of the Western Turkic tribes have been captured by you."

"Yes!" Zhang Da'an nodded and said, "According to the agreement between the prince and the right prime minister, the four towns of Anxi are responsible for crossing the Tianshan Mountains and attacking the east of Suiye City; Luoshui Road is responsible for crossing the Pamir Mountains and attacking the west of Suiye City."

Zhao Gong nodded slightly, raised his head and looked into the distance. After crossing the Pamir Mountains, he arrived at where Li Xuan was.

"The Marshal went from Dingyuan City..." After a short pause, Zhang Da'an said with a smile, "After the expansion of Congling Town, the Marshal named it Dingyuan City. After crossing Congling from Dingyuan City, he arrived at Andukang, an important town in the west of Kangguo. He summoned envoys from Kangguo, Shiguo, Anguo and other countries to borrow food and roads, and finally headed directly to the west of Li Suiye City."

Among the ten tribes of Western Tuyuhun, five of them were located to the east of Suiye City, and five were located to the west of Suiye City.

"Anxi took action first, attracting the Western Turkic army to gather. No one expected that our army would reach the west of Suiye City within half a month. The Turkic people were caught off guard and were killed. Hundreds of thousands of people fled in all directions."

Zhang Da'an shook his head and said with emotion: "The Marshal has always used his troops to attack the vital points. The five leaders of the Western Turkic tribes have been hunted down by the Marshal. Two of them were directly killed, one surrendered, and now there are still two leaders on the run. However, the Right Guard General Qiu Zhenmu and the Left Guard General Tang Zhenxing are following orders to hunt them down. I believe there will be results soon."

Zhao Gong nodded gently, but there was a hint of worry on his face.

Fan Yunxian, who had been silent and low-key, couldn't help but frown.

Zhao Gong asked, "What about the Arabs?"

"It is precisely because of the presence of the Arabs that the war has been inconclusive for more than two months. The main forces of the Right Guard and the Left Guard are keeping a close eye on them." After a brief pause, Zhang Da'an said, "As for the other generals of the Right Guard, the Left Guard, and the Right Guard, they are chasing after the other scattered Western Turkic tribes."

"The Western Regions are too vast." Zhao Gong nodded involuntarily. The situation was not easy.

"Anxi has already taken over Suiye City, and Luoshui is gradually approaching Talas. If nothing unexpected happens, the battle with the Arabs should take place in Talas."

Zhang Daan looked serious and said, "It's only been three months of fighting, and the food and weapons have been severely consumed. But the problem is that since June, the food and grass shipped from Changzhou to Fanzhou has been seriously insufficient. The commander had to withdraw some troops back to Shiguo, and he himself returned to Shiguo to take charge."

After a short pause, Zhang Da'an asked seriously, "I have also asked Anxi. Anxi is also short of food and weapons. If this continues, the last battle in the Western Turkic Empire will be difficult to fight."

Zhao Gong turned his head to look at Xue Shao, who had a trace of worry on his face, but then he smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. We came along the way to check the grain route. In Longxi and Changzhou, many officials have intercepted military grain. But it doesn't matter. The autumn grain has been stored in the warehouse, and it won't be long before the grain and grass can be transported here."

"I hope so." Zhang Da'an nodded gently, looked at the vast Congling Mountains, and said, "Let's go. It will take another seven days to get to Andukang, an important town in Kangguo."

"it is good!"

……

Andukang is an important town in the western part of Kang State.

The northern line of the Silk Road through the Pamirs, going further east, passing through more than a dozen passes in the Pamirs and Tianshan Mountains, will lead to Shule.

To the east of Shule is Qiuci, the location of the Anxi Protectorate.

After that, Tingzhou and Xizhou were both under the control of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Xuan, dressed in black clothes and black armor, stood at the not very wide south gate of the city with an indifferent expression.

Behind him were the defenders of Kangguo Andu and Kangcheng, as well as countless military officers, Sima, and Changshi.

Countless right-guard cavalrymen in black clothes and armor stood in two rows, led by Li Zhu, the commander of Li Xuan's personal guards.

Further away, inside the city, there was a prosperous scene.

Countless people come and go.

The reason for this is that due to the previous formation of the Western Turks and the Four Anxi Towns, the Silk Road was forced to take the Lhasa line south of the Pamir Mountains, and the northern line to Andukang had actually been deserted for some time.

Li Xuan finally reached Kangguo and defeated the Western Turkic cavalry that threatened the place, and occupied the place as well.

Kangguo was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

Kang Liancheng, the envoy of Kang State whom Li Xuan had met before, was a great noble of Kang State.

When Li Xuan returned to Luoshui Road, he also asked his deputy envoy to accompany him back to Kangguo.

What they were afraid of was that Li Xuan would get unhappy and destroy Kangguo directly.

In the Western Regions, the most revered Tang Dynasty general by the people of the Western Regions was Duke of Xingguo Su Dingfang, who single-handedly destroyed the Western Turks.

The second is Su Dingfang's apprentice Pei Xingjian. Pei Xingjian guarded the four towns of Anxi for many years and pacified the Western Turkic tribes many times. The countries in the Western Regions were in awe of him.

After that, it was the current Protector General of the Four Anxi Towns, Wang Fangyi.

Now there is another Li Xuan to be added.

Li Xuan's name is actually not unfamiliar to people in the Western Regions. Not only did he destroy Tubo single-handedly, but he also continued to extend his hands into the Western Regions for many years.

Merchants from various countries traveling to and from Luoshui Road had already spread his reputation far and wide.

However, this alone is not enough. Without witnessing the bloodshed with their own eyes, others will not understand the awe.

Sure enough, Li Xuan sent troops to Kangguo and defeated the vanguard of the Western Turkic Khanate. Then he rushed between Talas and Suiye City like lightning and directly defeated the main force of the Western Turkic Khanate who had no time to react.

What followed was a long chase.

Now in the Western Regions, you can hear everywhere which tribe was wiped out by the Tang army today, and which tribe has completely surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

Strangely, when Li Xuan led his troops back to Kangguo, the people here welcomed him wholeheartedly.

It was at this time that Li Xuan received the news that Xue Shao and Zhao Gong had led special envoys to the Western Regions.

Li Xuan stopped his troops in Andu Kang, not only because it was the core of the Tang Dynasty's advance into the Western Turkic region, but also because he needed to start planning to send a caravan from Kangguo and Shiguo to Persia.

By the way, Persia has now been destroyed by the Arabs, and there is no Persia anymore.

"Prince, he's here." Chen Zi'ang whispered in Li Xuan's ear.

Li Xuan looked up and saw a tall banner appearing at the edge of heaven and earth in the distance.

It was a rare moment when Li Xuan's usually cold face showed a smile.

……

Xue Shao rode in the middle, with bustling streets on both sides, but the whole city was extremely simple.

It's not even as good as the worst provincial capital in the Tang Dynasty.

It looks like a better county town.

Li Xuan smiled and said, "Kangguo, Shiguo, Tocharistan and other Western Regions countries were actually mostly nomadic. It was not until the Han Dynasty invaded the Western Regions that they gradually built cities. However, they fought against each other so much that it was difficult to unify them for many years. Later, they finally established the Western Turkic Kingdom, but it was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty not long after."

Xue Shao nodded and said with emotion: "Uncle Wang, you have worked hard."

"Everything is my duty." Li Xuan looked calm.

A hint of reluctance flashed across Xue Shao's face. He turned sideways to glance at Zhao Gong, who seemed much more indifferent.

Now, the news of the changes in the court has been blocked step by step since Changzhou. When it came to Lushui, Wang Yinke was constantly monitoring it. Although there were written exchanges in the court, there was no mention of the changes in the court at all.

However, when they came here today, Li Xuan did not ask a single question why the court suddenly sent a special envoy to reward them.

The leader was still the son-in-law Xue Shao.

After crossing the Central Street and arriving outside the North City, one could see countless military tents.

Li Xuan’s military tent was deep inside the military camp.

Li Xuan turned over and dismounted. Xue Shao did not dare to hesitate and followed suit.

Li Xuan glanced at Chen Ziang and said, "The angel's entourage will be arranged on the east side of the camp. The prince consort and uncle will live next to Xuan. After the imperial edict is announced today, we will have a good gathering."

"Okay!" Xue Shao agreed immediately, turned to look at Chen Ziang and said, "I'll trouble you, Brother Boyu."

"Your Highness, you are too polite." Chen Zi'ang nodded calmly, then waved his hand. A team of black-clad soldiers came over and invited everyone to go to the East Camp.

"Let's go, uncle, prince consort, and Supervisor Fan, let's go to the big tent and talk together." Li Xuan smiled and walked into the camp first.

……

Fan Yunxian followed Zhao Gong and Xue Shao. Although her eyes were always on Li Xuan, she was also closely observing the entire camp.

The camp is vast, and the further north you go, the less populated it becomes.

But it is normal. At this time, the main force of the entire Lhasa Dao army is still chasing and killing the Turks.

Right now, in the entire camp, there are only 5,000 main forces of the Right Guard and 5,000 retreating men from other units.

This made Fan Yunxian breathe a sigh of relief, but she still felt heavy in her heart.

Because it is not enough to rely on just the people they have now, and the person he is looking for is still fighting outside.

"Da Lang, what is the current situation of the entire war?" Zhao Gong couldn't help but speak, and Fan Yunxian's attention immediately followed.

Li Xuan led everyone into the big tent and said, "Western Turks still have a tough bone to chew. Tang Zhenxing and Qiu Zhenmu are looking for a decisive battle opportunity at the front line. It will not be a problem to resist, but it will take time. As for the Arabs... the Arabs actually sent a small number of troops to the Western Regions, but the trouble is that they are already eyeing us."

After a short pause, Li Xuan said, "After my Tang Dynasty cleaned up the situation in the Western Region, it actually made things easier for the Arabs. They only need to focus on my Tang Dynasty. Sooner or later, there will be a war between the two sides. The winner will control the Western Region, and the loser will lose it."

Xue Shao also learned about the situation in the Western Regions and nodded solemnly.

When they entered the tent, the big case had already been set up, and Li Xuan and his many chief secretaries, Sima, Lang Jiang, and military officers were all receiving orders at the same time.

Xue Shao proclaimed the edict: "In the first year of Guangzhai, the year of Guiwei..."

Light house?

Everyone in the tent couldn't help but look up. When did the emperor change the era name?
(End of this chapter)