Great Han Empire

Chapter 389

"The Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Coral
Chapter 24 Inheritance of the Warrior
Youzhou, right in the north of Beiping County, Lulongsai.

Lulongsai, formerly known as Songting Pass, was built in the early Han Dynasty. It was the key point for the Han Dynasty to guard the northern border and deter the Xianbei, Goguryeo, and Fuyu countries. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. Thirty years ago, Li Hong, the No.30 minister of the great Han Zhongxing and the most respected Marquis of Jinyang, made his fortune here, and started his life in Lulongsai.

After the Great Han pacified northern Xinjiang, this Xixiongguan in the evening gradually became the trading hub of Mobei, Liaodong and the counties of the Central Plains.Tea, salt, silk, cloth, and utensils from the south, fur, gold and silver, game, and medicinal materials from the east, and horses, livestock, and dried mushrooms from the north gathered here.After a long period of war, Lulongsai continued to expand and became a large city. After the peace in northern Xinjiang, it gradually attracted a large number of people. At this time, it has changed from a simple military fortress to a large city with a large population.People at that time commented on Lu Longsai, saying: "Golding the majestic pass inside, looking at Yanshan Mountain in the north, between the outside and the inside, with a radius of ten miles, the dragon coils the tiger, and the towering shape wins." He also said: "Businessmen from all directions converge, move in parallel, and travel thousands of miles. In the space, I hope it will be a paradise."

When Li Hongchu first arrived in Lulong, the "Japanese"-shaped defense system composed of three city walls has disappeared, and it has been replaced by a larger-scale "Hui"-shaped city wall. As for the city walls on both sides of the mountain, It stretches for nearly three hundred miles.The auxiliary wall and the outer main wall that served as the first line of defense back then have now been built into an outer wall that is six feet high, three feet wide, and five hundred feet long.Outside the wall is the outer city, mainly residential houses and markets; inside the wall is divided into two sides: the east side is scattered with military camps, stables, workshops and various warehouses, and the west side is government offices, government schools and post houses.The original Lulong Tower in the city has been demolished, and an inner wall with the same height as the outer wall has been built near the old site. A large part of the inner wall has been rebuilt except for the Xingyuan of General Du Liao and the residence of the Duwei of Lulongsai. It became the property of the Marquis of Jinyang and the eldest princess, with courtyards, pavilions and gardens.

In the outer city of Lulongsai, between the downtown area, there is a famous "Tianma Inn".

The owner of this inn is from the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei, and his single name is Hui.Tuobahui came to Lulongsai eight years ago with a few animal skins and started from scratch. With the unique tenacity of the Xianbei people and the east wind brought by the prosperity of Lulongsai, he managed to do business well.Now he occupies three two-story stores on the busiest street in the outer city of Lulongsai. Most of the guests from various Xianbei ministries who come and go to Lulong are willing to rest in his Tianma Inn and enjoy the unique flavor of wine and barbecue in Daxianbei Mountain. Exchange what you have seen and heard from all over the world.The strong popularity and thoughtful service have also attracted many guests from the Central Plains and Liaodong to stay here.

At this time, the shop owner Tuobahui was walking out of the shop with a smile on his face, and he opened his arms to meet an old man with a dusty face but a red face.

"Good mushroom harvest! My brother."

"The warehouse is full of dried meat, so it's been a smooth journey, right?"

The old man and the shopkeeper hugged each other affectionately, patting each other's shoulders, and after entering the shop together, they sat down in a private room, where fine wine and several large plates of appetizers such as beef and mutton had been prepared.After the guest and host sat down, the two chatted while drinking.

The spirited old man who visited was a good friend of Tuoba Huitong's tribe, and his single name was Kuizi.Tuobakui has been engaged in horse trafficking from north to south all year round, and has accumulated a lot of wealth over the years. His cavalry team has dozens of Xianbei heroes to help him.

After the two exchanged a few words, Tuo Bahui asked, "How many horses did you bring this time?"

"A total of one hundred horses, hey, they are all three-year-old good horses!" Tuoba Kui talked about his own business, and immediately beamed with joy, "This year, the God of Heavenly Horses has blessed us with no disasters or diseases. These cubs have been eating happily for half a year. Grass, one grows stronger than the other, looks beautiful, shoulders are tall and legs are long, it runs like the wind, as long as it is trained a little bit, it is no worse than a Dawan horse..."

"Okay, okay, when it comes to this, you can't keep your mouth shut. You're not here just to sell your treasures, are you?"

"Oh, this time I also sent more than a dozen youngsters from our clan to the school. Now that the cubs are old enough, they don't want to stay on the grassland to find food. They stretch their necks and want to run to the city one by one. But what can be done? This is the number of people that the government schools set each year. Except for the children of the leader, the others must of course be picked! If they can’t be selected, some people hide in the tent and cry. His grandma’s, the descendants of our Tianma God, have always been Shed blood but not tears! It’s really not as good as one generation.” Speaking of this, the old man Tuoba shook his head, with a very disapproving look on his face.

Tuobahui scolded with a smile: "You old guy, you are so good at getting cheap. Didn't your little sister just choose to enter the lecture hall after studying in Lulongsai government school for several years? Now he is promising, I heard You're all Dubs, aren't you?"

"It's Yamen!" the old man Tuoba said about his son, his chin was raised high, his nostrils were breathing heavily, and his mouth was almost grinning to his ears, "Xiao San just sent news a few days ago that he is now in Zhengxi The army is not bad, there are already hundreds of men and horses in charge, and the heads are so severe that a few horses can’t be hanged, good boy! You didn’t lose the face of our Tuoba Department!”

"Congratulations, congratulations, that's really amazing. General Yamen will be a captain of two thousand shi, right? In Lulongsai, where we have such a big situation inside and out, the chief officer is also a captain. Wait a minute When the three come back, we elders are afraid to call him an adult!"

"How can it be, even if he becomes a general in the future, isn't he still a brat from our Tuoba department? If he dares to see someone take him, see how my father won't whip him!" The old man Tuoba blew Niu thought to himself that if his son became an imperial official, he might not be able to get a lot of money in the future, so let him be, anyway, his son will be promising, and he will have a lot of face in the clan.So he happily took a sip of wine, wiped his mouth, leaned closer to Tuobahui and said in a low voice, "There is one more thing, I heard... Does that lord live in the city now?"

Tuo Bahui said with a smile: "Your news is very good! That lord came back from the hottest summer and has lived in Lulongsai for several months. He also brought several wives and little princesses this time. "

"Oh, that's really..." The old man Tuoba rubbed his hands excitedly, "If I can pay a visit to the old man and kowtow a few times in front of him, then my visit will not be in vain."

"Haha, ordinary people can't see his old man's face. Most of the adults who asked to see him were blocked - saying that they would no longer interfere with state affairs. But I heard that after the adult came, he often went to Meilou (The archery tower built on Meishan) Yuanwang, if you want to have this kind of heart, just kowtow to Meishan.”

Meishan, Meilou.

A tall, mighty-looking middle-aged man was standing upstairs at this time, dressed in commoner clothes, holding a guardrail in one hand, and holding a girl carved in pink and jade in the other, silently watching the clouds come and go in the distance.

"Daddy, you come here every day to look at the clouds. What's the fun? Ping'er finds it boring. Why don't you take Ping'er to ride a horse?"

The man showed a doting expression on his face, and scratched his daughter's delicate nose, "Didn't you just ride it yesterday? Your mother told you to study etiquette carefully. If you want to look like a princess, why do you want to play all day long?" Woolen cloth?"

The little girl was "taught" by her father, and her big eyes suddenly became foggy: "But, but, sister Xiu'er became a queen, didn't she keep playing? When she was in Chang'an, sister Xiu'er taught Ping'er how to ride a horse. The red pony is so beautiful, but mother won't let Ping'er take it back to Jinyang, it's annoying."

"Oh? Xiu'er is still messing around like this? Then you should follow Wen'er's example. Girls should be quieter."

"do not want!"

The father and daughter were talking happily when a guard came up from downstairs and knelt behind the two of them and said, "My lord, Bu Dugeng is Xianbei in Hexi, Tuoba Tao in the north, Kirby Bear in the east and Shooting Tiger in the south. These adults asked to see him again outside the mansion, saying that they are not here to talk about state affairs, but just want to say goodbye to Lord Hou face to face, and talk about family affairs."

"These guys really don't give up." The man waved his hand, "No, just say that I catch a cold and feel unwell. Let's talk about it after I recover from my illness."

The guard left as he said, the man smiled, and seemed to be talking to himself: "The children are attacking cities in the Western Regions, and the emperor is going south to sweep up the remnants. It seems that this group of pampered guys are really scared. In fact, if you want to behave , Why did you come to me? Wouldn’t it be better to go directly to the emperor to express your feelings, this group of people are always short-sighted!”

"It's a good thing to be short-sighted, otherwise, how could the big man overwhelm them so easily." A soft voice that seemed to have no fireworks came from the stairs.

"Mom!" The little girl quickly climbed off her father, ran to a middle-aged beautiful woman and said coquettishly, "Ping'er is not lazy, I have memorized those articles today!" The little girl rolled her eyes cunningly, I have memorized it, but I didn't say that I must be familiar with it.

The beautiful woman patted her daughter's head lovingly, and said to the man: "Husband, don't you really ask about state affairs anymore? Your body has recuperated in the past few years, but it is much better. The emperor and the others are still young. Weiping, wars are everywhere, the great Han Dynasty still has to rely on you."

"I know you still can't let go." The man embraced his wife in his arms, and said in a deep voice, "But I was shot in the horseshoe in the crotch, and I have already handed it all over to young people. It depends on them what they can do in the future." What I have done. My whole life as a soldier has been passed down."

"If the emperor ordered you to recover, so what?"

"Hehe, although the emperor is young, he is a sage master. He can naturally understand my thoughts. We are spending our days leisurely in northern Xinjiang, and by the way, suppressing ghosts and snakes, we have done our duty. As for the future..." Middle-aged The man looked at his wife's smooth side face and said with a smile, "Xiao'er, I hope you can have more children for me. Isn't that great? The burden of this world is Let the young people resist!"

This beautiful woman who has been in control of the world for several years, after hearing her husband's words, she blushed like a little girl, and buried herself in her husband's arms, yes, as long as she can be with her husband, she will be satisfied Let Shuoer worry about state affairs and world affairs. Now that he is so young and promising, he can also explain to his poor little brother.

Western Regions, a hundred miles southeast of Wusun Chigu City, within the territory of Wensu (now Wensu County, Aksu District, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region).

"Kill!" Zhao Guang plunged his spear into the throat of the enemy general on the opposite side, and took advantage of the opportunity to pick him off his horse.After swiftly drawing the gun and shaking the blood, he looked around. Most of the brothers in the team had also ended their respective battles, and were already binding the prisoners swiftly, preparing to retreat.

It was a common encounter for days.Since the first ten days of October, there have been sporadic Guishuang defeated troops on the west bank of the Khotan River, and in the middle of October, there were even many small groups of defeated soldiers with a scale of up to a hundred people.Gao Shun grasped the opportunity keenly, and the battle situation in Kucha has changed!After concluding with Guan Ping, he sent Zhao Guang and others to intercept and kill these defeated soldiers in several routes with [-] cavalry as a unit, and captured the prisoners in order to obtain the movements of the Guishuang army and wait for the opportunity to chase them to the north.

Tuobafeng rode over and saluted: "My lord, there are 270 or six Guishuang people in this group, all of them have been wiped out, 270 were killed, and six were captured. There is no trace of enemy soldiers within a radius of ten li. Among the prisoners, there is one The low-ranking officers, and a few Wensu people who were under the threat of the army, should gain something by taking them back. Please show me, my lord!"

"Very good!" Zhao Guang nodded, "Just clean up the battlefield, Lao Luo, you lead a team to send these prisoners back to the camp first."

Luo An agreed, put the saber on his shoulder, and said leisurely: "These Guishuang bastards are retreating westward one after another. It seems that the rabbit's tail can't grow."

"Yes, it seems that the big man finally won the battle of Kucha." Zhao Guang looked into the distance, his heart agitated: What is the situation ahead?Have the Guishuang people been completely defeated?It would be great if we could figure out the movements of the main force of the Guishuang Army now, so that we could immediately avenge the death of Brother Paoze.

(End of this chapter)