Tiantang

Chapter 445

Chapter 453
On the third day of March in the third year of Yongning, the spring breeze was warm, and the Chinese emperor Zhang Xuan once again drove westward.

On that day, the emperor canonized Guo Ziyi as the general manager of the marching army and the governor of the three armies, leading the flying tiger army.Tian Kexin is the general and military counselor of the three armed forces.Nan Jiyun was canonized as the general manager of the Shence Army, Lei Wanchun was the deputy general manager of the Central Army, Li Siye was canonized as the general manager of the Shenwu Army, and he was the right army.Canonized Zhang Xun as the general manager of the logistics of the three armies, leading 5 troops as the rear team, specializing in the dispatch of food, grass and supplies.Canonized Huihe prince Gele as the general of Huihe, and led [-] Huihe troops and horses to help in the battle.

Including the Huihe army and horses, a total of 22 troops marched westward, and the so-called army was 30.This is the largest and largest battle against the Western Regions in the history of the Central Plains Dynasty, and it is also the only one in which the historical trajectory is dominated by traversers.

The army set out from Liangzhou, divided into three groups, each keeping an hour's interval, along the ancient silk road, entered Yumen Pass, and marched towards the South Road of the Western Regions.

The people outside Liangzhou City have been watching the movement of the army from the morning of the third day of March until the morning of the fourth day of March. Each army is led by cavalry, followed by a long line of infantry. Then there are professional troops such as archers, shieldmen, and firearm battalions. Finally, there is an endless supply of food and grass that stretches for several miles. Military supplies.

Zhang Xun did not go out with the army. He still sits in Liangzhou and is responsible for continuously allocating food, grass and luggage to the Western Regions to support the actions of the entire army.

Such a massive Western Expedition would not have been possible without the full support of a huge state apparatus.

It is hundreds of miles from Liangzhou to Ganzhou.Between the two cities, there are several rivers flowing down from the Qilian Mountains, which flow through the edge of the dry desert Gobi to form oases.

The Western Expeditionary Army camped on the banks of the Jiangba River on the first day, the Tanshan River on the second day, and the unnamed river beach near the desert on the third day.That night, the sound of wind and sand whizzing like thunder could be heard all night long.On the fifth day, the army arrived at the Shuimo River. From the early morning of the sixth day, they crossed the Shule River and walked into the Xingxingxia Grand Canyon, which faces east and west between two mountains.

After crossing the Xingxing Gorge, the road to the Western Regions is a smooth road with no divergences.

……

……

Yiwu is the east gate of the Western Regions. In theory, it is the most marginal city controlled by the Hexi Fanzhen of the Central Plains Dynasty. It originally belonged to the Longyou Dao.

At noon, a caravan of hundreds of people came from the direction of Ganzhou and slowly entered the city.

Zhang Xuan, who was dressed as a merchant, stood under the low city gate and looked up. He frowned secretly when he saw several dilapidated military flags that symbolized the jurisdiction of the Hexi feudal town of the Chinese Dynasty fluttering above the gate.

This was originally a military and horse town, but now it is useless.The imperial garrison originally had 500 people, but now it seems that there are not even 100 people.

A few lazy soldiers stood at the gate of the city, holding spears and staring indifferently at the merchants entering and leaving the gate. Standing in the sun, they almost fell asleep.

Because of the Chinese emperor's Western Expedition, and the Western Expeditionary Army is coming towards the Western Regions, in fact, there are not many merchants from the Western Regions who entered the Central Plains through Yiwu.However, because of this, Yiwu City has become a gathering place for past merchants to temporarily avoid the disaster of war. Since the beginning of spring, it has been uncharacteristically lively.

Nan Jiyun, who was dressed as a follower, surrounded him with a sturdy guard, and whispered a few words in Zhang Xuan's ear.

Zhang Xuan sighed, turned around to greet Li Tengkong and Guo Fu who followed him all the way to the west, and entered the city first.

Li Tengkong originally wanted to stay in Liangzhou to accompany Su Hudong to wait for the delivery, but later he heard that the emperor was going to sneak into the Western Regions in disguise, so he changed his mind and decided to follow the emperor to protect him.As soon as Li Tengkong came, Guo Fu followed.Despite strong opposition from Guo Ziyi and others, the emperor insisted on going his own way, and secretly took Nan Jiyun and hundreds of guards disguised as merchants and left the army.

Zhang Xuan wants to see the situation in the Western Regions with his own eyes, which will help him make decisions.

Entering the city, this is the narrowest and dirtiest city Zhang Xuan has seen since crossing.

On both sides of the street, there are many vulgar shops, most of which sell food.The door of the shop with roasted mutton and roasted mustache hanging in front of the house was open, and the flies were buzzing. The smell of roasted meat mixed with the strong smell of sweat gave off a choking smell.

Behind Zhang Xuan, Nan Jiyun and many guards, including the emperor's personal eighteen iron guards, did not change their expressions, while Guo Fu and Li Tengkong, who were dressed as family members of merchants, couldn't help covering their noses and frowning.

There was a wild roar of laughter ahead.Zhang Xuan quickened his pace, separated from the crowd, and looked around.

On one side of the street, on a chopping board, a woman was lying there in tattered dress, almost nude.Zhang Xuan could tell at a glance that this woman was not a Han Chinese, nor an ordinary barbarian from the Western Regions, but a Tuqishi.

Her skin is fair, her facial features are dirty, but her figure is unusually hot and plump.On the upturned face, the cheekbones are prominent, the jaw is thin, the eye sockets are sunken, and the eyes are dark.

In front of the recumbent woman, stood a strong man with a ferocious face holding his upper body. It looked like a barbarian who didn't know a certain country in the Western Regions.Holding a whip in his hand, he whipped the woman while laughing wildly, shouting, "I'll sell the money once, buy such a woman and go home, so she can have a baby!"

"You bitch, do you have an offer? Always pay!"

The laughter of the people around, the shouts of the barbarians, and the screams of the woman after the flogging mixed together, and the woman's waist was bloody and bloody.Guo Fu couldn't bear to turn her head away, and secretly tugged on Zhang Xuan's skirt.

Li Tengkong frowned and glared at the whipping barbarian.

"What's going on?" Zhang Xuan winked, and a guard stepped forward to drink and asked.

"What's going on? This is a bitch of Tuqishi caught by Laozi. Tuqishi people are all robbers, and their women are all bitches, do you know? Tuqishi people killed Laozi's family and clansmen, I managed to catch such a Tuqishi whore, and sell it back to Kucha—there is no one to buy it all the time?"

Hu Ren gave Zhang Xuan and the others a fierce look, "If you don't buy it, get out! Don't stop me from doing business."

The barbarian whipped down again, and the woman screamed loudly while lying on her back.

Li Tengkong couldn't hold back anymore, he grabbed Zhang Xuan's hand and squeezed it tightly.

Zhang Xuan winked at Nan Jiyun, Nan Jiyun stepped forward and took out a silver cake from his bosom, and shouted, "Okay, my master bought this girl!"

……

……

Under the strong opposition of Li Tengkong and Guo Fu, Zhang Xuan and others had no choice but to leave Yiwu City, and went out of the city to set up camp on a leeward hillside without staying overnight in the city.Li Tengkong lost his appetite when he saw the dirty conditions in the city.

After leaving the city and settling down in the camp, Li Tengkong and Guo Fu were busy taking care of the Tuqi Shi woman, while Zhang Xuan, under the protection of Nan Jiyun and other guards, walked up the high slope and stared at the faces of Barkol and Pu Leihai. Direction, looking gloomy.

Judging from what he learned from the investigation, the situation in Beiting was far worse than he had imagined.

It is said that Cheng Qianli's Beiting Dufu Mansion has been moved to Balikun, but it has been huddled in the area of ​​​​Balikun, and its control over Beiting has been infinitely lost.However, the Tuqishi people were extremely rampant in Beiting, sending tribes everywhere to harass merchants, and even capture cities. Many fortresses belonging to Beiting Duhufu had long since fallen.The moat where Beiting used to be is now occupied by Tuqishi people.

Although the news that the Chinese emperor raised an army of 30 to march west has already spread to the Western Regions, it does not seem to have had much impact on the Tuqishi people.Although the main force of the Tuqishi people withdrew westward, there were at least tens of thousands of Tuqishi cavalry remaining in Beiting.

"Your Majesty, Cheng Qianli is really... just now I got the news that there are [-] soldiers and horses belonging to the Beiting Dufu Mansion, but Cheng Qianli retreated in the city of Balikun, watching the cavalry raiding the business roads everywhere, Burning, killing and looting among the cities." Nan Jiyun said in a deep voice, "The number of Tuqishi people is actually not many, and the Tuqishi people who harassed Beiting are definitely not the main force of Tuqishi."

Zhang Xuan sighed sadly, "Nan Ba, I misjudged Cheng Qianli, it was my fault. He is incompetent, but the situation in Beiting is so bad, he dared to hide it from the court. Such evil deeds, let him I can't bear it!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry, our army will immediately march into the Western Regions, march into the Beiting, and wipe out the troubles of Tuqi and others."

"Your Majesty, I think that I can't wait to go west, why not just wait in Yiwu for the arrival of the army..." Nan Jiyun hesitated for a moment, but still took the initiative to persuade.For the sake of the emperor's safety, he did not recommend that the emperor go deep into the North Court alone, where cavalry and cavalry may appear at any time.

Zhang Xuan shook his head and said calmly, "No, I will continue to look northwest, and even go to Balikun to meet Cheng Qianli. The army is moving slowly, and it will take at least ten days to enter Yiwu. I can't wait. "

"Early tomorrow morning, you will follow me to the north and drive to Barkol."

Nan Jiyun had no choice but to fold his fists and obey.

At this time, Li Tengkong and Guo Fu came out of the tent in a hurry and greeted them from a distance.

Zhang Xuan looked back at the two women, the two women came side by side, and said in a low voice to Zhang Xuan, "Your Majesty, I have made it clear that this woman is a Tuqi benefactor. It seems that her background is not simple, she should be Tuqi Shi Jin occupies the family members of the generals in Hanhai City."

Zhang Xuan frowned, "Take her with you, and let her go when she recovers from her injuries."

Li Tengkong hesitated for a moment, "Your Majesty, her injuries are actually skin traumas, and she has been starved for several days, so she will probably be able to take care of her for two days. It's just that she is a woman who is a sudden rider, if she is let go , I am afraid that she will not be able to go back to Tuqishi, and sooner or later she will die in vain."

"Forget it, let her stay with us, we will discuss it later depending on the situation." Zhang Xuan was silent for a moment, then turned and left, "I'm going to see this woman."

Zhang Xuan got into the tent.

The Tuqi Shi woman was curled up on the felt, wearing a dress of Li Tengkong's, her face was also cleaned by Guo Fu, revealing a fair face that was younger and more beautiful.

Zhang Xuan sat down silently, right opposite the woman.

The woman looked at Zhang Xuan nervously and fearfully, and it was only when Guo Fu and Li Tengkong also sneaked into the tent that she obviously felt relieved.

"Can you understand me?" Zhang Xuan asked in a low voice.

"Yes." Lady Tuqi Shi hesitated for a while, then said, her voice was crisp and clear, "My father is a merchant, and my little girl, Jian Li, lived with her father in Chang'an for three years."

"You...why did you fall in Yiwu?" Zhang Xuan asked again.

Yanli hesitated to speak, but fell silent.There was trembling on the fair and beautiful face, and two teardrops fell from the deep-set eye sockets.

Guo Fu couldn't bear it anymore, pulled Zhang Xuan's arm and said softly, "Husband, she was too frightened, let's ask another day..."

The corner of Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched slightly, but he nodded slowly, got up and left.

Intuitively, he felt that the Tuqishi woman they accidentally rescued today was not simple.This Tuqishi woman gave him a very strange feeling, especially her certain aura hidden behind the panic and fear, which made him thoughtful.

After leaving the tent, seeing Li Tengkong following him, Zhang Xuan turned his head and whispered in her ear, "Kong'er, you have to watch this woman, I feel that this is not an ordinary Tuqishi woman."

……

……

The next morning, at Zhang Xuan's insistence, hundreds of them joined another caravan from Ge Luolu and headed towards Balikun together.

Beiting was harassed by Tuqishi cavalry, so the caravans coming and going were often groups of guarding slaves mixed with merchants.

Two days later, the mixed caravan camped on a hillside less than a hundred miles away from Barkol.

The team of nearly a thousand people, plus the accumulation of various goods, formed a small camp on this high slope.Zhang Xuan didn't think too much about safety, because this place is on the outskirts of Balikun, under the eyes of Cheng Qianli's army horse, even if Cheng Qianli is useless, the sudden riders will not arrogantly plunder merchants on the outskirts of Balikun team?
This is Zhang Xuan's idea, but it is not the case.

However, the emperor was here, and Nan Jiyun and his 500 elite cavalry under him did not dare to neglect. The perimeter of the camp was heavily guarded, and even under the hillside, secret sentries were arranged.

When the night was completely white, suddenly a shrill horn sound broke the silence.Dozens of feathered arrows pierced the sky and landed outside the camp, while the sound of galloping hooves and shouts woke up the entire camp.

Ge Luolu's merchants turned pale with fright, but they were not in a panic after walking the business road for many years.Soon a team of hundreds of people gathered, armed with scimitars and spears, to protect the goods they belonged to.

Zhang Xuan came out with his clothes on, and Nan Jiyun and his soldiers immediately gathered together with solemn expressions, protecting the emperor and the two imperial concubines in the circle.

"Don't panic! There are less than a thousand people, and we can still handle it!" Nan Jiyun shouted violently, "Eighteen iron guards, lead 100 people to protect the master to the death, and the rest of the boys, follow the killing downhill!"

(End of this chapter)