In Shancheng on the right side of the Tang Dynasty, a horse team of more than 30 people galloped from east to west, led by a middle-aged man with deep eyebrows and high eyes, and the rest were all dressed as businessmen. Looking at the rammed earth wall looming in the distance, the horse team stopped advancing.

"The Tang Dynasty border town castle is in ruins, we went from Tocharo to Chang'an, and returned from Chang'an, there was no obstruction, you say, is this about to lose the country?"

The attendant laughed loudly, and one of them, a thin man with a full face and a scorched beard, said:

"If it is a thousand-strong cavalry that enters Longyou this time, it will be easy to destroy them, just like pinching a worm to death!"

A grim smile appeared on the face of the middle-aged man with deep eyebrows and high eyes.

"A thousand people is too little, if you can get 10,000 cavalry, you can sweep the Tang Dynasty, the heavenly khan in the mouth of those barbarian chiefs turned out to be just a paralyzed person who can't even take care of himself, what is the difference between this kind of big country and a weak fat man?"

After the middle-aged man judged the Tian Khan he knew, he pointed to Shancheng in the distance.

"In front of us is Shancheng, an important town leading from Longyou to Hexi, and it looks like we are about to cross the Qilian Mountain, so we may have to spend the night here!"

Shancheng was similar to most of the Tang Dynasty's forts in the Western Regions at this time, with a radius of only two or three miles, and was only used as a garrison, while the people and herdsmen living in it were outside the city walls.

The thin man with a scorched face was a little eager to try.

"If you don't loot at night, you can have enough food when you cross Qilian Mountain!"

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"Tang Jun still has a lot of influence here, although our Tocharian warriors can be one as ten, but in the face of a group of wolf dogs, it is still difficult to parry, less trouble, and hurry on the road after a night. ”

"The Tang people are cowardly like Mianyang, what is there to be afraid of...... Ah......h

The scorched thin man still had to insist, but he was unexpectedly whipped in the cold.

"If it weren't for your reckless work, how could we have escaped from Chang'an in disgrace? If you continue like this, are you living enough, and you plan to try to see if your neck can withstand my steel knife?"

"No, no, no, of course not, the villain is destined to do it!"

The thin man with the scorched beard saw the killing intent in the eyes of the middle-aged man, and immediately closed his mouth in amusement.

Before they arrived in Shancheng, they had already traveled a sparsely populated distance, and now they were sleepy and tired, and if they marched non-stop, they would only lose their physical strength, and it would be difficult for them to cross the Qilian Mountains.

The closer they got to Shancheng, the more they found that they were different from the places they had passed before, when they were in Longyou, most of the official roads would see merchants coming and going from time to time, merchants from the Tang Dynasty, grassland people, and even deep-eyed merchants from the far west like them.

Sometimes, when supplies were scarce, they would kill the merchants on the inaccessible roads to rob them of the food, gold and silver they carried, but once they were near the castle where the Tang army was stationed, they were much more restrained and would not act rashly.

"We have an inexhaustible supply of gold and silver, and we will go to the residents outside the city in exchange for some necessary food and clothing, and if you dare to rob without permission, don't blame my steel knife for cutting off your heads!"

"Don't dare, don't dare!"

The scorched beard and the thin man repeatedly said that he would obey the order and would never act recklessly!

Stationed in Shancheng was the Xuanwei army with 5,000 soldiers and horses, and the commander Chen Changjie had heard the news that Zhangye had been besieged by the invading Hu Kou as early as a month ago.

A large number of settled herders who had been attached to the surrounding area of Shancheng were relocated to the upper reaches of Huangshui, and the settled people built a simple fortress on the south bank of Huangshui, which was mixed with wooden fences and rammed earth, as a barrier other than defense.

At the same time, the patrol area of the 5,000 Xuanwei generals was also doubled compared to usual, and both merchants and suspicious people would follow to confirm the purpose.

Today, Chen Changjie got the news that a horse team of thirty or forty people came from the direction of Chang'an, judging from the appearance and deeds, it was neither a merchant nor a messenger sent by the imperial court. In their experience, this is a typical suspicious look!

Since their deeds were suspicious, the Xuanwei army naturally followed them all the way to monitor what their purpose was.

After a whole day of observation, these people behaved like leftists of the army, and seemed to be well-organized, and they were by no means ordinary traders.

In fact, the people who were able to pass through Shancheng would hardly have any other status except prisoners, merchants, armies, envoys of the imperial court and the state of Fan. Because to the west is Tubo, which has been plundering the border of the Tang Dynasty all year round, and to the north is the tall and long Qilian Mountains, which have almost no value at all except for the extremely important geographical location. What reason do ordinary people have to pass through here?

Chen Changjie since he became the commander stationed in Shancheng, always cautious, in the past, this was the area under the responsibility of the Zhenwu army, but the sudden attack of the Tubo people, so that the Zhenwu army was wiped out in a battle, and those who survived were captured by the Tubo people as slaves.

Last year's war, the people of Shancheng still have lingering palpitations, and every time they mention it, they look unbearable.

Therefore, Chen Changjie always took the Zhenwu army as a lesson from the past, although the Tubo people had been defeated by the Shenwu army, and the palace of Zampu in Tubo had also captured the Tang Dynasty army, but the bad news from Hexi still made him nervous.

The spies sent to Hexi also brought back local news and military information.

It is said that it was the Great Cannibal of the Western Regions and the Sogdians who lived near the Two Rivers for generations, and the Great Cannibal once fought during the Tianbao period to annihilate Gao Xianzhi's entire army, and only fled back to Anxi with a few dozen followers. The Sogdians, on the other hand, also had many years of old and new enmity with the Tang Dynasty, when Gao Xianzhi had sent various armies to destroy the Stone Kingdom, which was one of the countries established by the Sogdians.

Therefore, whether it is the ambitious cannibals or the Sogdians, who have a hatred for destroying the country with the Tang Dynasty, they will definitely not treat the Tang Dynasty with a good heart.

Slaughtering the city and looting property are all things that should be done.

Just thinking about it, Chen Changjie felt terrible.

The latest information shows that the Hu Kou coalition army besieged Zhangye to the death, and Miao Jinqing, the governor of Longyou, Hexi, only led a few thousand Tang soldiers to defend the city.

In the case of no food and grass inside, no rescue soldiers outside, Chen Changjie did not know how long Zhangye could hold on, if Zhangye was lost, Liangzhou would follow closely and become the next target. And almost all the capable soldiers in Hexi have been concentrated in Zhangye, once Zhangye does not defend, Liangzhou will not have the slightest power to fight back. To the south of Liangzhou is Qilian Mountain, and over Qilian is Shancheng.

Once the worst happens, how can Shancheng, a small low castle, be able to stop the Hu Kou coalition army?

Under such circumstances, Chen Changjie immediately issued a mountain closure order, and all caravans that crossed the Qilian Mountain from Biandukou were not allowed to enter the territory of Shanzhou, in other words, at the beginning of the ban in Shanzhou, except for the envoys and troops of the imperial court, merchants were not allowed to enter and exit.

This horse team from the direction of Chang'an naturally attracted Chen Changjie's great attention.

Moreover, the behavior of the horse team was even more suspicious, and when they saw the Shancheng Castle and the residential area, they did not rush over excitedly to replenish water and food like ordinary merchants, but stopped advancing and observed cautiously.

As we all know, the Tang Dynasty's armies in Longyou and Hexi have always provided protection for past merchants, and they must have had some unknown secret and a weak heart because they were so wary of the Xuanwei army in Shancheng.

The horse team of dozens of people went to the residential area outside the city, Chen Changjie could no longer sit still, he felt that it was necessary to contact these people and find out their identities and the purpose of this trip, otherwise they would be allowed to enter the residential area, and dozens of people could burn and loot, and the Xuanwei army was making a move at that time, wouldn't it be too late to regret it?

As soon as he thought of this, Chen Changjie ordered three hundred cavalry soldiers, drove out of Shancheng in a mighty way, and stopped on the road from Shancheng to the residential area.

"It's not good! Tang Bing, Tang Bing!"

The thin man with a scorched beard pointed at the hordes of Tang Dynasty cavalry in front of him and exclaimed loudly, and the middle-aged man with deep eyebrows and high eyes glanced at him with disdain.

"Be quiet, isn't it just a hundred and ten Tang soldiers? What's there to make a fuss about? We have a road guide issued by the Tang Dynasty government, and we are not horse thieves and thieves, what is there to be afraid of?"

These people in Chang'an City should have given them perfect identities that could stand up to inspection, as well as unimpeded guidance to the west.

And in a small and remote military town like Shancheng, what kind of world has a single commander ever seen? There is no way to see through this genuine way!

Sure enough, Tang Bing didn't use force, but just came to a stocky man who looked like a school captain, interrogated them for a while, and carefully looked at the official documents issued by Lu Yin and Jingzhao Mansion.

I couldn't see any flaws in the up, down, left, and right sides, so I returned everything that could prove my identity.

"It turned out to be a messenger from Tochar, and now there is a war going on in Hexi, and the road to the mouth of the Biandu is blocked. I'm sorry, but you'll have to return to Chang'an and wait until the war is over next year before heading back to Tocharo. ”

The words of the Tang Dynasty made the middle-aged man's brows tighten, and his expression was very dissatisfied.

"Our identity mission, please forgive me for not waiting until next year, and please be accommodating to the general!"

It became common for Tang officials to accept bribes, and middle-aged people naturally repeated their old tricks, intending to buy off this Tang Dynasty general who seemed to be serious and strict.

However, to the surprise of the middle-aged man, this Tang Dynasty general actually refused, and issued a stern warning.

"If you insist on going your own way, Ben will have enough reason to suspect that you are Hu Kou's spies, so he can only detain you and escort you to Chang'an until someone confirms your identity......"

Heng Mei Leng was very angry at the middle-aged man, but now is definitely not the time to turn his face, since he can't buy it, he can only delay and wait for the opportunity.