Early the next morning, the Sentinel came back with the news. King Zuo Luli finally knew that the enemy had entered the Tianshan Mountains, and he didn't know if it was a bait to lure his army into the Tianshan Mountains, so he didn't dare to take the cavalry into the mountains.

Although the king of Zuo Lu Li was angry, he was still somewhat sensible. He knew very well that these Hun cavalry under his command, who had been fighting on horses for a long time, wanted to rely on two lap legs to fight in the mountains, which was to kill themselves. However, apart from this army that entered the Tianshan mountain road, there is no trace of large-scale army action in the rest of the place, how can this unreasonable behavior of the enemy be explained?

Xutu coughed and analyzed for Zuo Luli King: "Da Danyu, the enemy ran into the mountain, which further confirmed the judgment of his subordinates. If you think that if that army goes all the way west along the Tianshan Mountains, it will return to Huozhou, and in the west, it will reach Ili. Then it will be to the territory of Wusun Da Kun Mi, who is the descendant of Princess Xie Wu and was established by the emperor of the Han Dynasty. Only he could go all out to rescue the Western Regions Protectorate. Hearing the words of the false picture, the eyebrows of the king of Zuo Lu Li jumped twice, his fist was clenched very tightly, and it took a long time to let go of his fist and say: "Yi Zhimi, this is looking for death!" ”

Li Tong never imagined that last night's surprise attack would bring ruin to Wusun, thousands of miles away. It is no wonder that in the Western Regions, Wusun is indeed a big country, plus they have a special relationship with the Han Empire. It is not an exaggeration to be suspected by the king of Zuoluli. In the first year of Ganlu of Emperor Xuan (53 BC), Wu Zhitu (the son of Weng Guimi and a Xiongnu woman) rebelled and raised troops to kill the mad king. Emperor Xuan sent the Qiang general Xin Wuxian to crusade against Wu and slaughter.

Zheng Ji, the protector of the Western Regions, sent Feng Yan, the wife of the right general of Wusun (the attendant of Princess Xie Wu), to persuade Wu to be slaughtered. In the end, Emperor Xuan canonized Yuan Guimi as the Great Kunmi, and Wu was slaughtered as the Little Kunmi, and gave the seal ribbon. The state of Wusun eventually became a vassal state of the Western Han Dynasty. Subsequently, the Han Dynasty divided the boundaries and people for the large and small Kunmi, with more than 60,000 households in the big Kunmi and more than 40,000 households in the small Kunmi, but the hearts of the people of Wusun were biased towards the small Kunmi. After the death of Da Kun Mi Yuan Guimi, Zi Xingmi succeeded to the throne, cowardly and incompetent, allowing the Western Han Dynasty to further control Wusun. The Western Han Dynasty sent Feng Yan to lead 100 people to Wusun Town to Fu Xingmi, and accepted the suggestion of Han Xuan, the capital protector, and gave Wusun high-ranking officials, Dalu, and eunuchs golden seals and purple ribbons to assist Xingmi. After that, Du Hu Han Xuan proposed to depose Xingmi, but Emperor Yuan of Han did not agree.

At the end of Emperor Hongjia of the Western Han Dynasty, Mo Zhen would become a small Kun Mi, and at that time, the big Kun Mi female Li Mi was very prestigious, and Mo Zhen would be worried that his position would not be guaranteed, so he would send someone to assassinate the female Li Mi. The Han Dynasty canonized the uncle of the female Li Mi, who was only three years old at the time, Yi Zhimi, who was only three years old at the time, as the Great Kunmi, and after Mo Zhen was killed by Yi Zhimi's subordinates, the Han Dynasty immediately sent troops to kill the prince Fanqiu of Mo Zhen. Later, Mo Zhen's younger brother Bei Zhan led 80,000 people to join Kangju, and often sent troops to attack Wusun, trying to annex the troops of the big and small Kunmi. In the end, he was attacked and killed by the troops led by Sun Jian, the capital of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, and the Wusun State was safe.

After the Eastern Han Dynasty, especially during the Ming Emperor's reign, the Wusun Kingdom was still divided by the large and small Kunmi, although the country was weak, but the population was 700,000, in the Western Regions, this Gada was definitely second only to the Northern Xiongnu, and was often regarded as a thorn in the side of the Northern Xiongnu. Da Kun Mi Yi Zhi Mi is a rare longevity in this era, he is already over 90 years old and has maintained a good relationship with the Han Dynasty, the envoys of the two countries are constant, no wonder Zuo Lu Li King will be suspicious of his head.

King Zuo Lu Li is now annoyed and angry, bent on regaining face, without conclusive evidence, threw this pot on the head of Wusun Kingdom, and without thinking about it at the moment, he immediately led the army to Chigu City to find Yi Zhimi's bad luck. This is cheaper than Li Tong, I have to say that this guy's luck is really good.

On the contrary, Wusun Guoyi was unlucky and was inexplicably involved in a big war. As the saying goes, when people sit at home, misfortune falls from the sky, and there is no place to cry.

——————

After more than 20 days of arduous marching, Li Tong and Geng Gong returned to Hami City, but they did not expect to meet the envoy sent by the Ban Chao delegation and the horse commander Geng Bing, who had returned from Khotan.

Geng Bing's envoy made it clear that the imperial court would not be able to send reinforcements in the short term, and the Western Regions Protectorate could only find a way to save itself. However, Li Tong led 600 Xuanjia cavalry to burn the company camp outside the city of Shule, and the news of the destruction of the Huns shocked everyone. In addition to being excited, Ban Chao also brought the news of the pet department of Liuzhong City. More than 1,500 people in the pet department were trapped in the city by 18,000 Huns at the moment, although they could not break through, but fortunately, they were able to protect themselves for the time being, and now it is autumn, the time has dragged on, and the pet department may not be able to support it in winter.

For the Han Dynasty to pass through the Western Regions, the strategic significance of the location of Liuzhong City is too important, if it is lost, it means that the Han Dynasty has lost the Tianshan North Road. As we all know, there is a large desert in the middle of the Tarim Basin, which divides the passage from the Western Regions to the West into two parts: the south and the north. In the north province, there are Yanqi, Qiuzi, Gumo, Wensu, Weitou, Shule and other countries, and in the south province, there are Kumi, Jimo, Ruoqiang, Niya, Khotan and other countries. Because of the Tianshan Mountains, the Xiongnu's control over these countries was not as direct and powerful as that of the Cheshi.

Liuzhong City is the Shanshan county seat of later generations. Just as from the Western Regions to the interior, you have to pass through the Yumen Pass, to enter the hinterland of the Western Regions, it is impossible to bypass this city. Whenever the Han and Hungarians wanted to fight for control of the Western Regions, they had to fight a big battle here. If you get this city, you will get the Western Regions, and in the same way, as long as you lose the Western Regions, you will also lose this city.

Since Wang Mang's new dynasty, the Han Dynasty lost it, and the Western Regions were controlled by the Xiongnu. In the sixteenth year of Yongping, the Han army defeated the king of Nanhuyan, recaptured the city, and sent the most elite troops to garrison Guan Chong, and achieved a strategic advantage in the battle against the Xiongnu. The Huns know the importance of this place, this time the Huns counterattacked, the king of Zuolu Li sent a general to lead a large army to besiege Liuzhong City, which was also inevitable.

On the twenty-seventh day of September in the eighteenth year of Yongping, in the council hall of the Hami City Lord's Mansion, under the auspices of Ban Chao, Li Tong, Geng Gong, Liu Jin (Geng Bing's envoy) and some middle-level officers such as Mo Bode, Gu Dexin, and Wan Fu held a military meeting. The main theme of the meeting was to discuss how to rescue Yanaka Castle. As soon as the meeting began, it was mired in heated debates. Without him, the strength is insufficient, and the strength is overwhelming!

On the surface, just after the war, the number of Xuanjia cavalry is less than 1,000 people, in fact, Li Tong is ambitious, and the Xuanjia cavalry under his command has 1,800 cavalry, which is nearly half of the overnumber, but he doesn't dare to show it now, and his secret base Wild Wolf Valley also needs Xuanjia cavalry to garrison, then you are the capital of his life, and he must not lose it, he will not take all his pants for this battle.

Now, the garrison of Hami City plus the remnants of Geng Gong's army of less than 200 people, as well as the guards of the bigwigs. The real available troops in Hami City were less than 1,400 people, except for the Xuanjia cavalry, the others were infantry, with more than enough defense and insufficient attack. If Li Tong led his Xuanjia cavalry out on the expedition, Hami City would suddenly become extremely empty. Although Li Tong won a big victory in Shule, in the Western Regions, whether it was a military force or a client state, the Huns occupied the absolute peak. No one dared to guarantee that King Zuo Luli would not attack Hami.

Ban Chao and Geng Gong were strongly in favor of rescuing Liu Zhong, and they hoped that the Xuanjia Cavalry would be able to replicate the miracle outside Shule City again. Geng Gong even asked Li Tong to lend him five hundred Xuanjia to ride, and patted his chest and said that he would also create a miracle. How is this possible? Geng Gong was eager to make meritorious contributions, and of course Li Tong could not agree. The soldiers of the Xuanjia Cavalry also thought that it was unrealistic, this kind of thing was indispensable, and Li Tong would not take this risk with his own troops.

King Zuoluli suffered such a big loss, it is impossible not to send someone to remind the army besieging Liuzhong City, if the Xiongnu generals are all so stupid, the Northern Xiongnu will not become a big trouble for the Han Dynasty. As the envoy of Geng Bing, the commander of the horses, Liu Jin had an ambiguous attitude and did not show a clear point of view. The officials discussed from midnight to noon, but there was still no result, and the meeting reached an impasse.

The atmosphere in the conference room was oppressive. Li Tong stared at the sand table and fell into deep thought, and everyone stared at him. Especially Ban Chao and Geng Gong, their eyes are about to erupt with fire. There is no way, now the only powerful person who has soldiers in the Western Regions is Li Tong, if he is unwilling to send troops, no one can do anything. Ban Chao and Geng Gong looked at each other and sighed, and they also felt that they were a little strong. After all, Li Tong is the real captain of Hami, and it is his duty to guard the border and secure the people. Li Tong was able to take the risk of rescuing Shule thousands of miles and rescuing Geng Gongbu last time, he has already done his best and done a good job!

Li Tong paced and meditated in the conference room, and suddenly a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he looked back at the sand table again, and suddenly had an idea in his heart. He shook his fists at Ban Chao and Geng Gong, and said, "Ban Sima and Captain Geng, there will be a plan in the end that may relieve the siege of Liuzhong." But this matter still needs the help of two adults. ”

"General Lee, please speak." Ban Chao said.

"Two lords, please look," Li Tong pointed to a position on the sand table and said, "We all know that the royal court of the Xiongnu was in Yanran Mountain (now Hangai Mountain in Mongolia) most of the time, and now it is autumn, and the royal court of the Xiongnu will definitely move to the winter pasture Jinwei Mountain (now Altai Mountain, Xinjiang), and the king of Zuolu Li is now leading an army of 50,000 to conquer various countries on the southern road of the Tianshan Mountains and encircle and suppress the capital of the Western Regions." It is conceivable that the place where the Xiongnu royal court of Jinwei Mountain is located must be very empty, and the defense is also very lax. I plan to surround Wei to save Zhao, follow the example of Huo Biyao, take the Xuanjia to ride a long distance to Jinwei Mountain, do not enter the tiger's den to get the tiger, and the last general will vow to stir up the rear of the Huns to a cold Zhou Tian, forcing the king of Zuo Luli to return to the division to rescue the royal court. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone couldn't help but gasp.

"General Li, don't take such a risk! The art of war is cloudy: military struggle is for profit, and military struggle is dangerous. It is not enough to raise the army and compete for profit, and if the army is commissioned and strive for profit, it will be a heavy donation. Therefore, the roll of the armor and the trend, day and night are not everywhere, double the road, a hundred miles and fight for profit, then capture the three generals, the strong first, the tired later, its law eleven and come; Fifty miles and fight for profit, then the general will be on the top, and his law will be half to; Thirty miles and for profit, two-thirds to. It is the old army that will die if it has no baggage, die if it has no food, and die if it has no accumulation. If you run a long distance like this, you will eat the enemy, the variables are too great, and it is too risky! It's not advisable. Ban Chao was the first to object, and Geng Gong also felt that Li Tong was a little whimsical.

Everyone knows very well in their hearts that Jinwei Mountain is where the Xiongnu royal court is located, and there are six or seven hundred thousand herdsmen under the account, although the tribes are relatively scattered, almost everyone of these herdsmen can ride horses and shoot arrows, and they can take out hundreds of thousands of cavalry casually. Taking a step back, even if Li Tong can catch them off guard, it is definitely not an easy thing to retreat. The distance between Hami and Jinwei Mountain is more than 3,600 miles, and it is a long-distance travel, and in the eyes of these people, this is similar to looking for death.

It is no wonder that they did not know how the Mongols fought in later generations, Li Tong's Xuanjia army was an army that was completely trained by the tactics of the Mongols more than a thousand years later, and was accustomed to sitting on horseback and eating dry food and meat, and drinking mare's milk to march and supply. One person with three riders, or even five riders, did not worry about supplies at all. It was with this tactic that the Mongols conquered almost all of Eurasia.

Therefore, Li Tong's attitude was very resolute, and he said eloquently: "Sun Tzu said: Go out of your way, follow what you don't expect. Those who travel thousands of miles without working will also walk in a land where no one is man. Those who attack and must take will attack what they do not defend; Those who defend and must be solid, defend what they do not attack. Therefore, those who are good at attacking, the enemy does not know what they are defending; Those who defend well, the enemy does not know what they are attacking. Few, as far as invisible; God is divine, as for silence, so it can be the enemy's command. And then those who cannot be controlled, rush to their emptiness; Those who retreat and cannot be chased, and they are not able to reach quickly. Therefore I want to fight, although the enemy is high and deep, and he who has to fight with me will be saved by attacking him; I don't want to fight, I draw the ground and defend it, and the enemy can't fight with me, and he will do what he wants. If you think about it, you can't imagine that the end will be so bold, and the Huns must not be able to imagine it. Now that the country is in trouble, the husband is responsible. Since ancient times, no one has died, leaving Dan to take care of his sweat. I have made up my mind, and you don't need to persuade me anymore! ”

As soon as Li Tong's righteous and awe-inspiring words came out, Ban Chao, Geng Gong and others burst into tears, and they were moved. Everyone respectfully saluted, and Li Tong hurriedly returned the salute, not daring to say so. Immediately, Li Tong took out the Great Seal of Hami City Guard, respectfully handed it to Ban Chao and said: "Ban Sima, General Geng, Hami City is the last stronghold of my Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, this time the last general will go on an expedition, the Huns are very likely to come to besiege Hami, this city will be entrusted to my lord!" ”

"Don't worry! General Li is righteous, as long as Ban has a tone, he will keep Hami safe, and swear to live and die with Hami. Ban Chao said with tears in his eyes.

Geng Gong also said: "Brother Li, don't worry! The city is here, the city is dead, the old man is desperate for his life, and he must save Hami City. You are going thousands of miles to fight, and you are alone in the enemy's territory. Be careful, and if you can't do anything, take care of yourself. Don't forget! ”

Li Tong smiled and nodded, turned around and hugged his fist at Liu Jin and said: "Mr. Liu, you have also seen that the situation in the Western Regions is so stormy, I implore Your Excellency to rush back to Jiuquan and explain to General Geng the current predicament of the Western Regions Protectorate, hoping that the imperial court can send troops as soon as possible." Please. ”

Liu Jin, a Confucian student, was already moved to tears, he choked up and said, "General Li said well! When the country is in trouble, it is the responsibility of the husband. Liu Jin set off here, personally begged the general, and went to Luoyang to run and call for help, and he must bring rescue troops for the Western Regions. ”

"Please!" Li Tong took a deep look.

That night, everyone couldn't sleep all night.

Li Tong, Mo Bode and Wan Fu had a secret discussion in the study of the City Lord's Mansion. Li Tong said to Wanfu: "Little Liuzi, tomorrow Lao Mo and I will lead the thousand Xuanjia cavalry that has already appeared to set off, and after Ban Sima and General Geng take over the defense of Hami City, you will secretly sneak back to the Wild Wolf Valley, and the remaining eight hundred Xuanjia cavalry will be under your command for the time being, you must guard this secret base and block the entire valley." This is our last capital, and we have a great responsibility. Don't take it lightly. Do you understand? ”

"Don't worry, big brother!" Wanfu's eyes were red, and his voice was a little choked, "Big brother, you must be more careful when you go, I don't want to lose your relative." Old Mo! Be sure to protect my eldest brother's thoughtfulness. ”

"Don't worry, boy." Mo Bode smiled and patted Wanfu, and said in a relaxed tone: "Little Liuzi, don't worry. You don't know your eldest brother's skills, but I know ......."

"Alright, don't be verbose!" Li Tong interrupted him and ordered: "Old Mo, you will go to Tao Shi later and receive military supplies according to the highest standards." Well, in addition to the officers above the formation, the clairing mirror is distributed to every scout, and all the reserve horses are selected from the Northland horses that are still producing milk. Each squad was equipped with two camels to carry horse feed, and all materials and ordnance were doubled according to the requirements of the usual training. ”

"Oh, head of the house." Mobod bowed down to receive the order.

Li Tong saw the nervous appearance of the two of them, and comforted: "Old Mo, little sixth son." You put your heart in your stomach, if you don't know the battle, I, Li Tong, will not attack easily, the Huns don't know how powerful I am, and similarly, Ban Sima they don't know how powerful I am. I always thought I was going to die. Hehe! The marquis of Wanli was immediately taken, and he became famous in the first battle. If we want to gain a foothold in the Western Regions, I have to take this risk. This battle of Shule broke the Huns, and I am very likely to be made a marquis by the new emperor. The attack on Jinwei Mountain is just the icing on the cake, I want to make the Huns afraid when they hear my name. Of course, I won't lose my life easily. Little Liuzi, I will come back safely. ”

——————

The wind is sluggish and the water is cold, and the strong man is gone and never returns.

These two sentences describe Ban Chao, Geng Gong and others who saw off at the city gate, which is indeed a very appropriate portrayal of the situation. On September 13, Li Tong's expression was resolute, he respectfully said goodbye to Ban Chao, Geng Gong and others, and then under the eyes of the officials in Hami, he led the Xuanjia cavalry to set off without hesitation.

Two thousand years ago, the ecological environment of the Western Regions was very different from today. According to historical records, during the Han Dynasty, the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains and the northern foothills of the Kunlun Mountains had rivers along the mountains, which were not like today's barren mountains and bald mountains; The vast Lop Nur is overgrown with reeds, flowers and plants are abundant, and it is an endless water area, otherwise, the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions who "follow the animal husbandry to chase water and grass" will not have established a country here.

Li has lived in Xinjiang all his life, and he loves this fertile land. There is another important reason, this is that Ban Chao has been in the Western Regions for half of his life, and he has been for thirty-one years; And the best youth of Li Tong's previous life was also spent in Xinjiang. It is precisely because of this that Li Tong is so desperate and eager to take root in the Western Regions in this era.

In his previous life, Li Tong admired Ban Chao the most. Now that you've come to this plane, you have to leave something behind. He wanted to be like Ban Chao, with great ambitions and diligently pursued and worked hard for them, and also wanted to make outstanding contributions to the establishment of China's multi-ethnic family like Ban Chao and shine in the annals of history. I want to emulate Ban Chao's broad-mindedness regardless of previous suspicions, the wisdom of being good at uniting people from all walks of life, and the practical actions of leading by example. For Li Tong, taking root in the Western Regions and staying away from the court is the life he wants, and Li Tong thinks that as a well-informed traverser, he will definitely do better than Ban Chao.

The desert wind rises, the sun sets in the west, and the red sand dunes are undulating, reaching into the clouds, like a huge fire dragon swimming on the earth, with no head in front and no tail in the back. In the shadow of the sand mountain, a few wild camels leisurely gnawed on a clump of bell thorns, and two sand foxes poked their heads out of the sand dunes, looked at them alertly, and scurried past the wild camels. Above the sky, a vulture outlines a vigorous black silhouette.

As the leader of the whole army, Mobod led the camel and his horse down a crescent-shaped sand dune, and the huge shadow of the sand mountain cast down, engulfing him and his more than 100 cavalry vanguards. The wind grew stronger, and the sand rattled. Zheng Ji looked at the sky, and at some point, there was a touch of gloom in the depths of Tongxia, he turned his head to look at an officer with a face in the Western Regions behind him and said, "Ah Longmu, the sky is going to change, we can't continue to move forward, let's find a leeward place to hide." We set up camp here and waited for the general to come. ”

"No!"

Alon Mu clenched his fists in agreement, then ran to the back and beckoned everyone to dismount, and ordered everyone to begin to arrange defenses according to the marching regulations. Mobold was helped off his camel by his guards, and several men found a leeward place to unload their tents and prepare to hunt a sand hare for dinner. Suddenly, the camels in the procession neighed, their voices were high-pitched and rapid, and they buried their mouths and noses in the sand, and they looked extremely restless. Mobod and the soldiers tried their best to soothe the camels, the wind stopped, the sand clanged away, and the desert was eerily quiet.

At this time, Alon Mu suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted, "Wait, look at those wild camels......"

Mobold thought that this fellow in the mountains had never seen a wild camel, and was curious for a moment. When he looked up, he saw several wild camels galloping wildly, as if something terrible had happened. Above the sky, the vulture also seemed to smell some kind of danger, screamed a few times, and disappeared. Seeing this, Mobod's heart suddenly cast a shadow.

The Western Desert has been known as the Sea of Devils since ancient times, which is ever-changing and extremely terrifying. In the event of a storm, the sky is dark, and the moving sand dunes can bury people and livestock alive. In the face of this kind of weather, manpower is as small as ants, if you want to live, most of them have to depend on God's mood, and now he has an ominous premonition in his heart.

Sure enough, the glow receded, and the gray-black clouds grew larger and larger, quickly obscuring half of the sky. The setting sun turns into a chaotic egg yolk and crumbles. I don't know who suddenly opened the wind pocket, and the wind fell from the sky, blowing people to the east and west, and they couldn't open their eyes.

A yellow dragon rose from the northwest to the sky, more than dozens of miles long, rolling towards the southeast of the desert. The sand waves collapsed, and the waves crashed into the air. There was a rumbling sound in the wind and sand, like the thunder of the heavenly drums, and like the angry howls of gods and demons. The sand dunes seem to be rubbed by a pair of invisible big hands, changing their appearance at will, for fish scales, for feathers, for the crescent moon, for Pingchuan, bizarre, vicissitudes of life like horses. The hundred-zhang high sand wall is grounded to the sky, lightning and thunder, and where it passes, the sky collapses and the earth cracks, and the sun and moon have no light.

Alon Mu trembled and howled in despair: "Army...... Waiting, the demon god is angry, we can't escape the catastrophe......"

After being with Li for a long time, Mobod didn't believe that any demon god was angry, so he immediately ordered everyone to put away their tents and whip the camels and run wildly. Mobod, who was experienced in the desert, knew that in such a situation, the team had to run with the camels to have a glimmer of hope of survival. As for the rendezvous with the rear army, this was not a problem at all, and Li Tong had already selected several rendezvous points on the map. In addition, the sextant invented by Li Tong and the navigator equipped with each squad can also allow everyone to find their corresponding position.

The sandstorm roared, overwhelming the world, like an ancient divine beast gluttonous to swallow all things in heaven and earth. The four fields are pale and yellow, connecting the heavens and the earth, and the universe seems to have returned to the chaos of Hongmeng's nascent birth. Nothing could be seen except the howling wind and sand. The leading camel rushed into a sand nest and lay down, burying its mouth and nose in the sand. Other camels and horses did the same, and the soldiers were also very experienced in hugging the camels under their necks and covering their masks more tightly.

The sandstorm came overwhelmingly, the bears roared and the dragon groaned, the columns lacked thunderbolts, and the hills collapsed, like hell to get rid of a hundred thousand gods and demons, and they wanted to tear the heavens and the earth into pieces.

(To be continued)