In the first month of the seventeenth year of Yongping, after Ban Chao faced the saint, Li Tong was appointed by the imperial court as the city guard of Hami under the Western Regions Protectorate, and served as the post of Tuntian Sima, responsible for the formation of horse lance and thousand horses.

For Hami, what is most lacking now is the Hanmes-epitek population, but there seems to be providence in the dark, and Hami has encountered an opportunity for leapfrog development. Historical records: "In April of the sixteenth year of Yongping, the Renyin earthquake, forty-nine counties east of Henan, Langya in Beihai damaged the ancestral temple city, killed more than 6,000 people, more than 100,000 people were homeless, and Emperor Ming ordered the relocation of the people to Rongbian ......"

In order to maintain domestic stability, Emperor Ming forcibly ordered the relocation of Haoqiang from all over Shandong to the Hexi Corridor and Dunhuang and Hami. At the end of the sixteenth year of Yongping, more than a dozen clans such as the Wang clan, the Mo clan, the Yi clan and the Tian clan of Shandong were designated to move to Hami, because these immigrants brought advanced farming technology from the Central Plains, coupled with the golden finger of the city guard Li Tongkai, all walks of life have been vigorously developed in Hami in a short period of time.

When one person attains the Tao, the chicken and dog ascend to heaven. Near noon, Li Tong's brother-in-law, Hami City Keeper Wanfu was sitting behind the desk in the official office of the city lord's mansion, listening casually to the following Western Regions merchant Rahman babbling about his request.

"Honorable Lord Engaged, I think Hami is good here, please tell the City Lord, if Lord Li allows it, I would like to open a shop here, a very large one, as a warehouse for my caravan to and from Luoyang, do you think this is feasible?"

Rahman said respectfully, and carefully presented a valuable gift, a small bag of gold coins from Rome. Wanfu remained silent, and didn't even glance at the bag. just nodded slightly, indicating that he knew about this matter, and asked him to go back and wait patiently for the news, the city lord is not there at present, and there will be accurate news in a few days.

Rahman said goodbye uneasily, with a respectful expression on his face from beginning to end. He didn't dare to underestimate the fifteen-year-old boy in front of him, he had already heard that this young man named Wanfu was Li Tong's brother-in-law, and the relationship was very close. In order to meet this time today, he put a lot of money on the city gate official Tao Zhi, a full ten Roman gold coins. Waiting for the people to leave, Wanfu, who had been sitting for half a day, stretched his waist, he picked up the bag on the table and took a look, which was full of gold coins. Wanfu grinned, his eyes narrowed into a slit.

He was satisfied with the gold coin in his arms, and just wanted to go back to the backstage to rest, just at this moment, the porter came to report that a messenger had sent an urgent message, Wanfu opened it, and his face changed slightly. He loudly called the servants to take out the war horse, and took the two retinues out of the city lord's mansion, directly out of the east city gate, all the way to the depths of the Tianshan Mountain.

After walking along the winding mountain road for more than an hour, looking at the mountainous landforms on both sides, Wanfu, who was originally a little anxious, showed a smile and inadvertently quickened his pace. He heard his eldest brother say that the Wild Wolf Valley hidden here was the last place for the two brothers to settle down.

This place is full of woody flowers, it is a magical place, at the beginning, when Li Tong's eldest brother brought himself here for the first time, he immediately liked it. This is not only a fragrant treasure land, but also the deepest and most beautiful valley in the Tianshan Mountains. Turning over a small hill, the Wild Wolf Valley appeared in front of him, and at this time, two hours had passed.

It's spring, birds are singing and flowers are fragrant everywhere, and there is a refreshing breath in the air, which is refreshing. Looking at the good scenery along the way, Wan Fu secretly thought in his heart, Brother Li Tong single-handedly pulled up a team in the Western Regions, and could survive in the ring of wolves, and take the team to find a suitable place for people to live in the Tianshan Mountains, which is very magical!

Not to mention the fact that in the past two years, many magical workshops have been newly built and hidden here, which has enabled Wolf Valley to produce better ironware, fine glass products, and those finer cotton cloths, all of which are the source of wealth that supports Hami's development. In just over a year, Hami has been able to develop so fast, in addition to coincidence, it is inseparable from the support of the large amount of wealth provided by the base of Wolf Valley. What's more, there is also the most powerful military force under Li Tong's command - Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry.

Entering the valley, the first thing that catches your eye is a city wall under construction, hundreds of wild people from the Western Regions are busy climbing up and down under the watchful eye of soldiers, and the tall gantry is equipped with pulleys and slings, lifting huge rocks high, and then placing them on the city wall, and the cracks between the rocks are filled with volcanic ash mixed with water and sand. The walls are being built very quickly, look at the progress, it will be completed in a few days.

"Second son, you're here!" A familiar sergeant stepped forward and greeted him with a fist.

Wanfu asked casually: "Yes!" Chen Shichang, this wall is being built very quickly," and without waiting for the sergeant to answer, he asked again, "By the way, where is my eldest brother?" In the office? ”

"It shouldn't be in the office, there is a training camp for Xuanjia today. The eldest prince is now training cavalry in the backvalley grassland. The sergeant replied.

"Really, great! Thanks! ”

Wanfu's eyes lit up, and after thanking the sergeant for his guidance, he clamped the horse's belly, said no more, and immediately urged the war horse under his crotch, entered the gateless city gate, and hurried along the avenue with two attendants to the back of the valley. The more he entered the valley, the more Wanfu admired Li Tong's vision of choosing this place as a base, not to mention anything else, but the dozen or so fig trees in the valley that several people couldn't hug made Wanfu like it very much. A flowing spring falls from the top of the mountain, and the waterfall is not big, but it is very rare in the wild and barren Tianshan Mountain.

Wanfu had just arrived in the back mountain, and on the open grassland behind the Wild Wolf Valley, a drill close to actual combat was underway, and the silent valley became noisy amid the neighing of people and horses. Gu Dexin, who represented the attacking side, led 600 infantry troops under his command, and 200 cavalry on both wings, a total of 1,000 red Hufu troops, like a maple forest in autumn, fiery red.

There was a loud and energetic horn, and the opposing Xuanjia cavalry under the leadership of Mobod set out, and the black was like a pine forest all over the field, and the formation seemed to be roughly the same as the red side. Wan Fu noticed that these were two armies with comparable strength but very different styles: not to mention that the benevolent army led by Gu Dexin still held broad-bodied Han swords, crossbowmen and halberd tower shields, and the Xuanjia cavalry had spears and horse lances, crescent swords, and the cavalry on both wings was even different.

Suddenly, Black's drums and trumpets sounded, and the banner hunted in the wind. The cavalry on both wings of the red side took the lead, and the soldiers of the Chinese army marched forward in a neat step, and the mountain wall squad advanced, shouting "kill" every three steps, and it was actually calmly rumbling forward. The terrible sound of bull's horns shook the valley, the cavalry on both wings roared to meet the attack, and the heavy infantry also strode unstoppably and arrogantly, like a black tide sweeping across the ground.

Finally, the two armies collided like a sea of mountains, and if the rumbling thunder resounded through the valley, it was like a thousand angry waves crashing against the mountains. Long swords and scimitars fluttered, crossbows and spears whistled and flew, dense arrows rained like locusts crossing the border, and dull shouts and short roars made the mountains and rivers tremble! The entire mountain plain was enveloped and annihilated by the tragic aura of this primitive fighting.....

Wan Fu noticed that outside the battlefield was on a small hillside. Dozens of cavalrymen surrounded a general who was pointing at the situation under the mountain, and the person who was the leader did not need to ask was definitely Li Tong. Li Tong, who is already eighteen years old, is thin and tall, with a large bow on his left shoulder, no crown on his head, only a long hairpin, a towering bun, wearing a white coat, a hemp around his waist, although the clothes are not gorgeous, but they are clean and clean. The bow on Li Tong's back was more than a foot longer than the ordinary curved bow, the whole body was golden, and under the light of the setting sun, it showed a faint jade-like luster, obviously not wooden, Wanfu knew that this was a special iron tire bow, the strength was very strong, not to mention opening the bow and shooting arrows, few people could pull it.

When the exercise was over, Wanfu pulled his neck and shouted: "Big brother, I'm here!" Then he rode his horse and ran up the hill.

That Li Tong originally had his back to Wanfu, and when he heard his shouts and the sound of horses' hooves, he leaned slightly to the side and turned his head to look at him. When Wan Fu saw it, he couldn't help but feel some envy in his heart: all the soldiers of our Hami Biansai are all big men with rough looks and mighty demeanors, and my eldest brother is such a handsome character. Hey, how can a man be so beautiful, even better looking than a big girl!

But seeing that Li Tong was dressed in the glow, standing in the wind, people were like jade, clothes were better than snow, hearty and elegant, chic out of the dust, and behind him were lined with the majestic and desolate Tianshan Mountains, which became more and more handsome and radiant. Wanfu was forced by his complexion, and couldn't help but lower his head, a little ashamed of himself. Li Tong walked slowly to Wanfu, and a gust of wind blew, swinging his big back high, like puffing out a pair of wings. He looked at Wanfu with a serious expression and asked, "Little Liuzi, you don't stay in Hami and help the eldest brother keep an eye on it, why did you come here at this time?" ”

Wanfu said aggrievedly: "Big brother! There must be something urgent. Ban Sima had an urgent letter, and it seemed that he was in trouble in Khotan. In addition, there was a large caravan of camels from the West, with more than 300 camels, led by a man who claimed to be Rahman from Jerusalem, who wanted to buy land and build a house in the southern grass market of Hami and set up a trading post of his own. Wan Fu said as he took out the silk book written by Ban Chao from his arms and handed it to Li Tong.

After reading the letter, Li Tong sighed and put the letter into his arms. Then, he summoned Mobod and instructed, "Old Mo, Ban Sima is in trouble, and I need to make a trip myself." You select five hundred warriors from the Xuanjia Cavalry and hand them over to me, one person and three horsemen, and follow me to Khotan early tomorrow morning, so you don't want to go, help me take care of the Wild Wolf Valley, this is our foundation. ”

"Whoa!" Mobode responded with some regret, said hello to Wanfu, and hurried to the pasture to collect the soldiers and horses. As soon as Mo Bode left, Gu Dexin walked over dejectedly, and before the person arrived, he shouted loudly: "Li Sima, this is also unfair." My cavalry was not as good as these savages in the Western Regions, and now they can't even compare to their weapons and armor. If this continues, there will only be a beating. ”

"Old Gu, what are you talking about? Don't complain all day. If archery and riding skills are not good, you have to practice more. Li Tong said unhappily, "Without these horse foundations, even if I change into new armor and riding spears with you, I will deliver food to people on the battlefield." Sooner or later, new equipment will be equipped for you, but you have to remember that advanced weapons are not the only basis, the most important thing is the right tactics. Although the heavy cavalry is good, it is not durable to fight, so you have to use your brains more. I lost a few times! You haven't grown a little yet, and you're too embarrassed to complain? Okay, since you lost today, you have to fulfill your promise and help Xuanjia Qi clean the toilet for a month. Also, I'm going to go on a long trip recently, and the defense of Hami will be entrusted to you, you are Hami Sima, and the training of the city guards and beacon soldiers cannot be left behind. ”

"Whoa." Gu Dexin was speechless, and reluctantly agreed.

After Li Tong arranged everything, it was already approaching dusk. Li Tong rode on horseback and walked slowly towards the City Lord's Mansion in the valley with Wanfu. This month is the first time Manfu has been here, and it has changed from the last time I visited, that is, there are more houses in the valley and more and more people. The inhabitants of the valley are mainly Han Chinese artisan families, who enjoy the best treatment here, live in the best houses, and live in conditions that are very different from when they were originally in Shandong. The other part of the inhabitants is the savages of the Western Regions, they are the main labor, Li Tong is not mean to them, as long as they work hard, they can also be fed and sheltered, the first few groups of savages except for some elites who entered the Xuanjia Cavalry, the rest of the people have become farmers.

At present, the Wild Wolf Valley is in ruins, and manpower is needed everywhere, so the newly captured savages in the Western Regions can only work hard under the supervision of the old man of the Wild Wolf Valley. After the expansion of the iron workshop, the appearance of the horse-drawn plough made the cultivation of the Wild Wolf Valley easy and easy, and the farmers turned the banks of the Red Willow Creek in the Wild Wolf Valley into a huge farm, not only planting a large number of wheat fields, but also large cotton fields, everything seemed to be thriving.

At present, many places in the Western Regions are still in the primitive era of slash-and-burn farming, and the productivity is extremely low, and it is not necessary to have enough to eat all year round. As long as it is a place where wheat can be grown, Li Tong has not wasted it at all, the humus here is too fertile, and in the Gobi Desert, food is a weapon to control the fate of the race. In the Western Regions, every winter is a serious disaster for the tribes in the Gobi, because of the lack of food, they will drive the surplus people out of the tribe and let them wander on the Gobi, or die of wolf's kiss, or die of hunger and cold.

Li Tong believed that as long as these captured savages from the Western Regions saw the good life of their predecessors, it would not be long before the new savages would integrate into the big family of Wild Wolf Valley. There is already a precedent for this, the first group of savages in the Western Regions because of their affluent life, able to eat and clothe themselves, and Zhushan very beautiful wooden house, now this group of people have regarded Li Tong as a tribal leader, obeying him, and being more loyal than those new Han Chinese.

Along the way, Wanfu was surprised to find that every time Li Tong passed by a busy construction site, those busy savages in the Western Regions would put down the tools in their hands, bow deeply and bend down, and their respect was overflowing. When passing through the workshop area, Li Tong inspected it by the way. But when he sat at the door of the workshop, every Han immigrant who passed by Li Tong would also bend down deeply before going to do what he had to do. Obviously, these immigrants from Shandong have regarded Li Tong as the head of the family.

Wan Fu knew that Li Tong was benevolent, selfless, and wise in their hearts, especially his erudition, which made these people feel awe from the bottom of their hearts. Whether it's horse-drawn ploughs, new water-powered textile machines, water-powered steel-making blast furnaces, coke steel-making and the latest steel-frying methods, this group of people has been subversively recognized. Before coming to the Wild Wolf Valley, who would have thought that only two horses and one person could reclaim the land that could not be reclaimed in the past year, and every time the iron and steel were made, it was equivalent to the output of an iron workshop in the past year, especially those textile machinery, which not only saved people and labor, but also spun out of the cotton cloth was outrageous. All this, in the eyes of these simple ancients, is simply a miracle! Only a wise man can have such a knack for turning stones into gold. Respecting the wise is a long-standing tradition of the ancients.

The area of the Wild Wolf Valley is actually not small, Li Tong used to work here in his previous life, and the farm where he is located is here, after two thousand years, he is both familiar and unfamiliar with the grass and trees here, and he feels more cordial. Therefore, when Li Tong Gobi encountered a storm, the first thought of coming to Iwulud was to think of this place as his starting base, when he and Mobod came here, the two of them conquered a small tribe living here with superior force, occupied this place, and started their own business.

Spring has arrived, except for a grassland at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, which is still dry and yellow, the land shining in the sun is already full of vitality. The dandelion bloomed early with yellow buds, and at the foot of the mountain, it came to a bend where the hillside was covered with beehives of all sizes, and some beekeepers were busy. Some young men on horseback drove the flocks of sheep and galloped across the grassland shouting, and it was obvious that they were so happy and comfortable.

In good conscience, these Han people are living a good life here. The northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains are fertile and rainy, so as long as you sow the seeds of crops in spring, you don't have to worry about it all summer, as long as you don't forget to harvest it in autumn. For the farmer, having food means having everything. Don't say that the Western Regions is not the hometown of the Han people, and there is a possibility that they will be discriminated against here, but now it seems that this concern is actually superfluous.

At this time, human beings were still in the stage of migration from place to place. It is natural to run to wherever it is easy for people to live. In the Western Regions alone, there are dozens of ethnic groups living at the same time, all of them wandering here from all over the place, everyone lives together, experiences the same wind and rain, and after a long time, they have feelings for each other, different languages and bloodlines have blended, and gradually they have become like a family.

The warm scene in front of him made Li Tong's heart full of pride. Truth be told, he doesn't want to leave for a day if it doesn't have to, he enjoys his busy life here. It's a pity that he will go on an expedition in two days, and thinking of this, Li Tongxin is a little depressed. He quickened his pace and walked towards the largest courtyard in the Wolf Valley. It was his home in this world......

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Khotan is in the south of the Taklamakan Desert, at the northern foot of the majestic Kunlun Mountains. At that time, it had 32,000 households and a population of more than 83,000, making it a large country east of the Green Mountains of Nam-do.

Ban Chao made his second mission to the Western Regions and chose Khotan to settle down, firstly, he thought that Hugh Moba, the uncle of Khotanese King Guangde, had established friendly relations with the Han with the help of the Han people during his reign; Second, considering the current situation of Khotanese King Guangde, it is necessary to help him from a strategic point of view.

After Guangde inherited the throne, the national strength was strong, and he defeated Shache, who dominated the southern province, and the thirteen kingdoms from the Jingjue Northwest to Shule were all subordinated to him, and once became the overlord of the southern province. When the Northern Xiongnu heard of this situation, they sent five generals and mobilized more than 30,000 troops from 15 countries, including Yanqi, Yuli, and Qiuzi, to besiege Khotan. In the face of the strong formation of the Northern Xiongnu, Guangde begged to surrender, handed over the prince to the Northern Xiongnu as a hostage, and promised to contribute grain, cotton, cattle and sheep to the Northern Xiongnu every year.

Although Guangde submitted to the Northern Xiongnu and let the Northern Xiongnu send envoys to take custody of his country, the contradiction with the Northern Xiongnu was very deep. Considering these factors, Ban Chao thought that it was possible to win over Guangde and make Khotan an ally of Han. The capital of Khotan was located in the western city. More than ten miles away from Xicheng, Ban Chao ordered his group to stop, and sent Gan Ying and a few soldiers to bring gifts such as silk brocade, gold and silver utensils, and enter the city to report to King Guangde.

After a long time, Gan Ying and the others flew over, and as soon as they met, they panted and said: "Ban Sima, Guangde treats us arrogantly and rudely, and he shouldn't ask to see us several times, and in the end he just asked someone to bring us a letter." ”

"Got the gift?" Ban Chao asked.

"I accepted all the gifts, this guy is really thick-skinned." Gan Ying replied.

Ban Chao didn't ask any more, and hurriedly opened the letter and read it.

Hanlai envoy: Knowing that you are coming, the widow should welcome you in person, but there are so many internal and external affairs that you can't take care of yourself, so it is really difficult to meet you recently. In view of the security in the city, please wait for the time being ten miles outside the city to stay in the wall. Please do not move around. Don't be unpredictable.

After reading this letter, Ban Chao was very surprised, and his heart was very unhappy and uneasy. He had no choice but to order his entourage to set up camp outside the city according to the orders of the king of Khotan, wait and see, and act when the opportunity arises. After eating at the stove that night, he was preoccupied, and his eyebrows were always puzzled. He was thinking, as soon as he arrived in Khotan, he ate a closed door, why is this? What to do? At night, he was so worried that he couldn't sleep, so he simply blew out the light and walked out of the tent.

Outside the tent, the moonlight is like water. Under the moonlight, the black and black rays of the southern mountains stretch and stand upright, like a huge barrier between heaven and earth; In the north, the flat land and yellow sand are boundless, and the heaven and earth are integrated. On this deserted Gobi, he felt that the world was empty, full of a sense of loneliness and insignificance that he had never felt before. People are too small and too small in this world, and they will be at a loss at any time on the way to fate.

I set up a marquis ambition back then, and my ideals are lofty, but the road of life is by no means flat and straight, and it is not easy to walk! In the past two years of border life, every step has been difficult and dangerous, and how much hard work and hard work I have paid! Sometimes I think about it, why bother? Is this life? No, life is a struggle; To struggle, you need to pay the price of hardship. However, this is willing, unrepentant and unresentful, but why should you implicate others and let others suffer and go through hardships and dangers with you?

Thinking of others, the face of the young hero involuntarily appeared in front of his eyes, and a smile couldn't help but appear on the corner of his lips, and he secretly said in his heart: I heard that this kid is doing well in Hami, I don't know if his horse lance cavalry has been trained, I am really looking forward to it!

(To be continued)