In fact, just as Zhang Qian expected, Yi Huming knew that after twelve days, his debts would become a very large number, but in the end he chose to sign the peace treaty, and then left in a hurry with a thousand carefully selected officials and soldiers.

Before he could go far, a desolate cry sounded on the top of the mountain. There were more than 3,000 soldiers of the Shi Kingdom who were not taken away by him, most of whom were low-level soldiers, who had neither the ability nor the courage to organize themselves to resist stubbornly, so they could only wait for the slaughter of the Tang army while howling loudly.

Although Shiguo is known as a country, it is actually one of the nine surnames of Zhaowu, and it is more like a tribe than a country. And in inter-tribal wars, the slaughter of captives is the most normal thing to do. What's more, the Tang army also gave them the opportunity to spend money to redeem their lives, but it was their city lord Yihu who was reluctant to spend so much money to leave them on the hillside! According to the rules, how can they survive?!

However, what happened next was far beyond Shi Guo's expectations. Instead of raising a butcher's knife to them, the Tang army specially sent more than 40 baskets of Hu cakes up the mountain. It wasn't enough for each of them to eat, but after everyone had been given a piece of bread, there was still something left in the basket.

"What are you crying, look at your bear-like appearance. What did you do earlier, when Yihu took you to rob the Turgish, which of you cried? "The Tang Jun interpreter who was responsible for distributing the Hu cakes had obvious Western Regions blood. His hair was curly, his eyes were gray, and the Sogdian language had a distinctly Turkic pronunciation, "Come and take the pilgrimage, one for each person." When you're full, you have the strength to kowtow to my town guard and apologize! ”

His voice was loud, but few people would listen to him. Most of the Shi Guo soldiers didn't have the courage to step forward to receive the Hu Cake. lest the Tang army poison the cake and kill them en masse.

However, when a dozen desperate Shi Guo soldiers, with the idea of being a full ghost, stepped forward to receive the Hu Cake and began to chew on cold water, the crying on the hillside immediately began to subside. Many of the captives suddenly realized that if the Tang army wanted to slaughter them, there was no need to waste so much food, and they immediately rushed to the wicker baskets containing the cakes.

"Don't crowd, don't grab, queue, queue. Zhang Lurate, Captain Lu, get me a whip to whip them! If you don't smoke it, these starving ghosts can trample themselves to death! The interpreter who was in charge of distributing the cakes immediately opened his throat and shouted.

Tang Jun, who was responsible for maintaining order, did not hesitate to wave his leather whip and whipped towards the crowd. Soon, Shi Guo's soldiers realized their identity as prisoners again, and they lined up in several long lines with anxiety.

And the Tang army interpreter, while directing his own people to help distribute cakes to the prisoners, loudly announced beside him: "Listen to it, my town guard said that you were all deceived, and he didn't want to kill you." However, you are waiting for burning, killing and looting, and the sin is heavy, and he can't let you go in vain! ”

The captives took the bread blankly and silently turned and dispersed. Everyone understands that being able to save his life this time is already the mercy of the Tang general. As for being released home, everyone doesn't have to think about it.

However, the next sentence of the translation made many people immediately stop and look back in amazement.

"Wait, you have to go to Broken Leaf City to work and atone for your sins, and after two years of work, you can get forgiveness and return home." Lest the captives not hear clearly, the interpreter tried to raise the highest voice and repeat it over and over again.

"Do you understand? My town guard said that he didn't want to kill you. However, he can't just wait for him to go! You have to go to Broken Leaf City to work to atone for your sins, and after two years of work, you can get forgiveness and return home. ”

"My town guard said...... Two years ......"

"What? For how long? How long did he say? "Not a single captive dared to believe their ears, tearing at each other's sleeves, repeatedly confirming it.

"For how long? How can it be?! ”

"The Tang people are not lying to us again, Yihu said that the Tang people are the best at deceiving people!"

"What else do we have to fool? Wouldn't it be easier for people to kill them directly with a knife?! ”

……

A pair of ears may mishear. Hundreds of ears were convinced that they had heard the same words, and that all the captives, whether they had received the bread or not, knew that they were completely safe. One by one, they squatted weakly on the ground, bursting into tears.

In the Western Regions, it is a kind of "luck" that the defeated can become the slaves of the victors! And once you become a slave, you have to work from life to death, and even the next generation is also the slave of the other party. And today, they suddenly found that after their defeat, there was still hope of returning home alive!

No matter how short the average life expectancy of people in the Western Regions is, two years is not a long time. Shattered Leaf City is only a little more than ten days away from Talas, and when the war subsides, their families will have the opportunity to come and meet them at any time.

"Don't make any noise, don't make noise, and don't squeeze!" Obviously, I haven't finished speaking. When he found that most of the captives understood what they meant, he immediately continued to announce in a loud voice, "My town guard has said that he does not want to see you separated from your family. Therefore, if any of you can give twenty pieces of brass, or ten horses, or the equivalent of these two things, let him redeem himself at once. ”

Lest the captives hear clearly, he repeated it four more times in his throat. It wasn't until his voice was hoarse that he finally stopped, grabbed the gourd and drank water to moisten his throat.

The captives' eyes lit up at first, and then they began to exchange their heads, and finally, more than ninety percent of the people sighed and bowed their heads.

The officials, the rich and powerful in the family, have long been taken away by Yihu in the 1,000 "debt" quotas. The captives who were abandoned on the mountain at the moment were none other than the Centurion. How is it possible to take out twenty pennies at once, or ten horses to redeem themselves?

"My town guard also said, you can pool the money and redeem the trustworthy people to go home first. When they have returned, tell your family to come and ransom you. Although the interpreter's voice was hoarse, he was unwilling to live up to Zhang Qian's trust. After a few sips of cold water, he began to preach again. "If you can't come up with twenty pennies, or ten horses, you can make up the same worth of cattle and sheep. If you can't take it out, it doesn't matter. You go and break the leaves and work, and you will eat and live there. ”

Many of the captives raised their heads, and their eyes began to shine. In the Western Regions, those with fur and skins are not worth much, unless they are the kind of peerless horses, ten horses will definitely not be exchanged for ten Tang copper coins. Most of them, although their families were not wealthy, but they borrowed some from the east and from the west, and their parents and brothers were able to scrape together ten horses or the equivalent of cattle and sheep to redeem them.

However, there were still more than half of the captives, and soon their eyes dimmed. Obviously, it was from a poor family, and no one was willing to lend even a debt. I can only honestly go to Broken Leaf City, do two years of hard work, and then think about anything else.

"My town's envoy also said that if you can learn 900 Tang dialects within two years, you can also go home early." The interpreter's throat began to smoke, but his face was full of pride, "Or, learn 900 Tang dialects, apply to join the Tang Dynasty, and become a Tang person." Grandma's, it's so cheap to kill you. Lao Tzu bets that if you can really learn 900 Tang dialects, no one will want to go back to live the same life! ”

The captives seemed to understand what they didn't understand, but their eyes brightened much brighter. Tang Yan is not difficult to learn, especially for the Sogdians, who naturally like to do business, it is extremely simple. Many captives can now speak three or five sentences, but they are not up to standard. If you are willing to put your heart into learning, you may be able to learn 900 Tang dialects in half a year. In that case, you can offset all the hard labor left, so why not do it?

When people have hope in their hearts, they usually do not kill themselves. Therefore, it only took half a day for more than 3,300 Shi Guo soldiers who were abandoned by Yihu to be screened and disposed of by the Tang Army. Among them, more than 160 people who were prestigious, or whose families were already very well-off, were released on the spot after they were able to obtain enough money to redeem themselves by pooling their own money. And the other more than 3,100 captives, full of hope, handed over their weapons and, escorted by a regiment of Tang troops, embarked on the road to Broken Leaves.

Zhang Qian did not wait for the captives to come down the mountain and kowtow to him to thank him, so he led the army and continued to go west. Along the way, there were lone soldiers of the Shi Kingdom, captured by the scouts, or kidnapped by angry turk shepherds to ask for merit and rewards, and Zhang Qian handed them over to the teaching group to deal with them according to the previous rules. In this way, before he himself arrived at Ashbrosorg, the name of his benevolence had already spread to Talas on the other side of Qianquan Mountain.

Located to the east of Qianquan Mountain, Ashibulai Fort was originally a fort dedicated to military purposes during the Tang Dynasty Gaozong period. In the past 20 years, the power of the Tang Dynasty has been continuously compressed to the east, and this fortress was abandoned by the Tang army, and finally fell into the hands of the Tuqi Shihei tribe and became the clan city of the latter.

After Zhang Qianqian attacked and killed Suo Ge, one was because of the lack of troops in his hands, and the other did not want to arouse the hatred of the various tribes of the Tuqi Shi, so he did not take back the fort, and still handed it over to the Tuqi surnamed Tutun Ilyich to control. And now, Ilyich lost this fort to Shi Guo, and the special service Yihu lost to him, and this military fort, of course, naturally returned to the hands of the Tang army.

"The scouts have checked it out, and from here, fifty miles east along the main road, is the Qianquan Pass. Yihu walked in a hurry, and did not arrange any soldiers and horses at the mountain pass. Luo Huaizu took a small map that had just been supplemented, hurriedly walked into the temporary line in Ashibulai Fort, and reported with a smile.

"What about Julan City, I remember that not far from the Qianquan Pass, it is the Julan City of Shiguo." Zhang Qian was not happy at all, shook his head, and asked in a low voice.

"The whole city of Kulan has been mobilized. Yihu left 500 henchmen behind, and gathered all the herdsmen around him into the city to help him defend the city! Luo Huaizu smiled and made a picture that really couldn't hide from you, "As you expected, he is ready to repay the debt." But the soldiers in the city don't seem to have a high fighting spirit. Our scouts are almost under the city wall, and they haven't sent anyone out to intercept them! ”

"Marshal, the last general is willing to take the soldiers and horses of his headquarters to take Julan City for you!" Shi Jin has been very used recently, and his heart is high, so he immediately took the initiative to ask for help.

"Don't worry, wait for twelve days." Zhang Qian thought about it for a while, shook his head with a smile, "Lest the people of the Shi Kingdom beat us upside down and say that we don't believe in our words." In addition, Shuo Fang's side sent a messenger to contact the autumn time to jointly send troops to attack the Turkic Khan, and the people have arrived at the broken leaves, let's wait for him by the way! ”

"Yes!" Shi Jin didn't dare to question Zhang Qian's decision and retreated. But Luo Huaizu's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked in a low voice: "Zhang Renyuan's messenger?" Are you sure that after we have finished fighting Shiguo, we still have time to follow the other divisions of the Anxi Army to the east to attack the Turks this year? ”

"If it's just you and me, there may not be enough time. The messenger is coming, and time should be enough! Zhang Qian's eyes quickly flashed an ugly scarred face, and he nodded with a smile.

In the war, he is actually a layman, and Luo Huaizu is not much better than himself. But the insiders are coming soon. With him on the side, this plan to plunder the stone country to shake up the broken leaves will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!