Kulan City was not very large, and Zhou Quji and his brothers were very experienced, so it didn't take long to control all the key places in the city and restore order in the city.

Because he fled in too haste, the defender of Julan City only brought a small number of descendants. He discarded all the proceeds of his years of embezzlement and the materials stored in the official warehouse. And the routs and ruffians in the city, under the rapid suppression of the Tang army, did not have time to loot and destroy. Therefore, after this battle, the Tang army gained extremely richly, and the gold, silver, jewelry and various coins alone were calculated to be more than 200,000 hangs. Grain, cattle and sheep were more than enough to feed the army for a month.

Zhou Qujian was high-spirited and refused to embarrass Zhang Renyuan and his uncle Zhou Jianliang. Therefore, after controlling Julan City, he immediately invited Shi Jin and Luo Huaizu to his side, and in front of the two, all the seized materials were registered. Immediately, he sent his own soldiers to chase Zhang Qian and ask for instructions on the next battle arrangements.

After Zhang Qian received Zhou Quji's request, he did not hesitate at all. An order was immediately issued for Shi Jin to lead his 300 brothers to sit in Kulan City and guard the back road for the army. The task for Zhou Quji and Luo Huaizu was to first lead their brothers under their command to rest in Kulan City for one night, and then escort all the captured materials to Talas City, two hundred and fifty miles away, to join the main force.

He was kind-hearted and didn't want the Shuofangjun brothers who came from afar to be overworked. However, how could Zhou Quji, who had just witnessed the power of gunpowder bullets, be able to sleep? tossed and turned in bed for most of the night, and the next day before the sun rose, he stared at a pair of red eyes and went to meet Luo Huaizu. The two of them set out on a journey with their respective brothers.

It's May? The weather was neither hot nor cold. All the obstacles ahead were directly leveled by the main force led by Zhang Qian? So? Although the number of brothers under the command of Zhou Quji and Luo Huaizu was small, none of the enemy troops dared to intercept and kill.

It's just that the two of them are escorting too much material? The road of Shiguo has not been repaired since the Tang Dynasty abandoned the west of the Green Ridge, so? Hurry, hurry, hurry? The two are always about half a day's distance from the main force.

Zhou Quji and Luo Huaizu worked together when they were in Yangcheng last year. He also knew that the latter was Zhang Qian's uncle. Therefore, along the way, consider yourself a junior? Big or small? They all consulted Luo Huaizu's opinion before making a decision.

And that Luo Huaizu was born to be a master who likes to listen to good words. Seeing that Zhou Quji's attitude towards himself was respectful, he also chose to repay the favor. Not only did he refuse to ask him anything, but occasionally the former asked him some questions? He can also know everything, say everything.

"Dare to ask Uncle Shi, the Mo family in recent years? Do you still accept disciples? The younger generation can't study, and the martial arts are also average? But he especially liked the new weapons provided by Zhang Zhenshou. On the side of the Shuofang army, they were also the first to learn to use fire dragon carts and hand-cranked crossbows. "Before you arrive in Talas? I don't expect to catch up with the main force. Zhou went to settle down? On the road? While continuing to talk to Luo Huaizu, "If you still accept disciples, the younger generation hopes to have the opportunity to learn from a teacher." No matter which uncle you worship in, you will be lucky to come here! ”

"The Mo family has always kept the mountain gate open, and they don't refuse any qualified person." I like Zhou Quji's mouth is sweet, Luo Huaizu has long forgotten the experience of being beaten by this person and his face is swollen when he met for the first time, and he stroked his beard with a smile, and the old god nodded.

"Then what is the qualification of the disciple?" Zhou Qujian was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly hit the snake with the stick.

"Of course you don't have to pick your qualifications!" Luo Huaizu glanced at him and continued to smile and nodded, "But-"

Suddenly let out a long breath, and he shook his head helplessly, "What you want to learn, I can't teach you." Those are Qin Mo's stunts, and I am the head of Qi Mo. Moreover, I can't be the master of Zhao. He is the senior brother sent by Qin Mo to enter the WTO, and since he came out of the mountain, I have not seen him accept a single disciple. ”

"This-" Zhou Quji was so flashed that he almost fell off the horse, and he was stunned for a long time before he blushed and gave his hand, "Thank you Uncle Shi for your advice, it's the younger generation who is reckless." Qin Mo's stunts, any one of them is enough to worship the marquis. The relationship between the younger generation and Zhang Zhenshou is too short, and he really shouldn't be so greedy. ”

"He refused to accept disciples, but he passed on his art on behalf of his teacher and accepted two junior disciples!" Intending to tease Zhou Qu in a hurry, Luo Huaizu continued to smile and shake his head, "It's just that you have a problem, he and Zhou Duwei are brothers, but you are Zhou Duwei's nephew." If he accepts you as a junior brother, he will mess up the seniority, and your uncle and nephew will inevitably be embarrassed when they meet in the future. ”

"This-" The flame of hope that had just ignited in Zhou Quji's heart was quickly extinguished, and he cried with a sad face, and gave his hand again, "Thank you for your guidance, the younger generation will not dare to be greedy." My uncle has always treated me as if I were his own......"

"You idiot, if you want to ask for the secret of gunpowder bombs, ask the old man directly, why do you have to make such a big detour?" The more Luo Huaizu looked at it, the more reluctant he became, raised his hand to the side, patted the other party's head gently, and counted it with a smile.

"Me?" Zhou Qu was stunned, and then his eyes widened, "May I ask?" Even if you don't worship under the Mo family? ”

"Call you stupid, you're really stupid? Yong Zhao promised to provide gunpowder shells and mines to the Shuo Fang army, and also arranged for you to go all the way with the teaching group, what do you mean? Luo Huaizu rolled his eyelids and continued to count with a smile, "As for how to make it, since he gave this thing to Shuo Fangjun, next, Yong Zhao will definitely hand over the manufacturing method to the imperial court just like he did with the fire dragon car and alcohol." You don't have to learn, you don't even know how to build it! ”

"Juniors, juniors understand!" Zhou Qujian blinked his eyes for a long time before he finally understood Luo Huaizu's words, and after a while, he surrendered his hand convincingly, "Thank you for your guidance, the younger generation must study hard and never disappoint Zhang Zhenshou's expectations." ”

"How to use mines and gunpowder bullets, you and your brothers can ask the people of the teaching group at any time. The reason why they are called the teaching regiment is that they have learned their skills first, and then they will pass them on to the whole army. Luo Huaizu was in a happy mood these days, and said with a smile, "As for the grenade, this thing is too dangerous, and it has not yet begun to be used on a large scale in the army." If you want to learn, I can teach you, but, let's say in advance, if you blow yourself up, you can't blame me. ”

"Thank you, Uncle Shi, the younger generation wants to learn!" The more Zhou Qujian listened, the happier he became, and he gave up his hand again and again, "If you dance with a knife and use a gun, you will inevitably hurt yourself." The juniors are not afraid, even if the juniors really blow themselves up, they promise not to blame anyone! ”

"Okay, I'll find you a group of brothers in the teaching group, and let him start teaching you on the way. You've used gunpowder bullets before, and there's not much difference in usage from those now. Landmines are also very simple and can be learned by almost any fool. Luo Huaizu admired the other party's ability, smiled and promised, "Let's escort the baggage, anyway, we can't go fast." You choose the clever ones from among your brothers, and learn as you go. When I arrived at the city of Talas, I guess I had already learned it, and I was just able to practice with the enemy! ”

"Thank you!" Zhou Qu was overjoyed, sat up straight on horseback, and saluted Luo Huaizu respectfully. Immediately, more than 50 people with nimble minds and quick hands and feet were selected from among the brothers under his command, and let them take the lead in learning how to use new weapons.

And Luo Huaizu, on his part, also did what he said, and immediately transferred the first brigade and one team of the teaching regiment out, and passed on the art to the brothers under the command of Zhou Quji. One of the two sides studied carefully, and the other taught carefully, and when they camped every day, they also set up catapults to use stones to carry out "actual combat", so it only took three days for Zhou Quji and the brothers he selected to master the basic operation of gunpowder bullets and mines.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the two regiments of brethren finally came to the city of Danros. I saw that this city was tall and majestic, and it was not inferior to Qiuzi, the first male city in Anxi. Although the enemy towers and Tibetan platforms and other defensive facilities at the head of the city have been blown up by the main force of the Tang Army with gunpowder shells, the defenders still have not collapsed, and whenever the smoke of gunpowder begins to fade, a large number of soldiers will rush to the head of the city along the horse road in the city, pick up horned bows and hard crossbows, and shoot desperately outside the city.

Although because of the long distance, feather arrows and crossbow arrows are difficult to pose a threat to the Tang army. However, the willpower and courage of the defenders were astonishing. Compared to them, those stone army generals who were in Kulan City before were simply a group of grass thieves and rogues. Even those Shi Guo generals who were defeated in the Tang Dynasty can hardly make people believe that they were once in a group.

"Yihu is not in the city, or did the king of Shiguo send him reinforcements?" Luo Huaizu saw that his heart was full of suspicions, and he grabbed Ren Wu, who came to greet him and Zhou Qujian into the camp, and couldn't wait to ask.

"There are no reinforcements. Yihu was a vicious man, spreading rumors in the city that if we broke the city, we would rob everyone in Talas of their possessions in order to pay off the debt he was forced to admit in the first place. If we rob everyone of their possessions, and it is not enough to cover the bills, we will pull all the men to be slaves, and all the women to the passing caravans. Ren Wu pursed his lips and responded angrily.

"Didn't we let a large number of people go back with the ransom fee of twenty hangings for one person before? It was impossible for them not to tell the people of the city about the good treatment of the captives. Luo Huaizu's face turned blue when he heard this, and he gritted his teeth to remind.

"People are soft-spoken!" Ren Wu grinned and shook his head helplessly. "It's different here than anywhere else. According to our detailed report, all the people who Yihu took with him at the beginning were officials and wealthy and powerful people in their families. And those who stay and don't want to choose all have no backing. Therefore, the only thing that the prisoners we released could say was believed by his family. And Yihu's lies have countless leading figures testify to him. And after the lie has been repeated many times, it overshadows the truth. ”

"Grandma's, it's shameless!" Zhou Qujian was depressed when he heard it, and couldn't help but scold beside him.

"Where is this? There are even more shameless things! Ren Wu shrugged his shoulders and put on a look of surprise, "Do you remember that there is a big food preacher, he has several accomplices, and now he lives in the city. According to the news that Xizuo was desperately sent out of the city, these people did not dare to participate in the war themselves, but mobilized many believers to help defend the city. And those believers, who think that after death, they can go to heaven to enjoy the wealth that is not available on earth, so they are all like crazy people, blowing up one batch and coming up another! ”

"Damn it!" Luo Huaizu was furious, and his palm instinctively pressed the scale on his waist.

As the head of Qi Mo, he is all too familiar with the deception of believers to send them to death. It's just that he used to fool others to die, but he always felt a little guilty in his heart. So if you can not use this trick, try not to use it. And those big cannibals in the city treat all the believers as consumables!

"In addition to blowing up with gunpowder bombs, does Zhang Zhenshou have any other way to break the city? The walls of Talas are so high, and they must not be bad in thickness. No matter how powerful the gunpowder bullet is, if you want to blow up a gap, I'm afraid it will take ten days and half a month. The premise is that the defenders in the city do not make any repairs! Zhou Qujian also heard it with a big head, and couldn't help but interject next to him again.

"We just arrived this morning, and Yihu didn't dare to send troops out to meet us. Therefore, the enemy and the enemy are still in the tentative stage. The town guard didn't expect a few random blows to scare the defenders' morale like last time! Ren Wu thought for a moment and shook his head slightly, "How to break the city, the town guard envoy is discussing with Captain Zhou in the Chinese army." ”

As soon as the words fell, there was a sudden hoarse cry from the city in the distance. The three of them turned their heads to look at each other, only to see that there were faintly hundreds of people, escorted by a group of soldiers with knives and spears, and sent to the city wall facing the Tang army and the horses on the left and right sides. The horse's face and the Shi Guo soldiers on the city wall quickly got up and moved backwards, and in the blink of an eye, they were mixed with this group of people, and it was no longer possible to distinguish each other.

"What's going on? Yihu is crazy and stakes his own people to block gunpowder bullets for the soldiers?! The distance was too far, Luo Huaizu couldn't see the specific appearance and dress of the people in the city, but an inexplicable feeling of irritability surged in his heart, and he frowned and asked in a low voice.

"I can't see clearly, I need a telescope!" Ren Wu frowned and responded softly.

"Come on, bring the old man's telescope!" Luo Huaizu listened to his words, immediately had an idea, turned his head, and shouted orders at his own soldiers.

"Yes!" The soldier agreed, took out a cowhide bag from the back of the horse, and was about to take out the telescope and send it to Luo Huaizu. In my ears, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves. Immediately after, he saw several scouts galloping back from under the city of Talas, and anger was written on everyone's face.

"What's going on? What tricks is Yihu playing? Luo Huaizu was in a detached position, first waved his hand to his own soldiers, and then instigated his mount to meet a scout, and asked in a loud voice.

"Beast, Yihu is a beast!" The scout's eyes were red, and his voice trembled with rage, "He didn't know where to catch a group of Tang people, and they were all taken to the city wall. He, he said let us blow it up casually, blow up a batch, and he will replace a batch of Tang people! ”