"Qiyu town guard, Shiguo people have killed Qianquan Pass. The night before yesterday, he attacked the fort of Ajibula. The other tribes surnamed Shi Hei couldn't resist it, and were migrating in the direction of Broken Leaves. When Zhang Qian rushed to the main hall of the town guard with a stomach full of confusion, Zhang Bao, who served as the captain of the city gate, also arrived, sweating profusely and panting to report.

"Shi Guoren? Invasion of the Tang Dynasty? Can you send a scout to make sure, where is Tutun Ilyich from the Black Tribe? Can a messenger be sent for help? Zhang Qian paused, and it took a little effort to be sure that he had indeed heard correctly, and blurted out a series of questioning words.

"The scouts just sent out. The current news was all sent back by the scouts who were patrolling fifty miles west of Broken Leaf today. Zhang Bao raised his hand to wipe a handful of sweat and continued to report in a low voice. According to the Turgish who fled to the vicinity of Broken Leaf first, Ilyich Tutun was captured alive by the soldiers and horses of the Shi Kingdom. The messenger for help didn't arrive, so he didn't have time to send the messenger. But all the beacons along the way were lit, so it shouldn't be a false alarm. ”

"Close the gates of the city quickly, refuse to enter the Turks, and beware of Ilyich's evil intentions!" Luo Huaizu has always been stingy in guessing people's hearts in the worst direction, and without waiting for Zhang Bao's words to fall, he decisively reminded him next to him.

Zhang Qian frowned, and selectively accepted, "Someone comes, pass on the commander's order, and strictly guard against it at the city gate." The identity of those entering the city was verified, and no one was allowed to enter with weapons except for the soldiers of the Broken Leaf Army. If there are Turkish herdsmen fleeing from the west, lead them around the broken leaves and take refuge near Yezhi City! ”

Immediately, a pro-soldier agreed, stepped forward to take the order arrow, and went to deliver the order. Zhang Qianmu sent his soldiers away, and tapped his fingers on the table in annoyance.

War came without warning. It stands to reason that Shi Guo's invasion of Anxi should have chosen the time when the four towns of Anxi were stirred into a pot of porridge by Suo Ge last year, not now.

At that time, the Tang army in the four towns of Anxi had no time to take care of anything else. In the name of the Tang Dynasty, Shi Guo attacked Suoge's back road and cut some territory. After that, Datang was embarrassed and would definitely not be able to ask it to be returned. And now, when Shi Guoming knew that Broken Leaf had returned to Datang, he would send troops across the border on a large scale, which would be equivalent to an undeclared war with Datang. Where did the king get the confidence that he could break the leaves in a battle, and the Tang Dynasty was unable to launch a counterattack?

In addition, Shi Guo is among the nine surnames of Zhaowu, although it is claimed to be the richest. The reason for its wealth? But because of the country's two major cities? Bakhana and Ju Zhanti are both stuck on the Silk Road? Can it be from the hands of passing caravans? Get access to a steady stream of taxes and various derivative fees. If you snatch the broken leaves, but cut off the Silk Road? For the country, the gains certainly outweigh the losses!

……

"Do you remember? Huang surnamed Tuqi Shi has a little Burke named Sulu? And with his men grazing cattle around there? Having the intention to share Zhang Qian's worries, Ren Wu took half a step forward and reminded in a low voice, "If it's an invasion of the Stone Kingdom?" Attacking the black Turkish? There was no reason why Sulu should not send troops to help. ”

"Hmm!" Zhang Qian agreed in a low voice, but did not discuss with Ren Wu the question of whether Little Boke Sulu would send troops, and continued to frown, thinking hard about the reason and purpose of Shi Guo's attack.

"I'm going to get the map!" Ren Liu's memory is not as good as Ren Wu's, and he took the initiative to run to the study on the side of the Xingyuan main hall.

Outside the main hall of the town guard? There was the sound of messy footsteps. Immediately after, Ren Shang, Guo Chong, Zhang Jin, Ren Wei, Shi Jin and more than a dozen generals who stayed in Broken Leaf City hurriedly entered? first saluted Zhang, and then stood near the handsome case and whispered to each other. Everyone's face? It's all written with confusion.

"How could it be Shiguo?"

"How many soldiers do they have?"

"Mo Helu is ungrateful, he was beaten before? When was it not the Anxi Army that supported him? ”

"Looking for death? There's no such way to find it. Shi Guo doesn't have as many people as a high-class state in our Datang? If Datang wants to destroy it, it won't take much effort at all. ”

"Of the nine surnames of Zhaowu, none of them are known for being good at fighting. It's weird......"

……

Even if everyone broke their heads, they couldn't understand why Shi Guoguo picked up this time to invade the Tang Dynasty? According to the information of the neighboring forces collected by everyone in the past few months, Shi Guo on the other side of the Green Ridge is one of the nine surnames of Zhaowu. It's called a country, but it's actually just a larger tribe. The total number of soldiers and horses in the whole country is only more than 50,000.

And the people of the country are mainly Sogdians. The Sogdians, on the other hand, have always been known for their shrewd business acumen, and have never been associated with the words "brave and good at fighting"!

In the past, Shi Guo had a conflict with Tuqishi, and every time he was beaten by Suo Ge to find his teeth. Now that Suo Ge has been chopped up by the Broken Leaf Army, he doesn't know who gave the Stone Country Tutun Mo He the confidence, and he will definitely be able to win the Broken Leaf Army.

Even if Shi Guo's soldiers and horses were lucky enough to win, how could they not retaliate if they had just secured the Niu Shi Award of the Anxi Metropolitan Protector Mansion? In case the Tang Dynasty moves the true chapter, how can there be another stone country left in the world?

Just when he was puzzled, he saw Ren Liu with two members of the army, and quickly walked out of the study, and hung a large map on the wall with his hands and feet.

Most of the locations of cities, villages, mountains, rivers, and grasslands on the map were collected by Zhang Qianren from the mouths of traders, and the accuracy was worrying. However, this is already the most complete and accurate map of the entire Western Regions, far better than the previous people who relied on the oral description of the guide and painted blindly on the sheepskin.

Everyone stopped talking and turned their eyes to Yutu in unison. It can be roughly seen from the map that Ashbulaibao is about two distances from Broken Leaf City to Broken Leaf City. If according to the normal way of fighting, the soldiers are very fast, and after the soldiers of the Shi Kingdom take Ashi Burai Fort, in order to ensure the suddenness of the attack, they will definitely set off immediately, follow the black surnamed Tuqi Shi herdsmen, and pounce on the broken leaves. And according to the normal advance speed of the cavalry, at the latest early the day after tomorrow, its vanguard will be killed under Shattered Leaf City!

Broken Leaf City is about 750 miles away from Shule, the nearest road. The shortest road from Broken Leaf City to Qiuzi is more than 1,400 miles. Even if a messenger is sent to ask Guo Hong and Niu Shiyu for help now, the arrival time of the first support army will be half a month later.

In other words, no matter how many soldiers and horses Shi Guo invaded Anxi this time? Regardless of the reason for the invasion and what is the purpose of the invasion? For the next half month, the Broken Leaf Army had to face it alone. And the military tun and mintian outside the city of Broken Leaves have just begun to grow new seedlings. The workshops along the Shiba River have also just begun to produce output, and they are far from recovering their costs.

"All of them, listen to my orders!" Zhang Qian couldn't understand why Shi Guo wanted to raise troops to attack. However, he didn't have more time to think about it, and after a few rough glances at the map, he stopped thinking and began to adjust the deployment, "From now on, the Broken Leaf Battalion and the Fine Willow Battalion, all the soldiers will return to the team. For each regiment of the Broken Leaf Battalion, one brigade leader and three team leaders were assigned to the Hosoliu battalion to serve as captains and brigade leaders. The vacant positions are recommended by the captain of the regiment to be brave and good at fighting and able to serve the public, and the list is handed over to the town guard yamen, and the list is immediately filled after the approval of the commander. Ren Five, you are responsible for collecting the list and reporting it tonight. ”

"Yes!" All the generals bowed their hands and agreed in unison.

As officers, not only did they receive a much higher salary than other places, but each of them was given hundreds of acres of land under their names, and the town guarded the military cantonment of the yamen and hired someone to take care of it for them. Therefore, to guard the broken leaves is to guard one's own property. There's no reason why they shouldn't do their best.

"Ren Liu, you take a hundred scouts, set off immediately, and occupy the Yellow Leaf Gang a hundred miles away from Broken Leaf City. If you encounter an Elder Turgish or Burke who has fled, send them to Broken Leaf to meet me. If you encounter the advance of Shiguo, you don't have to fight, immediately abandon Huangyegang and withdraw to the city. Nodding at the generals with satisfaction, Zhang Qian grabbed the first arrow and handed it to Ren Liu, the captain who had followed him the longest.

"Yes!" Ren Liu felt honored, yelled and took the arrow, turned around and left.

Zhang Qian knew that he was cautious and would never take risks with his brothers easily, so he watched him leave with confidence. Immediately, he grabbed the second arrow, "Secretary Luo, the teaching group will be handed over to you." From today onwards, you will patrol all the streets and alleys of the city with your teaching group to prevent any enemy country from infiltrating the city and taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos. If you find someone with a bad intention, you will take it down on the spot. If the other party dares to resist, shoot and kill! ”

"Yes!" Luo Huaizu agreed in a deep voice, and stepped forward to take the arrow. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were as cold as ice.

"Shi Jin, you lead the rest of the brothers in your headquarters to protect the workshops and tuntian outside the city, so that no one will take the opportunity to destroy them." Unexpectedly, the third arrow, Zhang Qian handed over to a captain surnamed Shi who was originally from Shule, and had great trust in his ability, "If Ren Liu withdraws from Huangyegang, you will immediately burn down the workshop, and then lead your brothers across the river to occupy the Kadan Mountain on the north bank of the river." If the stone kingdom is besieging the city, you will look for an opportunity to make a detour behind it so that it cannot safely transport supplies! ”

"Yes! The town guard envoy, his subordinates will not disgrace their lives! Shi Jin, who was suddenly reused, blushed and swore loudly, lest the people around him not hear him.

Several officers who were also from Shule turned their heads to look at him, their eyes full of envy. At the same time, everyone's heart suddenly felt a sense of relief.

The town guard didn't look at everyone differently. In addition to the surnames Ren and Guo, those of them who follow a little later can also get a chance to get ahead.

Zhang Qian didn't have time to pay attention to the reaction of the generals, took a deep breath, and once again reached for the fourth arrow, "Ren Shang, Guo Chong, Zhang Jin, the three of you, after each completing the task of selecting and recommending the regiment, reorganize the troops and take turns patrolling the city. At the same time, check the city defense facilities and make up for the omissions in time! ”

"Yes!" The three generals who were named agreed in unison, and everyone felt the heaviness before the big war.

There are only 6,500 soldiers and horses in Broken Leaf Town, and 3,000 of them are recruits who have just completed their training. And the 3,500 veterans, after they were scattered to one regiment each in Yezhi, Helie, Frozen City, Dunduo, and Xingumo, there were less than 2,000 people left in Broken Leaf City. In a hasty confrontation with the enemy, it is difficult to predict the outcome or defeat.

"Ren Wei, from now on, you will be the commander of the Xiliu Battalion." Taking another deep breath, Zhang Qian grabbed the next arrow, "There is no commander in the Xiliu Battalion, and the town guard is directly under the jurisdiction." You are responsible for summoning the brethren of the Hosoyanagi camp for the town guard. ”

"Yes!" Ren Wei opened his throat and yelled, his voice full of pride.

"Ren Zhi, you are responsible for ......"

"Guo Liang, you are responsible for ......"

Zhang Qian grabbed the remaining arrows and passed them down one by one. Regardless of whether they are doing useless work or not, just let the soldiers under his command have something to do, so as not to panic.

This battle, whether it came suddenly or not, he had to win it first. Otherwise, not only the previous hard work in Shattered Leaf City will be ruined. Many of his own arrangements for the future are bound to be devastated.

His time is running out, as long as Li Xian dies, many forces will lose their restraint in an instant. If he doesn't have enough strength to protect himself by then, all his expectations for the future are destined to become a dream.

"Report, town guard, Huang surnamed Huang has fled back with a cavalry of Shibok Sulu, and I ask to meet you outside the door and report the enemy!" Outside the door of the main hall, a shout suddenly came. Immediately after, the brigade leader Ren Tong appeared in front of everyone sweating profusely.

"Let him in!" Zhang Qian frowned and commanded in a deep voice. The rest of the generals who had not yet retreated all turned their heads to the door, their hands pressed on the hilt of their knives, and their eyes were full of vigilance.

Huang's surname is Little Boke Sulu, who was originally a close confidant of Suoge. Last winter, he was ordered by Suo Ge to block the Bodaling Pass and block the pursuit of the Niu Shi Award, so he didn't fight with the Broken Leaf Army. After Zhang Qianxue attacked Yezhi City at night and cut off Suo Ge's head, this person decisively chose to surrender with the elders of the Tuqi Shi Department surnamed Huang, and handed over Dunduo City near the Bodaling Pass to the Broken Leaf Army "peacefully", so he was pardoned for all his crimes, not only saved his family property and life, but also saved nearly 1,000 troops under his command.

Zhang Qian's manpower was insufficient, so for Ashi Burabao, this kind of fort near the border, he did not send troops and horses to station, and still handed over to the control of the Black Raider Shi Bei Division, but in order to prevent the Black Raider Horse Stirun Ilyich from taking the opportunity to become bigger, he specially arranged the troops and subordinates under the command of Sulu to recuperate in the alpine pasture near Ashbroi Fort.

Today, the soldiers and horses of the Shi Kingdom invaded, and the black Turk surnamed Shi Tutun Ilyich who lived in the fortress was defeated and captured, and the little Burke Sulu who did not have the fortress to rely on fled back to Broken Leaf City with all his beards and tails, it is really hard not to make people wonder, this person and the Shi Country side, will there be a secret communication?!

"Report, the last general Huang Sulu, meet the marshal!" The little Burke Sulu also knew that his identity was embarrassing. He took the initiative to hand over his weapons and followed Zhang Qian's personal soldiers to report to the door. Immediately, he raised his hands, trotted forward a few steps, knelt in front of the handsome case with a "poof", and cried loudly, "Dashuai, the last general has failed your kindness and the whole army has been wiped out." The last general specially came to lead the death, and asked the commander to cut off the head of the last general to boost the army's prestige! Woohoo, woohoo, woo......"

"Annihilation?" Zhang Qian held the table with both hands, leaned forward, and his eyes were wide and round. In an instant, it was as if I had traveled back to the 21st century, sitting under the stage watching a third-rate actor give a crappy performance.

However, the bloody breath coming from his nostrils clearly told him that Sulu was not performing. The other party's broken armor and bleeding wounds also clearly told him that this person had indeed experienced a bloody battle before he barely escaped from life.

"The last general is incompetent, and he is on the throne of the people of Shiguo, and he is surrounded by them. Thanks to the brothers around him, he fought to the death, and he was able to fight a bloody way. The last general, the last general should have committed suicide to apologize, but he was afraid that he would die, and no one would come to report the military situation to the commander, so he cheekily fled back to Broken Leaf City! Little Burke Sulu's crying continued to come from under his feet, and every sentence was full of grievances.

"Come, help him up, stand and speak." Zhang Qian calmed down, drove the absurd thoughts out of his mind, and then commanded in a deep voice.

Several lieutenants who remained in the main hall stepped forward to hold Sulu's arm and lifted her up vigorously. At the same time, use your eyes to quickly check if the wound on the person's body is real. lest this person use a bitter trick to deceive everyone.

And the little Berksulu, while struggling, continued to cry: "Great handsome, it is not a pity to die at the end." Please also ask the commander to send troops to save my people. Since they returned to the Great Marshal, they have been Tang people wholeheartedly, and they have never thought of following other khans! ”

That's because the marshal collects low taxes, and he also teaches you to shear sheep and beat wool yarn for money! Ren Kai, Guo Cheng and other generals muttered in their hearts, but they increased their strength in their hands and forcibly set up Little Berksulu.

"I remember that you have seven or eight hundred brothers under your command, and if you add the herdsmen, it should be no less than three thousand." Zhang Qian waved his hand and motioned for everyone to let Sulu go. Then, in a soft voice, he asked, "Why did you lose all of your money in the first battle?" What about Ilyich, do you have any news of him? ”

"Yes, it was Ilyich's idiot who fell for the people of the Shi Kingdom first, and then dragged down his subordinates, and also fell into the ambush of the soldiers and horses of the Shi Kingdom!" Little Boke Sulu raised his hand to wipe a handful of tears, choked up and explained, "He is greedy for money, no matter how many people there are in the caravan in the past, as long as he gives money, he will let the other party enter Ashibulai Fort for the night, as a result, Mohe Tutun's younger brother Yihu disguised more than 200 warriors as the caravan's guards and mixed into Ashibulai Fort." Then in the night, he suddenly attacked, and he directly captured Ilyich alive and ......"

It's no wonder that Suo Ge admired this person before his death, and this guy's eloquence is indeed quite good. While talking, he cried, and soon reported the course of the battle clearly. By the way, all the responsibility for the defeat was put on the black Turk Warrior Shi Tutun Ilyich.

It turned out that the army of the Stone Kingdom, under the command of its younger brother Yihu, first sent the dead soldiers to disguise themselves as merchant retinues and infiltrated the Ashibulai Fort. Then he came to the city and killed the black surnamed Tuqi Shi by surprise.

Tutun Ilyich, who was surnamed Black and fearful of death, was captured by the Shi army, and surrendered to the Shi Kingdom. And while sending henchmen to Sulu for help, he secretly pointed out the location of Sulu's resting place. As a result, Su Lunian went to the rescue in the starry night for the sake of his fellow clan, but fell headlong into the trap laid by Shi Guo. Immediately after, the resting place was also attacked, and wolf smoke billowed from it.

Sulu led his warriors to fight desperately, only to find smoke rising from the direction of the resting place. Suddenly, the morale of the army was in turmoil. Thanks to his martial arts, and a group of samurai around him who had been through a hundred battles, they sacrificed their lives to fight out of the encirclement and came to Broken Leaf to report the enemy's situation.

"Damn! Ilyich, if he surrenders, he surrenders, and he still wants to frame his fellow clansmen! Ren Kai was filled with righteous indignation when he heard this, frowning and scolding in a low voice. He was not afraid, and those innocent Turgish who died in vain went to him in the middle of the night to settle accounts. ”

"This guy is so greedy for money, and he deserves to be killed. It's a pity for those sons and daughters under Sulu! Ren Cheng's face was full of sympathy, and he was watching and discussing in a low voice.

The captain is the fifth, but he is more competent than both of them. Putting aside the righteousness of those rivers and lakes, he grabbed Sulu's arm and asked in a deep voice: "Since you have been surrounded by Shi Guo's soldiers and horses, you should know how many soldiers and horses Shi Guo dispatched this time, and who is the main general of the army?" ”

"Shiguo dispatched eight thousand, no, ten thousand, no, at most, fifteen thousand soldiers and horses." Su Lu secretly glanced at Zhang Qian, and made sure that the other party did not take the opportunity to get rid of his intentions, so he responded loudly, "Fifteen thousand at most, no more." The leader was the younger brother Yihu of Shiguo Mohe Tutun. ”

"Fifteen thousand?" Everyone present, including Zhang Qian, couldn't believe their ears, and blurted out the questioning words, "You see clearly, Shi Guo only has 15,000 soldiers and horses?" ”

"Isn't it that there are only 15,000 soldiers and horses surrounding you, and the rest of the soldiers and horses are not nearby?"

"Sulu, don't you also learn from that Ilyich, surrender the stone country, and then trick the marshal into being fooled?"

"Sulu, if you have bad intentions......"

……

"I can swear, swear to God!" Little Burke Sulu was in a hurry, raised his palms, and cursed loudly, "If I have half a lie, let me immortal heaven send thunder to kill me!" The white wolf god cursed me, and the maggots gnawed at my bones, so that I could not return to the embrace of immortality after death! ”

"You don't have to swear!" Zhang Qian's brows tightened, and he shouted in a low voice, "You just need to tell me how the soldiers and horses of the Shi Kingdom are, how effective they are, and the situation of the enemy's main general." There is no need to deliberately belittle or exaggerate. ”

"The soldiers and horses of the Stone Kingdom are far inferior in combat effectiveness to the Tucai warriors. If it weren't for the fact that I fell into a heavy siege and was copied by them in the old camp, which caused chaos in the hearts of the army, I might not have been able to take my brothers out to kill them! Sulu gratefully arched his hand to Zhang Qian and replied in a loud voice.

Immediately, he hesitated for a moment and continued to report loudly, "As for the number of soldiers and horses, I was afraid of misleading the commander just now, so I deliberately said more." It shouldn't even be eight thousand. There were only four or five thousand people around me. I was afraid that they would have another team, so I doubled it. Nayihu was the younger brother of Mohedututun, and was stationed in Talas on the orders of his father during his lifetime. If he had more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, when his father died last year, he would definitely immediately raise troops to compete with Mo Hedu for the throne, and it was impossible for him to be willing to succumb to Mo Hedu! ”

"Less than 20,000 soldiers and horses, and you want to swallow broken leaves? Is that Yihu crazy? ”

"Dashuai, be careful of deception!"

"Sulu, who did you listen to that Yihu and Mo Helu are at odds. Without Mo Hedu's support, would he dare to provoke a war between the two countries without authorization? ”

……

The generals present spoke again one after another. No one could believe that anyone could be so bold. With only more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, they came to pick up the tiger whiskers of the Tang Dynasty.

Only Zhang Qian, suddenly his heart was clear.

As a former liberal arts student, no matter how bad he was in history, he would never have heard of the place name "Talas". In particular, this place name is associated with Shiguo, which has the surname of Zhaowu Jiu.

On the eve of the Anshi Rebellion in another time and space, it was Shi Guo who committed the crime and took the initiative to provoke the war, and then Gao Xianzhi was sent by Gao Xianzhi to fight all over the ground by the four towns of Anxi. Immediately, the prince of Shi attracted the big food soldiers and horses "in time", so that tens of thousands of Anxi soldiers hated the city of Talas.

This time and space, again! It's just that the prince has been replaced by the prince's brother!