"The question is, what can I do to persuade Guo Yuanzhen to take the initiative to cooperate with the Niu Shi Award that was originally under him?" Distracted for a while, the force of brushing his teeth was slightly greater, the toothbrush scratched the gums, and Zhang Qian's mouth immediately had a strong taste of blood. The refined salt then seeped into the wound, causing him to frown in pain.

Toothbrushes and refined salt, all made by the Guo family's workshops, have basically reached the limit of technology in this era. However, compared with the toothbrushes of later generations, the comfort and safety are more than a little bit worse.

When Zhang Qianqian was in Chang'an, he had repeatedly tried to improve his dental tools, but could not do anything. The role that mobile phones play in his life has, unconsciously, become smaller and smaller. The database in the phone is all-encompassing, but it doesn't include as little technology as how a toothbrush is made. Similarly, before leaving, he had risked the battery failure and looked through the information in his mobile phone for many days, but he didn't get anything about the conflict that occurred in the Western Regions in the second year of Jinglong!

Compared with the historical events that happened in Chang'an City, the conflict that occurred in the Western Regions was too insignificant. Therefore, it is not worth paying too much attention to later generations of scholars. Without understanding the process and outcome of this conflict, Zhang Qian could not do things with hindsight. It is even more impossible to find the joint node of the matter, to follow the trend, or to change its direction.

At present, if he wants to solve the problem, he can only rely on his own wisdom and ability to collect all the information that can be collected, find the part of each party involved, and peel off the cocoon. Then try to put yourself in the other person's shoes, judge the problem, and make various choices. Then compare them with each other and pick out the biggest one of them.

However, without the Internet in Datang, it is impossible to "search for information". Therefore, up to now, he has no clue how to deal with Suo Ge between Zhou Yiyi, Guo Yuanzhen, and Niu Shixue.

He only learned that Guo Yuanzhen, the chief of Jinshan Dao, was good at soothing the people, and was deeply supported by the leaders of the Turks, the Great and Small Bolu, the Gelulu, and even the leaders of the Western Turks, and even the great cannibals who were eyeing the west of the Green Ridge, and he was also extremely respectful. And Zhou Yiyi's jurisdiction is actually still behind Guo Yuanzhen, closer to Chang'an.

"Although Suo Ge's banner is to only seek revenge from Zhou Yiyi and A Shi Na Zhongjie, not against the Tang Dynasty. However, if Khotan and Gumo were controlled by him for a long time, he would be able to cut the connection between Jinshan Road and Chang'an at any time. A flash of inspiration suddenly occurred in his mind, Zhang Qianleng paused, and the hand stretched out to the basin quickly paused.

He seemed to understand a little why Guo Yuanzhen always insisted on recruiting An Suoge instead of exterminating it. At present, with his personal friendship with Suo Ge, the Jinshan Army cannot be regarded as a lone army. And in case the imperial court's soldiers and horses were unfavorable for the conquest of Suoge, or if there was a long time of melee, the supplies from the Central Plains would no longer be able to reach Shule safely. At that time, his Jinshan Army will have to face attacks from both the Great Cannibal and Suo Ge at the same time, and there is a risk of annihilation at any time.

However, in doing so, in addition to encouraging rebellion, Jinshan Dao was inevitably subject to Suoge. With Guo Yuanzhen's years of experience in leading the army, it should not be difficult to see this. Therefore, if you want to persuade Guo Yuanzhen to agree to send troops to cooperate with the Niu Shi Award, you must not start from the overall situation, but let him see clearly that Suo Ge's wolf ambitions are ......

"Knock knock, knock knock, knock knock, knock knock......" Before Zhang could sort out a general idea in this direction, a low sound of war drums was already heard outside the military tent. The water in the basin rippled.

The Chinese army beats the drums and gathers the generals! After the captain and above heard the sound of the drum, they must rush to the central military tent within half an hour, and those who violate the military law will be dealt with. Traveling with the army, Zhang Qian remembered the most and most clearly all kinds of rules. So he didn't dare to slack off, so he immediately wiped his face with a towel dipped in cold water, and then ran towards the Chinese army with his robe and leather crown.

While running, he wore it, and when people ran to the door of the Chinese military tent, the outer robe and leather crown were also neatly dressed. Zuo Xiaowei's generals and generals arrived one step ahead of him, and when they saw that their marching commander Shi was running out of breath, a knowing smile immediately appeared on his face.

As the old team under the Niu Shi Award, in their actions, they instinctively rejected Zhang Qian, the marching chief who was forcibly stuffed by the imperial court. However, deep down, they didn't think that Zhang Qian, the marching chief, was so annoying.

The reason is very simple, first of all, Zhang Qian is likable, he never behaves and speaks, and even thinks of himself as a junior, so it is difficult for everyone to find fault with him from etiquette. Secondly, Zhang Qian is bold and generous, and wherever there is a need for everyone's help, he will definitely give rich rewards in the future. Once, after answering his question, someone in [Biqu Island www.biqudao.xyz] asked him for the Shining Star Armor in a tentative manner, but he didn't even wrinkle his eyebrows, and even gave him a whole set of armor with a helmet and leggings.

Again, Zhang Qian doesn't like to meddle in things. Since I became a marching chief, most of the time I have been learning from everyone, asking for advice, and I definitely don't pretend to understand what I don't understand, and I don't like to point fingers.

And also......

In short, compared with many advantages, Zhang is a potential military layman, and the generals and colonels don't care too much. The expedition of the army, the imperial court sent a supervisor or marching chief Shi to accompany him, which is the practice since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Instead of asking the imperial court to send an old guy who knows everything, but has his nostrils facing the sky and pointing fingers everywhere, it is really better for Zhang Shaojian to be an easy-going layman, at least, he will not deliberately cause trouble for everyone.

"Okay, the people have arrived, hang the map!" The Niu Shi Award's view of Zhang Qian is now more appreciated than rejected. First nodded at him kindly, and then commanded loudly.

"Yes!" Several Chinese soldiers joined the army and agreed, and quickly pulled up the cowhide map with a rope, and in an instant, a few crooked black lines and several red dots clearly fell into everyone's eyes.

It is a map of the whole province of Longyou, including all strategic points from sandbanks to the Aral Sea. It even includes the Kunxu, Shufeng, and Persian prefectures, which have long been lost.

Compared with the high-precision maps of tens of millions of later generations, the map painted on cowhide in front of me can only be regarded as a child's graffiti. However, with the recent supplementation of the geographical knowledge of the Western Regions, Zhang Qian still easily distinguished the locations of Yumen Pass, Shule, Xiaye, Qiuzi, Khotan, Boxian and other cities on the map, as well as the medicine killing water, Wuhu water and Chihe! (Note: Medicine kills water, now known as Hill River.) It originates in the Tien Shan Mountains and flows into the Aral Sea. The Red River, now known as the Tarim River. ）

All the cities are located by the river. Every diversion of a river inevitably leads to the demise of a city, or even a small nation. The Tang Dynasty and the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions, and even the war with the Great Cannibals, all revolved around these rivers. To control a river is to control all the cities and oases along the river, as well as all the tribes that live on the oases.

Sixteen years ago, the Tang Dynasty successively lost control of the Yaozhishui and Wuhu water basins, so on the map, the Yuezhi Protectorate and the Dawan Governor's Mansion, like the Writing Feng and Persian Governor's Mansions, were also painted gray. The original Anxi Governor's Mansion was moved from the Yaozhishui River Basin to the Chihe River Basin.

The famous four towns of Anxi are very far from each other. Among them, Shule and Qiuci are close to the main trunk of the Chi River, while Khotan is located on a tributary of the Chi River, near the Tianshan Mountains. The town of Broken Leaves, which Datang has just lost, has the most advantageous geographical conditions, next to it is Broken Leaf Lake (Issyk-Kul Lake), and there is also a Broken Leaf River, which flows from the north, continuously injecting living water into Broken Leaf Lake.

Judging from the map, the contradiction between Guo Yuanzhen and Zhou Yiyi is becoming clearer. A few months ago, Zhou Yiyi's army defeated Broken Leaf City, but he did not lead the remnants of the army to move closer to Shule, which was closer to Broken Leaf. Instead, along the tributaries of the Chihe River, he retreated thousands of miles to the south, first went to Khotan to hold on, and then retreated from Khotan to Boxian. (Note: Sowing immortals, that is, the end of the city)

"Good news, Zhou Yiyi, the general of the Right Weiwei, together with Ashina Zhongjie, recaptured Khotan seven days ago and opened up the connection with Shule!" The voice of the Niu Shi Award came from behind the handsome case again. In an instant, there were bursts of cheers.

Zuo Xiaowei's generals danced happily. They all felt that Zhou Yiyi's counterattack was relieved and timely. When Suo Ge found out, he might not be able to deal with just a right guard. At this moment, Zuo Xiaowei also rushed to Anxi, and Suo Ge would naturally carefully weigh whether to continue to fight and bring about his own destruction, or accept the "mediation" of the imperial court, and accept it when he sees it.

In addition, the small tribes in the Chihe River valley have always stood on the side of the victors. After Suo Ge suffered this defeat, various tribes would definitely compete to show favor to the Tang Dynasty again. For Zuo Xiaowei, this means more timely news, more adequate supplies and a smoother march, how can everyone not be happy?

"Today, I will call you and wait, the old man wants to say two things!" Niu Shi Award is a veteran general, and he has long been able to avoid being swayed by external news. He pressed his hand down, and continued to announce in a loud voice, "Ben Shuai has decided to take the road and the end of the river first, and rush to Khotan." Although the purpose of this trip was to mediate the conflict between Suo Ge and Ashina Zhongjie, it was only possible to mediate after Suo Ge took the initiative to retreat to Broken Leaves. Otherwise, it will only encourage Suo Ge's arrogance and make him more and more arrogant! ”

"Handsome and wise!"

"Let's talk about it first, it hurts him, naturally we can talk about something!"

"Barbarians are afraid of power but not virtuous. Offering mediation now is tantamount to showing weakness! ”

"Although the Ashi Nazhong Festival is not a good thing, at least for the time being, I am respectful to Datang."

"Although the marshal gives the order, I don't dare to disobey!"

……

In an instant, the sound of response resounded through the Chinese army. The generals are gearing up, and they wish they could rush to the battlefield as soon as possible and give Suo Ge a blow to the head.

"Second thing!" Niu Shi Award pressed his hand down again, and added with a smile, "I carried a lot of baggage on this trip, which is enough for my Zuo Xiaowei to use for a whole year." The soldiers are fast, and if the commander wants to support Zhou Yiyi, he must not be able to carry so much baggage. Therefore, someone needs to carry most of the baggage, take the Calamus Sea, and go along the Chihe River to Qiuzi. And together with Chang Shuxin, the general of the turtle, beware of the dog jumping off the wall in a hurry! ”

The response in the tent of the Chinese army immediately disappeared. Everyone turned their attention to Zhang Qian, hoping that he would take the initiative to ask Ying to take the task of escorting the baggage to Qiuzi.

"The general manager, Zhang is not familiar with military affairs, and he can't help when he goes to Khotan, and he is willing to escort supplies for everyone!" Zhang Qian was not originally a person who liked to grab merit, so he stood up with a smile and asked for instructions from the Niu Shi Award.

"Since Changshi has a heart, Niu will not be polite to Changshi." Appreciating Zhang Qian's eyesight very much, Niu Shi Award nodded with satisfaction, and grabbed an arrow from the handsome case. However, before he could hand over the arrow to Zhang Qian, outside the tent of the Chinese army, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves. Immediately after, a scout covered in mud stumbled in, "Report, the Grand Governor, the Turkic Chieftain Suoge, and the Turkic General Ashi Na Shulu, join forces to march eastward." A Xiyan said that the two cities of Guluo were lost, and the city of Qiuzi was in danger. General Chang asked the chief manager to send troops to support quickly, otherwise, he would be unable to support himself! ”

In the tent of the Chinese army, there was no sound at once. All the generals looked at the scout in a daze, unable to believe every word they heard!

Only the Niu Shi Award, although his face became extremely ugly, his mind still did not lose his coolness. Quickly walked out from behind the handsome case, picked up the scout with his own hands, and commanded softly: "You speak slowly, speak carefully." The old man will definitely go to the rescue of Qiuzi, but he must understand the specific situation over there. ”

"Suo Ge, I got the full support of the Turkic chieftain Mosi, and I gathered 20,000 cavalry and more than 30,000 servants from various departments, risking death to invade the east." The scout was out of breath, but he tried to describe the situation completely, "Ah Xiyan, there were not many defenders in the two cities, and the Turks in the city took the opportunity to make trouble. Therefore, both cities held out for less than three days before they fell one after another. ”

"What about Chang Shuxin, what did he do? The old man remembered that he still had more than 15,000 people in his hands! Niu Shiyu was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he gritted his teeth and continued to ask.

"General Chang wants to take advantage of Suo Ge's unstable foothold and kill him by surprise." The scout lowered his head, not daring to look at the Niu Shi Award, "Originally, General Chang had already locked the victory, but as a result, the Turkic general A Shi Na Shulu came out from behind with five thousand cavalry. General Chang suffered from the enemy on his back and had to retreat to Qiuzi. Immediately, the Turkish and Turkic coalition forces were killed under the city of Qiuzi! ”

"Damn it!" Niu Shili scolded in a low voice, and he didn't know whether he was scolding Chang Shuxin for his confusion or scolding Suo Ge's shamelessness.

Verbally shouting to find A Shi Na Zhongjie and Zhou Yiyi to take revenge, not betraying the Tang Dynasty. Suo Ge even grabbed the broken leaves, and Khotan was not satisfied, and waved his army to the core of the Anxi Protectorate! Next, what face does Datang still have to "mediate"?

And that Chang Shuxin is also a fool, obviously with 15,000 brothers, it is enough to defend Qiuzi, but he has to go outside the city to fight with Suo Ge. It's good now, the field battle has not been won, and there are not enough soldiers and horses to defend the city!!

"Chief, in Qiuzi City, there are only 5,000 remnants now, and they can't hold it for a few days!" After seeing Niu Shi Award scolding, there was no sound. The scout knelt down again and kowtowed heavily, "The chief manager, Shule, and Khotan can't send any news in either direction!" Boss, it's just you, only you can save the turtles. If you don't go, once the city is broken, more than 100,000 Han men and women in the city will definitely be poisoned! ”

"Help, the old man will lead the army to rescue!" Niu Shiyu gritted his teeth and nodded, his gaze slowly turned to Zhang Qian, and the expression on his face changed.

Since Suo Ge led the army to attack Qiuzi, on the side of Khotan, the leader of the army could not be Suo Ge himself, and the soldiers and horses could not be the main force of Suo Ge. In other words, the reason why Zhou Yiyi was able to recapture Khotan was entirely due to Suo Ge's change of operational direction, rather than the effective operation of the right guard.

However, his previous decision to divide the army into two ways was completely based on being misled by the good news, so he definitely could not continue to implement it. It's just that if he changes his course immediately, Niu Shifei doesn't care about his face, but he must consider the attitude of Zhang Qian, the marching chief.

However, Zhang Qian's performance is far more expert than the Niu Shi Award expects. Not only did he not continue to dwell on the previous decision to divide the troops, but he also took the initiative to propose loudly, "Saving soldiers is like fighting fire, and the chief manager will lead the soldiers to save Qiuzi." In Xiadao, he went to Khotan and Shule, contacted Zhou Yiyi and Guo Yuanzhen, and attacked Gumo and Weitou separately to deter Suoge's back road. Winter came early here, and as long as he persevered through the first snow, Suo Ge had nowhere to take refuge in the wilderness, so there was only one way to retreat. ”

"In this way, there will be a long history of Lao Zhang!" Since he left Chang'an, the Niu Shi Award is the first time, and he sincerely treats Zhang Qian as a colleague, nods, and solemnly surrenders his hand.

The military situation is urgent, and he can no longer be allowed to temporarily transfer personnel from Guah and Sha prefectures. And Zuo Xiaowei's current 10,000 soldiers, fighting with 50,000 Turks and Shi people, have no hope of winning. Therefore, even if he rushes to Qiuzi now, he can only fight into the city and wait for reinforcements.

Therefore, the key to this battle is not Qiuzi, but whether Zhou Yiyi and Guo Yuanzhen can cooperate in time. If Zhou and Guo can take the initiative to attack and disperse half of Suo Ge's troops, then Qiuzi City will be impregnable. And the Turgish tribes have always been poor. This time, he didn't get the capital to attack Qiuzi with Suo Ge, and next time, it will be difficult for Suo Ge to gather so many soldiers and horses to compete with the Tang Army on the battlefield!

"The chief manager has sent many scouts, although the turtle is in danger, but be careful to send reinforcements around the site!" Although Zhang Qian didn't know anything about military affairs, he understood the truth of making mistakes in his busyness, thought about it, and reminded him in a whisper.

Niu Shi Award listened to Zhang Qian's reminder seriously, and then nodded solemnly again, "The old man can save it, and Zhang Changshi should be more careful." Let's go to Puchanghai first, and then you take the end of the river to Khotan, and the old man takes the Chihe River to Qiuzi! ”

Now that the commander and the marching commander Shi have reached an agreement. The rest of the generals, of course, no one will speak out against it. So, everyone worked together and divided the baggage into two parts of different sizes. The small one was carried by the soldiers, and the large one was handed over to Niu Shouyi, the nephew of the Niu Shi Award clan, who led the people to be sent to Luntai City, which was less than two hundred miles away from Qiuzi.

Immediately, the soldiers and horses of all departments quickly straightened their bags, and after using the morning food, they set off. Go to Puchanghai together first, and then divide into two ways!

At this time, Yumen Pass is the old pass, located in the west of the sandbank, on the bank of Xinghubo, only 400 miles away from Puchanghai. The Zuo Xiao guard had enough horses to travel, and without valuing the life of his mount, it only took two and a half days to reach his destination.

Knowing that it would inevitably be intercepted by the Tuqi Shi people in the future, Niu Shiqi did not dare to underestimate the enemy, forcibly suppressed the anxiety in his heart, and ordered everyone to set up camp on the shore of Puchang Sea, and rest for an afternoon plus a night. Immediately, he waved goodbye to Zhang Qian. (Note: Pu Changhai, i.e. Lop Nur.)

"The chief manager doesn't need to be too anxious, when necessary, he can cover the people and retreat to Quli. People are more important than the city, as long as there are people, the city can be taken back sooner or later! Seeing the temples that turned white in two days, Zhang Qian couldn't help but whisper again.

From Puchanghai to Qiuzi, there is still nearly a thousand miles. Although there are oases with abundant aquatic plants along the way, there is no need to worry about fresh water supply. However, the long-distance rush will inevitably cause great physical depletion to the soldiers. Judging from Suo Ge's previous records, this person is extremely cunning in using troops, and there is a chance that he will give up the attack on Qiuzi and give Zuo Xiaowei a head-on blow.

"Rest assured, the old man will reorganize the soldiers and horses in Quli, and then according to the situation, choose to continue to walk the north bank of the Chihe River, or turn to the iron gate to close to Luntai." I am not used to being repeatedly reminded by a junior who is the same age as his grandson, but Niu Shixue still turned his head gratefully, and hugged Zhang Qian with a smile, "It's you, the first time you come to the Western Regions, the old man let you go to Khotan alone......"

"You might as well hold it up!" Zhang Qian smiled and bowed his hand, and then took out a simple monocular from behind the saddle, and handed it to the Niu Shi Award with the box, "This thing, give it to the chief manager." Although it is a little crude, standing on a high place, you can see a figure five miles away at any time. ”

"Really?" Niu Shi Award couldn't believe his ears, took the monoculars, and put them on his eyes to figure it out carefully. Soon, under the guidance of Zhang Qian, he learned to adjust the focus and observe the situation of the first part of the scouts.

It's not very clear, it doesn't feel very comfortable. But by the color of the flags and the armor of the soldiers a few miles away, it is completely possible to distinguish between friend and foe. This made the old general's spirit lift again, put away the binoculars, and bowed again, "Thank you Xiaoyou, after this battle, Niu will hold a banquet in Qiuzi, thank you for your help!" ”

"The old general is here, and he will succeed!" Knowing that the time was pressing, Zhang Qian didn't say much, and returned the salute with a smile.

The two sides nodded to each other again, and they both saw some appreciation in each other's eyes. Immediately, they returned to their own teams, one south and one north, riding horses.

Autumn in the Western Regions came early, only at the beginning of the ninth lunar month, and the banks of the end of the river were already slaughtered. Less than two miles away from the river, the oasis becomes the Gobi, and then into the boundless desert.

"Whoa—whoa—whoa—" The howl of the wild wolf sounded in the poplar bushes not far away, and soon, it resounded on both sides of the river.

The closer you get to winter, the less food you have. As a predator, the wild wolf did not think that a team of more than 200 people could pose much of a threat to himself. On the contrary, I hope that someone in the team or a horse will be left behind when he is sick and become blood food in his mouth.

"Grandma's, no wonder someone wants to nominate Lao Tzu to be the marching commander to mediate all parties!" Looking back at the team that seemed to have suddenly become dozens of times smaller, and then looking at the empty and desolate Siye, Zhang Qian couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

From Puchanghai to the city of Boxian (and the end), it is about 800 miles. From Boxian City to Khotan, there are nearly nine hundred miles. From Khotan to Shule, it is 600 miles. On the 2,300-mile road, there are dozens of tribes that are difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, and there are also a large number of horse thieves. If you are a little unlucky, you may "disappear out of thin air" and never return to Chang'an in the future to obstruct other people's eyes.

Don't say that history is very ordinary, even if he learns it well, Zhang Qian may not know that in the same autumn of another time and space, Feng Yanbin, the imperial historian sent by the Tang Dynasty to Khotan to pacify the Ashina Zhongjie, and the imperial servant Shi Lu Shousu, who came to deal with the civil affairs of the four towns, were attacked by Suo Ge's heavy troops because of the leakage of their whereabouts.

In that time and space, Feng Yanbin was killed in battle, and Ashina Zhongjie and Lu Shousu were captured alive. Immediately, Suo Ge beheaded A Shi Na Zhongjie, tied Lu Shousu in front of the battle, and slashed with a thousand knives. After the Tang Dynasty court, he listened to Guo Yuanzhen's proposal and crowned Suo Ge as the fourteen surnamed Khan, and the two sides turned hostility into jade silk!

"Changshi, someone is catching up from behind!" Guo Jing, the captain of the pro-soldier school, suddenly leaned to Zhang Qian's side and whispered a warning.

"How many? Tell all the brethren to stop and prepare to form a formation!! Zhang Qian quickly leaned over, took out another primordial telescope from the back of the pack horse next to him, and looked closely behind him.

"No need to form a formation, tell the brothers to rest in place for a quarter of an hour, it is your own people who come!" In the next moment, he changed his mind again, and at the same time, a smile welled up on his face.

In the telescope, there were three people and more than a dozen horses. The three faces on horseback, he couldn't be more familiar.

The first to lead the way was Luo Huaizu, the head of Qi Mo. And following Luo Huaizu and crumbling on horseback are two famous poets who don't like to write poetry, Wang Zhilian and Wang Han!