The sun is shining, but there is not the slightest warmth. There is no wind in the sky, but the cold is pervasive. Through the fur, armor, silk jacket and human skin, it has penetrated into the marrow of the human being.

"What the hell does Suo Ge want to do?" Following Zhang Qian, Luo Huaizu looked out of the city and asked with a puzzled face. In such cold weather, patrolling the city is not an easy task. As he walked, the mist produced by his breath condensed into frost on the edge of the person's helmet, eyebrows, and eyelashes.

"I don't know, I should be waiting for reinforcements!" Zhang Qian shook his head and responded in a low voice. Immediately he also moved around, but except for the vast snowy field, he could not see any figure.

Mountain dance silver snake, original Chi wax elephant. The snowy fields of the Western Regions make people look at them a few times, and their hearts are full of pride. And the walls of Shattered Leaf City have long since turned pure white. The rammed earth wall is now completely covered in ice lumps and snow, like a huge piece of glass.

"I've always felt that Suo Ge is not just about waiting for reinforcements. It was freezing cold, and if the Turks wanted to send troops to support him, they would have to wait until after March next year. Wang Zhihuan stepped on the steps of the road and walked up the steps, and the fur on his body swayed, doubling his size, and he looked like a bear preparing to hibernate.

What he said was the truth, and no one could refute it. But Wang Han's voice followed closely, "The Bachang River Valley has been blocked by the Suage faction. On such a cold day, Guo Yuanzhen and Niu Shuai's soldiers and horses couldn't make a detour at all. If you want to support us, you will have to wait until at least March next year. ”

This is also true. There are only two roads leading from Gumo to Broken Leaves. One is through the valley of the Bachang River, and the other is over the Boda Ridge. Either way, it's easy to defend and hard to attack. Especially in this kind of dripping and icy weather, the defender only needs a few hundred people to block the attacker's tens of thousands of troops. And if the attacker encounters a blizzard, it may be completely annihilated!

The fact that everyone was able to sneak up on Frozen City relied on speed and luck. At that time, Suo Ge was leading the main force of the Tuqi Shi people to attack Qiuzi, from Gumo to Broken Leaves, it was already the rear of Suo Ge. There were not many soldiers and horses stationed along the way, and no one thought that Zhang Qian did not leave the relatively close Paidaling, but led his troops through the Bachang River Valley.

And after Suo Ge lost the grain stored in Gumo Prefecture, the offensive of the Tuqi Shi people immediately turned into a defensive position. Naturally, he had to use all the conditions that could be used to prevent Niu Shixuan and Guo Yuanzhen from taking advantage of the victory to pursue. Therefore, the defense of the Bodaling and Bachang River Valley was immediately strengthened several times by Suoge. Even the dirt road leading to the frozen city on the Shule side, the Kashan Pass, was blocked by Suo Ge sending dead soldiers.

In this way, in the period before the beginning of spring next year, Zhang Qian's subordinate division can only deal with Suo Ge alone. So everyone is careful every day, lest they do something bad, and they will repeat the mistakes of Zhou Yiyi in the spring.

"Poof!" One of the soldiers slipped and fell headlong. It was all the ropes around his waist that tied his other two companions together, so that he could not roll directly down the city and break his tendons.

Wang Zhilian, who was walking relatively backward, quickly stretched out his hand and pulled the fallen person up. However, he himself also slipped on his own feet, leaning forward and backward, thanks to Wang Han's grasp of the fur belt, to avoid falling out of the city.

Luo Huaizu decisively reached out and grabbed Wang Han's shoulder, while Zhang Qian stretched out his left hand to support Luo Huaizu, and the other hand held the battlement of the city wall. Several pro-soldiers rushed up from the left and right sides, blocking Zhang Qian with their bodies, and then everyone staggered together and laughed at each other.

With such a smooth city wall, if you erect a ladder to climb in, I am afraid that you will not be able to gain a foothold when you fly up with your wings. But the ice and snow on the city wall was not deliberately created by Zhang Qian's efforts to splash water, but God took the initiative to help!

As early as the third day when the Tang army took Broken Leaf City, Zhang Qian was still hesitating whether to burn the city or spend the winter in the city, when the goose feather snow fell from the sky.

Compared with the 21st century, which is another time and space, the current climate in the Western Regions is much wetter and much warmer. Heavy snow fell for a day and a night before it cleared, followed by a warm sun. The sunlight melts the snow on the top of the castle and turns it into droplets, which slowly descend from the heights. The snow in the lower places has not yet warmed up to the melting point. As a result, the water droplets were refrozen by the snow, attached to the wall together, and continued to climb, turning the entire Broken Leaf City into a strange crystal palace.

In the blink of an eye, the second heavy snow quietly came, and the thickness of the city wall increased by another layer. When Suo Ge finally rushed to the city of Broken Leaves with his men and horses, he was faced with a towering ice city. And the Tang army in the city also completely gave up the idea of leaving, and closed the four gates under Zhang Qian's order, preparing to fight him to the death in Broken Leaves.

However, the battle was delayed. Suoge, who still had an absolute advantage in military strength, only tentatively shouted outside the city, and found that it was impossible to find the location of the cloud ladder on the city wall, so he retreated to Yezhi Castle, where the Broken Leaf River flows into Atami, more than a hundred miles away.

Even after two rounds of emergency expansion in Gumo and Frozen City, the total number of soldiers and horses under Zhang Qian's command at this moment is only more than 6,000. With the primitive grenade whose power has not yet been fully figured out by the Turgish people, everyone has a great chance of holding Shattered Leaf City. However, if he takes the initiative to attack Ye Zhi, whose strength is more than twice as strong as himself, the odds of victory may not exceed 30%.

Therefore, Suo Ge did not come to attack Broken Leaf, and Zhang Qian did not have the strength to attack Ye Zhi for the time being. When both sides had no choice, they had to be "neighbors" for the time being.

Enemies who were originally inseparable suddenly became "close neighbors". Let the soldiers, very unaccustomed. And Zhang Qian, who had never managed any city at all, and had no plans to stay in Broken Leaf for a long time before, was even more in a hurry. Fortunately, the last battle was very capturing, and after Suo Ge took down the broken leaves in the spring, he has been operating this place as a nest. Therefore, the food in the city was enough for the Tang army to hold out for more than half a year.

With food, the soldiers will be able to have a lot of peace in their hearts. And in Broken Leaf City, the elders of the Suage clan are all very rich. After confiscating the firewood, forage, gold and silver and other materials they had stored, it was enough for the Tang army to survive this cold winter without doing any chores.

"The Turgish, like the Turks, cannot afford to lose a war. If Suo Ge drags on like this, it won't do him any good. When the laughter gradually subsided, Wang Zhilian took a few steps to Zhang Qian's side, and continued to remind in a low voice, "It stands to reason that it is in his interests to fight quickly and resolve quickly." If he couldn't do it quickly, he abandoned the broken leaves and moved westward. In the west, no one in Kulan, Talas, or Whitewater City can stop him! And the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty, if they chase over there, they have to risk a war with the big cannibals. ”

"In the small country over there, it is true that he sees one and destroys the other. By robbing, you can make yourself rich again! However, he may not dare to go, and those under him may not support him to go west. Zhang Qian frowned, and while trying to avoid slipping, he responded in a low voice, "Even if you can't take the broken leaves, and finally be surrounded by our two chiefs, Niu and Guo, as long as the Tuqi people surrender in time, the most they will die is Suo Ge himself and his wife and children." And went to the side of Whitewater City, angered the big cannibal, he and his minions, I'm afraid none of them will survive! ”

"You mean, Suo Ge is at the mercy of the Great Cannibal?" Wang Zhilian frowned, his brows furrowed tightly. Two rows of ice ballast, immediately slid slowly between his eyebrows.

"You can't completely obey orders, at least the big cannibal is one of his financiers!" Zhang Qian raised his hand and wiped his face preventively, holding his hands full of frost, and shook his head with a smile. "Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many large gold coins, scimitars, and fierce fire oil in the warehouses of Shattered Leaf City and Gumo City."

This answer made Luo Huaizu furious. Immediately, he shook his head disdainfully, "Guo Yuanzhen is really a waste, and it is a shame that Li Xian trusts him so much." Then Li Xian too, it was not enough to send a waste to the Western Regions to sit in town, but also sent Zhou Yiyi, a reckless man! ”

"Guo Yuanzhen is not necessarily a waste, he himself is a civilian official, and all the soldiers and horses in his hands together are only in his early 20,000s, of course, he is not willing to make enemies with any forces around him. And the Western Regions is so vast, but there are not many Han people. Defeat the Turks today, and tomorrow Tiele will rise. As long as the eastward expansion ambition of the Great Cannibal is not defeated, it will be difficult for the Western Regions to achieve true peace. Zhang Qian sighed, and his answer was a little heavy.

When the existential crisis was resolved, he looked back and pondered it carefully, and found many problems that he had not noticed before. Guo Yuanzhen's response was negative, but not without reason. There are so few Han Chinese in the Western Regions that they can only be concentrated in a few important cities. In the vast expanse between these important cities, hundreds of tribes lived.

These tribes live on water and grass, and live near Shule this year, and may go to Khotan next year. The Tang Dynasty government is simply unable to rule it effectively. The only way to do this is by raising up a few chieftains of large tribes to replace the government. And the chiefs of the big tribes, relying on the support of the Tang Dynasty government and establishing their prestige, their ambitions will swell rapidly.

Before the Great Cannibals did not advance eastward, although the ambitions of the chiefs of the Western Regions were inflated, they could not find external support, and it was difficult to stir up big storms. After the Great Cannibals marched eastward, they immediately solved the problem of the chiefs' backup.

The tribes in the Western Regions lack high-quality weapons, and there is no shortage of cannibals! And after the annexation of Persia, Dashi also completely acquired the manufacturing technology of hearth steel, as well as the high-quality iron ore in ancient Persia. Just let a caravan smuggle a few batches of swords over, and you can make a warrior under the command of a certain chief like a tiger.

The tribes of the Western Regions lack money to encourage morale, and there is no shortage of cannibals! Having robbed all over Ancient Persia and had already slaughtered the vanguard into Tianzhu, they could fill the camel caravan of the eastward by looting a few palaces of the earth kings, and then double the courage of the chieftain.

The tribes of the Western Regions lacked the skills to form armies, train soldiers, and command battles, and the Great Cannibals could provide them with it. Forty years ago, it began with the Persian Governorate and expanded eastward to the Green Mountains. The Great Cannibal has accumulated a wealth of combat experience. He also knew how to use the chiefs' ambitions to scite rebellion.

The chieftains wanted to establish their own khanate, and the great cannibals wanted to expand eastward but were afraid of the force of the Don army. The goals of the two families coincided in a certain direction, and collusion with each other became inevitable. And if the Tang Dynasty can't change its current control over the various ministries in the Western Regions, after exterminating an ambitious chieftain, the period of stability won will not exceed three years at all. In the blink of an eye, a new chief stepped forward, repeating the previous cycle of rise, expansion, rebellion, and downfall!

"Young eunuch, the soil nitrate has been boiled out according to the method you taught, and the first pot has three catties and seven taels. I can probably boil 20 pots today! Ren Wu and seven or eight white-haired craftsmen rushed to the side of the road, raised their heads, and deliberately reported very loudly.

"Good! All the craftsmen were given twenty dollars each, and those who didn't need money were given two buckets of rice. It's a reward, and the wages for the past few days are still the same! Zhang Qian immediately didn't care about the gains and losses of the Tang Dynasty's Western Regions policy, and announced the award with a smile.

"Thank you, young eunuch!" Ren Wu thanked him loudly, and then waved vigorously at the craftsmen behind him, "Let's go, follow me to Captain Guo to receive the reward." Lao Tzu told you before that the young eunuch is different from others, and he will never say that it doesn't count, you still don't believe it! This time, let you settle for peace first! ”

"Thank you, young eunuch!"

"Thank you, young eunuch!"

"The young eunuch is rich and noble!"

……

Some of the craftsmen had gray eyes, some had blue eyes, and some had the same black eyes as Tang Jun. At the moment, the performance is not much different. One by one, they were obviously relieved, or they bowed their hands, or they bowed down with their hands on their chests, thanked them in a chaotic manner, and then followed behind Ren Wu, and trotted straight to the official office. It's as if you're late and the reward will be gone.

A group of laborers, who were clearing the snow under the city walls, stopped their brooms and watched with envy as the craftsmen went away in high spirits, and then hung their heads one by one.

"Don't look at it, who made you choose fried noodles instead of knives?!" The foreman who led the team immediately widened his eyes and scolded loudly, his face flushed with disdain written on it. "Anyway, you still have two pennies a day, if you don't work hard, you won't have two pennies, and you will be a beggar to ask for food!"

The Lifu, both old and strong, all picked up the sweep and continued to clear the snow diligently, and no one had the face to say a word of complaint.

They and the craftsmen who were in charge of boiling the nitrate were originally prisoners of the Frozen City. And when others chose to attack Broken Leaf with Zhang Shaojian, they chose twenty catties of fried noodles with oil. Although after hearing that Shattered Leaf City was easily recovered by the Tang army, they immediately regretted it, and rushed over to defect at the risk of freezing to death. They still lost the opportunity to serve the Tang Army, so they could only stay in the city and do labor.

Under the command of Zhang Shaojian, he was a regular soldier, and his daily salary was 100 Wen. To be a recruit, it's fifty wen. Even if you don't pass the assessment as a recruit and are swept down, you can still be a craftsman with the army, and you can get 20 yuan a day. And doing hard work, but only two pennies a day!

"If anyone is not convinced, the next time they are recruited, they will sign up. As long as you can pass the assessment, you can get fifty wen immediately, and you can eat and wear! Finding that Zhang Qian was nearby, the foreman was full of spirits and scolded more and more hard.

Among the laborers, a few of them were younger, and their work suddenly became much more neat. Suo Ge is in Yezhi, and he will call sooner or later. At that time, they can go to the army. They have already missed an opportunity, and the next time it comes, they will take advantage of it.

"If the Tang Dynasty Mansion is kind to the Han people, the Han people in the Western Regions will not become fewer and fewer!" Luo Huaizu suddenly had an understanding, and brought up his previous words again. "There are more Han people, so the court naturally doesn't have to coax those tribal chiefs. And what Guo Yuanzhen did was purely sacrificing the basics! ”

This time, Zhang Qian did not refute him. Instead, he smiled and walked silently towards the government office along the street that had just been cleared.

There are very few residents in Broken Leaf City, and most of the people walking on the streets at this time are veterans and recruits who take turns to rest. The brothers won every battle, and they had money in their pockets, so they walked with their chests straight. After the Tang army recovered the broken leaves, the merchants who were allowed to stay in the city after the audit did not commit any crimes, poked their heads out of the window and desperately sold the goods in their hands to the veterans and recruits.

Seeing Zhang Qian, the veterans immediately stopped and saluted respectfully. The recruits, who had only joined the army in the frozen city, nervously did not know where to put their hands and feet, and their eyes were full of admiration.

"After the beginning of spring, you can write a letter and ask your two junior brothers to recruit some people to come over. Even if it is a craftsman who is twenty wen a day, there should be many people who are willing to come. Luo Huaizu followed a few steps and whispered again.

The complete recipe for black powder, he has already gotten. And watched with his own eyes, Zhang Qian mixed sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal powder according to the recipe and put them into an iron can to make a grenade. However, he never mentioned going to Li Xian for revenge again, as if he had never said those words.

"How much can you recruit? After coming, if someone like Guo Yuanzhen is replaced as the guard of Broken Leaves, Dahan will probably have to be disappointed in the end. Wang Han shook his head, deeply skeptical of Luo Huaizu's proposal.

"As long as the Han people and the tribesmen are treated differently, this trouble will never be solved!" Wang Zhilian also shook his head, his young face full of worry.

Walking with Zhang Qian, watching as they walked, they were no longer the hot-blooded scholars they used to be. They can see a lot of malpractices of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions, however, how to correct the deviation, but they can't find a suitable answer.

"I'm thinking, there were so many vassal states back then, why did everyone become Han people later!" Zhang Qian suddenly stopped and said very seriously.

Luo Huaizu was stunned, not knowing how to respond. And the eyes of Wang Han and Wang Zhilian lit up at the same time. Turning his head to look around, he quickly swept the veterans, recruits, vendors, and Lifu on the street, and suddenly felt that the Broken Leaf City after the snow was so beautiful.