After receiving Zhang Renyuan, Li Tong immediately passed on the information about Anxi brought by his people to the black tooth Changzhi at the front, especially about the military movements of Tubo in Anxi, which had a direct impact on the next military action in Longyou.

Anxi and Longyou, both can go to war, and both have reasons to go to war. But if Tubo puts the main force in Anxi, the strategic situation will undoubtedly be more favorable to Datang.

According to Zhang Renyuan, the number of troops invested in Anxi by Tubo was 50,000, but a relatively more realistic analysis of various indications suggests that the number of troops invested should be about 30,000.

Don't think that 30,000 people are very small, although the Tibetan regime is quite militaristic and known for its strong military mobilization ability, and 400,000 troops were invested in the battle of Dafeichuan alone. But in fact, the mobilization capacity of Tibet was also different in different periods, and it was far less powerful than imagined, especially in long-range operations outside the homeland.

If the Tibetan army wanted to fight in the Western Regions, it either passed through the old road of Zhangxiong, left the Bolu Kingdom, and went directly to the west of the Green Ridge and entered the Tocharian countries. But at this juncture, this is not the case.

One is that during this period, there were constant rebellions in the hometown of Tibetan elephants, and the situation was very unstable. Second, at present, whether it is Datang or Tubo, the management degree of the Western Regions is not high enough.

During the reign of Gaozong, the last prince of Persia, Balus, asked the Tang Dynasty for help, and the Tang Dynasty once sent troops to escort him to Tocharian to form a restoration army. But it was still the same sentence, the Tang Dynasty at that time went all out to destroy Goguryeo, and there was no idea of further operation in the Western Regions, and Balus was defeated in the Tang Dynasty and died in a foreign country.

As for Tubo, not to mention, it has only been a few years since he walked down the plateau, although he is full of commotion, but he doesn't know where to stretch out.

Previously, if Tubo wanted to reach the Western Regions, it was necessary to cross the Qiangtang uninhabited land and cross the Kunlun Mountains.

Fortunately, Tuyuhun was captured in Tubo, and he could go west along the Shule River from Haixi to the end of the city in the southern part of the Western Regions along the Qilian Mountains, so as to enter the Anxi region.

Although this road is relatively smooth, it is also a long way, and there are many mountains and ravines, and the logistics mobilization method of Tubo in its own territory is completely useless, and the baggage aspect is also a huge test, and even higher than the transportation cost of the Tang Dynasty entering Anxi through Longyou.

The Tibetan heritage is like that, 30,000 people went to the Western Regions to fight, and it can even be called the investment of the whole country. Under such circumstances, even if Qinling did not lead his army to the Western Regions, but personally sat in Tuyuhun, the forces that could be mobilized in Qinghai would be greatly reduced.

Previously, the Tang army conquered Wuling Hengbao at the western foot of Chiling, and Li Tong and Heizhi Changzhi suspected that Qinling's treacherous plan was hidden.

After understanding the movements of Tibet in the Western Regions, it seems that although the possibility of Qinling's strategy cannot be ruled out, the strategic contraction of Tibet in Qinghai is indeed out of strategic needs. At present, the Tibetan background is still shallow, and the contradictions between the monarch and the minister are profound, and it cannot support the long-term war with great investment on both fronts.

After receiving this information, Changzhi of the black tooth at the western foot of Chiling also quickly responded, saying that he would definitely send more games to try to grasp more of the situation around Qinghai. At the same time, Heiya Changzhi also said that after the preliminary construction of the defense at the western foot of Chiling is completed, His Royal Highness King Yong can also go to see it in person.

Receiving this news, Li Tong was naturally very happy, although he did not have any outstanding military talent, but he was born in this world, and naturally yearned for the excitement of the golden iron horse. Especially Tubo, a great enemy who has been entangled with the Tang Dynasty for two hundred years, if he has the opportunity, Li Tong certainly wants to see his own situation.

So he stayed in the Huangyuan camp for a few days, during which there were affairs related to the Shancheng side that needed to be handled by King Yong, and some affairs related to the Zhuhu Department were also explained by Li Tong to Zhang Renyuan to do.

The Western Regions are also complicated, Zhang Ren is willing to supervise the army in the other realm, and it is indispensable to deal with some state chiefs, and he has accumulated a lot of experience in this area, and his talents are excellent and resourceful, so he can get started quickly.

Even many details that Li Tong couldn't take into account because of his energy before, Zhang Renyuan is also starting to enrich them, and has already put the next action of Xihe Xingshe on the agenda, as long as Zhu Hu's strength is in place, the next step of development can be carried out.

With such a capable subordinate to share affairs, Li Tong also felt very relaxed. At present, in Longyou, Lou Shide is in charge of the camp and coordinates government affairs, and Hei Yan Changzhi is mainly responsible for the conquest of war. Even the company and the merchant logistics he set up by himself are in charge of Liu Youqiu, Zhang Renyuan and Song Bazi and others.

Everything is commissioned, and there is no need to bow down to everything, but only need to take the overall situation and take into account the general situation, which is the treatment that the superior should have.

After he was free, Li Tong waited for the news from the western foot of Chiling, and at the same time engaged in some self-entertaining activities, such as playing polo with the guerrilla soldiers who had just returned from the front-line battlefield and engaging in friendship.

After about seven or eight days of such days, in mid-April, Heiya Changzhi finally reported that the base camp at the western foot of Chiling had been preliminarily completed, and His Royal Highness King Yong could go to inspect it at any time.

Li Tong was also overjoyed when he heard the news, and even threw away his stick and prepared to travel. The gamers of Heyuanjun are too blind, and they say that they admire His Royal Highness, but one on the court is more vicious than the other, and many times a polo is played, and Li Tong can hardly even grab the ball.

Since Baishuigou, that is, the direction where Shibao City is located, through Chiling, the road is relatively smooth, since it is not as open as the plain valley, but as early as the Tuyuhun period, this road is the main road of east-west communication.

Especially when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty came here, it was more than enough for the carriage and horses to pass, only in some desperate places, it was necessary to remove the wheel axle and use the grinding plate noose to carry the materials over.

Li Tong and his entourage set off early in the morning and meandered between the Chiling Mountain Roads.

This road has been completely controlled by the Tang army, along the way there are as many as a dozen large and small Fengbao passes, and there is an endless stream of chariots, horses and soldiers on the road, which is the main force of the Tang army to increase troops to the western foot of Chiling. The increase in the number of soldiers is not enough, but the difficulty is the transportation of all kinds of materials, even if it is uninterrupted day and night, it will be busy for at least half a month.

On the way, Li Tong stayed overnight in the Feng Fort along the way, and continued to set off the next day, and in the evening, he finally arrived at the Wuling Hengbao where the army was in front, and the generals such as Hei Zhi Changzhi had already lined up outside the fortress to greet him.

Although he was tired along the way, Li Tong did not rush into the city, but climbed up to look and observed the terrain around this fortress.

Wuling Hengbao did not leave a name in the history, probably because it was not used for a long time, and there was no tragic battle like Shibao City, so it was drowned in the long river of history.

"Wuling is also known as Yinling, the sunset is shining, and the light is not fresh and it is named ......"

Hei Tooth Changzhi followed behind King Yong, introducing the surrounding geographical situation.

Chiling is also known as Sun Moon Mountain in later generations, because its mountain body is composed of purple sandstone, it presents red color under the sunshine, so it is called Chiling in ancient times, the two peaks are almost parallel to each other, the east side is facing the sun, the west side is facing the moon, this is the origin of the name of Sun Moon Mountain in later generations. Wuling Hengbao is a fort, or fortress group, located on the western side of the mountain.

From the perspective of topography alone, Wuling is not as steep as the stone castle city on the east side, although it is also close to the Qilian Mountain, but the mountain is fragmented, there are many valley passes, and there is no military advantage of holding the whole area in one place.

Standing on the top of Chiling Mountain and looking west, you can already see Qinghai lying across the plateau, like a flat mirror glowing with golden light under the sunlight.

The sky is cloudless, the field of vision is extremely open, looking at this scene, Li Tong couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Such magnificent mountains and seas, since I see them, I should take them in my pocket, can I endure to take them for the country of Fan?" ”

After hearing this, the generals such as the Black Tooth Chang Zhi all crossed their hands and said in a condensed voice: "The last general will wear his liver and gall, bravely fight the thieves, and drink the horse Qinghai from His Royal Highness!" ”

The scenery was also seen, and the words were shouted, and then Li Tong went downhill and went straight into the Wuling Hengbao.

This fortress is formed by the mountain, and there is an artificially dug nullah under it to connect the Yuchi River outside the mountain, and it travels hundreds of miles west to connect Qinghai.

Although the fortress is large, the interior of the building is simple, and it is only a stronghold for the soldiers of the Fan Kingdom who were stationed here to store their tools and supplies. As for the Tibetan soldiers, they were still stationed in Weichichuan outside the mountain, of course, after the Tang army captured Hengbao, the Tubo troops stationed in Weichichuan were also expelled.

The Tang army captured the fortress, so far it has only been a decade, so the transformation of the fortress itself is not large, mainly to add some supporting long-range defenses around the fortress. For example, on a slope ridge on the southeast side of Hengbao, stones are quarried and gathered, and once the Tubo army gathers at the bottom of the ridge, it can roll stones to kill the enemy.

Of course, the Tang army knew how to do this, and the Tubo who had been stationed here before would naturally not ignore such geographical advantages, and also had a similar setup. Therefore, for the capture of Wuling Hengbao, Heizhi Changzhi also prepared a number of plans, and was prepared for heavy losses, but he did not expect Tubo to give up this fortress.

"Qinling left this fort in my hands, nothing more than to strengthen my arrogance and lure me into light, now I don't come out, I don't know if he regrets it?"

When entering the fort, Li Tong couldn't help but say with a smile. Being able to control the entire Chiling Passage at a very small price is earned no matter what, and it is easy for Tubo to give up, and if you want to recapture it in the future, you have to fill it with human lives.

Hearing King Yong's words, Hei Tooth Chang Zhi opened his lips but hesitated a little, and after thinking for a while, he still said: "Your Highness can keep this Qingming, it is a blessing for the army. There are a few things left in the fort, which should be kept by Qinling for His Highness, hoping that His Highness can treat them normally. ”

When Li Tong heard this, he couldn't help but be a little curious, but he didn't expect Qinling to actually prepare some small actions for him, so he also smiled and said: "So I want to take a look, if it doesn't suit my wishes, when the Japanese soldiers enter Qinghai and the two armies are in battle, then I have to laugh at the miserliness of the Tibetan people, and the treasures will be taken for me." ”