At dusk, the scouts finally crossed the Cheling Canyon and entered the Erie Valley.

The Yili River Valley is naturally today's Ili River Valley, the river valley is hundreds of miles wide, even hundreds of miles, the south is the Tianshan Mountains, the north is Cheling, here is a fertile and wide oasis, but also an endless grassland pasture and forest, the wide Yili River passes through this oasis, the sun is abundant, the grass is green, it is a very ideal animal husbandry area or agricultural area.

It was getting late, and the Tang army scouts found a woods by the water, and several scouts lit a bonfire, and everyone drank mare's milk wine while roasting a few deer hunted halfway.

It's not that scouts can't light bonfires, it also depends on the situation, if you don't know the situation of the enemy army, you really need to be cautious, but if you know that the enemy army is still hundreds of miles away, and the enemy outpost has also been eliminated, then you don't need to be too cautious.

The fact that the scouts had not yet encountered the Usun, who had been driven away, meant that the Qarluq army was still far from them.

Zhang Zhiyuan was a little confused and said: "General, I think as long as we hold the Baiyang River Valley, the Qarlu army will not be able to pass, in fact, we should build a military city in the north." ”

Zhang Yun shook his head, "You don't understand the intention of the envoy, the envoy is not to guard against the Qarluq, but to hit it, to beat it to be afraid and disabled, so that it will not dare to peep into the North Court again, so that we will no longer have to worry about the future." ”

"Today, those Qarluq outposts are still quite strong, if we hadn't ambushed them, I'm afraid this battle would not be easy to fight." Another lieutenant said.

Zhang Yun said with a smile: "These nomads' cavalry are more powerful, this is their advantage, our advantage is that it is well-equipped, when the Anxi army was strong, the Qarlu people were just our servant army, I hope we can reproduce the strength of the Anxi army in our hands." ”

Everyone did not speak, and the firelight reflected their faces red, and everyone's eyes were full of determination and antiquity.

Eat and drink enough, everyone extinguished the bonfire, got into the sleeping bag, this is the scout army last year only equipment, the Tang army purchased a large amount of cotton from Gaochang, made a sleeping bag, replaced the military blanket, the sleeping bag fabric is a very strong fine linen, filled with cotton, in order to prevent the cotton from being squeezed together, the craftsman made a cotton tire with a fine thread weaving net, which is generally enjoyed by the rich and noble, is made of cotton or duck down, which is very valuable.

The sleeping bag is a very practical carry-on thing for the scouts who act in the field all the year round, it is breathable and soft, and it does not take up space when rolled up, and more importantly, sleeping in the sleeping bag, it is not afraid of the invasion of poisonous insects and poisonous snakes in the wild, and it is bitten by poisonous insects and poisonous snakes, and the scout soldiers often encounter, which is red and swollen and painful at a light, and crippled or even killed if it is heavy.

Several patrolmen stood guard outside the woods and in the trees, vigilantly keeping an eye on the movements around them........

Early the next morning, Tang Jun ate the flour cake and milk tea, packed up the sleeping bag, and got on the horse and set off.

At noon, the Tang scouts finally encountered an endless stream of fleeing troops, almost all of them Wusun herdsmen, who supported the old and the young, drove the sheep, and led the horses carrying tents and goods, coming from the west.

Saike hurriedly stepped forward to inquire, and came back to Zhang Yun and said, "It was the Qarluq army that began to drive the Wusun people in the Yili River Valley, and they said that if you go faster, you can keep the sheep and tents, and if you go slower, there will be nothing." ”

"Where is the Qarluq army now?"

Saike inquired again, and came back to report: "They say that the Qarluqs are on the side of the Rainbow Valley, about three hundred miles from here. ”

"Let's go!"

Zhang Yun gave an order and rushed to the west with a hundred scouts.

..........

Ten days later, 20,000 Tang troops arrived in Shazhou, and that afternoon, Guo Song saw that it was nearly dusk, so he ordered the army to camp on a meadow by a small river.

There were no enemies around them who threatened them, except for the wolves, the soldiers were busy burying pots and cooking milk tea, and the horses and camels had been unloaded, and they gathered together to leisurely gnaw on the tender green new grass on the meadow by the river.

A marching tent was set up in the camp, and Guo Song was checking the map in the tent, when the soldiers reported at the door: "Envoy, someone asks to see!" ”

Guo Song was stunned, this place is neither close to the city nor by the town, who will visit him?

"Who is it?"

"He called himself a Dayun monk, saying that he was an old friend of the envoy and came from the Dayun Temple in Dunhuang."

Guo Song immediately stood up and walked out of the big tent quickly, he knew who was coming to visit him, and there would be no one else except Li Yu.

Not far away, there was an old man with a white beard, wearing a layman's uniform, who was Li Mi, who he had not seen in the past two years.

Guo Song hurriedly walked up to greet him, "Gong Li, I haven't seen you for a long time!" ”

Li Mi clasped his palms together and saluted, and said with a smile: "Make your demeanor better than before!" ”

Guo Song hurriedly invited Li Mi into the marching tent, and ordered his soldiers to prepare wine and food.

The two sat down in the big tent, and the soldiers brought wine and food, Guo Song picked up the wine jug and asked with a smile: "Is Gong Li jealous of wine?" ”

Li Mi smiled slightly: "If the milk wine is not sticky, the wine is fine!" ”

"This is the best wine in Zhangye, Li Gong try it."

Guo Song poured a full glass of wine for Li Mi and himself, Guo Song raised his glass and smiled: "For today's reunion, we toasted this!" ”

The two drank a glass of wine each, and Guo Song poured another wine and asked, "How is Gong Li in Dayun Temple?" ”

"A cup of tea, a volume of Buddhist scriptures, a humble room, listening to the morning bell and dusk drums, watching the clouds rise and fall, I have never been so relaxed for decades."

"Then why does Gong Li want to come to see me?"

Li Mi smiled faintly and said: "Wen Jun went to Anxi, and I came to make suggestions!" ”

Guo Song smiled dumbly, this is Li Yu, switching freely between birth and accession.

"Gong Li, please speak, Guo Song listens!"

"Then let me ask you, where is the current risk in Beiting?"

Guo Song pondered for a moment and said frankly: "The threat of Qarlu and Hui! ”

Li Mi stroked his palms and laughed, "That's right, then how do you plan to defuse this threat?" ”

"Gong Li must be here for this matter, please teach me Gong Li!"

Li Mi took a sip of wine and said unhurriedly: "Eight words, hit Gehu in the west, and return to Hui in the north." ”

"Please explain it to Gong Li."

"Ge Lulu is not only a wolf ambition, but also a despicable villain, in the battle of Talas, Ge Lulu for his own interests, colluded with the big food, betrayed the Tang army, resulting in the Tang Dynasty has since lost the interests west of the Green Ridge, Ge Lulu also knows that the Tang Dynasty will not forgive it, it and the Tang army's hatred has become a dead knot, can not be untied, and the Hui is the same, Hui and Tubo compete for the river and Tocharo, Ge Lulu on the surface on the side of the Hui, in fact, secretly colluded with the Tubo, and finally the Hui won a miserable victory, but was taken advantage of by the Qarlu to attack, Drove the Hui back to the east of Jinshan and embezzled the fruits of the Hui people's war for ten years, which shows that it is despicable and repeated, and can only be beaten hard against Gelulu, which cannot be believed. ”

Guo Song nodded, "Gong Li will talk about Hui again!" ”

Li Mi smiled and said: "Hui Hui began to evacuate the North Court the year before last, so you must understand, why did Hui Hui give up the North Court?" ”

"Please make it clear to Gong Li!"

"The current Hui is no longer the Hui in its heyday, and the Tubo ten years of war, both lost, in addition to the benefits of the Qarluqs, the Sijie Department is also rising in the Mobei grassland, and now it has seriously threatened the hegemony of the Hui in the grassland, although the strength of the Sijie is not as good as the Hui Hui, but it is allied with the Kun Jie Department in the north, and has been able to compete with the Hui Hui.

Hui Hui saw that the old nest would not be protected, it could only be forced to shrink its forces and withdraw its troops from Beiting, so that Ge Lulu would seize the opportunity to go east.

Therefore, at this time, the envoy should contact the Hui Hui, one is to unite with the Hui and fight against Qarluq, and the other is to promise not to touch its interests in Jinshan, so that Jun not only does not have to worry about the Hui Hui taking the opportunity to go south, but the Hui will also resist the invasion of Qarlu on the northern front of Yiwu. ”

Guo Song walked a few steps with his hands in his hand, and suddenly asked: "I have always had a doubt, when the first emperor supported the Sijie Department, but it was to deal with Hui Hui?" ”

Li Mi nodded, "This is still my suggestion to the first emperor, the first emperor sent the king to secretly send Sijie to envoy Sijie, you are involved in this matter at the right time, and later the first emperor gave Sijie Khan great support, Sijie was able to rise on the grassland, and finally formed the trend of today's Sijie and Hui Hui competing for the hegemony of the grassland." ”

"In that case, Hui Hui is still willing to reconcile with me?"

Li Mi smiled slightly: "Don't underestimate the Hui people, they also have political acumen, Sha Tuo wanted to destroy the Tang army in Beiting several times, but they were stopped by the Hui Hui, they left this opening, just to join forces with the Tang army to deal with Tubo and Gelulu." ”

Li Mi paused and said: "Finally, I must remind you that if Hui Su is willing to form an alliance, it is just because it is not strong and temporarily unable to take care of Beiting, and it has nothing to do with the previous friendship, so you must not think too naïve." ”