Chapter 1: Looking at the Sword (5 times)

"Oh! Then thank you princess! Wang Xun smiled and accepted the other party's explanation.

The short and fat face and Liushun'er carried the lantern and sent Wang Xun back to the pavilion. When he saw that the gate was closed, he immediately turned around and ran towards the palace not far away. The nearby patrol guards retreated, and in a few moments, he had arrived at the place where Asiranda Pinsu was on business. Standing outside the door and probing inside, he immediately lowered his voice and shouted: "Qi Qi Great Khan, Liu Shun'er has something to report!" ”

"Get in!" Asiranda was discussing with the prime minister Zhang Precious inside, and there was no trace of drunkenness on their faces.

Humpty Dumpty handed the lantern to the guard at the door, and walked in briskly with a grin. Before entering the door, his legs and feet deliberately tripped, and rolled to Asiranda's feet like a ball of meat, lying on the ground and kowtowing gently, "Sweat profusely." As the Great Khan expected, the princess summoned the Tang envoy tonight! ”

"Really? What did they say? You learn them all to me! Asiranda was amused by Liushun'er's antics and laughed, glanced at his appearance, and casually ordered.

"Yes!" Humpty Dumpty Liushun'er agreed in a low voice, slowly got up, and said with a smile: "Princess, she summoned the Tang envoy over, and first invited the other party to tea. Then he took the opportunity to ask the real time of the Anxi army. Then, he asked the Tang envoy for help and killed everyone in Zhezhi City! Avenge the little prince! ”

"This stupid woman!" Asiranda stomped his foot angrily, "All day long, I think about revenge, revenge!" This king is almost annoyed to death by her! So what did the Tang envoy say? Did you promise her? ”

"The Tang envoy was very soft-hearted. After hearing what happened to the little prince, his eyes were red with anger. At the moment, he patted his chest and promised that he must let the car nose sweat die without a place to be buried! Liu Shun'er nodded, her face full of flattery.

"Stupid!" Asiranda continued to stomp his feet, not knowing whether he was scolding Wang Xun or Princess Yihe.

Prime Minister Zhang Guigui thought about it and explained with a smile, "Actually, it's a good thing for the princess to do this. One makes Datang understand that you and the big cannibal have a common hatred. Second, it can also deepen the impression of the Tang Emperor on you. For the sake of the Tang Heavenly Empire, you even got into it yourself. Shouldn't the Emperor of the Celestial Empire give you some compensation? ”

"Hmm!" Asiranda smiled and nodded, obviously being said to be itching. "That woman, though she is a little less knowledgeable, has always been faithful to the king. If it is really because of this move to benefit the king, it is not in vain that the king spent more than 1,000 horses for her that day! ”

"Central Plains women have always paid attention to marrying and obeying their husbands!" Zhang Guigui smiled proudly, as if his face was also very bright. "The Great Khan is so fond of her, of course she has to do her best to plan for the Great Khan."

As he spoke, he turned his head to Humpty Dumpty again, "Manager Liu, you just said that the princess took the specific time of dispatch from the Tang envoy, do you remember when?" ”

"Remember, the little one remembers clearly!" Humpty Dumpty smiled and saluted Zhang Guigui, and spoke loudly, "Tang envoy said, Tang envoy said, Anxi ** has already been strong." Because I was worried about the snow, I temporarily stopped at Xiao Bolu. According to the Tang envoy, at the beginning of spring next year, no matter how many princes here respond, the Anxi army will cross the green ridge! ”

"Nonsense. They are ready to fly. Asiranda interrupted abruptly, "This king is strange, why did they delay so long in Little Bolu?!" If the troops were to go out of the Green Mountains immediately after the war, I am afraid that half of the river would have been caught in their hands at this moment, so how could they worry about camping in the wilderness in winter? ”

Among them, Zhang Guigui has already guessed one or two. However, remembering what Song Wu had told him during the day, he was a little hesitant whether he should reveal the mystery. Asiranda glanced at him, smiled, and pretended to say to himself, "Strange. Everything is evil this year? That Chin Cha was as soft as a child. All of his subordinates are too young to speak! Could it be that there is no one in Datang, and he will act as a messenger by pulling a group of martial artists at will? ! ”

Qin Cha and his entourage all had a murderous aura on them, and Zhang Guigui had already discovered this. It's just that he endured the face of his fellow clan and didn't continue to investigate. At this moment, he was punctured by Asiranda, and his heart immediately jumped like a frightened rabbit. His eyes also subconsciously opened to the side, not daring to meet Asiranda's gaze.

"Isn't there any doubt about the identity of the Great Relative Envoy?" Asiranda smiled and stepped forward, bowing her head and asking.

His figure was far taller than Zhang Guiweiwei, and he deliberately pulled the distance extremely close at this moment, which immediately formed a condescending sense of oppression. Zhang Guigui was overwhelmed, and struggled several times in his heart, and finally gained the upper hand in fame and wealth. He arched his hand and said with a smile: "The Great Khan is really as wise as a torch." The minister did have doubts about their identity, but he didn't dare to speculate because he didn't have real credentials! ”

"So what did you guess? Tell me about it! Asiranda nodded, smiling as she moved away.

The pressure on the top of his head was suddenly relieved, Zhang Guigui sighed softly, and responded in a low voice, "The minister is just guessing. If you guess wrong, please forgive the Great Khan! ”

"It doesn't matter. You haven't been under Ben Khan's tent for a year or two. When did Ben Khan say that you can't make even the slightest mistake! Asiranda waved his hand generously, a pun intended. Tell me, tell me everything you guessed, and Ben Khan will make a decision! ”

"In fact, the Anxi Army stopped at Xiao Bolu, and the identity of the envoy is doubtful, these two things are closely related to each other!" After all, he is an old fox, and as long as Zhang Guigui breaks through the invisible barrier in his heart, his thinking becomes very clear. "The Anxi army sat back and watched the loss of the fighter plane, but it was unwilling to go west, according to the minister's opinion, I am afraid it is not because of the weather, but because the Tang Dynasty has a dispute over whether to take the river!"

"If you don't get some benefits after winning a battle, is there still such a stupid person in the world?" Asiranda shook his head and laughed, a little disagreeing with Zhang's analysis.

"Then let's see if the benefits can fall on your head!" Zhang Guigui smiled and continued to analyze, "As far as the minister knows, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty has long been too old to have the strength to deal with the government. And the courtiers under his command are divided into many factions. They are fighting with each other. The Anxi army has won a great victory, and I am afraid that it has caused the balance of several forces in the DPRK and China to be out of balance. If the whole river is taken into the territory, I am afraid it will ....."

"Stupid!" Asitanda put away his smile and scolded in a low voice. Immediately, he quickly added, "I'm not scolding you." You continue. In order to fight his own political enemies, he did not even take the land at his fingertips, which is really stupid! ”

"The benefits don't fall on him anyway. It's just bad to hurt people! Zhang Guigui lowered his mouth, as if he was commenting on a group of people who had nothing to do with him. Moreover, the Anxi army was already thousands of miles away from Chang'an. It is difficult to be controlled by the Tang court. If the river is taken down again, the grain and straw will be completely self-sufficient. If even the grain and straw don't rely on the Central Plains to provide for it, what will the Tang Dynasty use to ensure that this army of tigers and wolves has no dissent? ! ”

"Hmm!" Rao is extremely cunning, and Asilanda was also impressed by the profound scheming skills of the Central Plains, and he pondered for a long time, but he didn't find a suitable word for evaluation.

Anyway, Wang Xun and others have already been sold, and Zhang Guigui doesn't care about selling more or less. simply followed his train of thought and continued, "Therefore, in the opinion of the ministers, the Anxi army stopped because it was restrained by its own family. The purpose of the mission is threefold: first, to find a way for the army. Second, contact the forces in the area of the river that are inclined to the Tang Dynasty and deal with the cannibals together. Third, and the main purpose of his trip, was to find an excuse for the Anxi army to continue its westward march and silence the opponents. At the same time, resolve the entanglement from behind for yourself and win buffer time. This last point is especially important, compared to which the first two items are just add-ons and easy things to do. ”

"You mean, the envoys are all fakes from the Anxi army? No wonder that the cha actually touched the woman's kindness to a few traders. If you change to a real scholar, I'm afraid you don't care about sacrificing a few lives to keep secrets! Asiranda was not slow to react, and said along with the precious words of the great minister.

Prime Minister Zhang Guigui shook his head and gave the answer to his guess with a smile, "It's hard to say whether it's fake or not." But they are from the Anxi Army, there is no doubt about that! The envoy of Anxi Jiedu has the right to make decisions in case of trouble, and it is completely reasonable to send the mission out first, and then send a letter to ask the court to recognize it! It's not a violation of the rules at all! ”

"That's right!" Asirandar groaned again. Follow the words of the great minister, and all the mysteries will be revealed. A group of young generals, whose reputation is not prominent in the Western Regions, is much less likely to be recognized. Because they are all young, the desire to establish meritorious deeds in their hearts is far stronger than that of veterans, so they dare to take risks. is also because of their youth, these people always do things with a sense of jerkiness, not at all like those envoys who came on behalf of the Celestial Empire in the past, and they can say every word without leaking. Or because of their youth, they are full of vitality from head to toe, so that they dare not ignore it no matter what.

"So, in the opinion of the ministers, the Great Khan needs to make two preparations. First, pretending not to guess anything, and continuing to be with Datang, in fact, is to maintain friendship with the Anxi army. In order to use the strength of the Anxi Army in the future, he will unify the Great Wan Kingdom. Second, we need to leave a glimmer of room with Da Shi, so as not to change the itinerary of the Anxi Army in the future, and we ourselves will be pushed to the cusp of the storm. Just like after the last battle of Talas, it took all the resources to resolve it. ”

This is indeed the opinion of a certain country, and Asiranda has to agree. But in his heart, he thought of a deeper layer. "The two of us have been dealing with the Anxi Army, I'm afraid it won't be less than twenty years, right?!"

"Twenty-three years!" Daxiang Zhang Guigui smiled and grinned in response. At that time, Asiranda was still a very small force in the area, relying entirely on robbing caravans or fighting for other city lords to make a living. And he was just a bookkeeper who followed the caravan to the Western Regions. After being captured by Asiranda, in order to find a way to survive, he had to commit himself to the thief. And now, one of the two has become the king of Bahanna, and the other has become a great minister, a very human minister. Back then, I was afraid that the two of them never dreamed that they would come to this point, but after coming to this step, they couldn't go back no matter what!

"In the past twenty-three years, whether you are on the side of the Anxi Army or the Great Food Army, have you ever seen such an angry face?" Asiranda was obviously not for nostalgia, and asked, looking into Zhang's precious eyes.

Zhang Guigui's heart twitched suddenly, but then he quickly threw the guilt behind him, "I haven't seen it, the Great Khan needs to take precautions!" ”

Asiranda nodded, very satisfied with Zhang Guigui's performance, "After you go down, find a few reliable people and pass the news that the Tang envoy has secretly arrived in the river to Zhezhi City and Kabula." Especially on the side of Juchebi Shihan in Zhezhi City, he must know that the Tang envoy will deliberately bypass him and not give him the opportunity to abandon the darkness and turn to the light! ”

"Yes!" Zhang Guigui replied without hesitation.

"Feng Changqing......." Sidlanda raised his head, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. He has spent most of his life oscillating between Da Shi and Da Tang. A lot of the choices are out of your mind. And the competition between Datang and Dashi is probably not something that can be divided into victory and defeat for a while. If you want to be the master of this place, you should be ruthless, or don't be merciful.

……

"Ahh Hundreds of miles away in the small city of Bolu, Anxi Jiedu made Feng Changqing sneeze heavily. It wasn't cold yet, but he had already wrapped himself tightly in wool. After all, age is there, and before he became famous. His life was quite rough, and now both physical strength and energy began to decline prematurely.

"Do you need someone to serve a bowl of ginger soup?" Cen Changqing, the secretary in charge of sorting out the official documents next to him, saw that Feng Changqing's face was a little gray, and he stepped forward and asked with concern.

"No need!" Feng Changqing waved his hand and stubbornly refused. "It's just that it was blown by the wind last night, so it's okay!"

"Dashuai, let's go and rest early!" Cen Shen hesitated for a moment, and continued to persuade in a low voice, "There's no need to hold on. These more than 30,000 brethren, all looking at you! ”

"What are you doing looking at the old man? The old man can't grow flowers and bones on his face?! Feng Changqing shook his head and coped with Cen Shen's reminder with a joke, "If you're tired, go back and rest early." The old man is used to staying up late, and if he doesn't stay up one day, he will be exhausted! ”

Seeing that the other party always refused to listen to his advice, Cen Shen was helpless. arched his hand, quietly returned to his original seat, and continued to sort out the correspondence in the army for Feng Changqing. Although there was no war during this time, it was also quite exhausting to deal with some internal chores of the Anxi Army. Especially on the promotion of Bi Sichen, Wang Tao and other veterans who had been in the army since the era of Fumeng Lingjing, everyone worked hard and fought enough lawsuits.

Fortunately, several veterans are extremely important in fame and fortune, although Bian Lingcheng repeatedly obstructed him, he still couldn't resist the temptation of taking a step forward and accepted Feng Changqing's arrangement. At present, Bian Lingcheng's family in the army has been transferred from important positions, and as Feng Changqing's privately hired staff, Cen Shen can finally quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

was burying his head in the middle of the papers, and Feng Changqing's voice suddenly sounded in his ears again, "Is there any news from the mission?" The eyeliner that the old man asked you to arrange last time, have you implemented it? ”

"It's all in place!" Cen Shen slowly stood up from behind the table and responded in a low voice, "But the scouts haven't been able to get the news back yet." It's a bit far, it's starting to get cold again, and the road is getting harder and harder! ”

"Hmm!" Feng Changqing frowned, and there was a hint of worry in his voice. "Young people, things are not reliable! It stands to reason that no matter whether he gains or not, he should also send someone to send a letter back to the old man as soon as possible! ”

"Is the marshal talking about General Wang?" Cen Shen asked with a smile, the expression on his face was a little playful. "But my subordinates remember that Dashuai was at the beginning, but they chose him as the main envoy against public opinion!"

At the beginning, whether it was a civilian staff like Cen Shen, or a confidant veteran such as Zhou Xiaofeng, they all felt that the plan of sending Wang Xun and others to envoy the Lingxi countries was really too risky. However, Feng Changqing was stubborn, not only did not listen to the dissuasion of Cen Shen and others, but also rejected Zhou Xiaofeng's suggestion to send an old man to replace Wang Xun.

For his original insistence, Feng Changqing still does not feel remorseful. "Of course!" He responded loudly, glanced up at Cen Shen, and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "Do you think the old man is too important to allow a few of them?" Or is the opportunity too high for their hopes? ”

"The subordinates don't dare!" Cen Shen smiled and bowed his hand again. The expression on his face clearly told the other party that he really thought so in his heart. The reason why this is not out of jealousy, but as an old friend who knows Wang Xun well, Cen Shen knows very well in his heart that Wang Xun is still too immature at the moment. Throwing an ignorant young man who has not been deeply involved in the world into those old foxes who have lived in the gap between the Tang Dynasty and the Great Food all his life in the Lingxi countries is no different from sending meat into the tiger's mouth!

"Then do you know how old the old man is this year?" Feng Changqing smiled and asked again.

"Dashuai is less than sixty this year!" Cen Shen didn't even think about it, and came as soon as he opened it, "If you are willing to take care of your body and stay up late, under your leadership, the Anxi Army will surely be brilliant for more than ten years!" ”

"You, you cunning fellow!" Feng Changqing laughed loudly, and while laughing, he looked at Cen Shen and shook his head.

Cen Shen was seen to have hair on his body, so he quickly turned his head sideways, trying not to meet Feng Changqing's gaze. At the same time, he asked loudly in his mouth, "Isn't what my subordinates said wrong?" Don't laugh, your subordinates are telling the truth! ”

"You're telling the truth!" Feng Changqing slowly put away his smile, and his eyes suddenly became a little deep, "But do you know that since the early days of Tianbao, who has been able to work in the position of the envoy of the Anxi Festival for ten years?!" ”

"This ......" Cen Shen was stunned by the question, and he really couldn't answer for a while. In his memory, he vaguely knew that Feng Changqing's predecessor Gao Xianzhi was about the seventh year of Tianbao to replace Fu Meng Lingjing's Jiedu envoy, and Tianbao was secretly demoted by Mingsheng in the tenth year because of the command error of the Battle of Talas, and was transferred from the position of Jiedu envoy to Chang'an to enjoy Qingfu.

The imperial court appointed Wang Zhengjian to replace Gao Xianzhi. Soon, Wang Zheng saw that he became ill from overwork and died of illness in office. Before his death, he recommended Feng Changqing to the imperial court. And Gao Xianzhi's predecessor Meng Lingjing, about three years after Tianbao took office, Tianbao was impeached by Bian Lingcheng and Gao Xianzhi in the seventh year, and was transferred to another side by the imperial court.

After careful calculation, none of the four Anxi Festival envoys has served for more than five years! What does this mean?! Thinking of this, Cen Shen suddenly began to sympathize with Feng Changqing's situation. With a group of brothers working hard for the country in such a remote place, not only had to deal with the elbows of the eunuchs, but also had to be on guard against the suspicion of the imperial court at all times. It's no wonder that Bian Lingcheng casually played a little conspiracy, so that the old general was tied! If he is a little careless, it is a trivial matter for him to return without success in the Western Expedition, and if he can't even take his own life!

"This place is too far away from the Central Plains after all!" Feng Changqing smiled bitterly and shook his head helplessly. The imperial court should be more vigilant. The old man had already seen it and didn't care about it. What the old man cares about is that he sees that the old man's generation is dying, but he still can't distinguish the winner from the big cannibal! ”

"There's no rush either. The Hu people have never had a hundred years of luck! In the past, Jieli Khan's command was known as controlling millions of strings, but it declined in a blink of an eye! Great cannibals, presumably too! Cen Shen didn't know what to say to comfort the old general, so he had to use the rise and fall of the Turkic Empire as an analogy.

"But who can guarantee that my Datang Jiu will prosper forever?!" Feng Changqing's voice suddenly increased, like Hong Zhong Dalu.

Cen Shen couldn't answer, so he had to choose silence again. Deep down, he knew that Feng Changqing's worries had gradually become a reality. After more than 30 years of prosperity and stability, the Central Plains has shown signs of decline. However, when he was in Chang'an, he once pondered that if one day he was lucky enough to be appreciated by His Majesty the Emperor, he could offer a clever plan. The answer is no, some questions are not carefully considered, and if you think about it deeply, you will find that it is not as simple as it seems on the surface.

"You, I, no one can guarantee it!" Feng Changqing's words continued to come, and the sound beat Cen Shen's ear drums. "What the old man can do is to try to solve the troubles here completely while our generation is alive. Even if it can't be done, it must be given to the Anxi Army and the Tang Dynasty, leaving a few generals to inherit the fire. ”

As he spoke, he poked his gaze out of the window and looked at the night sky in the distance.

The generals of his own generation are getting old. And the contest between Datang and Dashi may have just begun.

The fake emissary was in his early twenties.

Wang Xun and Yu Wenzhi, Song Wu and others are also about the same age.