Tang Yuan suddenly had a backbone, and before entering Xinjiaohe City, he came to see Cao Sheng.

Although Cao Sheng talks and laughs well, he always seems to be so gloomy.

Tang Yuan said: "I have decided, help Tang Qi, but not Tang Zhen." If one day, the Tang clan rebels, I will not rebel and I will not suppress it. Can you see what I mean? ”

"Hahaha!" Cao Sheng laughed and said: "The Queen Mother also has a decree, which was originally intended to be used after entering the city, but now I think it is useless, so I burned it in front of you." ”

Tang Yuan didn't see what was written on this edict, but he heard Cao Sheng say lightly: This edict is for the Queen Mother to let Min Yue test you, if you think you can use it, give you the Great Seal of Rest, if you think you can't do it, you will be driven back to Mozhou. You don't have to worry about the rest, the Queen Mother can't let us want your life, after all, you are also a talent in my Great Liang Army, although the Hexi Corridor has been recovered now, there are still many enemies in the Great Liang Dynasty, and it is the time when good generals are needed. For example, if there is no good general in this Anxi Protectorate, how can the Queen Mother rest assured. Right?

At this time, it was already the fifth year of Zhide, and the New Year on the march had no taste of the New Year, and now it was not yet the first month, and they came to Xinjiaohe City.

The new city was full of joy, and when he heard that Cao Sheng was coming with his troops, the old general Min Yue, the god of war of the Great Liang, came out to greet him in person.

When Tang Yuan saw the old general, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he praised in his heart: This little old man is really full of spirit.

Min Yue is not tall, and even a little thin, but this person's mind must be extremely flexible, giving people a feeling that the spirit is inexhaustible. Now that he is in his late teens, he is still full of vitality, and his reputation in the Western Regions is extremely high, and the locals, whether it is Han people or natives of the Western Regions, have great respect for him.

It is said that when the northern steppe peoples invaded, the local indigenous tribes did not help less, so it is no wonder that he was able to hold on to the Anxi capital for 40 years without receiving any support from the imperial court.

Jiaohe City is naturally a little smaller than the big cities of the Central Plains, but after the expansion of the last ten years, it has been quite large-scale, and the city has frequent business and trade exchanges, and now I heard that the Hexi Corridor has been opened, and the businessmen are eager to try to reopen the Silk Road and go to the Central Plains to do business. For a time, there were more and more people in Jiaohe City, and according to preliminary estimates, there were as many as 300,000 people.

A city of 300,000 people, in the Great Liang Dynasty, which has been fighting for years, is already considered a medium-sized city, of course, compared to a super city with a population of one million like Luoyang, it is still incomparable, but if Tang Yuan is allowed to stay here, he will definitely not feel desolate.

When the old general Min Yue heard about Tang Yuan's resume, his eyes lit up, and he said, "When I was your age, I was not as good as you." But you're so young to take on such a burden, and I'm afraid I'm going to crush you. No, no, even if there is a decree of the Queen Mother, I will not hand over the general's seal to you immediately, it is better to stay like this, I will stay for another year, in this year, you do things, I watch, if you are really competent, I will also go with peace of mind. ”

Min Yue, the general of Zhenxi Protector, is dedicated to the country and is worthy of respect.

Soon after, Cao Sheng left, but this time he left, he did not take the troops with him, he only brought some food and five hundred cavalry guards, and will also lead a large number of caravans to the Central Plains, along the way he is responsible for helping to clear the customs, once again open up this dusty forty-year-old trade road.

Once this trade route was opened, it would be of great benefit to the economic development of the Great Liang Dynasty and the Western Regions. Not only the Anxi Protectorate, but also more distant places in the west, as far as Persia and Fulin, where merchants would also hear the news.

Cao Sheng went this time, originally planned to take those veterans who had been stationed in Jiaohe for 40 years back to his hometown, but the veterans had already married local indigenous women, had children, and had offspring, most of them were a group of sixty or seventy-year-old old men, and everyone had already regarded this place as their second hometown. Even if he goes back with great difficulty now, it is estimated that his parents are no longer alive, so there are only a few dozen people who followed Cao Sheng back to the Central Plains this time.

These people want to go home to see if their brothers and sisters are still there, or if they already have wives and children when they joined the army, and this time they go back to see them, but they have a wish. But the road is so long, it is unknown whether they will be able to come back alive.

——

There was a sound of gongs and drums, and a pair of beautiful women on the street rushed left and right.

A handsome woman, active in the crowd, followed by the young general Tang Yuan, the two dressed in ordinary people's clothes, blended into the crowd, and came to shop.

Tang Yuan suddenly rubbed his nose and said, "Many women in the Western Regions have high noses and big eyes, which are very wonderful, and now that the second brother Chen Bao is also twenty years old, he should have a home." As the eldest brother, I can't help but think about the marriage for the second brother. Hey, Lin Qiao'er, don't be jumping around all day, you have to be a sister-in-law. ”

"We haven't done a happy event yet, but you're thinking about doing it for him."

"Do we still need to do something between us?"

"What? You're going to be so dumb and quietly let me give you a baby? ”

"Is this...... Well, tonight, I'm going to invite General Min Yue to be our witnesses and hold a wedding. ”

"In such a hurry?"

"Do you think you're in a hurry?"

"Forget it, I won't fight with you." Miss Lin, who still looked like a girl, blushed and was slightly aggrieved.

The old general Min Yue has also settled in Jiaohe City, and he has two sons, but they are not very old. It seems that the old general got married very late.

The eldest son Min Zhenxi is the same age as Tang Yuan, and he is still three months younger in the month, when the two meet, Min Zhenxi still calls Tang Yuan his brother.

Tang Yuan said: "Why don't your two brothers practice martial arts, but instead study literature?" ”

Min Zhenxi was ashamed and said: "My father said that it is too hard to be a general, and it is better to be a civil official." Now that the Hexi corridor has finally been opened, my father laughs from ear to ear whenever he talks about it at home. He has already decided to take the whole family back to the Central Plains, and when the time comes, he will go to the Ministry of Rites to find an errand for us. ”

"Huh." Tang Yuanhui smiled and said, "I see, the two of you will never be arranged to the Ministry of Rites. ”

"Why?"

"And I also have a bad premonition, I think you brothers, it is very likely that one of them will not be able to return to Luoyang."

Min Zhenxi smiled: "I understand what you mean, you mean that the Queen Mother will arrange for one of us to stay in Jiaohe, right?" ”

"I think so.".

Soon after, the emperor's edict came, and Min Zhenxi was appointed as the marquis of Jiaohe, and he was appointed to the first division of Jiaohe. He also asked Min Zhenxi to expand his military strength and turn the First Division of Jiaohe into the First Army of Jiaohe (including Min Yue's troops and the 10,000 people left by Cao Sheng). At the same time, he ordered Tang Yuan, the deputy general of Anxi, to expand the Second Division of Jiaohe into the Second Army of Jiaohe, and the two of you were always ready to march west to Buzhou Mountain and recapture the territory occupied by the Western Turks. The emperor's edict said: I imitate the Han Dynasty and those who commit crimes against our great country will be punished even if they are far away.

It is worth mentioning that now General Anxi is still Min Yue, and the Marquis of Jiaohe is only a title, not an official position, since the Marquis is in charge of the First Army, the intention is self-evident, which is equivalent to a powerful army.