Yin Mountain is across the desert, and Li Tao's army certainly can't reach the grassland so quickly. 9078.8C3A4I6h5o7n8g67e9n8x0u2e30.9c7o9m8 The first to rush to the Hui tribe was a fast horse messenger sent by Li Tao, telling the Hui leader Tu Midu, saying that Li Tao had personally led 100,000 Jin and border field troops to the grassland by the holy decree!

It turned out that a long time ago, Tumidu had already noticed Yi Nan's ambition to go south from the north to annex the grassland, and the reason was that Yi Nan wanted to marry the Blood Lotus and Xiyan sisters. At that time, the leader of the Ashina tribe, He Luohu, secretly sent the second daughter to the Hui tribe to hide, and asked Tumidu to ask Li Tao, the northern military commander of the Tang Dynasty, for help.

It's a pity that in the end, Tumidu failed to save the crisis of the extermination of the Ashina tribe, and Li Taoyuan couldn't quench his thirst. The once glorious Ashina tribe has almost disappeared on the grassland since then.

After learning the details from Tumidu's mouth, Xue Rengui was very excited, and his heart was still boiling!

They have been fleeing and drifting for a long time, they are like rootless wanderers, hiding from all over the world as their home, sending people homesick under the fence. Now that I know that the main force of the imperial court is coming, it is undoubtedly a feeling of meeting my relatives in a foreign country and knowing my relatives for a long time.

Xue Rengui decided to camp here for repairs and wait for the arrival of Li Tao's army. Then discuss the next move with him. How to say it, Li Tao is also the prime minister in charge of military affairs, and he is one of the best in the army in the Tang Empire, and even Qin Mubai respects him, and Xue Rengui is looking forward to his arrival.

A few days later, the sentinel sent by the Hui Hui to the north reported that Yi Nan was bedridden after being pierced by Xue Rengui's shoulder armor and returning to the dental tent, and that his brothers, generals, and nephews took advantage of the situation to fight for power.

This is great news for Xue Rengui and the Hui people!

After the victory in the battle of the Orkhon River that day, Xue Rengui was certainly the mighty grassland that made the enemy fearless and worshipped, and at the same time, the Hui tribe was also powerful. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tumidu, in the name of "the daughter of the Khan of Ashinabu", summoned the leaders of the other nine Tiele tribes in the grassland to meet and discuss the "righteous act" of raising troops to defeat Yi Nan and help the Tang Dynasty Wangshi.

The wall fell down and everyone pushed it, and the Orkhon River was defeated, which almost frustrated Xue Yantuo's spirit. Now that there is the backbone of the Tang Dynasty and the Tumidu taking the lead, other tribes of the grassland, large and small, who originally hated Xue Yantuo, flocked to gather in the Hui Wen clan to discuss the matter of raising troops day and night.

Xue Rengui was naturally invited to be a guest of honor, and even Tumidu was willing to sit down with him, and he saluted Xue Rengui with the courtesy of an envoy of the Heavenly Empire. The leaders of other clans and warriors obeyed Xue Rengui even more obediently!

This was really a bit unexpected for Xue Rengui!

Within ten days, the Hui tribe had gathered nearly 150,000 troops, all of whom were cavalry with the surname Tiele. The leaders unanimously elected Xue Rengui as the commander-in-chief, organized the army of the "Righteous Alliance", and waited for Li Tao's army to arrive, and then agitated to the north - to destroy Xue Yantuo!!

Among the 150,000 troops, there is one unit that is the most eye-catching. Its leader is a female general - Ashina Blood Lotus!

Nashi Nabu was a noble tribe of the steppe, and He Luohu was once revered as "Khan", and the blood lotus was a dignified princess. Now that the khan has been killed by Yi Nan, the princess raises the flag to recruit troops and hang the people, which is also a legitimate teacher. It was precisely in the name of Blood Lotus and Xiyan that Tumidu recruited the leaders of the nine surnamed Tiele.

It's just that everyone didn't expect that Blood Lotus would not be willing to be a puppet and banner at all, she insisted on personally leading 30,000 elite rebels as a pro-honor army to recruit Xue Yantuo to avenge her father, if she didn't give her soldiers and horses, she would rather not afford this rebel army!

There was no way, the leaders had to rely on him - from the 150,000 troops selected the strongest 30,000 strong soldiers and 50,000 good horses, and handed them over to this heroine. Later, she had to listen to his willfulness, and let her join forces with the Tang Army under Xue Rengui to form the Chinese Army and the vanguard, and became the backbone and center of this righteous army.

In this regard, Xue Rengui was secretly happy in his heart. Although he has no interest in women being generals and is not very optimistic, the "willfulness" of Blood Lotus has helped him a lot. On the surface, of course, the allies are like-minded and righteous, but in fact, they are not secretly fighting with each other? In the final analysis, isn't it just to disintegrate Xue Yantuo's power and break the existing pattern for the benefit of his own clan? Now that the war has not yet begun, everything is fine; Once Xue Yantuo is defeated, it is very likely that there will be tribes in the current allied army that will attack and kill each other for the sake of profit, and even a second Yi Nan will appear.

Now that the blood lotus has drawn these 30,000 elites to strengthen the Chinese army, coupled with the fact that Li Tao's army will come forward later, it will be able to completely suppress the other tribes and make them dare not act rashly, so that the Tang Dynasty will be firmly on the throne of the overlord on the grassland.

In other words, Blood Lotus inadvertently helped Datang, and first played a hand of "strong cadres and weak branches", which can save a lot of trouble in the future - Xue Rengui gradually made a decision in his heart, he must take this woman to Lanzhou to see Qin Mubai, but her wish ...... "I believe that the young marshal must know better than me how to deal with the relationship with her, and - tightly hold the soldiers, horses and forces in her hands!" ”

Nine surnames, 28 tribes, 150,000 troops, hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep and horses, mountains of grain and grass equipment, the traffic is full of people...... In the Hui tribe, it was lively.

In this extremely lively and noisy environment, there is one person who is out of place with him.

Blue sky, white clouds and green grasslands, she rode alone on a snow-white colt, playing a continuous and leisurely tune with the Turkic eagle flute over and over again.

Ashina Xiyan.

The sunset stretched her shadow long, the cattle and sheep were about to turn around, and she was still sitting lonely on the small slope of the grassland, watching the clouds rise.

A string of horses' hooves came from behind him, sonorous and powerful. Xiyan didn't have to look back to know that it was her sister's horse.

"Xiyan, why do you have to do this. For a man, is it worth it? Blood Lotus didn't get off the horse, and her tone was a little impulsive.

Xiyan turned her head to look at her sister, smiled slightly, and said nothing.

Blood Lotus jumped off the horse with some annoyance, sat down beside her, and said, "Xiyan, now there are only two of us left in the family, I am your only relative, and you are also my last support." Tell me, do you really like Xue Rengui? ”

"......" Xiyan's face was slightly red, his eyes looked into the distance, and he said softly, "But he is like a wreath of the gods and flowing clouds, out of reach." Sister, don't worry about me. Maybe it won't be long before he's gone, and I'll forget about him. ”

"Since you like it, you have to work hard and pursue it fiercely!" Blood Lotus said anxiously, "Sister! The people of the Ashina family, even women, are brave and reckless! Our ancestors and brothers were the real kings of the grassland, don't be so cowardly and let them be ashamed! ”

"Sister, how do you think I should pursue it?" Xiyan smiled lonely and said softly, "Luohua is ruthless with intention, how can emotional matters be reluctant?" Brother Xue is a hero and a good man who stands up to the sky, he only has his wife in his heart, and he can't let go of other women. ”

"Who said that! A peerless beauty like my sister no man would not be tempted! Blood Lotus hugged Xi Yan's shoulders, glared into her eyes and said, "Tell me, you don't care if you give him a concubine - yes, concubine!" You have to follow him to the Central Plains, and when you go to the Central Plains, you have to enter the country and follow the customs! In the Central Plains, concubines have no status, and even worse, they are bullied and sold like pigs, dogs, cows and sheep! ”

"I don't care!"

"With your words, that's enough!" The blood lotus got up and jumped on the horse's back, flicked the horsewhip and whipped the horse's buttocks and galloped away—"Wait for my good news!" ”

At night, in Xue Rengui's felt tent.

Blood Lotus was dressed in a bright red robe and armor like flames, with a treasure sword hanging from her waist and a snow tassel on her head, standing in front of Xue Rengui with her hands crossed on her chest, looking at him obliquely—"You think about it carefully!" My sister is not a woman who can't get married, she hasn't liked anyone at the age of seventeen, you're the first! So I'm going to fight for her! ”

"Blood Lotus...... How can this kind of thing be forced? Xue Rengui shook his head in embarrassment, "Sister Ling is indeed very beautiful, gentle and kind, but ...... I already have a wife, and I ......"

"And what? You are a big man, why are you so mother-in-law! Blood Lotus said in annoyance.

"Moreover, I am now a general who commands the army, and I dare not be selfish for the sake of the public." Xue Rengui said, "If you let the soldiers know that I still have the heart to marry a wife and take a concubine at this time, wouldn't it chill their minds? ”

"Oh, that's what you mean...... If you let your brothers take a house of wives and concubines here, you will have no opinion, right? - That's no problem! Blood Lotus spread her hands and said, "I know that your women in the Central Plains are warm and kind, but the daughters of the grassland are not bad!" Tomorrow, I will ask my uncle to issue an order that all the unmarried women of all the tribes surnamed Tiele who have the will to marry you brothers will come to our tribe to marry!" ”

Xue Rengui was stunned for a moment, "Don't mess around!" ”

"What nonsense!" Blood Lotus raised her eyebrows and stared at her apricot eyes, "Is it a rare thing for Han and Hu to marry?" Besides, it's completely voluntary, not forced! If so many Tiele women marry the soldiers of your army, wouldn't it strengthen the friendly relations between the Tang Dynasty and the grassland tribes? This is also of great benefit to Datang - I believe that your court will not object! ”

"......" Xue Rengui was speechless for a while, thinking in his heart, this blood lotus is too smart and sharp, and he thinks about everything, which is irrefutable!

"If you don't have an opinion, I'll do it right away, a one-sentence thing!" Blood Lotus clapped her hands, and she was ready to leave.

"You wait!" Xue Rengui stopped her and said solemnly, "In the final analysis, our whole army is actually guilty of a fugitive journey, how can we be so reckless?" You'd better slow down, at least wait for Li Tao to come. I am willing to do what he says. ”

"It's not promising!" Blood Lotus stomped her foot in annoyance, "Didn't you say that you were Qin Mubai's person, why did you listen to Li Tao again?" Leave him alone! ”

"......" Xue Rengui was speechless again.

"If you can't make a decision, I'll tell you one more thing." Blood Lotus obviously came prepared, smiled mysteriously, approached Xue Rengui's side, and said, "If you are willing to marry my sister, I will give you a big dowry!" ”

"The grassland also has a dowry?" Xue Rengui couldn't help laughing, "Forget it, although Xue is poor, he is not short of use." ”

"You're wrong." Blood Lotus dragged out her voice and said solemnly, "This dowry is neither gold nor silver nor cattle and sheep, but - 30,000 elite soldiers!" ”

“！！！” Xue Rengui was stunned!

"Tempted?" The blood lotus's well-defined lips raised slightly, and a wry smile was raised, and the corners of the white mouth revealed two shallow dimples, "I know, only this kind of thing can impress you - even if you don't like my sister now, it doesn't matter, I fully believe that it won't be long before you change your attitude, because my sister is the most gentle and kind woman in the world." Now, you have to accept her and not hurt her! For the sake of her happiness, I will not hesitate to pay any price - including these 30,000 elite soldiers, and also, kill anyone who hurts her! ”

Xue Rengui frowned and nodded slowly: "I can give it a try." But you know, I've got a wife......"

"That's not a problem! - You just have to like her, love her deeply, and treat her well! Otherwise I'll do it! ......" Blood Lotus raised a finger and almost pointed at the tip of Xue Rengui's nose and drank a few words, then put down his hand and nodded lightly, and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry Brother Xue, I only have my sister, my only relative...... Please forgive me for my gaffes and excesses! - Leave the wedding to me, it will be the grandest wedding on the grassland, even the noble wolf god and the golden mountain will come to bless you! ”

Ten days later...... The blank clouds are clear, and the orchestra is singing and dancing in unison.

In the tooth tent of the Hui tribe, an unprecedented and extremely grand wedding was held for Xue Rengui and the princess of the Ashina tribe.

Coincidentally, less than halfway through the wedding, Li Tao personally led 100,000 Tang troops to arrive, and he added another joy!

Xue Rengui and the soldiers of the Tang Army welcomed Li Tao's army, and they all cried with joy!

And Li Tao had already heard about the feat of Xue Rengui and others, and he was quite emotional! At that moment, he was invited by Tumidu and others as guests, and presided over the wedding of Xue Rengui and Xiyan.

An army of 250,000 gathered the Hui tribe!

The Xue Yantuo tribe in the north found out the news, and the people's hearts were panicked and turbulent, and Yi Nan fainted several times when he heard about it when he was seriously ill, and the fighting in the tooth tent did not stop. The Xue Yantuo tribe, which was once very prosperous, was like a dead leaf in the wind in the blink of an eye.

The three-day celebration and celebration of the Hui tribe became a sea of joy.

And Xue Rengui, the groom who should be the most cheerful, doesn't seem to be so excited. Lying slightly drunk in the brand-new felt tent, looking at the gentle bride who was shy dressing and pouring sweet milk wine under the red candle, he was always a little absent-minded and thoughtful.

"Husband, ......" finally mustered up the courage to call this voice, and Xiyan's face was as red as a midsummer grape.

"I'm sorry, please wait, I'll be here if I have something important to go!"

Unexpectedly, Xue Rengui took off the groom's clothes, opened the felt tent and ran out.

Xi Yan stood stunned for a long time with two glasses of wine, gently put the wine glasses on the small round table, and then carefully draped the traditional red hijab of the Central Plains on top of his phoenix crown, and sat quietly on the edge of the bed.

"I am willing to exchange my life for your sincere treatment, why rush at this time? Go, I'll wait for you to come back......"

Xue Rengui came directly to the camp of the main force of the Tang Army, Wang Shi, and asked to see Li Tao.

Li Tao was naturally quite surprised, and as soon as Xue Rengui entered the account, he smiled and said: "What's the matter with the groom, is it because he was kicked out of the house by the bride because of snoring, and he is homeless?" ”

"Li Dashuai, don't make fun of the last general......" Xue Rengui smiled bitterly twice and said, "In the future, I will come to you because I have important military affairs to discuss." ”

"Well, you say." Li Tao is not a person who is smooth and smooth, so after inviting Xue Rengui to sit down, he will go straight to the point.

Xue Rengui said: "In the past few days, the general has been thinking, since the imperial court has allowed Lanzhou to go to war with Tubo, and sent troops to Jiannan, Liaodong, and the northern grasslands, I think the series of major wars is about to begin." At the moment, I think the most pressure is still Lanzhou. After the fall of Gaochang, the combined forces of Tubo and Turkic Beiting were bound to attack Puchanghai and Lanyang Erguan; At the same time, the main force of Tubo led by Garqinling also officially knocked on Dafeichuan. Lanzhou was attacked from the back but few in force, and the most elite army was now thousands of miles away in the grasslands...... I'm really worried that the young marshal won't be able to support it! ”

"Your concerns are very reasonable." Li Tao twisted his brows and said, "To be honest, even I pinched a cold sweat for Qin Mubai. Lanzhou is now facing a siege of hundreds of thousands of troops, and he has few soldiers in his hands. Even though His Majesty is trying his best to support Qin Mubai to support the main battle in Lanzhou, his old man is also facing the same problem - you have also seen that Guanzhong has successively transferred nearly 200,000 troops to fight in the south and the north, which already seems a little empty. Moreover, in order to cope with the logistical supply of hundreds of thousands of troops, hundreds of thousands of civilians were requisitioned...... The cost of manpower and material resources is quite staggering! It can be said that now the imperial court is about to be drained, and the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong are also quite weak. Your Majesty, you really can't come up with anything else to support Qin Mubai. All he can do is to support Qin Mubai with the clearest and most decisive position, and give him the greatest power and freedom! ”

Li Tao obviously had something to say, and Xue Rengui was naturally a smart person, so he couldn't help but light up in his heart, and said in a low voice: "Li Dashuai, you mean...... The young marshal may recruit troops in Lanzhou himself to expand the army? ”

"I didn't say that." Li Tao smiled incomprehensibly, "Moreover, even if he does this, it will be difficult for the newly recruited sergeants to become a big weapon without training, and at most it can only be an expedient measure." Now, what Qin Mubai and Lanzhou need most may be a surprise soldier......"

"This strange army must be deeply inserted behind the Tubo army and attack the enemy army together with the defenders of Yuyang Second Pass!" Xue Rengui said with a wave of his fist.

"Wonderful." Li Tao raised his eyebrows and showed a look of approval, "Qin Sanlang often tells me that Xue Rengui is such a genius in both civil and military affairs, looking at it today, it is indeed true!" ”

"Li Dashuai praised it falsely!" Xue Rengui bowed modestly and said, "The last general is here to discuss this matter with the marshal." ”

"Just say what you think."

"The last general wants to ...... Led this Gaochang army to turn back, unexpectedly turned over and fought again, recovered Gaochang and attacked and killed the defenders of Yuyang Erguan, formed a siege with the defenders of Yuyang Erguan, and broke the enemy army! Xue Rengui said.

Li Tao frowned and groaned for a moment, nodded slowly, and said, "Rengui, I heard...... You've also studied the art of war, right? ”

"Well, Young Marshal Qin will not give up, and he once ordered the last general one or two."

"That's right." Li Tao smiled meaningfully, "Wei Gong can be called a rare military god in the ages, and the essence of his use of soldiers lies in 'Qizheng Gongfu is unpredictable'." Your move to surround Wei and save Zhao can be said to be a deep transmission of the art of war. But again, it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice - now your soldiers and horses have been left with less than 10,000 men and many wounded after a series of fierce battles, and they are already a tired army. Hugh said that recovering Gaochang and attacking and killing Tibet is a desert that stretches for 800 miles and tens of thousands of defenders of the Hulu tribe, which is a high mountain that is difficult for you to overcome. ”

"Great commander, the last general is not a reckless person, since he dares to put forward such a bold idea, he is naturally almost sure!"

"Oh? Let's hear it, what does your grasp come from? Li Tao was immediately interested.

"My newlywed wife has brought a rich dowry ......" Xue Rengui's thick eyebrows tightened and his face showed a hint of guilt, and he endured it, but still said, "That is, 30,000 elite Hu Qi!" ”

"What?" At this moment, even Li Tao was taken aback!

"That's right." Xue Rengui nodded affirmatively, "To put it clearly, it was her sister and my sister-in-law Ashina Sunset, who gave it to my pro-honor troops, the 30,000 elite cavalry selected from the twenty-eight Tiele allied forces with nine surnames!" ”

"Is that really the case?" Li Tao almost didn't believe his ears, and he was pleasantly surprised, who had always had an unchanging face and a heartbeat.

Xue Rengui smiled bitterly: "Dashuai, do you think the end general looks like the kind of person who likes to laugh nonsense?" ”

Li Tao took a deep breath and nodded heavily: "That's it, that's great!" …… Rengui, you are really a god and a blessed general! Originally, I only agreed to marry Ashina Xiyan in order to appease the Hui and the grassland tribes. The woman was nice, but I could tell you weren't a womanizer and didn't have much interest in him. You should consider not you personally, but the overall situation. This is already very gratifying to me, I believe that in return to the imperial court, the saint will also be happy and praise you highly - I didn't expect it! You even managed 30,000 elite iron horsemen! This...... Ha ha! Even Ben Shuai felt a little incredible! You said that you, Xue Rengui, led a brigade of remnants to travel thousands of miles through bloody battles, and it is very good to be able to survive until now! You can still break the Yinan Megatron Grassland, integrate 150,000 allied troops to fight against Xue Yantuo, and earn both fame and fortune to earn beauties and soldiers-haha! You are as simple as Qin Mubai! ”

"Handsome! Handsome! ......" Xue Rengui was already embarrassed and blushed, and said busily, "Let's get down to business—you say, if the last general leads 10,000 Tang troops and 30,000 Tiele elite cavalry, turns back and besieges Wei to save Zhao, is this feasible?" ”

"Totally doable!" Li Tao said categorically, "Actually, I don't need you to say it, I've been thinking about this issue for a long time." In the Tang Dynasty, the biggest crisis and turning point are in Lanzhou. The reason why I ordered my soldiers and horses to rush to Mobei day and night was that I hoped to put down the Xue Yantuo Rebellion as soon as possible, and then cross Jinshan, attack Tubo in the west, and gallop to aid the Western Regions. Unexpectedly, you have almost single-handedly beaten Xue Yantuo to death, and now, you don't have to pay attention to Xue Yantuo's affairs at all, rest assured and boldly lead your Iron Army to do what you should do! ”

Xue Rengui suddenly boiled with enthusiasm!

Suddenly stood up, clasped his fists and bowed again: "Thank you Li Dashuai for making it happen!" - The last general, tomorrow will be the army to march! ”

Li Tao frowned slightly, "Aren't you a newlywed Yan'er?" This is to abandon the bride and slip away with her dowry, isn't it? ”

Xue Rengui was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly, and then said: "If Xue stays here for one more day, Lanzhou may have tens of millions more deaths, Datang will have more crises, and the young marshal will have more pressure." Don't worry any longer! Since Ashina Sunset is married to me, you must understand and support me in doing so—otherwise, I'd rather get married today than give up tomorrow! Those 30,000 elite Hu Qi, don't do it! ”

"So what are you waiting for?" The corners of Li Tao's mouth raised, revealing an approving smile, "Spring Xiao is rare, go back and persuade and comfort your poor beautiful lady!" At two o'clock tomorrow, Ben Shuai and the Hui tribe's spit out the fascination of the Hui tribe, and they will do it for you together! ”

"No!!"