This is a cavalry team of 100 people, led by a lieutenant officer with a battalion commander who came to the army, reined in his mount and asked, "Excuse me, which one is General Zhou?" ”

Zhou Tingyu took two steps forward and said, "I am Zhou Tingyu!" ”

The commander of the battalion hurriedly raised his head and saluted: "Report to the general, Zhang Hui, the commander of Datun, has been ordered to come to greet him." ”

Zhou Tingyu nodded: "Commander Zhang is in charge of Tuntian in the Western Regions, but it is very hard. ”

He inquired about the situation here, and it turned out that the imperial court had built a grain and grass transit station here, which could provide supplies for the army.

It seems that the layout and preparation have already begun.

After resting for two days in Datunpu City, the Longyou Army restarted and continued to advance westward along the foot of Altun Mountain.

In late March, Zhou Tingyu led the Longyou and Qingtang armies to arrive at Youchang City.

Wang Jing, the commander of the capital of Tuntian and Tian, led a group of officers to welcome him out of the city.

He was a veteran, about fifty years old, of medium build, with gray hair and wrinkled face, but still very ruddy.

"Brother, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Wang Jing was wearing a uniform and was still very enthusiastic, and when he saw Zhou Tingyu jumping off the horse, he took the initiative to step forward and shake hands with him.

He is also an old man in the Jin army, he was originally a lieutenant under Li Sizhao, and gradually rose to the defense envoy of Zezhou. Now that he has transferred to the Western Regions, his level has been promoted, but the conditions are much more difficult.

Zhou Tingyu shook hands with him and said with a smile: "General Wang opened the border of the Western Regions, which is a credit that will go down in history. I'm crossing the border from your land, and I'm going to have to trouble the old general to take care of it. ”

After hearing this, Wang Jing smiled and said, "This is also the above arrangement, but it has nothing to do with me." This grain and grass have been transported and hoarded since last year, and it is not a big problem to ensure your supply for a year. ”

Zhou Tingyu said: "Then I have to rest here for a while, this continuous march of more than forty days, the army needs to rest for a while." ”

Wang Jing said: "I estimate that you can stay long enough, and the envoy from Khotan has already stayed in the city, probably to urge the general to send troops to rescue earlier." ”

"I heard the latest news that the Karahan army has crossed the Yaerkan River?" Zhou Tingyu asked.

"Not bad." Wang nodded and said: "In the previous period, they also tentatively launched an attack on the city of Khotan, but they were defeated by the Khotanese army in the town of Laiju. ”

"So the Khotanese army still has some combat effectiveness?" Zhou Tingyu said.

"The Khotanese army now has less than 15,000 men left, and the attacking Karahan army has only more than 5,000 men, so it can be defeated by them. If the army arrives, the Khotanese people will definitely not be able to withstand it. Wang Jing said, "I have already reported the situation here to Yizhou and Shazhou with flying pigeons. ”

The end of the river where the city of Yochang is located is the largest river in this area, with a total length of more than 1,600 kilometers, and the river water can flow directly into the Puchang Sea during the flood season. Therefore, this area is also the main Tuntian area where the Tang army is currently in Khotan.

After resting for five days in the city of Jochan, the army set out for a new start under the incessant requests for help from the envoys of Khotan.

It was almost May, and the temperature was a bit hot during the march on the road.

According to the situation, Zhou Tingyu simply ordered the troops to rest during the day and march at night.

On this morning, the army finally marched to Hongliugou, which was still thirty miles away from the city of Klya (Yutian), and Li Jijiao, the king of Zheng, who had been sent to Khotan to pacify, also sent people to greet him.

"How's it going?" After meeting, Zhou Tingyu asked directly.

"There is nothing to do for the time being, but the Karahan army is stepping up its attack on Gaochang, and has already occupied the city of Buqier (Luntai) east of Qiuci, and has attacked Yanqi twice, and the king of Gaochang is constantly asking us for help." Huo Liang, who led the team, replied.

The Northern Karakhan attack on Khotan was thwarted and turned its attention to the east, and after the beginning of spring, the Karakhan army at Qiuzi suddenly launched an attack on the territory of the Uighurs of Gaochang along the southern foothills of the Tien Shan Mountains all the way east.

This was until the Tiemen Pass was blocked, and after receiving the alarm, King Gaochang urgently asked for help from the Tang army that was conducting tunnan in Beiting and Yizhou.

Unexpectedly, the imperial court actually mobilized 150,000 troops.

This is the frame that is ready to take over the entire Western Regions completely!

"As long as it's okay, let's go to Khotan to rest for a while. As for the Gaochang people, they don't care so much for now. Zhou Tingyu said after hearing this. The Hexi army led by Tang Tai over there deliberately walked very slowly, with the intention of completely dispelling the illusions of the Gaochang people. The king of Gaochang also counted on the imperial army to return the territory to him after he had finished helping.

Therefore, whether to fight Shule or not this year will have to wait for the arrival of all the troops, and then discuss it carefully.

The meaning of the imperial court is to hold the main force of the Karahan army first, and the two armies of An Xianqi and Zhi Congyuan will send troops from Yili, along the Yili River Valley, and really attack the Karahan king's capital Balashayan.

At the beginning of May, the endless Gobi is dotted with a lot of green. In the blue sky, several goshawks circled, looking for their prey.

In the distance, there was a sudden thunderous sound of horses' hooves, and then a group of small black dots appeared, getting closer and closer, and it was a cavalry of thousands of men. The commander of the former army of Longyou made Murong Yanchao take the lead and led the pro-army to gallop on the boundless grassland. Several cavalrymen in front rushed to him, came to him, grabbed the reins and said, "Brigade commander, the forward battalion is fifteen miles away. ”

Murong Yanchao rushed up a hill on his horse, looked into the distance, and faintly saw a continuous camp in his field of vision, Murong Yanchao showed a smile on his face, "It seems that Yang Chonggui is preparing to rest." ”

The cavalry army commanded by Murong Yanchao was from the Yunzhou Army, and then transferred to Longyou and Qingtang, and this 6,000-strong army was the main force of the more than 30,000 people supporting the Western Regions army because it was from the forbidden army.

In the concept of the imperial court, only when the land is reclaimed here and completely rooted can it be regarded as truly mastering this land. The place occupied is not called territory, only the place where life and production can be regarded as one's own territory.

After nearly two months of trekking, the Longyou and Qingtang cavalry finally arrived in Khotan. However, this place is still thousands of miles away from the surrounding area of Shule occupied by the Karahan people, and whether to do it this year, Zhou Tingyu, as the commander, is also a little hesitant, so the marching speed of the army has dropped.

Murong Yanchao squinted at the blue sky and the snow-capped Kungang Snow Mountains in the distance to the south, and then looked at the dry Gobi Desert in the north, and instead had a familiar feeling in his heart when he was pioneering around Qaidam.

He took command and waved his army to collect the Han land, and expanded the territory and rolled up the sky.

Recovering the Western Regions and expanding the territory, the husband should be like this!

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