With the arrival of the imperial edict in Liangzhou, the war machine of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate was truly opened.

Although the imperial court asked for restraint in the scale of the war, Liu Kui did not take it lightly.

Originally, he just wanted to use the army of the Shazhou Governor's Mansion and 10,000 Zuo Shence troops to meet the Uighurs in Xizhou.

But when the imperial edict arrived, he changed his mind.

In addition to the 15,000 cavalry mobilized from Shazhou, 5,000 cavalry were also transferred from various tribes in the Gansu Governor's Mansion, plus 10,000 cavalry of the Zuo Shence Army, for a total of 30,000 cavalry.

This kind of long-distance attack, with infantry is a burden.

Even if you want to lead the infantry, you will use war horses to walk, otherwise the infantry will be exhausted to death before they arrive.

And this is only the first battle, and it has not yet reached the stage where infantry is needed to attack the city.

But even so, Liu Kui also asked Zuo Shence to bring 15 divine cannons with him.

By the time the Anxi Iron Cavalry was assembling in Shazhou, the Uighur army of Western China had already reached the northern part of Puchanghai (i.e., Lop Nur).

The strength of the Zhongyun Department should be relatively poor among the Western Regions, with a standing army of less than 10,000 people, and even if all the people are soldiers, it is only 30,000 or 40,000 people.

The way of life of the key Zhongyun tribe is not purely nomadic like that of the nomads, it can be regarded as semi-nomadic and semi-agrarian.

The Zhongyun Department was dominated by two cities, Datun City and Shicheng Town (i.e., Shanshan City), plus several small cities, which constituted the sphere of influence of the Zhongyun Department.

Puchanghai was the main nomadic area of the Zhongyun tribe, but because of its proximity to the Uighur sphere of influence in Xizhou, the Zhongyun tribe did not dare to build a city here, but used it as a buffer zone.

The area where Zhongyun was located was also rich in water and grass, and the land was fertile, and the Uighurs in Western China could only expand to the south.

The terrain to the north is also not suitable for expansion, and further north is the more powerful Tunis.

To the west is the nine surnamed Wuhu, and to the east is the Tang Dynasty, so no matter how you look at it, the Zhongyun Department in the south is easy to bully.

Moreover, if they want to block the westward advance of the Tang Dynasty, then the Uighur Khan of Xizhou will definitely have to find a way to increase their national strength, so that they can have the strength to resist when they clash with the Tang Dynasty in the future.

However, in the previous conflict with Zhongyun, a Uighur army attacked the Tang caravan, but this matter was not transmitted back to Xizhou (i.e., Gaochang), and the generals below could not take this matter to heart.

Who would have thought that the Tang Dynasty would go to war with the Western Uighurs for a caravan?

When the Xizhou Uighur army arrived at Puchanghai, they were discovered by patrols from the Zhongyun Division.

When the news came back to Datun City, the entire tribe was panicked, and tens of thousands of Uighur armies were killed, so what did Zhongyun use to resist?

"Quick, immediately send someone to Shazhou and tell the Tang army there the news. As long as the Tang army is willing to save the Zhongyun tribe from danger, the Zhongyun tribe will be loyal to the Tang Dynasty for generations. ”

Although the Zhongyun Ministry accepted the canonization of the Tang Dynasty and became the Zhongyun Governor's Mansion, the entire tribe did not regard themselves as Tang people.

Now it is different, compared to the Xizhou Uighurs who want to get rid of them, these Zhongyun nobles, they would rather submit to the Tang Dynasty and retain their current status, but they just have one more emperor on their heads.

Half an hour later, a group of several people rode out of Datun City on horseback with a letter from the leader of the Zhongyun tribe and headed in the direction of Shazhou.

The Uighur army of Western China did not know about this, and they were celebrating in advance, believing that the Zhongyun tribe was already preparing to surrender.

Who knew that the Zhongyun tribe was not willing to submit to the Western Uighurs, and even if they wanted to submit to the Uighurs, they would have to submit to the more powerful ones.

In the eyes of Zhongyunbu, the Tang Dynasty was still stronger than the Xizhou Uighurs.

It can be said that in this upcoming war, all three sides have their own calculations. 16 reading

The Zhongyun tribe wanted to protect itself, the Xizhou Uighurs wanted to expand their power, and the Tang Dynasty wanted to return to the Western Regions.

Returning to the Western Regions naturally has to establish prestige, how to establish it? Pick a stronger one to destroy the country.

The Xizhou Uighurs are close to the Anxi Protectorate, and their army happened to attack the caravan of the Tang Dynasty, so it is undoubtedly the best choice to use the Xizhou Uighur boss to fight monsters and upgrade.

。。。。。。

"Father, are you alright?"

Chang'an, outside the Mingde Gate, Li Yu, who learned the news in advance, took Shun Huaqing to the outside of the city to wait for the arrival of Longteng and his party.

When they saw that the dusty Longteng was safe and sound, Shun Huaqing and Shun Huaming were very excited, and the heart that was hanging was really put down.

"Ming'er, Qing'er, my father is fine!" Longteng, who was crying with joy, was also very excited.

Next to him, the accompanying cronies of the Shunhuazhen faction saw the majestic Chang'an City in front of him, just like the expressions of the Longteng people when they first came to Chang'an.

It's also normal, the population of Nanzhao is not as big as that of the Tang Dynasty, so how big can Yangtho Baa City be?

The population of Chang'an City can be compared to the population of the entire Nanzhao, thinking about the gap, there is also some inferiority in this pro-confidence.

"Your Royal Highness, the ministers were ordered to escort the prince of Longteng into the palace for an audience, and the saint was in a hurry, so please also..."

A person in a brocade guard next to him said respectfully to Li Yu.

"It's okay, you just go." Li Yu is also very knowledgeable, and persuaded Shun Huaqing, "Qing'er, since your father is fine, he is not in a hurry." They still have important things to enter the palace, and they will talk about it when they finish their important business. ”

"Ming'er, Qing'er, what King Qian said is that you go back first, and my father still has something to do." Thinking of the fate of his royal relatives, Long Teng's heart suddenly burned with anger.

He must avenge them in order to relieve the hatred in his heart.

The two sisters and brothers of Shun Huaqing nodded, and they didn't delay for too long, and then Long Teng and the others hurriedly walked towards Daming Palace with Shun Huazhen's national letter.

"Father, what did they do when they entered the palace? Need to be in such a hurry? Shun Huaqing's sense of smell for political affairs is still a lot duller.

"There's going to be a war." Li Yu sighed.

"War? Is it to help us pacify the traitors? Shun Huaqing remembered the purpose of her father's visit to Chang'an.

Li Yu nodded weakly, fortunately, Shun Huaqing didn't notice the change in his expression, maybe he was too young, and Shun Huaqing, who was a woman, didn't know the tricks of the country and the country.

Although Li Yu didn't know much, he had heard about the imperial court preparing for a big war.

He also has teachers and officials of the royal palace, and these people are not mediocre people, with the ambition of today's saints, how can they simply help Nanzhao pacify the traitors.

With such a good opportunity, the Holy Lord will definitely take the opportunity to pacify Nanzhao and turn it into a part of the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yu didn't dare to tell Shun Huaqing about this, he was afraid that the other party would not accept it, and he was also afraid that the other party would tell his father.

Fortunately, Shun Huaqing didn't find any clues.

After Li Yu returned with Shun Huaqing here, Longteng came to Daming Palace not long after being escorted by Jinyiwei.

When he saw the letter of state, Li Ye laughed wildly in his heart, and finally had a bright reason to send troops.

Although the end of the year is approaching, it does not hinder the movement of large armies and grain and grass.

With the issuance of an edict from the imperial court, Sichuan Province, Zhennan Prefecture, Annan Prefecture, Sanguan, and Lingnan Dongdao began to intensify military movements.