Walking through the dry desert full of yellow sand, the beautiful scenery of the oasis gradually appeared in front of the men.

Perhaps only on the edge of the extremely harsh desert next door can there be such an otherworldly paradise. Clear streams, lush vegetation, the fragrance of flowers wafting in the wind, the green oasis grassland as far as the eye can see, and white birds flying across the water, like a fairyland!

"Haha......" There was a loud laugh from the children, and the soldiers ran to the stream happily, wantonly scooping up the spring water and pouring it on their faces, and the smiling faces in the splashes made Li Chuyun and the others smile.

Li Chuyun looked at the large land under the blue sky and white clouds for a long time, smiled and stroked the beard under his red face, and praised loudly: "Feng'an, Feng'an, both plump and peaceful." ”

In the distance, the shouts of the generals were heard, the soldiers rode their horses and waded across the stream, and on the quiet and beautiful oasis, the wet war horses' fur was shiny and slippery, and the vigorous sons laughed and shouted, and the place was soon enveloped in a warm and noisy atmosphere.

A group of Chinese soldiers rode their horses slowly through the creek and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way.

Soon after, a ruined wall in front of him came into view, and Wei Renpu, the accompanying privy deputy, suddenly climbed down from his horse, threw the reins to the attendant who led the horse, and walked out into the grass to pull out the wild grass.

Li Chuyun and the others all reined in their war horses one after another, looking at the broken stone tablet found by Wei Renpu. Wei Renpu said without looking back: "The stele erected here by the Sui Dynasty army ......"

Wei Renpu's voice was a little strange, Li Chuyun couldn't help but look at his back, and said casually: "That must be more than three hundred years." ”

"We're back now......"

Li Chuyun was stunned, because at this time, Wei Renpu's voice was completely out of shape, with a choked voice, and then looked at his eyes red.

Between the barren grass, the walls are broken and ruined, and the walls are left with soot blackened by the herdsmen, and there is no one in front of them. But when I looked back, a large number of galloping cavalry were moving forward, the sound of powerful horse hooves, and the rough horse whistle fluttered...... "Yes, we are back!" Li Chuyun also said with a slight move.

He gradually understood Wei Renpu's feelings, nostalgic for the ancient nostalgia is not the remains of the stone monument, nor only Feng'an, but the bearing of the dynasty and the prosperity of the world!

Wei Renpu stood in front of the stone stele, tearfully touching the Chinese characters on the old stone, and pondered for a long time. Perhaps for a big-minded husband, his homeland is not an acre and a third of land in his hometown, but a vast land that the entire Chinese and Han cavalry have set foot in.

After waiting for a while, Li Chuyun rode his horse away, and summoned his generals to deploy the camps of various armies, and the army was to be stationed here and repair forts.

The army was stationed in separate camps, and it was not until dark that the tens of thousands of foot cavalry that arrived in batches were deployed. The Chinese army was within an earthen wall, and at this time the bonfires on the grassland were bright, and the fire in the dark night made the wilderness and mountains more prosperous.

Li Chuyun, Shi Yanchao, Wei Renpu, Zan Jurun and other highest-ranking officials stayed in a tent and cooked broth around an earthen stove.

Several people looked at Wei Renpu a little strangely, probably because of the small things that happened during the day, but he had regained his composure at this time. In the firelight, two soldiers unfolded the rolled thick paper sketches in the tent.

Wei Renpu walked over, looked at it first, turned around and said: "Back then, Zhang Qian's envoy and Emperor Sui's western tour all went to Dadou Bagu (Biandukou) to Ganzhou (Zhangye). However, now most of Longyou is in the hands of the Tubo people, and we rely on the Lingzhou grain road, so the army has to take the north road to Hexi. ”

He pointed to the yellowed map, "Now here in Feng'an, to the west of the old city of Yuanwei (Jingtai County), two forts are built, one is to keep the needs of military rations along the way, and the other is to have a stronghold to maintain the smooth flow of grain routes."

After the Dangxiang tribe fled, if the Tibetan people came to see them, they would discuss and appease them, so that they would not act rashly. The first conquerors of our army were Liangzhou, Ganzhou, and Suzhou in Hexi. During the fort construction period, you can send a secret envoy to the west to contact the Guiyi army, and ask the Guiyi army to attack from the east and west. ”

Zan Jurun groaned: "Deputy Wei makes this plan very good, but the leader of Liangzhou is a man of the last people, and there is a Tubo Six Grain Department. The Great Xu Army attacked the Tubo people in Liangzhou, could it still pacify the Tubo tribes in the south? ”

The northwestern tribe is very complicated, and even Li Chuyun doesn't know it very clearly, and only after listening to the civil official can he roughly understand that the last people are the natives of Liangzhou...... In the past, they were the slaves of the Tibetan aristocracy, not only the Tubo, but also the Han and other slaves.

At this time, Wei Renpu said: "The end is a native, and the Tubo tribes will not care about them at all. Although the Liugu tribe is a Tibetan tribe, but now the Tibetan tribes have long been divided, as long as the situation is appropriate, it can still appease the Tibetan tribes living in Qingtang, Lanzhou and other places. ”

Zan Jurun bowed and said: "What Deputy Envoy Wei said is extremely true. ”

Wei Renpu said and saluted Li Chuyun: "What does Gong Li think? ”

Li Chuyun said: "Deputy Wei has a very good strategy, and the party members along the road can be expelled to Qingtang and other places to prevent them from attacking the grain road in anger." ”

Wei Renpu turned his head to look at Shi Yanchao again.

Shi Yanchao was stunned: "What do you want me to do?" Do what you say! ”

Wei Renpu said quietly: "There will be innocent casualties in the 'expellation' of the party, it is not a glorious thing, Shi Gong had better not go, wait for Feng Jiye to go to Feng'an another day, and ask Feng Jiye to go." ”

Shi Yanchao snorted, noncommittal.

The soldier stepped forward and stirred the soup in the iron pot with a spoon, and several people had said almost the same, so they stopped. Li Chuyun walked out of the tent and suddenly couldn't help but look up.

The northwest sky was clear, and the stars in the sky were very bright, and Li Chuyun suddenly felt a sense of vastness. At this moment, it seems that the earth is not so solid, like the illusion of floating in the sky. In the vast earth, people seem incomparably small.

At this moment, there was a neighing of horses at the door of the Chinese military camp in the two broken walls, and Li Chuyun came back to his senses and looked in the direction where the movement came. The knight on the horse came in a hurry, and the mount suddenly stopped, and the front hooves were in the air, and then there was a cacophony of inquiries.

Li Chuyun then stood outside the tent and waited for a while, and after a while, his own soldiers came over with a man who led a horse, and reported: "Commander, this person is a messenger, who has come from Lingzhou and brought news from Tokyo. ”

After hearing this, the messenger clenched his fists and said: "The little one meets the founding prince and the marshal of the Hexi Army, Li Gong." So he sent the lacquer-sealed letter.

Li Chuyun glanced at the lacquer seal, took the things and turned around to enter the account. The voice of the soldier came from behind: "You wait here first, if there is no invitation, we will take you to settle down." ”

Li Chuyun walked into the tent, sat down behind the wooden case on the north side, and pulled out a knife to open it. Seeing this, Wei Renpu immediately turned his head.

"Letter from the Privy Council." Li Chuyun said, he looked at it first, and the more he looked at it, the deeper his brows wrinkled.

Wei Renpu inspected it and stepped forward and asked, "What does the Privy Council say?" ”

Li Chuyun handed over the letter paper with his hand. Wei Renpu looked at it, and his expression was also ugly: "The Liao army is deploying troops in the northeast, and it may enter the Kou in a big way?" ”

The other two people also hurriedly took the letter from Wei Renpu and circulated it.

Wei Renpu muttered: "The Liao fought in Youzhou several times, and the loss was not small, and they were defeated at the Wuding River; I heard that now he is a milky boy who is the lord of the country, and he dares to raise troops to go south? ”

Li Chuyun stroked the thick black beard on his chin and didn't say a word.

Zan Jurun is carefully looking at the traces of the lacquer seal, looking at the seal on the letterhead, of course, there will be no fake. Wei Renpu is a member of the Privy Council, and if the letter is false, the slightest clue will be recognized.

Zan Jurun opened his mouth and said: "It is said that Li Yiyin is in the coalition army of the party and tribes, and this guy has long colluded with the Liao people. ”

Wei Renpu was silent, and Zan Jurun was suddenly a little embarrassed. Shi Yanchao just scolded: "He|mother|, let's come all the way here, can we fight in the west?" ”

Zan Jurun took the opportunity to turn his head and talk to Shi Yanchao: "The Privy Council letter didn't say it, only informed the news. ”

At this time, Li Chuyun finally slapped the board: "Draw up the strategy discussed tonight into a concert and play it to the imperial court." Before receiving a military order, act according to the plan. ”

Wei Renpu nodded and agreed: "The duty of Duke Li and the military government of the former battalion of our department is to march west, and they can't manage the affairs of the northeast. However, it is necessary to contact the Tokyo Imperial Court as soon as possible, and if the Imperial Court fights on both sides, our strategy must consider more risks; At the same time, he wrote to Wang Yuanjun (Wang Pu), asking him to inform the news of the soldier Cao Si as soon as possible, and we have to find out what the Liao army is doing. ”

Li Chuyun said: "The Liao people mobilized people in the northeast, could it be just a bluff? ”

Wei Renpu said: "The old man can't say for sure, it's really unpredictable...... Although the Liao State has lost its clouds, the cavalry is still strong, otherwise the situation is not what it is now, and the grassland will be in chaos!"

Then the attendant came up and scooped the broth with a bowl and brought a basket of dry wheat cakes that were hot for the fire. Everyone ate and drank heavily, went out on the expedition, rode horses every day, and even the appetite of civil officials was good.

The tent was only the rustling of soup and the sound of chewing, and it became quiet and dull.

Li Chuyun has followed Guo Shao for many years, and he has rich experience in the southern and northern wars, and he has a feeling that something is not quite right at this time, and he can't say why, but he just relies on his intuition......

At this time of war, the information of the scouts is not very accurate, and many things have to be guessed. A general who can lead troops for a long time to be a one-man alone, Li Chuyun is not a pure reckless man, his sense of smell is very sensitive, otherwise he would have been tricked in many battles.

The sound of the wind outside the tent sounded, and a cool breeze poured in from the door, blowing the fire under the iron pot into a swaying flame and sparks flying.

Li Chuyun was stunned for a while in the uncertain firelight, and then casually picked up the bowl and drank it violently, and then tore off a piece of wheat cake and put it in his mouth to chew, the military food was very difficult to chew, but it tasted sweet after chewing for a while, and it was not unpalatable.

Wei Renpu threw the bowl on the ground, stood up and said, "Borrow Li Gong's pen and paper, the old man will write the recital now, and send the fast horse back to Beijing early tomorrow morning."