The march is hard, the march is difficult.

The march is a very boring thing, although it is a team of more than 1,000 people, but most of the time it is silent riding a horse, the Tang army is strictly disciplined, and no one dares to chat loudly during the march.

The team went all the way to the north, heading towards Jingzhou, Li Subai was bored and almost moldy.

In the evening, the camp was arranged by Jiang Quan, and the sergeants dismounted and set up camp silently, until everything was properly arranged, Li Su yawned and got out of the carriage, looking around with sleepy eyes, and couldn't help but be a little surprised.

In the eyes of veterans, they know how to lead troops, know how to let their subordinates be willing to support and shed their blood, know how to march, set up formations, set up camps, etc., these are the real real skills, how to be a good officer's basic skills, and only when the basic skills are solid can he be qualified to talk about making meritorious contributions.

Li Su was surprised that the place was also here, from the point of view of the camp, Jiang Quan's basic skills were not weak, he chose a place near the mountains and rivers, the opening of the camp was facing the open area of the plain, and the part of the mountain behind was laid with light and dark posts, in a short period of time, the gates, fences, horses and camp tents were arranged perfectly, dozens of camp tents in the camp were scattered very regularly in the shape of plum blossoms, and the handsome tent in the middle was surrounded by stars and moons, and a circle of fences was laid around the handsome tent, and the Ming Gang was clothed, and the whole camp was tied up with a strong score, and the defense was strict, it just stands there quietly, and it can make people feel a hidden sense of slaughter.

Just looking at the kung fu of camping, you can know that Jiang Quan is indeed a general, and Li Shimin chose him to escort Li Su, which was obviously carefully selected.

For Li Su, Jiang Quan's plum-shaped tent was especially appreciated by him, which was too neat and symmetrical. A pleasing sight to look at from the inside out.

Wang Zhu beside Li Su also looked straight, he had followed the army to fight, and the camp of the Modao Battalion where he was at that time was not so meticulous.

Seeing Wang Zhu in a daze, Li Su patted him on the shoulder, pointed to the staggered camp and smiled: "What do you think?" ”

Wang Zhu nodded heavily: "Okay!" ”

Li Su sighed: "If you want to make a contribution, you can't just look at how many enemies you kill. Bo Duo great military merits, Wang Zhuan, just this hand of camping kung fu, you have to learn for a few years, and then talk about the matter of making meritorious contributions and sealing your wife and son after the basic skills are solid. This way is mostly close to Jiang Quan, this person is a character. ”

Wang Zhu turned his head and glanced at him.

There are not many people who can be called "characters" by Li Su, and Li Su has known many people in the past year or so, except for those founding veterans. There are very few people who really enter Li Sufa's eyes, Yang Yan of the Firearms Bureau is counted as one, but Yang Yan's personality is obviously not right for Li Su's appetite, Xu Jingzong is half of it, if he looks a little uglier, he can count it as a whole, as for other people, including the Wang brothers. Li Su values friendship and ability. It's really a little bit off the fire.

At night, a bonfire was set up in the camp, and the sergeants ate in batches.

A bonfire outside the tent was blazing, Li Su was holding a raw leg of lamb in one hand and a sharp dagger in the other, the firelight was reflected in his dark pupils, dancing with fiery red light.

Wang Zhu and Zheng Xiaolou sat around the bonfire. Looking at Li Su's roasted leg of mutton, Jiang Quan, who was still wearing armor and a helmet, passed behind Li Su several times, and saw that Li Su's procedure for roasting a leg of mutton was quite peculiar, so he couldn't help but stop and look at it for a while, and saw Li Su turn around. Jiang Quan hurriedly walked away, humming an unknown tune, pretending to look at the scenery......

Repeated like this a few times, Li Su sighed, and said without looking back: "If you want to learn my craft, just sit down honestly, and look at it brightly, this is not a secret that is not passed on, whoever learns it is just a meal, going back and forth, are you hypocritical?" ”

Jiang Quan's face turned red, and after hesitating for a moment, he simply sat next to Li Su, but his face was a little confused.

Li Su roasted lamb leg is very special, not an ordinary technique, the leg of lamb is marinated in advance, with a dagger to draw a few cuts on it to facilitate the taste, roasted until the appearance is golden and oily, then sprinkled with cumin and fine salt, and finally when it is almost ripe, sprinkle some corneas that are ground into powder.

Jiang Quan was an eye-opener today, from the luxurious carriage that Li Su was riding, to the two carriages filled with all kinds of snacks and all kinds of wine and meat, and then followed by two well-modified carriages full of water, Jiang Quan privately asked Li Su's personal guard Zheng Xiaolou, and got a cool answer, those two cars were actually filled with bath water!

Jiang Quan is going crazy, how luxurious does this have to be to do such a strange thing, more than a thousand people enter the desert, and such precious water is actually used for bathing...... Aren't you afraid that the sky will come down and thunder down and kill you?

The leg of mutton was cooked, bubbling with oil, the golden skin was particularly attractive in the light of the fire, and a strong aroma permeated the surroundings, and the eyes of Wang Zhu and Jiang Quan, who were sitting around the bonfire, suddenly showed greed, and even Zheng Xiaolou, who had a cool face, squirmed his throat imperceptibly.

Li Su slowly cut off a large piece of meat from the leg of lamb with a dagger and handed it to Jiang Quan.

Jiang Quan was stunned, and then hurriedly thanked him, no matter how hot the mutton was, he stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and inhaling the cool air, grinning and eating happily, Li Su also cut a piece of meat himself, and handed the rest to Wang Zhu and Zheng Xiaolou.

"Delicious!" Jiang Quan praised it, and after swallowing the meat in his mouth, he seemed to want to have a piece, but when he saw that the remaining leg of mutton was snatched by Wang Zhu and Zheng Xiaolou, Jiang Quan showed regret in his eyes, smacked his lips unfinished, and then ...... Licked his fingers.

"Tsk!" Li Su glanced at him with disgust, took a pickled raw leg of lamb from the side, cut a few gaps with a dagger, and continued to roast on the fire.

Jiang Quan was overjoyed, rubbed his hands, and waited for the next wave of roast lamb legs with a smile on his face......

"Is it delicious?" Li Su stared at the heat of the leg of mutton and asked lightly.

"Delicious! Delicious in the world, Li don't drive talent! Jiang Quan was full of praise.

It didn't take long for the leg of lamb to be roasted again, and Li Su was very generous this time, handing him a large piece of meat, watching Jiang Quan gobble it up, and smiling happily.

"If you're happy, I'm happy, but ...... If someone bullies me in the future, you have to help me beat him, and I will bully others. You can help me beat him up too......"

"Poof-" The meat in Jiang Quan's mouth squirted out without warning, and he looked at him with a stunned expression, and then lowered his head to look at the mutton in his hand, his expression was quite struggling, as if he was hesitating to spit out what he had just eaten and return it to Li Su......

"Tease you!" Li Su patted him, shook his head and muttered, "The Tang people lack a childlike heart too much......

…………

Roasted four leg of lamb in a row. Jiang Quan's stomachs were still not full, but Jiang Quan stole the teacher on the side, and slowly learned Li Su's methods, and then Jiang Quan did it.

Watching Jiang Quan skillfully scratch his mouth, sprinkle cumin and salt, Li Su looked at his swarthy face, and suddenly asked, "Are you from the right martial guard?" ”

"Yes."

"Right Wuwei is a forbidden army, right?"

"Yes, the right guard is on duty at the Taiji Palace, but it is not unusual. Every three months, Zuo Wuwei and Jin Wuwei took over the changing of the guard. ”

Li Su said thoughtfully: "Before I left Chang'an, was there any movement in the court?" ”

Jiang Quan glanced at him puzzled: "Movement? ”

"For example, have the six departments of the three provinces mobilized troops and horses...... or something?"

Jiang Quan thought for a while and said: "Three days ago, there was indeed a transfer, and Zuo Wuwei's 30,000 soldiers and horses were ordered to leave Beijing with their camp, and they didn't know where to go. In the past few days, there have been many courtiers from the three provinces entering the palace, and His Majesty seems to be arranging something......"

Li Su nodded and said slowly: "It seems." Your Majesty really plans to go north to Xue Yantuo, and he will do it in March at the latest......"

Jiang Quan was stunned. Turned his head and stared at Li Su: "Northern Expedition Xue Yantuo?" ”

"Well, the Northern Expedition to Xue Yantuo." Li Su took out a yellowed sheepskin map from his arms, and Jiang Quan hurriedly approached and stared at the map by the dim firelight.

"You see, the western Turks are directly north of the Tang Dynasty, and in recent years, His Majesty has divided the Turkic tribes. Suppress, co-opt, most of the Turks have been used by our Tang Dynasty, and the Ashina people have sworn allegiance to Your Majesty, and the Turks don't have to worry about it for the time being. The Turks further north, is the Xue Yantuo Khanate, this is the real henchmen of the Tang Dynasty, last year to the present, His Majesty to Xue Yantuo with the policy of pushing grace, resulting in Xue Yantuo civil strife, the Khan family father and son brother wall, I heard that now even the tribes are in chaos, at this time the northern expedition, at the right time, His Majesty can see through the fire, the royal drive is inevitable. ”

Jiang Quan stared at the map blankly for a long time, and his eyes suddenly showed a look of annoyance.

Li Su understood his expression and said with a smile: "Do you feel unfair, why can't you follow Your Majesty's northern expedition to Bo military exploits, but instead be sent out of Beijing and escort me, a hairy boy, all the way to Xizhou?" ”

Jiang Quan came back to his senses and hurriedly clenched his fists: "The last general will not dare, the last general will never have this thought." ”

"It doesn't matter if you think so, to be honest, I don't want to go to that place in Xizhou, you and I are both kings...... it is difficult to disobey the king's fate" Li Su lowered his head and looked at the map again, and suddenly said: "Do you know why His Majesty sent you to send me to Xizhou?" ”

Jiang Quan paused again and shook his head: "The last general only obeys orders, but he doesn't know what it is." ”

Li Su's hand pointed to the west of the map, slowly to the left, and then to the left.

"Xizhou, just in the Silk Road must pass through, and then go west is Gaochang country, in recent years, the lord of Gaochang colluded with the Western Turks, robbed past traders, cut off the Silk Road several times, and became more and more disrespectful to my Tang Dynasty, and Xizhou, is adjacent to Gaochang, Xizhou is hundreds of miles away from the desert, logistics are cut off, grain and grass are not continued, the defenders are more tired, if you are not careful, you will be taken advantage of by Gaochang country, if Xizhou is taken by Gaochang country, it will be transmitted to Chang'an The subjects will be angry, but at that time His Majesty was mobilizing an army to conquer Xue Yantuo, and he could not free his hands to clean up Gaochang, If you don't do it for a long time, you will inevitably disappoint your subjects, and make Gaochang and the Western Turks more and more arrogant, so that they will gain an inch......"

Jiang Quan showed a sudden expression, and his expression gradually became solemn.

It wasn't until Li Su broke up the matter and told him that Jiang Quan realized how dangerous and serious it was to go to Xizhou.

"Therefore, His Majesty's intention to send Li Bei to Xizhou is ......"

Li Su said with a smile: "I am a teenage child, but His Majesty sent me to Xizhou, of course, I made a mistake and distributed thousands of miles, but the distribution is only one of the reasons, there is another reason, Xizhou is not peaceful, but I must manage it well, and I must also guard it, at least until Your Majesty finishes conquering Xue Yantuo, and my elite in the Tang Dynasty can free up their hands to go west, and then I can complete the task." ”

Jiang Quan stared at the map for a long time, his expression gradually became excited, and his eyes shone with a clear brilliance.

Li Su sighed, and met a war maniac again, all the soldiers in these years are crazy, as if their military exploits are tied to the enemy's neck, and they only need to slash down the military merits, and they can have a shining future and seal their wives and sons, but they never thought that the enemy also had a knife in their hands, and they would also work hard for military merits.

"General Jiang now knows that the future of this trip to Xizhou is not bleak, right?" Li Su looked at him with a smile.

Jiang Quan nodded heavily, with an arrogant look on his face: "Gaochang and the Turks, in the eyes of the last general, are nothing more than a local chicken, if you dare to offend my Tang Xizhou, the last general can directly take the head of the enemy chieftain single-handedly!" ”

"You're wrong again......" Li Su sighed: "Your task is to protect me, not let me have the slightest damage, if I have any mistakes, it is useless to cut off the heads of many enemies in Xizhou, and your majesty will definitely chop you up with your own hands when you go back......"

Jiang Quan was stunned, and after thinking about it, before leaving, His Majesty personally sent the order, and the content of the decree was indeed for him to protect Li Beijia, but as for guarding Xizhou and attacking the enemy, he didn't say a word.

“…… Be! The last general obeyed the order, and he must not let Li Beijia make the slightest mistake. ”

Li Su smiled sincerely: "Look, it is still easy for you and me to reach a consensus by chatting more, so we can go back to the topic just now, or the same sentence, others bully me, you have to help me beat him, I bully others, you also help me beat him...... This is not only ordered by His Majesty, but you also ate my mutton just now......"

Jiang Quan: "............"

******************************************************************

Jiang Quan was full and went to patrol the camp with his stomach up, and Li Su, Wang Zhu, and Zheng Xiaolou were still sitting around the campfire.

The bonfire scorched his face, slightly hot, and the fire crackled softly from time to time, in harmony with the chirping of birds and insects around him.

Li Su sat quietly on the grass, staring at the campfire in a daze, thinking about his thoughts alone.

In the eyes of Jiang Quan and Wang Zhu, the future of Xizhou is gradually brightening, their ideas are not complicated, as long as they cut off a few more enemies' heads, after cutting a sufficient number, the imperial court will promote them to officials, and that's it.

But Li Su couldn't think so simple.

Western State ...... What kind of situation will it be? What kind of person is his immediate boss, Xizhou Assassin, what kind of character, whether he will be looked down upon, how to win the hearts and minds of the local military and the people, how to get along with his boss, try to avoid fighting, how to develop the city, build Xizhou into the most prosperous place in the desert, how to resist the invasion of foreign enemies that are likely to be encountered, etc......

The future is too unpredictable, Li Su seems to be in the desert where he has lost his way, and he himself is groping forward step by step.

Wang Zhu came over, his expression was as excited as Jiang Quan's: "Hey, is there really a war in Xizhou?" How many enemies' heads can be chopped off to be crowned by the imperial court? ”

Li Su squinted at him: "I make dozens of sky-shaking thunders, how about you tie them to your body, and then rush into the palace of King Gaochang alone?" With a bang, you will make a great achievement, Your Majesty will be happy and make you a prince......"

Wang Zhu's face was overjoyed, and then he felt that something was not right: "After a bang...... What about me? ”

"It's gone, there's nothing, oh, I forgot to tell you, Your Majesty the Duke of the Kingdom is posthumously sealed, 'posthumously sealed', do you understand? It means that the title is there, but the person is gone, howling ......"

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PS: Big Chapter, Big Chapter...... (To be continued......)