Chapter 352: Gao Chang Changes

The yellow sand is all over the sky, and the north wind is fierce.

Looking at the snowflakes falling from the sky, Wang Xuance let out a long sigh.

This is among the post stations in the Yumen Pass. The post station here is made of simple wooden beams and loess, compared with those post stations in the Central Plains, it looks dilapidated and shabby, but in Wang Xuance's eyes, it has an indescribable flavor.

However, at this time, Wang Xuance was sitting in this post station, not because he was reluctant to leave here, but because the weather outside did not allow him to leave.

He came to this Longyou and went to the Western Regions, which originally had an arduous mission, and the sooner he could do it, of course, the better. However, the damn wind and snow, as well as the terrifying sandstorm in the mouth of the general of the Yumen Pass, stopped him from moving forward. Since participating in Zhang Yunwen's marriage in October, he led a group of 15 people, accompanied by 20 Tang soldiers, from Chang'an to Longyou. According to Li Shimin's will, they will send an envoy to Gao Changguo to buy cotton seeds from Na Liwentai.

Although Wang Xuance has been mixed in Honglu Temple for a few years, if he talks about qualifications, he can only be regarded as a junior, but in terms of ability, he is one of the best. It is precisely because of this that when Li Shimin was preparing to send an envoy, Zhang Yunwen recommended Wang Xuance to him.

Li Shimin recruited Wang Xuance, and after careful consideration, he stared at Wang Xuance without saying a word. After the latter went out, he laughed and said to Zhang Yunwen: "I think I am a Tang Dynasty, there are many talents, this Wang Xuance has extraordinary knowledge, he has a good export, and he talks and behaves, compared to Tang Jian, although he lacks something, he only needs to temper a lot, and over time, it will become a big tool!" ”

As a result, this Wang Xuance became the main envoy of the group, and as for the deputy envoy, he was an official of the household department, this official was good at calculating and trading, and his brain was extremely useful.

Before leaving, Zhang Yunwen also went to Wang Xuance and explained to him the use of this cotton, the situation along the way, and the recent situation of Gao Changguo. At the end, Zhang Yunwen said: "Brother Wang, this time the stakes are very high, and there is no room for negligence!" Of course, it would be best if you could buy back the cotton seeds, but if you can't, you should try to keep the mission safe! In the end, Zhang Yunwen also handed a letter to Wang Xuance, asking him to hand it over to Li Yang in the Left Guard Army when he passed by Longyou.

Wang Xuance solemnly accepted the letter.

When passing by the camp of the left guard of Qilian Mountain in Ganzhou, Wang Xuance handed over the letter to Li Yang. After Li Yang looked at it, he stared at Wang Xuance for a long time, and finally transferred ten reconnaissance battalion soldiers from the camp and asked them to accompany Wang Xuance.

Regarding this matter, the Left Guard General Ashina Sheer, after reading Zhang Yunwen's letter, decided to turn a blind eye.

Therefore, by the time they left the camp in Qilian Mountain, the mission had reached forty-five people.

When I arrived in Suzhou, it was already the middle of January of the eleventh year of Zhenguan. The wind blew the sand and mixed with snowflakes, and swooped in on people's faces, causing pain.

After resting in Suzhou for a day, the mission set off and arrived at Yumen Pass five days later.

However, just as he was about to get out of the pass, he was told by the general guarding the pass that in this season, sandstorms are most likely to form in the desert. The wind and sand were raging together, and it was suggested that they should wait until after February before exiting the customs.

Looking at this schedule, there are still twelve days left until February. So Wang Xuance took the delegation to temporarily settle down in this Yumen Pass.

Seeing the wind howling and the snow flying, he could only smile bitterly, and sat around the stove with the deputy envoy of the mission and the two lieutenants of the regiment, and drank wine.

After a sip of soju, the box slowly opened.

The days went by leisurely, drinking, chatting, hiding in the room and watching the falling snowflakes. More than ten days passed quickly. Finally, the general guarding the Yumen Pass told them that they were almost ready to go, but they still needed to be careful on the road, sandstorms could still happen, and told them to be careful of sand thieves.

Bringing enough food and water, the mission set out on the road to Gaochang before the Yumen Pass, which could not be blown by the spring breeze in February.

As the general said, after February, the wind and sand in the desert really laughed a lot, and as for the sandstorm, it was encountered once, but under the guidance of the guide, he used the camel and avoided it.

When a soldier said that the sandstorm was nothing more than that, the middle-aged guide said solemnly, "Young man, don't underestimate this desert. This sea of sand is vast, there is no water and no food, only the white bones left by the predecessors. Once you get lost in it, you can only wait to fly to death, decay, and turn into gravel! Compared with the sandstorm in winter, the sandstorm we encounter today is just a three-year-old child coquettish to adults, and only the sandstorm in winter is like an adult's roar! ”

As soon as they heard this, everyone was silent for a moment, but their hearts were secretly lucky.

After walking for half a month, passing through the Moyanhe moraine, and arriving at the southeast of Yiwu, the mission encountered the legendary sand thieves again. These sand pirates plunder on the edge of the desert and ride like the wind.

However, this time they encountered the regular army of the Tang Dynasty. When more than 70 people rushed towards the mission without armor and with rudimentary scimitars and firewood knives in their hands, they were shot by crossbow arrows and feathered arrows fell off their horses. In just one round of shooting, nearly twenty people fell off their horses.

When there were only more than a dozen sand thieves left and fled in a hurry, these Tang soldiers silently turned over and dismounted, collecting the arrows that could be used.

Except for the sand thieves encountered this time, there was no more obstacles, all the way through Nazhi and Puchang, and finally arrived at Gaochang City in mid-March.

What they didn't know, however, was that at this time, the king of Gaochang, Lu Wentai, was meeting with the envoys of the Western Turks in a domed building.

"Your Majesty, do you know that the envoys of the Tang Dynasty are coming to Gaochang!" The Western Turkic envoy had a thick black beard that covered his entire mouth and chin, and when he spoke, his thick black beard opened and closed, which looked very unpleasant.

Lu Wentai nodded slightly and said, "This king knows!" On that day, this mission wiped out the sand thieves roaming in Igo in one fell swoop, and it can be said that it spread throughout the desert, and everyone knows it. ”

The Turkic envoy showed a smile: "Okay, let's not talk about the Tang Mission, let's continue to talk about that matter!" It's been almost a month since the villain came to Gaochang, and the king hasn't given me a clear answer, it seems that the king still has doubts in his heart! “

Lu Wentai smiled bitterly and said: "Don't hide it from the envoy, before you arrived, Xiao Wang had already received a letter from the Yibi Lu Khan, so that Xiao Wang must not cooperate with the Khan of Kuoli, otherwise, he will raise troops to attack!" ”

The Turkic envoy was stunned for a moment, and then said angrily: "What kind of thing is he Yi Bi Lu, my Great Khan is the Great Khan of the entire Turkic, when will he come to point fingers!" Glancing at Ko Wentai, the envoy continued, "Yi Bilu is so far away from the king's side, and the king is still afraid that he won't succeed?" ”

Ko Wentai shook his head: "The envoy doesn't know the situation in our country, if it was a few years ago, this king would not be afraid, but now, my country really doesn't dare to move!" Besides, that Yanqi is a subject country of the Tang Dynasty, and pays tribute to the Tang Dynasty every year. ”

It turned out that the Turkic envoy had come to persuade Lu Wentai to attack Yanqi.

At the beginning, the Western Turks divided their kingdom into ten parts, each of which had a chieftain, and each of them was given an arrow, which was called ten arrows. It is divided into left and right compartments, and the left compartment number is five dulu and five large sips are placed, and they are located east of the broken leaves; The five crossbows in the right compartment are lost, and the five catties are placed, and they are located west of the broken leaves; It is commonly known as the ten surnames. Later, he lost the hearts of the people and was attacked by his ministers Tutun. He lost his army and was defeated by his brother Bu Li. Tong Tutun and others set up the Desire Valley as a big juice, and the Tutun will be killed by the people, and the Desire Valley will also be defeated, and the profit will be lost and regained. As a result, the western part of the valley was set up as the Khan of Yibilu. Yi Bi Lu was established, and he lost a big battle with Yu Li, killing and wounding many people. Because of the division of its land, from the west of the water of Ireh belongs to the land of Yilu, and to the east belongs to the loss of profits.

And the one who persuaded Ko Wentai to attack Yanqi was the Khan of Profit. At the beginning, he lost his army and went to Yanqi. If you do it yourself, the south will leave a name of ingratitude. Therefore, the Khan sent envoys to instigate Gaochang and Liwentai to attack Yanqi, and agreed with him that sixty percent of the land obtained from the population would go to Gaochang and forty percent to the Turks.

The reason why this is done is because of the civil war in the Western Turks, the population loss is huge, and the population needs to be replenished, so the Khan of the Western Regions started the idea of a small country in the Western Regions.

The Turkic envoy was silent for a moment, and finally threw out a killer idea: "My Great Khan is willing to send thousands of troops and give the king 500 pieces of good armor!" ”

Lu Wentai's eyes lit up, and he slowly got up, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Okay, since the Khan is so sincere, then the king will send troops to fight against Yanqi!" ”

The Turkic envoy suddenly laughed: "Okay, you are worthy of being the lord of Gaochang, and you have courage!" On behalf of my family, Your Majesty thanked the King for sending troops! ”

"Haha, happy cooperation!" Ko Wentai thought proudly. In fact, he had long coveted the place and its population, and when he thought of the rich land, the pure rivers, and the tall forests, he longed to own them immediately. But as soon as this Yanqi is a subject country of the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that the Tang Dynasty will send an envoy to ask him, and it will be difficult for him to explain to the Tang Dynasty. The second is that the batch of crossbow machines purchased from Datang was damaged at the same time after being used for more than a year, and when I asked the skilled craftsman, I was told that it could not be repaired. The damage of these crossbow machines had a great impact on the combat effectiveness of the Gaochang army.

Now, the Western Turkic Khan has given this opportunity, how can Ko Wentai not want it?

However, what he didn't expect was that the Turkic envoy he sent away was not a good one, and after returning to his residence, the envoy summoned his confidants and said, "I want you to do something!" Didn't the Tang Dynasty's mission come to Gaochang? You disguised yourself as the Gaochang army and attacked the Tang Mission for me! ”

The henchman didn't say much, nodded heavily, bowed, and left.

The envoy opened his mouth and laughed wildly, his black beard opening and closing, and the laughter echoed in the empty igloo!

"Hmph, Ko Wentai, you greedy hungry wolf, it's time for you to be punished! Ko Wentai, you are ready to face the sky-high anger of the Tang Dynasty! ”