Chapter 287: Expedition

As soon as Li Shimin set out to march on the expedition, the leading generals and the military government that had been transferred to the expedition immediately opened and assembled to the west. Of course, this is only for the three-way army of Li Jing, Hou Junji and Li Daozong, and the generals of the rest of the three-way army assassinated the governor of Shi Du in the state capital near Tuyuhun and requisitioned the border army on the spot, without having to send troops to the military government in the central government.

The army sent from Guanzhong to Tuyuhun will rush to Shanzhou before the end of the year under the leadership of Li Jing, where it will form an encirclement with the rest of the Zhulu army.

In this army led by Li Jing, in addition to the Han soldiers such as the Guanzhong government soldiers and the recruited soldiers, there was also a Turkic tribe called Qibi sent soldiers and horses, led by Qibi He Li.

When Zhang Yunwen heard this name, his heart suddenly swelled with great curiosity. This Qi Qi He Li, Ashina Sheer, and Zhi Lost Sili were the three most famous generals in the Taizong period, and their contributions to the Tang Dynasty were only a lot more than those Han generals.

He Li surrendered to the Tang Dynasty in the sixth year of Zhenguan, and now it has been two years. This westward expedition to Tuyuhun can be regarded as the biggest battle fought by the Khambi Department.

Originally, Zhang Yunwen wanted to go to the barracks to meet this general, but considering that he had not yet informed his wife and daughter of the expedition at home, and remembered that there would be an opportunity to meet with this Qibi He Li in the future, he dispelled this idea and returned home.

As soon as he returned home, Zhang Yunwen felt that there was an atmosphere that was not quite right in the whole family. Li Yu and Zhirou both kept silent when they saw them, just looking at themselves with a pair of big eyes, and Zhang Yan, who usually likes to cry and let himself hug, also obediently curled up in his mother's arms, looking at Zhang Yunwen with a pair of confused eyes, and then turned back to look at his mother.

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys? Why don't you speak? Zhang Yunwen looked at their pretended serious expressions and said with some amusement.

Zhi Rou snorted, picked up Zhang Yan and looked to the other side. Li Yu smiled at Zhang Yunwen and turned to the side.

Seeing this, Zhang Yunwen immediately stepped forward with a smile and gently hugged Li Yu: "Sister, tell Xianggong, what's wrong with your sister Rou today?" ”

Li Yu pursed his lips and smiled: "I don't want to say this!" If I say it, Sister Rou will blame it later, and she won't let me hug Yan'er! ”

Hearing Li Yu's excuse, Zhang Yunwen couldn't help rolling his eyes, but he walked to Zhirou's side helplessly, leaned down and said to Zhang Yan: "Come, Yan'er, daddy hug!" ”

When Zhang Yan, who was almost two years old, heard this, he suddenly opened his tender hands and said with teeth in his mouth: "Hug, hug!" ”

Zhang Yunwen immediately picked up Zhang Yan and held him high. Zhang Yan, who was kicking his legs in the air, let out a "giggle" laugh for a moment.

And Zhirou on the side said worriedly: "Slow down, be careful, don't scare the child!" ”

Zhang Yunwen held Zhang Yan in his hand and said to Zhi Ju with a smile: "What, are you talking to me now?" ”

Zhi Rou suddenly glanced at Zhang Yunwen with disgust, and wanted to reach out and snatch Zhang Yan from Zhang Yunwen's hand. Xiao Zhang Yan turned around and left his back to his mother. looked at Zhi Rou's feet gently, and looked at the laughing little Zhang Yan with anger.

"Okay, you father and daughter are angry with me!" Zhi Rou laughed, stretched out her white finger and pointed at Xiao Zhang Yan's head: "Don't you want to sleep with me tonight!" ”

As soon as Zhang Yunwen heard this, he immediately said: "It's okay, it shouldn't be you tonight, it's Yu'er's turn!" ”

As soon as these words came out, the second daughter's face suddenly turned red, and Zhi Rou was beaten again: "Who told you this, I am talking about Yan'er and me!" ”

Zhang Yunwen laughed twice and sent Zhang Yan back into Zhirou's arms.

At this time, Li Yu calmed down and said: "Xianggong, this time you went out to Tuyuhun, and you didn't tell us about it, no wonder Sister Rou was angry with you!" ”

Hearing Li Yu's words, Zhang Yunwen suddenly fell silent, and after a while, he said quietly: "It's not that my husband doesn't want to explain it to you, but I'm afraid that the two of you will be worried!" So I'm going to talk to you about it before I go! ”

Zhi Rou listened, but pouted disdainfully: "Now that the matter of this western expedition is full of storms in the city, even if you want to hide it, you can't hide it!" It's better to tell us early! ”

Li Yu next to him also nodded vigorously: "Xianggong has been resting at home for several years since he came back from the expedition against the Turks, and it is natural for him to go on the expedition again!" Although Sister Rou and I are worried, we also believe in Xianggong's ability! ”

Hearing the second daughter say this, Zhang Yunwen was suddenly slightly moved, looking at the second daughter, her eyes flashed with sincerity: "The two wives are really good helpers for their husbands!" It is really a blessing for me to be able to marry two good wives! Well, since the two ladies understand it this way, then let's talk about the parting feelings together tonight, what do you think? At the end, the voice was still out of tune, and the smile on the corner of his mouth made Li Yu and Zhirou slightly shy when they saw it.

"Dengzi!" Li Yu scolded with a sneer.

Zhi Rou's cheeks were flushed, and she nodded slightly shyly.

Xiao Zhang Yan on the side looked at his parents, his little face was full of confusion, why did his parents make trouble for a while and laugh for a while? The world of adults is really incomprehensible. However, Xiao Zhang Yan didn't know that she couldn't sleep with her mother tonight, only with Aunt Mei Xiang!

Although Li Shimin conquered the world in December and marched west to Tuguhun, the preparation before the expedition was not an easy task. First, logistical supply. As early as when Yuwen had just gotten down, there were heavy soldiers pushing carts to the west one after another, and hundreds of thousands of stone grains and grass were from Chang'an to Longyou Prefectures, endlessly.

Then came the gathering of soldiers and horses. The main force of this expedition is still the same group of veterans from the original campaign against the Turks. Among them, many people have been fighting in the territory since the end of the Sui Dynasty, and they can be called the elite of the veterans. They usually belong to the Zhichong Mansion, busy farming, leisure time training, a few years, recuperate, worthy of a war. When the text came down, these veterans who had been boiling with blood for a long time and were impatient to wait took out ordinary weapons such as bows and arrows and short knives from their homes, and then took out basic weapons such as Mingguang armor, horizontal knives, and long lances in the military government, and moved in the direction of Chang'an under the leadership of the generals and generals who came to transfer troops.

It took nearly half a month to finally assemble the planned army of 50,000. Coupled with the 10,000 men of the "Ranger Army" composed of the Eastern Turks, and a total of 10,000 other servant troops, the army was assembled and began to wind out of Chang'an City and march westward.

After Zhang Yunwen watched the army slowly leave, he saw Li Yang next to him with an envious look, and immediately smiled: "Li Yang, don't just look envious, but in the end, you have to be the first team to arrive, are the brothers ready?" ”

Li Yang smiled with confidence: "Boss, don't worry, the brothers are now high-spirited, not to mention delaying the departure by three days, arriving ten days in advance, even if the departure is delayed by ten days, it is no problem to arrive a month in advance!" ”

"Well, that's good!" Zhang Yunwen said with a smile, "General Manager Li ordered my reconnaissance battalion to postpone the departure for three days, but he didn't want people, especially those foreign envoys, to know that I was among the troops of the Western Expedition, so that I could wait for Taoguang to be obscure and less known to other countries, so as to surprise me!" ”

Li Yang nodded: "These subordinates have already understood!" ”

"If only you understood! After I go back, I will use these few days to do ideological work for my brothers, so as not to make them feel any more because they did not go out with the army! Zhang Yunwen turned his head and looked at Li Yang, he suddenly realized that Li Yang had also left two mustaches, and there were still wrinkles on his brows. Patted Li Yang on the shoulder, turned around, and slowly left.

The three-day wait passed quickly.

At noon that day, when the flow of people entering and leaving the Chang'an City Gate was the least, the 3,000 reconnaissance battalion soldiers were divided into three major groups and headed south, east, and west. They are all dressed in black armor, with horses flying in their crotch hooves, fresh clothes and angry horses, and they go out of the city gate to the extreme, talking and laughing, as if a big son is traveling with a servant. However, if you look at these people closely, they are bulging in their backpacks, with horizontal knives at their waists, and their weapons are hidden deep in their pockets.

As soon as these scouts left Chang'an, they immediately assembled on the edge of Weishui in accordance with the prior agreement.

"Brothers, do you know the purpose of Chief Manager Li asking me to arrive in Shanzhou ten days ahead of schedule?" Zhang Yunwen was dressed in a black hat and shouted loudly at the three thousand people. The cold wind howled, raising the roar and spreading the roar far away.

Seeing that the soldiers were at a loss, Zhang Yunwen said again: "You don't know, but Lao Tzu knows!" The reason is that the party and Qiang people in Shanzhou, Kuozhou, Hezhou, Taozhou and other states of Lintuyuhun who originally belonged to our Tang Dynasty heard that our army was going to attack Tuguhun, and they actually rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and rejoined Tuyuhun. They are familiar with the terrain and have the advantage of the location, if they can't kill one and deter the rest of the tribes, then I am afraid that all the states will be in a panic! Therefore, the chief governor ordered our reconnaissance battalion to arrive ten days ahead of the city, eliminate any local rebel forces, and cooperate with the local defenders with iron and blood to achieve stability in the states! ”

As soon as they heard Zhang Yunwen's explanation, all the soldiers were silent, obviously, they knew Zhang Yunwen's so-called "iron and bloody wrist" to the bottom. When they passed this time, I am afraid that there will be rivers of blood and corpses.

Thinking of this, many soldiers couldn't help but show a trace of panic on their faces, but Zhang Yunwen didn't reprimand them, after all, scouts are also people.

After being silent for a long time, Zhang Yunwen looked at these soldiers and said: "I know that you must have something unbearable in your hearts, this is human nature, and I will not pursue it!" But this matter is very important, there must be no half unbearable, and I hope that all the brothers can think more about Datang and those brothers in Zhichong Mansion when they can't bear it! ”

After speaking, after a moment of silence again, Zhang Yunwen raised his horsewhip: "Let's go!" ”

He first clamped the horse's belly, struck the horse's rump, and rode the horse to the northwest. The rest of the soldiers also waved their horsewhips and followed Zhang Yunwen to the northwest.