The next day and another day's rest, a cold early morning, under the starry sky, the gate of Dunhuang City creaked open, a team of cavalry rushed out of the city gate at a gallop, the roar of the huge horse's hooves broke the sleeping city, a lamp turned on, and then extinguished, the cavalry galloped out of the city gate, and another cavalry team waiting outside the door converged, like two tributaries converged, forming a black torrent, through the green trees of Shazhou, stepped on the long yellow sand, galloped to the northwest, Fade into the blue sky dotted with starlight jade bands.

Three days later, Li Qing and his entourage arrived at Qiuzi City, this is the second time he came here, the sky is still blue, the river is crystal clear, the distance is a crystal-like snow-capped mountain, stretching to the sky, at the foot of the mountain is a large green grassland, the river flows through it like a jade belt, everywhere you can see cattle and sheep grazing in the idle land, groups of women in Huanyi by the river infect the business travelers and pedestrians with their laughter, this is a quiet and beautiful, like a paradise-like oasis.

"Why, do you linger when you are downgraded? Until now, his face is stiff. ”

Li Qing slowed down his horse and went hand in hand with Duan Xiushi, seeing that he didn't squint, his face was gloomy, and he looked preoccupied, he couldn't help laughing and said: "A soldier is not like an official who has to study qualifications and look at evaluations; What appearance, character, and seniority have to be considered, and it takes four years to turn around, and you have to consider the background and interpersonal relationships to have the possibility of promotion. Maybe I can be promoted several levels overnight, such as me, a trip to Nanzhao, I jumped from the Pintaishe people to the governor from the third grade, and Li Siye, who was also a school captain back then, and in just a few years, he also became the soldier and horse envoy of the four towns, and the general of the right guard, which is also from the third grade, so as long as you have the opportunity, you can also be a blockbuster. ”

Duan Xiushi joined the army from the Ming Jing Kejinshi. Active and strategic, he was also an open-minded person. It's just that Li Qing cut his post in front of thousands of people, and he couldn't get over it for a while. I have been depressed for a few days, and today Li Qing enlightened him, and he also knew that since Li Qing specially asked him to come, it must be an opportunity to make meritorious contributions, not to mention that he has such an identity, but he persuades a lowly general. This attention is self-evident, and Duan Xiushi's momentary unhappiness immediately disappeared.

He bowed his hand deeply on the horse, "Thank you for your enlightenment, it's Xiushi who is short-sighted." ”

"Well done!" Li Qing pinched his shoulders and encouraged him: "Let's make contributions in the Western Regions together!" ”

Duan Xiushi nodded silently, his heart full of gratitude. Suddenly, an impulse rose in his heart to die for Li Qingxiao, and he resolutely made up his mind. Approaching Li Qing, he whispered: "If the governor wants to make a career in Anxi, he must replace Gao Xianzhi. ”

Li Qing glanced at him, seeing that his eyes were sincere and decisive, he nodded secretly, this person can be retracted, but he smiled on his face and did not say anything, only raised his head and laughed loudly, and then pointed the horsewhip forward, "Go!" Come with me into the city. He urged his horse to gallop, and in a moment it became a small black dot.

Duan Xiushi was still savoring the meaning of Li Qing's expression, and he suddenly realized that Du Du had already had this intention, and he was really worried.

"Let's go! Town. With a shout, he gave chase, and gradually the cavalry disappeared at the end of the road, leaving only whispering passers-by and dust. .......

Gao Xianzhi is quite restless these days, since the battle of Xiaobojin in the year of Tianbao, he finally replaced the sick man Meng Lingcha to become the lord of Anxi, in fact, as early as the beginning of the third year of Tianbao, because Fu Meng Lingcha has been recuperating in Beijing for a long time, he has become the king of Anxi, in Anxi, his words are the law, no one dares to disobey the slightest, his prestige to some extent also exceeds that of His Majesty the Tang Emperor in Chang'an, many small countries in Anxi even take a trip to Qiuzi as a pilgrimage to the sky, until the arrival of the prison army Bian Lingcheng, His arrogance of the king of Anxi was slightly restrained.

While doing things cautiously and carefully, he tried his best to please Bian Lingcheng, and he was not stingy with his bribes, and finally got Bian Lingcheng's concerts full of praise and words, just when they had just tacitly cooperated, things suddenly became complicated. About a month ago, he received a copy of the appointment from the imperial court, appointing Li Qing, the head of the household department and the secretary of the Taifu Temple, as the deputy protector of Anxi and the governor of Anxi Jiedu, in charge of the administrative affairs of the entire Anxi region, and at the same time restored him to the post of governor of Shazhou and Doulu.

Generally speaking, this is a very ordinary appointment, such as Li Siye, Feng Changqing and the like are his deputies, serving as the deputy capital protector of Anxi or the soldiers and horses of the four towns, but the problem is that the court actually sent a powerful minister to serve in this position, just like the deputy director of the Development and Reform Commission who held real power in later generations parachuted into a certain province to serve as governor, although the rank is the same, but the gold content is completely different.

And in the fourth year of Tianbao, Gao Xianzhi had a deal with Li Qing, and was abducted from an elite division, which has not been returned yet, and he still remembers it vividly and is still lingering.

Li Qing served as his deputy, but he also served as the governor of Anxi Jiedu, in charge of the government affairs of the entire Anxi region, this is what makes Gao Xianzhi difficult to sleep and eat, Anxi is an administrative region that integrates military and government, with the capital protection house and the jiedu mansion, the capital protection house is a symbolic management area, many small countries in Anxi are almost all ** countries, just recognize the Tang Dynasty as its suzerain, and pay tribute to the court, in layman's terms, it is like recognizing a godfather, just to see it during the New Year's holidays, no need to have his surname, and no obligation to support, when the big food is strong, They also regard Da Shi as their godfather, but Da Shi has a black heart and needs to charge a high protection fee, unlike Da Tang, which only needs to pay a symbolic tribute.

But Jiedu Mansion is different, he is a real control area, with garrisons and officials, and the people under its rule are the people of the Tang Dynasty.

Gao Xianzhi is not only the protector of the capital, but also the envoy of the festival, the army is controlled, but the political affairs are also decided by him, and as soon as Li Qing comes, it means that the military and politics will be separated, and Li Qing has a place in Shazhou and a thousand troops. also has a deep court background, and here is his deputy, who is clearly the second king of Anxi.

Gao Xianzhi paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, worried that his two thick eyebrows were connected together, he had received a message from the flying pigeons of the garrison of Yanqi Town, Li Qing passed by there yesterday.

"He's finally here!" Gao Xianzhi let out a long sigh, his helplessness overflowed with his face, counting the time, Li Qing should be here today.

"Handsome ......."

Judge Kang Huaishun, who had been secretly paying attention to Gao Xianzhi's expression beside him, stopped talking again after Feng Changqing transferred him to the North Court. He is the highest administrative official, responsible for the specific affairs of the warehouse, tuntian, jiadu, zhidu, and camp in the four towns. Although it is an order from Gao Xianzhi, most of Gao Xianzhi's orders are instructive. The real operation is in his hands, but it's a pity that the good times don't last long, Li Qing is coming, and Kang Huaishun has to return all the food and salary he took privately during this period, how willing he is, he has been paying attention to Gao Xianzhi's expression, and gradually he found a way to deal with Li Qing.

Gao Xianzhi glanced at him. said in an irritated tone: "If you have anything to say, just say it, hide it, like a girl, I don't like it!" ”

Gao Xianzhi has a long body, looks handsome when he is young, and is a typical beautiful man. Now that I am older, my appearance has become deeper, and my skin has become rough and dark. But he has a more majestic and calm temperament, which is more admirable, but Kang Huaishun is the opposite, he is about forty years old, very well maintained, and has a rare white fat in the Western Regions, but he has a thin and long eagle hook nose, which makes his kind appearance a little more cunning, in fact, he is also Gao Xianzhi's strategist.

"If the marshal doesn't like Li Qing to interfere in politics, things will be easy to do!"

Gao Xianzhi stopped, squinted at him and said, "Then tell me, what can I do?" ”

Kang Huaishun smiled yin, leaned close to Gao Xianzhi's ear and said, "The handsome only needs to let him ......."

About half an hour later, Li Qing led his men to rush to the Yamen of the Jiedu Envoy, and saw Gao Xianzhi leading a group of generals standing on the steps and waiting for a long time.

Li Qing turned over and dismounted, laughed and greeted him, "I haven't seen you for a few years, but the handsome man has become more and more energetic, Li Qing is polite." ”

"Where! Where! However, the squire has been in Chang'an in the past few years, and even I, Anxi, have felt the power of the squire. He was talking about the rising price of salt, and he said it politely, but with a hint of sarcasm.

Gao Xianzhi took Li Qingdi's hand, looked him up and down, and said with a smile: "Seeing that the waiter is only in his early thirties, he has sat in such a high position, and his future is limitless!" In a few years, the old man will return to Beijing to retire, isn't this Anxi the world of the waiter? ”

"Where did the marshal go, I came to Anxi just to gild and accumulate some qualifications to govern the place, and I still have to go back to the court in a few years, but Li Qing has no experience yet, and I hope that the marshal will not hesitate to advise in the future."

"Well said! Say! Gao Xianzhi didn't bother to introduce him to the colleagues behind him, and waved his hand to make a gesture of invitation, "The waiter invited him inside to talk in detail." ”

"Marshal, please!"

The two held hands and talked and laughed into the mansion, Gao Xianzhi took Li Qing to his room, and ordered the maid to pour him tea, Gao Xianzhi stretched out his hand and twisted an ordinary, peeled off the skin and put it in his mouth to chew slowly, and smiled at Li Qing with a slightly vague smile: "The waiter came from afar, first rest for a few days, I will find a few beautiful women to serve, and when the waiter is rested, I will arrange for the waiter to go and see the vast territory of my Tang Dynasty." ”

His voice was vague, but the meaning was also very vague, and asked Li Qing to see the frontier, how long it was, half a year or a year, but he didn't say that this was Kang Huaishun's idea, and sent Li Qing out to prevent him from taking over government affairs.

Although the method is good, it's a pity that Kang Huaishun doesn't understand Li Qing, only when he is young and vigorous, he will agree as soon as his mind is hot, but he doesn't know that this person's methods are vicious, and even Li Longji is afraid of him.

Sure enough, as soon as Gao Xianzhi's words came out, Li Qing shook his head with a smile, "Thank you for your kindness, but Li Qing is a person who can't be idle, and it is time to have land after inspecting the territory, now let's hand over the affairs first, and the emperor is still waiting for me!" ”

Gao Xianzhi's face turned slightly red, and he didn't speak again, but Kang Huaishun next to him said: "The squire is in charge of government affairs, so naturally he should first understand the people's situation, and wait for the squire to come back from walking around and understand the customs of my Western Regions, so as to better target and solve the hardships of the people." This is a tall and handsome gesture, so don't postpone it. ”

"Don't postpone?" Li Qing snorted softly, there are some things that Gao Xianzhi is not easy to say, and it is not easy to turn his face with himself, there will be someone to say for him, presumably this is his dog-headed military advisor, Li Qing squinted at him, a slender and long hooked nose met his eyes, and he said coldly: "Who are you?" Why did you interrupt my conversation with the Great Shuai, if you are the Great Shuai's subordinate? This is called the following offense, and if it is stricter, it will be beheaded for public display. If you are lighter, you have to beat a hundred military sticks, tall and handsome. Is that how your subordinates are above and below? ”

Gao Xianzhi was taken aback by Li Qing's coldness, and he hurriedly waved his hand to persuade: "Squire Hugh should be angry, this person is my camp envoy in Anxi, I am not strict in discipline, so I make Squire laugh." ”

He turned back to Kang Huaishun and shouted: "I'll talk to the squire, how can you interject, let me out!" ”

"Wait!"

Li Qing stopped Kang Huaishun, who was about to leave. Gong Gongshou smiled: "It turned out to be the camp envoy, I was offended just now, but I have two things to tell you first." ”

Li Qing slowly walked behind him, stared at him and twitched his neck, but glanced at Gao Xianzhi intentionally or unintentionally and sneered: "First, I am no longer a household servant. It is the deputy protector of Anxi and the governor of Anxi Jiedu, you will call me a squire in the future, and you can call me Changshi or the governor; Second. It is the rule of the imperial court that the release official must be hired within three days after arriving in the place, not as you said, first travel in the mountains and rivers for a year and a half and then come to take office, then you will be removed from your post and investigated, if you don't understand, you will have to interject and be verbose. ”

Li Qing scolded Kang Huaishun fiercely, and when he saw that he bowed his head and said nothing, he turned around and smiled at Gao Xianzhi: "I see that all the generals are here, why don't we hold the inauguration ceremony now, report it as soon as possible, and give the emperor a surprise." ”

In the face of Li Qing's combination of soft and hard, Gao Xianzhi could no longer find a reason to refute, and said with a dry laugh: "It's better to rest for a day in Changshi, and we will do the handover tomorrow, come here!" Send Li Changshi to the museum to rest. ”、

"It's okay, presumably the handsome is not ready, so I will come on time tomorrow to handle the handover."

Li Qing smiled and bowed his hand to Gao Xianzhi, then said goodbye and left.

Kang Huaishun looked at Li Qingdi's back, the flesh on his cheeks suddenly shook violently, his eyes shot a vicious color, he gritted his teeth and said to Gao Xianzhi: "It's better to go out and inspect, hang him here, for a month, two months, kill his arrogance!" ”

"Idiot! You still don't understand? ”

Gao Xianzhi glanced at Kang Huaishun and snorted disdainfully, "The Art of War: Knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, invincible in a hundred battles, this person can smoothly implement the salt administration, with neither background nor background, but he can achieve a high position at a young age, which shows that he still has a little skill, your strategy has long been seen through by others, if I listen to your words and go out to retreat, I am afraid that when I come back, even the position of this handsome man will already belong to him." ”

"Does the marshal really plan to hand over the power of internal affairs to him?" Kang Huaishun became anxious.

Gao Xianzhi thought slowly with his hands behind his back, he looked at the roof for a while, stared at the ground for a while, sneered for a while, sighed for a while, and sighed for a long time before he sighed and said: "Li Qing, I'm not afraid, just go your own way, the key is that the emperor is there, An Lushan fights the Khitan, Wang Zhonghei attacks Tubo, I have never heard of eunuchs supervising the army, even if it is special in Anxi, but in the past, Tian Renwan, Gai Jiayun, and Fumeng Lingcha have repeatedly used troops against Xiao Bojin, and they have not seen any surveillance, but there is a prison army here to me, why is this?" If I don't see through this, I'm afraid I'll lose my head sooner or later. ”

"Dashuai means that Li Qing was also sent by the emperor? No wonder he's so arrogant. Kang Huaishun said hatefully, some people are good at conspiracies but don't know how to plan the layout, this Kang Huaishun is like this, he is more concerned about his own vital interests, and whether he can keep the oil and water he has gotten, as for Gao Xianzhi's Li Long base layout, he doesn't understand and doesn't care.

Gao Xianzhi glared at him dissatisfied, and scolded: "In the future, you will not come into my room less, you idiot, listening to you will only harm me." ”

Driving away Kang Huaishun, Gao Xianzhi's heart became more irritable, and his heart was unpredictable, he really couldn't see why Li Longji sent Li Qing to Anxi, and at this time there was a rhythmic knock on the door, which was Li Siye's habit, and he knew that Li Siye must have heard the news and rushed to visit Li Qing.

"Come in!"

As soon as the words fell, Li Siye pushed the door in, he has not changed much in the past few years, his steps are as calm as before, and his eyes are just as sharp, but to Gao Xianzhi's surprise, Li Siye did not look around to find the old man, but made a military salute, and said in a deep voice: "Dashuai, I am here to discuss with Dashuai about attacking the Shushi country, it is now May, and it will take three or four months to train soldiers and prepare food and grass materials, if you wait until the imperial court issues an order to start preparations, Xiao Bojin is in danger!" I mean prepare first, and as soon as the imperial court's will arrives, you can immediately raise troops to attack the Shushi country, I don't know what the commander wants? ”

A sentence reminded Gao Xianzhi, and his eyes lit up, 'That's right! Let Li Qing go to Shule to prepare for the war, this is a matter of long history, and Li Qing has nothing to say in public and private. ，

Thinking of this, Gao Xianzhi began to get excited, and he immediately called his own soldiers and said, "Go!" Quickly invite the border supervisor army and Li Changshi, who just arrived today, to discuss important matters. ”.......