Many things are like this, when you think of a possibility, don't want things to develop towards that possibility, things will fall on this probability, just as Zhang Huan guessed, the sudden retreat of the Tubo army is the Tubo and Da Shi reached an agreement to divide Anxi, just yesterday at noon, Zhang Huan's army arrived in Qiuzi at the same time, the envoys from the Great Food also arrived at the temporary palace of Tubo Zampu Trisong Dezan.

After the battle of Talas in the eighth year of Tianbao, the great food gradually occupied the vast territory west of the Tang Dynasty, and then its eyes were cast on the vast land of Tocharo, after defeating the Tubo people and occupying Tocharo, the big cannibal looked back again, his eyes crossed the green ridge, and peeked at the eastern land rich in silk and porcelain.

However, the powerful combat power shown by the Tang Dynasty in the Battle of Talas made the Great Cannibal deeply memorable, and it was like a vicious wolf afraid of a shotgun, and never dared to cross the Green Ridge - the threshold of the Tang Dynasty.

The turning point of the matter appeared two months ago, the Tang army struck hard at the lackeys of the Great Food in the North Garden, almost annihilated all its living forces, the whole country panicked, and then asked the Great Cannibal for help, until this time, the Great Food decided to take the first step tentatively, for this reason, it needed a springboard, Shule is the first springboard it fancies, occupied Shule, and also achieved the commanding heights of the east.

In August, the Tocharian governor of Alos finally waited for Baghdad's order, and the caliph Mahdi personally ordered to seize Shule and stop the Tang army from advancing westward, which meant that the eastward expansion of the Great Cannibals began to take a substantial step, and the situation in Anxi became delicate.

Bachang City (today's Aksu), which is an important transit city on the Silk Road, is also the capital of the 36 countries of the Western Regions, with a population of about 3,000 households. Twenty-four thousand. For more than a month, the Tibetan army has been stationed in this city, especially the Tibetan Zampu is also here, which makes the city heavily guarded, and anyone entering and leaving the city must be strictly checked.

Although the Tibetan army had left east a dozen days earlier, the city was still heavily guarded as usual, because the Tibetan Tsangpu Trisong Detsen was too ill to move forward with the army.

Exactly. Tri Song Detsen was not sick, he was shot by a poisonous stray arrow when he was fighting with the Great Cannibal, although the Great Cannibal sent an antidote, but the poison had entered the internal organs, and there was no cure, and finally what awaited him was slowly moving towards death.

At this moment, Zampu, who created the glory of the Tibetan generation, is almost at the end of his life, and he is lying on a bed with a thick mattress. Gazing out the window at the dying midsummer, autumn in Anzai has arrived.

The change of seasons can come and go, but human life is only once, death, Tri Song Detsen is not afraid, in his opinion, it is the only way to enter the Western Elysium, and he worries about Tibet, behind him. Where will Tibet go?

Trisong Dezan's mother is the princess of Jincheng of the Tang Dynasty, and he also has the broad mind of the Tang Dynasty in his blood. But in the harsh living environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the broad-mindedness has evolved into the ambition of conquering the Quartet, and the life of Trisong Dezandi is almost a history of external expansion, to the east he captured Hehuang and Hexi, and attacked the Longyou of the Tang Dynasty; To the south, he joined forces with Nanzhao to attack Jiannan Bashu, plundering slaves and wealth; To the west, he went west to conquer Tianzhu and occupy Tocharo; Northward. He occupied Anthy. looked at the north courtyard and even sent troops to the west of the green ridge.

Decades of conquest in the north and south. has exhausted the strength of Tubo, and the glory of hundreds of thousands of people with armor no longer exists, and it was not until he was about to come to the end of his life that he finally woke up, but what could he leave to Tubo at this time?

The slaves in the east, the land in the west, and the glory of the north were all shattered, and even the big and small Bolu, who had been loyal to Tubo for decades, turned their faces and threw themselves into the big food, and now, Anxi, the last piece of land conquered by the Tubo people, was also gradually dying out in the aggressive momentum of the Tang army.

It is necessary to leave a door to the rejuvenation of Tibet, that is, this strong thought, so that Trisong Dezan resolutely decided to reach an agreement with the big cannibal to divide Anxi, the north is to change the city as the boundary, the east belongs to Tubo, the west belongs to the Great Eclipse, and the south is bounded by the town of Khotan, the same east belongs to Tubo, and the west belongs to the Great Eclipse, so that Tubo will join forces with the Great Eclipse to deal with the westward advance of the Tang army, Tubo still has more than 40,000 troops, and the Great Eclipse sent 50,000 troops, and the two families together have 100,000 troops, just rival with the Tang army, On the same day that the agreement was reached, Trisong Detsen immediately ordered the Tibetan army that had marched to Qiuci to withdraw westward to the front line of Bachang City, waiting to join the Great Food Army.

But two days have passed, not only has his army not been withdrawn, but there is no news from the big cannibal who should have come according to the appointment, and Tri Song Dezan has an ominous premonition that the big cannibal is very likely to want him to consume the power of the Tang army first, just as he hopes that the Hui people will consume the power of the Tang army, and the matter is quite ironic to go a big circle.

At this moment, a rush of footsteps sounded in the outer room, and when he ran to the door, he suddenly became light again, as if he was afraid of disturbing his recuperation, and the door creaked! As soon as it opened, his chief guard walked in quickly and reported in a low voice: "Zampu, I just received news that a Tang army cavalry of about 3,000 people is speeding through the north of Bachang City and heading west. ”

Trisong Detsen didn't take his safety to heart, he frowned, and said to himself: "Three thousand people, what is this for?" Could it be that they smell something? ”

"When did this happen?" He raised his eyes and immediately asked.

"About an hour ago." The chief of the guard hesitated for a moment, and said again: "The subordinates are really worried about the safety of Zampu, we only have three thousand guards, once they are discovered by the Tang army, the consequences will be unimaginable." ”

At this time, Trisong Dezan had already understood Zhang Huan's intentions, presumably he also realized the threat of the big cannibals, and sent cavalry to bypass his army and go to Shule to intercept the big cannibals heading north, but 3,000 people were far from enough, and there must be more cavalry brigades behind.

Thinking of this, he nodded slightly and said, "Okay! Let's take shelter in Big Rock City first. ”

Big Rock City is a small city, about a hundred places northwest of Bahuan City, an hour later. The 3,000 Tibetan troops escorted Trisong Dezan and quickly headed northwest.

Trisong Dezan guessed correctly. The 3,000 Tang army that had just galloped through the city of Bachang was the vanguard sent by Wang Siyu to Shule, each with two horses, marching to Shule day and night, and the main commander who led this vanguard was Cao Hanchen, the general who was responsible for outflanking the rear of the Tubo army in the Baima River blockade battle. He is the son of Cao Lingzhong, the envoy of Anxi Jiedu, who has been in Shule for many years, not only has a good relationship with the Shule royal family, but also he is very familiar with the terrain of Shule

And his lieutenant general, is the new Guoyi Commander Guan Ying, who is also the luck of Trisong Dezan, the Tang army just rested for more than an hour at noon in the city of Axiyan in the east of the city, in order to hurry up, he did not stop in the city of Bachang, but roared five miles north of the city. Otherwise, if they had known that Trisong Detsen was in the city, they would have entered the city anyway and captured the Tibetan Zanpu alive.

In an instant, Bachang City disappeared at the end of the horizon behind him, at this time, the sun had sunk in the west, and in front of Tang Jundi, a huge and red fireball was setting in the west, and the sun seemed to be close at hand, almost occupying the end of most of the sky.

From the city of Pull-out to Shule. It's a little farther than to Qiuzi, and there are about three days to go. The war horses were a little tired, so the Tang army changed their horses, slowed down their horses slightly, and continued to march westward.

After going west for about ten miles, the sky was already dark, and there was a small river in front of him, the river water was crystal clear and gurgling, Cao Hanchen waved his hand and said: "Rest for half an hour!" ”

There were no cheers from the Tang army. Time is short. They were busy nervously and quickly, leading the horses to drink water and checking the horses' condition. Feed the horses again, and finally it's your turn, wash your face a little, drink a few sips of water, eat some dry food, and the rest time should be over.

In the twilight, the river was crowded with Tang troops leading horses and drinking water, and several teams of sentry posts went to all sides to inquire about the situation, at this time, Guan Ying walked to Cao Hanchen and sat down, and said with a smile: "Brother Cao seems to be very familiar with the terrain here, and a river will always appear when everyone is tired. ”

Cao Hanchen also smiled: "Of course, I moved around with my father when I was a child, and I once stayed in Bachang City for two years, grazing outside almost every day, and I can walk around this area with my eyes closed." ”

He pointed to the north of the river with his hand and said, "This river is called the Hulu River, and if you go north about five miles along this river, there is a large swamp, and if you are not careful when you march at night, you will sink into it, so I would rather trek across the river from this wider place, but if you go further south, the river will be wider and deeper, but you can't cross it, so you can only walk another twenty miles south to cross the bridge." "I see!" Guan Ying praised sincerely: "Following Brother Cao really takes a lot of unjust roads." ”

Cao Hanchen was born in a family of generals, and Guan Ying was a small ruffian in the countryside before joining the army, and he was even just an ordinary scout soldier two months ago, the identities of the two are very different, but Cao Lingchen felt the deeds of Zhang Sancheng's defenders, and always took care of Zhang Ying all the way, teaching him a lot of things, such as marching camps, strategic formations, etc., which benefited him a lot.

He took a sip of water and smiled at Guan Ying: "Do you know what is the key to us going to Shule to intercept the big cannibal?" ”

Guan Ying scratched her scalp and smiled awkwardly: "I'm also confused about this matter, we only have three thousand people, how can we stop tens of thousands of cannibals, I can't figure it out, I beg Brother Cao to teach me!" ”

Cao Hanchen looked up to the sky and smiled, "Speaking of which, you should know better than me!" ”

Guan Ying hesitated for a moment and said, "Could it be that you are going to grab the pass again?" ”

"Sure enough, it's a smart person." Cao Hanchen gave a thumbs up and praised: "Just guess it!" ”

He sighed softly, and said after a deep sigh: "Actually, the governor ordered us to rush to Shule, it is to bet that the big cannibal has not crossed the green ridge, the big cannibal has only two ways to go from Tocharo to Shule, one is the green ridge of Pantuo Ridge to be captured, 101'et and the other is the Tanju Ridge taken by Gao Xianzhi to attack Xiao Bo Law back then, I estimate that the big cannibals do not have the courage to take that road, and they have also detoured far, they are ten likely to go to Pantuo Ridge, my task is to catch up with the big food army, seize the castle of the green ridge to defend the ground, The terrain there was so precarious that three thousand men were enough to deal with a hundred thousand men to hold the castle. ”

"But what if there are already Tibetans stationed there?" Guan Ying still has some burdens

Cao Hanchen patted him on the shoulder and smiled: "Don't worry! Not long ago, Master Bodhidharma came from there, there was no garrison, and the Tubo people wanted to return to China. Either go around in a big circle to Khotan, or take Tanju Ridge to Xiaobolu. There will be no more Spitfire Ro. ”

At this moment, several sentries suddenly came galloping from the north, they jumped off their horses, and rushed forward to report: "General Cao, we have found a team of about 1,000 people stationed three miles upstream. Seeing that their costumes are not like those of the Tibetans, their subordinates have never seen them. ”

Cao Hanchen was stunned, and he hurriedly asked, "Are they wearing white military uniforms with long knives?" ”

This is the attire of the Shule Army, but You Sentinel shook his head and said, "No! No, they were dressed in black leather armor, holding round shields, short spears, and scimitars on their waists, and their horses were extremely majestic. ”

"Great cannibal!" Cao Hanchen's face turned pale, and the army of Ruo Da Shi appeared near Bachang City. What does that mean?

Guan Ying next to him hurriedly persuaded: "Brother Cao, don't worry, the other party only has a thousand people, maybe it's not what you think, maybe they are escorting envoys and the like." ”

Cao Hanchen stood up all of a sudden, and ordered in a deep voice: "Get on your horse immediately and prepare for battle." ”

At the sound of an order, the Tang army mounted their horses one after another and checked their weapons and equipment, and soon. Taking advantage of the night, the Tang army divided into two routes. Guan Ying led 1,000 men across the river to outflank the enemy's rear route, while Cao Hanchen led 2,000 men to quietly go upstream of the river in an arc.

As Guan Ying guessed, this Great Food Army was to escort the envoys, but it was not the envoy of the Tocharian Governor Aros, but the envoy sent by the Great Food Caliph Mahdi, who not only wanted to join forces with Tubo to seize Anxi, but also planned to form a long-term strategic alliance with Tubo, and the target was the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, the Black Clothes Food went through decades of expansion and governance. It's in the prime of its power. They had completely wiped out the remnants of the White Eaters and had taken the initiative in the war against the Byzantine Empire. Therefore, after receiving the report of the governor of Tochar, Aros, Mahdi took it very seriously, but after only one day of consideration, he wrote in a reply to Aros: The Green Ridge is by no means the dividing line between Arabia and the Tang Dynasty

He sent an envoy named Agush, his own brother, then governor of Jerusalem, who had plenipotentiary to negotiate with the Tibetan Zamp on behalf of the Great Diet Caliph.

Agush was about thirty years old, tall and tall, with a noble and proud face, and now he was less than thirty miles away from the city of Bachang, he did not want to enter the city in the dark, that would lose the dignity of the great cannibal land, he had to enter the city with his head held high in the morning glow, but he forgot that the night was also full of danger.

At this moment, the third person of the Great Eclipse is writing his Oriental Stories in a beautiful white tent: here I do not see the silk trees full of trees, only low and inferior horses and the vast desert, the people here do not write with brushes as legendary, they have all kinds of strange symbols recorded on the parchment, pay attention, I am talking here about parchment, which was used by our ancestors more than a hundred years ago, and I am now beginning to wonder if the papermakers who were captured in the war, whether they were from the Tang Dynasty or not?

"Your Royal Highness!" A general reported from outside the tent: "We have a few outposts who have not returned, and I am a little worried, and I hope that Your Highness will allow us to set off immediately." ”

"This is a barbaric place!" Agush muttered a curse, and he was about to agree to set up camp, but at this moment, a shout suddenly erupted from all around, and the screams resounded, and a big food soldier stumbled and ran to report, "Your Highness, there are enemies attacking us, and there are thousands of them. ”

Agush's face turned pale in an instant, he put his hands on his chest, looked at the sky and muttered, "Allah bless me!" ”

The Tang army slaughtered into the camp of the Great Food Army like a violent wind, they waved their horse lances to kill in the Great Food Camp, the war horses overturned the camp tents, the war knives cut off the heads, the horse lances pierced the chest, the fire was raging, the Tang Army violently and brutally slaughtered the Great Food Soldiers who had just slept, and the sporadic resistance of some Big Food Soldiers was completely swallowed up by the Tang Army.

At this time, Cao Hanchen saw at a glance that hundreds of large cannibal cavalry were guarding a man on a white war horse who was wading across the river and fleeing westward, and he immediately waved his hand and ordered: "Brothers, follow me!" ”

As soon as Cao Hanchen urged the war horse and led the cavalry to chase after him, he suddenly had an idea, and immediately gave a few orders to a partial general, who led hundreds of people to the northeast.

Four hundred cavalry protected Agush across the river, and had just fled a few hundred paces to the west, when suddenly, a large group of enemy cavalry appeared in the darkness in front of them, and the arrows were fired in unison, and the Great Eater Army was caught off guard, and was shot so that people turned on their backs, and more than 100 people were killed and wounded at once.

Then there were pursuers, and the road to the west was intercepted again, and the shadow of the enemy army appeared in the east, and the big cannibals were like a herd of hunted deer, fleeing north in a panic, they may not know, or they may forget, a few miles ahead is a large swamp covering an area of hundreds of hectares.