Dr. Sun, who treated Cui Ning, is a famous doctor in Jincheng County, his clinic is located in the south of the city, which is a prosperous place for trade in Jincheng County, early in the morning, Dr. Sun left the clinic and came to Mingren Pharmacy to ask for medicine, Akihito Pharmacy is the largest pharmacy in Jincheng County, where medicinal materials from Tiannan and Haibei are gathered, where you can not only buy ginseng from Silla, snow lotus from Anxi, and even pearls from Japan, and Hu medicine from Tianzhu, all of which are available here.

At this moment, there are many people in the lobby buying medicine, and when Dr. Sun came in, the shopkeeper who was chatting with the guests in the lobby immediately greeted him.

The shopkeeper was originally a Hu man from the Western Regions, but changed his Han surname to Li, and the shopkeeper Li walked quickly to the door, arched his hand and smiled: "Why does Doctor Sun come to the door in person, can't he just send an apprentice?" ”

"I'm here to buy your 800-year-old Silla ginseng, and I want to buy some good cordyceps, how can I do it if I don't come in person."

The smile on the shopkeeper Li's face disappeared immediately, and he sneered: "Cordyceps sinensis is as much as you want, but that mountain ginseng."

Before he could finish his sentence, Doctor Sun waved his hand and interrupted him, "Medicine is always used to cure diseases, do you know who I am treating people?" ”

"I've heard about it too!" Shopkeeper Li nodded, "Let's talk inside." ”

The two walked through the medicine hall, walked into the back room and sat down, a medicine boy served them tea, and the shopkeeper Li took a sip of tea and asked, "I heard that the second lady of the Jiedu envoy is sick, but is it serious?" ”

Physician Sun smiled and said: "It's just a loss of body, it's serious to say it's serious, it's not a big deal to say it's not serious, the key to this disease depends on who it is, if the poor woman gets it, the lack of medicine, the meat porridge is not continued, sooner or later she will die, but the person is the daughter of the dignified country, the wife of the festival envoy, as long as she is good at life and recuperation, it is not a serious illness." So if you don't give me that wild ginseng, I'm afraid you won't be able to open this medicine shop. ”

"You guy, you owe our friendship for more than ten years. You have betrayed me. But after all, the shopkeeper Li still ordered someone to get ginseng, and at this time, he saw that there was no one left and right, so he said in a low voice: "I heard that the party members in Yinchuan County are in chaos, is this true?" ”

"I've heard about it, too." Shopkeeper Sun nodded, and he also whispered: "Yesterday, I heard from the housekeeper in the Jiedu Envoy's mansion. Originally, Zhang Yuanjun was going to rush back to reunite with his family yesterday, but something happened in Yinchuan County, so he went north again, and it is speculated that this is very likely to be true. ”

Shopkeeper Li smiled silently and said: "In this way, Longyou will be in chaos, and you and I can make a fortune." ”

Shopkeeper Sun didn't like his face as a profiteer, and smiled submissively. So he took the ginseng and cordyceps and left. When the shopkeeper of the medicine shop saw him go away, he immediately stood up and walked into a secret room, closed the doors and windows, took out a small roll of paper, wrote a few lines on it quickly, rolled it up, and put it into a small bamboo tube.

He then went to the backyard, where there was a basket of pigeons, and he took out one of them. He tied the bamboo tube to his leg and sent the pigeon out, and the pigeon flapped its wings and flew westward, in the direction of the river.

The Hehuang area is the vast land between today's Lanzhou and Xining. It is named because the water runs through it. This is the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, which is flat and well-watered. The land is also very fertile, although it cannot be compared with the richness of the Guanzhong region, but compared to the Tibetan people who have been living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it is like a paradise of wealth.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tubo people seized the Hehuang area, and took millions of Tang people as slaves here, cultivating grain for them, in addition, there are many other ethnic groups living here, such as Tuyuhun, Qiang, etc., they live by grazing, living by water, compared to the Han slaves, their status is much higher, and even many people still have Han slaves.

One of the most important mountain ranges in the Hehuang region is Chiling, which was originally the dividing line between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, the mountains are majestic, steep and steep, becoming a natural barrier to block the northward movement of Tubo, and the only valley has been built into a strong mountain fort, that is, the Stone Fort City, which is a very famous castle in the history of the Tang Dynasty, and its strategic significance is related to the contention between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty for the Hehuang region.

Tianbao eight years, Tang Long right section of the degree to make Ge Shuhan with tens of thousands of people to deal with hundreds of defenders of the city Tubo army, dead and wounded, only to finally recapture the stone fort city, nine years, the Tang army captured Tubo Shudun City, 12 years, Ge Shuhan then attacked Tubo, Keqi Hongji, desert gate and other cities, all the Jiuqu tribes, in one fell swoop to seize the logistics base of Tubo eastward, thirteen years, the Tang dividing line has been advanced westward to Qinghai Lake to the west of the Yellow River River meander, in more than 100 years of Tang Tu contention, the Tang Dynasty finally achieved a strategic advantage at this time.

It's a pity that the Anshi Rebellion broke out the following year, and the Tang army of Hehuang went to the Central Plains to start a war, which made Hehuang empty, and the Tubo people took the opportunity to march in a big way, attacking the city and plundering the village, and pushing the Tang-Tu border to the line of the Yellow River.

It was getting late that day, and the blood-red remnant sun was gradually setting behind the Chiling, which stretched for thousands of miles, and by a river about ten miles away from Shibao City, a dozen people were driving hundreds of horses along the frozen river quickly.

At this time, a horse galloped up the hill, looking at the Dingrong City not far away, this is a Han man of about thirty years old, his eyes are grim, his expression is focused, a bright moon rises above his head, a kind of white light permeates the river valley, in the light blue night sky, the moon is full like a mirror, revealing a trace of blood, this is a strange moonlit night.

This is a scout team of the Xiliang Army, three months ago, together with five other scout teams, was sent to the Hehuang area to reconnoiter the terrain and the deployment of the Tubo people, this Han man's name is Li Guozhen, is the captain of this scout team, usually regarded as Han slaves, they have been in the Hehuang area for three months, with horses as a cover, all the way to the vicinity of Shibao City, has lived in this area for nearly a month, and has a lot of first-hand information about Shibao City.

According to the agreed time, they will return to Longyou by the middle of February, and it is a full time before now, when a horse gallops up the hill, "Captain, it's getting late, let's find a place to rest!" The person who shouted was a Qiang man, burly, vicious-looking, his name was Xianzhu, his ancestral home was Hehuang, and he moved to Wuwei County ten years ago. Joined the Xiliang Army, and is currently the deputy leader of this scout team, and he is nominally the owner of this group of horses.

Li Guozhen glanced back at him. He said solemnly: "This place is close to the strategic place of the Tubo people, don't reveal your identity at will, beware of being heard by spies." ”

"Yes!" Seeing his serious expression, Xianzhu immediately agreed as if receiving an order.

Li Guozhen glanced around, pointed to a mountain col in the distance and said, "Let's go there for the night!" ”

Soon, a fire broke out in a mountain col, and there were many wild wolves in the river wilderness. To prevent wild wolves from attacking the horses, it is necessary not only to light a bonfire, but also to go to a high place to keep a sentry.

There were twelve Tang scouts in this group, two Han Chinese, ten Qiang people, and in addition to Li Guozhen, there was also a very young soldier. He was only seventeen years old. It was a recruit who had just joined the army last year, called Liu Shuai, and everyone always joked about him Niu Dump, he sat next to Li Guozhen, and saw him take out a small notebook and draw something seriously with a piece of charcoal.

Then he leaned up and said, "Is the captain painting this valley?" Why don't I draw it! ”

Li Guozhen glanced at him and said with a smile: "Do you think it's as simple as painting?" How do you judge what the summer looks like in this valley? The young scout was speechless, and next to him Xianzhu grinned, "Don't listen to the mystery. During the day, you only need to pay attention to the color contrast of the rocks on both sides of the river to know where the river will rise. ”

Oh! He suddenly realized as if he had been taught, and after a while, he couldn't help but ask Xianzhu curiously: "Deputy leader, I heard that you used to be from Hehuang." Are you not familiar with the terrain here? Why do we need to find the way? ”

"He***. Are you hurting me? Xianzhu scratched the back of his head and scolded with a smile: "The river is so big, how can I remember how much?" ”

"Is the cow homesick?" Li Guozhen suddenly asked him with a gentle smile.

Liu Shuai nodded. "Yesterday was the Shangyuan Festival, I wonder if my parents miss me?"

"Think of a fart!" A big man next to him couldn't help muttering: "Since you are a soldier, you are still sentimental like a girl, and you always think of yourself as a child, so when will you grow up?" ”

Liu Shuai's face was swollen red, he shrank back, and didn't say a word, but Xianzhu slapped the guy's scalp and scolded: "If you don't speak, you won't die, get up and change the guard." ”

The man had no choice but to stand up, and at this moment, Li Guozhen suddenly waved his hand and said, "Listen, what kind of voice is this?" ”

Everyone remained motionless, listening intently, only to hear a faint fierce roar in the distance, "It's the sound of horses' hooves!" Xianzhu heard it all of a sudden, at this time, the horses, except for the army, will not be anyone else, he jumped up and was anxious to extinguish the fire, but Li Guozhen grabbed him and said in a deep voice: "It's too late, we are nomads, don't forget." ”

"Head! Thousands of cavalry were rushing this way. The brothers who had been on the cliff ran back in a panic to report.

"I see." Li Guozhen nodded, took out a small notebook and stuffed it to Liu Shuai and said, "You go first, no matter what happens to us, we must send this notebook to Longyou." ”

Liu Shuai took the notebook and put it close to him, he gave a military salute to Li Guozhen, flew on a horse, shouted, and ran to the east.

In a few moments, the Tibetan soldiers rushed into the valley, about 3,000 people, and it was obvious that they were just passing by here, and they saw a fire in the valley from afar, and now they saw that there were hundreds of horses on the other side, so they immediately stopped and surrounded this group of people.

"What do you guys do?" A commander stepped forward and asked.

Xianzhu hurriedly nodded and stepped forward, and replied in Tubo: "We are horse breeders, and it is snowing heavily in Xincheng, so we are hiding here." ”

At this time, the Tubo army dodged a way, and dozens of cavalry surrounded an old general who stepped forward, his majestic appearance and deep eyes, it was Ma Chongying, the governor of Hehuang.

He came from Luo, went to Xiping County, happened to pass by here, heard that the other party said that it was a horse breeder, he looked at them suspiciously, it was winter, and it was difficult for the shepherd to meet.

"Search them!" As soon as he gave the order, he immediately stepped forward with dozens of soldiers and searched them carefully, except for some ordinary swords, there was nothing else.

"Report to the Governor, what did you find?"

Ma Chongying nodded, he suddenly saw Li Guozhen, this person's face was clearly a Han person, he pointed his horse whip and asked, "Who is this Han person?" ”

Xianzhu hurriedly reported, "Old general, this is one of my slaves. ”

"Slaves?" Ma Chongying glanced at Li Guozhen carefully, and then looked at the others, this is a strategic place close to Shibao City, so he has to pay more attention, and seeing that these people are all tall and burly, even if they are not Tang army spies, it is a pity not to let them be soldiers, besides, they still have hundreds of horses, Ma Chongying laughed gloomily, he waved his hand, "Take them all away!" ”

Thousands of horses swept across the valley like a whirlwind, and gradually drifted away, leaving no one behind, only a pile of fire that was about to be extinguished and swayed under a cold river moon.

Xiping County, that is, today's Xining, Qinghai, Tianbao first year ago here called Shanzhou, is the former Longyou Jiedu envoy where the line is located, after the Tubo people captured Hehuang, they will use this place as the center of the ruling Hehuang region, Ma Chongyingdi Hehuang Governor's Mansion is also located in the city, two days later in the early morning, thousands of Tubo cavalry escorted Ma Chongying into the city gate.

The city basically maintains the original appearance of the Tang Dynasty, including the ruins and broken walls that were burned when they entered the city, there are not many people on the street, from time to time you can see the high-spirited Tubo people passing through the streets, and behind them are followed by Han slaves who are bent over, although they have also shaved their heads, and their clothes are no different from those of the Tubo, but from their humble posture, people can still see at a glance that they are Han people.

Li Guozhen's current name is Daang, they were forced to join the Tubo Army on the road, wearing the military uniform of the Tubo Army, and officially became one of them, which was not up to them, and they had no way to escape, so they had to endure it.

The cavalry went to the barracks, and Ma Chongying, under the protection of hundreds of personal guards, came to his capital governor's line, which used to be the envoy of the Longyou Jiedu of the Tang Dynasty, and now it is full of Tubo soldiers, heavily guarded, and a guard officer who stayed behind greeted him, Ma Chongying asked while walking: "I'm not here, what can happen here?" ”

"Back to the governor, more than a month ago, the second prime minister Shang Zanpo once came here and sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty."

"I already know about it." Ma Chongying entered the room, took off his coat and handed it to him again, and asked, "What news is coming from Longyou?" ”

A sentence reminded the guard officer, and he immediately took out a tube of pigeon letters and handed them to Ma Chongying, "This is the pigeon letter just sent this morning, it seems that there is a civil strife among the Longyou Party members." ”

"Party members are in civil strife?" Ma Chongying immediately took the pigeon letter and read it carefully several times, his eyes full of doubts.