Lin De Palace, Zhang Huan slowly paced in the imperial study with his hands behind his back, and put the latest information from the broken leaves on his imperial case, the Tang army found five thousand war knives in a large food caravan, after interrogation, this batch of war knives will be sent to the Qarlu people, this is not the first batch of weapons, but it will not be the last batch of weapons, the big cannibals are already beginning to arm the Qarluqs.

The colder climate was the reason for the Qarluqs' desire to return to the warmer valley of Broken Leaves, which was not surprising that after the Battle of Talas, the Qarluqs took control of Broken Leaf for a time.

But Zhang Huan is vigilant about the movement of Dashi, Datang and Dashi have remained calm in the past three years, Datang has not continued to expand westward, and Dashi has not interfered with the development of broken leaves and the construction of the Golden Dragon Road, this is a tacit understanding between the two countries, but this tacit understanding seems to be quietly broken.

Perhaps the colder climate made the Qarluqs eager to go south, and they turned to the Great Food for help, but the very act of aiding the Qarluqs reflected the Great Food's intention to change the situation.

Zhang Huan slowly walked to the wall, staring at a huge map on the wall, this is the map of the entire Western Regions and even the Great Eclipse, from Anxi to the westernmost Mediterranean, it can be seen from the map, the place painted in black is the territory of the Great Eclipse, covering a vast area, a red area above the Great Eclipse is another great power, the Byzantine Empire, and then to the west there are the Great Qin Kingdom and the Frankish State, as well as some remnants of the White Clothes Great Eclipse, three years ago the Great Eclipse Caliph died violently after only one year on the throne, and his younger brother Rashid ascended the throne as the new caliph, Now that two years have passed, has he finally lost his patience?

Zhang Huan's gaze moved to Broken Leaf again, it should be said that Broken Leaf was only the first link in his strategy in the Western Regions, and now with the repair of the Golden Dragon Dao, his first link has also come to an end. It's just the last decisive step.

Yes. The strategic location of the Broken Leaf Land is very important, it is close to the Great Qing Pond, the land is abundant, the water is abundant, and it occupies the entire Broken Leaf Valley for hundreds of miles of oasis. Not only that, but it also held on to the bones of Tochar and the Zhaowu kingdoms. It is a dagger inserted between the Tocharian region and the Zhaowu Kingdoms, and it is also a bone in the throat of the Great Eater, this nail will definitely be pulled out, and in the same way, the Tang Dynasty will also turn this nail into a sharp blade. Now, the battle between the two sides has finally begun. The Qarluq people are the first step of the Great Food, so what about their own corresponding chess? Isn't it time to make a move?

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is here." An Zhongshun interrupted Zhang Huan's train of thought with a low whisper, and he immediately smiled and said, "Please come in." ”

The queen is, of course, Pei Ying, after Zhang Huan's son died early three years ago, the heirs under his knees are thin, and at the strong request of the ministers, Zhang Huan accepted several more concubines, including Lin Pingping, the concubine of Ping.

Now he has five sons, and Concubine Yang Chunshui gave birth to a son. Queen Pei Ying gave birth to another son. Cui Xuezhu also gave birth to a son, and Cui Ning gave birth to a daughter last year. He was very healthy, and Hua Jinxiu also gave birth to a daughter, so that, together with Pingping's adopted daughter, he had a total of four daughters, and five sons and four daughters were also considered to be full of children, although the children were still young, he began to look for the best teacher for them.

After a while, Pei Ying walked in gracefully and said with a smile: "Go sick, are you looking for me?" ”

Pei Ying is twenty-seven years old this year, and it has been ten years since she married Zhang Huan, and this is when she is at her most mature, with a plump body and white skin, and a quiet and very moving solemn beauty between her gestures.

She is the queen of the Tang Dynasty, the queen is the queen, it stands to reason that she can't enter the emperor's imperial study casually, Pei Ying also knows this, in the past few years, she has never been to the imperial study of Zichen Pavilion, and the study of Lin De Hall was also Zhang Huan's absence when he accidentally came to clean up for him a few times, today it was Zhang Huan who specially invited her, and her heart was full of joy.

"There's something I want to ask you for."

Zhang Huan personally moved his wisteria chair to her to sit down, for his wife, Zhang Huan is respectful and loving, three years ago after the early death of his son, each of them realized the preciousness of family affection and life, it is Pei Ying's persistence, so that the obsession Zhang Huan for 20 years finally relaxed, married Zhang Huan, every child born has the shadow of Pei Ying's hard work, so that Zhang Huan has no worries at all, which makes Zhang Huan full of gratitude to her, as the years go by, The relationship between them slowly evolved into a plain family relationship, timeless and strong.

"He even moved his favorite chair to me to sit on." Pei Ying smiled slightly and quipped him: "It's definitely not a good thing." ”

Zhang Huan smiled a little embarrassedly and said: "That's the case, I was thinking about going back to Su to ask for marriage, and after discussing with the ministers, I decided to agree to Hui Khan's request, Tang and Hui two families to marry, but I don't know which clan daughter should be better to send, so I want to ask the queen to help me discuss this matter." ”

"I see." Pei Ying nodded and said, "Okay!" The concubine went back to discuss with Concubine Yuan, she knew more about the daughter of the clan than me, and drew up a list for His Majesty to make the final decision. ”

"So much the best!" Zhang Huan couldn't help but be overjoyed, he took Pei Ying's hand and smiled gratefully: "Then I will leave this matter to you." ”

At this time, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door, and An Zhongshun asked outside the door, "What's the matter?" ”

"Father-in-law An, Elder Cui Ge has a big matter to ask to see Your Majesty, and now he is waiting outside the palace."

"I'll go and report to the emperor."

Pei Ying hurriedly and gently broke free of her husband's hand, "When Elder Cui Ge comes, the concubine will not disturb Your Majesty." ”

After a pause, she suddenly attached herself to Zhang Huan's ear and said, "Go sick, come to me tonight, okay?" ”

Zhang Huan nodded, "Okay, I'll go in a while." ”

Pei Ying pursed her lips and smiled, and walked out quickly, An Zhongshun hurriedly flashed to the side to make way for the queen, and waited for her to go away before reporting: "Your Majesty, Cui Ge has something important to ask to see." ”

"I know, please let him in!"

After a while, two guards carried Cui Yuan's chariot into the imperial study, although there was often contact, but Zhang Huan had not seen him in person for nearly a year, he saw that Cui Yuan was skinny, and the look in his eyes was very gloomy, showing signs of running out of oil and lamp. Zhang Huan sighed secretly. Cui Yuan may not live long.

"Minister Cui Yuan, see Your Majesty!"

Cui Yuan bowed to Zhang Huan and thanked him: "The minister also wants to thank Your Majesty for coming to visit the minister." ”

"Concubine Yuan's health is not too good, otherwise I would have let her stay by the elder pavilion for a few more days." At the mention of Cui Ning, Zhang Huan felt a strong apology in his heart, and the early death of his son three years ago caused deep harm to Cui Ning. She also almost died of grief, and her own country affairs were heavy. I didn't have the energy to take care of her and comfort her, but thanks to being by her side day and night, I snatched her back from the clutches of death, and it wasn't until last year that she gave birth to another daughter, and she slowly came out of the grief of losing her child.

But the guilt disappeared in a split second. It's state time, and he knows that Cui Yuan will have something big coming. It is very likely that it involves the strategy of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, and he would like to hear the opinion of this elder of the Four Dynasties.

Cui Yuan didn't say much to greet, he took out the fold and handed it to Zhang Huan, "Your Majesty, this is the excerpt that Your Majesty showed to the minister, and the minister has attached his opinion to the back, please take a look at it." ”

Zhang Huan took the excerpt and sat down to read it, Cui Yuan's opinion on returning to the court to ask for relatives was consistent with the imperial court, and his mention of increasing troops in the northern court was also consistent with Han and Yuan Zai's suggestion.

After Zhang Huan finished reading, he gently folded the music shut. Said: "The opinion of the elder of the pavilion will be carefully considered. Pei Xiangguo also proposed that while relaxing the grain trade, it is necessary to strictly prohibit the flow of strategic materials such as iron, weapons, and salt to Huifu, which coincides with the idea of the elder. ”

Cui Yuan's suggestion finally strengthened Zhang Huan's resolve. Can't show too much favor to Hui Su, blindly showing favor will not make it feel the mercy of the Tang Dynasty, but will make it feel that the Tang Dynasty is weak and bullied, and must be both soft and hard, while lending it food and agreeing to the marriage, it must also use force to warn it, at least the princess of the Tang Dynasty will not be wronged if she marries.

Cui Yuan saw that Zhang Huan agreed with his opinion, and he smiled again: "The minister is here today for another big event, which can be said to be a killer weapon to deal with Hui Hui. ”

"Oh!" Zhang Huan sat up suddenly, his eyes showed strong interest, the Qarlu people are not terrible to be lackeys of big food, it's a big deal to close the door and beat them again, but the Hui people are different, if they become the alliance of the big food, their strong strength will become a great obstacle to the westward expansion strategy of the Tang Dynasty, but if they can find a killer weapon to deal with the Hui people, it is equivalent to putting a wild horse on the head.

"Elder, please speak up."

"Your Majesty, on the way back from the Western Regions, the eldest grandson Yao of the minister, inadvertently saved a pair of brothers and sisters who were chased and killed by the Hui people in Xianyang County, they turned out to be the eldest son and daughter of the king of Huangjiasi, and were ordered to envoy to the Tang Dynasty

Smart people don't need to say more, Cui Yuan is only in a key place, Zhang Huan understands everything, he walked quickly to the map, and at a glance saw the place controlled by the Hui people, in the north of the Yibo Sea, the northwest corner of the Hui country, and the Qarlu people are in the southwest of the Hui country, originally the Qarlu and the Qarlu people are also connected by mountains and rivers, but three years ago, the Qarlu people moved south, and the power of the Hui people arrived in Yibohai, so they separated the Qarluq and the Qarluqs.

He muttered twice, he knew that this was an extremely tenacious nation, resisting the Hui people for nearly a hundred years, Zhang Huan nodded slowly, Cui Yuan was right, if it is used properly, this is indeed a killer weapon against the Hui people.

"Where are their brother and sister now?" Zhang Huan turned around and smiled slightly: "Won't you just wait outside the palace for me to summon you!" ”

Cui Yuan smiled a little embarrassedly, "Your Majesty really understands people, yes, the two of them are waiting outside the palace for Your Majesty's summons." ”

Speaking of this, Cui Yuan suddenly hesitated, and then said, "The eldest grandson of the old minister is also with them." ”

Zhang Huan looked at this old minister silently, presumably he also knew that his days were numbered, so he began to arrange the future, the only thing he was concerned about was his eldest grandson, but he was worried that his grandson would not be able to pass the Jinshi exam, and in the case that the door shade system had been canceled, he could only use his little residual heat to find a way out for his grandson.

Zhang Huan understood his hard work, so he nodded and said, "Cui Yao is the nephew of Concubine Yuan, that is, my nephew, let's announce that he will meet him together!" ”

After a while, Shi Muhua and Cui Yao were led to the Lin De Hall by Yu Linjun together, before entering Zhang Huan's imperial study, Yu Linjun conducted the strictest body search and supervision on them in turn, and even opened their mouths to check whether they contained hidden weapons, Cui Yao saw that Yu Linjun searched very carefully, so he turned back to Gu Dai and said, "You don't have to go in." Just stay here. You know? ”

Gu Dai nodded obediently, and stayed outside the hall accompanied by a palace maid, Shi Muhua and Cui Yao were led to the door of the imperial study together, and a soldier went in to report. At this time, Shi Muhua's heart was pounding. He whispered to Cui Yao: "Young Master Cui, will His Majesty the Emperor be annoyed that we never pay tribute?" ”

"Don't worry!" Cui Yao comforted him softly: "Our Emperor His Majesty is a pragmatic person, he won't pay too much attention to those false courtesies, the key is that you must be sincere." ”

Shi Muhua nodded silently, and he restrained the tension in his heart. Waiting for the summons of the Tang Emperor, soon. A little eunuch ran out and said, "Your Majesty declares you in!" ”

The two walked into the imperial study quickly, Shi Muhua saw Cui Yuan sitting next to him at a glance, and in the middle of the room sat a man in his thirties, his eyes were very sharp, he didn't dare to look more, he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down and said: "Shi Muhua, a subject of the partial state, knocked on His Majesty the Tang Emperor, may Your Majesty live long live!" ”

Cui Yao didn't have a title, so he also knelt down, "Cui Yao, the grass people, knock to see His Majesty the Emperor!" ”

Zhang Huan saw that this Shi Muhua was full of red hair and blue eyes. The face is blackened. Although they are also a branch of the Turkic people, they are completely different from the Turkic people that are usually seen. Not to mention that they claim to be descendants of the Han general Li Ling.

Zhang Huan waved his hand and ordered them to get up, he looked at Cui Yao first, turned his head to Cui Yuan and smiled: "I still remember the appearance of that little prodigy back then, I haven't seen it for a few years, I have grown so big, I was almost admitted to the Jinshi three years ago, the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, and there are successors to the Cui family!" ”

"Your Majesty has won the prize." Cui Yuan bowed down to thank him, and he said to Shi Muhua again: "You still don't take out the Ye Hu gold medal that Emperor Xuanzong gave to your grandfather back then?" ”

A eunuch walked over with a gold plate, the gold plate was placed on one side of the gold medal tied with a brocade belt, and next to it there was a gold box made of gold, which was inlaid with various precious jewels, Shi Muhua hurriedly bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, this is the gold medal left by the grandfather of the courtier, and in the gold box next to it is a hunter who got diamonds from the 10,000-year-old ice in the far north, which has always been the treasure of the royal family of the Emperor, and the father of the minister dedicated it to His Majesty the Emperor." ”

The eunuch stepped forward and knelt down, holding up the gold plate high, Zhang Huan took the gold medal first, the front is the five words of Huang Jiasi Ye Hu, and the back is a line of small characters: Tang Kaiyuan Tianbao Shengwen Shenwu Emperor Cijian Kundudu.

Zhang Huan nodded, and opened the gold box casually, and a faint blue light shot out of the box, which was a blue diamond the size of an egg, in the shape of a diamond, emitting a dazzling light.

"Thank you for your father's kindness, I accept it."

Zhang Huan smiled faintly, closed the box, and asked him again: "You speak Chinese very well, but have you lived in Datang?" ”

"When I was young, I studied in Jiuyuan for a few years, and my master named me Muhua, and I admired the Central Plains culture very much, and I was determined to marry a Tang woman."

Zhang Huan saw that he was eager to express his admiration for the Tang Dynasty, so he smiled slightly and said, "Your father let the envoy to the Tang Dynasty, but what letters do you have?" ”

Shi Muhua hurriedly bowed down and said, "Yes!" The brocade in the gold box is. ”

Zhang Huan was a little surprised, he opened the box again, took out a white brocade from it, he was stunned after shaking it open, the whole brocade was densely covered with small characters, it was actually written with blood, the book wrote all the bullying of Hui to Huang Jiasi, and now Hui Hui has expanded to Yibohai, Huang Jia Si has faced the crisis of extinction, the book begged Datang to lend a helping hand, Huang Jiasi is willing to regard Datang as his father, Zhang Huan frowned slightly, he doesn't like to use blood books to express emotions in such an extreme way.

Shi Muhua has been watching the emperor's every move nervously, at the moment when it is about the life and death of Huang Jiasi, his heart is about to jump out, seeing the emperor's brows, Shi Muhua pounced! Kneeling on the ground, mourning and weeping: "Your Majesty, more than sixty percent of the cattle, sheep and horses raised by our Huangjia people every year must be handed over to the Hui, if there is a disaster year, they will collect according to the standard of last year, if it is not enough, they will arrest people as slaves, for a hundred years, we Huangjia people have been living in extreme hardship with lack of food and clothing, repeatedly resisted, repeatedly suppressed, my grandfather and two uncles died under the knife of the Hui people, the climate has been cold in recent years, cattle and sheep are difficult to raise, we all rely on fishing in Yibohai for a living, but three years ago Huixi expanded to Yibohai, The persecution of us intensified, and half a year ago we were strictly forbidden to fish in the sea, cutting us off from our way of life. He also forced us to hand over a million head of cattle and sheep and 500,000 horses next year. Otherwise, all our Zombies will be slaughtered, Your Majesty, help us! We're really at our bottom. ”

At this time, Cui Yao finally couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty." The grass people have heard from many merchants that the Uighurs forbade them to trade with the Tunja in exchange for grain. Cavalry patrols are often dispatched, and once they are caught, they will be killed. ”

"Grandson!" Cui Yuan cut off Cui Yao's interjection, "In front of Your Majesty, you are not allowed to talk too much." ”

Cui Yao was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head.

"Cui Gongzi is chivalrous. Not bad. Zhang Huan smiled, and the smile immediately closed. said coldly to Shi Muhua: "Then what kind of aid do you want, do you want Datang to provide food?" ”

"No!" Shi Muhua categorically denied it, "We don't want food, if we want food, we can migrate to the West, we don't want to leave the land that has nurtured us for generations, we want knives, we ask the Tang Dynasty to help us with weapons and armor, we want to fight to the death with the Hui people, and we will never surrender to them again." ”

"I see." Zhang Huan nodded slowly, "For the sake of your sincerity." I agree in principle to your request. But it's not enough to just ask for a sword, how can you have the strength to fight with the Hui people if you don't fill your stomach. I will order Broken Leaf to provide you with weapons and food, but I also hope that you will keep your promise and regard me as my father. ”

Shi Muhua's tears poured out, he fell to the ground and cried loudly, Zhang Huan didn't say a word, and when his crying stopped, he smiled and said: "Since you have completed your mission, you can rest in Chang'an for a while!" I still have to discuss the details of this matter with the Xiangguo, and then return to China after the beginning of spring, go to the broken leaves first, and I will send troops to escort you back to Jiankun. ”

"Thank you to His Majesty the Emperor for his kindness to my reconstruction!" Shi Muhua knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.

Zhang Huan glanced at Cui Yuan, and when he saw that he wanted to stop talking, he smiled at Cui Yao and said: "I know that you are going to participate in the imperial examination, and after the examination, you will work hard again to escort them back, if you can complete this mission, even if you fail the Jinshi examination, I will use you exceptionally." ”

The guards took Shi Muhua and Cui Yuan down, and only Zhang Huan and Cui Yuan were left in the room, Cui Yuan suddenly sighed and said: "Your Majesty's kindness to the minister, I'm afraid the old minister can't repay it." ”

"Ge Lao doesn't need to thank me, I just give him a chance, whether he can become the pillar of the Tang Dynasty depends on his own ability, but Ge Lao must take good care of his body!" Zhang Huan said the back, and his tone became a little sad.

Cui Yuan smiled faintly and said: "Birth, old age, sickness and death are the rules of heaven and earth, and the ministers have enjoyed all the wealth in the world, and they have no regrets." ”

After speaking, he changed the topic and asked, "Has Your Majesty ever considered sending more troops to Broken Leaf?" Lao Chen always felt that 10,000 garrisons seemed to be a little less, and he could only protect himself, and it was not enough to expand. ”

Zhang Huan slowly walked to the map with his hands in his hand, he once again stared deeply at the broken leaves, Ge Lulu's ambition to go south was revealed, and the tacit understanding between Datang and Dashi had been broken, and it seemed that the most critical step of his Anxi strategy had indeed been completed.

"I can tell the elder that in the spring of next year, the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate and the Beiting Metropolitan Protectorate of my Tang Dynasty will be merged into the New Western Regions Metropolitan Protectorate, and the New Western Regions Metropolitan Protectorate will be moved to Broken Leaf, and at that time, Broken Leaf will have 40,000 garrisons, and the 100,000 people east of the Green Ridge can be mobilized at any time

At the beginning of November of the fourth year of the Great Reign, due to the fact that the matter of granting land was nearing the end, the imperial court officially issued a military order to the whole country, regardless of nationality, all men over the age of 18 in the Tang Dynasty are obliged to be prepared as government soldiers, serve in their hometowns, serve as soldiers in wartime, and serve as people in leisure time, and will concentrate on training for fifteen days a month, and the required weapons and horses are provided by the imperial court. At the same time as the military order, the government also issued an order to recruit Long March athletes, all men who volunteer to serve in the frontier will be specially granted 30 acres of land for life on the basis of Yongye Tian, and those who serve in Anxi will also enjoy double pay, with six years as the service period, and they can return to their hometowns after the expiration of the service period, and they can be exempted from military service for life. At the same time as the implementation of the government military order, the 500,000 Xiliang troops originally stationed in the Central Plains only left 100,000 elite soldiers to be organized as the Tiance Army Gongwei Beijing Division, and the rest were all transferred to the government soldiers and returned to their hometowns to serve.