In September 889, after Li Xuanqing stayed in Wuliang Suhai for nearly two months, he began to set off towards Lingzhou with his wife Qiaoxi and the chief of civil affairs Cen Tianshi and other military and political cadres, and carefully inspected the deployment of the Tiance army and the border army of the first line from Fengzhou to Lingzhou along the way and the development of the military industry, and met with Zhang Quanfu, director of the Department of Water Conservancy and Environmental Protection in the Sanfeng area, and carefully listened to the other party's experience in soil and water conservation and desert management in the Sanfeng area. Flash Dance. Then he took Zhang Quanfu from Sanfeng to the south, passed through Dingyuan City, and arrived in Lingzhou.

Xu Tianxiang was already waiting for Li Xuanqing's arrival outside Lingzhou City, and reported the latest battle situation after a few people arrived in the city to rest for a while. After Wan Yi defeated the Wen-Mo coalition army under Wuwei City, the former cavalry corps took Yongchang and Jinchang non-stop, completely controlling the eastern part of the Hexi Corridor, and preparing for the next step to open up the throat of the Silk Road.

"So, does Wan Yi not plan to stay in Jinchang and use the superior forces in his hands to pacify the reactionary forces in Hexi in one fell swoop?" Cen Tianshi frowned after listening to Xu Tianxiang's introduction and asked, "Isn't this different from the lord's plan?" If the war on the Western Front drags on, won't our plan to advance through the Central Plains be delayed? I remember that Xiao Si has already started to activate the shadows in the Youji region, if this can't be connected, wouldn't it be a waste of effort? ”

"Are you saying that Senior Brother's plan is to open up the Hexi Corridor in advance? And then partition to exterminate the Wenma? Li Xuanqing carefully compared the map and asked, "What about the two teachers?" I remember if they weren't also in Lingzhou? ”

"This plan is actually Mr. Ma's idea." Xu Tianxiang said with a wry smile: "The two teachers have already set off to cross the Wusheling Mountains to Wuwei and Wan Yi to join them, saying that they are helping him find a way to complete the plan to recover Hexi at the end of September, so as not to delay the eastward transfer of the large army." ”

Li Xuanqing's heart moved when he heard this, he looked at the location of Yumen Pass on the map and nodded, and said thoughtfully: "The teacher is planning to drive the tiger and devour the wolf?" ”

Xu Tianxiang walked to the side to help draw a line on the map and continued: "Teacher Ma means to use the strong military strength and the momentum of the first battle of Wuwei to force the Wen people to move west, and let them go to Ganzhou, Shazhou and even the Anxi region, so that it can also maintain the stability of the western region for a period of time, so that I can free up time for the decisive battle in the Central Plains." ”

"Did the General Staff conduct any deductions? Is it in time? Does Xuan Yingwei's plan need to be adjusted? Li Xuanqing took a breath and looked at the series of cities and routes scattered along the Hexi Corridor to the west, like pearls, scattered on the western land, and asked.

"It has already been deduced, according to the strength of the Western Legion, there is basically no problem, and it will take time for Xuan Yingwei's plan to be implemented, and Plan No. 1 is not achieved overnight, and there is no problem in the deployment of troops. Moreover, the Recruit Division has already trained the first batch of recruits, so that the legions can be restored to their best combat strength at any time. Xu Tianxiang knew Li Xuanqing's thoughts.

"Then execute it immediately. The teacher's plan seems to be more long-term than our previous plan, and it can also use the Wensmen to resist the covetousness of the western forces for the Hexi Corridor. Li Xuanqing nodded and said, "Let the Logistics Department and the Northwest Branch of Xuanyingwei cooperate." ”

Cen Tianshi saw Li Xuanqing nodding and immediately smiled: "The lord knows in his heart, and I, who is engaged in civil affairs, is also relieved, and I immediately asked Tuoba Sizhi to start preparing for civil affairs in Hexi to ensure the reception work." I heard that Hexi has been one of the refuge places of the Central Plains since the end of the Jin Dynasty, and the culture is prosperous, but I dare not underestimate it. ”

Li Xuanqing naturally knew about the cultural exchange between Hexi and the Central Plains Dynasty in the Song Dynasty, nodded and smiled: "This time, we will simply go to join in the fun, and return to Chang'an after inspecting Hexi to preside over the Central Plains affairs." ”

Cen Tianshi saw Qiaoxi walking in at this time and said with a smile: "I heard that the train prepared by Qiaoxi plans to start building a railway from Lingzhou to Hexi, but I can't catch up this time, and next time we go to Hexi, we don't have to ride a horse." ”

Qiaoxi's face turned red when she heard this, but she smiled and said: "Don't worry, sir, in fact, the railroad track is laid very quickly, and the BMW Group has already thought of a way." ”

A few people were talking and laughing, and they were about to continue discussing the train when Baixin hurriedly walked in outside the door, with one of Xuan Yingwei's flying horses behind him.

"Lord Qi, Chief of Staff, Xuanying Wei is in charge of the emergency military intelligence report." The Flyer handed over a red label and bowed down with Baixin and withdrew.

Li Xuanqing took the letter and glanced at it roughly, but his face became so strange, which made several people around him very strange. Xu Tianxiang took a look and smiled bitterly: "Why is this Li Keyong getting more and more confused the older he gets?" When he saw Cen Tian, he came over and said: "Xiao Si reported that Li Keyong didn't know what was going on to detain Li Cunxiao's family, and also sent troops to surround Li Cunxiao and Yu Xinyang. ”

After Cen Tianshi heard it, he glanced at Li Xuanqing, with the same strange face, but he and Xu Tianxiang were in the same mind, and what he was worried about was that Li Xuanqing was angry and ran to save Li Cunxiao at this time. However, after knowing that he was in Xinyang, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Xinyang is located in the hinterland of Li Kedi's territory and the distance between the jurisdiction of Tiance Mansion is not close, and it is estimated that it will be too late to rescue at this time.

Li Xuanqing didn't think about it so much, just sighed silently and walked aside, how could he let Li Cunxiao get to this point after planning so much? And it seems to be much earlier than in history. Is it because of yourself?

"Let Xiao Si go all out to find out the reason why Li Cunxiao was besieged, and let the dragon group go out to see if he can enter Xinyang City and take his family out." Li Xuanqing sighed and said with a wry smile: "Don't look at me with such eyes, I'm not Li Keyong, let Tiancheng immediately preside over the No. 1 plan, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Logistics will start secret preparations for the materials in the eastern region." Tell Xiao Si that Project No. 1 will start immediately. ”

Li Xuanqing's words also made the two completely relieved, and hurriedly began to prepare for their own departures. As soon as they left, Li Xuanqing and Qiaoxi were left.

"Big brother, are you planning to save Brother Li's family?" Qiaoxi walked over and asked timidly. Since Qiao Xi gradually regained some memories of his previous life, he rarely had this kind of look anymore.

Li Xuanqing nodded and said: "I originally planned to save him, at least I can persuade him not to believe Li Keyong and Li Cunxin, but I can save him once, but I may not be able to save him for a lifetime." Moreover, he has a different belief and position from us, and may turn against him in the future. Alas, it's just "

"It's just that the eldest brother is still ruthless after all, and he still remembers in his heart that Brother Li has helped us over the years, right?" Qiaoxi's soft voice came over and said: "Actually, Qiaoxi thinks that even if the eldest brother goes, he may not be able to save him." Brother Li's ability, if he doesn't want to die, I don't think anyone can beat him. Now that the eldest brother has sent someone to save his family, I think it will make him have a trace of concern in his heart, and maybe he won't want to die. ”

"Qiaoxi, let's go back to Chang'an early tomorrow morning, Li Ke may use this move to advance our plan. I can't go to Hexi. Li Xuanqing nodded in response to Qiaoxi's words, thought about it and continued.

"Okay, I'll clean up, and we'll leave early tomorrow morning." Qiaoxi saw that although Li Xuanqing's brows were still furrowed, his expression was calm, and he immediately became happy.

That night, Li Xuanqing urgently notified Xu Tianxiang and Cen Tianshi, and after explaining the follow-up matters in Hexi, the group went straight to Chang'an early the next morning.

"You said that the Lord Guild wouldn't be able to help but save Li Cunxiao?" Cen Tianshi watched Li Xuanqing and his party cross the Yellow River, and then asked Xu Tianxiang beside him.

"Don't worry, Qiaoxi has already explained to me just now, the lord rushed back to prepare the No. 1 plan, and the lord doesn't seem to be very optimistic about the general staff's time deduction in Hexi, so he should be planning to resist the first wave head-on." Xu Tianxiang shook his head and said with a smile: "As long as the lord is not rash, it will be no problem for us to fight down in this world, and it will not be a problem for us to do our best to create a prosperous era through the ages." ”

"Haha, I used to think that Tianxiang, you are a very humble person, why do you occasionally have a domineering appearance?" When Cen Tianshi heard this, he immediately put down his mind and said with a smile.

Li Xuanqing naturally didn't know about the conversation between the two of them, but even if he knew, he didn't care, and after crossing the Yellow River with Qiaoxi, he rode all the way back to Chang'an, and returned to Chang'an a few days later.

After resting for a few days, Yang Tiancheng, who received the report, also took the heads of the corps left behind near Chang'an to gather in the military headquarters building and began to accelerate the No. 1 plan. The time was also fixed on the tenth day of the eighth month of August in 889, and the plan of the Tiance army to pass through the Central Plains was officially implemented from this day.

"My lord, at present, there are a total of four corps in the Eastern Theater, 150,000 horses, plus the central garrison battalion left behind in Chang'an, a total of 180,000. Houchun's side has also completed the rebuilding of the battalion directly under it in the middle of this month, so that our Eastern Theater has gathered more than 200,000 horses and horses, and can shoulder the responsibility of the Central Army. Yang Tiancheng took the military intelligence summary table handed over by the staff officer and said with a smile.

Li Xuan glanced at him innocently, shook his head and said, "It's impossible for the frontal army to give you so many people, it's too good to think." Your frontal legion is dominated by the First Legion directly under you, Xue Wanli's Sixth Legion, and Wu Huan's Eighth Legion, totaling 100,000 people. The Second Army Corps went north to Fengzhou to assist Chen Fan in implementing the Northern Front Plan, and the directly subordinate battalion and the personal guard battalion were used as the third phase of the reserve. The General Staff must take into account the reserves in the future preparation of operational plans, so that in the event of a mistake at the front, there will be enough maneuverable forces to make up for it. After a pause, he pointed to the south and said, "Let Hou Chun take his Fourth Army to garrison Fengxiang and deter the entire south." ”

Yang Tiancheng scratched his head and smiled: "I've thought about the reserves, and after the end of the Hexi side, Hou Yong's Seventh Army and the two central garrison battalions will be the reserve troops of a total of more than 100,000 troops." ”

Li Xuanqing and this guy couldn't talk together, so he simply changed the topic and said, "How is the situation in the east?" Have you found the right location? ”

"Zhu Quanzhong has taken down Zhu Jin, and he is also involved in the coastal salt industry, I heard that the salt farm of the Yuwen family has been forcibly confiscated several places, fortunately, Yuwenli got the news in advance and transferred part of the salt farm to the island, and finally did not suffer a catastrophe." Yang Tiancheng nodded and said.

"This matter is handled by the Department of Industry and Commerce and the Xuanying Guard, and we can't do anything for the time being. Winter in the Northwest is coming. The northern front will not be able to start until the beginning of spring next year, so the war on the southern front needs to be grasped by yourself and cooperate with the plan of the little four. Li Xuanqing groaned slightly: "Plan No. 1 is related to whether we can enter the Central Plains or not, so you must be cautious." ”

Yang Tiancheng nodded and said: "Don't worry, the General Staff is ready, and all the troops have been mobilized, and now we are waiting for the response from Xiao Si." ”

"The Youhe area is occupied by Li Keyong, and the Han people are living in hardship, so Xiaosi is very well arranged, and the response from all over the country has been very good so far. Moreover, compared to Zhu Quanzhong's region, there are characters like Zheng Fan, and Li Keyong lags a lot behind in intelligence. So don't worry about anything. Li Xuanqing said after thinking about it.

When Li Xuanqing and Yang Tiancheng pondered the No. 1 plan, Wan Yi in the Hexi region had already discussed with Zhang Tianhu and the others and began to arrange it. More than 100,000 troops set out from Jinchang in three ways, and formed a long snake formation along the line from Zhangye, Jiuquan to Jiayuguan, and forcibly drove the Wen people to the west. And all ethnic groups along the way were screened, and all those who were unwilling to obey the management of the Tiance Army were bloodily suppressed, and these ethnic minorities who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and helped Tubo attack the border cities of the Tang Dynasty were swept away.

Under such a high-pressure policy, some tribes began to accept the arrangements of follow-up civil affairs officials, and began to settle down as registered citizens of Tiance Mansion, and some were forced to move westward, and were carried all the way west by this rolling torrent.

This sweep, which lasted for more than two months, earned Wan Yi the nickname "butcher", and this bloody suppression also made all ethnic groups in the Western Regions really feel the pressure brought about by the revival of the Han nationality, and after the war, all other ethnic groups except Guishun moved to the southwest and northwest.

However, when Wan Yi first started to act, the troops deployed by the Wen people in Zhangye and Jiuquan were actually good, but they could not stand Wan Yi's establishment with a complete artillery battalion, which in the case of extensive land in the northwest region, the power of gunpowder was amplified unlimitedly, in order to match the plan in the east, Wan Yi was violent as soon as he shot, and directly used explosives to open the way, and brutally blew up the walls of Jiuquan and Zhangye, and hundreds of thousands of troops swarmed in, not giving Wen Mo people any chance at all. And with the entry into the Hexi Corridor, this narrow geographical position also made the role of the cavalry gradually smaller, and the infantry and Modao soldiers began to play a huge role, and the advantages of the Wen people could not be brought into play at all. Moreover, Wan Yi used Yige in his hand to constantly release vague signals to fool those tribes loyal to Yige to surrender on the spot, which gradually made the Wenmo people begin to move towards the road of division.

With the capture of Jiuquan and Zhangye, only Jiayuguan and Dunhuang and Yangguan in the west of the Hexi Corridor remained. Under Wan Yi's offensive, the Wen people had no advantage to take advantage of, so they could only take the rest of their clansmen and retreat in the direction of Anxi. When Wan Yi's army arrived at Jiayu Pass, the Wen people no longer dared to defend the city, and began to prepare for the final battle outside the city.

And Wan Yi accompanied Zhang Tianhu and Ma Laosan to look at the dilapidated city wall of Jiayuguan in the distance, and also sighed. The Tang Dynasty was the only dynasty in Chinese history that did not build the Great Wall, and Jiayuguan was also in disrepair and was occupied by foreigners for a hundred years, which was completely weathered.

"Teacher, it's been a hundred years, we came here for the first time today, and the land of the Han people has been recovered by us." Wan Yi pointed to Tucheng in the distance and sighed.

"Yes, we are here today to regain our homeland, but we also want to warn future generations not to lose it again." Ma Laosan rarely did not disturb the scenery, but sighed.

"Rest assured, my little junior brother is not going to create a prosperous generation, but to lay the foundation for eternity. He's going to do better than us. Wan Yi nodded and smiled, not paying attention to the military formation of the Wen Mo people on the other side.