"I don't think we're fighting, we're slaughtering. Nearly 100,000 people have been killed here by us. Xue Yang himself was writing a war report, Xu Ying sat on the side and said with a wry smile, he didn't know how to write this kind of war report, and the worst thing was that once the specific battle report of the First Battle of the Secret Protection War was announced, he was afraid that it would cause an uproar at home and abroad, not to mention it at home, then the Saffar Dynasty was afraid that it would really fight for its life.

"We are soldiers, only responsible for things on the battlefield, not to mention that this is a foreign war, if we can't deter the opponent, I'm afraid that in the future, once the empire shows a little decline, the surrounding enemies will show their fangs. If I want to see it, I should fight a little harder to be able to deter the heroes and let them understand what the fate of going against my Tang Empire is. Xue Yang shook his head and said, "As for any other impacts, it's a big deal to work hard for the people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to come to the northwest." ”

"Okay, that's it, let the pro-guard send it to Khotan as soon as possible, and then let Li Yang deal with it quickly. Let's not be idle, aren't there more than 30,000 captives? Let them dig a pit and bury all the corpses in the city on the spot, and clean the city, we are afraid that we will stay for a while. Xue Yang handed the written battle report to the chief of the guard who was waiting on the side, and asked him to send it out quickly: "But I don't think it's a way for our 20,000 troops to guard this lonely city. ”

"Then let's divide our troops. I will take the mountain camp to guard here to prevent the Safar dynasty from coming back, you bring troops back to Khotan, reinforce Li Yang, and by the way, take these 30,000 captives back, we occupy their territory, if they have any changes, I am afraid that this city will not be able to live in peace. Xu Ying nodded and said with a smile: "The grain we grabbed is not enough for more than 50,000 people to last too long." ”

Xue Yang nodded, and agreed with Xu Ying's proposal, the combat power of the mountain battalion itself was no worse than that of the third battalion, and its strength in the plateau area may be better than the third battalion, so after the two of them were completed, the third battalion hurriedly set off from the guard to return to Khotan on the third day when the guard was taken, that is, on the 23rd day of February in the fourth year of the apocalypse, and Xu Ying took the mountain camp and a small number of prisoners to garrison here, and from then on, the green mountain town of the guard was forever included in the territory of the Tang Empire.

And when Xue Yang and the others decided to divide their troops, on the northern border of Khotan, the Flying Eagle Brigade also welcomed a group of special people, more than 50,000 people dressed in Uighur costumes and costumes in the Western Regions, under the leadership of Zhang Sheng, they swept through the border of Shule and Khotan and entered the territory of Ya'er City in the north, and joined the second brigade of the Flying Eagle Brigade.

After the two divisions met, it took five days from Ya'er City to travel more than 700 miles to the outside of Khotan, at this time Li Yang, who had already received the news in Khotan City in advance, took Wuxin and others out of the city five miles, and the fifteenth battalion of the Tiance Army was all lined up outside the city to welcome the descendants of Zhaowu Jiu who came from afar.

Zhang Sheng and the Kang family and the Shi family in the nine surnames of Zhaowu formed an honor guard to solemnly visit Li Yang in accordance with the etiquette of the Tang army in the Anxi era, and sent the edict seal of the Kang family and the Shi family who were canonized by the Tang Dynasty a hundred years ago.

"The nine surnames of Zhaowu have been separated from the Central Plains for a hundred years, but their tribes can still care about the Central Plains and the orthodoxy of the Tang Dynasty in the midst of the heroes, Li Yang accepts your loyalty on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Empire, and I declare that from today onwards, all Zhaowu people will be treated as citizens of the Tang Dynasty and enjoy the same benefits as the people of the Central Plains." Because Khotan did not arrange for civil affairs officials to come over in time, Li Yang could only reluctantly explain the basic national policy of the empire briefly, but fortunately, now the household registration of the Tang Dynasty and the treatment and benefits of the Tang people have basically spread throughout the northwest, even if the specific details are not clear, but they can still say one, two, three.

Originally, Li Yang was a little embarrassed after saying these few dry words, after all, he was not an orthodox civil affairs official, and he didn't know many details of civil affairs. But these words in the ears of these descendants of the Zhaowu nine surnames who came this time are no less than a bolt from the sky, a hundred years and the Central Plains cut off contact, the glory of the Zhaowu nine surnames has gone forever, and with the return of the Anxi army, the Tang Dynasty's power in the Western Regions was finally wiped out by the Tubo, and they were also bullied by all ethnic groups in the Western Regions, whether it was the Tubo people or the Uighurs, they looked at these Zhaowu nine surnames who insisted on saying Tang Yan and insisted on the orthodoxy of the Tang Dynasty, not only suppressing them politically, It has also set up all kinds of economic obstacles, so that these tribes that established the national name in the past have gradually withered away over the years, and many tribesmen who could not hold on have changed their ways and found another way to make a living. Those who have been able to persist until now are those who are determined and have always been nostalgic for the Central Plains Empire in the East. Therefore, for them, there is no praise that is more contagious than Li Yang's words, which is an affirmation of their lost century-old identity, and also an affirmation of the orthodoxy of Zhaowu Jiu's surname Datang. Therefore, everyone, including Zhang Sheng, burst into tears of excitement, and several leaders who followed Zhang Sheng staggered down directly, and said in unison in half-baked Tang Yan: "Thank you for your mercy, general." ”

Zhang Sheng's eyes were also red, and he looked at Li Yang to help these people: "General Li, this is the descendant of the Kang clan back then, and now the old patriarch of the Kang clan, this time Zhang Sheng was able to bring so many Zhaowu brothers to Khotan is the credit of the old patriarch running back and forth." ”

"Don't dare, don't dare, Datang will set foot in the Western Regions again after a hundred years, and I will wait for the current to serve you. God bless Datang, let me wait to see me again The Datang Lion landed in Anxi, so old even if he can die, he can laugh at Jiuquan. The old patriarch saw Li Yang stepping forward to support him, and he excused himself in a panic, and said with trembling in his voice: "Although the general can rest assured, my Zhaowu Jiu surname still has more than 100,000 troops, as long as the Tang Dynasty needs the old decay, they can immediately come to Khotan to listen to the general's dispatch, as long as they can serve the Tang Dynasty to recover Anxi, the children have no regrets." ”

"Brothers surnamed Zhaowu Jiu, on behalf of the Tiance Army, I welcome your arrival, and thank you for crossing the mountains and mountains despite the difficulties and dangers to fight side by side with us. He recovered Anxi and returned to my Tang Dynasty land one day, and I will report to the emperor to celebrate your achievements. When I came, the emperor said that Anxi would come to his homeland to recover him, to celebrate all the descendants of the heroes who fought in this land, and also to remember the martyrs who fought to the death for the Tang Dynasty and Anxi a hundred years ago. Li Yang's voice suddenly rose high-pitched, with a hint of tragedy in his voice, which made all the descendants of Zhaowu Jiu who came to kneel together.

"Zhang Sheng, take all the Zhaowu brothers into the big camp and then you will be responsible for organizing the establishment of five battalions, I will send a thousand basic generals from the fifteenth battalion to assist you, give you ten days, and lead the army to recover the whole of Khotan in ten days." Li Yang took the old patriarch and began to enter the city, and Zhang Sheng took all the descendants of Zhaowu Jiu who came to obey the order into the big camp outside the city.

"Old patriarch, I want to ask you about the current situation of your Zhaowu nine surnames, in addition, I have received an edict from His Majesty the Tang Emperor, the emperor invites you and the patriarchs to return to Chang'an, he will hold a banquet for you in Chang'an, and announce to the world that the Zhaowu nine surnames will return to the arms of the Tang Dynasty, and give you an edict of canonization." Li Yang took several patriarchs back to the palace in Khotan City and said solemnly.

"The emperor wants to canonize us?" The old patriarch was obviously very excited about this, so after hearing this, he stood up directly and said, "I didn't come to serve in front of the king's tent earlier, I didn't expect the emperor to value us so much." The old man went to Chang'an to ask the emperor for his guilt. ”

"General Li, now our Zhaowu nine surnames in the northwest are long gone. Basically, our Kang and Shi clans have been enslaved and oppressed by the Uighurs for many years, and our travel to and from various places to do business and business has been strictly restricted, and our taxes are several times higher than those of other ethnic groups. In the northwest, as long as they speak Tang Yan, they call it Tang Kou, and we have to pay a heavy price every year for the poll tax alone, and the livestock that the people of all tribes have worked so hard to raise are often plundered by these animals, and we are not allowed to resist, otherwise we will be slaughtered for treason. Li Yang finally appeased these patriarchs, and the old patriarch slowly spoke: "General, it's been more than a hundred years, since my ancestors, we have been looking forward to the Central Plains Wang Shi returning to Anxi, to rescue us, to lead us to live a free life, God is pitiful, and finally let me, an old immortal, look forward to it." General Li, do you think my old bones are still useful? As long as we can do it, but please ask the general to command, we will do our best. The old patriarch's words made several patriarchs around him nod their heads. Through their stories, Li Yang also had a general understanding of what happened to the Zhaowu Nine surnames, who were now scattered in several areas between Shule and the city of Broken Leaves to the north, and were ruled by the Uighurs and the Samanid dynasty. Most of the current tribes were in Uighur territory, and it was Cao Rengui's idea that allowed them to break through the blockade and enter Khotan under the heavy surveillance of the Uighurs. And now the population of the nine surnames of Zhaowu has also decreased a lot under the cruel environment and oppression, and the nine surnames now add up to more than 100,000 people according to the old patriarch's estimate, and they can bring 50,000 young people at one time this time, which is almost all they have, without considering any consequences.

"Old patriarch, how many Tang people are there in the northwest now?" Li Yang's face became extremely gloomy, especially after hearing several patriarchs complain about the cruelty of the Uighurs and the various methods used to treat the Tang people in the northwest, he tightened his steel teeth, and only after a while did he ease up and ask. Li Yang's words also represent that at this moment, everyone in the Central Plains, including those ordinary people, is asking whether there are still many brothers and sisters in the vast land after a hundred years of broken roots? If you return to Anxi after a hundred years of absence, does Datang still have its own supporters?

"Yes, general, please tell the emperor and all the people of the Tang Dynasty that although the northwest has been occupied by thieves for a hundred years, the blood of my Tang Dynasty will never be depressed, as long as there is a Tang people in the northwest, Anxi will always belong to my Datang." Our descendants of Zhaowu Jiu are the most solid servants of the Tang Dynasty, and they are all looking forward to Wang Shi recovering Anxi as soon as possible and supporting justice. The old patriarch stood up again excitedly and said: "Please tell the emperor and the people, don't be discouraged, there are thousands of descendants of Zhaowu Jiu and Han people in the land of Anxi, although their livelihood is difficult and they don't see the light of day, but everyone knows in their hearts that there is still hope in the far east, and the Tang Dynasty is there." ”

"General, this is also the voice of all the Tang people in the northwest such as me, please rest assured, we will go to various regions later to contact those Tang people scattered everywhere, tell them that our Wang Shi has come, let them cooperate with the general's actions, this time we will definitely not repeat the tragedy of Qiuzi back then, even if we let a few old bones go to the battlefield, we must defeat those damned Uighurs and Tubo." The old patriarch shook his beard, he knew Li Yang's worries, but he inadvertently said the secrets of the past.

"Does the general know that in the first battle of Qiuzi, why didn't Guo Daduhu get any support? You must know that even if Tubo occupies the entire territory of Anxi, how can a huge Anxi not be able to pull out a support army? The old patriarch said with tears in his eyes: "All the people of Anxi are sorry for them, so we are sorry for Guo Dadu and all the Anxi brothers." ”

"What does the old patriarch mean by this?" Li Yang tightly grasped the sleeve of the old patriarch, this is the doubt in the hearts of all the people of the Tang Dynasty, a hundred years ago in the battle of Qiuci, Guo Xin Daduhu led the last strength of the Anxi army in Qiuci and Tubo 100,000 troops to fight to the death, when the city slope was only a few thousand white-haired veterans fighting against foreign insults, so that Guo Dadu Hu left a regret for the ages. Why aren't there any other armies or tribes coming to help? You must know that although the Tang Dynasty has declined at that time, in the hearts of all ethnic groups in the frontier, the deterrence of the former Central Empire has never declined, not to mention that there are still more than 100,000 Han people and Zhaowu Jiu surnamed in Anxi.

"Guo Daduhu was trapped in Qiuci back then, but it was actually a traitor betrayal, so we didn't know the battle situation on Qiuci's side at all, and by the time we knew, Qiuci had already broken the city, and there was no chance to turn back." The old patriarch said a shocking secret, "That traitor is now a member of the Gaochang Uighur royal family, general, don't let go of the Gaochang Uighurs, it was they who betrayed Guo Dadu Protector back then, and withdrew their troops to return to the Beiting Prairie at a critical moment, causing Guo Dadu to fall short." The old patriarch wiped a handful of tears and said: "According to legend, Guo Daduhu was actually preparing to besiege and annihilate the Tubo people who were besieging the city in Qiuci City and the Uighur army, and then supporting the entire Anxi in one fell swoop, but they were betrayed, and these traitors themselves retreated and blocked all the news to prevent us from knowing the battle situation on the Qiuci side, resulting in the isolation of the Anxi army and the final destruction of the city." ”

The old patriarch's words made Li Yang gasp, if this kind of twist and turn was not said by someone like the old patriarch who had lived for dozens of years, the later people would probably not know what happened back then after a hundred years of chaos.

"Old patriarch, you come with me and let's go to the commander of the Tang Dynasty's Western Expedition, I think he will definitely avenge the Anxi Army back then." Li Yang suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to the old patriarch, and his faint voice contained endless killing intent.