If the forces of the Anxi Protectorate were to attack Tocharian and attack on both sides with the white-clothed Governorate, the best situation would be to take the Persian Governorate as the boundary, and then divide and rule.

But such a situation is bound to make themselves pay, after more than a year, the hard work to conquer Tibet, become independent again, and even give them a good opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to attack the four towns of Anxi.

In this way, it is even possible to give Tubo a chance to attack himself with the white-clothed food! Li Hong will not do things that outweigh the losses.

Now, the best way is to abandon the Persian Governorate, take the four towns of Anxi as the center, stabilize the areas that have just been suppressed such as Tubo and Ashina Duzhi, and after gaining a firm foothold in the Western Regions, and then plot against Tocharian and other places.

And it won't be too long, after all, the current four towns of Anxi, after several years of construction, have already been governed by Li Hong, not the Anxi Protectorate that was in turmoil as soon as there was a riot.

Wang Mingyuan and the 20,000 Tang Dynasty troops must be rescued, no matter what, they can't watch them besieged to death.

"Order the army to divert to Shule, and order Li Jingxuan to lead the defenders of Yumen Pass into Khotan Town! Ordered Wang Fangyi to change guards with him, stationed in Yumen Pass, and ordered Yuan Shuji to be stationed in Broken Leaf Town immediately by Loulan! Li Hong has always been uneasy about Wang Fangyi of the Taiyuan Wang family, and letting Wang Fangyi and Li Jingxuan change guards has already explained the scruples in his heart.

At this point, Li Hong and his dragon mother Wu Mei have the same opinion.

As recorded in the history books, Wang Fangyi also died of illness after being exiled to Yazhou because of Wu Mei's suspicion.

With Li Hong's orders, more than 14,000 troops began to move forward, along the western edge of the Takaramakan Desert, and began to head for Shule Town.

And there, it is now garrisoned by Xue Rengui.

Heiya Changzhi followed Li Hong, originally planning to return to Khotan to defend the town, but now because of Li Hong's order, he had to continue to follow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to Shule.

Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not explain, Hei Yan Changzhi could feel that he was afraid that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would have to fight a tough battle next, otherwise, he would not continue to keep himself by his side and not go to Khotan.

If you want to get to the Persian governorate, then it is the fastest and safest way to go through Shule and then continue southwest.

But if you want to avoid the Tocharian forces in Tochar, then you need to do the next hard work.

But fortunately, when Li Hong ordered to go to Shule, he had already mobilized Heng Qiao and Fang Zhan of 'Jingwei' to Shule, and their task was to lead Li Hong and others through Tocharian to guide to Persia.

Li Hong knew very well that the soldiers were fast, so he had not reached Shule, and he had already begun to divide the troops.

Most of the troops followed Quan Yi to retreat to Shule City, Li Hong was not worried about Guo Shifeng and Cheng Wuting, but because these two people did not agree, they needed a commander who could suppress the two of them, and Quan Yi has now become the most suitable candidate.

Li Hong knew very well in his heart that he had made up his mind to go to the Persian Governor's Mansion to rescue the 20,000 Tang soldiers.

It can even be said that it is extremely dangerous, and if one is not good, I am afraid that even myself and others will have to put their lives on it.

And he also took a cautious attitude, and Xue Rengui and Hei Tooth Changzhi, two battle-hardened generals, accompanied him to the rescue, and Banmei and Xunlan, two women, were placed in Shule City by him.

Although Banmei and Xunlan, including Quan Yi, were reluctant, they looked at the serious face of His Royal Highness the Prince, so they had to obediently go to Shule City as ordered.

Under Li Hong's order, the remaining 7,000 men and horses, after Hei Tooth Changzhi led 3,000 troops, he led 4,000 people in the center.

Xue Rengui had already gathered three thousand men and horses in the mountain range in front of him, waiting to join him, and was used as the vanguard.

Fang Zhan and Heng Qiao led hundreds of people, including Bai Qi with a reluctant face, as scouts to enter Tocharo.

Xue Rengui is majestic and tall, in his fifties, but his body is straight, and he wears a suit of armor on his body, standing there like an iron tower.

Full of the slaughter and rudeness of the soldiers, seeing Li Hong leading the troops coming, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute, led the horse and said: "Your Highness, the last general and the two of the black tooth Changzhi can go, your identity is respected, if there is an accident this time, the last general and others will ......." ”

"There is no need to persuade each other, this trip itself is thrilling and dangerous, how can I sit in Shule City and watch you go on an adventure? What about being the crown prince? If my life can be exchanged for 20,000 Tang soldiers safe and sound, then I should go there in person. Li Hong looked at the black crowd and shouted loudly.

Xue Rengui and Heizhi Changzhi glanced at each other, as outstanding generals who had been on the battlefield for a long time and had many years of experience in commanding troops, how could they not know that His Royal Highness the Prince's words had an immeasurable boost to the morale of more than 10,000 people.

No one thinks that this is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who is trying to win over power for himself in the Western Regions and win the support of everyone in the four towns of Anxi.

After all, the Anxi Protectorate has long been branded with the crown prince's governance, which no one can deny.

What's more, in the past few years, Chang'an City has not said that it has really transferred His Royal Highness the Crown Prince back to the palace, obviously recognizing all the actions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in Anxi.

Seeing Li Hong's resolute expression, Xue Rengui, a resolute general, no longer dissuaded him, and after receiving the order from Hei Zhi Changzhi, he went his own way.

Crossing the rolling valleys and entering the no-man's land of Tocharo, a nomadic people and a country with many women and men.

At its peak, there were only 100,000 troops, so for Tocharo, which was sandwiched between the white-clothed food and the Tang Dynasty, and was always swallowed up by the two countries, all the people in the country were soldiers, and all men were practicing war.

One of the most bizarre customs is, of course, the marriage customs of Tocharo. The Book of Sui once recorded: Brothers have the same wife, sleep in one bed, each person enters the room, hangs his clothes outdoors as his ambition, and gives birth to a son belongs to his brother.

After entering the range of Tocharo, Li Hong began to order Fang Zhan and Heng Qiao to take the mountain and stone path that was not noticed.

If you encounter a small Tocharian force, annihilate it. This is also for the sake of keeping their whereabouts secret, so that they will not be discovered as soon as they enter another country.

The 10,000 men were all dressed in light cavalry, and after crossing the Wuhu River, Li Hong ordered his troops to speed up.

All human life begins to be done on horseback, with the horse napping, the horse eating, and the horse feeding on the horse's back.

As it gradually deepened, there were more and more tents in Tocharo, among which several groups of small tribal nomads were encountered, all of which were thunderous by Fang Zhan and Heng Qiao, and before the nomadic cavalry of Tocharian understood what was going on, they were all wiped out.

All the people, including the wounded and dead horses, were pulled into the depths of the mountains by the troops behind them, and it was impossible to find these corpses for a year and a half, and they might never even be found.

Just like the Western Regions and Tibet, the geographical environment of the vast and sparsely populated land makes people sigh once again at the magnificence of the plateau.

The thin air, the clear blue sky, and the unique purity of the high altitude made Li Hong and the others have no time to take a closer look.

It took them thirteen days to get close to the south of the city of Tochar, and now they had only walked five hundred miles.

Entering the hinterland meant that the possibility of being discovered was increasing, and Li Hong had to change his strategy after consulting with Xue Rengui and Heizhi Changzhi.

During the day, 10,000 men were hiding in the mountains and valleys, and then continued their hurried march at night.

When Fang Zhan and Heng Qiao had branches tied to their heads and the weapons in their hands were wrapped in cloth to prevent reflection, they were discovered by the Tocharians of herdsmen on another hillside.

The whole team was extremely quiet, everyone had caution and seriousness on their faces, and the necessities of life such as feeding the war horses were all solved in the very close to the rest of the troops.

And it is such an environment that His Royal Highness the Prince, who is the Tang Dynasty, can adapt calmly and easily.

Every day, when the troops are resting, within an hour, the whole garrison will stink, after all, 10,000 people eat and drink in a very small place, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can still talk and laugh like everyone else.

Such an optimistic mood, coupled with the attitude of putting down his noble status and working and resting with ordinary soldiers, made Xue Rengui, who was still worried and afraid that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would not be able to endure the hard work of the rapid march, and couldn't help but admire Li Hong in his heart.

And Changzhi, who followed Li Hong to fight in Tubo for more than a year, has long been accustomed to the indifferent marching attitude of His Royal Highness the Prince.

The night, which was supposed to continue the march, was obscured by a thick cloud in the sky, and a storm began to pour down as soon as the night covered the land.

On a rainy night, everyone's body was covered by the rain.

Hua Meng and Mangzhong four people, including His Royal Highness the Prince's personal guards, looked at the top of the mountain not far ahead, a dark grove, and just wanted to ask Li Hong to go there to take shelter from the rain, but they were stopped by Li Hong's shouting.

Stepping on the muddy and slippery path, Li Hong wiped the rain from his face and shouted loudly to Lawlessness: "The order goes down, and the horse lance in everyone's hands must be placed on the ground, and must not be raised above their heads." No one is allowed to stand on trees or other high places to avoid the rain, but must stand in this canyon. ”

The rain was pouring down, and the narrow canyon was about to turn into a small river, and without waiting for the orders of other generals, some soldiers began to consciously lead their horses, wanting to find a high ground to shelter from the rain, instead of standing in the knee-high rain, waiting for the heavy rain to end.

As soon as Li Hong's words fell, he heard a rumbling thunder above his head, from far and near. If you leave halfway through, press CTRL+D to save the current page to your favorites so you can watch it later!