After the end of the Black Sand War, Xue Shao set up a celebration banquet in the tent of the handsome, especially for Li Dayu and Sun Wanrong to celebrate their achievements.

Li Dayu came happily and drank bitterly for a while. Sun Wanrong forced a smile and was not depressed. Xue Shao was amused in his eyes, and said in his heart that Sun Wanrong was indeed old and shrewd, and this was their blessing for the Khitan. But from the standpoint of Datang, he has different ambitions and cannot be convinced. On the other hand, Li Dayu is straightforward and brave and fearless, which may bring some disasters to the Xi people. But such a good ally, I won't let him be unlucky, I'll cover him!

In the camp of the Tang Army, it is inevitable that there are some generals who are depressed because they missed the credit of Heisha, and even have some opinions about Xue Shao. It is normal for the team to be difficult to bring when there are more people. In order to appease these disgruntled generals, Xue Shao asked Guo An to vent some of his words in private, saying that Heisha's little credit was insignificant compared to the great credit we would get next. And this credit will be shared by everyone. Generals, just wait for the return to the DPRK and soar!

As soon as this tone leaked out, the disgruntled complaints in the army quickly dissipated. Even, when Xue Shao gave most of the spoils of Black Sand City to the Xi people and the Khitan, no one expressed any unpleasant opinions. Veteran and shrewd generals like Xue Ne and Tang Xiujing also expressed great praise for Xue Shao's move. Because the military has always paid attention to the distinction between rewards and punishments, and only when there are rewards and punishments can there be prestige. Especially when dealing with foreign allies such as the Xi and Khitan, it is even more necessary to make them feel that the trip is worthwhile. Otherwise, they may not be able to be called next time.

After leveling the black sand, Xue Shao pushed his army forward a little. In the front, Xue Ne had already stationed his troops and horses at the mouth of the moraine, which was the only way for the Turkic army to go south after crossing the desert. At the same time, if the Tang army wanted to go on a northern expedition into the hinterland of the grassland, it must also pass through here.

Anyone who sees this frame will not doubt that the Northern Expedition of the Tang Dynasty is preparing to kill Mobei.

However, Xue Shao ordered the army to be reorganized on the spot for the time being, and ordered Xue Ne to build fortifications and dig wells and ditches at the mouth of the moraine to prepare for a long-term garrison.

The Northern Expeditionary Army, which had just moved a few times, lay still again, and began to dig holes and build nests in the black sand like a swarm of ants. At the same time, the reconstruction of the Shoyu Prefecture was officially launched. Countless soldiers and civilians climbed the Black Mountain and began to cut down trees. Excavations have also begun at several lime and clay mines near Montenegro.

Speaking of lime mines and clay mines, Xue Shao is sincerely grateful to his teacher Pei Xingjian. Before Pei Xingjian died, he gave him a codex, which recorded a lot of Pei Xingjian's experiences and experiences in the Western Regions, and the other two Northern Expeditions were also recorded in great detail. During the first Northern Expedition, Pei Xingjian led the army to break the grassland rebels in Montenegro. After the war, he sent large quantities of lime and clay to be mined to dispose of the corpses. And these two things are the basic materials used to make cement.

Xue Shuai got busy, like a building materials manufacturer engaged in chemicals. Every day before dawn, he took a group of civil carpenters in the army who were not so qualified, and began to study his Datang version of "Portland Cement". This is a kind of cement, which is relatively simple and has superior performance.

Xue Shao had studied blasting courses in the army, which made him not have an ordinary understanding of cement, at least the theoretical knowledge was quite rich and solid. But if you really want to make it in practice, the difficulty is really unusual. After all, Datang does not have modern industrial equipment to match it, and everything can only be created from scratch. Fortunately, these helpers around him are quite good at burning bricks and tiles, which saves Xue Shao a lot of effort. As for the clinker grinding after calcination, it can only be done by hand. This efficiency is really touchingly low, but Xue Shaosheng has enough manpower. As a result, crowd tactics can basically make up for the lack of equipment.

Seeing that Xue Shuai was busy with these things all day, the generals were a little incomprehensible, but no one raised objections or questions. Because of this journey, they can't understand a lot of things that Xue Shao did, but he can always bring them victory or surprise afterwards. Even some generals have gradually become accustomed to this mode of "brainless combat", and they only need to handle the orders issued by Xue Shao.

In the evening of that day, Xue Shao returned to the camp as usual, and had just washed off the ashes of his body, when Sun Wanrong, the Khitan commander, came to ask for a meeting.

Xue Shao probably guessed his origin, so he invited him in to talk.

"Xue Shuai, Sun is here to resign." Sun Wanrong explained his intention straight to the point.

"Marshal Sun, why are you in such a hurry?" Xue Shao said, "When the battle is over, I will invite you to go to the Divine Capital to face the saint together." You have made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty, and I will be rewarded. ”

"No need." Sun Wanrong smiled and said, "Datang treats me very well, it is natural for Sun to offer a little bit of strength, how dare you expect a reward?" Besides, Xue Shuai has already rewarded us with a lot of loot, and we are already content. ”

"The spoils of war, which you deserve for your valiant battles." Xue Shao smiled, "As for your personal reward, it is also essential. If you insist on taking the soldiers home, I will not stop you. After all, you have been away from home for so long, and it is inevitable that the soldiers will feel homesick. But I suggest that you yourself stay. You'd better come with me to Luoyang. Otherwise, you might regret it! ”

Sun Wanrong's brows furrowed slightly, Xue Shao's words were hidden in the needle, on the surface it sounded like he was promising rewards, but it seemed to have a hint of threat.

"Marshal Sun, do you want to stop thinking about it?" Xue Shao was still smiling, and said, "For such a great contribution to laying down the black sand, I will definitely reward it heavily." If you don't go to Luoyang Miansheng, even if I help you actively fight for it, it will be difficult to get too many benefits for you. After all, there are so many generals around me watching, how can I do too much? ”

Xue Shao's words were reasonable, and Sun Wanrong's expression was much more relaxed, but he still said: "Thank you Xue Shuai for your kindness." But there are still a lot of military and political affairs in the Khitan tribe, and they are waiting for me to go back and take care of it myself. As a result, Sun could only say goodbye to Xue Shuai and take the first step. ”

"Since Marshal Sun insists on insisting, then it is inconvenient for me to stay." Xue Shao hugged his fist, "Tomorrow, I'll do it for you!" ”

"Thank you Xue Shuai!"

Sun Wanrong is gone. Xue Shao sneered silently.

Guo An made a pot of tea, looked at Sun Wanrong's back in the distance, and said, "He is in a hurry to leave?" ”

Xue Shao nodded.

"It seems that after all, there are still different ways and no conspiracy!" Guo An poured a bowl of herbal tea for Xue Shao.

Xue Shao picked it up and drank it all, and said, "From Sun Wanrong's point of view, this is not difficult to understand. No one wants to be a vassal of others, let alone be used as a gun by others. ”

Guo An nodded and said, "The Tang Dynasty and the Turks have been fighting for many years, and each has its own victories and losses. The Khitan has been sitting on the wall and watching, and the two do not help each other. This time, due to Xue Shuai's affection, Sun Wanrong had to send 20,000 horsemen to participate in the battle. In other words, if I were Sun Wanrong, I would not be willing to go to Luoyang with you to receive the reward. ”

"Because in that case, the Khitan is equivalent to completely falling to the Tang Dynasty. At least in the eyes of the Turks, that is. Xue Shao sneered and said, "I said just now that he would regret not going to Luoyang." I know he certainly didn't take it seriously. But I bet that sooner or later he will definitely regret it, and he will come to me on his knees! ”

Guo An was surprised, "How can you see it?" ”

Xue Shao said: "After the First Battle of Heisha, the Turks will definitely take revenge, sooner or later. But I have three surrendered cities sitting in Mo Nan to choke their throats as they go south, and it will be even more difficult for them to invade the Tang Dynasty again. They may have the ability to take down the three surrendered cities at any cost, but Gu Lu will not easily do such a stupid thing that does not outweigh the losses. Because the main purpose of their war is to plunder, and the military towns have no oil or water for them to fish. As soon as the surrendered city in front of us ignites the flames of war, the cities behind us will be ready to fight or send troops to help. This means that they will no longer be able to harass our border towns with obscene guerrilla tactics and plunder our population and wealth as they once did. In this way, it will be difficult for them to use war to get any benefits from the Tang Dynasty. Gu Lulu is a sane person, and he will not go south easily. ”

"But after the First Battle of the Black Sands, the hatred and resentment in the Turkic country will surely explode like never before." Xue Shao continued, "In order to appease those angry nobles and people, Gu Dulu must do something. So, since he can't beat Datang, the best way is to find a soft persimmon to pinch, and pointing the finger of hatred at the two accomplices of the Xi and Khitan is his best choice. Especially the Khitan, their cattle and sheep and population are much richer than the Xi people. Moreover, people who want to please both ends are often the most hated. In other words, I am a bone Lulu, and I definitely want to slap the Khitan duplicity now! ”

It seems that Sun Wanrong is in a hurry to go home, and he is also a little afraid that Gu Lulu will send troops to take revenge. He was even more worried that if he went to the Divine Capital to receive the reward, it would provoke even greater anger from the bones. Guo An smiled, "He's a two-faced, but he has done it hard!" ”

Xue Shao smiled and said in his heart that the Khitan in this period of history had brought great trouble to the Tang Dynasty. The rebellion initiated by the Khitan leaders Li Quanzhong and Sun Wanrong almost knocked down the entire Hebei of the Tang Dynasty. Although their rebellion ended in failure, the Khitan clan rose up in the war and even established a state hundreds of years later, achieving a history of the "Liao State". But now, as long as I, Xue, am alive for a day, you all stop fantasizing about what big waves can be set off. For now, you'd better think about how to deal with the anger from Mobei!

"Xue Shuai, how long do we have to wait here?" Guo An asked.

Xue Shao blinked, few people knew that I had been "waiting" all along, and I had been deliberately delaying time even from the first day of the expedition. Otherwise, with my usual fighting style, Heisha Nanga would have turned into cold history a month or two ago.

Seeing that Xue Shao didn't answer, Guo An hurriedly said: "My subordinates are talking too much, and Xue Shuai forgives him." ”

"It's not that I won't tell you." Xue Shao shook his head, "But even I don't know when it will be!" ”