Starting from Khotan, tracing the Jade River upstream, the first thing to pass through is a vast desert, that is, the famous Taklamakan Desert in later generations, in the middle of the eighth century, it was called "Tulun Moraine".

The Jade River, a tributary of the Tarim River that traverses the entire desert, has disappeared in the geographical vicissitudes of later generations, leaving not even a single dry river channel, and at this time, it is lined with lush oases, which are in stark contrast to the yellow sand in the distance, which can be called a miracle of nature.

Of course, for Liu Ji at this time, how can he have the heart to enjoy the beautiful scenery, there is no drag on the back road, they are a group of more than 100 people, together with hundreds of military horses, galloping on this ancient road, all the way, it seems that there are endless businessmen, these businessmen with keen eyes and strong action, almost at the first time, they sniffed out the business opportunities, and immediately attached to the action.

The direct consequence of the war launched by the Tang people was to open up the trade route to Tianzhu in the south, and in the past, most of this road was blocked by the Tubo people, and now they are attached to the whole country, it is the best time to open up trade routes, how can the merchants at this time be more confident than those from the Tang Dynasty?

Liu Ji couldn't help but sigh that those who are at the forefront of the times are always businessmen.

Of course, the prosperity of the trade route will bring about an increase in taxes, and for the government, the benefits are very obvious, therefore, there is a Tang Dynasty, commerce is encouraged, even the Hu merchants, will not feel inferior, it is precisely because of this mechanism, will cause Chang'an City, pedestrians shoulder rubbing, street markets, a dazzling array of goods.

What impressed him even more was the perfect facilities along the way, the Tang system, there will be a post house for people to rest every thirty miles, there are 1,639 such post houses in the country, and Anxi Town is no exception.

In ancient times, the movement of people was strictly restricted, and they had to report to the government when they went out, the purpose of this was to bind people to the land, and reduce the occurrence of wandering and chaos, and maintain a stable and peaceful social order.

If there were no translation halls with these well-equipped facilities, the more than 300 military horses they carried would be a big problem to chew, and the war horses could not just eat grass, which would have lost weight.

Through the Tulun moraine, a big river lies in front of you, this extremely abundant water of the Red River, later called the "Tarim River", if not reminded by his subordinates, Liu Ji Xian thought that he saw the Yellow River or the Yangtze River and other big rivers.

From here, they entered the jurisdiction of Qiuci Town, and when they saw the big river in front of them, a group of soldiers were extremely excited, although most of them were from Helong and other places, but they set off from Qiuci Town, that is, the station of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, and now they are finally back alive.

Of course, Liu Ji didn't have this feeling, in the eyes of others, this young military lord seemed unusually calm, there was no bridge on the river, all ferries were ferried, a few slightly larger, all of them hung the flags of powerful and powerful people, and the rest were water people who begged for a living at the ferry, and for them these sergeants, a special official boat was arranged, and the rocking man obviously recognized some people, because when he was in the past, he was also on the boat like this.

"But our Anxi Town Army has returned to the division?"

After receiving an affirmative reply, the man was a little incoherent with joy, obviously, the news of the victory had been transmitted back to the country early in the morning, and the Fuzhong was of course the first to get the news, and now he suddenly saw the soldiers, and everyone was honored.

Soon, this joy spread rapidly, and even the merchants were so happy that they even took the initiative to make way for them so that they could land at the first opportunity.

Along the way, Liu Ji deeply felt a familiar taste, the military and the people were unprecedentedly harmonious, as if how to dress, dress differently, and speak differently, they all regarded this small army of soldiers and horses as their own children, and handed over tea, melons and fruits without money, and it was not okay to accept them.

You must know that there are very few Han people here, and this kind of heartfelt enthusiasm can be seen everywhere, Liu Ji finally understood why, in real history, the news has been isolated for 50 years, and the reason why Anxi Town is still standing.

When the feudal towns in the interior regarded the emperor as nothing, appointed officials on their own, blocked traffic, collected taxes without authorization, and expanded their troops and horses, this enclave with countless reasons for self-reliance was still respectful and did its best to maintain the last trace of dignity of the Tang Dynasty, interpreting what it was.

Loyal!

In the Western Regions of this era, everyone was proud of the Tang people, and everyone was willing to take refuge under the command of the Tang people, fighting until the last moment for a bright red banner.

It is no wonder that more than 1,000 years later, those Chinese who emigrated overseas still bear the name of the Tang people, making this name a symbol of immortality.

After crossing the Chihe River, the journey suddenly accelerated, even Liu Ji was infected by his subordinates, and involuntarily accelerated his pace, as the center of the Tang people's rule in the Western Regions, the main road leading to Qiuzi City was built extremely wide, and the road surface was even more compact, and the iron-inlaid horseshoes hit it, it would make a crisp sound, and hundreds of horses ran together, and suddenly there was a pleasure like galloping.

In a short time, a majestic fortress appeared at the end of the avenue, and when they approached the city gate, a group of men and horses had already waited on the side of the road, and when they saw their banner, several people led by them greeted them.

"Phew"

Liu Ji made a slow gesture, hundreds of military horses slowed down in turn, slowly stopped, he saw the color of the comer's clothes, jumped off the horse, and stood in place waiting.

"Li Qiyun, the judge of the four towns of a certain family, is Liu Guoyi in front?"

"Don't dare, the last will be."

As soon as he heard the other party's name, Liu Ji knew that he had come to greet him, because this Judge Li was Feng Changqing's confidant, and he was actually the queen of Jiedu, and when he set out on the expedition, he had full authority to act as an agent for the affairs of the four towns, and he was not an ordinary person.

"Great, I've heard that you have returned to the teacher, and I have been waiting here with you for two days, and it is finally worth the trip."

Seeing him, Li Qiyun breathed a sigh of relief.