On the first day of the West Sea, the wind and snow in the sky gradually stopped, but the sky was already dark, and what shrouded the world was still boundless blur and turbidity.

Next to the corpses, the square shields and three-pointed helmets of the Tubo soldiers and the horse lances and horizontal knives of the Tang cavalry were scattered together in a mess, frozen by the purple ice cubes and sticking together, as if a group of close friends were sleeping soundly.

The ownerless horses remained in the place where their owners had fallen, silently waiting except for the occasional neighing, as if their owners would wake up......

Longyou Jiedu made Ge Shuhan ride on the war horse, like an eternal ice sculpture, staring coldly at the messy battlefield.

Ge Shuhan didn't care about the speed of the Tang soldiers cleaning up the battlefield; Regarding the proportion of casualties on both sides of this encounter, Ge Shuhan, who was on the front line to command the operation, already had an intuitive impression and did not particularly bother to think about it; Regarding Wang Sili's suggestion to immediately report to Chang'an Lubu, Ge Shuhan also had his own ideas and did not take it to heart.

As the lunar month came to an end, Geshuhan decided to lead the guards to inspect the entire war zone in order to prevent the guards near Tibet from slackening their combat preparations due to the festival.

Along the way, the strongholds of the Tang Army were relaxed, which made Ge Shuhan very satisfied. As one of the most powerful theaters in the Tang Dynasty, Longyou has a high momentum and well-trained soldiers, which makes Ge Shuhan, who knows the burden on his shoulders, feel a little more steady.

Ge Shuhan knew that on the one hand, this was due to the fact that the Longyou Army had been facing the huge pressure of Tibet for a long time, and had been repeatedly sharpened in the protracted war, like a sharp blade out of the sheath, and the cold air was pressing; On the other hand, it is thanks to the conscientious training and building of Wang Junkuo, Zhang Zhongliang, Gai Jiayun, Huangfu Weiming and Wang Zhongsi and other successive envoys of Longyoujiedu, so that the Longyou Army is like a hundred tempered iron, full of tenacity.

The Shenwei army stationed in Yinglong City was newly built in the seventh year of Tianbao (748), and the generals were all drawn from the various armies of Longyou, and the operation system was not smooth, which was the focus of Geshuhan's inspection.

And the Shenwei army soldiers and horses are even more brave and less strategic, so Ge Shuhan is even more worried.

Unexpectedly, when he had not yet inspected Yinglong City, he suddenly encountered a snowstorm from the sky, which delayed the trip. Wang Sili even suggested that Ge Shuhan camp nearby to avoid the wind and snow.

However, Ge Shuhan, who was well aware of the strategic position of Yinglong City, insisted on continuing to advance, just taking the opportunity of the wind and snow to inspect the defensive situation and military morale of the Shenwei Army.

For Ge Shuhan, who has been in the rivers and lakes for many years, this bit of wind and snow is not a great trouble. When Ge Shuhan went to Beijing to meet the saint last year, His Majesty's various favors made Ge Shuhan, who was in his forties, deeply feel the urgency of "the opportunity cannot be missed" after many years, and at the same time deeply understood the saint's ambition for the stone castle.

At that time, Ge Shuhan was sincerely glad that Wang Zhonghe's self-aggrandizement had created a golden opportunity for himself.

If it weren't for Wang Zhonghe's pampering and arrogance and intervening in the dispute over the country's capital, how could he, a general from the Tuqi Shi Geshu Department, come out of the way and become a feudal official on the control side.

After taking over the important task of the envoy of Longyoujiedu, Ge Shuhan immediately set his sights on the towering stone castle.

After experiencing the incident of Wang Zhonghei, Ge Shuhan has already understood that this stone castle is not only a thorn in the heart of the saint, but also the eye of the court's wrestling.

Goshuhan now deeply understands that the only way out is to cater to the will of the Divine Spirit, and take the Stone Castle. If you can succeed in capturing the fort, you will be able to go further; If the capture of the fort fails or is delayed slightly, his end will definitely be worse than that of Wang Zhonghe.

In order to seize the stone fort, Geshuhan tried his best to find a plan everywhere, and finally got the plan to build a city and build an army on Longju Island in the West Sea.

Ying Longcheng rose and the Shenwei army stood like a wedge, nailed into the stone fort and the stronghold of the western line of Tubo, cutting off the connection between the two sides, which can be said to have played a wonderful chess game in the battle for the right line of Tang Fanlong.

The construction of Yinglong City made the sage of Wen Taowulu very appreciative, and at the same time issued an edict of praise, he gave Ge Shuhan greater authority and more resources to prepare for the battle to seize the stone fort.

Ge Shuhan was in a hurry to go to Yinglong City, and another reason was to recruit good generals. Geshu Hanzu has always been the leader of the Tuqi Shi Geshu tribe, but since his grandfather, he has led his tribe to break away from the Tuqi Khanate, attach the Tang Dynasty, and settle in the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate.

The Geshu family has long been loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and Geshu Han's father, Geshu Daoyuan, once served as the deputy protector of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate and married the royal daughter of Khotan.

Ge Shuhan, who was from an extraordinary background, was also deviant when he was young, unwilling to accept the path arranged by his father to enter the office, and just wanted to be a ranger who walked the world with a sword and killed one person in ten steps.

Although Ge Shuhan has a bold personality and indulges in sensuality, his long-term family upbringing and inability to choose natural skills make him particularly good at observing words and seizing opportunities. Whether it was when he left his family to wander the rivers and lakes, or later when he followed his father's will to join the army, Ge Shuhan was familiar with the way of communication.

When he was a middle-level officer in the Longyou Army, Ge Shuhan deliberately tried his best to get in touch with Wang Zhonghe, who was the envoy of the Longyou Festival at the time.

Even the young tooth soldiers who were more than 20 years younger than him under Wang Zhonghe's account, Ge Shuhan was willing to break the festival and socialize, took the initiative to put down the status of the noble children, and accompanied a group of tooth soldiers who were not very glamorous to hunt and feast.

The hard work paid off, and Ge Shuhan's serious franchise allowed him to jump from a low-level officer to the deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu in just five or six years, reaching the height of officialdom that his father spent most of his life to achieve.

After serving as the deputy envoy of Longyou Jiedu for more than a year, Ge Shuhan met again and became the envoy of the Longyou Army Jiedu, becoming the highest official in the Geshu family.

Ge Shuhan often thought that if his father had a spirit in the sky, he would never have imagined that the rebel son who was angry with him and vomited blood would actually change his ways, revive the lintel, and become a prince of the Tang Empire.

Of course, Ge Shuhan's heart knows very well that the key to whether his Longyou Jie degree can sit firmly or even go further is to seize the stone castle and stabilize the holy grace.

The way to use soldiers, the first is to choose generals, there is a way is that thousands of troops are easy to get, and it is difficult to find a general. Back then, Ge Shuhan was willing to associate with the tooth soldiers, but it was not all utilitarian. I have to say that although Wang Zhongsi is pedantic by nature, he has a unique vision, and many of the tooth soldiers he chooses are rare generals.

Wang Sili was the most compatible with himself at that time, and after Ge Shuhan served as the envoy of the Longyou Festival, he directly let Wang Sili serve as the head of his tooth corps, and continued to promote him, and cultivated him to be the most reliable henchman; Wang Sili's brother Wang Siyi has always been silent, and when Wang Zhonghei was imprisoned, he unloaded his armor and returned to the field; The brothers Li Fei Yuanli and Li Fei Shouyu were abducted to the Shuofang Army by Li Guangbi, who was also good at management, which made Ge Shuhan particularly sorry; And the youngest Li Sheng and Liu Poyu, one is more dead-eyed, the other is greedy for things, and they were not particularly close to themselves before, so Ge Shuhan decided to dry the two of them first and sent them to the newly formed Shenwei Army.

Ge Shuhan knew that Li Sheng and Liu Poyu were very good at fighting, especially Li Sheng, who was proficient in formations, rigorous in the use of troops, and had the talent of a general. However, since the two have not completely respected themselves, Ge Shuhan doesn't mind adding a little embarrassment to the two first, honing their hearts, and then creating a suitable time to completely subdue the hearts of the two.

The way of using soldiers, the way of manipulating people's hearts, is also the combination of virtual and real, and the use of miscellaneous. Although Ge Shuhan deliberately excluded Li Sheng and Liu Poyu, he arranged a high enough military position for the two, and instructed Wang Sili to keep in touch with the two frequently, paving the way for the two to be brought under the account.

Who knew that not long after leaving in the snow, Ge Shuhan and his party encountered a group of Western sea antelope. This West Sea Antelope is a snowy beast, with light skin and soft hair, and the robe made is cherished by the world.

Ge Shuhan naturally smiled at the gift sent to the door, and when he commanded the tooth soldiers to open their bows to hunt and kill, he told the tooth soldiers to pay attention to their archery skills and not to destroy their fur; While thinking in his heart, in addition to making fur furs for the saint and the concubine, whether there is still room for Li Xiangguo to offer one.

Ge Shuhan's biggest concern at present, in addition to not being able to capture the stone castle as scheduled, is that his own strength in the court is too thin, and he is in an embarrassing embarrassment with no branches to rely on.

Throughout the Tang Dynasty, all the envoys have their own reliance and roots: An Lushan first took refuge in Li Linfu, and then tried his best to befriend the saints and concubines, taking the road of holy grace, and has become an independent force that can influence the direction of the court; As a descendant of Goguryeo, how could Gao Xianzhi climb to the high position of the envoy of Anxi Jiedu without the strong support of Li Xiangguo; Wang Zhengjian relied on the potential of the prince's family and the heritage of the Taiyuan Wang family......

Those who can serve as the envoys of the festival have their own way to heaven and solid supporters. The problem with Geshuhan now is that the favor is not yet deep, and there is no backer at all. There are many forces, who should they turn to? Ge Shuhan has repeatedly calculated about this......

While he was planning, he suddenly rode in the snow and attacked Geshuhan with a knife. Although Ge Shuhan is getting older, he still has the skills he practiced when he was in the rivers and lakes, and he has been practicing diligently since he joined the army. Therefore, for the sudden attack in the wind and snow, Ge Shuhan's reaction was actually a point faster than the tooth soldiers who were busy shooting.

To Ge Shuhan's surprise, the person who attacked him was actually the focus of this trip - Li Sheng, the captain of the Shenwei Army Cavalry Regiment.

Ge Shuhan inquired from all sides and knew that Li Sheng was loyal to Wang Zhonghe, and he was not satisfied with Wang Zhonghe's demotion. After Ge Shuhan figured out the reason why Li Sheng attacked him by mistake, he took the opportunity to say some words of persuasion to Li Sheng's heart knot, hoping to take the opportunity to break through Li Sheng's mental defense and completely bring him under his command.