Three days later, more than 100 miles south of Gaochang City, the capital of Gaochang Kingdom, and above the border adjacent to Yiwu Kingdom, there was an oasis with a radius of more than 100 miles, which could be regarded as a grassland in the desert, which was where the crossbow tribe usually herded horses and nomads.

Gaochang can be said to be the closest Western Regions country to the Great Sui, separated from the great desert of Dunhuang in the westernmost part of the Central Plains for 2,000 miles, a journey of thirteen or fourteen days. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent the general Li Guangli to the west to conquer the Dawan Kingdom, he set up a camp for the wounded soldiers who fell behind and could not walk and the old and weak in the land of Gaochang, called Gaochang Base, and then on this basis, gradually built a city and built a country, which was for the Gaochang Kingdom. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties developed for hundreds of years, although the Silk Road continued to restore contact with the countries of the Western Regions, but it was no longer possible to directly set up a capital protectorate in the countries of the Western Regions and send troops to directly control the Central Plains like the previous Central Plains regime.

In the early years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the country was established in Wuwei, and the Xiongnu regime of the Northern Liang State in the Dunhuang area was frustrated by the Qu clan, which was broken by the Northern Wei Dynasty, fled to Gaochang, and conquered this small country in the Western Regions, but the good times did not last long, and the emerging grassland empire Rouran regime also began to play the idea of the Western Regions, so he sent troops south, wiped out the remnants of the Northern Liang Kingdom, and set up the Han puppet Kan Bochang as the monarch of the Gaochang Kingdom. It was very active in paying tribute to the Great Sui, and even in the third year of the last Great Cause, he sent his own prince to lead the team and send an envoy to the Eastern Capital, the specifications of its envoy group. It is also the highest among the countries of the Western Regions.

Just for this reason. The Han regime of Gaochang was somewhat of an outlier among the countries of the Western Regions. This country is 500 miles from north to south, 300 miles from east to west, there are mountains on all sides, and there is a grassland with abundant water and grass in the south, which is the best nomadic land in Gaochang Kingdom, but since the Western Turks controlled the Western Regions, it has become the nomadic land of the Crossbow Bi tribe, one of the ten surnames of the Western Turks, and occupies this grassland. The south can enter Tuyiwu, and the north can control Gaochang, which is equivalent to choking the gateway for the countries of the Western Regions to go east, and it is the Sui army that sent troops to Yiwu this time, which made Kuzhen Tutun so anxious, and did not hesitate to fight with the Sui army, but also to keep his own territory.

Now, on this grassland, a white camp tent stretches for more than ten miles. And around this tent are fields of cattle and sheep. The snow-white sheep looked like floating white clouds, flowing on this green sea, and thousands of Turkic herders, dressed in leather robes and riding horses, went to and fro among the herds, holding long poles, and drove the cattle and sheep back into the army, but if you look closely, you will find that these herders are either gray-haired, wrinkled old men, or women and half-grown children, and almost none of them are adult men.

This camp tent is where the camp of the Western Turkic crossbow lost Bi tribe is located, three days ago, Bayegu who lost the battle in Yiwu City really took advantage of the situation to sneak attack here, if it wasn't for Cui Junsu to lead his troops to arrive in time, Bayegu in the dark night didn't know how many Sui troops came, and he didn't dare to fight, and fled all the way to the west, just afraid that this crossbow lost Bi tribe, and there would never be a better zài.

At that time, the messenger sent by Chuluo Khan to inquire about the news of the tribe also happened to be in the tribe, and he witnessed the whole process of Kuzhen Tutun becoming a prisoner, and he asked his subordinates to give up resistance and surrender to the Sui army. Cui Junsu also found this messenger in time and told him about the benefits, and this person really went back and brought back Chu Luo Khan and others, almost at the same time as Xue Shixiong's army, which arrived at dusk the next day.

Chu Luo Khan repeatedly swore to Xue Shixiong and Cui Junsu gambling curses, declaring that he had no knowledge of what Kuzhen Tutun was doing, which Xue Shixiong and others were convinced of, Wang Shichong had already said that Chu Luo Khan did not have the courage to really start a war with the Great Sui, let alone at this time when his survival was at stake.

The matter ended with the removal of Kuzhen Tutun as the leader of the crossbow tribe, demoted him to an ordinary shepherd, and drove him out of the genealogy of the Ashina tribe, and set up Rahman, who was loyal and brave in this campaign, as the tribal leader.

Xue Shixiong ordered to celebrate for three days in the land of the lost tribe and reward the three armies, while Cui Junsu took a few hundred guards and went all the way to the northwest, straight to the Western Turkic Khan's tent, to appoint the new Mohe Khan.

The sun was setting, the grassland was full of fires, the air was filled with the smell of roast mutton, and the drunken sergeants were pulling the women and children of the Western Turks and dancing around, looking like they were having a good time, while Wang Shichong was riding on a horse, standing on a small grassy slope that was not high, watching the carnival in the camp in the distance, thoughtful.

Dozens of Wang Shichong's cronies and guards were scattered under the post, eliminating the possibility of others approaching, and Wang Shichong's side, only Wei Zheng was standing, Li Jing pulled the Xue family brothers to drink today, and tomorrow he will embark on a trip to the West Sea.

Wei Zheng rode a variegated zebra, looked at Wang Shichong's tightly knit brows, and smiled slightly: "Is the lord still worried about the fall of Luo Khan in the Western Turks?" ”

Wang Shichong sighed: "Xuancheng, I don't care about money, it's just that we spent a lot of money to get to the Khan position, and we have cooperated a lot over the years, and now I see that people are driven down like this, to be honest, I am not reconciled." ”

Wei Zheng nodded: "Yes, my lord, no one is willing to accept this kind of thing, but we have to take a long-term view and look forward, this time you have never met with that Luo Khan, and even refused his request to ask someone to pass the word and want to meet in the afternoon, in your heart, I am afraid that it is no longer a matter of how to keep or help Luo Khan regain the position of the Great Khan." ”

Wang Shichong's brows were still tightly locked, and he couldn't see any joy: "Xuancheng, what I'm worried about now." It's not that Luo Khan has fallen. The question of who we will support in the Western Regions. To be honest, this is Pei Hongda's backyard in the Western Regions, and the last time we paid to help him help Luo Khan come to power, we have always been behind the scenes, and now we have a monopoly on the trade routes in Hexi, no matter who succeeds the Western Turk Khan, they will maintain a good cooperative relationship with us, and those who are really worried about the future of Luo Khan. It's not me Wang Shichong, but Pei Shiju! ”

Wei Zheng touched his goatee, and his eyes flashed: "What the lord is really worried about is still Changsun Sheng's movements." ”

Wang Shichong sighed: "Or Xuancheng, you can see clearly, to be honest, I'm not very worried about which person the two Turks have changed to be the Great Khan, and now the Qimin Khan is also seriously ill, it is estimated that even the Turks in the east will change hands, and the new Khan will be the white-eyed wolf of Ashina Duji, and the Western Turks will be replaced by Mohe Khan." It will not have much impact on our future events, after all, it is separated by thousands of miles of desert. It is too difficult to substantively intervene in the troubled times of the Central Plains. But Changsun Sheng is different, he knows that Chu Luo Khan is supported by me and Pei Hongda, but he still carries out this kind of small action behind our backs, and I can even conclude that Kuzhen Tutun, a stupid man, dares to raise troops to openly confront the Great Sui this time, and his actions behind his back are indispensable. ”

Wei Zheng's eyebrows raised: "Lord, are you worried that Changsun Sheng has formed an alliance with others and wants to deal with the lord together?" ”

Wang Shichong gritted his teeth: "I have known Changsun Sheng for almost 20 years, he is the same as me, he is also ambitious, unwilling to be lonely, not to mention any loyalty to the Great Sui, I have neglected him a little over the years, because he has not been to the Turks many times, but I didn't expect that he still took advantage of the time when I followed Yang Guang this time, and when I thought he was seriously ill, he stabbed me hard, making me fall into such a passivity, Changsun Sheng himself is dead, can prompt him to make this decision, It must have something to do with his aftermath. ”

Wei Zheng nodded: "I also agree with the lord's opinion, Changsun Sheng is extremely fond of the step-family Gao, and for the son born to his adult ex-wife, his attitude is obviously cold, but people are not as good as heaven, Changsun Sheng has been envoys to the Turks for many years, and the business and industry at home need to be taken care of, and his young son is too young, so he has no choice but to let Changsun Wuxian take care of these industries and manage his home in Daxing. kicked his stepmother and half-siblings out of the house. ”

Wang Shichong's eyes flashed: "I heard Xue Shixiong say, the three of this mother and son went back to Gao Jian, and what I was most worried about was this, when I switched to Yang Su, I once killed Gao Jian's sister with my own hands, so this person hates me to the bone, this time if my expectations are good, eighty percent is that this person takes care of Gao's mother and son as a condition, and wants the eldest grandson Sheng to hack Luo Khan, in order to fight the forces that Pei Shiju and I operate in the Western Regions." ”

"Gao Jian himself is not from the Guanlong aristocracy, he is the grandson of Gao Yue, the king of Qinghe in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and it stands to reason that he is of the same clan as Gao Fuji, but this person has lived in Daxing for a long time, and he has also made friends with many leading figures in the Guanlong aristocracy since he was a child, and he is very close to the Tang State Mansion, which is a very troublesome problem."

Wei Zheng gasped: "Lord, do you mean that it is not this Gao Jian who really wants to harm us, but Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang Guo?" ”

Wang Shichong's face was gloomy, and under the moonlight like water, he was illuminated pale and white, only his two green eyes shone strangely: "Is there any other explanation?" Before Gao Servant died, he specially reminded me of this Tang Guogong Li Yuan, saying that although he looks inconspicuous now, the head of the Guan Long family, yes, think about how powerful the family that even Yang Su wants to win over through guò marriage? This person has been suppressed by Yang Guang before, his official position is not high, and he has no military merits, so he is easy to be ignored, but the combination of a strong family like the Li family and the Dou family in Longxi is enough to contact dozens or hundreds of middle-level families in Guanlong, and people like Gao Jian, after the high servant shoots the egg, will definitely turn to Li Yuan as the leader and gather under his banner! ”

Wei Zheng nodded: "I heard that Li Yuan's eldest son, Li Jiancheng, has married the daughter of the Zheng family in Xingyang as his wife, which is very similar to the trajectory of Chu Guogong before his career, the combination of the Guanlong nobles and the literati family headed by the five surnames and Qiwang in Shandong is a very terrible force, and I also heard that Yang Zhao, the prince of Yuande, once recruited many young children of the Guanlong family to enter the East Palace as guards, such as Chai Shao, such as Chai Shao, after Yang Zhao's death, most of these young generals turned to Li Yuan. Like Chai Shao, he directly married Li Xiuning, who was abandoned by Yang Xuangan, and the strength of these medium-sized military generals should not be underestimated. ”

Wang Shichong gritted his teeth: "It seems that Li Yuan has also seen that the troubled times are coming, and he wants to prepare for the future, this is the first chess piece he has arranged, he probably knows that I have already controlled the trade routes in Hexi, at least in Longyou and Liangzhou, there is a possibility of quickly seizing Guanzhong in troubled times, so he will strike first and kill the Chuluo Khan we have supported in the Western Regions, so as to greatly reduce the possibility of Xue Ju and Guzang Chamber of Commerce leading Turkic soldiers into Guanzhong and seize Guanzhong for himself, And then clear the conditions for Longxi to create. ”

Wei Zheng nodded again and again when he heard this: "That's indeed the case, so what should we do now?" Is there any way to kill people with a knife and make Yang Guang jealous of Li Yuan? ”

Wang Shichong's eyes sparkled: "I have been thinking about this question for two days, and I still have no clue, Li Yuan is very cunning, and he is also very good at protecting himself, on the surface, he never grasps military power, and he is also extremely low-key in the local area, and he is not greedy for power, although there is a big reason for this is that he married Yang Guang because he wanted to marry Dou Hui, but this shows that this person's nature is also scheming, planning and then acting, since Yang Guang ascended the throne, he has offended many Guanlong families, but Li Yuan can show favor to him without a trace, attracted the younger generation of Guan Long's talents to rush to him, which shows that what he wants is the same as ours, and he will not leave us with any handle. ”

Wei Zheng hooked the corners of his mouth: "If it doesn't work to come to the light, then come to the dark, the rumors spread by Xiao Xiaofu last time have a very good effect, and they have abolished more than half of the Xiao family, and even Xiao Cong has been forced to die, or we will repeat the old trick this time and use the trick of rumors and nursery rhymes?" ”

Wang Shichong shook his head: "No, the rumors last time have only been used for less than half a year, which is too short, and now is not the time to use rumors again." We have no other choice but to wait for the right moment to see what happens. (To be continued......)

PS: The author is raining on a rainy day, a writer with the old historical strength in the vertical and horizontal, very good at the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the new book is open in the www.biquge.info of the pen fun pavilion, and it will be on the shelves soon, and friends who like to wear novels can go to read it. ISBN 3483507