On the auspicious day of March 15, it is advisable to go out to the division, sail and travel far away.

The second crusade of the Tang Dynasty against Tibet is scheduled for today. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, who was far away in Chang'an City, worshiped heaven and earth in the temple, burned incense and prayed. The three-way army, thousands of miles away, was also ready to go out. More than 70,000 soldiers and horses of the Anxi Army of Gao Xianzhi of the Western Route Army, 50,000 troops of the Longyou Hexi Coalition Army, and 60,000 soldiers and horses of the Jiannan Army are all ready to go.

A few days ago, Wang Yuan issued a final military order, ordering the garrison of Langdongcheng in Wangzhou to move to Yaozhou, and 15,000 soldiers and horses under the command of the governor Li Mi, together with 10,000 soldiers and horses of Luo Feng of Nanzhao Guoge, formed a joint army to march from Yaozhou. Wang Yuan led 35,000 soldiers and horses from Yazhou to Bison City, and together with 10,000 soldiers and horses in Bison City, he formed an army of 45,000 people to attack to the southwest.

Wang Yuan's idea was to first capture the area of the Yak River, which posed the greatest threat to Bison City, and capture Yak City, a key city leading to the north. In this way, a blockade line composed of two cities, Bison City and Yak City, was formed, which isolated the northern and southern armies of Tubo to the greatest extent. After that, he waved his army south, and joined Li Mi's army along the Jinsha River west to join Yu Yucheng in Luqicheng. Once the city was captured, a large area southeast of Tibet was controlled by the Tang army. After that, there was only one goal: to march west to the capital of Tibet, the city of Luoqi.

This plan is actually a bit risky, if Wang Yuan's army fails to take Yak Niucheng in time and move south, the combined forces of Li Mi and Ge Luofeng, who are attacking the important town of Lüqi City in the southeast of Tubo along the Jinsha River, will very likely be surrounded by the garrison of Lüji City and the arrival of reinforcements of Tubo soldiers and horses, and the consequences will be very serious. However, Wang Yuan transferred the route of grain and grass transportation from the desert area to the route of transportation from Yaozhou, which required that Li Mi and Ge Luofeng's soldiers and horses must not stop, and must meet with Wang Yuan in Luqi City within the specified time, otherwise Wang Yuan's soldiers and horses will not be able to replenish supplies.

But Wang Yuan insisted on doing so, both to ensure the safety of Bison City and to pull out the Yak City in the southwest of Bison City. It is also possible to divide the soldiers and horses in the territory of the Tubo State into two, so as to prevent the Tubo army in the north from abandoning the land of the two lakes and retreating to the south. Once the Yak City is taken, it can cut off the back road of the northern army of Tibet, if they want to retreat to the south, in addition to the hard capture of the Yak City, they can only detour to the west, a big circle. This was also extremely beneficial to the Longyou Hexi coalition army that attacked the northern border.

In both public and private, there is no reason why Wang Yuan should not choose the strategy of dividing and attacking together. Even this is very risky. But Wang Yuan felt that the risk was not too big to bear, after all, the only possible mistake was to be sniped in the Yak City and delay the time, so Wang Yuan would use his trump card to deal with the Tubo soldiers and horses in the Yak City, in order to capture the city in one fell swoop.

The Jiannan army gathered in Yazhou and marched into Bison City in the early morning of March 15. The road in the desert leading to Bison City in Jazhou has been turned into a wide sand road. Because after the capture of Bison City, the entry and exit of soldiers and horses were frequent, and the camel caravans transporting lake salt were day and night. This makes the road in the desert leading to Bison City seem unusually busy.

Wang Yuan spent a lot of effort and manpower and material resources on this road in and out of the desert, hoping that this road could smoothly allow soldiers and horses to pass and ensure the transportation of salt. As a result, long wooden stakes are now driven into the sand every few dozen steps on both sides of the sand road, forming two rows of marked passages.

The gravel on the stake-marked passages has also been leveled, and in addition to the large sand dunes that have no choice but to detour, the small dunes and undulating areas have also been roughly leveled. At least the camel cart is not hindered, but the speed is slower. Along the way, there is a post station that replenishes drinking water, horse feed, and rests. Large logs are laid into the sand to form a simple but sturdy fence to ensure that the livestock have a place to stay in the event of a sandstorm. Several sand-brick houses were built to provide shelter from the wind and sand.

As a result, the road to Bison City in the desert has begun to take shape, and it is basically enough to get in and out of the desert, and unless the weather is extreme, you don't have to worry about getting lost in the desert or starving to death.

These things cost Wang Yuan a lot of money and materials, but these are infrastructure, Wang Yuan understands that these things are not perfect, and it is impossible to get the money spent in the salt lake in his pocket. There is a cost and a price to pay if you want to get it, and this is something that must be done.

With this easy passage, the travel time between Jaju and Bison City is also shortening. Normally, it takes more than 10 days to travel, but now it can be reached in 6 days. Even if Wang Yuan led a large army, hauling and transporting many heavy siege machinery and supplies, it only took nine days to arrive at Bison City.

On the evening of the 24th, the army successfully arrived at Bison City. The small Bison City could not garrison the 45,000 Jiannan army, so the oasis beach was densely packed with tents, and the entire Jinchuan River was overcrowded and noisy.

Wang Yuan did not have time to rest, and after having a hasty dinner, he and his grandson Lan Zema went out of the city and stepped into the desert, heading for the salt lake thirty miles to the northwest. It was Wang Yuan's source of wealth, and even if the army was about to start tomorrow morning, Wang Yuan decided to come here to take a look.

The road leading to the salt lake is also well kept, and even though it is night, you can see a caravan of camels carrying torches passing slowly, and the camels are full of salt bales on their backs. Seven or eight miles closer to the salt lake, the road under the horses' hooves is no longer gravel, but a smooth road paved with a mixture of salt and sand. The poisonous salt in the upper layer of the salt lake has nowhere to be put after being dug up, and it is suitable for paving roads, although it is transpired by the heat during the day, it emits some pungent smell, but it is not too harmful, after all, these poisonous salts will not have any problems as long as they are not eaten in the stomach.

When Wang Yuan and Gongsun Lan came to the sand dunes on the side of the salt lake, they were immediately stunned by the scene in front of them. The salt flats of the salt lake, which were originally white and flat, have been dug out of a huge gap. The hollowed-out crater was filled with sand and dirt, but the difference in color was evident in the light of torches and wind lanterns.

In less than half a year, a corner of the salt lake has been dug up and is extending westward. On the salt flats, wind lanterns are hung on bamboo poles and inserted in the salt fields, and there are many ant-like figures on the salt flats who are still digging coarse salt overnight. Salt bales filled with salt are being carried up to the sand dunes by the lake, waiting to be carried away in rows. Wang Yuan knew that the salt lake had increased its manpower, and in order to increase efficiency, it adopted the method of digging in shifts, digging in turns during the day and night, and constantly producing salt.

The last time Gongsun Lan accompanied Wang Yuan here, it was still a calm beach, and she was surprised by the scene in front of her.

"I didn't expect this place to have become like this, are these salt diggers prisoners of Tibet?"

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Most of them are captives, and there are also many people from Yazhou. The salt lake needs to speed up the production of salt, and the people in the Yazhou area have very little arable land and are willing to exchange their strength for money, so Liu Dehai invited many people to work. And I have not done them any wrong, for these people shall be rewarded with two hundred and fifty deni for digging six hours a day. You can get a salary of 7500 yuan a month, which is two or three times that of ordinary people. ”

"Six hours? So long? Gongsun Lan frowned.

Six hours and twelve hours, in addition to eating, drinking, and Lazar, these people are digging for salt, and the hard work can be imagined.

Wang Yuan smiled: "Cousin's sympathy is about to flood again, isn't it?" You must know that if you don't dig salt here, they will be busy surviving for six hours a day, and they won't be able to earn a hundred yuan. They should thank me. ”

Gongsun Lan nodded slightly, what Wang Yuan said was also the truth.

"The captives don't get paid, do they?"

"What they dig is freedom, and I promised them that when they dig up all the salt here, they can go home and be reunited with their parents, wives and children." Wang Yuandao.

Gongsun Lan said softly: "I just don't know if they can still see their families, the war has resumed, and I don't know how many innocent people have suffered, and how many people have died." ”

Wang Yuan sighed and said, "Cousin, I understand your feelings, but there is no way to do it. In today's world, there is no justice or mercy. You have also experienced a lot, and you should know the principle of the law of the jungle. When chaos is coming, I can't be a woman, I have to think about myself and those around me. If you are not strong, you will become a slave to others sooner or later. Think about it, if I were a captive of the Tibetans, would they treat me well? If the Tubo people invade my Tang Dynasty, will they treat my Tang people well? Natural selection, the weak eat the strong, this is the way of heaven. ”

Gongsun Lan said softly: "I understand, I just feel a little cruel." ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "Don't be emotional. I'm relieved that it's working properly. This is the hope of the strong strength of my Jiannan army, and the salt here will be transformed into good horses, armor, sharp weapons, and food supplies, ensuring that I and everyone in Jiannan Road are safe and sound. Even if there are thousands of bones of salt-diggers buried in the salt here, it will be worth it. ”

Gongsun Lan glanced at Wang Yuan and said softly: "Your words are very cold, but I think what you said is reasonable." I just feel sorry for the fate of people, when everyone can live happily and realize the great harmony of the world, the world is peaceful, and everyone enjoys peace and prosperity, it will be great. ”

Wang Yuan laughed and said: "There will never be a day, the so-called Datong world is just a fantasy. Cousin, stop thinking about this, you're going to go crazy. ”

Wang Yuan turned the horse's head and whipped the horse, and galloped away. Gongsun Lan looked back at the figure of the wriggling salt digger on the salt flat, sighed, and rode away on horseback.