On the road from the city of Butana to the city of Hubo, you can see the crowd of people going westward everywhere. There were the troops who had been ordered to rob Butana, and there were also the inhabitants who had fled. There are also caravans that listen to the news, there is a battle ahead, and they are returning, and of course, there are also the big food messengers who go back and forth to deliver the news.

There was only a cavalry of more than twenty people, and they headed resolutely to the east. There are men and women, big cannibals, Turkic people, and people with the surname Zhaowu Jiu. This combination is really indescribably weird, and it naturally attracts the attention of many people along the way. Fortunately, everyone was busy on the road, and they didn't have much of the time to explore their origins.

Li Ergou rode an Arab war horse, wearing a black robe and a face towel, and Xiao went to illness, and Gu Xiaojun and others pretended to be big cannibals and walked in the front. His mouth kept thinking in pieces: "More than a hundred gold coins, just like that, I gave it to the big dog." ”

Xiao Quzhi glanced at him and said with a smile: "As long as we defeat the Great Cannibal, how many gold coins do we need?" ”

Li Ergou said curiously: "Captain Xiao, why do you say that this big food soldier is so rich?" Everyone has gold and silver coins on them. ”

Xiao Quzhi glanced at Li Ergou and saw a pair of sparkling eyes full of **. A flash of inspiration flashed through his mind, and he felt that he should be encouraged, or seduced.

According to the information obtained by Xiao Quzhi, the rich land in the river has not been taxed in the river since it was conquered by Su Dingfang ninety years ago and included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty. After the big cannibals occupied this place, they were levied and extorted, not only all kinds of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, but also overt robbery in many cases.

Most of the wealth plundered from the Sogdians in the river was transported back to Damascus, Arabia, and a small part of the remaining part became the military salary of the local food soldiers, which made Li Ergou envious, and the big food soldiers were so rich!

Xiao Quzhi looked at him, did not answer his question, and said with a smile: "Captain Li, you are a soldier in Anxi, how much military pay do you have a year?" How much does a small soldier in the Anxi Army get paid a year? ”

Li Ergou smiled bitterly: "I don't exceed ten times a year, as for ordinary border troops, there is no military salary, just exempt from rent." ”

At this time, the Tang Dynasty still implemented the uniform land system and the regulation of rent. The court divided the land to the people, and the people needed to pay a certain amount of grain after harvesting every year, which was called rent, and each adult man needed to serve a period of labor for the country every year, which was called Yong. Li Ergou is a school captain, with a rank and a military salary every year, while ordinary border soldiers fight for the country or fight for the country, but it is just in exchange for not being levied rent at home.

Xiao Quzhi said: "Then do you know how much the most ordinary infantry is paid every year?" ”

Li Ergou's eyes lit up, and Gu Xiaojun on the side and another Gao Xianzhi personal attendant named Tao Sanhe also listened attentively, "How much?" ”

Xiao Quzhi took out a gold coin and a silver coin from his pocket: "These are all coins minted by the Great Eater in White, the silver coin is called dirham, and the gold coin is called the dinar." As far as I know, the annual salary of an ordinary Da Eoliger is nine hundred and sixty dirhams of silver (no verification), which is almost equal to forty-eight gold dinars when converted into gold coins. In the case of cavalry, the salary is twice as high as that of the infantry, which is ninety-six dinars a year. If it's an officer, it's definitely more. ”

There is a contrast to be shocked. Li Ergou, Gu Xiaojun and the others are all school captains, with ranks, and they are also Gao Xianzhi's personal guards, and their treatment has always been not low, and they are also quite complacent. Now listening to Xiao Quai's lecture, I know that their treatment is not even one-tenth of that of the most ordinary soldier in Dashi. Suddenly I almost blew up my lungs, unfair, so unfair! Not convinced, why!

"Why?" Li Ergou said indignantly: "How can they have such a high military salary!" ”

Xiao Quzhi glanced at the family of King Kang in the middle of the team and said, "Rob it." You don't know how rich the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu in the river are. On this Silk Road, the merchants who do business are all Hu merchants of the Nine Kingdoms, and if you have dealt with them, you should know how good they are at making money. ”

Xiao Quzhi paused for a while and continued: "Our Tang Dynasty is benevolent, we fought in the river more than ninety years ago, but we didn't take anything. This is the policy set by Gaozu, 'Huairou is far away, righteousness is in bondage, and there is no subordination'. So much money, we don't want it, and in the end it's all cheaper big cannibals.

After they occupied the river, they were not polite at all, and directly took more than half of the wealth accumulated by the Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms for a hundred years, and then they had to collect heavy taxes every year. Do you know that the Great Cannibal once forced Samad Jian to pay 2 million dirhams in a lump sum, and in the future, he will pay 200,000 dirhams and 3,000 slaves every year.

This is just a city built by Kangguo Samo, as well as Anguo, He Guo, Shi Guo, Xiao Shi, Mi Guo, Xicao, Zhongcao...... That's why the soldiers of the big food have so much military pay and so much money. You can go and ask King Kang, how much wealth did Da Shi rob them of? ”

Li Ergou said angrily: "Why don't we Datang, isn't it stupid?" ”

Xiao Qu sighed and said with a wry smile: "We are stupid!" ”

Xiao Quzhi was silent for a long time, thinking a lot, he glanced at Li Ergou and them, and said slowly, as if he was talking to them, and as if talking to himself: "We are not stupid, but we have a disease in our brains, and there is something wrong with our thoughts."

We lay down a piece of land, but we never plunder, we never conquer, and we rarely manage it. The reason why we go to beat them is simply to make them surrender to us, to call us bosses, to satisfy our vanity. And in the future, they will no longer come to harass us, so that we can live our own little lives with peace of mind. And never thought that in fact, by defeating them, we could still gain a lot of benefits, wealth, resources and manpower.

We are immersed in the dream of the Heavenly Empire, and we just want to guard the plastered land of the Central Plains around us. Beyond this is a desolate and desolate land, and we don't look at it all, and we don't want to understand it, our eyes only look inward and ask our people for money. Instead of looking out and asking foreigners for money.

Even if his own people are so poor that they are about to starve to death, the foreigners next to him have a mountain of gold. They will only ask their own people for money, and they will not ask foreigners for a penny. Sometimes we even have to use our own money to reward these foreigners, just to make these foreigners praise us. Isn't this death to save face, what is it to live and suffer? Isn't this stupid? ”

Li Ergou, Gu Xiaojun and the others frowned into a Sichuan character and muttered, "Why is this happening?" ”

"I don't know." Xiao Qu said that there are many reasons for this, including the influence of Confucianism, the reason for property rights, the geographical factor, and the historical influence. He said solemnly: "But I know that our Anxi Army is stronger than the army of Dashi, but the treatment of the officers and soldiers of the Anxi Army is far from that of the soldiers of Dashi. I ask you, are you convinced? ”

"So what do we do?"

"Defeat the Great Cannibals and grab all their money."

"And then?"

And then ...... And then there was no ......"

"You're pigs! Then occupy the land in the river forever and turn the river into the new four towns of Anxi. On the one hand, they collected taxes from the people of the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu, on the other hand, they organized their armies for war, and then fought until the Great Food, and most of the money they stole was transported home. ”

Seeing the fanatical expressions in the eyes of the three of them, full of ** written on their faces, Xiao Quzhi was quite satisfied. Xiao Quzhi believes that only when the eyes are always looking outward and always maintaining the ** of conquest and plunder, a nation or country will be vigorous, have the power to expand outward, and become stronger and stronger in the continuous conquest and expansion.

Gao Xianzhi is now taking the Anxi Army to do such a thing.

Yesterday at noon, he received news from Xiao Quai's dispatch that the situation in Hushu City was turbulent, the king was injured, and a large cavalry appeared and asked him to march quickly. Yesterday he had walked an extra fifteen miles before he set up camp to rest, and today the day dawned when the army set out from camp.

Sure enough, there was a big food cavalry, and not long after they set off, the ranger sentry who was released met the ranger scouts sent by Hushu City. Relying on the numerical advantage, the Anxi Army rangers naturally pursued relentlessly. Originally, Anxi's war horse couldn't outrun the Arab war horse of the big food, but this time, I don't know what's going on. Maybe the Anxi army was equipped with horseshoe, or maybe the war horses of Da Shi didn't rest well, so they were all caught up and shot into hedgehogs one by one.

It wasn't until there were still about ten miles away from Humyun City that two or three horsemen took advantage of the chaos to run away. But it didn't matter anymore, Duan Xiushi immediately ordered that hundreds of Anxi army rangers directly bypass Hushu City, surround it, and wait for Gao Xianzhi's army to arrive.

The capital of Siba Khanna, Hushu City, was exposed in front of Duan Xiushi's eyes. The soldiers at the head of the city suddenly panicked, and hundreds of rangers frightened them. The west gate of Humbo City opened, and hundreds of food eaters rushed out, obviously preparing to run away. Duan Xiushi ordered the pursuit of ten miles, and then returned.

At this time, the entire Humbo City was already in chaos and fell into a great panic. Because of the scouts sent by the Great Food to the east to spy on the east, it was not until ten miles away from the city that three horsemen ran back. And the eight hundred Anxi Army rangers led by Duan Xiushi directly pursued and killed, and soon after the three horsemen entered the city, they directly surrounded Hushu City.

It means that there is almost no reaction time left for Hushu City.

When Fu Diyan heard that the Anxi army was already ten miles away, he was immediately frightened for nine days. When he finally made up his mind, he was ready to leave behind his seriously injured father, want to learn from his grandfather, and escape with a few henchmen. Duan Xiushi had already closed four gates outside the city.

Dehgan's first reaction after hearing the news was to run quickly, but it was also too late. They found the prince Fu Diyan who was crying into a tearful man at the gate of the West City, and several Dehgan took the opportunity to tie up Fu Diyan, and at the same time sent his subordinates to control the palace, raised the white flag, and surrendered the city.

When Gao Xianzhi led an army of 32,000 to appear at the east gate of Hushu City, what appeared in front of them was such a scene. Li Siye threatened to capture Hushu City in one day, so he surrendered in this way!