Hearing this, Koji Wentai suddenly opened his mouth wide, his eyes widened, as if he was about to say something, but his throat could not say a word.

The Gaochang border that the general reported was Chiting Valley. Chiting Valley is the exit of Chiting Road, but this Chiting Road is the only difficult channel from Yiwu to Gaochang, and it is a strategic point of Gaochang. As long as you cross this place, you will truly enter the realm of Gaochang!

"How did the Tang army come so quickly!" , Lu Wentai felt a "bang" in his head, and the last string that had been struggling to support him was broken! The sky is spinning, everything is blurred, "King! In an exclamation, Ko Wentai's body shook and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately, he took the first step to hold on to the window edge of the palace before he stopped.

Not long after they got the news of the Tang Dynasty's march, the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military fryers were in a panic, this court was like a vegetable market, those damn pro-Tang factions, those cowardly ministers, those ubiquitous annihilation...... It's all called surrender. Only a few people showed the intention of fighting to the death, but there was no way to deal with it at all.

Just when they were panicked, when they were at a loss, when they were in a hurry and couldn't sleep, the vanguard army of the Tang Dynasty had already passed through the steep Chiting Road. They didn't even react to it at all.

Li Wentai leaned on the window edge of the palace, scanned the street in front of the palace, and said, this is the most prosperous place in Gaochang, but now the merchants are scattered, and the people are frightened.

"God, forget yourself Gaochang!" Since his family knows his own affairs, the news of the Tang Dynasty's crusade against Gaochang spread in the Western Regions, and one by one the countries in the Western Regions that had been friends with Gaochang have severed contacts, even the big brother of the Western Turks has a posture of imminent separation, and there is no such posture of being willing to live and die with Gaochang in the past.

The Tang Dynasty was a mysterious and incomparably powerful country for their Western Regions, and in the face of this incomparable power, even their Gaochang own soldiers and horses had no fighting spirit or fighting spirit.

In the cry of grief, Ko Wentai's eyes were deeply sunken, and his whole face seemed to be drenched in boiling soup, and the folds were so wrinkled that he completely drooped down.

Mrs. Xiangyi looked at it and sighed, and said, "Wang'er, go and ask Zhang Xiong, at this moment, only my nephew Zhang Xiong can help you." ”

Thinking of Zhang Xiong, there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes, which was the only lifeline.

Western Turks, Khan Court Stone Country Thousand Springs!

Lost in the khan's tent, his fists kept clenching, letting go, and he was undecided, he had already received the news of the Tang Dynasty's march into Gaochang. His blood was boiling, but there was a faint fear in his heart. No one understands the strength of the Tang Dynasty better than their Turks. In those years, when the Turks were strong, they first united with Persia to eliminate the White Huns, and later allied with Byzantium to attack Persia. It is also famous all over the world.

Although it was eventually divided into two parts, the Eastern Turks were rampant in the northern regions under the leadership of Jieli Khan, and their Western Turks crisscrossed the Western Regions, which was not but amazing.

Even the Central Plains Dynasty had to bow to them, but since Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty succeeded to the throne, it only took four years to sweep away the Eastern Turks, and even Jieli Khan was captured alive in Chang'an, and the might of the Tang Dynasty began to touch the Western Regions at that moment.

Especially after the return of Yiwu to the Tang Dynasty, it became the gateway for the Tang Dynasty to enter the Western Regions.

Since then, he has known that the only rival he wants to dominate the Western Regions is Datang.

Over the years, he has tried his best to maintain friendly diplomacy with the Tang Dynasty, but behind his back, he has always had the idea of annexing the Western Regions and confronting the Tang Dynasty. Especially this year, a military parade in Chang'an of Datang made all the countries in the Western Regions see the divine power of Datang, and one by one they also had different hearts. Looking at the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions who threw themselves into the Tang Dynasty one by one, he realized that if he continued to let the Tang Dynasty develop, the Western Regions would no longer have a place for himself to stand. As a result, he instigated his ally Gaochang to cut off the Silk Road, so that Datang would lose its economic source and hit Datang from the side.

But who would have expected that things would be so unsmooth. They thought they were foolproof, but they were exposed in just over a month, and even attracted the crusade of Datang.

The power of Datang made him afraid, but the wolf-like blood surname in his bones made him feel a sense of blood boiling.

He wanted to have a happy battle with Datang, but at the same time, he was afraid of Datang's power and did not dare to act rashly.

It's a contradictory feeling, but sometimes people are so contradictory!

Just when he was wandering between war and non-war, he suddenly got the news that Zhang Xiong, the envoy of Gaochang, had come to see him!

"Let's just say that I haven't returned from hunting......" He knew the purpose of the envoy from Gaochang, and he didn't want to see him before he paid attention, but then he felt that the name Zhang Xiong was very familiar, but his heart moved, and he immediately shouted: "Wait, who did you say the envoy was, Zhang Xiong?" That Zhang Xiong from Gaochang? Quick, get him in! ”

The attitude of profit loss has changed greatly, just because of the character Zhang Xiong.

Gaochang Zhang Xiong is a famous figure in the Western Regions, he is a Han Chinese, is the nephew of the Empress Dowager Xiangyi of Gaochang, in the early years in Gaochang as the general of the left guard and the governor of Cao Langzhong, is Gaochang holds the power of civil and military ministers, his strategy, military strategy in the Western Regions is unmatched, when he was in power, although Gaochang only has a population of only 100,000 and 20,000 soldiers, he can fight whoever he wants, that is, they have 100,000 troops in the Western Turks, and they must be afraid of three points. The Tiele people, who had been on par with the strength of the Western Turks, raised 40,000 troops to attack Gaochang, Zhang Xiong only used 20,000 soldiers and horses to almost wipe out the 40,000 enemies, and he did not hurt 2,000 people, which directly injured Tiele's vitality, but later because of political discord, Ko Wentai expelled him from the court.

He still remembered that he had specially invited Zhang Xiong to promote him to the tribal chief as long as he was willing to submit to him, but he did not get his consent.

When you are confused, listening to the advice of Zhang Xiong, a wise man, may be able to make up your mind as soon as possible.

Zhang Xiong, who was only fifty years old, looked like a bad old man, his hair was half white, his back was slightly bowed, and his appearance was not good, but he didn't dare to be careless, greeted him warmly, and asked him to sit on the maza.

"The Tang Dynasty army is coming to invade the Western Regions, what does Mr. think!" He knelt on the ground, made enough posture of the Central Plains people, every move, polite and polite, but he wore his hair and tied this braid, which looked a little nondescript, and there was a feeling of being a monkey and crown.

Zhang Xiong said: "It depends on how the Khan understands how strong the Tang Dynasty is and how weak Gaochang is. They kept claiming that they were coming for Gaochang, but they brought more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, and as far as I know, Yanqi and Yiwu will also send troops to help, and the strength of Datang is up to 150,000. And all the populations of Gaochang add up to only tens of thousands, if it is really only for Gaochang, do you need to work so hard? Just like the Khan, if you have the heart to attack my Gaochang, you need to use all your strength? ”

His words were very soft, and he spoke very slowly.

But he lost his heart and sank down because of this: "Mr. is saying that Datang has other plans?" He is not just for Gaochang, but for my Western Turks? ”

Zhang Xiong said with a smile: "I'm not sure about this, but one thing is certain, there is only one Khan in the Western Regions today who deserves such a lot of treatment from the Tang Dynasty." In my personal opinion, even if the Khan avoided the war, the Tang Dynasty would find trouble with the Khan and attack under the pretext of attacking. ”

Yu Li smiled and said: "I'm afraid what Mr. said is not true, you are saying this so that I can send troops to Gao Changcai." Anyway, my Western Turks are mainly nomadic herders, as long as they avoid the edge of the Tang Dynasty, how can they help me? I don't believe it, they still dare to go deep into the hinterland of the Western Regions, not to mention that the grain road alone is enough to drag them down. ”

Zhang Xiong was not surprised, and still said calmly: "I don't deny my intention, and at the same time, I don't deny that the Khan's strategy is indeed clever, and he can indeed avoid the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty and preserve his strength." But the Khan has not thought about it, the current Western Turks are the kings of the Western Regions, no one can match them, among the countries of the Western Regions, there are not a few countries that depend on the Khan, and most of them need to breathe on the Khan's snort. The Tang Dynasty's control over the Western Regions was not deep, with only a few small states attached. The Khan, who occupied a favorable position, was far superior to the Tang Dynasty in this regard. Your escape is undoubtedly an admission that the Western Turks are inferior to the Tang Dynasty. At that time, where will the face of the Western Turks remain, and where will the face of the Khan remain? In addition, the intention of the Tang Dynasty to send Gaochang is like Sima Zhao's heart, and everyone knows it! Their purpose is nothing more than to dominate the Western Regions and become the new overlord of the Western Regions. As soon as the khan fled, Gaochang would die, and the Tang Dynasty would occupy Gaochang and set up a capital in Gaochang, officially expanding its power to the Western Regions. Think about it carefully, at that point, will the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions still cling to you, the Khan who is afraid of the Tang Dynasty? It is absolutely certain that instead of going against the Khan, they will become enemies of the Khan. The Khan will never want to dominate the Western Regions, and you will become a prisoner of the Tang Dynasty like Jieli Khan. ”

He stood up in a distraught and said in a loud voice: "Mr. Zhang, your words are very reasonable. I understand, this battle must be fought, but how to fight, I don't know what tricks Mr. has? The strength of the Tang Dynasty should not be underestimated! ”

Zhang Xiong smiled calmly: "I'm not afraid to tell the truth, it's impossible to defeat the Tang Dynasty." The general of the Tang Dynasty's expedition this time is Hou Junji, the secretary of the military department, who is a student of Li Jing, and his ability to use soldiers can be ranked in the top three in the Tang Dynasty. There is no one in the Western Regions who is his opponent. However, fighting a war depends not only on strength, but also on various factors. The distance from Chang'an to Gaochang is thousands of miles, and it takes several months for grain and grass to be delivered, and it takes countless financial, material and manpower resources. We don't need to defeat them, as long as we can delay the war for a year and ensure that the Tang Dynasty can't afford to supply them, we will definitely retreat. The Chiting Road is the only way to reach my Gaochang from Yiwu, and it is extremely dangerous, as long as you send 100,000 troops to guard the valley mouth, and then send sharpshooters to camp in the mountains on all sides, even if there are thousands of troops and horses in the Tang Dynasty, we can't help it. ”

I also know the danger of Equiting Road, and the shooting is amazing.

Zhang Xiong said with a smile: "But before that, the seven thousand vanguard army of the Tang Dynasty must be removed, and they have already arrived in Chiting Valley." ”

He heard that the vanguard army was only 7,000 people, so he didn't care at all, and said proudly: "I will lead 70,000 soldiers and horses under my command to encircle and suppress them, and then garrison the Chiting Valley, and the rest of the army will arrive one after another!" ”

(To be continued)