readx; The Abbasid caliph al-Mansur was on the west bank of the Amu Darya River at this time, and in order to urge Ziyad to carry out his strategy, he himself came to Khorasan, where 40,000 Khorasan troops and 10,000 guards were stationed on the edge of the desert about ten miles from the Amu Darya River. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

On the other side of the Amu Darya River, the Tang army is also a large army, at least 70,000 troops, and the two armies have been facing each other for almost a month.

Mansour had been waiting for news from Khorezm, according to the calculation of time, the army of 100,000 should have arrived in Khorezm, and now it should be on the way south to the river, perhaps because there was no news from Haman's side, Mansur was uneasy, and a very uneasy feeling had been haunting him for the past two days, this uneasiness had been planted when he left Damascus, and Khalid begged him not to blame his family for whatever Haman had done.

Mansour agreed, but Khalid's request cast a shadow over his heart, and after never receiving news from Khorezm, Mansur finally regretted it, maybe he was wrong, he should not have appointed Haman as the main general, and he was not hot-headed in appointing Haman as the main general. The Muslim has been dead for nearly two years, but his prestige has remained in the emperor's [***] reign, or has not disappeared, so Mansur is anxious to find a replacement for Abu. Lieutenant General of the Muslim Army. Harman. Barmak was the ideal candidate for him, and he and Abu. Muslims are the same as Persians, and he is from a famous family, elegant temperament, excellent appearance, and participated in several major battles, for which he was wounded, he has become the idol of many young Arab soldiers, in order to further establish Haman as a god, Mansur decided to let him lead the army to the east, let him win a great victory on the northern front with absolute strength, Mansur thought about it very carefully, he also knew very well that Haman was by no means Li Qing'an's opponent, but Li Qing'an should be opposite him now, and was confronting him, The Hanzhong region should be an ordinary Tang army, even if Haman is a little weaker, but with the assistance of the really talented and practical Shaykh, there will not be much of a problem, and in the final decisive battle, he will personally command the army.

It's a pity that Mansour hasn't read the story of the Oriental Tian Ji horse race, and he doesn't know that in the wisdom of the Oriental people, there is a strategy of the lower horse against the upper horse, he is the caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty, but Li Qing'an may not personally fight him according to diplomatic etiquette.

These days, Mansur finally felt that something was wrong, it seemed that Li Qing'an was not in the main force of the Tang Army on the other side of the Amu Darya River, and he had also considered that Li Qing'an would see through his strategy and go to Khorezm in person, but after all, this possibility is very low, and he will not arrange troops for a very low possibility, but now, ...... Mansur hadn't slept well for two days, he was worried, eager for Harman to bring him good news, in the morning, Mansour had just had breakfast, he was drinking tea, and it was ironic to say that the white porcelain cup he was holding in his hand was given to him by Li Qing'an.

At this time, a guard hurriedly walked in, knelt down and saluted him, "Your Majesty, Li Qing'an has sent someone to deliver a letter to Your Majesty." ”

"Ahh

Mansour's hand trembled slightly, and he spilled a little tea, Li Qing'an sent someone, and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart, so isn't Li Qing'an in Khorezm?

"Bring it in!"

Soon, more than a dozen guards brought in two young civilian officials of the Tang Army, one of whom bowed to Mansur and said in Turkic: "In Xia Chen Shaoyou, the clerk of the Tang Anxi Jiedu Mansion sent a letter to His Majesty and a gift on the orders of His Royal Highness King Zhao, the envoy of the Anxi Festival and the hussar general." ”

Speaking of gifts, the young official behind him placed a wooden box on the table, and Mansur took the letter and did not look at it, his eyes were fixed on the wooden box, and the sense of ominousness rose strongly in his heart again, and he seemed to smell a trace of blood.

"Open the box!"

He took a deep breath and ordered the guards left and right, and at this time, Chen Shaoyou and his companions had already retreated to the wall, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of their mouths.

Two guards stepped forward, pried open the wooden box with daggers, opened the lid, and uncovered a layer of oiled paper. With a loud shout, his face turned pale with fright, and they took two steps back, staring at the contents of the box, and one of the guards shouted, "Your Majesty, it's General Haman!" ”

Mansour saw clearly that inside the box was a human head, with a lifelike face, it was Haman on whom he had high hopes. Balmak, Mansour felt an unbearable pain in his heart, as if a knife had been plunged into his heart, and his eyes became blurred, and his body shook, and he looked like he was about to fall.

Several guards hurriedly supported him, and the other two guards roared, drew their knives and rushed towards Chen Shaoyou, "Stop!" Mansur stopped them, he was a monarch after all, and at last he restrained his gaffe, and then a great sorrow came over him, and he knew that Haman was finished, and so was his army of 100,000.

He stared blankly at the wooden box for a long time, and finally, he spoke, his voice became extremely low, and asked Chen Shaoyou, "Is your general back?" ”

Chen Shaoyou stepped forward and saluted: "The general has returned, and what he wants to say is on the letter, please take a look at it." ”

Al-Mansur slowly picked up the letter, only to see that it was written on the cover: 'His Majesty the Caliph of the Abbasid Empire has personally opened it. ’

"Empire?" Mansur smiled bitterly and opened the letter, and Li Qing'an said at the beginning of the letter: "King Zhao of the Tang Empire and the Hussar General of the Anxi Jiedu Envoy to His Majesty the Abbasid Empire, I have returned from Khorezm, and I am willing to talk sincerely with Your Majesty. ’

This is Li Qing'an's handwriting, the words are full of sincerity, Mansur sighed, the letter is very clear, his 100,000 army has been wiped out, Li Qing'an advised him to pay more attention to the domestic crisis, Hezhong and Tocharian were originally the sphere of influence of the Tang Dynasty, please face the reality.

"The Tang army has no intention of crossing the Amu Darya River, and is willing to sit down and talk with His Majesty on the banks of the Amu Darya River, if Your Majesty is unwilling, then I, Li Qingan, don't mind walking a few more steps and going to Damascus to meet with you."

"Your Majesty may be able to see me if you stand on the head of the city of Damascus."

Mansur read the letter over and over again, he fell into deep thought, no one dared to disturb him, and Chen Shaoyou, the envoy of the Tang Army, also stood quietly on the side and waited for his reply.

I don't know how long it took, as if Mansour woke up from a dream, he nodded slightly, "Okay! I beg you to tell your general, and I would like to talk to him. ”

．．．．．．． Nasebo, Li Qing'an was sitting bare-chested in the room, a military doctor was carefully changing his dressing, the arrow wound was not serious, but the last arrow shot at Shayikh caused his wound to burst, and some of it was infected.

At this time, Li Siye pushed the door and walked in, Li Qingan heard his footsteps, and asked, "Have you arranged all the things for the bereavement?" ”

"It's all arranged, except for the ashes urn of the burned soldiers, the bones of the rest of the fallen soldiers are put into coffins, and they have been shipped from Samarkand, according to the news that has just come from Shaye, Wang Changling, Duan Xiushi, Cen Shen and other major officials have gone to each household to appease in accordance with the list of the dead, and sent a pension silver dollar and a pension certificate, and will be appeased in strict accordance with Anxi's pension system, please rest assured."

Li Qing'an sighed and said: "Fifteen thousand people were killed in two battles, this is the heaviest casualty I have suffered since I led Anxi, I am ashamed to pass on my order to the fathers and villagers of Anxi, this time I will go back, no celebration and triumph ceremony shall be held, within a month, there shall be no entertainment in the whole territory of Anxi, and anyone who dares to disobey the order, no matter who is involved, will be severely punished with one hundred and fifty sticks, if my wife commits the crime, then I will receive this stick." ”

"The last general obeys!"

Li Siye hurriedly instructed a clerical officer next to him to draft military orders, but he himself did not leave, he still had something to say to Li Qingan.

At this time, the military doctor cleaned Li Qing'an's wounds, finally applied medicine, and solemnly instructed him: "The general is seriously injured, and he has injured his muscles and bones, so he can't use his strength within three months, and he can't use a bow within a year, otherwise the general won't be able to use a bow for the rest of his life." ”

Li Qingan only felt a dull pain in his left shoulder, and after taking the medicine, he immediately felt a burst of coolness, he breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at Li Siye: "Speaking of which, I am still lucky, Bai Xiaode's intestines are broken, and he will lie down for at least half a year." ”

Li Siye sighed and said: "The general is responsible for Anxi, he shouldn't risk arrows to kill the enemy, if there are three long and two short, Anxi is in danger!" ”

"If I don't go into battle to kill the enemy, how can the soldiers be willing to serve their lives, 25,000 people against 50,000 people, both sides are elite armies, I can only make a desperate bet, otherwise the Great Food Army will definitely withdraw."

"Is the general so eager?"

Li Qing'an nodded, "This battle is of great significance to me, if I can't completely annihilate the Great Food Army and let them escape, then within three years, there will be peace in the river again, and Mansur will never give up, but the total annihilation of 100,000 troops may not be a military blow to talk about destruction, but the blow to Mansour's psychology is immeasurable, I am confident that at least within five years, the Arabs will not consider eastward expansion, then I will have time to look back to the east." ”

In fact, Li Qing'an's urgency for this battle is far more than Mansour, and now it is the thirteenth year of Tianbao, and the Anshi Rebellion broke out in the fourteenth year of Tianbao in history, although history has been greatly disrupted by him, but the root cause of the Anshi Rebellion, he has not been able to change, to a large extent, the Anshi Rebellion is also a variety of social contradictions are sharp to the critical point before being triggered, so the fourteenth year of Tianbao will also be a critical point for the outbreak of various social crises, so his eyes and energy must be put back to China immediately.

To do this, he needs to reach an armistice with Mansour.

．．．．．．．． After several preliminary consultations, the two sides finally decided that an armistice agreement would be signed on the ice of the Amu Darya River, which would be three days later at noon.

The day soon came, early in the morning, the weather was still cold, the ice of the Amu Darya River was covered with a thin layer of white fog, the Amu Darya Darya usually began to thaw in early February, and it was still the last day of mid-January, and the river was still covered with thick ice.

In the middle of the Amu Darya River, a huge white tent appeared in the middle of the Amu Darya River, and 100 people from each side participated in the arrangement of the tent's facilities, which were actually very simple, with three thick carpets on the ice, and a long table in the middle, and the text of the armistice was jointly finalized by both sides, written in Arabic, Chinese, and Turkic.

There was not much content, both sides unconditionally agreed to a cease-fire, and from the date of the signing, the two sides were not allowed to fight again for five years, with the Amu Darya River as the cease-fire line, and the Abbasids recognized that the Transchu and Tocharian regions belonged to the Tang Dynasty's sphere of influence.

Moreover, since the Tang army had signed a military alliance with Byzantium, the Tang army was obliged to revise the treaty with the Romans, and within five years, as long as the Abbasids abided by the armistice treaty and the Abbasid army did not take the initiative to launch a military attack on Byzantium, the Tang army would not participate in the Byzantine military campaign against Arabia.

At the same time, the two sides will also sign a memorandum of understanding on Khorezm, which will be divided into two, and the Zoroastrian and Muslims will establish their own states in the Aral Sea delta west of the Amu Darya River, and neither the Tang nor the Abbasid dynasty will interfere in the internal affairs of the two Khorezm states, nor will they have to intervene in the war between them.

The two sides were very cautious in their wording, and there were compromises on their part, such as the Amu Darya River as a ceasefire line, not a border, and the Abbasids recognized Hezhong only as the Tang Dynasty's sphere of influence, not territory; For example, if the Abbasid army took the initiative to launch a military attack on Byzantium, then the Tang army would fulfill the military alliance signed with Byzantium, which was to prevent the Arabs from using the ceasefire agreement to break the military alliance between the Tang and Byzantium.

As for the question concerning Byzantium, the two sides wrote it in Roman, and it was agreed that trade would be fully liberalized, that merchants would be encouraged to trade between the two countries, and that all taxes and currencies would be carried out according to the terms of the pre-Talas war.

At noon, the time agreed by the two sides arrived, according to the agreement, the two sides would march to the big tent in the middle of the river at the same time, each person could only bring one lieutenant, two civil officials and three hundred guards, and each side sent someone to supervise the other, and all the details were considered thoroughly.

On the surface, the relationship between the two is quite harmonious, and Ziyad obeys his orders, but it is precisely Ziyad's obedience that exposes his misconception, and the word 'ambition' cannot be used for the time being.

If he obeyed his orders, then Mansur ordered him to cooperate with Haman, then he should immediately send troops to Amu Darya, but in fact, Ziyad was reluctant to send troops, which contradicted his orders.

Mansur knew this, and he was helpless to take Ziyad now, the main generals of the Khorasan army were all promoted by Qiyad, and he used Mansur to order him to kill Abu. Opportunities for Muslim subordinates.

If he kills Qiyad, once the Khorasan army mutinies, not only his life is in danger of Mansur, but the Tang army will also take advantage of the situation, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

"General Ziyad, let's go over!" Mansour smiled faintly.

Qi Yade saluted respectfully, "Your Majesty, please first!" ”

His face was extremely sincere, no different from when he first saw Mansur a month ago, but there was a change in his heart, although Mansur suppressed the news of the Battle of Khorezm, but Ziyad still got a little information, Haman was killed, his head was sent by Li Qing'an, and the death of the commander meant that the main force of the northern front had been wiped out, Ziyad believed in his own judgment, otherwise Mansur would never sign this five-year armistice treaty with the Tang Army.

In fact, Qiyad already knew that Li Qing'an was not on the other side of the Amu Darya, but he did not tell Mansur, so now Li Qing'an sent Haman's head, which means that the Battle of Khorezm was fought by Li Qing'an himself.

Ziyad had already judged the situation from all kinds of clues, and he secretly rejoiced in his heart, if the army of 100,000 was annihilated, then his Khorasan army would become the first army of the empire, and Mansur would have to give in to him in some things.

Ziyad did not expect to become a caliph, but he did want to be king of Khorasan with sufficient autonomy.

As he accompanied al-Mansur to the Great Horde, he was secretly thinking about how to fulfill his dream of becoming a king.

"General Ziyad, I am very serious about signing this time, I do intend to stop thinking about the East in five years, and I am ready to concentrate on dealing with Spain, I wonder if Qiyad is interested in becoming the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army?"

Mansur looked at him with a smile, and Qi Yad hurriedly said respectfully: "The minister's talent is low, I'm afraid that he can't do it, and it will delay His Majesty's great cause of the Western Expedition, and the minister is willing to recommend good materials for Your Majesty." ”

"Huh! I'm just kidding. ”

Both laughed, laughing dryly.

．．．．．．． At the same time that Mansur and Ziyad arrived at the big tent, Li Qing'an's team also came at the same time, and he was followed by Li Siye.

Mansur and Li Qing'an turned over and dismounted, smiled and opened their arms to greet each other, "General Li, we haven't seen each other for two years!" ”

"Your Majesty's body is still as strong as that."

The two laughed and hugged each other tightly, as if they had not seen a close friend for thirty years, Li Qingan suddenly frowned, pressed his left shoulder and said apologetically: "Your Majesty, I have an injury to my left shoulder, which is rude." ”

"Oh! That's me being reckless, come! Together. ”

The two of them held arms and walked into the big tent affectionately, who would have thought that the most tragic battle had just ended between them, and the guards on both sides behind them were all smiling bitterly, hypocritical politics!

The tent was ready, the two sat down according to their respective seats, the guards on both sides each sent a cup of tea, Li Qingan picked up the hot teacup and said with a smile: "I heard that Your Majesty likes to drink tea, and I specially brought ten catties of the best tea in Chang'an, I hope Your Highness can like it." ”

"I loved it! Where is it? ”

Li Qingan put down the teacup, beckoned, took a bag of tea from the guard's hand, and handed it to Mansour, who hurriedly took the tea bag, put it in front of his nose and sniffed it, and said happily: "This is a Mengding tea!" ”

Li Qingan gave a thumbs up and praised with a smile: "Your Majesty is really extraordinary." ”

Mansur put down the tea bag and sighed, "I really want my subjects to learn to drink tea, I wonder if the general can send me some tea saplings to be widely planted in the Tigris River." ”

Li Qingan smiled slightly: "Tea saplings can't be sent." ”

"Why?" Mansour was stunned.

"Tea is our treasure to make money, and if we give it to Your Majesty, our tea will not make money in the future."

The two looked at each other, and both tacitly laughed.

"However, I have a special gift for Your Majesty." Li Qingan smiled and said.

Mansur sensed that Li Qing'an's words were there, so he also smiled and asked, "I wonder what special gift the general wants to give me?" It won't be another wooden box! ”

Li Qing'an smiled, did not answer him, but picked up the armistice agreement document in front of him, read it carefully, Mansur was puzzled, he did not ask, but also picked up the text and read it carefully, for a moment, Li Qing'an put down the text, took out a brush from the pen holder next to him, dipped it in ink, and officially signed his name under a series of titles of King Zhao, Anxi Jiedu envoy, and hussar general: Li Qing'an.

He signed three copies in a row, put down the pen, the clerk next to him stamped the seal, and the opposite Mansur also signed his name with a quill pen, and at the same time stamped the jade seal, and then exchanged texts and signed again, when the last red and bright seal was full, the armistice agreement was finally signed.

At this time, Li Qing'an put down his pen and smiled faintly at Mansour: "In order to show my sincerity, I will release all the 10,875 prisoners of war of your army, and this is my special gift to Your Majesty." ”

(To be continued)