The key to Qiuzi City's ability to serve as the seat of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate is its unique geographical location. To the east, after Yanqi is Jiaohe County, that is, the original Xizhou, the most important gathering place of the Han people in the western part of the country, to the west can reach Shule where the middle and south roads of the Silk Road meet, to the southwest through the desert there is a strange road to Khotan on the South Silk Road, and to the north through the Tianshan Gorge, and can reach the grassland area at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains.

It is extremely difficult to cross the Tien Shan from other places, but there are ready-made roads to cross the Tien Shan from Qiuzi. After seeing off the last Han people who had moved to the river, Ma Ling immediately flew to Qiuzi. Here, more than 800 selected Anxi athletes are ready to go.

During the period of Anxi's new army's conquest of the plateau, the production of Yuanrong crossbows by Li Xiu has not stopped, and has always maintained the speed of five Yuanrong crossbows a day, and more than 600 Yuanrong crossbows have been made in the past few months. All these Yuanrong crossbows are here, and Ma Lu's own soldiers have been equipped with Yuanrong crossbows, and these more than 800 athletes are now also armed with Yuanrong crossbows, which can be said to be an extremely powerful force.

One person controlling three war horses is a must for the Anxi New Army, and these newly selected athletes have mastered this skill as a supplementary force to the Anxi New Army. After the arrival of Ma Lan, the army immediately set off, changing horses all the way, and rushed through the Tianshan Mountains to the grassland day and night.

According to the records of later generations, there are two theories about the time when the Beiting Capital protected Cheng Qianli to block the battle of Absi, one is September of the twelfth year of Tianbao, and the other is November of the twelfth year of Tianbao. According to the news from Ting Zhou, September is undoubtedly correct.

Riding a fast horse to the grassland, and after waiting for ten days, the remnants of the defeated army of the Tongluo clan appeared in Ma Lan's field of vision.

Although Absi rebelled against the Tang Dynasty for a reason, after all, his hands were stained with the blood of the Tang people, how could Ma Lu let these Tongluo people live. More than 800 horsemen rushed down from behind the gentle slope and killed the Tongluo people.

"Tang people!" When Arbus saw the dense knights wearing bright light armor, his face changed suddenly.

His wife is by his side, and he can't help but not fight at this time. The old and weak women and children remained where they were, and Arbus rushed up with hundreds of his companions.

The moment the steel bolts flew out, the sky darkened. The Yuan Rong crossbow fired only one salvo, and there were only a dozen people left with Luo Jingqi.

The Tang army rushed straight down from the hillside, the heavy Mo knife flashing with cold light, cutting down all the remaining Tongluo knights to the ground, and then rushed straight to the Tongluo old and weak on the meadow. Ma Lan cut off Absi's head with a knife and told Ma Yong to clean it up, and then stopped on the meadow and watched the athletes chase the fleeing Tongluo people in all directions.

Anxi Jian'er waited for work, where could the Tongluo people escape, and soon the Tongluo people were killed, and none of them survived.

"Big brother, how did you know that there would be Tongluo people passing through here?" Ma Qiang rode his horse back from the hillside, the Mo knife in his hand was stained red with blood, and he looked at Ma Lu with admiration on his face.

Ma Lan smiled and did not answer.

There is such a thing as Anxi secret agents stationed in Tingzhou City, so it is naturally difficult to tell them, after all, it is a bit disgraceful to say.

The familiarity with history and the accurate intelligence of Anxi's secret agents led to this interception.

Eight hundred Mo Dao knights equipped with Yuan Rong crossbows intercepted and killed the remnants of the Tongluo clan, which was completely a knife to kill chickens. Killing Li Xianzhong, the former king of Fengxin, is probably the last great achievement that can be obtained before being called into the court.

The more credit, the greater the right to speak in Chang'an. This credit should have been the protection of the Beiting Capital for thousands of miles, but now it was cut off by Ma Lan.

Ma Lan was crowned Marquis because of the safe return of thousands of Anxi athletes, and Cheng Qianli was still the deputy protector of Anxi at that time, and Cheng Qianli was extremely dissatisfied at that time, so this time, Ma Lan also did not give Cheng Qianli the slightest child, and directly seized the credit that should have belonged to Cheng Qianli.

Li Xianzhong was killed with a knife here, which is better than being caught by Cheng Qianli and being beheaded in public on Suzaku Street in Chang'an. After all, he has also made contributions to the Tang Dynasty, just kill it, there is no need to suffer such humiliation.

After Li Xianzhong rebelled against Mobei, the Tongluo clan failed to leave, and many of his troops were taken under An Lushan's command, which greatly increased An Lushan's strength. In the Anshi Rebellion, Tongluo Jingqi played a great role and caused great disasters to the Han people. is because Ma Lu does not have the slightest good impression of this Turkic powerhouse, otherwise he would not have been wiped out like this.

After besieging and killing the Tongluo clan, Ma Ling immediately left the camp with 800 athletes and returned to Qiuzi along the same road.

This year, the land of Anxi was quite peaceful, and because the strength of the Anxi army was not damaged, the two rebellions that occurred in the original history, the Rebellion of Sowing Immortals and the betrayal of Da Bolu, did not occur.

After Ma Lan returned to Qiuzi, he accompanied Gao Qianqian to take care of the business of the Ma family's trading house, while waiting for the arrival of Chang'an's will.

The daily affairs of the Metropolitan Protectorate are still in the sole responsibility of Feng Changqing, and he is not good at dealing with these things, and he can't be compared with Feng Changqing at all.

In October, the imperial court's book production finally arrived in Anxi.

……

In the Dadu Protectorate, the lieutenant who came to deliver the decree was full of smiles, holding the book and not reading it, but directly stuffed it into Ma Lan's hands.

Ma Lu didn't know why, but when he opened it, there were only two big characters written on it.

"Happy!"

The two big characters are written in ink, and at a glance, you can see how ecstatic the person who writes is.

The lieutenant looked at Ma Lan and smiled: "Junhou, congratulations!" I have been in the palace for more than ten years, and there are few people who have been able to get the Son of Heaven's handwritten book for so many years. Don't you know, when the news of the head of the Tubo Zampu father and son reached Chang'an, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty cried with joy, and the Son of Heaven wrote these two words in the Qinzheng Building at that time. ”

"These two words, are they written by the Son of Heaven himself?" Feng Changqing asked with a happy face.

The lieutenant smiled: "Exactly." The Son of Heaven was drunk that day, and said that Tubo has been suffering for more than 100 years, and how much money is lost in autumn every year. Now the general has taken the heads of the Tubo Zampu father and son, which can be regarded as avenging the Han people who died at the hands of the Tubo people in the past hundred years, which is the first achievement since the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty! Now in Chang'an City, the general is regarded as Li Weigong's second, and he is called another generation of military gods in the Tang Dynasty! ”

Ma Lan listened, and a smile appeared on his face.

In this way, the merits of the Anxi army this time will not be buried.

Then after I arrived in Chang'an, many things would be much easier.

The lieutenant said with a smile: "The Son of Heaven ordered me to come to Anxi to deliver the decree, saying that these two words should be given to the general, and the general can hang these two words on the middle hall of the Duhu Mansion, and serve as the glory of the Anxi army for generations." ”

Feng Changqing laughed loudly, and hurriedly took the Son of Heaven's handwritten book carefully.

"The Son of Heaven also ordered me to bring fifty blank confessions to the general, saying that the general appointed a military general in Anxi, and he could appoint and dismiss him without telling him in the future." The lieutenant said, taking a small wooden box from the hand of the attendant and handing it over.

Feng Changqing was slightly stunned: "Angel, this seems to be out of order?" ”

The lieutenant smiled: "Extraordinary merit, its own extraordinary reward." This is the glory given by the Son of Heaven to the marquis, and the marquis should not live up to the expectations of the Son of Heaven. ”

What are the expectations of today's children? Naturally, it is to expand the territory. For today's son, Wenzhi has reached the limit, and expanding the territory is the greatest wish.

Ma Lan opened the wooden box and looked at the thick stack of generals saying goodbye, after all, the Son of Heaven was old, even if he was happy, he couldn't open this opening in the border town.

In the original history, An Lushan asked the Son of Heaven for a blank to ask for a blank to appoint a general, and the Son of Heaven actually agreed, as a result, An Lushan removed a large number of veterans and placed his henchmen in the army to hold important positions, thus completely controlling the Heshuo Force, which had the ability to rebel.

The thing that originally set a precedent for An Lushan now happened to him, and Ma Lu felt extremely ridiculous.

However, with these confessions, his power in Anxi is much greater, and it can be said that he immediately became a prince, and no one dared to disobey his orders.

"Besides, did the Son of Heaven say anything?" Feng Changqing asked.

The lieutenant smiled: "When I left Chang'an, the Son of Heaven and his ministers were still drinking and feasting. The heads of the Tubo Zampu father and son hung on Suzaku Street, and the onlookers blocked the street and made it impassable. The Son of Heaven said, since the meritorious service is the Anxi New Army, please ask the general to bring hundreds of New Army athletes into Beijing to report the victory, and the Son of Heaven wants to take a look with the ministers, what kind of tiger and wolf division has cleared the heart and soul for my Datang! ”

Ma Lan smiled and nodded.

The trouble of the Tang Dynasty is Tubo, and now that this scourge has been calmed, the mood of the Son of Heaven can be imagined.

Although the Tubo people have won more than lost in the struggle for Heyuan in recent decades, the Tang Dynasty has also paid a great price for it, not to mention the money and silk, and the states of Longyou Province prevent autumn every year, and I don't know how many Han people died in the war. In recent years, the six edicts have been unified into the Nanzhao, and they have begun to make trouble in Jiannan Road, and they are also relying on Tubo.

Tubo is peaceful, Nanzhao is isolated, and Ge Luofeng has no Tubo as a backer, I'm afraid he has to think about his own situation.

At this moment, Ma Lan's mood is also very good, not only because his efforts are recognized, but more importantly, he has more bargaining chips to solve the problem of marriage. The state affairs of Xuanzong's dynasty have always been firmly in the hands of the Son of Heaven, and neither Li Linfu nor Yang Guozhong has the ability to threaten the imperial power. As long as the Son of Heaven can answer, everything will be fine.

……

The men and horses who entered Beijing to report the victory were ready-made, and the eight hundred Anxi athletes who were equipped with Yuanrong crossbows were all big shoulders and round waists, and they were definitely majestic enough to pull them out. The lieutenant asked to leave the next day, and Ma Lan was not disobedient. In the early morning of the next day, 800 athletes followed Ma Lu to leave the barracks and embarked on the road to Chang'an. (To be continued.) )