At the beginning of February, spring in Hexi came, accompanied by several warm spring rains, when the pink peach blossoms bloomed one after another, the pear blossoms and apricot blossoms decorated the wetlands and hills by the river into a snow-white world, the willow branches pulled out new shoots, sucking the warm spring rain hungrily, the land began to sow seeds, and everywhere were busy farmers on the barren land, but Longyou on the other side of the Yellow River was a different scene, where it was warmer and wetter, and the fertile land could grow two crops of grain a year, while here there was only one harvest a year.

This is Liangzhou, is the easternmost part of the Hexi corridor, this morning, in the official road about 30 miles away from Liangzhou came a line of carriages and horses, mighty, stretching for several miles, they are going to Beiting to take up the post of Li Qing'an and his party, starting from the twentieth day of the first month, after half a month, they crossed the Yellow River from Huizhou three days ago, and traveled for another three days, and came to Liangzhou in the west of the river.

Li Qing'an did not go to work alone, he brought 100,000 stone of grain, 200,000 yuan and countless military supplies, and only gave him as many as 1,000 carriages and mules to transport food and materials, and there were also 2,000 Longyou soldiers who were willing to settle in Beiting, with their families, forming a huge team.

The two thousand soldiers, all with bright armor, rode high-headed horses, wore black bright light armor, carried horizontal swords at their waists, held spears in their hands, and had horned bows and round shields on their backs, looking majestic, they escorted this huge team of chariots and horses, and marched towards the west.

Li Qing'an also restored his regular military attire, no longer wearing military robes like Chang'an, but wearing black and shiny iron armor, wearing a silver helmet, and a huge fiery red longbow hanging on the saddle bridge, this is the fire bow that Li Longji rewarded him, which took three years to make by the ten best archers in the armory supervision during the Kaiyuan period, because it was a seven-stone bow, Li Longji could not pull it, so it has been hanging in his armory room as an ornament, this time in Li Qing'an's hands, it finally had the opportunity to exert its power.

In addition to the red bow, he also has a peerless horizontal knife, called the Dragon Yin Knife, which is also rewarded by Li Longji, is one of the four famous knives of the Tang Dynasty, was the saber of Gaozong Li Zhi, can cut gold and break jade, extremely sharp, because there is a faint thunder sound when waving, Gu got the name Longyin, when he first got this knife, the scabbard was inlaid with precious jewelry, Li Qingan did not like it, and he had replaced an old scabbard, which no longer looked eye-catching.

Famous swords, treasure bows, iron armor and silver helmets, Li Qing'an has regained his state of mind when he was in Anxi, he began to yearn to return to the vast desert, to return to the boundless grassland and magnificent glacier and snow peaks, his heart seems to have grown wings, has flown to the distant North Garden.

"General, there seems to be a mountain range over there?" He was asked by the staff member Yan Zhuang, who sat in a carriage and asked with great interest, pointing to the mountains in the distance.

The spring sun was particularly dazzling, Li Qingan looked into the distance, he could clearly see the dark mountains, and said with a smile: "There is the tail vein of Qilian Mountain, Wusheling Ridge, we walked here, the journey has passed a little half, and then there is the Hexi Corridor that stretches for 2,000 miles, Mr. Yan has no problem!" ”

"I have no problem, I prefer the Western Regions to Fan Yang, and when I stabilize myself, I will ask someone to bring my wife and daughter from my hometown, and I will settle in Beiting from then on, and I never want to go back to Chang'an."

"What about you, sir?"

Li Qing'an asked Wang Changling, who was in the same carriage as Yan Zhuang, and said with a smile: "Mr. seems to have been to the Western Regions." ”

Wang Changling smiled and said: "I have been here when I was young, and I have been to Broken Leaf as far as I am, this time I have a feeling of returning to my youth, General Li, this time you are appointed as Beiting, shoulder a heavy responsibility!" ”

Li Qing'an nodded and said: "This time as the North Court, both the Holy Lord and Xiangguo talked to me about Broken Leaves, and it can be seen that the imperial court has made up its mind to rebuild Broken Leaves Military Town, if we can complete this mission, all monarchs can go down in history." ”

Wang Changling was overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "I don't want to go down in history, as long as the broken leaves can return to the Tang Dynasty, I will die without regrets." ”

Li Qingan was stunned, he glanced at Wang Changling, and secretly wondered: "Could it be that he is also a member of the Broken Leaf Han Tang Dynasty?" ”

At this time, he heard a faint sound of the piano in the distance, and from time to time the soldiers sang in harmony, so he smiled and said, "The two gentlemen talk slowly, and I will come when I go." ”

He hurried his horse to the carriage of the dancer, and through the window of the carriage he saw at a glance the pretty face of the dancer, her skin was crystal white, her hair was pulled up, revealing her swan-like graceful neck, her eyes were clear, and her eyes shone with a charming luster like two black jewels, and she was completely different from the pale and godless appearance of a few days ago, and she was playing the piano with all her heart.

Her carriage was surrounded by many soldiers' families, and they were fascinated by the sound of the beautiful piano in their dancing clothes, but Li Qing did not disturb her, and rode his horse to follow her carriage and walked slowly.

After a while, the piano ended, and there was a warm applause around, and Li Fei Yuanli was heard shouting in a carriage behind him: "Good piano!" Do you know that this is Chang'an Qinxian playing a tune for everyone. ”

The applause became even more enthusiastic, and at this time, everyone saw Li Qing'an, and retreated one by one, Li Qing'an smiled and said to the dancer: "Dancer girl, leaving Chang'an won't make you feel lost!" ”

Wuyi saw Li Qing'an, there was still a little shyness in her eyes, and she whispered: "Leaving Chang'an, I have a feeling of getting out of the cage, I have never felt so free as today, thank you General Li for taking me out." ”

The jade slave next to him smiled and said: "General Li, my girl still has a wish, I hope that General Li can accompany her to Lingnan to sweep the tomb in the future." ”

"What nonsense!" Wuyi reprimanded her in a low voice, and smiled at Li Qing'an with a shallow smile: "General Li, I went to Beiting this time, mainly to learn the six-stringed piano, I wonder if General Li can help me find a master?" ”

The six-stringed piano is Li Qing'an's guitar, except for him, there is no second person in the world who can play it, Li Qing'an was secretly funny, he pretended to be embarrassed, pondered for a moment and said: "Girl in a dancer, I won't tell you, no one will play this kind of six-stringed Anxi Ting, get the Spain I told you, but there is a war there, you can't go!" ”

The dancer frowned slightly, and said to herself, "What should I do then?" ”

Li Qingan couldn't hold back any longer, and said with a smile: "Have you forgotten that there is someone in front of you who can play?" ”

Wuyi blushed and whispered, "However, I'm worried that this person is very busy and doesn't have time to teach me." ”

"Teaching beauty to play the piano, I think this person has time no matter how busy he is."

Wuyi glanced at him, and said, "So, who did he learn from the song "Sad Spain", and does he remember any other tunes?" ”

"Yes! He still remembers dozens of songs, and when he arrives at Beiting, he will play them to you slowly, maybe for fifty years! ”

"General Li, you ....." Wuyi's face turned red with shame, lowered his head, and couldn't say a word.

Li Qingan laughed, "I'm joking with you, it's Liangzhou City in front, I'll go and greet the team, girl in a dancer, I'll start teaching you the first lesson in the evening." ”

As soon as he arched his hand, he urged the horse to gallop to the front of the team, looking at his mighty and tall back, his eyes couldn't help but show a look of intoxication, and secretly thought: If you can really play the piano with him for fifty years, it will not be in vain.

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At the front of the team, there are Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun, the two of them are arguing about something, five years ago, the two had a relationship, this time they met in the army, the two were extraordinarily affectionate, the two were inseparable along the way, at first, Li Qingan thought that Lei Wanchun was sent by the Broken Leaf Han Tang Society to monitor him, and he was very vigilant, but after walking for half a month, Li Qingan slowly found that it didn't seem to be the case, Lei Wanchun and the Broken Leaf Han Tang Society had nothing to do with it, just a friend of the owner of Atami, he heard Nan Jiyun talk about it, Lei Wanchun is a well-known chivalrous man in the Jianghuai area, chivalrous and righteous, helping the weak and shoveling the strong, and fighting injustice everywhere, so many officials in Jianghuai are arresting him, two years ago, because he killed a powerful landlord with a big background in Gwangju, and became one of the major cases supervised by the Criminal Department, and he was wanted in the whole country.

As long as he is not a member of the Han and Tang Dynasties, Li Qingan will not care about anything else, besides, this Lei Wanchun is strong in martial arts and has infinite strength, and he will be a fierce general in the future.

When Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun saw Li Qingan coming, they bowed together and saluted, "See the general!" ”

"What are the two generals arguing about?"

"General, we're arguing about who is the biggest threat to Beiting?"

Li Qingan asked with a smile: "Then tell me, who is the biggest threat?" ”

Nan Jiyun preemptively said: "Brother Lei said that the Qarlu people are the most threatening, but I think it should be the Turgish people. ”

"Why?" Li Qingan smiled and asked, "I want to know what is the reason for your opinion?" ”

The two looked at each other, both speechless, in fact, they didn't know the truth about Beiting, Lei Wanchun scratched his head and smiled: "I heard that the Qarluq people are a capricious people, and this kind of person is the most unreliable. ”

"What about you?" Li Qingan asked Nan Jiyun again.

"General, I heard Brother Anxi in the army say that the Turgish people have repeatedly invaded the Tang realm, and I heard that General Li started from the contest with the Turgish people."

Li Qing'an smiled, "Actually, to be honest, even I don't know who is the biggest threat to Beiting, only after arriving in Beiting, we will slowly understand the situation, we not only have to deal with the Tuqi Shi people, the Qarlu people, but also the Hui people, the Shatuo people, and even the Qianghu in the Hexi Corridor, these are all ethnic groups that can fight well, and Beiting is much more complicated than Anxi." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a low horn suddenly sounded in the distance, and he saw a group of cavalry galloping over, "It's the Hexi Army!" A sergeant recognized the flag of the Hexi Army at a glance.

This was a cavalry of about 100 men, and in a moment it rushed to the front, led by a lieutenant officer, who bowed his hand and said, "May I ask where General Li Qing'an is?" ”

Li Qing'an rode out and said, "I am Li Qing'an!" ”

The captain hurriedly saluted, "Li Yuanjun, my family An Shuai has come to greet him, and he is already ten miles away." ”

Li Qingan was stunned, he hurriedly put up the curtain and looked into the distance, and sure enough, he faintly saw an army rushing towards this side, and the sand and dust were flying, covering the sky.

He immediately turned back and ordered: "The whole army is suspended!" ”

Soon, as the army drew nearer, the sound of horses' hooves beating on the ground could be heard, like muffled thunder, and the flags were waving in the wind, covering the earth, and there were four or five thousand men.

The team stopped a mile away from the Beiting Brigade, drove up to the front dozens of officers, and surrounded an officer about fifty years old in the middle, this person was of medium stature, with gray hair, a stubble beard, a very red face, a pair of small eyes with an extremely enthusiastic expression, and the corners of the eyes were covered with subtle wrinkles, but the most impressive thing was his huge eagle nose without a bit of flesh, like a vulture's hard-shelled curved beak, giving people a sense of deceit, he was An Sishun, the envoy of Hexi Jiedu, An Sishun was An Lushan's brother, He was the nephew of the Turkic chieftain An Yanyan, and An Yanyan was An Lushan's stepfather, after the defeat of the Turks, An Yanyan was killed, An Lushan fled to the Tang Dynasty with An Sishun, after 20 years, both of them became the border vassals of the Tang Dynasty, a prince.

One is the envoy of Fanyang and Pinglu towns, and the other is the envoy of Shuofang Jiedu, and now he is transferred to Hexi Jiedu.

"Brother Xian, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

An Sishun jumped off the horse and ran towards Li Qing'an, that enthusiasm, like a reunion of thirty years of old friends, Li Qing'an had to follow the dismount, An Sishun opened the broad chest of the Turks, hugged Li Qing'an tightly, and said excitedly: "I didn't expect the virtuous brother to be promoted to the Beiting Festival, the old brother is very happy!" ”

In anyone's opinion, An Sishun and Li Qingan should have been friends for decades, but in fact, Li Qingan has only seen An Sishun once and said three words, that's all.

Li Qing'an was really uncomfortable being hugged by him, so he gently broke free and said with a smile: "I am crossing the border from Hexi, and I have to trouble An Shuai to take care of it." ”

"Of course!" An Sishun patted his chest and smiled: "I will compensate you for every grain of rice and penny, but the virtuous brother has to go to Liangzhou City to live for five days before I can let you go." ”

Li Qingan hurriedly thanked him: "You don't need to go to Liangzhou City, I will rush back to Beiting in a hurry, and I will trouble An Shuai in the future." ”

"How do you say this, don't you give me face?"

An Sishun pointed to the tent set up not far away and said with a smile: "Otherwise, let's go have a drink first." ”

"Then it's better to be respectful."

Li Qing'an followed him into the big tent that had just been erected, and the soldiers cleaned up very quickly, not only set up the tent, but also laid a carpet in the tent, and in the middle was a small table full of wine and food.

"Brother Xian doesn't have to be polite, coming to me is like going home, please sit down!"

An Sishun warmly invited Li Qingan to sit down, poured him another glass of wine, and said with a smile: "Although it is said that alcohol cannot be drunk in the army, in fact, the person who formulated this rule does not understand the actual situation in the Western Regions. ”

Li Qingan nodded and said with a smile: "It's the same in Anxi, you must bring wine for winter patrols, in the past, when I was a brigade commander, I was only allowed to bring one pot of wine, but I secretly brought three pots, and the other two pots I said were filled with water." ”

The two laughed together, drank two glasses of wine, and An Sishun said: "The relationship between my brother An Lushan and his virtuous brother is not very good, and I also know it, so I wrote to persuade him, they are all Tang Dynasty soldiers, and there is no conflict of interest, why bother with some trivial things, the husband should be broad-minded and don't care." ”

Li Qingan also smiled: "Actually, a lot of it is a misunderstanding, last time it was a polo game, everyone was competitive, and the anger was a little heavier, and after thinking about it, it was actually not necessary, and it was not an enemy country." ”

An Sishun gave a thumbs up and praised: "It's still the virtuous brother who can see it, my clan brother really lived so old in vain, alas! ”

The two drank five or six glasses of wine, and An Sishun frowned and said, "Brother Xian brought such food, money, and goods, but beware of horse bandits!" ”

"Horse bandits?" Li Qingan asked puzzledly: "What kind of horse bandits, Hexi Corridor?" ”

An Sishun sighed and said: "Since last year, there has been an active horse bandit in the Hexi Corridor, there are thousands of people, they are mainly robbing merchants, killing people and goods, and doing all kinds of evil, I have sent troops to suppress them several times, but they have disappeared, which really gives me a headache." ”

"Oh? And this kind of thing? Li Qingan was surprised, so he asked, "Who are these horse bandits?" ”

An Sishun shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Speaking of which, I'm not afraid that Brother Xian will be angry, these horse bandits are all from Beiting, and they are actually Shatuo people." ”

Li Qingan nodded, stood up and arched his hand: "Thank you An Shuai for reminding me, I will pay attention all the way, the hour is still early, we will hurry, don't go to Liangzhou to rest, and have the opportunity to disturb An Shuai again in the future." ”

An Sishun no longer forced them, and said, "Okay then! I wish you all a smooth journey, and I will send troops to escort you through Ganzhou. ”

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An hour later, Li Qing'an's large army passed through the city of Liangzhou and continued westward.

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(To be continued)