"The land of Tubo is divided into five as sixty-one Dongdai, but the upper and lower Xiangxiong and ten Dongdai are not among them. Although Zhangxiong has been destroyed by Tibet, it has a similar status to Subi and is regarded as a vassal of Tibet. ”

"In this battle, our purpose is to contain the Tibetan army, reduce the pressure on General Geshu in Heyuan, and at the same time seek to gain a firm foothold in Zhangxiong's hometown. There are many soldiers on the right side of Long, but we have few soldiers, we are not the main force, and we can do whatever step we can. There is no need to be reluctant if there is disharmony, and if you can advance, you should retreat, and you must keep this in mind. ”

In the barracks of Pishan Town, the generals and colonels of the Young Zhuang faction of the Anxi New Army gathered together and gathered around the huge sand table.

"If I have the chance, it's not impossible for me to take the whole group to kill all the way to the Logos. If you don't have a chance, it's nothing if you don't fight back. Remember, we are not going to fight the Tibetans, but to take advantage. Our lives are more precious than the lives of the Tibetan people, and we can't exchange our lives with them. ”

Tian Mingyuan, Han Wu, Li An and others were all staring at the sand table, their eyes were already full of murderous energy. Seeing everyone like this, Ma Lan sighed in his heart, knowing that what he said just now was afraid that it was in vain.

These killers have always been the masters of tough battles, who are afraid of anyone on the battlefield, and the knife is on the neck without frowning, the reputation of the Anxi Army has always been fought, and there is no need to think about such a thing as retreating without a fight.

"General, isn't it just a Tibetan person, what's there? The Nanshan Qiang and Tubo people are also of the same race, we have already killed tens of thousands, no matter how fierce the characters look, Lao Tzu is not going to lose his head when he goes down. Are the Tubo people on the plateau stiffer than the Qiang people in Nanshan, Lao Tzu still doesn't believe it! ”

It was Han Wu who spoke, he came back from Sa Mojian with Ma Lan, and he was used to talking casually. The Sogdian woman he brought back from Sa Mojian had just given birth to two sons, and now he was also a successor, and he had not used a knife or gun for several months, and his hands were already itchy.

"Yes, General. I heard that there are only tens of thousands of people in Zhangxiong, not much more than the Nanshan Qiang people. As soon as our army arrives, it will not be a return to the wind. Whoever dares not to submit, Lao Tzu will kill his mother! Another killer laughed.

"After beating the elephant male, let's go straight to Luo! Catch that conscienceless Zampu, Lao Tzu has to ask him how this relative left, when the nephew always goes to his uncle's house to sneak around! ”

The generals laughed, and Ma Ling shook his head with a wry smile.

The military heart is available, and that's a good thing. However, Tibet has been established on the plateau for more than 100 years, where is it so easy to defeat. The 5,000 Anxi New Army soldiers sent Qiangtang, and it was good to be able to press a nail to gain a firm foothold, and there was no need to think about destroying the country in one fell swoop. The Qiang people in Nanshan are scattered, and although the Tubo people on the plateau are only tribal alliances, they have a Zampu as a call after all. After going to the plateau, there are few tough battles to be fought.

For this dispatch, he can be said to have made all the preparations, but when it came to the end, he became more cautious.

The 5,000 new army of Anxi that has been redressed is his hard work for more than a year, and there must be no mistakes. Once something goes wrong, the dream of stepping into the river will immediately come to naught.

This time it was Tubo who attacked, but his eyes were still fixed on the river. The occupation of Zhangxiong was to cut off the road of Tibet's westward advance and ensure that the road for the Tang army to set foot in the Turan lowlands was unimpeded. Due to its geographical location, Tibet was in China's pocket sooner or later, and once the opportunity to march into the river was lost, it no longer existed.

"Let's go back and get ready! I've been practicing for so long, and I know in my heart what to do when I go to the plateau. Remember one sentence, we are going to take advantage, not to fight with the Tibetan people. Seeing that these killings were obviously distracted, Ma Lan shook his head helplessly, and finally confessed a few words, waved his hand to drive away these fighting men.

The killers scattered in a hurry, each going to rectify his subordinates. Ma Lan also walked out of the tent and strode out of the barracks. At the gate of the barracks, a large number of Xinghu businessmen had already gathered, and they were asking what was going on around Duan Xiushi and Du Huan.

"Lord Metropolitan Protection is here, let Metropolitan Protector-sama tell you." Du Huan's voice was still so loud, and when the Xinghu businessmen saw Ma Lan, they immediately surrounded him.

Ma Lan jumped up, stood on the back of a camel, looked at these Xinghu merchants and said, "You have all walked through the white rock beach? ”

"Go back to the capital to protect the adult, the old man has walked seven or eight times, and he can go over with his eyes closed." A purple-haired old man said loudly.

"I have also walked three or five times, and the road is very familiar, and I have some friendship with the Tibetan people there."

"It's the season to walk White Rock Beach at this time, and I'm getting ready to go there."

The Xinghu businessmen replied one after another, and their faces were full of excitement. In fact, Duan Xiushi and Du Huan both told them what they wanted them to do, but they just didn't believe it. was caught in the barracks by the Anxi army, and originally thought it was going to suffer, but I didn't expect it to be a great thing.

"Since you've walked through White Rock Beach, that's fine." Ma Lan nodded, looked around at everyone and smiled gently, "The army is going to send troops to Qiangtang, and I won't hide this from you." What I want to say is what the army just said to everyone, as long as you can send it to Baishitan, there will be people from my Anxi Army over there to receive it. hay, horses, yaks, tents, grain, jerky...... You want everything, and someone will issue you a receipt after you get there, and when you return to Anxi, you will come here with the receipt to collect the money, and the price is five times the market price of Anxi. Just get it here, as much as you can send, I will buy as much as the Anxi Army. If you can trust the credibility of the Metropolitan Protectorate, please start early. We will ship as much as we want, and the price will never be deducted! ”

After Ma Lan finished speaking, the Xinghu businessmen immediately exploded, and their faces were flushed with excitement, and a few Xinghu old men fainted with excitement directly.

What is pie in the sky? That's it! The Almighty God of Light, has he finally opened his eyes?

They are all small merchants, who usually travel all over Anxi to earn the difference, and dozens of horses and a few buckets of dried grapes in Xizhou are often all their goods, and the small business is extremely hard. After all, there were so many Sogdians in Anxi that not every Sogdian could become a big businessman.

Usually from Khotan to Xizhou to sell goods, such a long distance will have a profit of thirty percent, Anxi too many big businessmen, small businessmen are not easy to live.

Baishitan is difficult to walk, but in order to make a profit, the undercapitalized Xinghu small merchants sometimes choose this path to trade with the poor Tibetans behind Baishitan. Although you can make one or two times the profit by taking this path, you also have to take great risks.

And now that the Metropolitan Protectorate has opened such conditions, this is simply crazy! The reputation of the Dadu Protectorate is ironclad in Anxi, and with such a high profit, it is definitely worth risking your life!

There is no merchant who does not dream of prosperity, and now this is the opportunity. A trip to Baishitan is five times the price and four times the profit, where to find such a business?

Ma Lan looked at the happy faces of the merchants, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

What we fight in a war is logistics, what we fight is national strength, and what we fight is money. This time, he was not prepared to make the athletes suffer, and he just wanted to use a mountain of money to pile up a big victory.

The efficiency of Changxingfang in transporting supplies is low, and the brothers of Changxingfang are relatively weak in the Anxi army, so it is really difficult for them to cross the ice to transport supplies. The Xinghu merchants can ignore their lives for the sake of profit, and they are familiar with the roads in Tibet, so it is best to leave this matter to them.

As for wealth, in the past few months, the Qiang people have been swept away in the southern mountains of Khotan, and the yaks, horses, and sheep of the Qiang people have been sold, and the accumulated wealth is sufficient, and there is no problem in supporting it for half a year. In half a year, the winner should have been decided. Even if there is no winner by then, there are still a lot of sorrows in the treasury, and it is a big deal to sell them. When it's really not enough, I have to stretch my hand into Gao Qianqian's pocket.

There is no need to worry about the victory or defeat on the Heyuan side, this battle is the battle of Geshuhan's king, and Geshuhan won the title of county king after this battle. With Ge Shuhan in Heyuan to attract the main force of Tubo, as long as this side can persist in steady and steady fighting, it should not be a problem to win.

The Xinghu merchants obtained Ma Lan's assurance, and after discussing for a while, they dispersed in a hurry, and each went home to prepare.

These are the local Xinghu in Khotan, and after the news spreads, there must be many Xinghu from other places rushing to hear the news.

With these people supplying supplies, the army can be completely lightly armed when it marches into Qiangtang, and thus can carry more ordnance.

More than half of the Anxi Army's spy battalion had already crossed the White Rock Beach and were waiting in the valley outside the White Rock Beach. After the Xinghu people had transported some supplies, the army could immediately set off and march across Sangzhu Daban to Qiangtang.

……

A few hours later, in the eyes of the Tang soldiers stationed on the Sangzhu Daban Pass, large and small Xinghu caravans began to appear. The yaks were immediately loaded with supplies, and the Xinghu merchants who followed them laughed crookedly, and walked into the mountains one by one.

Seeing this scene, the Tang soldiers were extremely excited. After waiting for winter and spring, the time for the soldiers to send to Qiangtang has finally arrived. The time to make contributions has finally arrived.

Ten days later, the Anzai New Army Brigade appeared at the mountain pass. The whole body of the war horse was wrapped in thick cotton felt, and the steel crossbow on the horse's back was shiny.

Ma Lan stood at the mountain pass, took a deep breath, and his chest was instantly overflowing with pride.

Looking at the five thousand wolf-like Anxi athletes in front of him, his worries had been left behind.

When Songtsen Gampo destroyed Zhangxiong, was there such a terrifying army? What Songtsen Gampo can do, with such a steel division in his hands, can't he do it?

The spur lightly pierced the horse's belly, and Qinghai Cheng let out a low roar and galloped towards the mountain. The warriors followed closely, and the army quickly entered the mountains and disappeared. (To be continued.) )