Chen Shitang knew that he was guilty, and after returning to Dahua, he took off his armor and shirt, and asked someone to tie him up and come to Xicheng to plead guilty. When Cheng Qianli heard that the Tang army had slaughtered the Gaochang herdsmen of Sanyangyuan, he was already furious, and after seeing Chen Shitang, he shouted: "As a Tang general, it is useless to say more, come and drag it down and behead it to show the public!" ”

At this moment, Bao Cheng, the brigade commander of the Flying Tiger Regiment beside Xue Chongxun, said in a small voice: "Chen Tuanlian is Xue Lang's person, how to deal with it, ask Xue Lang instead?" ”

Bao Cheng knew that Xue Chongxun and Chen Shitang had fought in the state government that day, and ordinary people really didn't want to have the opportunity to fight with Xue Chongxun, so Bao Cheng made up his mind and said this sentence to please both sides: he not only helped Xue Chongxun say what he didn't want to say, but also helped Chen Tuanlian to intercede and get a favor from Chen Tuanlian.

Xue Chongxun listened and shouted: "Here is your share of speaking? What are your people, my people, aren't they all members of our Tang Dynasty! Mr. Cheng not only controls 100,000 officials, but also controls the soldiers of the states of Longyou Dao, and has the right to dispose of Chen Tuanlian! ”

The speaker has a heart, and the listener also has a heart, and Cheng Qianli was a little hesitant when he heard it. Originally, according to his temperament, there was nothing to say, and he cut down the scum in his eyes with a knife, but he also counted on Xue Chongxun to say a few words in the court to prevent tens of thousands of soldiers from giving up their lives in vain, which was a bit hesitant.

Chen Tuanlian didn't ask for mercy, knelt on the ground and bowed: "The last general wanted to ask the lord for his life first, but the lord would definitely not give such an order. The last general knows that the death penalty is inevitable, and he has already prepared, please give me a death! ”

Xue Chongxun thought in his heart, although Chen Shitang made his own decisions and didn't give face, but those Gaochang people were really hateful, and he couldn't order the indiscriminate killing of innocents...... Thinking about it, there are extenuating circumstances, and I finally found a person in Shanzhou who can indirectly control the army, so it is really a big loss to lose it like this.

While thinking, he said to Cheng Qianli: "What else is there to say about this kind of thing, Manager Cheng can deal with it according to the law, and I don't want to pay attention to him...... By the way, we will go west to Jishi Mountain for an inspection in a while, and then discuss what the manager of Fang Cai Cheng said? ”

Cheng Qianli was relieved when he heard this, Xue Chongxun was going to exchange conditions? Cheng Qianli, who usually rewards and punishes Qingming, no longer cares about the strictness of the law, and immediately said: "Since Chen Shitang is the person in charge of the Wei Guogong, I will hand it over to the Wei Guo Gong to deal with." ”

Xue Chongxun turned his head and shouted loudly: "Come on, drag Chen Shitang down and beat him with twenty canes first, and then escort him back to Shanzhou in a prisoner car to wait for his fate!" ”

The two sergeants came up and grabbed Chen Shitang's shoulders, and he shook his shoulders, because it was a little difficult to stand up with his hands behind his back: "Let me go by myself." ”

A group of soldiers escorted Chen Shitang to the city and untied his rope first, because it was difficult to fight with him tied back. Then he pressed it on the board and lay on his stomach, and several people came forward with military sticks, and were about to be executed, when suddenly a voice said: "Wait, I have two words to say to Chen Tuanlian first." ”

When everyone looked back, it turned out to be Bao Cheng, the brigade commander of the Flying Tiger Regiment, who was as strong as a hill, and it was quite stressful to come over. Bao Cheng walked to the board and said in a low voice: "If there is anything inconvenient to ask for help in the future, you can send someone to say it in private?" Xue Lang was punished on his face, but he was true to us brothers in his heart, and Chen Tuanlian understood after a long time. ”

Chen Shitang said: "Brother Bao woke up the dreamer with a word, and now I understand...... I thanked my brother for his kind words in front of the lord, and I went back to Shanzhou another day, if I didn't die, I would definitely invite Brother Bao to drink and thank you. ”

Bao Cheng nodded and said to the sergeant next to him: "It's okay to fight with your skin and flesh open, don't move your muscles and bones, understand?" ”

The sergeants nodded and said, "The little ones know the severity, otherwise they don't have to go back to Shanzhou if they go down with twenty sticks, Chen Tuanlian will have to go here." ”

After a while, there was a "crackling" sound under the city wall, Chen Shitang was a tough guy, and he didn't snort at first, but then maybe he thought of making a show, so he screamed in pain.

Cheng Qianli, who was upstairs, heard that Xue Chongxun seemed to have the intention of helping, so he couldn't wait to gather the army and go west out of Dahua City.

But they arrived in Huahua from Langzhou for half a day, and stayed in Dahua City for a while, and it was already afternoon when they set off.

The next morning, when he continued to move forward, when he arrived at Jishi Mountain, he saw that the mountain range was in a dangerous terrain, so Cheng Qianli ordered the army to be stationed at the foot of a mountain, and only took a team of guards to climb to the top of the mountain with Xue Chongxun to watch the scenery.

Cheng Qianliyao pointed to the distance and said: "The fertile soil of the Longyou Plain is vast, and it should be the granary of the Tang Dynasty, but it is also the easiest place for the Tubo army to come and go. The capture of the stone castle can naturally effectively curb the eastward expansion of the enemy army, but the cost is too great, and it cannot be completely guaranteed to be defended...... Maybe we shouldn't just focus on that one place, we should find another way. ”

Xue Chongxun said: "Is Chief Cheng's method to guard this continuous mountain system, what is the difference between this and the Qin Dynasty's construction of the Great Wall?" ”

Cheng Qianli said: "Of course, there is a difference, building the Great Wall requires the strength of the whole country, while defending the Jishi Mountain Range only needs to build some fortresses." This mountain continues to the territory of Hezhou, guards this line, and the Longyou Plain can be worry-free in the south of Shancheng. If our Tang army is stationed on the front line of Shancheng and Shanzhou, it will be able to ensure the security of the east of Longyou...... Moreover, now that the main force of Tubo is west of Jishi Mountain, our army can fight a head-on battle with Jishi Mountain on the right, waiting for the opportunity to annihilate the enemy army and consume Tubo's national strength, which is much more cost-effective than attacking a fortified city. ”

Xue Chongxun groaned: "Chief Cheng has experienced a hundred battles and has won many battles in the Western Regions, so your vision of war should be stronger than mine." It's just that in this way, our Tang Army is going to adopt a passive defense strategy? ”

Cheng Qianli shook his head and said: "This is definitely not the case, the attack is not an advance." After our army is stationed to the west of Jishi Mountain, if the Tibetans come to attack, they will fight a decisive battle with it; If he does not fight, I will take the opportunity to protect the rear, rush to repair the fortifications, and when the defense is built, the army will be able to rely on it for a long time to be stationed in Tuyuhun and threaten all parts of the enemy's territory at any time. If Tuyuhun can be forced to submit, the land of Tuyuhun south of the West Sea (Qinghai Lake) is the front fort of the Tang Dynasty's defense and attack on Tubo, which is very advantageous. ”

Xue Chongxun pondered for a long time and said: "This matter must be written to the imperial court by Chief Cheng and let the political hall and the military department discuss and decide, I only say that Chief Cheng is dedicated to the country, and whether your strategy is appropriate can only be decided by the imperial court." ”

Cheng Qianli was overjoyed when he heard this: "There is Wei Guogong's words. ”

So they came down from the mountain and led the army along the northern foot of Jishi Mountain in the direction of Hezhou, inspecting the terrain all the way, and asking their staff to record along the way. After entering the boundary of Hezhou, Xue Chongxun looked east, which was the boundary of Lanzhou, and its state government was located in Jincheng (now Lanzhou City...... Princess Jincheng was the place where she was sealed when she was titled before.

At this time, Xue Chongxun missed Jincheng a little, and after he was stationed overnight, he wanted to write a letter to Jincheng. But I don't know what to write when I pick up the pen, because I can't write too numbly, Jincheng lives in Daming Palace, and the letter has to go through the hands of Princess Taiping to send it to her, and it is really embarrassing to write too numb and be seen by my mother.

After thinking about it, Xue Chongxun had to write some trivial things, saying that he had done a good job as an assassin in Shanzhou, and he also pardoned a regimental training officer, and the Chen family was very grateful to him.

After returning to Shanzhou, Cheng Qianli began to reorganize the army without waiting for the court's reply while writing a letter, and the training time of the recruits became more and more compact, almost every day, and at the same time ordered the counties and counties of Longyou to prepare grain and grass, and all of them were transported to Langzhou for hoarding, and the former army was stationed in Langzhou to protect the granary. All kinds of heavy weapons, bed crossbows, catapults, etc., are also being dispatched.

The operation of a large army of 100,000 is a huge and complicated project from planning to implementation, and both countries have a large number of undercover agents in the border areas, and the main forces cannot hide from each other. So Cheng Qianli did it blatantly, and he didn't think about hiding from Tubo's eyeliner.

But Xue Chongxun didn't seem to have anything to do with him, except for the promise to give the court a chapter, so he continued to do his assassination history, and also helped with some logistics such as grain collection and transportation, anyway, he didn't think about making elbows for thousands of miles to affect his military affairs, Xue Chongxun also hoped that the Tang Army would win the battle. Chen Tuanlian was naturally released, and he was alive and kicking when he was recuperated.

It was already the golden autumn season, and Xue Chongxun issued a decree to all parts of Shanzhou in accordance with Wang Changling's proposal, urging all counties and counties to pay attention to agricultural affairs and let the people have a smooth autumn harvest. G