At the same time that Ma Lan led the new army of Anxi to embark on the ancient road, outside Shule City, a Tang army was marching along the middle road of the Silk Road, heading towards the direction of the Green Ridge Guard.

This Tang army had 7,000 men, led by Li Siye, a veteran general of Anxi, and Li Feiyuanli, a deputy general of Xiqiang Hu.

……

Ma Luan formed the Anxi New Army entirely based on the Anxi athletes who had returned from the Sa Mo Jian with him, and the generals of the new army were all young Zhuang factions in the Anxi Army, and the purpose of this was to facilitate command. None of the Anxi veterans were given a place in the new army, and it was impossible to say in their hearts that there was no discontent.

This time, Ma Lan personally went out to lead the army, and was only ready to use the 5,000 new army athletes in his hand, and Feng Changqing stayed in Pishan Town to supply military supplies. Originally, Ma Lan was not ready to let the Anxi veterans participate in this battle, but Li Siye and others tried their best to ask for the battle, and Ma Lan finally agreed to their request and asked Li Siye to lead this partial division as a response.

These 7,000 Tang troops were also the elite of the Anxi Han army, and Ma Luan gave them the task of following the route of the westward expedition to Xiaobolu a few years ago, increasing the strength of the Quy Nhon army, putting pressure on Tubo from the side, and echoing the actions of the Anxi New Army in the Shiquan River Valley.

The Quy Nhon Army was built by Gao Xianzhi after defeating Xiao Bolu, and its station was in Xiao Bolu. There are two ways for Tubo to enter Anxi from the northwest, one is to cross the white rock beach and cross several ice passes, and finally enter Anxi from the southern mountains of Khotan, which is the route of Ma Lu's march this time. It's a difficult road, but it's not a long one. The other is to enter the southern foot of the Green Ridge from Xiaobolu, cross the mountains to the north, and finally enter Anxi from the Green Ridge Guard. This road is extremely long and the detour is extremely long, and in turn it is the road of Gao Xianzhi's attack on Xiao Bolu, which is now the route of Li Siye and Li Fei Yuanli's march.

The road over Bingdaban through Baishitan is difficult to pass, and it is easy to block, and Khotan is the governor of the Tang Dynasty, and the royal family of Khotan is extremely loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and there are heavy troops of the Anxi army near Khotan, and Tubo has not been able to enter Anxi from this road for many years. If Tubo wants to enter Anxi, there is only one route left for Xiaobolu.

It is precisely because of this that Xiao Bolu is known as the "West Gate of the Country" of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty and Tubo have repeatedly fought for decades in order to control Xiao Bolu. The most recent one was when Gao Xianzhi conquered Xiao Bolu in the sixth year of Tianbao and placed the Guiren army here.

In the original history, after the Battle of Talas, the strength of the Anxi army declined and was forced to shrink in an all-round way, and Xiao Bolu was soon occupied again by the Tibetans. Ma Lan brought back thousands of Anxi athletes from the river, but it changed the history of the Quy Nhon army. Different from the original history, the Anxi army is still strong and strong, and the Tubo people naturally dare not move, because now the Quy Nhon army is still firmly controlled by the Anxi army.

In order to strengthen the strength of the Quy Nhon army, Ma Lan had originally selected 3,000 retired veterans of Anxi to form a separate army and stationed in Xiaobolu. And this time, Li Siye and Li Fei Yuanli brought another 7,000 elite soldiers, and the number of Xiao Bolu's Tang army will reach about 13,000. The Quy Nhon army and the veterans sent before were not counted in the number of 24,000 Han troops in the four towns, so there are still 12,000 Han troops left behind in the four towns of Anxi.

Li Siye's 7,000 elite soldiers are still the traditional Anxi army, the infantry is supplemented by the main cavalry, the infantry cavalry has horses, and the Changxingfang provides supplies and is equipped with a large number of strong bows and crossbows. After the new army in Anxi changed its outfit, only the eight ox crossbows, the Yuanrong crossbow and the riding crossbow were retained, and the rest of the old-fashioned hard crossbows, such as the Fuyuan crossbow, were all replaced, and this time they were all allocated to Li Siye. It is because of the strength of Li Siye's long-range force of 7,000 elite soldiers, and it is also far beyond the original time.

Such an army stationed in Xiaobolu has no problem intimidating the Tibetans from the side. If necessary, these elite soldiers are still a tiger and wolf army on the battlefield.

……

Seven thousand soldiers marched forward on the ancient road, raising yellow dust in the sky.

"General, Lord Du Hu didn't let us be the main force, but let us be partial teachers, I can't help but look down on me too much." Li Fei Yuanli urged the war horse to catch up with Li Siye in front, frowned and said, "When you make such a contribution, you don't let us play." Relying on those yellow-haired boys, what kind of battle can they fight. ”

Li Siye smiled, squinted at the front and said, "Yuanli, don't say that. Lord Togo takes this battle very seriously, and this battle is inevitable. Take the land of Xiangxiong with the army of five thousand tigers and wolves, and take the ears of things in the bag. When I'm older, it's time to watch my sons earn credit. My boy served in front of the Metropolitan Protector, and now he is the captain of the school, and the Metropolitan Protector is worthy of me, and I will do whatever he asks me to do. ”

"The general is only more than forty, he is in the prime of life, is he really willing? Anyway, my blood is still hot, and I don't want to live a quiet life. Li Fei Yuanli said in a deep voice.

Li Siye smiled and said: "Yuanli, if you want to make a contribution, it's not impossible, Lord Du Hu doesn't want us to lose because he is sympathetic to his subordinates, but we are not without opportunities this time." This time when you come out with a certain family, you will definitely not be left empty-handed, just wait and see. ”

Li Fei Yuanli frowned and said, "What does the general mean by this?" Could it be that there is still a place for us to protect the Lord in this battle? ”

Li Siye pointed ahead and said with a smile: "Where is it over the green mountain?" ”

Li Fei Yuanli said: "In the river." ”

"Where do you want to collect it the most?" Li Siye asked with a smile again.

"It's also in the river. Everyone knows that. Li Fei Yuanli was puzzled, "Isn't it the next step to collect the river?" Now Lord Tsugo is going to seize Zhangxiong's hometown, what does the general mean by this? ”

Li Siye urged the war horse to run forward, and instantly broke away from the brigade, and Li Fei Yuanli's eyes flashed, and he immediately followed.

Seeing that it was far away from the army, Li Siye reined in his horse, waved his horsewhip and said with a smile: "The land in the river is forbidden in the hearts of the people, and when the tall general was in charge of Anxi, he also had the heart to collect the river. However, the green mountains are blocked, and the road is difficult to travel. Those who prevent our Anxi army from collecting the river are not big food, but Tibet. ”

"If you want to enter the river, the quickest way is to pass through the dense road from the South Green Mountain Road. However, this place is remote to Tibet, and the Tubo tiger is waiting behind, if our Anxi army enters the river from the south road of the green mountain, the Tubo can cut off my way back at any time, and our army will become a lone army and will inevitably fail. ”

"It was because Lord Du Hu wanted to occupy Zhangxiong first, not because of the land of Zhangxiong, but to block the road of Tubo's westward advance. As long as you occupy this place and connect with Xiao Bolu, you will not be a lone army when you march into the river, and my Tang Iron Cavalry can set foot in the river at any time. ”

Li Fei Yuanli nodded, these Anxi soldiers are known to everyone, and it is not a secret at all, but they don't understand why Li Siye said this.

"Yuan Li thinks that he will protect this and go to Qiangtang, what is the chance of winning?" Li Siye asked again.

Li Fei Yuanli thought for a moment and said, "Relying on the benefits of crossbow arrows, there are at least ninety percent." ”

Li Siye laughed: "That's right. Lord Du Hu is ninety percent sure, so he doesn't want me to wait for the dispatch to consume food and grass. I'm also an Anxi general, so I can't understand it. Since Du Hu is ninety percent sure, it is useless for us to send troops to Xiao Bolu. I knew that it would be useless, but I insisted on asking Ying to fight, what did Yuan Li think was the reason? ”

"The general's meaning, is it ...... Could it be ......" Li Fei Yuanli's eyes flashed, and excitement suddenly appeared on his face.

"You've guessed right, a certain family is going to take the lead in the river!"

Li Siye was full of spirits, and laughed and said: "Du Hu can occupy Zhangxiong, and I will have no worries when I enter the river." Since we have all protected the road for us, why don't we seize this opportunity and drive straight into the land of the river? Du Hu never forgot to open a military town in the river, so I fulfilled his wish and helped him realize it first. First, to repay him for his kindness in saving my child, and second, to ask for a wife and a shadow for you and my brother, haha! ”

When Li Fei Yuanli heard this, his face immediately turned red with excitement, and the heavy mace in his hand spun like a windmill, and he said in a loud voice: "Okay! Good! The big husband seeks fame and wealth, and this is the time! I'll go with the general and fight him for a wife! ”

The two looked at each other and laughed, and they were both extremely excited for a while.

The intelligence of the land in the river is the focus of the collection of the Duhu lord, the information has been coming continuously in the past few months, they are the middle and high-level of the Anxi army, and they have the right to access this information, naturally they all know that most of the area in the river is now completely controlled by the Sogdians, and the Persians only exist in scattered remote areas, among the nine surnames of Zhaowu, only the closest to Mulu, there are many remnants of the Persians.

The will of Lord Du Hu is to occupy the river, demarcate the border with the black-clothed food with the Wuhu water, and restore the territory of the Tang Dynasty during the Gaozong Dynasty.

Since the capital will be victorious, then the Tubo people will not be able to cut off the way back, and if they do not enter the river at this time, when will they stay?

"General, does Lord Tsugo-sama know your intentions?" Li Fei Yuanli finished laughing, suddenly remembered a little, and hurriedly asked.

Li Siye said with a smile: "Du Hu is generous, but he is extremely cautious. He agreed to send troops to us because he was afraid that we and other veterans would be cold, and if he guessed my intentions, he would definitely not allow it, and Du Hu had never prepared to fight on both sides. However, Dr. Feng guessed it, but he didn't break it. ”

"Why is that?" Li Fei Yuanli asked.

Li Siye said with a smile: "Because Doctor Feng also thinks that Lord Duhu will win, Zhangxiong will definitely be able to win." The defeat of Talas, Dr. Feng has always hated it, and wants to collect the desire in the river, and the doctor is more eager than us. Therefore, he knew my purpose, but he still did not stop it, and he was happy to see it. ”

"When we get to Xiao Bolu, leave a little people for the Quy Nhon army, you and I will go to the river, enclose land and build a city and open a military town! Let Lord Du Hu also take a look, we veterans are not eating dry food! ”

Li Fei Yuanli nodded and laughed.

……

Wars are always brutal, and marching on ancient roads is just as brutal.

Although the best preparations had been made, and the new army of Anxi had been acclimatizing to the high mountains and valleys of the southern Khotanese mountains for several months, the loss of men and horses was still inevitable.

It took three days to climb over Kuandsu Dasaka. The only way for the army to pass through here was to take advantage of a brief period of time around noon. After this Bingdaban, dozens of Anxi athletes fell on the road.

After that, they climbed several Daban in succession, crossed the desolate Aksai Chin (White Rock Beach), and arrived at the camp prepared by the Anxi agents, and the number of Anxi athletes who died on the way was already more than 200.

The actual number of 5,000 Anxi new troops is more than this number, and the number of soldiers available in the hands of Yi Ma Lan is still more than 5,000. Watching the strong Anxi men die of the gas epidemic, Ma Lu's mood was still extremely heavy. (To be continued.) )