It's early autumn, and the weather is still as hot as summer in the past few days, and the wind is hot. When it rains, the wind brings the coolness of autumn. The autumn breeze is not only cool but also brings the smell of war, and it is an eventful time of conflict with the nomads. When Xue Chongxun put on the hundred refining armor given by Princess Taiping, he felt Qiu Xiao's killing aura even more.

He walked out of the living room with a saber at his waist and a hundred steel skin, and as soon as he walked, there was a clanging sound of metal. A bunch of NV people were reluctant to give up, and even the big barbarians with broken wrists came to send them off. Some of his eyes were red and asked him when he would come back, and some asked him to pay attention to his safety, which made Xue Chongxun's heart soft and almost a sad parting since ancient times, which can be a snub to the Qingqiu Festival, but the expedition is different from other partings, and he can't say too bleak words, he thought about it and sighed: "Home is a besieged city." After saying that, he strode away, and said again without looking back: "If you win the battle, you will return, it's not a long time, don't send it." ”

But Sun still took a group of beauties to the front house. Pang Er brought a tall horse over, Xue Chongxun turned over and thought about it, and said: "In the days when I am not at home, my mother-in-law is in charge, and if I can't make a decision on foreign affairs, I will sue my mother." ”

This time is different from the last time I went to Longyou to do the history of assassination, last time I could bring a concubine, but now I am in charge of the military power and take the concubine room, which is ridiculous. The pine carriage he used to sit in did not carry with him, but rode on horseback.

Pang Er led the horse, Sanniang, Fang Yuzhong and other guards also rode to follow, and when they got out, they saw that a group of guards of the Flying Tiger Regiment on the street were ready to go. At this time, Wang Changling, Zhang Jiuling, Yang Siqiao, Zhang Wulang and other civil and military ministers also came out of the pro-kingdom, and they all rode horses without riding cars.

A knight dismounted and said, "Lord Yu, Your Majesty and Her Royal Highness Princess Taiping have led a hundred officials to Mingde." ”

Xue Chongxun nodded and waved goodbye to Dakou, and then shouted: "Let's go!" A group of ironclad knights followed him in the direction of Anyi Fangfang. When passing through the entrance of the kingdom, I saw many officials standing at the entrance, and when I saw Xue Chongxun riding over, he bowed down and stood on the side of the road to salute.

When I arrived at Demingde, I saw that there were many guards on the fourth and fifth steps, and the people of the court and the courtiers were waiting to see them off. Xue Chongxun's visit to support more than 300,000 troops and being far away in the northwest is the country's top priority, which naturally makes the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military pay extra attention.

In front of the emperor's guard of honor, I saw that it was still Li Chengning sitting in the middle, and he was the Son of Heaven in name after all. And Princess Taiping and Empress Dowager Gao can only sit on one side.

After some etiquette, Li Chengning said: "Come here, give wine, and I wish the King of Jin a triumphant class as soon as possible." ”

The eunuch came up with two gold-marigolds, and Xue Chongxun took the wine cup and said loudly: "Minister......" Unexpectedly, as soon as he said a word, the emperor was startled by Leng Buding, and the gold-gold in Li Chengning's hand fell to the ground with a "bang".

Seeing this, the ministers were in an uproar, and Xue Chongxun was stunned and said, "Ministers...... Thank you, you will live up to your majesty's trust. He immediately reacted and frightened the emperor, so he fell down and said, "Let Your Majesty be frightened." ”

Li Chengning said with a smile: "I didn't hold it steady, I don't blame Aiqing, please get up quickly." ”

I saw two people facing each other, one handsome but weak, the other in steel armor like an iron man, and a large group of cavalry behind him. The people around him were silent when they saw this.

The eunuch hurriedly changed a wine glass for the emperor, and finally drank with Xue Chongxun. Princess Taiping said a few words to Xue Chongxun, and then called the courtiers around him to tell them to do their duties steadily. Then Xue Chongxun said goodbye to his royal relatives and took the Flying Tiger Regiment Guards to the Shence Army barracks to transfer troops and set off.

…… The original 4,000 people of the Shence Army did not enter the city after returning from the disaster, and built a military village on the outskirts of Chang'an City. There were more than 12,000 people in total, and Yin still resigned as a general in peacetime, and after the imperial court decided to use troops against the dogs, in addition to recruiting strong men, a large number of war horses were also deployed, so that they reached the equipment of the Jīng Rui troops, and even the infantry also had horses.

The armor of the soldiers was long and short, and the weapons were bows and arrows, but they were not as attractive as the arrays when they marched out of the camp. Each fire man had at least six mules, horses, camels, and things, and a baggage army and all kinds of carts, like migrating herdsmen.

The destination of Xue Chongxun's march this time was still Shanzhou, which was the base camp of countless military towns and strongholds in Longyou, and also the distribution center for the transportation and transfer of military supplies from all over the country.

However, the supply of grain and grass from Chang'an to Shanzhou was not a problem for the Shence army, and before sending troops, the court issued an order to the prefectures and counties along the way to prepare grain and grass materials. The Tang soldiers marched easily in the country, and supplies could be obtained everywhere along the way. The full horse team also maneuvered well, and entered the Longyou territory in mid-July.

At this time, the heads of the soldiers looked similar to those of the herdsmen in the northwest, and the helmets were covered with a curtain, which was wrapped up a bit like people in the Western Muslim world. Because the wind and sand here are strong, it is not wrapped like this, if the weather is bad, as soon as you speak, your mouth will be full of sand. However, the cavalry wears more Mingguang armor with heart goggles, and this difference is big, and the young people's armed forces rarely wear this kind of armor, and they are Tang soldiers at a glance.

The farther west you go, the colder it gets, and the temperature in the Helong area is significantly lower than in Chang'an. When I first came out of Chang'an, I would sweat with a single coat and armor, and now I will not be hot when I put a soft leather pile on the cloak. The cloak is also black, and the costume of the Shence Army continues the style at the beginning of its formation, and it is still the "Shroud Army" after it grows in scale.

One evening, the army cut down trees and camped according to the usual practice, Xue Chongxun and the other senior generals did not have to work, sat around a fire in front of the Chinese army, roasted him and took off his "frost and snow treasure knife" to play, ōu came out of the knife to see that the blade was sharp and strong, but he didn't like the scabbard very much. In terms of personal taste, Xue Chongxun doesn't like this kind of yellow and gorgeous thing very much, but the general Tang people like gold jewelry for decoration, and the wine glasses that nobles like to use most are also made of gold.

He thought about it, then handed the scabbard to the eunuch Yang Siqiao on the side, and said, "Try if your knife can fit in." ”

Yang Siqiao took it casually, pulled out his knife and put it in, it seemed to be about the same. The size of the various weapons made in the Tang Dynasty is not much different, and it is no wonder that they happen to be usable. Xue Chongxun smiled and said, "I sent you." ”

Yang Simiao looked back at the other generals and staff on the left and right, and hurriedly excused himself: "I haven't made an inch, how dare I accept this valuable thing in vain?" ”

"It's just a scabbard." Xue Chongxun said indifferently, "The first time Yang Gong went out with me, it was regarded as a meeting gift. In the future, if you are rewarded for meritorious service, how can you get a small scabbard? ”

Since he said this, it was inconvenient for Yang Siqiao to refuse. Xue Chongxun took another piece of Y-Pei and handed it to Zhang Jiuling: "Zishou is also the first time to go abroad with me, and the gentleman Rupei is suitable for you." ”

Zhang Jiuling took it generously and said with a smile: "Xue Lang praises falsely, don't dare to be, don't dare to be." ”

Li Kuiyong said sullenly: "I came too early." When everyone heard this, they burst into laughter.

When the sheep on the fire was almost roasted on the outside, the generals cut the cooked ones on the top with knives and continued to roast them on the inside, so that they could eat them while roasting. This kind of camping and eating naturally doesn't have much to say, and Zhang Jiuling, who was known as a gentleman just now, also ate a mouth full of oil.

At this moment, a sergeant came over and said, "Lord Wang, Shanzhou Liu Envoy Jun has sent a messenger here. "The Liu envoy in his mouth is Liu Ne, who has been an official in the northwest border state for many years, and the last time Xue Chongxun went to Longyou, he was still there and was transferred to Shanzhou to do assassination.

Xue Chongxun asked him to summon the messenger in. The sergeant was just about to go out, Li Kuiyong grabbed a piece of sheep with his hand and handed it over, and the sergeant hurriedly took it out.

After a while, a dusty man with a tightly wrapped head and face was brought in and handed over the letter. Xue Chongxun scratched open the seal and browsed the letter, then handed it to Zhang Wulang, and said: "The Jishi Mountain stronghold on the south side of the Yellow River has been razed by the dog Rong, and Liu Ne got the news that the dog Rong is claiming to be 500,000 this time, which is not small. ”

Zhang Wulang said: "The people and horses mobilized from Shuofang and Hexi towns are still on the road and have not yet formed an army, so we don't need to rush, we will deal with them after the convergence...... The dog Rong can attack Tuyuhun when he comes out of Jishi Mountain, but he is afraid that the Tuyuhun people will not be able to resist it. ”

At this time, Yang Simao's godson Yang Meng said: "I heard that Tuyuhun claims to control more than 100,000 strings, and it is ridiculous that he can't even stop it for a month and a half." ”

Zhang Wulang nodded: "The Tuyuhun people know that our Datang will send reinforcements, and they should be able to hold on for some time, the key is to see our big victory or defeat with the dog Rong, in case of setback, the Tuyuhun people will definitely pay money to the dog Rong again." His face was a little dignified, because the Tang army had gathered a maximum of 100,000 troops from all over the country this time. Although Xue Chongxun claims to have more than 300,000 troops, the military towns and strongholds in various places still need to be garrisoned, and the north has to guard against other tribes, so it is good to be able to gather 100,000 horses.

Of course, Tubo is also known as 500,000, and many slaves and herdsmen among the people and horses swept in are ineffective, and Rao is always much more than Tang soldiers.

It is several times the situation of their own, and the faces of the generals - they are all a little dignified. At this time, Xue Chongxun was relieved: "It is their advantage that there are many people who come from the dogs, but the nomads also have a fatal weakness, and they can't bear much loss, because their ability to recover is very slow. In contrast, my Datang Wanli territory has strong war potential, as long as I am determined to fight it to the end, the dog will be defeated! ”

At this time, the northwest shape shì seems to be a reincarnation. When Tibet was just rising, the east of the West Sea (Qinghai) was controlled by the Tang Dynasty; The Xianbei territory to the west (Tuyuhun) was a vassal of the Tang Dynasty and served as a buffer zone. What Tubo wants is to annex the beautiful land of water and grass in the Tuyuhun and Yellow River regions.

Later, Tubo became stronger and stronger, successively annexed Tuyuhun and various fortresses with dangerous terrain in the east, and constantly harassed the Helong Plain, and the Tang Dynasty was in an extremely passive state. Finally, two years ago, Cheng Qianli and Xue Chongxun won a big victory, taking advantage of the victory to seize the dangerous places of Shibao City, recover Tuyuhun, and occupy the Yellow River valley north of Jishi Mountain, and the shape was reversed.

This time, Tubo wanted to recapture the entrance to the Tuyuhun Land and the Helong Plain, only in this way could the eastern front be opened up and cause a certain deterrent to the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty; Otherwise, the Tang Dynasty would have had no fear and could support other places in time, and it would be difficult for Tubo to make achievements in the Western Regions and the Southwest Battlefield. A