October should be the time of autumn and coolness, but also the most suitable day for travel, three or five friends or chrysanthemum in autumn, or camping barbecue, or autumn hunting is a rare enjoyment, however, for the desert, at this time it is already the early winter hour, although it has not yet reached the time of heavy snow to close the road, but the cold causes, the trade route is almost cut off is an indisputable fact, the day is cold, the road is not easy to walk, but Li Zhen, who was in a hurry to take office, did not turn around and return to Yumen Pass after receiving the sand thieves in the Hami area, Instead, after receiving sufficient supplies from a pre-arranged caravan and bringing back the princess Pei Yan who was hidden in Xiao Dalong's army, he immediately set off and rushed to Jiaohe City in the increasingly cold weather.

"Qinghai Changyun Dark Snow Mountain, Lonely City Looking at Yumen Pass. The yellow sand wears gold armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will not be returned if it is not broken. Wang Changling's famous poem "From the Army" is popular, in addition to showing the difficulty of marching outside the Guan, as well as the ambition of the strong man to conquer the Quartet, but also pointed out a mysterious place name - Loulan!

Loulan, the name of the ancient country of the Western Regions, a bright pearl on the Silk Road, and known for its beauty, of course, Wang Changling's Loulan is no longer the original city-state Loulan, although the name is the same, the country no longer exists, Loulan in the Tang Dynasty is just a small town under the rule of the Anxi Protectorate, there is no longer the existence of the king, just a place where all ethnic groups live together, the city is not big, that is, a small city with two city gates, a population of five or six thousand, located on the bank of the Tarim River, less than 100 miles away from the Jiaohe River in the west, and Yumen Pass in the east, Choking the throat of the Silk Road, the military significance is significant, for the soldiers must fight for the place, the Tang Anxi Protectorate in the case of the shortage of troops, still sent a battalion of men and horses here to guard, is an important military town.

It's finally time to get to the ground! Damn, this desert march isn't fucking fun! Seeing the not-so-tall city wall of Loulan City from a distance, Li Zhen's mood suddenly lifted, and his lips involuntarily showed a smile of relief, and he did not restrain the frolicking sound of the guards because of this, without him, the boring and boring desert march is difficult for people who have not experienced it to understand the hardships, and when they arrive at the ground, they should also give the tired soldiers a gap in their hearts to vent their boredom, isn't it?

"Hurry up and camp in the city tonight!" In the cheers, Li Zhen smiled and gave an order, took the lead in urging the war horse, rushed to Loulan City, and stayed close, only to find that the outside of the city gate building was crowded with the officials of the Anxi Protectorate who came to greet them, generally speaking, there were only a few people in civilian official costumes, the first old man, his face was like a heavy jujube, his long beard was white, he was dressed in bright light armor, covered with a light red robe, and he looked mighty, and he saw Li Zhen and his party coming from a distance, but when he saw the old man stepping forward, he bowed his hand and said loudly: " Xiaguan Anxi is looking forward to welcoming His Royal Highness King Yue. ”

Ha, this old boy is Comrade Lao Qiao, heh, he looks quite magnificent, hey, interesting! Li Zhen was in a very good mood at this time, everything was pleasing to the eye, and he waved his hand to stop the army in the gallop, but he came out of the crowd by himself, and slowly rode his horse to about ten steps away from Qiao Shiwang, then turned over and dismounted, strode to Qiao Shiwang, and politely bowed his hand and said: "Uncle, you are stationed at the border pass for the imperial court, and you have worked hard, Xiao Wang often heard his father talk about you, saying that you are the rock of the border pass. ”

Qiao Shiwang is still the princess of Luling, and he is really Li Zhen's uncle, but because Qiao Shiwang's official luck has always been poor, he has always been around the border passes, and he rarely has the opportunity to return to Beijing, but he has never seen the world-famous Yue King Li Zhen, of course, the rumors have not been heard of, speaking of which, Qiao Shiwang can be transferred back to Liangzhou to serve as the assassin Shi is really grateful to Li Zhen for recommending himself, otherwise, Qiao Shiwang really doesn't know how long he will stay in this bitter cold place, seeing Li Zhen so polite at this time, he didn't dare to accept Li Zhen's courtesy, Hurriedly took a small step back, and said humbly: "His Royal Highness the King of Yue has won a false award, the old man really doesn't dare to be, His Royal Highness is famous, and he will subdue the sand thieves in the Hami area, what a person can't do, the old man is ashamed of himself, Your Highness, please go into the city to take a break, the lower official has prepared a banquet, and please ask His Royal Highness to take a while." ”

Hehe, this old man is quite capable of doing things, it seems that the rumors are really unreliable! Li Zhen had heard He Wanglong talk about Qiao Shiwang before, it is said that this old man is not good at people and is upright by nature, so he is always excluded in the officialdom, but a dignified horse captain has fallen to the point of being assigned to the border, but at this time, he sees Qiao Shiwang acting in an old-fashioned manner, and he does not look like a first-class character who does not understand human feelings, but Li Zhen is really curious about why this old man always can't climb the stage, but well, first, this is not the time to explore this problem, and secondly, Li Zhen is tired for so many days, and he really wants to indulge and relieve the fatigue of the journey, I won't be polite, haha smiled and said: "Uncle has a heart, and let Xiao Wang settle his bags and go to the meeting as soon as he arrives, Xiao Wang is still waiting to see the heroes of my Datang border, uncle, please!" ”

Qiao Shiwang is actually not a person of many words, the reason why he seems to be talkative today, in addition to being curious about Li Zhen, the world-famous prince, is more important because Li Zhen arrives, he Qiao Shiwang can be regarded as relieved, as long as the handover procedures are completed, he can immediately leave for the mainland, because of the excitement, this is a few more words, at this time I heard Li Zhen say a "please" word, since no longer more greetings, turned sideways, made a gesture of please: "Your Highness please first!" ”

"Okay." Li Zhen has traveled for more than a month, and has not freshened up for a long time, and is already very tired, so he is too lazy to be polite, haha smiled, arched his hand at Qiao Shiwang, and walked towards Chengmen Cave, Qiao Shiwang was half a step behind, followed closely, and entered Loulan City with a smile.

Different from the ancient city of Loulan that is submerged in the dust of history, this Loulan city is a new town in the Northern Wei Dynasty, at this time it is less than a hundred years of history, but because of the relationship between the desert wind erosion, the whole city is particularly ancient, although it is at the throat of the Silk Road, this city is still rich, but because this place belongs to the Tang Dynasty, the Western Turks, the frontier of the Tubo forces, the war is continuous, but the population is not too much, and therefore the trade route has been nearly closed, there are not many caravans, and the whole city is extremely deserted, Li Zhen walked all the way, but he never felt the style of merchants from all over the world abandoning the gathering at the Yumen Pass, or even the crowd watching the excitement on the side of the road was not too much, which made Li Zhen feel a slight sense of loss in his heart.

Loulan Town Guard, the tallest building in Loulan City, is just a courtyard that is not too big, divided into two buildings on the ground and underground, digging into a courtyard, digging holes into a room, rammed earth for the wall, but also quite exotic, this is the official residence of the town guard Lin Ting, Li Zhen arrived, here is let out, become Li Zhen's stay, arrange the guard, settle the pregnant Pei Yan, grooming and so on After a busy time, Li Zhen finally vacated the space, Lead his subordinates to the generals of the guards to Qiao Shiwang set up in the military camp on the west side of Loulan City to go to the banquet, a greeting and introduction is the proper meaning of the question, but there is no need to say more, when everything is ready, this banquet will officially begin, of course, because the outside of the palace is not as good as the Beijing Division, everything is made of local materials, and most of the people are in the military, this banquet is a bonfire party, a large bowl of mare's milk wine, shredded mutton, roasted whole sheep and other outside the style of eating, so that the generals of the prince's palace are so happy, coupled with exotic singing and dancing, but also the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, and the two groups of soldiers who did not know each other quickly got acquainted, and they drank together in full swing, but they were also happy.

As soon as I drank this wine, there were a lot of words, and some of the things that I didn't have can be all said, although Li Zhen was calm and calm, but at this time he also let go of drinking, and those who came did not refuse, and the officers who were protecting the mansion together were very happy, fortunately, the amount of wine was high, but there was no shame in the matter, and finally waited for the wine to pass the third round, Li Zhen had time to stop for a while, just wanted to talk to Qiao Shiwang about Anxi, and planned to listen to Qiao Shiwang's opinion, but unexpectedly, at this moment, a passionate pipa sound suddenly sounded, suppressed all the noise of the audience, and then, a woman dressed in a turquoise close-fitting belly coat, a beard and pants that only covered her knees, a head full of jingling gold ornaments, and a layer of light veil on her face flashed out of the darkness while dancing, singing and dancing in front of Li Zhen's chairman, such a gentle dance, passionate music, under the reflection of the bonfire, it seemed like a fantasy, and immediately pressed back what Li Zhen originally wanted to say, and I was a little stupid for a while, not only Li Zhen, All the soldiers in the noise also fell silent, only the graceful voice of the singer and the sometimes elegant and sometimes high pipa sound echoed and rippled in the dark night.

It's not that Li Zhen hasn't heard the pipa music, not to mention that in his previous life, he didn't listen to those famous songs such as "Ambush on All Sides" and "Spring River Flower Moon Night", that is, when he was in Beijing in this life, he also listened to the performance of the palace worshippers in the palace, even if the performance of the Hu girls has been seen in Wanhualou a few times, and he doesn't think it is very rare, but he has never seen such a woman's outstanding skills, whether it is dance skills or singing, pipa techniques, and tunes, all of which are endless, bringing people a strong sense of shock, also distracted, immersed in singing and dancing in a fascination, completely forgetting the rest.

"Good! The bottom of the flower is slippery, and it is difficult to go under the drift ice of the secluded spring. The ice fountain is cold and astringent, and the condensation will not be silent for a while. Don't have gloom and hatred, silence is better than sound at this time. The silver bottle burst through the water slurry, and the iron rider stood out with the sound of knives and guns. Well, this song deserves to be in heaven, and the world can listen to it a few times, good! At the end of the song, everyone was immersed in the music and couldn't extricate themselves, Li Zhen was the first to come back to his senses, applauding and shouting, and all of a sudden, all the soldiers came back to their senses, and immediately cheered loudly, and the hall applauded, but the woman never retreated, just held the piano, lowered her head, and stood in the middle of the field, as if she was looking forward to it.

"Your Royal Highness, this woman's name is Lizhuo, and she was entered by the class of King Qiuzi, and the king heard that His Highness was coming, and he entrusted his officials to transfer on his behalf, if His Highness thinks it is good, he can also be included in the house." Seeing that Li Zhen applauded, Qiao Shiwang wrapped his beard and said with a smile.

At this time, the Anxi Protectorate nominally had a vast jurisdiction, Hami, Turpan, Tarim, Hotan, Kashgar and other areas were under the jurisdiction of Anxi, but in fact, the power of the Anxi Protectorate was only limited to a small area centered on the Jiaohe, not to mention that the rich grassland north of the Tianshan Mountains is the world of the Western Turks, and even the barren desert land south of the Tianshan Mountains also has many places that are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. From the Tang Dynasty to Gaochang to now only two short years, the country of Qiuci has rebelled three times, each time is the first rebellion and then surrender, after taking advantage of the enough, then sell good, but because of the limited strength of the Anxi Protectorate, coupled with the Western Turks, Tubo from time to time to send troops to attack Anxi, and Xue Yantuo is eyeing the side, so that the Anxi Protectorate can only hold Jiaohe, Xizhou (the former Gaochang hometown), Loulan and other strategic towns, as for other places are powerless, always in a passive beaten situation, there is no ability to conquer Qiuci, It can only be appeased with one eye open and one eye closed.

Just before Li Zhen set off from Beijing, he just heard that Qiuzi rebelled again and robbed the Tang caravan, but it was only less than half a year, and he actually showed goodness again, which really made Li Zhen cry and laugh - according to Li Zhen's original battle plan, after pacifying the sand thieves in the Hami area, the first one to open the knife was Qiuzi, in addition to because Qiuzi is one of the more powerful small countries in the Western Regions, suitable for being used as a monkey chicken, and more importantly, because Qiuzi is located at the boundary between the north and the south of Xinjiang, In order to achieve this strategic goal, although Li Zhenren has not yet arrived, the relevant arrangements have already begun, and when the time is ripe, he will destroy the country of Qiuci, but he didn't expect Li Zhen to do it yet, the king of Qiuci came to curry favor with each other, and asked Qiao Shiwang to send such a beautiful woman with both color and art, which really made Li Zhen not know what to say - Li Zhen has not yet taken office, and it is difficult to say his strategic ideas. What's more, Qiao Shiwang has been at the border for a long time, and the officials of the Anxi Protectorate are all from him, Li Zhenshi is not good at saving Qiao Shiwang's face, but well, Li Zhenshi doesn't want to give this gift, not only because he is about to make a move on Qiuzi, but also because the one in the family is now pregnant and his temper is not very good, Li Zhen doesn't want to make trouble for himself, so he muttered for a while: "Uncle, Xiao Wang has long heard that the king is fickle, but I don't know if it's true?" ”

Qiao Shiwang didn't expect Li Zhen not to say if he wanted this girl, but asked about the king of the class, he was stunned for a moment, and then said with embarrassment: "What His Royal Highness said is good, that class is a guy who tends to be inflammatory, and he went back to Hou Shuai...... Ah, when I returned to my army to level the Western Regions, Qiuzi immediately surrendered, but as soon as the army withdrew, it was reversed, and the lower officials wanted to send troops to attack, how could the soldiers be outnumbered, and they were really powerless. ”

Qiao Shiwang is a general who came to Hou Junji, and is used to calling Hou Junji Hou Shuai, at this time it was only half a year before Hou Junji's rebellion was beheaded, Qiao Shiwang couldn't change his mouth for a while, and even called out the title of "Hou Shuai" in front of Li Zhen, strictly speaking, this is a crime of great rebellion, and it is a mistake to say it lightly, but Li Zhen didn't take it to heart, pretending not to hear it, but just smiled and said: "Uncle is wrong, Xiao Wang is just a martial artist, how can he say that he is famous, since that class dares to rebel, Then there should be a responsibility to be punished, and Xiao Wang is afraid that he can't afford to be good intentions. ”

Although Li Zhen's words were said with a smile, but the inside was an unchangeable insistence, Qiao Shiwang didn't care, he was about to leave office, the matter of Anxi had nothing to do with him, and Li Zhen's subordinates and generals didn't care, for them, Li Zhen was the god of war, he said that he wanted to destroy Qiuzi, the big guy would be killed, and there would never be a second word, but the faces of the officers of the former Anxi Protectorate immediately became unpleasant, no wonder - for more than two years, the Anxi Tang Army has been passively beaten, can only hide in the city and watch the forces of all sides show off their might, several times out of the city to meet the enemy, all of them are defeated and returned, and now the army has no fighting spirit, at this time, I heard that Li Zhen's words meant to fight against Qiuzi, and immediately some people were shocked, but in front of Li Zhen and Qiao Shiwang, they didn't dare to say their opposing opinions, and the expression was extremely weird.

Damn it, a bunch of cowards! Li Zhen's best is to observe the face, at this time, although the officers of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate were silent, but their faces were full of worry, and they immediately understood what was going on, and they couldn't help but be disappointed in their hearts - the Tang Army has always been synonymous with daring to fight in Li Zhen's impression, except for the waste of the Yulin Army, whether it is the Nanya Army or the Border Army, I thought that with more than 3,000 elite Tang troops in Anxi, plus my own subordinates, I could quickly rise in Anxi, But at present, the courage of this group of Anxi soldiers and horses is obviously very different from what Li Zhen expected, and the original battle plan had to be adjusted accordingly, at least before the Anxi army was rectified, all the plans could only be temporarily suspended, and in desperation, Li Zhen had no choice but to laugh and change the topic: "Uncle, Xiao Wang has a little shallow amount of wine, and he doesn't dare to drink more, so let's come here first today, hmm, that singer is the kindness of the king, so let's stay first, and Xiao Wang will deal with it in the future." As soon as the words fell, he didn't give Qiao Shiwang a chance to stay, he smiled, got up, smiled and nodded to the generals present, to say hello, and strode away.

As soon as Li Zhen changed his mind and no longer mentioned the conquest, the old officials of Anxi suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and got up to send them off in a hurry, and a good welcome banquet ended with a good heart......

It is a rare and pure green free full-book reading network on the Internet. (Full Text)