If Longyou had not yet fallen, then the caravan from Chang'an would have gone all the way west, but now that the road from Longyou to the Western Regions had been cut off by the Tibetans, they could only turn north, from Zhangzhou and Shuofang Jiedu all the way north into Uighur territory, reach the Uighur tent, and then turn southwest, cross the Wudejian Mountains and go south, past the edge of the Jinshan Mountains, and then cross the Tianshan Mountains to reach Xizhou.

If this route is drawn on the map, the route to the north and to the southwest forms a right triangle with the original Silk Road, the distance is much farther, and the cost for merchants is much higher, but it is much better than nothing; Because the trade routes were cut off, the price of porcelain, silk and other items in the Western Regions increased several times, and as long as they could reach the Western Regions safely, they could still make huge profits.

Once they have profits, these merchants will continue to divert to the Uighurs to the Western Regions, and the Anxi Protectorate will also get a little respite because of them, and they can be economically and materially supplemented by maintaining the order of commerce, and more importantly, they can use commerce to win over and divide the tribes of the Western Regions and win more support for themselves.

In the future, Zhang Yichao can start in Shazhou, not so much that Zhang Yichao can fight, it is better to say that he is good at business and trading, in the cracks of his tribes, through business arrangements, relying on a small but very elite armed force as the capital, and the joint departments to take the four counties of Hexi, since there are successful cases here, Shen Long will naturally not forget.

And referring to the behavior of those European colonizers in the future, the methods they used are also similar to these, every time they arrive at a place, they will first use novel goods to buy and divide the local natives, and then use their powerful army to complete the harvest, and this is how the blacks of Africa and the Indians of North and South America were defeated by them.

Shen Long will definitely not overdo it like those colonists, but the general direction will still be referenced; In short, if the trade routes are cut off and there are no commercial interests, the output of the Western Regions alone cannot support so many people, let alone support the rule of the Anxi Protectorate in the Western Regions.

"Guard, there is a Uighur tent ahead, and I have already sent someone to report it, I believe they will definitely send someone out to greet them!" While thinking about it, the steward of the Guo family, who was in charge of managing the caravan, came over and said.

Through the words of the Guo family and the elder brother, as well as Shen Long's own ideas, Tang Dezong canonized Shen Long as the guard and capture envoy of the six cities, which was a unique official position in the Tang Dynasty, and was the garrison institution of the Tang Dynasty in the border area, which was mainly distributed in Longyou Road and the Western Regions.

Each garrison ranged from more than 300 to 7,000 people, and in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, there were thirty-seven guards and envoys in Longyou and the Western Regions alone, and now even Shen Long was canonized and captured in the six cities of Ju and had to be defeated by himself.

Juliucheng is located in the northwest of Xizhou, near Luntai City, located at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, because of the ability to get the irrigation of the snow water of the Tianshan Mountains, here is one of the few places in the Western Regions that can produce food, and it is also the target carefully selected by Shen Long, if you want to grow in the Western Regions, you must master grain production and be self-sufficient in food.

And in the entire Western Regions, only the Ili River Valley and the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains can do this, from the Dushan to the Heishui Guard, these two narrow areas, the Ili River Valley is now in the hands of Gelulu, and the distance is a little far, so the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains has become Shen Long's only choice, although it is occupied by Tubo, but it is on the edge of Tubo's power, and it is not difficult to re-occupy it.

Juliucheng is just located in the middle of Dushan Shou to Heishui Shou Caught, first bury a nail in this narrow planting belt, and then wait for the opportunity to attack left and right, and take more arable land, Shen Long is absolutely confident in the planting talent of the Chinese nation, as long as there is suitable land for farming, the people of Datang can reproduce and grow here.

"Lao Guo is old." Shen Long nodded and said, he knew that this person was the old man of the Guo family, he knew the status of the Guo family in the Tang Dynasty, his own small guard was really nothing, and he was a lot older, and he was willing to come out to help them manage the caravan, so Shen Long respected him very much along the way.

Although he came from a wealthy family, the steward did not have much of a fight, so the cooperation between the two sides along the way was quite harmonious, and when they arrived at the Uighur tent, the caravan was warmly welcomed, and the Uighurs were nomads, and the nomads had always had a great demand for the products of agricultural civilization, so they were very happy to see these merchants coming.

Among the Uighurs, there were old people who had dealt with Guo Ziyi's army and saw that the banner also came to set up, Shen Long and they were warmly entertained here, and while they were drunk, Shen Long also took the opportunity to inquire about some news, and from the mouths of the Uighur nobles, Shen Long learned that Jieyugas still did not launch an attack on Tibet, and Yang Zhenggu was still staying in Xizhou City.

The caravan stayed in the Uighur tent for a few days, sold some of the goods, and then divided them into two groups, one set off for Chang'an to be restocked and sent to the Uighur tent, while the other continued to take the goods with Shen Long to the Western Regions; In the Uighur tent alone, they had already earned back all their costs and surpluses, and it was a pure profit to go to the Western Regions, so the morale of the caravan was extremely high.

And Shen Long is also using this time to train those teenagers who came from Chang'an with him, he also trained the army of the Cold Weapon Age when he was in Liangshan, and then integrated some more scientific training methods from later generations, and when the caravan crossed the Tianshan Mountains and came to Xizhou City, these teenagers had already become decent.

"Protect it! All protections! My Datang people are back! On Xizhou City, someone saw Shen Long and them from a distance, and immediately burst into tears with excitement, and hurriedly went to report to Yang Zhengu.

After nearly 30 years, the army of the Tang Dynasty finally came to the Western Regions, these white-haired veterans seemed to see hope, and they were even more excited that they were still behind, and many old people found their sons and nephews in Shen Long's team.

Seeing these people, they are both happy and a little worried, happy that they have finally met their relatives after many years, and worried about what will happen to their future? Will he be trapped alone in the Western Regions for decades like himself?

"Du Hu, the last general will take the caravan to Qiuzi, so I won't bother much, and when the last general goes to Juliu City to take office in the future, I will come to see Du Hu again." After resting in Xizhou for a few days, Shen Long said goodbye and left, continued westward, and finally arrived at Qiuzi City.

Guo Xin and the soldiers of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate were also excited when they saw the Tang Dynasty coming.