Ten days later, a huge carriage team appeared at the Songzhou border pass, the carriage was tightly blocked, no one knew what was hidden inside, the mighty and mighty, slowly walking, the people who drove the carriage were all young people, dressed as ordinary as the bottom of the people, could not see the depth, but the eyes were quiet, restrained, and extraordinary.

There are dozens of people behind the convoy, the horses are majestic, and everyone is capable.

At first glance, it looked like a caravan, and there was no merchant flag on the carriage, and when it came to the border gate, it stopped, and someone on the city wall shouted: "Whoever comes, stop and check." ”

In front of the convoy, a man with a lofty spirit stretched out his bow and set up an arrow, the arrow was tied with a paperwork, the big bow was full, and the "whoosh" shot out, the arrow was like a meteor, and it was shot steadily on the wall battlement, seven inches into the city wall, and the tail of the arrow was buzzing and trembling.

The shouting sergeant was startled, and was about to give the order to fight, when he saw that there was a document on the arrow, he quickly pulled out the arrow and missed, carefully took off the paperwork, swept his eyes, his face changed greatly, and shouted: "Don't act rashly, wait for me to come back." He immediately rushed down the city wall and went straight to the castle guard's house.

Without much handover, the city gate was opened, martial law was imposed on the main street, the shops were closed, and no people were allowed to approach, a middle-aged general rushed out on horseback, and looked at the archery man after approaching: "Are you?" ”

"Yes, Xue Rengui has seen the general, and the young master of my family is behind." The person who came was Xue Rengui.

The other party had not heard of it, but he did not dare to slack off, came back politely, and rushed to the back of the caravan with his horse.

Qin Huaidao straddled the war horse with white hooves, weapons and armor on the spare war horse next to him, saw that the person did not move, and waited for the other party to step forward, looked at it a few times, did not know, the other party came up to look at Qin Huaidao a few times, and asked after the luggage: "But Lord Qin in person?" In Xia Songzhou, the guard general Xue Zhi, the word is good, and his father Xue Wanche. ”

"It turned out to be after the old man." Qin Huaidao said with a smile and threw away an identity jade plate.

The other party took it over for inspection, and after confirming that it was correct, he changed it back, which was a little more surprised and cordial: "My father often writes to mention Lord Qin, and he praises and respects him. ”

"You're welcome, the task is important."

"Understood, understood, the last general has already received a secret order, please follow the last general into the city." Xue Zhi hurriedly said, turned the horse's head, and took the lead in leading the way towards the city.

The convoy started again and followed into the city.

The people in the city were driven away, the main street was empty, even the soldiers under martial law were ordered to bow their heads and not be allowed to look up more, the secrecy was still in place, and the convoy followed the main street through the city and exited the customs from the other side.

Xue Zhi reined in his horse and said enthusiastically: "My lord, the last general will be sent here, waiting for the return of the adult, if you need help, just give an order, the lord will follow this road for more than ten miles is a river, and there is a hidden canyon thirty miles downstream along the river, and the large army will rest in it, waiting for the general." ”

"Thank you, Captain."

"Don't dare to be, I wish you a triumphant victory."

Qin Huaidao and the other party said goodbye and left, the dirt road was difficult to walk, and it was not fast, but fortunately, it was wide enough not to affect the carriage walking, until in the afternoon, a team suddenly appeared in front of him to block it, one by one holding a crossbow, his eyes were cold, his body was full of murderous aura, and he was extraordinary at first glance.

A captain stepped forward and shouted, "Who's coming?" ”

Xue Rengui didn't move, and shouted, "What are you?" ”

"This place is under martial law, no passage, go back." The lieutenant shouted.

"Lord Qin of the Protector is here, let your general come over."

The other party heard the report and did not reply and left in a hurry.

Qin Huaidao came forward, and saw that this army was still on high alert, and he did not relax for half a minute because the captain left, he was eyeing the army with murderous aura, it can be seen that the leader of the army is very good, and he can't help but look forward to it a little more, Li Er has not revealed who is leading the army, and Qin Huaidao is not good to ask.

After waiting for a while, a young man galloped over with a horse, and shouted from afar: "Haha, it's really Lord Qin who is here, so I'm waiting." ”

Qin Huaidao looked at the other party, he really knew each other, but he didn't know him, his name was Duan Zhan, his father Duan Xuanzhi, the general of the right guard, and the Duke of Baoguo, Duan Xuanzhi was the first to raise troops with Li Yuan, he governed the army strictly, and fought bravely, and was later evaluated by Li Er as "having the style of Zhou Yafu", which shows that the strength is not bad.

Duan Xuanzhi guarded the west and fought with Tuyuhun for most of his life, and was most familiar with Tuyuhun, and his son Duan Zan has been following Duan Xuanzhi's side.

After Wuxun, they are naturally close.

Qin Huaidao said with a smile: "I didn't expect the Holy Lord to order your general." ”

Duan Zan rushed up and said excitedly: "After receiving the order, I was very excited, I had been looking forward to this day for a long time, I couldn't wait, I was going to Chang'an to ask, fortunately, the adults came, but the public and private are clear, and the adults are invited to have an accident." ”

Qin Huaidao saw that the other party was on official business, and he could distinguish the importance of the matter, and suddenly had a little more favor, took out the tiger talisman and handed it over, the other party took it, took out the other half from his arms, tightly fitted, completely matched, and returned the tiger talisman to Qin Huaidao, a little more solemn: "The last general Duan Zan has seen the adult." ”

"General Duan is polite." Qin Huaidao returned the salute.

It was a meeting between acquaintances before, showing the tiger talisman means taking over the army, there is a difference between the top and bottom of the army, the hierarchy is strict, and there can be no more jokes, Qin Huaidao pointed to Xue Rengui and introduced: "This is Xue Rengui, my eldest brother." ”

The eldest brother bit very hard, Duan Zan understood in his heart, he must be a confidant to introduce him like this, he didn't dare to hold it up, and he solemnly hugged his fists: "I've seen Xue Langjun." ”

"General Duan is polite." Xue Rengui returned the salute.

Duan Zan looked at Qin Huai and said, "It's not early, please move to the camp." ”

The convoy moved again, along a narrow canyon overgrown with weeds, and soon the front suddenly opened up, there was more flat land, tents were neatly arranged, countless people were under martial law and patrolling all around, smoke was rising in the camp, they were cooking, and many people stopped talking when they saw the convoy coming.

The convoy soon came to the Zhongjun tent, the guards spread the guard, no approach, Qin Huaidao signaled Xue Rengui to follow, entered the Zhongjun tent, sat down in the main seat, and Xue Rengui was behind the battle, acting as a guard.

"Is there a map of Tibet?" Qin Huaidao got straight to the point.

"Yes, not exactly." Duan Zan hurriedly said, pulling out a map from a pile of miscellaneous items.

Qin Huaidao looked at the map and pondered, it was indeed very simple, only the criteria were where the mountains were, where there was water, where the passes were, where there were garrisons, what the mountains looked like, how dangerous the passes were, how many garrisons there were, etc., I didn't know anything, but it was better than nothing, first find the location of the Tubo Royal City.

The location from the camp to Tubo is far away, and it will take several days to arrive, how to avoid it is a problem, Qin Huaidao watched for a moment, and asked bluntly: "Is there a way to avoid the passes along the way, blockade, and directly arrive at the Tubo King City?" ”

"Go directly to the Tubo Royal City?" Duan Zan was taken aback, what kind of tactic is this? It's too bold, you can't look for death like this, but the moment you show the tiger talisman, Qin Huaidao is the commander of this army, so he can only obey unconditionally, and hurriedly said: "My lord, the last general has never been there, he is only familiar with the border, and he is at most a hundred miles deep, and he is not sure how to arrive at the Tubo King City without being exposed." ”

It's hard to do things if no one knows the route, so you can't kill them one by one, right?

It is cool to directly crush cool, but the difficulty is too great, and 10,000 troops are simply not enough.

Qin Huaidao knew how much there was in Tubo, and it was impossible for the Tubo army to fortify everywhere, if it was night and daylight, and picked a place where no one was walking, it might be possible, but the marching speed was slow.

However, it's better to be slow than to beat it!

With a plan in his heart, Qin Huaidao continued to study the map, hoping to find a feasible person, and suddenly thought of a problem, the Tubo Mountain is wide, but there is little water, people can't do without water, as long as they avoid the water source, it means that they have avoided the defenders, and even if they accidentally encounter the Tubo army along the way, they are just scattered soldiers.

According to this line of thinking, Qin Huaidao gradually sketched a general route on the map, asked Duan Zan to take a pen and draw it gently, handed it to Duan Zan and said, "If you take this route, what are the problems?" ”

"This area is full of high mountains, lack of water, little food, the biggest problem is that it is easy to get lost, the mountains of Tibet are almost the same, unfamiliar can not find the direction, will be trapped alive."

"What else?" Qin Huaidao asked, there is only direction, that is not a problem.

Duan Zan thought about it carefully and said: "The mountains and roads along the way are dangerous, almost avoiding the passes, it is unlikely to encounter the Tubo army, even if it is not much, it can be avoided, it cannot be avoided, it is not a big problem, except for the direction, water and food, the rest is disease, once it is infected with the wind and cold, it is very troublesome, and the other problems are not big." ”

"The problem of wind chill is not big, this time I carried a large amount of liquor, which can heal and keep out the cold, the direction problem has a way to solve it, and the rest is water and food, and it is not a big problem, this time I will fight to raise the war, and I will encounter killing along the way, in case of exposure, during the war, there is no mercy, however, in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, everyone cuts down bamboo overnight, to carry clean water, the water must be boiled, let it cool and then load, the army sets off after dawn, is there a problem?"

"How to settle the war horses and supplies in the camp?" Duan Zan asked.

Qin Huaidao understood what Duan Zan really wanted to ask, thought about it, and said: "There are a lot of barren land in Tubo, not an inch of grass grows, and the road ahead may not be good for feeding war horses, but you also have to bring them, save physical strength, if necessary, you can kill horses to satisfy hunger, don't feel distressed, this battle is very important." ”

As soon as the order came out, it could not be taken back, and Duan Zan respectfully took the order and left.

This night, Qin Huaidao studied the map in the Chinese military tent until late at night, and finally lay down by the bonfire to sleep, and the Zhuang team guarded the carriage outside the Chinese military tent, resting in batches, not daring to be careless, it was really too important to have the materials in the carriage.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the army set out, all of them were one person and two horses, one horse to ride, one horse to transport materials, the materials were mainly lost, and there was no way to replenish them when they went to Tibet, so they had to bring enough at one time.

Qin Huaidao walked ahead with the carriage, disguised as a caravan, and before leaving, he deliberately looked for Lu Dongzan, got a voucher and a letter, of course, found an excuse to sell liquor to supplement the loss of the barbecue bar was smashed, if Lu Dongzan knew that he was leading troops to attack Tubo, he would never agree.

In order to make an excuse realistic, Qin Huaidao deliberately took Lu Dongzan to the barbecue restaurant to see the scene of the bombing, and Lu Dongzan also knew the liquor brewed by Qin Huaidao, so he didn't think much about it.

With Lu Dongzan's vouchers and letters, he can deal with the past in case of trouble, of course, the avenue must not be walked, the caravan can be confused, but the army cannot.

Songzhou is the Songpan County of the later generations, located in the northeast of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, mountainous, abundant water and grass, but do not have to worry about the war horse chewing head, the more west the more desolate, in order to ensure that the horsepower can be sustained, the forage carried by the army is not fed to the horse at first, and the soldiers are allowed to lead the horse to eat grass when they are resting halfway.

The army traveled all the way to the west, because of the avoidance of the road, the terrain is steep, you can see steep peaks and narrow valleys everywhere, the walking speed is not fast, it is very difficult to walk, but it is also safe, the land of poor mountains and bad waters often no one comes, as for the carriage, these three days frantically rushed out, with bearings and shockproof steel plates, very strong.

After dark, the army hid in a steep ravine, killed a few horses that could not be used, stewed wild vegetables, and no one was half-full, undressed, and unarmed, and the knife did not leave their bodies, huddled together and fell asleep in the misty lake.

Duan Zan arranged for the sentries to come over, and saw that Qin Huaidao was sitting in the carriage with his eyes closed, and asked with concern: "My lord, some people are still out of breath along the way, worried that something will happen, and the army's adaptability training place is not as high as here." ”

"Rest for the night, and if it doesn't work, send it back." Qin Huaidao admonished, looked around, combined with the experience of later generations, he felt that the altitude of the location was about three thousand meters above sea level, and the mountain was at least five thousand meters, and added: "I don't adapt to normal, if I can survive tonight, tomorrow will not be a big problem." ”

"Really?" Duan Zhan's eyes were full of suspicion, but he didn't ask much.

"Believe me, pass the order, let everyone be in the mood, the more nervous, the faster you breathe, the more air you need, the more likely it is to have an accident, the more relaxed the better, as long as everyone does it, make sure that nothing happens." Qin Huaidao admonished.

Duan Zan didn't understand the principle, but he knew that Qin Huaidao would never talk nonsense, so he immediately went to pass the order.

"Have any of us had any breathing difficulties?" Qin Huaidao looked at Xue Rengui.

Xue Rengui ran to inquire, and didn't come back long and said, "There are a few dizziness, let them relax and try." ”

Qin Huaidao nodded, Gao anti varies from person to person, there is no way to force this kind of thing, this night is very important, get through, there is basically nothing to do in the back, if you can't get through, you can only return.

The army gradually quieted down, and even the horses began to rest.

The cold moonlight sprinkled down, falling on the resolute faces of the soldiers, quiet, peaceful, and all kinds of insect chirpings sounded in the distance, one after another, tirelessly.

A cool breeze blew, bringing up the withered grass, fluttering and sprinkling, falling in the canyon, Qin Huaidao picked up a withered grass, looked up at the sky, the stars were dense, the moon was in the sky, it was not like it was going to rain, and he waited in his heart.

Two hours later, Duan Zan hurriedly came over and said happily: "My lord, after the brothers relaxed their breathing according to your method, their state has improved a lot, and they no longer have headaches, but there is still a small amount of dizziness. ”

"Dizziness is just a mild high reaction, as soon as you wake up, your body will adapt, it's not a big problem, the terrain behind the road is even higher, let's go a little slower, first slow down for two days, and then march quickly after the army is fully adapted, what do you think?"

"It's all up to the adults, thank the adults for their compassion." Duan Zan said gratefully.

"They are all brothers who fight together, don't be so polite, you will know my character when you get acquainted, no informality, as long as you stick to your principles, it's easy to say." Qin Huaidao said politely.

"My father mentioned in the letter, my lord, I am not afraid of death, and the soldiers are not afraid, there is a question I have always wanted to ask, but it is not easy to ask, when it comes to this, I dare to ask, what are our chances of winning this battle?" Duan Zhan's face became serious as he spoke, how could he not be worried when 10,000 soldiers went on the expedition?

Qin Huaidao didn't answer immediately, he is also a soldier, how can he not know what everyone is thinking, if he dares to come with him, no one is afraid of death, and those who are afraid of death have already found an excuse to stay during the selection, but no one wants to die in vain.

"Gah-"

A mountain eagle swept overhead, bringing life to the wild, barren wilderness.

Qin Huaidao pointed to the passing mountain eagle and said, "The eagle is the overlord of the air and has no natural enemies, do you know why?" ”

"Because the more ferocious wolves, tigers and leopards can't fly."

"That's right, what if we're a flock of eagles and attack from the sky?"

"How is this possible? How can a man fly into the sky? Duan Zan questioned, not knowing Qin Huaidao's battle plan.

The time was not right, Qin Huaidao didn't want to reveal it, but Duan Zhan's emotions had to be calmed, and continued: "When I attacked Goguryeo, some people also asked the same question, at that time I said six or seven percent, but no one believed it, and now I tell you that the goal of the army is not to destroy the country, but to force surrender, this goal is not difficult, I am seven or eight percent sure." ”

"So tall?" Duan Zan still didn't believe it, 10,000 people forced a powerful kingdom, not because he didn't believe it, but because he couldn't believe it, it was impossible to do it.

Qin Huaidao smiled, revealing a strong sense of confidence: "Look, you don't believe it, they didn't believe that they could take Goguryeo back then, so let's give you a guarantee, you can't withdraw immediately, and if you can't do it, you can judge, I will not force it, how about it?" ”

"This ......"

Duan Zan was a little tempted, he got the initiative, at least he could withdraw when the battle situation was unfavorable, and he didn't have to die, but after thinking about it, this was enough to prove Qin Huaidao's confidence and grasp, and his heart moved, and he asked: "My lord, if you don't question the general, it's really too big, you have never had it, the last general is only shallow in learning, and you can't see the chance of winning, since the adult said that it can be done, the last general will bet on this life, but the morale of the army is ......."

"Don't gamble on your life, believe me, as for the soldiers, you tell you a word, if the battle situation is unfavorable, I will take the hundred or so people around me to cover everyone's retreat, and never break my word, otherwise, the brothers can shoot cold arrows, or even simply hack me to death, but if anyone dares not to obey, don't blame me for the ruthlessness of military law."

"Please rest assured, a certain army is strictly governed, and no one dares to disobey orders." Duan Zan said solemnly, chatted a few words, and left in a hurry.

Xue Rengui watched the other party leave a distance, and said in a low voice: "Young master, this general? ”

"See?" Qin Huaidao asked rhetorically, seeing Xue Rengui nodding, he smiled, he is worthy of being a generation of military gods, and he is indeed born to be suitable for the battlefield, so he found a feeling as soon as he came, and explained in a low voice: "General Duan's heart is normal to worry, but it is strange not to worry, and he is here to ask for the soldiers, and the soldiers are not sure." ”

"No wonder the young master gave a promise, presumably the morale of the army will be stable, and if there is another big victory, the morale will be higher, and there will be no fear." Xue Rengui laughed in a low voice.

"That's right, after this experience, I have the opportunity to get you a military position, and I will go to the army in the future, right?"

Xue Rengui hurriedly said: "If you don't go, you will follow the young master in this life, you will have money to earn, there will be battles, and you don't have to worry about it, let alone think about the intrigue in the court, and live a simple and comfortable life." ”

"Can't you be the commander of the three armies?" Qin Huaidao asked, feeling that Xue Rengui was crooked, isn't there one less military god in history?

"Of course, I want to, but I don't feel interesting, I have also seen through this time with the young master, and I have realized some truths, I am not suitable for fighting in the court, if there is no one in the court, I will be used as a sword for the rest of my life, even if I am handsome, it seems to be beautiful, what can I do in the end? There is Luo Tong far away, and there is Wei Guogong nearby, one is aggrieved all his life, and the other is tired all his life, how can he be at ease with the young master? ”

"You can see through, sleep." Qin Huaidao smiled bitterly and ended the conversation, but he made up his mind in his heart, he still had to fight for Xue Rengui if he had a chance, and the military god could not be gone.

Early the next morning, the army continued westward.

Until noon, the first scouter came with the news that a small grassland had appeared in front of him, and there was a lake, dozens of tents, and a large number of cattle and sheep.

Qin Huaidao stepped forward to check, the tent was white, the cooking smoke birds and birds, there were shepherd dogs barking, children were playing, and a group of cattle and sheep were grazing freely in the distance, a peaceful scene, a paradise, I couldn't bear to kill it, and called Duan Zan to admonish: "Transfer a hundred people to disguise themselves as bandits, kill the guards, and loot a batch of horses and sheep for military rations, especially horses, our war horses are not very suitable for the mountains, and can only be reduced to pack horses, so we have to rob them." ”

The grazing horses and sheep were far away from the tents, and only a few people were guarding, and the women and children could not bear it, but the army also had to eat, and Ci was not in charge of the troops.

Duan Zan nodded, and said with some concern: "If you don't kill all of them, will your whereabouts be exposed?" ”

"Definitely, but it doesn't matter, a hundred people will only think that it is a disguise of a tribe that can't survive, or directly suspect that it is a robber, it is not a big problem, after getting replenished, the army bypasses the grassland in front of it, and continues to hurry along the mountain road, go, do it cleanly." Qin Huaidao admonished.

Duan Zan was a pure soldier, and he didn't have the heart of the Virgin, so he immediately selected a hundred elites, took off his armor, walked around with weapons, lurked closer, suddenly attacked, and after shooting several herdsmen, the team was divided into two, one part drove a herd of cattle, a group of horses walked towards the mountain, and the other part left behind the palace.

The Tang army has never entered the hinterland of Tibet, the herdsmen live leisurely, unsuspecting, and are not at all the opponents of the Tang army who have been trained, the herdsmen living by the lake rushed to help when they heard the news, and they did not dare to continue the pursuit after being shot a few people, and fled back with their horses, and the soldiers did not chase and kill, and stepped forward to pick up the lost ones, leaving no traces, and quickly retreated.

The large army converged and drove the stolen horses and sheep on their westward journey.

When Qin Huaidao heard that he had robbed more than 200 sheep, dozens of horses, and there were fewer horses, but the sheep were enough for everyone to eat for a few days, he waited in his heart, and told Duan Zhan, who had come to report: "Leave a team to monitor, shoot and kill those who try to report the news, if you don't move, don't kill indiscriminately, it is more beneficial for our army to delay for a day, and follow the traces after dark." ”

Duan Zan heard that it made sense, and hurriedly went to arrange it.

The large army moved slowly, gradually disappearing behind the undulating hills.