At dusk, the sunset is like fire.

The dry wind blew by, taking away the little moisture over Jiaohe City, the air became more and more stuffy, Guo Xiaoke personally came to invite the dinner, Qin Huaidao was full of worries, politely refused, pointed to the map and asked: "Guo Dudu, how many days will it take to go south to Putao from now on?" ”

"What, go south to Putao, it's impossible, nine deaths and no life." Guo Xiaoke's face changed greatly and he hurriedly persuaded him, seeing that Qin Huaidao's face was firm and he didn't want to joke, his heart was shocked, and he quickly explained: "From here to the south, you must pass through the Great Sand Sea, where the Gobi is boundless, like the vast sea, and the locals call it the Sea of Death." ”

"There's no other way out?" Qin Huaidao asked unwillingly.

Guo Xiaoke didn't understand why Qin Huaidao insisted on going south, thought about it, and said: "There are two choices, one is to return to Shazhou Dunhuang by the same way, and follow the mountains to the west, where there are grasslands, lakes, and tribes, you can get supplies, and detour to Putao ......"

"This route is too far for no one." Qin Huaidao interrupted.

"Then the only way to go southwest from here, turn the Tianshan Mountain to Yanqi and Quli, follow the Peacock River to the east to Puchanghai, and then go south along the end of the river, at least there is water along the way, and there are tribes to supply." Guo Xiaoke drew an arc on the map with his hand.

In terms of geographical location, Putao is located in the south of Jiaohe City, and it can be seen on the map that it is almost a straight line down, walking on the sandbar is going back, and then turning around, walking Yanqi is going forward, and then turning around, and going back is the territory of the Tang Kingdom, which is relatively safe, that is, too far, relatively close to the front, but the Turkic territory, is dangerous.

The Turks and the Tang State are in a hostile state, water and fire are incompatible, and once exposed, they will face endless pursuit.

Qin Huaidao carefully checked the map, combined with the comparison of the maps of later generations, and found that Yanqi is the southern Xinjiang region, and Quli is the Korla area famous for fragrant pears in later generations. ”

"It's too far here, Xia Guan just knows, I haven't been there, I'm not sure of the troops, I heard that there are no less than 50,000 iron cavalry, I don't know if it's true or not, but I estimate that it's more than that, this land is suitable for life, people must be indispensable, and there are mountains in front of it, and there are 30,000 troops guarding it, and it's not easy to climb over."

Qin Huaidao nodded in agreement, Jiaohe was controlled by the Tang Dynasty, and it was impossible for the Turks not to send troops to guard the surroundings, and after some weighing, they found that they could only go south directly from Jiaohe City, cross the Dasha Sea, cross a mountain range to Puchang Sea, and then go south along the end of the river to Putao, which was deserted along the way, so there was no need to worry about being attacked.

As long as you are well prepared, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome.

Qin Huaidao gradually made a decision in his heart, and his eyes fell on the location of Putao, to the east of Putao is Qitun, the first tribe from the sandbank can go directly to Qitun and wait for others to meet, and it can also avoid exposure.

"County King, have you decided?" Guo Xiaoke saw that Qin Huaidao was moved, his heart was full of shock, and he immediately gave birth to a little admiration, no wonder he can win the battle, this is something that ordinary people dare not do, and he can't do it.

"How's the translation prepared?" Qin Huaidao asked rhetorically.

"There is no shortage of interpreters, but they are afraid of death and do not dare to go deep into the Turkic hinterland." Guo Xiaoke said truthfully.

"First 100 guan settling-in allowance, and then return and then give 100 guan."

"Enough, in fact, a bunch of people rushed to go to Twenty Guan, life in Jiaohe City is not easy, human life is like mustard, worthless, if it weren't for the Anxi Governor's Mansion for a month without pay, lack of silver, this money will be paid by the official, it is really ...... Alas, no more. A wry smile flashed on Guo Xiaoke's face.

"I didn't pay the army, what's the matter?" Qin Huaidao asked in surprise.

"The lower officials don't know, the court suddenly cut off the salary, and the grain hasn't been shipped up for a month, and the brothers are eating their old books, and if it goes on like this, I'm afraid the army will be in turmoil." Guo Xiaoke explained.

"No, the court is not short of food and silver."

"I heard that something happened in the west, and the resources of the imperial court are tilted to the west, and I don't know if it's true or not."

"West...... Tibetan? Qin Huaidao asked in surprise.

"The king of the county hasn't heard?" Guo Xiaoke asked rhetorically, and seeing that Qin Huaidao didn't want to fake, he explained: "I heard that the caravan traveling to and from Suzhou said that there was trouble in the west, saying that it was to establish the Tubo country, and most of the Tubo capital protectorates were attacked, and the news was blocked, and I don't know if it's true or not." ”

"Tubo wants to be self-reliant?" Qin Huaidao said incredulously, it is clear that he has been torn apart by himself, and the balance of forces of all parties is balanced, how can he suddenly become self-reliant, who has this influence?

After thinking about it, Qin Huaidao suppressed this matter, and the top priority was to save people, and advised: "Guo Dudu, it is best for the interpreter to be familiar with the terrain to the south to avoid making mistakes, if the silver is not enough, you can add more, but the news cannot be revealed." ”

"Don't worry about the news, the lower official is absolutely tight-lipped, the silver is enough, I'll go and choose another, since the county king has something to do, the lower official will let the food be sent over." Guo Xiaoke hurriedly went.

Not long after, someone brought in a large amount of food.

After eating and drinking, the team rushed all the way, tired and not light, washed and lay down.

Qin Huaidao looked at the map in the room and thought about the problem, it was difficult to go south, but there would be Turkic tribes in Qitun or Putao, and it was indispensable to fight fiercely, return to the sandbank, and then go west along the mountain range to avoid the Turkic tribes and delay the exposure time, but what if the people are in Qitun? Don't miss it.

"No, we have to check it one tribe at a time."

"Someone." Qin Huaidao made a decision and let out a loud shout.

A team guarding the door was hurrying into the house, clasping his fists and saying, "Young master? ”

"Go and see if Li Jingren has come back, let him come to see me."

"Whoa!"

After waiting for a while, Li Jingren hurriedly came in, and when he entered the door, he said: "Sister-in-law, I haven't heard any news about leaving Jiaohe City and going west, and the brothers are still investigating." ”

"Maybe I really didn't take the northern route, and went south from the sandbar, after all, the northern line is an area controlled by the Tang Dynasty, which is easy to expose, and it is reasonable to go south." Qin Huaidao said casually, motioned for Li Jingren to approach, pointed to the map and continued: "Set off early tomorrow morning, arrange for a hundred people to transport the caravan's supplies back to Chang'an, suspend this trade route, and then go back, you take another hundred people to stay on the sandbank." ”

"No problem, what's the matter with staying on the sandbank?" Li Jingren's eyes fell on the location of the sandbar on the map.

"Two things, the first thing, disperse the people, look for Li Dejian, Luo Zhang, Cheng Chumo, Cheng Chuliang, Fang Yiai and Su Dingfang and others who rushed to converge, and let them take the southern route to Qitun to join the division."

"Qitun?" Li Jingren's eyes fell on the location of Qitun, and he agreed: "No problem, I heard that there are seven tribes gathered here, there is a small Tutun, the Datang caravan and the seven tribes trade goods in the tunzi, hence the name, I heard that the daily transaction volume is not small, I also thought about whether to open up this trade route." ”

"Seven tribes, how many people there are, let's talk about it specifically."

Li Jingren recalled it carefully, and said with a wry smile: "I know very little, I heard that tens of thousands of people in each tribe, that is, thousands of households, live by the water, and materials such as daily necessities, salt and tea are very popular, I haven't been there, I don't know if it's true or not, do you want to inquire?" There are caravans in Jiaohe City, and you may know about it. ”

"It's okay to inquire, but don't expose our whereabouts, thousands of households, one person per household is thousands of soldiers, and seven tribes are tens of thousands of soldiers, and the strength should not be underestimated." Qin Huaidao said with a straight face, his eyes fell on the location of Qitun on the map again, frowning and thinking.

After waiting for a while, Li Jingren interrupted: "That...... The second thing? ”

Qin Huaidao sobered up from his thoughts and continued: "The snow goose will arrange for someone to bring carrier pigeons to find them, responsible for delivering the news, the leader may be your brother, or someone in your family, you must wait for them after you arrive at the sandbank, don't go the wrong way, how to do you look at the decision, be sure to ensure that the news is smooth." ”

"Pigeon Story?" Li Jingren thought for a while and said: "That's a lot of people, it's too far away from Chang'an, carrier pigeons are prone to accidents, it's best to arrange people to master carrier pigeons at intervals along the way, pass them layer by layer, and ensure that nothing goes wrong, I know what to do, rest assured." ”

Qin Huaidao nodded, took out "Mencius" and said the password again.

Li Jingren didn't expect to be able to pass on the message like this, it was the only way to avoid leaking secrets, even if the carrier pigeon was shot and killed, he was not afraid, and he was immediately overjoyed.

After some advice, Li Jingren left in a hurry.

Qin Huaidao came to the outside of the courtyard.

The moon was in the sky, the night breeze was blowing, and it was a little cooler, but it couldn't blow away Qin Huaidao's irritable mood, and he secretly said in his heart: "He'er, you must hold on, wait for me!" ”