Shanzhou is a place where the wind and sand are strong, and many Han women have red cheeks and thick eyebrows, not to mention Tuyuhun, which is located further west.

Because of this, the more beautiful you are, the more noble your status is, and being able to stand next to King Khan proves something more.

Meng Fan retracted his gaze, and according to the inevitable diplomatic etiquette, the few people first exchanged a few words of greetings before entering the city together.

The official office is located in the north of the city, and the embassy is also located nearby, after all, the ancients believed that sitting in the north and facing the south represents power.

The yamen is divided into two houses, the front is open by the officials to handle official business, and the back is the residence of the governor of the state, the big guys are all airborne, there is no need to buy real estate in Shanzhou, so they all live in it, anyway, the place is big enough, do not pay attention to pomp, can also be divided into a small courtyard.

The group deliberated in the main hall.

And this is obviously completely different from the treatment of the Tibetan mission, because they can all speak Chinese, and they don't need to be paraphrased by a translator, and their attitude is even more friendly.

There is no doubt that the pro-Tang faction, which is standard, will bring good news to the army on this trip.

The space in the hall is very large, there are more than a dozen fires burning inside, the light turns orange, because the Khan King looks very young, Xu Zhi even has a very discerning eye to help arrange a deliberately raised throne.

The king of the Khan sat on it, straightened his back, and smiled from time to time, but it was obvious that everyone could see that he could not be the lord at all, but only a puppet of high status, and the presiding person was the bright and beautiful woman of different races.

Although I don't know what her name is, I can determine the surname: Murong.

This is the surname of the Tuyuhun royal family, and not long ago, the chief envoy who came on behalf of Tubo, the Lang family, is the great nobleman on their side, and unlike the Tang Dynasty, they all have their own fiefs and armies.

"The Tang Dynasty has always been our most honorable ally, and this king has always admired Shangguo."

The voice sounded very young, because the speaker was a teenager, and this Khan King should have been rehearsed in advance and continued to talk to Li Jingxuan.

】

Eventually, the conversation changed.

King Khan threw the topic to his sister Murong Qing, who was in her early twenties at most, but when she spoke, she was methodical and measured.

And there is a lot of useful information in the words.

Like what:

Tubo knew that the war with the Tang Dynasty was inevitable, and in order to preemptively attack, Zampu ordered Tuyuhun to attack nearby, and asked the king of Khan to gather all troops and horses to attack Langzhou at the beginning of spring.

The Young Khan King and some of the nobles were inclined to the Tang Dynasty, but they had very few troops, and could only mobilize 6,000 warriors at most, while the other members of the royal family had completely lost confidence in the Tang Dynasty's inaction over the years, and made up their minds to follow Tubo.

Because of this, there was a meeting that was not secret at all, and if the Tang army did not come again, the Khan would be overthrown and succeeded by a more powerful uncle.

Tang Jun's victory, everyone was happy.

The Tang army was defeated, and the Khan was attached.

If the latter happens, it is not unacceptable, at least the food and clothing will be much better than staying, and when the Tang army regroups and passes through the Western Regions, the Khan King will also be reused and return to the country again.

……

In the end, the young Khan and his subordinates stayed in Shanzhou, one for protection and the other for surveillance.

After they left, the generals resumed their deliberations, and the chief administrator Li Jingxuan took the initiative to relent, agreeing to seize the time before the arrival of the cold winter to attack the stone fort to avoid falling into passivity after the beginning of spring.

However, the old boy limited his troops, only 40,000 people, including more than 10,000 soldiers.

Yan Guogong's face turned pale.

Thanks to Meng Fan's timely opening, he avoided the situation of the general fighting again.

The military advisor came to help, and he could ask King Tuyuhun Khan to send troops, thinking of this, Li Jinxing's expression was a little cloudy.

There are 50,000 people in the full battle, and nearly 20,000 soldiers can fight, and it is indeed feasible to attack the military fortress stone fort while it is unprepared.

But the risk is still very high, and it depends on whether Meng Fan, a military advisor, can create a miracle.

……

Time passed day by day in peace.

The Tang Army is adjusting its troops, and part of the main force is transferred south to Langzhou, which will become the key area for most of the Tuyuhun troops to attack after the beginning of spring

At the same time, General Qi Biming and Wang Gao led 10,000 troops to move west to Shancheng to guard the western barrier, and the various departments were ordered to cooperate closely.

The smell of war is getting heavier.

This kind of large-scale transfer can't hide the eyes of people with intentions, even in the market, there are rumors that a large number of people are being requisitioned and quarryed in Langzhou, saying that they want to build fortresses and fortresses, and war is likely to break out there.

In addition, it was said that the caravan should not go to buy horses and camels recently, because it was likely to be arrested by the imperial court.

Of course, there are also rumors that guessed a little correctly - Tuyuhun was instigated by Tubo to raise 100,000 troops from the stone castle to attack Shanzhou.

The storm would indeed break out first in Shanzhou, but the offensive and defensive momentum was different, and the Tang army wanted to take the stone castle by surprise as a springboard for the spring counteroffensive.

And the source of this rumor also comes from Shanzhou.

After many lootings, the merchants and the common people could no longer be described as panicking, and they left as soon as possible to avoid the calamity of the war that might break out next.

The people listened to the wind and guessed the rain, but anyway, it was passed around, and there was no truth, that is, the vast majority of low-level civil officials couldn't figure out what was going on.

And Meng Fan moved west with the army and arrived at Shancheng, which was closer to the battle line, with military reports from Longyou and even Jiannan Prefectures in his hand, which he could understand very accurately.

At present, more than 100,000 Tang officers have dispersed one after another, and some of the main forces have crossed Jishi Mountain and have reached the territory of Tuyuhun, and Langzhou and Hezhou have stepped up their fortifications along the border mountain range to ensure that they can wait for work in the coming year.

To the west of Shancheng, Yan Guogong repaired five Tang army strongholds, with a total of 1,000 troops, and everything is very calm at present, and there is no confrontation with the main force of the Tubo army for the time being.

As for the city, there are nearly 60,000 Tang soldiers, and the additional 10,000 old soldiers are the garrisons who are trying to get together from the states of Longyou-

The states can only squeeze out so much after ensuring that they have the ability to defend themselves.

……

Suddenly, Changzhi, the black tooth who commanded the 3,000 Heyuan Army, hurriedly came to Meng Fan's signing room, and said before he could see the courtesy: "I just received an urgent report, and the sentinel has learned that the Tuyuhun and Tubo coalition forces are gathering and plan to go to the western line of Shibao City. ”

"In order to prevent the enemy army from reinforcing Shicheng, Yan Guogong has decided to launch an attack, please go over."

The newly recruited officers have different experiences, but they are relatively easy to control, and the military discipline has always been very good, led by the veterans, training while marching, and they are famous for their bravery, and now they are indeed useful.

It's time again......

After hearing this, Meng Fan said directly: "If only the Tuyuhun nobles were as well aware of righteousness as King Khan, let's go." ”

Everything is difficult at the beginning, I have finally gnawed hard bones after coming to the frontier for so long, and the meaning of taking Stone City, needless to say, only one:

The offensive and defensive forces are also different.