Wang Jian took Quan Yi as the Huangmen waiter, Xue Zan as the Zhongshu waiter, and Li was in charge of secrets. In September, the Taishi Yuzun and other officials were recovered, and the funeral was changed to a ceremony, and the descendants and survivors were all promoted with their talents. The Empress Dowager of Zhou's family traveled to Xuanmingtai on the riverside, and saw the first gate of the East China Sea Public Law, which was probably not conducive to Zhou Wangjian, but conspired with Li Wei and gave the law to die. Jian and the magic are in the east hall, crying European blood; He said that he offered mourning to the duke, and sealed his son Yang as the duke of the East China Sea, and applied it as the duke of Qinghe.

--------- Excerpt from the Introduction

Standing on the east gate tower, the fox slave and Cao Yan can see at a glance that the Gaochang city is towering, the streets are vertical and horizontal, and the moat is full of turbid yellow water, which is too little water introduced from the underground river, so it is only a shallow layer, which is estimated to be just over the waist of the person, which can only slightly slow down the pace of the attackers and make the defenders on the city tower aim more accurately.

The entire city wall of Gaochang is basically intact and has not been affected by the war for decades. Gaochang Castle is divided into three cities: inner city, outer city, and palace city. The outer city is roughly square, the wall is 12 meters thick, 11 meters high, and the circumference is more than 10 miles. It is built of rammed earth slabs, and part of the lot is repaired with adobe, and there is a protruding horse face on the periphery. There are roughly two gates on each side, and the east and west gates are the largest, and there are zigzag urn cities. Since the time of Emperor Wu of the former Han Dynasty, Li Guangli, the general of the division, led the army to Tuntian here and set up Gaochangbi, which has since become the east-west artery of the Silk Road.

After hundreds of years of repair and expansion, Gaochang City has become a heroic city that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has also become the first stop for the Central Plains forces to enter the Western Regions from Liangzhou. Now this place has been occupied by 6,000 soldiers and horses led by Hu Nuyang and Cao Yan, and has become the first support point of the southern road of the Western Expeditionary Army of Beifu.

Gaochang County Captain Hu Nuyang and Dunhuang County Captain Cao Yan received orders from Chang'an and Liangzhou some time ago. The two of them were appointed as generals, under the personal command of Zeng Hua, the "commander of the march of Lingling South Road", and the task was to hold Gaochang first and wait for the army of the Western Expedition to come up.

Soon after Beifu declared a formal war against Wusun, Chang'an sent documents to the countries of the Western Regions other than Wusun, including Cheshi, Yuli, Yanqi, Khotan, Qiuzi, Shule, Ronglu, Humi, Qule, Pishan, Weisu, Shan, Gumo, Wensu, Weitou, China, Shache, Shishi, Qusha, Xiye, Yinai, Manli, Yiruo, Lingling, Poison Donation, Xiuxiu, Qin, Jimi, Xiji, Shan, Shan Huan, Bilu, The countries such as Pulu and Wu Greed have signed the alliance and have also been controlled by the Beifu State, such as Shan, Jizhi, Xiaowan, and Loulan.

The documents were brought back by merchants from various countries. One copy per country. Never fail. The content is all the same, they are all officially notified that Beifu has officially declared war on Wusun. If they stand on the side of Beifu, they should immediately declare their position in a document and cut off all contacts with Wusun, including trade and exchanges, and neighboring countries must also block the border with Wusun and prohibit Wusun from entering and leaving with one person and one horse.

After the fourth document is sent. The great powers of the Western Regions, such as the Cheshi State, the Yan State, the Khotanese State, the Qiuci State, and the Shule State, have long been resentful of the strong Beifu land, and they are also one of the initiators of the anti-Beifu alliance, so they simply rejected the request in the Beifu document, and even publicly declared that they were on the side of Wusun. Most of the small countries in the Western Regions such as Yuli and Ronglu were very tightly controlled by those big countries, and they had no way to get out of this chaos if they didn't want to get involved, so they had to follow and stand on the side of Wusun, and even some small countries also issued an anti-Beifu declaration in order to curry favor with the suzerains next to them.

Of course. Shan, Jizhi, Xiaowan, Loulan and other countries should be unyielding. announced that he would follow in the footsteps of Beifu and officially cut off all contacts with Wusun, and by the way, cut off all contacts with Wusun's allies. The hostile situation was immediately separated, and the entire Western Regions was soon filled with a pre-war atmosphere of arrow-drawing.

Cao Yan and Fox Nuyang, who were stationed in Gaochang City, of course knew about these situations, and they looked at the Flame Mountain in the north, and they were all silent. The Flaming Mountain is a red mountain with undulating winds for more than 100 kilometers, its mountain body is majestic and tortuous, and the mountain is even more grassless, the rocks are bare, and it is often covered by weathered sand. In the middle of summer, under the scorching sun, the red mountain rock heat wave rolls, the crimson smoke clouds are steaming, the hot air flow is rising, and the red sandstone is shining, just like a group of flames burning, so it is called the flame mountain. It stands horizontally in the north of Gaochang City, becoming the natural shield of Gaochang City, and because of this, Gaochang is also called Gaochang Wall.

Cao Yan looked at the flame mountain that was as red as blood under the remnant sun, and couldn't help but sigh: "The remnant sun is like blood, and the hero is like iron." ”

Hearing this, the fox slave couldn't help but smile: "This sentence is very familiar, by the way, I heard the general say it." ”

Cao Yan's face turned red, nodded and said, "I heard my master say it in Hongnong County, the image is profound, and I remembered it at that time. ”

The fox slave nodded with a smile, Cao Yang's master is Zhao Fu, who is the right Mo sword general, who has been by Zeng Hua's side for a long time, and of course he has heard of this sentence.

"Shu Yi, where did you say the general is now?"

"The declaration of war was officially proclaimed on the 15th of February, and now it is the 20th of April, almost two months, which is enough to do a lot of things. General Xian Ling and General Jiang led the land all cavalry, and the road was close, so General Xian Ling had already led the Xiqiang cavalry into Jizhi City, and the troops began to sweep through the sphere of influence of the country; And General Jiang led the Mobei cavalry army to cross the Jinshan and enter the Yueban country, and the combined Yueban soldiers and horses frequently entered the territory of Wusun, threatening its flanks. It will be a lot more troublesome for the infantry to be mobilized from all walks of life, first to Liangzhou, and then out of Yumen Pass, and the general will be drawn with the army, and it is estimated that he should only arrive in Guzang at this time. Cao Yan counted his fingers and said.

The fox slave raised his head sideways and thought about it, and finally figured out the time relationship inside, and finally nodded and said: "I haven't seen the general for a while, and I can finally follow the general again." ”

Cao Yan was still a little poor, at this time Zeng Hua had already led the Chinese army into Zhangye County, and his former army had already entered Shatou City, the junction of Jiuquan County and Dunhuang County. After nearly ten years of construction, the avenues have been built very straight. Therefore, the Xiang troops stationed in the important towns of each major road could be quickly concentrated in Qinzhou, and then enter Liangzhou to the west. At this time, nearly half of the infantry army had received horses from various horse farms on the way, and became the first to become a cavalry infantry army. After arriving in Wuwei County, Liangzhou, the horses, cattle and sheep purchased from Xiqiang, Xiping, Beidi, Shangjun and other places gathered here, and soon all the 150,000 Xiang troops became horseback infantry troops, and drove the cattle and sheep along the Qilian Mountain, where the water is beautiful and the grass is fat, to continue to march westward.

In addition to the "veterans" such as Le Changshan, Wei Xingguo, Xiahou Khotan, and Deng Yao, who were transferred to suppress the position, there were also a large number of generals who graduated from the Bacheng Military Academy for several years. After Shuozhou, Liangzhou and other local war sites. Young generals who are gradually moving up to the middle and senior commands. The best of them. It has also attracted Zeng Hua's attention and

There are seven people, namely Tang Ziming of Hedong County, Bingzhou, Chen Guan Chen Ziyu on Zhaowu, and Captain Zhaowu Zuo; Wang Xianqian and Wang Yiwu of Yongzhou Shangjun, Colonel Bai Zhaowu; Fufeng County's Yu returned to the Zijia, worshipping Zhaowu Zuo Lieutenant; Wei Boyu, the ground guard of Tianshui County, Qinzhou, and Captain Bai Zhaowu; Sizhou Rongyang's Mao Qiling Mao Dake. Mao Muzhi's nephew, Captain Bai Zhaowuzuo; Qigu Qizi City in Shangyong County, Liangzhou, worships Captain Zhaowu Zuo.

Everyone knows these seven people, and it seems that the general is determined to promote them in this western expedition. Therefore, everyone secretly called these seven people the "Shanglin Seven Tigers", because this western expedition was held in the former Han Shanglin Yuan, and these seven were also personally awarded by Zeng Hua at the oath meeting and attracted everyone's attention. At the beginning of the Western Expedition, the newly released Shanglin Seven Tigers were eager to try, ready to show their skills in the Western Expedition. "A big show". They all compete with each other. I secretly held my breath to see who could be the first to be awarded the rank of general because of his military exploits, and the first to become the first to squeeze into the ranks of generals.

Zeng Hua was also by Xie Ai's side. He was appointed by Zeng Hua as the governor of the Western Expeditionary Grain Station, responsible for the supply of grain and grass for the Western Expeditionary Army. According to Zeng Huadi's request, Xie Ai had no choice but to move to Zhifulucheng, Jiuquan County (now Jiuquan City, Gansu), while continuing to govern Liangzhou, while ensuring the supply of grain and grass for the Western Expeditionary Army.

"General, are we mainly plundering or occupying this western expedition?" Xie Ai turned his head to Zeng Hua while riding his horse, but this was a bit too "arrogant", which was extremely inconsistent with Xie Ai's politeness.

Hearing Xie Aidi's question, Zeng Hua, who was looking at his newly formulated main general flag, hurriedly turned his head.

"This time, our westward expedition is mainly occupied, and the Western Regions will be the two new states in our northern province and become the base for continuing westward expansion." Zeng Hua replied.

"Continue westward? The excuse for our westward march this time is to avenge the caravan, and what is the excuse if we continue to move westward? After this great victory in the western expedition, I think our caravan will not be attacked for a long time. Xie Ai's face was shocked, and he hurriedly continued to ask.

"Yes, there are Dawan, Su Ge and other countries to the west of the Green Ridge, there are rich two river basins of Yaozhishui and Wuhu Water, and there is a vast world that we have never seen before. They are all waiting for us, waiting for our iron hooves and steel knives, waiting for our conquest. ”

Zeng Hua's words startled Xie Ai, he didn't expect his lord's ambition to be so far, and he meant to go as far as he could.

"In the future, our continued expedition to the west will depend on our Holy Religion, have you ever heard of religious wars such as holy wars?" Zeng Hua's next words were still so shocking.

Seeing Xie Ai shake his head in surprise, Zeng Hua smiled and continued.

"We must not only spread our religion to the West, but we must also indoctrinate our ideas and practices to the West. As long as they accept and recognize our religion, our ideas and practices, then they will follow the example and reference of Beifu and try their best to force their government to change to us. If their government agrees to change to us, then they can naturally and slowly integrate into us. If they don't want to, then their people will definitely not agree, and then as soon as they have civil strife, we will have a chance. ”

Zeng Hua's argument of "peaceful evolution" made Xie Ai think deeply. He had seen the missionaries and priests of the Holy Church, many of whom were fanatical religious elements, and if they were allowed to develop westward, they did not know how much would happen there. And as long as one of them is hurt in the west, Beifu will definitely have a reason to launch another expedition to the west. The tragedy of a caravan can make the whole Beifu feel the same hatred, and vow to ruin Wusun and the countries of the Western Regions. If it were to rise to the point of religion, the fanatical Catholics would not have razed them to the ground.

Xie Ai raised his head and looked solemnly at Zeng Hua staring intently ahead under his new master's flag. The flag of the main general, which was made for the western expedition, was three meters high and two and a half meters wide, and it was fluttering in the wind, and a flying dragon with a pair of wings was soaring with the fluttering of the flag.

Everyone knows that the main general's banner is overstepping the system with dragons, but most of the officials and people of Beifu have acquiesced, and there are even a large number of people who strongly support it. A small number of people jumped out to accuse this "mistake", and some people immediately defended it, "A dragon with wings is no longer called a dragon." The Son of Heaven uses a real dragon, and the general is a very popular minister, and it is understandable to use a winged "divine beast" as a logo, although it is more "like a dragon". Later, the Jiangzuo court did not react at all, and the person who made the accusation felt that he was a eunuch who was not in a hurry for the emperor, so he remained silent.

Zeng Hua looked at the Qilian Mountains and the stretching loess oasis in the distance, but his heart was full of thoughts. The Jiangzuo Imperial Court has already listed itself as the number one "unscrupulous object", so it is very honored to rank first among Huan Wen. However, the land of Beifu under his jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of Jiangzuo are separated by a Jingxiang force, and there is no direct contact at all, although the imperial court is becoming more and more vigilant about itself and Beifu, but it still does not dare, and there is no way to move a finger of Beifu, so it has to keep rewarding Zeng Hua. On the other hand, the Jiangzuo court also relied more and more on Huan Wen, trying his best to make him the "first line of defense" of Jiangzuo against the Northern Mansion, so that Zeng Hua and Huan Wen were completely transferred to the "strategic position" of the Jiangzuo court.

And Huan Wen is now confidently coercing Beifu to respect itself, threatening the Jiangzuo court at every turn, and what Beifu gets, he can't do less, he has to have a share. It was very embarrassing that Jiang Zuo's court was not left or right. There is no way, the current strength of Beifu, a nominal vassal domain, is stronger than the entire strength of the Jiangzuo court, but Huan Wen, who is dependent on the Great Wall, is the number one "unscrupulous and rebellious minister" in the past.

Zeng Hua didn't have the heart to worry about the Jiangzuo court, he was thinking about this western expedition now. This expedition to the west, Zeng Hua was determined to encompass the entire Western Regions in one fell swoop and become a new state and county in Beifu. In Zeng Hua's vision, the eastern and western territories of Huaxia had already been planned, and in order to divide into these plans, he had to hold a steel knife in one hand and the banner of the Holy Religion in the other, otherwise he would not have taken great pains to integrate the teachings of the Islamic Sect and the Basic Religion with "aggressive thoughts". Since ancient times, China has not lacked the enthusiasm and ambition to open up territory, but it lacks long-term stamina and vision, because they have not turned these enthusiasm and ambition into a kind of faith. If this enthusiasm and ambition continues, it is estimated to be even more bullish than the "greedy polar bear".

However, this expedition to the west was dangerous, the success or failure was uncertain, and I did not know what year and month it would take to complete its goal, and Guan Dong and Jiang Zuo were not brought under their command. Zeng Hua couldn't help but sigh softly, he was racing against time, and he hoped to lay the foundation for Huaxia as much as possible in the limited years.

In the distance, a pair of eyes were closely watching the fluttering flag of the main general, as well as the endless Beifu Xiang army, and after looking at it for a long time, he couldn't help but sigh.