In order to suppress the attacks that occurred in various places a year ago, Zhang Sanpi, the deputy capital of the Zhenjiang Army, dispersed the main forces east of Zijin Pass. Although this effectively achieved comprehensive prevention, it also led to the failure of the Metropolitan Protectorate to respond quickly at the first time when the two countries started a rebellion.

The forces were severely dispersed, and not only could they not resist the rebels with a large-scale combat force, but in turn they were broken by the rebels on both sides of the way.

This is also one of the key reasons why the Zhenjiang army of the Holy Tang Dynasty was at a disadvantage when the rebellion in Western Xinjiang first broke out.

To tell the truth, Zhang Sanpi, as the current supreme governor of the Zhenjiang Metropolitan Protectorate, was also aware of the changes in Loulan and Shule in advance, and he also specially summoned the imperial envoys sent by the Holy Tang Dynasty in these two countries to learn from them about the true situation of the other party.

However, the officials all swore to Zhang Sanpi that the two countries of Loulan and Shule were very honest and had no second thoughts about Shengtang.

Now it seems that these hateful guys, if they were not bribed by the enemy and deliberately whitewashed the peace, then they must be absolute fools, and they don't know that they are making small moves under their noses.

Fortunately, Deputy Zhang is not a rice bucket. In the face of sudden changes, he still made adjustments in time.

The Zhenjiang Rapid Aid Division, which was originally stationed in the Chechi Royal Court, still nominally maintained a scale of 30,000 soldiers and horses, and was the main force of the Metropolitan Protectorate. And the backbone of it is the old team of the Long Knife Army, and its strength should not be underestimated.

Not long after the chaos broke out, Zhang Sanpi made a keen judgment that the current situation was by no means an ordinary riot, but a national rebellion against the entire ghost desert in Western Xinjiang. This is definitely not something that one or two battalions of troops in various places can handle. Therefore, he issued an order in time to ask the troops and horses of the rapid reinforcement division that had been scattered to regroup quickly. At the same time, he led the main force of 40,000 troops from Anxi Kingdom to Chechi Wangcheng to join the quick aid division.

When the news of the fall of Pishan Kingdom by the Loulan army came, Zhang Sanpi's troops had reached the scale of 70,000 people, which was enough to fight a battle.

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Alikjiang cut off a piece of charcoal-grilled beef leg meat with the Nine Star Blade, and stuffed it into his mouth leisurely, crunching and chewing. Duolun, the leader of the Iron Pigeon Army, who was sitting opposite him, looked at Alikjiang without saying a word.

The two of them didn't speak at this time, and Lao Jianhua and Gelhan on the side were also not silent.

Alekjiang ate half a beef leg in a row, and then took the towel handed by the beautiful maid and wiped his mouth, and said with a smile: "General Duolun, this king is still the same as before, Che Chiguo is not worried at all!" With our Loulan army, it is enough to step on the ground, and there is no need to wait for the Shule people to come. Besides, wouldn't it be better to let our brother Gelhan ascend to the throne sooner? You tell me? ”

Alikjan winked at Gelhan and smiled.

Gerhan nodded slightly awkwardly, but did not answer the other party's words.

Duolun took a deep breath and said patiently: "Your Highness Alikjiang, I fully believe that the soldiers and horses of the Loulan Kingdom are strong. However, the current situation has changed dramatically. According to reliable intelligence, the reaction of the Shengtang people was faster than we expected, and they had already assembled a large army in Chechi King City at this time. Some time ago, we took advantage of the shortcomings of the opponent's scattered forces, and we were indeed able to attack cities and seize land without any worries, but now I am afraid that such an opportunity will not be available again. So we have to take the second option. ”

Hearing this, Alekjiang snorted coldly, and smiled at Lao Jianhua on the side: "What is the second plan, you think." From beginning to end, this king didn't see any benefit to Loulan in this matter. Let's go thousands of miles and go to that ghost place in Crescent Bay to fight the Zhenjiang Army, how did you calculate such a bad idea? ”

"What else?" Lao Jianhua calmly asked, "Your Highness, do you want to fight a decisive battle in Loulan City, the capital of your country?" ”

Alikjiang was stunned when he heard this, and was about to open his mouth to refute, Lao Jianhua continued: "The main force of the Zhenjiang Capital Protectorate in the hinterland of the Ghost Desert has about 70,000 horses. They are all battle-hardened elites, and once fully mobilized, it is no joke. In addition, the Fierce Blade Legion stationed in Liangzhou can rush to the aid of Western Xinjiang at any time. The total number of soldiers and horses on the two routes is nearly 200,000. Your Highness Alikjiang, do you think that the Loulan army alone can stop the tiger and wolf divisions of Shengtang? ”

What Lao Jianhua said was all ironclad facts, and Alikjiang couldn't find anything to refute at all, so he had to be silent for a while.

Seeing that his attitude was a little relaxed, Duolun hurriedly said: "Your Highness, for the sake of today's plan, only the four families of Turkic, Loulan, Shule and Gelhan join forces to make the Zhenjiang Protectorate fall into a situation of no return." At that time, the entire ghost desert in Western Xinjiang is not our world? ”

Alekjiang's eyes were rolling, and he turned to ask Gelhan: "Brother, you are from our Western Xinjiang, what do you say?" ”

Gelhan is actually older than Alikjiang, but when he heard the other party call him his brother, he could only respond casually: "Brother Alikjiang, Ashina Khan is sincerely helping us people in the Western Xinjiang, if you want to defeat Shengtang and take back what we have lost, we have to be united." This is an opportunity not to be missed. ”

Alekjiang smiled: "Brother, I'm not talking about this, but about the formation of the Western Xinjiang Alliance in the future." ”

Gelhan was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said: "After the success of the big event, our Che Chi Kingdom is willing to support His Royal Highness Alikjiang to become the leader of the Western Frontier Alliance!"

Duolun also echoed: "Our Great Khan also means this, the Western Xinjiang is the Western Xinjiang of the Western Xinjiang people, drive out the Shengtang people, this land, or need His Royal Highness Alikjiang to preside over the overall situation." ”

"Hahaha-" Alikjiang looked up to the sky and smiled when he heard this: "Okay! Since everyone exalts this king like this, then our Loulan Kingdom is also duty-bound. Let's do it according to the wishes of the three, let's wait for the Shule army to come to rendezvous, hold the ceremony of the bloody alliance, and then wave the Crescent Bay to compete with the Zhenjiang Protectorate! ”

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Seventy-five miles east of Zijin Pass, there is a small town called "General Temple", which belongs to the jurisdiction of Liangzhou Prefecture, and the base camp of the Fierce Blade Legion is located here.

Jiangjunmiao Town is a typical military camp in Shengtang, and the residents in the town are basically military households and military families, and more are officers and soldiers of the Fierce Blade Army.

Due to the outbreak of the Great War between Shengtang and the Turks in Western Xinjiang last autumn, the Flame Blade Legion did not participate, so the soldiers and horses stationed here were complete and fully equipped, and their combat strength was relatively good.

After Shen Lie left Metasequoia City, he went all the way to the east, originally planning to go to the national capital of Anxi to find Zhang Sanpi, the deputy capital of the Zhenjiang Army, to report the news. But unexpectedly, Deputy Du Hu Zhang had already led the army to Chechi at this time, and the other deputy Du Hu Guan Zhan happened to take leave to return to his hometown Yuzhou to visit relatives, so Shen Lie had no choice but to continue to walk east, through Zijin Pass, and arrive at the base camp of the Liangzhou Fierce Blade Army.

The situation in Western Xinjiang was extremely urgent, and he no longer bothered to hide his true identity, and with the Pisces gold medal given by the emperor, he went straight to the camp of the Chinese army.

The senior generals of the Holy Tang Army, there is no one who does not know the name of the Reverse Scale Division, as soon as they heard that it was the Long History of the Reverse Scale, Qiao Pinglu, the deputy commander of the Fierce Blade Army, hurriedly ran to the Chinese military camp to salute and meet each other.

"We also just received the news that there has been a big change in the western Xinjiang, but there has been no official military order from the imperial capital, so our Fierce Blade Army doesn't know what to do next." After listening to Shen Lie's intentions, Deputy Commander Qiao responded cautiously: "But fortunately, things happen to happen, He Shuai is on the way here, as long as he arrives at the old man's house, the overall situation will be stable." ”

Shen Lie was stunned when he heard this: "What did you say?" Commander He has come to Liangzhou? Hasn't he been bedridden for a long time? Why did you leave the imperial capital at this time and rush here? ”

Qiao Pinglu was also a little surprised: "Uh...... Well, the specific reason, the last general is not very clear, listening to the news reported by the outpost, it seems that His Majesty meant, let He Shuai come to the northwest. ”

"! The emperor has always been sympathetic to Commander He, how could he let him drag his sick body to Liangzhou to suffer?! Shen Lie suddenly became anxious: "Do you know where Great Commander He is now?" ”

Qiao Pinglu was taken aback by his reaction, and hurriedly replied: "Counting the days, it will take almost two or three days to get here, but He Shuai is unwell and can't ride a horse, maybe it will be slower." ”

A very uncomfortable feeling suddenly surged in Shen Lie's heart: "How many guards did He Jingming bring with him?" ”

Deputy Commander Qiao was directly stunned by the question, and said blankly: "Huh? He left the imperial capital, how can the last general know? ”

Shen Lie was so anxious that he grabbed Qiao Pinglu's collar and shouted face to face: "How many personal soldiers does he have in the imperial capital?" ”

Qiao Pinglu's big face turned red, and while struggling back, he waved his hand at the guards, signaling that it was okay for them. Then he replied to Shen Lie: "Lord Changshi, don't worry, He Shuai usually doesn't carry his servants according to the rules of the imperial court, and when he went to the imperial capital to recuperate, there were only about a hundred and ten brothers around him to follow him. ”

Shen Lie let go of his hand and muttered, "I'm afraid it's going to be bad!" Suddenly, he stared at Qiao Pinglu again: "You immediately gather three thousand soldiers and horses for me, no, five thousand soldiers and horses, and follow me to meet Commander He." ”

Qiao Pinglu looked at Shen Lie like a fool, and it took a long time before he said timidly: "Lord Shen, the last general will know your old identity. However, without His Majesty's Tiger Talisman, the military order of the Ministry of War, and the marching festival issued by the Governor's Office, let alone 5,000 soldiers and horses, even 50 people, the last general will not be able to transfer it to you. At the moment, He Shuai is not where he is, and the Fierce Blade Army leaves the jurisdiction to greet him, this charm, order, and festival are all indispensable, otherwise they will be punished for treason. ”

Seeing that Shen Lie was slightly stunned and didn't speak, Qiao Pinglu continued: "Besides, He Shuai is not outside the gate. From the imperial capital to Liangzhou, this road is within the boundaries of my Holy Tang Dynasty, and the post stations, guards, and government soldiers along the way are all their own people, why do you have to mobilize thousands of soldiers and horses to meet it? ”

Shen Lie knew in his heart that the Turks, the Western Frontier Domain, and Xie Guang were secretly colluding behind their backs with bad intentions, and an important part of that was to try to disrupt the entire northwest military system and at the same time cut off the opposition forces in the imperial capital.

In this way, the Grand Commander He Jingming became one of their targets.

Although Commander He was seriously ill and had been on the bed for a long time, he was after all a famous general of the Shengtang Dynasty, and he also shouldered the position of commander-in-chief of the two armies, the Fierce Blade Legion and the Zhenjiang Protectorate. Once he is put back in charge of military affairs, even if it is just for show, the situation in the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang may be completely different.

On the contrary, if He Jingming had three longs and two shorts at this time, whether it was the Zhenjiang Army, the Fierce Blade Army, or even the Imperial Capital, they would inevitably fall into chaos, and the morale of the army would be disturbed.

Therefore, Shen Lie and Li Jiangyao both agreed that He Jingming was very likely to become the target of the enemy's attack and plot at this time, and he would be in danger at any time. At present, I heard Qiao Pinglu say that He Jingming left the imperial capital, no matter whether it was the emperor's will or not, he might encounter an accident on the road.

Shen Lie secretly pondered in his heart for a moment, and finally decided to make a special decision, and his face sank: "Master Qiao, I am the imperial front and the third level of the official university!" Now I command you to gather all the officers here at once, I have something to say! ”

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In less than a cup of hot tea, all the officers above the rank of lieutenant in the base camp of the Burning Blade Regiment reported for duty and stood in line in front of the tent.

After Shen Lie waited for Qiao Pinglu to introduce his identity to everyone, he only said two words to the slightly dazed officers:

"I got accurate information, someone is trying to murder He Jingming!"

"If you want to save his life, take the soldiers with me immediately!"