The person who spoke was none other than the little Persian beauty Effentia.

The girl shouted with excitement on her face: "The money, equipment, food and grass are all wrapped up in me!" Right, Uncle Duke? ”

Duke nodded with a smile and said to Li Jiangyao: "My lord, in the past few days, while the situation has calmed down, I have contacted Master Amat and asked him to send a large number of supplies to Metasequoia through the Persian merchant mission, in case the army needs it from time to time. In addition, Lord Situ and I inspected the supply relay stations located in various places, and most of them were not found by the Turks, and the materials stored in them were intact. Regarding the matter of money, let's ask the young lady to talk about it, she has been personally handling the business, and she knows better. ”

Effantia proudly introduced: "Ladies and gentlemen, my father said before that Master Li deposited too much ransom deposit with him, and the interest accumulated every day made him a little unbearable. So, he exchanged some gold and silver coins, and was about to send someone to bring in Metasequoia recently. I made a preliminary estimate that if we have 100,000 soldiers and horses, it will be enough for two to two and a half years of military salaries. In addition, along with the gold and silver, a large number of armor and weapons made by Persia were also shipped. ”

"Those armor weapons can equip about 50,000 troops." Duke explained in detail: "Master Ameni has already greeted several Western Xinjiang countries and asked them for help, and said to the outside world that they purchased from Persia, and the Turks should not notice any problems, let alone come forward to make things difficult." ”

When the generals heard that they had money, equipment, and such a large scale, they all smiled happily and thanked Effantia and Duke one after another.

"Okay, let's talk about the third thing." Li Jiangyao spread out a map, pointed to it and said to everyone: "The four cities that have been lost so far are still garrisoned by the Turks. Tanley told me that sooner or later they would hand over these towns to the Western Frontier Alliance, and I think most of them would be returned to our old friend, King Gelhan of Chechi. However, as long as there are Turkic people, we cannot act rashly for the time being. Moreover, these places have been slaughtered horribly, and even if they are recaptured, it will be difficult to restore them to their original state in a short time. Therefore, I decided to find another strategic fulcrum to echo Metasequoia City. ”

Samour was curious, "Huh? Isn't this place the Yarumqi Mountains that the adults are referring to? Our family vault is there. ”

Li Jiangyao smiled and patted Kuliban's shoulder, and said to Samor: "I have discussed with the little prince, and we will use the secret vault in the mountains of Arumqi as our other fortress. The distance, although it is a little farther away from Metasequoia City, but the location and conditions here are very good, and it is a pity to waste it. ”

Du Jian said: "Actually, if you want to say far, it's not too far. At the beginning, I took the grain transport team on two trips, and the road was still very smooth. More importantly, the Yarumqi Mountains are terrained and the location of the vault is excellent, which is particularly conducive to the implementation of defense. Unlike our Metasequoia City, it is located on the Silk Road trade route, surrounded by open plains, and there is basically no danger to defend. ”

Kuliban agreed: "Yes, the family has been running the secret vault for thousands of years, and all the facilities are very complete, whether it is to store grain or soldiers, it is very convenient. Coupled with the steep mountains, there was no fear of the Turkic cavalry at all. ”

"And this place is located at the junction of several western Xinjiang countries, so its strategic significance cannot be underestimated." Xu Youchang stared at the map and analyzed: "You see, from here all the way to the north, it only takes seventy or eighty miles, you can hold the mouth of the Tarun Valley, and completely block the Silk Road trade route; To the east, it directly persecuted the court of Chechi, and there was no pass in the middle, and it was unimpeded; The three small countries in western Xinjiang in the south, Pishan, Wensu, and Shache, are all major grain-producing areas, and they are also one of the most important sources of supply for the Turks. And less than 800 miles to the west, is the military town of Loulan State, Wumutik City, taking it is equivalent to asking for half the life of the Alek River. ”

Li Jiangyao bowed slightly: "So, standing on the Yarumqi Mountain, you can attack when you advance, and you can defend when you retreat." When it is not moving, it can secretly hide tens of thousands of troops; Once activated, it is enough to shake the whole picture! ”

Xu Youchang looked at Li Jiangyao and said in a solemn tone: "My lord, give it to me, in half a year, I promise to give you back a rock fortress!" ”

"Haha, let's think of it together, Ben Shuai has this intention!" Li Jiangyao said happily: "That's what I plan, Nanhua County Lord Huo Liya commands the Third Army and is responsible for garrisoning the base camp Metasequoia City. The First Army, the Second Army, the Fourth Army and my commander's battalion were brought by you to the Yarumqi Mountains, and with the cooperation of Du Jian and others, they secretly trained and prepared for war, and created an invincible and strong army for me! ”

Du Jian replied beside him: "Boss, don't worry!" Brother Xu's ability, the brothers have counted, and there is nothing to say about what they admire. As long as he gives the order, I promise not to discount a little, train elite soldiers in Yarumqi, and sweep the western frontier! ”

Xu Youchang patted Du Jian on the shoulder to express his gratitude, and then he turned to Li Jiangyao and asked, "The county lord only takes the third army to guard Metasequoia City, will it be a little weak?" Now that the situation in the western Xinjiang has changed, the Turks are backing their backs, and the likes of Alikjiang and Gelhan are not able to keep up and have to stand up, in case these two guys send troops to harass ......"

Li Jiangyao smiled and waved his hand: "Don't worry. Don't forget, I'm now a dignified metasequoia baron, who is a nobleman named by the great khan of the Turkic Empire, Ashina, like a fake nobleman! On closer examination, it is not certain who the Turks will support. Besides, what good is it for Alekjan and Gelhan to come to us for trouble? They owe a lot of debts, and do they dare to cause trouble everywhere? ”

The generals laughed when they heard this, and Xu Youchang also nodded again and again: "That's right, if they don't feel good about themselves, they can let Effantia come to collect debts and promise to be obedient immediately." ”

"As the saying goes, a penny is difficult to defeat a hero, and the ancients don't deceive me, haha!" Situ Wushou said with a smile.

Li Jiangyao laughed with everyone for a while, and said loudly: "Okay, brothers, things are properly arranged, I hope that all you will unite and cooperate, be loyal to your duties, and wait for me to come back with peace of mind." ”

"Waiting for you to come back? Where are you going? Xu Youchang and the others were slightly stunned when they heard this, and subconsciously asked.

Li Jiangyao's expression was relaxed, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "According to my calculations, it will take at least another half a year or so for the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang to undergo earth-shattering changes." And before that, I want to go back to the Central Plains first. ”

When Xu Youchang heard him say that he wanted to go back to the Central Plains, he stopped talking a little, and when the others saw that he didn't speak, they all closed their mouths temporarily and didn't dare to speak.

Li Jiangyao couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart: If Lin Feng was still there, he would definitely chase after him at this time to get to the bottom of it, and even speak out against it. Thinking of his deceased comrades-in-arms, Li Jiangyao was a little sad, and patiently explained: "The envoy we sent to explore the wilderness path and report to the Central Plains has been away from Metasequoia for a long time. Count the days, and you should return anyway. But to this day, there has been no news from the three people. Now that the army is in chaos, I was worried about what was going on with them, so I had to go on a trip myself. First, the Turks began to advance eastward, and it became more urgent to open up contact with the imperial court; Second, it is also necessary to inform the imperial capital of the most accurate and detailed information and analysis as soon as possible. ”

Xie Tanzhi said worriedly: "My lord, you are the main general, the foundation of the whole army, and you really shouldn't be in danger in a task like this." ”

"Frankly, you should know very well that there is no way to do it, because I am the most suitable person." Li Jiangyao smiled: "I used to be the most powerful spy in the Pegasus Scout Camp of the Zhenjiang Protectorate, and the chief scout under the command of Commander He. Guanshan flying over, thousands of miles of aircraft, is a common thing for me. The mountain forest trails and the pass fortresses are also so familiar that they can't be more familiar. And for the knowledge of the Turkic army, no one here can compare with me. Therefore, no matter how you look at it, the task of going to the Central Plains is none other than me. I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I'm very sure. All of you can rest assured, we will return here on time for half a year, and lead you, the elite soldiers, to recover the great rivers and mountains of my Holy Tang! ”

Among the generals present, there was no cronie like Lin Feng who dared to go against the scales, so everyone had no choice but to accept Li Jiangyao's order.

As soon as the meeting ended, Li Jiangyao immediately picked up the bags that had already been packed, waved goodbye to everyone under Xia Lian's reluctant gaze, and embarked on the journey back to the Central Plains.

In fact, there was another important reason for his trip, which he did not tell everyone at that time. The reason why it is inconvenient to say is that what is the tricky situation within the Holy Tang Imperial Court at present, including the reason for the assassination of his mentor He Jingming, he must personally understand it, otherwise, it is very likely to affect his judgment in the next strategic deployment.

Shengtang is the foundation of the situation in Western Xinjiang, and if this key factor is not thoroughly investigated, the future cannot be fully considered in one's own planning, which is equivalent to a blind man touching an elephant and riding a horse in the abyss, and committing the taboo of the commander's decision-making.