Yun Qianxue reported to Ashina Zhijin that due to the timely arrival of the Third Army of Zhenjiang, the plan to capture Zijin Pass had been seriously hampered. Unless the entire Chengguan fortress is completely bulldozed, it will be difficult to shake Li Jiangyao's defense line with only the Blood Guard Iron Cavalry Legion and the Eleventh Legion.

After reading the report, Ashina's mood was a little heavy.

He didn't expect that the most critical situation of the Eastern Crusade strategy, which had been planned for many years, actually appeared in the most undesirable place - the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang.

Western Xinjiang, with many countries and ethnic groups, has been scattered for thousands of years. According to his plan, as long as he could uproot the power of Shengtang in this place, and then send a random Turkic army to watch, the loose and weak Western Frontier would not be a cause for concern.

However, the truth exceeded Ashina's expectations.

Li Jiangyao, the seventh-rank captain of the Zhenjiang Metropolitan Protectorate, a little-known small role, was able to emerge in just a few years, swept through the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang, defeated the Gema Legion, and then completely blocked the back road of the main force of the Eastern Expedition, and directly threatened the security of the entire Turkic Empire from a strategic level.

Ashina stared at the Go placed in the imperial study and fell into deep thought.

This is one of the favorite games of the Shengtang people, where the black and white chess pieces are entangled and kinked, and they do not give up an inch of land. And the current situation, just like this game of Go, you have me, I have you, and all forces rely on their precious qi to continue to survive, and then encircle each other and fight each other.

And the Turkic situation is the most dangerous.

Whether it is the crown prince Li Bing, the king of Huaiyang, Li Jiong, or Lao Jianhua and Li Jiangyao, they all have a broad strategic room for maneuver behind them, and the supply of food and grass can be endless.

On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of troops were blocked in the area from Tongguan in the east, Zijin in the west, Jinhe in the north, and Hanzhong in the south, unable to move.

Although the Guanzhong Plain also has thousands of miles of fertile soil, and the population in the northwest is not small, but this is a foreign country, and it is an away place where it is impossible to realize the replenishment and transformation of combat power!

In every battle, one Turkic warrior dies and one less, just like the iceberg under the scorching sun, no matter how large it is, it will eventually melt away.

Ashina sighed heavily, turned his head to the outside and ordered, "Go!" Call Brother Shuxuan back from the front line, I have something to look for him! ”

-

When Xiahou Ninghan arrived at Zijin Pass, a fierce offensive and defensive battle had just ended, and the exhausted Turkic army retreated five or six miles and chose to camp in a relatively safe area to rest.

Taking advantage of the disengagement between the two armies, Xiahou Ninghan arrived at the pass and asked the defenders to let him go.

During the war, the people in the vicinity had already fled in order to escape the scourge of war, and the caravans were completely extinct, so the soldiers of the defending army were surprised to see a beautiful girl alone in front of the pass.

The leading officer lay on the city wall and kindly persuaded Xiahou Ninghan to leave quickly, so as not to be caught by the Turks, but Xiahou Ninghan bluntly said that he wanted to see Li Jiangyao and said that he was his friend.

Hearing what the other party said, the soldiers did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly reported it level by level, and finally alarmed the commander-in-chief of the Third Army, Huo Liya.

The county lord of Nanhua was very curious, and personally went up to the city pass to check, as soon as she saw Xiahou Ninghan herself, she couldn't help but curse in her heart: Did the commander fall into a woman's nest? A few days ago, a lotus girl came to the door, saying that she was his daughter-in-law, and today another one came out, and she was still so beautiful.

To tell the truth, Huo Liya was the first to follow Li Jiangyao to fight in the south and the north, and she had already had a secret affection for him, but because she had been in the midst of the war, she did not confess it in her heart. Now that the beauties are looking for a husband one by two, Horia can't help but be jealous.

She looked at Xiahou Ninghan for a while, and asked angrily, "Are you also Li Jiangyao's daughter-in-law?" ”

Xiahou Ninghan was slightly stunned under the city: "I'm sorry, I didn't hear clearly, what did you just say?" ”

"I'm asking-" The county lord of Nanhua shouted angrily: "Are you also Li Jiangyao's daughter-in-law of the flowery radish?" ”

The soldiers at the head of the city looked at each other one by one, and they didn't dare to laugh.

Xiahou was stunned in place. Flower heart big radish? Daughter-in-law? Or is it too? What the hell is this?

She was about to open her mouth to explain, but at this time, Li Jiangyao patrolled the city and arrived here, recognizing Xiahou Ninghan from a distance, and couldn't help waving her hand happily and shouting: "Hey, Xiahou Sect Master!" How did you get here? Fast! Fast! Open the gates! ”

The subordinates agreed, and hurriedly opened the door to let Xiahou Ninghan enter the customs.

As soon as the people entered the door, Li Jiangyao ran down from the city in three steps and two steps, and smiled at Xiahou Ninghan: "Oh, I really didn't expect it, we haven't seen each other for more than a year, right?" How did you get to Zijin Pass? Is there something wrong? ”

Xiahou Ninghan looked at the scratches on Li Jiangyao's armor, and then thought of the hardships he had fought alone and defended the land for the Holy Tang Dynasty, and couldn't help but admire and feel distressed, and said softly: "General Li, you...... Great work. ”

Li Jiangyao was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood that the other party was referring to his own war, and hurriedly laughed loudly: "Hey, it's not hard, I'm used to it." Oh yes, let's stop standing here and talking, let's go to my command post and rest our feet. ”

Xiahou Ninghan agreed, turned his head to look at Huo Liya who was huffing at the head of the city, and then followed Li Jiangyao and flew away.

In the command post of Zijin Pass, Li Jiangyao ordered someone to roast a fat sheep, and then brought out all kinds of melons, fruits, grapes and wine, and warmly entertained Xiahou Ninghan. The two waited for the roast sheep, and Xiahou Ninghan explained to Li Jiangyao the purpose of his trip.

Hearing that the crown prince almost died at the hands of the Blood Demon and the Soul Eater, and that the two counties of Zhongmu Qingchi were even more slaughtered, Li Jiangyao's brows gradually furrowed.

"Hateful! That guy named Ge Shuxuan must be tired of life! Li Jiangyao said angrily: "If you have lost your conscience, how can you tolerate him?" ”

Xiahou Ninghan nodded: "This person is a disciple of the Turkic Martial Saint, his martial arts are extremely high, and he is good at using poison arts, even I was almost planted in his hands, so if the general meets Ge Shuxuan, he must not take it lightly." However, fortunately, all his lead has been destroyed by me, and it is difficult for him to kill anyone else in a short period of time, except for the more than 700 poisonous soldiers sent to the front line. ”

Li Jiangyao said worriedly: "According to your description, those poisonous soldiers are very strong in combat, and they may be able to cope with it in the plain battle, but in small-scale encounters, our soldiers will only be beaten at all." Or the defenders of the city who sneak up on it, they can also exert great effect, and they can't be more guarded against. ”

"General Chang of the Liaodong Metropolitan Protectorate agrees with you," Hearing this, Xiahou Ninghan bowed slightly: "He also mentioned that encounters, ambush battles, and sneak attacks on cities and military camps may be the main fighting methods of the poisonous soldiers." Unless they reach a certain size and number, they will not be easily sent to the big battlefield. ”

"Then kill Brother Shu Xuan and don't let him increase the number of poisonous soldiers!" Li Jiangyao said in a deep voice: "You just said that there is a lead mine in Western Xinjiang, do you know the specific location?" ”

Xiahou Ninghan shook his head: "Ge Shuxuan's subordinates only said that the mine is at the southern foot of Yarumqi Mountain, and he is afraid that he does not know the specific location." ”

Li Jiangyao's sword eyebrows tightened: "Yarumqi Mountain? I'm familiar with the place, where the fortress of the Zhenjiang Army is located, but no one has ever heard of a lead mine before. Could this thing have another name? ”

"I don't know about this," Xiahou Ninghan was also a little worried: "It would be nice if I could ask my father, maybe he knows." ”

Speaking of Xiahou Mei, Xiahou Ninghan couldn't help but think of Bi Luo again, and he didn't know if the No. 1 Turkic master had gone to Zhongnan Mountain. Although Bi Luo's martial arts have reached the peak and he has entered the realm of transformation, Xiahou Ninghan is not worried about his father. First, Xiahou Mei is not easy to mess with, who is afraid of who is not certain. Second, Daoist Qingzhu is also there, and he will never let his old brother suffer.

Li Jiangyao didn't know what Xiahou Ninghan was thinking at this time, and still continued the topic just now and said: "It's okay, let's inquire with the locals slowly when the time comes, as long as the lead mine is indeed in Western Xinjiang, I guarantee that Ge Shuxuan won't get a single star!" Sect Master, I don't think you have to go on this trip in person, the ghosts in the Western Frontier are not familiar with you, so I am more sure of my subordinates. ”

As he spoke, he shouted outside, "Someone, call the intelligence department to come!" ”

The guard said yes and ran away quickly. After a few moments, an intelligence officer walked into the room: "My lord, the lowly post is here. ”

Li Jiangyao glanced at him: "Oh, you are on duty today." If there's something to do, go do it right away. ”

"Your Excellency, please."

"In the southern area of Yarumqi Mountain, there is a lead mine," Li Jiangyao said: "You go and find out, see which country it belongs to, say hello to their king, and then ask the Fifth Army to send someone to seal it for me!" ”

The intelligence officer said "Yes", and then asked, "My lord, what is the lead?" ”

Li Jiangyao smiled: "It's a pity, I don't know." It's up to you to find out this question yourself. ”

"Understand," the intelligence officer saluted, "I'll immediately arrange for someone to find out about the lead mine." ”

Li Shiqing nodded, seeing that the intelligence officer was standing still, he was curious: "What?" Anything else? ”

The intelligence officer pretended to glance at Xiahou Ninghan inadvertently, and said, "Shopkeeper Zhou's goods have arrived." ”

Shopkeeper Zhou, referring to Zhou Xing of the Reverse Scale Division, the intelligence officer deliberately said this, in fact, because he couldn't figure out the identity of Xiahou Ninghan, so he hinted to Li Jiangyao that Shen Lie had new news sent.

Li Jiangyao said with a smile: "This Xiahou Sect Master is her own person, and she was with Shen Changshi before. What about secret letters? Give it to me. ”

The intelligence officer also smiled, and hurriedly took out a finger-thick bamboo tube from his arms, and presented it to the commander with both hands.

Li Jiangyao took it, checked the mud seal with Shen Lie's mark, and then unscrewed the bamboo tube and pulled out a small paper roll.

Looking at the content on the paper, Li Jiangyao's expression became more and more solemn.

Xiahou Ninghan felt a little curious, and looked at Li Jiangyao with inquiring eyes, Li Jiangyao handed the paper roll back to the intelligence officer to put it away, and then turned to her and said, "The situation in the Central Plains is a little bad. ”