The yellow sand is long, and there is no end in sight. If it weren't for the guidance of a guide, I'm afraid it would not be easy for Fang Chongyong and his party to reach Qiuzi Town, which is not far away from the geographical straight line.

Along the way, I passed through many ruins of the city that were already broken walls and sand. The area of these cities is not large, and the largest of them is rumored to be the site of the Western Han Dynasty, and the foundation of the city wall is only 100 meters long and wide.

Not only is there no grass growing around, it has been reduced to sandy and saline-alkali land, and even the once abundant water source is gone. It's as if it appeared here out of thin air in the past, and most of it was destroyed out of thin air.

Here, Fang Chongyong saw the rise and fall of civilization, and after having it, it was dead silence and nothingness.

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Li Daoyuan recorded the grand occasion of Qiuzi smelting in his "Notes on the Book of Water": there are mountains in the north of Quci (Qiuzi) for 200 miles, and the fire is light at night, and there is smoke during the day. People take this mountain stone; Smelt this mountain iron, Hengchong 36 countries.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the smelting of Qiuzi was still on a considerable scale. However, in the Tang Dynasty, due to the serious damage to the ecology of the Qiuci area, and the intention of the Tang Dynasty government to restrict the smelting of subway products, the smelting base located in the northern canyon of Qiuci was shut down and never opened again.

As a result, the grand occasion described by Li Daoyuan back then is no longer repeated.

"After the Han Dynasty, the state of Qiuci reached its peak, and the king of Qiuci ruled over more than 700 large and small towns in the Western Regions, with 100,000 armor and expanded the land for thousands of miles. It is so strong and rich that people today cannot imagine. ”

Li Qiyun pointed at the majestic and magnificent Ilulu City in front of him with a horsewhip, and the other party Chongyong introduced.

Yilulu City, that is, the administrative and military center of Qiuci Town, the capital of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty, referred to as "Qiuci City". This city is one of the largest cities in the Western Regions. After all, the country of Qiuzi was also wide back then, and the city of Ilulu was called "Yancheng" at that time, and the city of Ilulu was expanded on the basis of Yancheng.

After hundreds of years of vicissitudes of wind and rain, the ruling center of the Qiuci region has not changed, but the Qiuci Palace has become the office of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate.

The owner has changed, but the house has not changed so much.

Nowadays, the city of Ilulu is divided into "inner city", "outer city" and "horse city" from the inside to the outside, maintaining the traditional "three-layer nesting" pattern of important towns in the Tang Dynasty. The outermost horse city is ten miles long and wide, and the scale is huge! Standing outside, you can feel the magnificence with a strong Western Regions exotic style.

Not to mention the Anxi Protectorate, even the three states of Beiting do not have such a big city! If you want to find a city of the size of Ilolu elsewhere, you have to find it in the Hexi Corridor. Even in Hexi, only Liangzhou Wuwei City, which has the pattern of "airplanes with wings", can be worthy of a battle.

Fang Chongyong somewhat understood where Gao Xianzhi's inflated mentality came from, it was the prosperity of Yilulu City that gave him blind confidence.

Since the opening of the Western Han Dynasty, the mentality of the King of the Western Regions has actually been quite inflated, and he has always regarded himself as the boss of the Western Regions and the core of the Western Regions. After the decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it actually rose for a while, and if there was no interference from extraterritorial powers such as the Western Turks, Tubo, and the Tang Dynasty, it would be difficult for the Qiuci Kingdom to do a great job in the Western Regions.

"Military affairs are urgent, take this ambassador to see the senior deputy capital protection."

After explaining to Li Qiyun, Fang Chongyong turned over and dismounted, and walked straight towards the west gate of Yilulu City.

"Ambassador Fang, please go this way, and lead the way in front."

Li Qiyun saluted and said to Fang Chongyong, remembering the "letter of nomination" signed in Yanqi City, hoping that the contradiction between Fang Chongyong and Gao Xianzhi could be resolved peacefully.

When he came to the city gate, a general on duty who was wearing camel skin armor and a helmet and was just wearing a red belt on his forehead stopped Li Qiyun and asked, "Does Judge Li have any documents to enter the city?" Qiuzi Town is currently under martial law, and no documents are allowed to enter the city without the approval of the senior deputy protector! ”

The person who spoke was named Xi Yuanqing, and he was one of Gao Xianzhi's cronies and generals, and could be regarded as "Zheng Dequan" who had no relationship with Gao Xianzhi.

If Li Qiyun didn't know what Gao Xianzhi wanted to do, maybe he was really frightened by Xi Yuanqing's words. But now that the bottom of the card has been opened by Fang Chongyong, Gao Xianzhi's military order of "wanting to cover up" is a little ridiculous.

"Zheng Dequan did not listen to the order, blocked the crossing of the ambassador of the Western Regions, and has been beheaded on the charge of falsely passing on military orders, does General Xi want to be the next Zheng Dequan?

Ambassador Fang is right behind him, how many heads does General Xi have enough to cut off? Or do you want to compare the weight of the ambassador Fang, or the weight of the senior deputy protector? ”

Li Qiyun asked with a smile, and He Changqi and the others behind Fang Chongyong were silent, holding their hands on the hilt of the horizontal knife at their waists.

Xi Yuanqing swallowed his saliva, and then defended himself:

"It's been a long time since I've seen Judge Li, so it's just a joke just now, since it's the ambassador of the Western Regions Economic Strategy in person, entering Yilulu City is naturally like returning to his own home.

Ambassador Fang, please here, Senior Deputy Du Hu is on an errand in Yamen at the moment. ”

Gao Xianzhi really hasn't had time to leave Qiuzi Town yet!

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Many things, even if they are being prepared but not formally implemented, will not have serious irreversible consequences.

At present, Gao Xianzhi is just frantically buying military supplies. As long as you haven't moved yet, there's nothing wrong with that.

Fang Chongyong didn't want to slash Gao Xianzhi hard, if not, he could go back to Yanqi Town to closely observe the movements, wait for Gao Xianzhi to go out on the expedition and then send a messenger to chase after him, and after the new military order was delivered, he would send the song to Chang'an, complain to Brother Ji, and join Gao Xianzhi.

The insidious routine is not that it can't be used, but that everything must focus on the overall situation of the Western Regions. Fang Chongyong's trip to the Western Regions was not to make money and make money.

"General Xi's guidance is that this ambassador is new to the Western Regions, and he is not familiar with everything here, and he still has to rely on a competent person like General Xi who is familiar with the local military situation and people's feelings."

Fang Chongyong said with a smile, his attitude was very kind, but there was a faint needle in it, which made it difficult for people to pick up the stubble.

Under the leadership of Xi Yuanqing, everyone walked into Yilulu City, and as far as the eye could see, the stalls on both sides of the street were chaotic and lively, as if they had come to Chang'an West City.

There are officials wearing Tang Dynasty green official robes who are managing inspections, but many of them are blue-haired and blue-eyed, not like people from the Central Plains.

The Tang Dynasty merchants who sold silk had a round collar in brocade robes, a soft-horned head on their heads, leather belts and long boots, shrewd and elegant, and their image was relatively fixed.

As for Hu Shang, the dress is even more alternative, Hu Shang is just a very general statement, and the Hu Shang who are generalized by people have a variety of costumes.

A Turkic horse-trader, with a short knife on his left and a quiver on his right, and long hair with tiny braids at the ends.

The Sogdians, who sold handicrafts and valuables, often wore white clothes, with intricate ornaments and belts, and had a high nose.

As for the black-clothed merchants, they were much more plain-dressed, dressed in black, but they were of various races, and seemed to come from many different places.

These people are all uniformly classified as "Hu Shang", and the Chinese language is broad and profound, but also quite "concise and concise".

"Jie Shuai, what will you do later?"

He Changqi walked up to Fang Chongyong's side and whispered in his ear.

As cronies, He Changqi and others all understand that the Tang Dynasty can only have one voice in the Western Regions. Therefore, Fang Chongyong and Gao Xianzhi, one of them always has to shut up, which is obvious.

Gao Xianzhi is now in power, and he actually controls the four towns of Anxi, will he voluntarily hand over power?

It's impossible to think about.

This is a conclusion that is easy to draw by pushing oneself and others.

"Do not act recklessly without my command."

Fang Chongyong scolded in a low voice.

When the group came to the royal palace where the old Qiuzi royal family was located, they were all shocked by the scale of this palace!

The inner city of Ilulu City is the old royal palace of the Qiuzi royal family, where all the officials and generals of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate lived.

This sprawling inner city is the heart of the city of Ilolu and a castle-like existence. Even if the outer city and the outer city have fallen, as long as the inner city is properly defended and the food is sufficient. Then the defenders will be able to hold out for a long time.

It's no wonder that this place will be used as the seat of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate, and it is indeed the accumulation of the wisdom and experience of the predecessors, rather than the random decision of some people with a pat on the head.

"If you go in and pass it on, the ambassador won't go in first."

Fang Chongyong stopped in front of the moat and said to Xi Yuanqing, who was already stepping on the stone bridge with one foot, and refused to continue walking.

This river, which surrounds the inner city and serves as a moat, is also one of the most important sources of water in the city. Its role is not to hold off the besieging side, but to provide a stable source of water for the defenders.

Desert arid climate, nothing without water!

Seeing Fang Chongyong's attitude, Xi Yuanqing already understood that Yilulu City would not be calm today. He saluted the young "Fang Ambassador" in front of him, and then strode into the inner city.

The gods fight, and the pond fish suffer!

Whether it is Fang Chongyong or Gao Xianzhi, it is not something that Xi Yuanqing can afford to provoke. He informed Gao Xianzhi of the news of Fang Chongyong's arrival, even if he "retired after success", the rest of the matter was really not something that he, a guerrilla general of the Anxi Army, could handle.

After a stick of incense, a general wearing silver armor and many bright feathers on his helmet walked out of the inner city, surrounded by dozens of heavily armed and leather-clad guards. In addition to Gao Xianzhi, there can be no second person in this person.

These guards, each of them in their leather armor, are brightly colored brocade robes, and their helmets are the same as Gao Xianzhi's, with feathers inserted, but not as many as Gao Xianzhi's.

Seeing that Gao Xianzhi and his party on the opposite side had a strong aura, He Changqi and the others behind Fang Chongyong all changed color and were furious.

They didn't have feathers in their helmets when they came here, and the other party actually plugged them in, which is unreasonable!

Why do sergeants have feathers on their helmets?

Because when the elite troops break the formation, they all have the role of "driving the army". After the elite breaks through the enemy's formation, the follow-up troops of this army see where there are "bright feathers" belonging to their own side, which means that their elite has run where!

They will consciously charge towards the place where the feathers are concentrated.

In other words, these soldiers with feathers on their helmets are the most elite backbone of an army, and in most cases, they are the cronies of the main general.

On the other hand, if the elites with feathers on their helmets on the battlefield have disappeared, then it means that the battle is more auspicious, and the elites have all died or fled, so others can moisten it as soon as possible!

This style of helmet is worn on weekdays, just to show his identity, and he is a trusted general or elite backbone in the army; When there is a war, it is part of "friend or foe". The differences between them are quite significant.

However, it is one thing for Gao Xianzhi and his entourage to wear a "feather helmet" within the scope of the Anxi Protectorate to deter the Hus of the Western Regions; Appearing in front of Fang Chongyong, the ambassador of the Western Regions, is another matter!

At this moment, the two sides are separated by a stone bridge of less than ten meters, whether it is Fang Chongyong or Gao Xianzhi, no one has taken the first step, let alone introduced themselves.

The atmosphere was so deadlocked for a while.

……

Dozens of miles south of Chang'an, the main hall of Cuiwei Palace on the Huangyu Mountains. Li Longji, the son of the Tang Dynasty wearing a white robe, had a calm face without a trace of waves.

He was so quiet, looking at the prince Li Heng, who was kneeling on the cushion in front of him, it had been more than a stick of incense, and he didn't say a word.

Li Jing also looked very indifferent, also did not speak, his eyes slightly lowered and looked at the table in front of him, on which was a letter.

"King Yong accused you of plotting to assassinate me and planning to burn down Cuiwei Palace, what do you say?"

Brother Ji asked by gently patting the envelope on the table with his right hand.

"Back to the saint, what is the attitude of the child towards the saint in his heart, doesn't the saint know?"

Li Xuan raised his head, his face was fearless, and he looked at Brother Ji.

"Presumptuous! Do you think I won't dare to kill you? ”

Brother Ji suddenly slammed the table, pointed at Li Xuan and roared angrily.

"Sage, you still have many young sons, in addition to these recorded in Zongzheng Temple, Yang Yuyao also gave birth to a dragon seed for you.

If you like, you can slaughter all the princes who are now adults, and then wait ten years to talk about it.

The child didn't think much of it, and he didn't plan to do anything.

It's good if you're happy, saint, it doesn't matter what the child thinks. ”

Li Xuan had an indifferent attitude, and he didn't even bother to justify how outrageous the plan of "burning Cuiwei Palace" was.

If it was so easy to set fire here, it is estimated that someone would have done it when Taizong was here to enjoy the coolness! Do we have to wait until now, 100 years from now?

"Lux shi, take the prince back to the East Palace."

Brother Ji waved his hand tiredly and said.

He had to admit that Li Xuan was very reasonable.

In other words, the people are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of death.

Li Xuan doesn't think about any grand undertakings now, he doesn't care about the government at all, and he doesn't even want to succeed to the throne at all!

Li Xuan lay flat and rotten, and for him, the road ahead was instantly wider. This is the classic "as long as I don't worry, it's someone else who worries"!

"The child is gone."

Li Xuan bowed expressionlessly.

In addition to the lack of respect on his face, the other etiquette can be described as a board and a glance, and others can't find any fault.

After the prince was taken away by Gao Lishi, Brother Ji was a little stunned.

He hoped that Li Jing would have a bitter hatred for him! As long as there is hatred, then everything is still under the control of him, the son of heaven.

But now Li Xuan has almost no desires, and he is almost a monk in a Buddhist temple!

For Brother Ji, Li Xuan's attitude is "not to take the initiative, not to refuse, not to be responsible".

I will take whatever official position you give, and I will take whatever reward you give, and I will go to the post whatever you want me to do. But no matter what it's turn to do, I'm just there to fish and ask!

This kind of hob meat is really a vivid lesson for Brother Ji, who is experienced in political struggle!

Just as Brother Ji was pondering and feeling depressed and irritable, Gao Lishi suddenly returned with Li Xuan, and then saluted him with a panicked face: "Sage, there is a fire in the middle of the mountain, it seems that someone is deliberately setting fire!" Now the fire is quite fierce! ”

Well?

Brother Ji stared at Li Xuan with straight eyes, he couldn't believe that Li Xuan couldn't even care about his own safety in order to kill him!

"Rebel! How dare you ......"

Brother Ji stepped forward and grabbed Li Xuan's collar, and a terrible guess suddenly flashed in his mind:

Could it be that someone wants to stew him and Li Heng in one pot?

Brother Ji slowly let go of his hand, looked around, and found that the eunuchs and palace maids around him were all frightened, waiting for him to give orders one by one.

Only Li Xuan's face was calm, as if nothing had happened.

(End of chapter)