In Yezhi Castle, the soldiers of the Anxi expeditionary army under Fang Chongyong were looking for wood in the city, and then preparing to build a ferry and granary on the shore of the lake in the westernmost part of Atami. It is only two or three miles away from Yezhi City.

There weren't too many tall trees near Yezhi City, and coupled with the desire to remilitarize the city, Fang Chongyong could only fight the idea of "shops" in Yezhi City.

There are many "conventional" stalls in the city, all of which are fenced with wood. Officials in Turgish collect a commercial tax based on the size of the stalls, once a day, and whoever occupies the position is charged.

These timbers can be used to build ferries and granaries.

Anyway, they are all "ownerless things", and they can be dismantled if they are said to be demolished.

"Official, this shop can't be demolished!"

In front of a stall full of melons and fruits in Yezhi City, a Sogdian Hu man shouted, blocking the silver spear Xiaojie sergeant who came to forcibly demolish it.

In order to "occupy the stall", he paid a month's business tax in one go, and now no one is willing to return the money to him!

"You didn't build this shop, what are you calling the dog?"

A silver-speared filial piety sergeant put the hilt of his sword against it, and asked Hu Shang's chin, his tone was not good.

"Master Jun, I paid the tax, I paid it for a month, and there are ten days left? There are so many goods, you have dismantled the shop, and I have nowhere to go! ”

The Sogdian Hu man seemed to have a bit of a brain, and defended himself in jerky Chinese.

He had only lost ten days of his taxes, and he looked like he had died of his mother. The Sogdian merchant knelt on the ground and pleaded bitterly, and after a long time, the soldier of the silver-speared filial piety army reluctantly took out a "military ticket" from his cuff and handed it to the other party with a look of disgust.

"Our Fang Jieshuai said that the losses caused by the work of the people should be compensated. This military ticket can be exchanged for silk silk in the Western Regions, and one hundred wen is exactly ten days of taxes. ”

After saying that, these Qiu Ba did not hesitate, punched and kicked the Sogdian Hu people who were kneeling on the ground, and then beckoned the people behind them to come and remove the wood. As for the loss of this Baiwen, they will find the turquoise guards of Yezhi City to come back.

Fang Jieshuai said that he should compensate for the damage to other people's property, but he didn't say that the people who obstruct official business can't clean it up! Regarding the goods in the coffin who stretched out their hands to ask for money, the principles of these Qiu Ba are still very clear.

Give both military tickets and fists.

Now there are only 1,000 Tang troops left in Yezhi City, just to establish the Yezhi ferry port and transfer the grain and straw transported from Atami. The reconstruction of Yezhi City was also put on the agenda, and in the future, these Hu merchants from the Western Regions were not allowed to set up stalls in the city, but were only allowed to set up stalls in the newly established bazaar near the ferry.

Yezhi City will be completely under military control, and the city will be rebuilt as a bridgehead for the Anxi Expeditionary Force!

And the final retreat in case of defeat!

Fang Chongyong had already considered the worst-case scenario and optimized the grain route and logistics supply routes.

At this moment, the main force of the Anxi Expeditionary Force had already gone north to Broken Leaf City, and Wang Rare had already occupied the dilapidated Broken Leaf City without bloodshed, and camped in the north of the city, that is, at the foot of Kadan Mountain on the north bank of Broken Leaves.

Kadan Mountain is the Turkic holy mountain, if the new Turk Khan surnamed Shi wants to be justified in his name, it is not enough to have the canonization of the imperial court, but also must lead his troops to the foot of Kadan Mountain to worship the sky, before he can order his subordinates.

Otherwise, it is not justified.

After Fang Chongyong learned that the front was going well, he also took the main force of the Anxi Expeditionary Force to the camp of the Anxi Expeditionary Force north of Shattered Leaf City to meet Wang Yuan.

At the same time, he divided his troops and ordered He Changqi to take two thousand silver spears and filial piety soldiers, all the way to the west, not to stop at Broken Leaf City, but to go out to the famous "Ashi Bulai City" near the camp, thinking that the army was an early warning.

Ashbulai City was the Western Turkic royal city in those years, and it was famous for its proximity to the Ashbulai River. This place is rich in high-quality turquoise, and it is constantly sold to Chang'an through merchants in the Western Regions.

At the same time, it is also a place for the Western Turkic Ashina people to have fun, although the city is very small and not worth mentioning militarily, but the local scenery is very beautiful.

It's just that Ashi Bulai City is now the same as Broken Leaf City, and only the ruins remain.

The nearby merchants and their entourage from the Western Regions who were also merchants and thieves slowly gathered in the land of water supply to form a market town, which lacked even basic protection, and the Turkish also collected commercial taxes casually on weekdays, and did not participate in the daily management of the market town.

Outside the Ili River valley to the west, these scattered forces are very scattered, and the land that can provide food and water in each place is very small. These oases, with the exception of a very limited number of local specialties, lack almost everything.

Most of the local necessities need to be imported from the outside world.

Barren land, characteristic local products, and a deformed and well-developed trade are the common characteristics of them.

Because of this, Datang's management of Broken Leaf Town has always been extremely extensive, and it is impossible to talk about it. I just want to learn from the Central Plains, but I don't know where to start.

About sixty or seventy miles west of Ashi Burai City is the same long-abandoned Kulan City;

And further west of Kulan City is Talas City, which was conquered by Gao Xianzhi's troops not long ago.

At present, almost all the cities east of Talas, including Broken Leaf City, are in an abandoned and active strange situation, typical of "there are cities but no defenses";

Most of the cities west of Talas are still intact, garrisoned by soldiers and horses, and officials responsible for maintaining daily operations.

Why are these cities so peculiar and so distinct?

In fact, the key lies in the war in which the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks and the Sulu, and almost all the cities east of Talas were destroyed in that war.

At that time, Jinskaia's father was also a tribal leader under the command of Turgi Shi Sulu, named Mohe Tutun, and was occupying Talas, Zhezhi City and other places at that time.

In the process of the Tang Dynasty's beating of Sulu, because he did not stand on the wrong side, he was canonized by the Tang Dynasty after the war, and Shiguo was not damaged in that great turmoil.

There is an important reason why Gao Xianzhi dares to make a move against Shi Guo now, that is, Mo He Tutun firmly stands on the side of Huang Khan and Mo He Dagan.

When the Tang Dynasty attacked the Khan surnamed Hei, he sent troops to assist Gai Jiayun to break the leaves, capture the fire fairy, and was awarded the title of "King of Shunyi" for his merits; But later, after Datang saw that Huang Tuqi Shi sat down and turned to support the Khan surnamed Hei, Mo Helu Tutun still didn't see the situation clearly.

The relationship here is really untidy and messy, and it is difficult to say right and wrong. Only a simple and ignorant girl like Kinskaya would think that everything in the world is black and white, right or wrong.

Therefore, the current situation is that the two big forces of the Black Clothes and the Tang Dynasty are vying for control of the Hezhong region after the decline of the Western Turks. In essence, the high-level leaders of those small countries in the Western Regions west of the Green Mountains are basically inextricably linked to the Western Turkic aristocracy.

This is a war that has nothing to do with interests, not justice.

……

"This is Shattered Leaf City."

After two days of marching, they finally arrived at the legendary Shattered Leaf City. Looking at the ruined city in front of him, Fang Chongyong put his hands behind his back and couldn't help but sigh.

At the gate of the city, you can still see all kinds of people coming in and out, but the height of the city wall is different, and the female wall has long disappeared, revealing the irregular section after long-term erosion by the wind and sand.

There were no flags on the towers, holes in the walls were everywhere, and there were no soldiers guarding them.

All of this is telling the unknown that this big city has been abandoned.

The walls of the city are several miles long and several miles wide, and within this radius of a thousand miles, the scale is definitely not small, and it can even be said to be second to none.

Broken Leaf City was built on a hill on the south bank of the Broken Leaf River, and the big mountain on the other side of the Broken Leaf River is the Turkic holy mountain Kadan Mountain. People in Shattered Leaf City can see the snow-capped mountain tops all year round.

"In order to show the national prestige of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong deliberately reduced the construction of Broken Leaf City in accordance with the regulations of Chang'an. Let the people of the Western Regions who are thousands of miles away also feel the strength and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

It's a shame. ”

Fang Chongyong's side, the record of recording military orders with him joined the army Feng Changqing, and said with regret.

"At that time, the Tang Dynasty thought that the iron cavalry of the Tang Dynasty had no boundaries, and everywhere they went, they were all royal land.

Today's Datang only realizes that many places cannot be controlled at all, and it is better to hand them over to the local tribes. ”

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, not wanting to discuss this topic any longer.

That's right, when Tang Gaozong was in the time, judging from the map, it was indeed a very vast territory. But in fact, at that time, Datang's control over the Western Regions was very weak. The so-called "large territory" is only on paper.

It was not until the Kaiyuan period that Datang could be regarded as actually controlling many oases within the "arm-hugging area", that is, Xinjiang in Fang Chongyong's previous life. Farther away, such as this Shattered Leaf City, it can't be controlled at all.

There is no other reason, it is not that the war cannot be won, but that the grain and troops are transported thousands of miles, and they really can't afford to be injured!

The output is less than one-tenth of the input!

Is there really no way for the Tang Dynasty to control this Broken Leaf City? In fact, as long as you are willing to spend a lot of money, there is still no difficulty.

In other words, the lack of money itself is the biggest difficulty.

The dilapidated Broken Leaf City in front of him seemed to be silently telling the eventful years of the year.

It's like a young man who thinks he is invincible with both fists, and he can even stab through the sky!

This is the place where he fought bloodily back then!

"Let's go, let's go into the city and have a look."

Fang Chongyong greeted Feng Changqing beside him and dozens of soldiers of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army.

When everyone entered Shattered Leaf City, they found that although the outside was very dilapidated, there was a hole inside, and there were actually many people who settled here.

There are neatly built courtyards in the big city, and the larger ones even have arrow towers to guard the four directions.

Merchants can be seen setting up stalls everywhere on the roadside, with different colors of clothing and different races. It's just that most of them are dressed as Hu people from the Western Regions, wearing white robes and headscarves covering their faces.

Almost everyone here carries a knife, young and old.

"The whale fell and everything was born, and the government left, but the businessmen with a keen sense of smell did not leave, and the people who came to beg for a living were reluctant to leave.

Look at these people, even if they see through our identity, they will do whatever they need to do as if nothing happened.

In their opinion, as long as we don't target them, then it doesn't matter to them at all whether Datang is in charge or Tuqi Shi is in charge here. ”

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but complain to Feng Changqing.

At this time, Broken Leaf City, with the words "rule by inaction", I am afraid it is very appropriate. The only difference is that the natural environment here is better than that of Yezhi City, and it is close to the Turkic Holy Mountain, so even if the city is dilapidated and unguarded, there are people in the city with deep ditches and barriers, and the land is a house.

They regularly paid commercial taxes to the Turkish, who were "free-ranged" and did not interfere with them on a daily basis.

Before entering the city, Fang Chongyong saw a very large Buddhist temple next to Broken Leaf City, called: Dayun Temple.

This is a landmark building established by the Tang Army here, and it also symbolizes the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

However, after entering the city, Fang Chongyong found that the temples in Broken Leaf City were simply full of demons, including Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism and Islam, as well as some temples that looked very strange, among which there were many strangely dressed believers preaching in front of the courtyard gate.

These people go their own way, and the water from the well does not interfere with the water of the river.

A monk-like person walked up to Fang Chongyong and whispered at him, but the ambassador couldn't understand a word.

Fang Chongyong looked at the complicated and lively scene in front of him, and really didn't know what to say. He had only broken through the Turgish and pulled all ten khans off their horses. As a result, these people in Shattered Leaf City are as if nothing has happened!

"Although flowers may not be good flowers, they are indeed blooming."

Fang Chongyong said to Feng Changqing helplessly.

"Jie Shuai, the city of broken leaves cannot be defended, and the reconstruction is even more laborious and useless.

Why don't you let it do its best here?

Since it is an important stronghold on the trade route, and we can't control it closely, so let it be. ”

Feng Changqing persuaded quietly.

He knew that Fang Chongyong took time out of his busy schedule to come to Shattered Leaf City today, just to investigate whether there was a need to rebuild this city, and whether there was a need for the Tang Army to actually control it.

Because the location of Shattered Leaf City is indeed very important, and it can achieve the strategic effect of "controlling the surface with points".

However, judging from the investigation, Feng Changqing felt that Fang Chongyong should have extinguished the idea of rebuilding Broken Leaf Town.

It's not that I don't want to, but it's too expensive and hard to maintain. It is better to invest limited resources where they are more needed.

At this moment, a man's hoarse voice shouted not far away: "The noble girl of Shiguo, young and beautiful, play with a silk horse for half an hour!" Today, it's outdated! It doesn't matter if you don't have silk, a silk equivalent of gold, silver and copper coins will do! ”

After saying that, the man shouted twice more in the Great Food Language and Turkic language.

"Shiguo's?"

Fang Chongyong was slightly stunned, now the word Shi Guo is very sensitive. Where did the noble girl of Shiguo come from, and she became a prostitute who was put in Broken Leaf City to pick up her in a grand manner?

Fang Chongyong led a group of personal soldiers to the place where the shouting was, and saw that the people who were shouting should be a group of slave traders, all ethnic groups and costumes. They enclosed one "private room" after another with sackcloth.

The young beauties dressed in rich silk were like animals, their wrists were tied with ropes, and they stood in a row with heavy makeup.

It seems that whoever gives the money can choose one to go in and send it, as if the goods are put on the counter in a shopping mall, and then the customers are watching and selecting.

However, it is obvious that if this price is paid in Chang'an, the business of these women will be so good that they will not be able to finish picking up customers, but I am afraid that they will not even have time to drink water.

But here in Broken Leaf City, the price of a silk horse is very expensive, more than ten times more than in Chang'an.

Whether it's worth it or not is debatable.

People who can afford to play can't lack women around them, and naturally they can't have too much interest.

In Wuwei City, Liangzhou, a Western Regions orchid, more than ten years old, is only twenty silks. That's still in Hexi, and there are only a lot of orchids here, what kind of beautiful orchids can't be bought by rich people?

And those who can't afford to play can't afford to bid either.

Most of these people are businessmen, guards, attendants, and the like. It is too extravagant to spend a piece of silk to "chic" for half an hour. In the Western Regions, silk is hard currency, and people want it everywhere.

Because of this, even if these traffickers shouted and shouted, most of the onlookers were just watching the excitement from the sidelines, and almost no one was willing to spend this unjust money.

"Send a few personal soldiers to control this group, and then bring them to the camp later, and this ambassador will inquire about it himself."

Fang Chongyong explained to Feng Changqing, and went directly towards the north gate of Broken Leaf City.

The Tang army camp is on the north bank of the Broken Leaf River. Obviously, he didn't have the slightest affection for the slave traders, and didn't bother to deal with them at all.

"Get the order, and the general will do it."

Feng Changqing crossed his hands and saluted.

(End of chapter)