Three horses galloped through Chang'an Suzaku Street, and the people on horseback carried letterboxes, ignoring the lively merchants on the street, and rampage all the way, even if they wanted to bump into people, they would not slow down.

This man entered the palace, took out his waist card and showed it to the forbidden army, and went straight to the military headquarters.

"Eight hundred miles of urgency. General Ma was killed in battle, and the remnants of the army retreated to Yumen Pass! Waiting for reinforcements!"

The soldier looked at the secret report, and the messenger in the hall was already kneeling on the ground, crying silently.

When the officials on both sides heard this, they exchanged heads and talked about it.

"Suzhou was defeated by Tubo?" (Suzhou, now Jiuquan, Gansu)

"Hey, during the Anshi Rebellion, the Tubo people took advantage of the chaos to occupy Lanzhou. I thought that in the past few years, the national strength has recovered, and I can fight back. Why did you even lose Suzhou?"

"Didn't there be a Tibetan mission to negotiate peace a while ago, why didn't this mission go long before the fight started. ”

"I didn't talk about it, but the court thought that the price of Tubo was too high, so it refused. Angered by the Tibetans, they sent troops to attack. ”

"You know what, it's not like that. I thought it was because when the Tibetan envoy came, he happened to bump into the palace change. Do you think, the palace is in chaos, can the Tubo people endure it?"

"That makes sense. ”

The officials talked a lot, and the squire looked at the exact report, only feeling a little pain in his head, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and slapped the table: "Don't make any noise." ”

He handed the secret letter to the people around him: "Present this letter to Your Majesty, prepare your strategy, and prepare to be summoned." ”

This has just passed the New Year, why did such a battle start up? The squire of the military department sat still, thinking about the strategy against the enemy, but heard another report from outside the hall.

"Eight hundred miles of urgent report, Tubo night attack, Ganzhou fell!"

"Eight hundred miles of urgent report, Tubo night attack, Ganzhou fell!"

"Eight hundred miles of urgency, Tubo night attack, Ganzhou fell!" (Ganzhou, now Zhangye City, Gansu)

As soon as this person arrived in the hall, after shouting three times, the whole person fainted from strength, and he didn't even have time to take down the letter box behind him.

The soldier was excited, and he had goosebumps all over his body. If I was just a little uneasy just now, I'm nervous now.

He reached for the letterbox, but before he could even open the fiery envelope, he saw a third messenger.

As soon as the messenger's horse entered the gate of the headquarters, the man had already rolled off his horse, and he had three arrows stuck in his back.

An officer of the Ministry of War hurriedly went to help him, but the messenger only glanced up at the visitor, grabbed the official's arm, and whispered:

"The 60,000-strong army of Tubo attacked sharply, Ambassador Yun was killed in battle, and Wuwei fell!

(Ambassador Yun, see Chapter 10 of Volume II; Longyou Dao, present-day Gansu and parts of Xinjiang, covering the entire Hexi Corridor)

The soldier stood in front of the corpse in a daze, and a chill couldn't stop surging over his body, and a strong sense of crisis made him tremble.

Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Wuwei all fell. The passage from the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty to the Anxi Imperial Protectorate was completely cut off. The Tibetan offensive was so fast, an unprecedented duel was just around the corner, and the Tang Dynasty was facing the most severe foreign crisis in history.

After reading the second and third military reports, the dignified seven-foot man couldn't help but cry on the spot, he looked up to the sky and roared, tears flowed down his ears, and one flowed into his clothes.

"There's nothing worse than the sky falling. Go and tell Your Majesty, I want to face the saint!"

He thought there would be nothing worse in the world, and as it turned out, there were!

As soon as the squire of the military department came out of the gate, he was confronted by the forbidden army carrying a ragged man. He didn't care about it at first, but he just looked at it and retreated, just because he recognized the man's tattered robe, which was the standard armor of the Anxi Protectorate City Defense Army.

He stopped the forbidden army: "Who is this?"

"I don't know, a few people fell at the gate of Chang'an City, shouting that there was something important and that they wanted to see the emperor! ”

The squire of the military department saw that the man was no more than ten years old, his lips were cracked, and he was covered in sour mud, not to mention that he had been wandering outside for a month.

He gently patted the man on the face, waking him up.

The young man opened his eyes, and his gaze stayed on the soldier for a moment, and then he recognized the official robe. He pulled the squire of the military department: "Are you from the imperial court?" This person spoke official with an extremely thick accent, which was very difficult to understand.

"I'm a soldier of the military department, are you from Anxi?"

As soon as the young man heard the word "military department", his eyes burst out with a fierce light, and he forced himself to stand up: "I am a private of Broken Leaf City...... Zhang Dajing...... I have something important to say. ”

He tried his best to lean into the ear of the squire of the military department:

"A month ago, the 'Qarluq' rebelled and sent troops to attack the 'Broken Leaf City'. 'Turgish' fought hard with him for five days, and was finally defeated. By the time I fled, Qarlu had already occupied the entire territory of the 'Yaochi Protectorate' and had set himself up as king. They stationed troops in 'Gongyue City' and may continue to attack Qiuzi. The court should be very careful. ”

After he finished speaking, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and said: "Yumen Pass is besieged by Tubo, and the news of Anxi can't be spread. We made a detour back to Datang before fleeing back to Datang to report the news. ”

'Tuqishi' and 'Gelulu' are both foreign tribes, who have successively submitted to the Tang Dynasty, and the imperial court has set up 'Broken Leaf City' and 'Gongyue City' respectively to educate them.

(Broken Leaf City, located near Tokmak City, east of Bishkek, the capital of present-day Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia; Gongyue City, in present-day Yuzi Township, Turpan, Yining County.) ）

(Turgish, one of the branches of the Western Turkic tribes; Qarluq, one of the Tiele tribes.) Yaochi Metropolitan Protectorate, now Central Asian steppe, Balkhash Lake, belongs to the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate. The Hui are also one of the Tiele tribes. ）

(Qiuzi is one of the four towns in Anxi, the other three are Khotan, Shule, and Yanqi.) Shattered Leaf City was originally one of the four towns, but it was later removed from the list and placed under the jurisdiction of the Turgish people. These five cities are the most important nodes on the Silk Road. ）

Hearing the news, the squire of the military department fainted for a few pounds.

Without the Yaochi Protectorate, the Four Towns of Anxi and the Beiting Protectorate, in fact, they were not surrounded on all sides? In the northwest is Gelulu, in the south is Tubo, and in the east, Longyou Road is now also occupied by Tubo, and although the Hui in the north is still part of the Tang Dynasty, it is absolutely impossible to increase troops from the north.

The Anzai Imperial Protectorate became an isolated island. This is even more terrifying than the news of the fall of Longyou Dao!

"Oh my God! Oh my God! This time, the sky is really falling!"

In Broken Leaf City, on the tallest tower, a group of Qarluq soldiers were ordered to send two Central Plains people up.

The two of them stood on the top floor, bringing their wine to the wind, and had an unobstructed view of the Broken Leaf City.

"Xiao Li, what do you think of this Broken Leaf City?" The one who spoke was a young man, dressed in splendid clothes, with a peerless appearance, a rich and handsome man like a long rainbow, and a chic bearing like a white crane, but there was a narrow mark on his neck, which was particularly conspicuous. He is one of the two envoys of the Rongjiao - the Left Soul Envoy.

"Spectacular, just spectacular. This is several times larger than 'Bohezhou', and it is even better than Fengzhou. If you don't see it with your own eyes, it's hard to believe that there is such a magnificent city outside the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty. ”

(Xiao Li, who was the general of Bohe Prefecture; Fengzhou, in the area of present-day Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia, was the place where he pretended to surrender to sincerity and integration; see the third volume for the previous situation.) ）

"Since the Han Dynasty, this has been an important town, but after the Tang Dynasty regained it, it took a hundred years of painstaking operation to have this appearance. The Left Soul Envoy opened his arms and let the wind flow through his fingers: "Now this Broken Leaf City has finally fallen into our hands. ”

He looked back at Xiao Li behind him, and asked, "How do you feel about this journey?"

Xiao Li trembled: "The left soul envoy is an adult." The subordinates didn't know how to answer. ”

"Say whatever you think. ”

"This way through the Central Plains, and then along the Longyou Road, along the way to clean up the remaining manpower of the East Fourth Hall, and Tubo secret talks, and then to the previous war. The subordinates got a glimpse of the strength of Rongjiao and were deeply shocked. ”

The Zuo Soul Envoy seemed to be very satisfied with this answer, and half-quipped: "Then do you still want to be a spy in the Rong Sect?"

"The subordinates don't dare!" Xiao Li originally wanted to lurk in the matter of Rongjiao, but was seen through by the right soul envoy An Lushan at a glance, which is naturally no longer a secret.

"Don't dare, or don't you want to?"

"I don't dare, I don't want to. Xiao Li bowed and saluted, bowing his head, not daring to look at the left soul envoy. He also said: "Originally, my subordinates were ignorant, thinking that it was just a small force in the rivers and lakes, if they could help Datang eradicate it, maybe they would be able to soar in one day." Along the way, I didn't expect to have such a big heritage. Since the eldest husband is famous, and Rongjiao has this strength, why should I be meticulous again?"

Zuo Soul Envoy bowed slightly: "Do you know why I brought you with me every time I discussed the battle plan with Tubo and shared information along the way?"

"It was for me to show my strength. Not only the Tang Dynasty, but even Tibet, there are people within the Rongjiao who can be trending. ”

"It's not just that. I'd like to see if you'll reveal what we're up to. Zuo Soul Envoy's voice was subtle, but Xiao Li felt that another sharp sword was hanging above his head, and he would be in a different place if he was not careful.

Zuo Soul Envoy took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Xiao Li: "The news just came, Tubo has connected the three cities of Keganzhou, Suzhou, and Wuwei. Datang is completely defenseless, which proves that you did not disclose the news. That's why I dare to use you with confidence. ”

"Previously, Rongjiao did not have a layout in Anxi. Two years ago, the Right Soul Envoy sent four people here to be pioneers, and he had a little foundation. That's why I chose you. You grew up in Anthy and know a lot about it, so it will be of great help to us. There are three things you need to do next:

First, you have to create your own force in Anxi, and along the way, you will collect the original Dongsitang manpower, and form an intelligence network covering Anxi, Longyou, and Tubo here.

Wuwei, Ganzhou, and Suzhou were originally the spheres of influence of the Snake Venerable, the Rat Venerable, and the Ibis Venerable. It's not hard to get back to the old part. But Rongjiao doesn't have the power to help you in Anxi.

There are four addresses in the envelope, which are in the four cities of Khotan, Shule, Yanqi, and Qiuzi. It is the residence of four of the eight disciples under the seat of the Right Soul Envoy. You can also ask them for help if necessary. These four people have superb martial arts, and they are invincible in the territory of Anxi. But they also have another task, and the key things are up to you.

The second thing was to assist the 'Qarluq' in attacking the four towns of Anxi. ”

After the left soul envoy finished speaking, he shouted to the downstairs floor: "You come up!"

A woman slowly walked up to the top floor, she was wearing a veil of gold silk and jade pendants, wearing a small skirt on her upper body, exposing her waist, and a string of gold beads on her navel, which was actually the dress of a big cannibal.

"Why did the soul envoy say it for so long, let Ning'er wait. In this woman's voice, she is extremely charming, and every step and sound makes people crispy to the bones.

"Come, get to know you, this is the new head of the East Fourth Hall, Xiao Li. ”

"Isn't the head of the East and West Hall, Venerable Leopard, Wuyihou?" The woman walked up to Xiao Li, not only looked at it, but also reached out to touch his face, without avoiding suspicion: "It looks quite cute, but it's a pity that the skin is too rough." ”

Xiao Li originally wanted to retreat, but he didn't want to show cowardice, so he just stood in place, trying to guess the identity of this person.

"Xiao Li, this is Ge Lulu's 'Yuening County Lord', Hei Ning'er. As soon as these words came out, Xiao Li was slightly surprised, the name of the county lord of Yuening, he had already heard of it, but the person in front of him was too far from what he imagined.

Even if the lord of Yuening does not have the noble and elegant demeanor of the princess of the Tang Dynasty, she should be a fierce woman on the grassland. Why is this person in front of him not only not wearing Qarluq's clothes, but wearing a great food charm?

He was still pondering, and the next sentence of the Zuo Soul Envoy surprised him even more: "Hei Ning'er, who is also the head of my Northern Fourth Hall, Venerable Feng." Attacking Shattered Leaf City is her plan!"

Xiao Li looked at the Zuo Soul Envoy blankly, and the power of the Heart Dao Fusion Sect was a little greater than he imagined.

After that, Hei Ning'er will continue to plan to attack the four towns of Anxi. You have to help her, and if she needs to contact Tibet, you can build a bridge from it. ”

The left soul envoy pointed to the city below: "Twenty years ago, the right soul envoy tried to raise troops from the Central Plains and plot against the world. As it turned out, this did not work. Now we are going the opposite way, starting from this Anxi and surrounding Datang. This is the first step you have taken. ”

The left soul envoy patted Xiao Li's shoulder, and seemed to not want to delve into this matter anymore: "I said two things earlier, you try your best to do it." The third thing that remains is the most important. ”

"I have already determined that there must be a page of the "Three Phases Sutra" in the four towns of Anxi, and you must! Find out this book! This matter is the most important thing, and it must be done! If you find out the news, even the eight disciples of the Right Soul Envoy or Hei Ning'er's Qarlu army will also be at your disposal. Make sure the book doesn't fall into the wrong hands. ”

"My subordinates understand!"

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The last chapter of this volume has so much content that I have made an outline, probably more than 10,000 words, and I can only take it apart and write it.