Chapter 420: Unexpected Visitor

The grasslands on the Zhangye River stretched out like a sea, and flocks of sheep were eating grass leisurely by the river. The lambs born in spring could already stand. They stepped on their calves and followed their mother step by step. From time to time, they looked curiously at the large group of galloping horses running past not far away. The morning sun shone on the Zhangye River. May is the season of water rise. The river surface is wide and sparkling, like newly cut silk, full of luster. A newly built wooden bridge spans the Zhangye River, bringing the distance between the two banks of the river closer.

At this time, a team of thousands of cavalry appeared from the north of the grassland. They rushed along the Zhangye River. This was an Anxi cavalry wearing black light armor. The general was black and thin and tall. He seemed to hear something, so he stopped slowly and looked at the surroundings. His small eyes were as cold as a wolf.

This Anxi general was Cui Ganyou who came from Juyanhai. He came to Zhangye under the order of Li Qing'an. At this time, they were not far from Zhangye City. At this time, a team of cavalry rushed over from a distance. It was a team of Anxi scouts. After a moment, the scouts came forward and saluted the leader on the horse and said, "See General Cui!"

"You're welcome, where is the General?"

"The general is in the camp outside Zhangye City."

"I understand, you guys go!"

The scouts bowed and urged their horses to go, crossed the wooden bridge and headed west. Cui Ganyou looked at them and rushed to the direction of Zhangye City with a urging war horses to gallop. More than a thousand followers shouted and followed him to speed up the horses.

The 100,000 Anxi army arrived in Zhangye last night. After three days, they walked 800 miles day and night. The high-intensity march made the army exhausted. At this time, it was dawn, and the camp was still silent. Only patrol soldiers were patrolling near the camp, but Li Qing'an got up early. The continuous Chang'an information last night almost made him sleepless all night, especially Geshuhan also sent troops to Chang'an, which made him unexpected.

In the big tent, Li Qing'an stood on the sand table and considered the next strategy. They had already formulated the Chang'an strategy, mainly to wait and see for the time being, waiting for the opportunity. What is important now is how to deal with the gap left by the withdrawal of Shuofang, Hexi and Longyou troops.

The current situation is just like the Anshi Rebellion in history. The troops in Shuofang, Hexi and Longyou were all transferred to Guanzhong. Unlike history, the Tubo people occupied Hexi in history, but this time, the opportunity was given to him Li Qing'an.

What makes Li Qingan a little embarrassed now is whether Longyou wants it or not? If he wants it, he will inevitably disperse his troops and make it difficult for him to concentrate his efforts on his work. But if he doesn't want it, it would be a pity for this opportunity.

At this time, Yan Zhuang, who was standing next to him, said: "General, my subordinates recommend taking Shuofang first, so that the three places in Yanhai, Lingzhou and Liangzhou can be integrated. As for Longyou, my subordinates recommend taking prefectures and counties with a large population to lay the foundation for our future recruitment of troops."

Li Qing'an nodded and said, "You make sense. In fact, we don't need to take all of Shuofang. As long as we occupy Lingzhou, the entire northern gate in the pass will be opened. I also want to occupy Huizhou. In this way, we can attack and retreat and defend, and the whole game of chess will be alive. This is actually what I thought a few years ago."

"The General's idea a few years ago now seems to be completely implemented. Since the General has considered it well, his subordinates recommend that you seize the opportunity to implement it and not delay."

"I know, I will send troops immediately!" Li Qing'an finally made up his mind. He immediately gave several orders, ordering Li Fei Shouyu to lead 10,000 troops to Lingzhou, and ordering Nan Jiyun to lead 5,000 troops to Huizhou to occupy that strategic location.

At this time, a personal soldier reported outside the tent: "General, General Cui Ganyou has arrived."

Li Qingan immediately said happily: "Please invite him in!"

After a moment, Cui Ganyou walked in quickly, knelt down on one knee and bowed: "Last general Cui Ganyou, see the general!"

Li Qingan quickly helped him up and said with a smile: "It was supposed to be that I went to Juyanhai to comfort the soldiers. It was really busy with military affairs and I couldn't get any time."

"I understand that the situation in the court is chaotic, and the general should consider the overall situation. He should report to the general by the humble official."

Li Qingan smiled, then patted his shoulder and said, "Come on! Sit down and let's talk slowly."

The two sat down, and Yan Zhuang sat aside. Cui Ganyou nodded slightly to him, saying hello. He had something to do in his heart and had no time to greet him. He said directly: "General, I came here this time and was invited by the chiefs of Geluo, Shatuo and Tongluo to launch a full-scale war against the Uighurs. Everyone has been waiting for many years and is a little impatient."

Li Qingan did not answer him immediately. He walked slowly in the tent with his hands behind his back. After a while, he turned around and asked, "I want to know your attitude?"

Cui Ganyou thought for a while and said, "Since the Uighurs were successfully attacked by us the last year, his strength has been greatly reduced and he has not recovered his vitality so far. In terms of strength, we have surpassed him. If the two armies go to war, we will definitely win, but strategically, I know that the general does not seem to start the war too early."

"Then do you know why I don't want to start the war too early?" Li Qing'an looked at Cui Ganyou and continued to ask.

"This... Bei Zhi knows a little, but he can't explain it clearly."

"Then I'll tell you again today, remember it!"

Li Qingan said slowly: "Whether it is the Huns, Turks or the Five Barbarians invading China, the threat of our Han people will always come from the north, whether in the past or in the future, so I don't want one grassland nomadic people to replace another nation. I want to effectively kill. This is why I let you mercilessly kill the Uighurs. Now that destroying the Uighurs will only strengthen the power of the other three tribes. The Uighur power has not disappeared, but has only been transformed into the Geluo people, the Tonglu people, and the Shatu people. This is not what I want, what I want is Hui. The He people will be destroyed but not destroyed. Let you kill as many of the living forces of the Uighurs as possible. When the Uighurs are almost killed, then the power of the three tribes of Gelu will be severely damaged. Then, I will take another step to make them fight in the internal struggle, or set up another enemy, such as the Khitan, to fight for a few more years, and wait until the situation in the Central Plains gradually stabilizes, and when the power of the Tang Dynasty gradually recovers, we will turn around and deal with them and completely eradicate the nomadic forces. General Cui, I will entrust you with this important task, just hope that you will not show any mercy and kill me to the end."

Cui Ganyou nodded slowly, "I understand, I will never let down the general's expectations!"

"Okay! You are tired too. Go down and rest first. Then bring some money and goods back to reward your brothers. Then, you will launch a summer clearance offensive. I still have the same four words, "Destroy but not die." You must remember this firmly."

． ． ． ． ． ． ．

Cui Ganyou went down, and Li Qing'an stood in front of the sand table for a long time and remained silent. At this time, Yan Zhuang whispered: "General, I am worried that General Cui and the three minions will develop feelings after they have been together for a long time, and I am afraid that they will not be able to fulfill the General's heavy trust."

Li Qing'an glanced at him and smiled and said, "Actually, you want to say that you are worried that Cui Ganyou will be independent with his troops, right?"

Yan Zhuang blushed and nodded, "I am worried about this."

"Actually, your worries are not wrong. Not only Cui Ganyou, but also Li Guangbi of Tochar, and Feng Changqing of Xinde, all are possible. This is not their reason. This is because of the system. Just as Li Longji has always appointed An Lushan as the governor of Fan Yang and appointed me as the governor of Anxi, over time, his subordinates are loyal to An Lushan. If you want to prevent this trend, it is mainly to change the system, implement regular rotation of soldiers and generals, and there is a regular inspection by the Censor. The key is to persist. I am already considering implementing the regular rotation of soldiers and generals. Generally speaking, with three years as the term, I will use Lifei Yuanli to replace Cui Ganyou next year."

Seeing that Li Qingan had already thought of it, Yan Zhuang let down his heart, he smiled and said, "The General did not sleep all night last night, so let's take a rest!"

Li Qingan stretched his waist and smiled and said, "I'm a little tired. I'll sleep for a while and discuss things in the afternoon!"

． ． ． ． ． ． ．

With Cheng Qianli from Liangzhou leading his army into Beijing, in just a few days, the trade routes on the Hexi Corridor became active again, and merchants were seamless. Just two days after Li Qing'an entered Hexi, the camel caravan of merchants appeared on the official road. These merchants were originally traveling to Lingzhou in Juyanhai. Guo Ziyi was not harsh on the merchants and usually let them enter the pass, but after all, they took a long way to go. Since Li Qing'an resumed his rule over the Hexi Corridor, the caravans could walk the Hexi Corridor openly. Long-distance caravans with hundreds of camels and short-distance small vendors with more than a dozen mules and horses began to appear in a steady stream on the official road.

That night, a small caravan composed of five or six people and more than thirty horses arrived in Zhangye City. They came from the east, carrying grain on the horse's back. On the surface, they should be small vendors who came to sell grain, but their actions were a bit strange. There were obviously Qiang people who wanted to ask them about buying grain, but they ignored them.

The small vendor neither entered the city nor the herdsmanship area, but came directly to the Anxi Army camp. They crossed the very eye-catching white cordon and entered a range of two hundred steps. Before they could approach, a sound arrow roared and nailed to the ground in front of them. Immediately, a team of patrol cavalry rushed out of the camp gate and shouted: "Stop!"

They crossed the white cordon and naturally had to undergo a cross-examination. If they had any doubts, they would be immediately arrested as spies. A team of three hundred cavalry came in a flash and surrounded them. The crossbow arrows pointed at them. The leader shouted: "Who are you?"

At this time, a young man came out of the small caravan and bowed, "I am your general's old friend, so I'm here to visit him."

The captain looked at the young man at the same time and saw that although he was dressed as a businessman, he had a noble temperament and elegant appearance, and did not look like a small vendor. He calmed down a little and said, "I am the duty officer tonight. The general has an order. Anyone who comes to visit him must report his real name."

“So that’s how it is.”
Chapter completed!