In the autumn of the 30th year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, Shazhou, Longyou, a sudden heavy snow blocked many passengers in the inn on the way.

Since the beginning of Kaiyuan, the Tang Dynasty's foreign trade activities have become increasingly prosperous. The countries in the Western Regions have had a long tradition of doing business, so they naturally cater to this enthusiastically.

To this day, the trade route between Longyou and the Western Regions has become one of the main trade channels for the Tang Dynasty to the outside world, and has been directly named Jindao. Especially as the Tang Dynasty's control over the Western Regions became more and more stable, the Tang people's caravans walking on this Jindao gradually surpassed the Hu merchants in the Western Regions.

After the commerce prospered, the areas along the way also flourished to varying degrees. As one of the important supply areas on this trade route, Shazhou also emerged with many public and private warehouses and residences, providing various services around these caravans that traveled and moved.

The heavy snow came quickly, which made the travelers complain and had to complain to the guest halls nearby. These inns benefited from the wind and snow, and were crowded everywhere, busy receiving tourists coming to visit.

The north wind was howling outside the hall, heavy snow was flying all over the sky, and the hall was filled with noises and the furnace was hot. From time to time, travelers were carrying curtains and walking in. While slapping the snow on their robes, cursing the haunting weather.

The crowd sat around the fire, warming the wine in the stove, and the cattle and sheep were flipped over and roasted on the fire. If there was no urge to make a living, the scene was lively and warm.

The inns are not only business trips that are busy making a living, but also many knights who simply travel around all walks of life and increase their knowledge.

The Tang people had a great personality. As the empire became more and more powerful, the trend of studying abroad also emerged. There were many ambitions who were determined to travel all over the mountains and rivers of the Tang Empire. The vast Western Regions were naturally the most important part of the plan.

At this moment, in the already crowded inn lobby, there were many knights hanging on their swords and constantly wandering among the crowds. The most common question I asked was: "Does Hezhongfu come to you?"

The Hezhong Prefecture mentioned in their question is not the Hedong region between the two capitals inland, but the Zhaowu countries in the Western Regions, which are thousands of miles away from Chang'an, Central China.

In the 13th year of Kaiyuan, the powerful countries in the Western Regions advanced eastward and attacked and destroyed the Zhaowu countries in the Western Regions such as Kangguo. The soldiers of the various countries were few and had no way to resist the invasion of the Great Food. The powerful and powerful people of the devastated countries fled to the east to hide in the Anxi Protectorate, and repeatedly wrote letters to the court to send troops to help them drive away the invaders and restore the rule of the various countries.

However, after the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks, the remnants of the Turks, were still working hard to restore order from the northern desert to the Western Regions and rebuild their rule. Therefore, the court did not directly order the army to interfere in the situation in the western region, but only ordered the troops of Anxi headquarters to escort the chiefs of the states to return to the country.

Guo Yuanzhen, who was the arch-protector of Anxi at the time, sent the inspector Zhang Xiaosong to lead three thousand athletes to set off from Kucha, Anxi town, and ran for thousands of miles. It took nearly two years to send the royal family back to the process. Collision and battle were inevitable in the process. The two empires of the east and west can also have a preliminary understanding of the strength of their opponents.

During the nearly two years of war, the royal power in Dashi changed and civil strife was born, and its eastern commander was killed by the new monarch. Therefore, this round of confrontation was temporarily concluded with the Tang Dynasty's advantage, and the army of Dashi's country retreated from the Zhaowu countries, and both sides temporarily took the Wuhu River as the boundary.

This situation lasted from the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan to the nineteenth year of Kaiyuan. When the leader of Tuqishi was in trouble, the leader of Tuqishi, Shi, was the great guardian of Anxi. The then Dadushi King of Anxi supported the son of Soge as the leader before Tuqishi reported it to the Protectorate's Office, and asked the court to delay the title and give it to the court, and the army went to patrol the territory of Tuqishi.

At that time, when the cavalry Shi Xinzhu was just established, he was worried and afraid, and suspected that Anxi's move was coming to destroy his troops, so he fled west to Shayechuan and invaded Talas City, Shiguo.

The Dashi Kingdom seized this opportunity of turmoil in the Western Regions and crossed the Wuhu River again, including Kou Anguo, Kangguo, Bahanna and other countries, and even once arrived at Shule City, one of the four towns.

The court responded urgently, and once again appointed Guo Yuanzhen, who was familiar with border affairs and had returned to the prefectures of the Anxi Province and the chief general of Hezhong Road, and sent 100,000 troops to provide assistance from the pass.

After Guo Yuanzhen entered the town, he first used differentiated and suppressed the riots in the Tuqishi by means of differentiation and suppression, and then integrated the troops in the town, gradually recovered the lost land, and finally defeated the invading Dashi army on the banks of the Wuhu River, killing and capturing Dashi's troops.

After the great victory of Wuhu River, considering the repeated invasions of the Dashi Kingdom and the aggressiveness of the Western Regions, the countries in the Western Regions were weak and difficult to bear. The bandits were gone and they could not protect themselves. The four towns were far away and could not save their troops. So they added the Hezhong Governor's Office under the Anxi Protectorate, and the Bakhanna Kingdom was Ningyuan Prefecture and Kang State was Dingxi Prefecture. 20,000 victorious troops were stationed, and the food was given to the Wei River.

The Western Regions are at the intersection of the eastern and western continents. In addition to traveling, the countries have become more employed by trade and their own land and property are not abundant. Therefore, in addition to tribute to the Hu, some of the supplies in Anxi must be solved on the spot, but also rely on long-distance transportation from Longyou.

The Hezhong Prefecture added 20,000 border troops to permanently garrison, which originally increased the defense burden in the Western Regions. However, the Wuhu River Basin was rich in water and grass and long arable land. The Kangguo and other regimes, which were established here, were therefore able to become the most powerful country in Zhaowu countries with superior natural environment.

After the establishment of Hezhong Prefecture, the imperial court established a large-scale border garrison here. The military funding and support not only satisfies itself, but also provides certain returns to the four towns.

In the southwest of the Wuhu River, the Khorasan region is one of the core areas of the former Persian Empire. Now it is the center of the eastern territorial border of the Dashi Kingdom. Its geographical location can even be compared with the Yellow River Hetao region.

The Great Food Kingdom was originally a regime that integrates politics and religion. When its rule turned into a dynasty hereditary aristocratic dynasty, there were great disputes and hidden dangers in the country.

As an important territory obtained by the Great Garrison Kingdom's expansion, there are already various unstable factors such as Shiite sects who opposed the Umayya royal family, Persian survivors, and the tribes that Turkic Tiel moved here.

When the garrison of the Hezhong Prefecture of Datang River pushed the offensive and defensive front of the Western Regions to the Wuhu River line, the Khurashan area became more lively, which greatly increased the cost of the rule and stability maintenance of the Great Food Kingdom.

But for the Tang Dynasty, the strategic prospects for the Western Front were unique. In previous years, the territory had expanded, but it was basically a deserted place. All the attacks and defenses were still based on ensuring the security of China's local area. It is rare to have such fertile and fertile goals in the Hezhong area.

Therefore, after the establishment of Hezhong Prefecture, the Tang Dynasty's space for expansion to the outside world suddenly became clear. In addition to cooperating with the border management in Mobei, the original Western Regions no longer defended the Western Pole, but instead conquered and completely naturalized the Hezhong region!

This kind of change and adjustment that has risen to the national strategic level is naturally unexplainable for ordinary people. The reason why travelers are so interested in Hezhong Prefecture is that this spring, Hezhong Prefecture's war revived and debated with the Great Food Kingdom in Khorasan.

The root of this war this year can be traced back to last year. In the 28th year of Kaiyuan, after the repeated requests from the people of Xikang, the saints today finally allowed the fourth son of the imperial kingdom to be granted the title of Tibetan king to be enfeoffed and go to Xikang to establish the system.

The second year after the Tibetan king entered the country, he summoned the Tubo clans' local kings and chiefs in Xikang City to support the imperial court.

At that time, the Tubo kingdom had been divided into two parts, namely the Dafan king who ruled Shannan and the Xiaofan king who stayed in the city of Lusa, Jiqu River Valley. The Tibetan king entered the country with strong support, and the Tang Dynasty was behind it. The fierce convening of the alliance naturally made the big and small kings frightened.

Among them, the little prince in Lusa City reacted the most fiercely, worried that he would be killed by the Tibetan king at the Mongke. Because his Jiqu River Valley is near Xikang, he not only refused to participate in the Mongke, but even fled to Nipora.

When Dashi advances eastward, he not only fails to set foot in the Western Regions, but is also retaliated by the Tang army to the west of the Wuhu River.

In order to offset the pressure from the Tang army, Dashi sent envoys to see the Little Box King of Nipola, willing to sever part of the Northern Tianzhu area that the country had infiltrated and occupied was the territory of the Box King. The condition was that the Little Box King needed to send troops from Xiangxiong, cooperate with the Dashi army to bypass the Wuhu River defense line, and invade Tocharo, Dashi and Bolu and other areas, thereby side-resisting the Tang army of Hezhong Prefecture. After the completion of the mission, all the looted lands returned to the Little Box King, while Dashi only wanted to be in the river.

Not to mention whether Dashi will abide by the agreement and whether this plan is feasible, when his personal safety is threatened, the little prince was actually persuaded by the envoy of the Dashi Kingdom to fight against the step-by-step coercion of the Tang Dynasty with Dashi.

The Tang Dynasty naturally did not tolerate this. First, the Tibetan king and the Dafan king jointly issued a statement on the Tubo land, saying that the Xiaofan king had abandoned the country and distant people, colluded with foreign enemies, and was abolition of the Xiaofan king's throne and launched troops to attack them in two places.

Then there was the Tang Dynasty. The prince Li Che was appointed as the Great Protector of Anxi and controlled Western military affairs. King Xin'an Li Yi was the deputy Protector of Anxi, the governor of Hezhong Prefecture, the chief of Anxi Road, and the King of Guiyi of Persia, Li Pushang, the deputy general manager of Anxi Road, and led 50,000 troops to Tieguan. He crossed the river to attack Mulu City, the great city of Khurashan, and wanted to expel the forces of the Great Seal Kingdom from the Khurashan area in one fell swoop.

The fate of the army was issued in early spring, and King Xin'an arrived in Hezhong Prefecture in May, and the wind and clouds were surging here in the Western Regions again. Now it is Mid-Autumn Festival in August, and snow has fallen outside the pass. Calculate the time, the battle between Hezhong Prefecture should have also been decided.

Therefore, these travelers on the Longbian Road also paid close attention to the information on the direction of Hezhong Prefecture. When visiting the road, they hope to hear the news of the Tang army's victory and more details of the battle situation as soon as possible.

However, although Shazhou also belongs to the area west of Longguan, it is still a long journey of more than 7,000 miles away from Hezhong Prefecture. The travelers of the people have no official roads to travel. Even if there are tourists from Hezhong Prefecture after the war, it is difficult to arrive in Shazhou at this moment. Naturally, there is no way for the people to explore the information about the war in Hezhong Prefecture.

The knights and soldiers walked around the hall and asked questions, but they were still fruitless and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

At this moment, another person walked in with a curtain and looked at the hall and said excitedly: "Liu Xing several miles away, some people came from Hezhong Prefecture to preach the deeds of Wang Shizhuang destroying the Great Food..."

"So you're serious?"

Hearing this, the people sitting in the hall all asked anxiously, and those who were interested in this war were not only the knights who traveled around, but also the people who traveled in business.

The man let out a message and left and stopped telling him in detail. The people in the living room could no longer hold back and put on their cold-shirts and rushed out.

"Guests, the wine is hot and the meat is cooked..."

Seeing that the bustling and lively living room was soon empty, the inn owner wanted to cry without tears. He quickly shouted and tried to keep the guest but it had little effect. He simply ordered the servants: "First cover up a few fires, and don't rush to make money. I will also go and listen to the news of Wang Shi Zhuangsheng!"

After saying this, he also wrapped his robe tightly and joined the gossip crowd.

At this time, a large inn not far from Shazhou Guanyi was already full of travelers from all walks of life. The halls, which were several times larger than others, were also crowded. Some pedestrians who couldn't enter simply snatched the doors and windows, raised their heads and tiptoed and looked inside desperately, without realizing the severe wind and snow outside.

There is a wooden platform in the center of the living room. It was originally used as a place for Hu Ji to play on stage and enjoy the guests. There are no singers on the stage. There are only a young man standing tall standing proudly on the platform, dancing with a gaze and spirit. Although the wooden platform is surrounded by the masses, he is not frightened.

"In May, my Tang family's healthy son Bi Jikang lived in the city. The flags were as dense as forests, and he was more than 100,000. King Xin'an gave the order. He took advantage of the luck and the drums were like thunder. The heavenly soldiers fought for crossing the passes, and the vast rivers were not blocked. The murderous aura fled in the night and the wilderness. How could he say that the morale of this place was the only one? It is because the destiny of heaven favored my Tang family! The emperor held the talisman and was helped by heaven. He went abroad with the help of heaven, and no one could defeat him!"

Looking at the people around me, the young man was eager to hear the news, and the words of the military in the river were also passionate: "The iron gate, lying on the snow and drinking ice, feeding horses and sharpening their knives, breaking the frost at dawn, the drums and horns are coming, the sound of drums and horns are thunder, my athlete's face is not changing, and I am calmly dressed up, and I am flexing the strings and going out of the pass, its momentum is like a rainbow, its formation is like a dragon, the sword is sharp and the sword is so terrifying that it breaks the armor and kills the enemy like a bamboo..."

The young man on the wooden platform half-talk and half-singed, and the people around the wooden platform were also fascinated by the listeners. The more generous person held the urn and gave it to him, laughing and said, "It's so happy, happy! Please drink and comfort me, and then describe the grand occasion in detail!"

The young man was also free and heroic, and he refused to accept this. He drank it with a urn. His neck was not wet, and a urn of wine had already penetrated his throat. He held his head up and slowly exhaled a smell of alcohol. He held his hand and pressed the voice of the people. Then he laughed and said, "Before the day, he had already broken the three enemy formations, and the thieves had more than ten thousand corpses. I dared to break through all directions and escape. Looking at my formation, there were still tens of thousands of them. The blade was sharpened and wanted to drink blood. Can the military force stop here?"

"No! No!"

When the crowd heard the question, they clapped their high-highs and shouted. When the young man heard the warm shout, he couldn't help but roared, and then pointed at the crowd and said loudly: "There is no time to stop! So thousands of horses galloped, and the troops rushed out, and the soldiers rushed to the plains. He also carried the wind on the dragon. Although the sun was gone at dusk, I will meet Mulu City again! If you want to know the following, please continue with a jar!"

As soon as the young man finished speaking, the onlookers around him held wine and served it. The young man looked even more reckless. He sucked a whale and drank it. He pulled out his sword from his waist and waved his sword on the stage like a dance: "Bai is not talented, I regret not rushing to the battlefield, which will make me kingdom. Let's congratulate me on "Journal Music" to congratulate me on Tang Wei's far away from the West Sea! The May River is snowing, and there is no flower but only cold..."

Just as the crowd flocked into this inn, a team of pedestrians arrived at Guanyi not far away. The luggage was covered with snow, and even the original shape and color of the instruments and flags she carried with her were unable to see.

One of the pedestrians turned over and got off the horse and stood in front of the official gate. While shaking off the snow from the fur cloak, he lifted off the hood that blocked the wind and snow, revealing a slightly thin, beautiful beard that was vertical, and although he was old, he was still energetic.

At this time, the officials in the official post had already lined up in front of the door to greet him in a row. The postmaster hurriedly went forward to take the things from the old man, and bowed and crossed his hands and said, "I have received a message in front of me. All things have been prepared in the post. Please invite Mr. Zhang to come to the hall and get rid of the cold and have a meal!"

The old man was Zhang Jiazhen, the prime minister of the dynasty. At the beginning of the year, he followed the army to Hezhong Prefecture with the army. Now he returns to the court to report his victory and passes through Shazhou.

Zhang Jiazhen was about to walk into the inn, but saw a large number of inns near the area gathering, and there were still a large number of people coming to this place. He couldn't help but feel curious and stood in front of the door and pointed at the place where he asked, "Why are there many gatherings?"

After hearing this, the postmaster quickly explained with a smile: "The wind and snow are storming here, and many travelers are trapped on the way. When there are guests from the river in the guest hall, they know the military situation of the other side, so the masses gathered to ask, and they all wanted to hear the magnificent deeds of defeating the enemy in the river!"

"Come in the river?"

After hearing this, Zhang Jiazhen frowned slightly. Hezhong Prefecture has been established for ten years and has frequently traded with Zhongtu. It is not uncommon to meet tourists from the river. But if the tourists from the river already knew the result of this battle with the Great Food Kingdom, Zhang Jiazhen was surprised.

He himself returned from the Hezhong front line, traveling day and night all the way, changing to Machiyi, and now he has just arrived in Shazhou. The folk business travelers do not have such convenience, but they can pass the news of their victory back to Shazhou before him. This is really strange.

So Zhang Jiazhen was not in a hurry to enter the hall to rest. He waved to a few of his followers and walked towards the inn to see what the details of the people in the hall were.

Under the guards of the accompanying warriors, Zhang Jiazhen easily squeezed into the living room. As the young man on the wooden platform talked about the battle of Tieguan, he couldn't help laughing when he heard the young man's half-singing generous words: "Tieguan is in the northern border of Kangguo. Although the troops gathered here, it was not the front line of the war. If the Dashi Army was allowed to stand in front of the gate, it would be really incompetent! Although the boy on this platform was fierce, he was just a fraud and ignorance..."

He shook his head and said to himself, but it attracted dissatisfaction from some viewers on the side: "The father-in-law seems to be of good temperament, but why do he underestimate my bravery of Jianer Bian so much! Since Kaiyuan, how can several stubborn thieves be my emperor's order to conquer? The great victory of Tieguan must not be beyond the ordinary..."

When Zhang Jiazhen heard this scolding, she was a little stunned for a moment, but when she saw that the other party was just eager to defend the mighty force of the king rather than fighting grudges, she just smiled and said no more.

The young man on the wooden platform continued to say that although it made everyone in the hall feel intoxicated, Zhang Jiazhen, who really returned from the front line, only felt absurd and unrealistic. Seeing the young man taking advantage of the opportunity to invite him to drink, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh slightly, feeling a little dissatisfied.

Zhang Jiazhen has personally experienced the battle of Hezhong Prefecture's attack on Mulu City. Thoughts on the battle scenes are still swaying and unable to calm down.

It is not because this war was fierce and difficult, or how brilliant it was won, but because this war is completely different from the previous wars.

In this battle, the Tang army participated in the battle of 50,000 elite soldiers, and nearly 100,000 servants from Zhubang tribes, but the majestic people were still the second. The most important thing was that the Tang army used a powerful weapon to kill the enemy on the battlefield, with a total of thirty Xuanyuan cannons!

Zhang Jiazhen was prime minister for many years and knew that the court had been secretly developing attack weapons, but she only knew the matter but didn't know the truth. This battle was the first time that the Tang Dynasty used Xuanyuan artillery on the battlefield. Not only did she kill the unprepared Dashi Army, but even the soldiers of the Tang army were shocked. They couldn't believe that there were such powerful weapons in the world!

The 50,000 Tang troops participated in the battle, in addition to the garrisons in the Western Regions, there were 20,000 elite troops set out from the pass. The most important task of these 20,000 soldiers was to transport and protect thirty Xuanyuan artillery.

When the artillery was thrown on the battlefield, the several field battles organized by the Dashi Army were all defeated by the Tang army, and the Tang army also completed the encirclement of Mulu City early.

As a big town that the Dashi Kingdom has focused on operating in the Khorasan region for many years, Mulu City has a high city and a vast pool, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Hundreds of thousands of people gather in the city, and various materials are even more reserved.

According to common sense, the Tang Dynasty attacked from a long distance and it was difficult to easily capture the city. This battle would be a stalemate for a long time, and there would be a great chance that the Tang army would withdraw its troops. However, under the roar of artillery, the army in the city was already frightened and frightened when they saw the power of this manpower and had no intention of fighting. They only knew that they would pray to Allah to give mercy on their protection. In the end, the city had been broken before ten days of ten days!

After the city was broken, the Tang army captured nearly 200,000 troops from the Dashi Kingdom alone. In addition, the Hu tribes and various types of stored materials were stored in a large number of people, which can be said to be the essence of personnel reserves accumulated in the eastern border of the Dashi Kingdom for decades in one battle!

The people's current situation naturally did not know the core of the imperial military aircraft, and still guessed the internal story of this war based on common sense, so it was inevitable that it would deviate from the facts.

After realizing that this was just a sloppy madman who was confusing the crowd and begging for wine and food, Zhang Jiazhen lost interest in listening. He was about to leave and asked the entourage to ask the madman on the stage later, but when he heard the young man dancing swords and singing and singing in military music, his face changed.

"I am brave enough to fight for the evil spirits... Is there such a magnificent song? How can I use this kind of talent to make? Is there any place to buy wine, but I am the wise to squeeze out the travel bags of tourists? I am really a great talent to fall into the darkness!"

Hearing the magnificent and heroic songs of young people, but they are not the old works of the past that were chanted in the past. It is worth seeing what they say and imitate, but this also makes Zhang Jiazhen feel more regretful of talent and hatefulness. Looking at the agile figure of the young people on the stage, there is both cherishment and regret in his eyes.

He was about to pave and stopped, and summoned the nearby attendant and told him: "When this frivolous boy stepped down, he would be detained by me. If the poem is stolen, I will never give up this tyrant! If the song is written by myself, I cannot abandon this beautiful talent from it. We must make it right!"
To be continued...