After leaving Haidong, Zan Po and his party traveled day and night, changed horses and Chiyi, and returned to Haixi.

Although the New Year has passed for a while now, the climate in Qinghai is still cold.

In previous years, such situations were very unsuitable for long-distance travel. Not to mention whether they would encounter extreme harsh climates such as blizzards, they could not obtain any supplements in the boundless wilderness. Even if people can stand it, the horse may not be. In such a climate, once there is a problem with the mount power, it is tantamount to death. It is impossible to cross the vast wilderness and reach the destination with human power alone.

However, starting from the second half of last year, the communication network between the Tang Dynasty and Haixi began to be built. Especially after the winter came and Qinghai was frozen, the personnel exchanges between the two sides were completely transferred to land exchanges, so the logistics and traffic conditions on the Dafeichuan line on the south side of Qinghai have been greatly improved.

Although a few months are not enough to fundamentally change the basic landform conditions such as mountains, rivers, roads, etc., the supply conditions along the way have been greatly improved.

In previous years, Haixi and the Tang Dynasty have been in a state of hostility. Every late autumn and winter, both sides have contracted their defense line due to the pressure of supplies, and a large number of unmanned areas have appeared. Even some weak Tuqiang tribes who are apart from the forces of both sides have avoided this area far away. In addition to the limited supplies, it is also because both sides have occasional scouts and junglers to sweep.

However, in the past few months, there have been few military conflicts between the two sides, but the transport of materials has been constantly commuting. Some abandoned station facilities along the way have been rested and put into use. At the same time, many tribal herders have also attracted to this.

Of course, these people are not qualified to join the trade exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and Haixi, but they can obtain certain rewards by providing drinking water, food, and labor, which greatly improves their chances of survival in this cold winter.

The Tang Dynasty and Haixi also welcomed this kind of herder who came spontaneously. The existence of these people could greatly alleviate their respective logistical pressure. As for which party these people belong to, the two sides temporarily put the dispute to avoid destroying the harmony due to such trivial matters.

But in fact, Zan Po knew in his heart that even if both sides did not make a conclusion on this, if the Tang Dynasty and Haixi fought, most of these people would choose to join the Tang Dynasty. What influenced the people's sentiments is not the loyalty and righteousness, but only because no matter from which perspective, joining the Tang Dynasty will undoubtedly have a greater chance of survival.

At present, the Tang Dynasty court has announced that it will expropriate the west and regain Qinghai, but these herdsmen have limited channels to learn the news. They are still confused and will not realize that soon in the future, a bloody storm will be set off on this land.

On the way home, the herdsmen gathered at some strongholds along the way were still enthusiastically providing simple and meager supplies for Zanpo and his party.

In the past, Zan Po made great choices and would not care too much about these miscellaneous fish like dust. But now I know that the future situation in Qinghai is difficult to be controlled by their Gar family, and I pay more attention to these people.

In a stronghold surrounded by broken walls, the simple shack can only block some wind and sand, but there are still many residents inside and outside, with hundreds of people. These people collect ice, snow, hay and firewood in the wild to provide accommodation and food for tourists traveling to this place.

Although the stronghold looks extremely simple, it is the only place within a radius of more than 200 miles. In addition to the passengers and voyages who have to rest here, even the nearby Tang Army Fortress occasionally replenish some supplies.

Zanpo and his group were strong and the equipment they carried was exquisite and intimidating. Even if they were not marked, they were also welcomed when they came outside the stronghold.

The group of people turned over and got off the horse. The herdsmen from their own base led the horses away before entering. At the same time, the base also busy setting up a fire and preparing hot meals for people.

Zan Po sat in the felt tent and saw an old Hu man limping his feet and holding the urn containing food to bring it up. He thought about it and asked with a smile: "I think it's not easy to seek a life in the wild, right?"

The old Hu man was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then lowered his head timidly. It was not until the Zan Po escort asked again that he plucked up his head, his face full of humble smiles, and replied in a trembling voice: "Haixi's great mercy will no longer fight with the Tang people, so that we, the untouchables, can live on the commercial road. If it were in previous years, the old and abominable people, such as the old slave, would have been driven to the wilderness and waited for death..."

Although the old Hu people were cowardly, they had accumulated some insights when making a living through this business journey, and could roughly identify which party Zan Po and his party belonged to. Therefore, they spoke up to be grateful to Haixi's great discussion on Qinling.

However, although his words were praising the Great Relationship of Qinling, it felt a little uncomfortable in Zan Po's ears. It was because Lao Hu was grateful for not the Gar family's righteousness in Xingzhi, but because the Gar family no longer fought with the Tang Dynasty, so he gave them the opportunity to survive.

Therefore, after hearing the old Hu people's answer, Zan Po's mood became worse. He waved his hand and shut it off, and then he held the meal he had just given. In such an environment, the meal was naturally not good. It was nothing more than stewed with some dried meat and vegetables and mixed grains. Although the taste was not good, it was better than steaming.

After the meal, the group took a short rest and waited until the horsepower recovered, they were ready to continue on the road. But just as they were about to leave, a caravan of Tang people arrived at the stronghold.

This time, the scene of going out to greet the strongholds was even bigger, and some people even pulled out two sheep in the strongholds to prepare for slaughter.

Seeing this scene, Zan Po's followers were naturally resentful, and one of them couldn't help but curse, "These thief slaves are so cunning! They just offered food, but only said that there was no fresh blood. It turned out that they were kept to show their condolences to the Tang people!"

While speaking, several followers drew their swords, trying to teach the sluts in this stronghold a lesson and let them know who is the real master of Qinghai, but they were stopped by Zan Po.

"These miscellaneous people are foolish and have nothing to do with them. Let's hurry up and go back to Haixi as soon as possible."

Zan Po said, and at the same time he noticed that after the Tang Dynasty caravan that had just arrived along the way, the guards had already drawn out their swords and warily, and the number of goods they carried was limited. It was obvious that they knew the movements of the court and urgently withdrew to the Tang Dynasty.

Walking all the way, a few days later, Zan Po and his party finally returned to Fuqi City, Haixi.

Today's Fuqi City seems to be no different from before. There are still people living outside the city and many people are living. As for the pattern in the city, it is slightly different from previous years.

The two fang areas located in the southeast corner of the city are faintly integrated and do not mix with the next place. Most of the fang areas live in Tang people's merchants who came to Haixi in the past six months, so this place is also called Tang people's fang.

Haixi also arranged some armored soldiers to protect the Tang people's yard. In addition to the armored soldiers, a large number of local people gathered in daily life, either hoping to trade directly with the Tang people or hoping to sell themselves as slaves.

In order to stabilize the situation in Haixi, the Gar family blocked the news that the Tang Dynasty was about to use troops to Qinghai. Therefore, until now, the surrounding area of ​​Tangrenfang is still the most prosperous place in the city and has not been affected by the atmosphere of war.

However, inside and outside the palace of Fuqi City, the guarding power was unprecedentedly strengthened. From the exterior wall to the inner living, it can be said that there were many armored soldiers and guarded everywhere. Even Zan Po who returned to the city had to make a notice first, and only after the mansion was handed over by the handwritten order of the Da Lun Qinling was handed over to enter the mansion.

Qinling was assassinated, and this matter was top secret in Haixi, and very few people knew about it. Even some of the direct clans of the Gar family did not know that their patriarch had just left at the gates of hell.

The reason why the news was blocked so closely was not only because the Qinling brothers did a very good job of keeping confidentiality, but also because the assassination scenes and the assassination were unusual.

Qinling was assassinated in his bedroom, but the assassination was not a spy from outside, but a relative of the Gar family, and a clan that Qinling even valued a lot.

It was precisely because the other party was a clan whom he admired and he never thought that the other party would have murdered him, so Qinling did not make any defense. When the clan came to visit, he led him into the dormitory to meet him, but he did not expect that the clan grabbed the knife on the case and stabbed him directly into Qinling's belly.

Although the cutter knife was sharp but not long, the injury was not too serious. However, the shock this incident brought him far exceeded the damage he suffered.

In the past years, there have been internal conflicts in the Gar family, and even Qinling's elder brother Zan Siruo died in a trap set by his tribe members. However, after Qinling's bloody purge, some tribe members with dissatisfaction were basically eliminated, and the remaining Gar family members have maintained extremely high cohesion in Qinling for more than ten years.

Especially last year, Zanpu was forced to retreat by Qinling, and the entire Gar family believed that as long as the Great Remark Qinling was present, there would be no power in the world that could endanger the existence of the Gar family.

But just a few months later, such a bad thing happened. After the tribe was arrested on the spot when he was attempted to assassinate, he was still shouting during the interrogation: "The country cannot be tolerated. The Tang people come to attack. If the great remarks do not die, my family will eventually perish..."

A series of severe interrogations did not interrogate whether the assassin was instructed by others. The clan even took advantage of the slacking off the guards and directly showed their ambitions by death.

After the assassination incident, although the news was blocked and did not cause any worse effects, it is impossible to investigate how many tribesmen secretly had similar ideas.

The assassination of Qinling can be kept temporarily, but the news that the Tang Dynasty was about to expedition the west to regain Qinghai was unable to hide. Therefore, when Qinling's injury was initially stabilized, Zanpo immediately went to Haidong and proposed to submit to the Tang Dynasty and replace the Qinghai king lineage to accept the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

"How is Brother Ah?"

After Zan Po entered the inner room, he looked at Qinling and asked with concern.

Qin Ling's face was a little pale, but she was still in good spirits. She signaled the messenger to use a soft quilt to cushion behind her. Then she reluctantly sat up from the couch and waved her hands and said, "Small skin and flesh are not enough to endanger your life. Tell me, how effective is your trip?"

Seeing that Qin Ling was not seriously injured, Zan Po breathed a sigh of relief. However, after hearing this question, his face felt a little sad: "The saint of the Tang Dynasty has already traveled west and is about to enter Long soon. My family's enlistment at this time is not enough to change his conscription plan..."

After hearing this, Qin Ling nodded slightly, and there was no disappointment on his face. He just sighed: "This is natural. Before the saint of Tang State gained power, he had already dared to use martial arts Qinghai to compete with me to win. Now that he has great power and is arrogant, how can he endure it anymore?"

Although his tone was a little low, Qin Ling's expression was not too depressed. He just continued: "The power in the world has changed and the power of the Tang family is favored by heaven, which is enviable. Compared with that stupid child in Shannan, this saint of Tang State is the choice of the leader who can truly flourish the ancestral property. In previous years, the barriers of the East and West Seas and the prevention and prohibition were clear, and even if my family was weak, they could not lose the power of a battle. But now, my brother is greedy for short favors, and he has demolished the barriers and high walls by himself, and then debated with the Tang State, it is inevitable that the good or bad will be uncertain..."

When Zan Po heard this, his face was full of shame and heavy. The exchanges with Tang State were facilitated by him. He thought that his own power could be replenished and restored. Although it was indeed a certain effect, the great changes he brought to people's hearts were unexpected.

In the old year when the situation in Haixi became worse and worse, and the subordinates had many complaints, at least their Gar family could be consistent and had no major differences.

But now, it is not just the personnel disturbances from outside, but even the deep cracks have appeared within their Gar family. Not only the clan members believe that the existence of Qinling threatens the survival of the Gar family, but even the three brothers of their relatives have different differences.

This time when Zan Po went to Haidong, he was strongly opposed by their fifth brother Bo Lunzan Ren. Bo Lunzan Ren always believed that the Tang Dynasty did not have good intentions to the Gar family. This time Qinling was assassinated by his tribe, which was very likely to be planned and alienated by the Tang Dynasty.

But Zanpo felt that even if the Tang Dynasty remained hostile to the Gar family, it was normal. However, the material assistance provided by the Tang Dynasty to the Gar family in the past was real. It was obvious that the Tang Dynasty needed the existence of the Gar family to curb the outward extension of the Tubo power. Therefore, as long as the Gar family chose to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty did not necessarily eliminate the needs of the Gar family.

However, this time when I went to Haidong and had a conversation with Guo Yuanzhen, Zanpo realized that the Tang Dynasty had never thought about letting the Gar family stay in Qinghai from beginning to end. In addition to letting the Gar family continue to fight against Tubo, the series of funding provided in the past were also disintegrating the Gar family's stubborn resistance to the Tang Dynasty.

Putting aside some distracting thoughts in his heart, Zan Po truthfully told his exchange with Guo Yuanzhen to his brother. After listening, Qin Ling stared at Zan Po with both eyes and said in a deep voice: "What do you think?"

"Guo's words are cunning, and there have been many verifications before. He is not enough to believe in his words, but it is not all false."

Zan Po also weighed the pros and cons, and then he said, "My father and son have been in Qinghai for decades, but their power is still greater than virtue. The people in this place have not been affected by the merits of being treated for decades, but instead they are happy with the virtue of stopping the sword for only half a year. How can people be so relied on? If they really raise troops to resist Tang, they may collapse without fighting.

Moreover, the law of restraint in the Tang Dynasty is indeed great, and my family is definitely not a weak and incompetent portal. If we really join the Tang Dynasty, even if we don’t live in Qinghai, we will never lose our ambitions... Our fathers have been living in Shannan for decades, and our family has been enjoyed for decades. Now that we enter the Tang Dynasty, our brothers will definitely not be lost in the customs and die in silence. It is a pity for our ancestors to be wise, but if we really cannot defend it, it is better to open up another place elsewhere and not be a dog to guard the household and wait for death..."

After hearing this, Qin Ling was silent for a moment, then looked up and smiled bitterly: "You have not long after you left the east of the city, and your fifth brother also set off and headed for Xikang..."

"This, how dare he be the fifth brother... Even if he is discussing the Communist Party of China's anti-Tang army conquest, Zanpu will definitely not allow you to be in power again!"

After hearing this, Zan Po said with a look of shock and anger.

"Zanpu cannot tolerate me. Will the saints of Tang Kingdom allow me to continue to survive?"

Qin Ling said this, and his expression was lost and he felt a little proud: "Although your brother is now abominable to visitors in the world, how many people in the world can get hated by these heroes of the two countries? What is the future? I have already made a choice. Half of my life's achievements will be strong in Qinghai. Beyond this place, there is prosperity in the world, not my bone-burying land!"

"Brother, you want to..."

Zan Po was still waiting to ask questions, but Qin Ling waved his hand and said tiredly: "It's hard to go back and forth, you can go back and rest, and keep your energy in peace. When my family will have a strong reputation in Qinghai in the future!"
Chapter completed!