Tufan Gorge?
Famous?
Yang Fan really does not know, so he can only shake his head in shame.
Shen Mu knew that he lived in Southeast Asia when he was young and moved to Luoyang when he grew up, so he has never been to other places. Seeing that he does not know, he is not surprised and said, "So you don't know much about Longyou's archenemy, the Tufan people. Then I will briefly explain to you, and finally we will talk about this Tufan Gorge. "
Yang Fan said, "Please advise me!"
Shen Mu said, "Speaking of the Four Barbarians and Di Man, our Central Plains has always regarded them as barbarians and disdained them. But this can only be reflected in education and people's livelihood, talking about military affairs, ha ha … "
Shen Mu shook his head and said, "First talking about military strength, the Tufan population is not as large as our dynasty, but all of them are soldiers, their total military strength is at least four hundred thousand. And our dynasty's total military strength is about four hundred to six hundred thousand, and we need at least fifty thousand men and horses to guard the capital. Our vast territory needs to be garrisoned, so when our dynasty sends troops against the Tufan, we rarely have more than two hundred thousand men, and the Tufan can deploy their troops nearby, so in terms of military strength, our dynasty is at a disadvantage. "
Talking about military strength, the Tufan army is like the people, the people are like the army, their culture is fierce, they love to fight, and when they fight, they are not afraid of death. In every battle, it is often when the front line is completely dead that the rear line enters the battle, their bravery is in no way inferior to our dynasty's army.
Talking about weapons and equipment, the Tufan people are different from the Turks, their bows and arrows are not considered formidable, what is formidable is their armour and weapons. The Tufan elite troops, men and horses will wear chainmail, their whole body covered in armour, only their eyes are open, only a strong blade can injure them. Not only are they good at riding, they are also good at fighting on foot. Although they may not have learned our dynasty's art of war, but the grassland people have comprehended the art of separation and encirclement from hunting, which is not inferior to our dynasty's art of war.
Yang Fan sucked in a breath of cold air and said in shock, "They're actually that powerful?"
In Yang Fan's imagination, he had thought that these Turks and Tubo were just a bunch of beggar soldiers; when they go to battle, they are nothing more than a bunch of fur-covered soldiers, armed with big sticks and iron forks, similar to the refugees who gathered together during the famine years. Who would have thought that in terms of military strength, they are not inferior to the Tang dynasty? Moreover, they have the advantage in military strength and geographical advantage. No wonder the Tang dynasty has always been cautious in deploying their troops to the Western Region.
Shen Mu said: "That's right! Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you emerge victorious in every battle. If you blindly and arrogantly consider yourself as the Celestial Empire, you will suffer a great loss. If Tubo's military force was not this strong, do you think that during the Lantern Festival, how could the Tubo envoys dare to be so arrogant in front of the Queen of Heaven, even daring to openly ask for the 'Jin Ou Yong Gu Cup'? "
Shen Mu smiled and said, "Of course, they also have their own shortcomings, and they can't avoid them. We'll talk about this in the future. Today we will only talk about the enemy's strong point. Not only the Tubo people are good at fighting, they are also good at using their intelligence. When it comes to savagery, it always makes people think that they are cruel and savage by nature; they only have brute force, but it's very easy for people to overlook their intelligence.
To say something impolite, in terms of 'using their intelligence', the Tubo people have put in far more effort than our court. Their scouts, which I mentioned just now, are a hundred times stronger than our scouts and mounted scouts. In their territory, in the territory they occupied, in the territory they wanted to occupy, their eyes and ears are everywhere, everywhere they look.
These scouts and spies can be one person, they can also be a group of people, they can also be a family with the old and the young, or even a small tribe. They can even recruit the people of the conquered tribes and regions as scouts. After controlling their families, they will be sent out to act as their eyes and ears … "
Yang Fan recalled the time when he was in Luoyang's Xiu wen workshop, where he obtained information from the seemingly unremarkable people of the town. He couldn't help but be enlightened and said, "I understand now. Once these people infiltrate into the places we control, they will infiltrate into all walks of life, and even become the servants of the government or the auxiliary soldiers of the military camp. It's impossible for there to be no signs of any movement, and with these eyes and ears that can penetrate every nook and cranny, as long as you hear a little and they see a little, when combined together, it will be absolutely detailed and true information. "
Shen Mu nodded and said, "That's right! But not only do they spy for information, they will also use their hidden identities to deliberately provoke some conflicts, inciting the conflict between the army and the local people. Sometimes they will even carry out assassinations and ambushes, making the people panic at the slightest sound and treat every bush and tree as an enemy. "
Yang Fan said, "Like the scene just now?"
Shen Mu cast his gaze out of the window again and said thoughtfully, "I only hope that it's really like this. Otherwise, it means that … the information about your secret hiding in Longyou has already been leaked … "
…
Yang Fan thought that the rest of the journey would not be peaceful, but as they travelled westward, they did not encounter a single battle. The entire journey was calm and peaceful.
There were a few times when they were in the sparsely populated forest, and they had seen a few dead people who had just died. But every time, they would find an 'arrow' symbol on a nearby yellow wall or tree trunk. Once they saw this symbol, Shen Mu's men would let down their guard and calmly continue on their way.
Thinking back to Shen Mu's words about Zhang Yi personally leading men to escort them westward, Yang Fan guessed that this arrow must be a symbol left behind by that Zhang Yi.
Later on, when they passed by a few towns to rest and stroll, Yang Fan would often hear some merchants talking about how much goods the 'Little Flying General' had stolen and how many people he had killed. After hearing more, he knew that this' Little Flying General 'was a famous horse bandit leader who roamed Longyou.
It was said that this person was ruthless and fierce. Although he only had about 300 men, the two to three thousand strong Horse Bandit gang did not dare to provoke him. This was because the 'Little Flying General's' subordinates were all ruthless characters who could fight against ten men. If they really fought, the two to three thousand strong Horse Bandit gang might not be able to provoke him.
Moreover, the 'Little Flying General's' subordinates were few and he could come and go as he pleased. If he wanted to find you, he could find you. If he wanted to hide from you, Longyou was high and wide. If he wanted to hide, there was no way to find him. That was why there were very few people who dared to provoke him. And this person's symbol was an arrow.
As long as he was involved in a case, he would never conceal his identity. He would generously leave a sharp wolf fang arrow as a symbol. His nickname, 'Little Flying General', was due to his superb archery skills that allowed him to shoot through a willow tree from a hundred steps away. However, the 'Little Flying General' couldn't help but feel proud of himself for this, so he designed the symbol of his identity as an arrowhead.
Yang Fan thought to himself, 'Perhaps this Zhang Yi is the' Little Flying General '…'
They arrived at the Huang River. This was Yang Fan's first stop in the Western Regions, and also Duo Duo and Xiao Qi's final stop.
The Huang River faced the Long Mountains in the east, the Red Ridge in the west, the Yellow River in the south, and the Qilian River in the north. Eight hundred Huang Valleys crisscrossed and contained thousands of rivers and streams. It was the birthplace of the Ancient Qiang Yan Emperor.
The car stopped on a small hill, from where they could see the Huang River City in the distance.
On both sides of the road were rolling hills. There were tower-shaped pines, precious red pines, round cypresses that had experienced the vicissitudes of life, tall and straight spruce, as well as countless red birch, white birch, and rough-skinned birch. Tigers, wild wolves, red deer, roe deer, argali, antelopes, foxes, snow chickens, stone chickens, and other wild beasts and mountain birds lived in the forest.
In front of him was a grassland overflowing with green. The grassland was overgrown with shrubs, and together, they weaved together to form an emerald green field. Flocks of white sheep and yellow cows could be faintly seen wandering on the grassland like clouds.
Duo Duo stood on the mountain with Xiao Qi in her arms. Looking at the familiar scenery in front of her, she couldn't help but burst into tears. She was finally back.
After Madam's death, she had felt a sense of loneliness and uneasiness every day and night in Luoyang. Now that she was back and saw the familiar grassland, that sense of security finally returned to her heart. These were tears of joy, but also tears of sorrow when she thought of Ah Lang and Madam who had left and never returned.
Shen Mu stood side by side with Yang Fan. He smiled cheerfully at a guard and said, "Zhang Yi has done a good job along the way. Tell him to come and accompany me to the Huang River."
"Yes!"
The guard answered and hurriedly retreated. No one knew what method he used to communicate with Yang Fan, but when Yang Fan and the others had moved around the mountaintop for a while and were about to board the carriage to continue their journey, four steeds suddenly emerged from the bushes beside a jade-like river at the foot of the slope in front of them and galloped up the mountain.
There were four riders on the four horses. One of them had his hair draped in a headband. If a crescent moon was added to the headband, he would look like a dhuta. He wore a large robe that reached to his knees and a leather belt around his waist. There was a broadsword with a thick back and a bow slung diagonally on his shoulder. The bow was as long as an ordinary person's height.
There were three other people behind him. They didn't wear their hair in a bun and only used a headband to tie their hair so that it wouldn't cover their faces or obstruct their line of sight. They let their hair flutter behind their shoulders, giving them a very boorish and heroic appearance. Two of these three people were in their thirties, rough and burly. The other person was a little younger, looking to be in his early twenties. He wore a scarlet headband and didn't have a beard. His face was clear and handsome, but there seemed to be a touch of evil in his demeanor.
All four of them carried bows and arrows, but the one in the front had the biggest bow. Looking at his face, thick eyebrows and wide mouth, he looked very awe-inspiring. Yang Fan couldn't help thinking, "Could it be that this person is the 'Little Flying General' Zhang Yi?"
Unexpectedly, this person flew to the front of the carriage, rolled down the saddle and nimbly led the horse to one side. Yang Fan was surprised, "This person isn't the 'Little Flying General' Zhang Yi?"
He was about to choose from the two dark faced men among the remaining three when the young man with the red headband, with a slightly evil aura, jumped down from the horse and left the horse. He quickly walked forward and knelt down on one knee. He cupped his fists and said loudly, "Zhang Yi greets the Sect Leader!"
Yang Fan was secretly shocked, "So this person is the 'Little Flying General'. You really can't judge a book by its cover."
Shen Mu smiled and pulled the 'Little Flying General' Zhang Yi up. He said, "We're brothers, there's no need to be so polite. You've done well in Longyou these two years. We haven't seen each other for a long time. I asked you to come with me to go to Huangshui to have a gathering. There are some things I need to tell you. Come, I'll introduce you to a friend … "
As Shen Mu said this, he pulled Yang Fan in front of him. The 'Little Flying General' Zhang Yi looked at Yang Fan and his eyes immediately shot out a frightening light like that of a wolf. He stretched out his hand and pushed Shen Mu. He suddenly pulled out his saber and at the same time shouted, "Ashina Musi, it's actually you!"
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