Shen Mu, who had disguised himself as a wealthy merchant, stuck a big beard and stuffed something into his stomach, said to Yang Fan, "This time, let Zhang Yi escort us. The people accompanying us are all carefully selected by him. Don't worry, with these people, there shouldn't be any danger along the way. "
Miss Qiqi stood at the side, pouting.
If they went any further, they would be out of the Tang army's complete control. Since the Four Towns of Anxi fell into the hands of the Tubo, their power continued to spread eastward and had now spread to the Hexi Corridor.
On both sides of this important road were mountain ridges. To the north were the Turks, and to the south were the Tubo. The widest part of the road was more than two hundred miles, and the narrowest part was only a few hundred feet. It would be very dangerous if they were attacked.
Now, there was neither the Tang army nor the Tubo army stationed in this large area. Both sides used this area as a buffer zone, which made the situation even more complicated. In addition to horse gangs and bandits, some caravans would occasionally act as horse bandits and kidnap other weaker caravans. And some of the small tribes living in this area were half people and half bandits.
Shen Mu was determined not to let Qiqi follow them. He wanted her to wait for his return at the Huang River. Miss Qiqi was very unhappy, but she also knew that Shen Mu seemed to be easy to talk to. If she was too willful and annoyed him, then the loss would outweigh the gain. So even though she was unhappy, she could only agree.
The caravan set off. Shen Mu was disguised as a big merchant, Zhang Yi was the leader of the caravan's guards, and Yang Fan, Gao She Ji, and Big Bear had blended into the caravan, becoming the assistants who rode on camels and pulled goods.
When their caravan walked on the street and was about to turn to the West City Gate, they happened to see a group of Heyuan soldiers dragging a few Tubo men in the direction of the magistrate's office.
Gao She Chicken moved closer to Yang Fan and whispered, "General Lou already knows about the method Erlang mentioned to find out the Tubo scouts. Pass down the military order, in this one month, in all the prefectures, counties and tribes of Longyou, if there were any strong men who died suddenly due to an accident, and those who were close to them are all major suspects, General Lou ordered, capture them first, and then screen them. "
Big Bear narrowed his eyes as he looked at the group of people being taken away and said, "With all the prefectures and counties taking action at the same time, they were less vigilant and unprepared. Now, we have found a lot of evidence from the families of those people we arrested. Heh! Out of ten, at most one or two are innocent. Erlang's plan is really good. However, this method can only be used this time. In the future, they will definitely be more careful and won't hide stolen goods and weapons in their homes anymore. "
Yang Fan nodded slightly and said, "But because of this, they will have to be more apprehensive if they want to carry out an assassination. After all, even if there is no evidence, the sudden death of someone is still suspicious. "
Kosho Chicken and Big Bear nodded in agreement.
Shanzhou City, Heyuan Army camp, Lou Shide, Wang Xiaojie and Qiu Shenji came out of a tent one after another.
Lou Shide smiled and said, "This Hundred Cavalry Guard surnamed Yang really has some tricks up his sleeves. This time, almost none of the people he arrested are innocent. Although he can't completely eradicate the Tufan scouts hidden in Longyou, he has greatly damaged their vitality."
Qiu Shenji's eyes slightly turned and said to Lou Shide, "General Lou, the identities of the Tufan scouts have been verified. Can I transfer them at any time?"
Lou Shide said, "Oh? General Qiu, what do you mean? "
Qiu Shenji said with a smile, "Oh, nothing much. I just want to understand more about the Tufan situation from them. When His Majesty asks about it when we return to the capital, I will know what to do. "
At this time, Qiu Shenji and Wang Xiaojie had already moved into the army camp because Qiu Shenji said that if they wanted to understand the current situation of the Longyou army, it would be best to live in the army camp. Wang Xiaojie naturally agreed, and Lou Shide also did not object. The two of them now had their own tents, and the surrounding guards were also brought by them from Luoyang.
After listening to Qiu Shenji's reason, Lou Shide smiled and said, "Of course."
He turned his head and ordered a military official, "Pass down the order. General Qiu and General Wang have the right to interrogate the Tufan spies that have been captured. They are not to disobey!"
"Yes!"
The military official bowed and responded.
Qiu Shenji turned around, a trace of a sly smile suddenly flitting across the corner of his mouth.
…
Shen Mu's troops left Huang River and traveled all the way west. Gradually, they stepped from Longyou to the land west of the river.
After passing Wushao Ridge, the environment of the entire region gradually became different from Longyou. In the distance, there were snow-capped mountains that never melted, and the peaks overlapped. One could vaguely see the Great Wall that had been built over the generations. It was like a long dragon, winding and undulating under the magnificent peaks. And right in front of them was a thousand miles of fertile land, sandwiched between the endless mountain ridges of the north and south. The wilderness was not as vast as the endless grassland, but because of the contrast between the snow-capped mountains and the wilderness, it appeared magnificent and spectacular.
The sky was azure blue, and the pure white clouds seemed so low that they could be reached by raising one's hand. In the distance was the spectacular snow-capped mountains, and beneath their feet was the soft grassland. The wind gently caressed their bodies, and from time to time, cows mooed, horses neighed, and camels neighed. It added a bit of liveliness to the already lively caravan.
This kind of long journey was originally a spectacular sight, but after looking at it for a long time, it became very boring. The people in the caravan all thought of ways to have fun, talking about ghosts and women, laughing and joking, and enjoying themselves.
Yang Fan and Zhang Yi were lying side by side on a cart pulled by a Heineken bull. They were sprawled on their backs, their heads pillowed on their arms, and their faces were covered by a sunhat. They were chatting idly.
However, outside this leisurely caravan, there were vigilant riders patrolling the area five or six miles to the left and right, indicating that this was a place with countless hidden dangers.
When it was almost evening, the caravan just happened to reach the side of a lake. This was the advantage of having an experienced guide who had memorized the entire Hexi Corridor by heart. He could remember the location of every lake and river, and accurately control the speed of the entire caravan. When they were preparing to set up camp, they would stop at a place with a water source.
The caravan stopped, and the caravan was unloaded. The camels and cows were pulled to the side of the lake to drink water, and the empty water bags were filled to the brim in preparation for the next day's journey. The person in charge of cooking quickly dug out a stove on the grass, and wisps of smoke drifted into the air with the wind.
Along the way, Little Fei Jiang Zhang Yi, who had been lying on the cart with Yang Fan as if his bones had been scattered, was also energized. He began to arrange for everyone to set up camp and patrol.
When the sky was full of stars, everyone had eaten and drank to their heart's content. The huge Camel City was placed at the outermost perimeter, like the first line of defense of a fortress. Behind it was the second line of defense made of caravans and a large number of boxes and sacks, and finally the tents were set up.
At every line of defense, there were people sleeping there, ready to enter battle at any time. In addition, there were also roaming sentries placed at the outermost perimeter. Because it was night time, and to prevent a night attack, other than the side facing the water, the other three sides had two layers of roaming sentries. One layer was placed five miles away, and the other layer was placed ten miles away. With such a formation, no matter if it was horse bandits or wolf packs, they would not dare to easily invade.
A bonfire was set up in the camp. They had hunted some wild animals on the way, but they did not have time to slaughter and clean them for dinner. At this time, they had cleaned them up and put them on the fire. White-lipped deer, snow chicken, gazelle … After roasting for a while, they emitted a tempting fragrance.
At first, Goosako Chicken and Big Bear were not at ease, but along the way, they saw this team set up camp and marched in order, and they were completely relieved. Anyway, they were only responsible for cooperating with Yang Fan, and everything was decided by Yang Fan. Now they were relieved, roasting the gazelle on the fire, enjoying this rare leisure time.
"Erlang, our owner wants you to go over!"
Yang Fan was also sitting by the fire, talking to Goosako Chicken and Big Bear. He found that Goosakie was not a man of few words at all times. He was probably shy when he saw a woman. In such a large group of men, he also talked and laughed wittily. He was a very outgoing person.
As they were talking, a guard with a full beard suddenly came over and shouted something to him. Yang Fan stood up, patted his buttocks, and followed him.
The bearded guard brought Yang Fan to the front of Shen Mu's sleeping tent. Shen Mu was standing in front of the tent with his hands behind his back, bathed in the starlight and moonlight of the day, looking at the scenery in the distance. The gentle evening wind blew his clothes up and down.
Yang Fan walked over and stood by Shen Mu's side. Shen Mu did not turn his head, but he knew that Yang Fan had come. Shen Mu pointed to the dark mountains on the left and right, saying, "Two mountains, a single line of road, hanging for two thousand li. The west controls the Western Regions, the south is separated by the Qiang Rong, and the north covers the Hu. If we advance, we can control the Western Regions, and if we retreat, we can defend Guanlong. This is truly the throat of our Central Plains."
Yang Fan said in agreement, "Along the way, this place is indeed dangerous. The mountain range between the two sides, as well as the pass and the wall built over the generations to make up for the geographical inadequacies, can become an important barrier for the Central Plains. When the country is strong, it can advance from here and control the Western Regions. When the country is weak, with this strategic location, it can also carry out a powerful defense at the lowest cost."
Shen Mu said, "That's right, so we have to work hard to obtain it!"
Yang Fan frowned and said, "But this place has already been obtained by us, so why would we lose it? It's not the first time that the four cities of Anxi have been obtained, lost, and regained. "
Shen Mu said, "Because our enemy is also not weak! The most important thing is the support of the people. Occupying a place is easy, but winning the hearts of the people is difficult. Since the Han Dynasty, our Central Plains has lost the Western Regions for a long time. If we want to win back the hearts of the people, it will not be a day's work. "
Yang Fan said, "If that's the case, it's not easy to obtain, not easy to lose, not easy to defend, not easy to defend. How can we think of a way to never have any future troubles?"
Shen Mu smiled and said, "You are daydreaming again. How can there be no future troubles in this world? The founding emperors of the past dynasties were all wise and valiant, all of them working hard for the sake of their legacy. But when they encounter an unfilial descendant, even if all the gods and buddhas in the world are at his disposal, he will still perish. When we do things, we only seek to live this life to our heart's content, to live happily in this life. That is enough. A thousand autumns and ten thousand generations? First Emperor has already told you that this is a big joke. The matters of the later generations should be left to the later generations to worry about! "
Yang Fan said with a smile, "Brother Shen is broad-minded and has a free and easy bearing, truly worthy of admiration. But did Brother Shen specially call this little brother over just to express these sentiments? "
Shen Mu shook his head and pointed to the dark shadows of the mountains on the left, saying, "We will follow this great snow mountain and travel for another three days before we reach the Great Big Dipper Valley. At that time, I will introduce you to someone."
"Who?" Yang Fan asked.
Shen Mu's eyes slightly flickered as he said, "A person who can become Khan!"
He slowly turned around and said to Yang Fan with a smile, "If there is a Khan who needs our approval to become the ruler of a region, wouldn't we feel a great sense of accomplishment?"
… …
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