"With the grace of the saint, Suiye City is really not difficult to defeat, because since the establishment of Suiye Town in the Great Dynasty, it has been abandoned and rebuilt many times.
The reason is that the rise of the Western Turkic Khanate and the Tuqishi Khanate led to the dynasty being unable to fully control this place. "
Hearing that Zhang Gao wanted him to be the vanguard of the expedition to the west, Hu Guang ran very fast. He received the order that morning and led 500 cavalry to set off first in the afternoon.
The horses and people kept resting along the way. It was a full 700 miles from Luoyang, the sacred capital, to Chang'an Prefecture in Jingzhao. Hu Guang completed the entire distance in five days.
He even had the energy to come directly to meet the saint without going to the post house to rest.
This really makes Zhang Shengren, whose physical fitness has begun to decline, envious.
Hu Guang has reason to be so excited. Not to mention that warriors like to fight and perform meritorious service the most. Another extremely important reason is that Hu Guang is a native of Anxi!
At that time, the small Dadan tribe where the Hu family was located went to Khotan as a dowry of Cao Yuanxu as a Yueqi.
Hu Guang was born in Khotan and grew up in Khotan. When he was fifteen years old, he followed Zhang Hao back to the east. He also had a group of friends who had grown up together in Khotan.
It can be said that for others, going to the Western Expedition was hard work, but for Hu Guang, it was called returning home in glory.
Zhang Gao stood up and poured a bowl of wine for Hu Guang, and asked Xiao Sage to quickly put the roasted mutton on skewers and serve more than a dozen skewers to Hu Guang.
Among Zhang Zhang's concubines, Xiao Sage was the only one who liked to show up in such a public manner, because this was a common thing among the Khitan people.
Hu Guang is not shy either. Although Hu Guang now considers himself to be a Han Chinese and a Tanger, in fact his family is from Dadan, and they will later be called Tatars in history.
Moreover, he is familiar with Zhang Yan's style, so he will not be entangled in this.
After giving a slight salute to Xiao Sage, who had a big belly, Hu Guang started to eat boldly.
The shiny mutton oil kept flowing along the beard, and the big skewer of meat disappeared immediately without even opening his mouth, so he still had time to praise loudly.
After Hu Guang finished fifty skewers of mutton, which probably weighed seven or eight kilograms of mutton, and drank one or two kilograms of sweet rice wine, I, Zhang Shengren, who showed off my bravery as a warrior along with his general, had the wine and meat in his throat.
In the distance, Shaojian Dong looked at Zhang Yan worriedly, fearing that I, Zhang Shengren, would be damaged by the food.
Only Xiao Sage, a silly girl, still squinted her eyes and praised loudly from the side, and even wanted to come over to persuade her to drink and eat.
In the eyes of the Khitan people, one of the most important signs of a good man is that he can eat
A person who eats a sheep in one meal is a warrior, and one who can eat half a cow in one meal is like a god descending to earth.
Fortunately, Hu Guang was indeed full, and immediately burped and said to Zhang Hao: "I haven't eaten such delicious barbecue for a long time. I ate too much at one time. It was really unethical. Please forgive me, saint." "
Zhang Hao laughed, "The frizzy newborn calf finally knew how to read and be polite.
It's easy to forgive. In the past, in Anxi and Hezhong, you and I, our kings and ministers, didn't often eat meat and drink like this. "
Speaking of Anxi, Hu Guang's face suddenly showed a look of anger, "Li Guoshou was just a scavenged dog wagging its tail in front of a saint, but now he dares to do what a rabid dog barks at the sun. I swear to capture and kill this thief for the saint."
Zhang Gao waved his hand, "Li Guoshou is an arrogant villain and has no ability. I will not get angry with such a person.
When you go, the most important thing is to recover Suiye and Talas. Li Guoshou's life and death is secondary.
You just talked about the beginning, now let's talk about it, why is it not difficult to break the broken leaves? "
After hearing this, Hu Guang immediately sat upright, took out the map he carried with him and said to Zhang Gao.
"Ever since Gao Jie Shuai of the Great Dynasty evacuated the Four Towns of Anxi, or even before the evacuation, Suiye has been in the middle of the struggle between Tuqishi and the Turkic tribes. The Suiye City built by the Great Dynasty was already riddled with holes. .
Later, he experienced Ponte Qin entering Suiye, the Persian army shattered Yecheng, Saktu besieged Suiye, and the saint defeated the Persian army in Suiye City.
In the past few decades, it has experienced at least four large-scale destructions of the city. Although Suiye City was relocated and rebuilt several times during this period, both the old and new cities were still severely damaged.
Later, although the saint appointed the governor of Suiye to pacify his territory, the great virtue Guo Xuanqing did not dare to go against the saint after taking power, so he only built a pass in the old city of Baodajun to the west of Suiye to guard against Li Guoshou of Talos.
Suiye City and He Lie City were not fortified and could not defend themselves against the attack of the army.
Moreover, the saint's prestige among the Suiye tribe is not so easy to eliminate.
I think that the reason why the Suiye tribe dared to follow Guo Guangyi and Li Guoshou to cause rebellion was because they felt that Suiye was thousands of miles away from China and the saints would not bother to go on an expedition just for this matter.
In their hearts, they did not have much determination to resist.
That's why I said that Broken Leaf is not difficult to break. It only requires more than a thousand elite armored soldiers to attack the city. If the Han people in the city are frightened by the sight of it, there may be no need to attack the city. "
Zhang Hao nodded. Judging from the situation he received, Hu Guang's judgment was very reasonable.
But after all, seeing is believing, Zhang Yan did not express any special agreement, and he knew that Hu Guang must not have finished speaking, so he waved his hand to signal Hu Guang to continue.
Sure enough, Hu Guang pointed to the legend on the map that represented high mountains and said: "The most difficult thing about attacking Suiye is to cross the long Tianshan Mountains and the raging Nalen River.
Even if these two natural dangers are not guarded by soldiers and horses, the supplies of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians alone can be daunting. "
"Then what are you going to do?" Zhang Hao asked indifferently.
"I plan to collect detailed information before making a judgment after arriving in Shule.
If everything is the same as what I judged before, I am going to let the Khotan soldiers lead the large group behind. Together with Chen Tingxiao, I will personally lead a thousand soldiers to raid Suiye City. "
Um! Zhang Yan said that this taste is very authentic, and this is the favorite trick of famous generals in the Han and Tang Dynasties.
Moreover, Hu Guang's success rate should be quite high, but Zhang Yan didn't believe it. There were more than 5,000 people from the Guo family who stayed in Suiye alone. They had been together for more than ten years, and now they were at least 20,000 to 30,000 people.
Zhang Yan didn't believe them, they were all guys like Guo Guangyi.
“I agree with this surprise strategy, but we must pay attention to the accuracy of the intelligence.
In addition, please bring brothers Guo Guangcheng and Guo Guangsheng with you. They have been begging outside the palace gate all day, fearing that my anger will prevent the Suiye Guo family from turning over. "
Hu Guang also laughed when he heard this, and after a long while he said to Zhang Yan with some embarrassment: "When I came to Chang'an Mansion, Privy Councilor Guo Gong also specially invited me to meet at Guiyi Tower, and also gave me a generous gift of three hundred guan. Outside of the words, I always ask you to do your best to attack your heart."
Zhang Gao looked at Hu Guang dumbfounded, "Guo Tiance has been cautious all his life. If someone else gives him three hundred guan, it's just a drop in the bucket. If Guo Tiance gives 300 guan, his family may not know the taste of meat for a few months."
Okay, then you go to Suiye. Except for the main criminal Guo Guangyi and his gang members, the rest of the guilty Guo family members will be left to the mercy of the King of Jin! "
After saying that, Zhang Gao turned back to look at Dong Shaojian and said: "I will allocate 500 gu from my internal funds to Guo Tiance, and I will say that I reward him."
Zhang Zhou's salary was actually not low, it was a full 300 guan, which was much higher than the 200 guan and 180 guan in the Later Liang and Later Tang Dynasties.
And even the 180 Guan of Later Tang Dynasty was enough for a family to live a relatively luxurious life.
It's a pity that Guo Tiance not only has to use these three hundred coins to maintain the status of a privy envoy, but also to support other Guo family members living in the Southern Tang and Chang'an areas, so life is really tight.
The rest of the people who have reached the position of Privy Councilor can earn as much as 8,000 yuan a year from just a little bit, which is relatively incorruptible.
But Guo Tiance basically managed not to take any money randomly, and he was a role model for officials at this time.
After thinking about it, Zhang Yan felt that it was inappropriate, so he just gave him 500 guan. Guo Tiance probably wouldn't accept it in terms of face.
After all, there is no reason to reward Suiye Guo family despite his lack of merit. The Guo family has such a big problem.
So Zhang Gao stopped Dong Shaojian, who was about to leave, and said, "Don't give these five hundred pieces of brocade, silver collars, etc., just exchange them for large coins, burlap, fine cloth, mutton and rice grains, and reward them in five months." "
Alas, there are not many emperors in history who are so careful! Zhang Shengren was a little arrogant.
. . . .
After listening to Hu Guang's report on the plan to capture Suiye City, Zhang Gao slightly adjusted the plan for the Western Expedition.
The entire Suiye Guo family and the Talos Li family, plus Suiye's various tribes following them, total about 400,000 people, and if the whole people are soldiers, they can pull out more than a hundred thousand people.
Among them, there are only 20,000 to 30,000 people who can be considered elites. The number of truly armored elites is no more than 10,000, and there are probably only one or two thousand armored soldiers.
Such a national power may seem weak, but after the collapse of the Turks and the decline of Persia, it is really a big force. At least it can mobilize tens of thousands of people if it is careful.
But for the Central Plains court, this force was too weak, and even for Li Shengtian, the Great Jin Kingdom, which had not yet completely returned to the court, it was not a threat.
Therefore, if the situation in Broken Leaf is as Hu Guang expected, Zhang Yan believes that his plan to raid Broken Leaf should be a great success.
But there is also a variable in it. Who is the person who can bring Guo Guangyi and Li Guoshou together and hide behind this matter?
Zhang Hao closed his eyes and recalled that in history, Samampos began to decline at the end of Nasr II. It seemed that there was no possibility of a heroic leader.
So... the most likely possibility is Saktu, who is seven or eight years younger than Li Shengtian.
This guy was the real founding hero of the Kara Khanate in history. For the Central Plains Dynasty, he was at least a figure like Guangwu of the Han Dynasty and Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, this is just a similarity in historical status. Saktu's personal ability is still far behind the two elders.
It's just that at present, the Tang Dynasty, Turks, Dashi, and Tubo are all lagging behind in Anxi, and Saktu must indeed be considered very capable.
If this guy is here, Zhang Yan expects Hu Guang to be able to take down Broken Leaf and hold it. If he continues to the west until Zhang Yan has never been to Talas personally, I'm afraid there is still something wrong.
After thinking about it, he calculated again. When Hu Guang set off, Li Shengtian and Chen Tingxiao had finished deploying troops in Anxi and Beiting respectively. They had to go by the end of this year anyway.
After that, we will train together for two or three months, and then Hu Guang will make another raid over the snowy mountains, at least in July or August next year.
There is still more than a year, and Zhang Yan can just gather the 120,000 households on the grassland and capture them.
Then it would be better to just let Hu Guang guard the area around Broken Leaf and confront the Talas forces. By then, it would be clear who is causing trouble behind the scenes.
After everything became clear, Bai Congxin's surprise army simply followed the example of the Mongols and went directly through Jinshan (Altai Mountain) to the Land of Seven Rivers (Yinli Valley), passing through the Yibo Sea (Lake Balkhash) and bypassing the Talas. From behind, attack from both front and back to completely kill Saktu, this annoying rat.
. . . .
In the third year of Shaoming Dynasty, on July 12th, when Huguang had selected a thousand elites for the Western Expedition, and Yao Yuanfu had also recruited 2,000 Han light armored cavalry from Shuofang, Meng Chang, the Lord of Shu, finally arrived in Beijing. Zhao Chang'an Mansion.
Zhang Yan was under Zhuque's sect and summoned the leader of Shu, who was relatively well-known in later generations.
As a result, I, Zhang Shengren, was very unhappy to find that his appearance ranking dropped one place.
Although he experienced the pain of national subjugation and the bumpy road, Meng Chang, who was a little chubby, lost weight.
Originally, Meng Chang's appearance and temperament were more similar to Jia Baoyu's, quite mellow, but after going through some ups and downs, the vicissitudes of life actually added a bit of charm to him.
A bit like Leslie Cheung who has lost his childishness.
In terms of appearance alone, Meng Chang should be in the same league as Pan Mei, a famous beautiful young man in history, and Murong Nobunaga, a handsome young man with sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes.
Bai Xiang has such a good face! Zhang Hao suddenly discovered that, even though you knew he was an embroidered pillow, you didn't dislike him at all when facing such a face.
However, Zhang Shengren's gaze immediately alerted Meng Chang, Meng Chang's mother Li, and Li Kerang's daughter Princess Fuxing.
My Lord Meng even felt a chill in his buttocks. Doesn’t this saint have any special hobbies?
This time, Meng Chang, who had been preparing to show his temperament as a king, was frightened. He looked at his mother Li in despair.
Even if the country is subjugated, we can’t even protect the back door!
When the time comes to meet Fei on the dragon bed in Weiyang Palace, how can I still live?
He doesn’t want to be Phoenix Murong Chong!
Li was also frightened to the point of losing her mind, but Princess Fuxing next to her was smart. She quietly reached out her hand from behind and suddenly pinched the thigh of Meng Yiye next to her.
Princess Fuxing was Li Keyong's niece. She could even ride a horse and dance when she was young. Her hand strength was definitely not small. She pinched her so hard that she immediately pinched Meng Yiye next to her and screamed.
Meng Yiye, well...this is also a master! 'He was famous in Shu for his fondness for Huafu delicacies, singers and dancers, and was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
But there was no city, and he didn't have much thought. Otherwise, as Li Keyong's grandson, his biological mother, Princess Qionghua, was still alive at that time, how could he let his younger brother Meng Chang take the throne.
So this playboy, who had not experienced much since childhood, was trembling in fear one second, and then forgot all the screams the next second.
On this occasion, with such a scream, it attracted as much attention as it wanted, and it immediately attracted Zhang Hao's attention.
Before Zhang Gao could say anything, Shaojian Dong in front of him was furious. He knelt on the ground with his halberd pointed and all the Meng Shu clans shouted: "Who is screaming? Dare to be disrespectful in front of the emperor?"
Meng Yiye was so frightened that he looked at Princess Fuxing in bewilderment, and then at Zhang Gao who could not see any emotion or anger, and suddenly his whole body trembled with fear.
"Sage, forgive me. The person who exclaimed is Meng Yiye, the legitimate daughter of Emperor Wu of the later dynasty and the son of Princess Qionghua, sister of Zhuangmiao. I bumped into His Majesty. It is a capital crime! A capital crime!"
Meng Yiye was stupidly pinched out of the crowd by Barbarian Bear himself. He was almost paralyzed with fear. The speaker was Princess Fuxing.
There was a reason why she dared to pinch Meng Yiye and come out to announce her family status like this.
Because Princess Fuxing had contacted her younger brother Li Cungui in the past few days and knew that Zhang Yan treated the Daibeiwu people in Hedong favorably and often regarded their uncle Li Keyong as a loyal minister of the dynasty, she dared to take the risk.
The amount of information was a bit overwhelming, so Zhang Hao thought for a while and realized that the person in front of him should be the son of Meng Zhixiang and Princess Qionghua, the grandson of Jin Wang Li Keyong, and the only living bloodline of Li Keyong.
After clarifying the relationship, Zhang Yan's face relaxed, and suddenly he became angry again. He asked the barbarian bear to lift Meng Yiye in front of him, and then shouted angrily.
"Get up! King Erzu Jin is such a hero, how can his descendants be so cowardly? Aren't they not men?"
Meng Yiye was suddenly a little confused. Suddenly he thought that the person standing in front of him was not Zhang Yan, but his father Meng Zhixiang, because Meng Zhixiang liked to scold him like this in the past.
Meng Yiye, who was in a daze, burst into tears as soon as he burst into tears. He was so blessed that he suddenly said, "I know you are wrong, please calm down!"
The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds, and everyone looked at Meng Yiye stupidly. Even the bear carrying him was dumbfounded.
"Hahahaha!" Even though Zhang Yan deliberately kept a straight face, he still laughed out loud in anger.
The people around him all laughed when they saw the emperor, and everyone burst into laughter. The bear threw Meng Yiye to the ground in disgust.
"Coward! Are you the only one who wants to be called a saint?"
Meng Yiye seemed to have just come to his senses, and quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "When my father was still alive, he often taught his servants these words, and now he admitted the wrong person. It is a capital crime! A capital crime!"
If this effect was surprising, I, Zhang Shengren, laughed so hard that I was out of breath. Then I quickly asked someone to help Meng Yiye up, "Get up, don't embarrass the King of Jin."
Then Zhang Yan asked: "Meng Zhixiang has dozens of descendants, but a loyal minister like the King of Jin has lost his blood. Are you, Meng Yiye, willing to be surnamed Li so that the King of Jin can feed on his blood?"
Meng Yiye was stunned for a few seconds. Just now, he was half-pretending to be stupid, but now he couldn't figure out whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
The matter was urgent. Princess Fuxing quickly stepped forward, held down Meng Yiye's head and made him kowtow repeatedly. She also said on Meng Yiye's behalf, "Thank you, saint, for your kindness."
Zhang Gao looked at the white-haired old woman in front of him who was trying his best to save the Meng family, and suddenly remembered that the Jinshan Kingdom of Zhang Chengfeng had been overthrown in the past, and his aunt Empress Dowager Ciyou must have done the same, she had just saved him.
"Who are you?" Zhang Hao's voice became much softer.
Princess Fuxing looked at Zhang Yan with pleading eyes, "Prince Li Jin is Nu's uncle, my father Li Kerang, and Li Cungui, the governor of Daizhou, is his brother."
Zhang Hao let out a long sigh and personally helped Princess Fuxing up, "It turns out she is also a loyal minister.
In the past, Li Gong Kerang was driven out by Wang Zhongsu and almost died. However, when Huang Chao came to attack, he still defended Tongguan with all his loyalty, which is commendable for his sincerity. Since you are loyal and righteous, let’s get up! "
Li Keyang was imprisoned in the palace for many years in history. Later, he was almost killed by the Tang court because of the rebellion of his father Li Guochang and his brother Li Keyong.
After returning to the court more than a year later, the Tang court asked him to garrison at Tongguan. Then Huang Chao came to attack. Li Kerang lost a hard fight and ran to Zhongnan Mountain and was killed by a monk. He was considered a loyal minister.
After Princess Fuxing was helped up by Zhang Yan, she couldn't help but burst into tears on the spot, because she knew that with Zhang Yan's statement, her descendants such as her brother-in-law and lover Meng Zhixiang were saved.
Sure enough, after Zhang Gao pondered for a moment, he named Meng Yiye Li Congye, counting him as Li Keyong's grandson.
He abolished the humiliating Disobedient Marquis originally assigned to Meng Chang, changed it to the title of Longgang Marquis, and ordered people to build more than a hundred houses in Luoyang, the sacred capital, as Meng Chang's residence.
】
At this point, Meng Chang finally saved his life.
