Metasequoia, the most famous and prosperous city in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang today, slowly opened its door when the first ray of morning light shone on the top of the city, and began to welcome business travelers from north to south.
At this time, Metasequoia City had already become famous throughout Western Xinjiang.
Everyone knows that a powerful Shengtang army is stationed here, and it is still under the jurisdiction of the Zhenjiang Protectorate.
People of all ethnic groups who used to be devoted to Shengtang also migrated to the five towns of Metasequoia City, Pai City, Dabanchang City, Iklu County, and Homnitz, which had just been merged into Li Jiangyao's hands.
Therefore, when the smoke of war gradually dissipated, the originally prosperous scene soon returned to people's lives.
In the bustling crowd, a young girl dressed as a Yiwu ethnic group, wearing a colorful long skirt, leading a tall horse, walked far away from the east gate of Metasequoia. When she walked to the city gate and looked up at the four characters "Xijiang Forever" engraved on the doorway, she couldn't help but reveal a contemptuous smile on her face.
This girl is none other than Yinas, the main member of the Turkic "Searching Group" and the good sister of Princess Hesijia.
Since the establishment of the "Searching Group", Yinas and the others have searched almost all of the thirty-six countries in Western Xinjiang. However, no matter what Duolun tried, he was still unable to find any trace of Princess Hesga and Efentia.
What is even more discouraging is that Emene, the leader of the Persian business delegation, has become somewhat indifferent to the search work, as if he has completely given up hope of finding his precious daughter. The leader of the regiment, Duolun, was also busy. Because he had to participate in commanding the war against Li Jiangyao in Metasequoia City, he had no time to take into account the mission of the missing persons group.
Coupled with the fact that the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang once again became turbulent with war and panic, the search for the princess almost came to a complete halt until later.
A while ago, Yinas, who stayed behind at the Royal Court of Chechi, suddenly received a letter from Yun Qianxue, the general of the Turkic Blood Guard.
Yun Qianxue told Yinas in the letter: Originally, he planned to leave early for the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang to search for his fiancée, Princess Hesijia, with everyone. However, they never expected that Tiele, a barbarian from the Western Continent, would suddenly launch a rebellion at this time, disrupting the rule of the northern prairie.
According to common sense, there is no need for the Turks' most elite Blood Guard troops to suppress such a tribal rebellion. But this time is different from the past. The Tiele people not only united with several important ethnic groups such as Mengwei, Dalia, and Arabia, but even some tribes within the Turks also secretly collaborated with them in an attempt to overthrow the Ashina clan in one fell swoop. The reign of the Khans.
Fortunately, Ashina Khan saw through the enemy's plot in time, and without hesitation gathered all the strength in his hands to wipe out the enemy with thunderous momentum.
All famous Turkic generals, including Inas's grandfather, Marshal Helian, Wild Lion General Cassie, Polar Duke Druhan, etc., all took part in the battle, including Yun Qianxue. They divided their troops into multiple groups, like wind and clouds, and defeated the rebels from all over the country one by one.
Just half a month ago, the Turkic army successfully captured Tiele's capital, Blackwater City, and almost wiped out his entire family. At this point, the counter-insurgency war that spread throughout the northern grasslands of the Western Continent finally came to an end.
However, after the war, Ashina Khan did not allow the troops involved in counter-rebellion to return to their original positions as usual. On the contrary, the army continued to strengthen its alert and began intense mobilization and training.
Yun Qianxue guessed that the Great Khan planned to march eastward. The battle flag points directly to the western border, and uses it as a springboard to advance towards the core area of Shengtang.
If that was the case, that would be great. At least he could come to Western Xinjiang in person to find Princess Hesijia, whom he cared about day and night.
In addition, Yun Qianxue specifically mentioned in the letter that he had previously received a missing person report from Kunli Mingtai and had some understanding of the situation in Western Xinjiang. Yun Qianxue believed that since the searching group failed to find Her Royal Highness in the area controlled by the Turks, they might as well consider other directions, such as Metasequoia City, an area still occupied by the remnants of the Shengtang Army.
It is very possible that Princess Hesijia was discovered and imprisoned by the people of Shengtang.
Yun Qianxue asked Yinas not to give up hope, but to enter the enemy's territory and secretly find out about the princess before he led his army to Western Xinjiang. If, as he expected, Hesijia was in the hands of the Shengtang people, then he would definitely save the princess even if there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Yun Qianxue's idea coincided with Yinas's.
In fact, she had thought about it a long time ago. After searching the entire Western Xinjiang, there was no trace of the princess and Persia Eventia. And the two passes leading to Shengtang were blocked by the Turkic army, so the territory of the Xinjiang Army would become increasingly limited. The more suspicious it becomes, it is really necessary to go to Metasequoia Zhucheng to have a look.
However, her idea never came to fruition. Firstly, Kunli Mingtai firmly disagreed with Yinasi going to the enemy's territory to take risks; secondly, the previous war against Metasequoia was very fierce, and it was not suitable to cause chaos to Durham and Duolun at that time. Now that the war has finally come to an end, Kunli Mingtai's immediate boss, General Yun Qianxue, sent another letter asking to visit Metasequoia City, so Yinas decided to leave immediately for Metasequoia City.
At the same time, she also rejected Kunli Mingtai's request to follow her companions: "I am alone, and my target is small, so it is not easy to be exposed. With a bunch of Turkic men following you, it would be strange if the Shengtang Army did not arrest them as spies. "
Yinas specially disguised herself as a girl from the Yiwu tribe, set out from the royal court, and drove for three days to arrive at Metasequoia today. After entering the city, Yinas first found an inconspicuous inn. After briefly freshening up in the guest room, she casually walked to the street and started wandering around. She was planning in her mind to feel the terrain around the city guard's mansion first so that she could sneak into the mansion to investigate at night. It would be best to grab a tongue and ask if any Turkic female prisoners are being held here.
Just as Inas was strolling around the Metasequoia City Guards House, several main leaders of the Suppression Army were discussing a very important matter in the meeting hall of the mansion.
Li Jiangyao, Xu Youchang, Xie Tanzhi, and Lin Feng gathered around Yuduoluo, the intelligence chief of the Zhenjiang Army, and listened to his introduction: "My lords, we are almost ready for the matter we mentioned before. Our Intelligence Department has a total of Three groups of brothers were arranged, all of whom are veterans familiar with the terrain. They plan to return to the Central Plains as soon as possible through three different secret routes and report to the court the situation in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang."
After Yuduoluo finished speaking, Xie Tanzhi added beside him: "Since the large-scale rebellion of the vassal state occurred in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang in the 821st year of the Holy Tang Dynasty, especially after the disastrous defeat at Crescent Bay, The thirty-six countries in Western Xinjiang have essentially broken away from the control of Shengtang. At the same time, the Turkic Prince Roniya led the army to set up barracks outside Zijin Pass and Shengyu Pass, which not only prevented the Shengtang Army from leaving the pass to quell the rebellion, but also completely blocked the Western Xinjiang. All the contacts between Xinjiang Ghost Desert and the Central Plains have caused the imperial court to completely lose control of the situation in Xinjiang Ghost Desert."
Xu Youchang nodded in agreement: "Yes, not only does the imperial court not know what happened in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang, but we also don't know what happened to the imperial court. Why has it been so long and there is no intention to send troops to regain the Western Xinjiang? Where are the signs of Xinjiang?”
Lin Feng continued: "A long time ago, your Excellency ordered our Pegasus Scout Battalion to conduct a detailed investigation of all the roads connecting the Central Plains. Through investigation, we found that all the roads and roads that could be used by people in the past were all controlled by the Turkic army. Even the Even birds can't fly over it. Only recently, with the help of old hunters, did we discover a wild trail used by mountain people to collect medicine at the western foot of the Qilian Mountains. It is possible to bypass the Turkic checkpoint, or even directly bypass the Shengli Mountains. Jade Pass leads directly to the Central Plains."
Yudala nodded slightly: "It would be great if we could explore this road. The other two messengers are alternatives. They go in the north and south directions respectively and try to make a big circle back to the Central Plains. However, the detour is too long after all. If we encounter an emergency military situation, going around like this will delay important events."
Xu Youchang and others unanimously agreed, saying that the wild trails in the Qilian Mountains were still the first choice. Even if the road was difficult and dangerous, they should try their best to get through it. Based on the intelligence department's plan, they carefully studied the candidates for route exploration and delivery, as well as the response plan in case of emergencies, and the chat ended only after dark.
After finishing, Xie Tanzhi and others stood up to leave, leaving only Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang in the room. Xu Youchang continued what he had just said, and said in a deep voice: "Jiang Yao, is there any serious problem in the imperial capital? It stands to reason that a rebellion like the Thirty-six Kingdoms of Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang, even if there are Turks helping behind the scenes Trouble is nothing in the eyes of our Shengtang. The emperor's elite soldiers, plus the soldiers from various states, can mobilize 500,000 to 600,000 troops and rush out of Zijin Pass in the blink of an eye. But until today, there is not even the slightest movement. nothing……"
He stopped, saw Li Jiangyao lowering his head and said nothing, and sighed: "Well, to be honest, I feel very uneasy. Commander He Datong was killed in the attack, and my brothers in the forward battalion and I suffered unjust injustice. This This is definitely not a good sign for the court. I remember Murong told me that Xie Guang was up to no good. Do you think there will really be changes in the imperial city? Otherwise, why would my grandfather and Murong Xue treat us so badly? Are you indifferent to his life and death?"
Li Jiangyao tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said thoughtfully: "The problem you are worried about is indeed very possible. As the saying goes, to fight against foreigners, you must first settle the internal affairs. Since it is impossible to send troops to fight against foreigners at the moment, it means that there may be dangers within the imperial court. It is no longer peaceful. But to what extent it is, we have no way of knowing, let alone guessing."
"I can't wait to rush back right now to see what's going on at home." The eldest son of Xu You is a noble of the imperial capital. If there is turmoil in the court, the Xu family will not be implicated, so he is particularly anxious and worried.
Li Jiangyao smiled and shook his head: "Are you going back? Haha, don't forget, you, Lao Xu, are currently the number one suspect in the murder of Teacher He. When you return to the imperial capital, why don't you just cut you down with a knife?"
Xu Youzhang knew that what he said was right, so he couldn't help but slap the table and cursed angrily: "Xie Guang, the bastard who killed a thousand swords, deliberately harmed me! If it weren't for him, how could I have ended up in this situation?"
"Okay, stop scolding," Li Jiangyao said calmly: "Teacher He has a spirit in heaven, and he will definitely bless you and let you clear your grievances with the Qianfeng camp. Now, it is the Xijiang Guimo side who should be more responsible. It gives us a headache.”
Xu Youchang was a little puzzled and asked Li Jiangyao: "What happened to the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang? Didn't we just win a big victory? Our strength has expanded again..."
Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "The so-called big victory is just a small victory in trying to protect ourselves. Our duty is not to be warlords who occupy land and separatist regimes, but to regain the entire Western Xinjiang Ghost Desert."
Xu Youchang did not expect that Li Jiangyao would have such ambitions. He stuck out his tongue and said, "Are you planning to take back the entire Western Xinjiang with just our own strength?"
"What's wrong?" Li Jiangyao's tone was still calm, but his eyes shone sharply: "If the court can lend a helping hand, that would be best. But if not, I will never let him down. I received the teacher’s trust.”
