Li Jiangyao and the others did not delay much on the road. Once they passed Xiaoguan, they speeded up and headed westward along the Yongzhou official road. Seven or eight days passed in a flash, and finally they successfully entered the boundary of Liangzhou.
Zhou Xing asked Li Jiangyao if he wanted to take a detour to visit the Tibetan Army Valley where He Jingming was killed, and pay homage by the way. Because he was one of the entourage who accompanied Shen Lie to Zijin Pass to exchange for the Turkic princess, he knew the way to the Tibetan Army Valley.
Li Jiangyao thought for a while and finally refused.
He doesn't want to go to that place now, and he can't go there either.
As for why, not only Zhou Xing didn't understand, but even he himself didn't understand.
Maybe it's to be strong.
Li Jiangyao comforted himself like this.
Declining Zhou Xing's kindness, they continued westward along the Silk Road trade route until they stopped at the banks of Shuhe River, not far from Zijin Pass.
According to the introduction of local villagers, there was a big war here not long ago.
The two sides fighting were both Shengtang armies.
Following Xie Guang's order, the Changdao Army secretly returned to the Central Plains to join the rebellion, but was intercepted by Liangzhou soldiers here. Later, the rest of the Blade Legion came for reinforcements and joined the blocking battle.
The soldiers and horses of both sides formed a formation on the north bank of Shuhe River and engaged in a fierce battle.
The blocking battle lasted for five days and five nights, and there was still no winner. Whether it was Xie Biao's elite long swords, or the iron-blooded swords and Liangzhou soldiers, the soldiers on both sides were beaten to exhaustion and lost their sharpness. You can't eat me, and I can't eat you.
Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, the Turkic vanguard army suddenly arrived.
After their cavalry broke through the empty Zijin Pass, they quickly passed through the warning posts of the Shengtang and Tang armies without any pause, and appeared on the Shuhe battlefield without any warning.
The Turks showed their ferocious faces and launched indiscriminate attacks on both warring parties. Anyone who carries the banner of the Shengtang Army, regardless of whether they have long swords or sharp blades, will be killed!
Facing the powerful enemy, the soldiers of Shengtang used their last remaining strength to launch a desperate resistance on the spot. The commander of the Fierce Blade Army even shouted to the Long Knife Army on the opposite side: Brothers are of one mind, let’s talk to the outside world together first!
However, it was too late.
The disparity in strength between the enemy and us was too great, and the Shengtang soldiers and horses suffered huge losses due to continuous fierce battles, so they could not form a joint force and could not escape the fate of the entire army being annihilated.
In the thrilling battle, Shengtang lost a total of nearly 100,000 horses, and the entire Shuhe River was dyed crimson with blood.
The villagers' stories were like a huge boulder, weighing heavily on the hearts of Li Jiangyao and others. Looking at yesterday's battlefield, a hundred thousand troops were all the elite of the dynasty. Was their sacrifice like this in vain?
This place is completely different from Crescent Bay.
Although the losses to the Zhenjiang Protectorate and the main force of the Fierce Blade Army were greater than in the Battle of Shuhe, the defeat at Crescent Bay was due to misjudgment of the situation and the negligence of the intelligence system. But no matter what, by fighting against the rebels and resisting the Turks, the 150,000 soldiers died for the country and deserved their death.
Their loyal souls have no regrets.
And what about the Shuhe battlefield? If the people who died here still have souls in heaven, would they really be willing to do so?
They were not defeated by the enemy, but destroyed at the hands of their own people!
If it weren't for Xie Guang's selfish desires, those passionate men who were not afraid of death should have united and garrisoned at the two defense lines to give the invading enemy a head-on blow!
Even if there had not been the original rebellion in the imperial capital, the five main forces of Zhenjiang Protectorate, Fierce Blade Legion, Long Sword Legion, Black Armor Legion, and Qilin Legion were all present, with 600,000 elite troops deployed, and the Turks would not have dared to invade in the slightest. Shengtang’s thoughts!
But what is depressing is that the direction of history is often only in the hands of a very small number of people. People's hearts are not ancient, and the world is in ruins.
Li Jiangyao stood on the bank of Shuhe River, staring at the clear water that had long since returned, and was speechless for a long time.
"Sir, it's time to set off."
Zhou Xing's voice sounded behind him. Li Jiangyao sighed softly, put away his extremely heavy heart, turned to Zhou Xing and smiled lightly: "If we go further, we can reach the General Temple in less than a day. That small town was originally the capital of Zhenjiang. The base camp and military training ground of the Protectorate. To tell you the truth, I stayed there for a long time when I just came out of the martial arts hall in the imperial capital. The happiest and most comfortable memory in my life is stored there. .”
Zhou Xing had long heard that the military town called Jiangjun Temple had been razed to the ground by the Turkic cavalry out of anger. When Li Jiangyao suddenly mentioned it, he couldn't help feeling a little sad: "Sir, we... want to go and take a look. see?"
"No need!" Li Jiangyao said in a relaxed tone: "Humans, you have to look forward. It is better to let go of some things than to carry them all the time."
The more he said this, the more sad Zhou Xing and the others felt. For a moment, no one knew what to say to the young adult in front of them.
Seeing that Zhou Xing and others were silent, Li Jiangyao then smiled and said: "Hey, do you know? I used to particularly like the girls in that town. Many of them were mixed blood from Shengtang and Xijiang. They were very beautiful in appearance and had beautiful skin. Fair and tender, with slender thighs. When I wasn’t training, Murong Xue, Xu Youchang and I often went to peek at people bathing, and for this we were often chased and beaten with big sticks by the villagers, hahaha.”
Zhou Xing heard what he said was interesting and also laughed: "Speaking of this, I was just about to ask, sir, do you have a family?"
Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "No. I am a poor bachelor with today and no tomorrow. How can I be qualified to marry and have children? Do you think you are like my two brothers? A meritorious general and the son of the richest man in Bashu. Hey, I want to With their conditions, ten or eight older girls would have been brought in long ago."
"Your Majesty, you are too modest." Zhou Xing said with a smile: "With your ability and status, it is not easy to find a match? I think it is probably because you are too picky."
Li Jiangyao chuckled and said, "I have a lot of abilities, but how can I have any prominent status?"
Zhou Xing shook his head: "Why not? You are the direct disciple of Commander He. In terms of seniority in the army, many adults in the Blade Legion and the Zhenjiang Protectorate have to come up and call you senior brother when they see you. Besides, you are fighting alone. , stick to the Western Border, and with merit and strength, it is no longer comparable to that of a mere school captain. In the future, even if you can become a marquis and become a prime minister, it will be just around the corner. Alas, it is a pity that the sisters in the humble family are all married, otherwise I really want to be related to you. .”
"Get out of here!" Li Jiangyao couldn't help laughing and scolding: "Don't talk nonsense with me here. Let's go straight to Zijin Pass today. I can't wait to go back to Xijiang!"
There are thousands of miles of rivers, thousands of miles of mountains and rivers. Hu Di is bleak in passing about old friends, but the wind and clouds are only related to Zijin Pass.
Zijin Pass, a fortress on the Silk Road trade route, has been the fusion point of Eastern and Western civilizations since ancient times, and is also the dividing line between these two different worlds.
Water and milk blend together, but they are distinct.
Logically speaking, as a soldier of Shengtang, when looking to the west from Zijin Pass, he would often have a wonderful feeling of peeking at the exotic customs. However, for some reason, when Li Jiangyao looked at the vast land of Western Xinjiang, he felt a strange feeling. The illusion that I am about to return to my hometown.
He knew in his heart that this was not entirely an illusion.
The inexplicable feeling of closeness is because of the city in the distance. Places where ideals and beliefs are upheld are often more welcoming.
At this time, traces of war can be seen everywhere in Zijin Pass.
The collapsed archery towers, crumbling city walls, and the holes shot by arrows on the buildings all tell people about the tragedy that this pass has just experienced.
The ruins and ruins have diluted the chilling atmosphere of the past, and they no longer have the grandeur of the past.
The Silk Road that runs through this place also lacks the bustle and bustle of the past. On the east-west avenue, there were only a few business travelers scattered far and near, making it look particularly deserted.
A group of tall Turkic warriors were lined up on both sides of the pass, interrogating and inspecting pedestrians.
Li Jiangyao told Zhou Xing and others to take good care of the goods, and he quickly walked forward to negotiate with the Turks. As soon as he opened his mouth, it was in standard and pure Turkic language, instantly shortening the distance between him and the other party. The Turkic soldiers were obviously curious and affectionate towards the young man who looked like a saint in front of them because of their common language.
After a lot of nonsense, Li Jiangyao frightened the Turks so much that the other party not only did not question and create difficulties at all, but also enthusiastically cleared the customs and showed them the way.
In this way, Li Jiangyao and the others successfully passed the Zijin Pass and officially entered the western border.
In the next ten days, everyone traveled westward, passing many towns and villages in the vassal state along the way, and what they saw and heard was completely beyond their previous imagination.
Today's situation in Western Xinjiang is unexpectedly bad, but also surprisingly good.
The first thing that caught Li Jiangyao's attention was the change of governor of Western Xinjiang.
The original governor of Western Xinjiang was the famous Turkic commander and Prince Roniya of the Temple. This general who commanded the Battle of Crescent Bay, swept through the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang, and blocked the North and South Passes, had already led his troops to march eastward with Ashina. The person who succeeded him was Gema Khan, the leader of the Yelun tribe, one of the Eight Pillars of the Turks.
At the same time, he is also the commander of the Yakut Independence Army.
The Yelun Tribe is the second largest Turkic force after the Golden Tribe. It has a large population and has always dominated the Yakut grasslands of the Western Continent. Its strength cannot be underestimated.
Back then, a tragic royal war broke out in the Turkic Empire. The first person to stand up and challenge the ruling tribe, the Blood Wolf Clan, was Ye Lun. Although the Golden Clan completely defeated the Blood Wolf in that unprecedented battle and became the final victor, the contribution made by the Yelun Clan army was recognized by the leaders of the tribes, including Ashina Zhijin. recognized.
Since then, the Golden Clan and the Night Wheel Clan have become a blood alliance.
The Golden Tribe gave the Yelun tribe full preferential treatment. Not only did they permanently grant the most fertile Yakut grassland to the Yelun tribe, but they also continued their tradition of being descendants of the imperial royal family and allowed the eldest prince Chili to marry Gema Khan. daughter, the two parties became in-laws.
In this way, it creates convenient conditions for the development and growth of the Yelun clan.
In the same way, Ye Lun reciprocates love and always follows the footsteps of the ruling tribe and watches each other.
However, just two years ago, things changed subtly.
