Su Qi'an was a little confused by Saktu's sudden peace talks. When he came, he received intelligence analysis and found that Saktu had assembled tens of thousands of troops to march on the border, during which several small-scale battles broke out.
The two sides have been in confrontation for more than a month. It is somewhat strange that they want peace talks because of this war that killed and injured thousands of people.
Su Qian's confusion could be seen by the Lord of Wushburg on the side, and he opened his mouth to explain.
"Lord Governor, there is no need to be like this. Although these small countries in the Western Region have elected leaders, their strength is not strong at all. Even if a figure from within the unification like Saktu appears in Huixie, it is still not enough to invade the Great Liang."
"Thousands of people were killed and injured in the last battle, which the Western Region Alliance countries could not bear. Since Saktu is willing to negotiate peace, I think the war in the Western Region should be settled soon."
"If everything goes well, Lord Governor should be able to return to the capital soon."
Lord Wushburg's words were filled with strong self-confidence. This was not arrogance, but a manifestation of strong strength.
The Sixteen-Nation Alliance of the Western Regions looks scary, but under the leadership of Wang Zhenshan and the most elite cavalry troops in Great Liang, they can still restrain these small alliance countries.
Otherwise, after so many years, the main reason why the countries in the Western Regions have been unable to invade Ganzhou is the terrifying strength of the Daliang cavalry.
Facing the long-distance attack of heavy cavalry, the countries in the Western Regions simply could not parry. If it were not because it was too expensive to support the cavalry, and because the Western Regions were far away, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and the supply lines were too long, otherwise, with the strength of the Daliang cavalry, It's no big deal to wipe them all out.
This time Saktu was given the opportunity to organize troops on the border. The main reason was that Saktu was too cunning. After unifying Huixie, he did not show any ambitions and still loyally maintained the Western Region Alliance's policy of showing favor to the Great Liang.
This kind of forbearance lasted for about a year, until the death of the leader of the Yuezhao Kingdom. Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he coordinated internally and externally, led an army to raid and captured the capital of Yuezhao Kingdom, and controlled Yuezhao as quickly as possible.
Coupled with the support of Da Rong in the north, he quickly took control of the alliance of various countries, assumed the position of leader of the alliance, and then quickly sent troops to launch an invasion.
Both the speed and the development were so fast that people could not react. If Wang Zhenshan hadn't mobilized his troops in time, the two sides had fought several battles on the border to curb Saktu's arrogance.
If it were later, I'm afraid there would be internal turmoil in Ganzhou. Wang Zhenshan's service as the Protector-General for so many years was not in vain.
Tai knew how to deal with the countries in the Western Regions. Under his arrangement, the originally tense situation finally made Saktu willing to negotiate peace.
Seeing the excitement on Master Wushibao's face, one can feel his admiration and admiration for Wang Zhenshan.
Indeed, even the imperial court recognized Wang Zhenshan as the pillar of Daliang and the backbone of the two northwest states. With him there, there would be no turmoil in the northwest.
Listening to Lord Wush's explanation, Su Qian nodded and said softly, "Then I'll take advantage of the Lord's good advice. I hope the warlord can go smoothly this time."
Su Qi'an and Xie Cang stepped into the boundary of Ganzhou, and within two days of arriving at Wushibao, the generals from the Duhu Mansion arrived.
The person who came was about thirty years old, with a tall build, a good-natured appearance, and a beard. He did not need to speak, and exuded a strong military aura. At a glance, he knew that he was a general stationed on the border all year round.
This person's name is Zhao Shen, one of the eight lieutenants in Ganzhou. He stays in the Duhu Mansion all year round and is Wang Zhenshan's confidant.
The fact that this person can be sent to meet him is enough to show the importance of this reception.
Entering the military fort, Zhao Shen's eyes fell on Su Qi'an, he quickly stepped forward to salute, and then spoke.
"This must be the Lord Governor. We all know the reputation of Lord Governor as far away as Ganzhou. He is indeed a young talent. I admire him."
"By the way, Lord Protector asked me to see you and take him to say hello to you. Because I have to prepare for peace talks, I can't greet you in person. I hope you won't be surprised."
Su Qi'an waved his hand and said, "Vice General Zhao's words are too polite. How dare I blame you? I still know what the Protector is like."
"Now that Vice General Zhao is here, let's leave without further delay."
Zhao Shen nodded and said, "Please, Lord Governor, if we return faster, maybe we can meet the Lord Protector."
Su Qi'an did not stop at the military fort, and bid farewell to the Lord of Wushi Fort, then got on his horse, followed by generals such as Xie Cang, Tong Zhan, Chen Dao, Song Biao, and Ermeng.
As for Su Yong and his First Division, they had already left and returned to Jiaozhou yesterday.
When they said goodbye, everyone could see Su Yong's reluctance. In terms of age, he was second only to Tong Zhan and Su Qi'an's closest confidant.
In the past few years, during the wars in the north and south, he was always by Su Qi'an's side whenever he encountered danger. Now he has also been transferred away, and the "An" team is not here either. The only one left by Su Qi'an's side is Tong Zhan, led by Tong Zhan. direct team.
The strength of the direct team is not bad, but if it encounters an assassination attempt by some top expert, it may be difficult for the direct team to react. This is what Su Yong is most worried about.
Although Su Qian kept telling him that it was okay and reassured him, Su Yong was still unavoidable with some worries in his heart.
Su Yong was somewhat unaccustomed to following him around for so many years and now leaving at the drop of a hat. Of course, he understood that Su Qi'an transferred him back to Jiaozhou for the good of him and the First Division.
In addition to being in charge of Jiaozhou for him, he also gave him time to slowly recover.
After following Su Qi'an in many battles over the past few years, Su Yong's body was covered with scars, and he had narrowly escaped death several times. Although he recovered, Su Qi'an knew that external injuries are easy to recover from, but internal injuries take a long time.
So this time I went to Ganzhou, I just took the opportunity to let Su Yong and the First Division return to Jiaozhou to recuperate, all in order to be in a better state to work for Su Qi'an later.
It was these words that made Su Yong choose to return. On the way to say goodbye, Su Yong gave instructions to Tong Zhan, Chen Dao, Song Biao, Er Meng and others more than once.
"You must protect your husband. If anything happens to your husband, none of you can escape. I will definitely settle the account with you."
With solemn expressions on Su Yong's face, Tong Zhan and Chen Dao made repeated promises. Under the watch of everyone, Su Yong led the first division and gradually disappeared into the vast yellow sand.
After meeting up with Zhao Shen and giving the order, the army set off and headed towards the Protector's Mansion. Wushibao was about two hundred miles away from the Protector's Mansion.
According to the normal time, it would take about four or five days no matter what, but this time in order to return to the Protector's Mansion as early as possible, Su Qi'an planned to reduce the rest time by half. If he went faster, he could arrive in two days at most.
No wonder Su Qi'an gave such an order. After meeting Zhao Shen, Su Qi'an basically understood all the current situation in Ganzhou from his words.
Although Zhao Shen tried his best to explain that there should be no problems with this peace negotiation, Su Qi'an always felt that something was wrong? I couldn’t say it at the moment, it was a kind of battlefield intuition.
Of course, this kind of battlefield intuition is not always correct, and sometimes there is a possibility that the guess will be wrong, but rather than embrace the possibility of being wrong, Su Qi'an must hurry up and arrive at the Protector's Mansion to meet Wang Zhenshan in person.
Only when he saw Wang Zhenshan could he continue to plan his next move.
The army ran almost non-stop day and night. Although the soldiers were very tired, no one fell behind or complained. They all endured silently and kept on going.
Zhao Shen said nothing on the surface about the actions of the more than 30,000 troops, but he was filled with admiration in his heart.
How bitter and harsh the environment in Ganzhou is. No one knows better than him that the reason why the armies of the two northwest states have such strong combat effectiveness is not only because they have the best horses, but also because they have a strong will.
This kind of will can save lives on the battlefield. Whoever can survive until the last moment will survive the battlefield. Everyone knows how strong the combat effectiveness of the veterans who survive does not need to be introduced by anyone.
This is why the two northwest states can resist the invasion of the Western Region countries and the Great Rong Cavalry with only 60,000 troops.
More than half of the 60,000 troops in these two states are veterans who have experienced the bloody battlefields, and are the real elite of Great Liang.
Marching with fast horses like this is commonplace for the armies of the two northwest states, but for soldiers from other states, it is not that simple.
As one of the eight lieutenants, Zhao Shen had naturally seen the strength of other state soldiers, not to mention the strength of the soldiers, but they were pretty much the same. However, it was only the two armies in front of him that opened his eyes.
A real army can be carried out during a long and urgent march without any commotion. The 30,000-strong army can endure silently as a whole. This is a real army.
The last bit of contempt in Zhao Shen's heart completely disappeared for this rumored Hundred-Shou Hou, replaced by admiration.
Apart from anything else, it is quite good to be able to train tens of thousands of state soldiers like this.
"It seems that the rumors are not false. Now I can understand how much the Protector values this person." Looking at the mighty army passing by, Zhao Shen couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
"Vice General Zhao, why are you in a daze? Hurry and hurry up. When we get to the Protector's Mansion, we can have a good chat when you have time."
"Okay, I will obey the orders of the Governor."
Zhao Shen came to his senses, said hello, and followed quickly on his horse.
In this day and night rapid march, as expected, the four to five day journey was shortened by two and a half days, and we finally arrived at the Protectorate.
What appeared in front of Su Qi'an, instead of calling it the Protector's Mansion, it would be more appropriate to call it a military city.
A huge city is located in front of it. The city wall alone is at least twenty feet high. The entire city wall is made of earth-yellow stone bricks. From a distance, a majestic, heavy, and vicissitudes of life rushes into the face.
As we get closer, we can clearly see the surface of the tall city wall. There are countless traces and holes of varying depths, which look old.
Above the middle city gate, the three characters "Duhufu" are very eye-catching. Around the city tower, there are rows of patrolling soldiers. Their eyes are sharp. Even if they already know Su Qi'an's identity, they do not relax their guard at all.
