In the evening, two thousand cavalry came from the Kebo River on the west side, and finally quickly drove into the ancient city of Qugou on the west edge of the Qabqa Valley.
Countless tents are scattered densely around the ancient city, and more than 30,000 old and weak Tibetans are staying here.
In the valley on the east side of the ancient city, an inner square wall about one mile long and wide has been roughly completed, and deep foundations have begun on the inside.
It won't be long before three-story wooden houses will take shape in the square, and the old, weak, women and children from Tyuhun outside will be the first to live in them.
"A small city has won over six thousand elite Tuyuhun troops. Your Majesty has done a great job." Qiu Zhenmu stopped his horse and looked at Li Xuan, full of surprise and admiration.
Today, six thousand Tuyuhun elites have been pulled to Dafeichuan to receive training from Zuowei Zhonglang General Wang Xiaojie's unit. At the same time, a large number of patients have also been quickly transferred down.
As it took longer for the army to arrive at Dafeichuan, more and more Zuo Wei soldiers suffered from altitude sickness and had to be transferred down from above.
Fortunately, Li Xuan transferred Tuyuhun's soldiers in time, otherwise Wang Xiaojie would really have a headache.
Apart from the Tubo people, the only people who could roam freely on the plateau were the Tuyuhun and the Turks.
However, the imperial court did not dare to send the Turks to Dafeichuan easily. The chaos caused by the East and West Turks in the previous period still made the imperial court vigilant.
The Tuyuhun people were different. When they were gathered together, they could not help but be loose, but once they were organized into the Tang army, they were very obedient.
Such an approach of directly absorbing Tuyuhun people into the Tang Dynasty would somewhat dissatisfy the Murong clan. However, Tuyuhun had hundreds of thousands of troops, so why did the Tang Dynasty absorb 6,000 elites?
"If you want to successfully build the city, you will still be busy in the future. The transportation of logs, rafts, and stones upstream are all very important, especially since there are currently insufficient craftsmen from Shanzhou, Kuozhou, and Hezhou." Li Xuan waved her hand and reluctantly He kept sighing.
Really good craftsmen were in short supply in Tuyuhun, Li Xuan was also in short supply, and Liu Rengui's army was also in short supply, but there was no way.
Either grab it or go into battle yourself.
Turning her head, Li Xuan looked at Qiu Zhenmu and said, "Tell the army to go back to the barracks to rest. Everyone is tired after working all night."
"Here!" Qiu Zhenmu immediately handed over his hands and was about to leave. At this moment, a Qianniu Guard quickly came over and said to Li Xuan, "Your Majesty, the commander-in-chief invites you!"
"It seems that the matter in Fuqi City needs to be settled." Li Xuan glanced at Qiu Zhenmu and said, "Let's go, Brother Qiu, let's go there together."
"Follow the order!" Qiu Zhenmu immediately handed over his hand.
"By the way, bring that box with you. Speaking of which, I haven't even had time to see what my cousin-in-law gave me along the way." Li Xuan shook her head. Qiu Zhenmu had already stepped away from the horse. He put the red brocade box on his side and followed Li Xuan towards the camp.
…
In the camp, more than 4,000 Youtun guards were busy going back and forth. A large amount of food and grass were transported from the rear every day and then transferred to the front.
Opening the big tent, Li Xuan and Qiu Zhenmu entered one after another.
Looking at Liu Rengui who was reviewing official documents above, the two of them cupped their hands at the same time and said, "I've seen the commander-in-chief."
Liu Rengui raised his head, glanced at Li Xuan, and asked directly: "How is the situation?"
"Those thousand people are indeed not soldiers. Their hair is newly cut, and the weapons they use are not the standard weapons they are used to." Li Xuan raised his hand and said: "Commander, On what Qin Ling started to plot again."
"Yes!" Liu Rengui nodded slightly, his face slightly solemn.
Qin Ling is indeed a difficult opponent to deal with.
These days, from Qingdong to Qingnan, and now to northwest Qingxi, Lun Qinling keeps attacking in various places, using the terrain to send small groups of cavalry to constantly harass, making it difficult for the Tang army to gain a foothold on the front line, coupled with the plateau Miasma, the army is not advancing very fast.
"That's right." Liu Rengui seemed to have remembered something. He picked up a long sword with a golden handle, then held the hilt and pulled it gently. The sharp and cold blade immediately appeared in front of Li Xuan. Liu Rengui looked at it. Xiang Li Xuan said: "This sword, I asked the military general, this is the Tuyuhun King's sword."
"King Sword." Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, looked at the sword, frowned and said, "This sword was lost from the Tuyuhun royal family."
"Yes." Liu Rengui nodded, and then said: "More than a hundred years ago, when the Murong clan of Xianbei first came to Tuyuhun, they were at odds with the local Qiang people. Later, the first king of Tuyuhun died under the assassination of the Qiang tribe chief, and his successor Tuyuhun The king mastered this sword and kept it by his side to warn him. It also became a symbol of King Tuyuhun.
More than ten years ago, Tuyuhun was overthrown, and this sword was lost. Unexpectedly, it fell into the hands of the Tubo people. "
"In other words, this sword was deliberately brought to the vicinity of Fuqi City by the Tubo general over there, and then fell into the hands of the general." Li Xuan's mouth twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but said with a smile: " Qin Ling's calculation is too cruel, sacrificing a thousand elites just to deliver this sword to the last general."
"Use a sword that is useless against Tubo, and hit it with three sticks. Qinling may not be so sure that you have seen through his plan and successfully destroyed it. It is just a precaution." Liu Rengui shook his head, Putting the long sword on the table, he looked at Li Xuan and said, "What are you going to do with this sword?"
"Send it to Chang'an and let the people from the Taishi Bureau check if there is any problem. If there is no problem, then give it to His Majesty and put it into the inner treasury." Li Xuan shook his head slightly. He did not dare to keep this thing randomly.
"Aren't you afraid that there is an ulterior motive in this thing, and that it will harm His Majesty if there is any danger?" Liu Rengui looked at Li Xuan with a half-smile.
"In the final analysis, this sword is just something that belongs to King Tuyuhun. His majesty, who is able to take a look at it, is already a blessing. As for the rest, I will think about it at the end. This thing is used to calculate the relationship between Datang and Tuyuhun. If this thing falls into the hands of the last general, I am afraid that the relationship between Datang and Tuyuhun will be at odds."
After a slight pause, Li Xuan continued: "If this thing is returned to Murong, Murong will inevitably wear it day and night. If something happens, it will be the general's fault. It is better to send it in directly with the previous batch of treasures. Ku...by the way, there is one more thing."
Li Xuan turned around, took the red brocade box from Qiu Zhenmu's hand, and then handed it to Liu Rengui and said: "This is a gift from Murong Nuohebo as a cousin to Xia'er. My grandson-in-law hasn't had time yet." When it was opened...it was said to be a jade Buddha, but the specific details are not known to Sun-in-law yet."
Liu Rengui nodded and looked to his side. A Qianniu Guard stepped forward and opened the brocade box directly under the gazes of Li Xuan, Liu Rengui and Qiu Zhenmu.
An exquisite jade Buddha, one foot tall, appeared in the brocade box.
A one-foot-tall jade statue of Sakyamuni.
Li Xuan and Liu Rengui breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Qian Niuwei carefully checked that there was no problem before handing it to Liu Rengui.
After Liu Rengui looked up and down, he put it on the table, looked at Li Xuan and said, "What do you think?"
Li Xuan smiled bitterly, cupped her hands and said: "Sun Xun always feels that now, Qin Ling and the Murong family regard Sun Xun as their opponent in the game between them, and they seem to be planning something, so Sun Xun wants to give all these things away." Go to Chang'an and let the Taishi Bureau inspect it. After all, they are the most professional in this regard. If there are no problems, send it to the inner treasury. As for Murong Nuohebo, just get a fake Buddha."
"That's fine." Liu Rengui nodded slightly, then covered the box, looked at Li Xuan and said, "The things you confiscated from Fuqi City have been shipped from Lanzhou to Chang'an, and will be delivered to His Majesty in a short time. Although the money is not much, it can barely cover three to five days of food for the army."
"If we want to make up for the deployment of the army this time, we still need to transport a large amount of salt from Chaka." After a slight pause, Li Xuan said: "Sunxiu has discussed with Governor Murong and asked him to march towards the Qingxi Basin. The idea is from Obtaining more salt mines there will also introduce many aristocratic families to Qinghai. If the army wants to stay in Qinghai for a long time, the power of those aristocratic families cannot be ignored."
The imperial court wanted to manage the West Sea, and there was too much movement, but if some rights were delegated to various aristocratic families, they could mobilize local forces as much as possible and speed up the management process.
The Tubo people would not give up the Qingxi Basin so easily. The war between Tang Dynasty and Tubo reduced in scale as the weather got colder, but the intensity would not decrease too much, which meant the consumption of food and salary. It will be like running water.
"So, we still need a truly stable base." Liu Rengui raised his head and looked at Li Xuan. He was referring to the Qugou New City under construction in the southwest.
Although Li Xuan put forward the suggestion of Qugou New City, it was Liu Rengui's memorial that really got Chao Zhong to nod.
If Datang wanted to completely change its thinking and incorporate Qinghai into the imperial system, it still needed to build cities and immigrate.
These Tyuhun nobles who were at odds with the Murong family and fell out with Tubo were really manpower sent from heaven.
With them here, Datang can immigrate calmly.
"The city will be built this year at most as an outline. If you want to build a city, even a county seat, it will take three to five years." Li Xuan took a breath. Building a city is not that easy, especially when you have to fight and build a city at the same time. , a city without walls is the best choice.
"This is about a good son-in-law." Liu Rengui couldn't help laughing.
Everyone else present also chuckled. The proposal to build the city was made by Li Xuan, and the heavy responsibility of building the city silently fell on him.
…
When we walked out of the big tent, it was already dark.
Li Xuan stepped outside the big tent and stared at the plains. In three to five years, he built a city here to escape the chaos of the court and at the same time attract the attention of others.
Li Xuan's eyes fell on Fuqi City in the northwest, and then glanced at his colleagues in the southeast. A line had already connected them in his mind.
Suddenly, in the night sky in the southwest, a bright star suddenly flickered violently.
Suddenly, the star became extremely dim, even a little shaky, but suddenly, it became bright again.
Not long after, it suddenly became dark again, even terrifyingly dark, almost non-existent.
This time, after a long time, the star became bright again, but this time, the brightness was very low.
Low, but stable, scary stable.
Li Xuan looked in the direction of the stars, her breathing already heavy.
There is the logical direction.
(End of chapter)
