Bartlett clapped his hands twice more, and a foreign servant with a capable face came in. Bartlett whispered a few instructions, and the servant took the order. Jiang Shuo thought to himself, this Bartlet clapped his hands, and now he was recruiting men, and now he was recruiting women. It seemed that the way he clapped his hands must be different, but he didn't know how to do it yet.
Bartlett turned to Dugu Xiang and smiled: "Everything has been arranged, don't worry, little lady."
Jiang Shuo was afraid that he would ask Dugu Xiang for money to buy clothes, but Bartlett said nothing about the money and silk, and Dugu Xiang took it calmly, without the slightest clue that she actually didn't have much wealth on her.
It turns out that prices skyrocketed during the Tianbao period, and luxury goods often cost hundreds or even thousands of coins. Rich people would never carry so many copper coins or cloth with them when buying things. Therefore, the owner only takes the money, and the servants of the family will do the calculation later. How can the owner bargain and settle the bill with the money?
Of course, Bartlett knew this very well, and Dugu Xiang had also heard Sister Jingle talk about this kind of rule, so he pretended to be generous and did not worry at all that Bartlett would see through it. Only Jiang Shuo was honest and didn't understand this. His heart was like fifteen buckets fetching water, he was restless and extremely nervous.
Duguxiang said again: "Old man, I have one more thing to do. My grandpa is going to Suiye City for business..."
Bartlett suddenly raised his head and asked doubtfully: "Remove the broken leaves? How could you remove the broken leaves..."
Dugu Xiang knew by looking at his expression that something was wrong and he said something wrong. He quickly pretended to be angry and said, "I told you it's a secret. Why are you asking?"
Bartlett felt aggrieved and thought that it must have been you who said it yourself. Then he suddenly had an idea and said, "Ah... Could it be!"
When Dugu Xiang saw that he had been tricked, he quickly stopped and put his index finger on his lips, saying: "Shh... I can't tell you, I can't tell you..."
As if he knew some huge secret, Bartlett covered his mouth mysteriously and said, "Yes, yes, I won't tell, I won't tell."
Dugu Xiang's acting was so realistic that Jiang Shuo couldn't help but approach her and asked in a low voice, "What can't you say?"
Dugu Xiang laughed in a low voice and said, "How do I know what I can't say?"
Only then did Jiang Shuo realize that Dugu Xiang was carrying rice in an empty sack, relying entirely on Bartlett to dig the holes and jump in himself.
Dugu Xiang himself almost laughed out loud. He hurriedly cleared his throat to cover it up and said to Bartlet: "But we rarely come to Khotan once, and we want to see the city..."
Before Dugu Xiang finished speaking, Bartlett had already understood and lowered his voice: "You two have a secret mission. Naturally, you cannot go to the city gate to pass the inspection and leave traces of your whereabouts. You need to enter the city quietly and silently."
Duguxiang clapped his hands and said, "Yes... Dad, I just said you are smart."
Bartlett smiled and said: "What's the difficulty in entering the city? There is no need to go to the city gate, I have a shortcut to enter the city."
This tent was built against the city wall. The earth-yellow city wall was rough and dirty, so it was covered with silk and satin and tapestries. In the middle, there was a Persian brocade tapestry as tall as a person, with a flowery brocade pattern woven in the center. The pattern of "three rabbits sharing ears".
Bartlett opened the tapestry, and the two of them discovered that there was a hole in the city wall behind the tapestry. The other end was dark and vaguely a door panel. It was obvious that Bartlett had punched through the city wall long ago to allow his so-called "distinguished guests" to easily pass through. Use.
Jiang Shuo couldn't help but said, "If we dig holes in the city wall like this, if the enemy invades, wouldn't the city wall be useless?"
Bartlett put down the tapestry, returned to the table, and said with a smile: "Young gentleman, you seem to be unaware of something. Since the Wu Zhou Dynasty, the city of Khotan has fallen into the hands of the Tibetans three times. This city defense has long been in vain. "
Jiang Shuo was shocked and said: "It is said that Anxi is the elite of the Tang army, but Yutian, one of the four towns in Anxi, actually changed hands three times?"
Bartlet smiled slightly and said: "The little old man is a barbarian. I shouldn't say that. It's true that Anxi athletes are elites, but the total strength of the four towns in Anxi is less than 30,000. Fan Yang in the east heard that there are more than 90,000 people in one town. , it’s clear at a glance which one is strong and which one is weak.”
Jiang Shuo thought to himself: An Lushan mobilized 100,000 troops in Fanyang and Pinglu towns to attack the Khitan. Now, they can also mobilize 100,000 troops in the battle of Geshuhan Stone Castle. However, Anxi has a vast territory and only has 30,000 troops.
Bartlett continued: "So
Since the Anxi Army could not defend a city as large as Yutian, the Anxi Army's strategy was to use a small number of infantry to defend fortresses, such as the East Fort in Khotan and the Bathuang City in Kucha. If the enemy dares to besiege the city, they will use more than 10,000 cavalry to intercept their return route, causing the rebels to rebel. "
Jiang Shuo nodded and said, "The fighting methods used by Wang Zhongsi Gong and Ge Shuhan Gong in Hexi were no better than the fighting methods used by Tubo relying on Shibao City."
Bartlett hurriedly crossed his hands and said, "Yes, yes... both of you are noble sons of generals. Naturally, you are much more familiar with military warfare than I am. You are just doing your own thing."
Dugu Xiang said: "Hey... I'll scare you to death if I tell you! It was my brother Shuo who helped my brother Shu Han to capture Shibao City."
Bartlett hurriedly avoided the table and bowed again, saying: "Ah, he is indeed a young hero, so disrespectful."
But he thought in his heart: This little girl dares to call a cow with a hair in her pocket. Judging from the appearance of the two of you, you are only about 20 years old. I guess this brother Shuo is relying on the shadow of his ancestors to work under Ge Shuhan's tent. A casual job such as joining the army, but it turned out to be helping Ge Shuhan win the Stone Castle City... Wait, the Stone Castle City?
Bartlett came back to his senses and exclaimed: "Did the Tang army capture Shibao City?"
Dugu Xiang said: "Old Ba, did you listen carefully to what I said? Ge Shuhan captured Shibao City more than two months ago, and now the old land of Tuyuhun north of Dafeichuan has been acquired by the Tang Dynasty."
Butler beamed with joy and said, "God bless me, the Tang Dynasty!"
In fact, what he was thinking about was that the Tubo lost Shibao City and retreated to the Dafeichuan line. They needed to guard against the Tang army taking the capital Luoche City directly. They would not have time to go west for a few years. He could spend a few more years in Khotan and Ontario. Business is over.
In the Tang Dynasty, news was transmitted very slowly. The Tang army's capture of Shibao City had to report a victory in Chang'an first, and then spread the news to other places. It was often half a year before Khotan got the news, but Bartlett got the news in advance from the two people. It was no different. After getting a business opportunity, he couldn't help but smile. He didn't care whether it was true or not that Jiang Shuo helped his brother Shu Han seize the city, he just praised Jiang Shuo.
Jiang Shuo felt quite embarrassed and did not want to mention the Shibao City incident. He changed the subject and asked, "Since the Tang army's tactics were appropriate, why did they lose the town of Khotan three times?"
Bartlett said: "Although the Tang army in Anxi was brave, they could only mobilize more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry. Today's Western Region is quite uneven. The Tang army often had to go on expeditions, sometimes attacking Shiguo west of Congling, and sometimes attacking beyond Congling. The big and small Bolu in the south are slightly more honest than the Geluolu in the north. This gives Tubo an opportunity to take advantage of. However, Khotan is an oasis in the middle of the Qirin and there is no danger to defend. As long as the main force of the Tang army turns around, the Tubo army will So I withdrew.”
Jiang Shuo said: "That's it. No wonder the city wall of Khotan is so useless."
Bartlett said: "Khotan's city wall was originally tall and thick, but after too many wars, the construction could not be demolished quickly, so it was repaired hastily, and the city wall became shorter and thinner. The Tibetan army As soon as they arrived, the King of Khotan withdrew his troops and people to the Hanhai Sea. The Tubo people were afraid of the desert and did not dare to pursue. When the Tang army returned, the Khotan army counterattacked and they were able to recapture the royal city without any effort."
Dugu Xiang smiled and said, "This King of Khotan is really good at planning."
Bartlett said: "My dear lady, don't underestimate the King of Khotan. Khotan not only produces beautiful jade, but also famous horses. Although the army only has a few thousand people, its combat power is not weak. The current King of Khotan is named Yuchi Sheng. , this man is also a young hero, and he is only in his mid-twenties now. When he entered the court at a young age, he was highly appreciated by the Tang sages. The governor of the prefecture. Yuchi led his country's elite cavalry and together with Gao Xianzhi, the governor of Anxi, defeated the Sabi and Boxian who invaded the four towns of Anxi, and achieved great success."
Jiang Shuo loved making friends with the world's heroes the most. After hearing what Bartlett said, he couldn't help but say, "I would also like to make friends with such a heroic person."
Bartlett said sternly: "Young Master, please be careful. Although the city of Khotan is poorly defended, the royal city inside is heavily guarded. Not everyone can enter easily."
While he was talking, the boy Bartlett sent out to buy clothes came back. Time was tight and it was definitely too late to order Tang Dynasty clothes. The clothes he bought were all half-Han and half-bearded clothes, and the material was naturally thick satin. , embroidered with dark patterns on the brocade ground, and the styles are all narrow sleeves and closed legs, quite neat Hu clothes. Hu women also have smart clothes, which is quite popular with Dugu Xiang. She
I was originally afraid that the young man would come back with a deep skirt and wide skirt. It seems that Hu people are very good at reading people's hearts. No wonder the dignitaries in Chang'an City also like to use Hu people as their servants.
Bartlett and his men withdrew from the tent and asked Hu Ji to help them wash up and change their clothes. When they saw Jiang Shuo also withdrawing, they couldn't help but feel strange and talked to Jiang Shuo: "Young gentleman, I thought you were the same person. Right..."
Jiang Shuo suddenly blushed and said, "Xiang'er and I are not married yet..."
Bartlett thought again: Oh... maybe the two of them are destined to die for life. I think the little girl seems to be from a high family. Maybe this silly boy is just a soldier. The two of them have a private life and fled here. Not necessarily.
Thinking of this, he was not only not worried that the two of them had no money to remit accounts, but was even more happy. Firstly, it was common for children from such wealthy families to act mischievously. When family members came to find them, they would often give them a large amount of money to keep them quiet. Secondly, Even if no one comes to find them, their two horses and a treasure-embedded dagger are worth thousands of gold, and the purple velvet blanket is a unique and priceless treasure in the world. It is best for them to stay there for ten and a half days and take out It would be better to redeem one or two pieces.
He was alone there, his eyes rolling around, the more he thought about it, the more beautiful it became. However, Jiang Shuo didn't know that Hu Shang's mind had been going back and forth so many times in this moment.
Dugu Xiang finished changing his clothes, and Jiang Shuo changed again. The two of them had washed and dressed, and immediately changed their appearance. Bartlett praised them repeatedly: "Ah... what a perfect couple. For those who don't know, they should be the ones from the Western Regions." Where are the princes and princesses of the country?”
Jiang Shuo was worried: "Will it be too showy?"
Bartlett hurriedly said it was okay, and asked someone to bring two white hooded cloaks for the two of them to wear outside. Khotan was very windy and sandy, so this was a common attire here, but it could also hide their identity very well. "
The two of them were fully prepared. Bartlett opened the tapestry again and said, "You two, please come into the city. There will be a curfew in Khotan City at night. Be sure to remember the way back. I will prepare wine and food for you two to come back and rest for the night."
Dugu Xiang took back the gold-tooth dagger on the desk and said, "That's easy to say." He ignored the two horses and the purple velvet blanket and pulled Jiang Shuo into the hole in the city wall.
When passing through the tunnel, Jiang Shuo whispered worriedly: "Is it okay to leave the things here?"
Dugu Xiang smiled and said: "The hole in the city wall is so narrow that even a horse can't pass through it. This Hu merchant is sure to make a lot of money from us, and he will never take our belongings and run away."
