Cai Xiongying dismounted and stopped the convoy with a majestic look on his face. Behind him were the cavalrymen with their swords unsheathed.
Xu Yingxu dismounted his horse, frowned, and shouted to Cai Xiongying: "It's not like we don't know each other, so why should we show an attitude of confronting the enemy?"
Cai Xiongying laughed and stepped forward to catch Xu Yingxu's waistband. After inspecting it, he reached out and grabbed Xu Yingxu's face, pulled it under Xu Yingxu's angry eyes, then shook his hand and said: "Don't blame Xu Qian. This is the rule set by Song Dusi..."
Xu Yingxu rubbed his cheek and shouted: "Damn Cai Xiongying, you are obviously just seeking revenge."
"Private vendetta, what personal vendetta?"
Yang Rong came closer, his legs were splayed out, and his movements were quite funny.
Xu Yingxu glared at Yang Rong and told him to stay out of his own business.
Cai Xiongying was a member of the Military Judiciary Committee. After the Battle of Annan, he stayed in the Beijing Army. He found Xu Yingxu, the minister of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, and used the back door. northwest.
"This must be Doctor Yang."
Cai Xiongying did not dare to treat Yang Rong as rudely as he treated Xu Yingxu. After all, Xu Yingxu was a martial artist, a rough man and a martial artist. Being rude was to be friendly to him, but he could not do this to Yang Rong. This was The civil servant was not only an official of Zhan Shifu, but also a doctor in the Ministry of War. He was sitting in such an important position at a young age, and it was not easy to offend anyone.
Yang Rong rubbed his thighs and said, "It's a joke to Cai Qianhu. After riding a horse for eight hundred miles, he ended up lying in the carriage to recuperate. This is not true. He was a few days behind and was overtaken by Xu Qianshi. It happened to be all the way. Come here."
Cai Xiongying waved her hand quickly, looked at the carriage behind, and asked in a low voice: "Is that one here too?"
Yang Rong nodded and signaled Cai Xiongying to continue the inspection.
Cai Xiongying did not shirk the blame. Military discipline did not tolerate sloppiness. After checking and confirming that there were no problems, he ordered people to open the city gate.
Yang Rong, Xu Yingxu and others entered Jiayuguan City. At this time, Jiayuguan was not as majestic as later generations, with rich buildings and a small area. The perimeter of the city gate was 220 feet (roughly 730 meters), two feet high, and wide. One foot.
Yang Rong finally understood why Song Sheng wrote a letter saying that Jiayuguan City was too small and wanted to expand it. The city gate was indeed not big. To shoot an arrow or set up a 200-step target, you would have to go outside the city...
It is said that a city of three miles is a city of seven miles, but this Jiayuguan City is nothing, it is not even half of the city of three miles.
Expansion, must be expanded.
The importance of Jiayuguan is a choke point for the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. It is the westernmost pass on the Hexi Corridor (the Hexi Corridor continues to extend westward). Western Gansu is already a desert area. The Hexi Corridor is sandwiched between the majestic Qilian Mountains and the The distance between Beishan Mountain (including Mazong Mountain, Heli Mountain and Longshou Mountain) is two thousand miles long from east to west.
There is an ancient road in the Gobi and alluvial plains at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, the Silk Road. This road is inherently difficult and dangerous. When you reach the pass of Jiayushan Mountain, there are narrow valleys cutting through the mountains and dangerous slopes forcing the road. Jiayuguan Pass is located here. , such a small place, is related to the overall security of the northwest of Ming Dynasty.
There must be no room for loss, and expansion will naturally be necessary. Even if the entire Western Region is acquired in the future, the importance of Jiayuguan cannot be denied.
"Where's Song Dusi?"
Xu Yingxu asked.
Seeing Xu Yingxu looking around, Cai Xiongying pointed to the city gate wall to the west: "If he can't be seen on the wall, he has left the gate."
Xu Yingxu's mouth trembled, "What does this mean? I have traveled thousands of miles to come here, and you, Song Sheng, don't come to greet me and entertain me?"
Yang Rong didn't mind, but after the convoy of 500 people came in, it suddenly became difficult to arrange. After all, there were not so many empty houses in the city, so he had to arrange for people to set up tents next to the city wall, and then invited Tuotuo out of the carriage. .
Tuotuo is twenty-eight this year. Not long ago, he was a slave. He had no personal freedom, lived in a cold and damp room, and was like a prisoner. But Yang Rong's arrival changed Tuotuo's life.
Yang Rong did not conceal the truth about Hami, and told Totuo Anke Timur the news that he was poisoned by Guilichi, and told his plan to send Totuo back to Hami and become the new King of Hami, the third king of the Ming Dynasty. The second term was King Zhongshun.
Tuotuo had no room for rejection, so he returned to Hami and became a puppet of the Ming Dynasty. At least he lived with dignity. If he stayed in the Ming Dynasty, he could only be enslaved by others. In the end, few people knew about his death.
Without a fierce ideological struggle or three visits to the thatched cottage, Tuotuo agreed to Yang Rong and the Ming Dynasty, leaving a handprinted "surrender" guarantee document, and then followed Yang Rong to Jiayuguan.
Along the way, Yang Rong asked people to take good care of Tuotuo. Although the carriage often traveled day and night and everyone worked hard, Tuotuo was definitely the one who was best cared for. Whether it was eating or drinking, he was always there. First.
The respect from Yang Rong and others gave Tuotuo some dignity as a human being.
Tuotuo had no airs and couldn't hold them up. After greeting Cai Xiongying, he stood aside and observed the layout of the city gate.
Cai Xiongying pulled Yang Rong's sleeve and asked in a low voice: "Are you really planning to send him to Hami?"
Yang Rong did not answer directly, but asked: "I need to read the intelligence around Hami and make a decision after discussing with Song Dusi and everyone. I don't know where the intelligence is?"
Cai Xiongying turned sideways and raised his chin: "Then, if you want information, go to him."
Yang Rong looked intently and saw an ordinary farmer standing not far away, carrying a broken straw hat and many patches on his clothes. If it weren't for the fact that he had a knife on his waist, Yang Rong wouldn't believe him if he said he was a sergeant. .
"Don't underestimate him. His name is Zheng Dacheng. He was once a Qianhu member of the Kaifeng Security Bureau. He was promoted to the governor of the Security Bureau for his meritorious service in capturing the leader of the Bailian bandits under the moonlight. Later, he was entrusted with an important task and was assigned to Jiayuguan to be in charge of northwest intelligence."
Cai Xiongying reminded carefully.
Yang Rong took a deep breath, walked over, and took out his badge: "Your Majesty, Yang Rong, has been ordered to come to Jiayuguan to assist Du Si. Now we need Hami information, please Zheng Qianhu's accommodation."
Zheng Dacheng took the waist card, looked at Yang Rong, then took out a stack of paper from his arms and stuffed it with the waist card to Yang Rong: "Who should you show it to and who shouldn't show it to you, you have to be sensible. , the latest information here is from ten days ago."
After Yang Rong thanked him, before looking down, he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. The sound came from far to near. The city gate to the west gradually opened, and dozens of cavalry rushed in.
Song Sheng reined in his horse and shouted like a loud bell: "I heard that King Zhongshun Tuotuo has arrived, and I came to pay my respects."
Tuotuo looked at the majestic old general Song Sheng and didn't dare to speak for a moment. Yang Rong on the side gave him a push and reminded him in a low voice: "Come forward to meet him."
"Oh, oh, right..."
Only then did Tuotuo react, and he walked out quickly, shouting to Song Sheng: "I am Tuotuo, the loyal and obedient king of Hami. Song Dusi is polite..."
As soon as these words came out, countless people were shocked.
Song Sheng, who was dismounting from his horse, almost fell off. You are the king and I am the general. There is no reason for you to salute me.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a little awkward, Yang Rong hurriedly stepped forward and said, "King Zhongshun treats his subordinates with courtesy, just like an ancient gentleman."
Song Sheng rolled his eyes at Yang Rong, "Damn it, you're still an educated person."
"Your Majesty, Song Sheng, will bring the general of Jiayu Pass to see King Zhongshun."
Song Sheng stepped forward, raised his hand and beat his chest without kneeling down. Even so, it was enough to save face.
Tuotuo said quickly: "The general and all of you are meritorious officials and should be rewarded."
Yang Rong breathed a sigh of relief. This guy still remembered a little bit of his words.
Let's reward him. Anyway, the carriage brought a lot of things and brought Song Sheng ten jars of fine wine.
Song Sheng arranged for the sergeants to welcome King Zhongshun to his residence to rest, and then greeted Xu Yingxu and Yang Rong: "Xu Qianshi also came to Jiayuguan, haha. I heard that Wei Guogong wanted to come in person. Is it true?"
Although Xu Yingxu is Xu Da's son, he also knows how powerful Song Sheng is. This person can be said to be the Optimus Prime of the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. He is a figure who remains unmoved by many officials and officials. The emperor gave him great trust. It is the commander-in-chief Shi of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division and the chief soldier again.
"Uncle Song, my brother has requested to come with the army. The emperor has already given permission. But whether and when he can come depends on the timing."
Xu Yingxu said politely.
Song Sheng was very impressed and knew that the time Xu Yingxu mentioned was Timur's Eastern Expedition.
"Mr. Yang, long time no see!"
Song Sheng looked at Yang Rong and smiled.
Yang Rong bowed deeply: "Song Dusi, you are well."
Song Sheng laughed loudly and said, "I have received your idea a long time ago. The situation in Hami is changing day by day. You need to come up with an idea as soon as possible."
Yang Rong shook his head slightly and said seriously: "I am just ordered to assist the Dusi. All decisions need to be made by the Dusi."
Yang Rong did not dare to overstep his authority.
Song Sheng saw that although Yang Rong came with an important mission, he was still very measured, so he couldn't help but look at him a few more times: "In that case, let's discuss it more. You have come a long way. Although this place is barren, it is still Those who have some game, let’s go, I will pick up the wind and wash away the dust for you.”
Wine table, food.
Yang Rong ate uninterestingly, and after barely eating, he returned to his residence, took out Hami's information and began to review it.
After Anke Timur's death, Hami did not fall into chaos, but still maintained stability and unity. The reason was a woman, to be precise, an old widow, who was Anke Timur's mother.
In terms of identity, this woman is also Tuotuo's grandmother.
Yang Rong couldn't help but frowned when he saw this information. This matter seemed to be not easy to handle.
Think about how many uncles were unconvinced when Zhu Yunwen first came to the throne, but within a few years, they were dealt with by Zhu Yunwen. Tuotuo is obviously dozens of blocks behind Zhu Yunwen. This "outsider" directly became the second generation loyal and shun king of Hami. He has no foundation. His grandmother is so senior, why doesn't Tuotuo get ignored?
Although Ming Dynasty also wanted Tuotuo to be sidelined and become a puppet, the result Daming wanted was for Tuotuo to become a puppet of the Ming Dynasty, not his grandma's puppet...
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