The heavy snow fell constantly, and the sky and the earth were covered in white.

The team of more than 3,000 people was as thin as a group of ants on the endless snow field. Wherever the team passed, the snow field was stepped on by horses' hooves, and the heat was lingering. However, the heat was soon blown away by the cold wind, and the black line was buried again by the white snow. There was no trace between the heaven and earth, as if they had never been there.

Zhang Qian didn't have to worry about getting lost with such heavy snow. It was not because of his strong guidance skills, but because of the simplicity of the road. It was a passage that merchants stepped on with camels' feet, and they always followed and had to follow the river bank. Even if the river surface was frozen and covered with heavy snow, the difference between the river channel and the surrounding terrain was still very obvious.

He didn't have to worry about the cold weather. Last night, Luo Huaizu forced Guo Yuanzhen's secretary Xun Yingda to take out enough tents and winter clothes. It is common sense to not make the snow cold when it does not turn into cold snow in the Western Regions.

He didn't even need to worry about encountering enemy attacks along the way. According to the instructions of Zhazi and other captured Tushishi generals, in order to capture Kucha in one fell swoop, Soge almost took time to win the ten Tushishishi troops. Therefore, there were only two suspicious soldiers in the west and south directions. As Zhazi himself was captured alive, the suspicious soldiers on the west route collapsed without fighting. The 350-mile road from Shule to Gushishan can be said to be unobstructed. (Note: Gushishan, a fortress in the Western Region at that time. It was stuck on the north bank of the Kashgar River)

What Zhang Qian needs to worry most is that Guo Yuanzhen changed his mind and sacrificed his son Guo Hong's life, and led all the remaining troops in Shule City to chase and kill him. If that were the case, the 3,000 soldiers who had just borrowed would definitely disperse. He only brought more than 200 brothers to fight with more than 10,000 Jinshan Army, and Zhang Qian had no hope of winning.

Fortunately, according to the news from the scouts, Guo Yuanzhen did not send troops to chase him. Zhang Qian did not dare to be careless and rushed for three consecutive days at a speed of 80 miles every day. On the morning of the fourth day, he found that he had walked out of the snow and reduced the distance of the day. After walking only sixty miles, he ordered camps to set up camps. (Note: Horse farm test data, when the feed can keep up, the horses carry 120 kilograms of weight, and can last for more than a week. Forty kilometers a day will be very easy.)

The most lacking thing in the Western Regions is horses, so the soldiers all rely on mounts to travel, and they are not very tired. However, the morale of the entire team is infinitely close to zero. Especially when the soldiers of the Jinshan Army learned that they were "borrowed" from General Manager Guo by force by Zhang Changshi, and were about to fight with Soge, they were even more decisive.

If Zhang Qian had not taken the lead and replaced the captain, brigade and team commanders of the team with their own confidants, and after leaving the brigade, he would easily become the target of hunting for wolves. When he stopped the team to camp on the first day, deserters might appear. Even so, when the team camped for the fourth time, it was on the verge of collapse.

"The person surnamed Xun secretly arranged Guo Yuanzhen's confidant in the team, and has been agitating mutiny these days!" Wang Zhihuan was meticulous and quietly arranged for his brothers to visit, and soon found the key to the problem.

"I should have killed the man surnamed Guo at the beginning and replaced him!" Luo Huaizu was so angry that he gritted his teeth. He could not find the target of slashing, so he could only wave in the air. "That guy is not a good bird at all. You only saw that when he left Ganliang, people of all races were sending him off. But when Ziyu and Ji Ling passed by Ganzhou, I didn't hear any Han people say a good thing about that guy."

"There are many Han people in Ganliang. They exploit more food and money from the Han people to please other ethnic groups. Of course, the chiefs of all ethnic groups praised him!" Wang Han sighed and nodded beside him to confirm.

Then, he quickly changed his Yufeng, "However, it is right to use Zhao to not kill Guo Yuanzhen. After all, someone must guard Shule. If he kills him, the morale of the army will inevitably be in chaos. The great cannibals will receive the news and will definitely take the opportunity to attack next spring!"

"If we kill him, we will really become a rebellion. If we don't do it well, the court will order Niu Shizhuo, Zhou Yiti and Soge give up their past grudges and join forces to 'put down the rebellion'!" Wang Zhihuan smiled bitterly on his face and sighed quietly beside him.

"If he doesn't kill him, if he falsely accused him, and if Princess Taiping turns black and white, we can't do it well, we will be regarded as a rebel!" Luo Huaizu was dissatisfied and just said to the worst case.

According to his opinion, killing generals and seizing the army is a pleasure. At present, Zhang Qian's choice has neither mastered enough troops nor got rid of Guo Yuanzhen's threat. This is really the worst thing to do.

"If we win, he will not falsely accuse him, but will take the initiative to cover up the fact that Yi Zhao kidnapped him!" Wang Han glanced at him and shook his head dejectedly, "After all, destroying So Ge is a great achievement. Even if Yi Zhao just made great achievements, even if he sued, the court would not investigate it. If we lose, or tied with So Ge, it would be hard to say! Alas--"

At the end of the day, the smile on his face was obviously bitter, and his voice was full of helplessness.

When he left Chang'an, his idea and Wang Zhihuan were that since he had already been famous in history by participating in the compilation of the "Dictionary". Next, he might as well follow Ban Dingyuan and join the army and follow Zhang Qian to do something passionate about. Unexpectedly, after coming to the Western Regions, he was shocked to find that the enemy they had to face was not just Soge!

If Guo Yuanzhen could work together with Zhou Yiti, even if Soge received the support of the Turks, he would not have caused any storm. If more than a month ago, Guo Yuanzhen could send troops in time, take down Gushi Mountain and threaten Gumo, Soge would not have the courage to risk being attacked by the enemy from both sides. If someone in the court had not secretly instructed him, Guo Yuanzhen would not have dared to set up a Hongmen Banquet to deal with the commander of the Anxi Army. If there was no one around Guo Yuanzhen who had secretly communicated with Soge, everyone would not have been intercepted by the heavy troops of Zhazi on the way to Shule!

if……

It is easy to avoid open guns, but it is difficult to prevent hidden arrows. While dealing with the enemy in front, you must be wary of your own people taking action behind the scenes. How could this taste be disappointed? With Wang Han's personality, if he had not thought about the friendship with Zhang Qian, he would have long since left. He is neither short of money nor fame, and there is no need to mess around in the muddy waters of the Western Regions. The key is that no matter how hard he goes, the court may not think about everyone's benefits.

However, whenever he saw Zhang Qian's always straight body, he had a stronger desire to tell him that he should stay. He should not seek fame or honor, nor to win his wife and children, but to witness the birth of the next miracle.

Zhang Qian is a person who can create miracles. He has witnessed more than once in Wang Han's past interactions with Zhang Qian. Every time, he feels passionate. The feeling of almost burning blood is so fascinating that it is far beyond the various previous adventures, including waving a sword in the border army and charging into battle with the soldiers.

Today, while helpless and depressed, he was also looking forward to the miracle. Zhang Qian did not disappoint his expectations. He just frowned and pondered for a moment, and immediately had a solution.

"Ruosi, go and notify the captains of each army. After feeding, take their brothers to the central army to collect money in turn. Each person is 400 cents, which is counted as the military pay for these four days." Zhang Qian smiled and ordered, "By the way, let the captains of each army tell their brothers that they will send 100 cents to follow Zhang one day. They will pay once every five days, and they will never be owed. When encountering an enemy, if they defeat them, the military pay for those who participate in the day will double. If they wipe out their commanders, the total annihilation or captive of their commanders, and the number of participants will double. Breaking the city is the same as capturing the commanders of the enemy!"

"Hiss--" Even though he was born in the Wang family in Taiyuan, Wang Han was shocked by Zhang Qian's big moves and took a breath of air conditioning.

Although the number of soldiers sounds very small, each person has a hundred cents a day, which is more than 320 hulls. In this case, even if he doesn't fight, Zhang Qian will have to pay nearly 10,000 hulls. In a year, it will be 120,000 hulls. Even if he has a gold medal at home, it may not be enough for him to waste it.

"Yong Zhao, this is different from the manuscript you gave me!" Luo Huaizu was also shocked and instinctively reminded him.

He always regarded the manuscript given to him as a treasure. Whenever he had free time, he would take it out and read it, and even copied the exquisite paragraphs in it by hand. Although he always felt that the things given by Zhang Qian were not complete, some places were obviously cut off, and some places were obviously misinterpreted. But he still felt that many of the views in the manuscript could be regarded as a guideline.

"Don't worry, I'll get back from Soge in the future, and I won't lose money!" Zhang Qian nodded at Wang Han with a smile, and his young face was full of confidence. Then, he turned his eyes to Luo Huaizu and added in a low voice, "There is an important point in the manuscript I gave you, that is, you can't read the script. Well, it should be the eighth, no, it's the seventh. If you don't believe it, you can just read it yourself."

"Huh?" Luo Huaizu was stunned, frowned, and his face was full of suspicion. However, soon, his face began to turn red and he bowed to Zhang Qian.

He came to the Western Regions not for Zhang Qian. At least according to his own words, he never owed Zhang Qian anything, but Zhang Qian owed him a lot of favors to pay back. The reason why he came from thousands of miles was that he was worried that the Mohist mastery would be cut off from inheritance.

According to his own statement, although Qin Mo and Qi Mo have been independent of each other for many years, the knowledge that Zhang Qian has belongs to the entire Mohist school. In particular, the unknown manuscript given to him is worth far more than black gunpowder and alcohol! The manuscript is definitely not only the volume that Zhang Qian has already taken out, but also the follow-up.

Although it was impossible for Qin Mo to have only Zhang Qian as a disciple. So far, Luo Huaizu has only seen Zhang Qian as the direct descendant of Qin Mo. Therefore, before Zhang Qian wrote and copied the other volumes of the manuscript, he could not let Zhang Qian die no matter what. Otherwise, Luo Huaizu would be the sinner of the entire Mo family.

However, the task he set for himself was extremely difficult. Next, Zhang Qian's decision made him so anxious that he jumped straight.

"Ruosi, go and send orders, and let the lieutenants notify the brothers that they will arrive at the foot of the Lone Rock Mountain tomorrow and attack the mountain immediately. At that time, the regiments only need to watch at the foot of the mountain. In the first battle, I will take my personal soldiers to fight!" He smiled and looked at Guo Jing who was stunned, and Zhang Qian gave a soft command, as if not talking about a battle, but a polo game.

"Wait, use Zhao, are you crazy?" Before Guo Jing could respond, Luo Huaizu had already shouted, "Although there are only 500 people in Gushi Village, it is a turret, after all, it is a earthen castle. If you choose to attack vigorously, you must at least take out more than three times the defenders' strength..."

"Uncle Master, believe me!" Zhang Qian blinked at him and interrupted in a low voice. Then, he waved to Guo Jing again, "Go and send an order! By the way, I will explain to you that if the brothers of each regiment are willing to take the initiative to join the war tomorrow, they can also sign up with their respective captains."

"Yes!" Guo Jing was confident in his young supervisor. After bowing his order, he turned around and ran away.

"Uncle Shi, Ziyu, Ji Ling, you three come here." Zhang Qian thought for a while, and drew a piece of white paper from the temporary desk, and smiled and drew it with a charcoal pen. "The fortress on the Lone Stone Mountain is built with rammed earth. The height of the city wall is only two meters tall. The defenders inside are not from the Soge's direct line, and their morale is not high. If the number of people is far less than our army, they may not be very strong. In this way..."

In war, he is actually an amateur.

Leading troops, he is also an amateur.

However, fortunately, his memory has ready-made examples for reference for the difficulties he has encountered.

In another time and space, he asked himself not to learn the kingly army that the people regarded as their children. However, he could follow the experience of Zeng Guofan forming the Hunan Army after taking a few steps back.

Back then, Zeng Guofan didn't understand military tactics, but with his generous military pay, he formed a Hunan Army. The money of the Hunan Army never came from Zeng Guofan's own pocket.

This move cannot be used in the Central Plains. In the Western Regions, when facing the mad dog-like Souge, Zhang Qian used it without any ideological burden.

If you want to build an elite force who can win every battle, it is far from enough to have a generous military salary. Without being able to copy the original version of the thoughts and souls of the modern army, Zhang Qian could only continue to take a few steps and rely on continuous victory to build the cohesion and confidence of the army under his command.

Therefore, in this battle tomorrow, he could only fight with his personal soldiers and those willing to participate. And he had to win cleanly. Fortunately, the number of enemies was small and he knew almost nothing about him!

Facts have proved that in the feudal era, Zeng Guofan's approach was simply the right medicine. When Zhang Qian worked tirelessly and handed over 400 cents to his brothers one by one, the complaints and complaints disappeared immediately. Some even secretly found the new lieutenants such as Ren Wu, Ren Liu, and Guo Qi, and pointed out the secret stakes that left Guo Yuanzhen in the team one by one.

It is no wonder that these people are shallow in their eyes and are bribed by just a few hundred cents. Guo Yuanzhen is a standard literati. He is very thick with the generals around him, but he rarely cares about the life and death of ordinary soldiers. The system of government troops in this era only exempts the taxes and labor of the families of military service members, but does not pay any military pay. Therefore, in the eyes of the rich, a mere 400 cents, in the eyes of the bitter big-headed soldiers, it is already a fortune that has fallen from the sky.

The military camp that Guo Yuanzhen has always been proud of has only enriched the generals and Shule City's official warehouse. For ordinary soldiers, in addition to fighting, they also have to be a tenant for General Guo to be free, which has long been unbearable for everyone. Now, General Guo, who has just left, has obtained the heavy Kaiyuan Tongbao from Supervisor Zhang. Compared with the two, the fool knows who should choose!

People have a saying in their hearts that after measuring the gains and losses, many brothers are eager to be "borrowed" by Zhang Changshi and never return to Guo Yuanzhen's command. Some of them are brave and strong, so they simply follow the introduction of the lieutenant and require to participate in tomorrow's battle, so that they can get another double in addition to their daily military pay.

For these volunteers, Zhang Qian ordered Guo Jing to accept them decisively and directly organize them into his own personal corps. Then he was independent as a brigade, only responsible for cooperating on the side and not taking the lead. The person responsible for acting as a vanguard was still the old team of the personal corps. (Note: Tang system, one regiment has 300 people, one brigade has 100 people, and one team of fifty people.)

After more than 100 people were dispersed to serve as lieutenants, brigade and team leader, Zhang Qian's personal corps had only 146 people left. With these more than 140 people, he was preparing to attack the Lone Rock Mountain City, where 500 thrust cavalry warriors were stationed! After the news spread, the soldiers who had just received the military pay were all unbelievable.

"Zhang Changshi should use the provocation method. When fighting tomorrow, he will definitely ask everyone to go together!" With a little confusion, many soldiers muttered in their hearts. "Just go, go, three thousand people beat 500 people, and they will never lose."

"Take money and work hard with others. It is better to fight with others than to fight a penny!" Some people, for the sake of money, decided that even if Zhang Qian said today, he was coaxing everyone to continue to follow him, and when fighting tomorrow, he would also sell more strength. He would not seek to defeat the lonely stone mountain in one go, at least he would not disappoint Zhang Shaojian.

However, what happened the next day surprised them all. Zhang Qian was not provoking the generals, nor was he trying to help everyone continue to follow him. After the team arrived at the foot of the Lone Rock Mountain, he really led more than 140 personal soldiers to resolutely storm the fortress on the top of the mountain.

The more than 100 brothers who volunteered last night rode their horses in the second echelon under Ren Qi's leadership. In addition to Ren Qi's brigade, everyone in the team was full of anxiety.

Is one hundred and forty people enough to attack the city? I am afraid that even the feather arrows on the city cannot suppress it. If the feather arrows on the city cannot be suppressed, they cannot erect a ladder. How can they climb over a city wall that is two or two feet high?!

"No, they didn't bring a ladder!" Someone was walking halfway through, suddenly discovered a fact, and then exclaimed in surprise.

The other soldiers were all stunned. They looked straight at Zhang Qian's back with their eyes, unable to believe that the coach would even make such a simple mistake.

However, it was too late to go back to build a ladder. When Zhang Qian found that he had only brought more than a hundred people, he launched an attack from the front. Shisakun Yexun, the thug cavalry guarding the fortress, was furious. He decisively led his subordinates and rushed out of the fortress gate. (Note: Sakun, an official position, is equivalent to a general.)

The hillside is very smooth and has not fallen snow recently, which is especially suitable for cavalry to condescend. With 300 cavalry to attack more than 100 infantrymen, Ye Xun was confident enough to deal with the opponent before the opponent's large troops rushed over to rescue, and then left.

Unfortunately, the reality was completely different from what he expected. Before he could reach the opponent's 100 steps away, a neat wooden wall had already been erected in front of the opponent. Immediately afterwards, the feather arrows soared into the air behind the wooden wall.

"Accelerate, accelerate, rush to within fifteen steps and turn to the left!" Ye Xun thought to himself that something was wrong, and decisively raised his right arm wrapped in double-layer leather armor to protect his face and neck. At the same time, his left hand quickly shakes the reins and knocks on the stirrups with both feet.

The spurs on the stirrup pierced a string of blood beads on the belly of the war horse. The war horse was in pain and continued to speed up in a whimpering manner, allowing the feather arrows to whizz by their side.

The thunder cavalry behind Ye Xun made the same move as the coach, squeezed out the extreme speed of the mount and tried hard to approach the wooden wall.

In fifteen steps, as long as they rush to within fifteen steps from the wooden wall, they can pull the horse and use the shooting technique to kill the opponent behind the wooden wall. With the triple advantages of height, number and speed, they can lock in the victory before the first round of shooting is completed.

A warrior unfortunately fell off his horse by an arrow. The mounts rushed up from behind were trampled repeatedly, and in a blink of an eye it turned into a ball of meat. However, the warriors who were not caught were the arrows. With their skillful riding skills, they continued to accelerate, accelerate, and accelerate again. The cold wind whistled through their ears, but it made the people on the horse feel no cold at all. Death is close at hand, but it only made the people on the horse feel excited! At this moment, each of them was filled with the desire to kill.

At eighty-five steps, the war horse only needs four snaps of fingers to rush through. The four snaps are only enough for the Tang army behind the wooden wall to fire a round of feather arrows. Since the war started, the Tukha Shisakun Yexun’s decision has not been wrong, and the reaction is quick and decisive enough. However, the moment he tilted the horse’s head to the left, turned his body to raise his bow, several slender fire dragons suddenly jumped on the shield wall.

"Sigh and shit--" The mount under his crotch flew forward instinctively, leading him to dodge a fire dragon, and at the same time, it also made his feather arrow completely lose its accuracy. "Beast, what are you doing?!" Ye Xun was so angry that he cursed. While trying to control the mount, he turned his head to observe the situation of his brother. Then, his eyes widened, he let his hand go, and let the mount escape with him.

Except for him, relying on the quick response of the mount under his crotch, he barely escaped the disaster. The dozen thunder cavalry warriors who rushed in the front were all ignited by the fire dragons falling in the air, with people and horses! The war horses rushing over one after another were afraid of the fire and instinctively turned to the left and right sides, but because the incident suddenly happened, there was no coordination between each other and they collided into a ball.

More fire dragons flew out of the wooden wall and continued to land on the heads of the cavalry. All targets within twenty steps of the wooden wall, whether people or mounts, were burned into torches!

"Stop, stop, withdraw back to the fortress!" A big arrow shouted loudly, but he could not make the team obey his orders. Running down the hillside is easy to accelerate and has great inertia. However, whether you want to hold the mount or change the direction, you need more space to buffer. What's more, the companions behind him are still trying hard to press forward.

More fire dragons descend from the sky, bringing more war horses and warriors into death traps.

No one calculates how long it takes to total, and after the disaster begins, the movements of people and horses seem to have become slow and clumsy.

Some people kept rushing out of the fire and were burned to pieces.

People were constantly hit by their companions and then trampled into meat paste by their horse's hooves.

Some people kept turning around successfully and avoiding the flames, but were hit by the crossbow arrows shot from the flames. They opened their arms in despair and slowly fell from the horse's back!

"Sigh-sigh--" Several ignited war horses fell to the ground in a sarcastic voice, turning into a wall of fire. A samurai warrior rushed into the wall of fire, becoming a new "fuel". However, with the instinct of animals to fear fire, there are still many lucky people who are carried by their mounts and escaped from the flame trap.

With a look of shock and confusion on his face, the lucky ones didn't know how to deal with it next. At the next moment, a meteor fell from the sky, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The muffled thunder rolled, and the limbs of people and horses splashed around with soil and gravel.

"Sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-

"Sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-sigh-

...

The war horse, which had just been frightened by a round of flames, was blown away by the thunder again and ran around in a sarcasm. He threw the owners on his back off the saddle one by one, and fell to his head and blood.

The samurai warriors who were lucky enough not to be dropped off their mounts also had pale faces and let the mounts escape with them. They didn't have the courage to look back and look at Tang Jun behind the fire wall, and they didn't have the courage to figure out where the thunder came from.

The killing range of the original black gunpowder bomb was only about three steps. In the first round of explosion, there were no more than five cavalry and war horses killed. However, it became the last straw that crushed the thunder cavalry warriors. In addition to Sakun Yexun himself, he was unwilling to stay on the battlefield with his fingers, let the mounts be carried, or actively urged the mounts to run as far as they could.

The gate of the fortress was wide open, and no one thought of closing it. More than 200 thugs and warriors stayed in the fortress were staring at the battlefield outside, with pale faces, and they both fought and didn't know what to do.

"Snatch the city, why are you standing there? Do you really want to get today's bounty in vain?!" Seeing that the time was ripe, the personal military brigade led Ren Qi to follow Zhang Qian's arrangement, decisively opened his voice and shouted to the brothers around him.

"Snatch the city?" The soldiers of the second-tier team who were already stunned responded instinctively. Then, they saw their own brigade leading the way out, bypassing Zhang Changshi, Luo Zhuan and two Wangsmen behind the shield wall, and headed straight to the gate of the fortress.

"Snatch the city!" Someone shouted instinctively, then he became passionate, instigated his mount, and followed Ren Qi closely.

"Snatch the city, grab the city!" The shouts echoed through the world in an instant. More than a hundred Tang men who took the initiative to sign up for the war last night all instigated war horses, and bypassed the first echelons who were busy sorting out the fire dragon chariots and simple stone casting cars like a whirlwind, and rushed to the fortress on the top of the mountain. Along the way, we met the samurai warriors, whether the other party chose to surrender, escape or resist stubbornly, all of them slashed into meat paste.

In the fortress, the Tukshu Shi Warrior finally recovered from his panic and roared and tried to close the door. Ren Qi rushed in with his horse, flew up and down with a spear in his hand, stabbed the two Tukshu Shi Warriors who were blocking the road to death in the door hole.

More thunder warriors rushed towards him, but he was alone and was so busy that they were killed. The men of the Tang Dynasty who followed him raised their swords and broke in. In a blink of an eye, they killed the enemy at the gate of the city and ran away with their heads in their arms.

When the flames on the hillside gradually faded, the earthen castle on the lonely stone mountain completely changed its owner. The battle flag of the Tang Dynasty was inserted at the highest point of the soil, waving in the wind. The setting sun sets westward, dyeing the sky and the ground bright red.

"Sigh and shit" Sa Luzi raised her front hooves and let out a proud roar.
Chapter completed!