Chapter 176: Hu Tibetan in the deep valley

The night was dark, and a crescent moon hung in the deep blue night sky, sprinkling the boundless grassland with a faint silver color. On the grassland about twenty miles southeast of Bazhayatucheng, a military camp stood alone on the grassland. This was the Tianshan military camp. At this moment, the soldiers who had marched for a day were exhausted and fell asleep early. The camp was silent. Only soldiers were patrolling back and forth on the four corners of the camp. Suddenly, a sentry rushed to the side of the guardhouse, staring at the distance with a nervous expression. He saw that under the moonlight, a black line appeared on the grassland, running towards this side.

"Damn it! Are all the scouts dead?"

The sentry cursed and suddenly raised an iron hammer and sounded the alarm bell. At the same time, another guardhouse sounded the alarm, and the harsh bell rang throughout the military camp. The soldiers woke up from their dreams. There was a chaos in the military camp. The main general Zhao Tingyu had not returned to Dazhai. Only one deputy general Lu Xiangyang ran out of the camp in disarray and asked loudly: "What happened? Has the enemy come?"

But no one knew that a sentry suddenly shouted on the guardhouse in chaos, "It's not the enemy, it's our own people."

As the shouts continued to spread, the barracks gradually calmed down. They were their own people, not the enemy. Many Tang troops rushed to the gate of the camp to look around. They saw a long line of cavalry hundreds of steps away, slowly surrounding the barracks in a fan shape. The flag was particularly clear under the moonlight, and it was the Tang army's Red Dragon Banner.

At this time, more than a dozen cavalrymen rushed over and shouted loudly at the gate of the camp: "General Li Qing'an has an order, and all officers above the team will come out to gather, and important matters will be announced."

Deputy General Lu Xiangyang ran out of the camp and asked sternly: "My general has not returned from Dazhai, where is he now?"

"Who are you?"

"I am Lu Xiangyang, the deputy envoy of the Tianshan Army."

The cavalry who shouted ignored him and continued to shout: "General Li, the governor, has an order. All officers above the team will go out to the camp to concentrate, otherwise they will be punished as rebellion!"

When dozens of officers hiding behind the camp gate heard the 'judgment of rebellion', they all walked out in fear. Lu Xiangyang was furious and turned around and drew his sword and drove him away: "Who told you to come out, let me go back!"

More than a dozen cavalrymen looked at each other and suddenly rushed forward. Three spears pierced Lu Xiangyang's chest at the same time. Lu Xiangyang looked at the spear that was inserted into his chest incredibly and fell to the ground and died.

An officer urged him to come forward and shouted again to the officers: "Zhao Tingyu assassinated the military supervisor and wanted to rebel. Do you also follow him?"

The officers of the Tianshan Army finally came out one after another. Nearly a hundred officers stood in the open space, waiting for the despair in a nervous mood. Thousands of Tang soldiers surrounded them tightly without allowing one to escape. There was no restraint of officers in the military camp. Two thousand soldiers squeezed into the camp gate and whispered. Everyone knew that the Tianshan Army was going to change its master. Compared to the officers' worries, the soldiers were more expectant.

At this time, hundreds of cavalry surrounded the governor Li Qing'an and came out of the team, followed by the military supervisor Wang Tingfang. Li Qing'an slowly strangled his horse, glanced at the officers of the Tianshan Army, and said, "The governor of Xizhou Zhao Tingyu disobeyed the military order and held the military supervisor hostage, seriously violated military laws and had been executed!"

A burst of exclamation suddenly appeared in the group of officers, and everyone's eyes showed a look of shock, and many of them flashed a hint of sadness and anger, and then they lowered their heads.

"I know that many of you are old subordinates of Governor Zhao and hard-core confidants, but the military discipline of the Tang army is as good as a mountain, and no one is exceptional in front of military laws!"

Li Qing'an's voice was extremely stern. He looked at everyone's gaze with a cold expression, saying word by word: "Now Zhao Tingyu has been executed, and the new governor will be appointed by the court. This commander temporarily serves as the Tianshan Army's military envoy. The Tianshan Army's military law is not strict. This commander decided that the officers above the Tianshan Army's deputy lieutenant and above will study military rules and regulations for three months, and will be re-appointed after the study is over. Now the brigade commander and the team can return to the camp and bring the army out to gather."

The brigade commander and the team leader were relieved and rushed back to the barracks to rectify the army. There were only a dozen dejected captains and deputy captains left in the open space. Li Qing'an winked and stepped forward to take them away.

At this time, the barracks opened wide, and teams of soldiers walked out of the barracks, without carrying weapons. Two thousand soldiers lined up neatly in the wilderness. Li Qing'an stepped forward and said loudly: "I, Li Qing'an, was appointed by the emperor to command the Beiting army and horses. Whether it is the Han Navy, Tianshan Army or Yiwu Army, I treat them equally. I have also walked step by step from the fortress to today. I know the suffering of soldiers. Here, I have made four new military rules again. First, from today, all officers of the Beiting army are not allowed to keep money and things for soldiers. During wartime, money and things are unified.

The marching Sima will be temporarily managed and a receipt will be issued, and the person will be returned to him after the war. If he is unfortunately killed, he will be handed over to his designated family members. Second, the Beiting Army will improve the food supply and set standards uniformly. Soldiers will be drawn to form inspection teams to check the food status of each army; Third, the Beiting Army will change from three years to one month to one month, and family members will be allowed to visit relatives; Fourth, the Beiting Army will establish the Military Discipline Inspection Department, the Inspection Department will inspect the troops in various places and allow soldiers to submit letters to the Inspection Department. The Inspection Department will directly be responsible to our commander. These four articles will be officially implemented from the date of promulgation."

Li Qing'an announced that the soldiers cheered for a while, not only the Tianshan Army, but also the Hanhai Army cheered and applauded. His four new rules hit the problems in the army. Not to mention anything else, the general soldiers' property is kept by officers. This is an unwritten rule. In order to obtain the property of soldiers, many officers have tortured soldiers to death to swallow their property. As for the shortage of property, they are even more common.

Cheers resounded throughout the night sky. As soon as Li Qing'an's four new military rules were released, they completely won the morale of the Tianshan Army. The former governor Zhao Tingyu had disappeared from their minds without a trace.

The next morning, the governor of Yiwu, Han Zhi, arrived at the camp. He knew the details of what happened to the Tianshan Army last night. It was not until last night that he realized that attacking the Geluo people was just a means used by Li Qing'an to seize power. The conflict between the Shatu people and the Geluo people was probably also his own hand. Since the Battle of Yumen, the Shatu people have become Li Qing'an's dog, step by step, one by one, one by one. Li Qing'an has no human rights and cannot dismiss them, so there was a war to attack the Geluo people. It was natural to deal with it in the army with military laws.

Han Zhi was frightened. He knew that it was Zhao Tingyu who killed yesterday, so it was his turn next. Han Zhi not only saw Li Qing'an's methods, but also saw the emperor's support for Li Qing'an. Without Zhao Tingyu, a mud pond that allowed him to fish in troubled waters, what else would he have to fight against Li Qing'an?

The biggest difference between Han Zhi and Zhao Tingyu is that he has no background. No matter what King Qing Donggong has to do with him, he has no worries.

Han Zhi came to the camp, removed his shirt, and knelt in front of the camp gate to apologize. After a moment, Li Qing'an quickly walked out of the camp and helped him up quickly and said, "General Han must not do this."

"I was confused for a while and did not understand the military rules, so I stole the military power and respected myself. Please send me a letter to you."

Li Qing'an helped him up, ordered his personal soldiers to bring a piece of clothing, put it on him with his own hands, and smiled and said, "It's a good thing this is a grassland, otherwise General Han would still do Lian Po's business?"

The two looked at each other and smiled, Li Qingan held his shoulder and walked towards the camp.

"Does General Han have any opinions on the four new regulations I have issued?"

"The envoy is worthy of being a young soldier. He knows the suffering of soldiers. But isn't the envoy afraid of offending the officers?"

"There is no one who can offend people when doing things. However, soldiers can be promoted to officers, but it is difficult for officers to be demoted to soldiers. What does General Han think?"

"Haha! The envoy said something reasonable, but there are rules above and countermeasures below. The envoy's plan needs to be further refined."

"I know, first give my brothers a reassurance and boost morale. Let's defeat Gehu in one battle."

The elders of Gelulu brought new variables, and the result was beyond the expectation of trying to stab Heishan. Most of the elders of the tribe agreed with the prince's plan, asked for help from the Uighurs, forced the Tang army to retreat south, and then destroyed the Shatu tribe.

Although he himself did not agree with this plan, in order to win a certain position for his second son Sihan, he finally agreed to ask for help from the Uighurs and confront the Tang army.

Just as the Tang army in Beiting entered the Geluo-controlled land, 10,000 cavalry from the Uighur Bayegu tribe also crossed Jinshan and entered the Geluo-controlled land. At the same time, 20,000 cavalry of Geluo began to gather, and 30,000 Hu cavalry gathered east of Xuanchi, preparing to decide the victory and defeat with the Tang army in Beiting.

This is a medium-sized battle, just like Anxi vs. Tubo, Fanyang vs. Khitan, Jiannan vs. Nanzhao. This battle is also related to the national policy of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty is determined to restore the town of Shuye Army, and Geluo is also ambitious about Shuyechuan. As for the third party, Uighur, this is a cunning wolf. He is waiting for the opportunity. If possible, he will swallow Geluo and Beiting without hesitation.

But for Li Qing'an, this battle was no longer as simple as destroying Gelu's ambition to Saiye. His eyes were farther away. He stared at the vast land called Balkhash Lake in the Yibohai Basin, later generations.

After taking over the Balkhash Lake Basin, he stood on the roof of Central Asia, and Geluo was the biggest stumbling block on his way forward.

On the first day of May, after several days of rest, the vanguard of the Tang army arrived at the hinterland of Geluo, the upper reaches of the Doros River. The Doros River is today's Ertzis River. It is the junction of mountainous areas and grasslands. Most of them are low hills, with large dense forests, and in the distance are the dark Jinshan Mountains.

The vanguard of the Tang army had one thousand cavalry, composed of seven hundred Tang army cavalry and three hundred Shatuo cavalry. The main general was Nan Jiyun and a Shatuo general Zhu Xie Shengyi.

Zhu Xie is the clan name of the Shatu people, which is the homonym of Chuyue. Shatu people are also the Chuyue Turkic people, so Zhu Xie became the surname of the Shatu people aristocrats.

Zhu Xie Shengyi is the nephew of Shatuye Gugu Duzhi. He is about 30 years old this year. He is tall and powerful. He is one of the famous warriors of the Shatuo people. His 300 cavalrymen are also hunters who have been active in Jinshan for many years. They all have extremely rich experience in tracking wild beasts. Their mission is to find the main traces of the Geluo people.

Zhu Xie Shengyi has a little understanding of Chinese, but is not very proficient. Many of his communication with Nan Jiyun must be achieved through continuous comparison and strokes.

"General Nan, we can reach the water along the river."

Zhu Xie Shengyi gestured for a moment, letting Nan Jiyun understand that he was talking about a big lake and the core area of ​​Geluo: Xuanchi.

Nan Jiyun understood what he meant and smiled and said, "The Geluo people are not flocks. Let us enter his circle. I guess they will meet their brigade halfway."

Zhu Xie Shengyi waved his big sword and made a slashing posture, saying, "Does General Nan mean to fight with the Geluo people?"

"Not necessarily, we fight if there are fewer people, and we evacuate if there are many people."

As soon as he finished speaking, several Shatu people rushed from the front. They pointed to the mountains in the distance and said something excitedly in Turkic words.

"What did they say?" Nan Jiyun couldn't understand Turkic words.

Zhu Xie Shengyi was also excited and stammered: "They said they found many people in the mountains, as if they were women and children."

Unable to give orders from Nan Jiyun, the excited Shatuo people had already urged their horses to run towards the mountains.

"General, go quickly! It's too late, but there's nothing left." Zhu Xie Shengyi urged his horse and followed him to chase him.

For a moment, except for the Tang army, the Shatuo cavalry had disappeared. Nan Jiyun shouted so hard that he had to wave to the Tang army, "Everyone keep up, pay attention to the enemy ambush, and follow my orders!"

The Tang army turned their horses and rushed up a hill, and rushed north along the footsteps of the Shatuo people. They first rushed upstream and found a shallow bay that flowed through the river. They ran for more than 30 miles, getting closer and closer to the huge mountain. In front of them was a wide valley, which seemed to cut the mountain open, forming a deep valley about two miles wide. The forests were lush and covered with towering trees. The trees were projected at the entrance of the valley, blocking the sunlight, making this area quite gloomy. The cool breeze was blowing, and several streams flowed out of the valley and formed a small river, flowing all the way to the Doluo River in the south.

"General, there is blood in the water!"

A Tang army discovered blood in the stream. Nan Jiyun suddenly looked up at the mouth of the valley, and a sense of ominousness arose in his heart. It is very likely that Shatuo was ambushed.

"Roar in!"

At the command of Nan Jiyun, water splashed everywhere. Seven hundred Tang army cavalry urged their horses to rush into the valley. The valley was very deep. After walking three miles, they heard a shout of killing in front of them. After walking around a bend, the valley suddenly became wide. A tragic scene appeared in front of the Tang army. They were all seen with corpses of Shatuo people, with broken limbs and broken arms, and blood flowed into a river. Most of the corpses were filled with arrows, indicating that they had been ambushed.

Not far away, hundreds of cavalrymen fought together. Zhu Xie Shengyi was wearing two arrows and was struggling to fight. He was surrounded by more than a dozen Geluo people, with only half of the three hundred Shatuo cavalry left, and there were not many Geluo people, at most two or three hundred. The successful ambush gave them the upper hand.

Gelulu was like a crazy tiger, and he tried his best to stop Shatu from invading into the valley, "Kill!"

Nan Jiyun shouted, the Tang cavalry swept up, arrows swept up like dense rain, spears waving and horizontal swords slashing. The Tang army had extremely high combat power. Not only was he well-trained, but he was also extremely well-equipped, with powerful bows and arrows, sharp spears, sharp horizontal swords, and strong bright light armor. In comparison, the equipment of the Gelulu people was much inferior. Generally, the Gelu people did not have armor, their weapons were simple, and their bows and arrows were also self-made. They were herders in normal times and were soldiers in wartime.

But this group of Geluo people is relatively well-equipped. They all have unified leather armor, and their clothes are the same. They seem to be guards of some nobleman.

The battle situation of the Tang army's entry was reversed, and more than 200 Geluo people were unable to resist. Under the sharp attack of the Tang army, most of them were killed in a moment. The remaining dozens of people fought and retreated, and were eventually swallowed up by the Tang army's powerful rain of arrows.

The valley finally became quiet. This flat land of more than ten acres was covered with corpses everywhere. More than a dozen injured and undead Geluo people were chopped off by the hated Shatuo people, and the last scream in the valley.

The remaining Shatu people rushed into the valley.

Zhu Xie Shengyi was shot in two arrows, but neither was the point. Although he was exhausted, he still rushed into the valley with his subordinates. The Tang army also accelerated the horse and followed him in.

The valley was much deeper than I thought, and it became wider and wider, as if it was a paradise. When they rushed to a pass, their eyes suddenly lit up. They saw that the valley was more than ten miles wide, with a wide terrain. There was a lake in the middle, surrounded by dense trees, and hundreds of tents were stationed on several open spaces by the lake. Most of the tents were of good texture and mixed with a few colorful tents. This was a tent owned by the Sogdian nobles.

Nan Jiyun suddenly understood, no wonder the Shatuo people were extremely excited. They really had a sharp eye and found that this was the place where the Geluo people were nobles.

He looked up at the top of his head, and there were cliffs around him. It was estimated that the Shatu Hunter discovered the Gloru man hiding in the deep valley from above.

At this time, he had no time to think about it. The Shatu people rushed into the recent camp like a pack of wolves and began to rape and plunder. The screams of women, the cry of children, the rebukes and screams of the elderly, resounded one after another, resounding throughout the valley.

Nan Jiyun shouted angrily: "Go and stop them, and do not kill women and children indiscriminately!"

The Tang army drove their horses into the camp. They had a large number of troops and soon stopped the Shatuo people's killing. Dozens of Shatuo cavalry wanted to rush into another camp, but were blocked by more than 200 Tang soldiers.

"My general has an order to not privately plunder property!"

The Shatuo people suddenly started to clamor. Zhu Xie Shengyi was furious and waved his sword and shouted: "Why are we dying about our lives? Isn't it just to steal women and property?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an arrow roared over his face and nailed it to the big tree. Zhu Xie Shengyi was speechless.

Nan Jiyun slowly stepped forward with a bow and said, "I have to listen to me if I save your lives."

He waved his hand and ordered his subordinates: "Turn everyone out of the tent, take away the property, and anyone who dares to resist will be killed, regardless of gender."

After saying that, he said to the resentful Shatuo people: "The Tang army has strict military discipline and must not kill innocent people indiscriminately, nor must they rape women. All the property, women and children will be brought back to the camp. What should be done? According to the Tang law, it is yours. My envoy will reward you. If you have any words, those who dare to violate the military law will be killed by Shatuo, no matter what the Tang army, they will be killed."

A translator said loudly again in Turkic language. Zhu Xie Shengyi did not dare to offend the Tang army. Seeing that there was no hope of robbery, he had to sit down depressedly and ordered someone to bandage his wounds. The Shatuo people were also deflated and looked at the Tang army collecting money and arresting women. They did not understand the military discipline. In their opinion, the Tang army was eating alone and had no share.

"General, come quickly!"

A soldier ran to Nan Jiyun and whispered a few words. Nan Jiyun was surprised and followed him into the largest tent. The tent was magnificent and covered with precious carpets, and various gold objects could be seen everywhere.

More than a dozen charming young women squatted in a corner in horror, and several Tang soldiers guarded them. A woman dressed in the same charm was brought up, and it was obvious that she was a Han Chinese.

She knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, "Please spare us."
To be continued...