Chapter 377 Intelligence comes first

Just as the Tang army was preparing for the war in full swing, the scouts they sent had already penetrated into Tochar, Xinde and Punjab.

The continuous Hindu Kush Mountains lie in the eastern part of Tochar, from south to north, turning Tochar into two parts. The west is a relatively flat plateau area and a place where the Great Yuezhi people live. Historically, the Kushan Empire once created a brilliant civilization there.

With the decline of the Kushan Empire, it was finally destroyed by the poor people. It has been divided into countless small countries. Like the Sogdian countries, they lived between the Arab Empire and the Tang Empire. Decades ago, the Arab Empire began its war of eastward expansion, and countless small Tocharis countries were conquered by the Arabs and became its vassal states. The Arabs soon discovered silver mines here, and this place became an important place for Arab silver.

The discovery of the silver mine further aroused the Arab desire to invade east. They were blocked by the Hindu Kush Mountains and could not enter the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, so they turned around and expanded south. The iron hooves conquered by the Arabs all the way to India. After decades of conquest, they gradually occupied the northwestern part of India, namely the Sindh and the Punjab region, spreading Islam there, but robbed countless food and wealth from there.

Decades have passed. With the rise of the Tang Dynasty's strength in the Western Regions, the two empires inevitably collided again and again. This time, the tentacles of the Tang Empire also extended into Tochar and Xinde.

In the early morning, a team of more than thirty cavalry ran along the banks of the Xindu River. White mist enveloped the fertile and vast land. Large forests could be seen everywhere in the distance. There were dense villages around the forest. In the morning mist, the hardworking people had already started a day's work on both sides of the Xindu River. They were all Rajiputs, who were originally the owners of this land, but now their country has been destroyed, and the Rajiputs have become servants of the great cannibals. They lived under the pressure of the Great Food Governor, and like ants, they produced countless wealth with their hands, handed to their masters, and were sent to the distant Damascus.

The banks of the Xindu River are filled with women who wash their mornings. The climate here is hot, and clothes are washed every day to wash away sweat stains. Therefore, washing clothes every morning has become the most important housework for local women. The customs here are rough, and women cannot withstand the heat from time to time, so they take off their clothes and take a shower with the river water.

The laughter and noise of the virgins not far away reached the ears of the cavalrymen, making many young cavalry itchy. At this time, a cavalry smiled at a young officer and said, "He Yan Lushou, our clothes are soaked in sweat inside and outside. Why not go to the river to wash them! Anyway, the weather is hot, and when the sun comes out, it will dry soon."

The captain of He Yan's school is named He Yansi, and is the son of general He Yan Yurun. He is only eighteen years old this year, but he has been in the army for two years and has been promoted to brigade commander. This time, Li Qing'an sent ten scouts to Xinde to investigate the information. The scouts led by He Yansi are one of them.

In order not to arouse suspicion, they all changed into the costumes of the Sindhi Servant Army. The Sindhi Servant Army is an army composed of the local Rajiput people. Dashi currently has only more than 10,000 regular troops in Shinde and Punjab. In order to effectively rule this vast land, Dashi recruited 100,000 troops from the Rajiput people, and used this army as the backbone to continue to expand to India. Since this army was despised by the local people, the locals despise this army as the Sindhi Servant Army.

He Yansi was a serious and serious young general. In addition to inheriting his father's extremely burly figure, he also had the carefulness and shrewdness that his father lacked. He participated in the scouts, which was the most demanding but also the highest-ranking military branch in the Anxi Army, and even surpassed the Modao Army. It was only because their commander Li Qing'an was born in the scouts. Therefore, the scouts were also the military branch that countless soldiers yearned for. Not only had to go through strict selection, but also had to go through one year of hard training in Ningyuan Kingdom to become a scouts.

So in a sense, the scouts are also the special forces of the Anxi Army. Many difficult tasks are often taken up by the scouts. Reconnaissance is only one aspect. Surprise attacks, assassinations and other special tasks are completed by the scouts.

The scout team led by He Yansi set out from Wuyun Castle, crossed the Wakhan Valley more than 800 miles, entered the Xindu River basin from Jiantuluo, and then went south along the Xindu River, gradually deepening into the Sindhi area occupied by the cannibals. At this time, they had already penetrated Sindhi more than 600 miles, and a hundred miles ahead was Shabro, the capital of Sindhi.

At this time, He Yansi glanced at the joking soldier and said coldly in Tochari: "I have said that you are not allowed to speak Chinese, this will harm our survival. I will say one thing to you at the end, don't speak Chinese, have you heard it?"

The soldier was so scared that he lowered his head and did not dare to say another word. He Yansi said to everyone again: "I know everyone is very tired, but we must find the main grain warehouse of the Great Cannibal as soon as possible. This is our mission. Now the main force of the Tang army should have set off. Time is very tight. I hope the general can overcome the fatigue and complete the task as soon as possible."

Everyone agreed, and He Yansi nodded, "Okay, let's continue to rush to rest at noon."

At this time, a large group of women holding water jugs came towards him. They suddenly saw the cavalry and shouted together. These women were very fierce. They put down the water jugs, picked up stones from the ground and smashed them hard. The scouts were caught off guard, and many people were hit by the stones. One scout was furious and drew his sword to kill. He Yansi shouted angrily: "Luo Qi, don't be troublesome!"

He grabbed the war horses and rushed away. The scouts followed He Yansi and ran away in an instant. The women pointed at their backs and slapped at them and spitted on the ground.

This is not the first time they have encountered it. The Sindhi Servant Army has a very bad reputation among the local people. Not to mention that they have been accomplices of the tiger, they have helped the great cannibals suppress their compatriots and attacked various countries in India. Moreover, this army has very poor military disciplines, such as eating, drinking, gambling, stealing and adultery, and often happen. The great cannibals do not care about it, and even deliberately indulge them, so that the locals' anger will be vented on this army, thereby diverting the people's opposition.

The Tang army scouts ran for more than an hour, and the war horses began to be exhausted. They also slowed down and searched for land to rest. They found a forest and entered the forest to get horses to rest. More than thirty Tang army scouts lay all over the ground, chewing dry cakes and beef, while the horses placed on a grass, eating grass quietly.

It was August, and the climate here was extremely stuffy, and people seemed to live in a steamer. There was wind blowing when riding on horses, but after sitting down, they were sweating profusely.

"Damn it, this ghost place is so hot that I can settle here. Even if I give me ten acres of land, I won't do it."

One soldier complained that his clothes were soaked in sweat again and again, just like they had been salted. Not only him, but everyone was like this. Many people were very tired and too lazy to talk. Another older soldier smiled and said, "Actually, farmers like this climate the most. Look, we have only rained for more than ten days, and the land is fertile and the water is sufficient. In addition, the weather is hot, so this kind of grain can be produced with high yields. I estimate that it can be harvested for two seasons a year, so there is no problem here."

"No wonder! I got two million stones of grain from here last year, and this place is simply a grain warehouse."

Seeing that He Yansi had been thinking and silent, the commander Luo Qi asked with a smile: "Lu Zheng, what are you thinking?"

He Yansi raised his head and asked everyone, "Tell me, why do the Sindhi people hate their army so much?"

"Brigsman, you're wrong. This is not their army, this is a great cannibal army. Their own country has perished. Where can there be any army?"

"It cannot be said that. They are now all the people of the Caliphate Caliphate, so the army of Sindhi is naturally their army. Perhaps it is because of the poor military discipline and people everywhere, so they are hated."

"Can those women take a bath in the river without being harassed? To be honest, I really want to give their army some more illusions."

"Haha! Forget it! Those women are like wolves and tigers, rushing up and throwing you into the river. The romantic ghost has not been made, but has turned into a water ghost."

Everyone was most interested in this topic and immediately started talking about it. He Yansi did not interfere with them. As long as they did not speak Chinese and did not reveal their identity, it would be fine.

At this moment, a sharp whistle came from outside the woods. This was a signal from the sentry outside. Something happened. Everyone immediately jumped up from the ground, led the war horse, and flew onto the horse together.

"What's wrong?" He Yansi asked in a low voice.

A sentry rushed forward and said, "An army came, about three thousand people."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone outside shouting loudly, as if he had discovered them, but the other party was speaking local language, which no one could understand.

He Yansi said to everyone: "Don't panic, hide the crossbow and deal with me."

He rode out of the woods and saw an army of more than a thousand people lying all over the ground outside. They were also resting here. More than a dozen officers were about to enter the woods, but they found them.

The uniforms worn by this army are the same as those of scouts, but the colors are slightly different. They are all servants, so naturally they don’t have any armor. They are all wearing long robes, a cloth belt around their waists, and a strap around their heads, just like wearing a disc and leggings on their legs. In fact, they are no different from ordinary people’s outfits, just a scimitar is inserted between their waists, and some soldiers carry simple bows and arrows, that’s all.

However, this army seemed pretty good, with more than 200 war horses, and at least one adult of the soldiers was wearing shoes. Unlike the other troops they saw, they were barefoot, and even the officers were no exception.

Although the military uniforms were similar, they looked very different. Most of these Xinde soldiers had big beards, and each of them had similar appearances, which made it difficult to distinguish. Half of the scouts did not have beards.

An officer looked up and down at them and suddenly changed to Tocharis and asked, "Where are your troops?"

He saw that He Yansi was not a Rajipute, but a bit like the Tocharis in the north. In fact, He Yansi was an Anxiwusun. Except for the commander of the squad, Luo Qi, who was a Han, the rest of the scout team were all Anxiwusun or Tuqi Shiren. This Xinde army was short-sighted and did not look like them, and that was the Tocharis.

He Yansi nodded and said, "We are from Kabul and are ordered to send a letter to Governor Xinde."

The officer smiled and said, "I'm afraid your letter won't be delivered."

"Why?" He Yansi was stunned.

"The Governor is not in Faith, but in Punjab!"

"Then I can send the letter to the people of the Governor's Office and pass it on to them, and I do not have to meet the Governor himself."

"That's true, why didn't I expect it?"

The weather was too hot, and the officer's IQ had obviously decreased. He had no doubts about He Yansi and the others, so he warmly invited him: "Let's go to Shabro and go with us! You are too few people and surrounded by the angry villagers, but you will die."

He admired He Yansi, a big man, very much, and was one head taller than him. He stood on tiptoe and compared He Yansi's height, and praised him: "It's really rare for you guy to grow up so big!"

He Yansi was suffering from nowhere to get information. Since the other party took the initiative to invite him, he was not polite and said happily: "Okay then! Let's go with you."

After a while, the army began to set off. The scouts were mixed among them and formed a team. The officer was very interested in He Yansi and urged him to go forward and walk side by side with him.

"My name is Sumaluo, what's your name?"

"My name is Yansi, the guardian."

"Haha! I have been to Guardian. There are all mountain gorges there, but the people there are short and black, not as tall as you, not one, all of them are as close as my waist, like a monkey."

He Yansi smiled again and said, "My father is from Anxi Shule, a businessman. He married four wives in Humi and settled there."

"Shule is a good place! I heard that everyone there is rich and rich. Ordinary families wear silk and porcelain. Only landlords and the best in the city can afford it. My wife wanted me to buy silk for her. She has been talking for twenty years, but she hasn't seen the shadow of silk."

He Yansi took out a piece of silk from the horse bag and handed it to him and smiled: "This is what our king rewards me, I'll give it to you!"

Sumalu took the silk handful and gently stroked it, his eyes shining brightly, "Brother, are you really willing to give it to me?"

"Anyway, the king will reward me again after I go back, so I will give it to you. Let's make friends."

"What a good brother!"

Su Maluo smiled happily. He was afraid that He Yansi would regret it, so he hurriedly stuffed the silk into his arms and said with a smile: "It's a pity for my wife to give this silk. I can use it to marry another young and beautiful one."

He Yansi smiled and asked, "I heard you just now that we will be beaten to death by angry villagers. Will the villagers here hate those who are in the army so much?"

"It wasn't that serious before, it was the beginning of this month."

He looked around and lowered his voice, "There may be a riot."

"Why?"

"Shh! Speak quietly, don't let people hear it."

He whispered: "The Arabs originally promised that after converting to Allah, they could enjoy the return annuity like Arab Muslims, and they would not have to pay taxes anymore. They would start to enjoy it next year. However, last month, the Governor suddenly announced that he would cancel this promise and pay taxes as well as converting to Muslims. If he did not convert to Muslims, he would have to pay double taxes. This aroused strong dissatisfaction among the people. He heard that trouble had begun in Punjab, so the Governor went there."

"Are you going to Shabro to suppress the riot?"
Chapter completed!