Although Yan Yunyun heard a lot from Hao Xiuyang, he still didn't understand why Wang Division's troops failed to cover the Hehuang area.
After crossing the Qilian Mountains, she finally understood it through personal experience.
To put it simply, in order to open up the land of Hehuang, Zhao Song went through the three dynasties of Shenzong, Zhezong and Huizong, which took thirty-two years, but was not successful in the end.
The higher you go, the colder you go, and the wilderness is uninhabited.
"No wonder His Majesty calls this place the 'Qinghai-Tibet Plateau'. Is this the plateau?" Yan Yunyun could breathe out a breath of white air as he spoke.
"Where are we now?"
Hao Xiuyang shook his head to show his disdain for the current "high" and said: "It's not far past Xining Prefecture. Only when we get to the front, past Riyue Mountain, will the scenery be completely different."
Yan Yunyun knew about Riyue Mountain, but had never seen it with his own eyes. After all, it was difficult to imagine what the so-called different scenery was like.
After saying these few words, the two of them became even more out of breath, so they closed their mouths and continued walking.
There were only more than 600 people in their team, and most of them were cavalry under Li Bing's command.
These cavalry were familiar with the terrain and experienced battles, so they were able to escort important officials in the mission to escape from the battlefield.
But the road to the east has been blocked, so we can only continue traveling westward.
We haven't discussed where to go yet, we need to wait until we are completely out of danger.
The horses were extremely tired after running wildly, so everyone dismounted and walked holding the reins.
Yan Yunyun was also extremely tired and his calves were shaking. He wished he could stop immediately and lie down on the ground.
But she was the one with the highest official position in the team, and she didn't want to be looked down upon, so she could only grit her teeth and persist. Han Wufei tried to help him, but she pushed him away.
Finally, Li Bing spoke.
"Ahead is Dangar City! That's the territory of the Tibetan people. Now that the Yuan army is chasing us, I'm worried that the Tibetan people will betray us and it's not advisable to go there. We can rest on the mountainside for a night and go around Dangar City in the early morning.
!」
The same is true for them who dare not enter Xining Prefecture.
Yan Yunyun originally wanted to trade with the Tibetan people in Xining Prefecture. It was okay to have a strong national power behind him. But once the Yuan army appeared behind him, it would be unsafe to go there rashly.
"And after that?"
"Further ahead there is a huge lake, which the locals call 'Cowenbu', which means blue sea..."
Yan Yunyun and Hao Xiuyang looked at each other and both thought of "Qinghai" named by Li Xia.
Just listen to Li Bing continue: "There is a tribe by the lake who is very friendly to us. We rested for two days, and then headed northeast over the Qilian Mountains and returned to Gansu."
At this point, he clasped his fists again and said, "My dear sirs, Taoist Master, please rest assured that the general will be able to escort you back safely."
Hao Xiuyang did not panic from beginning to end, stroking his beard and nodding to show his encouragement to the young general.
Yan Yunyun had a stern face, he didn't know what he was thinking, and seemed difficult to get along with.
...
They didn't bring much luggage, so they sat in the mountains and forests after nightfall, shivering in the cold.
"Taoist Master Hao is open-minded, and he can be calm even if his great achievements are lost."
"Otherwise, what can we do?" Hao Xiuyang said: "You have also seen the landforms of Hehuang. Even when Mongolia was at its peak, Kuoduan did not dare to send troops. We have no soldiers and horses here, only a few hundred people. What can we do?
.”
Yan Yunyun asked: "Then why does Mr. Hao think the Yuan army came?"
"I must have heard that Pindao was about to convince Chana Dorje with his profound Taoist teachings, so I quickly dispatched troops and generals to surround Pindao."
Because he did not expect Hao Xiuyang to say such words, Yan Yunyun's tone was stagnant.
After a moment of silence, the atmosphere became a little more serious.
"It should not be difficult to guess that among the Yuan army, Basiba is among them." Yan Yunyun said, "Only Basiba deserves to be escorted by the Yuan army like this."
Hao Xiuyang, who was sitting cross-legged, closed his eyes and counted with his fingers, not knowing what he was counting.
Yan Yunyun asked again: "Master Hao, don't you have the confidence to face Pasiba?"
Hao Xiuyang sighed slightly and said slowly: "I have to say something from the bottom of my heart."
"good."
"The Quanzhen Sect in the North is at its peak and famous. Li Zhichang and Zhang Zhijing are not profound people in Taoism. Didn't they lose to Pasiba in the debate between Buddhism and Taoism? As for Pindao, how big was he in Qingfu County?
Shanmen? He is just a low-level Taoist priest who happens to have two hands of gunpowder and is valued by His Majesty."
When Hao Xiuyang finished speaking, he waved his hand and sighed: "You are not a cultivator, so you don't understand. In short, the poor Taoist has insufficient cultivation. Now that Pasiba has come, the Tubo incident, the poor Tao... has failed."
.”
He once traveled westward, traveling thousands of miles back and forth, and came back in high spirits.
But at this moment, after taking off his disguise, he suddenly looked older.
Although Pasiba is very young, he is already a well-known master among practitioners; although Hao Xiuyang is old, he is actually an old man who has done nothing.
Before they even met, Basiba's reputation had already defeated Hao Xiuyang's defenses.
"What are you afraid of?" Yan Yunyun suddenly said: "Do you know what I rely on most in my life?"
Hao Xiuyang counted with his fingers.
Yan Yunyun didn't wait for him to open his mouth and said some deceptive words, and said directly: "I believe that I can do everything I do because His Majesty values me."
It was very cold, so cold that people seemed to be frozen into ice.
But Yan Yunyun raised his head proudly.
"I am a prostitute, but His Majesty just values me, uses me to do things, and uses me to shoulder important responsibilities. Even I dare to touch Jia Sidao, but so what if I can't touch him? Your Majesty did not blame me, teach me what to do next time,
Even if one day I fight Jia Sidao again, I will definitely defeat him. The whole city of Chang'an is scolding me, so what?"
At this point, she sniffed.
"Your Majesty values me enough to make me proud of all the heroes in the world."
Hao Xiuyang opened his eyes and didn't know what he was thinking.
"I want to kill Basiba." Yan Yunyun said: "Meng Yuan spent a lot of effort to send Basiba back to Tubo. I am lucky enough to meet him, how can I not kill him?"
"Good luck?" Hao Xiuyang asked with a smile while stroking his beard.
"Of course I'm lucky."
Yan Yunyun stood up, rubbed his hands and jumped on the ground.
"Do you know, Mr. Hao? Right now, in Liangzhou, Lanzhou, Xingqing Mansion, and Chang'an, how many civil servants and military generals are thinking, 'How great would it be if I could catch up with Pasiba'?"
"Hahahaha." Hao Xiuyang laughed, already understanding the meaning of Yan Yunyun's words.
"Pasiba is the Mongolian master of the Tubo Buddhist sect."
"That's right. The world is like a chess game. I'm afraid the chess eye in this game will only fall on this person."
"Now that we have encountered it, how can we let it go?"
"No wonder, no wonder, there are so many officials in the whole dynasty, but the head of the Household Department falls on a woman like you. Your ideas are really different from everyone else's."
Being in this plateau wilderness, it was cold, hungry, and full of dangers. Others only thought it was dangerous, but Yan Yunyun saw an opportunity.
Hao Xiuyang then felt that this is the difference between those who achieve great things and ordinary people...
Yan Yunyun had turned around and called Li Bing over.
"Li Utility, I have an idea. But you are the commander of this cavalry, and it is ultimately up to you to decide."
"Mr. Yan, please tell me."
"I suspect that Ba Siba, the Mongolian Yuan national counselor, is in the Yuan army in Xining Prefecture at this time. This person is crucial to the world situation. And it is not impossible for us to kill him, or even capture him."
At this point, Li Bing couldn't take it anymore.
"Mr. Yan, but I am just a prepared general, I..."
"God has given you a great opportunity. Why can't you accomplish something unparalleled?" Yan Yunyun actually took a step closer and looked directly into Li Bing's eyes.
"If this happens, you will be responsible for expanding the territory thousands of miles..."
Li Bing took a step back when Yan Yunyun looked at him. When he heard the words "the power of expanding the land thousands of miles", his fingers became numb.
"Please Mr. Yan
Order!"
His voice was a little trembling, but it was ringing.
Yan Yunyun nodded and said: "The Yuan army passed through Gansu and entered Qinghai. They must have felt that it would be safe to leave our border and enter Tubo. They would not think that we defeated remnants and would ambush them. But in fact
What? We guessed their purpose, knew their route, and also knew the important people in their team..."
She talked for a long time, and finally looked at Hao Xiuyang solemnly, and then at Li Bing.
"Now, we are the ones hunting..."
~~
The name "Xining" was given by the Song Dynasty court.
Compared with the names given by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, such as Zhangye, which "stretches the arms of Zhang Guo to connect the Western Regions", and Wuwei, which "exhibits the military power of the Han Dynasty", the names given by the Song court seem to show a faint sense of exhaustion.
It's like saying, "I'm tired, I can't move anymore, I hope the west can be more peaceful." In fact, Xining is not far from the Qilian Mountains, and the distance to Kaifeng is closer than Liangzhou to Kaifeng.
After Mongolia occupied Xining Prefecture, Genghis Khan assigned Xining Prefecture to Chigu Prince-in-law as a fief.
More than thirty years have passed, and now in Xining Prefecture is Zhang Ji, the grandson of Chigu's Prince Consort.
They are the descendants of Genghis Khan's father-in-law Teshechan, and have been married to the Golden Family for generations.
During the more than thirty years they have been in Xining Prefecture, they have already integrated with the local Tibetan people and have many other characteristics, such as being indifferent to riding and shooting and advocating Buddhism.
At least when Li Xia successively annexed Longxi and the Hexi Corridor, Zhang Ji's consort did not send troops to attack Li Xia.
Of course, he may not be able to recruit the few herdsmen in Xining Prefecture to form an army.
Anyway, Li Xia has never sent troops to Xining Prefecture, and he will be peaceful as long as he can.
Another very important point is... in Zhang Ji's eyes, it has not yet been decided who the Great Khan of Mongolia will be.
In the end, if he wanted to consecrate Xili Ji from Liupan Mountain as the Great Khan, it was not that Zhang Ji couldn't agree. In short, he didn't think about it carefully and just planned to take it one step at a time.
When the Yuan army entered Xining Prefecture, Zhang Ji's consort met him at the city gate and saw the figure sitting on an ox horse.
Suddenly, his spirit perked up and he finally became enthusiastic. He clasped his hands together and bowed devoutly.
At this moment, no one in Qinghai could tell whether Mongolia conquered Tubo or Tubo conquered Mongolia.
But their beliefs have been integrated and can even be embodied in a certain person.
"It's the Holy One! The Holy One! The Holy One is here..."