Li Zhiyun held in his hand a list of generals going out for the expedition, which included Li Jing, Xu Shiji, Li Daoxuan, and eight deputy generals.
These eight people are Niu Jinda, Cheng Mingzhen, Zhang Shigui, Gao Yaxian, Xue Wanjun, Xue Wanche, Zhang Baoxiang and Wang Xuance.
Although the fate of many people has changed due to the emergence of Li Zhiyun, the truly talented people have not disappeared.
In the original history, Zhang Baoxiang captured Jie Li alive, but now, in his early years, he followed Li Jing and burned Jie Li alive on Baishan Mountain.
As for Wang Xuance, who destroyed an entire country by one man, he followed Li Zhiyun early. However, Li Zhiyun had never discovered this person before, let alone remembered him. It was not until Xuanzang went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures that Li Zhiyun heard Wang Xuance again and remembered him.
Who is.
Therefore, give them opportunities and promote them.
In addition to these people, there are also Li Daliang, Xue Wanshu, Cen Wenwen who are in Liangzhou, Su Lie who is in Gaochang, and Luo Shixin who is in Tuyuhun.
Although Li Zhiyun looked down on Tuyuhun this time, he attached great importance to it in his heart. As Li Jing said, the battle must be fought quickly and cannot be delayed.
The total strength of the Tang army was about 70,000. With the current national power of the Tang Dynasty, it would be easy to support 70,000 people to destroy a country.
What's more, these are not just 70,000 people. Not to mention the 20,000 frontier troops in Liangzhou, the 50,000 troops from Chang'an are truly elite, and everyone is armed to the teeth.
Such elites will not stand up to even a hundred thousand enemy troops.
Li Zhiyun slowly closed the list and let out a breath.
Forbearance is over, next comes revenge and the destruction of the country!
Tuyuhun.
Murong Shun was now very separated from Tuyuhun. He gathered all his troops in the main city of Mantou, always preparing to deal with the attack from Fu Yun.
With Luo Shixin by his side, he didn't panic at all.
On the other side, the envoy from Chang'an was meeting with Luo Shixin.
"Mr. Luo, congratulations."
"It's too early to say congratulations now." Luo Shixin closed the emperor's secret letter with a smile on his face, "Let's wait until we get it."
"yes."
"By the way, you've had a hard time traveling around, so you can rest in the city for two days, and I'll wait until I get back to you with a letter and submit it to Your Majesty."
"As commanded."
After the envoy went down, Luo Shixin walked back to his room and took up a pen to write down all the troop deployment conditions around Tuyuhun. During this period of time, he was not on vacation in Tuyuhun.
At the same time, Liangzhou.
"Hahahahaha!" A loud laugh came from the government office, causing the guards outside to look at each other in confusion.
In the hall, Li Daliang carefully placed the emperor's secret letter on the table, neatly and meticulously, as if the letter was like a treasure.
"It's finally here." He sighed with emotion, and then said to Cen Wen beside him: "Chang Shi, we have finally arrived."
Cen Wenwen was neither happy nor sad, and said calmly: "Before this, we have to find a good excuse to suppress Tuyuhun."
"Does the long history have any manuscripts?"
Cen Wenwen stood up, paced back and forth in the hall for a while, and said: "A few years ago, His Majesty already said that all the people of the Tang Dynasty are brothers and sisters of the Emperor, and there must be no mistake. Now that Tang merchants have disappeared in Tuyuhun, we request entry for search.
, I guess Tuyuhun had no excuse to refuse."
Li Daliang's eyes lit up, he rubbed his hands and said, "It's you who is the bad one. It's really bad."
Cen Wenwen twitched the corner of his mouth and coughed dryly, "This time we mobilize troops, we must strike first. We must not let General Su take the lead in attacking, otherwise Fu Yun will be afraid."
"This is the way it should be." Li Daliang said: "If General Su attacks Shanshan first and we take action next, Fu Yun will definitely think that we have been prepared. We should negotiate with Fu Yun first."
"Um."
Gaochang.
Su Lie carefully kept the secret message and called his personal guards.
"Go and ask General Zhang to come over and have a brief talk."
"yes."
Not long after, Zhang Xiong arrived.
Since Qu Wenhe's death, Zhang Xiong, with the help of Su Lie, has taken control of all the military power in Gaochang, and plays an important role in Gaochang's internal affairs.
"Why did Mr. Su call me?"
Su Lie was filled with righteous indignation and said: "Tyuhunda Yanmang's deception has gone too far. I have received accurate news that this thief robbed our people in Shanshan and ignored the majesty of His Majesty the Emperor. He deserves death for his crime. Please also ask General Zhang to lend some troops."
I'm going to go and hold this thief accountable!"
Hearing this, Zhang Xiong didn't even think about it, and said directly: "How many troops and horses Su Gong needs, please tell me directly."
Hearing this, Su Lie grinned.
"Not many, three thousand people are enough."
"Whenever Mr. Su wants it, I will give it to him." Zhang Xiong promised Su Lie generously.
In fact, Li Zhiyun didn't give his generals any excuses at all. Their excuses were all made up by themselves, and even sounded extremely perfunctory.
But, is this important?
unimportant!
What is diplomatic relations?
If I punch you, you have to slap me again.
Not convinced?
Hold it in!
Diplomatic relations, military first, courtesy second!
Not long ago, Su Lie led an army of five thousand light cavalry and headed for Shanshan. With Tang Shang as a guide and all kinds of dry food as supplies, Su Lie approached the city of Shanshan in just ten days.
The wind and sand pass by, and the shadow of the rider appears.
"General, in front of you is Shanshan Town, and in the back is its main city." Tang Shang covered his mouth and nose and pointed the way to Su Lie.
By the Qiemo River, Su Lie squinted to observe the terrain.
"This river flows through, with sand to the west and fields to the east. It is a treasure land."
Tang Shangdao: "Even so, we cannot grow the crops of the Tang Dynasty here. We can only grow some drought-resistant crops from the Western Regions. It is a pity."
"You know very well."
Tang Shang chuckled and said, "I am also a useful person."
Hearing this, Su Lie was thoughtful.
He knew very clearly the situation in the Western Regions, including the situation in Gaochang, and the fundamental reason was still the nine out of ten Tang merchants. These days, anyone who can afford large caravans, except those dignitaries in Chang'an, is die-hard loyal to the emperor.
, others can only eat some soup.
Therefore, no one knows how many agents under the imperial court are operating in the Western Regions.
"Let's go and find a place to camp first."
"yes."
Puchang Sea, also known as Lop Nur in later generations. Two large rivers originating from the mountains, the Kongque River and the Qiemo River, surround the Tarim Basin and flow into this lake.
Su Lie led his soldiers and horses to camp near the Puchang Sea, mainly for water.
In the Western Region, food comes second and water comes first!
There is no water, but it is very fatal.
After setting up camp, Su Lie began to observe the surrounding terrain. The map was sent by the emperor and was still too clear.
"Kunlun Mountains, Tianshan Mountains..." Looking at the large desert surrounded in the center on the map, Su Lie couldn't help but take a breath.
The miraculous craftsmanship of nature.
On this map, deserts, salt marshes, oases, lakes, rivers, cities, mountains, etc. are marked very clearly, and there are even subtle 'proportional' annotations.
"This is Shanshan County in the former Sui Dynasty."
Su Lie's eyes fell on Shanshan City, and then he saw the three surrounding cities of Qitun, Putao, and Dianhe.
"It's a pity that I'm the bait this time, otherwise I would definitely be able to capture this place." Su Lie said with a little pity, touching his chin.
These cities in the Western Region may seem difficult to attack, but in fact they can be easily captured as long as the city is besieged and the water supply is cut off.
However, to achieve this, huge logistical support is required.
"General, the merchant has brought special products from the Western Regions." A guard came in and brought a copper bowl containing a large amount of fruits from the Western Regions.
Su Lie glanced at them. Because of his experience living in Gaochang, he quickly recognized what these fruits were.
"Fragrant pears, white apricots, grapes..."
As expected, he is a businessman and is good at business and research.