On the sixteenth day of May in the seventh year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty, on the outskirts of Chang'an.
It had just rained lightly the day before, but this day the sky was clear and the air was fresh.
The large group of people was ready for the long journey. The emperor's guard of honor was lined up on the official road, and the flags of the sun, moon and stars were flying high above the group.
The team of thousands of people was in good order.
Except for some carriages carrying various baggage, everyone else was riding on horseback.
The founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty had his own style. Most of his travels were on horseback. What he wanted was a quick way to come and go. As for chariots, umbrella covers, accompanying ceremonial guards, etc., the simpler the better.
It was only in the sixth year of Yuanzhen that the tour to Luoyang was more formal. The journey from Chang'an to Luoyang was so short, but it took a long time to get there.
This northern patrol will definitely not follow the same pattern as that time. Li Po also plans to go back quickly. There are still many things waiting for him to do.
In April of this year, the mobilization of soldiers and horses from various parts of the Tang Dynasty had actually begun.
In addition to the troops stationed at the northern border, the cavalry that had been stationed in South Hebei Province was divided into 10,000 people, led by the right imperial guard general Wei Chikai, and transferred to Liangzhou. Together with the left Xiaowei general Zhang Shigui, he returned to the left
It is under the command of General Zhang Lun of Yiwei.
General You Yiwei and the general manager of Kuizhou, Yu Wenhuo, resigned from his post as the general manager of Kuizhou and led an army of five thousand out of Shuofang.
Li Wu, the general manager of Liangzhou, resigned as the general manager of Liangzhou and led an army of 5,000 men to station in Longyou.
He ordered Ashina Danai, Hou Junji, Xiao Siye, Pei Xingyan and others to lead the troops and follow the Emperor Hu to the north.
In May, elite soldiers and generals gathered in Guanxi, Hexi, Lingzhou, Shuofang, Yulin and other places one after another, bringing a strong atmosphere of war.
The Hebei side was further away. When Li Po set off from Chang'an, Yuchi Kai and his 10,000 elite cavalry arrived at Tongguan.
Since the Tang Dynasty wiped out the princes in the third year of Yuanzhen, this was the second large-scale mobilization of cavalry. The last time Zhang Lun led Xu Shiji, Xiao Siye, Chen Li and others to fight against the Tubo cavalry that invaded Liangzhou.
It can be said that the infantry units stationed in Guanxi, Hexi, Northwest and other places add up to more than 100,000 troops, which is not a lot, because to defend the capital Chang'an, a standing army of more than 100,000 people can only be regarded as the basic strength.
The back-up Zhe Chongfu is the big one.
Now, with the incoming Yuchi Kai's troops, the number of cavalry troops gathered in the west has exceeded 30,000, which is a number that can carry out a large-scale battle at any time.
At this time, there is no need to ask why the army should be gathered in the west. After the war in the East China Sea is over, the Turkic Royal Court is interested in the Western Regions, and the Tang Dynasty will inevitably respond accordingly and be ready for a war at any time.
As for what kind of war it will be, it depends on the outcome of the alliance. Whether it is to consolidate the borders of the Hexi region, or to cooperate with the Turkic royal court, enter the Western Regions to fight, and take the opportunity to cut off a buffer zone from the Western Regions. These are all possible.
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On the outskirts of Chang'an, the summer breeze blows slowly.
Queen Li Bi took the concubines in the palace and the ministers who stayed behind to see the emperor and his party off.
Li Po didn't feel any reluctance at all, but was in a very good mood. For him, every trip was precious.
People think that all the great rivers and mountains belong to the emperor, but anyone who has become an emperor knows how difficult it is to go out and see one's own property.
Li Bi is similar to him, and has nothing to be sentimental about. This is not the first time she has looked after her husband's house. She is very familiar with the process, and it is actually a very good thing for her to enjoy the feeling of being in power.
But in public, the couple couldn't seem too happy. According to the rules, Li Bi served three glasses of farewell wine to her husband, and Li Po took them and drank them one after another.
Seeing his wife's awkward look of wanting to laugh but trying to squeeze out a few tears, he already burst into laughter. He patted his wife on the shoulder and said, "I'll leave everything to you in junior high school."
Discuss with others more often, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and don’t always make your own decisions.”
Li Bi nodded, looking like she was being taught, and said good things, "Husband, go and come back quickly. I just want to be safe in court, but I still need my husband to come back to make decisions on important matters."
In fact, what needs to be said has been said long ago. After a few words, the husband and wife cherished each other.
Li Po gave some instructions to the three prime ministers, Xiao Yu, Wen Yanbo, and Fan Wenjin, then without saying another word, he got on his horse, and then, amid the respectful greetings of the ministers, the large group of people set off slowly with the sound of horns.
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The cavalry of four to five thousand people was very fast. They first reached Xinfeng in the northeast along the Weishui River without stopping here. Then they crossed the Weishui River and headed north into Wannian County.
The magistrate of Wannian County led the county officials, as well as the Sanyuan Li family, Chen family and other relatives to greet him on the north bank of the Weishui River.
Li Po gave them some face. On this day, the imperial driver stopped at the intersection of the Jingshui River and the Weishui River. Here he met with the county officials and talked with the Li family and the Chen family.
In response to their request, they selected a few pleasing young men from the tribe and took them with them to the north together.
This is to take care of the descendants. Wannian County is located in Guo, Chang'an, and there are still many big families. For example, Wannian's Wei family, Liu family, Yao family, etc. are all famous families in Guanxi, but they can't get Li.
Mr. Chen is treated like this.
The team set off again the next day, heading north along the Jing River. After half a day's journey, the team left the Jingzhao area and entered Beidi County.
The team followed the Jingshui River to the confluence of the Nishui River and the Jingshui River. The team turned around and headed north along the Nishui River. They rested for one night in Beidi County. The officials of Beidi County had already set up a tent to serve the emperor.
In fact, when we get here, the farmland becomes less and there are patches of pastures and forests.
The environment seemed pretty good, and there was no serious soil erosion like later. When the wind blew, everything was covered in gray dust.
However, the future of Kansai is basically irreversible. Because it is close to the capital, the dynasty only needs to carry out large-scale construction, build palaces, gardens, etc., and most of the raw materials such as wood are sourced nearby. If they are cut down from generation to generation, the future will not be good.
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On May 19th, people and horses entered Honghua County along the muddy water. Honghua County, Juncheng and Heshui City were at the intersection of Malingshui and muddy water.
The team stopped in Heshui City and rested for a day.
Li Po wandered around Heshui City for a while. It was basically a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral production system, and there were large areas of Gobi and hilly areas in the north of Honghua County.
This can be regarded as a natural barrier in the north of Chang'an. Hu people rarely choose the direction of Yulin when going south. This is because it is easy for the Qinwang's troops gathered to wait for work, and they are blocked in the Gobi Desert, unable to advance or retreat.
The team chose to rest in Heshui for a day because the road ahead would be very difficult. When the team left Heshui City and entered the Gobi hills, Li Po ate a lot of dirt along the way and couldn't help but feel that he wanted to.
The idea of building a chiroute to Shuofang and Yulin is very unreliable.
The natural environment is too harsh, and building the Chi Road will consume a lot of manpower and material resources. If this road is built, I don't know how many migrant workers will die.
It’s no wonder that the construction madman Yang Guang didn’t bother to build a road here, and if he built it too well, it’s hard to predict the consequences: whether it would be used by the Central Plains dynasty, or whether it would become a passage for the barbarians to go south.
It was a dusty journey all the way to Hongde. Everyone in the team had a long and close contact with the smoke and dust. They became gray and lost the bright appearance when they set off from Chang'an.
When Hongde left, the team had expanded to 6,000 people, and there were many more pack horses. The pack horses mainly carried water and food. In the next two or three days, the team only had sporadic opportunities to replenish water.
Hongde is at the intersection of the east and west rivers. The east and west rivers here are not Shuzhong, but two dry waterways. One river extends to the northwest and is called Xichuan by the locals. The other river goes north, which is
Dongchuan.
After leaving Hongde, the team marched along Dongchuan. The team hurriedly and slowly entered Yanchuan County. The surrounding area was already surrounded by arid Gobi, and there was no longer any green.
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The rumble of horse hooves resounded across the Gobi Desert, sending up smoke and dust all over the sky. The sun was always hanging in the sky, and no clouds could be seen.
The bodies of the men and horses were covered with a layer of dust.
Li Po's face had been covered with a cloth and he was riding forward in the queue.
"Your Majesty, we can reach Wuyuan tonight."
The speaker was Ma Jiulin, the governor of Yanchuan County. He knew at first glance that he was from a minority ethnic group, a descendant of the Huns. He had curly hair, a stout body, and a full beard. He looked more like a gangster than a court official.
It's just that people should not be judged by their appearance. He was just a well-educated civil servant. He was a subordinate of Li Daozong, the then general manager of Lingzhou. Later, he defected to the Tang Dynasty with Li Daozong and stayed in Lingzhou under the jurisdiction of Wang Xiongdan.
He played a great role in the various battles to annihilate Liang's capital, and later became the prefect of Yanchuan County with meritorious service. He was capable of both literary and military skills, and his merits were very solid.
This time the emperor visited the north, and he led the county officials to greet him at the junction of Yanchuan County and Honghua County.
When I saw him for the first time, he was trembling with fear that he would not serve him well and would remind the emperor that he was once a remnant of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty.
"Wuyuan is next to the Great Wall, right?"
Wuyuan is the county seat of Yanchuan County, and this man led the people to welcome them all the way away.
Ma Jiulin replied: "Your Majesty clearly knows that Wuyuan is inside the Great Wall and is the only way from Lingzhou to Shuofang."
Li Podao said: "Back then, the Western Turkic Khan Ashina Qiuluo led his army to invade Yulin and went to Lingzhou via Shuofang. They were going to Wuyuan, right? Where were you at that time?"
Ma Jiulin broke out in a cold sweat and felt that the head on his neck was a little unsteady, but he still replied honestly: "Reporting to your Majesty, I was guarding the city in Lingzhou at that time. When Ashina Qiuluo led his army, they were stationed outside the city.
A few days later, I saw that Lingzhou City was heavily defended and could not be easily defeated, so I led my army around the city and returned to the grassland."
Li Po smiled, his mouth full of earthy smell, he was too lazy to speak, so he just nodded, but it made Ma Jiulin worried all the way.
Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger, that's all.