Liu Xin stayed in Xicheng for three days. During these three days, he not only went to the market but also had banquets in the palace. In fact, Liu Xin's life was like this in the previous countries. There was no difference in the eyes of others, but now he His mood was different. He was anxiously waiting for Huang Zhong's arrival.
When Liu Xin left Muni City, Huang Zhong had already arrived there, but it was impossible for Huang Zhong to come so quickly because he still had many things to do along the way. He needed to wipe out the local gangs and choose a suitable place to set up a permanent base. The military camp needs to negotiate defense with the countries along the way, so the speed cannot be increased. Liu Xin also knows very well that these things cannot be rushed, so he did not send anyone to rush Huang Zhong. He believed that Huang Zhong would do things in a measured manner.
Three days passed without Huang Zhong, but another person came. This person was the King of Pishan, Sa'adin. Pishan is a small country between Khotan and Yarkand. This country is really too small, with a population of only three thousand. Even King Lanfeng of Dayuan looked down on small countries, so he only contacted the three countries of Shule, Yarkand and Khotan, but bypassed Pishan because Pishan was too small and could be annexed by neighboring countries at any time. Maybe that's why Sa'adin hopes to have a strong backer, and the Protectorate of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty is suspected to be the best backer.
Hearing that Liu Xin had arrived in Xicheng, Saadin, who was already waiting impatiently in Pishan, took the initiative to ask for a visit.
Liu Xin naturally welcomed Sa'addin's arrival and cordially received him in the Khotan palace. He also presented him with a large amount of silk and white porcelain. The specifications were no less than the gifts given to the king of Khotan to present elephants. Liu Xin wanted to make all the countries in the Western Regions I know that he will treat anyone who takes the initiative to vote in a different light [
Another day later, Huang Zhong finally arrived in Xicheng. Along with Huang Zhong, there were 55,000 soldiers of the Fifth Army of the Han Dynasty, plus 15,000 people around Liu Xin. Now the strength of the Fifth Army had been assembled in Khotan. It has reached 70,000 people, and more importantly, all 10,000 cavalrymen of the Fifth Army have arrived here. The most important thing about fighting in the desert is that these cavalrymen and even the gangs running rampant everywhere are horse bandits, so it is not so much Liu Xin. He had been waiting for Huang Zhong's large group of troops. It would be better to say that he was waiting for Huang Zhong's five thousand cavalry.
Of course, it is impossible for so many troops to rush into the west city at once. Instead, they set up dozens of camps ten miles east of the city. Huang Zhong only brought dozens of soldiers into the city to pay homage to Liu Xin, not even some of the generals in the army. accompanying
Liu Xin met Huang Zhong in the side hall where he was staying temporarily. Those present included Jia Xu, Dian Wei and Wei Yan, but no one else. Liu Xin briefly introduced the situation and told the horse bandit Han Bian Yun that he was ready to make a move. Everybody
Huang Zhong cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I will lead an elite army to attack Guishan City."
Guishan City is the capital of Dawan. Huang Zhong asked for orders to attack Guishan City because he wanted to start an all-out war with Dawan. Jia Xu stroked the few strands of beard under his chin, shook his head and said, "General Huang is commendable for his loyalty and bravery, but according to Jia Xu's opinion, This matter still needs long-term consideration.”
Seeing Jia Xu's calm and relaxed look, Liu Xin couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Wen He, does he have a good plan?"
Jia Xu cupped his hands and said: "During Emperor Wu's reign, our Han army besieged Guishan City for more than forty days. However, it was unable to attack. This shows that the city is much stronger than before. I think that my lord's focus is still on the Western Region of the Central Plains. The matter should not be delayed for a long time, so I dare to ask my lord." Give up the plan of all-out war with Dawan"
Dianwei said loudly: "What are you afraid of? Why don't you give me an army of soldiers and horses? I will be able to take Guishan City within forty days and four days."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said, "Elai listen to Wen He and finish what he said."
Jia Xu was not angry and said with a smile: "With the bravery of the generals, it is easy to win. However, the main purpose of rebuilding the Protectorate is to open trade routes rather than to expand the territory of Dawan. Wu and Sun are separated from the capital of the Western Regions." The Protectorate has been trying to get them back under the Protectorate for many years, and they are probably very reluctant to do so. Rather than rashly resorting to force and making Kangju, Kuishang, Shendu and other surrounding countries suspicious, it would be better to hold off on trying."
Liu Xin pondered for a while and said: "Dawan, Wu and Sun are our inherent territories of the Han Dynasty. How can we abandon them in Liu's hands?"
Jia Xu said disapprovingly: "I am not asking my lord to abandon Dayuan and Wusun. I am just asking my lord to postpone the plan. My lord's top priority is to open trade routes. When the trade routes have become well-prepared and the army and grain are sufficient to dominate the country of Han Dynasty, don't talk about small things." Even if Dawan and Wusun of Dawan live in Kangxi, what will be the difficulty if all the Guishan kingdoms are taken down?"
Liu Xin frowned and said: "Ruoyi Wenhe sees that there is no need to fight this battle."
Jia Xu suddenly puffed up his chest and said: "The beating is not only a beating, but also a hard beating. If it doesn't hurt them, how can they maintain peace for more than ten years?"
Liu Xin raised his brows and understood what Jia Xu meant, which was to divide the reconstruction of the Western Region Protectorate into two stages. He couldn't help but smile and said: "I, a big man, are a country of etiquette and not a brave and ruthless person. As long as we can not lose our ancestors." The foundation left behind is good, but there is no need to bully the neighboring countries. If we want to fight, then we will invite King Khotan and King Pishan to come over and discuss how to fight this war."
Early the next morning, Liu Xin led the team to leave Xicheng and headed towards Pishan. There were still many large vehicles in the team, but the scale was smaller than in the previous days. Many of the escorting troops were only about 5,000 people left. However, Liu Xin was surrounded by other people besides In addition to the guide Ba Guli, there was another Hu man. This Hu man was richly dressed and riding a tall horse, but he was Saadin, the king of Pishan.
Relatively speaking, Pishan is closer to Yarkand. To the west of Pishan, there are Xiye, Puli, Deruo and other small countries whose strength is different from Pishan. After the meeting yesterday, Liu Xin no longer planned to He personally visited those small countries one by one because he knew that these small countries were just like Khotan and Pishan. As long as the Duhufu was officially established, there was no need to worry that they would not be willing to surrender. Even if they still refused then, they would not surrender. If you surrender and just send an army over, they will be wiped out. There is no need to waste your breath now.
Because there is a long distance between Pishan and Xicheng, and Liu Xin and his party carried a lot of heavy goods, although many vehicles have been replaced by camels, the moving speed is still very slow, but there is a gust of wind on the side road. The wind is not very strong. For people who have been walking in the desert all year round, it is not a problem at all. But these Han people are probably too pampered to tolerate the heat and wind and sand. Liu Xin actually ordered to rest in place. The guide Baguli repeatedly tried to persuade Liu Xin, but Liu Xin just refused to listen.
When the sun sets, the strong wind finally subsides, but they are now without a village or a store. They are destined to camp in the wild again tonight. Baguli has long reminded Liu Xin that camping outdoors in the desert is very dangerous, especially for caravans. That would be even more dangerous. Liu Xin's team carried a large amount of valuable goods. In essence, it was still a caravan, but a caravan guarded by regular troops. Therefore, their team encountered "horse bandits" last time because they were camping in the wild. "There is nothing surprising about the night attack[
But it's too late to talk about this now, and since Liu Xin "annihilated" the Black Tornado gang, it seems that he doesn't care about the horse bandits. The guards around the camp are also lax. Seeing this situation, Ba Guli was even more worried. He didn't care about it all night. Dare to close your eyes
In the end, it was daylight and nothing unexpected happened. Baguli sat on his horse listlessly and secretly made up his mind to urge Liu Xin to speed up the march today. He must find a village to camp in the evening.
The whole morning's walk went very smoothly without encountering sandstorms or gangsters. Baguli was thinking about finding a suitable campsite today. Unexpectedly, at noon, Liu Xin ordered the team to camp on the spot again. He was only on the day. My head is so hot that everyone can't stand the scorching heat and can't even walk.
Just walking and stopping like this, it was supposed to take three days to get to Pishan. But now, not even half of the journey has been completed. Baguli muttered in his heart that Liu Xin's performance was completely different from the previous few days. But by the third That night, Baguli couldn't muster the energy to pay attention to the movements outside the camp and fell asleep early.
It was quiet around the camp. Several black shadows suddenly appeared on the sand dunes not far away. They were among the knights. One of them was tightly wrapped in a turban, only revealing a pair of small triangular eyes. "Triangle Eyes" looked towards Liu Xin and their camp. After a long while, he turned around and said: "Boss, the news you got said that there are only 3,000 Han people, but I think this camp is probably not less than 10,000 people."
A person next to him smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry. I saw with my own eyes that when they left Xicheng, there were only a little more than 3,000 people. Later, King Pishan also followed. He only had about a hundred guards under his command. It's just that the Han people are leaving these days." The Deshiman brothers were afraid of being exposed and did not dare to follow too closely. The Han people’s camp was bigger, so there must be a lot of goods in the camp.”
Suddenly I heard someone sneer and said: "I didn't expect that the famous Banyun Yun was also so timid. He followed us all the way for three days and didn't dare to make a move. They camped in the wild for several days in a row. You can tell by looking at them that you have no experience. It would be a pity that you missed such a good opportunity. If you don't take action, We can’t wait.”
It turns out that the triangular eye is Banbianyun, who is as famous as Black Whirlwind. Banbianyun raised the whip in his hand and said: "Wild Wolf, I, Banbianyun, brought everyone together because I want everyone to get rich together. But to get rich, you have to have a life and a talent." Okay, haven't you heard that even the Black Tornado has fallen into the hands of these Han people? Or do you think you are stronger than the Black Tornado?"