The nights on the plateau are extremely cold. Although it is not yet winter, the temperature is already shockingly low. Although it is not so cold that the breath turns into ice, the frost there every morning makes people feel uncomfortable just looking at it.
The feeling of numbness, coupled with altitude sickness, made even a highly skilled person like Li Xian feel a little unbearable. Even though he was hiding in a thick tent, he could not stand the cold that leaked in from the door curtain.
When the wind blew, Li Xian couldn't help but sneeze twice in a row.
"Your Highness, are you okay?"
Liu Ziming, the new captain of the soldiers who was waiting on the side, couldn't help but panic when he heard something was wrong. He asked hurriedly and hurried to get a blanket to put on Li Xian.
"fine."
Ling Zhong, the guard captain beside Li Xian, stayed in Babaochuan due to injury, and the deputy captain was killed in yesterday's encounter. Li Xian transferred Liu Ziming to his side for his loyalty.
Liu Ziming was so nervous that Li Xian smiled happily and waved his hand to reject Liu Ziming's kindness.
"Your Highness, it's freezing cold today. If you're not careful, you'll suffer. You'd better put on a fur coat."
Liu Ziming still felt uneasy after thinking about it, so he took out a captured silver fox vest from the package and wanted to put it on Li Xian. This time, Li Xian did not refuse. He took the leather vest with a smile and put it on casually.
On his shoulders, he then stood up, waved his hand and said: "Ziming, let's go, follow me and see the soldiers."
"Ai."
Liu Ziming responded honestly, ran to the door curtain with a few strides, stretched out his hand to lift the door curtain, and let Li Xian out of the tent. Then he held the handle of the knife and followed closely behind Li Xian.
Li Xian's military camp was stationed under an unknown hill. It was not large in scale, with more than two hundred tents crowded together, which seemed a bit messy. There was not even a camp gate, but only some antlers, tripping ropes, etc.
As an early warning facility, the obstacles are pitifully crude and there is nothing we can do about it. It's not that Li Xian is not particular about it, but he really doesn't have the time to clean it up. The only blame is that the Tubo people are chasing too closely - these days, the Tubo people have changed
Based on the tactics, nearly 200,000 troops were dispatched in units of 10,000 to launch a dragnet search. Once the whereabouts of the Tang army were discovered, not only the enemy in front of them would fight with the Tang army at all costs, but also the other Tibetan armies were like mad dogs.
They came in a general pursuit and interception. If Li Xian had not always dealt with it properly, I am afraid that the entire army would have been surrounded. Even so, after several days of hard fighting, the attrition of the troops was already quite serious. During the expedition,
Only a little over 4,000 of the 5,000 troops were left. What made Li Xian even more annoyed was that the Tubo army ignored the danger of marching at night and pursued them desperately, causing Li Xian's troops to sometimes change camps several times a night.
In order to save physical strength, Li Xian was too lazy to set up military strongholds as usual. However, Li Xian did not dare to omit the basic arrangements of light and dark sentries and mobile sentries. It was precisely because of this that Li Xian was able to do what he did.
To the miracles that have repeatedly turned danger into safety.
"Your Highness."
As soon as Li Xian left the Chinese army's tent, he happened to encounter a group of outposts passing by. When everyone saw Li Xian, they hurriedly saluted.
"Um."
Li Xian smiled and nodded, waving his hands to signal everyone to go on their own to perform official duties. However, he led Liu Ziming slowly towards the group of tents not far away, intending to take a walk among the soldiers and greet them for a while -
Although this kind of behavior may not seem like a big deal, it is one of the best ways to win over the morale of the army. Sometimes it is more effective than heavy rewards. Li Xian knows this better than anyone else. Therefore, every time he goes to camp,
No matter how tired he was, Li Xian would never forget this move.
"...The damn Tubo dogs are so rampant that they made me so angry that I killed these thieves with one knife!"
"Blow it, Liu Scar, just blow it. There is no time when you are not the fastest one in our group!"
"Tch, it's not that I want to escape, okay? Your Highness has the order. If not, we will fight with the Tubo dogs!"
"That's the truth. Alas, running around like this is not a good idea. If you keep running like this, even if you can do it, all the horses will die. Is it possible that you have to rely on your legs to get back to Guanzhong?"
"Guanzhong, ah, I wonder if I can go back? It's time for our daughter to know how to call her daddy, ah..."
"well……"
…
Li Xian casually walked to the tent closest to the Zhongjun Tent. Just as he was about to lift the curtain of the tent, he heard people talking inside. After being stunned for a moment, he stopped and stood quietly.
Listening to the ground, his brows furrowed involuntarily - fighting requires morale, especially when you are roaming in a tight encirclement of the enemy, and you must rely on perseverance to maintain morale. Now that guerrilla warfare has begun
After more than half a month, the morale of the army will inevitably be low. Furthermore, looking at the weather, it is already entering winter. It is obviously unfeasible to continue wandering like this. Li Xian knows this in his heart, and a group of soldiers who have experienced battles for a long time
I'm afraid the officers and soldiers in the formation can imagine it. At this time, it is obviously a fool's errand to rely on words to boost morale.
"Your Highness..."
Liu Ziming, who was following Li Xian, couldn't help but feel a little strange when he saw that Li Xian kept extending his hand but didn't move for a long time, so he called out in a low voice.
"Oh, it's okay, let's go."
Hearing the noise, Li Xian immediately woke up from his reverie. He shook his head solemnly and stopped entering the tent. He turned around and strode towards the Chinese army tent. His steps were slower than before.
It was much heavier. It was obvious that Li Xian was not in a calm mood at this time.
Returning to Guanzhong? Li Xian didn't want to get out of danger quickly, but he couldn't do so, at least not before getting Anxi's approval. Otherwise, there would be a danger of wasting all his efforts. It would have cost a lot of money.
If the price is paid but nothing is gained, then the consequences are not what Li Xian is willing to face. Not to mention that the officials may sue the matter, and not to mention that the Empress Wu will make a fuss about this matter.
The rapid rise of Tubo was something Li Xian never wanted to see. All in all, no matter how difficult the situation was, Li Xian must win this battle, both in public and private matters!
The key to Anxi lies in Khotan, and the key to Khotan lies in Fu Jianxiong. The focus of Li Xian’s overall plan lies on Fu Jianxiong. The reason? It’s very simple to say, because Li Xian had a relationship with Fu Jianxiong in his previous life.
I have had a lot of interactions with him and know what kind of person he is. In fact, even if Li Xian does not go to the expedition in person this time, in another year's time, Fu Xiong will most likely raise the flag of righteousness again and join the Tang Dynasty again like he did in his previous life.
, all Li Xian has to do is to advance what happened in the time and space of his previous life one year in advance. The risk of collapse is not without it, but in Li Xian's view, it is not big. Even if it doesn't happen, Li Xian has a contingency plan.
That is to push Yu Chixuan, the son of Fu Xiong, to the front. Li Xian still has this certainty, and this is one of the "benefits" of being reborn, but then again, certainty is certainty, but it is not
It is a matter of course. Li Xian did not dare to say whether things in Anxi would go smoothly. Therefore, before getting confirmation, Li Xian had to drag the main force of Tibet in Qinghai to prevent it from being able to intervene in the battle of Anxi.
, and to do this, it will take at least another ten days or so, until winter really comes, and then Li Xian can leave with peace of mind.
Ten days is not a long time to speak of. On a normal day, it would have gone by in the blink of an eye. But now, let alone ten days, even one day is hard to endure. I have to tense my nerves every moment.
Life is simply not easy for people to live. Even though Li Xian is tough by nature, he can't help but feel a little tired. He lies on the bed, thinking, and then falls asleep from exhaustion...
"Your Highness, Your Highness, the eagle, the eagle is coming, the eagle is coming..."
I don't know how much time passed. Li Xian was sleeping soundly, but Liu Ziming's excited shouting came to his ears.
"Um?"
Li Xian raised his head in a daze, and saw a ray of golden sunlight coming in from the open door curtain. Then he realized that it was already broad daylight, and he was not chased by the Tubo people that night.
It was quite a miracle. However, Li Xian did not express his gratitude for this rare good luck at this time. He just shook his head dizzily and said something indifferently - Tuguhun people are good at hunting eagles.
, often use eagles as a tool to monitor the battlefield and communicate during wartime. These days, the reason why the Tubo people have been able to bite Li Xian's troops on the vast plateau relies on the eagle eyes provided by the Tuyuhun people.
Gong, whenever an eagle appears, it means that the Tibetan pursuers are not far away. Li Xian has long been accustomed to this, but he doesn't take it to heart. After all, the area of the plateau is really
It's too big. Li Xian's small force can almost get rid of most of the pursuers by wandering wherever it wants with its strong maneuverability.
"Your Highness, Ashina Moming's eagle has arrived!"
Seeing that Li Xian didn't seem to react, Liu Ziming hurriedly explained.
"Oh? Okay, quick, pass!"
Li Xian finally understood what he was saying this time. Overjoyed, he suddenly stood up - Ashina Moming and his brother Ashina Canning are both Turks, and they are the cousins of Ashina Daozhen, the protector of Anxi.
, both of them have the unique skill of flying eagles. Before Li Xian left Luoyang this time, he had already ordered these two people to be transferred from Ashina Daozhen to his subordinates, in order to rely on the two brothers' skills of flying eagles.
As a matter of fact, Ashina Kanning followed Luo Tong to Khotan, while Ashina Moming followed Li Xian. Now that the eagle has arrived, it proves that there is something wrong with Anxi.
If you believe it, how can Li Xian not be extremely excited?
"See Your Highness!"
Since Li Xian had given the order, Liu Ziming did not dare to neglect and hurriedly ran out of the Chinese army's tent. Within a moment, he saw Ashina Moming carrying an eagle in from outside the tent with an excited look on his face.
"no."
Li Xian waved his hand casually, indicating that Ashina Moming was exempt from the courtesy, then strode over, gently took off the small copper tube hanging on the eagle's leg, unscrewed the hidden button, and revealed a small copper tube inside.
With just a squeeze of the wax pill, a small piece of paper filled with cipher text fell into the palm of his hand. When he spread it out, Li Xian's face showed a smile as if he had been relieved...