Chapter 338: The country is like a chess (3)

The next day, at dawn, Kucha City was in chaos, and teams of soldiers were running on the streets, searching from house to house. Almost the whole city was awakened. Just as the chaos in Kucha City was in chaos, Li Qing and Li Jingyan quietly returned to the mansion.

In the study, Li Qing was simply tidying up the documents on the desk. He knocked on the door lightly, but there was no further text. Li Qing smiled and walked forward quickly to open the door. Sure enough, Luo Lan was standing at the door.

She was wearing a light yellow narrow-sleeved short shirt, with red silk on her shoulders, a green long skirt on the floor, and a red belt. She had a high bun on her head, and a thin makeup. She had a large snow-white skin on her chest, and she was completely dressed in a Tang girl's outfit. At this moment, she was lowering her head, her fingers were twisted uneasy.

Li Qing was slightly stunned, and then he understood. He felt a little moved. He smiled and reached out and pulled her into the study room, looked her up and down, and said with a smile: "Yeah! I like your outfit."

Seeing that her eyes were a little red and swollen, and her haggard face was hard to cover up, Li Qing sighed in her heart and pulled her to sit down. After a while, Li Qing asked slowly: "Have you ever thought that marrying me may give up the throne?"

"I can give up the throne." Her voice was very low. Li Qing took a lot of effort to hear it clearly. He nodded gently, "Luo Lan, you have to think clearly. If one day more and more Tang people come to the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu, and all of this is my behind-the-scenes operation, would you still marry me?"

Luo Lan's face turned pale, she closed her eyes in pain, and for a long time, she trembled and said in a trembling voice: "Li Qing, do you want to kill all the people of Zhaowu Jiuguo?"

Li Qing shook his head, "No, I never had this idea." He stood up, walked slowly to the window, and looked at the white clouds in the distance. His voice was firm and unquestionable. "I can allow you to keep your faith and customs, and I will also give you a land to survive. Moreover, when the Tang people arrived, they would bring advanced farming methods and the culture of the Tang Dynasty to the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu, just like the current four towns of Anxi, the Tang people, the Turks, the Uighurs, and the Lite people all lived in a mixed manner, and everyone lived in harmony, and cultures were integrated with each other, without complaints, without war, only peace and tranquility."

He suddenly turned around, stared at Luo Lan with bright eyes, and said word by word: "Luo Lan, you should believe that the Tang Dynasty has a broad demeanor and a mind that embraces all rivers."

"I know, so I have been silent about Dayuan Jianzhen, but... but...." Her voice became lower and lower, and finally almost inaudible.

She knew that the implementation of the equal land system, and the lower-class people of the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu warmly welcomed it, but the possession of land by the nobles of various countries and the power of the kings would disappear under the equal land system of the Tang Dynasty and the county system of the Tang Dynasty, and she would be regarded as a traitor to the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu.

Li Qing seemed to know what she was thinking. He slowly walked up to her, squatted down, grabbed her hand on her knees, stared at her eyes sincerely and said, "Luo Lan, you abdicate! The westward expansion of the Tang Dynasty is the general trend. I don't want your shoulders to take on too heavy responsibilities. I will arrange everything on the Shi Kingdom."

Luo Lan lowered his head and was silent for a long time before saying, "Let me think about it, okay?"

Li Qing patted her face and smiled and said, "I'll give you time, you can think about it slowly. Okay, I'm going to the government office."

He got up and walked to the door, and suddenly turned back and said, "In the afternoon, I want to go to Beiting. It may take a few days to come back, so you can stay here for me to accompany Jingyan."

The Tang army on the street had calmed down and the order gradually returned to normal. Li Qing, surrounded by hundreds of personal soldiers, came to the Jiedu Office.

"General, the person has been brought here!" As soon as Li Qing got off the horse, Zhang Ji came forward to report.

"Take him to my room." Li Qing quickly walked up the steps, remembered something again, and turned around and ordered Zhang Ji, "Go and tell He Lou Yurun, and after lunch, you will set out for Beiting."

Li Qing handed over the military talisman with Feng Changqing in Liangzhou, and then ordered Li Siye to go to Beiting to reorganize the army. It was almost a month since he returned, so it was time to go and have a look.

He quickly walked to the room. Zhang Xun, a military commander of Anxi, had already been waiting here. When Li Qing returned to Beijing to report his duties, he and Li Siye had been in charge of Anxi government affairs and military affairs. He just returned from Shule last night. When he saw Li Qing coming in, Zhang Xun stepped forward and laughed: "General, Shule has good news! This year, a new trough of new troughs (a trough about 50 hectares) has been reclaimed. In this way, Shule's military farm has reached ten troughs, and there is enough military support."

"Thank you all the hard work in Zhang Sima, please sit down quickly!"

Li Qing held his back, asked him to sit down, and poured him a cup of tea himself. Looking at his frosty face, Li Qing apologized: "It has been seven years since he brought you to Shazhou in the fourth year of Tianbao. If you were in the Central Plains, you would have been the governor now with your qualifications. If you had known that I would have transferred you back in the years of dynasty, but now you are still guarding the border with me. Alas! I feel a little wronged."

"The General is really worried."

Zhang Xun shook his head and smiled, "With my bad luck in pursuing the camp, if I were an official in the Central Plains, I'm afraid I'm still a small county magistrate. Although I'm a little tired now, my efforts have all achieved results and I feel really happy. Besides, my wife and daughter are in Kucha, go back? I've never thought about it."

"I feel relieved that Zhang Sima can say this." Li Qing suddenly thought that he was still a small county magistrate during the Anshi Rebellion. He felt relieved and smiled slightly, "Everyone saw Zhang Sima's ability. I have submitted a submission to the emperor and asked Zhang Sima to be the chief historian of Anxi. By April, it is estimated that the appointment of the court will come down."

Zhang Xun was overjoyed and hurriedly stood up to salute Li Qingchang, "Thank you for your cultivation, I will never forget it!"

"Si Zhang doesn't have to be too polite." Li Qing saw that he was happy and sighed secretly. If he had no self, he would have shined in the Anshi Rebellion and had been famous throughout the ages. Although he guaranteed him to die, it might not be a good thing for him.

Thinking of this, Li Qing felt bored. He reluctantly smiled at Zhang Xun and said, "Zhang Sima, go and handle official business first! I'm not here for a while, I'm afraid the backlog of documents will be enough for Zhang Sima to be busy for a while."

"Then I won't disturb the general!" Zhang Xungong bowed and slowly retreated.

After Zhang Xun left, Li Qing slowly packed the table. Suddenly, he felt something. When he looked up, he saw a personal soldier standing at the door for a long time. He was about to report to him, and he immediately woke up and asked first, "But the person I am looking for brings?"

"Yes! I'm already waiting outside."

"Bring him in!"

After a moment, several soldiers brought the person he was looking for, but Che Duodu, the son of Che Bishi, the former king of Shiguo, witnessed Li Qing in the Daming Palace, and was then sent back to Kucha by Li Qing. After being raised for several months, he became fatter than before, and his face became much rosy.

"General, are you looking for me?"

After a series of things, Che Duoduo gradually matured and no longer had emotional fluctuations as before. His attitude towards Li Qing also changed from hatred and resistance to cooperation. His father was dead, but he still had to live. And only by relying on Li Qing can he get what he wanted.

"Please sit down!" Li Qing smiled and asked him to sit down, and ordered his personal soldiers to pour him a cup of tea.

"I originally wanted you to be the King of Kang, but now I have changed my mind." Li Qing said, watching his expression change. Seeing his face suddenly turned pale, he smiled and said, "Queen Luo Lan has decided to abdicate. I think about it, it is better for you to be the King of Shi Kingdom. Are you willing?"

"This..." Che Duoduo couldn't believe his ears, which made him return to Shiguo as king. He was ecstatic and stuttered: "The General is not a joke!"

"Of course I won't joke!" Li Qing smiled coldly in his heart. It seemed that Che Duodu was thinking too much. Did he think he was the king of the past?

Li Qing didn't say it out loud, and smiled at him gently, "I'm going to Beiting in the afternoon, so I won't talk to you too much. You can go down and rest. I will send someone to send you to Tuozhe City in a few days, and you don't need to worry about the court."

Duodu sent the car to Duodu, Li Qing closed his eyes and rested for a while, and successfully solved Luo Lan's worries. He could finally let go of his arms and work hard. In his plan, it was not difficult for the Tang Dynasty to expand westward, but it took time. After the Dashi invaded the east, the strength of the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu was severely weakened. It was a great time for the expansion of the westward. Once the vitality of the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu recovered, the price he paid for moving westward would be greater. What he needed most now was people.

"Time is tight, so you can't wait any longer!"

He immediately took out a piece of paper and wrote a handwritten letter to Wang Changling, ordering him to find a way to first move 20,000 households from Shazhou within two months. Then he sent Kang Huaishun to lead people to set up a connection point along the road, and he was responsible for raising all the food and vehicles needed for the migration.

After arranging these, it was already noon and he had lunch. At this time, his personal soldiers had already packed his luggage for him. As soon as he walked out of the yamen, the sound of horse hooves came from afar. He looked up and saw more than a dozen horses running from afar, stirring up the rolling yellow dust. The momentum was extremely rapid. Before the war horse could stop, the horse had already jumped off.

"General, General Xi encountered an unknown person's sneak attack south of Heliu City."

Li Qing was shocked and asked anxiously: "Would King Guangping have something to do? Can the officials who follow the army have something to do?"

"The King of Guangping is fine, and the officials who are following the army are fine, but the migrants are slightly injured."

The King of Guangping was fine, which made Li Qing feel a little relieved, but his anger immediately ignited in his heart. A few days ago, a group of nearly 2,000 immigrants arrived. Just the day before yesterday, the young and strong of them and the elderly, weak, women and children left behind by the previous batch of immigrants had set off for Suiye. The sudden news made him worry about the safety of the journey. He restrained his emotions and asked in a deep voice: "How many casualties and injuries are caused by the immigrants in the west? Who did it?"

"Reported to the general, twenty-two people died and ninety-seven people were injured. The attackers came from the country of Bahanna."

The loss was not very serious, but the three words "Bahanna" made Li Qing feel alert again. The country of Bahanna migrated to the south of Shuye and east of Shiguo, and it would be a hurdle that could not be avoided. In the Battle of Talas, Bahanna country helped the Tang army strongly in terms of military strength and food, which made him tolerate it. However, the implementation of the county system would inevitably conflict with it. He originally wanted to sit down and negotiate with them, but now they took the lead and the situation was quite critical.

He pondered for a moment and immediately ordered: "I won't go to Beiting for the time being, change the way to Broken Leaf!"

One hour later, three thousand light cavalry came out of the water like a dragon, winding westward. Due to the lack of food, supplies, the cavalry marching extremely quickly. They caught up with the immigration team that day. They did not stop, but continued to move westward and arrived at Shuye City ten days later.

The changes in Suoye City were not big. It was mainly garrisoned here, and there were thousands of houses, most of which were former Han slaves, and some were Turkish. Due to the existence of unsafe factors, the young and young immigrants who arrived in advance and nearly a hundred officials who temporarily lived here, including Li Chu, the King of Guangping and Li Mi, the new judge of the Anxi Jiedu Prefecture.

As soon as Li Qing entered the city gate, Duan Xiushi, the military envoy of the two towns of Dayuan, came up. He is now the highest military and political officer west of the Pamir Mountains. After the Battle of Talas, Li Qing deployed nearly 10,000 people in Saiye and Dayuan, including more than 6,000 troops stationed in Dayuan Town, that is, the Dayuan army composed of original slaves. Li Fei Yuanli was appointed as the Dayuan army envoy, and more than 3,000 troops stationed in Saiye, known as the Saiye Army, led by Li Qing's confidant Wu Xingsu.

Li Qing glanced at him and said sternly, "Where is Xi Yuanqing?"

Seeing Li Qing's face gloomy, Duan Xiushi hurriedly bowed to report: "General, General Xi was injured in an arrow to protect King Guangping, and could not get up to greet him."

"Forget it! I'll go see him." Li Qing's anger calmed down a little. He waved his hand and rode his horse. After taking two steps, he turned his head to Duan Xiushi and said, "You send someone to Bahan's place and tell King Pei Luo that I want to see him and let him come to Shuye City immediately!"

Duan Xiushi nodded and was about to leave, but Li Qing called him again, "Also, more than 2,000 households are on the way to the west. If you send someone to pick them up, you must not make any mistakes."

Duan Xiushi received orders one by one, and he would not mention the arrangements. Moreover, Li Qing was led by the soldiers to Xi Yuanqing to recover from the wounded place. There were many vacant houses in Suoye City, most of which were built of stone and very durable. Many were used by the garrison. As barracks and various facilities, there were also hospitals similar to later generations. There were dozens of military doctors living with the army, and Xi Yuanqing and the injured people were healed here.

Li Qing walked into the room and saw that Li Mi was also there, and he was slightly stunned. Li Mi hurriedly stepped forward and smiled at Li Qing and said, "General Xi was injured in order to protect the little prince. The prince was very dissatisfied. He wanted to visit him in person, but he happened to be cold again in the past few days, so he ordered me to come on his behalf."

Li Qing smiled faintly and said, "Sir, since I am the judge of Anxi, I feel that I am not on duty!"

Li Mi's face turned red. Li Qing ordered him to come to be responsible for the land division and land granting. He has only gone to Yezhicheng once so far. He has not started anything else yet, but he has his own ideas and is just going to discuss with Li Qing.

Seeing that Li Qing had something to ask Xi Yuanqing, he pointed to the next room and signaled that he would wait for him there. Seeing that Li Qing nodded, he quickly walked out.

"General, I am guilty of humble position!" Xi Yuanqing, who was lying on the bed, struggled to sit up. Li Qing rushed forward and pressed him down, "Let's down first!"

He sat beside the bed and pondered, "You will tell me about the attack on that day, and there must be no omission."

"Yes! I dare not hide my job. That evening, I led my army to guard more than a thousand immigrants, His Highness King Guangping and the officials. It was still twenty miles away from Helicheng City. Everyone was very happy......."

As he spoke, Xi Yuanqing gradually fell into memories.

．

．

．

．

"General Xi, it's almost dark, why don't we stay on the camp!" A biased general caught up with Xi Yuanqing and suggested that he saw the setting sun and saw that it was like blood.

Xi Yuanqing looked west with the thug curtain. He had a good eye. He saw a large forest that was faintly hidden miles away. He pointed at the horse whip and said, "It is less than twenty miles away from Heli City. Everyone worked hard and went to the city to camp, but there was a birch land ahead, so that immigrants and officials could get water and rest for a while."

"Come on everyone, go to the woods ahead for a while!"

It has been nearly twenty days since Kucha, and the army has become accustomed to it, but the more than a thousand farmers from Central China are exhausted, especially the officials who have been removed, their faces are blue-gray, and they are all thin and only have a skeleton. But as they are about to reach the end, everyone's eyes are full of hope.

Hearing that there were woods in front of him to rest, everyone was very energetic and shouted to get rid of their horses, speeding up. Soon, the team arrived at the woods. Xi Yuanqing had walked on this road countless times and had never encountered any trouble. He knew that there was a spring in the woods, but the place was small and could not accommodate so many people, so he ordered two soldiers to dismount and take the people and officials to get the water first.

The water in everyone's skin was almost drunk. When they heard that there was a spring, everyone jumped off their horses and ran towards the woods cheered. But just when they were less than a hundred steps away from the woods, suddenly, a row of bows and arrows shot from the woods. The people running in the front were caught off guard and fell to the ground.

The people behind were shocked. Some turned around and ran back, while some were lying on the ground and did not dare to move. At this time, a powerful arrow shot towards Li Chu who was turning his horse's head. He was slightly off. The arrow passed by Li Chu's right arm and shot into the back of the war horse. The horse screamed with a wit, and knelt down and pushed Li Chu off the horse. But the people inside seemed to be staring at Li Chu, and another arrow shot. Li Chu lowered his head quickly, and the arrow shot through his helmet and took the helmet out. Just as the third arrow shot towards Li Chu's back heart, Xi Yuanqing arrived. Seeing that things were urgent, he jumped from the horse and protected Li Chu with his body. The arrow happened to hit his shoulder blade.

Speaking of the excitement, Xi Yuanqing couldn't help but wave his arms, and a severe pain on his shoulder woke him from his memories. He frowned in pain for a while. After a while, the pain was slightly reduced, and he continued: "Later, when our soldiers rushed into the woods, the ambush in the woods had already escaped, about hundreds of people, each with two horses."

"Ambushes?" Li Qing heard his tone seemingly pointing, and asked: "Do you mean they are army? Then how do you know that they are from the country of Bakhan?"

"Those arrows!" Xi Yuanqing said angrily: "Those arrows are all powerful crossbows of our Tang army. I have only equipped Ba Na Khan with three thousand troops. Who else can it be besides them?"

At this time, a military doctor hurried in and looked at Xi Yuanqing's injuries. He didn't know Li Qing, so he frowned and blamed Li Qing: "He is not allowed to wave his arms within two months! Look, the arrow sores are a little cracked again."

Li Qing apologized and owed to him, stood up and said to Xi Yuanqing, "Reasonable, you have violated the military rules, but for your sacrifice of protecting King Guangping, you have to pay off your merits and demerits. I will spare you this time."

Xi Yuanqing looked happy and thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, General Xiangrao, I will never have another next time."

At this time, the military doctor stood up nervously, his face pale, and he stared at Li Qing blankly at a loss. Seeing that he was afraid in his eyes, Li Qing stepped forward and patted his shoulder gently, pointed at Xi Yuanqing and smiled: "If necessary, tie this guy's hands up and don't allow him to move."

After saying that, he smiled and walked leisurely towards the next door with his hands on his back.

．

In the room, Li Mi gently stroked his long beard and suggested to Li Qing: "General, it has been nearly a month since I came to Broken Leaf. I have a rough understanding of the situation. I have some new ideas about the resettlement of this group of immigrants."

Li Qing was full of interest, and he smiled and said, "You might as well talk!"

"The general's original plan was to place them in Yezhi City. I have seen it. There is sufficient water and fertile land. It is indeed a good place. However, this time the attack occurred, and we have to consider security issues. Yezhi City is about twenty miles away from Suiye City. If there is another attack, it is probably too late to wait for the troops here to rush there."

Speaking of this, Li Mi walked to the window, pointed to the blue and cloudless sky outside the window, and said to Li Qing: "The fertile land outside the Saiye City is hundreds of miles long, with abundant water and abundant sunshine. Why not place it here first? Moreover, there are a large number of ready-made houses in the city, so they don't have to work hard to build. When the population slowly increases, we can organize militia groups to defend themselves, and then advance south and west. This is like a snowball, and our family business will grow bigger and bigger."

Li Qing nodded and smiled happily: "Sir, what I said is right. Since I have entrusted this matter to you, you can handle it with all your power, but I am not here to find you for this."

Li Mi narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled slyly: "Does the general want to discuss with me about dealing with the khan?"

Li Qing smiled and said, "Discussing with the sir is a great pleasure in life!"

He laughed a little, then glanced at Li Mi and said, "Look at the confident sir, I must be confident. You might as well say it directly to see if it is consistent with Li Qing's idea."

Li Mi shook his head gently, "It's hard to say this, but I can give the general one a sentence: either be cruel or just be broad-minded. Don't be both snakes and rats, and there will be endless troubles in the end."
Chapter completed!