Lin Zhuang became more and more excited as he talked, saying: "Because of his relationship with Kou Zhong, the Bodhisattva gained the support of another Turkic Khan, returned to Hehe, and took the position of Qijin. Under his rule, Huihe became more prosperous, and finally
The famous battle was in the early years of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty. The Bodhisattva used five thousand elite cavalry to defeat one hundred thousand Turkic cavalry at Mahu Mountain, which shocked the northern part of the country. From then on, Uihe and its neighboring country Xue Yantuo became close friends and joined hands to fight against the Turks.
The Khanate. Since Bodhisattva and Kou Zhong are brothers, they have always maintained good relations with your country. It was the Tiele tribes of Uighur who took the initiative to call the Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty 'Celestial Khan'. Bodhisattva's son Tumidu even led the way.
The leaders of the Twelve Tribes of Tiele went to Chang'an for pilgrimage. Li Shimin appointed Tumido as the governor of Hanhai."
Wan Renyu said: "Your understanding of Huihe makes us ashamed."
Lin Zhuang said: "Because our ancestors were Uihe people, and later moved to the plateau during their grandfather's generation, where they returned to their roots after falling leaves."
Feng Guoting asked: "Where is Uihe? Who is in charge? What is their current relationship with us?"
Lin Zhuang said: "Uihe is located to the north of Qiuci, east of Tuqishi, and northwest of Tujue. Most of this area is mountainous and wild. The boundaries are not clear and change with the strength of the country. Now the leader of Uihe is Du
Jie Zhi still maintains good relations with your country, but due to the great power of the Turks, they have occupied a lot of their land, but the Uighurs and their Tiele tribes are still a force that cannot be underestimated."
Long Ying asked: "What is the relationship between Uihe and Tiele?"
Lin Zhuang said: "The Uighurs are the boss, and the Tiele tribes are more than a dozen tribes, but the boss is the leader. Of course! They are from the same clan, but they have different surnames."
Longying said with a smile: "Listening to your words for one night is better than sending spies to inquire for ten years. It's all night! Let's go back to our tent and rest, and we'll be on our way again tomorrow morning."
Three days later, they left the mountainous area and arrived at the plain. Lin Zhuang first sent out reconnaissance cavalry, and a group of ten people searched far and wide. Not only did they not find anyone, but no one from the business trip was found. At the end of autumn and winter, no one dared to risk mountain climbing.
Before I knew it, it had been almost a year since I left Chang'an.
Long Ying and others first followed the group to the east, only one day's ride away from Khotan. They camped and rested, waiting for the coming of night.
Lin Zhuang sent people to look around, and with the help of the dragon eagle or the eyes of the divine eagle in the sky, even if the mysterious warriors came, they would not be able to escape their eyes and ears.
Lin Zhuang went with them to a high slope near the camp to have a secret conversation. He said: "This time the military leader Kuixin came back after being frustrated and had to pay for the whole plot of the Dajiang Alliance to overthrow our Tubo. It should be that his spirits were waning and he returned home dejected. Let's see.
Would Mo Chuo kill him to vent his anger, or would he spare his life for the sake of Ningyan? In addition, he never thought that you would sacrifice the middle land and take Qiuci, so he didn't wait here, which is reasonable."
Feng Guoting said: "The secret tribe warrior we are most concerned about. Why is there still no one seen until today?"
Wan Renyu said: "Even if we miscalculated our route at first, thinking that we would go straight to the plateau via Qinghai Lake, we later realized that we needed to adjust our strategy!"
Long Ying said to Lin Zhuang: "Commanders Kuixin and Lin Buya were able to intercept us in front of the big and small ghosts. Is it beyond your expectation?"
Lin Zhuang nodded and said, "I never dreamed of it. With more than 20,000 people traveling so deep into the desert, it would be no surprise if there was a huge sandstorm. More than half of the troops and horses would be killed or injured."
The three of them were still frightened when they thought of the desert. They all felt that Lin Zhuang was not exaggerating. No matter how many soldiers and horses you have, they are still very small compared to the vast and endless desert, and they can be swallowed up by the desert.
Long Ying said: "We have met the mysterious man a long time ago! Just like that day, the Turkic army, led by the mysterious man, crossed the desert, sneaked into the Khitan territory, and launched a surprise attack on the Khitan New City. This time the enemy can accurately intercept us at Kumtag.
, and because they are led by a mysterious man who pulls the strings. But we haven’t had the chance to engage them head-to-head yet. The secret man might be hiding in Kuixin’s team.”
Wan Renyu took a breath and said: "Fortunately, our Yingye is wise and powerful. Instead of escaping, he advanced and broke out at the best possible location to escape. If we had turned around and fled to the desert, we would definitely not be able to return to Khotan alive today."
Lin Zhuang said gratefully: "It's all thanks to Lord Ying that I, Lin Zhuang, have been able to save my life. Now I have made great achievements and been promoted by the prince to a position that I never dared to dream of."
Long Ying smiled bitterly and said: "Brothers, you don't need to flatter me. You have to flatter Xue'er as much as you should. If we were to compete with the mysterious man in the desert on foot strength, I would have lost completely. It all depends on Xue'er's exertion of life force.
Take me out of the desert, or I will almost die."
When the four of them thought about the situation where there was no life or death at that time, they all thought it was a fluke.
Wan Renyu looked at the setting sun in the west and said: "Anyway, there is still some time. Can General Lin Zhenggong tell us which other ethnic groups with fighting strength are near the Turks?"
Lin Zhuang said: "In addition to Tuqishi and Huihe, there are also Xue Yantuo and Xijiasi. The others are smaller ethnic groups. It is difficult to do anything and can be used to rely on other powerful ethnic groups."
After a pause, he continued: "As for the Uighurs, I have something to add, that is, the Uighurs are not like their powerful neighbors. They can only be regarded as a large alliance of tribes of the same race. The tribes usually do their own affairs. The Uighurs were originally a part of Tiele, and the Tiele
There are also Pugu, Tongluo, Bayegu and other tribes in Le. After the founding of the Uighur nation, all the land of Mobei Tiele was developed. On the basis of the nine surnames of Tiele, it developed into the nine-surnamed Uihe. The nine surnames are medicine.
Luo Ge, Hu Duo Ge, Zhi Luo Wu, Qi Ge Xi End, A Wu Di, Ge Sa, Dendrobium Su, Yao Wu Ge, Xi Ye Wu. In recent years, the Turkic people have become stronger, and the nine surnames have migrated to avoid disasters. Among them, there are
With Pugu as the most powerful tribe in Huihe, Qijingewanbayan was granted the title of General Youwuwei by your country and concurrently served as the governor of Jinwei."
Feng Guoting said with a headache: "The situation in Mobei turns out to be so complicated. When we set out from Chang'an, we thought there were only Turks and Tuqishi. It seems that the strength of the Uighurs is not inferior to that of Tuqishi, otherwise they would have been destroyed by the Turks long ago.
"
Long Ying asked: "Who is Xue Yantuo?"
Lin Zhuang said: "Most of the things about the tribes in Mobei were passed down from my grandfather. In addition, I pay special attention and ask for relevant information from people who come back from the north from time to time, so I know more than others."
Wan Renyu smiled and said: "You don't know more, but you know everything. It's just that there are so many names, which is very deceiving."
Lin Zhuang said: "As for Xue Yantuo, it was originally the strongest among the Tiele tribes. However, due to Domi Khan's cruelty and cruelty, tribes of various Uighur surnames attacked it. Your country also sent Li Shiji to conquer it.
All the tribes of Xue Yantuo, large and small, fled in all directions. They could no longer gather their strength, and they existed in name only. In recent years, no one has emerged who can revive Xue Yantuo."
The sky turns dark and stars fill the night sky.
Lin Zhuangdao: "Xiajiasi was originally one of the Tiele tribes. Due to its location in the far north, special geographical environment, severe cold climate, and large rivers freezing for half the year, a country with a unique style developed. Everyone is tall and red.
There are white faces and green eyes. There are many boys and girls who are brave and good at fighting. The men have tattoos on their hands and women on the back of their necks. Both men and women wear earrings, making them easy to identify. They are most famous for their ability to rain iron from the sky.
', the Xijiasi people collected this kind of strange iron that fell from the sky, cast it into particularly sharp weapons, and sold them to the leaders of various tribes at high prices. Some of them have become the most famous magical weapons outside the Great Wall. However,
The Turks have gained momentum in recent years, and they have forced the Xijiasi people to pay tribute to them with nine "rain iron artifacts" every year. This has made the Xijiasi people very dissatisfied, and of course they are angry but dare not speak out. Generally speaking, the northwest of the Turks
, there are only Tuqishi, Huihe and Xijiasi further north. Now Tuqishi cannot expand, and its forces are exploring south of the four towns in Anxi, with Suiye City as the big tooth and Gongyue City as the small tooth. The Turks and
The battle for hegemony between Tuqisi and Tuqishi is in a tense situation that is about to break out. If it were not for the disagreement between Suoge and General Zhongjie, Suoge might have taken advantage of the Turks' setback in the Eastern Fortress and launched a war."
Long Ying said happily: "We finally figured out the situation to the north of the Turks. It's almost time! It's time for us to leave."
The three of them were hiding in a dense forest, checking the distance in the dark to see if there were any enemies secretly following Lin Zhuang and others. The dense forest is located at the southern foot of Kunlun Mountain, bordering the Khotan Oasis, and is the intersection of mountains and grasslands.
, the terrain is complex and changeable.
Wan Renyu asserted: "This time we really got rid of the enemy. The reason is that the enemy can no longer control our next destination."
Feng Guoting looked at the condor circling high in the sky and asked Wan Renyu: "That day when you asked about the way to Kucha, who were you asking about?"
Wan Renyu said: "They were all arranged by the elders for me, and they promised to keep everything secret. At that time, I already understood that as long as no one knows where we are going, half the battle will be won."
Arriving in the Western Region beyond the Great Wall, even though the three of them were extremely skilled in martial arts, they were still disproportionately weak compared to the enemies on either side. If they were constantly being chased and beaten, and they were beaten to the left and right, the one who would suffer in the end would definitely be the one who suffered.
them.
Everyone understands that the key is to arrive at Qiuci without anyone noticing and find the wilderness dance and beautiful flowers. Only then can we achieve great results. Otherwise, we will just be trapped in a situation where we cannot protect ourselves.
Long Ying's eyes were shining and he said: "Since even Wu Chengsi doesn't know that we are going to Kucha, of course there is no risk of the news being leaked. Let's make a complete disguise and go to Kucha via the shortcut in a swaggering way.
"
Wan Renyu said discouraged: "Turkic spies are everywhere, and there are also secret men who are eyeing us. We just rode horses instead of camels and ostentatiously crossed the desert. Our origins are unknown, and there are only three of us. It's strange that we don't attract anyone's attention."
Long Ying said: "Aren't we going all the way north along the big and small oases? What's so strange about riding a horse?"
Wan Renyu said: "You kid is still dreaming, and I am the only one who is awake. That night in Bowo, when you two went to have fun, I went to ask someone who had been to the Green Expressway for advice.
Man. When the water is high in spring and summer, as you might imagine, a green walkway more than ten to thirty miles wide, with yellow sand on both sides, passes through the Sea of Death from south to north, which is a spectacle. But in autumn and winter
When the river stops flowing, the river disappears. There may still be intermittent small oases, but they are not so easy to find and can easily be missed. You'd better be prepared. During this season when pedestrians stop flowing, few people cross the desert along this route.
It’s just better than other places in the Sea of Death.”
Long Ying smiled bitterly and said: "Are we going to venture into the desert again? Compared with Taklimakan, other deserts are just child's play." (To be continued...)