What the courier quickly returned was Tang Xueshi's handwriting, which contained only a few hasty lines: We are under siege in Caiyun and have to fight. We would rather die in battle than let down His Highness! The signature was Tang Xueshi's name.
Mu Anzhi's originally anxious mood was a little relieved when he saw Tang Xueshi's handwriting. If he was really in a hurry, he should have seen Du Changshi's urgent letter instead of Tang Xueshi's handwriting. Of course, Tang Xueshi's letter
The handwriting is illegible and the writing is short, indicating that the situation must have been critical at that time.
Mu Anzhi immediately convened a meeting of ministers and passed the handwritten letter to them to discuss a solution.
Tang Anping's anxious old face turned pale, "Your Highness, we must send troops quickly to rescue Tang Scholars!"
"From the Caiyun tribe to Xinyi City, it takes ten days to travel day and night. Now that reinforcements are sent out, it will take at least three days to assemble the troops. It will be half a month after the reinforcements arrive, and the war will be over long ago." Marquis Lu
He said calmly, "Your Highness, please be at peace. There will be another battle report within three to five days."
Hua Changshi was a little puzzled, "Why did the Marquis say this?"
Marquis Lu said, "The grassland is not as good as inside the pass. There are cities and natural dangers to defend, and the grassland is mostly an endless flat wasteland. Here, a battle of life and death will only last three to five days at most. I will organize my troops first and send out scouts. If there is no more battle report after five days,
It’s not too late to send troops again.”
Marquis Lu is a good soldier in the army, so he naturally listens to the experts on this matter.
However, as soon as this incident came out, Yao Xu and Qin Ting were not in a hurry to leave. On the one hand, there was a tribe in northern Xinjiang rebelling, and on the other hand, they had to hear the news of victory or defeat, so that they could go back to the imperial capital easily.
Marquis Lu found Mu Anzhi in private and directly raised his question, "If the war is critical, it should be a battle report sent by Du Changshi. Even if it is critical, there will not be a word."
"Marquis Lu, you have also thought of it." Mu Anzhi whispered to Marquis Lu, "That's why I am not in a hurry. I guess there is something we don't know about here."
Marquis Lu also believed that if there was a real danger of life and death, Du Changshi would at least have left a suicide note. Now that the suicide note has not been seen, Marquis Lu asked, "Your Highness, do you want to raise troops?"
"We still need to get treatment, just for show." Mu Anzhi looked out the window at the sunset and thought, "I don't know what happened to Xiao Du and the others. It's really worrying."
The story had to be told on the day Du Changshi set off.
Dining and sleeping in the open air along the way, it was rare that Du Changshi, a delicate guy, did not complain at all, except that when he barbecued, he used the Tang family's thousand-year-old secret barbecue ingredients provided by Tang Mo, so his barbecue was especially tender and fragrant. This was the same as the Tang Xueshi.
Excellent.
Du Changshi also specially asked General Ji and Huan Li to join him in eating Xueshu Tang's speech about the ominous things about soldiers. General Ji rolled his eyes secretly while listening, and Huan Li suppressed his composure. Tang Qian felt that he was not feeling well. But Xueshi Tang felt that
It was very good, he directly recognized Du Changshi as his soul friend whom he had known for many years.
However, the lecture had only been held for a few days, so General Ji used the excuse of inspecting the troops at night, while Huan Li avoided them all on the pretext of studying with General Ji. Scholar Tang sighed, "I say a few words, but I feel that I am nagging, but
Isn’t this fighting just for fun?”
"No, I love listening to the old man's words. It cleanses my body and mind and makes my soul feel sublimated. I feel that since I listened to the old man's advice, I am no longer the same person as before."
General Ji, who happened to be peeing when he heard these words, was disgusted. General Ji couldn't bear it anymore. He returned to the tent and saw Huan Li still stirring the vegetable soup in the pot. He went over and took the wooden spoon from Huan Li's hand and said, "
It's really hard to pass, I think Xiao Du asked that old sour guy to surrender."
Huan Li handed over two wooden bowls, General Ji put the wooden spoon into the bowls, sighed and sat on the animal hide with his legs spread, "You still have time to drink soup, I think this time we got it for nothing."
"What do you say?" Huan Li saw that General Ji didn't seem interested in drinking soup, so he filled a bowl for himself.
"It's not clear that the old sour guy is the one who is doing the right thing. He will definitely think that he can subdue the Caiyun Department with just his mouth! Mr. Hu, you have only been in Northern Xinjiang for a short time. I will follow you.
You tell me, the Caiyun tribe can be said to be the top three tough tribes in Northern Xinjiang. Don't look at the Caiyun Crown Prince and think that this tribe is weak. The Crown Prince also lost the battle and had to show his weakness.
. As soon as his father died, he killed three uncles and four brothers. Not only Caiyun tribe, but also the royal family did this. The former patriarch killed all his half-brothers to ascend to the throne. The old sour man really had the ability to fight with the Confucian scholars.
Your ability depends on whether the person understands and is willing to listen." General Ji said sternly, "I don't have the big principles like literati, but in these years in northern Xinjiang, I understand one thing, the more barbaric the
There is only one way to conquer them, and that is to defeat them, because they are only willing to submit to the strong."
Huan Li took a silent sip of the vegetable soup, swallowed it and then said, "General, are you worried that Academician Tang will not be able to convince everyone in the Caiyun Department?"
"Now we have an army of tens of thousands of people driving over. Naturally, it is what he said. But we turned around and left. The tribe is still doing what it is supposed to be like. Even if we really send Prince Caiyun back, I guess the Caiyun tribe can treat him as a good fortune."
If things go well, peace can last for three to five years, but this is without mentioning the spoils of war." General Ji said, his mouth went dry, and he also filled a bowl of vegetable soup out of anger, which made his mouth hot for a while.
, unable to drink immediately, I was so depressed that I had to put down the wooden bowl temporarily.
Taking advantage of something?
Well, it seems that everyone knows this well.
Huan Li said, "Senior Brother Du is with His Highness every day. Senior Brother Du must understand what His Highness is thinking better than we do."
"You don't know, today is different from the past. Do you know what I just heard when I went out?" I learned Du Changshi's disgusting words from Huan Li and learned the phrase "the soul has been sublimated",
Huan Li spat out the vegetable soup in his mouth with a "pop" sound.
Fortunately, General Ji hid in time. Huan Li coughed twice, beat his chest and wiped the corners of his mouth, glaring at General Ji, "Uncle Ji, did you do this on purpose?"
"How did I know you had such a big reaction?" General Ji felt the same way. "Isn't it really disgusting? I am too. I was just listening to it outside. The hair on my body stood up and I got goosebumps."
"I'm really not as good as my senior brother." Huan Li sighed.
"That's good of you. Now I feel like I almost don't recognize Mr. Du anymore." General Ji patted him on the back twice. Huan Li said, "How could Senior Brother Du ask Mr. Tang to brainwash him? Don't worry, Uncle Ji. I'll tell you later."
Please come over, senior brother, and let’s talk things over and see what he means.”
"It would be best if this could happen. I'm not in a hurry to fight, I just feel that instead of having these repeated thoughts with the Caiyun Department, it would be better to settle it once and for all." General Ji sighed, "It's not easy for us to go out, and it's not easy.
Let’s talk about whether the imperial court is willing to do it or not. Once the army moves, it will be money, so there are not many opportunities to come out like this.”
Huan Li felt the same way about this. Among other things, the new soldiers he recruited cost dozens of taels of silver for each person with complete armor. This was the price of the products produced in his own workshop.
What's more, with a salary of seventy-seven or eighty-eight dollars, food, grass, and horses, Huan Li didn't know where His Highness got the money.
Scholar Tang was getting older and would get tired after talking for a while. At this time, Tang Qian would ask his father to rest in the tent. Scholar Tang took Du Changshi's hand and said, "Chongli, let's continue talking tomorrow."
." Du Changshi, whose courtesy name is Chongli.
"Absolutely, Aqian will help your father and help the old man sleep well. Close the tent door tightly at night so that the wind doesn't blow in." Du Changshi said many more caring words.
Nowadays, when going out, it is too luxurious to have one tent for each person. The Tang family and his son have one tent, General Huan Liji has one tent, Du Changshi... Well, he is the same as Steward Ye. It is said that he sleeps dishonestly at night, and Steward Ye has to help him at night.
Cover him with a quilt to avoid freezing. In the past, two beautiful maids took care of him at home. When he went out, he couldn't be too particular about it, so he had to make do with it.
Du Changshi, a delicate man, sent Xuesheng Tang off and yawned before going back to his tent to rest. Halfway through, Huan Li and General Ji intercepted him and went to his tent. They wanted him to give him permission.
"What kind of words should I give? Look at your faces. You don't know how to have a good relationship with Mr. Zhengzhi. Mr. Zhengzhi likes to talk sense. We have to listen. You have only been listening for a few days and you are tired of it. How can you do it?
It is the duty of a lower official." Du Changshi said sternly, but with a smile in his eyes. Huan Li hit him on the shoulder, and Du Changshi smiled, "I asked you to leave me alone to listen to Mr. Tang's noise, but I didn't tell you."
General Ji breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and handed Du Changshi a bowl of water, "Drink water to moisten your throat, brother, I really admire you, how can you bear it, I can't stand this rubbing after three days. Come with us."
Tell me, is it possible that you really listened to that old sour man and just left like this and then came back like this?"
"What if we don't go there? Your Highness didn't say that we were going to fight. What Xueshi Tang said is still correct. We have to talk about the truth first." Du Changshi said.
"General Gangji, let's discuss it together. Senior brother, if we have tens of thousands of troops marching over, can we explain anything? I'm just worried that if we can explain it, Caiyun Department will sincerely surrender." Huan Li didn't "hard talk" about such reasonable things.
, but these people have come out, is it possible to walk around for a while and then go back as they were?
"Yes, if the Caiyun Department repeats itself, will you come to reason with them next time? It will take a lot of effort to go back and forth." General Ji leaned forward slightly, staring at Du Changshi with his sharp eyes like a falcon, "Xiao Du, give it to me
To be honest, when we come here this time, we have to bring something back, right?"
"Yes, it has been written in the royal edict. Firstly, the crown prince will be sent back to succeed him. Secondly, Meng He, the culprit who is chasing the crown prince, will be handed over. Thirdly, the iron ore will be donated to the palace for control. As long as the Caiyun tribe agrees to these three conditions,
Let's consider this mission accomplished." Du Changshi said.
General Ji stared and asked, "Are you sure that sour guy can accomplish these three things?"
"You think I'm confident?" Du Changshi asked back.
"If you do it, I still have some confidence." General Ji said honestly.
Du Changshi thought of a way. He discussed with General Ji Huan Li. Huan Li took the road to the newly opened market. General Ji divided half of his troops and went to the tribe of Chief Tuoyhan next to the Caiyun tribe. The remaining
General Ji can lead a retinue of 2,000 people.
General Ji's thick black eyebrows frowned, "What does this mean? Is it possible, Xiao Du, that you want to show weakness to the enemy?"
"No." Du Changshi said solemnly, "What we are worried about is whether the Caiyun tribe is willing to surrender and whether it sincerely surrenders. The army pressing down on the border is nothing more than coercion. We can only bring the right weapons to make them feel a little threatened, but this threat
Only with a non-fatal number of troops can we see whether they are sincerely willing to accept His Highness's teachings."
Huan Li asked, "Once the troops are divided, how to contact them?"
Du Changshi's method was to first determine their respective time routes, and then use scouts and flares to send out signals and convey the news so that reinforcements could be rushed as soon as possible.
After the agreement was reached, Huan Li changed his route five days later and went to the new Trade Department established by His Highness the Prince. It was said that it was extremely lively. Scholar Tang even asked, "Where are you going, Mr. Hu?"
"I think this journey is quite peaceful. Let him go to the Trade Department to see how it is there. When he returns, he will tell His Highness that we can go out and run two errands at once. Your Highness will definitely be happy." The grassland is cool and cool.
The autumn wind blew over Du Changshi's handsome face and Tang Xueshi's worried look, "Master Hu also has a thousand people under his command. Just go to the Trade Department. Do we have enough people here?"
"It's okay. There are two thousand people under General Ji's command." Xueshi Tang was a civil servant and had no experience in military affairs. What's more, when marching on the grassland, he saw a crowd of people. The exact number was all Du Changshi's deceit.
Chang Shi, who showed his boldness and courage, asked Xueshie Tang with a smile, "Isn't it true that you are afraid of being insecure with a small number of people?"
Scholar Tang tried his best to keep his face and opened his mouth to deny it, "Am I afraid of this? I just wanted to go through His Highness's instructions before setting off. Doesn't this violate His Highness's royal edict?"
"There will be military orders abroad. Don't worry, I will take care of everything." Du Changshi assured him with a pat on his chest.
It was not until later that they were chased and killed by people from the Caiyun tribe on fast horses wielding long knives that Scholar Tang learned a profound lesson: that is, do not believe a word of what this person named Du said!
This war was irritating, but it was originally a good thing. Although the requirements were very harsh to the Caiyun tribe, and the people of the Caiyun tribe also expressed their dissatisfaction. But Scholar Tang also had the ability to intimidate others, "You are planning to kill the crown prince first.
, you are coveting the throne, I advise you to put down your butcher knife and turn around, otherwise, you will all see the consequences of the Sudimir tribe's disobedience to His Highness."
What I said before is all nonsense, but Sudimir's words are very shocking.
Now Meng Gu, the head of the Caiyun Tribe, came forward to receive Scholar Tang. He was not afraid of the terms proposed by Scholar Tang. Instead, he analyzed the terms with Scholar Tang in detail one by one and welcomed the prince back to the tribe. This article was put aside for the time being. Everyone.
Starting from the second article, Meng Gu asked directly, "If I follow your Excellency to Xinyi, I wonder what His Highness plans to do with me?"
Scholar Tang calmed down and said in a warm voice, "As long as you admit your mistakes, Your Highness will definitely show mercy."
Meng Gu's bronze face was calm and calm, "Sir, could you please tell me in detail."
Scholar Tang was a little stuck for a moment. His Royal Highness the Prince did not say how to deal with Meng Gu. Scholar Tang said seriously and sincerely, "I will give you advice to save you from being accused."
"Then our tribe offered iron ore, where did the weapons and guns used by the tribesmen come from, and where did the iron pots used by women to boil water and cook come from?" Meng Gu continued to ask.
"You are also His Highness's subjects. Your Highness loves the people like your own children, and naturally you will have a worry-free livelihood."
"Our tribe has no intention of confronting His Highness, and I, Meng Gu, will not hesitate to live or die even to welcome back the Crown Prince. However, Mr. Tang must give me some concrete guarantees instead of empty promises."
Meng Gu was tall and strong, with a resolute face as a man on the grassland. He looked older than Du Changshidu, but in fact he was only in his early twenties. Judging from his calm demeanor, he was much better than Xueshi Tang.
The negotiation was naturally led by Scholar Tang. Seeing Scholar Tang being questioned, Du Changshi took a sip of milk tea from the polished brass bowl and said, "These three conditions cannot be changed, but the details can be discussed. Lord Menggu wants some specifics."
Guarantee, you might as well tell us how specific it is."
Only then did Meng Gu take a look at the pretty-faced official who was picky about food and drinks when he came to the tribe. He thought he was a charming young man from an unknown high-ranking official family among the Han people. Even if he had the title of deputy envoy, he should be the follower of the Tang Zhengshi. It turned out that
What a powerful person.
The sticking point between everyone is that Meng Gu demanded that the power of the tribal nobles to lead troops should not be touched, and at the same time, half of the Caiyun tribe should be in the iron mine.
Du Changshi, a scholar of the Tang Dynasty, did not agree to either of these. If the tribe expressed its surrender, it would have to hand over its military power. His Highness the Prince could agree to choose the leader of the army from among the tribal nobles, but the military power would be changed. Secondly, the iron ore must be completely
Belonging to His Highness the Prince, they can be rewarded with sufficient cooking utensils every year, and qualified soldiers will also be issued corresponding weapons, but all this is decided by His Highness the Prince.
Scholar Tang did not take these grassland aliens seriously at all. He had the arrogance and reserve of a civil servant, while Du Changshi was naturally tough and would not give in.
Since the conversation couldn't go on, there was nothing to talk about. Du Changshi counted the time and said goodbye. Originally, it was nothing, business was not done with justice, but everyone knew that, relying on the victory of the Sudimir tribe, His Majesty the Prince,
What he sent may be his brave iron hoof and long sword.
Meng Gu discussed with his two younger brothers Agula. Under the weak light of the oil lamp, Agula's face revealed a ruthless expression, "General Ji, who is leading the army, looks a bit old. Tang and Du are both nerds."
, with only two thousand soldiers and horses, in this vast grassland and Gobi, it is normal for some accidents to happen."
□□ said, "We can't do it openly. After all, we are nominally surrendering to the Dongmu court. What's more, the prince sent us an envoy. We can't kill the envoy openly."
"There are those Central Plains people rushing over, and there are also the Sudimir rebels wandering outside. They will not be unwilling." Meng Gu said.
The three Menggu brothers did a very good job of killing people with a borrowed knife, but the premise is that success will be very beautiful. Du Changshi and his entourage left the Caiyun Department and encountered this gang of gangsters at night. Du Changshi had long been on guard against the Caiyun Department's secret attack.
Be on guard, not to mention that even a superb swordsman cannot play a decisive role in this kind of military battle.
After Du Changshi slaughtered these people, he easily found out the mastermind behind the scenes - the Caiyun Department. He immediately led two thousand people to the Caiyun Department to interrogate the charges and demanded that the Caiyun Department hand over Meng Gu's head!
When the Caiyun tribe took a look at these unsatisfactory things, they obviously failed to kill people but were killed instead. Agula had the most violent temperament and rushed out of the tribe with his warriors!
Du Changshi used all kinds of methods to lure the enemy deeper, not to mention the means of encirclement and encirclement. If he had not brought only two thousand people here, the Caiyun Department would not have easily resorted to borrowing a knife to kill people.
However, after all the beatings, these words will go far away if they are mentioned again.
For example, Scholar Tang was almost killed by an assassin's sword, so the handwriting he wrote to Mu Anzhi was particularly tough. When his own safety was threatened, this scholar no longer refused to talk about ominous things about soldiers. Tang
The bachelor was frightened all day long, worried that he would not be able to win this battle.
Fortunately, Xin Yicheng received the second urgent letter on the seventh day after receiving the first urgent letter from Xueshi Tang. It was a good news——
The rebels of the Caiyun tribe surrendered, and the two envoys were about to return to the royal city with the guilty officials of the Caiyun tribe. The victory of this battle was due to the favorable timing, the right place and the right people. It was also the result of His Highness the Prince's benevolence and righteousness that moved the heaven and the earth. Therefore, the evildoers were punished, and the northern border was peaceful.
.
At the end of this good news, there is the signature of the deputy envoy, Du Changshi.
Seeing these disgusting words, Mu Anzhi smiled and said to the ministers, "Don't look at the handwriting of Master Tang, but these must be Xiao Du's words. Master Tang has always been reserved and will never praise the king like this again."