In March of the tenth year of Tianbao, Li Siye, the governor of the four towns in Anxi, mobilized troops and horses from various cities and towns to gather in Shule Town. He also mobilized two cavalry battalions from the Beiting Han Navy, totaling 20,000 people. These 20,000 people
The total cost of logistical supplies was not small. In addition to carrying enough supplies for the march, people from Shule were also recruited to transport grain and grass.
After receiving Li Siye's order, the envoy of Shule Town, Zhao Chongxun, immediately ordered the craftsmen to lead the Shule army to repair the beacon fortress next to Shule City, and temporarily converted it into a satellite city to store the grain and grass transported. At one time, the four towns of Anxi were completely destroyed.
Everyone was mobilized, and everyone could feel the tension brought by the new Jiedushi.
In fact, Li Siye is not considered a new appointee. He is a veteran with deep roots in the Anxi camp. Although he is not as good as An Sishun, a veteran who has endured for a long time, he still has a resume of fourteen years. He once served as Shule and Khotan.
He served as the town envoy for two times and served as deputy governor for five years. These well-known Anxi generals were once his subordinates. This was the greatest convenience for him to take up the post. There was no need to adjust. The Anxi in his hands was already solid. This was a matter of course.
things.
When Gao Xianzhi served as the Jiedushi envoy, he transferred Feng Changqing from Shule to Qiuci, and petitioned the court to appoint him as Chaosan official and Jiedu judge. After Li Siye took office, he sent two memorials directly to Chang'an, requesting the appointment of Feng Changqing.
Chang Qing was appointed as the Deputy Protector of Anxi, Duan Xiu was appointed as the Deputy Protector of Beiting and Judge of Jiedu, and Tian Zhen was appointed as Han Haijun Envoy. At this point, his right-hand man and team had been formed.
On the eve of setting off from Kucha, he called Feng Changqing to him, patted him on the shoulder and said: "I am going to Shule to prepare for the battle to meet the big food. You stay in Kucha to arrange money and food."
Feng Changqing crossed his arms and said with some worry: "Doctor, I heard that the Great Food Army is brave and good at fighting, especially the Great Food Horse, which has strong endurance, can travel long distances, and can withstand hunger and cold. Doctor, you must not take it lightly."
"You are right. Naturally, I have to be more cautious, and I also want to bring back a bunch of big food horses for you to breed with the Turkic horses. The two sides will make up for each other's shortcomings, and we will definitely bring good horses to the Anxi Cavalry."
"Then I wish the doctor everything he wishes will come true and he will succeed immediately."
…
On the third day, Li Siye led the Chinese army out of Kucha City in a mighty manner. He was accompanied by Duan Xiushi, Tian Zhen, Cen Shen and Dai Wang. They passed through Tuojie Pass and passed by the Baima River. On the river, the Tang army built two wooden towers.
A large amount of grain and grass were pulled across the bridge by horse-drawn carriages.
Li Siye stood on the hill beside the river and looked at the continuous grain transport team in the distance, and he could not see the horizon at a glance.
Tian Zhen muttered beside him: "Is the Da Shi Army really coming? We inquired from the business travelers who came from the Western Regions, and there was no news at all. But we heard that the Da Shi people have been busy changing dynasties in the past two years, and are fighting over there?
What a joy, the emperor in white has become the emperor in black."
Li Siye sneered and said: "The emperor in black is called the Caliphate. Can we get real-time information from the merchants and travelers? It's all delayed. I don't know what happened in the year of the monkey."
He turned back and ordered Dai Wang: "Dai Liulang, after arriving in Shule, you immediately gather a group of people to form a scattered caravan and go to Samarkand and Bukhara, the frontier towns controlled by Talas and Dashi, to inquire about their
Fake and real. Focus on checking the number of cavalry and infantry and the supply of food and grass. As the saying goes, know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles."
"Here."
Duan Xiushi leaned his head from his horse and interjected: "It seems that it is not enough to just inquire about these things. Who is the opponent's general, whether he is trusted by the emperor...the caliph, what his abilities are, and what battles he has fought. Knowing these is to know yourself and the enemy."
"
Li Siye raised his head and spoke calmly: "Bingbo Xilin is the food governor in charge of the Khorasan region. He is also the founding hero of the emerging Abbasid dynasty. How do you describe his status in this emerging dynasty?
It is equivalent to Li Jing and Li Ji in the Tang Dynasty."
"So awesome," Tian Zhen opened her mouth in surprise: "Can we do this?"
"I am here to tighten the strings for you, not to make you afraid of the enemy. He is just like you and me. He has two shoulders to carry a head, and he is a person who can talk and breathe. He will also make mistakes and be defeated.
moment, so you don’t have to be afraid. But according to my guess, he will not personally participate in this war, but will sit in command from the rear and send his confidant general Ziad bin Saleh, and this Ziad can also
If we want to compare him to those who are good at conquering war, he is equivalent to the gathering of candidates for the Great Eclipse."
"This is quite remarkable." Duan Xiushi said immediately.
"I say this to you to heighten your vigilance and stimulate your fighting spirit. How can our Anxi Army become stronger and stronger? That is to constantly defeat the powerful enemies around us. We have defeated the Tuqishi people and the Tubo people.
Starting from today, we must defeat the big cannibal. Only in this way can we dare to say that we are invincible in the world."
The four people bowed behind him and crossed their hands at the same time: "We are willing to work together with the doctor to drive Da Shi out of the nine countries in the river."
After a while, Li Siye led the Chinese army behind the grain transport team and helped them cross the Kubera Desert. He happened to meet the messenger coming from Shule along the post station. The post messenger saw the signal of the Jiedushi team.
Jie Liuhuan quickly grabbed the reins of the horse, turned over and dismounted, crossed his hands and reported: "I'm sorry to see you, Ambassador!"
Li Siye rode on his horse and asked condescendingly: "But is it the official document from Shule?"
"Exactly, please ask Zhongcheng for more details."
Yan Xiaosi stepped forward to take the letter from the courier and came back to hand it to Li Siye. Li Siye opened the letter and read it calmly before turning back and saying to everyone: "Zhao Chongxun got the information from the Sogdian business traveler. It is said that Dashi's
A partial division has already stationed in Talas City and threatened to capture the four towns of Anxi."
Several people looked solemn upon hearing this, and then they realized that the black-clothed food army was really coming. At the same time, they were amazed at Li Siye's super ability to foresee and make response arrangements in advance.
Li Siye was speculating on the past historical evolution of the parallel world. Gao Xianzhi only got the news at this moment, and then Kucha mobilized his army to trek across the Congling Mountains and attack Talas City. If he wanted to change this historical process, he would have to change the war situation again.
, not affected by psychological suggestion.
"What a loud tone!" Tian Zhen immediately leaned on the horse and crossed his hands: "Doctor, I, Tian Zhen, would like to lead the Han navy cavalry as the vanguard and give the big cannibal a severe blow."
Li Siye waved his hand and said: "There's no rush, let's go step by step and get to Shule Town first."
They speeded up their journey and rushed all the way to Shule Town. It was already dark after entering the city. Li Siye temporarily stayed at the Shule Governor's Mansion, and the four of them gathered together again to formulate a plan under the oil lamp in the study.
The lights were a bit dim, and Li Siye was sitting right across from the lamp, his body hidden in the darkness, and only his face was illuminated extremely clearly by the dim light.
"Based on the advantages and disadvantages of both sides, the Black-clothed Dashi is an emerging dynasty. It has good army mobilization capabilities and an aggressive attitude. We also have both of these, so there is nothing to worry about. Secondly, Gao Xianzhi defeated our army on the 9th in Hezhong.
With connections in the country, most of these Sogdian Hus have already turned to the Great Food Army, boosting their strength and arrogance. However, we still have two allies, Ning Yuanguo and Ge Luolu. Therefore, we need to make two moves first.
First, send agents to pretend to be merchants to spy on the enemy’s intelligence. Dai Wang will be responsible for this. Second, treat the guests to dinner.”
Tian Zhen looked over and met the light and asked, "Who are you inviting?"
"Of course, please invite King Ningyuan and Geluolu Khan."
"It seems too polite. When we called them to fight in the past, we didn't invite guests, so they couldn't keep following us."