The Tang army scouts had stayed in Shazhou for half a month and basically figured out the details of the Tubo army in Shazhou.
A total of 12,000 Tubo troops were stationed in Shazhou, including 5,000 cavalry. The Tubo camp was located thirty miles north of Dunhuang County. The enemy they faced was the Shatuo army who had been killed from Guazhou a few months ago.
, the Tubo army defeated the Shatuo army and killed more than 7,000 enemies.
Although the Shatuo army faced strong pressure from the Geluolu people in the north and did not dare to attack Shazhou on a large scale, the Tubo army still did not dare to take it lightly.
As for the Tang army, the Tubo army did not take it too seriously this time. Shazhou was not adjacent to the territory controlled by the Tang army. Unless the Tang army captured Guazhou first, their logistics and equipment could not be guaranteed at all.
At night, Zhang Yun led his army from afar and quietly approached Dayun Temple. Dayun Temple had been secretly helping them, but Tubo also had patrols around, and would occasionally come to the temple to inspect, mainly to search for Shatuo Army spies.
.
Tang Jun was not at the temple during the day. He only came to rest at night and left quietly before dawn.
As the team approached Dayun Temple, Zhang Yun suddenly waved his hand back to stop the team from moving forward. His eyes were fixed on the lantern hanging at the gate of the temple.
The abbot made an appointment with him. If the temple is safe, two lights will be lit at the gate. If there are a very small number of Tibetan soldiers, one light will be lit. If there are a large number of Tibetan soldiers, no lights will be lit. This is simple and convenient and will not easily be attacked by the enemy.
The army discovered.
Now he could see clearly that there was only one light on at the gate, indicating that there were a few Tibetan sentries patrolling the temple.
"Commander, this is an opportunity!" a brigade commander whispered.
Zhang Yun nodded. He also believed that some information could only be obtained by capturing the Tibetan soldiers. For example, what Guo Shijun had always wanted to know was: why did the Tibetan deputy general kill the chief general?
"Wang Fan!"
Zhang Yun shouted in a low voice, and a thin Tang Army brigade commander immediately stood up. This Wang Fan was attacking Jiuquan County. Immediately after Guo Song climbed up to the top of the city as a scout, he made great contributions. Guo Song was specially promoted.
He is a scout.
His Qinggong is very good and his martial arts is also good.
Zhang Yun ordered him: "You move into the temple immediately, find Abbot Dulin, and ask him about the enemy's situation in the temple."
"I humbly obey orders!"
Wang Fan tidied up a little, then sped up and ran towards the temple a few hundred steps away.
The soldiers of the Tang army were patiently waiting for the news. Not long after, Wang Fan rushed back and whispered: "We found them. There are five people in total. They are messenger soldiers from Tubo. They are delivering messages to Tibet and staying overnight at Dayun Temple after dark."
"Where do they live?" Zhang Yun asked again.
"They live in the Western Chanyuan. The abbot said they drank wine and ate meat in front of the Bodhisattva, making the Bodhisattva Hall a mess."
Zhang Yun was a little surprised. They also ate meat and drank wine, but the abbot was not surprised and said that they must drink wine to keep away the cold in winter.
"Commander, do you want to take action?" everyone asked one after another.
Zhang Yun nodded slowly and left a few brothers to guard the camels. The other brothers followed me!
He left ten soldiers to guard the camels and led the other ninety soldiers to the temple.
The five Tibetan messenger soldiers never dreamed that they would be captured by the Tang army that descended from the sky. In less than half an hour of interrogation, the five Tibetan soldiers all confessed one by one.
Zhang Yun read the translated letter. It was the Tibetan general Lunlituo who requested an additional 10,000 troops after the spring to ensure the occupation of Shazhou.
This information is very important and must be sent to Zhangye immediately tomorrow morning.
At this time, Brigade Commander Wang Fan walked into the door and said: "General, the confessions are out!"
In order to ensure the accuracy of the confessions, the Tang army interrogated five Tibetan soldiers separately and basically asked them for the information they wanted.
Wang Fan handed a piece of compiled information to Zhang Yun and whispered: "The incident of the Tubo deputy general killing the main general is still related to the power struggle within Tubo. The deputy general Lunli Tuo was the Tubo who was defeated by us in the Great Battle.
The military commander was a confidant of the Tibetan Prime Minister Shang Xujie. The Shazhou commander who was killed was called Lunze, and he was a close friend of the Tibetan Prime Minister Shang Zan. This is actually an extension of the struggle between the two Tubo Prime Ministers."
Zhang Yun read the interrogation confession and asked: "How many faith eagles do we have now?"
"Three more!"
Zhang Yun nodded, "Send all three trust eagles back to Zhangye tomorrow morning. The amount of information is too large. I need to sort it out."
At this time, Abbot Dulin's voice came from outside the door, "General Zhang, can you please speak?"
Zhang Yun hurriedly walked out of the room and said, "Abbott, is there anything wrong?"
The old monk Du Lin clasped his hands and said: "There is something I forgot to tell General Zhang. This afternoon, the head of the Cao family sent someone to inform him that the day after tomorrow, the second day of February, is the annual Buddha Festival in Shazhou, and many people will come to Mogao Grottoes.
While worshiping Buddha, you can take this opportunity to sneak into Dunhuang County."
"Then our camels will be stored in Dayun Temple!"
Abbot Dulin smiled slightly and said, "There is enough hay in the temple, general, don't worry!"
The second day of February is the commemorative day, which is also the Buddha Festival. Although the ice and snow have not completely melted, the wealthy households in Dunhuang City will come to the major temples in Mogao Grottoes to pay homage to the Buddha and offer fruits and incense to the caves they dug.
After the sacrifices are over, many wealthy families will welcome Buddha statues back to the city to worship. Buddha statues may be large or small, and they are usually carried back to the city by young men, ranging from a dozen people to hundreds of people. On this day, young people in Dunhuang City
Most of the people were mobilized, and they returned to Dunhuang City carrying large and small Buddha statues.
Zhang Yun and his men were scattered. They were arranged by Cao Qingyun and Zhang Feng, and together with the young and strong men from Dunhuang, they carried the Buddha statues and sneaked into Dunhuang City.
There were a thousand Tibetan soldiers patrolling back and forth on the top of the city, watching coldly the people returning from worshiping the Buddha. The Tubo people themselves believed in Buddhism and did not interfere with the Buddhist worship activities of the people in Shazhou. Of course, the wealthy people in Dunhuang had also informed the Tubo officials in advance
applied and was approved.
It is still easy to distinguish the Shatuo people from the Han people in appearance. It is basically impossible for the Shatuo people to sneak into the city. Even if they dress up as monks, they will be recognized at a glance.
The Tubo people did not think of the Tang army. Before the Tang army captured Guazhou, the Tubo basically did not consider the threat of the Tang army.
Zhang Yun and his hundreds of men managed to sneak into Dunhuang City without any danger.
In the south of Zhangye City, there is a sheep farm that stretches for dozens of miles. Sheep sheds were built in it for the sheep to spend the winter. This sheep farm is owned by the military. There are more than 600,000 sheep in it and it is manned by a thousand soldiers.
take care of.
In addition to the sheep barn, the Hexi Army also has large cattle farms and horse farms, raising more than 100,000 cattle and tens of thousands of war horses. It makes full use of the vast resources of the Hexi pasture and is second to none among the major Jiedu prefectures.
At noon that day, the sun was shining brightly. Guo Song came with a group of officials to inspect the sheep shed. A group of sheep gathered quietly outdoors, enjoying the winter sunshine.
The official in charge of the Animal Husbandry Department introduced to Guo Song: "We just checked yesterday. Almost all ewes are pregnant and usually give birth to two to three lambs. Based on this calculation, the number of our sheep flock will exceed one million this year."
, of course, the old ram will be slaughtered regularly to improve the food for the soldiers."
Guo Song nodded and asked, "Is there enough feed for the winter?"
"Envoy, the Hexi Corridor is different from the Central Plains. The most indispensable thing is feed. We have alfalfa hay, black beans and dried melons. We just need to be careful of diseases. Fortunately, the local herdsmen are very experienced. We asked them to
Come here for guidance and benefit a lot.”
Guo Song smiled and said: "Does that mean the Animal Husbandry Department has no difficulties?"
Pan Liao said quickly: "Of course there are difficulties, and they are not small. The main reason is that there are too many sheep and a lack of manpower. The soldiers are busy from morning to night, and they are a bit overwhelmed."
Guo Song thought for a while and said: "There are only four thousand soldiers in the Animal Husbandry Department and the Farming Department. The Farming Department has to farm and grow grapes, so it is said that there is a shortage of manpower. So be it! You recruit people for fifty cents a day, I believe.
There will be many people applying."
The income level of the people in Hexi is still relatively low. Although Zhangye's business is developed, the income of ordinary people is not high. The average income is only 30 cash per day. Fifty cash per day will be attractive to many people.
Guo Song then said to Pan Liao: "Pan Changshi is responsible for formulating a plan, not only for the Animal Husbandry Department, but also for the Farming Department. It can also recruit additional manpower during the winter and busy farming seasons."
Pan Liao bowed and said: "I understand my humble position!"
At this time, a soldier stepped forward and whispered a few words to Guo Song. Guo Song nodded and said to everyone: "I have something to do and I have to rush back to the military camp. Pan Changshi will take everyone to continue the inspection. Is there any problem? What?"
Difficulties should be solved on the spot!"
Pan Liao quickly agreed, and Guo Song got on his horse and rushed towards the northern military camp with dozens of soldiers.