Five hundred and thirtieth chapters soldiers come to Khotan
After dawn, the Tang army attacked everywhere to drive away the Tibetan herdsmen. Those who resisted were all killed, and thousands of households of Tibetan herdsmen were expelled from Anxi.
Guo Song led his men to inspect around Qiemo City, which later became Qiemo County. It is located at the northern foot of Kunlun Mountain. Thanks to the melted snow of Kunlun Mountain, there are large oasis areas and numerous rivers, which finally merged into
Qiemo River flows into Puchang Sea.
Guo Song pointed at the surrounding oasis with his horsewhip and said: "It is completely possible to build a Qiemo military town here, and implement military settlements in the surrounding oasis. There is no problem in being self-sufficient in food. We can also raise cattle and sheep, and we can also solve the problem of sources of meat and fur."
Xie Tianshan said on the side: "It has always been the old prince's dream to establish a military town in Qiemo. He initially wanted to connect the four cities on the Qiemo River to the east, but failed because of the continuous flow of Tibetan troops.
Killed from the plateau."
Guo and Song Dynasties can completely understand that Qiemo City is located right at the bifurcation of the Kunlun Mountains and the Altun Mountains. Coming from the plateau, Qiemo City is the only way to pass. This is the reason why Tubo regarded Qiemo City as a stronghold.
Guo Song nodded and asked, "How are the four cities of Qiemo River doing now?"
The four cities of Qiemo River refer to Nuzhi City, Xincheng, Dianhe City and Putao City. They were captured by the coalition forces of Tibet and Tuyuhun ten years ago. I wonder what the situation is like now?
Xie Tianshan sighed and said: "The four cities of Qiemohe are gone, and the last garrison has been transferred to Khotan. The old prince wants to rebuild, but he has no manpower and material resources, so he can only give up."
If a large city is rebuilt on the original site of the four cities on the Qiemo River and regarded as a military town in Qiemo, it would actually be better than building it here. Behind it is the Altyn Mountains, and is irrigated by the Qiemo River. The oasis is more beautiful than here.
If you have more, you can still farm a lot. Although there are many oases here, the wind is too strong in winter and the cold is unbearable.
At this time, Guo Song pointed his riding whip to the north again and asked Xie Tianshan: "Can I go directly north from here?"
Guo Song has been thinking about this problem. From Qiemo City to Kucha City, he has to turn back to Puchanghai and then head west. The journey is too long and takes too much time. If he can go directly north, he can save at least four or five days.
time.
Xie Tianshan shook his head and said: "Going directly north from here is the hinterland of the desert. It is impossible to leave. We usually walk east to Pu Tao City, and then go directly north. We don't need to transfer to Puchang Sea, although there is a map over there.
There is still a small oasis on the edge of the Landa Desert. It only takes two days to cross it on horseback, which is three days shorter than walking through Puchanghai."
"What if we go west?"
Xie Tianshan smiled and said: "In fact, it is better to go west. First go to Khotan Army Town, and then go north along the Yuhe River. You can directly cross the desert and reach Kucha City."
The Yuhe River is the Hotan River in later generations, formed by the confluence of the Yulong Kashgar River and the Karakash River. It was not a seasonal river in the Tang Dynasty. Even in the dry season, there was still a small amount of river water flowing northward into the Chihe River. Now is the time when the ice and snow melt.
, there was more water. This was the reason why the Anxi Tang Army did not go through the Puchang Sea. They went directly to the Yu River and crossed the desert to reach Khotan Town. There was no need to take a long detour.
Guo Song thought for a moment and then said happily: "Then go to Khotan Town!"
Two days later, the Tang army completely drove away the nearby herdsmen and seized a large number of cattle and sheep. These cattle and sheep were not owned by the herdsmen, but belonged to the Tibetan military. The herdsmen only grazed for the Tibetan military. Xie Tianshan told Guo Song about this.
, the Tang army was naturally not polite, and seized all the more than 200,000 cattle and sheep belonging to the Tubo army, and drove the herdsmen back to the plateau.
At this time, 5,000 camels from Puchanghai arrived at Qiemo City carrying 20,000 shi of grain. Guo Song left a thousand troops to guard Qiemo City. He led 15,000 troops, 5,000 camels, and a large number of cattle and sheep.
Head to the town of Khotan, thousands of miles away.
.......
It is about 1,200 miles from Qiemo City to Yutian Town. There are several oases along the way. It used to be the defense city of the Tang Army, such as Lancheng Guarding, Nirang Guarding and Kancheng Guarding, but now the troops are insufficient.
, each camp has been abandoned, and the oasis has been invaded by Tubo and Tuyuhun herdsmen, and the Tang army in Anxi was unable to drive them away.
The Tang army walked for ten days before finally arriving at Yutian Town. The military envoy in Yutian Town was also his old friend Zheng Ju. When he was the general of Nuzhi Town, Zheng Ju went to Qiuci for help and almost died in Puchanghai.
He was rescued by Guo Song, who came to Anxi for the first time.
Zheng Ju's father, Zheng Wengao, was a veteran horse envoy in Khotan. After his death a few years ago, Guo Xin appointed him as the army envoy in Khotan. He took over his father's sword and continued to control Khotan.
There are currently one thousand troops in Khotan Town. In the past two years, as the Tibetans continued to occupy pastures, Khotan also felt the pain. They began to treat the Tang army kindly, and the living conditions of the Tang army in Khotan were slightly improved.
When Zheng Ju heard about the arrival of Guo Song, he went ten miles out of the city to greet him. Looking at the endless Tang army, Zheng Ju was even more excited. Guo Shijun was going to kick Tubo out of Anxi completely!
He accompanied Guo Song all the way to the city of Khotan.
"It's funny to say that last autumn the King of Khotan wanted to take back the Nanshan Pasture, but he did not notify us. He led two thousand troops to drive away the Tibetan herdsmen. As a result, hundreds of Tibetan troops came and killed them. The Khotan army was severely defeated, and several people were killed or injured.
With a hundred men, the Tibetan army also attacked the city of Khotan, but we defended it. The King of Khotan's attitude towards us changed drastically, and he became closer than his own brothers."
Guo Song suddenly became interested and asked: "How did a thousand soldiers defend the city of Khotan?"
"Use kerosene!"
Guo Song's eyes lit up and he quickly asked: "Where is the kerosene?"
"There was one in the heart of the desert. We packed more than 2,000 barrels. When the enemy came to attack, we burned more than 200 Tibetan soldiers to death with kerosene, and they had to withdraw."
This was good news. There was kerosene in Anxi. Guo Song, who had been searching for kerosene in Hexi to no avail, was greatly refreshed. He was also prepared to spend a high price to buy kerosene in Yanzhou. This would save him money.
Guo Song heard another message in his words and asked again: "Where did the Tibetan army you just mentioned come from?"
"You don't think the Tibetan army came from Shule, do you?"
Guo Song shook his head, "I thought so at first, but it didn't feel right. Even if the Tubo army had wings, it wouldn't be able to fly so fast."
"The Tubo army is in Jiliang Town, about thirty miles away from the city of Khotan. There are 500 Tibetan soldiers stationed there. The pastures here are large and there are many Tubo herdsmen, so they are protected by the army and have basically not invaded each other for so many years.
But the nature of the incident last year was more serious. The death of more than 200 Tibetan soldiers was a big deal for them. The Tubo army in Shule was likely to come to retaliate. The King of Khotan had been restless this winter and came to me several times to discuss countermeasures. Now, your envoy
Come with the army, I think he can have a peaceful sleep."
The army did not enter the city, but stationed directly outside the city. They carried a marching tent. The marching tent was relatively light and easy to pack and set up. They could be folded directly and placed on the horseback. One marching tent could sleep three soldiers.
The Chinese army's tent was immediately set up. At this time, Zheng Ju hurriedly brought in a middle-aged Hu man with a black face and a beard, his head wrapped in white cloth, with a huge ruby on his turban, and wearing a fine leather jacket.
Zheng Ju introduced to Guo Song: "Envoy, this is King Ajuluo of Khotan!"
Guo Song quickly saluted, "Guo Song, I'm here to pay homage to the prince!"
The King of Khotan bowed deeply and said in proficient Chinese: "We look forward to the Tang Dynasty army like a sick man looking forward to a good doctor. Finally, the envoy is here, and the Han Dynasty will be famous."
Guo Song heard that his accent was very standard Chang'an Mandarin, so he smiled and said: "The prince seems to have stayed in Chang'an?"
"I lived in Chang'an for more than ten years when I was young. In fact, the monarchs from various countries in Anxi have lived in Chang'an, so language communication is not a problem."
"This is convenient. Your Majesty, please take a seat!"
The two of them sat down separately, and a soldier served them tea. Ajuluo asked expectantly: "This time Guo Shijun led the army here, it should be to restore the Anxi Jiedu Mansion!"
Guo Song nodded, "Indeed, this is also the last wish of Lord Guo, and it is also the wish of every one of our Tang Dynasty soldiers."
"But the Tang Dynasty and Tubo signed an alliance agreement. If you take the initiative to attack Tubo, will you be impeached by the court?"
The news was not smooth, and Ajuluo did not know what happened in Chang'an and Longyou.
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Last autumn, we had a fierce battle with Tubo in Longyou, and the alliance agreement had been torn up, so I decided to lead the army into Anxi."
"That's great!"
Akuro asked very excitedly: "What do you need us to do?"
Guo Song nodded, "I believe that driving Tubo out of Anxi is not only the wish of the Tang army, but also the common wish of all countries in Anxi. I hope that this time we can work together to drive Tibet out of Anxi, so we are launching Shule
Before the battle, I will convene a gathering of all countries in Kucha to discuss the plan, and I would also like to ask the prince to convey it to everyone for me."
"I will be happy to convey this to you!"
Ajuluo hesitated and asked again: "The Tang army came from the east. I wonder what happened to the Tibetan army on the other side of Qiemo City?"
Guo Song bowed slightly and smiled and said: "We have wiped out a thousand Tibetan troops in Qiemo City, and the Tibetan herdsmen have been driven back to the plateau. We will annihilate the Tibetan troops in Khotan. The main force of the Tang army will be temporarily stationed in Khotan Town.
We have brought grain and 200,000 cattle and sheep, so we will not cause any trouble to Khotan."