Jiaohe City, outside the inn gate not far from the Cheshi Palace, in front of the official house of Li Danghu, the Wusun envoy Zuo Tu sat silently in the carriage, enduring the eyes of passers-by, without saying a word.￥f.￥f

Zuo Tu was a slave brought by Aruikan from the Hunxie tribe. He was originally a Han man. He was captured to the Hunnu when he was young and sold to the Hunxie tribe. He became Aruikan's playmate and grew up with Aruikan. He was well-versed in Chinese and Xiongnu. Later, he came to Wusun and learned Wusun. He was a trusted confidant of Aruikan. Then he sent him as an envoy to Kucha to contact Dongfangshuo.

Zuo Tu received the order and did not dare to neglect it. He went day and night to Wensu and Gumo first. After visiting it, Zuo Tu confirmed that what Lie Jiaomi said was true. The people of both countries were circulating the reputation of Han soldiers, and the powerful and powerful countries were also respectful of the Han people. Although they had not yet surrendered, they all expressed their intention to be unwilling to be enemies with the Han people. While warmly receiving the envoys from Wusun, they also kept a distance intentionally or unintentionally.

Zuo Tu rushed to Kucha despite the fatigue of his journey. After arriving in Kucha, he rushed to the inn where Dongfang Shuo lived, but was told that Dongfang Shuo was not in Kucha, and he went east half a month ago. Zuo Tu asked repeatedly, but did not receive a clear reply. He only said it was a daily inspection and did not know any other details.

Zuo Tu became more and more uneasy, and rushed to Jose's mansion to ask for a visit. He knew that Jose was a general of Kucha and had a very good relationship with Dongfang Shuo. After waiting outside the door for a long time, the servant in Jose's mansion told him that Jose was busy with official duties and had no time to meet him. As for Dongfang Shuo's whereabouts, Jose was very generous and told Zuo Tu that Dongfang Shuo was going east and was going to Jiaohe City to meet with Li Danghu. As for what he did, he didn't know.

After hearing the implication, Zuo Tu spent some time before he found out something: the King of Kucha was considering surrendering to the Han Dynasty and intending to marry the Han Dynasty.

Zuo Tu was so scared that he was scattered. He knew that the situation was urgent. If Kucha really had a marriage with the Han Han, other small countries would definitely follow the Han people, at least they would remain neutral. At that time, only Wusun would do the right thing with the Han army. In this way, not only Hunting Jiaomi was in danger, but even Aruikan's small abacus might fail.

Needless to say, Dongfang Shuo was running around regardless of the cold weather, and must have been negotiating with other countries to win their support.

Zuo Tu rushes quickly and chases eastward, and finally catches Dongfang Shuo in Jiaohe City. He immediately asks to see Dongfang Shuo, but Dongfang Shuo does not see him. He says he has to be busy and asks him to come again in two days. Zuo Tu is not willing to listen, so he waits outside the door and insists on seeing Dongfang Shuo.

Dongfang Shuo was obviously a busy person. During the half-day period when Zuo Tu was waiting outside the door, Dongfang Shuo had not been idle, and there were endless visitors. Often, the one in front had not left yet, and the one behind came again. Zuo Tu saw it and was even more shocked.

Finally, after nightfall, a soldier came out and led Zuo Tu into the side door. Dongfang Shuo and Li Danghu were sitting in the hall, drinking. When they saw Zuo Tu, Dongfang Shuo pointed to the empty seat. "Sit down, eat something first."

Zuo Tu was tired and hungry, but when he heard this, he was still very happy and said, "Thank you, sir." He rolled up his sleeves, drank two glasses of wine, cut off a few pieces of meat and stuffed them into his mouth, chewed them for a few bites and swallowed them.

Seeing him eating voraciously, Dongfang Shuo smiled and pushed the meat in front of him to Zuo Tu, watching Zuo Tu feast. After Zuo Tu almost killed half of the lamb leg, a large pot of wine, patted his stomach and burped, then he said, "What's so urgent? You want to see me so desperately, and you don't know how to avoid suspicion."

Zuo Tu pretended to be puzzled. "I'm here to see you, why should I avoid suspicion?"

Dongfang Shuo and Li Danghu exchanged glances and changed the topic. "What's the point of seeing me?"

Seeing Dongfang Shuo talking about him, Zuo Tu felt more certain that there was something wrong with him. He immediately followed the plan in advance and said with a smile: "I came to pay homage to the sir on the order of the princess. What I want to discuss is naturally a big deal."

"It's Arui who can be ordered to come." Dongfang Shuo nodded slightly and breathed a sigh of relief. "She made the decision."

"Yes, she is willing to cooperate with her husband. I wanted to wait until her husband goes to Akaga Castle before talking, but I didn't expect that the husband would not come for a long time, so I had to send me here."

"Oh, there are a lot of things happening recently. Besides, it's not convenient to snow in the mountains. I'm thinking of going to see you when the snow melts next spring."

"But the sir is not at ease, but he is very busy. I kept chasing him here before I caught up with him."

Dongfang Shuo glanced at Zuo Tu and laughed. "Okay, okay, don't say it so badly, as if I have something shameful. I didn't go to Chigu City. The reason I said just now, and there was nothing false. It's a business here, and it's impossible to shirk it. By the way, you have heard news about General Liang along the way."

"What's the news about General Liang?"

"He went to Shache, and might be in Shule. If things were handled well there, he might come to Kucha to meet me."

Zuo Tu's heart skipped a beat. Liang Xiao was going to come to Kucha Shache. What does Shule's matter handled smoothly? Is it because the military preparations are completed? He really wants to attack Chigu City in the middle of winter.

Although reason told him that this was unlikely, Zuo Tu was still worried. Liang Xiao had fought many seemingly impossible battles, and had also done marching in heavy snow. At night, attacking Wudan and surprise attacking Cheshi were all marching in winter.

"What's wrong with you?" Seeing Zuo Tu's face changing, Dongfang Shuo laughed in his heart. He deliberately said hesitantly, just to make Zuo Tu suspicious and let him guess by himself. The more uncertain he was, the more nervous he became. When he rewarded Aruikan and Lie Jiaomi, the panic caused was even stronger.

Zuo Tu's heart was calm and he stopped talking.

Li Danghu sat silently on the side, watching Dongfang Shuo's words make Zuo Tu turn around and sigh in secret. Liang Xiao arranged for Dongfang Shuo to stay in the Western Regions to be too right. He trapped Wusun Liejiaomi with just one mouth, and could not move, and bought precious time for Liang Xiao.

Zuo Tu tried repeatedly but couldn't find out the exact news, so he had to leave in a bad mood.

After seeing Zuo Tu away, Li Danghu, who had been enduring for a long time, finally laughed out loud. "Manqian, your strategy of trying to get scared the Wusun people very much."

"This is empty after all." Dongfang Shuo put away his smile. "Mr. Li Jun, you have been stationed in Cheshi for so long. You know how much you know about the situation in Shanbei. Chigu City is dangerous and it is difficult to succeed in a strong attack. We must find another plan."

Li Danghu nodded repeatedly. He had passed by Akagu City and knew that if he wanted to get closer to Akagu City, it was simply unrealistic to attack strongly.

"I think you should go to the north of the mountain to see what's going on there." Li Danghu said slowly: "Although we have been in the Western Regions for many years, our control range is limited, especially in the north of the mountain, and we have rarely entered. If we want to attack Wusun, we can only go to the north of the north, and we can't do it in the south, so we start from the north. As for the Chigu City I saw, although the valleys in the north and south are not small, it is probably unlikely to support tens of thousands of people."

Dongfang Shuo's eyes lit up. "You mean, they have to eat from outside the mountains."

"I think it should be, but we don't know much."

"Okay" Dongfang Shuo slapped his thigh. "I know what to do. Li Junhou, you must prepare early. If you really want to start a war against Wusun, you will definitely join the war."

"I've been ready long ago. I was suppressed by Tianlang and could not move. I felt uncomfortable with this anger. I had been waiting for this day. Man Qian will fight next spring."

"I can't say it. When can I fight, the most important thing depends on whether Liang Boming can find a winning strategy. After all, he has to rely on force in the end. Lie Jiaomi is also a hero and is unlikely to be scared."

"Then what are you busy with?"

Dongfang Shuo gave Li Danghu a blank look. "This is the difference between you and Liang Boming. If it were him, he would definitely not ask that."

Li Danghu laughed. "I'm not him, otherwise why should I wait for him? I'd killed Tianlang long ago."

Outside Shache City, Liang Xiao strangled the war horses and watched the war horses galloping past in front of him, with a slight head.

The Yuezhi elites who were retained until the end were indeed extraordinary. After several days of training, these knights have already mastered the tactics of the Han cavalry. As long as they persist in practicing, they can soon become elites who can ride and shoot in melee like the Han cavalry.

With Mosuyeye's approval, Liang Xiao recruited 300 cavalry from the Shache defenders. This is the most knights recruited from a country in history. Most of the countries in Nanshan have limited strength, and Liang Xiao recruited 100 cavalry each time.

"I was already a little suspicious of the general's record, but I really believed these warriors." Mosuyeye rode on a white horse and sighed softly. She wore a hat with a black veil on the edge of the hat, which could not only block the wind and sand, but also block the eyes of others, adding a bit of mystery.

Tie Huali was secretly proud when he heard this. Although Liang Xiao had never been willing to accept Mosuyeye by the customs of Yuezhi, the two got along very well, making it difficult to believe that they had no favors at all. Maybe it had become a good thing. No matter what, Liang Xiao had announced his protection for Moruodun and Xiao Aliusu, and his purpose was achieved.

"Mrs. I'm too rewarded." Liang Xiao bowed slightly and calmly. "We Han sages said that we can fight for seven years and train us. Training is essential. Even the herdsmen who have lived on horseback since childhood are different from real soldiers."

"What's that real warrior like?"

"A true warrior is not afraid of profit, he goes through fire and water, and obeys his orders."

"If there are three thousand such warriors, they can rush across the Western Regions." Tie Huali praised and said, "Although the Yuezhi and the Huns all claim to be good at fighting, no one has ever had such insights. They are just a group of mobs. How can they not be defeated when they meet a well-trained Han army?"

Liang Xiao laughed. "Prince, I can't do anything about it. There is too little farmland in the Western Regions and I can't support too many soldiers. I can only strengthen my training as much as possible and win with elite soldiers. However, this is just a difference between real soldiers and ordinary soldiers, and not even the most important point."

"What's the most important point?"

"Real soldiers take it as their mission to defend, but ordinary soldiers are not. They fight for the benefit. For the sake of interests, they may even turn to hurt those who need their protection, which is no different from thieves." Liang Xiao glanced at Tie Huali. "Of course, people have to live, too many troops and insufficient support are also one of the reasons for forcing good people to steal."

Tie Huali's eyebrows swayed and remained silent.

Compared with elite military strategies, this kind of warrior's idea of ​​protecting is more novel. At least it was the first time he heard about it. They never shame on robbery, they rob when they can't survive, and they rob when they are profitable, which is even natural for them. Because of this, they are ready to rob others at any time and must beware that others may rob them at any time. Having more troops has become an inevitable choice.

He used to think it was natural, and he had never doubted the rationality. Now, when Liang Xiao said it, he suddenly realized that they had actually entered a dead end and had no safety at all. No matter how many household registration they had or how many people they had, they were struggling on the verge of life and death, either being defeated by powerful enemies or starving to death because of poverty. Even a snow disaster could push a powerful tribe into the abyss of death.

"General, where are you going next?"

"I want to go to Shule." Liang Xiao said: "The envoy of King Shule has arrived. I want to go to Shule to see. There are many merchants coming and going to Dayuan, and maybe I can find out some news about Dayuan. Speaking of which, I have been away from Dayuan for five years."

Mosuyeye didn't say anything. She had heard about the Dayuan princess Luo Xuli. Liang Xiao's mount was given by Luo Xuli. Luo Xuli also gave birth to a son for Liang Xiao. The relationship between the two was beyond doubt. It was reasonable for Liang Xiao to hurry to inquire about Luo Xuli's news.

But she felt a little disappointed.

Tie Huali watched coldly, feeling quite proud. Hehe, a lonely man and a widow, young, one is a hero and the other is a beauty. I don’t believe you don’t feel anything at all. He turned around and looked. “General, I want to try your training method myself, is it OK?”

Liang Xiao agreed immediately. "Of course, please give me a gift."

"Okay, I'll try it. I'll learn a few tricks in the future, so that I can train my subordinates to ensure safety." Tie Huali kicked the horse forward, looked at Liang Xiao, and then looked at Mosuyeye. "Madam's safety, please be more worried about the general."

Liang Xiao then understood what Tie Huali meant and responded embarrassingly. Mosuyeye didn't say anything, but the atmosphere was a little awkward. Tie Huali pretended not to see it, and rode away with his personal guards, leaving Liang Xiao and Mosuyeye speechless.

After a long time, Mosuyeye said, "Will the general go to Daxia next year? If you have the chance, please send me a message to my parents and report your safety."

Liang Xiao nodded and agreed. "Sure."

To be continued.
Chapter completed!