The biggest natural enemy of desert marching is climate.

In Gu Qing's eyes, the climate of the desert is even more strange than Huangfu Sisi's temper. It is clear and cloudless weather, but it turns its back on the face, without any warning, and the sky is dark and sand is flying through the stones.

Before the departure, Gu Qing specially invited a few more experienced guides, promising a large sum of money, all of whom were cavalry. Not only that, Gu Qing also brought 5,000 extra war horses and more than 1,000 camels forcibly bought or rented from the caravan in Kucha Town. The entire team had more animals than people, and most of the spare animals were carrying food, grass and drinking water.

Nearly 20,000 Anxi Army were setting off the road ahead, and Gu Qing's 10,000 troops were escorted back. This army was the richest and most luxurious among the entire Anxi Army. It was like a group of bandits who made a fortune by robbery, looking straight at the jealous and envious eyes of the Anxi Army with their heads held high.

The Ming Daliang was carried by war horses and camels behind the team. The bulging bags of grain and the water tank sewn with fur made of nitrogen were particularly conspicuous.

Gu Qing ordered this purposefully. He told the Anxi soldiers with practical actions that I can’t do it when fighting, but I can’t do it for logistics.

Leaving Kucha Town and heading eastward, the army marched along the Chi River. After traveling fifty miles a day, camped. The soldiers of the four towns of Anxi set up a camp together, while the 10,000 left guards under Gu Qing set up a camp ten miles apart.

The scouts who were inquiring about military information kept coming from the front.

More than ten days ago, after the Tubo army captured Khotan, more than 5,000 remaining defenders retreated from Khotan, went deep into the desert along the Yu River. Yesterday, they had already walked out of the desert and were gathering towards Kucha Town.

The Tubo army marched into the depths of the desert five days ago, but disappeared. Countless scouts entered the desert and searched for many days, but lost the trace of the Tubo army in the desert, as if they had disappeared out of thin air.

We cannot blame the scout for not investigating and losing the enemy. The desert is too big. The name of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tang Dynasty is "Turun Mori". It is the largest desert in China and ranked tenth in the world in later generations. It can be seen that the desert area is huge.

An army of 30,000 people entered the desert and disappeared into the vast desert without any attention. It was already very difficult to find it again. It was difficult to even distinguish the direction in the desert. It was simply a fantasy to find out the enemy.

The news of the loss of the enemy really made the entire army quite uneasy.

I am not afraid of a god-like opponent, but I am afraid that I can’t even find the opponent’s trace, which adds too much uncertainty to this battle.

On the third night of the camp, Gao Xianzhi's commanding tent beat drums and gathered all the generals to the commanding tent to discuss matters.

When Gu Qing walked into the tent, he found that the atmosphere was very serious. All the generals had a gloomy face and did not say anything. When Gu Qing came in, the generals just bowed in a sloppy manner.

It is definitely not a good thing that the enemy's traces disappear. Gao Xianzhi's plans before the war must be pushed back. Now the next attack location of the Tubo army can only guess with the only clues. Such speculation is too risky. If you guess wrong, the price will be very high. Not only will your side be lost, but the enemy may also take the opportunity to attack unexpected cities, causing serious strategic mistakes.

"Jings General, the general thought that he could only divide his troops to attack at this time!" A general stood up and said sternly.

When the generals heard this, they whispered to each other, some agreed, and some snorted coldly.

Gu Qing sat next to Gao Xianzhi, without saying a word.

Among these battle-produced generals, Gu Qing is currently just a younger brother. He is just a younger brother regardless of age or military experience. The younger brother must have the awareness of his younger brother, listen more and watch more and speak less.

Bian Lingcheng, on the other side of Gao Xianzhi, looked a little haggard. Obviously, the march these days has been quite hard. The eunuch has lost a piece of parts. Will riding a horse be more difficult than a normal person? This question is a bit profound. Gu Qing secretly wrote it down and decided to ask Bian Lingcheng sincerely before he decided to kill him in the future.

"Jie Zheng, the last general thought that the division of troops must not be done! The bandits had 30,000, and our army included the 10,000 troops under the command of Deputy Envoy Gu, and the Tubo gangs had not weak combat power. Both sides were evenly matched. If any troops and horses encountered the Tubo gang after the division of troops must be wiped out, and Ji Zheng must observe it!" Another general opposed fiercely.

The two generals immediately started a big quarrel in the commander's tent, and the fight was red. The generals stood in teams, and the quarrel became more and more intense. The hot temper was already rolling up their sleeves and ready to take action.

Gao Xianzhi kept his face gloomy and silent, just staring at the Western Regions map on the table, his expression was dim and unpredictable, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

At this time, Gao Xianzhi was under great pressure. He was the commander. The victory and defeat of the entire army were all in his mind. The emperor of Chang'an was obviously dissatisfied with him. If he did not submit a beautiful answer in this battle, I am afraid that Chang'an's decree would come soon. He was transferred from Anxi and returned to Chang'an to retire.

Gao Xianzhi is a general with a strong sense of self-esteem. He is unwilling to go back to Chang'an in shame as a loser.

The key now is the enemy's traces and attack targets. There are not many cities along the desert, but there are at least four towns in Anxi, as well as many cities including Xizhou, Tingzhou and Yizhou. Gao Xianzhi wants to bet on these cities, guessing which city the Tubo army might enter the palace and then send troops.

It's too difficult. If you guess wrong, Gao Xianzhi's future will be over.

Gu Qing kept looking at him silently, tactfully without saying a word. With Gao Xianzhi's strong personality, he did not need other people's advice at this moment, he only believed in his own judgment.

After a long time, Gao Xianzhi coldly stopped the quarrel of the generals in the commander's tent and said in a deep voice: "The whole army camped on the Chi River and prepared. We will not march tomorrow. We will send ten teams of scouts to bring enough food and water into the desert, and march from different directions to inquire about the enemy. If we encounter Tubo traitors, we will come back to report immediately."

All the generals had no choice but to accept the order.

Gu Qing nodded, which was a last resort. It was more conservative, but very safe.

The discussion had no result. Gao Xianzhi dispersed after giving this military order. Gu Qing rode back to the camp. After returning to the camp, he immediately summoned four generals including Chang Zhong.

"How many days can our army's food, herbs and drinking water support?" Gu Qing asked on the head.

Chang Zhong thought for a while and said, "The food can be supplied to two months, the forage is slightly less, and it can be used for more than a month for war horses. There is no need to worry about drinking water. We camped on the Chi River. It is still summer. I will ask the guide. The Chi River in summer is abundant, and it can be consumed after it is boiled. It may dry up in winter..."

Gu Qing murmured: "Two months are needed, if you add some more people, one month should be enough..."

Chang Zhong said curiously: "The Marquis means..."

Gu Qing sighed and said, "The scout came to report that the retreating defenders from the city of Khotan have left the desert and are about to reach Kucha..."

Chang Zhong blinked and suddenly understood something: "The Marquis wants this defeated army?"

"I heard that there were 5,000 defeated soldiers, many of them. Anyway, Yutian has been lost and their system has been disrupted. It is better to take them away. No matter how powerful the enemy they encounter in the future, they will eventually have thousands of useful troops in their hands. There are both advantages and disadvantages, but it is worth it after measurement." Gu Qing said slowly.

Chang Zhong said: "This army was defeated recently, and its morale was difficult to boost when it was short of strength, and its combat power was also jealous. If it encountered an enemy, I would probably not be able to count on how much they played..."

Gu Qing pondered for a long time and smiled and said, "After all, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Even if you can't count on them, you won't lose anything in vain. What if this defeated army can still be used after the rectification?"

Nodding vigorously, Gu Qing said decisively: "Okay, that's the decision. General Chang, immediately send someone to Kucha City and take the defeated army over. I want these five thousand men!"

Gu Qing said the truth, so Chang Zhong had to take the order and surrender.

Sitting alone in the commander's tent, Gu Qing stared at the map and studied it for a long time, trying to find the real strategic intention of the Tubo army. However, he had no experience in fighting and had no idea about it for a long time. The desert was so big and there were many cities outside the desert. Before he knew the strategic intention of Tubo, any city could be attacked by Tubo.

Han Jie quietly walked into the handsome tent and said, "Mr. Marquis, it's time to have a meal."

Gu Qing's eyes moved away from the map, sighed in frustration, and rubbed his temples with aching force.

"Does this Tubo traitor run into the desert to die? What exactly do they want to do?" Gu Qing murmured.

Han Jie whispered: "It is not my race, and what we do is naturally difficult to guess. Tubo is located on the plateau, with poor real estate, and his people are brave and warlike. The Tang Dynasty might be able to suppress their ambitions at the beginning of its founding. But now, the battle between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty often wins more than defeats, and for some reason..."

Then Han Jie said: "But the merchants in Tubo have a gentle temper. Maybe they have learned bad things from the merchants in our Tang Dynasty. They slapped their faces and smiled. They were willing to do business, haha."

Gu Qing blinked his eyes, and there seemed to be a light of inspiration in his mind, which suddenly appeared and disappeared.

"Tubo merchant?" Gu Qing murmured.

"The Marquis doesn't remember? Before we arrived in Kucha City, we encountered a group of bandits robbing the Tubo caravan on the road. The Tubo merchants were so grateful that they almost knelt down to the Marquis. There were also many Tubo merchants in Kucha City. They were still wearing leather robes in the hot weather, and the strange smell on their bodies almost smelled. Now when they saw Tubo merchants in Kucha City, they all detoured from afar..."

Gu Qing suddenly laughed a few times and said, "Tubo merchants are good, really good, haha..."

Seeing Gu Qing's expression suddenly become happy, Han Jie said in confusion: "What's wrong with you, Marquis?"

"Send a few smart-talking guards to leave the camp and go to Kucha City to find Tubo merchants, especially those who have just entered Kucha City in recent days."

"The Marquis means..."
Chapter completed!