Second, Zuo Zongtang received such a letter and reply from Ma Nuyi! What would he think about in the future? Let’s first look at another recipient, Tugabu.

Ma Wenyi's letter was carried by the earth basket of the defenders of Lanzhou City along the city wall from the bottom of the city and then transferred to Tugabu's hands.

In fact, on the evening of the next day after Enlin escaped from Lanzhou, some small armed forces from the "Xining Muslim Kingdom" who "was first awakened" began to rush to Lanzhou one after another. Lanzhou City is a very great and of course a very wealthy metropolis in their minds. Since God has the eyes to give everyone such a good opportunity to make a fortune, there is no need to mobilize any more. The "holy soldiers" will compete and run towards the "Jincheng" without stopping.

However, before they could see the appearance of Lanzhou City, they encountered an obstruction from Tugabu's tribe outside Xigu City, which was only thirty or forty miles away from their destination.

Xigu City is not only an important commercial city on the ancient Silk Road, but also an important border town in the Western Regions.

As early as when King Zhao of Qin was reigned, this was already included in the territory of Qin and was under the jurisdiction of Longxi County.

During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty, it began to be set up as Jincheng County, which belonged to Jincheng County. In the second year of Jianxing in the Western Jin Dynasty, it became the seat of Jincheng County.

Due to the turmoil in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the world was in chaos, and Tubo took the opportunity to take over the place for his own possession.

But after entering the Song Dynasty, he returned to the embrace of the Central Plains. In the fifth year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty, in order to fight against the Western Xia in the north, he resisted Tubo in the west. The Song border army began to build forts and defend here, called Xiguan Fort, which belongs to Lanzhou.

Later, because the Mongol Yuan destroyed Jin, Xiguan Fort was abolished.

It was not until the 12th year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty that the Ming army rebuilt the castle on the former site of Xiguan Fort, named "Xigucheng"

After the Qing Dynasty invaded, "Xigucheng" was renamed "Xigucheng"

Although due to the changes of the times and the shift of the city's center of gravity eastward, when we mention "Jincheng", we will naturally think of Lanzhou City, which rose later. Xigucheng, the former seat of Jincheng County, has long lost its important position as a political, trade and cultural center.

However, Xigu City has always lost its status as a military fortress of "prospering Lanzhou and prospering Lanzhou". Whether in the Tang and Song dynasties or today, for more than a thousand years, Xigu City has always served as a screen and a risk barrier in the west of Lanzhou City, playing an irreplaceable key to keep the lips safe and warm.

Since Enlin pushed to the "Lanzhou General Guard" by Enlin, the first person to take over was Xigu City. When Enlin really escaped, Tugabu did not spend more energy on the defense of Lanzhou City, but placed almost 60% of the power he had in his hands here.

As long as he Tugabu was not happy, no one of the "Holy Army" of the "Muslim Kingdom" could easily get close to his Lanzhou city.

Of course, Tugab's rejection of the "Holy Army" was by no means arbitrary, but very reasonable:

There must be a rule. If you allow you to run around Lanzhou in a random way, it will damage the image of the "Holy Army". If you accidentally make a mistake and use it by some ulterior motives, wouldn't it affect the major event of "peaceful handover".

Don’t worry, don’t worry. Good meals are always available. Don’t worry about being too late.

Although the brothers of the "Holy Army" who came to the Xigu City defenders were not very satisfied with this dissuasion statement, they did not have much energy.

Let's wait. Anyway, the village that has become deserted has been everywhere, so it is really convenient to go camping on the spot.

On March 8, the vanguard team, who was commanded by Ma Guiyuan, who "peacefully took over" the army, also arrived at the city of Xigu like chasing the wind and rushing to the sun.

But the defenders of Xigu City still strictly followed their old age and gave the medicine to the brothers of the "Holy Army" with great reparations... Chuan Nuan smiled. On the one hand, they also refused the same courtesy. However, this time they had another sentence, "The Lanzhou takeover appointed by His Majesty Ma Wenyi is Grand Marshal Ma Guiyuan."

Therefore, no matter how unwilling these "Holy Army" strikers were, they could only wait like the compatriots in the previous groups.

On March 10, Ma Guiyuan's team finally arrived.

This time, after careful and meticulous verification, the defenders of Xigu City did not make things difficult for the brothers of the "Holy Army" and opened and released the people happily.

Ma Guiyuan, with his 30,000 troops, finally stepped on the "smooth way" of "peaceful takeover" Lanzhou City, the largest city in the northwest.

When the last group of "Holy Army" flocked into Xigucheng Pass and left along the south bank of the Yellow River, they seemed very eager to see the attractive appearance of Lanzhou City. Ma Guiyuan, who surpassed the guards' central army and was wrapped in a vanguard team, had already run to the foot of Baita Mountain located north of Lanzhou City.

Before his eyes, although the rolling surging Yellow River was still lying across the rolling Yellow River, it was no longer the same as other places, because there was a bridge across the Yellow River here. Through it, Ma Guiyuan could step on the unruly Yellow River with one step comfortably.

The bridge that Ma Guiyuan could clearly see before his eyes is known as "the first bridge of the Yellow River in the world", and it is also the large floating bridge "Zhenyuan Bridge" built in the year of Daming.

In the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, the founding father of the Ming Dynasty who came out of the northwest of the town, once built the general of the western defense project Jiayuguan, the Duke of Song Feng Sheng, in order to turn the Yellow River into a smooth road, built the first bridge in the history of the Yellow River seven miles west of Lanzhou City, breaking the historical myth of "the Yellow River in the world has no bridge".

In the ninth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, another founding father of the Ming Dynasty, Feng Sheng's successor, Deng Yu, moved the floating bridge down to ten miles west of the city.

Due to the rapid control of the Yellow River, in order to ensure the long-term, solidity and reliability of the floating bridge, under the command of Deng Yu, the wise builders of that year improved the original bridge piles and used bridge columns cast from pure cast iron as bridge piles. These bridge columns, which were praised by people at that time as "general pillars" like Dinghai Shen Needle, were all close to six meters in height, and each weighed more than 20,000 kilograms.

Twenty-four giant ships, which were maintained by two iron cables and four hemp cables, relying on such solid bridge columns, formed the main body of the entire pontoon bridge. When the ship was paved with wood boards, a large pontoon bridge that could be detached when the winter was frozen, and when spring was in full bloom, it was born. At the same time, the first bridge on the Yellow River also had its own famous name Yizhenyuan Bridge.

In the 18th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Yang Lian, the commander of Lanzhou Guard, relocated the floating bridge again based on actual conditions. Zhenyuan Bridge finally settled in its current location, located only about two miles outside Guangyuan Gate, the north gate of Lanzhou City.

It is said that since the day he was born, few people have never seen Ma Guiyuan who can still smile. At this time, Lanshou City was just on the north bank of the Yellow River, which was across the river. The smile on his face was quite brilliant.

This should indeed be a very happy moment. Because as soon as you step across Zhenyuan Bridge and then ride your horse to enter Guangyuan Gate with your head held high, Ma Guiyuan will be the new owner of this Lanzhou City.

However, Ma Guiyuan seems to be happy a little earlier now.

Because there was an extremely dangerous pass between him and Zhenyuan Bridge, and the closing of this dangerous pass was obviously closed.

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Chapter completed!