Chapter 301: Geluo Ren (3)

The Geluo people and the Uighurs have always been half-brothers, living under the shadow of the Western Turkic power. However, after the two jointly wiped out the Western Turkic Khan, the only one who was commended by the Tang court was the Uighur Guli Peiluo. Since then, the two brothers have parted ways. After the Uighurs gradually became stronger, the Geluo people also split into two and became vassals of the Uighurs and the Tang Dynasty. The Geluo people who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty were also excluded by the Tuqi Shiren supported by the Tang court, and completely became a third-rate nation that was not valued.

However, the rise of the Gelulu people was in the battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Dashi. It was precisely because of the Gelulu people's turnaround that the Tang army suffered a crushing defeat in this battle. After the war, as a reward for the war, the Gelulu people replaced Tuqi Shiren and became the master of the vast area south of Yibohai (now Balkash Lake). Later, its power gradually expanded westward and occupied cities in the Ruiye River basin such as the Ruiye City and the Talas City.

After the third year of Xuanren in the Tang Dynasty, with the establishment of the policy of the Uighurs moving westward, the Gelulu people increasingly faced strong military pressure from the Uighurs and began to find another way out. In the sixth year of Xuanren, Zhang Huan, the governor of Longyou of the Great Tang Dynasty, attacked Hexi, Tubo failed in the battle with the Uighurs for Anxi. At this time, the Tubo people who were eager to change the situation and the Gelulu people who were eager to find a way out finally discovered the common interests between them. The Gelulu people and the Baifu Turks jointly sent troops to attack the backs of the Uighurs, which forced the Uighurs to give up the battle for Anxi before winter came.

However, the ecstatic Geluo people who had just occupied most of Beiting's land, soon after, suddenly realized that their journey south was actually trapped in the quagmire of the four countries' wars and deaths.

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The vast area north of the Tianshan Mountains is rainy and moist. Large areas of poplar forests are distributed among the scattered lakes, but more are endless grasslands. Horses are galloping and cattle and sheep are eating grass leisurely. At the end of June, the 80,000 Tang troops from Yiwu, led by the Longyou Jiedushi and the Great Marshal Zhang Huan, marched into the depths of Beiting.

The beautiful scenery did not attract Zhang Huan's attention. Along the way, he was considering the changes in the court situation. He was considering the far-reaching impact of this drought that had not been encountered in decades. Guanzhong should not have a great impact due to the support from Longyou and the transportation of Jianghuai. He was Pei Jun's territory. He would use his political advantages to persuade the wealthy households to release food and calm the spread of hungry people. The key is the Central Plains region, which is controlled by Cui Qinggong and Wei Deqing. Will the situation be out of control due to the competition for food? New hatreds and old hatreds are indeed very likely. If the two people break out of war, then the impact on the court.

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Just as he was thinking, a fast horse rushed from the front, the cavalry immediately bowed to report: "Governor, there has been a large-scale assembly of the Geluo cavalry on the front line of Jinman. Please decide."

Zhang Huan raised his eyes and looked around. He saw a large army walking on a high ground. A river in the distance winded east like a jade belt. The large area of ​​poplar forests on both sides of the river were dyed red by the morning glow. He pondered for a moment and ordered: "Send the army to be stationed, and send scouts to explore the information."

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Pulei County is more than 200 miles southeast of Jinman County, under the snow-capped mountains on the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. It is a beautiful and quiet small town. The lake is like a mirror, the river is winding, and large areas of forests and grasslands are filled with vitality under the blue sky.

A group of horses galloped past, and one herder was waving a long whip on each side of the horse. The two herders were about thirty years old and a few years younger. Their years of life in the wild made their faces very dark and rough, but their bright eyes showed a warning that ordinary herders did not have.

Yes, they were two ordinary scouts in the Xiliang army, one named Sun Muren and the other named Guan Ying, both of whom were from Shuangliu County, Shu County. They were originally soldiers from Zhu Li's army. During the battle of Zhang Huan's capture of Shu County, the two were captured and surrendered to the Xiliang army and transferred to Jiuquan to become a member of the Jiayuguan garrison.

During this battle of the Western Expedition, because they had come to the Western Regions with Qiang caravans and knew some Turkic language, they were temporarily borrowed into the scout camp.

In the distance, a long and winding river flowed from the foot of the majestic Tianshan Mountains, turning around a mile ahead of them and flowing eastward, bypassing a forest, and then disappearing into the distance.

"Lao Mu, do you think that mountain looks like a hammer for our men?" Guan Ying, a slightly younger person, pointed to a stone pillar-like mountain in the distance and laughed.

Amid the roar of the huge horse hooves, he saw Sun Muren gesture at him and shouting loudly, but he could not hear anything, "What are you talking about? Elephant or not?"

There was a river blocking the road ahead, and the horse's speed slowed down. Sun Muren rushed up and grabbed his reins and said angrily: "Didn't you say it? Don't speak Chinese, you should speak Turkic!"

"Turkish?" Guan Ying laughed loudly, "Do you think we are really Turkic? How do you say the Turkic hammer? Do you know how to say it?"

"If you can't speak, just be silent!" Sun Muren, who has never talked much, was really angry. His face turned red and he shouted at Guan Ying: "We are scouts and soldiers, do you understand? We are on missions!"

"Go to his damn shit mission." Guan Ying muttered, "I surrendered but was sent to Jiuquan to guard the border. When will I go home and see me?"

Guan Ying's words also aroused Sun Muren's homesickness. He sighed and gently patted Guan Ying on the shoulder and said, "Fourth, isn't our men suffering and suffering outside just to make their wife and children live a better life?"

Guan Ying lowered her head and stopped talking. Sun Muren pointed to the river and said, "It's noon, go to the river to drink some water and eat something!"

The two of them gathered their horses and let them drink water and eat grass by the river. Each of them filled a pot of water and sat down on the grass by the river. Sun Muren took out a few dry steamed buns and two pieces of dried meat, threw them to him halfway and said, "Eat!"

Guan Ying drank a few sips of the cold river water and ate another steamed bun. He looked at the white clouds and blue sky in the sky and said, "Actually, I just complained. I have done a lot of evil things in the past. Now I feel regretful when I think about it. It is also the right thing to come here to guard the border and atone for my sins."

Sun Muren took a sip of water and sighed: "Although I have never done anything, I have no effort. I have obtained ten acres of land in my hometown. My wife and children have a settlement. Isn't it just for this? I thought, it's better to make a few more contributions and get more than ten acres of land. When I retire from the army, I will not only give my son the capital to marry a wife, but also have to rely on for the rest of my life."

After saying that, he glanced at Guan Ying again, and asked with a smile: "Didn't you get ten acres of land?"

Guan Ying nodded silently, "Actually, I am afraid of death. I am afraid that I will die. What should I do if my mother at home?"

"Actually, who is not afraid of death? I am also afraid, but when I think of my son, I am not afraid."

Sun Muren seemed to have a lot of words today. He stared at the majestic Tianshan Mountains in the distance, stared at the snow, and stared at the boundless sky. A feeling that he had never felt before came to his heart. His eyes became extremely bright and his voice began to be excited. "I was thinking that if I was bleeding and fighting here, my son could slap his chest to other children at the entrance of the village, saying that his father was fighting with the Uighurs in Anxi, Tubos, and Gelu people. At that time, he would be proud of me..."

Before he knew it, Sun Muren's eyes became a little wet.

Guan Ying was silent for a while, and then he whispered: "Lao Mu, how can I ask you for something?"

"Brother, don't say the word 'please'."

Guan Ying sighed, "If I die in battle, you can bring my ashes back to your hometown and hand them over to my mother?"

"Don't talk nonsense! You won't die." Sun Muren pressed his shoulder heavily and stared at his eyes and said, "Remember, although war will kill people, as long as you are not afraid of death, you will not die!"

Guan Ying suddenly laughed, "I won't die! You promised to marry your sister to me."

Sun Muren blinked and smiled sly: "What if my sister is already married?"

"Then I'll go and snatch her up." The two of them looked at each other and laughed loudly.

Suddenly, the laughter of the two stopped abruptly at the same time. They seemed to feel something. The ground seemed to be trembling slightly, and even the kettle placed on the stone fell to the ground.

"It's a cavalry!" Sun Muren took the lead in reacting. Only when a large group of cavalry rushed over would cause such a loud momentum. Both of them were agile and reacted very quickly. They turned over and jumped onto the horse and ran towards the woods in the northeast.

In an instant, they rushed into the woods. Guan Ying climbed up a tree and looked into the distance. He saw about three miles westwards, on the other side of the river, a large group of black cavalry appeared, galloping and murderous aura spread throughout the grassland.

The team was getting closer and closer, about 5,000 cavalrymen. They rushed along the river, but gradually deviated from the river and headed southeast, one direction was where Pulei County was located.

"It's a Geluo guy!"

Sun Muren also climbed up the tree, and he recognized the big flag at a glance. Like the Uighurs, the Gelulu people used wolves as the totem, but the Uighurs' military flag was a black wolf flag, while the Gelulu people were a red wolf. There was also a flying eagle embroidered in the upper right corner of the flag.

"Lao Mu, before we left, didn't the captain say that the people of Geluo gathered in Jinman County? How could there be here?" Guan Ying turned around in surprise and asked.

Sun Muren shook his head, "I don't know either." He thought for a while and said, "It's getting dark, let's take a look."

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Night fell quickly, and the two drove a group of horses toward Pulei County. The county was about ten miles away from Pulei River and was located at the foot of Tianshan Mountain. Like Yiwu County, the population of Pulei County is also very sparse. There are less than 500 families in the county, and they are under the jurisdiction of a Uighur centurion, but now he has escaped and the entire county is in an unmanned state.

The small county town could not accommodate five thousand cavalrymen, but the whereabouts of the Geluo cavalry were not found within a radius of five miles of the county town. It was really surprising. After discussing, the two of them stayed in a herdsman's tent outside the county town.

The people in this area are mainly Turkic people, and there are many descendants of Han military households. For decades, everyone has intermarried with each other, and their living customs are the same. It is difficult to distinguish them. Turkic words like Sun Guan and others are not standard, which is nothing. You can tell at first glance that they are Han people.

Pulei County has always been like a paradise. The people here are generous and hospitable, treat people simple and have no scheming.

The herdsman was a Turkic man in his fifties. His two sons were captured by the Uighurs and served as soldiers. Only he and his wife lived together. Sun Muren and others asked for a stay, so they packed up their son's tent.

"Did you ask the cavalry teams at noon? I've seen it." The old man spoke very slowly. In front of him, the cow dung stove was burning vigorously, and the milk teapot was cooked with a rumbling sound. He took out a piece of black and winning tea cake from behind, broke off one piece, crushed it and put it into the iron pot.

"Those are devils who kill without blinking, stay away from them."

Sun Muren's Turkic words were a little stronger. He sighed and said, "We don't want to provoke them either, but they snatched our horses. We want to explain to the host family, and we must know where they went?"

The old man smiled, "They didn't go anywhere, they're here?"

He didn't look up, as if he knew the surprise on the two of them. He added two pieces of cow dung to the fire, and then said slowly: "So I know you are not locals, why don't the locals know where they are?"

Sun Muren bowed, "Please tell me clearly!"

Without waiting for the old man to speak, the old wife next to him interjected: "The cavalry were hiding deep in the Tianshan Mountains, behind the county town... Alas! I heard that many women were captured, so pitiful!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" the old man interrupted his wife, "That was the last time, they didn't arrest anyone this time."

He poured a bowl of milk tea for each of them and smiled at them: "Behind Pulei County is the Tianshan Mountains, where there are more than a dozen huge canyons, the big ones can even hide tens of thousands of people. More than a month ago, an army of tens of thousands of people was hidden there."

When the old man said this, Sun Muren had already fully understood that more than a month ago, the vanguard of the Tang army was ambushed fifty miles north of the county town, without catching the ambush in advance. It turned out that the Geluo people were actually hiding in the mountains.
To be continued...