Chapter 15: Let's give up again and again

On the second day, Zhang Mai set out. In addition to the left and right arrow camp, Shi Jian also brought fifty people as infantry guards. Shi Jian and Shi Ba brothers started the same, but Shi Ba, as his younger brother, had already become the commander and was always in front of the generals of the Central Army. As his older brother, Shi Jian had mediocre qualifications and had slowly reached the position of team chief. However, one advantage was that he knew his fate, was not jealous of his younger brother, and was very satisfied with his current situation, because he did not compare himself with Shi Ba, but with himself in the current period of the Tibetan Monument Valley.

More than 200 cavalry set out from Shule, and they were not very fast at first. Soon they arrived in Weitou. On the way, Zhang Mai heard the news that the Guiyi army was preparing to mediate the battle of Yanqi. After Zhang Mai learned about it, he ordered a quick horse to whip, stay overnight at dawn, and gallop throughout the journey. Finally, he arrived in Kucha at the end of August.

Zhang Mai stopped in the ruins of Kubira City on the edge of the Kubira Desert, and first sent cavalry into the city to report the news.

"Is the Protector coming?"

Guo Shiyong was overjoyed when he received the news. He ordered soldiers from the three prefectures and 5,000 newly surrendered soldiers in the city. He led Xi Sheng and Li Bin to Jupiluo City. After meeting, Zhang Mai asked, "How is the Yanqian side?"

Li Bin said: "Our army was stationed at Tiemen Pass and confronted the Yanqi garrison. There were about 20,000 troops in the city. Xue Fu stationed at Quli. Gaochang sent about 5,000 reinforcements to Yinshan west of Yanqi, but did not enter the city. Shiba rushed to them several times but did not fight in the camp. Shazhou used the name of mediation, Cao Yuanshen, the second son of Cao Yijin, led 10,000 troops. He had already arrived at the Peacock River 120 miles south of Yanqi, but refused to join us."

Zhang Mai said: "What did the people you sent to Shazhou say, how did you make Cao Yijin so hostile to us?"

Li Bin said: "The envoys we sent did not speak out in particular, but invited them to hunt Yanqi. According to the news sent back from Jialing, the people of Shazhou heard that our army's victory in Kucha were all celebrating, but the government did not make any noise. It seemed that the Cao family itself had a ghost in their hearts."

Zhang Mai pondered for a long time before saying, "Shazhou is still our ally. If possible, I still don't want to get into evil with them." He sighed softly and said, "I came here today. I originally hoped to make another ally like Khotan. Let everyone work together to revitalize the Tang Dynasty. Now it seems that I have to put some thought into it." He asked again, "What are the mediation of the Cao family? What do we ask us to do?"

Li Bin said: "They said Gaochang and Shazhou also have marriages, and we are their allies and do not want any harm to either side, so I hope we will stop the attack first, and peace is the most important thing for everyone."

Zhang Mai asked, "What do you think?"

Li Bin said: "Cao Yijin said that harmony is the most important thing, and he uses high-sounding words. In fact, he should hope that our two families will not go down and be evenly matched, so that he can be in the middle and get along with each other. If we fight with Vijay, we will have to beg him at that time, but he can not offend anyone, and will keep the peace of Sha and Gua without spending one soldier and one armor."

Zhang Mai nodded, and remembered Ma Jirong's analysis of the diplomatic strategy of the Cao regime, and felt that Li Bin's inference was inconsistent with it.

Li Bin said again: "Cao Yijin's plan can be said to be to protect the family, or to preserve the samurai. His intentions are not bad, but if the situation develops according to his vision, it will be quite unfavorable to us. We have to try to break the deadlock."

"What do you think we should do?"

Li Bin said: "Although the Cao family has troops to mediate, I expected that they would never dare to participate in the war directly. Therefore, we should do whatever we should do about Yanqi. If Yanqi is captured, the situation will be more beneficial to us. The Cao family may have to readjust their strategies."

Zhang Mai thought about it for a long time, but said, "We promised them to withdraw."

Li Bin and Xi Sheng were both stunned and asked in unison: "What?"

Zhang Mai said: "I said we promised them to withdraw their troops and make peace!"

Li Bin said: "Retreat now?"

"Yes." Zhang Mai said: "The Guiyi Army and our Anxi Army are both subordinates of the Tang Dynasty. We have just formed an alliance and are not suitable for getting along with our allies. We let them give in and let everyone in the world know that we have the sincerity to form an alliance with the Guiyi Army. We immediately sent an order to the front line, saying that we accept the mediation of the Guiyi Army and stop the attack immediately."

Li Bin hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said, "But Yang Yi on the front line, Shi Ba is full of murderous aura, I'm afraid..."

"I said I would stop the attack, and stop the attack! All the besieged troops retreated into Tiemen Pass. The city was not allowed to be attacked without my order." Zhang Mai interrupted him and said, "Let Yang Yi hand over the troops to Murong Chunhua and come back soon. The entire Shiba tribe of the mansion returned to Kucha, and the order was immediately reached. At the same time, a letter was drawn to invite Cao Yuanshen to meet in Kucha."

Without further objection, Li Bin issued an order to Yang Yi according to Zhang Mai's instructions, and invited Cao Yuanshen to meet in Kucha.

After receiving the order, Yang Yi said angrily: "What? Why should we stop the battle? Just rely on a mediation document from Shazhou? When we fight here, we are exchanged for the bloody battle of tens of thousands of soldiers on the front line. We stop by someone saying a word. What is the blood and sweat that the soldiers have already sprinkled out?"

Shi Ba also shouted, "Yes! We won't go back! Please go back and report to the Protector, and said that we will go back until we have captured Yanqi."

The envoy took out a series of documents with a picture of the seal and recited: "General Yang Yi, the chief lieutenant Shi Ba, return to Kucha quickly and leave immediately, and do not delay." The envoy just read the documents directly, his tone was calm, and after reading, he said: "General Yang, please hand over the troops to Commander Murong Duwei. Shi Duwei, please lead the troops back to Kucha immediately."

But Yang Yi and Shi Ba looked at each other, feeling uneasy, but they dared not disobey. Shi Ba then led the soldiers of our mansion to retreat westward. Yang Yi only brought a few personal soldiers, did not dare to stay, and rushed back to Kucha overnight.

At the same time, all the newly surrendered troops from Quli City were transferred to Wulei City for reorganization and training, leaving only the three prefectures to guard Quli for Xue Fu.

After returning to Kucha City, Yang Yi said nothing, but Shi Ba shouted angrily: "Major Protector, why did you ask us to come back? Do you know that Yanqi's defenders were beaten to us so hard that they dared not stand out? People who drove from Gaochang dared not step over the Yinshan Mountain. Now, the great army has been completely destroyed in this retreat!"

Zhang Mai said: "Little Shitou, it's a pity to lose the opportunity to lose the army, but we have formed an alliance with the Guiyi Army. Since we are allies, we must try our best tolerate each other."

Shiba shouted, "Ally? Do they think we are allies?"

Zhang Mai said patiently: "Friends who have made friends with us from the beginning like the Lord of Khotan, are hard to come by, and for others, they must slowly get started."

"Run-in?" Shi Ba shouted: "But we can't hurt ourselves!"

Zhang Mai said: "We will not suffer any loss. Today's tolerance will be rewarded in the future."

"But……"

Zhang Mai waved his hand and said, "Okay, the brothers in Longxiang Mansion have been expeditioning thousands of miles. It's enough to be tired after fighting for so long. You are made of stones, but others are not. You can pass on my orders to let them unarm them. Each person goes to the Kucha Warehouse to collect the reward silver and relax in the city for a few days. There should be a lot of fun in Kucha City and ask them to play by themselves. If there is any dispatch, I will pass on the order again."

Shi Ba said slanted, feeling bored to have fun, but after going out to pass on Zhang Mai's reward, all the soldiers in the mansion were happy and cheered for Zhang Dadu.

After the stone was drawn out, Zhang Mai came to see Yang Yi. The two had not met for a year. At this time, they reunited. Seeing that his hands and feet became rougher and his face was thicker than last year, Zhang Mai patted his shoulder and said, "I have watched the places like Wensu and Weitou all the way. It was so desolate that I expected. You were alone with an army, but Zheng Wei didn't give you a grain of rice. It must have made you tired."

Yang Yi shook his head and said, "It's nothing. Soldiers only have to live a hard life to be trained to become successful. The more comfortable life is, the less soldiers can't fight."

Zhang Mai nodded and said that after he entered Kucha these days, he looked at the surrendered troops under Guo Shiyong and Xi Sheng. He felt that the training of these people was not very qualified according to the standards of the Tang army. However, after Guo Shiyong's description, it seemed that the combat effectiveness of the seven thousand Muqins trained by Yang Yi was quite considerable, so this time the Wulei reorganization did not transfer the seven thousand Muqins.

Yang Yi looked up and down at Zhang Mai and said, "Most of you protect your flesh seems to be a little white."

How close the two were in Xinshuo Ye City, but at this time there was a distinction between the superiors and the subordinates. Yang Yi wanted to appear closer to Zhang Mai, but what he blurted out was the "Major Protector".

Zhang Mai smiled bitterly and said, "Not only did the flesh turn whiter, but his belly also became a little bulging. If you continue to live in Shule, your figure will be distorted in another year."

Yang Yi said oh, and did not take what he said, but said, "How are you going to fight in Yanqi? Are you really planning to make peace with Viaga? Kucha, Yanqi is one, and Kucha itself has no danger to defend. If we only rely on Kucha and not take Yanqi, our situation will be difficult to expand in the future. On the contrary, if we own Yanqi, then Viaga will become difficult to gain a foothold when returning to Gaochang."

On the way back, he kept calculating the current situation, and that anger had long disappeared. After all, Yang Yi was already a general who was the only one. Although his temper was dry, he was not a reckless man.

Zhang Mai said: "Our next goal is to restore the four towns. Yanqi is the last town of the four towns, so it must be taken. But there is one thing more important than attacking Yanqi, that is, the hearts of the Han people in Hexi. This cannot be achieved by winning battles. It is not a big problem for Yanqi to attack for a while, but if the Han people in Hexi are disgusted with us, then the trouble will be great. You can be tough against Hui barbarians, but you have to use softness against Hexi. What I mean, let's see how the Cao family responds. Let's take a step back first, hoping that the Guiyi Army can also respond to our kindness."

Yang Yi leaned over and said, "The Protector is farther away from me, I will listen to you."

Zhang Mai said again: "Cao Yuanshen's reply should be a few days away. You can relax. By the way, someone from Shule came to propose marriage to you, and he also asked Fen'er to be a matchmaker and wanted to tell you a wife. Guess who the other party is."

Yang Yi smiled faintly and said, "Just let them arrange the marriage, the orders of parents, and the words of the matchmaker."

Zhang Mai said, "You are relaxed in this matter. That's a wife."

Yang Yi said: "A man will travel thousands of miles to serve the country. If his wife and children are about to come, he will naturally come. Why bother to worry more about his wife and children?"

Zhang Mai was stunned for a moment, nodded silently, thinking that although Yang Yi was his subordinate and younger than him, he was more relaxed in women's affairs than himself.

Zhang Mai originally expected that there would be a reply from Guiyi Army within five days after Yang Yi arrived, but unexpectedly, there was still no news after seven days. Li Bin was a little impatient and said, "Now it is already autumn, and the army of Gaochang Uighurs will go south at any time. What's the point of dragging them like this!"

Zhang Mai was not too busy, and he had no time to wait. After he arrived in Kucha, he immediately asked Guo Shiyong and the sacrifice to gather 15,000 surrendered troops and dragged them to Wulei City to reorganize and train. Before Zhang Mai arrived, Guo, Xi and Xue had already conducted a selection and integration, but the last integration was in a hurry. After that, Xue Fu led his troops to fight. Guo Shiyong and Xi Sheng were responsible for the city defense of Kucha and the public security of the surrounding areas respectively, and they did not focus on this. After Zhang Mai took over Kucha, Guo Shiyong drafted a special training schedule of about a month and a half, and pulled the troops to Wulei. Guo Shiyong was the main training officer and Xi Sheng was the deputy training officer. After this one and a half months of special military training, he tried to further integrate the five thousand people into the Anxi Tang Army system.

As for the government affairs and public security in Kucha, officials from various government officials who came from Shule took over one after another. Zheng Wei, who heard that there was a change in the east, came on the way and rushed to the front of Guo Fen and other families.

The envoy of the Guiyi Army did not arrive in Kucha City until the tenth day of September, but the reply he brought was that Cao Yuanshen was leading the army outside and was inconvenient to come to Kucha to serve as a marquis.

Zheng Wei and Yang Yi both frowned, and knew that the Guiyi Army seemed to be very alert to their side. Shi Ba was about to shout out, but Zhang Mai smiled slightly and said, "That's a pity. I once heard Taiwei Ma of the Khotan talk about the style of the second young master, and I was eager to see him, but I didn't want the opportunity to come yet. However, this time, the second young master Cao came to mediate our army and Gaochang, and I believe there will always be opportunities to meet."

Cao Yuanshen's envoy passed on Cao Yuanshen's words, saying that Tiemen Pass was too close to Yanqi and that the army stationed in Anxi was there. The soldiers and civilians in the city were panicked, hoping that the Anxi army could withdraw from the Yanqi Basin so that the Yanqi people could feel at ease. "In this way, our two young masters could mediate in the center."

Shi Ba was furious when he heard this and shouted, "Who wants you to mediate! It's not enough to make us truce. We still have to withdraw from the iron gate? No way!"

During this period, Shi Ba was galloping around Yanqi, and his reputation was already very famous. Cao Yuanshen's envoy was shocked by his reputation and was frightened by him and he was so scared that he took two steps back.

Zhang Mai opened his eyes and said in a slight manner: "It's your turn to speak here?" He ordered Shi Jian to say: "Pull him down, whip him twenty whips, and destroy his wildness!"

Zheng Wei and Li Bin hurriedly pleaded, and Shi Ba shouted, "You don't have to plead for me! Dadu Protector, you should beat me if you want to. My life is yours! Even if you beat me to death, I won't blame you for anything! But I still have to say that! Dadu Protector, I know you don't want Anxi, and there is a gap in Hexi. I also know that you try to tolerate it because you want the two families to trust each other and get along well, but Dadu Protector, you understand, and they don't accept your affection at all. You kindly invite Cao Yuanshen to meet him. He should have arrived immediately. Even if he doesn't come, he has to reply quickly, but he has dragged it again and again. Until now, he has a saying of "inconvenient", and he doesn't even see anyone. How can there be any friendship to talk about in this way? There is no minimum politeness! Dadu Protector, he doesn't think we are our own people anymore, why do you have to use your hot face to stick to someone's cold butt!"

Cao Yuanshen's envoy was stabbed in the sore spot by Shiba, looking very embarrassed, but Zhang Mai turned his face and shouted: "Don't pull it down, just whip him thirty times here!"

Several guards looked at each other and couldn't bear to take action. Shi Jian stepped forward and said, "I'll do it!" and said, "Brother, I don't know the major military and political affairs, but you shouldn't roar on such occasions. The Protector did not call you wrong! This is a military order, and I will not keep my efforts."

Shiba took off his clothes, took them naked, turned his back and shouted, "Come on, don't keep your energy! Just beat me. If I hum, I will return the name Shiba to the Great Protector!"

Shi Jian's martial arts skills have long been far inferior to his younger brother this year, but his strength is great. He said he didn't keep his strength, so he really used nine-point strength. Although Shi Ba's skin and flesh were as hard as a stone, he was still slapped from his back to his thighs. Cao Yuanshen's messenger was so embarrassed that he covered his face with his hands and couldn't stand it on twenty whips, so he hurriedly came to plead for him.

Zhang Mai said, "I, Anxi Tang Army, clearly had a grudge, and the rewards and punishments. Shiba was wrong, so a whip could not be missed." After hitting Shiba, Zhang Mai ordered him to drag him down and imprison him to face the wall and think about his mistakes. Shiba shouted, "No need to be held, I will walk by myself." After putting on his clothes, he endured the pain and walked out.

Looking at the pile of dandruff on the ground, Cao Yuanshen's envoy couldn't help but be frightened, but Zhang Mai seemed to have not seen it and said to Yang Yi: "I'll send the order to let Murong Chunhua retreat from the Tiemen Pass and retreat fifty miles."

Yang Yi took the order and said, "Yes."

Zhang Mai said to Cao Yuanshen’s envoy again: “Empress, is this enough?”

Before Cao Yuanshen's envoy came, he heard about how Yang Yi, the Anxi Army, and Shiba were so domineering. At this time, he saw them obediently in front of Zhang Mai. He was even more shocked, and was even more intimidated by Zhang Mai's momentum. He hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, I'll go back and ask General Cao to step up the mediation."

Zhang Mai said, "Don't step up, take it slowly - today is the tenth day of September. After the seventh day, please ask the three leaders to gather together on Ironmen Pass to discuss peace. At that time, I will only bring a thousand guards to you. As for the Guiyi Army and Yanqi, I will follow the emperor."

Cao Yuanshen's envoy was stunned and said, "Seven days later? This... is too urgent."
Chapter completed!