Chapter 40: The Tang Dynasty is really gone

Kucha gradually stabilized under the joint efforts of Zheng Wei and Yang Yi. By the end of October, An Shoujing led more than 5,000 soldiers to Kucha. The main body of these soldiers was the tribes in the Shule border area mentioned by An Shoujing. He used his old subordinates as the backbone, unified them and advanced eastward to replace Yang Yi to guard the Wensu area. In this area, grazing and training, while maintaining the food route between Shule and Kucha. At this time, Shule had spared his energy to receive military funds from the Wensu area, and could also transfer grain from the Kucha area, so An Shoujing did not live as hard as Yang Yi in this area.

Two months ago, Zheng Wei had just experienced a war in the Kucha area and the population in the grassland area dropped sharply, so he proposed to migrate An Shoujing's troops to the Ajietian Mountain area to enrich the manpower of Kucha. Zheng Wei could not transfer An Shoujing, so he had to obtain Zhang Mai's consent first and then Zhang Mai issued a dispatch order. After receiving the order, An Shoujing had to arrange various migration matters, so he did not reach Kucha until now.

After the five thousand soldiers arrived, Zheng Wei felt very calm. At this time, news of a great victory came from Gaochang. Everyone in the city celebrated the news. At the same time, Zhang Mai's order came to Zheng Wei and Yang Yi to meet him.

Once Gaochang was captured, the situation inside Kucha also changed completely. The Tang army in Anxi used the power of Lianjie to destroy the last dream of those who had ulterior motives. Zheng Wei's integration during this period made the locals feel at ease. Coupled with the arrival of An Shoujing, the area has become a stable rear.

So after receiving Zhang Mai's order of dispatch, Zheng Wei came to Yang Yi to discuss preparations for rushing to Gaochang.

Yang Yi said: "I heard that Gaochang is short of food at this moment, so I still don't bring so many people. I will bring the soldiers of the government and leave the others to Uncle An. It's better to bring food and grass with you."

Before leaving, most people in the market did not know about Jie Li burning the Gaochang granary, but Zheng Wei naturally knew it and said: "Although there is a lot of grain stored in Kutz, it costs too much to transport it to Gaochang from here, and it takes too long. I think I have to transport it from Yanqi."

Yang Yi asked: "Is the grain stored in Yanqian enough to supply Gaochang?"

Zheng Wei said: "According to the account book that Uncle Yong sent me, there are still surplus grains, but today the cold land is frozen, and walking on the road is very difficult. It is possible to walk through the snow on the light horse, but it is very troublesome to transport grain trucks. The documents sent by Zhang Longxiang said that the food from Tianshan Mountain, Liuzhong and Puchang were only enough to support for 40 days of grain. I don't know if it is too late to transport Yanqi's grain."

"Then let's not care about him." Yang Yi said: "For urgent matters, I can only find a way forward."

The two of them prepared their own things, and Yang Yi entrusted the defense to An Shoujing, and then escorted Zheng Wei, Fa Xin and others to the east.

The roads from Kucha to Gaochang are all south of the Tianshan Mountains. Since the opening of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, a smooth road has been formed here, and now they have become within the Anxi Tang army. Yang Yi's cavalry did not have to bring too much food. They walked on the road lightly and naturally very fast. When they arrived in Yanqi, they found that Guo Shiyong and Xi Sheng were also rushing to Gaochang. Yanqi's defense had been replaced by his deputy general Yang Sanggan. Zheng Wei could not find his second brother Zheng Ji. It turned out that Zheng Ji had also gone to Gaochang, but he went by himself.

Zheng Wei was secretly surprised. After passing Yanqi, he said to Yang Yi: "This matter is a bit strange. Now under the command of the Great Protector, there are Xue Fu, Shi Ba, Murong Chunhua and others. As for generals under the command of the commander, there is no need to mention it. The generals should be enough. Why should they transfer General Guo and Xi Sheng?"

Yang Yi said: "It is mostly to discuss the overall situation in the future. Although Gaochang won it, I heard that this time the Uighurs almost retreated. Although Viaga has lost half of its country, it will be called Beiting Huihe in the future. However, the Uighurs in the east of the Lingdong, especially the Viaga, have a strong nomadic habit. Gaochang is just a conquered place for them and a place for them to rest and enjoy. The north of the Tianshan Mountains is the source of elite soldiers and strong generals. I heard from my father that although the southern Xinjiang is richer than the northern Xinjiang, it is small.

Since ancient times, the Western Regions have always been stronger than the southern Xinjiang. As long as the army of the tribe remains basically intact, losing Gaochang temporarily will not cause fatal damage. After they return to the North Xinjiang, they can make a comeback at any time. In addition, they have just suffered losses in our hands, and know our reality better than before. In the future, they are afraid that it will become more difficult to deal with, so the showdown between us and Via has just begun. When will the North Xinjiang be cleaned up and then move 100,000 Han people over, the battle will come to an end."

The small Western Regions that Zhang Mai mentioned do not include the area west of the Pamir Mountains, and are also the basic surface of China in the Western Regions. The scope is roughly consistent with today's Xinjiang. Although both the South-English and North-English belong to the Small Western Regions, a Tianshan Mountains have caused the ecology and civilization of these two regions to be completely different. North-English is closer to the northern desert, with a strong grassland atmosphere and a strong folk custom. Although South-English also has pastures, the proportion of agriculture is extremely large. The Silk Road on the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains runs through the entire area and brings difficult commercial wealth. Therefore, the wealth of the South-English is far better than that of the North-English, but the folk customs are also weaker than that of the North-English.

After crossing Yinshan, I encountered the first batch of food and grass sent to Gaochang on the way. At the same time, I heard the latest news: Viga's army saw that it was untenable in the south of the mountain and the weather was getting colder and colder, and retreated to the north of the mountain. At the same time, the Guiyi army had taken advantage of the situation to occupy Yizhou and had sent envoys to contact the Anxi army.

This day, he encountered a heavy storm. Even the light cavalry troops had to suspend for one day. When they were about to travel in the snow the next day, the West caught up with a messenger and reported: "The prince of Khotan, Li Congde, has led an army of 10,000 to Puchanghai and is coming to join our army to destroy Hu."

Zheng Wei and Yang Yi were both surprised and happy when they heard this. Now Viga has been repelled by Zhang Mai, but when he calculated the time, he should not know the news when he sent troops. Yang Yi sighed: "We have made friends with such an ally, which is really a gift from God!" Zheng Wei hurriedly asked: "Apart from Prince Li Congde, are there any important figures in this army?"

The envoy said: "The head coach is Li Congde, and the deputy head coach is Ma Jirong, the chief lieutenant of the procurator. In addition, Princess Wen'an is also here."

Zheng Wei glanced at Yang Yi and smiled and said, "It seems that Prince Congde not only came to meet us this time, but also sent his sister to get married."

Yang Yi smiled and sent a fire of personal soldiers to Puchanghai to express his condolences to Prince Conde on his behalf and Zheng Wei, and invited the Khotan army to enter Yanqi to eat.

After the envoy went, Yang Yi said to Zheng Wei: "If the Guiyi army can be as loyal and virtuous as Khotan, then what else can we worry about Viaga? We are not afraid of Viaga, Arslan, and Samantha again attacked on three sides."

Zheng Wei was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Ouch! I am so stupid! Why did I remember it until now! I know why the Protector of the Great Sect summoned us."

Yang Yi is also a person with a view of the overall situation. Seeing that Zheng Wei was touched by his words just now, he immediately thought of him: "Are you talking about the relationship with Hexi?"

"good!"

At this time, the deputy general reported that the army had been prepared and could set off at any time. Yang Yi said, "Let's get on the road first."

The two of them were unable to think along the way, and they went to camp at night before they met and exchanged ideas. Yang Yi and Zheng Wei both understood their identity in the Anxi Army, and had a significant influence on both the Anxi military and political aspects and Zhang Mai's mind. If a consensus can be reached on the road, their opinions will likely become a direction for this decision.

The two of them have been quarreling since the day when Yang Yi saw Zheng Wei. Yang Yi always spoke coldly to Zheng Wei, but when Zheng Wei was in trouble, Yang Yi helped him. When Zheng Wei was in a state of decline, Yang Yi was also angry. When the older generation of generals such as Guo Shiyong and others opposed avenging the Zheng family, Yang Yi was speaking up for justice. After this, Zheng Wei did not say a word of thanks to Yang Yi. The handover is often done in business. To outsiders, it seems that the pair of civil and military officials is very cold, but only Zhang Mai, Guo Luo and other few people can appreciate the subtlety of their relationship.

At this time, I slept with my feet on the snowy night, but what I said was the relationship between Anxi and Hexi.

Yang Yi said: "The Cao family seems to have become positive about our affairs recently, but I have never believed that they will change their gender. Friends are just as beautiful as before, some are as beautiful as new, and Yutian and us are as beautiful as before, Guiyi Army, hehe! I don't expect to be truly friends with them - but that's also a good thing."

Zheng Wei Yiqi said, "Good thing?"

Yang Yi said: "Of course it's a good thing. Think about it, if the Guiyi Army treats us with sincerity like Yutian, we will not be able to touch them."

He didn't say all this, but Zheng Wei was no other man, and immediately understood Yang Yi's meaning was to directly annex the Guiyi army.

Yang Yi said: "Although I don't read much of your books, I know that the broad historical events have always left too many old forces by relying on winning and integrating territory. For example, Hexi. It is not entirely impossible for us to gradually merge with them and replace the Cao family by means of alliances, marriages, pressure, and exclusion. However, it will take too long and many things in the future will be difficult to handle. We must also worry about this and that. It doesn't matter if I lead the troops outside, but if you manage internal affairs, if you want to promote some new things, I dare to guarantee that you will definitely hit the wall on the left and the wall on the right, and you will not be able to reform when you encounter it! It's better to use troops like dealing with Shule, dismantle the original forces, and leave only some obedient things, and turn Hexi into a blank piece of paper, so that you will be able to do things."

Yang Yi is a person who is not easy to read, but after all, he is the best among the second generation of Guo Yang and Lu Zheng. He received strict education since childhood and had some basic knowledge. During his days in Wensu and during his idle time in Kucha, he often looked for books to read whenever he had time. It is difficult to find books in the Western Regions, but he was a general after all, so it would be no problem to find a few historical books.

Zheng Wei was not surprised that Yang Yi would say such words. In fact, if the territory and people handed over to him could really let him draw like a piece of white paper, Zheng Wei was so eager to do it. However, "Ayi, do you know what that means?" At this time, the atmosphere in the tent was very close, so Zheng Wei called Yang Yi without any literacy and called him Ayi directly.

Yang Yi smiled and said, "To turn Hexi into a blank piece of paper, you must first uproot the power of the Cao family. Not only will you disintegrate their army and destroy their people, but you must also drive away all the good impressions they had in the minds of the people of Hexi, and clean up the idea of ​​being instilled in the Hexi people - this is one aspect of the Han people; in addition, even if you occupy Ganzhou and Suzhou, the Uighurs in Ganzhou, have to be killed. Even if you don't kill them, you have to beat them so that they lie in front of us like dogs and dare not act randomly - this is one aspect of the Hu people."

He said this and his eyes became blurred, and he said, "I heard from Uncle Guo that Guanlong has produced the most elite soldiers and generals since ancient times! Moreover, the population of the entire Hexi may have a million people! If all the Han people in Hexi can unite and select 100,000 men to train them into elite soldiers, wow-" He tsk and said, "That's really something that makes people yearn for."

Zheng Wei smiled and said, "I'm afraid there are more than 100,000 men. Hexi is now in a state of separatism and many hidden households. If we can really unify Anxi and Hexi and search for hidden households, it is possible to organize 200,000 to 300,000 cavalry. But if you want to unite the millions of Han people in Hexi, it's not that simple! Not to mention anything else, the families that rule this area will not agree."

Yang Yi snorted and said, "So all these people who hinder unification must be destroyed! The family left by the upper class will only cause chaos. As for the people in the lower class, it is easier to educate. I like those simple men the most. They don't have so much trouble, they are easy to talk, they can fight, grazing, and farming. As long as we are good to them, it is not difficult to discipline them. On the contrary, those in-laws cannot help when fighting, they are hard and tired when grazing and farming, and they will make plans for you if they are not careful. They are simply unprepared! You must try to eradicate them!"

Zheng Wei smiled bitterly and said, "What you said is hope, but he didn't say what to do. Judging from the information sent back by Jialing, although Cao Yijin and others were cowardly externally, they still practiced moral integrity internally. Although the Guiyi Army no longer had the heroic spirit of the Zhang Yichao era, the people in the country still supported the Guiyi Army quite well. It is easy to kill the enemy, but it is difficult to win the hearts of the people. Although we used some propaganda to make some propaganda, it was only a foundation for our future entry into Hexi. After all, it is not as good as the Cao family's decades of operation in Shagua and the two sides have really started a conflict. How many people will support us in Shagua? I think if we forcefully attack, Cao Yijin raised his arms and shouted again, and his subordinates walked and rumored us. I am afraid that hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Shagua and the situation would become very troublesome."

Yang Yi sighed, "Yes, so this is the place to be embarrassed." He paused and asked Zheng Wei, "What are you doing?"

"It cannot be said that there is a way," Zheng Wei said: "But with the current situation in the Western Regions, I think it is unlikely to implement the royal government at once. Maybe we can consider implementing the hegemony first."

"Domedience?"

Zheng Wei then expressed his opinion, but the domineering politics he mentioned was not what he usually called "domineering", but a specific form of regime organization.

After hearing this, Yang Yi said, "You are so old. Our Chinese no longer has the spirit of a gentleman. Even if we use this, it will be a transition."

Zheng Wei said lightly: "There are conditions for doing the king's government. If you can use troops to pacify Hexi as you said, it will not be too late to do the king's government at that time. I don't know what Zhang Longxiang thinks."

Zhang Mai's image flashed through Yang Yi's mind and said, "Brother Mai will have some opinions that are the same as us, but..." He laughed at this point: "Don't look at the name of benevolence he has recently won, in fact, his heart is even more vicious than me. I guess he will agree with my opinion and clean the samurai."

The two of them said that they had not fallen asleep until midnight, and continued their journey the next day. When they arrived in Tianshan, they came to report: "General Xue Fu has recovered Jiaohe and Longquan Pass."

Yang Yi asked how the damage was caused by both parties.

"The enemy began to retreat half a month ago. Five days ago, General Xue Fu approached Jiaohe, the enemy retreated without fighting, and three days ago, but the enemy retreated without fighting, so our army did not suffer any damage."

When Yang Yi heard that Via Ga retreated so simply, he told Zheng Wei: "Via Ga's actions have become smoother, and he must have a new comprehensive plan."

Zheng Weidao: "What plan?"

"How can I know!" Yang Yi said: "But next time I face each other, I'm afraid I won't be as relaxed as in the past six months."

Because it was not yet dark, the two of them did not stop in Tianshan County and rushed directly to Gaochang City.

This day, I saw that there were still thirty miles away from Gaochang, and the snow was getting heavier and heavier. Yang Yi said: "Why find a place to take a break from the snow."

Zheng Wei had not agreed and replied in front: "General, someone is waiting in front!"

Yang Yi and Zheng Wei looked at each other, and Yang Yi said, "Who has such a good relationship with me after thirty miles?"

Zheng Wei smiled and said, "It must be Murong Chunhua."

Yang Yi smiled and said, "He won't do such a thing. I don't need to do this between him and I, as it seems pretentious."

When he got closer, it turned out to be Shiba. Yang Yi jumped off his horse and shouted, "Little Shitou! It's you!" Suddenly he found a white cloth tied to his head. When he saw that everyone who came with him was like this, he was shocked, "Little Shitou, what's wrong? Who passed away?"

Shi Ba let out a cry and shed tears and said, "Brother Yi! The Tang Dynasty is gone - the Tang Dynasty is really gone!"

Yang Yi glanced at Zheng Wei, grabbed him and said, "What did you say!"

Shi Ba cried and said, "There is a group of envoys who have personally been to the Central Plains. The Protector of the Great Duke has already questioned it very clearly. Our Tang Dynasty is really gone, and it has been dead for a long time. Many of the news we heard before are wrong! Now the Xin Dynasty in the Central Plains also calls itself the Tang Dynasty, but it is no longer our Tang Dynasty, and it is a pseudo-Tang Dynasty! Yong Shu and the others cried after entering the city. After he woke up, he tied up white and mourned the country. I felt very sad. We worked hard all the way, regardless of life and death, and fought here from Xinxuye City and Zangbei Valley. How could we know that the country we want to go back has long disappeared... Then where can we report the victory to restore the Western Regions? Contact Chang'an... Do you still need to contact us in the future? Brother Yi, do you think we will not go back in the Western Regions in the future? Do you have to stay in the Western Regions forever and be an Anxi people?"
Chapter completed!