At the door of Tong Erlang's house, a table was set up, and Peng Lin, Tu Anping, and several officers, drank with the parents of several families here. The vegetables were provided by several peasant households, which were nothing more than killing a chicken, slaughtering a sheep, and miscellaneous vegetables that were fashionable at this time. The wine was brought by Peng Lin from the army, and there was no wine seller near here, and these families could not afford to buy wine.

Everyone sat down, Peng Lin raised his glass and said, "Thank you for your love, and please have a cup!" ”

After drinking the wine, Tang Churong, the most respected person in this place, said: "Thank you, General." I have been in this remote place for many years, and I have long been accustomed to living a coarse tea and light meal. Since the destruction of Khotan, Black Khan and Gaochang have been fighting, and this trade route has been broken. In fact, the road is not difficult to walk, that is, along the river, upstream, you can go all the way to Khotan. It's just that the rivers in the desert are different, they often flood, the river course is uncertain, and if the road is broken, it will be occupied by reeds for a few years, and it will not be found. Tomorrow you can cut down the reeds in front of you, and the road will naturally be exposed. ”

Peng Lin said: "That's the best. I have 500 soldiers here, and it is not difficult to cut down reeds. The reason why I came here was because the imperial army had already occupied Shule and had not entered Khotan. Afraid that the Black Khan soldiers in Khotan would be in turmoil for a while, they fled from here in the desert. ”

Several parents listened and looked at each other, and Tong Chengle asked in a low voice: "Dare to ask the general, what places does the imperial court occupy?" ”

Peng Lin said: "Gaochang has been destroyed and Black Khan has been defeated." In the past, the land of Gaochang was owned by the imperial court at this time. There is also the area of Black Khan in Shule in Shannan, which was also occupied by the imperial court. The imperial army was limited and did not enter Khotan, only waiting for the Black Khan to surrender. ”

Tong Chengle said: "In this way, most of the four towns of Anxi in the Tang Dynasty have been restored? ”

Peng Lin listened and nodded: "Almost." It's just that it hasn't passed the Green Ridge, and only the south of the Tianshan Mountains has been collected in the south. ”

Tang Churong asked: "Dare to ask the general, what kind of court is the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains now?" Compared with Datang, what is the difference? ”

Peng Lin smiled: "My husband's question is too difficult, how can I answer for a while?" Besides, how is Datang, do you still remember? All in all, after the imperial court has taken over Khotan, you don't have to live in seclusion here, you can live a good life. ”

Several parents nodded together. They did not come from one place, they moved several times, and most of the population has disappeared. Finally, because they are Han Chinese, they live together in the vicinity, using river water to irrigate and grow some food. Coupled with the surrounding fishing, hunting and gathering, he can barely make ends meet. The place is hidden, they have no opportunity to exchange goods, and basically have no money. In addition to salted tea, I rarely go out to buy things.

After Peng Lin led the army to station, he gave these people some salt and pasta in the army, which made them happy. Seeing that the army left their residence and camped, they did not disturb the people and gave things back, and their attitude towards Peng Lin and the others improved.

These people have been away from normal society for too long, and they have been talking with Peng Lin for a long time, and the topic cannot be talked about together. However, he was in a good mood, and he drank wine and talked happily until late at night. They say that they are remnants of the Tang Dynasty, but in fact, they have no relationship with the Tang Dynasty for a long time, they are just Han people, and the Tang Dynasty is the last Central Plains dynasty they know. changed the Song Dynasty and the Central Plains Dynasty came, so it was still his own people.

Early the next morning, Peng Lin and his subordinates cut reeds, and behind a swamp, the shadow of the road was finally revealed. Due to the diversion of the river, the road was flooded in many places, but along the river, there are intermittent old roads.

Looking ahead, Peng Lin said to Tu Anping: "There is a vast desert to the north of Khotan, and if the Black Khan army there wants to escape and not go to Shule, they can only come here. From this day on, send out scouts and reconnoiter fifty miles ahead of the road. In the future, the range of reconnaissance and riding will be ten miles ahead. ”

Tu Anping promised and said, "There are not many black Khan troops in Khotan, can they really run so far?" ”

Peng Lin said: "Which one can be said clearly?" Hei Khan was defeated, Khotan was cut off by Shule, and if they wanted to go home, they could do anything. ”

On this day, Du Zhongxiao was sitting in the official office, thinking about his thoughts. It had been a few days since Zhang Yu entered Shule, and he sent troops to occupy the nearby cities of Artush and Alhu, and swept away the Black Khan forces. The people in the vicinity, seeing that the army did not disturb the people, recovered from panic and fear, and everything went on track. The question now is whether to send an envoy to Balasagon to negotiate with the Black Khan.

Du Zhongxiao didn't want to send envoys, this year's Fanwang, his temperament is really doubtful. When the envoys arrived, I don't know what they would do. I have enough troops in my own hands, so I don't need to pay attention to them. But Black Khan is different, his strength is too strong, and now he has captured Ilik again, should he have a good talk with them? Who should I send?

At this moment, a personal soldier came in and said, "Jie Shuai, the envoy of Black Khan has arrived!" It's just—"

Du Zhongxiao stood up and said, "Okay, they took the initiative to send envoys, it's best!" By the way, just what? ”

The soldier said: "It's just that two groups of envoys have arrived. One was sent by Aslan Khan Suleiman, and the other by Bogra Khan Muhammad. Aslan Khan is the Khan of the Black Khan, and he should be the subject of him, and for some reason Bogra Khan also sent people. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Bu Xue Er wiped out the army of more than 70,000 people of the Black Khan, so it seems that what - Bogra Khan, it seems that he can't help but take the throne of the Khan." That's fine, let's talk about it and see what they think. ”

After speaking, he thought for a while and said, "It's not early today, you order Zhang Qi to arrange for them to stay first, rest for the night, and talk again tomorrow morning." ”

The soldiers said yes, turned around and walked out of the hall door, and went to arrange it themselves.

Du Zhongxiao paced back and forth a few steps, and said to another pro-soldier: "Go and summon Deputy Envoy Fu and Deputy Envoy Zhang, and we will discuss together." ”

After a short time, Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng came over together, and they sat down separately after the ceremony.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Just now, the soldiers came to report, the envoy of the Black Khanate came, but two groups of people came. One was sent by Aslan Khan, and the other was sent by Bogra Khan. Although these two are brothers, according to our information, the relationship between the two is very poor, and they are about to fight. This time, the two khans sent people, according to your estimates, what kind of purpose did they have? ”

Fu Bi arched his hand and said: "Jieshuai, the more than 70,000 Black Khan troops lost by Bu Gonger, in addition to the people of Ilik, there is also a part of the army sent by Agolan Khan. Originally, Aslan Khan sued Irik for support in order to maintain the position of Black Khan, and once these troops were lost, Ilik was captured, and his strength was naturally weaker than that of Bogra Khan. In my opinion, Aslan Khan should have come to ask for someone, and Bogra Khan should not let us go. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and looked at Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng said: "According to the estimation of the lower officials, in addition to the envoys who came to ask for Irik and the captured soldiers, I am afraid that they will also talk to Khotan." ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, it should be roughly like this." We can put Illik back, and even if the conditions are right, the prisoners of war who are taken to Illinois can also be released, but Khotan cannot talk about it. After the capture of Shule, Khotan only had 1,000 soldiers of the Black Khan, and he could send troops to take over at any time. The reason why no one was sent was because he had not yet talked to Black Khan. The two khans, how do you think they should be treated? ”

Fu Bi arched his hand: "In my opinion, the right position is respected, if Aslan Khan is willing to give satisfactory conditions, he should still be regarded as yes." ”

Zhang Sheng said: "Xia Guan's thoughts are the same as those of Deputy Envoy Fu. Aslan Khan is the king of the Black Khan, so he should naturally be honored. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "The country of the barbarians, unlike our Central Plains, can't say this directly. Just like the Khitan two emperors are fighting, is the court still helpless? It's better that we don't meddle in their internal affairs. ”

Fu Bi said: "Jie Shuai, I don't know what it means? Two envoys came together, how can we not interfere? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's all received." If they don't have an opinion, then they will receive it together, and if they don't want to, then they will receive it separately. Which of them is a king of the Khan is a matter for them in their own country, and we will leave him alone. ”

Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng lowered their heads and thought about it, not knowing what Du Zhongxiao meant for a while.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Our Song Dynasty is the Central Plains Celestial Dynasty, and in the face of Fanyi, the most important thing is to be an orthography and impartial. Now we respect Aslan Khan, what if we go back and the two sides fight and Bogra Khan wins? In the face of the barbarians, the Celestial Empire should take me as the main thing and not take care of their internal affairs. The two khanates, who is honored is their business, what do we follow and mix? ”

Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng nodded, somewhat understanding what Du Zhongxiao meant. The Khan King is the Khan King of the Black Khan, not only these two, but also the Peach Blossom Stone Khan of the Western Black Khan. These people came to ask who was respected in the Song Dynasty and why did the Song Dynasty care about them? They themselves say that whoever is respected, then who is respected, and if they are not convinced, the Song Dynasty will be treated as two countries. What matters is how they treated the Song Dynasty.

Du Zhongxiao said: "The envoy is coming, and we will greet it according to the etiquette." If you don't want to be a minister, you are a foreign country, but it's simple. If Aslan Khan is willing to pay the price, we will return Irik and the captured soldiers. If you don't want to, then it's naturally polite, and you can do whatever you want, and there is nothing difficult to do. ”

Fu Bi said: "What does the marshal mean, is it to ignore the internal affairs of Black Khan?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Of course it doesn't matter. By Shule, it was already the limit of our army, and it was unpredictable to advance again. The so-called not to fight a war that we are not sure of, we are not familiar with the affairs of the Black Khan, and it is inconvenient for the army to cross the mountains, so we can only do so. In order to reconcile the affairs of the rest of the country, it is necessary to have sufficient strength. Otherwise, it is easy to bring shame on yourself. ”

Both Khans sent envoys, and Du Zhongxiao also had the urge to support one and overwhelm the other. After careful consideration, the idea was abandoned. The Western Regions have just gained, and the area they occupy now is the limit of their own soldiers and horses on the winding road, and they are no longer able to fight outward. To support one side, you must have strong strength and be able to stabilize his position. The army can't fight, so why take a stand between the two of them?

vertex