Walking in the Star Gorge, Zhao Zi looked up at the mountain walls on both sides and said: "Although this place is steep, it is not a natural danger, not to mention that this is not the only way to go, the north and south can be bypassed, why is it called the gateway to the Western Regions?" ”

Chen Xizhi said: "General, this place is not comparable to the Central Plains. The land is vast and sparsely populated, and there is no way to raise food and grass around, so it is difficult to stay for an extra day. Just like this Star Gorge, although it is the gateway to the Western Regions, it is not closed, and there are only a few households. It is only when the two countries are at war that some troops are stationed here, and it is a great thing to hold off the enemy for a few days. ”

Zhao Zi nodded: "That's right." If you go around other places, you don't have to walk hundreds of miles, and the grain and grass are difficult to transport, so it is very impossible to get here. After passing here, I entered the territory of Yizhou, and I don't know where there is a garrison? ”

Chen Xizhi said: "There are still three or four hundred miles away from this place to Yizhou, and there are no people within two hundred miles ahead. When a hundred miles outside the city of Yizhou, there will be a post station, which can be regarded as a real arrival in Yizhou. ”

The farthest place controlled by the Song army in front of it was Xingxing Gorge, and there was no garrison to the west. The 3,000 troops led by Zhao Zi were to open the way in front, and the Song army behind them maintained supplies. Juyan to Yizhou fifteen or six hundred miles, such a long supply line, costing a lot, is not a simple matter. Zhao Zi's army has a total of 50,000 people, and only 10,000 or 20,000 people can go to Yizhou at most, and the rest are supplied.

This march into Yizhou is a real lone army, and if it weren't for the lack of strong forces in the Western Regions, it would actually be an adventure. What can really support Zhao Zi is the tens of thousands of party members behind him to build roads. The railway is moving forward, and the supply money is getting shorter and shorter, which is the foundation to support the Yizhou army.

The railway is too far north, and the construction of the road in a year is not long, and most of it is spent waiting. Of course, if you are in the Central Plains, it will not be as easy to build roads as here, and you can pave all the way forward. To build this railway into the Western Regions, the most important thing is that there is a road, and the quality is not important.

After the Xingxing Gorge, one day out of the Horsehair Mountain, in front of which is the Yellow Sand Gobi that can not be seen at a glance.

Zhao Zi looked at it and couldn't help frowning: "It's yellow sand again, as far as the eye can see, it's really not easy to enter the Western Regions!" ”

Chen Xizhi said helplessly: "If this is not the case, how can the Central Plains be in chaos and the Western Regions will be lost." The party won several counties in Hexi, and once attacked the city of Yizhou, and it didn't take long for it to retreat. It's not that it can't be defeated, but it's that the transportation of grain and grass is too difficult. ”

Zhao Zi nodded. If there were no railways, such a place would not have been possible on its own. From Hezhou to here, it has been more than 3,000 miles, relying on people to carry horses, how can it support tens of thousands of troops? With the railway, the distance of thousands of miles became unimportant.

After walking for a few more days, I finally walked in the yellow sand, and saw the villages and towns in front of me. Zhao Zi perked up and said to Chen Xizhi: "There are already people in front, are you going to Yizhou City?" ”

Chen Xizhi shook his head: "There are still more than 100 miles." At our current pace, it is estimated that it will take two more days. However, with villages and towns, there are people in front of them, which is not like the days before. General, the Western Regions are not as good as the Central Plains, the population is extremely sparse, and villages and towns are very rare. ”

Zhao Zi said: "Straight lady thief, after walking like this for one or twenty days, there are not a few people on the road, and the life is really difficult." In the past, I only watched the caravan make money, but I didn't want their life on the road to be so difficult. In the future, it would be good to have a railway, and it will not be like this anymore. ”

Saying that, when I arrived at the village and town, there were only three families, and the snow water from the Tianshan Mountains in the north was used to cultivate the land. When you arrive here, you will enter the range of the Tianshan Mountains, and the rivers flowing down from the Tianshan Mountains are the water source for the people to cultivate the land.

The avant-garde had already controlled this place, and Zhao Zi was stationed with a large army, drank a meal of wine at night, and slept beautifully.

Early the next morning, the morale of the whole army was significantly higher, and they continued to move forward, heading for the city of Yizhou, which was a hundred miles away.

After two more days, the road was obviously densely populated, and even came across a grass market. When Zhao Zi felt a little exhausted, Chen Xizhi pointed ahead and said, "General, look, that city is Yizhou City!" ”

Zhao Zi cheered up, looked up at the front, and saw the shadow of a city emerging in front of him. The city is not very tall, it is still somewhat dilapidated, and it is not very clear to see it from a distance. This city has been around for hundreds of years, and after the Tang Dynasty withdrew from the Western Regions, it experienced many ups and downs.

Excited in his heart, Zhao Zi shouted: "The army speeds up, arrives in front of Yizhou, and has a good rest!" ”

At one time, the whole army responded to the promise, and the momentum shook the sky, and the speed of the march was obviously much faster.

The striker had already arrived at the city, lined up outside the city, and the people in the city saw it, and the city was full of chickens and dogs for a while. Not long after, someone came out and asked about the origin of the army, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "The city lord went to the capital at the beginning of the year to pay tribute, and a few months ago he said that he wanted to sacrifice the city, and he didn't want to see Wang Shuai until today!" When I saw it in the city just now, I thought that I didn't know where the forces came to attack the city! ”

After speaking, he quickly ran into the city and spread the news of the arrival of the Great Song Dynasty King Shi throughout the city.

Chen Xizhi entered Beijing, and it was his son Chen Pengyuan who was in charge of affairs in the city at this time. When he got the news, he hurriedly brought a group of officials, gathered the elderly people in the city, brought wine and meat, and welcomed them out of the city. After lining up outside the city, I saw Zhao Zi and Chen Xizhi coming together.

Chen Yuanpeng stepped forward and arched his hand: "Under Chen Yuanpeng, I don't know if it's the Great Song Dynasty King?" ”

Zhao Zi said: "Exactly." I am Zhao Zi, the commander of the Dingyuan army of the Great Song Dynasty, and I am here to garrison Yizhou on the orders of the court! ”

Chen Xizhi stepped forward and said, "The city lord has decided to stay in the capital and not return to Yizhou." Virtuous nephew, you can pack up the family property and go to the capital with me to live with my father. The defense of this place will be handed over to the imperial army in the future. ”

Chen Yuanpeng stroked his forehead: "This is the best!" Two months ago, I heard that my father was staying in the capital, and the Song army would come to take over. It's just that I waited for a few months, and I didn't see anyone coming, and when I saw that it was cold, I thought the news was wrong. ”

These people have been in the isolated city outside the city for a hundred years, and they don't know anything about the etiquette of the imperial court. Zhao Zi rode on a horse, seeing Chen Xizhi and Chen Yuanpeng catching up there, the boss was impatient, and said, "Young City Lord, you haven't come up to receive the holy decree!" ”

Chen Yuanpeng remembered this at this time, confessed to Chen Xizhi, and stepped forward to respectfully accept the holy decree. Then he took the officials and elders in the city to welcome the arrival of Zhao Zi's army. stepped forward to serve wine and invited Zhao Zi to enter the city with a large army.

Zhao Zi saw that these officials had dark clothes, and the formats were not uniform, and some were even very shabby, and he understood in his heart that this was not a rich and prosperous place. The reason why this place can be independent is that the conditions are difficult, and the other reason is that the trade routes are naturally impassable.

Despite this, Zhao Zi, who had just left Juyan County, was still very happy and took more than 1,000 Chinese troops into Yizhou City.

As soon as he entered the city, he saw that the houses on both sides of the street were dilapidated and there were few pedestrians on the road, and Zhao Zi knew that this was really not a prosperous place. This city is the old city of the Tang Dynasty, which was built quite a small time, and now the city is sparsely populated and looks empty. In Zhao Zi's view, in addition to having a city wall, Yizhou is not as good as a town in the Central Plains. Both the population and the market are small and dilapidated. No wonder Chen Ximing would rather give up the city lord and stay in the capital to be a rich and noble outsider. If it were me, I am afraid that I would make the same choice.