It was almost the beginning of June, and the territory of the Tocharian Yue Clan was extremely hot. The average summer temperature here is higher than in Shule.

The capital city of the Yueshi Clan, Achuan City, is located on the flat plateau in the west of the Hindu Kush Mountains, on the banks of the Wuhu River. The Yueshi Kingdom has 14 states under its jurisdiction and has a population of about 2 million. Its capital was the largest city in Tochar. The Kushan Empire once created a glorious civilization here.

The city of Ashu has a large population and prosperous commerce. On the Silk Road in the south, it is a very important node. Persians, Turks, Sogdians, Han Chinese, Yueshi; The Tianzhu people from Sindh and Punjab gathered in the city to do business.

In the city of Achsha, go west to Herat in Khorasan, to Kufa, Baghdad, and Damascus. To the north, it passed through the second largest city in Tocharo, the capital of the Wang Ting Kingdom, Bushi City, and the capital of the Xie Su State, Dushanbe, crossed the Boxi Mountain, and arrived at the water and land hub of the river.

Head south through the remnants of the Hindu Kush to Kabul. To the south, on the banks of the Indus River, the rich Sindh and Punjab. Food is abundant here.

In the north of Ashucheng City, in a wine shop near the Wuhu River, Yi Junjie and Mr. Kang and others drank wine together. Looking at the sails on the Wuhu River, the mood was relatively low.

Compared to the treatment he received in the Honey Protection Country when he first crossed the Green Mountains into the Tocharian region, the treatment he received now was a world of difference. They waited in the Yueshi Kingdom for several days, and no official personnel had contacted them.

Kang was burly and sturdy, pinched the wine bowl and poured it, and said, "Lao Yi, what should I do now?" ”

Yi Junjie had a beard on his face, a scribe's shirt, sweating, and sighed: "Alas..., what can I do?" Let's wait and see. ”

The Yue Kingdom was the largest of the Tocharian kingdoms. If you can't convince Tocharian to surrender to the Great Zhou, then the other countries don't think about it. Similarly, if the Yueshi did not agree to use the Great Zhou silver dollar and did not agree to sell the grain, there would definitely be fewer other countries that could agree.

As a result, it is difficult to accomplish even the lowest goal: the task of purchasing 500,000 stone of grain. Therefore, he could only wait for a reply in Ashu City.

"Ahh It's too hot in this place. No one wants to stay longer.

While everyone was talking, suddenly a large group of soldiers from the Yue Clan Kingdom came from the wine shop, wrapped in white turbans, loose bloomers, and holding knives and guns. A middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes came in, and he was followed by the petty official of the post house. "Lord Su Tan, this is Shule's messenger, Yi Junjie. The villain listened to him and insulted His Majesty the King in the inn. ”

The middle-aged man named Su Tan glanced at Yi Junjie and said arrogantly: "You are the envoy of Jia Huan, the envoy of the Shule Sutra?" ”

Yi Junjie is still very talented in languages. The Persian language was prevalent in Tochar, and he was on an envoy to Tocharian for nearly a month, and he could hear Persian fluently. At this time, he stood up and explained in Chinese: "This lord, there is no insult to the king of your country. ”

In private, a few whining, is this an insult? Then he said a few words of "special" on weekdays, which is also scolding?

Su Tan laughed and said, "Don't quibble. What is the treatment of my son Bahule in the hands of your Jia Jinglu envoys? It was just a sword drawn in the city, and he was reduced to a slave. Come on, take them down! ”

Su Tan's surname is Hadid. It is one of the three major surnames in China. In a high position. The letters of his son Bahule were transmitted from the North Garden, through Dunhuang, through the Southern Roads of the Western Regions, and back through the Silk Road. It details the military and political intelligence of the Zhou army, the ancient department of Baye, and the northern court.

However, he is more concerned about his son's experience of mining in the Dunhuang silver mine than these. After questioning the messenger, he knew it all.

"Boom!"

Yue's soldiers quickly poured into the liquor shop, pressed Yi Junjie, Kang and a dozen others who were trying to resist to the ground, tied them up, dragged them up, and took them away. Yi Junjie, Kang and others kept arguing, but to no avail.

When the Yue's soldiers rushed in, merchants of different colors and costumes in the liquor shop avoided them one by one, watching these Han people being arrested, discussing and speculating about the reason. The news then spread throughout the city of Ashe.

On the morning of the next day, a notice was posted at the gate of the palace that the execution would be carried out at the north gate of the city at about 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, and the envoys would be whipped.

This news has aroused the attention of the entire Ashu City. As for the identities of Yi Junjie and others, the information and materials about the fault quickly spread all over Ashucheng.

On the morning of the first day of June, the sun fell on the plains north of the city. Yi Junjie and nearly 50 others were tied to a wooden frame outside the city gate. On each wooden frame stood a soldier with a long leather whip.

Su Tan was dressed in a blue silk official uniform and sat at the city gate, covered by a dome umbrella above his head. A Ganyue clan official and army surrounded him. Su Tan looked at the people watching around the wooden frame, the number was about thousands, nodded with satisfaction, looked at the sun, and shouted: "Execution!" ”

The mistake made by Yi Junjie and the others was not serious, but it was just an insult to the king of the Yue clan, Salan. Sentenced to 50 lashes.

"Smack!"

The water-stained whip slapped Yi Junjie's body. He usually smiles and likes to brag, and he has made up his mind not to scream. so as not to lose the prestige of the Great Zhou. He was not a businessman, but a messenger. This whip hit him, hitting Jia Huan, the envoy of Shule Jingluo, in the face, and hitting the face of the Great Zhou court.

However, when the whip hit his body, he realized: it hurts!

"Ah...."Yi Junjie tilted his head and screamed, "Hiss..." And Kang scolded the soldiers of the Zhou army who were beaten, "Nima's! "Grandma Ni's, bastard!" "Son of a bitch."

All kinds of scolding are endless! I was beaten and couldn't fight back. They also have to be watched, and they just complain a few words in private and are personally vendetted by the old dog, this feeling of aggrieved makes them extremely angry and humiliated!

"Smack!" "Smack!" "Smack!"

The crisp sound of the whip rang out continuously. In the crowd, many people were pointing and talking.

"What kind of envoy is fighting? Talk nonsense! If it was a real envoy of the Zhou Dynasty, General Su Tan would have the guts? This was the envoy of a local official in the Zhou Dynasty. The official was also the acting prefect. The status is low. Moreover, this man once reduced the son of the great general to slavery. ”

"Oh," someone snapped.

"The Battle of the North Court is not over yet. This magistrate of the Zhou Dynasty sent a messenger to think that we would return to Tochar, which is really whimsical! Pipe dream! I don't know what to say! ”

"Haha. It is! This acting prefect is really arrogant and boundless. Nor do you look in the mirror who is he? Come to the country of the Yue Clan to point fingers! ”

Yi Junjie, Zhou Jun was whipped by the soldiers with a water-soaked leather whip, and his body was full of blood marks. Shocking. And as the number of whippings increased, time passed, and under the scorching sun, they were powerless to scold anymore and were dying.

50 lashes are a very light punishment compared to the punishment of beheading, being reduced to slave mining, etc. After all, it's on someone's land. However, this is a form of torture!

However, what they get is ridicule, ridicule!

At the head of the city, Su Tan looked at Yi Junjie and the others who were whipped, and the evil anger in his heart was a little bit out! A smile appeared on his face.

His son was kept as a slave in a silver mine for several months. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't call the shots in the Yue Clan's national power, he really wanted to send all these people to the Boxi Mountain Silver Mine to be miners for the rest of his life.

In the Battle of Beiting that began this year, the Zhou army may not be able to win. Mobei is ready to send reinforcements. If the Zhou army fails, it will definitely not be able to look west to Tocharo. Before the Zhou Dynasty did not defeat the Wild Gubu coalition army, the Yue Clan would not surrender to the Zhou Dynasty!

…

…

After Yi Junjie and others were whipped, they were not beaten to death. Instead, he was sent to the infirmary in the city of Asho. Of course, they have to pay for the consultation and medicine.

In the medical hall, in the middle of the night, Kang Jiang, who had recovered a little, always asked Yi Junjie beside him: "Hey..., Lao Yi, what should I do now?" "The Yue Clan has not restricted their freedom. But the matter of the mission will definitely be in vain. He wants to go back now.

Yi Junjie giggles on weekdays and likes to brag, but at this time, he seems to be a messenger and says: "Lao Kang, let's take this one." I plan to write to Jia Yuanjun and inform him of the situation along the way. Send a brother back. We continued south, and we heard that there was more food there than there was here. ”

He is a scholar and must be faithful to his duties.

Mr. Kang suddenly grimaced and nodded helplessly. I thought that following Yi Junzhuo would make it easy and simple to get a credit. I didn't want to go to Yue's place to be beaten in vain. Beaten to the dead and alive.

Bear this sin! Whoever suffers knows whom.

…

…

On the evening of June 17. It was only at the beginning of autumn that the sky in Shule slowly darkened until after six o'clock in the evening. The scorching heat is still on the earth. It's muggy. It's irritating.

In the study room behind the second hall of the government in Shule City, although there was a supply of ice, everyone in the room felt stuffy, dry, impatient, angry, and frustrated.

Jia Huan looked at his team: Shen Qian, Qin Hongtu, Zhang Sishui, Liu Yichen, Yang Ji, Hu Nai, Xie Shen, and a page of letters written by Yi Junjie was passed back to him, and asked in a deep voice: "What do you think?" ”

Although Jia Huan's tone was calm, the meaning revealed was very clear, he wanted to send troops to Tocharo!

In the wing, there was a little quiet for a while.

To supply the Beiting army with one million grains, it is absolutely not enough to rely on the grain in the Shule area and Khotan town alone. It was necessary to buy grain from Tocharian and Transoxiana. Food is a strategic material. Exports are controlled.

And the Transoxiana region was under the influence of Persian power. The scouts in the army had already inquired about the basic situation: the Persians had set up a governor in the middle of the river, contacted the nine Sogdian states, and fought against the Uzbeks in the steppes to the north.

Shule wanted to buy grain only through Tocharo.

However, now this strategy cannot be realized because of the "hostility" of the Tsuki Kingdom. And without food, Jia Huan didn't say that he could feed the soldiers he recruited, and the food he supplied to Beiting was not enough.

"So that the king, the lord cannot be angry and raise a division, and he will not be discouraged and cause war..."

He was once a confidant of Niu Jizong, the governor of Zuodu, and later defeated and took refuge in the deputy general Miao Qi, after Miao Qi was demoted, he stayed in Dunhuang. When Jia Huan came to Shule, he transferred him. He assists in handling minor and trivial government affairs and is a good hand. But it's easier to be afraid of war.

Qin Hongtu sat on the chair next to the sand table, interrupted Xie Shen's words, and said, "Brother Jie, Yi Junjie and others were whipped in public in Ashu City, but it was our Shule and Da Zhou's faces that were beaten!" "When classmates are beaten, do they still have to endure it? Who does the King of the Moon Clan think he is? Small country!

Xie Shen snorted dissatisfiedly.

Shen Qian said, "Let's fight." I'll go with my army. Training the new army while fighting. When Tocharian is finished, the recruits are veterans. We can go north to Crushed Leaves. As soon as he expressed his position, the generals of the military expressed their support.

Jia Huan nodded and said, "There are three reasons why I insist on fighting Tocharo: first, to purchase grain, second, to promote the prestige of our country, and third, to train new soldiers.

Writing to Shi Yuan, he led the newly recruited army of 20,000 directly across the Green Ridge to defend and capture, go to Lianyun Fort, and attack Tocharo. Boren gave the 20,000 regiments recruited to Yu Qiao. Another 10,000 Dunhuang troops will be transferred. A total of 50,000 men, from the Wuyun Pass out of the Wakhan Valley to attack Tochar, in the Protectorate Congress, because of the unified command of Qiao. ”

After deliberating on the details, everyone took their leave, preparing for the march of the army. Jia Huan left Shen Qian to speak in front of the map sand table. The study was quiet, and the sound of insects came from the courtyard, and the moon was like water.

On the sand table, the winding and steep green mountain road is in full view. Qin Hongtu is in charge of the intelligence department in the army, and he is still very attentive. Maps of the surrounding terrain have been explored. The Tocharian region, divided into two parts by the Hindu Kush Mountains, has a flat and rich plateau in the west. Gave birth to the Kushan Empire. There is also the current Yueshi country: with a population of two million and 100,000 victorious soldiers.

Jia Huan pondered slightly in front of the sand table, and asked softly: "Yu Qiao, can you win the battle of Tocharo?" The bright candlelight shone on his emaciated face. Getting along in private, his emotions are a little exposed! Very sharp, with a murderous aura!

There are some things that you can't say on the surface. For example, his classmate Yi Junjie was hung up and beaten in the Yue Clan's country, can he use this reason to send troops? No, you can't. However, if he sends Lao Yi as an envoy and hangs and beats people, will he have no emotions in his heart? Moreover, it is still for him to take the blame - the matter of Bahule!

When he is a mud bodhisattva?

He once promised Bahule not to kill the people of the Yue Clan, but Bahule's father acted like this, then he couldn't help it! If people don't offend me, I don't offend anyone. If anyone sins against me, I will offend.

Shen Qian is handsome, slender, and dressed in white. During this period of time, since the control of the Shule army, his bearing has become more concise and heroic. I don't know how many girls I want to charm in the capital. At this time, he smiled lightly and said, "Ziyu, if the Tocharian kingdoms are the situation written in Yi Junjie's letter, it is not a big problem. Oh, you've found a reason to send troops! ”

The last sentence is a joke.

He was dissatisfied with Yi Junjie being hung and beaten by the Yue family. But not as angry as the people in the seowon system. After all, he didn't have much contact with Yi Junjie.

Jia Huan smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Yi Junjie's letter also mentioned that according to Tocharian news: Shi Yuhua is now trapped in Samarkand in Kangguo.

Public and private affairs, who can say clearly?

He had been struggling with how to train his troops and lacked time. However, Tocharian refused to give in and continued to wait and see and maintain his independent position. So, isn't this a good opportunity?

Of course, he may still not be able to catch up with the Battle of Beiting. However, he will not send untrained recruits to the battlefield.

"Yu Qiao, on this expedition, we must test the flintlock gun platoon tactics. Be sure to bring back troops and food. In the north, there is still a difficult battle waiting for us! ”

Shen Qian nodded solemnly and said, "I will." ”