Xue Shao finally gave the order, and the class teacher returned to the court.

The 200,000 troops at the time of departure now have less than 150,000 left. In addition to the Khitan and Xi friendly forces that left ahead of schedule, Xue Shao also sent away Guo Yuanzhen and Zhang Renyuan.

According to the original plan, Xue Ne would garrison the city of Dongshou and stay in the capital to defend the capital. The castle gate has been largely completed, and the walls of the capital palace have been built. The two are connected by a military station and a beacon tower, and have become a military fortress lying in the throat of the desert.

One husband is the key, ten thousand people are invincible!

Xue Ne's request for life, only 5,000 people is enough. But Xue Shao had his own considerations, he selected the elite among the Dingxiang Army and the Flying Fox Army, and then selected the best horses from the stables of the two armies and the war horses he captured. In the end, Xue Shao gave Xue Ne 12,500 elite soldiers (the establishment of a whole army), most of whom were excellent riders. 50,000 war horses were given, many of which were purebred horses brought by Anxi Tiger from the Western Regions, which almost stunned Xue Ne and the generals.

Xue Ne asked privately, why is this so?

Xue Shao replied: "I asked my brother to garrison here, not just for defense. Defense is always passive, and offense is the best defense. I want you to turn the city into a military fortress that can be attacked and defended. One day, I will send troops from here to fight against the Turks! ”

"Xue Shuai is far-sighted and always one step ahead of us!" Xue Ne suddenly realized, and said again: "As for these war horses, does Xue Shuai want me to accumulate grain and grass here and raise more war horses?" ”

"Yes." Xue Shao said, "Heisha City used to be the Nanya Khan Tent of the Turkic State. The reason why they chose this place as the accompanying capital is first of all to take into account the unique geographical location of this Jingjing, which is a battleground for soldiers. In addition, the climate here is pleasant, the rain is abundant, the rivers are vertical and horizontal, and there are mountain forest resources, which is an excellent water and grass pasture. As long as you defend the city pass, even if the Turks have thousands of troops to attack, they can be safe and sound. Then, you can raise war horses in the area of Heisha with peace of mind, and accumulate strength for the future Northern Expedition. ”

"Okay." Xue Ne nodded happily and said: "Over the years, our dynasty and the Turks have been fighting for many years, in addition to the heavy casualties of soldiers and the huge loss of wealth, the loss of war horses is also quite huge. The last general knows that the duty lies! ”

Xue Shao sighed lightly and said, "The two most important horse farms in my dynasty, the Helong Horse Husbandry Supervisor and the Hebei Horse Husbandry Supervisor, have been looted many times. In the worst case, the Turks took away 300,000 war horses from the Helong Horse Husbandry Prison at one time. After that war, I went to Xiazhou to serve as the governor, and as soon as I took office, I cut down Tang Huaibi in a fit of rage. Despite this, it has not been able to recover that huge loss! ”

Xue Ne also sighed, "The Turks plundered a large number of people, war horses and wealth from our Tang Dynasty through war. After the sacking of the Helong Horse Prison that time, their strength doubled and their strength grew rapidly. War horses are the key to this! ”

"Brother understands the truth, that's the best." Xue Shao said, "In this situation, the Turks have become a climate. To completely eradicate the Turks, it is by no means a day's work. The victory or defeat of the First World War will hardly hurt the foundation of the country. Therefore, the war between the two countries will eventually evolve into a protracted competition of national strength. The main purpose of my three surrendered cities was to prevent them from plundering southward. Without this important source of wealth, the Turkic Khanate would be struggling. I hope that by doing so, we will be able to fundamentally curb the growth of the Turkic Khanate. Of course, containment alone is far from enough, and we must continue to strengthen our military strength. I am not short of money, let alone people, and war horses have become the key to the key. Brother, you have a long way to go! ”

Xue Ne took a deep breath and clenched his fists heavily, "The last general understands!" ”

Xue Shao smiled and nodded, "These 50,000 war horses are a little bit of money that I finally got after thousands of miles of bloody battles." It stands to reason that I should have brought them all back to the capital and handed them over to the imperial court. But I think the climate and pastures here in Heisha will be more suitable for their survival and reproduction. So, I gave them all to you. This is not a private fortune that I have saved, but a militaristic policy that I have set aside. Brother, you have to understand. ”

"The last general understands!" Xue Ne bowed with his fists and hesitated, as if he wanted to say something.

Xue Shao smiled slightly bitterly, "These days, my brother has never mentioned to me the matter of Brother Ling Chuyu. ”

Xue Ne sighed lightly, "I'm afraid that it will hurt Xue Shuai's heart." ”

Xue Shao frowned, "You also think that he has already died?" ”

"Before the general inevitably dies in battle, this is our fate." Xue Ne said, "I have sent a letter to ask Neiko to go to Longmen's hometown with his retainers and servants to take care of the widow and young son of the fifth brother. When my little nephew grows up, I will take him to my side and raise him personally, as if he were my own. ”

Xue Shao gritted his teeth, "I always feel that Chu Yu is not dead. He'll definitely be back! ”

"I hope so, too." Xue Ne smiled bitterly, "In the future, if it is convenient, I will send capable people to Mobei to inquire about the news of the fifth brother." If you have gained, you will definitely repay Xue Shuai. ”

Xue Shao clenched his fists and bowed, "Please, brother!" ”

A few days later, the Northern Expeditionary Army rose out of camp and returned to China in the south. On the return journey from Heisha to Shuozhou for three or four hundred miles, the marching speed was much faster than when he came. However, Xue Shao did not give the order to speed up the march, it was the soldiers who spontaneously walked fast.

Homesickness is like an arrow, nothing more than that.

A few days later, the Northern Expedition arrived outside the Great Wall. The soldiers left behind on the Great Wall had made preparations early, and the Northern Expeditionary Army had just appeared in their field of vision.

The soldiers of the Northern Expedition Army were also boiling, cheering loudly and crying with joy.

Those who have not experienced the expedition cannot understand the joy and joy of the soldiers at this moment.

Xue Shao rode on his horse and slowly walked towards the Great Wall Pass with a smile on his face. Holding his hand, he looked at the towering and tall peaks from a distance. Finally, he saw a unique figure that was different from this desolate and majestic figure.

It was too far away for Xue Shao to see the faces of anyone above the Great Wall. But he knew that it must be Shangguan Wan'er.

Shangguan Wan'er wore a blue and gold-inlaid bearded men's dress and stood on the highest beacon tower. The green mountains and green city bricks, and the soldiers of the Tang Army in a yellow uniform, make her particularly eye-catching and dazzling. She looked condescendingly, crossed the towering Qingshan Pass and the boiling thousands of people, and saw the person he wanted to see the most.

That's right, it had to be him.

Only he is qualified to take the lead, and six dazzling red flags are erected behind him. Only he can make 100,000 men bow down and obey orders, as quiet as the majesty of Mount Tai, and as fierce as fire.

Shangguan Wan'er smiled quietly and gently, but her heart was churning like a stormy wave. It is not an exaggeration to describe Shangguan Wan'er with "reading more than 10,000 volumes and writing like a god". But it wasn't until this moment that she really realized what it means to be extraordinary, what it means to be heroic!

"But who can resist not loving you, a woman?" Shangguan Wan'er groaned softly, "Shangguan Wan'er, but she is the most unqualified one......"

……

Mobei, on a small barren beach with a barren ridge.

Xue Chuyu knelt on the ground and kowtowed to a small mound made of stones.

Yogro's old widow didn't survive the hot summer, and she died. Xue Chuyu buried her in stone according to the funeral customs of the Turks.

After kowtowing, Xue Chuyu pulled out a knife and cut the left side of his face. Blood was dripping down suddenly, and Xue Chuyu raised the tip of his knife, letting the blood drip onto the stones of the tomb.

This is what the Turks would only do at the funerals of noble chieftains.

"I know that this will not be able to repay the blood feud I have done against your family. But I'm the general of the Tang Dynasty, and that's all I can do. Xue Chuyu knelt in front of the grave and whispered to himself, "If there is an afterlife, let me become your cattle and sheep, eat my flesh and drink my blood!" ”

After saying that, Xue Chuyu stood up, "I'm leaving, do what I have to do." ”

He stretched out his hand to lift a big burden beside him, his hand sank, but his heart also sank slightly.

Inside the baggage, there was his armor. He will never forget the words of the old widow of the Yogro family before she died.

"Son, I know that you are not our son Moneba. We knew when you first came that you were a general in the Tang Dynasty. The old man wants to arrest you and hand you over to Tong Jin, and I stopped him. I said to him, whether you are a Tang army or a Turkic army, you are a poor mother's son who misses day and night, and who is away from war. ”

"So we took off your armor and hid it in our sheepfolds. I brought it with me when I moved, and buried it under my sleeping bunk. Thank you for giving me my end. You have to hurry home, your mother must be looking forward to you day and night. Remember to bring your armor with you when you go. ”

With that, the old widow of the Yogro family closed her eyes.

Xue Chuyu hadn't cried for a long time, but he cried very sadly that day. The reason, he himself still can't figure it out. He just felt like crying, perhaps because he remembered his late mother, who was also a prairie person. Or maybe there's something else.

Thinking of this, Xue Chuyu couldn't help but have red circles in his eyes again. Taking a deep breath, he took his burden and put a wide black cloak on his body, lifting the cloak that covered his head and face.

Turning over and riding an old horse, he whipped his horse and headed north.

South, which should have been his only direction. But Xue Chuyu recently heard a news that shocked him, which was told to him by a neighbor little shepherd boy who was more than ten miles away. The little shepherd boy said that there was a Tang Dynasty general who surrendered to the Khan and had to marry the Khan's daughter to become a colt of the Turkic Khanate. Khan actually had no daughters, and his eldest son was less than ten years old. That daughter was the daughter of the Khan's cousin, who adopted his daughter after he died in battle.

I heard that it was an extremely beautiful Turkic woman, with large lake-blue eyes and long eyelashes, and she was seventeen years old. The warriors of the steppe loved her and wanted to marry her.

Xue Chuyu asked the name of the Tang Dynasty general, but the shepherd boy couldn't say it.

So Xue Chuyu wanted to go there in person and find out.

At that time, Yuan Zhen was just a small official of the Shan Yu Protectorate, but he was very familiar with the frontier defense and internal reality of the Tang Dynasty, which caused great harm. No matter who this Tang Dynasty general who was about to become a Turkic concubine, his treason and defection to the enemy would surely become a huge scourge to the Tang Dynasty.

"I will take him to escape from Mobei and go back to see Xue Shuai!"

"If he refuses, then I'll take his head and go with me!"