After the banquet, Qin Shuhuai, Hong Chengchou, and Lu Xiangsheng drank tea in the Qin Palace, and then took their leave and came to the governor's yamen.

At the governor's yamen, the three of them had a detailed discussion on various matters related to the Western Expedition.

During this period, Hong Chengchou introduced two businessmen, one of whom was called Qi Changyun and the other was Qi Changhai, who were two brothers, both of whom had been running business between the Western Regions and the Central Plains for many years, and were extremely familiar with the situation in the Western Regions, especially with rich experience in leading teams through the desert, and were indispensable guides for the Western Expedition.

Both of them expressed their willingness to lead dozens of brothers who ran merchants to lead the way for the army and make a meager contribution to the Western Regions of the Ming Dynasty.

Qin Shuhuai is very satisfied, Hong Chengchou can be regarded as having done this to his heart!

The three of them discussed for a day, and under the introduction of these two businessmen who were familiar with the Western Regions, they roughly set the route of the march based on the map of the Western Regions.

This is a relatively conventional route, that is, the army leaves from Jiayu Pass, passes through Hami, Turpan, and Beshi Bali to its capital Yarkand.

Qin Shuhuai believes that this route is feasible, one is that it is a mature road, and the desert area that needs to be crossed is small, and the caravan is often walking, so the risk of the army being swallowed by the desert is small. The second is that if the Qiang Kingdom is in the south of Hami, it can be destroyed very easily.

However, he remembered one more thing, so he asked Qi Changyundao, "By the way, is this route very close to the territory of Dzungaria?"

Qi Changyun said, "There is a period that is relatively close. However, the Dzungar Ministry is now at odds with the Dulbert and Heshute Ministries, and they can't guard against them at the moment, so they won't come to us for trouble. ”

Qi Changhai also said, "Since Jiannu was defeated in two successive southern expeditions, now the Mongolian Warat people have completely disobeyed them. They fought their own, and now the Warat people in the south of the desert in the west of the desert, the strongest are the Dzungar department and the Heshute department. However, they are still nominally part of the Erut Mongols, and do not dare to openly stand on their own. ”

Qin Shuhuai nodded, and said in his heart, so that now the Dzungar Department is strong, but it has not yet unified Mongolia in Monan and Moxi, and has not yet established the Dzungar Khanate.

Anyway, I went, do you want to go back and unite with a few Mongolian tribes who have enmity with Dzungaria and stumble on Dzungaria?

Might he be able to stop him from growing further?

As soon as I talked about it, I had more and more thoughts in my heart.

After resting in Xi'an City for a day, early the next morning, Qin Shuhuai continued to set off with the grain transportation team and headed for Baoji.

By the way, Qi Changyun and Qi Changhai, as well as more than a dozen experienced guys under him, also brought them - these people are treasures.

I walked unhurriedly for three and a half days and arrived at Baoji.

Li Dingguo, the city guard, and Tang Sanniang, who came back from Sichuan, came out to greet him.

It's just that I didn't see Zhiren, Wang Datong and Chang Wuji.

During the trip to Sichuan, they did not block the Tsing Yi Army, and it can basically be said that they returned in vain, at most they only played a role in appeasing the martial arts in Shuzhong.

After coming back, Zhiren was recruited back by Shaolin to continue to think about it, and Wang Datong and Chang Wuji, one as the leader of the beggar gang and the other as an elder of Wudang, had a lot to do.

Only Tang Sanniang, because the Tang Sect was destroyed and the blood revenge was not avenged, so she chose to return to the coalition army, so that when the coalition army marched west, she could attack Ruoqiang, kill the Tsing Yi Army and the Western Regions Jingwei, and avenge the disciples in the door.

The same choice as Tang Sanniang, as well as the Emei faction, Qingcheng faction and other Sichuan sects that were also beaten by the empress's men and horses this time.

Speaking of which, the Emei faction is also very miserable, first the head of the sect Shangshui Shitai was killed in battle, and then more than half of the disciples who stayed in the sect were killed, and now the Emei faction is no longer one of the six major factions. Therefore, Qin Shuhuai also took great care of Emei, not only gave them a big wharf, but also gave them various subsidies one after another to talk about comfort.

After entering the city, Li Dingguo had the soldiers in the city line up to welcome Qin Shuhuai.

It's equivalent to a military parade in disguise.

Walking all the way, I saw that the soldiers in the city were all holding their heads high, eyeing each other, and their military appearance was majestic and neat.

Qin Shuhuai knew that Li Dingguo had not been idle for half a year.

Qin Shuhuai had no doubts about Li Dingguo's ability to train troops. The Great Western Army he trained at the beginning was almost invincible at the moment when Sun Li was fighting, and even if Sun Kewang surrendered to him in the end, the Great Western Army was never really wiped out by the powerful Eight Banners Army.

And now, in addition to the four or five thousand soldiers brought by Li Dingguo himself, there are also 20,000 martial arts coalition troops who crawled out of the pile of dead people.

Before, Qin Shuhuai was worried that Li Dingguo would not be able to handle the 20,000 martial arts coalition troops, because Li Dingguo was originally a defeated general of the martial arts coalition army, let him be the defender of Baoji City, and the martial arts coalition army would not be bad if he didn't block him, and he still wanted to obey him?

Therefore, at that time, Qin Shuhuai not only gave Li Dingguo a letter to control the martial arts coalition army, but also specially instructed Meng Wei, Zhang Xiao and others who led troops to be stationed in Baoji to cooperate with Li Dingguo.

Unexpectedly, it only took more than half a year for Li Dingguo to gain the approval of the coalition forces, so that he was able to start training the coalition forces.

Indeed, it is a power, a power that will always belong to a few.

After entering the city, Qin Shuhuai told Li Dingguo about the idea of the western expedition.

Li Dingguo was not surprised at all, and asked, "So, can Grandpa Guo have set the men and horses to go on the expedition?"

Qin Shuhuai smiled slightly and said, "Brother Dingguo, what is your opinion, why don't you talk about it first?"

Li Dingguo thought for a while and said, "Returning to China, my subordinates think that the biggest enemy of the expedition to Yarkand is not the soldiers and horses of Yarkand, but the bad weather and desert along the way. Therefore, there are not many of our people, but the essence is enough. Bring less people, more grain, grass, horses, and camel teams, as long as they can support long-term battles, it is not much difficult to conquer Yarkand. ”

Qin Shuhuai nodded, "Then Brother Dingguo thinks how many soldiers are enough?"

"Thirty thousand. ”

Qin Shuhuai's eyelids lifted slightly.

"Thirty thousand?"

"That's right, my subordinates thought that 30,000 elite soldiers could conquer Yarkand. ”

Qin Shuhuai couldn't help but say in his heart, Li Dingguo's courage is greater than mine! I have to bring at least 50,000 when I go crazy, and he only needs 30,000 elite soldiers to dare to go on an expedition to Yarkand?

So he said, "Tell me why?"

Li Dingguo said confidently, "The Yarkand State is located in the Western Regions, the country is full of deserts, oases are scarce, and it mainly relies on commerce and limited agriculture and animal husbandry to survive. In the past six months, my subordinates have inquired with many merchants and travelers who have traveled to and from the Western Regions, and the total population of Yarkand is only hundreds of thousands, and it is conceivable that its military strength is at most 70,000 or 80,000. ”

"What's more, although the Yarkand state is ostensibly unified, it is actually composed of countless city-states. These city-states were originally small states, such as Ruoqiang, and they were all forced to submit to Yarkand. So once the fight starts, let's use both grace and might, and I believe that there are not many city-states who dare to fight to the death with my Daming. ”

"In this case, in fact, what we have to deal with is nothing more than the army of Yarkand's descendants. The subordinates estimated that the number would not exceed 40,000. Moreover, the Yarkand people are mainly engaged in trade and farming, and their soldiers' combat strength will not be as good as the Warat people who have been fighting with wolves in the steppe for many years, and with the combat power of our army today, 30,000 elites are more than enough to break 40,000 Yarkand troops. ”

Qin Shuhuai asked again, "Don't you want to think that they have a home advantage?"

Li Dingguo said confidently, "What Grandpa Guo said is that they have the advantage of waiting for work at ease? In the past, Ban Dingyuan used 36 horses to level the Western Regions, but now my generation has 30,000 troops, so why worry about the labor of the expedition?"

Qin Shuhuai said with a smile, "Back then, Ban Chao rode the Western Regions for thirty-six years, and my father looked a little exaggerated. However, Brother Dingguo said that 30,000 can level the Western Regions, but my father believes it a little. Then tell me, how are these 30,000 people constituted, and who are the generals?"

Li Dingguo said, "On the expedition to the Western Regions, my subordinates thought it would be appropriate to have 10,000 martial arts coalition troops and 20,000 officers and soldiers. In the martial arts alliance, Meng Wei or Zhang Xiao can be selected as generals, while the officers and soldiers can be selected from the trilateral tiger generals. In addition......"

Speaking of this, Li Dingguo knelt on the ground and bowed, and said, "Subordinate Li Dingguo, I am willing to go with the army!"

Qin Shuhuai asked meaningfully, "If Brother Dingguo is on the march, what kind of position can he deserve?"

Li Dingguo said calmly, "If you are willing to be dispatched by Grandpa Guo, it is okay to be a pawn in front of the horse." ”

Qin Shuhuai smiled slightly, and then said word by word, "Li Dingguo, this father wants you to lead the martial arts alliance army and be the deputy commander of the expeditionary force." ”

Li Dingguo listened, calm as water.

No excitement, no disappointment.

just asked, "Dare to ask Grandpa Guo, who is the commander?"

"Trilateral Governor Lu Xiangsheng. ”

Qin Shuhuai's decision to make Lu Xiangsheng the coach was deliberate.

Lu Xiangsheng is the governor of the three sides, and Li Dingguo is just a general, could it be that Lu Xiangsheng will give Li Dingguo a hand?

And this also shows that he may not have participated in the westward expedition in the later stage.

Why?

First, now that the Demon Sect has made it clear that it wants to cooperate with the imperial court, it will send at least one or two thousand troops at that time, so the expedition to Yarkand is almost nine out of ten.

Second, there is still a lot to do about the New Deal, and it is better for him to go on an expedition at this time.

Third, as soon as he goes, it is estimated that Li Dingguo and Lu Xiangsheng will not have much opportunity to perform, and his original intention is to let these two show off in this expedition and make enough capital - especially Li Dingguo.

After Li Dingguo heard this, he immediately said, "This Mingshi is also worthy of this position!"

"Oh, you also know Lu Xiangsheng?"

Li Dingguo smiled bitterly, "When Grandpa Guo was in the Great War in Shaanxi, it was Lu Xiangsheng and my father-in-law who were entangled in Shanxi. This person is quite bold and strategic in using soldiers, and he has been taught in the country. The reason why the father-in-law did nothing in Shanxi later was because he favored a few old subordinates, and secondly, because Lu Xiang was promoted to the three sides. ”

Qin Shuhuai said with a smile, "Then you are heroes and cherish heroes, great." Let it be decided. 10,000 martial arts coalition troops, you can go by yourself, and in addition, my father will let Meng Wei and Zhang Xiao go with you, with the two of them here, it will be easier for you to command. ”

Letting Meng Wei and Zhang Xiao go together has another effect, that is, if the Demon Sect goes out together, they can better communicate with the Demon Sect. These two people had a lot of dealings with the Demon Sect before, and they knew a lot of people in the Demon Sect.

......

Everything went smoothly.

Qin Shuhuai immediately wrote down the troops and generals to be called for the Western Expedition on the chapter and sent them to the Forbidden City in an expedited manner. Of course, this is just a formality, and since Chongzhen has authorized him to prepare for the Western Expedition, he will inevitably be allowed to play.

At the same time, Lu Xiangsheng, Du Wenhuan, and He Renlong arrived in Baoji one after another with their own elite soldiers. According to Qin Shuhuai's arrangement, they brought a total of 20,000 officers and soldiers.

Ten days later, Chongzhen's reply came over, and it was played.

On the second day, 10,000 martial arts troops and 20,000 officers and troops set out from Baoji and headed for Lanzhou.

The next thing is to wait for the reply of the Demon Sect.