And in the northwest of Longyou Road, Weizhou (now Weiyuan County, Shaanxi) and Lanzhou (now Lanzhou, Gansu) at the junction of Dalai Valley. A long, gray-headed and ragged army was also slowly marching along the bank of the yellowed Taoshui in a dull atmosphere of low morale.
In the rustling brigade marching in the smoke and dust, people staggered down from time to time, and were lifted up again by their companions who uncovered their armor. Therefore, in addition to the large mess of footprints where they had traveled, they also left behind scattered armor, soldiers and other things.
But there are also people who walk too tired and don't want to stand up. So they could only be reluctantly moved to the side of the road, and the small group of stalls and groups sat together dull and stupidly watching the companions who passed in front of them and continued to go away.
Although the departed companions vowed to claim that there will be a follow-up team that will accommodate them; but in the case of long-distance travel and lack of supplies, they are hungry and tired, and how far can they continue to go with their two feet.
You must know that in the endless pursuits and encounters of those ridge bandits, they had their last meal after they ransacked the Jiequan Pavilion several days ago. Then the horses they were carrying began to "dead" and "fall" frequently, and even blatantly killed the mounts to satisfy their hunger.
As a result, those soldiers who have no mounts to transport and share the burden will continue to fall behind, fall behind, and get lost, and even when they fetch firewood, fetch water, or hunt along the way, they will never return;
At first, there were fellow villagers and people from the same clan to look for, but they could only find a little blood and suspected fragments of clothes nearby; so later, even the effort of finding people was saved; because they connected with the team that went out to find people. None of them came back.
At least let them, who are weak and unable to walk, stay in groups at intervals; as prisoners of follow-up pursuits; it is better than unexplained death in the wilderness; at least based on the experience of the previous confrontation, Those ridge thieves have no habit of killing prisoners for no reason.
And after not knowing how long it has been and the sun began to deflect, at the head of this long marching team, suddenly a small gangster was set off again for a while. But it was an outgoing scout, carrying a string of prey that had just been recovered in his hand and shouted:
"It has been confirmed that this is the Bird and Mouse Tongxueshan Note 1. If you walk seven or eight miles ahead, you will find Wujieshu and Di Daocheng (now Gansu's high-ranking official's castle..."
(The Birds and Rats in the Same Cavern Mountain was first seen in the "Shan Hai Jing", one of the few places that still exists in reality, because the pika and the titmouse live in the same cave to avoid natural enemies.
After hearing this news, most of the soldiers in the former team were finally cheered up and excited. Because this also represents a prosperous city that can be supplied after entering Lanzhou, and a strong city fortress that can be used to stop chasing troops and rest.
In the battle of Wujie that year, a generation of famous generals, General Zuo Yulin and Longyou Defensive Officer Xue Na (second son of Xue Rengui) relying on local strongholds as support, were here to fight against the Tubo army, killing tens of thousands of people. To get the sheep and horses plundered, Taoshui does not flow.
Later when Ge Shuhan was here to prepare the side, he repeatedly broke the Tubo army that came to grab rice and wheat, and left the popular "Ge Shu Ge": The Big Dipper is tall, and Ge Shuye carries a knife.
So far, I have not dared to visit Lintao to see the horses. (Tubo always killed but built two trenches.).
At the same time that many returning soldiers who heard the news one after another couldn't help speeding up their pace.
On one of the seats carried by two horses. As the leader of the remnants of the Western Army/Gueiyi Army of several groups of different backgrounds and belongings, and Li Mingzhen, the governor of Langzhou, also practiced Li Mingda, the brother of Hezhou Dutuan, who was riding his horse:
"I dreamt of Qi Lianxue and Moon Lake in Dashazeli last night... Also, the family temple cave on the Qianfoya Cliff,"
"Buddha bless! This must be a good omen, which means that we will be able to return to the land of Guasha in our entire body..."
Li Mingda, whose brows were sullen and difficult to stretch, was a rare smile and said openly:
"But with this auspicious word, if you have to get out of the danger, you and I will definitely open a few more caves on the east cliff, thinking that offering to the Buddha is also to comfort the children of various families who have died!"
Li Mingzhen, who was speaking, looked pale and described the weakness of Xiaogu.
"Brother, please feel at ease, we will definitely take these children home, and build an extraordinarily magnificent cave niche... Using the best master craftsman to make the statue will definitely be more magnificent and outstanding than those made by Tubo caves. ..."
Li Mingda couldn't help but cheered up and said:
"it is good..."
Hearing these words, Li Mingzhen smiled, but suddenly he felt a little tight in his chest and breathless and couldn't speak any more. .
In the key Langzhou decisive battle that was used to determine whether Hexi was restored or not, he did not hesitate to face the fierce battle with perseverance. The heavy armored horses of the Tubo people did not feel tired and hurt for dozens of bursts;
During the battle of Shenwu and Helan, he spent several days endlessly eating and drinking on the horseback, exhausted and overwhelmed several mounts, and fought with the wanderers of the Uighur and Tuihun tribes; until the raid was achieved. "Tiger Cavalry" Li Mingzhen of the Chinese Army's Great Account. The culprit who became the weaker appearance now was just a shot of lead.
As the saying goes, "generals will inevitably die in battle", it is not an example of him who has not suffered more injuries, but still insists on fierce fighting. But this time, in the continuous battle he was personally responsible for breaking the back and repelling the ridge bandits; a lead that accidentally broke the edge of the armor and embedded in his thigh, has tortured him painfully after the war.
Because there were no suitable tools, those specially used to deal with arrow wounds only dug out most of the broken and deformed lead in his penetrating thigh texture; however, the subsequent festering and fever caused by the hot weather and the rush of the march , But caused him to urinate more than ever, and he couldn't even ride the horse.
Just as Li Mingzhen's face became more and more bleak, Li Mingda continued to say:
"Among these people, the children of our two families are the most numerous; the big brother is recommended by the big guy and in times of crisis. Isn't he the leader that everyone will hope to return in the future..."
"Shiro... what does this mean?"
After breathing for several breaths, Li Mingzhen finally failed to cough up, but his face was subtle and intermittent:
"Since Soxhlet's party and Xingtai have already lived up to their position, who can take care of and take care of the general situation of the Returned Army, besides the big brother?"
Li Mingda meant something to say:
"Carefully, you and I have sworn blood on the altar in front of Thousand Buddha Cliff to protect the heirs and family of the lieutenant from generation to generation..."
Li Mingzhen was a little impatient when he heard the words:
"That's the case. If it weren't for the support of the soldiers headed by the eldest brother, why should the'Ding Shuai' who is still in Liangzhou deal with him?"
Li Mingda continued to explain calmly:
"What's more, the so-called pledge says that since the death of Duke Huai Shen, I don't know how many times it has been broken. Is it possible that I can't do what Soxhlet has done?"
"Brother came out to preside over the situation, and this is the only way to preserve his Zhang family; otherwise, now Hexi and Longyou have all the strong and healthy children, but they can't go under the second or third place. He is relying on the intervention of the court. Can the supporter be the master, can he be alone?"
"Don't talk about it anymore, I will return it to Liangzhou and meet the'Ding Shuai' and talk about other things..."
Li Mingzhen waved his hand with a tired hiss:
"Big brother is still thoughtful..."
Seeing Li Mingzhen's tone faintly loosened, he didn't stick to it anymore. When he returned to the sequence of his own team, Li Mingda solemnly said to the many ministers who had gathered here:
"Now that the elder brother is in good health, there may be changes in the army at any time, we also have to be prepared in advance..."
As the only one of the few remaining members of the Western Army, he certainly did not unreasonably support Li Mingzhen in the power structure of the Guiyi Army, but he also had the considerations of summoning and the balance of interests.
Because, based on Li Mingzhen's current physical condition, even if he was promoted to the upper ranks in the Guiyi Army and held power, how much time and energy he still has to continue to look at things is an uncertain unknown.
Therefore, the authority to actually travel naturally fell on him, the young and powerful Li's No. 2 leader. Of course, such calculations and considerations can't be put into practice, but can only be manifested in the actual actions of precautions.
What's more, in his expectation, Li can do much more than that. Now that the Western Army is defeated in the Pass, the vast Helong area is almost where every family is filial and everyone is crying. I don't know how many people have lost the pillars.
But the same is true whether it is the three-surname Uighurs, the strengths of the various ministries such as Wenmo, or the subordinate tribes of Tubo, Subi, Dangxiang, Tuhun, and Longshi, or the traditional oasis states such as Khotan, Yanqi, and Shanshan. . .
Even the Zhang, Suo, Yang, Yin, Zhai, Guo, etc. of the Han surnames, and the local power factions that accompanied the rise of the Guiyi Army, have caused quite painful losses, and they must not be caught in a long or short period of time. A period of weakness in time.
In contrast, although the Li’s loss was not light, he brought back the formed troops. If they could join forces with them to annex the Yang, Guo, and Long people in this remnant, the huge Hexi and Long The land on the right may be the best stage for the rise of Li's dominance.
At that time, he can work together to fight against the remnants of the Tubo banner from the land of the Qingtang, and it is justifiable to unite and return to most of the forces inside and outside the Rebellion Army; and even the end of the Tang Dynasty, to recreate and rebuild Now let's take a look at the achievements of Li Gui, the king of Xiliang in the late Sui Dynasty.
With this idea in mind, Li Mingda's horse riding could not help but become more brisk. It wasn't until a new message came from the front that he broke his state of mind at the moment. (End of this chapter)