Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 426

Chapter 426 Understand
Golden Mountain, a grassland nomad with a wolf as his totem, believed that this was the place where the wolf god lived, so it was called the “Wolf Mountain” and was regarded as the holy land in his heart.

Between Jinshan Mountain and Mobei Grassland, there was a vast desert that stretched for nearly a thousand kilometers, commonly known as the “800 Great Desert”, which was also the customary geographical watershed between East and West Turkic.

“I can see the golden mountain.” Xue Rengui raised her eyes and looked into the distance. She turned around and sighed, “I didn’t expect that we would cross the eight hundred great deserts again …”

“Brother …” Ashner Snowlotus couldn’t help but ask, “Ever since the first day I stepped into this desert, I’ve seen you and your men with a heavy heart. I’ve always wanted to ask why, but it’s hard to say. Now that I’ve walked out of the desert, can you tell me the reason?”

“Actually, it’s nothing.” Xue Rengui said indifferently, “Not long ago, I led 20,000 Western Conquest Army troops to break through the north. Dozens of battles of all sizes have taken place along the way, and more than half of them have been killed or injured.” I remember that at the foot of the Golden Mountain, we had a bloody battle with the tens of thousands of troops of the Hulu Tribe of the Western Turkic, and we managed to break out of the encirclement and escape into the 800 great deserts with great difficulty. At that time, we were short of food and horses, and we couldn’t even find water in the desert. Many injured brothers died in the desert because they did not receive timely treatment and recuperation. At that time, we were worried that the Western Turkic army would come to chase after them and flee in a hurry. We didn’t have enough time to let them be buried in peace. At most, we used some stones and branches to cover their bodies. Along the way back to our homeland, we saw many soldiers’ corpses turning into white bones, many of them even being destroyed by wild beasts … ”

“No wonder …” Xue Lian also sighed and said, “Actually, I should have thought of it a long time ago. What else could make someone like brother feel sad?”

“Is that so?” Xue Rengui smiled and said no more.

At this time, the sentry cavalry came back and reported to Xue Rengui that they were about to step into the territory of the Hu Lu Tribe and could already see their camp tent. Looking at the situation, Hu Lu Ren also discovered that the army on the desert side was gathering troops.

“Brother, do you want to fight them again?” Xue Lian said, “Previously, you only had ten to twenty thousand crippled soldiers, yet you were still able to kill nine in and nine out of his formation. No one can stop you from shaking the enemy’s courage. This time, with Little Sister and forty thousand elite Huihe cavalry under you, you will definitely be able to defeat him in one blow!”

“Don’t worry.” Xue Rengui’s face was as heavy as water as he said, “Today is different from the past. At that time, I was fleeing, but now I’m using this as a pretext. Moreover, the sun and moon have changed. I don’t know what stance the Norland of the Western Turkic Empire is taking towards our Great Tang. We shouldn’t rashly use force.”

“Oh, right?” Xue Lian smiled and said, “Yes, the officials and generals of the Central Plains like to get a set.”

Xue Rengui was slightly stunned. Then, she smiled meaningfully and said, “You’re right, I learned this from a big official. That big official is precisely the person you’ve been rushing to see for thousands of miles.”

“You dare to tease me?” Xue Lian’s apricot eyes widened as his eyebrows flew up, and his posture was about to change.

Xue Rengui laughed loudly, “Stop messing around. Look, smoke and dust are rising in front of us, as if there are soldiers and horses coming.”

Sure enough, in less than an incense stick of time, there was a cavalry formation several miles ahead, about sixty to seventy thousand. On this side, Xue Rengui and Xue Lian commanded the Han army, and there were also fifty thousand troops. The two sides lined up, and the cavalry all looked like a great battle was about to begin.

The troops of the Hu Lu Tribe set up their formation. They were not in a hurry to move. Instead, they rushed out with a rider holding a command flag and came to Xue Rengui’s front. They said, “General Hu Lu, Marshal Hu Lu, please give General Xue Rengui an answer.”

“Please.” Xue Rengui agreed and only brought a banner messenger with him. He stepped forward alone and even stabbed Fang Tianhua’s halberd into the ground.

“Brother, be careful!” Xue Lian warned, “How can you go forward so alone? No matter what, you still need to bring weapons!”

“It doesn’t matter.” Xue Rengui pulled back his horse and smiled indifferently.

Only two people came out from the other side. The chief of the Hulu tribe was also one of the two marshals of the Norland of the Western Turkic Empire, Hulu House, and there was also a banner messenger.

The two of them stood side by side, Xue Rengui clasped his fists, Hu Luwu touched his chest and nodded, as a greeting.

“General Xue, as the old saying goes, the first is courtesy and the last is military.” The Hu Lu Clan’s Han spoke fairly fluently. He said, “It was my duty to have been ordered to intercept and chase after you earlier, but why did you return today? Could it be that you really want to have a hard time with my Hu Lu Clan?”

“Absolutely not.” Xue Rengui said, “If that’s the case, I wouldn’t have let the captured heir go back then.” I know that your Hu Lu Tribe was forced by Norland to become enemies with my Great Tang, so I don’t blame you. Today, I’m just here to borrow some information. If the general agrees, please make way and let me wait. I assure you, along the way, Qiu will not offend you and will never be your Hu Lu Tribe’s enemy. ”

“Excuse me?” Hu Luwu let out a long sigh of relief. A smile appeared on his face. He once again stroked his chest and bowed to Xue Rengui, saying, “Hu Lubu, you must be tolerant.” Originally, Norland had already abandoned its relationship with Tibet and was now on good terms with the Great Tang. We have no reason to be enemies with Xue Rengui. “Not only will I make way with General Xue, I will also ask General Xue to lead your troops to stay here for a few days and let me do my best as a landlord!”

“Has Norland been repaired with the Great Tang?” Xue Rengui was shocked and thought to himself, How is this possible? Norland was the main culprit in killing the Marshal. Even if the Imperial Court agreed, how could Major Marshal forget this deep enmity of blood? By the way, Norland abandoned Tibet to cultivate the Great Tang for the sake of watching the battle between the tigers and the mountains. At this time, Major Marshal was facing a strong Tibetan enemy. It was a good strategy to temporarily appease Norland by reducing one enemy. Since that’s the case, why don’t I follow Major Marshal’s instructions and try my best to obtain the help of Norland and use them to help me deal with Tibet?

“Since Marshal’s fist is winning, I won’t decline!” Xue Rengui said straightforwardly after thinking through the twists and turns, “It just so happens that our army has just crossed the 800 great deserts, and we are tired and eager to rest.”

“That’s great!-General Xue, please!”

That night, Xue Rengui’s troops were stationed in the territory of the Hu Lu clansmen. Hu Luwu had truly done his best as a landlord and treated him warmly for three days at the Banquet of Killing Cattle and Slaughtering Sheep. Only then did Xue Rengui know that the Norland Marshal Ni Shuchuo, who had been shot by him during the Tianshan War, was lucky to survive but was seriously injured. He could only stay in bed and rest until now, unable to take care of military affairs. Although Hu Luwu was the vice marshal second only to Ni Shuchuo, Ya Qiang did not hand over the military power to him, the “foreign chief” who guarded the frontier. Instead, he firmly grabbed onto the Norland Khan Desire Valley and his sons who did not know how to fight.

Hu Luwu complained to Xue Rengui more than once after drinking, saying that he and the entire clan had sacrificed their lives to set up the Desire Valley, but in the end, they were still treated as outsiders and watchdogs.

Xue Rengui could smell what he was saying-he wanted to say that it was better to join the Great Tang than to work for Norland!

Hence, Xue Rengui took advantage of the hot iron to strike and said to Hu Luwu that the Great Tang had already sent Li Xu to lead an army to expel Xue Yantuo to the north, which was fairly peaceful in the near future. At that time, the Great Tang would surely dominate Mobei, Tiele, and the Turkic Huihe tribes. Hu Lu Tribe was located between Norland and Mobei. Since it was the throat of the Western Turks, they were the first to fight for it. If one day the Great Tang and Norland resumed war, then the Hu Lu Tribe would undoubtedly be the first to suffer from the flames of war!

Rengui Xue told the truth. Hu Luwu also knew that it was only natural for the Great Tang and Tibet to have a “battle between the two tigers”, but no one dared to persuade them to fight-so Norland and the Great Tang were temporarily repaired. Another important reason was that the Heavenly Mountain Battle’s Norland Yuan Qi had been greatly damaged, and Ni Shuchuo, the pillar of the top beam, had been seriously injured and could not be counted on. Now that the Great Tang had swept through Mobei, they would sooner or later head west to deal with Norland-no matter what, there was already a deep enmity between Norland and the Great Tang that could not be resolved by peace!

Since Hu Luwu was able to become the chief of a clan and the marshal of a country, he naturally had good eyesight and was not stupid. After several deep discussions with Xue Rengui, he made a bold decision-to secretly leave Norland and join the Great Tang!

Rengui Xue was naturally overjoyed, but he also knew that this kind of thing should be delayed and not rushed, and that it should be hidden and not revealed. It was unrealistic for Hu Luwu to agree to join the Great Tang now. After all, Li Ji’s army was still thousands of miles away in Qibei, fighting Xue Yantuo. In Kansai, Qin Mubai’s contest with Tibetans was also undecided; Right now, the Western Regions was still the sole leader of the Norland Clan!

Hence, Hu Luwu and Xue Rengui agreed that the day when the Great Tang’s royal master reached the Golden Mountain would be the time for his Hu Luju Clan to surrender! Before this, this could only be a secret agreement between him and Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui said that he was just an assistant general under Guanxi Army Commander-in-Chief Qin Mubai and was unable to decide such a big matter. Unless Hu Luwu wrote down a contract and gave it to Qin Rengui after Xue Mubai returned to Lanzhou.

Hu Luwu agreed and immediately wrote down the contract document and handed it to Xue Rengui, who then took it to Qin Mubai.

The Tang Hui Alliance Army rested in the Hu Lu Tribe for five days before leaving this place to advance towards the Southern Tianshan Mountains, heading straight for the Western Region’s throat-Gao Changguo!

On the way, the puzzled Blood Lotus asked Xue Rengui, “Brother, what is Hu Luwu planning? He has treated us more warmly these past few days than we treated you at that time. He is clearly serving you like a slave. Could it be that he wants to leave Norland and join the Great Tang?”

“It’s this intention. It’s quite obvious at a glance.” Xue Rengui smiled and said, “But he thought that he was doing it very secretly.”

“So he really mentioned this to you? Did you agree to it?”

“I agree for the time being, but I can’t make the decision. It’s up to Young Marshal Qin to decide.” Xue Rengui said.

“Heh! Why don’t you leave Young Admiral Qin?” Xue Lian curled her lips and said, “If you want to say it, he is a thousand miles away now, and he doesn’t even care about your life or death anymore.” Right now, the remaining 10,000 Western Expedition Army was saved by you at the cost of your life. There are 40,000 more Huihe Cavalry. Previously, you defeated the barbarian man and made it easy for Li Ji to pacify Xue Yantuo. This is all thanks to you alone! Now, in the Western Regions, in Mobei, who knows him, Young Marshal Qin, but doesn’t know you, Xue Rengui? –What else can’t you do! ”

“The old motto is’ Father and son, Monarch, subject and subject ‘. Do you understand?” Xue Rengui smiled.

“I don’t understand. I can’t even pronounce it. Although my mother is Han, she hasn’t taught me such profound knowledge.” Blood Lotus shook his head.

Xue Rengui smiled and said, “Let me explain this to you. Even if you live to be eighty years old, you are still your parents’ daughter.”

“…” Xue Lian was silent for a while and nodded with a sigh. “I understand! … You men, especially the men from the Han Clan, are really strange!”

“You won’t understand.” Xue Rengui raised her eyes to look into the distance and looked at the vast expanse of the Heavenly Mountains in the distance. She sighed to herself leisurely and said, “It’s like many people don’t understand why the Marshal did that back then …”

“Report-General Xue!” A sentinel horse rushed over and reported, “There are more than ten cavalry riders at the foot of Tianshan Mountain. They claim to be trusted envoys sent by Nanting Shabo Luoye Hu Khan. They are here to welcome General Xue!”

“Strange things happen again and again.” Xue Rengui couldn’t help but laugh, “The messenger who just sent Hu Luwu to Norland and the messenger who came to Nantong Khan! Is the Western Turkic people’s sense of smell so sensitive?”

All of the Tang soldiers laughed loudly, while Blood Lotus’s head was filled with confusion as she eagerly asked Xue Rengui what he meant.

“Tianshan Mountain is the territory of Norland, but there are envoys from the Southern Court here. Isn’t that interesting?” Xue Rengui smiled and said, “Someone, please send for an envoy!-Let me see what he wants!”