Chapter 300: Geluo Ren (2)

It was ten days later that Jie Gangas had received the news that Zhang Huan came out of Xingxing Gorge. He had already realized that Zhang Huan had already arrived at Xingxing Gorge, otherwise he would not have grasped the opportunity. Just when he was confronting the Tubo army, he suddenly took action.

At this time, Jiegangas was already deeply trapped in the mud of fighting with Tubo. Faced with the Tang army's attack, he had no choice but to face the Tang army's attack. On the one hand, he immediately sent someone back to Mobei to ask for help from Khan. On the other hand, he blocked the news as much as possible so that the soldiers could not know that the retreat was broken. He only hoped that Zhang Huan's advance would be slower and slower.

But things did not develop as he thought. In the following half month, news came to him like a meteor: "The Tang army went south"; "The Tang army captured Puchang County, and all the Puchang defenders were killed in battle"; "The Tang army was facing Gaochang, and the defenders surrendered."

Especially the last news, Jiegangas was about to withdraw his troops overnight. Just as he was discussing countermeasures with his generals, an unexpected news came. Zhang Huan's army left Gaochang and headed north and returned to Beiting. After being confused for a night, Jiegangas finally realized that this must be the Geluo people who sent troops.

In chaos, the entire Anxi and Beiting area were in chaos. In Anxi, there was a confrontation between the Uighur army and the Tubo army, in Beiting, there was a contest between the Tang army and the Gelu people, and in Tochar in the south, tens of thousands of Dashi Army that had not yet evacuated were eyeing it.

There are also intertwined with the interests of Tuqi and the people, the interests of the Turks in the white subjugation, the interests of Shatu people, and the vital interests of hundreds of ethnic groups of all sizes.

The Uighur Army and the Tubo Army are still confronting Yanqi and Kucha, and no one wants to take action easily. In contrast, the war in Beiting is direct and much faster.

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In mid-to-late June, this is the hottest moment of the year. The scorching sun shines directly on the earth. Midsummer is the most difficult day. The heat that oppresses people is ruthlessly hot, and the dry and hot wind sweeps across the Western Regions violently.

At dusk, Zhang Huan's army finally arrived in Yiwu. From early June to Gaochang and back to Yiwu on June 25, for more than twenty days, the Tang army almost walked around and returned to the starting point.

Yiwu County is the county seat of Yiwu County. The county is very narrow, with thin and short walls. There are only hundreds of families in the county. Most of the residents live in various places and make a living by grazing. Zhang Huan's base is located on a lake about three miles southeast of the county. There are thousands of tents on the grassy grassland, which are boundless at a glance and stretch for more than ten miles. Among them, the rear camp where food and grass supplies are placed is surrounded by a circle of camps. There are heavy troops garrisons here. The Tang army marchs thousands of miles to fight, and logistics support directly determines the outcome of the war.

Just as the army began to return to the camp, Zhang Huan suddenly found that there were carriages parked outside the fence of the rear camp. It seemed that he had just arrived. He became curious and turned his head and galloped towards the rear camp several miles away.

The personal soldiers followed and for a moment, Zhang Huan came to the back camp, where many soldiers were already watching, talking and talking. Seeing the governor coming, the soldiers dodged a way.

Zhang Huan saw clearly when he was close to it. Each large cart was covered with thick coarse cloth. Moreover, this kind of cart was about four zhang long, two zhang wide and two zhang high. The average cart had only two wheels, but it had six wheels, which were wide and thick, which was very suitable for driving in grasslands or deserts, with a total of as many as a thousand.

Zhang Huan couldn't help but be surprised and happy. This was his secret weapon: the "Pili Chariot" arrived. Everyone may have some impression that when they were still in Wuwei, at the same time when they discovered the use of gunpowder, a craftsman invented a heavy carriage to place small stone cannons. Because it was not practical, it was almost abandoned. However, Zhang Huan encouraged the craftsman to continue to develop it. After three years of painstaking research by nearly a hundred craftsmen, a brand new chariot was released.

The main body of the chariot is made of hard walnut wood, with a layer of iron on the outside. The car is divided into two parts. One part is a semi-open shape, with a small stone cannon or a thirty-shot crossbow on it, and the other part is a closed box, two 25 meters long and can carry twenty crossbowmen inside. There are two rows of twelve round holes on both sides and in front of the carriage. These are breathable holes and also shooting holes. The carriage is driven by six wheels, and each car is pulled by nine horses.

On the secret test site, the carriage shot a gunpowder bullet three hundred steps away for the first time, making a shocking explosion, so it was named "Pili Chariot" by Zhang Huan. In the offensive and defensive battles in the Central Plains, this carriage had little effect, but it was a powerful weapon to deal with nomadic peoples, effectively combining the advanced weapons and mobility of the Han people. It was the first time it was put into war during this western expedition of the Tang army.

Just when Zhang Huan was extremely surprised by the arrival of the chariot, more than a dozen riding horses drove out of the logistics camp after hearing the news, and shouted from a distance, "Governor!"

After a few people approached, Zhang Huan recognized the two leaders, one was Sima Luo Guangzheng, the other was Pei Mingyuan.

"Why are you here?" Zhang Huan laughed and jumped off the horse, stepped forward and punched each of them. It was indeed a very gratifying thing to meet old friends in the distant Western Regions.

"I'm here to escort the Pili chariots and food." Luo Guangzheng rubbed his shoulder, which was so painful that Zhang Huan beaten, and said with a wry smile.

"What about you?" Zhang Huan turned his head and looked at Pei Mingyuan and asked with a smile.

Pei Mingyuan took out several letters from his arms and said, "I am here to deliver your family letters."

After saying that, he looked around at the vast land and the spectacular sunset, and couldn't help but laughed to the sky: "Look at my old trip again. It's been ten years, and it's still so open-minded here."

Zhang Huan naturally knew that there were other reasons for him to come. He also said it out loud, so he pulled the two of them and said with a smile: "Let's go! Let's have dinner tonight and tell me a good story about the Central Plains. It's only a few months ago, and I feel that I'm going to become a Hu person."

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In Zhang Huan's handsome tent, the three of them used tea instead of wine and enjoyed a delicious dinner together: large pieces of roasted mutton, dipped in salt, a few fresh and delicious side dishes, and a plate of steamed buns.

"All the way, sleep with clothes, drink spring water, eat steamed buns and dried meat, it's better to go back to the camp!" Zhang Huan drank a cup of Mengding tea, and his eyes narrowed so much that he couldn't help but sigh.

"You! You are asking for trouble." Pei Mingyuan pointed at him and said with a smile: "You don't have to come to the Western Regions to fight in person. You can just send your subordinates to the future. How can you have a dignified Minister of War and the head of the imperial cabinet come to fight in person?"

"Mingyuan, you don't understand the governor's idea." Luo Guangzheng retorted him: "Regaining Anxi and Beiting is something that many people dream of. Why not bring Wu Gou and collect the fifty states of Guanshan. No matter how much you say, how many people can have such an opportunity? If the governor does not seize this opportunity, it will probably be even more impossible in the future."

Zhang Huan nodded and smiled at Pei Mingyuan, "Did you hear it? It's still Luo Sima understands me. You are still my brother-in-law, just like a passerby village woman."

"Am I vulgar?" Pei Mingyuan touched his nose and smiled faintly, "If you knew the news from the court, you probably wouldn't have said I'm vulgar."

'It turns out that something is coming!' Zhang Huan thought to himself, and he put the teacup in his hand, "Just tell me! What happened to the court?"

Pei Mingyuan took out a note from his arms and handed it to Zhang Huan, saying: "Guanzhong, Hedong, Central Plains have encountered a severe drought that has not been encountered for decades. More than 60 counties have no harvest of summer grains, especially in Guanzhong. The fields are cracked and hungry for thousands of miles. Millions of Hedong. Guanzhong people fled to Longyou and Shuzhong to eat. Even the Yellow River was cut off. The situation is very serious!"

Zhang Huan took the letter and took a quick look. It turned out to be Pei Jun wrote: The final grain in Guanzhong was less than 100,000 stones, hundreds of rivers in the east were cut off, and people and animals had great difficulties in drinking water. Cui Qinggong indulged his soldiers to loot the big families and wiped out countless families. Wei Deqing led his troops to attack Guancang at night.

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At the end of the letter, Pei Jun asked Zhang Huan to give the court the maximum help.

"How much food do we have in stock?" Zhang Huan asked Pei Mingyuan with the memorials.

Pei Mingyuan thought for a while and said, "The harvest in Longyou this year is good, and the grain in Shu has also been harvested. When I came, I had finished 5 million stones of grain. Lin Jiuhan was in Changsha. He has accumulated 500,000 stones of grain this year, and can support Xiangyang. In addition to the original grain reserve, this year, there should be 15 million stones of grain in the official warehouse of Longyou."

Zhang Huan pondered for a moment and asked Luo Guangzheng again: "Based on the 200,000 army, it took half a year to fight, how much food will I need to consume this Western Expedition?"

"Military rations are about three million stones, but considering the cost of travel, my subordinates probably need at least five million stones."

Zhang Huan nodded and asked Pei Mingyuan again, "Has Changshi Hu taken action?"

Pei Mingyuan bowed slightly and said, "Chief Hu has urgently transported one million stones of grain to support Chang'an, and distributed another 500,000 stones of grain to help the victims. If you want to expand support, you must ask the governor for approval."

Zhang Huan walked slowly in the tent with his hands behind his back. He knew that this was actually an extremely rare opportunity. He could use this as a condition to threaten the court to build a sacrificial hall for his biological father in the Taimiao. If it were a few months ago, he would have made such a request. However, after several months of the Battle of Anxi, his mood had undergone subtle changes. He no longer took this seriously for the exchange of conditions. What about setting up the main hall, and what about not setting up the main hall?

The key is that the people's hearts are the people, and only those who win the people's hearts can win the world. As long as he has absolute strength, everything will come naturally.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huan wrote a letter and handed it to Pei Mingyuan: "During my absence in Longyou, all military and political decisions within my sphere of influence will be made by Hu Yong, Du Mei, He Lou Wuji and you two. A total of five people agreed to make the decision. If more than half of them agree, you don't have to ask me everything, but there is a principle that you five must remember for me."

Pei Mingyuan and Luo Guangzheng stood up together and bowed and said, "Please give orders to the governor!"

Zhang Huan looked into the eyes of the two and said word by word: "Those who establish a country are based on the people."

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The next morning, Pei Mingyuan and Luo Guangzheng left Yiwu and returned eastward. Zhang Huan did not go to see them off. He came to a training ground three miles away from the military camp before dawn. Today, he was going to test his "Pili Chariot" here.

The training ground covers dozens of hectares of land and is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Nearly a thousand travelers are patrolling miles away. No one is allowed to get close to this place.

The training ground has been arranged, with thousands of straw men and horse stools on both sides, simulating the enemy's cavalry group. In this test, a total of ten chariots and one thousand cavalry participated in the battle. Each chariot was equipped with twenty-five people according to standard, including two horsemen, twenty crossbowmen in the car, and three stone cannon operators.

The sky gradually became bright, and a burning sun rose from the distant horizon. Zhang Huan stood on a hill on the side, followed by dozens of senior officers.

"Let's start!" Zhang Huan gave the order to start.

As a red flag waved, almost everyone's eyes stared at the entrance of the distant valley. Gradually, a slight sound of horse hooves came from the distance. As the sound became louder and louder, it became more and more vibrant, and rolling yellow dust began to appear. Suddenly, a black team suddenly appeared at the entrance of the valley, with the sound of hooves like thunder, and was rushing towards this side.

As he got closer, Zhang Huan had already seen the formation clearly. Ten chariots were in the middle, like ten huge black insects. A thousand cavalry guards were on the periphery and rushed a hundred steps away from the grass man.

Arrows in the chariot were like rain, and dense crossbow arrows woven into a net of arrows, crossing the heads of the cavalry and shooting at the grass horses. In an instant, arrows were pierced. With a "bang!", several black porcelain balls flew out of the carriage, drew an arc, and fell into the grass horses two hundred steps away, and suddenly exploded. In the valley, the explosion sounded even more earth-shaking, and a red flame immediately swallowed hundreds of grass horses.

But the horses of the Thousand Personal Army team were frightened and neighed and ran around in scattered. Many cavalrymen also fell from their horses and were injured. This was an accident.
Chapter completed!