Tang Xuan

The next day when the sky was bright, Lang Huai came out of the tent, washed his face casually with sand, took the pouch brought back by Mr. Zhu, and ate slowly with clear water.

"Grandpa, that detailed work has been dealt with." Mr. Zhu said a few words in a low voice, and then said: "Princess An Mu said, you are free, please go."

Lang Huai nodded and said, "I'll go right away." She was not hungry after eating half of it, and said again: "You haven't eaten yet, eat more, I'll go and see." Stuffing half of his pouch into Mr. Zhu's arms, he led Tayun past him, and quickly ran away.

An Mu was not in the tent, but was standing under a tree with several generals and talking.After Lang Huai approached, he said, "What? Is there a problem with the route?"

Seeing her, An Mu secretly rejoiced, and said, "It really needs to be changed."

Pointing to the sketches she drew on the ground, she said, "We originally planned to go along the Bezi Underground River and try our best to go to the sandbar, so that we don't have to worry about the water source."

Lang Huai nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"A few days ago, I sent a few good people to investigate in advance, only to find that the Bezi Underground River showed signs of diversion. Then the previously planned sandbar may be missed." An Mu nodded casually, and said: "I have added Send people to find out where it flows, and we will be back tomorrow, and we will set a schedule. In any case, before entering the Dead Sea, we must obtain enough drinking water, otherwise we should not go at all.”

Lang Huai said: "These things are all up to the princess." Lang Huai looked at those present, and said: "Now we can be regarded as a lonely army, and please command and restrain your subordinates, so as not to cause trouble."

"Don't worry, Ah Huai, third brother, I'll take care of it." Lu Laosan had been separated from her for several days, and finally saw her today, but he had no time to gossip, which made him very unhappy.

Lang Huai looked at him, said earnestly, "A few days ago, for the convenience of coming out, we only divided the troops according to batches, but now we can't be so sloppy."

"Although the sparrow is small, it has all the five internal organs. From now on, the cavalry will be divided into three armies, the left and the middle, each with [-] troops. The right side is led by Lu Laosan, the left side is led by Wang Xiong, and the [-] infantry are led by Weiss and merged into the central army. This general is in command. Princess An Mu's national battalions are the outposts and are responsible for detecting the surrounding movements. The deputy commanders, generals, school lieutenants, chiefs, and corps chiefs of each army will supplement the organizational system according to military regulations, and the commanders will hand over the list to this general tomorrow. "Lang Huai's voice was not high, but his voice was loud. The generals who were a little uneasy immediately settled down and nodded in agreement.

"This time is unusual. There will be several military orders. Please lead Xiaoyu's army."

"Whoever hears the drums and does not enter, and hears the gold does not stop, whoever disobeys the army, beheaded;

If you don't respond to your name, if you don't reach your point, you will be cut off if you are slow in the army;

Even more slowly, the voice is unknown, and those who slack off the army will be killed;

If you complain too much and don't listen to restraint, those who form an army will be cut off;

Those who act recklessly, sow discord, and slander the army, will be executed;

Privately entering the army account, leaking military aircraft, the rebels, beheaded;

Filling one's pockets, colluding with soldiers, whoever harms the army, beheaded;

Suffering from wounds and suffering from illness, fleeing in battle, those who are afraid of fighting, beheaded;

Before the battle, the army who disregarded the general, and the general who disregarded the army, were all beheaded. "

Lang Huai finished speaking in one breath, squinting his eyes, and said: "If any of the military supervisors violates this order, they will be killed. When I return to Chang'an, I will ask the imperial decree to slaughter the three clans."

The hearts of the generals present trembled. In the hot weather, many people's backs instantly turned cold. They didn't dare to look down on them anymore, and they all knelt down and said, "I respect the order of the general!"

Three days later, all the scouts sent by An Mu had returned, and she re-drawn the map, confidently confident, before going to Lang Huai's tent to discuss.

Lang Huai was holding the list of officers at all levels in the army to see if there was any wrongdoing. Seeing her coming in, he said, "But there has been a decision?"

An Mu was not surprised that she could guess it, and spread out the map directly on the table, saying: "As I expected, although the Bezi Underground River diverted its course, it merged with the Zalim Underground River. Although we Only ten days' journey has been found, but it is enough for us to reach the entrance of the Dead Sea, and it is the shortest distance I can think of."

An Mu made gestures on the map and said: "We are traveling from the southeast, and we can almost stop at the sandbar for more than ten days. We can replenish enough water before entering the Dead Sea, so save some money. In about [-] days, we will You can cross the Dead Sea. After you go out, there will be a sea, the locals call it Jinbu, and you can drink it.”

Lang Huai saw that the place she was pointing at was almost touching Khotan, so he couldn't help laughing and said: "At that time, I will train for a few days and give me five days to take Khotan and cut off Cong Canglanhu's retreat."

"Five days? I'm afraid not." An Mu blinked, suddenly thinking, and said: "General, do you dare to make a bet with me? I bet you from the beginning to the end, within five days, you can't defeat Tiancheng."

Lang Huai raised his head and said to An Mu, "What do you want the princess to bet on?"

"If you win, after I return to the country, I am willing to give out [-] gold every year to subsidize Datang's military pay in the Western Regions for ten consecutive years." Seeing the joy in Lang Huai's eyes, An Mu said again: "If the general loses, You have to do something for me."

"Oh? What's the matter?" For the sake of caution, Lang Huai didn't answer.

An Mu spat: "How can you be like a mother-in-law? I don't care about a hundred thousand gold."

Lang Huai smiled, and could only say: "It's a deal, and I ask the princess not to say anything that will be difficult for Ben, lest Ben will renege on his promise and become fat."

While speaking, Lu Laosan's loud voice came from afar: "Ah Huai! Ah Huai, are you there?"

Lang Huai hurriedly got up and walked out, and said loudly: "Third Brother, what's the matter here?"

Lu Laosan didn't wear armor and came in shirtless. He wasn't ashamed when he saw An Mu, and said, "I'm bored, I'm looking for you to practice."

The lone army re-started, laying down day and night every day, and slowly marching towards the established goal.Due to the existence of the heavy battalion in the Chinese army, the marching speed was two days slower than Lang Huai expected, before reaching the last sandbar.

On the night of the second day, they will enter the Dead Sea, which has been known as the forbidden area of ​​the Western Regions for more than a hundred years. This is the craziest adventure in Pingxi.On the fifth day after leaving Kucha, Lang Huai had already sent down an order to inform the ordinary soldiers of their purpose for this march.With her current prestige in the army, only a small number of soldiers held a suspicious attitude, but because of the murderous military order before, they had to follow obediently.

Along the way, almost all of them stationed troops on sandbars where they could drink water. These talents dispelled their doubts, and they were even more in awe of Lang Huai.

The lone army reached the last sandbar at dawn at the end of June.The various armies skillfully set up camp by a string of ponds and set up tents to rest.Commanders from all walks of life gathered in the main account of the Chinese army.

The weather was hot, and Lang Huai was sitting upright in a gauze robe, looking at the map laid out in front of him, looking thoughtful.After a while, she finally said: "The whole army rests for three days, prepare enough drinking water, and set off again."

Wang Xiong, who was once a member of the Western Army and is now the commander of the left side, said: "General, we have brought [-]% more horses into the Dead Sea, but this is a huge loss. I wonder if I can..."

Lang Huai said: "No, these horses are useful, but they are not a burden." Lang Huai raised his head, put his elbows on the case, crossed his fingers, and said to Weiss: "The scouts below you, after half a day's rest, all disperse, Let the camps of all countries rest, they have worked hard along the way."

"Yes, the last general takes orders." Weiss bowed and saluted, knowing in his heart that he was actually asked to find the traces of Lin Xian's troops, so as not to be unable to meet in the vast desert.Only a few people including Lang Huailu's third child know about this matter, so it cannot be announced yet.

In the afternoon of the second day, Weiss rushed to the big tent of the Chinese army out of breath, and before he had time to salute, he said, "General! General Lin's troops have arrived, and they are only thirty miles away. For fear of causing misunderstanding, we stopped and waited for you." Arrangements. They are running out of food and grass, so I ask the general to help them quickly!"

Lang Huaiben was leaning halfway to read military books. At this time, he jumped up, quickly put on his face scarf and sword, and ordered: "You go and rest, Mr. Zhu, send a message to the third brother, bring enough water and food, and go to Mr. Lin! Tao Jun , Follow me!"

The last time we met, it was to see off Princess Gucheng.The two spend a lot of time together, but they both have dissatisfaction, but they cherish each other.After so many years, Lang Huai couldn't figure out how Lin Xian escaped from the murderous round and even pulled such a huge team.But in any case, it is admirable.

Lang Huai didn't care about waiting for the guards, so he and Tao Jun rode together, not sparing any horses, and galloped towards the west.Thirty miles arrived in no time, and I saw from a distance that the troops in front were really like horse bandits, with uneven attire, and the camp was very casual.There are a few people who are dressed in human-like clothes and are waiting in front.

Rolling and falling off the horse, Lang Huai saw Lin Xian in front of him, opened his mouth and stopped talking, but his jaw couldn't help trembling.Her gaze skipped over the few people in front of the formation. Lin Xian, An Sutai, and Qi Gu were all life and death brothers who once fought side by side.

Tears welled up, but it was Lin Xian who spoke first, and said, "We have become horse bandits, is the captain trying to kill relatives righteously?"

Lang Huai was taken aback, and when he woke up he was making fun of himself, and he also showed his face: "The general trend is, why don't you return to the general and serve the country."

A few joking words diluted the joy and sorrow just now, Lin Xian put his arms around Lang Huai's shoulders, and led her into the camp.

"I know you see that there must be no rules and disorder, but aren't we here to make a living? If we really followed it, we would have been killed by Cong Canglanhu long ago." Lin Xian brushed his beard and said with a smile: "In the end, how many did you really do?" The Moon Horse Bandits have made the brothers kill a lot of people who were obedient to others, and even hacked and killed many of Cong Canglanhu's reserve army, but there is too little food and grass, it's really fucking stingy!"

Many of these 8000 people were from the old Ministry of Zhengxi, who survived the first battle in Khotan and escaped the robbery.Seeing Lang Huai, he would ask loudly: "General!"

Lang Shixin, who used to be the Duke of Mu, liked the title of him most, which was the general.

After all, tears welled up in their eyes, and when they walked into the big tent with several holes, Lang Huaicai asked in a shy voice, "How did you escape?"

Lin Xian didn't answer, and took out a cowhide bundle from under the straw bed. An Sutaiqi Gu Jun put away his foolish look, and even subconsciously stood up straight.

There were several layers of baggage, and the last layer was lifted with light hands, revealing an earthen pottery jar.Lang Huai suddenly realized something, and really listened to Lin Xiandao: "I was ordered by the army to rush from Khotan to Shule, but I should not die. I was greedy for fun on the way, and fell ill again. I wasted a few days, so I didn't participate in the death. feast."

"I got better after I got sick, and then I got the news that Cong Canglanhu planned to ambush the dead at the banquet, killing all the participating generals. Xue Shuai was also poisoned and his body was hung in the east of Shule City."

"When I thought about it, I was afraid that Cong Canglanhu had already prepared it, and I was afraid that Khotan would not be safe. But I was unwilling to sneak back to Shule with my family and secrets, and sneaked back to the city lord's mansion relying on my familiarity with the terrain. , and took Xue Shuai’s seal. The more I thought about it, the more angry I became, and I went to snatch Xue Shuai’s body with the courage of a man. Xue Shuai’s famous name, how can he be insulted by foreign enemies!”

"Afterwards, I thought that no matter what, I had to bury Xue Shuai properly, so I set fire to it. I took Xue Shuai's ashes with me, and secretly summoned the brothers who were still alive. I knew that Cong Canglanhu would definitely strengthen the wall and clear the country, so I ordered everyone to escape. Take off the military uniform and pretend to be a horse bandit, no matter what, only if you are alive, can you have a day to fight back."

After Lin finished speaking, he handed the ashes urn to Lang Huai, and said, "Xue Shuai was most proud that he brought out you. The burial is up to you."

Lang Huai hurriedly took it with both hands, and said: "Yes." She felt sad, thinking of Xue Huarun's silent care at the beginning, she couldn't help but have mixed feelings.