Chapter 1058: Return

Khotan is to the south of Kucha, and the Taklamakan Desert is separated between the two cities. The four Anxi towns of Yanqi, Kucha, Shule, and Khotan happen to surround the Taklamakan Desert. As long as they can control these four cities, they are equivalent to Controlled a large area of ​​land from the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains to the northern side of the Karakoram Mountains.

If you want to attack Khotan, you need to go west from Kucha to reach Shule City, then go south from Shule City, cross the Yido River, which is today’s Yarkand River, and then march along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert. It was a long way to reach Khotan Town on the edge of the Yuhe River, but most of the effort was spent on the road.

This time, Shen Long brought along the Xuanwei Army reorganized by Lu Shisi, and some servants who had returned to the Tang Dynasty. The rest of the troops stayed in the territory of the Anxi Protectorate. It was just a small battle, but the purpose of this battle was more serious for military training, taking Khotan was just a incidental matter.

Because of the obstacles of the Karakorum Mountains, it is not easy for Tubo to support Khotan. In addition, they have lost too many soldiers and horses in Hexi and Longyou before. Now they are in a defensive posture in the entire north of Tubo. Shen Long What we have to deal with in this trip is only the defenders in the city of Khotan.

He didn't even fight in person, but watched the Xuanwei army and the servant army attack from the rear. With the help of gunpowder, the Xuanwei army took Khotan City without much effort. He solemnly looked at the places he was familiar with one by one in the city.

What made Lu Shishi feel both sad and happy was that there were survivors of the Xuanwei Army in Khotan. They were exhausted in that battle and were captured by the Tubo people and became slaves of the Tubo people. It has been several years; Lu Shishi is happy that his old comrades are still alive, but sad that these years have been too difficult for them.

All of them looked much older than themselves, their hands and feet were deformed due to years of hard work, and their bodies were also weakened due to long-term lack of nutrition; however, all these sufferings are over, as long as they are alive, it is a good thing, let them rest slowly It will recover someday.

Shen Long left Lu Shisi to continue to guard Khotan, and he took these veterans and other troops to continue eastward, and continued to sweep the remaining Tubo troops along the southern side of the Taklamakan Desert.

Kancheng Shouzhuo, Lancheng Shouzhuo, Qiemo City, Putao City, and the enemies along the road would collapse at the touch of a touch, and these places returned to Datang's hands again.

Shen Long circled the Taklamakan Desert until he reached Shazhou City in the east of the desert, then turned west and returned to Tingzhou City; this circle was not only for dealing with the few Tubo people along the way , It is to show the majesty of Datang to those alien races living here, telling them that Datang has returned here again, and the soldiers and horses of Datang who have come back this time are stronger than any one in the past.

After recovering Khotan and other places, Anxi Protectorate's Mansion reached Yizhou in the east, Suiye City in the west, Khotan in the south, and occupied the Ili River Valley in the north. Such a vast land was under the direct rule of the Protectorate of Anxi. And the range of foreign tribes under the jurisdiction of Anxi Protectorate is wider, even if it is not as good as the heyday of Anxi Protectorate.

Shen Long did not continue to expand, but temporarily stopped. He knew that before the explosion of communication and transportation technology, too large a territory is not necessarily a good thing, so he focused on farming and industry. If the Silk Road is under control, the Western Regions will not be able to get rid of the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

A few years later, this group of Tang soldiers returned to Chang'an, and a new group of soldiers arrived; Guo Xin, who stayed behind in Chang'an, waited for these soldiers to return, and immediately incorporated them into the army directly under Chang'an.

And relying on these troops to attack the vassal forces entrenched in various places, began a vigorous operation to reduce the vassal.

Notorious military towns such as Weibo, Hebei, Ziqing, and Huaixi were eliminated one by one by Guo Xin. The Jiedu envoys of these military towns were either beheaded on the battlefield or escorted back to Chang'an Lingchi for execution.

In the process of solving these military towns, Princess Xian'an also sent reinforcements from the Uighurs to maintain pressure on these military towns from the north. Over the years, Jieyujiasi and Princess Ye have been solved by Princess Xian'an successively, and the Uighurs have all the internal power. Falling into the control of Princess Xian'an, because it is beneficial to fight with the Tang Dynasty, the Uighurs also respect this princess very much.

Even if there are a few tribal nobles who are not reconciled, as long as they think of the prestigious Anxi Protectorate to the west of the Uyghur, and the revived Tang Dynasty to the south, they will quickly put down their thoughts, even if they can get the salty So what if Princess Ann is pulled down from the throne? Anxi Dufu Mansion and Datang work together, but their heads can't be kept!

After completing this feat, Guo Xin passed away peacefully, and the court treated him generously, even more favorably than Guo Ziyi; afterward, Yang Xigu took over Guo Xin's position, and Shen Long continued to guard the Western Regions.

A few years later, Tang Dezong passed away. Li Song passed the throne to Li Chun after being the emperor for a few days. Various new policies were successfully implemented.

The planting area of ​​various high-yielding new crops in Datang continued to expand, and large-scale workshops were also built in Datang one after another. Datang began to show signs of entering the industrial age.

Such a Tang Dynasty should last for hundreds of years, right? Even if the Tang Dynasty perishes in the future, it will be caused by the social conflicts caused by the industrial revolution, and it will never be occupied by foreigners on the grasslands. The glory of the Tang Dynasty will shine in the Western Regions for a long time. Shen Long's mission can be said It is complete.

Therefore, Shen Long can also leave this world with peace of mind. After making a series of arrangements, Shen Long feigned death and left Datang, returning to his long-lost home.

Standing up and stretching a long stretch, Datang's gold and iron horses gradually faded away in Shen Long's mind. He changed from a general who fought for Datang in the Western Regions to one who just wanted to enjoy a lazy life in the capital. half-otaku.

So, what will be the reward this time? Guo Yuanzheng doesn't seem to have anything I want, right? With such doubts, Shen Long turned on the system in his mind.

A familiar voice immediately came from his mind, "Guo Yuanzheng, from "The Last Transfer in Mobei of the Tang Dynasty", thank you very much for Guo Yuanzheng, the Ninth Cavalry Squadron of Xuange Battalion, Wuwei Army, for helping him realize his wish. Now the special general..."