Chastity Layman

War is always changing and unpredictable.

When Tuoba Chici defeated Li Daoyan in Hequ, he was also high-spirited and felt that his chance to stand up had come.

When he was besieging the five-star fortress, he also confidently believed that this small fort could be captured within a month, and then he would be able to take Wei Guogong and Jiaodong Duke of the Tang Dynasty as the two governors. He was captured alive in one fell swoop to avenge the defeat of the Diezhou army last time.

If Tuoba Chici was given a chance to start over, I believe he would never waste such a long time in Heihu Fairy Valley. He will definitely lead his army to Taozhou, take advantage of the emptiness of Minzhou, grab it and retreat.

But now, Tuoba Chici can only go on the road with Li Daoyan, Qin Qiong sent a group of soldiers to escort them to Luoyang to meet the emperor, accompanied by the leaders and children that Qin Qiong brought back from the various ministries of the party, they also It is necessary to enter Beijing with a large number of treasures and tributes collected from the Dangxiang tribe.

Li Daoyan was dressed in prison clothes, disheveled and in a state of embarrassment. Qin Lang didn't give them any good treatment during the days locked in the dungeon of the five-star fortress. He barely managed to make ends meet with two pieces of pancakes and a bowl of water every day. The dignified royal clan, the governor of Minzhou, has lived a life like a pig and dog for many days.

Many times, he even would rather the Qiang people break through the castle, come in and chop him off, and it will be over once and for all.

It was only when he walked out of the dungeon that he realized what had happened outside in the past month, and when he saw Tuoba Chici standing in front of him, looking embarrassed, he felt mixed feelings.

At this time, he still didn't know that the emperor's cousin had lost all his titles and official positions, and had been reduced to a commoner. Even if he arrived in Luoyang, he would be dispatched to Lingnan.

On the contrary, this damned old thief Tuoba, when he arrives in Luoyang, he may be able to confer titles and reward the servants of Jiadi.

Qin Qiong came to see him off and said some comforting words, but Qin Lang didn't come.

At dawn, he had already led five thousand soldiers and horses out of the five-star fortress. After replenishing the horses and dry food from Qin Qiong and the Qiang prisoners, Qin Lang personally led the troops as the vanguard, first heading west, then turning north, and then along the Taohe turned eastward, aiming at Taozhou.

"Tell Qin Sanlang, I will never forget this month's hospitality." Li Daoyan gritted his teeth and said to Qin Qiong.

······

Five thousand men and horses rushed to Taozhou in a mighty way, holding their spears high and their flags fluttering.

In this 5,000-man forward, there are not only the frontier troops of the Zhenxi Army, but also the Songzhou Ningyuan Army, and the Fubing of Diezhou, as well as the frontier troops and Fubing of the original Minzhou Prefecture, and the attached Qiang soldiers. Wait, the source is complicated, but now the morale is high, closely following Qin Lang's battle flag.

After running for 160 miles, a city appeared in front of him.

The scouts came to report and found the Qiang people.

"Taoyuan County was built there in the previous dynasty, and this place is also the only way to pass through the Henan Road of the Silk Road."

To the north, it connects to Lanzhou, to the northwest, it connects to Qinghai Hantingfucheng, to the east, Tongtaomin leads to Guanzhong Chang'an, and to the south, it can also connect to Diezhou, Dangxiang, and Tubo.

It can be said that although this place is small, it is indeed a transportation hub. Taoyuan County was established here in the Sui Dynasty, but at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Tuyuhun restored the country, and it was once again occupied by Tuyuhun.

Taoyuan County at that time was also abandoned long ago.

Now, there are only ruins here, and on the ruins, there is a Qiang camp.

"How many people are there?"

"About a thousand accounts, it should be a tribe with a small surname in Dangxiang."

After passing Taoyuan, it is more than two hundred miles away from Lintan in Taozhou.

Qin Lang calculated in his mind, then looked at the sky, and simply ordered the whole army to rest on the spot.

After dark, Qin Lang led his men and horses to the Qiang camp. They set up camp in the ruined city, and the remaining walls of the old city of Taoyuan could absorb some of the cold wind.

But not much defense.

Five thousand soldiers and horses suddenly jumped in and rushed around.

It took almost only one meal of tea, and the Qiang people were defeated. They scattered and tried to escape, but Qin Lang had already made preparations, and as a result, the Qiang people had to surrender in the end. .

Simple interrogation turned out to be a tribe of Qiang people with a small surname recruited by the Tuoba tribe. They heard that the Tuoba tribe had defeated the army of the Tang Dynasty and captured Taozhou. It was arranged by the Tuoba Department to guard this important transportation point.

These people stayed here reluctantly, never thinking that Tang Jun would kill them from behind.

Quickly counted the results of the battle, beheaded more than a hundred people, and captured nearly 5,000 people, as well as many cattle, sheep and livestock. The capture is still very good. Although this Dangxiang small tribe has only a thousand tents, the entire family is here, and it is a pot. up.

After taking down the Qiang people, Qin Lang and the others had a sumptuous celebration feast by killing cattle and sheep.

After dawn, Qin Lang left a thousand people behind and asked them to reinforce the old city of Taoyuan, build fortifications, and then guard here, and take care of the prisoners, waiting to meet Qin Qiong's large army.

Qin Lang even simply swiped his pen and restored the Taoyuan county system, and temporarily appointed the left-behind officer to be the county magistrate.

Liang Jianfang suggested that a military town for the West Army should be set up here. Qin Lang followed suit, and set up another sign here, setting up Guang'en Town of the Western Army, and that officer also served as the general of the town.

In the early morning, after eating and drinking enough, Qin Lang led four thousand men and horses, stepped on the white morning frost, and turned eastward.

Along the way, the altitude here is lower than that of the five-star fortress, which makes people feel more comfortable. All the way east, the altitude seems to be getting lower and lower, but the spirit is getting better and better.

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Tuyuhun has frequently harassed the Central Plains, and it has long been a habit to invade Taomin prefectures along the Tao River valley. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Taomin and Taomin prefectures have also experienced many invaders. Although the Tang army can defeat the Tuyuhun people every time, these two prefectures have also become the front line of the war. Although there is a Silk Road in Henan, the Taomin two states The development of the state is still slow, and there are great mountains and rivers. As a result, the combined population of the two states is no more than 10,000 households, which is not as good as a county in the Central Plains.

After entering Taozhou, I found high mountains and deep valleys, but in those valleys, there was also a lot of fertile land, and there used to be many villages, but now, the places I passed were in a mess, dilapidated everywhere, and no people were seen.

No Qiang people were seen along the way.

After conquering Taozhou, Tuyuhun and the Qiang people massacred and looted the city for three days, then set fire to the city of Taozhou, and finally went to Minzhou.

Most of the Qiang people went to Minzhou, Taozhou City and several surrounding counties and townships were looted long ago, and now there is only a small tribe of Qiang people stationed in Taozhou.

"These thieves are bold!"

"Ignorant and fearless, they didn't expect us to come from behind, so that's fine." Qin Lang said with a dark face.

The whole army accelerated forward.

Starting from Taoyuan, three days later, Qin Lang led his army to Lintan City, Taozhou City.

Taozhou City was built on the Loess Plateau. The place where the city is located is like a shallow plate. The Tao River turns a big bend here. yellow.

Although Taozhou City was looted and set on fire by the massacre, it can still be seen that the city is magnificent.

This loess rammed city was actually originally built by Tuyuhun. In the fifth year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuyuhun's eleventh king Fu Lianchou built it. It was first called Honghe City.

Later, the Central Plains opened up frontiers, and Taozhou was established after it was seized, and it was renamed Lintan.

The Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui Dynasty, so naturally it would not abandon the Longyou land. In the early years, the imperial court led by Qin Lang carried out fiscal and taxation reforms, opened up commercial routes, developed industry and commerce, and revitalized the Silk Road. Among them, the Henan Road of the Silk Road is an auxiliary of the traditional Silk Road of the Hexi Corridor.

The Henan road leaves Qinwei, passes through Lanzhou, and then turns to Min and Tao. This road can go directly to Qiemo in the Western Regions along the south of Tuyuhun and Qinghai, and can also go to Dangxiang in the south, connect Tubo, Nipolan, and enter Tianzhu.

Because the re-opening of the Silk Road, which existed during the period of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms, also brought Mintao back to life. Minzhou became a distribution center and transfer station for the Silk Road, while Taozhou became an important border city.

Taozhou also prospered rapidly. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there were few people at one time, but by then there were four to five thousand households. But a war burned this place to ashes.

"The gateway to western Xinjiang was brutally slaughtered." Qin Lang looked at Taozhou from the hillside. The city was built surrounded by four mountains. The city was built according to the mountains. It was high in the northeast and low in the southwest. tower.

There are four gates in the square city.

The whole city is majestic, like a giant dragon coiled around, but now the giant dragon has fallen.

There are traces of burnt black everywhere in Taozhou City, half of the houses in the city have been burned down, and there is not a single business traveler passing by on the busy Silk Road.

Tuoba Sitou took the initiative to invite Ying, willing to fraudulently open Taozhou City.

"Can you do it?" Qin Lang said coldly, "I have my own way to break the city. If you are not sure, don't waste my time."

"Please Duke Wei give me a chance, I will definitely do it." Tuoba Si gritted his teeth.

"Well, I will give you a chance."

Tuobasi pumped his head, took his 500 men and rushed to Taozhou City.

"Wei Gong really believes in this Qiang thief?"

"It doesn't matter if you give it a try. Does he still dare to rebel?" Qin Lang believed that a smart person like Tuoba Sitou would never rebel under the current situation.

He didn't intend to use the Qiang people to defraud the city, but since Tuoba Sitou had this wish, he naturally accepted it happily. Anyway, there is no cost to try it, and if it is really seen through, it will not lose a bit.

The one who takes the risk is only Tuoba Sitou.

Qin Lang led his troops in a valley not far to the west of Taozhou City. After resting for less than half an hour, Tuoba Si rushed back with several horsemen.

He jumped off the horse and threw a head directly in front of Qin Lang.

"Tuoba Sigong was fortunate enough to take down Taozhou City. This is Tuoba Sigong's head."

This Tuoba Sigong was the cousin of Tuoba Sitou and the nephew of Tuoba Chici. He was ordered to stay behind in Taozhou with more than a thousand people. Tuoba Sitou came to Taozhou City and said that he was ordered by Chici. Na Sigong did not doubt that he was there, and really let him lead his troops into the city.

Then, as soon as Sitou entered the city to meet, he turned his face on him very unceremoniously, chopped Sigong up with a knife, and lied that it was an order from Chici.

Chopped up Sigong, lied about Chici's order, and Sitou successfully took over Taozhou.

"Your subordinates have captured Taozhou, please Duke Wei lead the troops into the city!