The red lips were gently raised, like a blooming peony. Zhang Qian had a heart-to-heart relationship in an instant and quickly lowered his head...

The next moment, the red lips disappeared. The smell of cow dung, horse urine, sheep dung, and smell of smelly feet were intertwined and penetrated into his nostrils. He sneezed several times in a row, struggled to reach out, pulled out a cotton cloth coated with eluent from the saddle that acted as a pillow, and covered his tired face.

When the smell of Fengyoujing quickly drove out all kinds of odors, he completely recovered from his awakening. He sighed, struggled to get up from the temporary wooden bed, and slowly moved his sore limbs.

The soft feeling of his lips seemed to have not yet dissipated, and he had already arrived at Yumen Pass. Niu Shizhao, the new chief manager of Anxi Town, was worried that the soldiers would get sick due to a long journey, so he specially ordered the army to rest in Yumen Pass for three days and supplement supplies. As the chief of the march, Zhang Qian's responsibility is to urge all levels of troops to perform their duties and ensure that the brothers will have sufficient food supply to go from Yumen Pass to Shule. It will also boost morale and avoid the first new soldiers who went to the expedition from their hometowns to accumulate too much sorrow and fear in their hearts, which will lead to the occurrence of "camp roar".

The military officers at all levels are old corpses who have followed Niu Shizhu for many years. They don’t need Zhang Qian, the marching chief, to supervise them, to do their jobs in an orderly manner. The lieutenants of various regiments are far more capable than Zhang Qian. Therefore, in the past two days, Zhang Qian only needs to sit in the tent to listen to reports to complete the entire work. However, he is still exhausted.

As a rookie, he needs to learn too much. From choosing a marching route, to maintaining the marching speed and taking into account the physical strength of the soldiers, to reasonably allocating materials, to dealing with various endless conflicts, to…

To be honest, Zhang Qian is not surprised at all now, why did Niu Shizhao come to the door without hesitation after hearing that he became the chief of the marching army?

From another time and space perspective, the position of Chief of the Army is the Chief of Staff, Political Commissar and Logistics Support. If an experienced general is used, the Niu Shicai will save at least half of his energy and think about how to break the enemy and seize the city. Now, the Niu Shicai will take on the life of the head coach and the Chief of the Army alone, so how can the veteran general be happy?

However, with the cultivation of the old general, when he learned that the position of the chief of the army was not Zhang Qian who paid for money and had already made things happen, he did not deliberately make things difficult for others. Especially after Zhang Qian sent people to send twenty sets of Star Armor and personally tested the amazing protective power of the armor, he simply accepted the reality calmly.

As the chief of the marching army, Zhang Qian was definitely unqualified. But after Zhang Qian became the chief of the marching army, Zuo Xiaowei, which is now the Anxi Army, no longer had to worry about the supply of military ordnances!

Not to mention Zhang Qian's position as a military weapon supervisor, no one has taken over. Just based on his relationship with Zhang Shuo, the Minister of War, in the future, who would dare to be slow in the Anxi Army in terms of military supplies?

In addition, Zhang Qian himself is also an expert in manufacturing various types of weapons. In early winter last year, Niu Shizhao accompanied the Dragon Emperor Li Xian to test those new weapons with ingenious concepts and powerful weapons in Weiyang Palace. Taking Zhang Qian by his side is equivalent to bringing a treasure chest. In the future, no matter whether you encounter mountains or rivers, the Anxi Army will definitely be on the flat ground!

As for the matters in the army, General Niu was very clear. He didn't want others to give advice on the formation and command of the army at the last minute. Therefore, the marching chief who didn't know anything would let him not be held back when making decisions. In other aspects, he could send someone to teach step by step, and believe that with Zhang Qian's intelligence, he would not be able to learn no matter how he taught!

Therefore, after accepting Zhang Qian as the rookie marching chief, the veteran general Niu Shimao, put himself in the position of "shopkeeper" in his heart. Zhang Qian, the "apprentice", was indeed humble and studious, and asked if he didn't understand. As a result, the relationship between the two parties was very harmonious along the way. It was really hard to be an "apprentice". Almost every day I was so tired that I snore like thunder as soon as I touched the bed.

"Sir, please cleanse your face!" Zhang Ren, a personal soldier, pushed the door and walked in, whispering.

Compared to Zhang Qian, who had a separate tent and a simple bed, his face was even more tired. His forehead and ears were also exposed to the sun because he had been rushing in the sun for a long time. He was black and white, and looked very pitiful.

"Put it down, Zhang Gui, Zhang Fu and the others?" Zhang Qian nodded with a smile, and asked with concern while taking out the toothbrush and fine salt powder made of pig's bristle from the wooden box.

"Zhang Gui and Zhang Fu, as you told me, after drinking milk tea, you no longer have diarrhea. When the departure is tomorrow, you should be able to keep up with the team." Zhang Ren, the personal soldier, blushed slightly, stood up straight, and replied carefully. His eyes were full of guilt.

He and the other twenty-four servants who were returned to the contract have now become Zhang Qian's personal soldiers, all of whom are loyal. However, everyone's performance along the way is really "bad". They just left Yangguan, which is not far from Chang'an, and they have diarrhea and diarrhea. The heatstroke of heatstroke not only cannot fulfill the duties of the personal soldiers, but also needs Zhang Qian to send someone to take care of them. However, the servants sent by Guo and the two families are all used to going far away, and until now, they are still alive.

"Then keep drinking, we have enough milk and tea bricks anyway!" Zhang Qian was not disappointed with the performance of the servants, and smiled and gave a kind command.

The servants of Zhangjiazhuang rarely leave Zhuangzi. The first time they travel far, it is inevitable that the environment will not be adapted to. The role of milk tea is to supplement salt, calcium and vitamins at the same time, which can greatly alleviate the patient's condition.

If this method is continuously verified to be effective, Zhang Qian will prepare to present it to the Niu Shi Award and then promote it to the entire Anxi Army (Zuo Xiaowei). According to his observation, many new recruits in the Anxi Army are now in various situations. The current Tang Dynasty official army is mainly composed of government soldiers, each group (ten people) is equipped with six pack horses, many of which are mares. If you only supply the patient, the milk source can be basically guaranteed. (Note: The government soldiers system stipulates that various taxes are exempted during service, but pack horses, light weapons, and luggage are provided by themselves.)

"Thank you, Chief Secretary!" Zhang Ren, the personal soldier, turned and left after thanking him. Before leaving, he stopped and reported to him: "Chief, there has been a saying among the brothers recently. I don't know if you heard it?"

"What's the statement?" Zhang Qian frowned and asked in a low voice.

"Brothers say, brothers say..." Zhang Ren looked around and his voice became like a mosquito gnaw. "Guo Yuanzhen, the chief manager of Jinshan Dao, and Soge are in the same group. Zuo Xiaowei went this time mainly to guard against Guo Yuanzhen. This person has been in charge of Ganliang for many years and has countless minions under his sect. Once he rebelled, he can directly cut off the connection between the Western Regions and Chang'an and form a country of its own!"

"Nonsense!" Zhang Qian's brows quickly raised, and he was arrogant without anger. "Who said it? Tell me his name?"

Zhang Ren was startled. However, he dared not hide it and continued to add with a mosquito-like voice, "Many people, many people are talking. Our brothers here just listened to it. Only the personal soldiers of General Niu had a nose and eyes. They also said that the reason why the court sent Zhou Yiti as the General Manager of Anxi before and took down the title of General Manager of Anxi of Guo Yuanzhen was because he was worried that he would have collusion with Soge!" (Note: The Procuratorate had a temporary appointment in the Tang Dynasty, which meant to be the deputy general manager of the General Manager of Anxi.)

Since the rumors were spreading Niu Shizhao's personal soldiers, Zhang Qian was not inconvenient to pursue them. Although he had a good relationship with Niu Shizhao, he was far from the point where he could move the other person's personal soldiers at will. However, before reminding Niu Shizhao to pay attention, he did not want his personal soldiers to be affected too much by rumors. Therefore, he pondered for a moment and emphasized in a low voice, "The ten tents of the rushing cavalry were added together, but only 300,000 to 400,000 people. And most of them were not the same as Soge. No matter how hard it was, he could not make a country. After leaving Yumen Pass, he could not see a figure for hundreds of miles. Guo Yuanzhen could not even give up his food. What would he use to rebel? After going out, you pass this to Guo Jing and Ren Qi for me, and tell them that no rumors are allowed in my personal soldiers. Otherwise, even if General Niu does not deal with him, I will not allow him here!"

"Yes!" Zhang Ren shivered and stood up, bowed his hand, and then turned around and left. Although he was scolded, his spirit was much better than before.

"Hu——" Zhang Qian sighed secretly, lowered his head, and began to clean his teeth with a toothbrush and salt. A pair of tired eyes were reflected in the basin.

The situation will not be as serious as Zhang Ren said just now, but the rumors are not entirely groundless. If Zhou Yiti and Guo Yuanzhen could work together, even if Soge received the support of the Turks, it would not have caused much storm.

Unfortunately, if it is only if. The reality is that Zhou Yiti, who was a martial artist, looked down on Guo Yuanzhen, who was originally an official, and most of the contributions to this article were from comforting Guo Yuanzhen. Guo Yuanzhen and Soge's father were close friends, and Soge was called his uncle in front of others and behind others. After the conflict between Soge and Ashina Zhongjie, Zhou Yiti took Ashina Zhongjie into the Thunder Ye City, and Guo Yuanzhen would certainly not be happy.

The result of unhappiness was that when Zhou Yiti defeated Soge for the first time at the Suiye City, Guo Yuanzhen not only did not send anyone to congratulate him, but instead impeached Zhou Yiti for unfair treatment. When Soge, with the support of the Turkic people, attacked Suiye again, Guo Yuanzhen did not have time to send a soldier to rescue him.

After Zhou Yiti, the former commander of Anxi, the General of the Right Guard, lost Suoye City, he was determined to take revenge. He repeatedly wrote blood to the court, requesting to send elite troops to quell the rebellion, and proposed to support Ashinaxian as the Khan of the Tenth surname and use Hu to control Hu. Guo Yuanzhen, the chief general of Jinshan Dao, confronted him in a tit-for-tat manner, insisted that instead of supporting Ashinaxian, it was better to admit that Sage was the Khan of the Tenth surname. Anyway, both of them were thrillers, and no matter who became the Khan of the Tenth surname, they would not be absolutely loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

Most of the important officials in the court who had the power of prime minister tended to accept Zhou Yiti's opinions. If there was no punishment after the rebellion, the local chiefs of all ethnic groups in the Western Regions would definitely be an example for Soge in the future, and the Tang Dynasty's control over the Western Regions would be shaky! However, the Tang army closest to Zhou Yiti is the left Wuwei of the troops of Guo Yuanzhen, the chief general of Jinshan Dao. Guo Yuanzhen himself had different opinions from Zhou Yiti, and he might not be willing to do his best to send him to support the latter. (Note: Prime Minister, the Tang Dynasty did not have real prime minister position, and only a few officials had power similar to the prime minister, such as the Zhongshu Ling, Shizhong, Zuopushe and the third rank of the Tongzhongshu Mensepa.)

In addition, Guo Yuanzhen was also a famous Confucian general. He was good at polite people and defending the city, and was not good at field battles. Whether he was the governor of Liangzhou or the general manager of Kingsoft, his main achievements were to build cities and make friends with leaders of various races, so that local soldiers would not prosper. He was indeed a short attack on the battlefield with Soge.

Therefore, the captain of the Anxi Chief Executive fell on Niu Shizhuo. Given that General Niu was familiar with the situation in the Western Regions and had a good relationship with you Guo Yuanzhen and Zhou Yiti, Xiao Zhizhong, Zong Chuke, Ji Chune and other dynasties had repeatedly discussed it before they decided to make preparations. First, send the veteran general Niu Shizhuo and Zhang Qian, the new junior supervisor, to lead 10,000 elite troops to "mediate" the conflict between Soge and Ashina Zhongjie. Following the trend, he advised Guo Yuanzhen and Zhou Yiti to give up their personal grievances and put state affairs first.

If Soge is willing to retreat from the steps and return the Suiye City, the court will not only do not blame the past, but will also consider accepting Guo Yuanzhen's proposal and confer Soge as the Khan of the ten surnames. Then transfer Ashina Zhongjie and his tribes to move inward and go to Guazhou and Shazhou for rest and recuperation. If Soge is shameless, Niu Shizhu will lead the elite Zuo Xiaowei, and join Zhou Yiti and Guo Yuanzhen to retake Suiye City again. At that time, Niu Shizhu can be fully dispatched in the soldiers and horses of Gan and Liang states.

If we look at it simply from the perspective of bystanders, the decision of the court is very stable. Zhou Yiti's loyalty is commendable, but his proposal did not take into account. For the Tang Dynasty, there was actually no difference between Ashina Xian and Soge. Although Guo Yuanzhen's proposal seemed to solve the problem in front of him, it lacked vision seriously.

However, if you look at it a little more specific, or look at it from the perspective of insiders, the decisions of the court will be very problematic. Guo Yuanzhen has been in charge of Ganzhou and Liangzhou for many years, and most of the local generals came from his disciples. He strongly advocated the recruitment of Soge, and Niu Shizhu might not be able to mobilize many soldiers from Ganzhou and Liangzhou.

Although Niu Shizhao was named the chief manager of Anxi, he was on par with Guo Yuanzhen. If he failed to "mediate" and was ready to take back Shuye by force, he was not qualified to issue orders to Guo Yuanzhen.

At that time, Niu Shizhao could only rely on the marching commander Zhang Qian to persuade Guo Yuanzhen to act together with him. As for whether Guo Yuanzhen would give Zhang Qian this face, it is unpredictable!
Chapter completed!