The scorching sun was in the sky, and the sand on the ground was scorching hot.
The army marched in this desert, as if they were in a furnace, and beads of sweat dripped from the foreheads of the Tang army soldiers.
The army was all cavalry, and all the horses were trotting forward.
The soldiers were sitting on the horses, holding the reins in their hands, but their bodies did not move at all.
At this time, Zhao Ziliang led the 11,000 cavalry of the Han Navy and the 5,000 cavalry of the Xilin Guards to march to the location of the Jieshan Dudu Mansion during the Emperor Gaozong.
This was the territory of the Alishi Tribe of Tuqi Shi.
Along the way, you could see Many Alishi herdsmen live around areas with water and grass.
Zhao Ziliang, who was riding at the front, saw an oasis ahead.
It was already dusk.
He immediately turned around and ordered: "Send the order and camp in the oasis ahead."
"promise" This kind of temporary camping military order does not need to be recorded and archived.
As long as the herald officer sends a messenger to convey the verbal order to each battalion, the captain general of each battalion will send someone to convey the military order to the lower-level officers and soldiers.
When the army arrived near the oasis, Zhao Ziliang and others saw clearly that there were some herdsmen living in the oasis, and there was a small lake in the middle.
These herdsmen set up a circle of large and small tents around the small lake.
Marching Sima Gao Shi and recording officer Chen Qing began to assign the specific location and scope of the camp to each battalion.
The entire army's campsite was deployed according to a specific formation map, and each battalion set up camp and set up tents at the specific location assigned to it. , because this place is deserted, and there are not a lot of forests where trees can be cut down to build fences, horses and other defensive facilities, so when camping, we can only avoid these defensive measures and only set up tents.
When the Alishi herdsmen living here saw this huge army coming here, they all came out of their tents to watch, with fear in their eyes.
Zhao Ziliang gave instructions to Gao Shi and Chen Qing and asked them to arrange camping.
He came to the herdsmen with some personal soldiers.
Zhao Ziliang took a look at the size of the herdsmen's camps in this oasis.
There were about sixty tents. , the total number of people is about less than three hundred.
At this time, a middle-aged male Taoist priest wearing a Taoist robe, holding a whisk in his hand, and with a thin horse face walked out from among the herdsmen of the Alishi tribe.
This man walked five or six meters away from Zhao Ziliang and was about to speak.
When he saw Zhao Ziliang After looking at it carefully, he raised his palm and made a sign: "Infinite Heavenly Lord, may I ask if you are General Zhao Ziliang, the military envoy of Beiting?"
Zhao Ziliang had never seen this middle-aged Taoist priest before, but he didn't know that he actually knew him, so he said: "It's Taoist priest Zhao whose surname is Gao.
Why do you know me?"
The Taoist priest smiled and relaxed a lot, and said: "It is true that General Zhao is in front of him.
The poor Taoist layman's name is Wang Ximing, and his Taoist name is Qingluoshan Buyi.
In the late Kaiyuan and early Tianbao years, he worshiped in Da Nei, I was fortunate enough to meet General Zhao several times when I was waiting for the imperial edict."
Zhao Ziliang suddenly realized, but he had no impression of this person.
However, since this person recognized him and said that he had served as a minister in Da Nei and served as an imperial edict, he must not be talking nonsense, so he nodded and said, "That's it, since Taoist Master When I was serving as a minister in Da Nei and awaiting imperial edicts, why did I hang out with these Alishi herdsmen here?"
Wang Ximing felt sad for a while after hearing this, and only said: "It's a long story.
I'll chat with the general later.
Looking at the army behind the general, I'm afraid there are no less than 10,000 troops.
The general's army is going to camp here, right?"
When I was in Chang'an, I heard that the military discipline under the general's command was strict.
I guess this army is also an exception.
The herdsmen of the Alishi tribe here are all responsible people.
Pindao also hopes that the general will restrain the soldiers, strictly enforce military discipline, and not act indiscriminately."
Zhao Ziliang said: "This is natural.
The generals under my command are real soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, not horse bandits."
After saying that, Zhao Ziliang turned to the messenger Gai Nie and said: "Second order, no one is allowed to bathe, wash, or defecate in the lake, and no one is allowed to break into the herdsmen's camp without permission.
Anyone who violates the order will be punished by military law."
"Nuo" Ge Nie agreed, then turned around and left.
Seeing this, Wang Ximing made another speech: "Thank you, General, for your understanding that Pindao's camp is here.
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General, if you don't mind, please come with me and drink a bowl of hot goat's milk to relieve your fatigue."
Zhao Ziliang was about to inquire about the situation nearby, and also asked someone to be a guide to avoid losing his way, so he jumped off the horse and threw the reins to the soldiers behind him, and followed Wang Ximing into the tent.
The layout inside the tent was very simple.
A small trench was dug around the tent so that rainwater would not flow into the ground inside the tent when it rained.
There was a small iron pot hanging inside the tent, with horse dung burning underneath.
It was steaming, and there were several large sheets spread on the ground.
The sheepskin should be used for sleeping.
There are several beautiful porcelain bowls placed on a small bench.
They look very exquisite.
This should be the most valuable thing in the tent.
Such exquisite porcelain bowls are often found in the homes of ordinary herders.
There are none at all, they are all made of pottery bowls.
Two small horses were placed on both sides of the hanging pot.
Wang Ximing stretched out his hand and bowed and said: "General, please" "Thank you."
Zhao Ziliang nodded and sat down on one side of the horse.
Wang Ximing sprinkled some wild vegetable leaves and some pepper into the iron pot to remove the fishy smell, and filled a bowl of goat milk for Zhao Ziliang in a porcelain bowl.
Then he also got a bowl for himself and sat across from Zhao Ziliang.
"General, with so many soldiers and horses, are you going to fight?"
Wang Ximing asked after taking a sip of goat milk.
Zhao Ziliang said: "It's hard to say whether there will be a battle or not.
The large area of land to the west under Beiting's jurisdiction is occupied and controlled by the Food Army.
If they continue to advance eastward, they will soon reach here.
My general This time I led the troops there, on the one hand, I wanted to deal with them To intimidate them, it would be best if they can retreat.
If they do not retreat, they can only be driven back.
Hengluosi City in the southwest is currently occupied by the Dashi Army.
Gao Xianzhi, the governor of Anxi, is leading his troops to fight with the Dashi Army.
The military is engaged in a battle, the specific outcome is still unknown.”
Maybe he had stayed here for a long time, and the news here was not very well-informed, so Wang Ximing was quite surprised when he heard the news that the Great Food Army had already reached Hengluosi City.
He was a little panicked and said: "The Great Food Army has reached Hengluosi City."
If the cannibals come here and kill them, won't these herdsmen suffer?"
Zhao Ziliang comforted him: "Taoist Master, don't panic.
The Great Food Army is still far away from here.
The main force of their partial division is in Hengluosi City.
There should not be many soldiers and horses downstream of Suiye River.
I will lead the troops forward this time."
We came here to intercept them, but once the army arrives, there is a vast desert to the west.
If there is no guide to lead the way, it is easy to lose the direction.
I wonder if there will be herdsmen here who are familiar with the surrounding terrain in the future."
Wang Ximing pondered for a moment and said: "If the general wants to find a guide, Pindao can do it.
Pindao has been here for several years and is very familiar with the terrain of hundreds of miles in this area.
I don't know where the general is going to lead his army.
Is there any way?"
No specific location” Zhao Ziliang immediately turned around and shouted to the soldiers outside: "Come here, go get the map."
Zhao Ziliang had a detailed map in his hand, which he had sent people to survey and draw a long time ago.
However, the terrain in the desert changes rapidly, and he has never been there personally.
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It is important to find a guide who is familiar with the terrain and will not take detours and mistakes.
Disoriented.
The map was quickly brought, Zhao Ziliang spread it out, pointed to a place on the north bank of Hengluosi City, downstream of Broken Leaf River, and said: "It's right here.
Look here, after crossing the river, there is desert to the south.
The city of Hengluosi is about four hundred miles wide from north to south.
To the north, you can go directly to Yibo Haiba.
The distance between Lake Erkash and Lake is only about 400 miles.
With the daily marching speed of our army in the desert reaching 200 miles, we can reach these two locations in two days.
If Gao Xianzhi's troops appear in battle with the Dashi Army in Hengluosi If there is any problem, our department can rush to help quickly.
If the food army has troops Coming from the west, they either pass by us or go to the south coast of Yibohai to replenish fresh water.
Except for these two places, they can't find water sources anywhere else.
Over at Hengluosi, our general has sent people to check the situation.
They can come at any time.
Report the battle situation over there, and wait for the army to finish encamping on the south bank of the Yi Bohai Sea.
After that, my general will send reconnaissance cavalry to investigate.
Once traces of the food army are found, it depends on the number of the opponent's troops.
If the opponent's troops are not large, my general will send a partial division to intercept.
Once the opponent's number is too large, I, the general, will personally lead the army to fight until they are defeated."
Wang Ximing didn't understand military affairs, but he also knew that if the army had no water source, it would not be able to survive in this vast desert for a few days.
He looked at the position pointed by Zhao Ziliang's finger, nodded and said: "Pindao has been here, last September, I guess. , Pindao once walked westward along Suiye River, passing anywhere along the way."
Zhao Ziliang clasped his fists and said: "Then please ask the Taoist Master to be the guide of my army.
If the Taoist Master has any request, just ask him, money or anything else is fine."
Wang Ximing waved his hand and said: "No, although I am a monk, I am also a citizen of the Tang Dynasty.
It doesn't matter if I do something for the general."
"So, thank you very much, General."
Zhao Ziliang was not polite and asked: "By the way, the Taoist priest said that at the end of Kaiyuan and the beginning of Tianbao, he made offerings and waited for imperial edicts in Da Nei.
Why did he come out of Da Nei?"
Wang Ximing was stunned for a moment, then sighed: "Pindao was kicked out because in the second year of Tianbao, Pindao said a few words in front of the Holy One to warn the Holy One not to trust Li Linfu too much, so Li Linfu felt gracious to him.
He ordered the imperial envoy Yan Zhenqing to write a letter to impeach Pindao for confusing the public with his evil words in the palace.
The Holy Emperor listened to the slander and issued an order to drive Pindao out of Da Nei.
After Pindao came out of Da Nei, he had no fixed place, traveled all the way west, and finally came here. ".
Zhao Ziliang couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "It seems that you and I are both people who have been deeply harmed by Li Linfu, so we can be considered to have sympathy for each other."
Wang Ximing said: "The general is the pillar of the country.
Even if he is framed by Li Linfu and others, he will still have an official position and military power, unlike Pindao who is now alone."
Zhao Ziliang asked: "Taoist priest believes in Taoism.
Have you ever thought about carrying forward Taoism?"
"Of course, as a Taoist, who wouldn't want to do this?
It's just that Pindao has no official position now, so it will be even more difficult for him to fulfill his wish on his own," Wang Ximing said with a sigh.
Zhao Ziliang said seriously: "If this general supports the Taoist priest in Beiting, does the Taoist priest have the confidence?
Wouldn't it be much easier?"
Wang Ximing was stunned and wondered: "Why did the general do this?
It doesn't seem to be of any benefit to the general.
And as far as Pindao knows, the general doesn't seem to have a preference for Taoism."
Zhao Ziliang said seriously: "There are mostly Hu people in Beiting and few Han people.
Although I, the general, have been working on migrating Han people from the interior in recent years, the number of Hu people is still greater than that of Han people.
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We Han people want to completely rule this place.
This should have the culture and beliefs of our Han people.
People cannot live without faith.
People without faith have no spiritual sustenance and can easily get lost in their own life.
We not only allow the Han people to have faith that they can rely on, but also influence the Hu people. people, Let them understand and learn our Han culture and believe in our Han sects.
If you want Taoism to flourish, you cannot remain quiet and do nothing.
You must spread the teachings and purposes of Taoism to the people, but you cannot pretend to be gods and ghosts to fool the people.
Sooner or later, you will be discovered by pretending to be gods and ghosts.
And expose it, will the people still believe you when the time comes?
Don’t think that the people are stupid and easy to deceive.
In fact, the smartest people are the people.
People who think others are stupid are actually the most stupid themselves.”
Wang Ximing was thoughtful, then nodded and said: "Listening to the general's words today is like clearing the clouds and seeing the sun.
What I couldn't figure out before, just listening to the general's words is like an enlightenment.
But if you want to promote our Taoist doctrines and purposes and develop believers, then Taoist temples and dojos must be built, which all require money.
It takes a while to develop believers, and it also takes time to rely on believers to raise funds.
It seems that no matter what you do, the beginning is the most difficult."
Zhao Ziliang said: "This general can support you with a sum of money, but you will have to rely on yourself in the future.
However, I want to make an agreement with you here.
The funds needed for the development of Taoism here cannot be obtained by deceiving believers and people, but must be obtained by deceiving believers and people."
It depends on the voluntary donations of the people.
If the people are willing to donate more or less, it depends on your own abilities."
"Thank you so much, General" Wang Ximing said with a slap in the face, "General, don't worry, Pindao will definitely act in accordance with the general's instructions":