There was a table in front of Tong Erlang's house. Peng Lin, Tu Anping and other officers drank with the parents of several families here. The vegetables were provided by several farmers, and they were nothing more than killing a chicken, slaughtering a sheep, and mixing some scattered vegetables and vegetables in this fashion. Peng Lin brought the wine from the army. There were no wine nearby, and these households could not afford wine.

Everyone sat down, Peng Lin raised his glass and said, "Thank you for your kindness, please give me a glass!"

After drinking, Tang Churong, the most respected here, said: "Thank you, General. We have been in remote places for many years and have been used to living a simple and simple meal. Since the demise of Khotan, Hei Khan fought with Gaochang for a long time, this trade road has been broken. The road is actually not difficult to walk, just follow the river water and go upstream, and you can go all the way to Khotan. However, the rivers in the desert are different, often flooded, and the rivers are uncertain. If the road is broken, it will be occupied by reeds in a few years and cannot be found. Tomorrow, you can cut the reeds in front, and the road will naturally be exposed."

Peng Lin said: "This is the best. It is not difficult for me to cut down reeds for 500 soldiers. The reason I came here was because the imperial army had occupied Shule and had not entered Khotan. I was afraid that the black khan army in Khotan would cause chaos for a while and escape from the desert from here."

After hearing this, several parents looked at each other, and Tong Chengle asked in a low voice: "Dare you ask the general, what places did the imperial court occupy?"

Peng Lin said: "Gaochang has been destroyed and Hei Khan has defeated him. The land in Gaochang was owned by the court at this time. Hei Khan was also occupied by the court in Shule area in Shannan. The imperial army was limited and he had not entered Yutian, so he just waited for Hei Khan to surrender."

Tong Chengle said: "In this way, most of the four towns in Anxi during the Tang Dynasty have been restored?"

Peng Lin nodded after hearing this: "It's almost done. It's just that I haven't crossed the Pamir Mountains, and I only have to the south of Tianshan Mountains in the south."

Tang Churong asked, "I dare to ask General, what kind of court is the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains now? What is the difference compared to the Tang Dynasty?"

Peng Lin smiled and said, "It's really hard for my father to ask, how can I answer it for a while? Besides, what about the Tang Dynasty? Do you still remember it? In short, after the imperial court accepted Khotan, you don't have to live in seclusion here and live a good life."

Several parents nodded together. They did not come from the same place, and they moved several times, and most of the population had disappeared. In the end, because they were Han people, they lived nearby, used river water to irrigate and planted some food. In addition, fishing, hunting and gathering around them, they barely survived. The place was hidden, and they had no chance to exchange goods and basically had no money. They rarely went out to buy things if they had salt tea.

After Peng Lin led the army to station, he gave these people some salt and pasta, which made them very happy. Seeing that the army left his residence to camp, he did not disturb the people, and gave them something, his attitude towards Peng Lin and others improved.

These people have been away from normal society for too long. They talked with Peng Lin for a long time, but they couldn't talk about the topic together. However, they were in a good mood and had a great time drinking and chatting happily until late at night. They said they were survivors of the Tang Dynasty, but in fact they had nothing to do with the Tang Dynasty. They were just Han people, and the Tang Dynasty was the last Central Plains dynasty they knew. In the Song Dynasty, if the Central Plains dynasty came, they would still be their own people.

The next morning, Peng Lin and his subordinates cut down reeds, and behind a swamp, they finally revealed the shadow of the way out. Due to the diverted river, many of the roads were flooded, but along the river, there were intermittent old roads.

Looking ahead, Peng Lin said to Tu Anping: "There is a vast desert north of Khotan. If the Black Khan army wants to escape, they will have to come here without going to Shule. From today on, we will send a scout cavalry and follow the road to reconnaissance fifty miles ahead. In the future, the scout cavalry will reach ten miles ahead."

Tu Anping responded and said, "There are not many Black Khan troops in the Kingdom of Khotan, how can they really run so far?"

Peng Lin said: "Who can explain it clearly? Hei Han was defeated and Yutian was separated by Shule. If they wanted to go home, they could do anything."

On this day, Du Zhongxiao was sitting idle in the government office, thinking about his worries. Zhang Ke had been in Shule for some time, and sent troops to occupy nearby cities such as Atush and Alhu, and cleared the Black Khan forces. The nearby people, seeing that the army did not disturb the people, recovered from panic and fear, and everything was on the right track. The current question is whether to send envoys to Balashaguen to negotiate with the Black Khan.

Du Zhongxiao didn't want to send envoys. The moral integrity of the King of the Year and Month is really worthy of doubt. When the envoys arrived, I don't know what they would do. He had enough troops in his hands, so he didn't have to pay attention to them. But Heihan was different and his strength was too strong. Now he has captured Ilic again. Should he have a good talk with them? Who should I send?

At this moment, a personal soldier came in and said with his hands: "Jingshuai, Hei Han's envoy has arrived! Just--"

Du Zhongxiao stood up and said, "Okay, they took the initiative to send envoys, but it's best! By the way, what's it?"

The personal soldiers said: "It's just that two groups of envoys arrived. One group was sent by Aslan Khan Suleman, and the other group was sent by Bograh Khan Muhammad. Aslan Khan is the Khan of the Black Khan, and he should be the basis. For some reason, Bograh Khan also sent people."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Butter destroyed the army of more than 70,000 Black Khan. In this way, what - Bogra Khan seems to be unable to help but seize the Khan throne. It's good that this is the case. Let's talk about it and see how they think."

After saying that, he thought for a while and said, "It's getting late today. You ordered Zhang Ji to arrange for them to stay and rest for a night, and talk tomorrow morning."

The personal soldier said that, turned around and left the hall door and made arrangements by himself.

Du Zhongxiao paced back and forth a few steps and said to another personal soldier: "Go to Zhao Deputy Envoy and Deputy Envoy Zhang, let's discuss together."

Soon, Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng came together, and after the ceremony, they each sat down.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Justice soldiers just came to report that the envoys of the Black Khanate came, but two groups of people came. One group was sent by Aslan Khan, and the other group was sent by Bograh Khan. Although these two are brothers, according to our information, their relationship is very bad, so they are almost going to fight. This time, the two Khan kings sent people here, according to your estimate, what purpose does it have."

Fu Bi bowed and said, "Jingsen, Buqiu, the more than 70,000 Black Khan army lost to Buqiuer, in addition to the people of Ilik, there are also some troops sent by Alilan Khan. Originally, Aslan Khan sued Ilik for support to maintain his position in Black Khan. Once these troops were lost, Ilik was captured and his strength was naturally weaker than that of Bogra Khan. In my estimate, Aslan Khan should have come to ask for people, and Bogra Khan should not let us release people."

Du Zhongxiao nodded and looked at Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng said: "According to the officials' estimates, the envoys will not only come to ask for Ilik and the captured soldiers, but they will also talk to Khotan."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, it should be roughly the case. We can put Ilik back, and even if the conditions are appropriate, the prisoners of war taken to Yizhou can be released, but Khotan cannot be discussed. After occupying Shule, Khotan only had a thousand soldiers of Hei Khan, and he could send troops to take over at any time. The reason why he did not send people is because he had not talked with Hei Khan. How should you treat the two Khan kings?"

Fu Bi bowed: "In my opinion, the right position is respected. If Aslan Khan is willing to give satisfactory conditions, he should be the right one."

Zhang Sheng said: "The idea of ​​the Xiaguan is the same as that of the Fu Deputy Envoy. Aslan Khan is the king of the Black Khan, so he should naturally be respected."

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "The country of Fan Barbarians is different from our Central Plains, so we can't say this directly. Just like the two Khitan emperors fighting, the court is still not allowed to ignore them? We should not interfere in their internal affairs."

Fu Bi said: "Jingshou, don't know what it means? Two envoys arrive together, how can we not interfere?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's all for reception. If they have no objection, then they will receive them together. If they don't want to, then they will receive them separately. Which of their Khan is the supreme one is their country's business, so we don't care about him."

Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng lowered their heads and thought for a while, but they didn't know what Du Zhongxiao meant for a moment.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Our Song Dynasty is the Central Plains. When facing the barbarians, the most important thing is to be upright and impartial. Now we respect Aslan Khan. If we go back and fight, what should we do if Bogra Khan wins? Faced with barbarians, the Celestial Dynasty should take me as the main force and ignore their internal affairs. The two Khan kings, who is respected is their business, and what should we do with it?"

Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng nodded, understanding Du Zhongxiao's meaning. King Khan is the Khan of Hei Khan, not only these two, but also the Peach Blossom Stone Khan of Xihei Khan. These people came to ask who was respected in the Song Dynasty and why did the Song Dynasty care about them? They said that whoever was respected, then whoever was respected. If they were not convinced, they would be regarded as two countries. What is important is their attitude towards the Song Dynasty.

Du Zhongxiao said: "The envoy is here, and we will welcome him according to etiquette. If you pay tribute and pay tribute, you will pay tribute and pay tribute. If you don't want to pay tribute, you will convert to a foreign country. It's simple. If Aslan Khan is willing to give a price, it's nothing to hand over Irik and the captured soldiers. If you don't want to, then you will naturally be polite. You will do whatever you want, and there is no difficulty."

Fu Bi said: "Jingshuai means to ignore the affairs of Hei Han?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Of course, no matter. When it comes to Shule, it is already the limit of our army. The outcome of the army will be unpredictable. If we don't fight a war without confidence, we are not familiar with the affairs of Hei Sang, and it is not convenient for the army to cross the mountains. We can only do this. If we interfere with the affairs of other countries, we must have enough strength. Otherwise, it will be easy to humiliate ourselves."

Both Khan sent envoys, and Du Zhongxiao also had the urge to support one side and overwhelm the other. After careful consideration, he gave up this idea. After the Western Regions first achieved the territory now, the area he occupied is the limit of his own Hequ Road troops and he is unable to fight outside. Supporting one side requires strong strength to stabilize his position. The army cannot fight, so why should we show our position among them?
Chapter completed!