Yutian was not very big. As an important town guarding the Western Regions and Yunzhong, apart from the city walls rammed with loess, most of the buildings at a glance were loess. As for the buildings with blue bricks and tiles, there were not many of them except for the wealthy families and the Protectorate.

The barracks were stationed in the four directions of Khotan City, and the number of people had reached 100,000 at that time.

Pei Xingjian, Heichi Changzhi and Xue Rengui had already been waiting at the city gate. The spies had run back and forth several times. As the sky was about to darken, a black shadow finally appeared at the end of the horizon.

After a while, the three of them saw a long dragon slowly approaching, which seemed to have no end.

The three of them were all experts in the use of troops, and this first time they had such close contact with the Crown Prince's Sixth Army still left them feeling quite shocked.

According to the marching speed, the 20,000-plus troops rushed from Chang'an to Yutian. Although it could not be said to be very fast, the marching speed was not very slow either, it could only be considered medium.

But even so, the three of them still felt a calm composure and a hidden aura of murderous intent from the cavalry force of more than 20,000 people.

It was like a sword that had been unsheathed. Although it was not stained with blood, it was already extremely sharp, as if it was always waiting to be stained with blood.

"The humble generals Pei Xingjian, Xue Rengui and Heichi Changzhi greet the Grand Protector." The three saluted in front of Li Hong's horse, while the huge cavalry team behind them continued to march slowly towards the camp from both sides in an orderly and unhurried manner.

...

...

Pei Xingjian is now about fifty years old, and seems to be a few years younger than Xue Rengui. Heichi Changzhi is at the peak of his career among the three. He is in his thirties, with a burly and fierce build. Perhaps because of the tempering on the battlefields of the Western Regions, he now has a more domineering aura than when he first met Li Hong in Chang'an.

Li Hong waved his hand to signal the three to get up, then he dismounted from his horse, threw the reins to Mangzhong behind him, and said, "Walk into the city."

Wufawutian and Quan Yi followed behind Li Hong, and they were naturally accompanied by Pei Xingjian and the other two.

"Actually, you two don't have to rush to Khotan to greet me. I don't know where your troops are stationed now, but I don't think they are resting in Khotan." Li Hong was polite at first.

Hua Meng, who was standing next to him, had already handed Pei Xingjian the appointment letter of Crown Prince Li Hong, as well as the fish token and other identity verification items.

Pei Xingjian checked it carefully as he walked, and after the inspection he respectfully returned it to Hua Meng.

"This is your first time to Anxi, Grand Protector. Normally, I and my men should go out of the city to welcome you. But now the war is urgent, and you must have learned something about it on the way. I and my men are really helpless. I hope you, Grand Protector, will forgive me." Pei Xingjian saw that Li Hong had a gentle expression, and he also spoke politely.

"Nothing is more important than war. As the saying goes, a general is not subject to military orders when he is away from the battlefield. Hmm... I guess you have other intentions in asking General Xue and Heichi to come here today?" Li Hong glanced at Pei Xingjian, who is of medium build, with a little red skin due to the highland sunshine, and his eyes are bright. He looks like a veteran who has been on many battlefields.

Moreover, he was a wise veteran. Although Li Zhi issued an edict to appoint Li Hong as the Grand Protector of Anxi Protectorate, he did not issue an edict to demote Pei Xingjian to the position of Deputy Grand Protector. In other words, in terms of the organization of Anxi Protectorate, there are actually two Grand Protectors-General exercising the powers of the Grand Protector.

Military strategists have always been averse to issuing orders to multiple people, especially from the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty. If Pei Xingjian was unwilling to hand over the military power, or if Li Hong forcefully seized power and issued orders during the march, the Anxi Protectorate would fall into an even more chaotic situation.

At this time, Su Dingfang, who was a student of Duke Xing, recruited Heichi Changzhi and Xue Rengui, and had already made plans to hand over the military power and let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Li Hong have the final say.

"Don't worry, Grand Protector. I will call General Xue and General Heichi..."

Li Hong waved his hand and looked at the city walls and gates of Khotan. After he walked in, he looked at the two widest streets that intersected each other and asked, "Is there any recent situation with Wang Mingyuan?"

"The White Caliphate has been eyeing the city covetously. The Persian King Peroz hoped to have Wang Mingyuan guard the city with him, but now it seems that the White Caliphate will not make any major moves for the time being." Pei Xingjian answered every question.

As the last heir of the Sassanid Empire, Peroz was destined to lose his country. Now, with the help of the prestige of the Tang Dynasty, he was able to hold on to his place under the nose of the White Caliphate, but was in danger of being swallowed up by the White Caliphate at any time.

As a general of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Mingyuan helped Peroz to guard the Persian Governorate, which was named by Li Zhi.

"What's going on in Shule?" Li Hong's thoughts kept jumping around as if he was flipping through a book, asking questions here and there.

Moreover, he had already made a decision along the way, and all he had to do was to find out whether Pei Xingjian was a qualified general.

"To the Grand Protector, although Shule is just in riot now, it must not be underestimated. Wensu has united the Dongqiemi and Xiqiemi tribes. We are disturbed by Tubo and have no time to take care of them. Therefore, General Xue has no choice but to withdraw his troops from Shule." Pei Xingjian said with a serious expression after some consideration.

Several people hurried to the Protectorate. Li Hong didn't even have the interest to stop at the door to look. After signaling Pei Xingjian, several people came to a room together. In the room was a huge sand table of the Western Regions. This was also the gift Li Hong gave to Pei Xingjian who had just taken office two years ago.

"The area north of Qiuci is controlled by Ashina Duzhi, so you stationed troops in Qiuci to prevent any accidents. Later, Shule was instigated by Wensu and drove out General Xue and his entourage. Tubo is still making small moves now. After the spring, it is very likely to put strategic pressure on our Tang Dynasty. You have been in the Western Regions for many years and fought with Duke Xing for many years. In your opinion, what should our top priority be now?" Li Hong put down the wooden stick in his hand, took the cup of water handed over by Xia Zhi, and asked.

Li Hong's question seemed to be intended to bring an army to question someone. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Pei Xingjian's retreat from Qiuci and his abandonment of the suppression of the Shule uprising was enough to show that his mind was not on the uprising.

Of course, as Pei Xingjian said just now, although the Shule riot was small, its impact was not as weak as it seemed, so this is why Li Hong asked him.

Pei Xingjian looked at the area on the sand table, then at Li Hong's expression, and said calmly: "To resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the country. If the Shule incident cannot be resolved, it will be a huge hidden danger to our Tang Dynasty. Therefore, I think we should first resolve the Shule rebellion, then garrison Tubo, and at the same time take back the northern area occupied by Ashina Duzhi."

"Okay, as you said. Anxi Protectorate can only have one Grand Protector to command the battle, and you will lead the troops to fight. I will give you the men and money. You just need to take back Shule. I will support you with all my strength in Qiuci, including the 20,000 troops I brought with me. Even they will be under your command. But..." Li Hong looked at Pei Xingjian's somewhat excited and relaxed eyes, and continued: "Before New Year's Day, General Xue must re-station Shule! Is it possible?"

"Your Highness, you...?" Pei Xingjian did not expect Li Hong to be so open-minded. The first thing he did after arriving in Qiuci was to give up his military power, clearly define responsibilities and powers before himself, and be willing to provide him with all kinds of guarantees behind him.

This is good news worthy of celebration and comfort for any general who has always led troops in battle, and he is also the kind of boss that many generals hope to meet.

"Issuing orders to multiple places has always been a taboo in military strategy. Moreover, this is my first time in Anxi. Asking me to lead the troops to fight now is not only disrespectful to my father, but also to all the soldiers of my Tang Dynasty border army." Li Hong looked at several people, and then walked out together again.

Naturally, this time was no exception. Just like in Yumen Pass, Li Hong inspected all the barracks and garrisons. Naturally, he hoped to boost the morale of the soldiers by relying on his status.

When Pei Xingjian said that he hoped to invite him back to Qiuci City for dinner, neither Xue Rengui nor Heichi Changzhi expected that this proposal would be rejected by the noble Crown Prince, who instead suggested that they eat in the camp.

The barracks include earthen houses built with rammed earth as well as temporary barracks built with tents. In short, they are of various shapes and colors, but they are arranged neatly and cleanly.

The scream of a wild boar attracted Li Hong's attention. He listened carefully and asked, "What's going on? Are you killing a pig today?"

"How could that be? This should be a wild boar that was roaming nearby and was shot by the soldiers. They should have killed it and thrown it away." Pei Xingjian said awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed.

Li Hong looked at him knowingly and asked Heichi Changzhi to bring the wild boar over.

Pork was not recognized by people in this era. People believed that the food pigs eat was too complicated and they did not distinguish between clean and dirty things. Therefore, pigs were also called dirty pigs at that time and were not eaten as food.

A black wild boar weighing more than 200 pounds was easily lifted up by Heichi Changzhi with one hand. There was a deep wound on the wild boar's neck. Blood was still dripping from it all the way, but it was already dead.

"General Xue, find a big pot and add some hot water." Li Hong kicked the wild boar that was thrown to the ground by Heichi Changzhi. It seemed that the meat must be better than in the previous life.

Pei Xingjian looked at Li Hong with the same eyes as he looked at cattle and sheep. He naturally knew that the Crown Prince wanted to eat this dirty pig. After thinking for a while, he stopped him and said, "Grand Protector, if you want to eat meat, there is plenty of meat in the barracks. This wild boar..."

"Look at the food you eat, it's not very good, although I don't know much about food." Li Hong raised his head and scratched his chin with one hand, thinking, and said: "I remember some ancient book recorded that wild boar meat is a kind of meat with a very fragrant taste and delicate texture, and it tastes very good. I will give you a test later. Oh, it's okay if you don't want to eat it. I will eat it with Black Tooth. You don't mind, right?"

Heichi Changzhi frowned. Why would the Koreans be so taboo? In the barren Liaodong, being able to fill their stomachs was good enough. Seeing Li Hong asking questions, he naturally nodded and said, "I don't mind."