Outside the city, the Uyghur general Azhar, riding his Akhal-Teke horse, watched the slowly opening gates of Yanqi. A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips, and a cunning glint appeared in his eyes, a sign of a treacherous scheme succeeding.
He rode into the city with his head held high, followed by servants driving three carriages.
Although these drivers had all changed into civilian clothes.
However, anyone who glanced at them could tell that these rickshaw pullers, whose eyes revealed a fierce nature, were all soldiers.
In fact, these coachmen were all personal guards under Azhar, accompanying him into the city to investigate the situation inside Yanqi.
Tan Li, the military officer in charge of defending the city, personally greeted Azhar as he entered the city through the city gate. His deep and determined eyes held a hint of something unfathomable.
After Azhar and his party entered the city, the Anxi border soldiers guarding the city immediately closed the city gates.
Then, the border soldiers lined up in two rows at the city gate all drew their swords at the same time.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
For a time, the sound of short swords being drawn echoed throughout the city gate.
hiss--
Hmm~
Upon seeing this, the Uyghur coachman driving the carriage into the city felt a pang of anxiety and instinctively tightened the reins.
The horse, in pain, snorted loudly.
Even Azhar, the chief of the Uyghur generals riding on horseback, was startled by the sudden act of the Anxi border troops drawing their swords in the city, and was clearly at a loss.
Could it be that Tan Li, that despicable man, is planning to trap me and beat me up?
Uh, no, wait, trapping a turtle in a jar?
That doesn't seem right either!
Just as Azhar was hesitating whether to shout something like "In war, envoys are not to be killed" to bolster his courage and try to awaken the conscience and credibility of Lieutenant General Tan Li and the Anxi border army, Tan Li actually rode straight forward.
After approaching Hazard, he asked him with a smile, "Alba, you've got some nerve. This general opened the city gates, and you dared to swagger in?"
Then, Tan Li abruptly changed the subject, saying sternly, "Aren't you afraid that I, the general, will chop you up?"
Ha ha!
Upon hearing this, Azar burst into laughter and said, "General Tan is joking. Even in war, one shouldn't kill the messenger. Why should General Tan make things difficult for me, Alba, a mere civil official?"
"Besides, we, the Uyghur Khanate and the people of Yanqi, are not enemies, but friends!"
"How can I visit a friend's house and worry that they might turn on me with swords?"
"General Tan, don't you agree?"
Hahaha!
This time, it was Tan Li's turn to laugh heartily.
Those piercing eyes kept lingering on Hazard, who was using the alias Alba, as if trying to see through him completely, inside and out.
It wasn't until Hazard on horseback felt a chill run down his spine under Tan Li's sharp gaze that Tan Li finally spoke, "Lord Alba, please!"
"This is the highest honor our Anxi border army bestows upon guests who have traveled from afar!"
After saying that, Tan Li quickly turned his horse around, slammed it against its belly, and rode away.
After returning to his previous position, he sternly ordered, "All soldiers, listen to my command! Prepare your swords and greet the guests!"
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
As soon as the words were spoken, the Anxi border soldiers who were originally lined up on both sides of the city gate immediately formed pairs, raised their sheathed ring-pommel short swords high, and collided with each other in the air, forming a special "sword hole".
On this side of the knife-lined path was Azhar, riding his Akhal-Teke horse, waiting to enter the city, along with his personal guards disguised as grooms.
At the other end of the knife-cutting hole was Tan Li, the military advisor of the Anxi border army, who was riding on horseback and watching coldly.
With things having come to this point, and seeing the gleaming blades in the hole before him, the fierce Uyghur general Azhar knew that there was no way to escape today. He had no choice but to grit his teeth, dismount, and force himself to cross the hole step by step.
With each step Hazard took, his footsteps were so heavy, as if he feared that the sharp blade hanging above his head would strike down at any moment and hack him to death.
With each step he took, he felt a gust of wind whistling behind his ears, the force of the Anxi border soldiers slashing down with their raised short swords.
Before he knew it, fine beads of sweat had appeared on Hazard's forehead, and his clothes on the back were soaked with sweat.
Fortunately, the journey was fraught with danger, and we eventually made it through the knife hole without incident.
Riding on horseback, Tan Li looked down at the sweating Hazar and said with a hint of mockery, "Lord Alba, what courage and boldness!"
"Today we won't discuss state affairs, we'll just drink and make merry until we're drunk!"
"Lord Alba, this way please!"
The weight that had been hanging over Hazard's heart finally lifted. With a wry smile, he cupped his hands to Tan Li and made a gesture of invitation.
However, his demeanor no longer carried the arrogance and domineering attitude he had when he first arrived at Yanqi.
The first year of Lingwu, the Laba Festival.
After more than a month, the 20,000 Anxi border troops who were trapped in Yanqi City finally had a bowl of hot, fresh vegetable soup and a bowl of sweet Laba porridge.
Looking at the crescent moon hanging high above Yanqi City, countless soldiers guarding the border felt homesick.
Inside the general's mansion, Tan Li gathered all the city's generals except for the officers on duty, and drank heartily with Azhar, a fierce Uyghur general who was using the alias Alba.
As he had previously stated for this gathering, the focus would be on romance and nature, not on national affairs.
A group of men who had lived in the Western Regions for a long time and had developed a more or less hearty and generous character were enjoying fresh fruits and dried beef and mutton with wine at the general's mansion. How carefree and delightful they were!
The drinking party lasted from nightfall until the moon was high in the sky, finally ending with the Uyghur envoy Alba being unable to hold his liquor.
Hazar, who was drunk and babbling incoherently and almost unconscious, was dragged onto a carriage by the coachman and pulled out of the city.
Tan Li, as the host, personally saw Hazar out of the city.
Only after Hazard left the city did Tan Li, standing atop the Yanqi city wall, shout at the top of his lungs to the seemingly drunk and unconscious Hazard:
"Azhar, I know you're faking your drunkenness, and I also know that there are definitely elite Uyghur troops hiding in the darkness outside the city, waiting for your signal to launch a night attack on Yanqi!"
brush!
At the foot of the city, Hazard, who was lying on the carriage pretending to be drunk, instantly sobered up upon hearing this.
“Azhar, as you said today, our two armies were not enemies but friends before. I am also very grateful that you personally delivered fresh fruits and vegetables to my border soldiers on Laba Festival, so that they could have a decent feast on this festive day.”
On the city wall, Tan Li continued, "But what I want to say is that after today, when we meet on the battlefield, we will no longer be friends, but enemies who will fight to the death!"
"I have already repaid your kindness in generously sending vegetables today by allowing you and your personal guards to enter the city to investigate the situation inside Yanqi City!"
"Hazard, we're even now!"
Finally, Tan Li said, word by word, with a firm and powerful tone, "Azhar, please pass on one last message for me: tell Gulipeiro that as long as one member of my Anxi border army survives, Yanqi City will forever remain a city of the Han people!"
"I, Tan Li, will never be a shameless traitor who sells out his country for personal gain!"
"Uyghur bandits, come and attack the city! Hahaha!"
In an instant, the silent city of Yanqi was filled with the wild laughter of Tan Li, the military advisor of the Anxi border army, a laughter that was both bold and somewhat desolate.
It turns out that he had already seen through Azhar's identity as the top warrior of the Uyghurs!
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