Tibet

Three huge material warehouses were dug out, and the 90,000 Huihe soldiers cheered.

There were 2 million copper coins alone, more than 1 million pieces of cloth, and more than 500,000 pieces of silk.

There were also countless porcelain, tea cakes, and salt, which were the favorites of the grassland people.

There were also about 50,000 stones of grain that the Fanyang army could not transport.

As for tents, gongs and drums, flags, and wood, the Huihe army looked down on them.

Although pig iron and copper ingots also tempted Dengli Khan, they really couldn't take them.

Dengli Khan immediately ordered that copper coins, cloth, silk, porcelain, salt, and tea cakes be distributed equally to each soldier, and other materials were decided by the soldiers themselves, and then each person brought 15 days of dry food.

Each soldier returned with a full load, and almost every soldier had to carry a weight of 180 kilograms, mainly because the money was too heavy. Each person was given more than 20 strings of money, and each string of money weighed 6.4 jin, which was more than 100 kilograms.

That night, the Huihe people lit a bonfire and ate up 200,000 lamb legs and 20,000 barrels of wine in the warehouse to celebrate the rich harvest.

At noon the next day, the 90,000-strong army began to set off in a mighty manner. Before leaving the Tang Dynasty completely, Dengli Khan needed a guide. Wang Baofu claimed to be from Huairong County, Guizhou Province, so he was taken along.

On the night when the Huihe army left, a 3,000-man Tang army vanguard entered Youzhou City.

Two days later, the 90,000 Huihe army arrived at Juyongguan. Juyongguan has two passes in the north and south, with a long canyon in the middle. It is also known as the world's first pass. The two pass cities are tall and strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

When the soldiers guarding the Nankou Pass saw the arrival of the Huihe army, they immediately gave up and fled. The Huihe army captured Nankou without bloodshed.

At this time, the old general Guduo stepped forward and whispered: "Khan, I think there may be a trick!"

"Where is the trick?"

"Khan, there are more than ten miles of canyons in Juyong Pass. If the enemy ambushes on both sides and throws kerosene to burn us, or throws trees to burn, won't our army be destroyed? Moreover, Zhu Ci is extremely cunning. He knew that Yizhou could go south, but he didn't tell us. He has ulterior motives. I think we should be on guard."

Dengli Khan nodded. It made sense. He immediately ordered the patrol cavalry to explore the way and observe the movements on both sides of the valley.

Hundreds of patrol cavalry galloped into the valley of Juyong Pass.

Dengli Khan ordered someone to find Wang Baofu and asked, "Besides Juyong Pass, are there other roads through Yanshan Mountain?"

"Reporting to Khan, Juyong Pass is the most convenient. Another road is Feihu Pass, which is longer, more than 100 miles, and there is a county town inside."

"Where does Feihu Pass lead to?"

"To Yunzhou!"

Dengli Khan frowned, "To Yunzhou, if we had known earlier, we would have come directly from Feihu Pass instead of going through Juyong Pass."

"Khan, you don't know, Feihu Pass can't accommodate large carts. There is a section of the road about two miles long that is very narrow and can only be passed by leading horses. Therefore, merchants would rather take the long way through Juyong Pass. Not many people go through Feihu Pass."

Dengli Khan asked again, "Where is Feihu Pass? Is there any pass?"

"Feihu Pass is in the north of Yizhou. There used to be Zijing Pass, but it was abandoned later. There is no pass now!"

Dengli Khan heard that Feihu Pass was in Yizhou, so he stopped asking.

At this time, the old general Guduo also said slowly: "When I followed the old Khan to the south, I also heard that there are only three passes from Youzhou to the grassland. One is Yuguan in the east, one is Juyongguan, and the other is Zijingguan in the west. Zijingguan should be Feihu Road."

Dengli Khan nodded, "Let's see the results of the rangers first!"

An hour later, the centurion of the ranger cavalry came running and reported: "Khan, we found that there are indeed a large number of ambushes on the high ground on both sides of the canyon. Kerosene has been sprinkled in the canyon. You can't enter the pass!"

Dengli Khan took a breath of cold air. Zhu Ci was really cruel.

Dengli Khan immediately convened the main discussion countermeasures. Everyone opposed to going through Juyongguan. As long as the north and south passes of Fanyang Army were closed at the same time, they would be blocked in the canyon and be slaughtered at that time. However, everyone agreed to go through Feihu Pass.

Dengli Khan was a little hesitant. He was a little afraid of Yizhou, but he had no choice. He could either force his way through Juyong Pass or go through Feihu Pass. Juyong Pass would definitely cause heavy losses, but Feihu Pass would be a safe escape.

Dengli Khan once again asked Wang Baofu, "Are you familiar with Feihu Pass?"

Wang Baofu nodded, "I have been the county magistrate in Yi County for eight years and I am very familiar with Feihu Pass."

"Okay! You will lead us. As long as you get out of Feihu Pass, I will reward you with 10,000 strings of money. I will never break my promise!"

"Thank you Khan, I am willing to guide you!"

Dengli immediately issued an order, and the army turned to the southwest.

At this time, the Uighur army received news that the 200,000 troops led by Regent Li Ye were heading towards Youzhou.

When they were barefoot, the Uighur army would definitely move south in large numbers, wishing to wipe out the Tang army in one battle.

But now they have all made a lot of money and have completely lost their will to fight. They just want to fly back to the grassland immediately.

The next evening, the army arrived at the entrance of Feihu Pass. After the patrol cavalry explored for more than 20 miles, they determined that there were no suspicious signs. The 90,000 Huihe army, led by Dengli Khan and with Wang Baofu as a guide, rushed into Feihu Pass without hesitation.

At the same time when the Huihe army entered Feihu Pass, Li Ye also led the army to Youzhou City. At this time, the people hiding outside the city also began to return home one after another.

Li Ye entered Youzhou City under the escort of 3,000 cavalrymen. Youzhou City is also called Ji County. It is the most important town in northern Hebei. The city walls are tall and wide, and the roads in the city are neat, but the population is not large.

Li Ye also knew that although Youzhou City was the rebel nest of the Anshi Rebellion, the rebels had frequent internal conflicts, especially the war between Shi Siming's two sons, which caused the people of Youzhou City to suffer miserably, and tens of thousands of people died.

The population is now less than 100,000, but if it rests for 20 to 30 years, the population should be able to recover to more than 300,000.

There were not many pedestrians on the street, and it seemed quite deserted. After all, it was an empty city before, and only about 30% of it has returned now.

At this time, there was a slight commotion in front. Li Ye looked out and it seemed that a group of old people blocked the way.

"What's going on in front?" Li Ye asked.

Soon, a personal guard came to report, "Your Highness, a group of elderly people are asking for help."

"Bring them up!"

Soon, a group of elderly people were brought up and knelt in front of Li Ye. The personal guards watched each of them vigilantly.

"I am the Regent Li Ye. What do you want, old men?"

An old man in the lead said, "Regent, we found that all the food and property in our homes were gone after we returned to the city. They must have been searched by the Huihe people. Now we can't buy food. Many families have started to run out of food. These two days, everyone has been digging wild vegetables outside the city. It will take a month for wheat to mature. I beg the prince to save us!"

Li Ye frowned and asked, "The Tang army had 3,000 troops entering the city before. Didn't they have relief porridge?"

"There is relief porridge, but there is not enough porridge for many people!"

Li Ye nodded, "I know. There will be large-scale relief porridge today. Don't worry, and we will sell food at a low price. Rich families can buy food directly."

Everyone was very grateful and kowtowed. Li Ye asked his personal soldiers to help them up, and then comforted them with kind words, urging everyone to go back and wait.

In the afternoon, the Tang army expanded the porridge relief sheds from two to twenty, and took out the 20,000 shi of wheat they had seized, selling it at 40 wen per dou, with each person limited to one dou.

The food shortage problem that had been worrying people for the past two days was quickly alleviated.

As the Tang army took control of Youzhou, a large number of people who had fled Youzhou began to return home, shops in the city opened one after another, and the streets and alleys began to become lively.