Chapter 69 The general will go out to fight
As the saying goes, there is a lone loyal person in the northwest, the enemy is surrounded like an iron screen, there is an isolated city thousands of miles away, and it is full of white-haired soldiers.

Thinking of this, Li Heng's blood boiled in his chest, and he said seriously:

"The Tibetan bandits often attacked Anxi. Wherever they went, they burned, killed, looted, and even impaled babies on long spears for fun. You all know about this."

"Now, the Tibetan bandits are rushing through Xiaoboluo and preparing to invade Anxi again. If we don't fight, the war will inevitably spread to Anxi, our relatives will be slaughtered, our fields will be occupied, and the land under our feet will be filled with suffering!"

Li Heng paused, waiting for the soldiers' emotions to be ignited, and then continued: "This king is leading his troops to fight against the Tibetan bandits. I hope you will fight bravely and protect our country. This king will reward meritorious deeds and punish crimes without favoritism!"

"An Sishun, your husband is so wise, and he has traveled a thousand miles!"

"exist!"

"I order you three to be the vanguard."

"Yes!"

"Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, Li Siye!"

"exist!"

"I order you three to lead the left army."

"Yes!"

"Gao Shi, Yan Chao, Cao Yuan."

"exist!"

"I order you three to lead the right army."

"Yes!"

"Erzhu, Yang Zhilie."

"exist!"

"I order you two to lead the Yuhou Army."

"Yes!"

"The rest of the generals will stay with me in the army and be ready to be deployed at any time."

"Yes!"

After selecting the generals, Li Heng drew the long sword from his waist, pointed it into the distance, and said, "The Tang army is mighty!"

The soldiers shouted in unison: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Li Heng said: "We will defeat the bandits!"

The soldiers shouted in unison: "We will win! We will win! We will win!"

Amid the snow, the sound of mountains and seas resounded through the sky and shook the wilderness.

The army set out in order.

Li Heng rode his horse to the city gate.

On one side of the city gate, Xin Yunjing and Li Ying's guards protected Yang Yuhuan while they looked out at Li Ying in the army.

Beside Yang Yuhuan were Zhang Mujin and Hong Yue.

Li Ying saw Yang Yuhuan in the distance and smiled at her.

Yang Yuhuan smiled back and nodded.

Li Ying reined in his horse, paused for a moment, looked back at Yang Yuhuan for the last time, and rode forward.

Yang Yuhuan just watched Li Heng leave until she could no longer see him, and then her eyes turned slightly red.

"General Xin, how do you think His Highness will select the generals today?" Yang Yuhuan asked Xin Yunjing.

General Xin Yun nodded approvingly and said sincerely, "Princess, your Highness is very strict in appointing troops and making good arrangements. He seems to be a natural commander."

"Yeah." Yang Yuhuan nodded, and a smile appeared on her face again.

……

……

……

It was more than 3,000 li from Qiuci to the small country of Bolor. Li Heng and his men braved the severe cold and traveled from Anxi to Bohuan City for 15 days, to Wusede for more than 10 days, to Shule for more than 10 days, to Congling Shouzhuo for more than 20 days, to Bomichuan for more than 20 days, and to Telmanchuan for more than 20 days.

Going out of Telemanchuan is Lianyun Fort, which is located in Xiaoboluo and has now been conquered by Tubo.

But to go to Lianyun Fort, you need to cross the Bolerchuan River first.

It is now April, but due to the terrain, the Pole River has not thawed yet, but it is showing signs of thawing.

In the dilemma of whether the problem was solved or not, the soldiers did not dare to cross the river.

Vanguard General An Sisun reported the situation to Li Heng.

In the central army tent, Li Heng discussed countermeasures with Gao Xianzhi and others.

Gao Xianzhi said: "Your Highness, crossing the river at night will not cause any harm, but there is a rumor that there is a demon god causing trouble on the Pole River. Those who travel back and forth must offer sacrifices to him. If not, the soldiers will probably be deeply frightened."

"How to worship?" Li Ying asked.

An Sishun said: "The main sacrifice should be human heads, and the auxiliary sacrifices should be cattle and sheep."

"This..." Li Ying was slightly stunned.

Superstition was very serious in feudal society, and various religions and cults were prevalent in Anxi. Li Heng had long wanted to suppress the cults, but he had to wait until he returned to Anxi to do so.

It is not appropriate to do this while we are on the march.

But Li Heng was also unwilling to kill people for sacrifice.

Li Heng thought for a while and said, "Now that a major event has just begun, how can we kill innocent people in vain? I heard that when Zhuge Wuhou crossed the Lu River, he did not kill anyone for sacrifice, but wrote a sacrificial text and went to sacrifice in person. I will follow Zhuge Wuhou's example today. What do you generals think?"

Gao Xianzhi said: "If Your Highness goes to offer sacrifices in person, it will naturally calm the troops."

"Okay." Li Heng nodded, "Let's do it this way."

After that, he looked at Gao Shi and said, "Dafu is very talented, so you will be the one to write the memorial."

"Yes." Gao Shi accepted the order and started writing.

After Gao Shi finished writing the sacrificial text, Li Heng took a look at it, praised Gao Shi a few words, and then led the sacrificial text to kill three animals and offer them as sacrifices to the river.

Offering sacrifices to the river was not a very tiring task, but Li Heng felt a little uncomfortable breathing.

Li Heng knew that this was altitude sickness.

Yuan Liheng grew up in Chang'an, so it was understandable that he was a little uncomfortable with coming to the plateau, but fortunately the reaction was not severe.

General Gao Xianzhi and others nearby saw that Li Heng was unwell and immediately surrounded him.

Gao Xianzhi asked, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

"No problem." Li Heng adjusted his breathing, took out the "pill" Yang Yuhuan gave him and took a pill, saying, "It's just a normal reaction for us plain people to come here. Just rest for a while."

"That's good, that's good." Gao Xianzhi was relieved and said, "Fortunately, there is the medicine given by the princess, Your Highness can take it at any time."

When Li Heng heard Gao Xianzhi mention Yang Yuhuan, he thought of Yang Yuhuan's voice, appearance and smile, and unconsciously reached out and touched the handkerchief left by Yang Yuhuan in his arms.

After thinking for a while, Li Heng asked Gao Xianzhi: "How are the soldiers? Are there any who are unwell?"

"If we take all the priorities into account, it's two out of ten." Gao Xianzhi sighed slightly and said, "When our Tang soldiers attack the high and cold areas of Tibet, some of them will feel unwell, which makes our soldiers' combat effectiveness not as strong as on the plains."

"Yes." Li Heng nodded. "If we want to maintain 100% combat effectiveness, it is best to train the troops in a high and cold place to allow the soldiers to adapt first."

"Your Highness is absolutely right." Gao Xianzhi agreed with Li Ying.

Li Heng said, "But it's too late now. After crossing the river, can we capture Lianyun Fort? Are you confident?"

An Sishun was in charge of leading the charge. Upon hearing Li Heng's question, he immediately stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your Highness has been prepared for a long time. Our army has traveled more than 3,000 miles in three months. Tubo will never expect that our army can provide support so quickly. After crossing the river, I am confident that we can capture Lianyun Fort within a day."

"Okay, if General An can capture Lianyun Fort, I will take credit for him." Li Heng patted An Sishun on the shoulder and said, "I'll go see how the soldiers are doing."

After saying that, he walked forward slowly.

General An Sishun and other generals were moved to see that Li Heng was unwell and was still trying to comfort the soldiers.

An Sishun sighed, "Your Highness treats us so well, we will definitely fight to the death to repay you."

Gao Shi, who was standing by, heard An Sishun's sigh and also sighed: "It's a pity that His Highness is sick... What a pity, what a pity."

The two of them sighed and followed Li Heng.

(End of this chapter)