On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 573 Target Dunhuang

Mai Tiezhang kept his promise and did not vent his anger on the soldiers and civilians in the city after breaking the city.

After reporting his victory to Jinyang, he left a small number of soldiers to guard Zhangye and restore local order, while he continued to lead the army toward the northwest.

Mai Tiezhang also has another goal during this trip, which is to regain Dunhuang and open up the Silk Road with the Western Regions.

Since the Western Han Dynasty seized the Hexi Corridor from the Xiongnu and established the four counties of Jiuquan, Wuwei, Zhangye and Dunhuang, the land of Hexi has been inseparable from the Central Plains Dynasty.

Until the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian was focused on attacking the Turks in the north and destroying the Chen Dynasty in the south, and had no time to take care of Hexi. Dunhuang was occupied by Tuyuhun from then on.

After Cui Che exempted the people from one year's land rent, and generously rewarded the three armies and ministers at the founding of the country, the national treasury was once again in short supply. Now he plans to tour Hebei, and his life is even tighter.

Therefore, recapturing Dunhuang, both in terms of political significance and the economic significance of opening up trade routes, is the biggest goal of Mai Tiezhang's dispatch of troops this time.

Before the army set off, Li Shimin approached Mai Tiezhang.

"The saint asked me to follow Duke Su. Now that Duke Su is commanding Dunhuang, why don't you allow me to go with you?"

It turned out that Mai Tiezhang arranged for Li Shimin to take Yin Shishi's family members to Jinyang and prevent him from following him out west.

This made Li Shimin extremely dissatisfied. He bluntly expressed his attitude to Mai Tiezhang, hoping to accompany the army to Dunhuang.

But Mai Tiezhang obviously didn’t intend to take him with him:

"The saint allows you to follow me, just to give you the opportunity to kill the enemy with your own hands. He does not really want you to join the army at your age.

"Now that Master Yinshi is dead, it's time for you to go back.

"The saint has ambitions in all directions. Go to Jinyang, study with concentration, and listen to the saint's jade-yin teachings. It will be of great use in the future. There is no need to rush for a while."

Li Shimin saw that Mai Tiezhang had made up his mind and could not change his mind, so he had no choice but to return with regrets.

However, Mai Tiezhang still sent soldiers and Li Shimin to accompany him and escort the family members of Master Yinshi back eastward.

Along the long road west of the river, the women and children of the Yin family were not even qualified to ride in the prison car. Their hands were tied and they were roughly pushed forward by the soldiers.

If Li Shimin hadn't been in the team, I'm afraid the women of the Yin family would have been taken advantage of by these people.

Mai Tiezhang could be lukewarm towards Li Shimin, but as the prince of the dynasty and the saint's brother-in-law, no matter which one of these two identities was taken out alone, the escorting officer needed to be careful about fawning over him.

Before Li Shimin set off, he had already made it clear that he was not allowed to insult the women and children of the Yin family, and the officers naturally complied.

If anyone dares to disobey orders and delay his own future, he will take that person's head.

Therefore, despite the hard work along the way, the wives, concubines and children of these Yinshi masters were not insulted.

The girl walked numbly among the people being pushed around. Her name was Yin Yue'e, and she was the lovely girl who caught Li Shimin's attention on the night when the city was destroyed.

It's just that unlike that night, where she looked cute in brocade clothes, mink fur, pink and jade carvings, Yin Yue'e is now unkempt and wearing coarse clothes.

A young man stood closely next to Yin Yue'e. He looked a little younger than Yin Yue'e.

"Sister, are we going to be sent to Jinyang to be executed?"

The young man asked with a trembling voice.

Yin Yue'e turned to look at the boy. This was her younger brother, named Yin Hongzhi.

"Man is a swordsman, and I am a fish and meat. I have no control over my fate."

Yin Yue'e was full of helplessness.

Yin Hongzhi raised his hand to wipe away his sister's tears and whispered:

"Since we are all going to die, why do we have to suffer this fate and walk to Jinyang on foot?

"Sister, why don't we find a way to escape? Even if we are caught, we will only die."

Yin Yue'e was shocked when she heard the words. She quickly raised her head and looked around. She was relieved when she saw that her younger brother's words just now did not arouse the alertness of others. When she was about to say something, she saw a man who looked like a domestic slave looking towards her.

Come.

"My master has an order to take this man away."

The servant pointed at Yin Yue'e and said to the officer responsible for escorting her.

There was a look of understanding on the officer's face, which seemed to be saying that although Duke Tang was young, he was still a man after all.

How could an officer refuse such a small request?

But when the slave wanted to take away Yin Yue'e, Yin Hongzhi firmly protected his sister and did not allow her sister to be taken away by outsiders.

But after all, he was a boy under ten years old, so how could he be a match for these strong men? He could only watch helplessly as Yin Yue'e was taken away, while the two siblings cried and shouted until each other disappeared from sight.

This scene was also seen by the mothers of Yin Yue'e and Yin Hongzhi.

Their mother's surname is Gu, she is the daughter of Gu Yi, a minister of the Sui Dynasty, and the stepmother of Yin Shishi.

The Gu family is a barbarian from Tianzhu. Her appearance is different from that of a woman from the Central Plains, but she is extremely beautiful.

She didn't know what her daughter would go through after being taken away. She cried heartbreakingly, but like Yin Hongzhi, she could only watch helplessly as Yin Yue'e was taken away.

Yin Yue'e came to the carriage at the front of the team, and the servant urged:

"Hurry up and don't keep my master waiting."

Yin Yue'e was so frightened that she couldn't move until the servant raised the whip. Under the threat of the whip, she walked into the carriage with fear and uneasiness.

There was only one handsome young man in the carriage, and Yin Yue'e recognized him.

That night, the boy did not insult his father's body and left him with the whole body.

She also said some words, praised her father, and asked the vicious general of the Yan army to let the women and children of the Yin family go.

Li Shimin, who had closed his eyes to rest, opened his eyes, pointed to the seats on both sides of the carriage, and said:

"It's a long way to Jinyang. You're a girl and you're young. I'm afraid you don't have enough foot strength. Please take a carriage along the way."

Yin Yue'e looked at Li Shimin in disbelief.

Li Shimin continued:

"Sit down, I have no ill intentions and will not take advantage of others' danger."

Although he said this, Li Shimin understood that he was indeed attracted to this girl, but he just disdained bullying.

Yin Yue'e did not sit down. She looked at herself covered in dust and was afraid of soiling the cushion.

Li Shimin followed her gaze and landed on Yin Yue'e's dirty coarse clothes. He feigned anger and said:

"If I ask you to sit down, just sit down and don't make me unhappy!"

Yin Yue'e was frightened and sat down without caring about soiling the cushion.

The carriage was jolting, and Li Shimin was still concentrating with his eyes closed, while Yin Yue'e secretly looked at him.

She knew that this young man did not have any ill intentions towards her.

When Li Shimin fell asleep in the carriage and woke up, Yin Yue'e mustered up the courage to request:

"Can you please let my mother and brother get on the bus and let me get off? My brother is still young and I'm afraid he won't be able to reach Jinyang.

"There is no reason why the mother is suffering while the daughter is enjoying herself in the car."

Li Shimin frowned and did not answer Yin Yue'e's request. Instead, he opened the curtain and said:

"parking."

(End of chapter)