The accident happened when they were less than twenty miles away from Gaochang State.
Everyone was marching normally when hundreds of cavalry appeared on the left side of the army...
"Pass on my order. The entire army is not to indiscriminately strengthen the protection of Lord Zhao."
Su Dingfang was a man who had just returned from the battlefield. This kind of small scene didn't matter to him. He still had no idea who the other party was, so he still had to maintain the necessary state of mind. However, Su Dingfang felt that this trip would definitely not be so safe. The Gaochang Kingdom was able to take in the Xueyantuo Khan, which obviously meant that they were not the same kind of people as us.
Zhao Guangtai was a civil servant. Although he came from the Tang Dynasty, he had never seen such a situation. He had heard people say that after leaving Yumen Pass, the situation here would be left to fate. Many people here would draw their swords at any time.
Everyone in Chang'an City had an illusion that we are people of the Great Tang Dynasty, and when we came to the territory of such a small foreign country, they would definitely not dare to attack us. But when Lord Zhao came here in person, he realized that it was a mistake. This place where there is no village in front and no shop behind is the easiest place to attack.
When they were less than 500 meters away from the army, Su Dingfang was about to order his men to start fighting, but who knew that these hundreds of men quickly grabbed their horses and turned around and ran north.
"Want to chase, sir?"
The soldiers under his command have made preparations. The distance is not very far now. As long as Su Dingfang gives the order, they are confident that they can catch up. They have just observed that the enemy's horses are not on the same level as ours. If they really pursue them, the result will be seen within an hour.
What's more, we have sounding balloons. People in the sky can analyze the direction they are heading. In this Gobi Desert, we can also turn around and intercept them.
"These people are not important. The most important thing is to deliver the letter of credence and order the brothers to remain vigilant and send out sentries to the surrounding areas."
Su Dingfang shook his head. What if this was a trick of the other party to lure the tiger away from the mountain? Then we would have fallen into their trap. Now we still have to continue advancing towards Gaochang Kingdom. They are just a few petty thieves. If we let them affect our progress, it would be really embarrassing to tell others.
"Don't be afraid, sir. These people shouldn't dare to attack us. They are just harassing us."
Su Dingfang rode his horse to Lord Zhao's carriage.
"In your opinion, General, who are they?"
Zhao Yuantai said in shock that he had never seen such a situation in Chang'an City. Suddenly, a large group of people came from the right, and it seemed that they were going to fight with them, but who knew that they ran back after rushing 500 meters.
"They are either from Xueyantuo Khan or Gaochang. Gaochang has not received our letter yet. After receiving it, they will probably be in trouble. If they do as the letter says, they will still have a good personal relationship with Xueyantuo Khan. But if they don't, they will offend the Tang Dynasty. So I think they want to make trouble for us and make us retreat. As long as the letter is not handed over, they don't have to do anything."
Su Dingfang made a bold guess, of course it was just a guess. There was no way to verify where those people came from, so Su Dingfang was ready to go his own way. The more you don't let us go, the more we will go over to submit the letter of credence.
"Will they actually attack next?"
Zhao Yuantai said with some concern that maybe they were just giving a warning, but if they saw the Tang army continue to advance, maybe they would really attack.
"Your Highness has said that this general cannot cause trouble, but if someone bullies us, then we cannot sit idle. We must let them know the might of the Tang Dynasty's army."
When Su Dingfang heard the word "attack", her face immediately lit up with interest. His Highness had indeed instructed her to do so, so she dared not do anything and managed herself like a little wife. But if they really dared to attack, she would make them regret coming into this world.
When Zhao Yuantai saw Su Dingfang's expression, he immediately knew that he had asked the wrong question. As a civil servant in the court, he did not want to make enemies everywhere. Moreover, the court's treasury was already running out of money. If they were to fight with Gaochang Kingdom again, the status of the court's military officials would rise. Would these civil servants have a chance to make a name for themselves?
In addition to the dispute between civil and military officials, Lord Zhao also supported Su Dingfang's idea. The Tang Dynasty is now the Celestial Empire. If someone attacks us and we don't fight back, it will really damage the reputation of the Celestial Empire. After returning to Chang'an City, the emperor will find out all this and will not forgive him.
"General Su, please rest assured. I will testify for you on all counts. However, we must also strictly adhere to the teachings of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and must not lightly provoke war."
Su Dingfang was very satisfied with Lord Zhao's words. As long as someone could testify for us, many things would be easy to deal with. Su Dingfang immediately issued an order, asking the entire army to prepare for battle.
Su Dingfang also explained to Lord Zhao that when the other party enters the range of 200 meters, we must prepare to attack. There is no such thing as not taking action first. As long as the other party does not report that they have entered the range of 200 meters, it can be regarded as the other party having intentions towards us, and we must take the initiative.
This was the rule set by Li Xiang. Although Lord Zhao didn't understand it very well, he learned about Li Xiang's rule by asking other soldiers. Since it was set by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Lord Zhao would never interfere. However, he repeatedly warned Su Dingfang to make sure to see the 200-meter limit and not to reduce this distance. After all, he didn't want a war to break out.
Because of what happened just now, the nerves in the team were obviously more tense than before. After walking for about half an hour, they could already see the border troops of Gaochang Kingdom. At this moment, the place was already full of soldiers, but no envoys from Gaochang Kingdom were found.
Lord Zhao and Su Dingfang exchanged a glance. Their suspicions were correct. Neither the Xueyantuo Khan nor the Gaochang Kingdom wanted the Tang Dynasty's letter to be handed over, and they were sure to create all sorts of trouble. According to their previous agreement, the Gaochang envoys should have arrived at the border to greet them, but no envoy's flag had been spotted.
At this time, more than 30 cavalrymen from Gaochang Kingdom came from the border.
Su Dingfang also led over twenty cavalrymen with him, and the two sides were to have their first conversation near the border...
