I'm a marquis in Datang

After all, the situation in the Western Regions is unclear.

After Mrs. Zheng left, Du Qi told Qianxue and Li Yanyun about this matter. Although the two women were reluctant to part with each other, they still agreed to stay. After all, they were not in Chang'an all the time, and they would go to Longyou Road later.

August eighteenth, this morning.

Du Qi left Du's house and set off for the Western Regions.This time Du Qi went out, the team was not many, only more than [-] people.With Xiao Yuanqi as the chief general, he is responsible for protecting Du Qi's safety.

Du Qi went to Longyou Road this time, not with a mission, without the support of the court, everything had to be done by himself.Therefore, Du Qi's trip this time was not publicized with much fanfare, but he just pretended to be a caravan and went to the Western Regions.

Leaving from Chang'an, all the way to the west.

Because these years have been dedicated to building concrete roads, concrete roads have been built around Chang'an, and everything went smoothly.After leaving the scope of Gyeonggi-do and entering Longyou-do, the road changed.

From a concrete road to a dirt road.

To some extent, the degree of extension of the concrete road represents Datang's control over the place.Because the Tang Dynasty was not established for a long time, many places in Longyou Dao appeared to submit to the court, but in fact they ignored the court at all.

This is why the road is impassable.

Or, the imperial court sent officials, but they were emptied and unable to control the place for the time being.

It's surrender in name.

Especially when entering Longyou Road, the further to the west, the more remote, and the place is extremely desolate and barren.

After all, the land of the Western Regions is not as prosperous as the Central Plains.The more barren these places are, the more aggressive the folk customs are. This is the truth of the so-called poor mountains and bad waters.

Du Qi didn't care about the situation in Longyou Road.

This is the court's business.

Du Qi's task is to bring Suzhou, Guazhou and Shazhou under his control as a foothold, and then he can expand to the Western Regions and build his own strength.

Time to enter September.

In the land of the Western Regions, autumn is breezy and crisp.

The team led by Du Qi has entered the territory of Suzhou.

After nightfall, the team camped for the night.

Du Qi and Liu Zhengxi were sitting around the bonfire. Du Qi looked at Liu Zhengxi and asked, "Mr. Liu, have we arranged where we will stay in Jiuquan County?"

Liu Zhengxi said: "The arrangement has been made."

After a pause, Liu Zhengxi continued: "His Royal Highness entered Jiuquan quietly this time as a businessman. Because his identity has not been revealed, no one knows the news, so he can plan secretly."

"According to the news sent back earlier, Jiang Zhengdao, the county magistrate of Jiuquan County, is a local rich family."

"Jiang Zhengdao surrendered to the imperial court, but in Jiuquan County, Jiang Zhengdao has the final say. Even the villagers below, Li Zheng, etc., were directly or indirectly promoted by the Jiang family. It is not easy to break the situation in Jiuquan County .”

"The Jiang family also has enough power, so in Jiuquan County, it is not an easy task to move Jiang Zhengdao."

Liu Zhengxi talked about the situation in Jiuquan.

Du Qi thought for a while and said with a smile: "No matter what the situation in Jiuquan County is, there is always a breakthrough."

Liu Zhengxi nodded.

Although the situation in Jiuquan County is difficult, it is not an iron bucket, and it can be operated.

"Report!"

At this moment, a soldier came to Du Qi's side and reported: "King Pingxi, a man came from outside our camp. He was dressed in rags and was quite desolate. He said he wanted to join you."

Du Qi raised his brows, looking a little surprised.

Someone actually came to him.

This is odd.

Du Qi thought for a while, then ordered: "Bring the person here."

"Yes!"

The soldiers immediately went to deliver the order.

Not long after, I saw a young man with a thin body, about 170 cm in length, ragged clothes and a dark yellow complexion, striding forward with a big gun on his back.

The young man's face was covered with wind and frost, and he looked quite tired.He walked up to Du Qi's side, clasped his fists in salute and said, "Xue Rengui, a grassroots man, pay homage to King Pingxi."

When Du Qi heard Xue Rengui's name, he immediately said, "Are you Xue Rengui from Longmen County, Jiangzhou?"

"Yes!"

Xue Rengui replied immediately.

He was even more surprised in his heart, how did Du Qi know his native place, but Xue Rengui didn't ask, because he didn't dare to ask casually, just a little confused.

Du Qi showed a smile on his face, the person who came was really Xue Rengui in history.Xue Rengui's ancestor was also from a wealthy family, but his family was in decline. When he came to him, he made a living by farming, but his martial arts and reading by himself never fell behind.

Later, Xue Rengui joined the army and entered Zhang Shigui's command, and only then was he promoted steadily.

Now, here comes Du Qi.

Du Qi said: "Xue Rengui, isn't it? Judging by your appearance, you must have traveled a long distance to live and sleep. You came to see this king, what's the matter?"

Xue Rengui clasped his fists and said, "Report to King Pingxi, I'm here to join King Pingxi."

"Follow me?"

Du Qi's expression was even more surprised.

He had already arrived in Suzhou, not far from Jiuquan County, when Xue Rengui suddenly appeared and defected.Xue Rengui's surrender was originally a good thing, but Du Qi had to figure it out.

Xue Rengui explained: "Reporting to King Pingxi, I really came to join you. This year, I went to Chang'an to discuss life and planned to join you. Later, I learned that King Pingxi was going to the Western Regions, especially when I heard that King Pingxi wanted to open up the Silk Road. I think you want to employ people, so I come to join you."

After a pause, Xue Rengui continued: "It's just that King Pingxi is traveling so fast, even if I catch up fast, it's still very fast."

It took a lot of effort to catch up until now, and I implore King Pingxi to take him in. "

When Du Qi heard this, he looked at Xue Rengui's appearance again, and it was indeed a tired appearance of eating and sleeping in the open.

This way, Du Qi was indeed not slow.

Du Qi looked at Xue Rengui, who was carrying a big gun, and moved his eyes down to Xue Rengui's feet.The weather was getting colder, but Xue Rengui only wore a pair of straw sandals, which looked like they were about to fall apart.

Especially the clothes on Xue Rengui's body were also ragged.If Du Qi didn't know Xue Rengui, based on the appearance in front of him, no one who saw Xue Rengui would think that Xue Rengui had a great future.