In 935, on the first day of October, after almost five months of trekking through mountains and rivers, Zhang Zhao finally saw the royal city of Khotan again.

After leaving here in early 932 to go north to attack Shule, it took Zhang Zhao three years and eight months to return here again.

Thinking about it, it was really hard work. In three years and eight months, he kept going in circles and beat Shule, Suiye, Ningyuan, Bukhara, Huwen City, and Tianzhu. In the future, 996 cattle and horses,

That’s it!

By the Yulong River, the large river surrounding the Khotan City has entered the dry season, and the riverbed has been exposed in many places. In the past, the riverbed would have been full of people.

Because the famous Hotan jade was originally mined in the river, the high mountain snow washed the raw jade ore down from the mountains, and people only had to pick it up in the river.

But today, no one has the intention to pick up jade. Everyone was notified more than ten days ago that King Zhang, the deputy king of the Kingdom of Jin, will return to Khotan City today.

This news, like the warm wind in winter, blew throughout Anjun Prefecture where the Royal City of Khotan was located.

More than 50,000 people, ranging from the great sage and emperor to princes and nobles, to peddlers and passing merchants, flocked from all directions to the Yulong River where King Zhang entered the city.

There was no room to stand on both sides of the road, so many people stood directly on the cold shallow river bed to wait. It was October in the cold winter, and it still took a lot of perseverance to stand directly in the river.

It’s coming! It’s coming! I don’t know where the cheers came from, and the crowd stood on tiptoes, stretched their necks, and tried to look into the distance.

Not long after, the smoke and dust covered the sun in the distance, and the sound of neat footsteps could be faintly heard.

Immediately afterwards, a Khotan banner with a human body and a rat head and a rat king was on the left, a red background of the sun, moon and stars and three chen flags was on the right, and a vermilion banner with black characters in the middle appeared in everyone's eyes.

Suddenly, cheers erupted like thunder. Li Shengtian shook off the obstruction of the servants around him, took Queen Cao Yuanxin's hand, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

Li Shengtian lifted the skirt of the crown robe with his left hand, and Cao Yuanxin also held the skirt of the queen's robe with his right hand. The two men let go and trotted forward.

As soon as they moved, whether they were pot-bellied nobles, sturdy officers and soldiers, or ordinary farmers, merchants, weavers, men and women, old and young, they all cheered with louder voices.

"Erlang! Erlang, you are finally back!" After not seeing each other for more than two years, Li Shengtian has become even richer. He was already fat, but in the past few years, he has become more and more prosperous, and his figure has become more and more uncontrollable.

"Uncle!" Zhang Zhao shouted loudly. He reined in his horse from a distance, turned over and dismounted neatly, and ran towards Li Shengtian with open arms.

There was no kneeling down and no show of "I and the general took off my shirt". The two of them hugged each other tightly like a pair of uncles and nephews who had not seen each other for many years.

"Erlang is losing weight more and more. It's quite hard to fight, but my uncle, on the other hand, is fat and has gained dozens of kilograms!" After the hug, Li Shengtian felt a little embarrassed.

Zhang Zhao, who had been a young boy with a fair face when he came to Khotan, had transformed into a middle-aged man with firm eyes, dark complexion and a weathered face in front of him.

On the contrary, the emperor of his country has become fat-bellied. Most of the empires that his nephew has conquered belong to him.

"Uncle, do you ever remember what you said to your nephew outside Polu State? You said that our uncle and nephew are one. You only have me as your nephew, and I only have you as my uncle alive. We share weal and woe, and we must share weal and woe."

Don’t you believe it?”

Zhang Zhao was still not used to two men holding hands, so he put his arm around Li Shengtian's shoulders. The two of them looked like two tourists doing costume shopping by the Yulong River.

"Erlang actually still remembers it!" Li Shengtian twitched his nose twice and sighed with some emotion.

"You are a part of the big world here. No matter what you want to do, my uncle will support you!"

"Emperor, let Erlang enter the city, so many people are watching!" Cao Yuanxin's cheek twitched. Of course he knew what Li Shengtian meant, that is, the Khotan Jin Kingdom would fully support Zhang Zhao in returning to Dunhuang to seize power!

"Niang Niang, your style is far better than before!" Zhang Zhao then bowed to Cao Yuanxin with a teasing smile on his face.

Cao Yuanxin rolled his eyes at him, stretched out an onion-white finger and pointed at him.

"It's always a shame, but it's good that you're back. Your Majesty, your Majesty, has been lying in bed for more than two months. There will be someone from Dunhuang who wants to see you later. Let's go into the city first!"

This return to the city was much more grand than the last time he came to Khotan with the envoys of the Guiyi Army.

The road was paved with loess, it was already October, and flower petals were flying all over the sky as if they were free. The huge crowds lined up in two rows, and the road back to the city was packed.

Moreover, this was not organized by Khotan officials, but came spontaneously.

The reason why everyone is so excited can be seen from the population of King Khotan City. This city originally had a population of eighty or ninety thousand people, but now there are at most fifty or sixty thousand people.

Where did everyone else go? They went to Shule and Ningyuan to live a good life.

According to the current policy of the Jin Kingdom in Khotan, those who are willing to go to Ningyuan to farm will be given 30 acres for men, 20 acres for strong women, and 10 acres for the elderly and weak.

This also refers to the mature land that has been developed. If it is half cultivated land and half cultivated by oneself, the number of acres will be doubled, and taxes will be exempted for three years.

As for those who stayed in the country, due to the large-scale military deployment in Khotan in recent years, they could sell a lot of money for the food they grew, the cloth they woven, and even the help they made for the army in making various small appliances and all kinds of military rations.

At the same time, trophies from outside were constantly brought back, ensuring the supply of various materials.

Just by defeating Bugla Khan, hundreds of thousands of sheep were seized. The mutton in Khotan is now so cheap that it is almost the same price as vegetables, and the dining table is more abundant than before.

The Khotan Jin Kingdom, which only had a population of 60 to 700 thousand, could be said to benefit everyone after Zhang Zhao conquered such a large territory.

This is the reason why they sincerely support Zhang Zhao and warmly welcome him back.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please eat a pinpo fruit! This is specially reserved for me!"

"Your Majesty, please have a bowl of wine made by me! There is plenty of icing sugar."

"Your Majesty, my cheese grilled lamb chops are a must-have in the royal city. You must try it!"

The city gate had not even been passed through. Zhang Zhao had no idea how many fruits and fruits he had eaten and how many bowls of wine he had drunk, except for his head full of flower petals.

Now a fat guy stopped him again. This cheese grilled lamb chop weighed at least two or three pounds. It was golden in color, fragrant, and was still hot.

"Your Majesty, I'm grilling it right on the roadside, it's just right hot!" The fat guy looked at Zhang Zhao and was speechless with excitement.

"That's right! Your Majesty, Hu Sanlang spent a lot of money to rent the shop in front of this door just for roasting lamb chops!" Someone jokingly shouted from the side.

"Okay! I'll eat your mutton chop!" Zhang Zhao laughed loudly, took it and took a big bite.

"The fat and lean meat are mixed, the lean meat is crispy, the fat meat is fragrant but not greasy, the cheese is fragrant, the pepper and salt are flavorful, the roast is good, but his advertising is even better!"

Although the people around him didn't quite understand the meaning of the advertisement, they immediately understood what Zhang Zhao meant and burst into laughter.

Hu Sanlang had a shy face and didn't care at all. Anyway, the king said it was delicious, so he put up the sign.

"Sanlang, my son! Why are you so lean? You must have suffered a lot, right?"

"Goro, you are finally back. You went there years ago! Woohoo!"

"Ma Sanlang, have you earned enough money to marry me?"

Masanlang, who was riding on the horse, suppressed his blush. He wanted to say something but didn't dare to say it. Zhang Zhao turned around and looked at the little fire chief who belonged to the palace guard.

"When people ask you? Answer them!"

"Why it's not enough! I earn enough money to marry you and your sister!"

Damn it! Zhang Zhao was almost knocked out of his body. Ma Sanlang looked so honest and honest. He has a lot of sex work and appetite!

Zhang Zhao looked back at the team behind him. He had been gone for several years! The beauties in his family were waiting anxiously, his parents had grown grey, and some of them were separated from their loved ones. Now that they are back home, they feel like returning home.

, definitely not an exaggeration.

"Remove your armor here! Invite the heroic spirits!" Zhang Zhao decided not to go to Wufeng Tower, so he disbanded the team here and let the soldiers who were home in the royal city go home to rest! But before that, the heroic spirits who died in the battle had to be let go.

Gone home.

It is said that they are heroic spirits. According to the customs of the Han people at this time, I am afraid that only heroic spirits are left. Because it is so far away, it is definitely not possible to bring back the body, only the ashes.

Fortunately, there are not many, because hundreds of people who died in Suiye, hundreds of people who died in Juzhantiwai, and more than 300 people from the Khyber Pass have been transported back to Khotan early.

, was sacrificed on the Tianzhu battlefield.

In fact, there were not many real sacrifices, because Ah San's combat effectiveness was too low, and there was still an army of servants available.

Of the more than 100 people who sacrificed their lives, only about 20 died in battle, and most of them died of illness. After all, they had traveled thousands of kilometers at once, so there shouldn’t be too many people who were acclimatized.

A group of eminent Buddhist monks announced the name of Buddhism, and those who died in battle came directly to the front, holding urns of ashes.

Zhang Zhao took a step back, feeling a little heavy in his heart, and there was no need to steal Li Shengtian's limelight at this time.

The soft sobs made everyone feel heavy, but they didn't scream.

Because the news of the death in battle has been notified long ago, and the pension has been paid long ago, now it is just a matter of returning the urns of the heroes' ashes.

Seeing Li Shengtian meeting the families of the fallen in front, and making an exception to provide an additional ten thousand dollars in compensation to each of the fallen, Zhang Zhao felt particularly homesick.

Although Khotan is good, it is not his hometown. His hometown, the place where he made great achievements, is still far away!

"Erlang! Come and see, who is this?" Cao Yuanxin was keenly aware of Zhang Zhao's slight disappointment, and was even more satisfied that Zhang Zhao would not steal Li Shengtian's limelight. She pulled Zhang Zhao's sleeve and pulled him towards him.

Bring a little bit behind.

In the corner, a little beauty wearing a simple beige coat and skirt with a bright yellow flower on her forehead was looking at Zhang Zhao obediently.

Her eyes were shining and the corners of her mouth were curled into a smile, like a good wife waiting for her husband to come home.

"Second Lady!" Zhang Zhao shouted out loud. This pretty little beauty turned out to be Cao Yannai, Lady Cao whom she hadn't seen for more than four years.

Mrs. Cao Sanniang looked at Zhang Zhao. Zhang Erlangjun, who was like a newborn calf in Qixiaohu Village, has now become a real man.

His skin color is not that white anymore, but his body is much stronger. He seems to have grown a lot taller. His facial lines are also tougher than before, and he looks like a mature man with sharp edges.

"Erlang, it's been a long time..., ah!" Mrs. Cao Sanniang was still thinking about how to strike up a conversation with Zhang Zhao, but Zhang Zhao hugged her.

The third lady in her arms was shy and nervous. Although the relationship between the two of them could be said to be very close back then, four years had passed.

Although she was also seven years older than Zhang Zhao at that time, she was still in her twenties.

But now, although she is as gorgeous as ever, she is already in her thirties, and in this era, she is enough to call herself an old woman.

Zhang Erlang is now powerful in Anxi, Hezhong and Tianzhu. What kind of role does he want?
To be continued...