Du Zhongxiao stretched out his hand, picked up a snowflake falling from the sky, turned back to Fu Bi and said: "I heard that here in Gaochang, there is little rain a year, and it is really strange that it snows when we arrive." The snow is not big, but the place is cold, so I want to stay for a few more days. ”

Fu Bi came out of the house and watched the snowflakes fall from the sky. After a while, he nodded: "Yes, it is common for Gaochang to have no rain or snow for a year, and now it is snowing, which is a good omen." Jieshuai, Yanqi and Yangji Bali have been lowered, and now Gaochang is only left with Beiting City. Zhao Zi sent a letter, is it that he joined the army and attacked Beiting with all his might. Take the North Court, and the entire Gaochang will be owned by this dynasty. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Let him leave 5,000 soldiers and horses in Yangji Bali in case of Black Khan, and the rest of the soldiers and horses will attack Beiting." Beiting is the summer capital of Gaochang and an important city in the Tang Dynasty, with a large population. However, when Fugu Huaien came to Gaochang, most of the soldiers and horses were brought over, and there were not many defenders left. Ordered Zhao Zi to leave 2,000 soldiers and horses to guard the Beiting after occupying the North Garden, and he took the rest of the men and horses back to Yizhou from the north of the Tianshan Mountains. In the Western Regions, Zhang Qi's department guarded the areas south of the Tianshan Mountains such as Gaochang and Yanqi, and Zhao Zi's department was stationed in Yizhou, guarding the area from Hezhou to Yizhou. ”

Fu Bi said with a smile: "With this arrangement, Zhao Zishou's place is big." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In fact, it is to guard the railway, thousands of miles from Hezhou to Yizhou, sparsely populated, and it is more appropriate for the railway to be guarded by an army." Also, in the letter to the imperial court, the Western Regions have been pacified, and the imperial court is requested to send a road-building army. Only when the railway is built can the Western Regions be truly stable. ”

Fubi said yes. Looking at the snowflakes falling one after another, Du Zhongxiao said: "It's already September, and this year is about to pass." A few days ago, an official letter came from the imperial court, asking me if it was appropriate for me to leave the river meandering road after three years. ”

Fu Bi heard this, and hurriedly asked, "What did the marshal say?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The three-year term is the law of the imperial court, how can it be violated?" After seizing the North Court, Gaochang in the Western Regions will be all owned by this dynasty, and there will be no major event. There is only one thing, and now Zhang Qi's army is stationed in Yanqi, opposite to Black Khan. Black Khan sent more troops to Qiuzi, not knowing his intentions. ”

Fu Bi said: "Gaochang is destroyed, can't you make the Black Khan King's brain sober?" Their strength is simply vulnerable in front of the soldiers and horses of the imperial court! If he doesn't claim to be a vassal as soon as possible, Zhang Qi might as well lead his troops westward and attack Qiuzi! ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Qiuci was the location of the Anxi Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty, with a large city and a large population. Originally, I thought that after the army occupied Yanqi, it was already 1,200 miles away from Yizhou, and it was not easy to transport materials, so this time the war stopped. If the Black Khanate does not claim to be a vassal, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the Western Regions to calm down. Then it is better to let Zhang Qi concentrate his forces and fight with Black Khan in Qiuzi. Qiuzi fought a beautiful battle, and it is not difficult to recover the territory of Khotan! ”

Fu Bi's eyes lit up: "What does the commander mean, to eliminate the main force of the Black Khan in the battle of Qiuzi?" ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Not bad." Now that the two black khans in the east and west are not in harmony, we are attacking the eastern black khan with all our might, and the western black khan should ignore it. ”

Fu Bi lowered his head and thought for a while, and said categorically: "This is feasible!" Gaochang has nearly 30,000 troops, and he doesn't know how to use it, but if he fights Qiuzi, let them transport grain. From Yizhou to Gaochang, and then from Gaochang to Yanqi, 1,200 miles is not far! ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "It's nothing to transport food with troops, as long as they eat and sleep well and don't be too tired." We came to the west, and it was a small country with the above countries, and the imperial court had enough food, and there was nothing. Moreover, people in the Western Regions eat scones, which are the most resistant to storage and easy to make military rations. ”

Gaochang's troops ate scones, but the Song army couldn't. Zhao Zi in front of him had an official document, and he ate carefully in the army for a while, and many people got sick as a result. Later, the food was changed to the old system, mixed with scones, and it was calmed down. There is no problem with Gaochang's troops, and he brought some scones before he went out, which saved a lot of trouble on the way. There is no shortage of food in this area, but it is not easy to find firewood in some places, especially when the army is transiting.

In the city of Shule, the black Khan Aslan Khan Suleiman and his younger brother Irik sat opposite each other, with tea and pastries in front of them.

After using tea, Suleiman said: "The Gaochang soldiers in Yanqi City surrendered the city after the Song army captured Gaochang. Now after the Song army is stationed in Yanqi, it is opposite our soldiers and horses in Qiuzi. Judging from the situation of our envoys to Kaifeng Mansion a few years ago, the Song Dynasty will inevitably regard us as vassals, which is intolerable! According to the spies, there were about 30,000 Song troops in Yanqi, and there was no sign of coming west. However, according to Gaochang's affairs, if we don't send envoys to call us ministers as soon as possible, they may come to call. ”

Illic said: "The first strike is strong, and the second strike suffers!" Gaochang has today's ending, that is, after the Song army occupied Juyan and Yizhou, it was indecided. As a result, the Song army suddenly attacked, and without waiting for King Gaochang to react, the country was destroyed. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past, and send troops to Qiuzi! ”

Suleiman said: "Qiuzi now has 40,000 soldiers and horses, and it is really not easy to send troops. Since the beginning of this year, Muhammad has been at odds with me and will not send troops to help us. If I send more troops to Qiuzi, I can only draw 20,000 people to support, how many troops can you increase there? ”

Illik thought for a moment and said, "After the whole country is dumped, I can also send another 10,000 or 20,000 reinforcements." All combined, 80,000 troops, against the 30,000 people of the Song army, this is a sure victory! I'll go there and fight with the Song army! ”

Suleiman said: "Don't be careless. I heard that the Song army entered Gaochang and its combat power was extremely strong, and the Gaochang soldiers had no power to fight back at all. Although it is the elite soldiers of Gaochang who are fighting against us, the combat power will not be too strong, so we still have to be careful of the Song army. ”

Ilik said: "I heard that the Song army is using guns, but I don't know what it looks like." After today, I will gather my troops and go to the city of Qiuzi. After Brother Wang returned, he sent troops as soon as possible. Wait until the soldiers and horses are ready, and then fight two battles with the Song army. ”

At this time, the situation in the Western Black Khanate was that the eldest brother Suleiman, as Aslan Khan, directly ruled Balasagon and Kashgar, the second brother Bogra Khan Muhammad ruled Talas and Baishuicheng, and Shule and other places were ruled by the third brother Irik. In recent years, Suleiman and Muhammad had a bad relationship, and several times they had to fight each other, but the third brother Irik obeyed.

The Black Khan arose in the area centered on Balasagon and the center of the unification over the Tianshan Mountains was Shule. As for the Khotanese kingdom further south, after the conquest, it did not govern directly, but continued the previous ruling system, collecting taxes.

The territory of Heihan is densely populated, has both agriculture and animal husbandry, and the late Tang Dynasty and the five dynasties have suffered less impact, which is not comparable to Gaochang. Even if there are only two eldest brothers and three younger brothers, they can still recruit 100,000 soldiers and horses to fight in Qiuzi. As for the transportation, it was naturally due to the Khotanese who did it.

After occupying Khotan, Hei Khan could pass through Qingtang to the Central Plains, although the road was not easy to walk, and the goods transported were not too much, so it was profitable after all. Compared with Gaochang, the Black Khan had a relatively close relationship with the Song Dynasty and did not have much contact with the Khitan. However, this time it was different, the Song Dynasty destroyed Gaochang and directly opposed the Black Khan. I also heard that the Song Dynasty took in a descendant of the Khotanese royal family, and maybe it would go south and rebuild the Khotanese state.

Suleiman and his third brother Irik discussed a lot and decided to fight the Song army in Qiuzi, and the results of the battle decided the follow-up relations between the two countries. If everything is overcome, the two countries will negotiate peace and non-aggression against each other. If defeated, the army crossed the Tianshan Mountains, retreated to the other side of the mountain, and ceded Khotan to the Song Dynasty. For the Black Khan, there were too many wars with Khotan at the beginning, and there were mutual victories and defeats, so it was natural that it must be destroyed. And the Song Dynasty was too big for them, and they had often paid tribute and seen it, so it was okay to fight a war, but they couldn't afford to fight a long war.

The Song Dynasty passed through the south of the Tianshan Mountains, mainly in Khotan, and the conditions for crossing the green mountains were not available. The key point of the passage is that it should be north of the Tianshan Mountains, where there are many small clans. There are too many forces in the northern part of the Tianshan Mountains, and there are no strong forces, as long as 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and horses, you can make the various forces submit and open up trade routes.

vertex