Luntai Fortress, the first fortress of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions and the base of Tuntian.

In the words of later generations, it is actually a colony!

However, the Han Empire had much more conscience than the European colonists of later generations.

It also occupies the moral high ground, and in the external propaganda, Luntai is the place where the son of heaven of the Han family 'declares benevolence and righteousness in the distance, and Buweide is in the four seas'.

The policy of the Western Regions of the empire was clearly expressed at the beginning: it belongs to righteousness, and it is translated nine times, which is very customary!

Translated, in fact, it is - try to seek the greatest common divisor, respect the culture of various countries, replace estrangement with exchange, and use culture to resolve wars, as long as you like the Han and are willing to associate with the Han, then we are friends!

The empire is in the Western Regions, and it does not even force the countries of the Western Regions to belong to the Han Dynasty and pay tribute to Chang'an.

It does not require countries to cut off with the Xiongnu, and does not engage in either/or sets.

From this, the image of the Han family is simply white moonlight in the hearts of the countries of the Western Regions!

Especially in the case of the Xiongnu as a comparison, the royal families and nobles of the Western Regions do not have too much good impression of the Han family.

Basically, in the eyes of the nobles and royal families of the Western Regions, the Han family is probably the embodiment of justice, the beacon of civilization, and the hope of the world!

People who bring their own dry food and are willing to ventilate the Han family never stop.

Even, there are many people who would rather risk being discovered by the Xiongnu and killing their entire family or even destroying the country, assisting and helping the Han envoys and merchants to go to distant places through the Western Regions.

And in the official office of the Great Honglu Barbarian Mansion in Chang'an, as long as someone goes to check carefully, they will definitely find surprises!

In addition to the protons of the Han family such as Loulan and Dawan.

In the Barbarian Mansion, there are still small princes like Xiao Wan, Jingjue, and Jimo.

Even the princes of the kingdoms of Cheshi and Pu Zhuguo, who seemed to be hardcore pro-Xiongnu and wanted to sell their livers and kidneys for the Huns, were also found.

As for the princes of Yuli, Yanxu, Shache, Qiuzi and other countries in the heart of the Northern Western Regions where the Xiongnu servant Du Weizhi is located, they can also be seen.

In the Barbarian Mansion, except for the princes of Wusun and the Xiongnu, you can find almost all the princes of the Western Regions Kingdom, both named and unnamed!

And if someone dies of illness, dies, or returns home, soon another one will be sent by those countries.

The reason for such a funny situation is not only the good propaganda of the Han family.

And thanks to two people.

Bowang Hou Zhang Qian, Haixi Hou Second Division General Li Guangli.

Zhang Qian's exploits in hollowing out the Western Regions are naturally known to everyone, but few people know how he chiseled out the Western Regions?

But the officials of Luntai City are known to everyone.

The answer is simple – the golden bullet opens the way!

If you have a problem, you will throw money at it!

For example, in order to get in touch with Wusun, Zhang Qian dug the foot of the Huns, and once brought 'tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, and tens of millions of gold cloths' from Chang'an!

Such a large piece of pie smashed down, and Wusun's Kunmo hunting arrogance suddenly couldn't hold it.

So, a messenger was sent to follow Zhang Qian to Chang'an.

Wusun was NTR from the hands of the Xiongnu by the Han family in this way, and the former Xiongnu junior brother could never go back.

Naturally, the tentacles of the Han family did not only reach out to Wusun.

In the heyday, the envoys of the Han family were in the Western Regions, as if they were in a no-man's land.

All kinds of money, smashing people, and having fun.

Under the Golden Bullet offensive, the situation in the Western Regions was quickly opened.

It was also at that time that the Silk Road began to be unblocked.

However, gold and messengers alone can only be known, not feared.

There is only virtue and no authority, and people will only be seen as fools, stupid, and bullied at will.

Therefore, along with the Golden Bullet Offensive, there is also military deterrence!

In the third year of Yuanfeng, Loulan and Gushi robbed and killed the Han envoys, cut off the Silk Road, and Zhao Ponu broke the Gushi, causing the Gushi Kingdom to split into Cheshi and Pu before and after the kingdom, beheading the king of Loulan, and turning Loulan into a subject country under the direct control of the Han Empire.

This battle became the first war in which the Han family managed and controlled the Western Regions.

It completely shocked the countries of the Western Regions, and the story of the destruction of the country by 800 horsemen planted the first seed called fear in the hearts of the countries of the Western Regions.

Then came the First and Second Dawan Wars, which began in the first year of Taichu.

The Han army traveled thousands of miles, mobilized tens of thousands of elite soldiers and hundreds of thousands of people, and spent four years to subdue Dawan across more than ten countries in the Western Regions.

After this battle, no one in the Western Regions dared to plunder and kill Han envoys and Han merchants at will.

Even Daxia and Kangju, who were tens of thousands of miles away, knew that if they harmed the Han envoys, they might attract the Han army to go on an expedition.

It is precisely by relying on both soft and hard, and the combination of virtue and virtue, that the Han family can have today's influence and prestige in the Western Regions!

And the Luntai Plug is the product of the Second Dawan War.

This city, formerly known as Luntou, is the royal capital of the Luntai Kingdom in the Western Regions.

During the Han invasion of Dawan, the monarchs and nobles of this country, instigated by the Huns, attacked and plundered the baggage of the Han army, and were defeated by Li Guangli's division.

After breaking through Luntou City, Li Guangli sent the king, queen, royal family members, and nobles of the Luntai Kingdom to Chang'an.

He captured all his people and brought them back to Hexi, and left a lieutenant headquarters here as a base for receiving the follow-up Han army.

When the main force of the Han army basically withdrew to Yumen Pass, the Han army responsible for staying here suddenly discovered that winter was coming.

So, there was no way, so they had to build a simple fortress on the basis of the ruins of Luntou, and when Li Guangli sent people to meet them in the spring of the second year, the Han family found that this school captain had built a fortress in the heart of the Western Regions.

Although small, it is fragile.

But the future is great and the future is bright.

In particular, there are lakes and rivers around Luntai City, and it is a good place to settle the fields.

As a result, the Han army simply stayed here and did not leave.

That's almost 10 years.

In the past ten years, Luntai has changed from ruins to a small city, from a small city to a big city, from a pure military stronghold at the beginning, to the largest military, economic and cultural center of the Han dynasty in the Western Regions.

In addition to the military, the city had permanent residents, merchants, shops, and bazaars.

Around the vicinity of Luntai, the Han immigrants reclaimed almost 100,000 acres of land, planted more than a dozen crops such as corn, wheat, soybeans, mung beans, alfalfa, and sunflowers, and raised more than 100,000 livestock on river beaches, lakesides, and valleys.

However, now, the atmosphere inside and outside the entire Luntai City has become extremely tense.

Just yesterday, the last group of women and children, escorted by cavalry sent by Lai Dan, the captain of the Yumen, left Luntai and retreated to the Loulan Kingdom, which was located north of Mingze.

At the same time, 500 material officials from Juyan also arrived in Luntai.

The so-called material officer is the pride of the Han army in the past.

They are the spokesmen of the heavy infantry, able to wear heavy armor, wield heavy halberds, and are adept at using a variety of heavy weapons.

For example, gun carriages, ballista carts, rhubarb crossbows, etc.

Therefore, even in the era when cavalry is king, the officer is still an indispensable part of the imperial army.

And their arrival, in addition to strengthening the defensive force of Luntai, also brought more than thirty ballistas converted from Wugang cars.

This kind of ballista is a sharp weapon for the Han army to fight in the field/defend the city.

At the same time, it is also one of the strongest field weapons that humans could make before the Western era!

This kind of ballista is to directly unload the carriage of the Wugang car, and then install the Han crossbow car improved from the heavy ballista of the Qin Dynasty on the body of the car.

Its biggest feature is that it is powerful, has a long range, and can shoot more than ten heavy arrows at an enemy at a distance of 300 paces.

Within 300 steps, as long as you hit the target, you can easily penetrate the enemy's body, even if they are wearing heavy armor, as long as they hit, they will not escape death!

Of course, the drawback is also obvious - insufficient accuracy!

Normally, this weapon cannot be used for accurate sniping - even at a distance of fifty paces, the ballista has a ridiculously low hit rate.

It's only suitable for one battlefield - a large-scale battle!

The kind of battlefield where you don't need to aim, just aim in one direction and you can kill and injure the enemy!

Therefore, this kind of crossbow modified from the Wugang car has always been the star of the battlefield of the large-scale battle of the Han army!

They are literal life harvesting machines, widow makers!

In addition to this support army, in the past few days, Luntai City has also received 1,000 crossbowmen from the left side of Jiuquan sent by Li Yuanze, the Taishou of Jiuquan, 1,500 foot soldiers sent by Zhang Jue, the Taishou of Dunhuang, 800 cavalry sent by the Yumen Captain to reinforce them, and more than 1,000 Loulan soldiers sent by the King of Loulan to fight.

So far, the strength of the Han army in Luntai City has reached 8,000.

If you include the armed militia and the young people in Tuntian, the total strength is close to 13,000 people!

However......

Li Sheng, the commander of Luntai, was still worried.

Because, the enemy's gathered forces have exceeded imagination!

At the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, soldiers and horses from seventeen countries of all sizes, such as Qiuzi, Shache, Jingjue, Cheshi, Xiaowan, Gumo, Weili, and Yanxu, have been gathered, and the number of these servant armies alone has reached 50,000!

Almost half of the armies of the Western Regions are gathered at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.

The Huns chased the kings and sages to mobilize all the elite main forces under their command.

Even the slaves in the tuntian in the hive of the Western Regions were requisitioned.

Its total strength is at least more than 100,000!

It is possible that it reached 150,000!

Among them, the cavalry that can conduct field battles, at least fifty thousand!

In the battle of the Tianshan Mountains in the first year, the Xiongnu did not gather so many soldiers and horses at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains!

So much so that Li Sheng doubted that this time the Huns would gather the treasury and army of the entire Western Regions.

"Crazy! It's really insane! Li Sheng looked at the information in front of him with a stern expression - these were all those pro-Han factions in the Western Regions Kingdom, who did everything possible to send people to pass on to Luntai at the risk of danger.

"The sages are worried that this is a desperate gamble, and they will fight the entire Western Regions to fight the Wheel Platform?"

In the past, the Xiongnu did not have a chance to win Luntai.

After all, Luntai City is lonely, as long as the Huns are willing to pay the capital and the dead, it will not be a problem to take Luntai.

But the question is what happens after you take it?

The cost and cost of what they controlled?

The revenge of the Han army, they can bear it?

However, now, the sages are like crazy, putting on a look that even if they cripple the Western Regions, they will not hesitate to do so.

This made Li Sheng really feel a little creepy, and it was even more incomprehensible.

What makes him even more furious is that so far, Li Sheng still doesn't know who is the Xiongnu commander who sits at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains and commands the Xiongnu army?

In the past, he thought it was a sage, but ......

However, the intelligence showed that the king of the day was still in Yancheng, the capital of the king of Qiuzi.

In other words, the commander sitting at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains has someone else.

It's a pity that Li Sheng tried all his methods, and he didn't find out who his opponent was?

Moreover, the intelligence of the pro-Han faction in the countries of the Western Regions was also cut off as early as five days ago.

The Xiongnu established an isolation zone along the Jishishui (Tarim River) Nanhe River, cutting off the connection between Luntai and the Western Regions.

Unless someone is willing to risk their lives to cross the Gobi Desert, it is impossible for Luntai to obtain information.

At this moment, a general hurriedly walked up to Li Sheng and said, "Captain, the scout is in the Nanze area and has brought back a Qiuzi messenger!" ”

"Nanzawa?" Li Sheng frowned slightly, Nanze is a lake in the south of Luntai, not very big, but not small either.

It's just that it faces the vast Gobi Desert, so it's inaccessible.

"Bring him to me!" Li Sheng immediately got up and ordered.

"Captain, when we found the messenger, he was seriously wounded and dying...... the general bowed his head and said, "Only, I got a word from his mouth......"

"What?" Li Sheng immediately asked.

"For the Hun generals, King Jiankun!" The general looked up and said.

"King Jiankun!?" Li Sheng's eyes widened, and his face was full of incredulity.

The generals of the Han army in the entire Hexi know who is the king of the Xiongnu Jiankun?

The grandson of General Fei Li Guang, the widow of Li Danghu, the captain of the Han Dynasty back then, and the pride of Longxi Chengji!

At the same time, he was also the rising star who posed the greatest threat to the second division general Li Guangli that year!

Therefore, when Li Ling's army defeated Junji Mountain, the generals of Hexi breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, when the news of the Li Ling clan being sentenced spread, the generals sympathized again.

Later, when I heard that Li Ling surrendered, married the Xiongnu princess, and was canonized as the king of Jiankun and the queen of the Xiongnu right school, the people of the world began to mock Li Ling endlessly.

The generals of Hexi also began to spit on them.

But spitting is spitting, Li Ling's strength, ability to lead troops, and command ability, no one dares to take it lightly!

Moreover, as Li Guangli's nephew, Li Sheng knew that when it came to the art of commanding battles, his uncle was probably not as good as the cavalry lieutenant back then, otherwise, he would not have deliberately indulged Gongsun He's father and son to suppress the latter, and even secretly protected Lu Bode, who deliberately did not save Li Ling.

Now, Li Ling, as the king of the Xiongnu Jiankun, commands an army of more than 100,000 people, sitting in the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, and is coming with great momentum.

This inevitably reminds Li Sheng of many historical stories.

Wu Zixu Vachu......

Sun Bin Vawei ......

"Send light cavalry immediately to report this matter to the general of the second division!" Li Sheng almost roared and ordered: "Send someone to inform Yumen immediately - Luntai is in an emergency!" Luntai is in a hurry! Now, I want reinforcements! The more the merrier! ”

For Li Sheng, compared to the destruction of Luntai City, what is worse is that it is broken by Li Ling!

It's not just about military merit, it's about reputation!

Who wants to be Fei Wuji?

Who wants to be Pang Juan?

His uncle certainly didn't want to!