Thirty miles west of Jiayuguan, at the foot of Qingtou Mountain, on the edge of the Baiyang River, there are white bag-like tents in sight, as far as the eye can see, all of them are the camp tents of the Jin army.

The whole camp covers an extremely wide area, almost covering the foot of Qingtou Mountain, the people and horses in the camp shuttle, the dense soldiers walk between the camp tents, the voices of people and horses are full of camp noise, I am afraid that there are at least sixty or seventy thousand people.

Among these people, there are soldiers wearing Jin State clothes and armor, and half of them are Mongols from the Western Regions, and Turkic people wearing turbans and white cedars, which can be said to be a hodgepodge.

Looking down from the top of the mountain, the whole camp is divided into several layers, the middle is a king tent covering an area of one acre, and there is a thigh-thick, three-zhang high Wang Qi Daxu erected outside, and the book "Anxi Wangsun" is four golden characters.

Around the big tent, there is the camp tent of the Jin army, which is quite orderly, and the camp is cleaned. Outside the camp tent of the Jin army in the inner circle, there are three Yuzi and the camp tent of the Yarkand people, which are arranged more casually and look very chaotic.

Outside the camp, there are herds of horses, cattle and sheep, roaming the mountainside and the pastures outside the camp, and there are herds of cattle and sheep on both sides of the Baiyang River.

If it were the Central Plains, the logistical pressure of more than 60,000 people would be very great, but the Jin army drove cattle and sheep to fight, eating while walking, and raising while eating, but there was relatively no such great logistical pressure.

This is the camp of Sun Kewang, the king of Anxi of the Jin Kingdom, who gathered the small countries in the Western Regions and the subjugated Mongolian tribes, totaling more than 60,000 people, and marched east to the outside of Jiayu Pass, ready to rush to the aid of the Jin State.

However, after the army reached the Jiayu Pass, it set up camp on the banks of Qingtou Mountain and the Baiyang River, and did not take a step forward.

At this time, the army has been stationed at the foot of Qingtou Mountain for more than half a month, the camp tent is endless, and there are herds of cattle and sheep outside the tent, and the scene is very spectacular.

The Jin army practiced here, and the soldiers and grain and grass were still complete, so they waited for Sun Kewang to give an order, and the army set out of camp.

However, Sun Kewang did not give the order, he was also entangled in his heart, and he was still waiting, waiting for an exact news to come.

In the court of the Jin Kingdom, there have always been two factions, one is the eastward faction and the other is the westward faction.

Although they also supported westward expansion, their original intention was to supplement their strength by going west, preparing for the eastward advance, and essentially wanted to gain greater territory and benefits to the east.

Meng Qiaofang, Han Chaoxuan, and even Wu Sangui can be regarded as this faction. After all, the idea of chasing the Central Plains is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and this faction occupies the mainstream of the Jin court. Although the Jin State was at a disadvantage and did not have the strength to advance eastward for the time being, they had been strengthening the power of Guanzhong and forming a confrontation with the Ming Dynasty. If there was an opportunity, they would not hesitate to go east to Tongguan, but they did not wait for such an opportunity.

The westward faction believed that the gap between Ming and Jin was too great, and that the Jin State should not have illusions about Kanto, but should shift its center of gravity to the west, give the Western Regions the same political status as Guanzhong, operate with the same resources or even more resources, and continue to expand westward instead of turning back.

The forces of this faction are a little thinner, basically only Sun Kewang alone, and Yu Yin is barely half of it.

There is actually a conflict between these two routes. As a westward faction, Sun Kewang hoped that the Jin State would leave him more resources for the management of the Western Regions, but the eastward faction dominated the court, which forced Sun Kewang to send a large number of furs, cattle and sheep to Guanzhong, which limited his development in the Western Regions.

However, although Sun Kewang had contradictions with Jin Guo on the route, the starting point of the Silk Road was here, and he could not do without Guanzhong.

A big reason why Sun Kewang was able to integrate the various ministries of the Western Regions was because of the existence of the Silk Road, and the key to the Silk Road was in Guanzhong, so Sun Kewang led the troops to come.

Protecting the Silk Road, allowing him to obtain supplies from Guanzhong, and at the same time being able to transport goods from India, Persia, and Eastern Europe to Guanzhong for sale, and protecting the entire trade network, was the only reason for Sun Kewang to send troops.

It's just that judging from the news he got, this time the Ming Dynasty was menacing, and the economy of the Jin Kingdom suffered a heavy blow, but he didn't dare to venture into the war.

In the early morning, on both sides of the Baiyang River, the pasture grass is fragrant, and the smoke curls in the camp, Sun Kewang led the generals to stand on the mountainside of Qingtou Mountain and look down, looking at the direction of Jiayuguan in the distance.

"Lord, the army has been stationed here for half a month, and this advance does not advance, retreat and does not retreat, but why?" Zhang Sheng, a confidant on the side, looked at Jiayuguan with Sun Kewang's gaze, and said with some worry: "If the imperial court wins, I am afraid that the prince will be blamed, and the imperial court is defeated and loses Guanzhong, then our Silk Road in the Western Regions will also be unsustainable!" ”

Zhang Sheng's words expressed the worries of Li Qichen and other generals behind him, in fact, in their hearts, they still hope to fight with the Ming Dynasty.

Sun Kewang looked to the east, but sighed and said to Zhang Sheng: "This king has had several ups and downs since he started his army, and today it is not easy to establish a foundation in the Western Regions, but he is really worried about losing it again. ”

From the third year of Chongzhen, 1630 began to raise troops with Zhang Xianzhong, and now 28 years have passed. In the past 30 years, Sun Kewang has had several ups and downs, including big ups and downs, one in Sichuan and one in Yunnan, and this is his third rise.

People said that there were only three things, and he had a hunch in his heart that if he fell behind again this time, it was estimated that there would be no chance to get up again.

One is that he can't have four consecutive good fortunes, and the other is that he is almost fifty years old before he knows it, and he doesn't have time to rise again, and he doesn't have the energy to start all over again.

His words made an old man in the Western Army like Zhang Sheng feel empathy, but he couldn't convince Li Qichen and other generals.

Sun Kewang turned his head, glanced at them, and saw the expressions of a few people, so he said: "Don't worry, since this king led the troops to Jiayu Pass, he naturally has a perfect plan." ”

"I don't know how the prince arranged, I'll wait for the first time." Zhang Sheng couldn't help but clench his fists in the back.

In the current situation, Sun Kewang really should have a clear statement, but his thoughts in his heart are a little rebellious, and he doesn't know how to speak.

After all, not all of his current men and horses are his old Western army, and a large part of them were slowly recruited after arriving in Hexi, and they have a great sense of identity with Jinguo.

But at this moment, it was really time for him to show his thoughts, so that these generals had a mental preparation, he turned to look at the generals, and said in a deep voice: "This king has sent someone to Guanzhong to investigate, so if there is any situation in Guanzhong, this king will soon know." If the battle situation is favorable to the imperial court, then the king will immediately move eastward to help the imperial court. ”

When the generals heard this, they couldn't help but nod, warlords, you have to consider your own interests.

If Sun Kewang just plunged into it like this, they wouldn't do it.

After all, the interests of their Anxi army are not in Guanzhong and Hanzhong, but in the Western Regions, there is no need to take the lead for Meng Qiaofang and Wu Sangui, in case it is a pit, then they will not regret it.

"If the battle is unfavorable, shall we immediately retreat?" Zhang Sheng seemed to understand what Sun Kewang meant.

If Guanzhong is defeated, then it will be useless for them to go, if they are beaten by the Ming army again, not only will Guanzhong be lost, but there will be no troops in the Western Regions to suppress it, I am afraid it will also be chaotic.

Sun Kewang glanced at the generals, and they all seemed to accept Zhang Sheng's statement, but Sun Kewang shook his head, "Since this king has brought troops over, how can he return empty-handed?" This kind of thing that consumes grain and grass and has no benefit, this king will not do. ”

His words made everyone slightly stunned, and Li Qichen was surprised: "Lord Wang, is it possible that Guanzhong is defeated, and we still want to march?" ”

The situation in Guanzhong is not good, in order to preserve strength, do not make senseless sacrifices, do not enter the army, if the situation is good, come to the icing on the cake, all the generals understand, but knowing that the situation in Guanzhong is not good, the battle situation is unfavorable, but they want to enter the army, what kind of routine is this? Everyone was a little surprised and puzzled.

Sun Kewang looked at everyone, and then brought out the thoughts in his heart, and asked, "In the past two years in the Western Regions, our army has been invincible, whether it is to the west or to the south, you can do something, but this king is pressuring you and not letting you continue to fight, why do you say it?" ”

"The prince said that because of the lack of soldiers and horses, he has too few people, and he can't manage the big place." Zhang Sheng replied with a fist.

Li Qichen and the other generals suddenly lit up when they heard this, but then they frowned, and couldn't help but say, "Is the prince trying to rob the population?" ”

If the Jin State wins, then the market of the Dongjin faction will be even bigger, and Sun Kewang can only succumb and continue to be the king of Anxi of the Jin State honestly, but if he loses the battle and the Jin State loses Guanzhong, then he feels that there is no need to listen to the Jin court anymore.

Sun Kewang nodded, "Our biggest bottleneck in the Western Regions is that we have too few people and lack talents. If Guanzhong is defeated and Dajin loses Guanzhong, the imperial court will not be able to provide us with cotton cloth, tea, ironware, porcelain and other goods, and if we want to gain a firm foothold in the Western Regions, in addition to making it ourselves, we can only make peace with the Ming Dynasty and resume trade routes. ”

Sun Kewang's meaning is obvious, Jin Guo for him, the biggest interest is that Guanzhong is the starting point of the Silk Road, and many of the materials that Sun Kewang needs come from Guanzhong.

If the Jin State loses Guanzhong, then the Jin State court will only be a bloodsucking burden to him, which will not bring benefits, but will attract the attack of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that at this time, it's just a matter of not helping, and stabbing Jin Guo in turn, which is a bit unkind.

Zhang Sheng nodded slightly, but Li Qichen and the others had very ugly faces, which was tantamount to falling into the well and drawing a clear line with Jin Guo.

Sun Kewang squinted and glanced at everyone, keeping everyone's expressions in mind, waiting for everyone's statement......

Feeling his gaze, the generals couldn't help but tremble in their hearts, lowered their heads, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads......

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(End of chapter)