In the darkness of the night, a fiery dragon still curved and rolled along the mountain roads of the high-altitude Pamirs.

The topography of the Pamir Plateau can almost be compared with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an average altitude of 4,000 meters to 7,700 meters. And the pronunciation of "Pamir" means "roof of the world" in the language of the local alpine Tajiks.

Although the average altitude of the Pamirs is impressive, the difficulty of navigating is not too high. The eastern part of the plateau is relatively open and open, consisting of two northwest-southeast trending mountains and a series of river valleys and lake basins. The western part of the plateau is steeper and consists of a large number of high mountains and deep valleys, and the relative altitude difference between the mountains and deep valleys can reach 2,000-3,500 meters, but there are still many passages that can be entered.

In addition, precipitation in the Eastern and Western Pamirs varies greatly. The eastern plateau will receive very little precipitation because the high mountains block the moist air currents. However, during this period, some basins and river valleys were relatively humid due to the water supply from high mountain snowmelt, and there were large areas of pasture that could be used for grazing.

Thus, after moving from the wetter western plateaus to the open but arid and barren eastern Pamirs. In order to reach the next valley or basin where the horses and accompanying cattle and sheep could be fed, the Gullam and Iqta knights of Sanjar often had to endure the lack of oxygen at high altitudes and the cold winds of the night. Although it was a horseback march, everyone felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, and they were extremely tired.

Sanjar was also in the procession, riding a small highland horse, wrapped in a thick blanket, and holding a very halal flask in his hand, and every now and then he took a sip to warm himself up—nothing compared to defeating an enemy without faith to save the Qarakhanids. Therefore, in order to reduce the attrition when crossing the plateau, Sanjar prepared a large amount of wine when he was in Herat, and gave a little to each of the Ghulam warriors and Iqta knights under his command.

"Kashgar ......," Sanjar whispered to the destination of his trip. Until the last moment of the attack from Herat, he was hesitant to go this way. If it weren't for the fact that his empire was surrounded by enemies and could not allow his army to stay in Herat for a long time, he would have preferred to lay a heavy army in Herat rather than venture across the Pamirs.

However, the current situation was grim, and he could not abandon the Qarakhanid Dynasty, an ally of the Heavenly Sect. Just as Sanjar was waiting for the Khitan prince (Yelu Dashi, a pit man) to answer his request for peace, the heart-wrenching news came from both sides of the Srivijaya Strait.

At the beginning of the year, the Upper Taohuashi Fleet stationed in the Sriwijaya Strait fought a naval battle with the navy of the Chola Kingdom of India near the port of Aceh at the western entrance of the Sriwijaya Strait (historically known as the Second Battle of the Sriwijaya Strait).

According to the report of the secret envoy sent by Pu Abu, who was "lurking" on the side of the Upper Peach Blossom Stone people, in this naval battle, the fleet of the Upper Peach Blossom Stone Kingdom dispatched 55 galleys and 118 armed merchant ships, of which 21 galleys and 81 armed merchant ships were provided by the Tianfang Sect maritime merchants...... This is really something that makes Sanjar vomit blood!

This war was obviously a dog-eat-dog between the two enemies of the Heavenly Sect, the Upper Peach Blossom Stone Kingdom and the Indian Chola Kingdom, but the Celestial Sect maritime merchants who traded in the Srivijaya Strait and the Upper Peach Blossom Stone mainland, including the Pu family, had to attack with the fleet of the Upper Peach Blossom Stone. Because the Hindu Chola navy blocked the port of Aceh and blocked the Sriwijaya Strait...... If the navy of the Chola Kingdom was not defeated, the merchants of the Heavenly Fang Sect would have to wait endlessly on Nanxin Island.

Time is money! Moreover, participating in the war can also divide the spoils, and you can also get a tax-free opportunity to pass through the strait.

Therefore, the maritime merchants of the Tianfang Sect who were stranded in the Three Buddhas Strait almost all participated in the fleet of the Upper Peach Blossom Stone Kingdom. With their help, add the four killer features of Roman Fire, Burst Rocket, Iron Man and Japanese Boy. Naturally, the expeditionary fleet of the Chola Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat, losing more than 100 galleys and 20,000 warriors! In addition, an army of the Chola kingdom was besieged in the kingdom of Katoha at the Krati Gorge...... Regardless of whether they can be saved in the end, the Chola Kingdom, which was once powerful in the Indian Ocean, will definitely be greatly damaged by this time.

And the rule of the Upper Taohuashi Kingdom in the Srivijaya Strait will also become very consolidated. At the same time, the prestige of the Peach Blossom Stone Country will also penetrate into the Indian Ocean.

If Sanjar can't defeat the land forces of Upper Peach Stone from the north as soon as possible. Soon, then, the navy of Peach Blossom Stone will have to exert influence on the Indian coastline before he advances into India.

Thinking of this, Sanjar once again looked into the distance, and then the moonlight, he still saw many mountains, and he was really a little out of sight.

A somewhat impetuous Sanjar asked: "Muhammad, how far is it from Karahu?" ”

An elderly Tajik tribal leader immediately rode forward and replied flatteringly: "I will be there tomorrow morning, and I will have a few days of rest when I get to Karahu." ”

"I don't know what happened to Kashgar?" Sanjar muttered something in a low voice.

This is not a question that the tribal chieftain of the high mountain Tajiks who led the way could answer. One of Sanjar's henchmen, the chief of the Qulam, ibn al-Qulam. Ali immediately stepped forward, "Amir, I went to Kashgar ten years ago, where the strongest walls are strong, and the treacherous Chakmak River is still leaning. As long as Aslan Khan is determined to hold on, it is impossible for the infidels of Upper Peach Blossom Stone to capture it under any circumstances. ”

Sanjar smiled: "There is no city in the world that cannot be captured...... Even Constantinople could be breached, but the attackers didn't find a way to break through the city. ”

"Emir, do you think that the stupid Upper Peach Blossom Stone heretics will be able to find a way to break through Kashgar?"

Sanjar shook his head, "It's not my concern, what I'm concerned about is how these heretic armies could stay near Kashgar for so long?" What do they eat? Sand or dirt? Could it be that Aslan Khan foolishly left a large amount of grain, cattle and sheep for the attacking enemy? ”

……

The same question soon lingered in Aslan Khan's mind.

The distance between the Shache Oasis and the Shule Oasis is more than 300 miles, but it is not a barren area, there are still countless small oases and pastures scattered during the period, and the water source is not very scarce, and there are several tributaries of the Nan Congling River and the Chakmak River that flow into the wasteland between the Shache Oasis and the Shule Oasis. So Aslan Khan also knew that he could not rely on this wasteland to stop the enemy. But he still deployed countless nomadic cavalry in the oases and rivers of the wasteland, trying to find out the reality of the enemy—for months he had been trying to figure out how many Song troops were in the Yache Oasis. The number of people must be amazing! If there are enough enemies, he will have to flee.

However, with the long-term stay of the Song army in the Yache Oasis, Aslan Khan's estimate of the number of Song troops was also continuously lowered.

After all, the abominable infidels also had to eat, and the two oases of Khotan and Shache were so clean that it was impossible for the Song army to find anything to eat - unless they could eat grass!

So before today, although the wasteland between the Shache Oasis and the Shule Oasis was full of smoke, Aslan Khan was still relatively relieved. Because the number of enemies cannot be too large, having 20,000 is enough to drive the logistics line of the Song army crazy.

That's thousands of miles of transit! If there are 108,000 people in front of the enemy, how many people will have to carry grain and drive cattle and sheep in the rear?

But when the mighty march of the Song army appeared in the wilderness steppe south of the Kyakmak River, Aslan Khan's mood seemed to have fallen from heaven to hell.

There are too many enemies! Billowing clouds of smoke and dust were raised across the wasteland, so far as to make Aslan Khan's eyes fall out of his sockets when he tried to count their number.

There is a saying in the army: Ten thousand people are boundless! And the Song army that appeared in front of Aslan Khan's eyes exceeded 10,000, no, 20,000...... There should be at least fifty thousand! The 50,000 armies marched in unison in several ways, and when they gathered in one place, it was as vast as the sea. The black oppressive patch stretches from more than ten miles south of the Chakmak River to the south bank of the Chakmak River. In addition, about 2,000 "Ghulam cavalry", wearing half-body armor and carrying spears on their shoulders, galloped across the sides of the army, and in the rumbling hooves like thunder, they raised not only dust, but also a strong fighting spirit that could not be erased.

"Why are there so many Song Buddhist troops? Father Khan, let's retreat quickly! ”

"Withdraw now? Do you want the Qulam cavalry of the Song Kingdom to chase and kill us all the way and send our father and son to Allah? ”

Ibrahim, the heir of the Qarakhanid dynasty, who was standing at the head of the city, saw that his legs were weak. Fifty or sixty thousand! And at least half of them are in armor! That's the standard of Ghulam and the Knight of Iqtar! With so many gurams and knights, how could the Emperor of the Song Kingdom afford to raise them? How rich should he be?

"But, but, but Father Khan, what do so many of them eat?" Ibrahim quickly thought about eating as well.

But he didn't think of Song Jun in Shache Oasis Tuntian anyway! This kind of thing in Tuntian does not exist in the world of the Heavenly Fangjiao. The Ghulam warriors and the Iqtar knights are both old soldiers, how is it possible to farm on the front line? Neither will they. As for professional mercenaries and nomadic tribal soldiers, although they are not masters, they will not farm at all, but some of the saints mobilized from the countryside will farm. But people are here to go to heaven, so how can they be willing to farm?

"It doesn't matter," Aslan Khan gritted his teeth, "they can't enter Kashgar City, and ...... They certainly don't have much food left, and they certainly don't make it until the fall.

And Sanjar's army is coming! Then will be the end of those infidels! ”

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