This place is called Wind Erosion Valley by the Han people, and the Uighur people call it "Yadang Devil City".
"Yadang" is the language of the Uighur people, which means "steep mound". This mound was blown out by the wind, and countless mounds gathered together to form a big city.
Late at night, ghosts are screaming.
A small figure got up from the ground, walked to Desuamu, and pulled him.
"Ata."
Desuamu opened his eyes immediately, sat up quickly, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the person running to him was his daughter.
Lying around were their tribesmen, all sleeping soundly because of exhaustion. Only far away, someone stood on the mound to watch.
"Is Amuyi scared?"
"Um."
Amuyi was dressed like a boy, but his face and body were wrapped in cloth strips, only his eyes were exposed, and he nodded timidly.
Desuamu stretched out his hand to wrap up the loose cloth again, and said: "Don't let those blind people see it, and don't talk, you know?"
"I know. I saw that everyone else was asleep, so I dared to talk to Atta."
"Don't be afraid, I will protect you, my daughter who is like a snow lotus."
Another wind blew, and a whimpering sound sounded.
Amuyi became more and more frightened when she heard the terrible whimpering sound, and asked: "Why does the ghost keep crying?"
Desuamu then talked about the legend about this devil city.
"This used to be a beautiful city, and people lived a stable and peaceful life. But as they became richer and richer, they began to indulge in pleasure, fighting and bleeding for wealth, just like..."
Desuamu sighed and glanced at the station of another thousand Mongolian troops not far away. He thought to himself that they were like a golden family with countless wealth.
"Ata, what does it look like?"
"Nothing." Desuamu said, "Where did I say it? Oh, so the god turned into a beggar and warned them that if they didn't repent, they would become beggars like him. But not only failed to persuade them, but they were insulted.
, ridiculed, bullied. In anger, the god turned this place into ruins, and everyone pressed under these stone hills, wailing day and night."
Amuyi said: "How pitiful."
"Is it pitiful?" Desu'amu said: "If someone robs our tribe's livestock, food and grass, and even kills your mother in order to compete for wealth, if the gods also punish them, does Amu'i feel pitiful?"
The girl shook her head and lowered her voice.
"Ata, I miss Ana so much."
Desuamu nodded, also missing his dead wife...
The father and daughter spoke in Uighur language in such a low voice.
Maybe Desuamu revealed a hint of dissatisfaction with Ali Buge and his army, but it didn't matter. Since there would be no gods, this dissatisfaction would not change anything.
Obedience to the strong is the eternal rule of this land.
…
After Desuamu's village was burned down, his tribe became a thousand-man army of Ali Buge.
Men can become warriors as soon as they mount a horse, while women and children march with the army and are responsible for logistics.
But their more important role is to serve as guides, leading Ali Buge's main force to Yumen Pass.
This road follows the Korla River, passes through the edge of the desert, and bypasses Beslopali and Gaochang City from the south.
Some of the 20,000 Xue troops were Orlu who accompanied the army. They also brought the looted wealth and drove horses, camels, cattle and sheep... The speed was not slow, but it was not fast either.
Not to mention anything else, there were nearly 100,000 horses, forming a very spectacular marching scene, like a large tribe migrating.
Hedan's detective horse discovered them.
The greater possibility is that someone around Hedan guessed Ali Buge's marching route.
In fact, it is not difficult to guess that although the Western Region is vast, there are only a few marching routes...along the Hotan River or the Tarim River to Khotan; along the oasis, passing through Besbali and Gaochang City to Yumen Pass, or the Korla River.
Before Ali Bu Ge marched to Lop Nur, Tan Ma had already discovered signs of Kublai Khan's troop mobilization in several directions around him. He sent small groups of troops to break out separately to test the strength of the enemy forces on all sides.
Desuamu was the first vanguard.
Because Brother Ali did not trust his loyalty, he sent another thousand-man team to accompany him. The captain's name was Tuolifa.
Tuolifa left his Orlu in the main force, but allowed Desuamu to carry all his troops.
They had two purposes. One was to test whether Kublai Khan's troops and horses were blocking the road leading to Yumen Pass; the other was to see if there was a possibility of a direct surprise attack on Yumen Pass.
But there is no mention of how to break through Yumen Pass. This area is very desolate, and even arrow feed is hard to find.
Two thousand people walked eastward for nearly 500 miles and encountered three thousand Vighurs, but they were the troops of King Huo Chihaer of Gaochang.
The two sides fought for a round, and as the sky gradually darkened, Desuamu retreated into the wind-eroded valley with his hair off...
Under this situation, he gradually had other thoughts.
He doesn't care who becomes the Great Khan, Ali Bu Ge or Kublai Khan, it doesn't matter to him. He just wants to lead the tribe to live a good life.
Moreover, he was a Uighur, and the person blocking the outside of the Wind Erosion Valley was none other than the Uighur King of Gaochang, Huo Chihaer, the Protector of the Uighurs.
Desuamu decided that as long as Huo Chihaer could defeat Tuolifa, he would lead the tribe to surrender...
The sky is getting brighter.
Desuamu looked down at his daughter who was sleeping on his lap and woke her up.
"It's better to hide in the escort and don't make a sound."
Amuyi didn't dare to speak, so she nodded obediently and ran away.
Desuamu then began to gather his warriors to prepare for battle.
However, King Huo Chihaer of Gaochang did not rush to launch an offensive, but dispersed his troops to guard all directions away from the Wind Erosion Valley, apparently intending to surround them.
Tuolifa didn't intend to give Desuamu a chance to defect.
"Desu Amu, we cannot be besieged here. Huo Chihaer, Kublai Khan's hunting dog, must have reinforcements. We must break out as soon as possible. You are familiar with the terrain, so you can be the vanguard.
"
Before Desuamu had time to reply, he saw the cowardly Xue Jun with bald hair coming over and surrounding his tribe.
Tuolifa said: "During the war, leave all the extra horses, women and children behind, right? This Shigu is very safe."
Only half of Desuamu's warriors had lost their hair, the rest were women and children, and the warriors did not have enough armor.
The weak have no chance to control their destiny.
"You come and find a way to break out, and I will protect them from leaving." Tuolifa said again.
For a moment, Desuamu's eyes flashed with helplessness and anger, but then he behaved very submissively.
"Okay." He responded: "I will be the vanguard and lead us to break out."
Tuolifa patted his shoulder, leaned into his ear, and whispered: "Don't be careful, if you dare to betray, you will be the first to die."
"I am the most loyal subordinate of the noble Khan." Desuamu responded.
He turned around, faced his tribe, and shouted: "Don't panic, warriors, follow me to break through, the Mongolian warriors will protect our women and children..."
In this way, Desuamu gathered the exhausted warriors. They had five hundred horses, and they chose the south and headed for the Wind Erosion Valley.
The reason why we choose the south is because it is the direction of the downwind. If there is a strong wind and sand during the battle, the direction of the headwind will be more disadvantageous.
With no choice, the herdsmen galloped away.
There was the sound of a horn in the distance.
Huo Chihaer's soldiers and horses also discovered their direction of travel and were gathering troops to surround them.
"Kill out!" Desuamu shouted in Uighur language.
"They broke through! Stop them..."
The shouts from the other side were also in Uighur language.
This is very strange.
It is clear that the Mongolian struggle for the throne also involves the interests of the Mongolian kings, but the kings are drinking and having fun, but it is these Uighurs who fight first and bleed first...
"puff."
The arrow pierced the throat of a Uighur man, and blood flowed gurglingly.
His Adam's apple rolled at the end, and he actually didn't know who he had sacrificed his life for until his death.
I don't even know why I'm fighting this war.
"Puff puff puff puff puff..."
There were less than a hundred people on the opposite side, and the missing arrow immediately caused more than twenty casualties to Desuamu's warriors.
Because they have no armor.
"Fire the arrow!"
Uighur commands and screams sounded at the same time.
No one showed mercy to each other because they were of the same race, just like the Mongolian and Han troops showed no mercy when they invaded the Song Dynasty.
Desuamu found that his idea of surrendering to King Gaochang was too naive.
"Kill them! Kill them!" He yelled, taking the lead and charging into the enemy's lines, wielding his machete and slashing, hoping to use his personal bravery to break through before more enemy troops surrounded them.
But more and more enemies are coming.
I don’t know how long they had been fighting, but suddenly a cavalry rushed up and pulled Desuamu back into the formation.
"It's bad! The Mongols drove our little ones ahead as arrow fodder and broke through from the other side..."
Desuamu's mind buzzed, and his face turned pale with fright.
"Go back! Go back!"
"..."
The horse's hooves were so fast that Desuamu, who was covered in blood, finally retreated back to the Wind-eroded Valley and ran northward for a long time.
The sand was blown into Desuamu's wound and became sticky with the blood. The sand became more and more sticky, and gradually stuck together.
The wind and sand also confused his eyes, making it increasingly difficult for him to see what was ahead.
Finally, towards dusk, he saw more than a hundred Mongolian warriors driving away his tribe.
The Mongolian army only had a hundred men, but Tuolifa didn't know where to lead a team of thousands to break out of the encirclement.
At the mouth of the valley further north, the sky was filled with wind and sand, and we could only faintly see rows of enemy troops behind them, perhaps with their bows and arrows drawn.
"woo woo woo woo……"
The cries of ghosts are especially loud on the north side of the valley entrance.
But it's also possible that his driven tribesmen were crying.
"Charge over!" the command in Mongolian sounded.
Soon, the sound of crying was also heard.
Desuamu was whipping the horse with a whip in one hand, and wiping his eyes with the other hand, he saw the Mongolian army riding their horses forward, waving their scimitars and slashing at the tribesmen one by one.
The others were so frightened that they rushed forward.
"Fire arrows!" the Uighur command from further away was carried by the wind.
"Puff puff puff puff..."
Women and children just fell in the wind and sand. Their shouts and deaths could attract more enemy troops and create opportunities for the surrounded Qixue to break out.
These are troubled times where the strong are respected.
The weak can never control their own destiny...
At this moment, Desuamu felt deeply.
"Kill them!"
He raised his knife like crazy and rushed towards the hundreds of Mongolian soldiers.
The knife fell and blood splashed all over him.
But it was too late, they had become fodder for Tuolifa's arrows to attract the enemy, and more and more enemy soldiers were surrounding him.
But Desuamu's tribe was still running towards the mouth of the valley.
He suddenly saw the thin figure in the crowd, being swarmed towards the mouth of the valley.
And the next round of arrow rain is about to strike.
"Amuyi..."
Desuamu stared at this scene with wide eyes.
There seemed to be some sharp sound in the wind.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
Only a few arrows were lost.
The enemy troops on the opposite side seemed to be much thinner.
Desuamu felt a sense of surprise and shouted: "Stop! Stop!"
At the same time, he was also very puzzled...Did the enemy discover the soldiers and horses with hairless hair? Was it because they were both Uighurs that they were merciful?
"You guys stay on guard while the others go back with me..."
Someone was shouting faintly outside the valley, followed by the sound of horse hooves, as if enemy soldiers were running northward.
Desuamu didn't care about this, and tried his best to kill the hundred Mongolian soldiers who were driving away his tribesmen, and stopped his tribesmen before feeding arrows.
Finally, he met his daughter.
"Amuyi!"
"Ata! Wuwuwu..."
"Ata is wrong, Ata doesn't know how to protect you..."
Amid Amuyi's cries, Desuamu wiped his eyes and quickly called for the remaining tribesmen to treat their injuries and rest.
He climbed up a mound and stared out of the valley.
In the distance, dust and smoke billowed, and two groups of soldiers and horses were running wildly towards the small oasis to the north.
The sound of ringing gold became more and more shrill, and the enemy's scouting horses were still shouting. They were too far away, and their voices were very ethereal.