Two Gaochang Uighur officials, Yan Xiushan and Ai Weixiu, one Wen and one Wu, saluted Zhe Yuxun with respect.
Yan Xiushan was very eloquent, and he specially polished his master's words, but the general idea remained the same. It was a century of turmoil in the Western Region, and everyone was looking forward to the return of the Celestial Empire, just like looking forward to the rain after a long drought.
As the head of the Fugu Zhe family, Zhe Yuxun also served as a small warlord for a period of time. He did not comment on Yan Xiushan's polite words. He just listened and didn't need to take them seriously.
You can say good things if you have the words to say them, but how you do them is the key.
He politely asked the two of them to sit down and expressed his welcome. His attitude was friendly and not alienated. Of course he was not enthusiastic either. It was a very normal attitude towards dealing with people. Yan Xiushan observed his words and expressions and secretly understood that the Dayu general in front of him was not easy to fool.
, if you don’t offer something, you won’t get true friendship, so he immediately gave Ai Weixiu a look.
Ai Weixiu stepped forward and said: "On my king's order, I will obey the general's dispatch. My king also said that he will resist the Kara Khanate on the border for your majesty, but if the general needs support, he can send a message to inform him."
Zhe Yuxun knew that Ai Weixiu was coming with a thousand elite cavalry. Before the enemy arrived at the military camp, he used a telescope to see the condition. It was difficult to judge the combat power, but the equipment made his eyes light up.
The cavalry brought by Ai Weixiu are actually armored cavalry. Wearing such equipment, their combat effectiveness will not be much inferior.
Only then did Zhe Yuxun show his kindness and said with a smile: "Dealing with Li Shengtian is not worth the effort. Ai Weixiu can just stay here and watch a good show."
The Western Regions are too far away from Dayu, and the strength of Dayu's court is something that everyone in the Western Regions hears but thinks nothing of.
If you want to conquer the Western Regions, you must use the power of Dayu in this first battle. The troops and horses of the Gaochang Uighurs can be used, but they do not need to be used in this battle to establish their power.
Ai Weixiu didn't say a word, but felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
The three strongest powers in the Western Regions were the Gaochang Uighurs, Khotan, and the Kara Khanate.
Each of the three powers has its own advantages, with the Kara Khanate having the upper hand, but the difference is not big.
Zhe Yuxun showed an attitude that he didn't care about Khotan at all. In other words, would the Yu court have the same attitude towards them, who were one of the top three?
Zhe Yuxun didn't care what Ai Weixiu thought and said: "If you really want to do your part, you can provide some wood. Li Shengtian plans to stay in the west city and our army needs some wood to make siege equipment."
Yan Xiushan immediately answered: "This matter is easy to handle. I will immediately write a letter to my king and arrange for the people to cut down trees at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain. I just don't know how much wood the general needs."
Zhe Yuxun said: "The more, the merrier."
Yan Xiushan understood that as much goodwill as there is wood.
Yan Xiushan and Ai Weixiu expressed their sincerity, and Zhe Yuxun also enthusiastically took the two of them to visit their military camp and led them to watch the training of their troops.
Yan Xiushan and Ai Weixiu each wrote a letter at night, sent it to Shule, and personally handed it to the King of Gaochang Uighurs, the Lion King, who was guarding the border.
The Lion King first opened Yan Xiushan's letter, which said:
"The imperial court of Dayu temporarily refused our assistance, and their intention was obvious. They planned to establish their authority and announce their return with a vigorous battle. Li Shengtian was scheming and saw the intention of Dayu to lure the enemy to fight in the field. He strengthened the walls and cleared the country, preparing to occupy the city.
Defend. The battle to establish Dayu's power will be a difficult offensive and defensive battle. There is no better way to show strength than an offensive and defensive battle. We can well observe the strength of Dayu's army to see if it is as powerful as the legend.
This can be used to determine national policy attitudes.
In addition, Zhe Yuxun asked us to prepare some wood, presumably to make siege equipment, but he did not mention the quantity. He only said that the more the better. I guess he wants to see our sincerity, and I suggest that we try to satisfy it as much as possible."
The Lion King did not open Ai Weixiu's letter immediately, but read it repeatedly, thinking about the situation in the Western Region in his mind, and whispered: "There is an old saying in the East, it is a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk. Then let it go.
Let me wait and see..."
After saying that, he read Ai Weixiu's letter. Compared to Yan Xiushan's analysis of the situation from a strategic perspective, Ai Weixiu's content was purer.
"Your Majesty, Dayu has
He intended to show off his military strength to us, but I didn’t take it seriously. We had done beautiful scenes back then. But when we really looked at it deeply, I was shocked beyond description. If Yu’s army is like tigers and wolves, our army is like a bunch of
Cows and sheep in the sheepfold."
When the Lion King saw this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. He endured the discomfort and continued reading: "The overall military situation of the Dayu court is superior to our army. Their soldiers are equipped with armor and mounts. They are well-equipped and have a rigorous military system.
, which made me unable to help but feel fear. With such an army, how could there be an enemy that could not be defeated?
Watching Ai Weixiu talk about his experiences in detail, the Lion King remained silent for a long time.
In these years, he avoided war everywhere and made good friends in all directions. He connected with Khitan in the upper reaches, Tianzhu in the south, paid homage to the Central Plains in the east, and tied up with Dashi in the west. In addition to these big forces, Tubo, Khotan, Kara Khanate, Guiyi Army, Ganzhou Uighurs, etc.
Small and medium-sized countries also have in-depth exchanges.
When it comes to the wealth of the country, Gaochang ranks first in the Western Uighur Region.
Now that we have money, of course we have to enrich our armaments, buy weapons and armor from the Tubo people, Damascus knives from Dashi, cavalry armor from Khitan, etc...
When it comes to well-equipped equipment, the Gaochang Uighurs are among the best in the entire West.
This is also the reason why their Gaochang Uighurs have established a foothold in the Western Regions. They let Ai Weixiu lead a thousand heavily armored cavalry at their disposal, both to show their sincerity and to show their strength. But now their advantages in this area are different from those of Dayu's army.
The equipment was compared and judged, and the feeling of unwillingness made him feel very uncomfortable.
But so what?
The gap in national strength and the size of the country is difficult to make up.
In fact, even though the technology of the Dayu court was ahead of the times, it did not truly surpass the times.
Armored battle armor, Damascus swords, etc. may be slightly inferior to the heavy cavalry armor and long straight knives of the Central Plains, but they still have super strong defense and can kill people, but the details are much different.
The light cavalry is mainly about speed. Dayu's light cavalry all wear large patent leather armor that is lightweight. In addition to ensuring speed, they are also equipped with Mongolian and Khitan horses that are durable enough and good at running. Each person has a cavalry crossbow, and the weapon is light and lethal.
A sufficient saber. All equipment configurations maximize the characteristics of the light cavalry.
Such a detailed equipment configuration is something that the Gaochang Uighurs would never be able to accomplish.
The news that the Yu court crossed the Sea of Death and entered Khotan soon spread throughout the Western Regions and then spread to the west.
After Ali Musa who retreated from Khotan learned about Li Shengtian's huddled Western City, his heavy expression rarely showed a smile, and he said: "It is said that the Eastern Dayu is rich and powerful, and their imperial army often parades and trains in front of the palace. We
The envoys sent to the east all said that Yu Tian's soldiers could not make enemies, so I asked Seng Wubo, a brat, to test my strength for me." The Seng Wubo he mentioned was Li Shengtian. Li Shengtian's original name was Yuchi Sengwubo, because he called himself "the clan member of the Tang Dynasty."
, was changed to the surname Li. As for Shengtian, it means the holy king of Buddhism.
Ali Musa paused, called the cardinal of the Kara Khanate, and said with some respect: "Sage Loyeloi, the Yu Dynasty in the East has sent troops to Khotan, and their large troops
The Western Region will be unified soon, and Manichaean believers will be spread throughout the Western Region by then."
Loyeloi has served as the Great Food Bishop of the Kara Khanate for many years and has a certain understanding of the history of the East. He knows that the king in front of him is very afraid of the strength of the East. Although he does not agree with it, he has gradually become more and more prosperous in the East.
The Manichaeans were indeed disgusted and bowed to each other: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I have reported the situation of Manichaeans to the bishop. The bishop hates the Catholic Church and Manichaeism the most and will never allow Manichaeism to come back. I plan to
Taking advantage of the invasion of the Western Regions from the East, I applied to the bishop to grant His Majesty the title of Lord of Eastern Qin and launched a holy war."
Loyeloi's eyes were shining. As the representative of the Great Food Law in the East, he would be responsible for ruling the Hui people wherever the jihadist army went. By then, his status in the Great Food Law would rise, and he would be even closer to the true god.
further.
Just when the eyes of the West were focused on the Western Regions, the army led by Li Chuyun rushed to the Western Regions.
Naturally, their large army did not need to take risks. They took the road from Yumen Pass to Gaochang. It was relatively slow, a month and a half late, but there were oases for supplies along the way, and the army successfully passed through the two thousand miles of sand moraine.
but
Li Chuyun went directly south from Gaochang, crossed the Tarim Basin, and arrived at Xicheng, the capital of Khotan. On the contrary, he arrived at the scheduled battlefield earlier than the Zhejia brothers on the eastern front and the Lion King on the western front.
Li Chuyun rode his horse to Gaopo, looking at the relatively majestic capital of Khotan, he narrowed his eyes slightly.
Behind him is Brother Yelvxiu.
Brother Yelvxiu is Li Chuyun's deputy, the second-ranking figure in the army, and his status is equivalent to that of Zhe Yuxun.
"Xun Ning, what do you think?"
Li Chuyun pointed his riding whip at Xicheng and asked.
Brother Yelvxiu's reputation spread far and wide in Khitan, even Li Chuyun from Liangzhou heard about it, but they had no contact with each other.
This time they were ordered to go into battle together, and the two of them marched westward together, discussing the military situation along the way, and it felt like they had met at a late date.
Brother Yelvxiu said: "It is easy to capture this city. The key is how to capture it beautifully."
Li Chuyun nodded and said: "Yes, thousands of pairs of eyes are looking at us now. This battle to establish our prestige cannot be left in our hands. General Zhe and King Gaochang have prepared a lot of wood for us, and we only need to supervise the production of weapons.
Good equipment will allow them to see the power of our army's artillery stones."
Brother Yelvxiu looked at the walls of the capital of Khotan, which were piled up with bricks and stones, and said, "Captain, brother Xiu has a way to break this city." Li Chuyun became energetic and hurriedly said, "Speak quickly."
Brother Yeluxiu's eyes were glaring and he said: "Have you ever heard of thermal expansion and contraction? The bricks and stones in Khotan are extremely strong and cannot be shaken by cannon stones, but they cannot withstand repeated alternations of hot and cold..."
After surrendering to Dayu, Brother Yelvxiu, a general who was more like a Confucian general than the Han people, was able to absorb all aspects of knowledge and became more powerful than the famous Khitan general in history...