May 23rd is a dark day for the Great Uighur Kingdom.
In the first battle at Sihun River, 7,000 people were beheaded, leaving almost no prisoners.
In the second battle, as soon as the two sides came into contact, they fought for a while. The enemy's hurriedly gathered troops were completely defeated, and more than 3,000 men were beheaded on the spot.
The Xia army pursued them all the way and killed many people.
On the 25th, they pursued him to Jizhuoguan and killed more than 4,000 people along the way.
Here, the pursuing Yang Liang asked some Turkic cavalry to walk and let the horses out, and then continued the pursuit with 2,000 cavalry, 2,000 mounted infantry, and 3,000 Turkic mounted archers.
On the 26th, we finally caught up with Satuk who was outnumbered and exhausted.
A battle of encirclement and annihilation began.
The Turkic cavalry archers took advantage of their mobility and flexibility to gallop freely in the open fields, toying with the Ghulam heavy cavalry who lacked the protection of light cavalry.
It was almost a one-sided massacre.
That night, under the protection of a few hundred horses, Satu Ke took off his armor and stomach, rushed out of the encirclement with more than 200 horses, and disappeared into the vast grassland.
The more than 300 gulams that were left behind were eventually annihilated by the cavalry and mounted infantry of Daxia and Han Dynasties.
At this time, everyone can see that cavalry is better than infantry, and heavy cavalry is better than light cavalry. The most important thing is a reasonable combination of arms and appropriate tactics.
The Gulam heavy cavalry began to practice martial arts when they were about twelve or thirteen years old. They officially formed an army seven years later and have been fighting for at least five years now. In terms of eliteness, they are directly catching up with the Tianxiong army, the most powerful army in Daxia, Yin
The saddle was straight, but did they play out anything? Nothing.
It can be said that their performance on the battlefield is not worthy of their worth at all. But this is the real battlefield. When the army is defeated, all the armies are defeated, and you cannot turn the tide. When retreating, the light cavalry was wiped out in pieces.
, and got separated from the large army. They were teased and bullied by the Turkic herdsmen, and they were slowly played to death.
Is it reasonable? In terms of value, it’s not reasonable at all.
But from a war perspective, this is their inevitable outcome.
After killing Gulam's heavy cavalry, Yang Liang and others rested for a day, and then collected food from nearby villages and tribes.
This kind of dirty work was naturally done by the Rehai Turk Qingqi accompanying the army.
Along the way, Yang Liang also changed his attitude towards Turks and no longer discriminated against them as before.
In the Battle of Sihun River, the Turkic light cavalry charged from behind, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back. Then they defeated the 20,000 people brought by Samani. It was also the Turks' arrows that fell on the enemy's head first, causing their
Crash.
In the subsequent chase to the north, this group of light cavalry was really easy to use, and was much more maneuverable than Daxia's military cavalry.
The Turks have their own uses. Without them, it would be really inconvenient to fight a war. So all the food collection along the way was left to them, so that they could have a good time.
"Yang Dutou, I heard from the messenger that Ogurchak has recruited 40,000 to 50,000 horsemen? Turks, Ge Luolu gave them such face?" By the bonfire at night, Li Siyuan slowly chewed the freshly cooked horse meat.
while asking.
"There are also some Oghuz and Khazar Uighurs. However, these two families did not give much face to the male camel king before. Most of them still did not give face this time. Only a few thousand people took a fancy to the wealth promised by Ogurchak.
Goods, willing to join the expedition." Yang Liang said.
"Isn't that giving money to fight?" Li Siyuan asked curiously.
"It's not surprising. This big Uighur kingdom is inherently loose. During Pang Teqin's period, the Geluolu people could only bow their heads reluctantly. Now that King Gongtuo is here, it's already good enough not to openly rebel. Their map is just a map.
Just for fun, are the many tribal jurisdictions painted above really so obedient?" Yang Liang muttered: "That's how it is on the grassland. Once the prestige of the Great Khan is low, all the places will become alienated. If there is a strong and powerful Great Khan, those tribes who are aloof from each other will
, they were really obedient. Wasn’t that what the Uighurs were back then? Tens of thousands of people from the Uighurs raided the royal court and were immediately destroyed. But 90% of the Uighurs’ territory, population, and military strength were still there, so what was the result? No one can do it anymore
It’s unified.”
"Your Majesty originally thought that Ogurchak would not dare to go south, but he actually came for real. This is really..." The expression on Li Siyuan's face was strange and excited.
"Your Majesty has been wrong about many things." Yang Liang said nonchalantly: "The older I get, the worse I am. I am not as diligent and enthusiastic as I was thirty years ago."
Li Siyuan smiled awkwardly and did not dare to continue.
There are some things that people like Yang Liang can say without any consequences, but he cannot.
"But Ogurchak is so courageous, how can we lag behind others?" Yang Liang grinned and said: "First capture Shule, and then join forces with Ogurchak to attack Bukhanna
.”
"I'm afraid the saint won't agree." Li Siyuan shook his head and said.
Yang Liang frowned, this is indeed very possible.
If there is a conflict with Persia, how long will the war last? It has been more than a year since the saint left Beijing. Is he still willing to continue to struggle here?
According to Yang Liang's observation, the saint is now more interested in relocating people and opening up wasteland for farming, and everything is centered around these things.
Before leaving Yanqi and going south, he also asked Zang Dubao, who was left behind, to make arrangements for the families of the soldiers who came to settle down. The grain harvested this year should not be sent forward in a hurry, but should be reserved for land reclamation.
Looking back at the previous large-scale work in Gaochang and the small-scale digging of wells and canals and land development in Yinzhou, Yang Liang felt even more uncertain.
Although the saint often talks about the four words "Jin Ou is intact", how big is the old territory in his mind? This is a question worth studying.
What if we only recover the four towns of Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule, and Khotan, but not other places?
Don't tell me, this possibility is still quite high. At least it is separated by Tianshan Mountain and Green Ridge, which makes it easier to defend. If the saint finds it troublesome and doesn't want to stay in the west for too long, he will probably stop here.
This happened!
"Don't worry about so much. First rush to Shule and pull out the capital of the Uighurs, and then worry about it." Yang Liang said, "I don't believe it. The Persians are so honest and won't do anything. As long as they stay
If you take the blame, things won't be that simple. Besides, isn't Ogurchak 'helping'?"
"Ogurchak should be helping himself." Li Siyuan said: "He probably doesn't want to lose Shule. The Persians' rule in Bakhna is not strict. Tens of thousands of horses can move in and out quickly, which they may not do.
What's the reaction?"
"There's no hurry." Yang Liang took the knife, cut off a piece of mutton, and said, "We'll go to Shule first."
****
It was sunny on May 28, the fifteenth year of Jianji.
The main force in Khotan had just crossed the Yeduo River (Yarkang River), and after walking for about two days, it was still quite a distance from Shule. However, Li Shengtian himself brought 5,000 light cavalry and more than 1,000 monk soldiers, and prepared extra horses.
Marching quickly all the way.
These people are brutal.
As soon as they entered the territory of the Uighur Kingdom, they started burning, killing and looting for the same reason as the King of Daxia, who wanted to raise food on the spot.
Don't overestimate the morality of people living in desert oasis areas. Due to environmental reasons, materials are not abundant. They are very cruel at heart. They are cruel to their enemies and themselves, otherwise it will be difficult to survive.
Land resources are abundant, but there is only so much water, and only so many people can be fed. If you don't consume a batch regularly, you can cause chaos.
Li Shengtian and others were very careful in their initial robbery.
First, a large number of light cavalry were released to guard from a distance to avoid sneak attacks by the enemy. After being prepared in this way, they began to confidently and boldly plunder goods, cattle, sheep, grain, and even women and children.
During this process, they keenly discovered that the number of young people in the village and tribe was very small, and their ability to resist was very weak. After a short interrogation, they learned that most of the people had followed the leader north to Baluka and have not returned yet.
This news made everyone in Khotan very excited.
Li Shengtian knew that the greater the noise he made here, the greater his support for the main battlefield of Baluka. This was a great opportunity to make meritorious deeds, so he boldly started burning, killing and looting.
Just walking and grabbing all the way, by the time we arrived near Kashgar, it was already the first day of June.
Their arrival was like bad news, plunging the people of Karasha into endless fear.
"Your Majesty." Master Huizhao looked at the noisy city and said, "Karasha is so empty that it will surely come down with a drum."
This Master Huizhao was apparently the real and unknown envoy who had been to the Central Plains. He had made a great contribution to the diplomacy between Khotan and Daxia by launching an "ice-breaking trip".
"When you are away on an expedition, don't call me Your Majesty." Li Shengtian coughed. Although he was surrounded by his own people, it was still better to be careful. How you play behind closed doors is one thing, but you still have to be careful outside.
"Your Highness, please see that the gates of Karasha City are wide open and the wealthy families are fleeing. Apparently they have no intention of resisting. This is a blessing given by God. Why not take it?" Master Huizhao said.
"Master's words make sense." Li Shengtian laughed loudly, summoned two generals on the spot, and ordered them to each lead a thousand cavalry to seize the city gate.
Master Huizhao immediately put his hands together and said good deeds.
"The monks are all brave and good at fighting, but they want to enter the city?" Li Shengtian asked again.
Although the monk soldiers are nominally under his command, in fact they are different from ordinary armies and have a certain degree of autonomy. Unless the military situation is urgent, Li Shengtian will consult the mages for their opinions and will not issue orders directly.
"Your Majesty, please lend me a thousand horses. The monks are all going to Atushi." Master Huizhao said.
"Why are you going to Atushi?" Li Shengtian asked casually without thinking about it.
"Demolish the temple." Master Huizhao replied.
Li Shengtian suddenly realized and said: "I'll lend you fifteen hundred horses. Be careful and don't let thieves take advantage of you."
"It's no problem." Master Huizhao said, "The thieves have been defeated and there is no serious problem."
Li Shengtian looked at the monk soldiers who were well-dressed and armed with spears, axes, and iron rods, and nodded.
It is said that the Great Cannibal was in the river, Bukhanna or even on the grasslands further north. He bought young boys of about ten years old from human traffickers, brought them back and trained them rigorously. Seven years later, he formed an army, named "Gulam", and he was invincible and brave. .
But is the training time for monk soldiers very short? Many of them are novice monks who have been admitted to the hospital since childhood. They are carefully selected and taught martial arts, and their years are also very long.
Every year during the winter leisure period, monks and soldiers from various academies would gather in the capital of Khotan to practice military formations together with the gathered villagers.
The mages are not only kind-hearted but also have angry eyes. Don’t believe it? The Tibetan monks dared to assassinate Zanpu. They were not the peaceful people that most people imagined.
More than a thousand monks and soldiers killed you, and ten temples were demolished by you.
After Master Huizhao left with the monk soldiers, Li Shengtian looked at the Khotan cavalry that had rushed into the city gate and suddenly sighed: Within two years, the two major Uighur kingdoms of Gaochang and Karasha were destroyed one after another, and the Western Regions had really changed.