The appearance of Persian-style castles is very different from European castles, but the internal structure is similar.
It can be roughly divided into the meeting hall (also used for banquets), the lord's residence (in summer and winter), the library (storing books and manuscripts), the reception room, the small temple of the Creator, the prison, the stables, the armory, and the training ground.
, jewelry room, kitchen and other functional units.
Sartuk is just the lord of a small town, and the castle is not big. When dozens of generals and officials sat in the meeting hall, it was already packed - basically everyone came, except for the Feilong Army, which was waiting for Yelik.
After that, he led his army to attack the town of Quba west of Woshi.
The imperial chef prepared delicious dishes one after another, which were served to the tables by the palace servants.
The military musicians were cheering nonstop, and the Persian dancers were dancing and posing. The scene was harmonious, just like last year's Gaochang banquet.
"The dancers in Ershi's small place are not very colorful. After we conquer Kesei City, I will have another banquet to enjoy with you all." Shao Shude picked up the wine glass and said, "Drink this glass first."
"Drink this cup to the full." Everyone shouted with joy in their hearts.
Since breaking into Bakhanna, the loot has been considerable.
The soldiers received a lot of goods, mainly leathers, gold and silver coins. As generals, they mainly received exotic handicrafts, gold and silverware.
In addition, Shao Shude also rewarded a horse and two Turkic or Slavic slaves - of course, female slaves.
These things were already driven by the Khotan people to Shule. They would later be transported to Luoyang for everyone to see. The saint defeated the thieves outside and captured a large number of them, which had a miraculous effect on stabilizing the situation.
After drinking for three rounds, Shao Shude put down his glass and pondered.
Everyone seemed to be talking, laughing and having fun, but out of the corners of their eyes they were all looking at the saint. Seeing that the saint seemed to be about to speak, everyone closed their mouths.
The place fell silent.
"I learned from the prisoner officer that there are 6,000 Gulam soldiers in Kesai City, and more than 5,000 Turkic soldiers in Juzhanti. The remaining four big cities each have two to three thousand soldiers." Shao Shude said: "
The news should have reached the west, and you can discuss what to do next."
Everyone was thinking deeply.
Yang Liang cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty, why don't we see how the thief responds first, and Master Wang can show him how to deal with it."
"It's true that you can take advantage of the situation, but there must be an overall strategy, right?" Privy Councilor Yang Yao said: "If the goal is unclear, the battle will be very dangerous. The goal this time is to plunder the wealth of Persia to benefit Anxi. So, what should we do?
How far should we go before we stop? General Yang, I have to remind you that in less than two months, Congling will be snow-capped. By then, the army will be cut off and will not be able to return to Shule.
If you want to return to Anxi, you can only leave Bahanna and take a detour to the north."
"Just go around, what can we do?" Yang Liang glared, not paying attention to the Privy Councilor at all.
"The news about the armies on the north and middle routes has not yet come. If they do not fight well, what will happen to the south route?" Yang Yao asked.
"Two months is enough to penetrate them," Yang Liang said.
Yang Yao shook his head and said: "One and a half months at most, you still have to leave half a month to retreat."
"Privy Yang, isn't one month not enough to fight?" Ma Sixun couldn't help but ask.
"If I were a Persian, I would stand firm and clear the country, wait for reinforcements, and preserve as much military strength as possible. When the king's army retreats, I will pursue it vigorously and may gain something." Yang Yao said expressionlessly: "For the rest of the month, you can
How many big cities can you capture?"
Ma Sixun couldn't help but said angrily: "Then we won't leave. We will fight the Persians here."
"You want to put the saint in a dangerous situation with no way to retreat?" Yang Yao said in surprise: "If you learn that the mountains are blocked by heavy snow and there is no way to retreat, what do you think of the morale of the army?"
"You are so slanderous!" Ma Sixun stood up and said angrily.
"That's enough!" Shao Shude put down his wine glass and said, "It's just a matter of discussion, why bother arguing like a red-faced enemy."
"I know my mistake." Yang Yao, Yang Liang, and Ma Sixun stood up one after another and said.
"Your Majesty, I think we should set a return date first, and then see how the Persians respond, and then make an enemy immediately." Secretary Lang Cuimiao said: "We are making such a fuss, and the Persian governor may not be able to sit still. If he doesn't take any action,
Even if we win the battle in the future, I'm afraid there will be no good harvest. Therefore, there is still a chance to capture one or two big cities. I think it is impossible to capture all six cities."
What Cui Miao meant was that the troops were sent out a little later this year.
Gao Xianzhi had already arrived in Talas in July, but the Xia army's vanguard did not set out until late July, so there was not enough time.
But there's nothing we can do about it. After all, we only defeated Satuk in late June, so it's not too late to go there.
If you stay in Fergana for too long, the enemy will know that you have no way back, which will cause serious problems even if the morale of the army is not considered.
Theoretically, the Persians can mobilize heavy troops and even summon jihad from other places to surround and annihilate you with superior force.
"Your Majesty, I think I will leave by mid-September at the latest." Yang Yao said, "If you are really reluctant to bear the victory, you can send Yang Dutou to lead his troops to stay behind and respond to the other two armies, but the Holy Commander must leave."
As soon as this statement came out, many people looked at Yang Liang and whispered.
Although Yang Liang was brave, he was not a fool. He knew that Yang Yao had beaten him neither lightly nor hard.
"Bang!" Shao Shude slapped the table.
The discussion stopped.
"Ah Chu, you once mentioned the Khorasan Avenue to me. You might as well tell others about the other roads from Ba Khan to Anxi and how to go there." Shao Shude said.
The saint actually gave him a chance to show off. Ah Chu was flattered and immediately stood up and said: "Great Khan, the nearby Khorasan Avenue is divided into two branches..."
With Ah Chu's introduction, everyone roughly understood the direction of the Persian Post Road, the core of which was Samarkand.
Samarkand is an important Persian town and an important commercial city on the Khorasan Highway.
The city is very large, with a castle, an inner city and an outer city. It has four city gates. The east gate is called the "Gate of Qin(s)", which is the Gate of China. The tomb of Qin Jinggong was unearthed in later generations, including
BMWs from Central Asia were buried with them, which shows that foreign countries had access to the Qin State at that time. Ancient India called China ca, which is the pronunciation of Qin. It spread to Arabia and became s, and then to Greece, it became Th.
Of course, as early as the Qin Mugong period, there were records in ancient Indian Sanskrit that China was called "Qin".
After all, it was one of the overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period. It had great influence and was located in the far west. The countries in the Western Regions did not have the conditions to contact other overlords at that time. Therefore, ancient India thought that Qin was the whole of China and ignored Qi, Jin, Chu, etc.
Other countries.
To the east of Qinmen, there is a small town called Zhamin, which is the intersection of Khorasan Avenue. Starting from here, passing through Shashi (Tashkent), Baishui City (Shymkent), Talas (Taraz),
Kubal (broken leaf, that is, near Tokmak) arrived in Upper Nushejan, a total of 86 Farsakh.
Upper Nushe territory is the border of China in the eyes of the Persians, located in the Ili Valley.
Farsakh is a unit of mileage, which is approximately 24 kilometers.
Starting from Zamin, there is another road, that is, passing through Sabat, Juzhanti, Bakhna, Guba, Woshi, and Uzkand, a total of 62 Farsah. After starting from Uzkand, there is
Entering the less developed tribal area, we passed through Aitbash and walked for eight days in total. We also arrived at Upper Nushejan, which is also the end of the Khorasan Avenue.
Overall, the second path is more difficult.
According to the records of the Tang Dynasty, this is actually the Congling Beiyuan route. The core point is Atami (Issyk-Kul Lake), which is also passable in winter.
Zakharov, one of the Russian representatives in the 19th-century "Sino-Russian Treaty on the Demarcation of the Northwest Boundary" and the Consul General in Ili, admitted: "The Chinese own the Issyk-Kul area, which has the most convenient road from Ili to Kashgar.
.”
Therefore, they tried every means to capture Lake Issyk-Kul.
After half of the Ili Valley and Issyk-Kul Lake were gone, military traffic between southern Xinjiang and northern Xinjiang in the Qing Dynasty had to detour through the Tarim Basin, which was very troublesome, and the capital of Xinjiang could no longer be located in Ili.
"Your Majesty, there are many mountain roads here, which are extremely rugged..." Cui Miao said immediately after hearing this.
Yang Yao didn't speak this time.
As a core high-level official, he certainly knew this path. In fact, the saint sent an envoy to take this path the day before yesterday to contact the Rehai Turks.
This road is indeed passable in winter, but in his opinion, it is no problem to pass by a caravan, but it is more troublesome to pass a large army. The queue will be very long, and the surrounding environment is complicated and more dangerous.
Shao Shude also hesitated a little, but he quickly came to his senses.
When marching and fighting, the most taboo thing is to look forward and backward and have unclear goals.
Or make up your mind not to go back at all, and follow the example of the nomadic Khan, fight wherever you go, live wherever you go, and move westward, regardless of casualties, storm the cities of Bakhna and capture them one by one. Even if Persia sends a large army.
In encirclement and suppression, we also contact the central and northern armies to engage in decisive battles with the enemy, which is a stud.
Or simply retreat. What is the purpose of coming this time? Robbery. Persia is not that easy to collapse. Now the harvest is not small. If you rob again, the harvest will be even greater. Just harvest when you can. Don't continue to be trapped.
this place.
If you really don't want to give in, just come early next year and continue to grab it.
The number of robberies increased, and given the rebellion in Persia, they might not be able to bear it. The repeated plundering by the Xia army in Bakhna would also boost the courage of the ambitious people in Persia, and make the great vizier
It was even more difficult for Jaihani to suppress the rebellion.
Quantitative changes produce qualitative changes, this is the truth.
"Here's an order, by September 15th, if there are no big results on the middle and north roads, the entire army will retreat and return to Shule." After thinking for a moment, Shao Shude made up his mind and said: "The property and livestock that have been robbed have been
, slaves, hurry up and send them to Shule. The Khotan infantry don’t have to do other things, they just transport supplies. Without these ten thousand people, I will still fight the war."
"As ordered." Everyone responded one after another.
"Send another group of envoys to Balashagon." Shao Shude added.
And just as he was saying this, outside the city of Kun (Kun, Julan City), a surging wave of cavalry almost filled the space between heaven and earth.
They rushed into the village and eliminated any enemy who dared to resist.
Tens of thousands of men, women, and children were strung together in a string and stumbled into the distance.
They rushed into the market and killed all the merchants, soldiers and people. Everyone robbed several things and smiled happily.
They paraded around the city in demonstration, laughing.
The guard general climbed to the top of the city and looked at the shocking wave of cavalry in the field. One word came to his mind involuntarily: natural disaster!
Then, he looked to the west in the direction of Talas, feeling worried.
He didn't know what was going on over there in Talos, because the news had been completely cut off, not to mention there weren't many troops there. More than 10,000 people were killed, how many could be spared to rescue them?
But - it's not okay to let the enemy plunder the countryside like this. It won't take long, and there will definitely be nothing left in the wild. What will they eat then? When the envoys from Bukhara come, they may even execute him.
Thinking of this, I sighed heavily and had no choice but to give it a try.
The cavalry outside the city are all grassland herdsmen, and they don't even have a few pieces of armor. It's not that they haven't been beaten before, they are still easy to deal with...
