Yang Fan had no intention of meeting this Lord Zaisang.
He has seen too many Taiji and other things, and he has captured many people who are sweating profusely and sweating a little. It was a little fresh at first, but now they are numb.
After lunch, the army set off again.
After coming out of the desert, the men and horses were very tired. In order to be equal, they rested here for two days. After all, we couldn't leave an enemy army behind us.
In the past two days, all the troops were sleeping. Marching in the desert was not an easy task, and they were all exhausted. If the boots hadn't been made with rubber soles, the soles of their boots would have been exposed.
They dug wells and boiled water here. The whole army took a hot bath and relaxed for a while. Meanwhile, they waited for the unlucky enemy army to come back.
Now after this tragic victory, the Third Pirate Regiment suffered heavy losses. Especially the last infantry formation suffered heavy casualties when it was broken through by the cavalry.
Now the entire Third Pirate Regiment has less than 2,000 fighting troops, so its strength is a bit weak. Adding in the four battalions of civilians, it only has less than 3,500 men.
The losses in this battle were considerable, and many militiamen also died.
Asking them to go to Korla to intercept the Yarkand Khanate seems to be a bit insufficient.
But now Yang Fan doesn't have many troops to mobilize. He will use the Sauron Infantry Regiment that is coming soon at a critical moment. It cannot be placed near Korla and Kanas Lake.
Dabancheng is not only the passage to Tingzhou (Urumqi), but also another mountain pass heading south to southern Xinjiang. From here you can go to Korla and then continue south to Kashgar.
The third pirate regiment is deployed in Korla, and it is best to deploy a strong force here in Dabancheng as their back-up. Only in this way can we ensure nothing goes wrong. After all, this is the retreat of the army.
Yang Fan's first target is the Mongolians in the desert, leaving aside the Yarkand Khanate in southern Xinjiang first.
If the Sauron Regiment is not needed to lead the battle, they need to be stationed in Dabancheng to prevent the Yarkand Khanate from breaking through the pirate regiment and marching to the North Tianshan Road to support the Heshuote people.
Yang Fan thought about it for a long time and finally gave the order.
The four militia battalions that were no longer full were temporarily converted into infantry battalions. They were incorporated into the battle sequence of the third pirate regiment and handed over to Zhao Ting for unified command.
At the same time, Zhao Ting was officially promoted from acting regimental commander to regimental commander. His military rank was promoted from colonel to colonel.
After all, they had just made a great contribution, and their promotion was just as it should be.
After the telegram was sent, the army set off again.
Except for leaving a militia battalion to garrison Gaochang, where they will wait for the Sauron Infantry Regiment that will arrive later and protect the baggage warehouse here, the rest of the troops will continue to move westward.
Dabancheng is very close to Gaochang, only 200 miles away.
To the north of Gaochang Ancient City, less than ten kilometers away is the famous Flaming Mountain Scenic Area.
The Flame Mountain is called "Kiziltag" in Uyghur, which means "Red Mountain".
During the Tang Dynasty, many troops were stationed in Gaochang. This was the hub for the Tang Dynasty to control the North Tianshan Road.
People in the Tang Dynasty used to call it "volcano" because of its hot weather and bright red mountain color.
The bald ridges of Tongshan Mountain in Flame Mountain are barren of grass, and the birds have disappeared.
This is a truly barren land, with not a single hair on it.
Every midsummer, when the red sun is high in the sky, the auburn mountain is illuminated by the scorching sun, and the sandstones scorch and shine, and the hot air currents roll up and rise, just like blazing flames, tongues of fire licking the sky, so it is also known as the Flame Mountain.
The ladies were very surprised by this red mountain.
They have never seen a red mountain before. It is all red for more than a hundred kilometers. It is not too high, with an average altitude of 500 meters, not much higher than the Fragrant Mountain in the imperial capital.
Yang Fan said in his bedtime story:
The Flame Mountain is the hottest place in China. The maximum temperature in summer is as high as 47.8℃, and the maximum surface temperature is as high as 89℃. You can bake eggs in the sand nest.
The ladies were very surprised, and they all expressed their hope to try their own hands at the fun of boiling eggs with sand. They didn't know the difference in taste between eggs boiled in sand and boiled in water.
As soon as he heard about eggs, Xiao Hei, who was lying in his little nest beside the bed in the bedroom, started drooling and wagging his tail wildly.
Because eggs have beautiful fur, the ladies often feed it eggs to make its fur shiny and shiny. With its erect ears, it looks very handsome.
Although the annual average temperature is only 14.5°C, there are as many as 100 days with temperatures above 35°C, and there are even 38 days with extremely hot weather above 38°C.
Ladies, it is a pity that we are here in winter, which is the coldest time of the year.
They lay in the car window and looked at the Flame Mountain in the distance, chattering and discussing the story of Journey to the West and Princess Iron Fan.
"Oh, we came at the wrong time." Xiao Niangpi said with a frown. "Let alone boiled eggs this season, they will probably freeze into ice eggs."
When the ladies were still imagining how hot it would be here in summer, Xiaoyu came in.
"Sir, the large force of the Heshuote people has returned. The vanguard has passed Tingzhou and is only more than thirty kilometers away from us. Orqitu Khan has entered Tingzhou with his large army. You see that they are accelerating their advance.
Seize Dabancheng."
The ladies were all surprised that it happened so quickly. It seemed that Orqitu Khan did not get it in vain.
At least he still understands the importance of speed in fighting.
Yang Fan looked at the map, frowning and thinking.
The terrain of Dabancheng City is special. It is an open space between three mountain ranges. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. However, the area here is narrow and cannot be outflanked.
It is actually not beneficial to cavalry, but is more friendly to infantry.
If you want to fight here, it can only be a head-to-head confrontation.
"Let the servant regiment set off immediately, march quickly, and seize the favorable terrain of Dabancheng in advance." Yang Fan made up his mind.
The Heshuote people are the leaders of the Mongolians in the desert. They have been the leader of the Oirat Alliance for more than a hundred years. They are a tough opponent.
Although the Junggar people led by Batur Hutaiji have somewhat come from behind in recent decades, they do not have the strength to replace the Heshuote people at this time.
Since, if you want to fight, you must first occupy the favorable terrain.
After Zhang Geda received the order, he set off immediately. This morning, they annihilated the participating army, which was the appetizer. They did not need to repair at all. The casualties were very small.
More than 3,600 cavalrymen set off. They were one person and five horses. They took turns riding at full speed. Their riding skills allowed them to jump from horse to horse next to them, without the need to dismount and change horses.
An hour later, the Heshuote's two thousand-man regiments and the servant regiment met head-on in Dabancheng.
The Jiading group took the lead in occupying the higher-lying areas. The Heshuote people were a step late and stopped at the foot of the mountain.
Zhang Qida squinted his eyes and pulled down his goggles.
Yang Fan had flat glass and rubber, so there was no problem in making goggles. The wind and sand in the northwest were very strong, so it was inconvenient not to have goggles. Yang Fan's scouts and special forces were all equipped with goggles.
The wind and sand here are so strong. It's like a fucking vent.