Han Shizu

Chapter 1089 Battle in the Western Regions
On the other hand, the Great War between the Han and Liao Dynasties had a far-reaching impact, and its tragic situation was also spread to the Western Regions, but it was only passed on by word of mouth, which was somewhat distorted.However, some basic understandings are affirmative. The Khitan lost their teachers and land, suffered heavy losses, and suffered civil strife and rebellion. It is time to recover and recuperate.

In this situation, it is not easy for the Khitan people to deal with the powerful Han people, so how could they dare to gather all their troops and go on an expedition to the Western Regions?With such a mentality, one can imagine how the Gaochang Uyghurs prepared for war.

Of course, since there is such news, if there is no reaction at all, wouldn't it appear that there is not enough respect for the Khitan people?Therefore, the Uighur monarchs and ministers issued an order from Gaochang to ask the military and political chiefs of the border towns, especially Beiting and Yizhou, to strengthen their defenses, and then there was no more action.

Naturally, such an order has not received local attention. After all, if Khan and Gaochang's upper-level noble ministers don't care, how can they ask the lower officials and generals to be more vigilant and fulfill their duties?
Therefore, Gaochang is still the old Gaochang, and the border town is still the old frontier town. From top to bottom, there is no slight change, and the atmosphere is not a little tense, let alone armed for battle.

However, after a little analysis, it is understandable that the Xizhou Uyghurs have been in peace for too long after their early expansion.To the east is the Guiyi Army. As mentioned earlier, the Cao family fell in love with each other, and the two parties intermarried. ) dynasty, after experiencing internal reform and turmoil, its national strength has become stronger day by day, but the Saman dynasty suffering from the middle of the river is even more harmless; while the Khotan Kingdom, which is sandwiched between the Uyghur and the Black Khan, can serve as a buffer.

The so-called living in sorrow and dying in peace, in such a comfortable surrounding environment, it is inevitable to slack off, and the appearance of ease can often confuse people's eyes.Therefore, when they heard that the Liao army might march westward on a large scale, their first reaction was disbelief and suspicion.

Of course, if it weren't for the accidental factor of Emperor Liu who forcibly reversed history, then according to the original historical process, the Gaochang Uyghurs could indeed exist comfortably for many years, and they were still in a semi-independent state until the Western Liao period.

Therefore, it is conceivable that when the Liao army crossed the Jinshan Mountain and waded through the quicksand and attacked, the Uighur monarchs and ministers were astonished.Uighur monarchs and ministers know each other, probably like many people, and they stubbornly believe that the Liao capital is far away in the Linhuang Mansion in Modong, and sending teachers and mobilizing people across thousands of miles to attack the Western Regions is too exaggerated.
However, they just didn't expect that the plan for the Western Expedition was proposed four years ago, and it was considered top secret, and they had made sufficient preparations for nearly two years.Except for the [-] palace tent cavalry brought by Yelu Xiezhen from Shangjing, the rest of the soldiers and horses sent were the Naiman, Dadan and other tribes recruited by Mobei and Moxi.

Starting from Moxi and crossing an Altai mountain, is this kind of journey very far for the Khitan cavalry who have been training in the northwest of Liao Kingdom for a long time?

As for the strategic issue of the Liao army, after the internal troubles are pacified, only the rising Han Empire can pose a fatal threat to Khitan.Like the Ding'an Kingdom established by the survivors of Bohai Sea, when you face it squarely, it can barely be called a threat, but when you ignore it, it's not a fart.

After experiencing the bloody battles and civil strife between the Han and Liao Dynasties, if the Liao Kingdom resumes development at a normal pace, it will only be left farther and farther behind by the big Han. The longer the time, the comprehensive strength and war potential of the two sides will widen to a very wide gap.

In this case, is there a more effective way than going back to the old business and plundering resources?As for the direction of external plundering, is it going to continue northward, plundering Gass, going deep into Siberia, and hitting the Arctic Ocean?

Or go east to destroy Goryeo. However, don't you really think that Goryeo is close in front of you, and it is easier to fight, and it is easier than expeditions to the Western Regions?Or seek death, start the war again, and set off the second Han-Liao war?

In a comprehensive comparison, only going west, taking the rich Western Regions as the target of plunder, no matter the geographical environment or wealth interests, is the best target.At the same time, it has the greatest impact on the great Han. No, it has completely affected the views of important ministers and generals such as Chai Rong, Wu Tingzuo, and Wang Yansheng on the westward strategy.

Let’s talk about the battle in the Western Regions. When the Liao army arrived at the Beiting city and launched a surprise attack, the defenders were completely lost. They hardly organized any effective resistance. To what effect, Beiting City easily fell into the hands of the Liao Army.

Taking Beiting City, the Liao army's westward expedition has made a good start. Its progress is smooth and the capture is easy, which is beyond imagination. Of course, the key lies in the sudden sharp arrows of the Liao army and the carelessness of the Uighurs.

Located in the south of Jinshan Mountain, Beiting is the most important town in the north of the Xizhou Uighurs.At the same time, the Liao Army has also gained a foothold in the Western Regions, which is conducive to the next attack.

However, although he was surprised for a moment and was angry at the easy loss of the Northern Court, he was not too frightened, because according to the officials and troops who fled back, the Liao army did not have many troops and did not have any siege weapons. Being able to conquer Beiting was all due to the advantage of sneak attack.

With the subsequent news of the military situation, I have a clearer understanding of the Liao army on the westward expedition.After discussing with the ministers and generals, the Uighur Khan Ugu decided decisively to fight back, and to take advantage of the Liao army's approaching distance and unstable foothold, to send troops to retake the Northern Court.

In the eyes of Uighur rulers and ministers, the Liao army dared to go on an expedition to their own country with only 30,000 people.

Perhaps the thinking of Uighur Khan is that his country and Khitan have been on good terms for a long time, have made constant contributions, and have never neglected etiquette, but now you are coming to beat me.Your Khitan is certainly strong, but you were defeated by the Han army. We Uighurs are also a nation on horseback, and there is no shortage of warriors. Let's compare and see whose army is stronger and whose army is stronger after 40 years. The sword is sharper.

There are only two things that Uighur monarchs and ministers rely on.First, the Khitan’s arrival here is part of an expedition of labor teachers, and they occupy a favorable location and people, waiting for work at leisure; second, Xizhou has a population of millions. What is the concept of a million, it is almost one-third of the Khitan after the Han and Liao wars. It can be said that there are a large number of people, and it is completely possible to arm enough troops, and the Liao army coming from afar can be heaped to death by numbers.

At the same time, they also hope to quickly repel or even destroy the Liao army, so as to restore peace in the country, so as to prevent the country from suffering excessive losses due to the war.
Therefore, the Uighurs quickly mobilized troops from various cities and ministries under their jurisdiction, and went north to gather a part of the Luntai army, a total of more than [-] troops, led by General Gelu, and marched eastward, pointing directly at Beiting City.

On the side of the Northern Court, the Liao army is enjoying the fruits of victory. The hard work of the march has been resolved by the wealth, livestock, and women of the Northern Court. Moreover, they are more enthusiastic about the richer Gaochang and Yanqi areas at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains.

At that time, Yelu Xiezhen was really thinking about his next marching strategy, and hurried down to the Northern Court, which also slightly disrupted his original plan.When he learned that the Uyghur army had come to take the initiative to regain the Northern Court, he was overjoyed and decisively led the crowd to attack.

Even though there were more Uighur soldiers, Yelu Xiezhen did not hesitate at all. The whole army attacked without any intention of using the city to defend against the enemy.He could see very clearly that there were many Uyghurs in Beiting City, and because of the looting and killing by the Liao army, they had a lot of resentment, and it would be a bad idea to defend the city to kill the Uyghurs.

The two sides fought in Zhonggou, sixty miles west of Beiting. After a tentative attack, the Uyghurs actually won. So the Uyghurs took advantage of the victory to pursue, while the Liao army under the command of Yelu Xiezhen retreated while fighting.The Uyghur army pursued hotly, caught up, and entangled, but the final result was a defeat.

The tactic of feigning defeat to lure the enemy has been used rotten in ancient and modern China and abroad, but it is often this seemingly simple tactic that can work wonders. However, it also depends on the person, the command, and how it is operated.The Uyghur army probably felt that, on the field, with a wide field of vision, he had a large number of troops, so he was not afraid of ambushes.Unexpectedly, Yelu Xiezhen used himself as bait to fish, but put the hook a hundred miles away, ambushed the flanking army a hundred miles away from the battlefield, and launched another surprise attack, and killed the Uighurs by surprise. defeat.

In the battle of Beiting, the Liao army killed more than 10,000 people, captured more than [-] people, and captured countless horses, sheep, camels, food, and ordnance, which was greatly supplemented again.On the side of the Uyghur army, the defeated army fled back to Luntai City and stood firm there.

When the Uighur Khan of Gaochang heard this, he was astonished and could not speak. Now he was honest, and hurriedly sent envoys to comfort him, ordered the soldiers to strictly guard, and at the same time replenished troops, food, equipment, and horses.After being beaten severely, he finally learned how to behave. This Liao army is not only powerful in fighting, but also capable of conspiracy.

After feeling that the Liao army in the western expedition was difficult to deal with, Uighur Khan also stopped the quick battle, drove away the thoughts of the Liao army, and turned to conservative warfare.After discussion, the civil and military officials believed that although the Liao army captured Beiting and achieved a small victory, in the Western Regions, after all, it was water without a source, and a tree without roots. A Beiting city was not enough to allow it to stay for a long time.

As long as they guard Luntai, block it to the north of Tianshan Mountain, drag it down, consume it, and when their soldiers are exhausted, they will definitely leave without spending. The final victory belongs to them.

(End of this chapter)