Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1538 Across the Gobi, heading south!
On the Gobi Desert, the sun was scorching hot, and the army marched fast.

Everyone's mouth was parched, and they carefully kept the water in the water bag. If they couldn't stand it anymore, they resolutely refused to take a sip.

Shao Sheng, who was able to take a bath a few days ago, has not taken a bath for several days.I slept alone at night, because I was sweating and didn't scrub, and the smell of the woman was too strong, so I panicked.

But it is not convenient in life, but it is still very pleasant in spirit.

They hadn't met anyone for a long time since Zhu Jin defeated that small tribe.It can be seen that in this dry and rainless place, there are not many nomads.

At the same time, I am also very emotional. Without a businessman who is familiar with the roads to lead the way, it is really difficult to pass through this area-it is said that there are more than ten rivers in this area, but in such a large place, you can run around. Can it really be found before dying of thirst?

When they arrived at Yegan Lake (Arakbo), they sent several messengers to the south.

In fact, as early as June, a group of envoys had already gone south to the Hexi Corridor.But so far no news has been sent back. I don't know if it's because of the long distance or lost in the desert. It's hard to say.

In the place of Yegan Lake, a war broke out in the 25th year of Kublai Khan's reign (1288).Taking advantage of Kublai Khan's lack of time to look around, Haidu led his army eastward, but failed to capture it.

In the Qing Dynasty, it was named Alakpo, and it was located in the right-wing Houmo Banner of Zhasake Tuhan.

Generally speaking, this is a relatively fat place in the Gobi Desert, so the army stayed here for two days to replenish.

Today is the seventh day of July, and it has been more than a month since the expedition.Most of the living materials carried by the army were consumed, and even a lot of vehicles were abandoned because of the lack of replacement parts.

Shao Shude's beard was too long, and he didn't bother to cut it.

The spirits of the accompanying officials and palace people are obviously not as good as they were a month ago, not only physically tired, but also mentally tired.Especially after entering the Gobi Desert, I found that it was not as good as the grassland I walked before, and I was a little disappointed.

On the contrary, some young officials of the Imperial Academy were full of enthusiasm, as if they were frontier poets who went to Luntai and other places in the heyday of Tang Dynasty, inviting friends and singing to each other.

Well, very energetic!

Today, some livestock were slaughtered to give everyone extra meals, mainly the pack horses that got in the way.After entering the Gobi, compared with a camel, it is nothing, and its value plummets.Therefore, the auxiliary soldiers picked some pack horses that had lost weight and slaughtered them. Anyway, there was not so much luggage for them to carry.

In the evening, Shao Shude summoned Yang Jue, head of Lifan Academy, Zhao Kuangning, deputy envoy of Beiya Privy Councilor, Du Hong, Privy Councilor Chengzhi, Chu Zhongye, Minister of Internal Affairs, Secretary Lang Cui, Cui Miao, You Buque, and Liu Que, living room attendant, and other civil officials. And Zheng Yong, Yang Liang, Wang Jianji, Wang Chong and other generals will discuss the next step.

"I sent people to Suzhou last month, but I couldn't contact Zang Dubao. Today I sent people south to Guazhou. The messenger left for half a day, but Xu Hao sent a message from the rear..." Speaking of which, Shao Shude made people open He took a jar of wine and said with a smile: "There are not many stocks in stock. I am in a good mood today. Let's drink it with all the ministers."

"Your Majesty, where has Shuai Zang's army gone?" Yuan Xingqin asked impatiently.

At the end of May, when they received news for the last time, they knew that the vanguard of the South Army had arrived near Guazhou in mid-May.

Calculating at this speed, by the end of May, let alone the vanguard, all the front, middle and rear armies on the South Road should have gathered in Dunhuang.

Dunhuang has accumulated more than three years of food, supplies, and expanded military camps. After ten days of rest here, the morale and physical strength of the army gradually recovered. At the latest in mid-June, it was time to launch an attack on Yizhou (now Hami).King Zhao passed through Yizhou last year, so the fight should not be too strenuous. If all goes well, he will have rested in Yizhou City.

"Zang Dubao has taken Yizhou." Shao Shude didn't give up, saying: "On the fifth day of June, Fu Cunshen and Yang Can led 5000 troops from Dunhuang to the north. Guazhou marched westward and arrived at the city of Yizhou on June [-]th. The bandits went out of the city to fight, but they were defeated and returned. The army besieged the city and attacked fiercely. .Then the troops were divided into four places and ransacked the village. The thieves were shocked and fled."

"Happy!" Yuan Xingqin took the wine bowl, poured it with his head up, and shouted.

"Zang Dubao has so many troops, why did he only send more than [-] troops to attack Yizhou?" Chu Zhongye asked.

"Chu Shaojian doesn't know. Whether it is taking the Dagan Road from Shazhou to go north to Yizhou, or taking the fifth road from Guazhou to Yizhou, it is not easy to travel, and the road is not close. Especially from Guazhou to the west. Mo He Yanqi, it's not easy to go." Zheng Yong explained with a slight smile.

Mohe Yanqi, called Shahe River in ancient times, is "eight hundred miles long, with no birds in sight, no animals below, and no aquatic plants."

When master Xuanzang passed by here, "the food and drink were scorched for four nights and five days, and he would almost perish.".

The desert, Gobi and Yadan landforms of the Liusha River left a deep impression on Xuanzang, and he almost died.

Marching in such a place, there is no need to send too many people, it will only increase the logistical burden in vain.It would be easy to send a small number of elite pioneers (cannon fodder) with enough water and horses, camels and other draft animals to forcibly cross the Gobi and rush to the city of Yizhou.

If the enemy can't hold on, they will rob everywhere.This time the enemy army couldn't hold back, and actually fought in the field, so naturally they are not polite.But Shao Shude still saw the fierce battle from the military newspaper. Ma Sixun, a reckless man, was really reckless.

"I see." Chu Zhongye held up the wine bowl and thanked Zheng Yong.

He is a civil servant, not afraid of losing face.The number of days that the eldest daughter, Mrs. Chu, spends the night with the saint is probably the most in the harem, and no one can compare.The youngest daughter is [-]% similar to her elder sister in appearance, and the saint also likes it very much, but it's a pity that she didn't bring it out this time.

With this relationship, he is afraid of a bird!
"Your Majesty, the Uyghurs must have been greatly shocked when Yizhou was breached. I think that the Pugu clan will probably call up an army to move eastward and try to retake Yizhou. Otherwise, if the eastern barrier is lost, the western state will not be safe." Yang Hu said.

"It should be so." Shao Shude said.

This is the latest news, and the latter has not yet been transmitted.Perhaps Zang Dubao's army has already arrived in Yizhou, and it is not known whether it has fought the main battle with the Uighurs.

The long distance, dangerous environment, and inconvenient news are the main problems faced in this Western Expedition.

Different environments create different war modes.

When conquering Yunnan, most of the army was infantry, and the main problems they faced were the hot and humid environment and diseases.

When conquering the Western Regions, Shao Shude led mainly cavalry and mounted infantry. The main problem he faced was logistics, and the epidemic was not obvious.

"Suppress the bold and starve to death the timid." Shao Shude drank half a bowl of wine and said, "As long as Zang Dubao is wiped out and the whole army is wiped out, the Uyghurs must raise their troops and stand ready. I have made up my mind to go south and north court, swept all the tribes, and then attacked the Uighurs with the army from the South Route.”

If the Uyghurs hadn't been annihilated by the South Road Army first...

******
It is said to be going south, but in fact it is marching southwest.

After leaving Yegan Lake, the army first went west, walking along the southern foot of the Beita Mountains.

The so-called Beita Mountains, also known as Baishan Mountains, are bounded by the Junggar Basin to the west and south, and later known as the Sino-Mongolian Boundary Mountains.The climate in this area is relatively humid, with dense forests, river valleys, and grasslands. For the Xia people who have been marching on the semi-arid grasslands for a long time, it is a rare respite.

Beita Mountain was also the northern boundary of Tingzhou and Yizhou in the Tang Dynasty. Going north from here, passing Jinshan Mountain, is the legendary Jiankun Prairie, the territory of the Miaogas people.

On July [-], Wang Yanzhang climbed up the hillside and looked down at the plain.

He, Zhe Siyu, and Zhu Jin are actually considered pioneers.

As a right-wing Youyi negotiator, he has walked for almost fifty days, and he has been with the noisy sheep all day long, but he didn't fight a battle, which is really unreasonable.

The government soldiers who came with him complained in private, saying that Wang Yanzhang was a man with dark clouds and bad luck.

Zhu Jin destroyed a small tribe and robbed a lot of cattle and sheep, and the brothers were able to sleep with women for a few nights.

Zhe Siyu also attacked and killed a caravan (this...), and got some goods.

They just ate sand along the way and didn't touch anything.

Wang Yanzhang was under a lot of pressure.

Fortunately, transfer today!As the first troops to reach the south of Beita Mountain, they found an enemy pasture.

This pasture is quite peculiar, surrounded by sandy moraines, but there are good aquatic plants within a radius of [-] miles, it is a typical oasis.There is a city in the oasis, which cannot be seen clearly from a distance. It is not very big in general, and it is amazing to be able to station more than a thousand soldiers.

According to the reports from the scouts approaching and reconnaissance, the enemy in the oasis was loosely guarded, and there were many women and children, and not many men were seen, so it was very easy to attack.Wang Yanzhang thought for a long time, and felt that it was time to open the business.

"Do it!" He stopped hesitating, went down the hill, got on his horse, and took out his iron gun.

The morale of the sergeants who had already prepared was greatly boosted.

"Go!" Wang Yanzhang pointed his iron gun and said loudly.

"Catch them!" the sergeants shouted in unison.

The surging wave of cavalry left the foothills and headed south.

Amidst the smoke and dust in the sky, I quickly rushed across the Gobi, and saw the Populus euphratica forest and the lake from a distance.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Arrows fell like raindrops.

The shepherd who was grazing sheep on the grass scrambled and ran towards the horse. After walking a few steps, he staggered and fell down by the stream.

There were also teenagers crying and yelling, but the iron rider came oncoming, and the iron rod hit his face heavily, and his skull was shattered.

Killing always starts inadvertently.

Thousands of cavalry rushed into the undefended oasis like hungry wolves.

The arrow precisely chased the young man.

The saber slashed at the old man with white beard and hair.

The knight with a grinning face bent down and picked up the woman, throwing her across the saddle.

What's more, the soldiers from Liaodong, like hunting wild animals, circled around and drove the fleeing shepherds into a pile.

They galloped around in circles, and when they saw a man in the crowd, they shot an arrow straight at the door.

The Uighurs cried and cried, and suffered heavy casualties.

They never thought that one day they would kill such a fierce enemy from the north, regardless of the reason, they would kill them all at once.

It's hard to die, most of the men in the tribe were taken away, only a few hundred people remained, and half of them lay down after meeting each other, and the rest were chased by the enemy's cavalry, in a state of embarrassment.

The Fengzhou government soldiers who came for subsequent reinforcements rushed into the city wall, dismounted and fought on foot.

The Uighurs who had been organized in a hurry were not opponents at all, and they were defeated by their superb martial arts and skilled team cooperation.From a distance, it looks like a group of strong men are beating children, without any suspense.

The tribal auxiliary soldiers scattered everywhere, gathering up the scattered cattle, sheep, horses and camels so as not to escape.

Only half an hour later, the battle was almost over.

The raid on the grassland was so fast, so bloody, and so cruel!

(End of this chapter)