Han Hai Tang Ergui

Chapter 108 The Last Chance
In King City of Khotan, Zhang Zhao galloped on the streets with all his might.

That is to say, he saw the yellow flag representing the royal family stuck behind him, otherwise the guards would have taken him down on the spot.

When he reached the gate of Taihua Palace, Zhang Zhao quickly reined in his horse, because trespassing in this place was not allowed, and he would have to eat crossbow arrows.

"I am Zhang Zhao, the servant of the Huangmen. I have urgent military affairs to meet the emperor!"

After checking Zhang Zhao's token, the palace guard at the gate saw the anxious nephew of the great sage emperor, and quickly let him in.

In Tonghe Hall, Li Shengtian was looking at a map with his hands behind his back, lost in thought.

On the map, Shule City is drawn no matter how big or small it is. Obviously, the royal family of Khotan definitely put a lot of effort into the study of Shule City.

"What are you doing to see uncle in a hurry? You've made a mess in Dongcheng, and scared the vendors and pedestrians to howl!" Li Shengtian waved his hand with his back to Zhang Zhao, signaling that he didn't need to salute.

"Uncle, son of heaven! Nephew dares to send troops immediately, we can't delay any longer!"

Persuading Li Shengtian to send troops immediately, this is why Zhang Zhao ran back from Weitou Prefecture to meet Li Shengtian non-stop. He didn't even have time to settle down with the Baximi people, so he left everything to his cousin Yin Yaozi.

"Send troops now?" Li Shengtian finally turned around. He frowned and looked at Zhang Zhao suspiciously.

Zhang Zhao knew the level of war readiness!This time Khotan sent out the whole country's soldiers, how could they just send out the troops casually before they were ready?
Zhang Zhao understands this truth, but it is nothing more important than the news Zhang Zhao is currently investigating. Wu Yuan'er and Ma Yaozi captured a Governor's Secretary in Shule City and Zhang Zhao got a shocking news from this population.

That is, Saktu Buglahan's trip to Balasakun this time was not as he had imagined at first, it was just a simple demonstration.

Based on the intelligence collected from Khotan and the guesses of Li Shengtian and Zhang Zhao, it was believed that Saktu Bughra Khan of the Kara Khanate led his troops to Balasagun in order to promote his Bughera Khan (deputy Khan) to Arslen Khan (Zheng Khan).

Because Arslen Khan is the symbol of the supreme leader of the Kara Khanate, and because Saktu originally set the de facto capital in Shule, the old nobles of Balasagun wanted to keep Balasagun's status and For his own interests, he has been reluctant to recommend Saktu as Arslen Khan.

So according to the original estimate, this time Saktu led the army to Balasagon, probably to coerce the old nobles in the city into submission.

But in fact, things are far from that simple. Saktu led the army to Bala Shagun, not simply to force the old nobles to submit, so as to put Arslen Khan's hat on his head, but to force the old nobles to submit. There was a huge rebellion in Shagun.

In this world, apart from the Confucian civilization in East Asia, which is dominated by Han people, religious contradictions are definitely the sharpest and cruelest in any other civilization.

And the Buddhism at this time is different from the Buddhism of later generations, which integrated a lot of Confucianism and other Han civilization thoughts. The Buddhism at this time is actually very violent.

These monks, on the one hand, like to make money, and on the other hand, they like to engage in private arms. The fat monks that Zhang Zhao saw in Li Shengtian's palace recently are the private army of Buddhism, monks!

The monks at this time are not the two images of later generations wearing monk robes and holding crescent shovels. Most of them are no different from the army of normal countries. They are equipped with swords, guns, swords, halberds, bows, crossbows and shields, and their armor rate is still high, because they are rich. .

Moreover, because there is money and no need to farm, Buddhist monks and soldiers are actually a real professional standing army. Otherwise, Wu Zetian would not have built the Dayun Temple in Shule in history. All ethnic groups in Anxi.

This strategy was so successful that even the Tubo people in later generations believed in Buddhism. However, when they attacked the four towns of Anxi, Anxi Buddhism stood on the side of the Tang Dynasty and fought fiercely.

The same is true in Bala Sagon. Saktu vigorously promoted the spread of Tianfang Sect, which has already angered Buddhism.

Under the huge threat, Manichaeism and Nestorianism also united with Buddhism. They united with the old nobles in Balasagun and other places, and prepared to elect a new Arslen Khan.

This is to break the lifeblood of Saktu!
So Camel Khan, the green king of the Kara Khanate, couldn't bear it anymore. He brought an army of [-] troops not to threaten, but to officially start a fight between the two sides.

The secretary said that Saktu Khan had only recently transferred 3000 people and a large amount of supplies from Shule City. According to people who came back from the front line, the two sides of Balasagun had been fighting bloody battles for four months, and corpses piled up in the city. , Both sides fought fiercely, and the battle was extremely fierce.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!The main force of Saktu is trapped in Balasagun, and there are less than 7000 people in Shule City, and most of them are troops with average combat effectiveness like Askar, with the right time, place and people.

But if we still wait a few months according to the current preparations, in case Saktu Khan captures Balasagon, it will be troublesome.

Saktu Bugla Khan can not only obtain a large amount of supplies, but also the title of Arslen Khan.

With this title, Saktu can mobilize the land of seven rivers, which is the generation of Ge Luolu and Oguz in today's Ili Valley.

This place is the fertile land of Anxi. There are [-] to [-] Ge Luolu, Oguz, Uighurs and other tribesmen. Saktu can easily take out [-] to [-] cavalry from here.

With these cavalry, plus Saktu's own tens of thousands of troops, a total of only [-] troops can be brought out. Or should Khotan, which has many infantry and cavalry mostly heavy cavalry, take the lead to fight Shule?

Isn't this the same as my Da Song's army, you can't catch up if you fight, and you can't run if you can't fight!

In fact, Zhang Zhao didn't know that he had inadvertently chosen a very, very good time.

Historically, the Khotan Kingdom and Li Shengtian did not know the true purpose of Saktu's northward trip to Balasagun, so they missed this best opportunity for nothing.

By the time Li Shengtian reacted, Saktu had already captured Balasakon and settled the last powerful Buddhists in the Kara Khanate.

And by virtue of this power, [-] to [-] people in the Land of Seven Rivers were successfully converted to Tianfang Sect.

After this set of BUFF is stacked, the Kara Khanate is already in an undefeated position against Khotan.

In the history of the battle between Khotan and the Kara Khanate, Khotan has always won more than lost, and more victories are great victories.

They once captured Shule twice, and killed Ali Arslan, the great Khan of the Kara Khanate at that time, and later killed the so-called four Yimamu, so that the warriors of the gods were killed like an avalanche .

But these brilliant victories are powerless to reverse the situation!
Because of the combination of Khotan and the Tubo tribes on the Kunlun Mountains, the population in the sixties to 700,000 is already at its peak.

Even with the support of the Gaochang Uighurs, Ganzhou Uighurs, and the Guiyi Army, it is still only possible to mobilize an army of no more than [-] to [-] troops.

However, the Buddhists of Balasakon were completely wiped out, and the Kara Khanate, which also owned the land of seven rivers and Fergana, had a population close to 2 million at its peak.

It is even possible to continuously recruit warriors from Persia, Dashi, and even the Fatimid dynasty on the African continent. Under the call of the religious banner, Karakhan has almost endless supplies.

Therefore, if you want Khotan to stand up to the Kara Khanate, you cannot let Saktu deal with the Buddhists and old nobles in Balasakon.

Because as long as there is the nail of Bala Sagon, the city stuck on the main road of Anxi and Persia, Saktu will not be able to easily obtain the god warriors from the west.

If Bala Sagon does not fall, the [-] to [-] tents in the Land of Seven Rivers, and more than [-] people will not be used by Saktu, and everything can be restored.

(End of this chapter)