Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 878 Expedition
Saltwater Ditch Fort.

The first of the three most dangerous passes in the ancient country of Kucha in the Western Regions, it is located at the foot of the mountain north of Kuqa controlled by the Khanrut Khanate.

The Yanyangou Valley here is only seven or eight feet wide, and the terrain is particularly dangerous. The Yanyangou Fort is also an important pass on the ancient Tianshan Road, a place that must be contested by military strategists.

After Ming took control of the eastern border, he set out to open up the longitudinal line from Burqin Fort under the Altai Mountains in the north to Kuqa in the south.There is also a horizontal line from Jiayu Guanxi, passing through Yumen and Anxi, crossing Xingxing Gorge to Hami, Turpan, Urumqi, Wusu, and Tacheng, and the other is from Burqin Fort and Bohawksaili , Yemili, Wusu, Yuledusi, Yanqi, Kuqa, and Baicheng are the vertical lines.

The two lines meet at Karawusu, forming a cross passage in the Western Regions.

The Ming army led by Zhu Dadian walked out of the Yuledusi prairie along the Tianshan post road, and arrived at Yanyangoubao in Kuqa, which was the northwest gateway to Baicheng, the northern gateway of Aksu.

After passing this dangerous pass, you can enter Baicheng Oasis.

Baicheng is a medium-sized oasis in Aksu. Between Baicheng Oasis and Kuqa Oasis, there is a small oasis of Heiying Mountain, which is the southern end of Wusun Ancient Road, and there is also an important pass.

Yanyangou is a canyon. On the stone wall on the west bank of the Yanyangou Canyon is the ruins of the former Yanyangou Fort. At this time, the military flag of Ming Dynasty is flying on it.

The emperor personally conquered the Western Regions to destroy Yarkand, and the Ming army fought all the way to Yanqi and Korla, and the westernmost reached Yugul, which is Luntai, where the Western Regions frontier troops guarded in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Further to the west is the site of Aksu Achimboke. Kuqa and Baicheng belonged to the governor of Aksu. According to the agreement, they were given to Lut Khan Oqiertuchechen Khan, but later the Ming army repaired the Tianshan vertical line. At that time, it was repaired all the way to Kuqa.

Oqiertu was defeated and asked the Ming army for rescue. Zhu Dadian immediately sent troops to the west, not only stationed in Kuqa immediately, but also immediately took over the Yanshuigou, a key pass, and repaired and strengthened it here, and directly entered the Baicheng Oasis .

The efficiency of the Ming army is very high.

When the emperor stopped at Luntai and allocated all the oases in Aksu to Jailut, many generals could not accept it. They felt that if they went one step further, the big piece of fat in Aksu would be theirs.

But the emperor still insisted on giving Aksu to Jailut, and later Kashgar was also assigned to him, and the two governors' houses of Khotan and Yarkand were given to Heshuo Tehan.

"We suffered a lot from His Majesty's decision at the beginning, but looking back now, we didn't lose at all." Zhu Dadian looked at the dangerous canyon and Guancheng with fluttering flags in front of him, and said to the generals around him with a smile .

On the road, a multi-ethnic Great Ming West Expeditionary Army is lining up in a long line, winding like a long dragon.

"During the Western Han Dynasty, Princess Jieyou also entered Baicheng Oasis via Yanguan, and then arrived at Wusun Kingdom in the Yili River Valley via Wusun Ancient Road."

Salt water pass is a very small pass in Queligeta Mountain. Only a small number of soldiers and horses are needed to guard this important passage.

When the Ming army entered the Yanqi Basin, Eqiertu had already traveled south from the Ili River Valley to worship the city from the Wusun Ancient Road. It first attracted the main force of the governor of Aksu, and then sent troops to dig ice ladders from the Xiata Ancient Road to cross the Tianshan Glacier Canyon and directly killed them. When we arrived at the Aksu Oasis, we attacked it in one fell swoop, and attacked the west with a beautiful move.

Of course, Oqiertu would not easily spit out the fat in his mouth. The salt water pass is dangerous. If the Ming army wants to seize food, it will inevitably force Oqiertu Khan to turn his face.

At that time, the emperor decided to stop Luntai and digest the Yanqi Basin and Korla Oasis first. Especially in the strategy of the emperor against the Oirat tribes, he first destroyed the most expansive strong tribe, Junggar, which is close to the eastern border. Even if it is eliminated, then Root must be wooed, and they cannot fight on two fronts.

Cooperating with Lute can also stabilize Heshuote in Qinghai-Tibet. They are originally a tribe with two Khanates, and the relationship between uncles and nephews is closer.

The Ming army stopped in Luntai, and later gave Kashgar and Wushi to Oqiertu, which really made this Chechen Khan trust the Son of Heaven very much.

Since then, the Ming Dynasty has settled down to stabilize the eastern border, and Oqiertu has also concentrated on pacifying the newly occupied cities such as Aksu and Kashgar. Those old nobles in Yarkand, big and small, still resisted fiercely, and Oqiertu also plowed repeatedly. Several times, and at this time, the Emperor Ming made another decree to appease these Burkes, proposing that these local Burkes who had been completely disabled, be loyal to Daming, pay taxes to Chechen Khan, in exchange for the court and Lut Khan The court granted them titles, official positions, etc., allowing them to retain a little autonomy.

At the beginning Chechen Khan attacked, suppressed, conquered these Burke lords, and entangled them back. It also cost a lot of money. Da Ming was watching the show and eating melons, and at the same time selling weapons. From here, they bought prisoners of war and slaves, ate the looted grain, livestock, etc. cheaply, and directly led the trade route to Aksu and even Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan.

If Zhu Yihai had been strong enough to grab Aksu by force, he would not only have forced Oqiertu to turn his face, just like Junggar who was forced to rebel, but also had to face the rebellion of local entanglements. With the strength of the Ming army at that time, it was still It will be very difficult.

Looking back now, the people who did rough work and swear words were all from Cholut, and the Ming army was able to gain stability and gains in the back. In the end, those Burke lords who were maimed by Choroot were recruited and conferred by the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. Paying taxes to Lute, but also began to surrender to Ming Dynasty.

The most important thing is that it hasn't been too long now, and now Kucheng and Baiche have all fallen into Daming's hands again. It doesn't cost a single soldier, and he doesn't turn against Chechen Khan, and he doesn't have to face entanglement. Rebellion, the real bargain.

"This is the vision and pattern. Many of our captains can only see what is in front of us. Some generals can see a few steps ahead, but the saint can see farther and longer."

The generals were also very impressed.

They came down from the Yuledusi Grassland and took the longitudinal line of the Tianshan post road specially built by the emperor. Before entering the Kuqa Oasis Plain, what stood in front of them was the area where the Kuqa River rushes down from the mountain pass. It just blocks the way from the northern grassland to the south of Kucha.

This is Lique Pass, one of the three passes. There is a Lique Castle and a Lique Temple.

If you attack hard, it is really too difficult.

But this time when they went south, the soldiers of the Julut Khanate stationed here had already received the order of Chechen Khan and gathered in Aksu, leaving a few old men waiting to welcome the arrival of the Ming army.

As soon as the Ming army came, they directly switched on the switch to greet them, and then handed over the pass and defense, and then went to Aksu.

In this way, one of the three major passes in Kucha fell into the hands of the Ming army, and then they passed the pass and arrived at Kuqa City, which was a big city in the Chagatai and Yarkand Khanates. Ke, which is the highest level of Burke, is the governor.

He also led cities and villages such as Shayar and Posi in the south. Now the Jailut people have also gone west. The local Achimbuk was also conquered by the Jailut before, and then the Ming army came forward to appease him. Those who were awarded official titles had their kneecaps and spine broken long ago, and those with hard bones were either killed by Strangler or fled.

The rest of the bones are much softer, they are the naturalized faction, once the Lute people left, they still greeted the arrival of the Ming army very respectfully.

Food and grass and a lot of tribute were prepared in advance.

Also presented the household registration map and so on.

When meeting with Zhu Dadian, a group of Burkes, big and small, did not forget to tell Daming Jinglue their grievances, saying that the Taiji sent by Lut Khan was too harsh. Before that, they killed innocent people randomly, took people into slavery, and even raced to enclose land. Occupy the house.When the situation was not good, they just abandoned them and ran away. Before leaving, they did not forget to squeeze out a large amount of money, food and livestock, and forcibly took away many young adults.

Zhu Dadian comforted them well.

These Burkes all said that since the Juluts ran away, they would be directly the subjects of Daming and would pay taxes and serve directly to Daming, just like Yanqi. stable.

Although this stability is due to the fact that after the Ming army entered Yanqi and other places, they directly took away all the local entanglements, killed the leaders of the rebellion, and sent the rest to the northeast or southeast as slaves. The Anxi garrison and reclamation soldiers, immigrants as wives, young and old as slaves, even arranged Yanqi to Hami, Hami to Wusu, and Wusu to Yanqi. There are still some, but those with civilian status are those women who married the Ming army and common people, and the rest who stayed in the Western Regions as slaves were all young and old, and all the young and strong who were capable of rebellion were taken away.

Can you be unsteady?
Of course, there are also a very small number of entanglements that are accepted, and there are very few of them, mainly acting as guides, translators and other identities.

Achimbak of Kuqa expressed his willingness to recruit a thousand young and strong soldiers for Ming Dynasty.

As a result, Zhu Dadian refused. Not only did he not need these Kuche to be used as soldiers, he even didn’t want them to be civilian husbands. One of the basic strategies of Ming Dynasty in the Western Regions at this stage is to never use local people as soldiers. Now Anxi’s servants are all Transferred from other frontiers other than the Western Regions.

Daming can't trust them now, unless it is their second generation in the future, those who have received Han education since childhood will be able to gain some trust.

The army, that is the sharp weapon of the country, how can it be given to outsiders.

Zhu Dadian did not accept Kuqa’s native conscripts. Instead, he left Kuqa with a force to take over the city’s defenses and maintain law and order. Chefu's magistrate, magistrate, regiment training battalion commander, Guancheng garrison, etc.

It is clearly ordered that all the original Burkes, big and small, will be under the management of the new officials.

After making arrangements, Zhu Dadian left Kuqa and headed northwest to Yanguan, a canyon pass under Queligeta Mountain between Kuqa and Baicheng.

After passing this pass, enter the territory of Aksubai City, and go north to Heiying Mountain, a small oasis in the northwest of Baicheng, which is the southern end of Wusun Ancient Road.

After crossing this pass, you can go straight to the hinterland of the Ili River Valley.

Liquegeta Mountain lies between Kuqa and Baicheng. Although it is not as tall and precipitous as Tianshan Mountain, it is also insurmountable, and can only pass through a few natural tunnels.

The guards at Yanguan left like the Julut defenders, leaving a few old and weak to wait for the Ming army. After the handover, they also went to Aksu.

The red rocks of the Danxia landform are like red palaces inlaid on the mountainside.

These canyons and passes connect the oases together.

Starting from Kuqa, head northward for 120 miles to arrive at Yanguan Fort, and spend the night in Shuiyangou Canyon. The mutton strips are very delicious, and you can eat a perfect meal and sleep. Sleeping under the Mingjun Fort with the flag fluttering feels very safe. Although it was camping, the small fortress was equipped with cannons, and there were night guards guarding them vigilantly.

At dawn, everyone who had slept enough got up, and the mutton soup that had been boiled all night was ready. It was fragrant and thick, and it was served with freshly cooked tiaozi. It was delicious and satisfying.

After eating enough, continue to set off, and then go northwest for another hundred miles. It is still early when we arrive at the Heiyingshan Oasis. This small oasis has about [-] mu of cultivated land and tens of thousands of mu of grassland. It is the southern end of Wusun Ancient Road.

Originally there were nomad soldiers stationed here, but now they all ran to Aksu, and the Groot people in Baicheng Oasis 150 miles to the west also left. Little Oasis, asked Zhu Dadian to send someone to take over Baicheng, and said that once the Lute people left, some damn bitches would come back and want to make trouble.

While drinking milk tea in the mansion of the local city lord, Zhu Dadian agreed to his request and sent a team and some officials to return to Baicheng with him. According to the original plan of the Yarkand people, he still set up Baicheng County and Baicheng County. Sailamu County.

The Heiying Mountain Oasis, which is called Kayir by the local people, is set as a township under Sailamu County.

When the Jailut people left Heiyingshan Township, Baicheng, and Sailamu, they also forcibly collected a lot of taxes and livestock, and took away many young men.

Zhu Dadian didn't care about this, but accepted the Berkes' request, and announced that Baicheng and Sailamu in the northeast of Aksu would be placed under the direct administration of Ming Dynasty as they wished, and the titles of these Burkes would still be retained, allowing them to Assist the sent magistrates, county lieutenants, regiment training battalion commanders, patrol battalion commanders, etc. to manage and guard the place.

Burkes did not dare to refuse the sudden drop of a bunch of bosses on their heads. The Cholutes left, but the stronger Ming came. In the past, the local hereditary nobles in Yarkand resisted Cholute, and most of them were slaughtered. and the rest fled.

But among those who stayed, there was no one who was stubborn and just wanted to survive. As for the others, they had to give way to survival.

What's more, these people were not big nobles and powerful people, many of them were originally merchants and landlords or young Burkes.

Zhu Dadian appeased these Burkes. Although he disdains these surrenders, he still needs these people to maintain the place for the time being.

Rested overnight in Heiying Mountain City, ready to climb the mountain, and set off early the next morning, entering the Wusun Ancient Road from the mouth of Heiying Mountain. They wanted to cross the hundreds of miles of mountains before the heavy snow blocked the mountain. Along the ancient road, there will be countless rivers, canyons, and cliffs waiting for them.

The team rode horses into the mountains, walked into the mountains under the guidance of the guide, and crossed countless rivers, crossed many canyons, climbed many slopes, and turned over many mountains.

There is a lack of sun in the mountains, and the river is icy cold. Fortunately, riding a horse doesn’t have to go directly to the water. All the way up the river valley, it will soon be dark, and the team camps in the valley for the night, and continues to move forward at dawn.

On the third day after entering the mountain, they arrived at a lake in the mountain. This lake is not big, but it is beautiful and refreshing, like a paradise.

After resting overnight in this alpine lake, we turned into the Kuokesu River Valley.

After walking for another three days, they arrived at a village in the Qiongkushitai River Valley, which is the northern end of the Wusun Ancient Road.

A very beautiful mountain valley, where there is a small Kazakh tribe conquered by the Lutt, living here with herds and beautiful wooden houses.

The Kazakhs were taken aback by the sudden appearance of this large force at the entrance of Hegu Village, and hurriedly blew their horns to notify the tribe.

A group of night-buying cavalry galloped on horseback and directly surrounded the village.

It was really not easy to walk in the valley for six days, especially this season is about to enter winter, the mountains are cold, and there is rain and snow in the middle.

Finally, when we arrived at the wide Pinggu, everyone was in a good mood. Even the wary Kazakh herdsmen felt that they were very kind.

"You are from the Qiongkushitai tribe of Kazakhs, right? We are the Heavenly Soldiers of the Son of Heaven and Holy Khan. We just came from the other side of the mountain to worship the city, so don't panic!"

Except for a few places, the Wusun Ancient Road is impassable in some bad weather and cold winter, and it is often an important traffic artery. Many merchants drive horses and camels to cross the important passage between the Yili River Valley and southern Xinjiang. Tianshan's.

These Kazakhs lived in the valley below the mountain, and of course they knew the Wusun Ancient Road very well, but in this season that was getting deserted, the sudden appearance of a large army still surprised them.

There are many spruce trees in the north of the mountain, growing in clusters in the valley, grassland, spruce, and snow peaks in the distance, Kazakh wooden houses, cattle and sheep, and the army broke the tranquility here.

Herdsmen are wary of them.

These Kazakhs were nomadic in the Ili River Valley before the arrival of the Oirats. Later, the Chagatai, Yarkand and other khanates controlled the Ili River Valley. Many Kazakhs moved westward, and some stayed.

The Yili grassland is huge, and news spreads slowly.

The herdsmen of this tribe didn't even know that their tax-paying Oziertu Khan was defeated by Chuhuer and Kundulun Utaishi Jinong and captured the Ili River Valley. They said that a Heshuot cavalry had indeed arrived not long ago This, but they left after a short stay. When they left, they also took away a lot of their cattle and sheep, butter, felt, etc., and even forcibly took away twenty men.

They were very afraid that the army from the south would come to rob them again, saying that winter was coming and they didn't have much left, so they hoped that they would be merciful.

Zhu Dadian bluntly said that he would not rob them, nor would he pull their strong men. He also took out some salt and tea, saying that he hoped to hire two or three herdsmen as guides in return. Bigger as long as you can ride a horse.

This attitude made the Kazakhs very happy, especially since there was a lot of salt tea, enough to hire many herdsmen guides.

"Where are you going?"

"Ili, the rebellion of Kundu Lun Utaishi of Julute and Chu Huer of Junggar captured Ili. We came to quell the rebellion and restore peace in the Western Regions under the order of the saints."

It was foggy and rainy, and it was still early.

The Ming army exchanged the hard currency of salt and tea for some of the herdsmen's sheep, and directly slaughtered them for additional meals to celebrate the success of crossing Wusun Road and successfully reaching the Ili River Valley. This time the use of troops was only half successful.

A team of Yebushu Qingqiu left the valley in the rain and fog to scout the enemy's situation, while the remaining thousands of horsemen enjoyed a feast of roasted mutton.

Zhu Dadian lived in the patriarch's big wooden house, which was made of pure logs, very strong, and kept warm in winter. He took a bath and changed into clean and comfortable clothes. He was very comfortable, sitting by the stove, burning water Roasting the fire while writing a diary.

These few days on the Wusun Ancient Road, the scenery is very beautiful. Although the season is not right, if it is summer, the scenery is the most beautiful and the road is easier to walk. At this time, it is winter, there is a lot of rain and snow, and there are no beautiful flowers, etc., but this The scenery of the mountains in the Western Regions still left a deep impression on him.

He felt that after the Ming Dynasty controlled Yili, Baicheng, Kuqa, Aksu and other places in the future, this Wusun road should be well renovated and utilized. Fortresses should be set up on both sides of the mountain. This important traffic route is not only beneficial to the military, but also convenient for commerce.

Especially now that the Tianshan post road leads directly to Kuqa, then Kuqa will then go to Baicheng Heiying Pass, which will make the relationship between Yili and the south of Tianshan Mountain closer, and provide a strong support for the imperial court to build a city in Yili and settle troops and immigrants. and convenience.

The Chinese military officer brought a large plate of delicacies, including roasted horse meat buns, large skewers of roasted mutton, stewed mutton soup, hand pilaf, smoked horse intestines, a plate of fried chicken, and a pot of kumiss.

"There are so many, I can't eat this old bone." Zhu Dadian put away the memorial he wrote for the court, and said to the officer with a smile.

"Elder Ge is stronger than us. He crossed Wusun Road in six days, and Elder Ge didn't struggle at all. It's amazing."

"I've been riding horses all the way, and I'm not in a hurry, so I'm not tired." Zhu Dadian looked at the big table and said, "Call the generals to eat together, and talk about the next battle plan by the way."

This big man who was very famous in the Chongzhen Dynasty was able to be active until now, and even still holds a high position, standing in the center without falling. He is indeed very capable. The emperor trusted him, and the most important thing was his ability to handle affairs. Just like now, when he was old, he insisted on personally leading troops to Yili, and crossing the Wusun Road. This is not something ordinary people can do.

After eating delicious food from the Western Regions, Zhu Dadian talked with the generals of the expeditionary army.

"Yeburen sent back the military information. According to inquiries, there used to be a Kundu Lun Utaishi army near here, but it has been transferred to Zhaosu near the upper reaches of the Tekes River. It seems that Oqier Tuhan is not idle. , There was a big commotion on Xiata Road, which attracted the attention of the rebels to the west." A ranger general said.

Zhu Dadian asked, "Have you found out how many rebels are there in Zhaosu and Chater?"

"There are not many people left behind in Kundulun Wutaishi. Now there is a lot of movement in Oqiertu. Not only the people here have been transferred, but even the people left behind by the Ili Khan Court have passed away. The direct subordinates of Kundulun There are about a few thousand people. In addition, there are many Kyrgyz and Kazakhs on the Xiata side. Now some of them have switched to Kundu Lun Utes, and some tribes are unwilling to obey, but they are still forced to recruit soldiers. , there should be more than [-] people in the Xiata Zhaosu area now."

"There are more than ten thousand people, then let's take a stab in the back." Zhu Dadian laughed.

"Jinglue, now that Ili is empty, why not go straight to the enemy's hole and take Ili City first?"

Zhu Dadian shook his head, "Although there is a castle in Yili, don't forget that Lut is a Mongol. It’s just a noble family.”

"In war, the key is to annihilate the enemy's vital forces. We can't startle those 1 people by running away just for the sake of an empty city. First we attack from behind and wipe out this army, and then the empty city will still be ours?"

"A little high opinion."

"This piece of mutton is big and fat, reward you!"

(End of this chapter)