A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1116: Surrounded on Three Sides
At the foot of Mount Dianhe,

A fire was lit on the grassland, and the smoke was rising.

The victorious Tang cavalry could finally take a breath. Everyone was very excited and in no hurry to rest.

After killing cattle and sheep, you should reward yourself well.

They cut red willow branches, strung the chopped beef and mutton into large skewers, and grilled them in front of the willow charcoal fire. Many herdsmen's wives and daughters also came to help cautiously.
They were skilled in slaughtering sheep and milking cows, no worse than the men, and even more skilled than many Tang soldiers. They were very careful.

These Tang soldiers made them both afraid and curious. Before, they also fled in all directions, crying for their parents, but they soon discovered that although the Tang people also tried to stop them from fleeing, they did not kill them.

But they came back again. At first they hid in their tents, hugged each other as a family, cried, full of fear, waiting for despair to come.

In their minds, women and children would become spoils of war in tribal wars, and many women would even be insulted before being abducted.
Sometimes, brutal enemies would even kill boys who were taller than the wheels.

But no one broke into their tent.
No one robbed their property, and no one insulted the women.
No one was hacked at random.

The noisy pasture quickly quieted down.

Even slowly, their men came back, their families were reunited, and they cried bitterly after surviving the disaster.

Shortly after,
Someone came to announce that the Khan had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and the war was over.
The Khan's Fu Li asked young and strong herdsmen to go and assist the Tang army.

Young and strong men from various families were recruited by the Tang army, instead of being captured and killed. They became vassal troops of the Tang army and began to help clean up the battlefield.
The women finally came out of their tents. Some were looking for their lost children, while others began to care for the cattle and sheep.
Some people were carrying buckets and continuing their unfinished milking work.

Everything seemed to be back on track, except that there were more Tang troops on the ranch.

Some of the children were very brave. They looked at the Tang soldiers curiously. Their armor was so shiny and their appearance was very different from theirs.

The Golden Tent,

Wu Huaiyu took action.
Yu Gushe first had his bones straightened, then he used medicine.
"It's not serious. Just rest and you'll be well in a hundred days."

Ashinafu did not expect Wu Huaiyu to treat him personally, and he was touched.

"Thank you, Prime Minister Wu."

"You're welcome."

In the golden tent, Wu Huaiyu was the host. He sat high up, while Ashina Fu could only sit obediently below.

"You chose this place as the Khan's Court, which is very good."

The water plants are lush and the scenery is beautiful.

Ashina Fu could only smile bitterly. The grassland in the Yili River Valley was one of the best pastures in the Western Regions and was no worse than the Hetao area in the Central Plains.

During his years in the Western Regions, he had always been in the north of Gaochang. The conditions there were much worse than here, so when he gained power, he moved westward and established his headquarters here because he was attracted by the fertile grasslands.

In addition, Yilishui is also an important node on the Silk Road.
The northern line of the Silk Road, coming from Yiwu Gaochang or from Jinshan, must pass through the Yili River and then go west to the Suiye River. Choosing to build a base here can not only accommodate many tribes to graze cattle and sheep, but also make a lot of profits from the Silk Road trade.

"Qianquan Mountain with Suiye water is better."

Ashina Fu said helplessly.

Qianquan Mountain is the location of the more orthodox Khanate of the Western Turks. Although Yugushe has gained power in recent years, he has not been able to completely conquer the Ten Arrows Tribe. The area south of the Ili River still belongs to Shaboluoyehu Khan, who was supported by the Wunushibi Tribe.

Yehu Khan's thin cloth is Liya Qianquan Mountain.

Qianquan Mountain has been coveted by Ashina for a long time, but unfortunately his dream is now shattered.

He couldn't even defend the west of Mount Dianhe, let alone Qianquan Mountain.

"Which tribe is the closest to here?"

The roasted mutton skewers were brought in, Wu Huaiyu picked up a skewer and started eating. The last time he had a proper meal was in Yiwulu.
After leaving Yiwulu, we were on horseback all day for the past ten days. We didn't make a fire for ten days. When we were hungry, we ate dry milk balls and beef jerky. It was a bit difficult for our stomachs to take it.

The freshly slaughtered fat sheep is delicious when grilled, especially when paired with fresh wild vegetables and mushrooms from the grassland.
More latiaozi.

Being able to eat such food while marching outside is so satisfying that it makes one want to cry.

Yu Gushe was also very hungry. He drank too much last night and ran for his life early in the morning. He ran for a long time but failed and almost lost his life. Although he survived,

But I'm hungry.

The usual grilled lamb skewers, boiled mushrooms, stewed wild vegetables, etc., now taste very delicious and I eat them with big mouthfuls.

Hearing Wu Huaiyu's question,
Put down the knife quickly.
"The tribe closest to Khan Court is the Gongyue tribe."

The Gongyue tribe, also called the Chuyue tribe, was not directly under the Ten Arrows tribe of the Western Turkic khanates. It belonged to a separate tribe of the Western Turkic khanates and was smaller than the Ten Arrows tribe.

But the tribal population is not small, and now there are three major tribes.

"The Gongyue tribe, one of the three tribes of Chuyue, originally roamed in the northern part of Gaochang. Before that, they followed me to migrate westward. I established my headquarters on the banks of the Yili River west of Mount Dianhe, while the Gongyue tribe roamed in front of the mountains in the north. They also built a city, Gongyue City."

The Gongyue tribe followed Yu Gushe and moved westward to the Yili River Valley, between the Shuanghe River and the Yili River, which was a strategic point on the Silk Road. The Gongyue tribe not only lived as nomads, but also learned to trade and established Gongyue City, which soon became a major town where merchants gathered and goods were distributed. Coming from the Shatuo Qi where the Gongyue tribe originally lived was basically the route that Wu Huaiyu took during this westward expedition. He crossed the Black Water, passed through Huangcaobo, the Great Desert, the Small Qi, crossed the Shiqi River, and crossed the Cheling Ridge, and arrived at Gongyue City.

Further west of Gongyue City is Beiting set up by Yugu.

One of the important duties of the Gongyue tribe was to guard the important Cheling pass for Yugu. He was also wondering why the Tang army suddenly descended from the sky.

Why was the Gongyue tribe completely unaware of this?
Could it be that the Gongyue tribe was also suddenly attacked and conquered by the Tang army? But the Gongyue tribe has a Gongyue City, so this shouldn't be the case.

Furthermore, the Gongyue tribe is in Cheling, and there are people grazing and guarding there.

Yu Gushe didn't understand.

Wu Huaiyu ate barbecued meat and mushrooms without answering his questions.
Wu Huaiyu and his team did pass through the Chuyue tribe's territory, but under the guidance of the guide, the vanguard Su Dingfang easily captured Cheling.
Although the Gongyue tribe had arranged people in Cheling, it was not like guarding the Great Wall pass in the Central Plains. They only sent a small tribe to roam there.

At most, it can be regarded as monitoring the mountain pass roads.

Led by a guide, Su Dingfang raided the small tribe. They were unable to stop them and did not even have a chance to report the news to Gongyue City.

After the Tang cavalry captured this small tribe, they successfully crossed Cheling and ignored Gongyue City.

Gongyue City is not a must-go place.
After passing Cheling, there is the vast plain of the Yili River Valley. The Tang cavalry bypassed Gongyue City and headed straight for Beiting set up in Yugu.

Although conventional tactics in general wars do not allow you to simply cross the enemy's cities and fortresses, because doing so will easily lead to a closed-door attack and more easily cut off logistical supplies, so the conventional tactics are to capture cities and territories along the way, so as to have a stable rear and steady supply.

But Wu Huaiyu's battle this time was not a conventional one.

They also faced Turkic nomadic tribes.
His target, Beiting, was not a strong fortress.

Therefore, Wu Huaiyu broke the rules and rushed thousands of miles, ignoring the tribes along the way, even Gongyue City.

Wu Huaiyu didn't say anything.
Yu Gushe thought that the Gongyue tribe had been attacked and broken by the Tang cavalry, and even Gongyue City had been controlled by the Tang army. The more he thought about it, the more he thought so, and even thought that Gaochang Kingdom and Khan Futu City had been destroyed.

The Tang army is definitely not just the 10,000 cavalrymen in front of us.
In Gongyue City, Shuanghe, Yaroschuan, and even in Yide River, there must be a large number of Tang troops, and even troops from the Eastern Turks, Qibi, Tuyuhun, Dangxiang and other tribes who came to assist in the expedition.

Careless.

Yu Gushe sighed, thinking that he was careless after all. He believed the lies of King Gaochang and thought that the Sui Dynasty, which was so powerful, had never conquered the Western Regions. The Tang Dynasty was far less powerful than Daye and would definitely not really come to fight.

Even if an attack really came, it would be difficult for the Tang army to capture it because Gaochang Kingdom and Khan Futu City were guarding the entrance to the Western Regions.

He arranged two great generals, Ashina Ju and Ashina Helu, there, who were sure to be able to hold the place. As long as the Tang army could not break through quickly, he could summon all the troops to attack and surround and destroy the Tang army.

Unexpectedly,
Not only did they send troops, but they also did it so quietly.
We can't blame Helu and his people for being incompetent.
After all, he was approached and defeated silently.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel completely hopeless.

I couldn't help but think of the incident more than ten years ago when we were defeated by the Tang army in Qikou.

"Besides the Gongyue Tribe, what other tribes are there nearby?"

"Tushi cavalry." Feeling powerless, Yu Gushe surrendered completely and told everything he knew.

Yugushe became the Great Khan with the support of the Five Duluks, one of which was the Turkic tribe, whose territory was the Ili River Basin.
"How strong is the Tuqishi?"

“Very strong.”

Yu Gushe told Wu Huaiyu that the Tuqishi tribe had two major tribes, namely the Suogamohe tribe and the Alishi tribe. Because the Tuqishi nomads lived in the Yili River Basin, they were on the front line with the Wunushibi tribe in the west.
In recent years, the Western Regions have been in turmoil. The Wunushibi and Wudulu tribes have been in conflict and confrontation with each other, and have been constantly attacking each other. The Tuqishi fought the most fiercely with them.

Yu Gushe brought Chu Yue and others to the west, which was also a strong ally that the Turks were happy to see.

Thanks to Yugushe's reinforcements, the Turks crossed the Ili River boundary that the two sides had agreed upon and continued to expand southwards, even reaching Jieshan, which is the north of Rehai (Issyk-Kul Lake). They completely occupied the south of the Ili River.
Even tried to seize the north bank of Suiye Water.

Wu Huaiyu listened to Yu Gushe's introduction and combined it with the information he had.
Now he has successfully captured Yugushe's Khanate and captured Yugushe alive, but a problem also arises.

That means their whereabouts must have been exposed.
Not far to the north, the Gongyue Tribe and Gongyue City blocked the way back.

To the west and south, there is the Tuqishi tribe, one of the five Dulu tribes, whose two parts are located in the upper and lower reaches of the Yili River. This means that Wu Huaiyu's 10,000 cavalrymen are now
In fact, it was surrounded on three sides by the Gongyue tribe, the Turgesh Sogamohe tribe, and the Turgesh Alishi tribe. Even not far from the Khan's court, there were people from Yugushe's direct tribes.

"Who is the leader of the Turgesh? What is he like?"

"The leader of the Tuqishi is Heluo Shichuo, one of the five great Chuos of my Dulu tribe, very brave and good at fighting..."

"Do you think Heluo Shichuo is willing to accept the imperial court's call for surrender and submit to the Tang Dynasty?"

Yu Gushe remained silent. Based on his understanding of He Luoshichu, he would not say anything.

Wu Huaiyu understood, but he was not panicked.

"Eat first, then talk after you finish eating."

If you don't accept it, just beat them until they accept it. It's not a big deal.

(End of this chapter)