Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 678 Westward Advance

Although Murong Chui defeated Qiuci, it did not mean that the Western Region was pacified.

Except for the surrender of Yanqi, which was close at hand, other countries continued to resist stubbornly.

The rebellions in Kucha, Zhuohu, Suwen and other countries were not temporary, but had a long-term underlying foundation. The Hu people who fled back to the Western Regions from the Central Plains also hated Daliang.

No one wants to be a grandson these days. The envoys sent by the Han Dynasty often did things like cheating and kidnapping.

Fu Jiezi, who joined the army, killed King Loulan at the banquet and threatened him with his head: Han troops are coming, don't dare to move, otherwise the country will be destroyed!

Loulan was also renamed Shanshan.

What is Shanshan? It means that in the future, you should be more well-behaved and be kind to the big man...

Thirty-six members of Banchao were beheaded from Shanshan to Yuezhi, and they would kill and set fire to others whenever they disagreed...

Now that China is making a comeback, why should they bow their heads if they don't completely defeat them?

What's more, the benefits of the trade route are so great, who wouldn't be jealous?

Soon, the battle report from the Western Regions came again. King Bochun of Qiuci bribed the countries south of the Tianshan Mountains with heavy sums of money and asked for reinforcements. The countries responded one after another and gathered an army of 270,000, known as 500,000, to come to the rescue. Kucha.

Yue Banguo, north of the Tianshan Mountains, also joined the melee and sent 30,000 cavalry south.

"There are so many barbarians?" Li Yue was speechless after reading the battle report.

Counting the powerful tribes and loyal followers, Murong Chui only had 50,000 or 60,000 troops in total, and hundreds of thousands of barbarians came at once...

"A city in the Western Region is a country. All the men in the country are trained in riding and shooting, and they are soldiers on horseback. Governor Murong killed too many people, which aroused the hatred of the Hu people, so they united to resist Daliang." Liu Ying said with a cup of his hands.

"It doesn't matter if they all come, we can cook them all in one pot, so as not to conquer them one by one, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive." Li Yue said nonchalantly.

Liang State has such a large territory and such a large population. After more than ten years, it can only collect 130,000 elites who are accustomed to fighting.

It's not that we don't want to increase the number, but that with 130,000 off-the-job professional warriors, plus their families and war horses, the amount of money and food they consume every year is a terrifying figure.

However, it is meaningless to simply compare military strength in war.

Although the Western Region is rich, it is not easy to come up with an army of two to three hundred thousand.

Hundreds of thousands of people cannot all be well-equipped warriors, and most of this coalition is a ragtag group of people.

"Gu Zang has nothing to do. It will be useless to stay for a long time. I send an order to all the troops to set off for Dunhuang." A battle in the Western Region was about to begin, and Li Yue really couldn't stay idle.

After staying in Guzang for almost a month, I received everyone who should be interviewed.

It’s hard to come to Liangzhou once, and I always want to see everywhere.

Dunhuang is another important military town in Liangzhou and is also a special economic zone. It has a gathering of people and a prosperous economy. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took control of the two passes and established four counties, envoys have been visiting each other on the road and business trips have been endless.

It would be a pity not to take a look.

"Didn't Your Majesty stop at Gu Zang in making promises in the court?" Lu Qing answered.

"Are you their spy? I will go to the frontline soldiers to strengthen their morale and boost their morale." Li Yue scolded with a smile.

I still have 10,000 step cavalry on hand, which might come in handy.

"How dare I..." Lu Qing quickly handed over his hand.

Naturally, no one dared to refuse the emperor's order, but new troubles came.

As soon as the powerful chiefs of various tribes heard that Li Yue was going to march westward, they dragged their families and families with him. They were nominally helping, but in reality they were eating and drinking.

Not only will these people be of no use when they arrive on the battlefield, they will also increase logistical pressure.

Li Yue naturally declined. He could go, and the powerful chiefs could follow him. Forget about the herdsmen under them.

After settling everything, Li Yue headed west with 10,000 cavalry.

The Eight Kings Rebellion and the Yongjia Disaster reduced the Central Plains to ruins, but Liangzhou was still living and working in peace and contentment. The first three generations of the Zhang family managed it well and absorbed a large number of people from the Central Plains. Hexi was prosperous.

To the south are criss-crossed streets, to the north there are flocks of cattle and sheep.

The city stands among snow-capped mountains and green waters. Groups of egrets dot the blue sky. Occasionally, falcons fly by quickly.

This situation makes people's hearts wide open, and they start to admire the great achievements of the Chinese sages. Basically all the fertile land in the eastern land has been captured by them.

The army did not commit any crimes in the autumn, and the people in the cities along the way came one after another to offer cattle, sheep, grain, and cloth, but Li Yue did not accept any of them.

Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang.

Just from these ancient and modern names, Li Yue can feel the domineering and heroic spirit of the Han Dynasty.

Due to the war ahead, a large number of baggage and civilian workers gathered in Dunhuang, making it even busier.

The city is also more exotic than other cities.

The war not only did not interrupt trade, but attracted more merchants, selling everything from Pu Tao wine, fruits, spices, and of course Orchid...

But the most numerous people were monks, both Hu monks and Han monks. They stood by the road and clasped their hands in front of Li Yue's guard of honor.

Before they could rest, the battle report from Kucha was sent.

The bandit army was strong, and Murong Chui formed a camp under Kucha City. The bandit army also learned wisely this time, and did not engage in any fancy ambush. Instead, they besieged on all sides, day and night, and the war was quite urgent.

The key food route was cut off by the enemy.

Many ants bite an elephant to death, but strong efforts can produce miracles.

This is indeed the best way for the Zhuhu coalition forces to take advantage of their military strength.

However, Murong Chui clearly knew that so many enemy troops were invading, and he still camped under Qiuci City, which made Li Yue a little confused.

The enemy's force is strong, so the best option is to retreat to Gaochang, temporarily avoid their front, and shorten the food road.

Gaochang's original name was Gaochangbi. It was the military frontier for the Han army to march into the Western Regions. The city was extremely strong.

There was absolutely no need for Murong Chui to attack and kill fifty or sixty thousand troops.

One day later, a new battle report arrived.

There were only more than 30,000 people trapped, all of whom were Heiyun elites. The Tuyuhun reinforcements, powerful tribes, and loyal followers of various tribes were all placed by Murong Chui on the outside to harass.

In other words, Murong Chui's 30,000 troops faced hundreds of thousands of Hu troops.

If anyone else did this, Li Yue would be so angry that he would vomit blood.

But Murong Chui must have his reasons for doing this.

The older he got, the stronger Murong Chui's military abilities showed, and he was very good at fighting hard and fighting to the death.

In history, he also made many comebacks.

"Since Murong Chui didn't come to ask for help, the situation should be under his control." Li Yueping said calmly.

With the combat power of the Black Cloud Army, if they really want to break through, the barbarians will not be able to stop them.

"The Hu people have hundreds of thousands of horses. They consume a lot every day and they will not last long. Governor Murong is brave and good at fighting. The morale of the soldiers is high. I think there will be good news in the near future."

Liu Ying trusted Murong Chui.

But we’ve come this far, and there’s nothing we can do if we don’t believe it.

Li Yue nodded, Murong Chui reduced his troops and laid off other associate soldiers, probably to save food.

Among the 30,000 troops, there was more than one Murong Chui, as well as Zhang Hao, Liu Laozhi, Lu Guang, Zhuge Kan, Murong Ling and other fierce generals.

Three of the four thousand enemies in Daliang gathered here.

Lu Guang is almost at the level of tens of thousands of enemies, he just lacks a battle to prove himself.

"Your Majesty, there is a monk who has entered the camp and claims to have a strategy for recovering the Western Regions." Lu Qing came to report.

(End of this chapter)