unclear

Chapter 881 Strong walls and clear fields
Compared with the southern army led by Hong Tao, which was stumbling forward on the plateau, the northern army, which was led by the emperor himself, was advancing rapidly all the way. It took only nine days from leaving Jiayuguan to arriving at Guazhou.

This was the result of Jiang Bi and Lei Lao Hu being so cautious, taking each step carefully, leaving behind no less than a thousand army guards and craftsmen at each step, and not daring to move forward at full speed.

What was strange was that the series of oasis towns along the way were mostly empty except for a small number of local people. Not only were there no people, there was no sign of the army either.

It is said that a month ago, an order was received from the Khan of Turpan. In order to avoid the attack of the Ming army, most of the people and troops moved to Hami. Those who stayed behind were the elderly and the weak who could not run anymore.

"It's been more than a hundred years, and the border fortress has now become a ruin. What a change!"

Jiang Bi did not set up his headquarters in Guazhou Town, but chose an abandoned city more than ten miles southeast. When Sun Chengzong came to inspect in person, he wandered around the abandoned city for a long time before he uttered a specious nonsense, as if he had been there before.

"Does the governor know this city?"

Although Jiang Bi was cautious when leading the army, he was much more skilled than Lei Lao Hu in welcoming and seeing off guests. Upon hearing Sun Chengzong's sigh, he immediately took up the conversation to avoid a dull moment.

"This city was built in the Jin Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Master Xuanzang passed by here when he was seeking Buddhist scriptures and preached in the temple to the east. There are also records from later dynasties that during the Chenghua period, Hami Wei had its government seat set up here. I didn't expect that after a hundred years, this place would be so deserted. What a pity."

Sun Chengzong really wasn't complaining without reason, he just opened his mouth and started talking about a long history, Jiang Bi and Lei Lao Hu stared at each other with wide eyes, looking like they were being taught. There was nothing they could do, they didn't have enough knowledge, they couldn't talk about the past and the present as well as the Jinshi graduate, so they could only listen obediently.

"Why don't we let the craftsmen build the new city here?" Jiang Bi felt that it was a bit rude to listen to the lecture in vain, so he simply made a suggestion.

Anyway, there are few stones and more sand in the Gobi Desert, so it doesn't matter where you build a city. As long as it meets the needs of short-term garrison and basic protection, there are not many rigid requirements in terms of solidity and service life.

To put it simply, these cities or forts are a series of military stations that protect the logistics transportation lines to facilitate the transmission of information while occupying the water sources to prevent the enemy from using them.

"This place has been invaded by the desert. Even if we build a city, it won't last long. Guazhou is the oasis closest to Hami. Its location is very important. We still have to think long-term."

Sun Chengzong not only had a lot of knowledge, but also had a comprehensive grasp of the overall situation. He rejected Jiang Bi's proposal without a second thought and decided to build the new Guazhou City in an oasis further northwest.

"Captain, the army is already here. When should we march? According to local people, all the people along the way were forcibly relocated by the Turpan Khan's army. Even if they send us to get supplies along the way and try to slow down the army's movement by lengthening the supply line, they probably won't send a large army to attack us."

Lei Laohu was not interested in building the city, but was more concerned about how to fight the next battle. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses would consume a lot of food and grass every day they stayed. These food and grass were transported from Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, which was very costly.

He may not have learned the essence of how to fight a war from the emperor, but he has firmly remembered how to save costs. If this drags on for a long time, even if the war is won, it is likely to be a loss.

"Don't worry. His Majesty is planning in Ganzhou and will personally lead the army to Hami. Our mission is just to gain a firm foothold here and cooperate with the craftsmen to repair the city as soon as possible to welcome the emperor."

Sun Chengzong seemed unwilling to talk about this topic any more, so he brought up the emperor and walked down the earthen wall in an official tone, asking as he walked, "Have the scouts discovered the enemy's main force movements in the past two days?"

"Omubu sent out twelve teams of scouts every other day to search in different directions, but found nothing within 50 miles except for some scattered residents and herdsmen.

"The riders that followed us from afar disappeared a few days ago. I heard they went to the north. How about asking Omubu to send more people and expand the range to 100 miles?"

When it comes to the battle situation, Jiang Bi's mind is full of lawsuits. He finally led an army alone, but he ran into trouble as soon as he came out. It's not that there are too many enemies, but that he can't find the enemy. It's really frustrating. He wants to use his strength but can't use it. He doesn't know how to solve it. It's so embarrassing.

"We should maintain the search range of 50 miles and repair the fortifications as soon as possible. Since they want to lure the enemy deep into our territory, we should take advantage of the situation and take steady steps. First, build these forts and ensure smooth logistics, and then plan for more."

Sun Chengzong did not offer any solution and his attitude was very conservative. He even planned to rely on a series of oases from Jiayuguan to Guazhou to fight the enemy.

Well, if we really want to be safe, this is indeed a good idea. Every time a military fort is built, the track will be laid, and it will be pushed forward section by section, and it will take less than two months to reach Guazhou. By then, the transportation cost and quantity will be greatly reduced, and it won't be a problem to spend a few more months.

"I wonder who the Turpan Khan is and why he would resort to such a demoralizing tactic at home."

Lei Lao Hu and Jiang Bi had similar ideas, both wanted to actively seek out the enemy to fight. But now they really couldn't find them, so they couldn't help but think of the instigator and began to inquire about the details.

"It seems that he is a... uh... prince in the Yarkand Khanate, the kind with military power and territory.

According to the intelligence provided by the General Staff, the Yarkand Khanate was not very united internally, and the king was not supported by all the tribal leaders. The Turpan Khan was one of the opponents, and he simply occupied the Turpan and Hami areas and established himself as the king.

This question was a bit difficult for Sun Chengzong to answer. Different from the strategies in Liaodong and Mongolia, the intelligence work for the Western Expedition was very weak. Apart from a small amount of contour maps, he basically had no grasp of the enemy's detailed strength and generals. He didn't even know how many enemies he would face, and he didn't even have a rough idea.

We cannot blame the General Staff for being useless. After all, the Central Plains and the Western Regions have been geographically isolated for hundreds of years, with almost no personnel exchanges, and no common culture, religion, or language. We can only hear relevant bits and pieces from the Tumed herdsmen and U-Tibetan monks, and then analyze and summarize them.

"In this case, the Khan of Turpan must not have many soldiers under his command, and it is very likely that he will not receive support from the Khan of Yarkand, so he dare not fight and has withdrawn all his people back to Hami.

Commander Sun, this should be an opportunity for us, a good opportunity to gather and annihilate them. If we can annihilate their main force in Hami or Turpan, it will be crucial for the next step of advancing into the hinterland of the Western Regions!"

Although Sun Chengzong's explanation was not very clear, let alone detailed, it still aroused a great reaction from Jiang Bi. What is a prince with fiefdom and military power? The Han Dynasty understood this best. In ancient times, there were military governors who divided the territory, and now there is the King of Yan who raised an army to quell the rebellion.

That is to say, if the Ming army attacked the territory of Turpan Khan, Yarkand Khan, who was far away in southern Xinjiang, would probably not send troops to support him, and might even hide aside and secretly laugh. This was equivalent to the Ming Empire sending troops to eliminate the rebellion for him. When brothers were at odds, the foreign enemy was not the key, but the brothers were the ones who deserved death the most!

(End of this chapter)