A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 314 Shicheng Han General, Letter from Luoyang

"Historically, once Shicheng is destroyed, the Gumo Kingdom will only have its capital Wensu. As long as Shicheng is guarded, even if there are tens of thousands of soldiers from Qiuci and Yanqi in the east, they will never be able to rescue Wensu.

Once Wensu is defeated, only Qiuci and Yanqi will be left in the entire Western Region, and the Western Region can be settled. When the time comes, Chen Duhu will surely be alive in heaven and will be able to rest in peace. "

The speaker was the new captain of Shule and a confidant of King Shule. He once served under Chen Mu as a general of a vassal state and led Shule soldiers.

Although Ban Chao was dressed in military uniform and his face was roughened by years of living in the Western Regions, you could still see the scholarly spirit in him.

But Ban Chao's personality is contrary to his appearance. He is reasonable in dealing with people and treats everyone. He is kind and amiable to everyone. He can get along well with soldiers from different countries. But when it comes to making decisions, he is so decisive. Definitely.

"Although there are nearly thirty-six countries in the entire Western Region, most of them are in the desert. It is not easy to produce these ten thousand soldiers now.

The Qiuci Kingdom and the Yanqi Kingdom were famous big countries in the Western Regions, with a combined total of 12,000 soldiers. After conquering Gumo Kingdom, the soldiers must be exhausted. It would not only be unwise to attack the fortified city with an exhausted army. Still irresponsible to the people of all countries.

The people of all countries have entrusted their fathers, husbands, and sons into my hands, and it is necessary for me, Banchao, to take them home safely.

Moreover, once Qiuci and Yanqi are captured by us, we will face the attack of the Huns. How difficult it will be then. I think the people of the Western Regions are not ready to face the Huns.

In this case, let the big man protect them, but you also know that some bad things happened in the country, which involved a lot of strength and energy of the big man, otherwise His Majesty the Emperor would not have ordered me to return to the country.

Leave Qiuci and Yanqi behind and let them serve as buffers between us and the Huns. When the time comes and the big man is able to take action, I will definitely write to His Majesty the Emperor to request reinforcements. By then, the people of the Western Region will usher in real light.

The Huns, they will be swept into the desert of history. The Han Dynasty will once again dominate the order of the Western Regions. You no longer have to worry about the bullying of powerful and hegemonic countries. "

The generals from all over the world behind Ban Chao listened to his words with bright eyes. This is Ban Chao, their most respected Chief Protector. He really has the interests of the people of the Western Regions at heart.

No wonder the people in their hometown were willing to follow squad leader Shi in the war even if they had to bring their own dry food, because in their hearts, Ban Chao was the real Protector of the Western Regions, even Chen Mu was inferior.

If not for this, after Chen Mu died and the Han abolished the Western Region Protector, so many countries would not still be willing to believe in the blessing of the Han, believing that only the Han could save them from disaster.

In fact, what they believe in is not the big man, but Ban Chao, because in their hearts, Ban Chao is equal to the big man.

"Squad leader Shi, don't worry. The Shule people will always stand behind you. Wherever your sword points, the Shule people will sail to. This is your salvation of the Shule country and the Shule people's promise to you. "

"Yes, squad leader Shi, we believe in you. You can take our Kumi people into your heart and speak out for us. For this reason alone, you are our Kumi people's friend, and the Kumi people will always protect you. This It’s the Kumi people’s decision.”

"The same goes for Khotanese people. You refused to return home to reunite with your family because of us. We Khotanese people are not ungrateful people. We believe in you, so just give the order directly!"

"Please give the order, squad leader Shi." "Please give the order!"

Ban Chao came back to his senses and looked around at the generals of the various countries who were looking at him. These were all those who followed him to Gumo Country after traveling thousands of miles because they believed that he could lead the people of the Western Regions out of pain.

"Okay, brothers, my classmate doesn't want to talk nonsense. If you believe me, I won't let you lose face in front of your hometown people.

Although there are very few oases in Shicheng and can support very few soldiers, I plan to gather 3,000 soldiers in Shicheng to withstand the attack from the east by the Kucha and Yanqi people, so that no one has to worry about being bullied by Kucha and Yanqi.

But just relying on the long-term defense of these three thousand people is obviously impossible. Shule has a large area of ​​green space and can feed a lot of people.

I plan to station five thousand soldiers there to serve as a rear base for rotation with Shicheng, and to prevent Shicheng from being isolated and helpless.

However, this cannot be done by me alone. I need your help. As long as the stone city is not destroyed, you don’t have to worry about the intrusion of Qiuci and Yanqi. This is the promise that my Ban Chao made to you, and I will personally Guard here. "

"Shule Kingdom agrees and is willing to give up part of its land for the coalition forces to garrison."

"If the Shache Kingdom is willing, I can be here and promise squad leader Shi on behalf of His Royal Highness the King."

"Dawan is willing!" "Wusun agrees!" "Khotan is not willing to shrink back, agree!"...

Ban Chao's eyes narrowed: "Everyone, let's see what kind of power the people from the Western Regions will unleash when they unite!"

By unifying the aspirations, soldiers, and resources of all countries, Ban Chao became more confident in safeguarding the leadership of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions.

Sure enough, since the fall of Shicheng, King Gumo asked for surrender. Ban Chao asked King Gumo to abdicate and supported the pro-Han third prince to become the king. After making an agreement with the new king, Ban Chao led his army back to Shicheng without stopping and began to build fortifications here.

The fifth year of Jianchu
February
At this time, Ban Chao had been stationed in Shicheng for two years. The soldiers from the Western Regions stationed here had changed more than five or six groups. By that time, Ban Chao had never left Shicheng.

Every one or two months, Kucha will launch an attack on Shicheng. Every five or six months, Kucha will join forces with Yanqi to launch a major offensive, but they are all repelled by Ban Chao with the strength of the city.

It stands to reason that Yanqi is close to Shanshan State and can attack the southern route of the Western Region from Shanshan State. However, Shanshan State is relatively close to Liangzhou of the Han Dynasty and can receive support from Liangzhou in a timely manner.

Therefore, Yanqi did not dare to make any big moves in the direction of Shanshan Kingdom. He was deeply afraid of attracting the attention of the Han Dynasty, so he prepared to launch an attack from the northern route of the Western Regions together with the Qiuci Kingdom to expand his power.

But Banchao was like a Hutong tree in the desert, so firmly nailed to Stone City that even the poorest 20,000 people from both countries could not break through.

Later, the Huns were invited to attack, but after all, the Huns were not good at siege warfare. After a few battles, they felt that the efforts were not proportional to the gains, so they left.

In the hearts of the Huns, to show off their power in the two countries of Qiuci and get what they want, is it not better than eating sand and arrowheads in Shicheng?
But Qiuci and Yanqi still refused to give up, believing that Banchao was isolated and helpless, and as long as he worked hard, he would take Shicheng sooner or later. Therefore, in the past two years, they were like a watchman, attacking Shicheng on time.

There is another reason, that is, the Huns are about to hollow out their country with their excessive demands, and they are in urgent need of supplementary funds from outside.

The Huns were unable to defeat the Han people, but they were more than capable of defeating people from the Western Regions.

In Stone City, on top of the city full of arrow pits, Ban Chao opened his chapped lips, his hair was scattered, and his red and cracked cheeks were the result of years of high temperatures. But his eyes were different from his image, they were as bright as Two obsidian beads.

The place he looked at was Dahan, a place he had not returned to for several years. The overcast fields, colorful flower clusters, and bright and clear streams were the scene in his dream.

He just stood there, wearing a broken Han armor, holding a chipped Han sword, straightening his spine, standing under the morning sun, he just ended a night battle, and the enemy was leaving in the distance. That is the direction of Qiuci Kingdom.

The breeze blew his hair. This was a Han general living in a foreign country. He led soldiers from a country that did not belong to him and protected the people who looked different from him. This was for the glory of the Han Dynasty.

Suddenly a small black dot appeared in the morning sun in the distance. It was a cavalryman.

"Monitor Shi, this is a letter from the Han Dynasty. A Han merchant in Shule asked me to deliver it to you. He said it was written by your friend."

The visitor was a cavalryman from Shule, specially coming to deliver a message to the man he admired most, Ban Chao.

In the two years since Ban Chao successfully resisted the Kucha people, Ban Chao gained great popularity in the Western Regions. People in the Western Regions all believed that Ban Chao was a general sent by God to save them. Otherwise, how could he have blocked the attacks of Kucha and Yanqi for as long as For two years.

Even the soldiers from the Western Regions who returned from Shicheng rotation told their relatives in their hometown, squad leader Shi, what a hero and what a character he was. Even the Huns could not do anything to him and could only leave his body under Shicheng and then ashes. Sliding away.

Therefore, the people of the Western Regions have reason to believe that as long as Ban Chao is still in Shicheng, they will not suffer the tyranny of the Huns again.

Banchao opened the leather bag tied with a rope. There were two pieces of cloth inside. When he opened one, rows of Chinese characters quietly jumped onto the piece of cloth. They were obviously written with a brush.

"My brother, Zhongsheng, gives you my best regards. It's been a long time since we've been apart, and I'm very fond of you. When will we meet again and climb high and stay together?"

Yao Xiang and his brother worked together as officials in the Situ Mansion, copying documents, and his brother said: "A man is born in the world. Although he does not have any outstanding strategic talents, he should always learn from Fu Jiezi and Zhang Qian who have made great achievements abroad. How can you always make a living doing this kind of writing? '

My colleagues at that time laughed at me, thinking that I was talking crazy, but you said: 'How can ordinary people understand the ambition of a man with lofty ideals and a benevolent person? '

Then he angrily joined the army, followed General Dou Gu to the north, and then invited all the countries in the Western Regions to make great achievements. Every time I think about this place, I can't help but feel passionate.

Today, my brother has made great achievements in the Western Regions, riding horses and swords, opening up territories for our great Han Dynasty, but my brother still bows to the three-foot copywriting. Wouldn't it be shameful for my brother?

Therefore, I would like to learn what my elder brother has done. I want to resign from the two hundred shi of Shangshu Lingshi and go to the Western Regions to help my brother. However, I don't know what to do, which is really distressing.

I have read letters from counties and counties all over the country and saw that the country is now at peace, the border states and counties have stabilized, most of the people have returned to the farmland, and granaries everywhere are being restocked. It is the time for good men to establish their merits, but for What can I do?

Thinking of this, I thought of my brother and hoped that he could point me to a clear path. I also attached the court's attitude towards various resolutions in the Western Regions. Don't worry, they are not secrets. Anyone who cares can know. There is no taboo. It's just a thought. My brother is thousands of miles away and there is no way of communication, so I hope to be able to help him.

My younger brother Bai Zhi wrote at his home in Luoyang on March 21, the fourth year of Jianchu. "

(End of this chapter)