Great Wei Overlord

Chapter 1040 Princess Kangju
Chapter 1048 Princess Kangju

The iconic war between Wei and Heda took place in Stone City (now Tashkent) because it is located in the alluvial fan area at the foot of the mountain and has huge pebbles.This is an ancient city with a long history.

As early as the second century BC, a city was built. In the sixth century AD, it was famous for its commerce and handicraft industry, and became a necessary place on the ancient Silk Road.It was first recorded in historical records in the eleventh century AD.This means that the state of Wei began to expand to Central Asia, and the battle was not particularly fierce. When cavalry was fighting, the former overlord of Central Asia.The warrior on horseback unexpectedly discovered that his cavalry was no match for Wei cavalry at all!
After a day's battle, more than [-] elite cavalry fought against the [-]th Cavalry Division of the Wei State Anxi Army (dissatisfied with the order due to injuries and battle losses, and at this time there were about [-] cavalry). Under such circumstances, Heda Wanqi was almost wiped out, more than half were killed, and less than half were captured. The invincible Central Asian overlord suffered the most shameful defeat.

This time, the tentative battle outside the stone city made the Heda people realize the reality. Wei's army is not sheep that they let them slaughter.

The Heda people are the overlords of Central Asia. They attacked the Gupta Empire in the south and invaded the Persian Sasanian Empire in the west. It can be said that in the eyes of the Heda people, they themselves are the most powerful cavalry in the world. Facing the cavalry troops of the Gupta Empire, they Each Heda can easily defeat ten Gupta cavalry, and although the Persian cavalry is more elite than the Gupta Empire cavalry, under the same number, the Persian cavalry still wins less and loses more.

But when they encountered the Wei cavalry, the situation was different.The cavalry of the Wei State is not like the cavalry of the Gupta Empire. The cavalry of the Gupta Empire can barely be called horse-riding infantry, because the standard cavalry equipment of the Gupta Empire is very strange. First of all, all the cavalry is not equipped with bows and arrows, so the cavalry of the Gupta Empire does not have the ability to ride and shoot. , when they encountered the cavalry of the Heda people, the Heda people could easily take advantage of their cavalry and archery and shoot them all.The Persian cavalry is a very normal cavalry, with cowhide armor and shields, as well as bow and arrow equipment. Therefore, although the Heda people have advantages when facing the Persian cavalry, they are very limited.

The Wei State cavalry is different. First of all, the armor of the whole army can basically ignore the shooting of light bows and arrows. At the same time, the armor and folding shield made of fine steel can effectively protect the vital points, and their survivability on the battlefield is stronger than that of the Heda people. There are too many, and the more terrifying people, Wei Jun's standard crossbow machine, can ignore the armor defense of the Heda people within a distance of eighty steps, so the Heda people have suffered a long-lost failure.

With the defeat of the Heda cavalry, Stone City, an important commercial town on the Silk Road, also directly faced the army of Wei State.However, despite the failure of the main force of the Heda people, this made the defenders of the Kangju servant army in Stone City have no intention of fighting. Stone City became the first town that Wei State captured from the Heda people.

Kang Juren looked numbly at the soldiers of the Wei Army who filed in, like outsiders, as if all this had nothing to do with them.Although Kangju Country is the westernmost country in the Western Regions, some people here can speak Chinese.Especially the local nobles, if they cannot speak Chinese and write Chinese characters, they will not be respected by the people around them.

"The ministers of the vassal states respectfully welcome the general of the Shang Kingdom!" Musa, the city guard of Stone City, said, "Now the Heda people have retreated, and there is no more Heda people in the city, but there are countless grains and grass in the city."

The most difficult part of Wei's westward expedition was the transportation of materials. Even if it was to transport a million shi of grain in Chang'an, [-] to [-]% of it would be consumed on the way, and the remaining [-] shi would be enough to burn incense.As the vanguard of Wei Guoan's Western Army, Guo Shiyan has more than [-] troops under his command, and more than [-] Western Region herdsmen. The [-] Western Regions herdsmen are not actually asked to fight with them, but to help the [-]th Cavalry Division transport supplies. .The more than [-] Muqi are a civilian transportation team. Not only do they not have to undertake combat missions, but they also need hundreds of Wei soldiers to protect them.

If the Anxi army can obtain a large amount of food in Stone City, then the Anxi army can arrive here quickly.There is no drag on the baggage, and the pressure on the center is much less.It's not that Wei State can't send a large number of troops into the Western Regions at this time, but the supplies can't keep up. The consumption of more than 80 regular infantry and cavalry of the Anxi Army is already the largest transportation capacity of Wei State.Unless Wei's railway can be built to the Western Regions, at that time, let alone sending [-] troops, even sending [-] troops will not be too much pressure.

Guo Shiyan said excitedly: "Is there really so much food in the city?"

Musa said: "This stone city is an important commercial town on the Silk Road, and there are many materials gathered and scattered here, especially the water and grass here are rich and there are many farmlands, so not only are there a lot of cattle and sheep here, but also grains are piled up like mountains. Just look at it!"

Guo Shiyan said: "Go into the city and look at the mountains of grain!".

Musa led the way and soon came to the first grain cellar. Musa opened the door of the grain cellar himself, and there were indeed grains inside.Musa said: "Stone City is the administrative center of the Kangju Kingdom. All the taxes of the Kangju Kingdom are collected here first, and then transported to Turhostan (the area west of Congling and south of the Amu Darya River). Turokhestan departed, so there is a lot of grain and cattle and sheep here. Although the Heda people brought a lot of wheat and grains when they retreated, they also took away a large number of cattle and sheep. Although they carried all the cattle on the backs They are all loaded with grain, but the grain taken away is at most only [-]% of the grain cellar."

Guo Shiyan looked and looked, touched and touched, even though many of the grains in this granary were old grains, but it made him laugh out loud. Although he did not count carefully, there are at least [-] shi of grain in this granary .Guo Shiyan asked again: "How many granaries like this are there in Stone City?"

Musa said: "There are three granaries in the city, and two large cattle and sheep pens outside the city. There are more than 32 cattle and 38 sheep in the city. There are currently [-] bags of grain in the entire city."

Hearing this, Guo Shiyan laughed and said: "The idiots of the Heda people, before they leave, they should burn all the food with a torch, and now leave it for us as military funds, and they will never rob Kangju again." Don't go!"

Ma Xu was puzzled and said, "How can Heda be so stupid?"

"They are not stupid, but they are too confident!" Guo Shiyan said: "Although there were more than 3 cavalry of the Heda cavalry who fought a few days ago, there were no more than [-] elite cavalry, so this is not their main force. They believe that As long as their main force arrives, they can defeat us. And our Wei army has only less than [-] forwards, and the food is enough for us for three years. So they think, when their main force defeats us, the food will still be theirs Yes, how much can we eat?"

Ma Xu curled his lips and said with a smile: "Even if we can't beat their main army, we will burn down even the Stone City, so that they can't even fall!"

After leaving the granary and coming to the city, Guo Shiyan has already discovered that the Chengshou Mansion and the original palace in the city have replaced the Chinese character plaques at this time.And report to General Liu Ke of Anxi about the materials seized in Stone City. These materials are enough for all the soldiers of the Anxi Army to eat for a year. This will greatly reduce the logistics pressure on the rear and save a lot of money for the center. Next year or the year after, the grain production in the Western Regions will recover by more than [-]%, which can support the Anxi Army's westward expedition.

Seeing Guo Shiyan drafting the victory report, the staff officer was puzzled and said, "General Guo, it's too early to write the victory report now, isn't it?"

"Early? Early what? In fact, the most difficult thing to pacify the Western Regions is roads and food, and the war is secondary." Guo Shiyan said: "When Li Guangli attacked Dawan, he said he had an army of [-]. In fact, this army was A civilian team composed of criminals and refugees is such an army. Dawan also lost in one battle! Without the road, there is no way to fight this battle, and without food and grass, this battle cannot be fought for long. The situation in the Western Regions is actually the same as that of the desert. The north is the same. We can easily defeat them, but we cannot conquer them, so we must be persistent. As long as they don't show up, they can find a place to hide for a while. When we run out of food and grass, we must retreat. At that time, the Western Regions It is still their world. Therefore, if we want to conquer the Western Regions, the key is persistence. As long as we station [-] to [-] troops in Stone City, all the tribes will have to surrender within at least a thousand miles around here. There are enough for our Anxi Army in Stone City Eating more than one year's worth of grain, one year's time is enough for us to wipe out the insurgents!"

When the news of Guo Shiyan reached Liu Ke, Liu Ke was also overjoyed at this time. He poured out his army and marched lightly with only weapons and a small amount of food. Arrived in Stone Town before the road was closed.

At this time, Anxi's three cavalry divisions and four infantry divisions, a total of more than [-] troops, joined forces in Stone City. Guo Shiyan held a celebration banquet to celebrate the meeting of the three armies.However, when the wine was over for three rounds and the food was over five flavors, suddenly the soldiers came to report "there is an enemy situation in the west of the city!"

Guo Shiyan said: "What's the matter? Has the Heda man returned?"

"Looking at the banner, it's not the Xida people, but Yuwen's army!"

Liu Ke said: "Yu Wenxi, this lost dog is really lingering. He is like a toad crawling on the feet. It can't bite you to death, but it can disgust you to death."

Ma Xu said: "The last general invites you to fight, and is willing to lead his troops out of the city to drive out the enemy!"

Liu Ke raised his glass and said, "Yes!"

At this time, Ma Xu's wounded soldiers had already returned to the army. Although it was not yet full, there were already more than [-] men in his army.

About two hours later, Ma Xu led the victory back. Ma Xu raised his bloody saber in his right hand and a bloody head in his left hand, and reported to Guo Shiyan: "After leaving the city, go westward for about thirty miles. Encountering the enemy's vanguard with a total of more than 970 riders, our troops immediately attacked first, beheaded 150 and [-]nd rank, captured [-] and [-] people, and captured more than [-] horses. The enemy scattered and fled in all directions. Count, did not catch up."

Guo Shiyan ordered the clerk to test the authenticity of the head, and then reported it to Liu Ke.

The country established by the Heda people is actually a bit reluctant. It can only be regarded as a loose tribal alliance. The Heda people are like locusts, conquests everywhere, robbing money, land and women everywhere. Every time they rob a place, they are not included in the direct statistics. , but controls the colonization in the form of a puppet.

The Heda people in the Kangju country were called Jessie by the emperor. At this time, Jessie was already lying on the bed, and there was a beautiful woman in front of him.

She is Uma, the youngest princess of Kangju Kingdom.No one can understand the sorrow of a princess who has lost her country.How many times she fantasized that someone could save herself, and now that the opportunity finally came, Jessie was driven out of Stone City, and she felt indescribably happy.

However, Jessie seemed to sense something strange about Uma, so she picked up the whip and whipped it towards Uma.The whip fell on Uma's body like raindrops, but Uma seemed unconscious.

"You bastard, beg for mercy, please!" Jessie growled like a beast, "Do you really think that the Great Wei Empire will help you restore your country? I can tell you clearly, don't even think about it!" , we Xida people are wolves, and Da Wei is a tiger, both wolves and tigers eat meat, so you are destined to be our food only!"

"You can kill me, anyway, you Xida people won't be in Kangju for too long!" Uma said angrily, "Now that the army of the Heavenly Kingdom has arrived, aren't you also being driven to Stone City? Losing the stone city is only the first step, you have already lost one city after another slowly, and you will eventually have nothing. Maybe you will be driven away by the Han people like your ancestors!"

"Haha!" Jessie laughed arrogantly: "Unfortunately, I am afraid that there are not enough Han people coming. This is not the Central Plains, not their territory. This is the pasture of our Heda people. Any enemy who tries to get involved here, will be torn to pieces by our invincible warriors!"

Uma said: "You are just being stubborn. It sounds like you have more than 1 people outside the Stone City, but you can't beat thousands of Han Chinese. Now that the Han Chinese are here, your good days are coming to an end!"

But Jesse said: "The Han people are marching too fast, and their foundation in the Western Regions is not stable at all. If we have an elite team that reaches the south of Tianshan Mountain at this time, we can recover thousands of miles of land in ten months. If we occupy Tianshan Mountain North and south, separated by Hexi, these Han Chinese who stepped into Congling will never return!"

Uma was shocked when she heard the words. Although she was only a princess, as a royal woman, she had heard and seen since she was a child, and she was very familiar with military affairs.The combat effectiveness of the Han people has been verified hundreds of years ago. When one Han arrived at Wuhu, tens of thousands of Han troops arrived in Lingxi at this time. of troops.Although the Heda Empire is powerful and has an army of 40 to [-], the Heda Empire is too far away from Kangju, and the troops they can send are absolutely limited. It is absolutely impossible to send hundreds of thousands of troops to fight the Han people in Kangju.

If Jessie is not bragging, then he must have some kind of conspiracy against the Han people. Unfortunately, Uma has too little information to guess Jessie's intentions.

However, Uma didn't know that the stone city was in chaos at this time.

It turned out that Musa told Guo Shiyan that there were 38 bags of nearly 40 shi of grain in Stone City. However, in fact, these grains were only less than 8% of the apparent amount. Except for a granary that was more than half empty, it was old grain, and the other granaries were only on the top. The first layer is grain, and the bottom is covered with sand and stones.After a secret count, there were only less than [-] shi of grain in Stone City at this time.Although there is a lot of food, it needs to supply more than [-] soldiers of the Wei army, and [-] to [-] servants from various countries in the Western Regions.

Although Liu Ke was extremely angry, he remained calm and issued an order on the spot to strictly seal the news.The granary is empty. In fact, Guo Shiyan was also misled by Musa for this information.Musa surrendered the whole city. Since there was a food problem, Musa could not be blamed for it. Even if Musa was killed, it would have no effect.

Liu Ke secretly led people to arrest Musa and prepared to torture him to extract a confession, but before the execution, Musa confessed the crime truthfully. It turned out that all this was a trick offered by Yuwen to Jersey, with the purpose of making Wei Jun slack off .From the Western Regions to Hexi, although there is a distance of nearly [-] miles, due to the existence of the Central Asia Development Company, the Wei State still has a lot of manpower and material resources that can be used, so the Wei Army is fighting against it in Beiting, and the logistical pressure is not great.Even if it goes further west to Shule, the logistical pressure of Wei State is still not great.But crossing Congling is different.

The Silk Road was the only way for east-west exchanges before the sea route was opened. After entering the Tarim Basin, the Silk Road was divided into two routes, north and south, stretching towards different destinations. The famous stone city on the Silk Road.That is to say, Congling is actually the biggest obstacle to east-west traffic. The most convenient way to pass Congling is to pass Congling from Shule, Izuyun Pass, pass through Dawan, and enter Kangju.The southern line is not only far away, but also has a rough road.However, Congling, a huge mountain range, can only be passed through in less than five months from April to September of the lunar calendar every year, and the road will be blocked by heavy snow at other times.

In other words, in Stone City, Wei's army will not be able to receive supplies from the rear for nearly eight months.Liu Ke and their Anxi Army will be in a desperate situation.If all the food in Stone City is burned, although it can delay the westward advance of the Wei army, it will not solve the problem fundamentally.Although the state of Wei is under tremendous pressure, especially the farms opened in Tianshan will greatly shorten the supply line of the state of Wei.

Under the ebb and flow, the Heda people let alone defeat the Wei army, even whether they can hold Tuluohuo is a fatal problem. After all, no one knows how big Wei's appetite is.So after inviting Heda Khan Enagui, Yu Wenyi and Jeersey formulated this conspiracy.First of all, Jesse took advantage of the opportunity of his youngest son, who Musa loved very much, to hold Musa's son and family members hostage, and sent people to pretend to be Musa's family members and servants. plan.As a result, Musa's wonderful acting skills and Guo Shiyan's carelessness allowed Liu Ke to lead the main force of the Anxi Army into this game.

When Liu Ke heard the news, he also had a headache. Both he and the generals of the Anxi Army committed the problem of underestimating the enemy.Now the food in the city plus the cattle and sheep outside the city, the army can eat for more than three months at most, and if they persist, they can eat for half a year.But it is absolutely impossible to hold on to the supplies sent from the rear.

Liu Kedao: "Activate the highest level password, send a message to the rear, and order them to deliver supplies to Stone City at all costs!"

(End of this chapter)