Tiantang

Chapter 457
Chapter 463

Zhang Xuan did not kill He Naye, the eldest prince of Kucha, but issued an edict to exile He Naye to Qinghai.This is equivalent to exiling He Na also to the fiefdom of He Lu, the King of Kucha, and in disguise, He Na also has his own life.

Naturally, He Lu and the royal family of Qiuci burst into tears of gratitude and thanked them endlessly.

After a riot, Kucha was truly calmed down.With the destruction of Wusun and Gumo, the 36 countries in the Western Regions temporarily regained their peace.Of course, Zhang Xuan knew very well that for a period of time, this kind of calm was basically an illusion. Without ten years of strong rule and the promotion of national integration and economic prosperity, the Western Regions would not be able to achieve real naturalization after all. .

This is a long-term job, and there is no rush.

Zhang Xuan stayed in Qiuci for a week, and then handed over all the affairs of the Western Regions to Feng Changqing and Pugu Huai'en, and then led his army to Shule to join the army.

Feng Changqing had 4 Anxi troops under his command, and Pugu Huai'en's Beiting had 3 troops.There are [-] soldiers and horses in the Western Regions to deter, Zhang Xuan thinks it is enough.Next, the Western Regions will be divided into two towns and two roads, which are both military towns and administrative divisions. To establish prefectures and counties, promote immigration, garrison fields, etc., all need two people to do their best.

In Feng Changqing's words, the emperor's order is a hard job, it is difficult to make achievements, but it is easy to make mistakes.If one fails, it will lead to chaos.Feng Changqing had already made full mental preparations in his heart. For three years, he and Pugu Huai'en were in the Western Regions as firefighters.

In order to facilitate the strengthening of ties and coordination between the Tubo and the Western Regions, and to ensure the stability and prosperity of the border areas, Zhang Xuan also asked Guo Ziyi to send a letter to Beijing, ordering the imperial court to set up a Qingbo Western Regions pacification department for this purpose, with Chen Xilie concurrently serving as the pacifier.

On July [-]th of the third year of Yongning, Zhang Xuan led [-] shence troops to Shule.

On July 25th, Zhang Xuan swore an oath to go to war in Shule, restraining [-] troops from Shule to cross Congling and march to the land of Zhaowu and nine surnames above Congling. This opened the gap between the Chinese Dynasty and the Dashi Dynasty. The fierce collision of two huge empires.

A big battle kicked off.

In the Central Plains, Kang, An, Cao, Shi, Mi, He, Huoxun, Wudi, and Shi were the nine surnames of Zhaowu, and Dong'an State, Bi State, Han, and Nasebo were attached to it. Cao State was divided into Dong, West and China.

The first stop of the Western Expeditionary Army was Kang Guo, the head of the Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms.

Because of Gao Xianzhi's defeat in the Battle of Talas, the forces of the Great Cannibal moved in, and the land of the nine surnames of Zhaowu above the Congling Ridge had actually become the territory of the Great Cannibal.Of course, the big cannibals were stationed in Zhaowu's nine surnames, and there were not many troops stationed there, but the main force was in Kang, with more than [-] troops.

Above Congling Ridge, the total strength of the big cannibals is almost fifty thousand.

The news that the Chinese emperor raised his army to conquer Zhaowu's nine surnames spread to Congling. Meng Bai, the man-eating military commander, reported to the country and retreated voluntarily. Then he stayed in King Kang City to assist and intimidate the Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms to mobilize troops and horses to fight against the invasion of the Chinese army.

The nine kingdoms of Zhaowu are small countries, and there are not many soldiers and horses. All of them add up to only 7 to [-] people, and if you add Dashi soldiers and horses, the total is less than [-].

With a crowd of 30 to meet the so-called [-] Chinese army, the people of the Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms lack confidence. Many nobles even advocated that the whole country should evacuate the land of the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu and retreat to the territory of Dashi to avoid the sharp edge of the Chinese army.

However, how could the big cannibal let these small countries retreat to the big cannibal, and hand over the land of the nine surnames of Zhaowu to the Chinese court.In this way, it is equivalent to opening the frontier defense portal of Dashi, which may allow the Chinese army to drive straight in.

Under the mobilization and coercion of the big cannibal, Zhaowu joined forces with nine countries, bit the bullet and put on a stance of a decisive battle with the Chinese army on the front line of Kang, but in fact, the morale of the army was unstable.

From Shule on the edge of the Tarim Basin to the Congling Plateau, you have to go up the river along the canyon on the eastern edge of the plateau, then climb several mountains on the plateau, and pass through the snow-covered mountain passes all year round. The road is very difficult and dangerous.Fortunately, Anxi Duhu Mansion has been in operation for more than a hundred years, and the soldiers and horses plank road from Shule to Kangguo have been built relatively smoothly.

The Western Expeditionary Army slowly marched westward. After half a month's trek, they crossed the plateau and entered the Pingchuan area above the plateau, entering the land of the nine surnames of Zhaowu.

Hundreds of thousands of troops moved with great momentum and banners, and every time the scouts of the Zhaowu Nine Nations Allied Forces sent back news, it made the top leaders of the Allied Forces feel more and more nervous.

The soldiers and horses of the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu have no experience in fighting big countries and armies at all. Back then, Gao Xianzhi's Anxi Gao Family Army's iron hooves were hard to stop, let alone this army that wiped out Tubo and Tuqishi, and put down the entire Western Regions, which was almost invincible The Chinese army that can attack everything.

After destroying Tubo and Tuqishi, the prestige of Zhang Xuan's entire emperor and the power of his army have spread far and wide. For the people of Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms, this is an armed force that is too powerful , It is simply not something that small countries like them can resist.

Even with the support of big cannibals, they feel that they have no chance of winning.

Zhang Xuan's army marched slowly. Because Zhang Xuan was on the plateau, he was worried that the soldiers would react to the plateau, so he slowed down his march.The army advanced dozens of miles a day, and wherever it went, it was like a torrent of steel, uprooting the fortresses set up by the big cannibals and the Kang people and the barracks bases to protect the commercial roads.

On the side of the Kang Kingdom, the leader of the coalition forces is King Shi Laihe of the Kingdom of Kang, and Isri, the general under the command of the Dashi Governor Meng Bai, also led [-] Dashi cavalry to station on the grassland to the west of King Kang's city. form a mutual response.

King Kang City.

Shi Laihe was standing on the wall of the royal city, and beside him were the chief generals of the various countries' armies, that is, the upper echelons of the coalition forces.In fact, these people are the royal families of all countries.

The smoke and dust in the north are billowing, covering the sky and the sun.Although the flags of the Chinese army are still invisible, the supreme power of this army's actions is enough to make people's hearts jump.

Shi Laihe's face was very gloomy. He raised the scimitar in his hand and sighed, "Everyone, the Chinese emperor's army is less than a hundred miles away from the royal city. Only 6 of us can go out of the city to fight the Chinese army. It may be a dead end. Our only chance is to strictly guard the city and wait for the rescue of the big cannibal."

Although Shi Laihe said this on his lips, he didn't make any sense in his heart.

King Kang City is already the largest and strongest city among the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu. However, such a city defense is still not enough to stop the Chinese army.And Shi Laihe knew very well that siege warfare was originally the strength of the soldiers and horses of the Central Plains Dynasty.

As for the rescue of the big cannibal soldiers, whether they can come, how many they can come, and whether they are the opponents of the Chinese emperor, these are all uncertain.

Everyone's thoughts were basically similar to Shi Laihe's.Therefore, when Shi Laihe said this, no one responded at all, and they all stood on the city wall with gloomy faces and looked at where the Chinese army came from.

……

……

In a very depressed mood, Shi Laihe went down the tower and entered his palace.

Several of his princes and seven or eight daughters gathered in the main hall. Seeing him walk in, the eldest prince Kecha rushed up to greet him and bowed down. "Father, my sons and servants have something to tell my father!"

Shi Laihe waved his hands impatiently and said, "Say!"

"Father, the Chinese Emperor's army is not something that our Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms can resist at all. The big cannibals are simply using us as a shield, ready to sacrifice our Nine Kingdoms, and buy time for them to deploy troops on the sidelines."

Kecha gritted his teeth and said, "Father, we cannot be fooled by the big cannibals. The big cannibals are not reliable, they just use us, and they will never really send troops to protect our country."

Shi Laihe let out a long sigh, and thought to himself, what do you need to say?No one in the Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms is clear about the current situation.But knowing that the Great Cannibal is unreliable, they still can only rely on the Great Cannibal, because only the Great Cannibal can counter the strength of the Chinese Dynasty.

"Father, since the cannibal is unreliable, why don't we submit to the Chinese dynasty? Our Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms have always been the vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. It was only because Gao Xianzhi defeated Talas and the invasion of the cannibal force that we had to take refuge. Big Cannibal. Now that the Chinese emperor has invaded with a large army, it is obvious that he wants to regain the land of Zhaowu's nine surnames, and even attack Dashi."

"There must be a battle between the Chinese Dynasty and the Dashi. From my child's point of view, the Chinese emperor has a great chance of winning. My child heard that the Chinese army is brave and invincible, and the army is equipped with mysterious firearms. Whether it is Tubo or Tuqishi, they will die. In the hands of this artifact."

The corner of Shi Laihe's mouth twitched slightly.

It is not without the idea of ​​surrendering to the Chinese dynasty, and it is not without the kings of other countries.

It's just that they betrayed the Central Plains dynasty, and no one is sure whether they will be accepted by the Chinese emperor again.What's more, the big cannibal was watching covetously, under the threat and lure, no one dared to think about it again.

"The big cannibals are not reliable, and the Central Plains people may not be reliable either. Don't talk about it, go back and guard the palace. The Chinese army is approaching, and this king will lead the army to fight the enemy!" Shi Laihe waved his hand , frowning.

"Father! At this moment, the Chinese army has not yet arrived, and the two armies have not yet fought. There is still room for us to surrender. If we wait for the army to approach the city, we may surrender again, and they may not accept it. Father, don't miss this opportunity!"

Can check it out.

Shi Laihe pushed Kecha angrily, and strode over.

But Cha's complexion changed, he stomped his feet, and suddenly said loudly, "If the father doesn't listen to the boy's advice and insists on finding his own death, the boy and others can only lead their troops out of the city to surrender to the Emperor of China, and find their own way of life!"

Shi Laihe was furious, turned his head and glared at Kecha viciously, and roared, "Nie Zi, how dare you!"

But when he checked his appearance, he came prepared, he smiled coldly, and whistled with his fingers attached to his mouth.

In an instant, more than a hundred soldiers rushed out from the apse and surrounded Shi Laihe.

(End of this chapter)