Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 815 Untitled
Shache, also known as Yarkand City, is named after the Yarkand River, a branch of the Tarim River.

Therefore, compared with the official name of Chagatai Khanate, people are accustomed to call it Yarkand.

You deserve to be called Chagatai?

The Yarkand Khanate belonged to the characteristic Mongolian dynasty, that is, the middle and upper nobles were Mongols, while the lower-level people were indigenous Uighurs.

Like the Mughal Dynasty, the Golden Horde was inevitably localized.

Therefore, its beliefs, shamanism has long since disappeared, and peace religion occupies the mainstream.

The Oirat Mongolia, which occupies the north of the Tianshan Mountains, believed in Zang Buddhism, so the two were hostile to each other and fought endlessly. Although they were of the same race, they were not of the same kind.

It is needless to mention the difficulties and obstacles along the way when the Ming army marched westward.

Thanks to the fact that the Tarim River seldom stops flowing at this time, and the water source is abundant, the oases along the way are like scattered pearls, living in a large number of villages and towns.

Especially Kuqa City, which is the location of the ancient country of Kucha in the Western Regions, is the crossroads of southern Xinjiang. There are a lot of merchants, and they have replenished a lot of camels and supplies for the Ming army.

By the way, the city is also under the banner of Daming.

Even so, half of the [-] war horses were killed or injured, and [-]% of the camels were lost.

It's just that some food and grass were barely supplied, so that the army could preserve its vitality.

Helpless, can only continue to march south.

When the [-] travel-worn Ming troops arrived in the small city of Aksu, it was nearly a thousand miles away from Shache.

From Turpan to Shache, the distance is more than [-] miles, and the battle started thousands of miles away.

Here, Gao Yigong and Li Dingguo encountered a rough attack.

As we all know, the oasis is not big, so it can't hide too many people, so the ambush on this road is near the sand dunes on the only way.

It's a pity that both Li Dingguo and Gao Yigong are veterans who have experienced many battles and never lack caution.

The Yarkand cavalry with a scale of more than [-], holding scimitars, riding on big horses, and recharging their energy for a long time, is to attack the sleepy Ming army.

Unfortunately, after being seen through by the Ming army, it lost its suddenness.

Thanks to years of battle drills, even in desert areas, the Ming army quickly stabilized its formation, adapted to the terrain, and directly killed the enemy with only artillery.

Southern Xinjiang was far away from the Russians, and they knew little about firearms, so they were rashly attacked by artillery. The Yarkand cavalry panicked, thinking it was a thunderbolt from the blue sky, and a large number of horses were frightened, and they lost their positions.

As a result, he was confused and repelled by the counterattack of the Ming army.

Because they were not familiar with the terrain, the Ming army did not pursue them, and after leaving around [-] corpses, they let them go back.

Thanks to this battle, the Ming army shocked the South Road of Tianshan Mountain, and the towns and oases along the way were watched, and there were countless food and grass supplies, and a large number of servants came uninvited.

Without him, it is purely because Uighurs are naturally enthusiastic, and they are very attached to the strong, especially the style of Ming Junqiu who did not commit any crimes.

As long as you are not blind, you will know that this is a huge force that can rival Yaerqiang.

A loose oasis is naturally a divided soil. In less than a few days, three thousand righteous men came to follow, all thinking of serving the king.

Therefore, the Ming army continued to go south along the Yarkand River, unimpeded all the way, until it reached the outpost of Shache - Huerman.

Its status is the same as that of Tianjin to Beijing. It is a gateway city. Once it is lost, there is no danger for Shache to defend.

In other words, it is more like a city gate, because as long as soldiers approach the city, once the Ming army cuts off the water flow, Shache will inevitably surrender without a fight.

The fragility of the oasis is evident here.

It is precisely because of this that Hu Erman has [-] troops stationed, and even Shache is backed up to continuously deliver troops and food.

The reason there are only [-] is because the upper limit of the oasis is too low.

"Damn it, it's finally over, I regret it!"

Standing on the wooden village, in front is the city wall of Huerman, behind is the broad Yarkant River, in front of you are dotted manors, villages, countless ditches, and endless cultivated land.

But Gao Yigong still regretted it and couldn't help complaining.

The long-distance trek has suffered a lot. There are more than [-] soldiers who fell ill.

Fighting on the battlefield, now it is really a battlefield.

"Forty days, trekking sixty miles a day, stepping on the yellow sand, leaning against the current, it's either desert or water..."

"This river is extremely long, even longer than the Yangtze River and the Yellow River—"

"Okay." Li Dingguo wrapped his turban, patted the dust, and rushed for a long time, which made his skin rougher, and the blackness of the past disappeared.

After many days of tempering, the cheeks became thinner, and the eyes became brighter: "The war of destroying the country is not that easy."

"Let you go to fight Oirat Mongolia, without a hundred thousand troops, do you dare?"

Gao Yigong was dumbfounded.

The Yarkand people still have cities anyway, and the Mongols fled if they couldn't beat them. When the time comes, they will be lonely, and they will really lose blood.

"It seems that the Yarkand people are quite courageous."

Gao Yigong changed the subject, looked at the military stronghold in front of him, and commented: "Although it's a bit messy, compared to those Mongols, it looks like that."

"Don't underestimate it." Li Dingguo said softly: "A person who travels a hundred miles is half-ninety. After walking for such a long time, don't stumble at the last moment."

"You're right." Gao Yigong calmed down.

"Report, Chief Soldier, caught a tongue."

"Oh, bring it up."

Soon, a young man with the appearance of a merchant was escorted up. Although panic was written on his face, he spoke Chinese:

"General, general soldier, my heart goes to Master Wang. I have important news, and I have news of meritorious service."

"Oh?" Gao Yigong looked at the Chinese spoken by the Uighur in front of him, and suddenly felt amused: "Oh? Tell me, but if the news you tell me doesn't interest me, then you are out of luck."

"understand!"

The young Uighur nodded hurriedly: "There are 30,000 people in the city of Huerman, [-] of them are troops. They need to consume a lot of food every day, so they will carry food, grass and luggage every ten days..."

"And I know one of the trails..."

"Oh?" Gao Yigong raised his head and glanced at Li Dingguo, with a hint of joy in his eyes.

It can be said that it is all effortless.

This kind of unexpected joy makes people's hearts flutter.

However, they still retain a trace of caution in their hearts. There are countless such schemes throughout the ages, and they also make mistakes and lose everything.

This is not inland, and a [-] army can't stand the toss.

"Ok, what request do you have?"

"I hope to get the right to manage the silk—"

After the incident, Gao Yigong and Li Dingguo glanced at each other and felt that there was something tricky inside.

But with the thick lines of the Mongols, it is impossible to come up with such a method.

"Whether it is a plan or not, you have to try it."

Li Dingguo chuckled and said, "Even if it's a plan, it's better than a stalemate."

Shaowu artillery is very important, and they all want to use the most important gunpowder under Shache City, not Huerman.

Just like the Ming army couldn't afford it, Yarkand actually couldn't afford it either.

The scattered oases are connected by rivers, with yellow sand in the middle. When a gust of wind and sand passes by, all the landmarks will move and their routes will change accordingly.

If you are not a native, you will never find a route in the yellow sand all over the ground.

"Huh? It turned out to be true?"

After an ambush, a large amount of food and supplies were seized, cattle and sheep were everywhere, and two or three thousand militiamen were killed or injured. It can be said that it was a big victory.

It is conservatively estimated that there will be no less than ten thousand stones of grain and grass. If it is used as bait, the entire city of Huerman will be in danger.

Gao Yigong was inexplicably surprised, he immediately summoned the young businessman and asked him seriously.

The businessman knew that he had been trusted, but he didn't make any introduction, and directly explained the reason.

It turned out that the Yarkand Khanate at this time was already in a situation full of internal worries.

In politics, Abdullah Khan is old and suspicious, he uses newcomers and belittles the old.

And in religion, it is even more turbulent.

It turned out that as early as the last century, Yarkand had attracted holy descendants from the Middle East, who belonged to the Hezhuo faction, called the Montenegro faction.

Later, the Baishan faction also came to southern Xinjiang and demanded to share the same power, but they were not allowed, so they were suppressed and infighting continued.

The struggle between the two factions is also the reason why Abdullah Khan was able to unify the Yarkand Khanate.

Historically, the Junggar faction was also due to internal fighting between the two factions. The Baishan faction even fled to the plateau, and matched up with Dalai to lead Gardan to the south, allowing the Junggar tribe to take over southern Xinjiang in one fell swoop and unify the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains.

Now, the opportunity that the Baishan faction had been looking for finally came with the arrival of the Ming army. How could they not be ecstatic?
Since the Black Mountain faction supports Yarkand, the White Mountain faction supports the Ming army and uses military means to end the struggle.

"So, are you willing to sacrifice Hulman?"

Li Dingguo's words instantly choked the businessman to death.

He could only smile awkwardly and politely: "General, the Baishan faction doesn't have such a force."

"However, I don't have believers in the army, so I can tell you some news, like today's grain road."

"These are enough." Gao Yigong said with a smile: "Your faction has contributed so much, Daming will never forget you."

The businessman was overjoyed and hastily revealed the news.

For the Baishan faction, they are at a disadvantage and have no better choice, because the entire Khanate supports the Montenegrin faction, no matter how bad the situation is, it will not be better than it is now.

Li Dingguo and Gao Yigong smiled at each other, such an opportunity is really great.

Ever since, with the support of internal support, the Ming army began to encircle but not attack, constantly intercepting its supplies, and prepared to starve the Yarkand people to death.

Supplies were intercepted several times in a row, and no matter how stupid Abdullah was, he understood that there were traitors in his country.

But the method of fighting against the outside world first to secure the inside is not working at present. The most important thing at present is to send food to Huerman as soon as possible, otherwise, tens of thousands of troops will starve to death.

"I was intercepted for half a month in a row, and the reinforcements were defeated several times. There was very little food and grass to enter the city. Hu Erman could not last for three days."

Younger brother Su Litang raised his head and said in a deep voice.

"Then attack." Abdullah looked at the fearful expression on everyone's face, knowing that this was the battle of Aksu, and the strong strength of the Ming army made them feel timid.

All the reinforcements these days have been defeated, and the idea that the Ming army is invincible has spread among the army.

Whether it was muskets or artillery, they were greatly shocked.

Up to now, the only one who can have such courage and reassure him is himself.

"In this case, I will conquer and destroy those Ming troops myself."

After thinking about it again and again, Abdullah could only choose to lead the army and march in person.

With the last 30,000 people, head towards Huerman.

You must know that the huge Yarkand, with the six major cities as the ruling center, plus those vassal oases, tribes, and fortified cities, barely has a million, but the actual ruling population is only about [-].

Hu Erman [-], Shache [-], a total of [-] troops, which is equivalent to all men capable of fighting men.

This is the decisive battle.

Once this battle is won, the huge Yarkand Khanate will surrender without a fight.

In this regard, Gao Yigong and Li Dingguo disputed.

Both wanted to duel Abdullah, leaving the other to keep Khurman in check.

The siege of the city in the past few days, coupled with the tactics of exhausted troops, made Huerman's people exhausted, and even witnessed the defeat of reinforcements, and most of their morale was wiped out.

As long as it persists for half a month, it will inevitably fail.

Therefore, one person can watch the city, and one person can make a decisive battle.

Then Li Dingguo said something that made Gao Yigong silent:

"You are the main general. In this battle of destroying the country, no matter how big or small my military achievements are, you will take the lead. Why come to fight with me?"

Gao Yigong was silent for a while, then sighed: "It's cheap for you kid."

In fact, he thought deeper.

There is no doubt that this battle will be won, and after the result comes out, he will definitely be promoted to Duke, and he will definitely hang out in the Governor's Mansion by then, and will not easily leave his place.

At that time, the imperial court will definitely send a general to sit in the Tiannan area, and the possibility of Li Dingguo is extremely high.

Therefore, Li Dingguo needs a big victory over Megatron Tiannan. After he has a fierce reputation, it will be more convenient to sit in the town later.

And he will leave sooner or later, it is useless to want this false name.

Time came to the eighth day of February in the seventh year of Shaowu. The Ming army gathered [-] troops and faced off outside the city.

The Hulman defenders watched a play on the city wall.

The Yarkand cavalry who came roaring forward had an astonishing momentum, and the horses all over the mountains and plains stirred up countless dust.

However, Li Dingguo was calm and composed. He was riding on a horse and looking ahead. He had seen no matter how many soldiers and horses there were, let alone 30,000 people.

"Report, the enemy's front army has reached the range of the artillery—"

After a while.

"Report, the Chinese army is within range."

"Send the artillery to fire!!"

Soon, the artillery, who had already done preparations for cleaning, filling, elevation, and ignition, immediately began to ignite.

The ten Shaowu cannons showed their ferocious side.

"Boom--"

Accompanied by a huge roar and thick smoke, the shells formed a parabola and went straight to the enemy's rear.

"Kill—" Li Dingguo waved the scimitar in his hand and roared with endless momentum.

Immediately, Wanqi competed to kill the enemy.

(End of this chapter)