Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1379: Rebellious Old Hu
The Western Turks could not fail to pay attention to such a big event as the Tang emperor's western tour. Even if they themselves did not know about it, the Western Regions countries that were dependent on them would report it to them.

Therefore, as early as when the Tang emperor was still stationed in Liangzhou and had not yet arrived in Dunhuang, the Western Turkic Khan Shidianmi gathered most of his armed forces and left Yingsuochuan where his Khan's court was located, and headed east to settle in Khan Futu City, located northeast of Gaochang and near Yiwulu, in order to spy on the movements of the Tang army in Hexi.

However, before Shidianmi Khan could receive news of the incident in Hexi, urgent military information suddenly came from the direction of Jinshan in the north. The Turkic army in the east actually crossed Jinshan together with the Tang army brigade and directly attacked the Xueyantuo tribes living on the western foot of Jinshan.

After hearing the news, Shidianmi Khan was shocked and could not help shouting angrily: "Shetu, this bastard, betrayed his ancestors and clansmen, which is already a serious crime. Now relying on the support of the Tang Dynasty, he dares to invade our tribe. He deserves to die!"

The Turks rose to power only a dozen years ago. Before that, they were only a tribe under the Rouran, so their tribe was not large. The most important opportunity for their development was that Ashina Tumen took advantage of the fight between the Tiele tribes and the Rouran to stab the Tiele and accept the surrender of many Tiele tribesmen.

The Xueyantuo itself was a member of the Tiele tribes and also submitted to the Turks during the same period, thus living on the western foot of Jinshan Mountain, where the Turkic Khanate was located.

Previously, the Turkic Khan Mugan was beheaded in Yinshan, and the prestige of the succeeding Khan Uzun was not enough to convince the people. Therefore, the Tiele tribes gradually moved closer to the Khan Shidianmi, who was strong and had achieved many victories in the Western Regions.

At that time, Shidianmi was still busy attacking the Hephthalites and did not have much energy to take care of the internal disputes of the Turks. Therefore, he only appeased the tribes slightly and did not return to the Khanate to compete for power with Uzun Khan.

However, unexpectedly, the Eastern Turks suffered more misfortunes than ever before. Uzun Khan was killed again soon after for participating in a war within China, leaving the Turks once again in a situation of leaderlessness.

At this time, Shidianmi had already completed the conquest of the Western Regions, and with the death of Uzun Khan, Ili Khan Tumen no longer had a son. As Tumen's brother, with brilliant military exploits and powerful forces, Shidianmi naturally felt that he should carry the banner of the Turks.

But what happened next surprised him again. After murdering two Turkic Khans in succession, the Tang Dynasty actually supported Shetu, the son of Yisiji Khan, as the new Turkic Khan and established a headquarters in Yinshan.

This undoubtedly made the Turkic people feel dissatisfied, especially the elders like Shidianmi who had both seniority and strength in the Turkic country. They were unwilling to submit to Shetu, a puppet who was manipulated by foreign enemies. Therefore, Shidianmi simply rose up and declared independence.

However, since Jinshan had long been the seat of the Turkic Khanate and there were many members of the Tumen clan in the surrounding areas, Shidianmi did not dare to stay in Jinshan to establish his rule. Instead, he gathered some of the Turkic clansmen back to his territory in the Western Regions to establish a khanate.

Among the tribes that responded to Shidianmi, Xueyantuo was a very active and powerful tribe. Its territory was close to Jinshan, which made it easy for Shidianmi to monitor and interfere with changes in the situation in the east.

Shetu's attack on Xueyantuo was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Shidianmi. If he sat back and watched without helping, and Shetu defeated Xueyantuo and brought it back under his control, it would undoubtedly greatly damage Shidianmi's prestige and make other tribes who followed him in rebelling against the Turkic Khanate hesitate.

At the same time, the loss of Xueyantuo will also allow Shetu to control the west of Jinshan. In the future, he will be able to enter and exit Jinshan at will to attack and plunder the territory of Western Turks, which will cause the situation in the Western Regions, which has just stabilized, to become unstable again.

Therefore, Xueyantuo had to be rescued, but before giving the order to rescue Xueyantuo, Shi Dianmi had many thoughts in his mind. A mere Shetu was naturally not worthy of his attention, but the Tang Dynasty standing behind Shetu made him have to be more careful.

Although Shi Dianmi had no experience of fighting directly with the Tang Dynasty, he did not dare to underestimate such a great empire that unified China. Especially since the Western Wei Dynasty, which only occupied one third of the world, had interrupted the rise of the Turks, its current strength must be even stronger. In addition to the divisions that invaded Xue Guyan's territory, the Tang Emperor also personally led a large army to station in Dunhuang!
Originally, Shi Dianmi had only some doubts as to whether the Tang Emperor's western tour was intended to target the Western Turks. But now it seems that there is no need to doubt it. The Tang Dynasty is determined to march westward to attack the Western Turks.

Xueyantuo had to be rescued, and Dunhuang in Hexi had to be guarded against. At this moment, Shi Dianmi couldn't help but feel lucky that he had been alert enough before. After learning that the Tang emperor was touring the west, he first gathered most of his troops in the Khan Futu City in the east. Now, even if the Tang Kingdom had any targeted actions, he had enough time and strength to respond.

He summoned his son Ashina Dianjue and told him earnestly: "Shetu has teamed up with the Tang army to attack us this time, and their intentions are sinister. You are to lead 50,000 troops to rescue Xue Guyan. If Shetu's troops are not strong, you can just repel them, and you can lead your troops back to Futu City quickly.

If Shetu's army is strong, you should not engage him, but lead the Xueyantuo tribe to migrate westward to avoid him. The Khan's court has been abandoned for a long time, and Shetu must not be able to carry too much baggage and supplies. If you retreat, he will be unable to attack, and the danger will naturally be resolved! "

Ashina Dianjue was in his prime, and when he heard his father's admonition, he frowned and said, "Shetu is just a dog that was sent to the Tang Kingdom after the defeat of Jijin. Now that he has come to attack me, I will capture him, cut off his head and show it to the tribes! A mere running dog of the Tang Kingdom is not worth my retreat!"

"Although Shetu is not to be feared, the Tang Kingdom is very powerful. Even your cousin Jijin, who was so brave in his early years, was killed by him. Doesn't this make you wary and fearful of powerful enemies?"

Hearing his son's answer, Shi Dianmi immediately frowned and reprimanded him, "The Emperor of Tang has raised hundreds of thousands of troops in Hexi, and I don't know what dangerous plan he is planning. I need to stay in Futu City to guard against the Emperor of Tang, and I can't lead my troops to rescue Xue Guyan, so I sent you. But if you are so reckless, then you don't have to go, I will send your brother to go!"

"I will go, I will go. I will obey the Khan's orders and will never underestimate the enemy!"

After hearing this, Ashina Dianjue quickly restrained his crazy behavior and spoke respectfully.

His father also has many sons, and who will inherit the Khan throne in the future has not yet been determined. Therefore, every opportunity to lead troops to an expedition is very precious to these sons. They can take the opportunity to create military merits, expand their own power, and become a bargaining chip for inheriting the Khan throne in the future.

The Xueyantuo was a very powerful force among the Tiele tribes. If he could lead an army to rescue them this time, he would naturally bring them under his command. Ashina Dianjue certainly did not want to miss this opportunity.

The Western Turks now ruled over the states in the Western Regions and many grassland tribes. There were more than 200,000 soldiers gathered near Khan's Futu City alone. After allocating 50,000 troops to Ashina Dianjue to rescue Xueyantuo, Shi Dianmi still had a huge army under his command.

After confirming the intention of the Tang Dynasty, Shi Dianmi became more vigilant and sent scouts to the south to gather information. Not long after, he learned the latest news that Gaochang King Qu Qiangu had secretly defected to the Tang Dynasty and was planning to lead his people to migrate eastward to escape the rule of the Western Turks.

"It is rare to find a true confidant from Gaochang, so don't trust him easily!"

After learning about this, Shi Dianmi was furious again, and felt more and more that the Tang emperor's methods were fierce. He attacked from two fronts at once, using both soft and hard tactics. Although he did not directly hit his vital points, it was enough to make him flustered and exhausted to deal with.

So next, Shi Dianmi sent a group of people to Gaochang State in order to intimidate the King of Gaochang to give up this dangerous idea. On the other hand, he personally led his troops south to Yiwulu. If the King of Gaochang really ignored the advice and insisted on moving east, he would stop him in Yiwulu.

If the Tang army comes, he will fight a great battle here to let the world see who is the real overlord of the Western Regions. If they dare not come, then after resolving the unrest in Gaochang, he will further attack Dunhuang to give the Tang Emperor a taste of his own medicine!

At this time, Gaochang was also in turmoil, with people arguing over the decision of its ruler Qu Qiangu to move the country eastward to join the Tang Dynasty. Although Gaochang was a state dominated by Han people, it was located in the Western Regions and had many other ethnic groups. Moreover, even the Han people in the state were not necessarily willing to leave their hometowns and the family businesses that their ancestors had lived and run.

In history, there was also a king of Gaochang who wanted to move eastward because he was afraid of being forced by the barbarians. This was the Ma family Gaochang before the Qu family Gaochang. At that time, the Gaochang king Ma Ru presented a petition to the Northern Wei court to request submission. Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty also agreed and decided to cede 500 li of Yiwu for the Gaochang people to live in.

However, the people of Gaochang were attached to their homeland and refused to move eastward, so riots broke out in the country. Gaochang King Ma Ru was murdered, and the people elected his chief historian Qu Jia as king. This marked the beginning of the history of Qu's Gaochang.

Qu Qiangu was very nervous about repeating the mistakes of his predecessors. However, the difference from the situation back then was that the Tang Dynasty he had joined was more powerful than the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Emperor of Tang was now personally leading the army to garrison in Hexi. If he did not seize this opportunity, it would be even more difficult to get rid of the control of the Western Turks in the future!

Fortunately, the Tang Emperor also expressed his understanding. When Qu Qiangu returned to his country, he sent 3,000 elite cavalry to protect him. As a result, even though some people in Gaochang were dissatisfied, they were frightened by the momentum of the Tang cavalry and did not dare to act rashly. They could only shout loudly to dissuade him outside the palace.

"The Turks are ugly and barbaric, and their nature is close to that of beasts. They abuse our people and impose heavy taxes on them, making our people live in misery. Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty has risen and the Chinese have revived. If our people still do not submit to them, will our descendants and their bloodlines really be left in the wilderness and become barbarians?"

Qu Qiang had made up his mind. When the Western Turkic envoys arrived at his capital, he personally led his guards to kill the envoys and hung their heads outside the palace. He shouted to the people outside the palace who were still trying to dissuade him, "I have inherited the country's legacy from my ancestors, and I think I have done nothing for the people. I will now lead those who want to return to the Tang Dynasty. If you have different paths, please go your separate ways! Those who are willing to join me in the Tang Dynasty, please gather in the east of the capital tomorrow and go east together!"

Under Qu Qianguo's firm attitude, the debate in the country gradually subsided. Some people who were afraid of the Turks and had no intention of joining the Tang returned home to think about other plans, while others who were willing to follow the eastward migration had no time to argue. They all raced against time to pack up their belongings and prepare to travel east.

The disputes in Gaochang were settled, but the Western Regions were shocked by the news that Gaochang was going to move eastward. Along with the news of Gaochang's eastward migration, the struggle between the two major military groups, Tang and Western Turks, began to become more direct. The Tang army, which had been stationed in Dunhuang for many days, also began to gradually move towards Yiwulu, northwest of Dunhuang.

Both armies took Yiwulu as their target, and for a time the atmosphere in the area became unprecedentedly tense. Everyone knew that the situation in the Western Regions was about to change, but they could not guess whether the Western Turks would continue to dominate or the Tang Dynasty would come out on top and restore the glory of the Han Dynasty.

While all eyes were focused on the area around Yiwu, among the Tang army brigades that were marching out one after another, a group of more than 10,000 elite soldiers avoided the center of attention and did not follow the troops to the north, but went west through Yangguan and directly into Liusha. This group of people was led by Shi Jing, and young generals such as Li Ya and Han Qinhu were also in this army. They will cross Liusha to the west under the guidance of a guide who was hired at a high price, go north to Yanqi via Puchanghai, and then attack Yingsuochuan where the Western Turkic Khanate is located from Yanqi!
Li Tai knew very well that the Western Turks had been cultivating the Western Regions for many years and had gradually transformed into a local snake-like existence. Although the Tang Dynasty was a powerful dragon passing through, it would be very difficult to defeat them. Only by combining the strange and the normal could there be hope of success.

He personally led hundreds of thousands of troops from Hexi northward to Yiwulu, and persuaded Gaochang King Qu Qiangu to move his entire country eastward, including the northern troops led by the Turkic Khan Shetu and Herodun, all in order to draw the main force of the Western Turks out from their heartland, and then use another surprise force to directly attack the heartland of the Western Turks!
For a nomadic regime like the Turks, the location of its Khanate was as important as the capital of the Han regime. Although its tribes lived by following water and grass, there always needed to be a center to gather people and materials. Otherwise, there would be no way to exercise effective rule over the Khanate.

Moreover, the Khan's court also symbolizes the majesty of the political power. The Turks themselves do not have a complete system of etiquette and law to maintain the power of the upper rulers. Once the majesty of the rulers is severely damaged, it will be very difficult to restore it, and a large number of tribes will choose to disobey their rule.

However, this special force had to travel a long way, with thousands of miles of desert along the way, and it was very inconvenient to transmit information. It would take at least one or two months for the military information to be transmitted back. During this period, the main force of the Tang army had to fight against the main force of the Western Turkic army around Yiwulu.

It would certainly not be possible to relocate the entire nation of Gaochang in one go. Although Yiwulu and Gaochang were not far apart, many civilians had to carry a lot of belongings with them, and it would not be fast to move.

Due to the obstruction of the Tianshan Mountains, the Western Turkic army located in Khanfutu City could not directly attack the migrating Gaochang people, and had to turn east and head south from the Tianshan Pass.

At this time, the vanguard of the Tang army had arrived in Yiwulu from Dunhuang. Although it was already deep winter, the Tianshan Mountains blocked the northerly winds, so the climate in Yiwulu was not extremely cold. The Tang army that arrived first quickly repaired the city defenses, connected and expanded the existing cities and strongholds, and built a huge camp for the rear army.

Before the two sides formally fought in Yiwu, the battle at the western foot of Jinshan Mountain was the first to break out. Xueyantuo had tens of thousands of soldiers and was not weak in strength, but most of them lived in the mountains at the western foot of Jinshan Mountain to spend the winter and did not gather together. Therefore, when the Turkic and Tang allied forces suddenly rushed out from the Jinshan Pass, the Xueyantuo tribes were immediately hit hard, and some of the tribesmen died or surrendered, and only a small number fled westward.

Fortunately, the Western Turks paid more attention to the safety of Xueyantuo, and Shidianmi Khan sent reinforcements immediately. When Ashina Dianjue led the reinforcements to arrive, they soon encountered and engaged the Turkic army led by Shetu. As a result, Shetu's division was defeated and fled directly to the rear.

After the victory in the first battle, Ashina Dianjue became proud, and the number of Xueyantuo people he rescued was not that large, so Dianjue chose to continue the attack and searched for and gathered the escaped Xueyantuo people along the western foot of Jinshan Mountain.

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During this process, his army was fiercely attacked by the Tang army led by He Ruodun, and he suffered a crushing defeat. Fortunately, his troops were all light cavalry who were familiar with the geography. After the defeat, they quickly evacuated the battlefield and regrouped.

If Dianjue had led his troops back to Khanfutu City, then although the rescue of Xueyantuo would not be a complete success, the result would still be acceptable. At least it effectively suppressed the activities of the Turks and Tang army and brought the situation under control.

But Dianjue still looked down on Shetu, his cousin who was willing to be a running dog of the Tang Dynasty. He wanted to find an opportunity to capture Shetu and escort him back to present him to his father, so he chose to stay and continue looking for an opportunity to fight.

However, the Tang army did not give him this opportunity. Under the suggestion of He Ruodun, Shetu led his army to pretend to withdraw to the Jinshan Pass and attracted the Dianjue army to the foothills of Jinshan. He Ruodun led his troops to attack from the side. When the Western Turkic army tried to escape from the battle again, Han Guo's troops who were heading north from Liangzhou arrived at the battlefield in time, outflanked them from behind, and wiped out most of the Western Turkic army on the battlefield. In the end, only one or two out of ten escaped from the battlefield. Even Ashina Dianjue, the son of Shidianmi, was captured on the battlefield!

"Your arrogance led to your failure, and it really ruined my plan!"

When the news of the defeat of the reinforcements from the north reached Khan's Futu City, Shi Dianmi was shocked and couldn't help cursing.

After Ashina Danjue was defeated, not only did his rescue of Xue Guyan fail, but this group of troops was no longer blocked and could march straight into the Western Turkic territory, and even attack the Khan Futu City, which made him vulnerable to attack from both sides when fighting against the Yiwu Tang army. Moreover, the destruction of tens of thousands of elite troops also made Shi Dianmi's troops no longer sufficient, so he quickly ordered conscription from the country.

Originally, Shi Dianmi planned to go straight south from the Tianshan Pass and fight a fierce battle with the Tang army in Yiwulu, taking advantage of the fact that the Tang army had just arrived from afar to kill them in large numbers. However, the failure on the side route forced him to adopt a more conservative strategy. He did not rush to lead the main army south to Yiwulu, but only sent a part of the divisions and brigades south to harass and intercept the Gaochang people who were migrating eastward.

However, now that the main force of the Tang army had already entered Yiwulu, it was naturally impossible to allow the Western Turkic cavalry to run rampant in the territory. They immediately dispatched light cavalry units to attack and encircle them, and began to try to attack and seize the Tianshan mountain passes previously guarded by the Western Turkic troops.

Since Shi Dianmi did not lead his main forces south, and the Tang army did not cross the Tianshan Mountains in large numbers to attack Khan Futu City, the two sides confronted each other across a mountain range, and the war that the Western Regions had expected did not take place immediately.

However, all parties still maintained a close eye on the war situation here. Even some merchant groups followed the Gaochang people who migrated eastward to the Yiwulu area, wanting to watch the battle for hegemony in the Western Regions up close.

Shi Dianmi was indeed a powerful ruler who dominated the Western Regions in a few years. Although this war started off badly, he did not panic.

He first firmly guarded Khanfutu City and controlled several important north-south passages at the Tianshan Pass to ensure that the Yiwu Tang army could not go north. Then he dispatched divisions and brigades to the east and repelled several enemy forces from Jinshan who tried to attack Khanfutu City. His most brilliant move was to send the 20,000 troops recruited from the country directly south from Luntai and into Gaochang from the west, killing many people in Gaochang.

However, at this time, most of the people who intended to move away from Gaochang had already followed the king Qu Qiangu out of the country and arrived in Yiwulu one after another. Those who remained in the country inevitably suffered from the murderous hands of the Western Turks.

When the Tang army arrived after hearing the news, the entire Gaochang territory was already littered with corpses and the scene was horrific. The Western Turkic army had already withdrawn from Luntai to the north of the Tianshan Mountains. The Tang army had to temporarily stay in the cities within the territory of Gaochang and summoned all the Gaochang people who had survived the disaster into the city for protection.

Although the Western Turkic army's massacre in the south failed to stop the Gaochang people from migrating eastward, it did greatly intimidate the unstable states in the Western Regions, especially those who had been badmouthing the Western Turkic Khanate because they saw that Shidemi Khan was trapped in Futu City and did not dare to fight. Now they shut up obediently.

The confrontation between the two sides soon lasted from winter to spring and lasted for several months. During this period, under the unremitting attack of the Tang army, they finally captured two Tianshan Mountain passes, allowing the Tang cavalry to rush into the city of Futu.

However, such an achievement could hardly reverse the overall situation. Although the weather in the world was warming up, there was still heavy snow in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains during the cold winter. Under such circumstances, it was difficult to carry out large-scale manpower deployment. And delaying the war until the cold winter was also the success of Shidemi Khan's strategy.

Although the Tang army had considerable combat effectiveness, they were not local troops in Hexi. Their large divisions traveled far to the Western Regions and consumed a huge amount of supplies every day, making it difficult for them to obtain sufficient supplies locally.

Although the situation of the Western Turks was also very difficult, they had the advantage of being at home after all, and the cost of obtaining supplies was much lower than that of the Tang army. Therefore, as long as they could survive the cold winter, the next year would be the time for the Western Turks to launch a counterattack. By then, the tired, hungry and cold Tang army would be vulnerable!
However, as time went by, what Shidianmi Khan waited for was not the good news of the collapse of the Tang army, but a bad news. The Khan's tent in Yingsuochuan, far to the north of Qiuci, was suddenly attacked by the Tang army. Because the Khan's court was already extremely weak at that time, all the people who stayed in the Khan's court were captured by the Tang army, including hundreds of chiefs and hostages from various states, and of course, Shidianmi Khan's immediate family members.

"The Tang army is truly vicious! They lured me in here and attacked my heart!"

After hearing the news, Shidianmi Khan's face changed drastically and he froze on the spot. After a long time, he still had no idea what was going on.

The Tang army in Yiwulu was still unaware of the news that the division heading west had succeeded. During this period of time, they had been pushed to the limit, both in terms of material consumption and the mental and physical strength of the soldiers.

Although the climate on the south side of the Tianshan Mountains is better than that on the north side, they are still more or less unable to adapt to the climate of the Western Regions. Many soldiers suffered varying degrees of frostbite. It also became increasingly difficult to transport supplies from Dunhuang, and the cycle became longer and longer.

"We should launch an attack on Futu City before the thaw! We don't need too many troops, 30,000 are enough. Attacking the city is inferior, conquering the heart is superior. If we still can't defeat the enemy this time, it will be even more difficult when the spring comes and the weather gets warmer. We can only hold on to Yiwulu and fight again later!"

Although he felt somewhat unwilling, Li Tai had to admit the reality that the Western Turks were much more difficult to deal with than he had imagined. The fact that there had been no news from the division heading west also gave him a sense of foreboding.

At present, the national strength accumulated by the Tang Dynasty for several years has been used to the limit because of this war. If a phased result cannot be obtained as soon as possible, there is really no need to persist. It is still necessary to preserve strength, ensure the current results, and withdraw to the country smoothly. It should be noted that there is still a Tuyuhun with evil intentions between Hehuang, and Li Tai cannot put all his strength into this battle.

So he organized his forces, sent 10,000 troops from the north of Tianshan Mountain and 20,000 troops from Yiwu, and launched an attack on Khan Futu City. It was more of a coercion than an attack, because in such cold weather, it was difficult to draw a bowstring, and the city wall covered with ice and snow was harder than iron and stone, and it was difficult to destroy it.

This move was nothing more than showing the Western Turks that the Tang Dynasty still had the ability to organize large-scale offensive battles even until now, so they had better surrender if they knew what was best for them. If they really didn't know what was best for them, then I could only run away with my bucket.

Sometimes the competition of willpower is just a matter of a hair's breadth. After learning that the Khan's court had fallen, Shi Dianmi was shocked. He wanted to get supplies in time when the spring thaw came, and he needed the Khan's court as a transit point. But now that their old nests had been raided, would those Western Regions Hu tribes still be willing to surrender their cattle and sheep? According to his understanding of those Hu tribes, these Hu chiefs would probably run to the Tang Emperor's tent as soon as possible to line up and wait for an audience!
The fall of the Khan's court had already made him feel deeply desperate, and the large group of Tang troops that appeared outside Khan's Futu City at this time became the last straw that broke his defenses. After a fierce inner struggle, Shidianmi decided to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. The top priority at the moment was to protect the hundreds of thousands of troops inside and outside the Futu City, but once the war broke out, he really had no confidence in keeping these troops together and preventing them from disintegrating.

When the Western Turkic envoys came out of the city to surrender in front of the army, Li Tai was stunned for a long time on horseback. After a while, he suppressed his ecstasy and said coldly: "I am leading a large army to attack the rebels. How can I be arrogant and ignore the surrendered people? Hu envoys, leave quickly. If your lord does not come out, the war will come!"

The Western Turkic envoys retreated in a hurry. After more than an hour, an old Hu man with disheveled hair and wrapped in a felt blanket walked out of the city surrounded by a group of followers. He then bowed in the direction of the Tang army and said, "I, the disobedient old Hu man, kowtow to His Majesty the Supreme Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"