Water Margin people

Chapter 1505: Star Gorge

Gaochang City.

"What? Sun Lei is leading the army in person!"

Yelu Dashi suddenly stood up, walked quickly forward, grabbed the merchant in front of him to confirm.

"Yes, the news has spread to Qi State. The emperor has led the army in person. I'm afraid he has already entered the Hexi Corridor!"

The merchant said fearfully.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Yelu Dashi was furious and roared at the merchant. His murderous eyes frightened the merchant so much that he trembled.

"We...we just came out of the border recently...and returned to Gaochang!"

The merchants hurriedly explained that it was not that they did not want to talk, but it would take them time to come back.

"Are you sure Sun Lei has set off?"

Yelu Dashi stared at the merchant and asked, his eyes were cold. If this man dared to cheat him, he would make sure that man died a miserable death.

"They set out. I saw it with my own eyes, from Liangshan City all the way to Jingzhao Prefecture! Everyone in Qi knows it!"

The merchant confirmed that it was impossible to fake this matter. Everyone in the world knew that the emperor had to come even if he didn't want to.

Yelu Dashi let go of the merchant, and the merchant who was grabbed fell to the ground.

"Juerhan, is the Emperor of Qi really coming?"

The faces of several Khans changed drastically. They originally wanted to rush into the Central Plains and plunder. However, they were different from Yelu Dashi. Yelu Dashi was a Khitan who once had a dynasty in the Central Plains. The Central Plains was also considered the hometown of the Khitans.

But for the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, Western Karakhanid Khanate, and Khwarezm, the Central Plains was too far away from their homelands, and no matter how rich it was, they were not willing to stay there for long.

Now that the Emperor of Qi has led the army in person, the nature of the war has changed. With the Emperor of Qi coming, it will be a decisive battle, a fight to the death.

This was different from what everyone had thought before. At this moment, they were all worried about what to do next.

"Haha, just in time! Just in time! We can take care of him now!"

Yelu Dashi burst into laughter. He was not worried at all. Instead, he was excited because Sun Lei brought his troops.

"Jiu'er Khan, the Emperor of Qi is here, and this battle is going to be difficult for us!"

Ibrahim, the king of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, looked at Yelu Dashi and said that they didn't understand why Yelu Dashi was so happy.

"What do you know? Do you think he's scary just because he brings troops here? No, he's just an arrogant fool!"

Yelu Dashi looked at everyone and said.

Everyone looked over in confusion, wanting to know why.

"The Central Plains is rich and densely populated. If Sun Lei stays in the palace and commands and dispatches troops, then our best outcome will be to plunder Guanzhong and then retreat. We can't fight a war of attrition with him!"

Yelu Dashi spoke.

The rest of the people nodded, this was the result they wanted.

"If this is the case, can we really get away with it?"

Yelu Dashi looked at everyone and asked again.

No one answered, but everyone looked hesitant, and it was obvious that everyone was pessimistic about the final outcome, because they were on an expedition of thousands of miles, and it would be fine if everything went smoothly.

But once they encounter a problem, it will be a disaster. Even if they withdraw, they have thousands of miles to go, and the enemy can pursue them unscrupulously.

"But now it's different. Sun Lei has led his troops out. All they can mobilize are what they have on hand. The resources they can use are also limited. It will take at least two months to transfer troops from the Central Plains."

"Two months! In a war, two months is enough to decide the outcome!"

"Sun Lei will have to pay for his arrogance this time. Who does he think he is? He can win as soon as he comes? How can his army of more than 200,000 fight against our army of 400,000!"

Yelu Dashi looked at everyone and began to analyze the situation.

These words made the Khans all look happy. Yelu Dashi convinced them that the vast Central Plains, which they feared the most, had now been thrown aside.

"Juerhan, how do we fight?"

Several Khans asked excitedly.

"Let's send troops to Hami first, and then station them in Xingxing Gorge!"

Yelu Dashi looked at everyone and spoke.

"Xingxing Gorge?" The other Khans didn't know much about it.

But Bilege's face changed. He was a local and knew the geographical location of Xingxing Gorge very well. Xingxing Gorge was the end point of the Hexi Corridor and the only way to the Western Regions.

"The Qi army has now occupied Yumen Pass and Puchang Sea. They have already occupied this side of the plateau, but they can't go west from here. The army will die if they go in to the vast desert to the west!"

"Their only route is to go north, to Hami or to Gaochang! But Xingxing Gorge is stuck on the Hexi Corridor. If they dare to mobilize, I will make them isolated."

Yelu Dashi spoke.

"What a great place! What a great place!"

When everyone looked at the map, they realized that Xingxing Gorge was a really great place, a natural gateway.

After the discussion, Yelu Dashi directly ordered the army to set off for Hami.

After Bilege sent a few people away, he began to arrange food and fodder.

"Khan, we are back!"

Several people came to Bilege, exhausted. They were the people who were sent on a diplomatic mission to Puchanghai.

"But what's the result?"

Bilege asked quickly, he wanted to know the result.

"They want our sincerity. They don't care about the arrival of Jur Khan's army..."

Several people spoke quickly and told everything.

"What? How dare they do this?"

Bilege was a little annoyed. He was very angry at the attitude of the Qi army. This behavior of completely disrespecting him made him want to kill. Thinking of Yelu Dashi's analysis just now, he felt that it might not be a bad idea to destroy Qi.

"You don't have to worry about this anymore. The war is coming, prepare your food and fodder!"

Bilege looked at the few people and said that he had decided to follow Yelu Dashi.

"Khan, this is not what we discussed before!"

Several people looked at Bilege in surprise.

"I have made up my mind, no need to say more!"

Bilego interrupted a few people and left.

"What should we do? Can we win this battle?"

Several people started discussing the matter in panic.

"Whatever, let's do our thing! We can't die together!"

One person spoke up and said that they had seen the army of Qi. The military camp filled with a murderous atmosphere was something they had never seen before in their lives. Such an army was invincible.

"Okay, let's do it ourselves!"

Several people also echoed.

……

Yumen Pass.

Luan Tingyu looked at the military report in his hand. He had been paying attention to the emperor's itinerary these days and preparing to welcome the emperor's arrival.

"General, the enemy is moving. A large number of enemies have appeared near Xingxing Gorge."

A soldier reported.

"Star Gorge?"

Luan Tingyu frowned as he looked at the map.

"I know! Go down!"

After looking at the map, Luan Tingyu nodded and said that their army was now in a pincer attack, and the enemy was also very smart and had directly targeted the Xingxing Gorge Pass. It could be said that it was a tit-for-tat situation.

"Pass the order down to welcome His Majesty!"

Luan Tingyu did not pay too much attention to Xingxing Gorge, but instead prepared the ceremonial procession to welcome the emperor.

(End of this chapter)