Chinese New Year

Chapter 1435 Disaster
The biggest problem in the campaigns in the Western Regions was probably the distance.

Without coming here, one simply cannot grasp the meaning of vast land and sparse population. The journey from one place to another often spans hundreds of miles, and many of the places along those hundreds of miles don't even deserve a name…

In the Central Plains, perhaps a journey of thirty li would take you to another county, with villages along the way, lush green farmland, rippling rivers and lakes, and rural eateries with their flags waving everywhere.

The gaps in agriculture and population are quite large and difficult to bridge because of the lack of natural resources.

Wealth might compensate for some of the losses; after all, when a trade route is at its most important, tax collection can bring in a fortune, and ordinary people can also supplement their income by selling grain and water. But what good is wealth if agricultural endowment is poor? The grain, meat, eggs, and dairy products you produce cannot absorb so much wealth; they will only drive up local prices.

When Shao Xu traveled west from Gaochang, he also saw a large baggage train.

They headed southwest, clearly to provide Zhao Wei's troops with provisions and equipment, but they probably only traveled 150 li to Hengjie County (near present-day Toksun) before stopping. There, they had already stockpiled a considerable amount of supplies and manpower, and others continued to transport them forward.

According to the latest information, Zhao Wei's vanguard has left Hengjie County and entered a valley (Subexi Mountain Gully) seventy miles to the southwest.

Shao Xu had no particular thoughts on this; Weixu, a vassal state of Yanqi, was still far away. After leaving the valley, one had to pass through a stretch of sand dunes. In the dunes was a spring called Yinshan Spring—this spring was called Afushi Spring in the Tang Dynasty. Legend has it that when monks climbed the cliff to pray for water, the spring gushed forth. When no one was around, only a small amount seeped out, but when many people came to fetch water, a large amount gushed out. In fact, this spring had existed for a long time and had formed a small lake around it. It was an important water source node on the ancient Silk Road, but it slowly dried up in the 20th century.

After passing this spring, one must cross the Silver Mountain. There should be Yanqi or Weixu soldiers on this mountain. The Tianshan Mountains are named for their many silver mines, and many of the silver coins minted by the Western Regions countries come from this mountain.

From Hengjie County to Yinshan, it is a total of 290 li. Except for one spring, the middle part is either desert or mountain gully, which is not easy to travel.

Of course, their journey wasn't easy either, and mine wasn't much simpler either.

After leaving Gaochang, the army advanced northwest, arriving at Jiaohe County two or three days later. The troops previously stationed there had already moved south, and now, apart from three thousand able-bodied men from Qin Prefecture, there were only the former people of the Cheshi Kingdom.

On the 16th, Shao Xu set out from Jiaohe and marched for seven days to reach this valley located on the ancient Cheshi Road—the Gaochang military camp named it "Anrongshu" (Daban City).

Anrong Garrison had 400 chariot soldiers, and upon seeing Shao Xu arrive, they all requested to return to their hometowns.

For them, Anrong Garrison was the western border of the country, frequently raided by bandits, and it was not their home, so they really did not want to stay there any longer.

Shao Xu did not agree immediately, but instead led the officials of the Prince's Palace to a high place to enjoy the view.

Before anyone else could speak, Da Nong Liu Gong's expression changed, and he said, "Your Majesty, this is a wonderful place."

Shao Xu also thought it was good. Putting everything else aside, there were many more rivers than in Gaochang, and there might even be more rain.

In Gaochang, that wretched place, there are hardly any rivers, and even if there are, there's no guarantee of water all year round. Springs are no different from rivers, so it's necessary to excavate a vast network of underground wells and canals to collect snowmelt from the mountains.

This area to the west was actually the territory of the ancient Cheshi Kingdom, but it was abandoned for some reason, even though the conditions were so good.

This may be related to the fact that the Cheshi Kingdom was divided between the Han and the Xiongnu, with each establishing a former king (the crown prince of the original Cheshi king) and a latter king (the brothers of the original Cheshi king). It may also be that it was simply undefendable, given its open terrain and good water and grass conditions, which made it coveted by many.

“It is indeed a good place,” Shao Xu said, “but we must still base ourselves on Gaochang.”

In short, after consolidating its foundation in the four counties of Gaochang, which have a population of over 30,000, it will consider expanding outwards.

"How much land rent did Gaochang collect last year?" Shao Xu asked.

"If we include the Wuji Colonel's Division, we harvested a total of over 53,000 bushels of millet and wheat," Liu Gong replied.

Shao Xu was speechless. With such a small amount of grain, it probably wouldn't even be enough to pay the officials' salaries.

However, Gaochang's official salaries likely included a significant amount of money, unlike the Central Plains where grain and cloth accounted for the majority of expenditures. Aside from other factors, Shao Xu discovered numerous gold and silver coins in the markets of Gaochang and Jiaohe counties. Most merchants used silver plates, bottles, and bowls for transactions; if that wasn't enough, they would supplement with a bag of wheat.

In other words, silver was the primary currency, and wheat was the secondary currency.

Shao Xu was very excited when he saw it.

He actually had a whole plan for developing Gaochang, but all of this was based on having enough money.

The market in Gaochang was teeming with silver plates, silver bottles, silver bowls, and even gold and silver coins from various Western Regions countries, as well as copper coins from the Han, Wei, Jin, and Liang dynasties of the Central Plains. The currency was already plentiful, and there was plenty of room for maneuver. Of course, even if all the coins in Gaochang were plundered and sent to the Central Plains, it wouldn't make a ripple, since it was just a country of tens of thousands of people, too small in size.

On the 23rd, as Shao Xu left Anrong Garrison and continued his journey northwest, he was still pondering this question.

The officials of the royal court surrounding him assumed he was plotting a war, but only Shen Jin, who was familiar with the King of Zhao's thoughts, knew that the King was setting up a new business again.

On the 25th, the vanguard reported that the Wusun tribe had sent cattle, sheep, grapes, and fine wine to reward the troops.

Shao Xu's spirits lifted, and he accelerated his pace, arriving at the former site of Dongqiemi on the morning of the 26th. Dongqiemi was a Western Region state during the Han Dynasty, descended from the Wusun people. They were primarily nomadic, grazing their livestock in the north during the summer and migrating south for the winter. Their territory encompassed the area north and south of the Tianshan Mountains surrounding Urumqi in later times.

The Xiongnu conquered it and divided it into the Eastern and Western Qiemi, which had just experienced great chaos and each had only two thousand people. By the time of the Later Han Dynasty, the population had gradually recovered to five or six thousand, and then it was controlled by the Later Cheshi Kingdom.

But nomadic tribes are not so easily controlled. The Later King of Cheshi only gained some verbal advantage; he couldn't actually mobilize the Wusun people. This time, the Xiongnu tribes were wreaking havoc, and the Wusun suffered greatly. Adding to this, they had heard rumors of a "100,000-strong" army of the Liang royal family arriving on the northern grasslands, and a large army gathering in the former Gaochang region to the south. This was leaving them no way out…

At this point, they were out of options and decided to surrender to one side first. As for what would happen next, who knew? In any case, no one in the tribe could see the future situation clearly, so they could only take it one step at a time.

Shao Xu stayed in the former territory of Dongqiemi for three days, bestowing upon the silk and brocade he had brought with him the army, showing great compassion. At the same time, he ordered the surrendered tribes to send envoys westward to the former territory of Xiqiemi to recruit the local Wusun tribes—who were mostly active in the area of ​​later Changji and Hutubi.

The Wusun people in the former territory of Dongxi Qiemi numbered over ten thousand, only slightly less than the population of the main Cheshi Kingdom, making them a formidable force.

Shao Xu was somewhat greedy. He wanted to use the strength of Gaochang's more than 30,000 people to try to win over the tribes near and far, even if it was just nominal obedience. He just wanted to establish a hierarchy of master and servant, superior and inferior.

******
Just as King Zhao Shaoxu was advancing along the ancient Cheshi Road, pacifying the region along the way, Zheng Long's tribe, which was marching from the northern grasslands, had twice defeated the Yujiulü clan and its vassal tribes, causing them to flee westward in large numbers.

The various tribes, caught up in the fighting, rushed into the territory of the Later Cheshi Kingdom, dividing their forces into several routes to pursue and annihilate the remaining Xiongnu forces.

In the midst of the slaughter, they couldn't stop, and even the people of the Later Cheshi Kingdom suffered as a result.

On the 19th, He Fen, the Attendant Gentleman of Anbei Prefecture, and Su Baochen, the Commander of the Eagle Shooting Camp, led more than 4,000 cavalry to pursue the Xiongnu to Lake Barkol (present-day Barkol Lake), where they defeated them and captured 2,000 people. They then burned, killed, and looted, and also plundered the nearby Wusun tribe (descendants of the ancient Kingdom of Barkol), who were subjects of the Later King of Cheshi.

There were only about four thousand Wusun people in this area. Caught off guard, more than a thousand were killed, and the rest scattered and fled.

After gathering together briefly, they pitifully surrendered.

On the 20th, several thousand Tuoba Xianbei soldiers rushed to the northwestern border of the Later Cheshi Kingdom. Several thousand Wusun people (descendants of the ancient Beilu Kingdom) fled. The Xianbei pursued them for more than two hundred li, beheading more than a thousand and capturing more than 100,000 cattle, sheep, horses and camels, returning in great victory.

On the 22nd, Wei Hong, the Commandant of Liangcheng, led 3,000 troops from Liangcheng, Wuyuan, and other tribes to defeat one Yuezhi and one Xiongnu tribe that were wavering between the Rouran and the Later Cheshi Kingdom. They beheaded more than 1,500 people and captured more than 100,000 livestock.

This is no longer a pursuit; it's a robbery disguised as a pursuit.

The 20,000 cavalry of the Northern Route Army swept across the entire region north of the snow-capped mountains like a bloody storm.

They were inhuman, using war to sustain war, and were extremely cruel, killing or surrendering various tribes and suffering heavy losses.

In terms of overall strength, these tribes had a considerable population and a substantial military force. However, their problem lay in their centuries-long division, making it impossible for them to unite. The emergence of the Rouran offered a potential means of cohesion, but they suffered two defeats in major battles, losing more than half of their assembled core and vassal cavalry, and fled westward.

North of the snow-capped mountains, it has become a paradise for conquerors.

They were so arrogant that when they saw Qu Gan leading 1,500 infantry and cavalry on the 24th, they directly used light cavalry to flank them from both sides, while armored cavalry blocked their way. They saw the large banner with the character "Liang" in the distance and hesitated for a moment. In the end, they decided to send someone to check. When they learned that the King of Zhao was still behind them, they were shocked and retreated in embarrassment.

By the 28th of August, the weather had turned cool and the grass had withered. Shao Xu led the combined forces of Han, Cheshi, and Wusun, which had swelled to more than 10,000 men, to the outskirts of the capital of Cheshi.

King Cheluo of Cheshi led his officials out of the city, his face deathly pale.

His country was a patchwork of different groups, consisting of the Tocharians, Wusun, and Yuezhi, with a few Han Chinese and Xiongnu. Now, they have been scattered and fled, with only the Cheshi tribe still supporting him. The country has disintegrated and is in a terrible state.

Ignoring the advice of those around him, Shao Xu stepped forward, grasped Che Luo's hand, and said, "Loyal and Righteous King, do not worry. Now that I have arrived, the chaos is over."

Che Luo blinked and asked, "Really?"

Shao Xu almost burst out laughing. How could a coward like him be a king?

“Indeed,” he said with certainty.

Having said that, he immediately summoned his friend Shen Jin, Lieutenant Sima You Xun, and Attendant Murong Ke, ordering each of them to lead two thousand infantry and cavalry to sweep through the northern foothills of the snow-capped mountains, clear out the bandits, and contact the generals and officers of the northern army.

The three men each accepted their orders and departed.

Over the next few days, the situation indeed gradually calmed down.

At the end of the month, Zheng Long, the commander of the Northern Route Army, personally led several thousand men to Cheshi Houcheng to meet with Shao Xu, and the calamity in the northern frontier gradually came to an end.

(End of this chapter)