The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 738: Kindness is not in charge of the army, and justice is not in charge of wealth
The biggest mistake of the Bukhara Khanate was actually that it failed to defend the Nadir Shah Fortress, which allowed the Dayu Western Army to easily advance to Samarkand.

Because the terrain of the river is very special, if you want to attack Bukhara from Talas, Baishui City, Hushui City and other places in the north, you must pass through the two or three hundred kilometers of semi-uninhabited area - the hungry steppe.

As the name suggests, the Hungry Grassland is not a desert but a grassland, but the vegetation is very sparse. When herders come here, they can only feed their livestock half-full, so it is naturally impossible for a large number of troops to pass through.

Therefore, in the past, when attacking Bukhara, the route was basically through the Dayuan Basin (Fergana Basin), out of Zhenxi Fort (Khujand), and then attacking the Nadir Shah Fortress north of Samarkand. As long as they broke through here, everything would be easy.

Because between Samarkand and Bukhara, there is a Zeravshan Valley formed by the Zeravshan River.

The Zeravshan River originates between the Zeravshan Mountains and the Turkestan Mountains, a remnant of the Western Tianshan Mountains. It is sandwiched between two large mountains and therefore has an extremely abundant amount of water.

It is almost equivalent to one-third of the Syr Darya River and one-quarter of the Yellow River. This is an extremely terrifying amount of water in the river and is extremely precious.

Therefore, this valley, sandwiched between two mountains and carved out by the Zeravshan River, has been the richest and most densely populated area in the river since ancient times. Even the Dayuan Basin (Fergana Basin) cannot compare with it.

The gateway to Samarkand that was captured by Dayu in one fell swoop - the Nadir Shah Fortress is located on the Turkestan Mountains, which is the key pass that locks this valley.

It’s a pity that the Bukhara Khanate never thought that there would be an enemy of the size of Dayu who would fight it at all costs.

Therefore, Nadir Shah's fortress defense strategy was only aimed at the Khanate of Kokand, which could only dispatch a few thousand combat soldiers and more than 10,000 armed herdsmen. So it was not surprising that it was easily lost in the end.

As time moved towards summer, the temperature became warmer and warmer. Messengers with command flags on their backs ran around, conveying the orders of Li Xianwen, the Grand Marshal of the Western Army, to all parties.

After receiving the order, the Western Army soldiers scattered everywhere began to gather under the city of Samarkand.

"This river was called Namishui in the Tang Dynasty, but according to the Persian transliteration of Zeravshan, it should be called Jinsha River, which is more appropriate." Li Xianwen said with emotion as he looked at the sparkling river in front of him.

Zeravshan means gold in ancient Persian, and the first people living in this river basin did make a living by panning for gold.

"It's a pity that there is not much gold sand to be mined from this river now. Otherwise, we can use this as a gimmick to attract more immigrants." The eunuch Li Jinzhong echoed in a flattering manner.

Last year, he and Li Gengyun went on a diplomatic mission to Bukhara and successfully provoked the anger of the Bukharan people, but Li Gengyun was trapped in the city of Bukhara and his life or death is still unknown.

Therefore, Li Jinzhong was a little afraid of being criticized for this, and he has been much more low-key recently.

After all, he was the deputy envoy and Li Gengyun was the chief envoy. The chief envoy's life or death was unknown, but you ran back so quickly. If you really make a big deal out of it, it would still be a bit troublesome.

"Even if there is gold sand, it probably wouldn't be of much use. Eunuch Li might not know this yet, but those people in Hezhou Wenshui Port (Vancouver) claimed to have discovered a gold mountain in the south.

They also said that the locals had to squint their eyes when walking, otherwise they would be blinded by the gold on the gold mountain.

Mist grass!

Li Jinzhong was shocked. His mouth opened wide as he looked at Chen Guangyao in disbelief. "Master, who made up this nonsense? It's too outrageous! If there really is such a gold mountain, how could we have discovered it only now?"

Chen Guangyao couldn't help laughing. He waved his hands and said, "There are many fools in this world. Plus, America is selling silver to us by the boatload. Naturally, some people will believe it."

At this time, the United States was also trying its best to trade with China. After all, the United States was a country founded by a group of capitalists who were dissatisfied with England treating them as a colony. Doing business is engraved in their genes.

It's a pity that America really had nothing to sell to China, so it could only find ways to get some silver and some furs, and sell them all the way over with Spain. Unexpectedly, this only deepened the stereotype of the people in China that Hezhou (Americas) was full of gold and silver.

After chatting for a while, they began to deploy the marching plan. They then decided to use Dong Jinfeng's Dingxi Army of 2,000 people and Yang Yuchun's Longxiang Guards Cavalry of more than 300 people as the vanguard, marching westward to eliminate small groups of enemies on the way.

On the other hand, in the Bukhara Khanate, under the full pressure of Grand Sheikh Ali, the new Haidar Elmi was forced to sign a series of treaties with the Persian Qajar dynasty.

These treaties essentially downgraded the country, which had already been downgraded from the Bukhara Khanate to the Bukhara Emirate, to the Bukhara Emirate.

After becoming an emirate, Bukhara officially changed from a pan-Turkic state that was legally a vassal of the Caliph to a second-level vassal that had to submit to the Persian king first.

After signing these treaties, the newly crowned Persian King Agha Mohammad Khan led 50,000 elite Persian soldiers from Turkmenistan across the desert, crossed the Amu Darya River, and rushed to Bukhara.

"Grand Master, your contributions are evident to me. I believe that from now on, the followers of Ali of the Naqshbandi Order will become the masters of this place."

The Persian King Agha Mohammed Shah stood in the main hall of the Ark Palace in Bukhara and said something to Grand Imam Ali that made both the civil and military officials of the Emirate of Bukhara very dissatisfied.

This Persian king, who was born a eunuch, wore a red robe decorated with golden flowers and a typical Persian round hat on his head. His gloomy eyes and long face without a beard made the king look less majestic, but his whole body revealed a viciousness that was unique to eunuchs.

Ahmed Hakim, the general of the Bukhara Guards, made no effort to conceal his anger. He glared at Grand Imam Ali, and his hand, which was tightly gripping the knife handle, was shaking constantly, as if he really wanted to chop him with the knife.

This is because the Bukhara Khanate has always been a country where the majority of people are followers of the religion, and the followers of Ali mentioned by the Persian king are a nickname for the industrialist faction, another major faction of Islam.

The Sufi mystical sect in this river originally had no sects. All those who advocated asceticism and liked mysticism could be considered Sufis.

However, this fence-sitting approach is doomed to be unsustainable. As the largest of the mysterious sects, the Naqshbandi sect has been the target of wooing by the two major factions for hundreds of years.

Initially, the majority of the members of the sect were followers of the Hanafi sect of the Muslim faith.

However, over the years, the beliefs of many people in the sect have begun to shift, leaning more towards the industrialists, who are mainly dominated by Persians, but they are still not mainstream.

However, after what Grand Sheikh Ali did, the industrialists are expected to develop rapidly in Central Asia.

Looking at the threatening gaze of the Persian king, Grand Sheikh Ali could only smile bitterly in his heart. What else could he say?

This was what the Persian king Agha Muhammad Shah did intentionally. He deliberately turned his move to introduce Persians to protect the emirate into a conspiracy to join the industrialists.

“Great Shah Shah, at this time, every Bukharan people united and vowed to drive out the infidels under the protection of Allah.

Whether they become Ali’s followers (the industrialists) or become part of the majority (the conventionalists) is a matter of their own choice.”

Grand Sheikh Ali said these words with a stiff upper lip. He was in a difficult position and had to speak out, but he was even more afraid of the wrath of the Persian king.

Therefore, after saying a few words reluctantly, under the pressure of the Persian king's tangible gaze, Grand Sheikh Ali hurriedly went back to make amends.

“But I believe that after the great Shah Shah saved the people of Bukhara, more people will be willing to become Ali’s followers.”

The Persian king was satisfied and let go of the Grand Imam Ali, who was sweating profusely under his white turban.

And these words did work. At least seeing the miserable appearance of Grand Sheikh Ali, the Royal Guard General Ahmed Hakim was not only more wary of the Persians, but also felt a bit sad.

It was all done to preserve the Emirate of Bukhara under the terrorist threat of infidels. It was so difficult!

"If the Peach Blossom Stone Man really has half the combat effectiveness you say, I think it would be difficult to defend the valley between Samarkand and Bukhara. It is too rich and has no strategic locations to defend." When it came to military matters, the Persian king's thinking became clearer. After all, as a eunuch, it would be impossible for the Persian king to accomplish anything without outstanding military capabilities.

"Destroy all farmland between Samarkand and Bukhara, sink all available ships into the narrow river, and try to slow down the enemy's ability to move, so that they cannot get even a little supply from us.

We will make it difficult for them to even get enough to eat, and we will wait for those hungry and exhausted Peach Blossom Stone people at the gates of Bukhara after we have eaten our fill.

This is the scorched earth policy!

As expected, since it was not their own family property, they had no psychological burden in taking it. It was not that no one among the Bukharans had proposed this suggestion, but many of them could not bring themselves to do it.

After all, the Zeravshan Valley between Samarkand and Bukhara is the most essential part of the entire Bukhara Khanate.

"Emile, I think there's nothing wrong with that. We must use this method to defeat the powerful Peach Blossom Stone Man."

The Persian king looked at the Emir of Bukhara, Haidar, with a sinister look, and Haidar felt his blood boiling.

If the Peach Blossom Stone Man had not refused to accept his surrender, and if Grand Imam Ali had not already turned against him, he would never have accepted the threats and assignments of this damn eunuch.

"I think there is no big problem. Everything is for the purpose of defeating the Peach Blossom Stone Man." Emil said this with all his will.

. . . .

"Quickly report to the Grand Marshal, the Bukharans are using a scorched earth strategy against us."

Yang Yuchun, the vanguard of the Western Army, looked at a destroyed house and dozens of Bukharans hanged on trees and immediately made a judgment.

This is the Bukharan people's execution of those who refused to destroy their homes and leave their homes.

"These people are too cruel. In order to deal with us, they even attack their own people." Although he was used to seeing killings, a Huaibei-born second lieutenant of the Longxiang Guards Cavalry still felt a little emotional.

"Therefore, eliminating these inhumane beasts and avenging the blood of tens of millions of Han people in the northwest is our goal. Although we cannot avoid committing some brutal acts, it is worth it for the peace of future generations."

Yang Yuchun was indeed a talented general discovered and cultivated by the emperor. He had a deep understanding of the emperor's so-called "going on a mission with a legitimate reason" and always used justice to gild himself.

The cavalry lieutenant nodded in agreement, then gracefully untied the hanged Bukharans and burned them.

It seemed that the Bukharans who were ruthlessly killed by him deserved it, while these people were just poor innocent victims.

When the news reached the Western Army headquarters, Li Xianwen pondered for a moment before saying to Chen Guangyao and the others, "This move by the Bukharans is truly ruthless. Even if their goal is to kill one thousand enemies and lose three thousand of their own, we would still be at a disadvantage if we were to trade with them."

"Based on the current speed of transporting military rations, the size of the troops should be limited to no more than 30,000.

If we exceed this number and cannot obtain local supplies, logistical problems will arise." "Huating Earl Chen Qiuze, the Western Army's ambassador in charge of logistics, said with a frown.

Although there is the Jinsha River (Zeravshan River) to transport goods from Samarkand to Bukhara, there is no river connecting the Dayuan Basin to Samarkand.

Moreover, on the way, one has to cross the Turkestan Mountains, which is the tail range of the Western Tianshan Mountains, from the Nadir Shah Fortress, which is actually very strenuous.

"And there's another problem." Li Xianwen pointed at the map and continued, "The navy's patrol boats have discovered two sunken ships that the Bukharans had sunk in the river.

These sunken ships were filled with sand and gravel, making them extremely difficult to clear, and severely hindered the transportation of our army's rations and personnel."

"I understand!" Chen Qiuze instantly guessed the Bukharans' purpose. "Most of the water in the Jinsha River comes from melting snow in the mountains. If they delay us until June or July, the river will swell and become difficult to transport. Then, it will be even harder for us to supply the front."

"Yes, that's right!" Li Xianwen thought for a few minutes and finally made a decision.

"We can't joke with the lives of our soldiers. We'll send out a maximum of 20,000 troops. After we capture Navoi, we'll hold our ground and wait until we can stabilize our logistics."

Navoi is the largest city between Samarkand and Bukhara, located at the bend of the Jinsha River (Zeravshan River), and has a very important location.

In the last Battle of Samarkand, more than 4,000 cavalrymen led by Li Xingtai caught up with the fleeing Emir Murad in this city, defeated the Bukhara army in one battle, and almost killed Emir Murad in battle.

However, due to lack of control, Li Xingtai abandoned the city after destroying some key defensive facilities in Navoi.

Chen Guangyao also came over and took a closer look. After thinking about it for a long time, he really couldn't find any good solution.

"We are here to kill, not to force a landing. Otherwise, we could try using 20,000 people."

This is the biggest difference between the Western Army of Dayu and the Western Expedition Army of the Han and Tang Dynasties. If you want to kill people, even millions of people, it is impossible to do it with a small number of elite soldiers.

"Grand Marshal, please let me go to Navoi. I can definitely use 20,000 people to teach the Bukhara and Persian people a lesson." Chen Guangyao knew he had no choice. His plan to completely defeat the Bukhara people this year was shattered again.

However, the three years of harvest in the Dayuan Basin can only support three years of war at most. This year is the second year. If they still fail next year, then this Western Expedition may fail.

Therefore, this trip to Navoi as a preliminary step is very important, as it is to lay the foundation for next year's decisive battle. Chen Guangyao thought about it and it seemed that only he was capable of doing it.

But this time, Li Xianwen did not agree. He shook his head, looked at Chen Guangyao and said, "Navoi, I plan to let Atai go, because I want to return to Dayuan to make final preparations for the army.

At the same time, the Afghan troops may also come down the mountain to provide support. I need you to stay in Samarkand. This city is our base camp and must not be lost."

After a moment of silence, Chen Guangyao bowed respectfully to Li Xianwen. He understood why Li Xianwen wanted to return to Dayuan.

This was not to make any preparations, but to withdraw all the food and grass from the Xia vassal state in the Dayuan Basin, so that the people in the rear could eat coarse food to support the battle on the front line.

In this kind of situation, only he, the Prince of Ningxia, could personally take charge and mobilize these grain and grass.

"The Zhenxi Army has already reached the Hui area, and we need to take care of their food and fodder." Chen Guangyao agreed with Li Xianwen's approach, and after thinking for a moment, he continued:

Grand Marshal, Fu Kangan is a very capable man who can be used. Let him take the Kazakh cavalry here away, and then transfer 5,000 people from the south and north of the desert to him.

"Order him to cross Bukhara and head into the heart of the Bukharans to be eaten by the enemy. Since the Bukharans want to fortify their walls and clear the countryside, we will fight them to the end!"

This was a vicious plan. Fu Kang'an took 15,000 light cavalry with him. On the one hand, it could relieve the supply pressure in Samarkand, and on the other hand, it could disrupt the rear of Bukhara.

In addition, even if these 15,000 people were lost, there would be no need to feel sad. The Kazakhs were cannon fodder, and the Mongolian cavalry in the south and north of the desert could be abandoned.

As for Fu Kang'an, as a bannerman, whether he can survive depends on his fate.

(End of this chapter)