I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

...

In the spring of the 28th year of the Hongwu reign, after nearly a year of encirclement and suppression, the Karluks were either wiped out or driven out of the Western Karakhanid Khanate, and the six newly enfeoffed vassal states of Zhao Yu were finally on the right track.

Meanwhile, the main railway line within the Western Karakhanid Khanate had been completed. As for the remaining branch lines, Zhao Yu didn't care and let Zhao Yu and his men build them slowly. After all, if their railways and highways weren't built properly, it would affect the economy of their own vassal states, so they probably wouldn't be in a hurry.

The reason why it took the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force and Zhao Yu's private army more than a year to eliminate the small Karluk was that the Karluk had surrendered to the Seljuk Turks and were willing to become their pawns, thus receiving assistance from various Central Asian countries, tribes, and forces led by the Seljuk Turks.

With the protection, reinforcements, and military aid of the Seljuk Empire and others, the remnants of the Karluk forces entrenched themselves in the middle reaches of the Amu Darya River, waging guerrilla warfare against the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force.

—The Seljuks, in alliance with the Khwarazmian Empire, the Ghaznavid Dynasty, and others, assembled a 300,000-strong Central Asian coalition army. They disguised themselves as Karluks and directly participated in the war, while continuously supplying the Karluks with provisions, supplies, weapons, and warhorses.

Although these Central Asian powers had been fighting each other openly and covertly before, they formed an alliance with the Song Dynasty, their common enemy, without much effort.

That's normal; the Song Dynasty was too powerful.

In just over two decades, it not only unified the entire East, but also possessed the world's most powerful productive forces and weaponry.

The key issue is that the Song Dynasty was far too aggressive.

Those who can listen and observe are worse than those who can talk.

Although the Song Dynasty would always find seemingly reasonable reasons to attack, the fact is that since Zhao Yu became the emperor of the Song Dynasty, the territory of the Song Dynasty has been expanding again and again, and now it has even extended into Central Asia.

At this point, who would believe that Zhao Yu and the Song Dynasty under his rule were not aggressive?
Therefore, the countries, tribes, and powers in Central Asia had no choice but to band together, fight back against the Song Dynasty, and continue to rule this region.

Therefore, the Central Asian allied forces guarded the strategic passes along the Amu Darya River, blocking all the crossings and shallows in the middle reaches of the river. They did not seek a quick victory, but only hoped to use the natural barrier of the Amu Darya River to wear down the morale of the Song Dynasty expeditionary force, and then launch a decisive battle when the Song army's supplies ran out.

Meanwhile, the various Central Asian tribes, led by the Karluks, relied on the complex terrain of the desert oases to constantly harass the supply lines of the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force, attempting to wear down this army that had come from afar through a protracted war.

The Central Asian allied forces were convinced that they could defeat the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force using this method.

However, to the surprise of the Central Asian allied forces, the continuous day and night transport of grain, supplies, and various materials from the Song Dynasty by train and automobile completely solved the Song expeditionary force's supply problem.

The Song Dynasty's expeditionary force, equipped with firearms such as the Li Lin cannon and the Li Lin musket, as well as cavalry that were more advanced than those of Central Asia, overwhelmed the Central Asian armies in the battles on the plains.

More importantly, the Song Dynasty's tactics were also employed extremely appropriately.

Under Zhao Yu's supreme command, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force concentrated its main force to seek out and annihilate the forces in Central Asia. The "steady advance and regional mopping-up" tactic deprived the guerrilla tactics of the tribes in Central Asia of their space for survival. Meanwhile, Zhao Yu's sons, who had become princes, led their private armies to mop up oasis strongholds by relying on branch roads.

Thus, even though the Karluks had the support of almost all the countries, tribes, and powers in Central Asia, they were still completely defeated by the Song Dynasty and were no longer able to organize effective resistance. Their leader was captured alive by the Song army, and their followers either surrendered or fled far north of the Caspian Sea, completely withdrawing from the historical stage of Central Asia.

After defeating the Karluks, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force did not stop, but instead advanced to the Seljuk Turks, forcing various Central Asian countries, tribes, and forces to the middle reaches of the Amu Darya River.

To be honest, the Central Asian countries really didn't want to fight this decisive battle, but if they didn't, the whole of Central Asia would fall into the hands of the Song Dynasty.

With no other option, the Central Asian countries had to cobble together a "million-strong army" to fight the Song army once again.

On the vast plains of the middle reaches of the Amu Darya River, a million-strong Central Asian allied army stretched for dozens of miles, their banners like a forest, their swords and spears gleaming in the sun; their cavalry alone was enough to blot out the sky. They hoped to use their numerical superiority to encircle the Song army and defeat the outnumbered forces.

The Song Dynasty's expeditionary force also knew that this battle was crucial for the Song Dynasty's conquest of Central Asia, so all three armies were mobilized, and advanced weapons such as the Li Lin cannon were transported to the battlefield.

The day of the decisive battle.

The Song army launched the first attack.

Thousands of Li Lin cannons roared simultaneously, their shells tearing through the morning mist like thunder, raining down on the Central Asian front.

The simple brick and stone fortifications built in Central Asia collapsed instantly, and huge gaps were torn open in the array of spears. Allied soldiers and their warhorses were blasted to pieces, and cries of agony rose and fell.

Before the Central Asian allied forces could regroup, the Song army's Li Lin musket and archer units had already formed several rows of horizontal lines, alternating fire to create a dense network of fire.

Arrows and bullets whistled through the armor, creating a bloodbath in the Central Asian ranks. The allied soldiers in the front ranks fell in droves, and even the bravest soldiers in the rear ranks began to falter in the face of this unstoppable attack, their formations starting to crumble.

Just as Central Asia was barely managing to stabilize its position and was attempting to organize an offensive, a sight that would be unforgettable for them suddenly appeared in the sky!

Dozens of enormous "monsters" rose into the air, their bodies painted with ferocious beast faces and their wings spread like canvases, slowly drifting towards the Central Asian coalition's positions with the wind.

This was the Song army's hot air balloon unit; those so-called "monsters" were just tiger, leopard, and bear patterns painted on the airbags.

To the Central Asians, who had never seen an aircraft before, this was seen as a malevolent force from the heavens.

The hot air balloon rose to a height of several hundred feet above the Central Asian coalition's position. Soldiers in the basket ignited the bundled explosives, severing the ropes and scattering them among the Central Asian coalition's ranks.

The explosive charge exploded with a bang even after it landed, or even while it was still in the air.

In an instant, flames soared into the sky, and rubble and iron filings flew everywhere, killing and wounding large numbers of soldiers of the Central Asian Allied Forces.

What devastated the Central Asian allied forces even more was that the “monsters” hovered high in the sky, casting shadows on the ground. The beast-face patterns looked even more eerie in the firelight, and the whistling sound of the wind passing through the airbags was mistaken by the Central Asian soldiers as the roar of monsters.

The soldiers of the Central Asian allied forces, who had never encountered an aerial threat before, thought it was divine punishment or that the Song army had summoned a beast from another world.

This caused their already tense morale to collapse instantly.

Some soldiers of the Central Asian coalition threw down their weapons and knelt down to pray, some turned and ran wildly toward the Amu Darya River, and some even drew their swords and slashed at their own men—simply because they were blocking their escape route.

As a result, the originally dense formation of the Central Asian coalition forces instantly collapsed into countless streams of fleeing people.

Meanwhile, the Central Asian allied forces, which had already engaged the Song army in battle, were forced into retreat by the Song army's relentless barrage of Li Lin cannons and Li Lin muskets after losing their support.

The Central Asian allied cavalry attempted a charge, but were hampered by the combined pressure of explosive charges dropped from hot air balloons and the fire of Li Lin's cannons. Crucially, their horses, terrified and frenzied, charged in all directions, further disrupting the Central Asian allied forces' own formation. Taking advantage of this, the Song army advanced across the board, their cavalry cutting through the scattered Central Asian ranks like sharp blades, reaping the spoils of the defenseless allied forces.

The Song infantry then encircled and blocked the retreat route from Central Asia along the Amu Darya River.

Soon, the Song army controlled the shallows and crossings along the Amu Darya River. The fleeing soldiers of the Central Asian allied forces were either killed by the pursuing troops, fell into the river and drowned, or knelt down and surrendered.

The million-strong army crumbled like a flood bursting its banks, crushed by the combined onslaught of fear and the terror of the Song Dynasty.

This decisive battle lasted from dawn to dusk, and the blood donated stained the Amu Darya River crimson.

The Central Asian coalition's "million-strong army" suffered more than half its casualties, and the remaining troops either surrendered or fled in disarray. The remnants scattered throughout Central Asia were no longer able to organize any resistance.

The banks of the Amu Darya River were littered with corpses. Banners of various Central Asian countries, tribes, and forces were planted upside down on the scorched earth, along with burned tents and abandoned weapons, witnessing the final struggle of the era of cold weapons being completely crushed by the sharp edge of firearms.

After the decisive battle in the middle reaches of the Amu Darya River and the collapse of the main force of the Central Asian allied forces, the Song Dynasty expeditionary force did not stop, but immediately launched a systematic conquest of the entire Central Asia region.

In this battle, the Great Song Expeditionary Force adopted the core strategy of "advancing on three fronts, prioritizing transportation, and blockading and annihilating the enemy." Relying on the existing main railways and highways, it precisely deployed troops to strategic locations in Central Asia, gradually disintegrating the resistance of the remaining forces.

The northern battlefield began at the Aral Sea, with the Song army advancing upstream along the Syr Darya River, aiming directly at the oasis plain between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers.

This region was the traditional political and economic heart of Central Asia, dotted with numerous tribal alliances and small city-states, and was also a gathering place for the remnants of the Seljuk Empire.

This time, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force changed its tactics again, first sending cavalry with a small amount of food to continue driving away the defeated soldiers of the Central Asian coalition until they controlled the water sources and crossings along the Syr Darya River, cutting off the connections between the various city-states.

Meanwhile, the infantry escorted the grain and supplies to catch up, and waited for Li Lin's artillery to arrive before attacking the city.

Faced with the devastating blows of Li Lin's cannons to the city walls and the complete severing of the supply lines outside the city, the city-states in the Hezhong region either surrendered or were annihilated by the Song army's cavalry during their breakout attempts.

In just three months, the Song army completely controlled the oasis areas on both sides of the Syr Darya River and pushed the northern defense line to the southern part of the Kazakh steppe.

The central front, centered on the middle reaches of the Amu Darya River, extends southwestward, aiming directly at the Khorasan region.

This is the birthplace of the Ghaznavid dynasty, a landscape of mountains and oases where remnants of the regime relied on the complex terrain to mount sporadic resistance.

In response to the characteristics of mountain warfare, the Song Dynasty expeditionary force adjusted its tactics: it used mountain infantry from Western Xia and the Indochina Peninsula as the main force, equipped them with Li Lin guns and Shenbi crossbows, and combined them with lightweight tiger crouching cannons and thunderclap bombs.

At the same time, civilian laborers were organized to repair railways and highways, extending supply lines directly to the front lines of the battlefield as much as possible to ensure the supply of materials for mountain warfare.

On the other hand, while forcibly conquering these regions, the Song Dynasty also sent envoys to persuade and divide the rulers of these regions.

Under the combined pressure of military force and political incentives, the remaining forces in the Khorasan region defected one after another.

In just six months, the Song army in the central line reached the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, forming a coordinated force with the northern troops.

The main battlefield on the southern front was the Afghan Plateau north of the Hindu Kush Mountains.

This area was a gathering place for the remnants of the Khwarazmian dynasty and some nomadic tribes.

The rugged terrain and poor transportation of the plateau made it the last barrier for the resistance forces.

In this battle, the Song army innovatively employed the tactic of "aerial reconnaissance + ground raid".

In other words, hot air balloon troops were dispatched to scout the migration routes and camp locations of nomadic tribes, and then cavalry troops would launch a night raid and attack the tribal camps at dawn.

Meanwhile, the Song army built plank roads and simple highways along the northern foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains, transported heavy equipment to the plateau, and launched a strong attack on the forces holding the mountain passes.

After six months of mopping-up operations, the Southern Song Expeditionary Force completely eliminated the resistance forces on the Afghan Plateau, pushing the defensive line to the upper reaches of the Indus River and connecting it with the Song Dynasty's previous strongholds in South Asia.

While advancing on three fronts, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force was also working to build a comprehensive blockade system to cut off the channels through which the remaining forces in Central Asia could escape to the outside world or obtain aid.

On the western front, the Caspian Sea served as a natural barrier. The Song army formed a small naval force to patrol the Caspian coast and intercept any remaining forces attempting to cross the sea to escape to the Caucasus region.

The eastern front was used to strengthen the border defenses between the Western Karakhanid Khanate and the Western Regions, preventing steppe tribes from moving south to provide support.

The southern route would block the mountain passes of the Hindu Kush Mountains, cutting off contact with the South Asian subcontinent.

This comprehensive blockade left the remaining forces in Central Asia isolated and helpless. They were either annihilated one by one by the Song army, or forced to retreat into the deserts and Gobi in the heart of Central Asia, where they eventually collapsed due to lack of water and food.

In addition, the Song army always regarded transportation construction as the foundation of its conquest, that is, it never hesitated to spend a lot of money to build railways and highways.

As the war progressed, railways and highways were extended in tandem, which not only ensured the supply of materials to the front lines, but also rapidly permeated the administrative and economic influence of the Song Dynasty into the newly conquered territories.

The post stations, workshops, and trading markets that sprang up along the railways and highways attracted local tribes to actively attach themselves to them, further undermining the popular support for the resistance forces.

For surrendered tribes and city-states, the Song Dynasty would usually preserve their original social structure, but required them to unconditionally release all slaves and then send able-bodied men to participate in transportation construction and military defense.

This both weakened potential resistance and provided manpower support for the Song Dynasty's rule.

After two years and three months, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force completed its conquest of the entire Central Asia region.

Its territory extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Pamir Plateau in the east, from the Kazakh steppe in the north to the Hindu Kush Mountains and the upper reaches of the Indus River in the south. It encompasses the entire territory of the former Seljuk Empire, Khwarazmian Dynasty, Ghaznavid Dynasty and other Central Asian countries, as well as the traditional pastures of many nomadic tribes and areas controlled by some traditional Central Asian powers.

From then on, Central Asia was completely incorporated into the territory of the Song Dynasty, becoming one of the more than twenty vassal states of the Song Dynasty...

...(End of this chapter)