The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 255 Occupying without a fight
The Yugur people are not numerous in the Western Regions, but they are widely distributed in the Seven Guards of Guanzhong.

Apart from the Eastern Yugur tribe in Guazhou, most of the rest are concentrated in the central and southwestern regions, namely the Anding, Quxian, and Aduan Three Guards.

They were both natural-born herders and devout Buddhists, and were completely at odds with the Kashgar Khanate, which adhered to Islam.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

When the young chieftain Arahunsali learned that General Tianxian was going to lead troops to recapture the Seven Guards of Guanzhong, he not only offered to help guide them, but also expressed his willingness to act as their advocate.

He even patted his chest and guaranteed that he would persuade the leaders of his clansmen in Anding, Quxian and Aduan to submit to the State of Bei, and promised not to cause trouble for the western expeditionary army.

The junior leader spoke frankly about his actions:
"As long as it helps you take down the Seven Guards of Guanzhong, we wouldn't mind eating all the sheep in our tribe! The Kashgar Khanate slaughtered our tribe, leaving only fifty-odd people. We have no ability to take revenge!"

A deep-seated blood feud that cannot be ignored.

They are willing to help those who are capable!
They were even willing to give up the entire tribe's wealth.

Gan Minglan was moved by the young leader's honesty and immediately made a decision:
“Our western expeditionary army is different from the archer cavalry of the Kashgar Khanate. Since your Eastern Yugur tribe has submitted to our army, you are our own people! There is no reason for us to let our own people suffer losses. We will buy at the normal market price!”

We've bought these sheep, and we'll need your continued help to raise them! When you visit the tribes of Anding, Quxian, and Aduan, you can tell your people that as long as they submit to our Western Expeditionary Army, we'll buy as many sheep as they have at this price!

"This...this..." Arahunsali was so excited that he was somewhat incoherent.

Since the fall of Heping Pass at the end of last year, the newly appointed garrison commander has not opened the pass again.

For over a century, Han Chinese soldiers have been the primary customers of livestock for the Eastern Yugur people.

The market price at the pass was at least 40% higher than the price in the livestock market in the Western Regions.

As the old saying goes, even with a fortune, nothing counts except for animals.

Last winter, most of the sheep in the tribe froze to death.

More than fifty teenagers spent their days worrying about the remaining sheep.

They were worried that the sheep would get sick and die during the grazing process.

They were also worried that the tribe was too small and weak and that other tribes would steal their sheep.

The biggest concern is whether the Peace Pass will be open for business.

Selling it cheaply is less profitable than killing it and eating it.

However, if they don't sell most of their sheep to make money, they won't be able to buy the food, cloth, salt, and tea they need for daily life.

With the Fairy General's promise, Arahunsari was even more confident about setting off for Anding, Quxian, and Aduan, and persuading these tribal leaders to submit to the Western Expeditionary Army.

On one side is the Kashgar Khanate, which treats human life as worthless and forces people to change their faith.

On one side are the Western Expeditionary Army, which will soon be stationed in the Seven Guards of Kansai and is capable of protecting their lives and leading them to prosperity.

Only a fool would make the second choice!

On the first day of the Western Expeditionary Army's arrival in Guazhou, the vanguard successfully subdued the Eastern Yugur people, who had a blood feud with the Kashgar Khanate.

At the same time, he also purchased more than 5,000 big-tailed sheep from the tribe at a price of 1,500 coins each.

He then hired fifty young children from the Eastern Yugur ethnic group as shepherds for a monthly wage of 500 wen.

Afterwards, the vanguard camp set up camp on the site of the former garrison that had been burned down by the Kashgar Khanate's archers. In just five days, the scouts sent out had a general understanding of the distribution of power among the other six garrisons.

At this moment, the scout leader was explaining to his superiors and the five vanguard centurions:
"The news that came back last night is that Arahunsali has persuaded the leaders of Anding, Quxian and Aduanwei Yugur tribes that they are willing to submit their entire tribes to the Angmen Western Expeditionary Army and are leading their flocks of sheep on their way here."

The remaining three guards are of average strength and do not possess strong combat capabilities.

Hami is the toughest nut to crack among the Seven Guards.

Hami borders Guazhou to the east, is adjacent to the Western Tatars to the north, and is the Tibetan territory of the Kashgar Khanate to the west.

Because of its unique geographical location, it has been a battleground for various forces for thousands of years.

On the eve of the fall of the previous dynasty, Hami declared itself a new kingdom.

The year after Emperor Taizu established the country, he issued an edict to confer the title of King Zhongshun upon the King of Hami. Two years later, the Hami Guard was established there, with officials such as commanders, commanders of thousands, and commanders of hundreds.

After that, the highest official position in Hami Guard was held by King Zhongshun.

However, as the imperial court gradually lost control of the Seven Guards of Guanzhong, Hami Guard was first occupied by the Tibetan Empire for more than a hundred years, and then incorporated into the sphere of influence of the Kashgar Khanate.

The current King of Hami is the younger brother of the ruler of the Kashgar Khanate.

Although it was a princely territory, Hamiwei was actually a multi-ethnic area, mainly composed of Uyghurs, Hui, and Harahui tribes, all of whom were devout Buddhists.

The scout leader had the utmost respect for General Gan.

With her guidance, religious beliefs became a key focus for the scouts when gathering intelligence.

If it were them in the past...

It is truly difficult to conclude in a short period of time that the Kashgar Khanate's forced conversion of ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs, Hui, and Karahui was the main reason for the decades-long internal strife in Hami.

When the Uyghurs, Huihui, and Khara-hui confront the loyal king of the Kashgar Khanate, the three tribes will unite to fight together.

However, when it comes to the interests of the tribe itself, mutual suspicion and backstabbing are inevitable.

In short, Hamiwei is the most geographically important, has the most complex population structure, and the strongest civilian fighting force among the seven Guanzhong regions.

The scout leader's summary was spot on:
"They can fight amongst themselves without any consequences, but if outsiders come to take their territory, these forces will definitely unite to fight against them."

Most importantly, if the recapture of Hami takes too long, the governor of the Fire Continent west of the Kashgar Khanate will receive a request for help within five days.

The implication is that the recapture of Hamiwei must be swift, decisive, and precise!

General Gan:
"Let's set aside the forces of the Uyghurs, Huihui, and Khara-hui for now, and first take down the loyal and obedient Prince who represents the Kashgar Khanate. Let's start the first battle in Hami City!"

As for the specific battle plan?

That's not true!
There are only five thousand soldiers in total, so we can just charge straight in!
Gan Minglan then entrusted the reconstruction of the Guazhou garrison to the garrison of Heping Pass at a friendly price.

The 200,000 taels of construction funds borrowed from General Zhao before the western expedition will soon be put to use.

In addition to investing heavily in the infrastructure of the military garrisons, at least 50,000 taels of silver should be set aside as start-up capital to purchase sheep for food rations from several Yugur tribes.

(End of this chapter)