The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 284 Dividing the Army into North and South Routes

After swallowing the last piece of flatbread in their mouths and gulping down several mouthfuls of water, the four centurions stared blankly for a long time before finally recovering.

Dinner is over.

The group then sat cross-legged to the left of Gan Minglan and began to analyze the enemy situation.

Commander Gu was the first to speak.

He recounted to the other three centurions the information he had obtained through interrogation of the Hu scouts:
"The commander-in-chief of the Kashgar Khanate on this trip was a veteran of the Black Hat sect with a wealth of combat experience, and also the Khan's father-in-law."

The Khan's father-in-law led a total of 200,000 cavalry and over 100,000 supply troops.

Among them, there were about 30,000 matchlock guns, but the food they brought was enough to feed these 300,000 people for a year.

They carried a lot of goods and traveled along the relatively flat, but longer, northern trade routes through the Western Regions.

Weilumu, the last city on the northern trade route of the Western Regions, is only four hundred li away from Huozhou.
However, the dozen or so scouts who were captured belonged to another 50,000-strong vanguard army, an elite force that was traveling along the southern trade route of the Western Regions.

The Southern Trade Route started from the capital city of Shache, passed through the ancient Western Region kingdom of Khotan, followed the northern foothills of Yushan Mountain, and crossed Lop Nur, with the goal of retaking Guazhou Wei.

These scouts arrived half a month earlier than the 50,000 vanguard troops, and the two groups we captured were the vanguard sentries.

Every fifty miles behind them was a team of nine men, and the message was passed back from the outpost to the rear, layer by layer!

The commander of this vanguard was named Shan Ali, and he was over thirty years old.

He was a descendant of a founding father of the Kashgar Khanate, and also the most trusted nephew of the White Hat Khoja (sectarian leader).

Everyone understood.

The young, elite Hu cavalry, outnumbered and taking a shortcut, were heading towards Guazhouwei, the closest garrison to Heping Pass.

The Khan's father-in-law, an old general, led a large army and supplies in an attempt to pass through Huozhou and launch a surprise attack on Hamiwei.

They launched an attack from both the north and south.

If they fight at the same time, the seven Kansai garrisons will be unable to defend one of them.

With the loss of Hami Guard and Guazhou, the remaining five guards collapsed without a fight.

Chieftain Gu also inquired in detail about the relationship between the Black Hat and White Hat sects:
"The Hu people's royal court is also constantly embroiled in internal strife. Either the Black Hat Khoja (religious leader) is overwhelming the White Hat Khoja (religious leader), or the White Hat Khoja (religious leader) is suppressing the Black Hat Khoja (religious leader)! Their current Khan was chosen by the Black Hat Khoja (religious leader), who is also the pro-war faction."

The other three centurions frowned as they listened:

"If the Hu people only wanted to reclaim the Seven Guards of Guanzhong, they wouldn't need such a large-scale operation, would they?"

“They’re up to no good! In the past, when they fought, they would just plunder wherever they went! When have we ever seen these horse-riding barbarians carrying large amounts of rations for a long-distance campaign?”

"Hmph! I don't even need to guess to know that those barbarians are up to no good!"

"The Hu people and the Tatars on the grasslands are all the same! They submit to you when you are strong, and then rush to trade with you. But once they find you are weak, they turn their backs on you!"

The ancient commander clapped his hands and laughed:

"You were absolutely right. The founding ruler of the Kashgar Khanate was the seventh-generation descendant of the Heavenly Khan of the Golden Family."

and so.

Regardless of whether their Khan later married a Uyghur or some other foreign concubine.

Their descendants share the same genes as the Tatars!

Gan Minglan largely agreed with the group's analysis, and she also had her own views on the large-scale invasion by the Hu people:

"Once the Hu people recapture the Seven Guards of Guanzhong, they will likely redeploy their defenses along the border! Assuming we are defeated and eventually retreat to the border city, how do you think the imperial court will react when it learns of the Hu people's overwhelming military presence?"

The centurions pondered for a long time before answering in unison:

"First, we will condemn the culprits with words and writings. You, Marquis Angmen, General Xiong, and General Gan, are the best scapegoats! Not killing them is not enough to quell the court's incompetent rage."

"Next, the court will order the border troops in Biancheng, Yulinwei, Pianguan and other border areas to fight a bloody battle with the Hu people! While mobilizing troops, they will take the opportunity to extend their reach to the military power of the border troops."

"If the generals of the three passes disobey the emperor's orders, the eunuch faction that controls the court will probably hand over the entire Hexi Corridor to the barbarians! They don't care about selling their father's land!"

"hiss!"

The three centurions' expressions changed as they answered; the situation was more serious than they had imagined.

The group exchanged glances and then expressed their opinions:
"General, we will all follow your command. We will fight as you say!"

"That's right, there isn't a single coward in the Vanguard Battalion! Anyone who's afraid of dying doesn't deserve to be in the Vanguard Battalion!"

"A head falling off is nothing more than a scar the size of a bowl. I'll be a hero again in twenty years! The money my brothers in the camp have saved for their families this time is enough to support several generations of their families! Before we set off, they all said that they would follow General Gan to the battlefield and die without regrets!"

Gan Minglan: "."

It is highly undesirable to think about sacrificing oneself for one's country at the drop of a hat!

History is written by the victors!
With her around, we must be the victors!
Then again.

If the Hu people's organization is united, she will be more cautious before acting.

Unexpectedly, the other country's ruler was not only sidelined by that damned religion, but there was also a division within the religion itself, namely the Black Hat Cult!
It's good to have conflicts!

The fact that they are attacking from two directions is a great thing!

Those 50,000 elite troops wearing white hats.

She made it clear: she's taken a liking to him!
Afterwards, while the vanguard battalion was reorganizing,

Gan Minglan then wrote down the contents of the interrogation, including their on-site analysis.

She also informed General Xiong in a secret letter of her upcoming battle plan with the vanguard battalion, as well as some suggestions.
Just as Gan Minglan and the others were rushing to Lop Nur, 500 miles away.

Dan Ali is also leading his 50,000 elite troops toward Lop Nur.

The Southern Route of the Western Regions was the earliest Silk Road.

The journey was quite arduous.

Dan Ali was quite confident in taking Guazhouwei with 50,000 elite troops.

However, the next night, news of the loss of the outpost came back, and his confidence wavered slightly.

He relayed the news to several trusted subordinates, remarking with a sigh, "It seems the Han army wasn't waiting for us in Guazhou! They've already come out to greet us!"

The younger subordinates disagreed:
"Didn't they say the Han army only has tens of thousands of troops stationed in the entire Seven Guards of Guanzhong? How many troops can they send out? It would be even better if they came out to meet us, since there's no way to hide troops in the desert! Let's give them a taste of their own medicine!"

"Not necessarily. If they knew that we were leading such a large-scale holy warrior expedition, the Han army might have already retreated into Heping Pass and wouldn't come out! Isn't their specialty city defense?"

Dan Ali was very rational. Ignoring his subordinates' arguments, he directly ordered: "Speed ​​up! We must reach Lop Nur before nightfall tomorrow!"

"Yes!"

"Law, law, law"

"Faster, faster!"

"."

(End of this chapter)