Chapter 426 Makino Takayang

Author: Gongsun Wujiu

Chapter 426 Makino Takayang

In May of the second year of Yuanfeng, the main force of the Han army in the southern expedition finally entered the Wulei Kingdom.

Despite the existence of the newly built Shendu Road, marching in these mountains is still a chore.

In order to avoid being ambushed by the enemy, the Han army divided into three groups and marched in a perfect glyph pattern.

On the middle road was a 20,000-strong army led by Zhang Yue, the Marquis of Yunyang, who was the Western Protector of Han Dynasty.

The east road was led by the 15,000-strong Han army led by Zhao Guanghan, the military governor of Anxi.

The commander of the west route was the captain of the Yarkand Kingdom, and there were 12,000 Yarkand, Khotan and other national troops led by Pan Zhiqiang, the great Han Anxidu envoy.

In addition to the three armies, there were 3,600 Han army forwards led by Zhang Zhan.

The Han army's large-scale southern expedition immediately made the federal armies of Western Tianzhu nervous.

…

The commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Prince Gandhi of Jibin, immediately summoned all the generals to discuss the matter.

"Everyone, the Han army's 50,000-strong army has now moved south in large numbers. Do you have any ideas on how to deal with it?"

General Amir, the famous general of Western Tianzhu, looked around and said: "I thought that we should first concentrate our forces to defeat the Han army's forward... This will damage the morale of the Han army..."

General Modi, the deputy commander of the coalition forces, said: "Now that General Xiuxun Rao's troops have collapsed, the Han army Liu Yi's troops have approached Wulei City from the west... It may not be easy to defeat the Han army's forward!"

Amir said: "The intelligence from the scouts shows that the Han army's vanguard and the main group are far apart, which shows how arrogant the Han army is... This is our army's opportunity!"

Gandhi nodded slightly and asked, "Does General Amir already have a plan?"

Amir showed a smile on his face: "Look, everyone, this is a newly discovered passage. Through this passage, you can completely go around the rear of the Han army's forward..."

Modi objected: "This is too risky. Once an accident occurs, the entire army behind it may be wiped out!"

Amir said confidently: "General Modi is worried too much. I will personally lead the troops in this battle..."

After hearing this, Gandhi high-fived and said: "If General Amir leads the troops in person, there will be no problem!"

Modi still wanted to object, but was stopped by Gandhi.

Amir said confidently, "Without further delay, I will lead the troops to go on an expedition!"

Gandhi laughed: "I'll leave it to the general..."

Amir did not say any more, but saluted everyone, and then left with his entourage.

Just an hour later, Amir led his troops out of Thunderless City again.

…

After Amir left, Modi could not help but express his doubts to Gandhi.

"General, the Han army is no better than other armies. Although General Amir's army is strong, it may not be stronger than the Han army..."

"If there is an accident along the way, it will be extremely detrimental to the coalition forces!"

Gandhi smiled and shook his head: "General Modi, don't worry, as long as the mountain pass is in the hands of our army, our army can advance, attack, retreat or defend..."

"If Amir wins, we will hold on to the Thunderless City. If Amir loses, we will retreat to the mountain pass and garrison..."

There is another thing that Gandhi did not say. If Amir's army is annihilated, Jibin can just annex his city-state.

Gandhi has already talked about this, naturally Modi will not say anything more.

He was not familiar with Amir to begin with, and it was Amir who proposed this matter himself.

If he continues, Amir will not accept his kindness, and Gandhi and even the entire Jibin Kingdom may become hostile to him.

After Modi left Gandhi's headquarters, he gradually felt that something was wrong. After thinking about it, he quietly sent a small team of light guards back to Western Tianzhu.

…

A large flock of birds flew up in panic from the mountains and forests where they lived, and swarmed through the setting sun in the west.

After the noisy birdsong died away, everything became silent again.

The mountain wind whirling from the Pamir passes through the wilderness like a blade, making people feel the power of nature.

A group of cavalry galloped in formation, kicking up billowing smoke, and the rumble of horses' hooves was mixed with the clash of swords.

In the mist sprayed by many war horses, countless weathered faces loomed, making people feel fearful at the first sight.

Behind the cavalry is a neat team of officers. Their heavy and uniform footsteps are accompanied by the sound of the armor rattling and vibrating in the same rhythm. The muffled thunder of the uniform footsteps rolls across the endless wilderness like breaking bamboo.

The loud vibration made even the birds dare not fall into the forest.

No one spoke in the long queue, and the cold light of the long spears surged.

The raging mountain wind stirred up the dust at the feet of the team, and steam surged out from the gaps in the armor.

The breathtaking military might forced the arrogant Feng to calm down and stop abruptly in front of the team, holding his breath and flicking the team's battle flag.

The black battle flag fluttered in the wind, with the big red character "Han" on the flag. The wind was flying, and the universe was in a state of silence.

The last ray of sunset on the horizon was now falling dullly behind the rolling mountains, and the slightly black clouds were outlined with a golden border, setting off the advancing army.

Just then the trumpet sounded and the order was delivered.

"All troops stop and set up camp!"

The advancing army stopped and began to get busy, and soon a huge camp appeared in the wilderness.

The evening wind in the Western Region was icy cold, and thousands of flags fluttered in the cold wind, scattering the rising smoke in the military camp.

Beside the warm campfire, groups of soldiers were sitting around, their armor still intact. Their loyal horses snorted, pawing their hooves impatiently, and hurriedly chewing the grass in their mouths.

This is the elite division of the Han army that stretches across the Western Regions, and is the vanguard of the main force of the Han army's southern expedition.

Zhang Zhan, who had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant of the Han Army, squinted his eyes and looked at the restless military camp from the tall watchtower.

Counting on the fingers, it had been more than a hundred days since the expedition. The long-distance attack not only failed to bring down this army that had worked hard to attack far distances, but instead made them more eager to fight, which had been accumulated for a long time.

All the soldiers hoped to conquer the Thunderless City before the weather turned cold, remove the obstacles for the Han army to move southward, and then advance with great success to let the barbaric Shendu people feel the power of the strong Han.

"Are all the songs here?"

Zhang Zhan asked his deputy Zhang Ai.

Zhang Zhan actually had objections to Zhang Yue's arrangement of Zhang Ai, who was on the battlefield for the first time, as his deputy.

In his eyes, although Zhang Ai is the grandson of Bowang Hou, he is actually just a white-faced scholar.

Letting Zhang Ai serve as his deputy is not as good as Zhang Huan.

"Except for Zuo Qu, the captain has not arrived yet, but all the other members have arrived!"

"How long will it take for Zuoqu to arrive?" Zhang Zhan asked with a frown.

Zhang Ai said: "It will take about half an hour!"

Zhang Zhan nodded: "Zuoqu's transportation of supplies is a top priority. The mountain road is difficult, so Youqu sent people to help..."

Zuoqu not only carried a large amount of grain and consumable ordnance, but more importantly, it also carried heavy weapons such as crossbows, trebuchets, and siege engines that were essential for siege.

Wu Lei City is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The terrain is difficult, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is also defended by nearly 10,000 Western Tianzhu Allied Forces. Without those powerful siege equipment, it is almost impossible to capture it.

"Where is King Wu Lei?" Zhang Zhan continued to ask

"The messenger came to report that King Wu Lei has led his remaining troops fifty miles away and should arrive before noon tomorrow."

The answer was Zhang Huan, who served as the Junhou of Qianqu. Although Zhang Huan was already an infantry captain, he had never actually been on the battlefield, so Zhang Yue only asked him to lead the Han army.

After Zhang Huan answered Zhang Zhan's question, he asked: "Colonel, why are you so generous to King Wu Lei?"

In order to allow King Wu Lei to fight with all his strength, Zhang Yue ordered to send King Wu Lei, "Two pieces of Shu brocade, fifty pieces of silk...three hundred pairs of cotton armor, ten pairs of fish scale armor, and two thousand weapons..."

In Zhang Huan's view, there was no need for this at all. It would be easy for the Han army to defeat the barbarians.

Zhang Zhan looked at Zhang Huan with a smile: "The king's actions naturally have deep meaning... What he thinks about is not the immediate future, but the long-term!"

Zhang Ai also agreed and added: "Although Wu Lei Country is small, it is the main road to Shendu. It is the base for my big man to go south. It must be absolutely stable..."

Hearing this, Zhang Huan nodded thoughtfully.

"Send the order to march into Wulei City tomorrow!"

After Zhang Zhan issued the order, he glanced at the Thunderless City built on the mountain. At this time, the night fell silently, and the city head began to be decorated with the torches of the Western Tianzhu Allied Forces.

The sounds of the defenders' orders seemed to be faintly heard in the wind.

The Han army is preparing for tomorrow's battle, and the Western Tianzhu Allied Forces will naturally not sit still and wait for death.

The Thunderless City on a high mountain not far away stands tall and towering, with black clouds shrouding the top of the city, like continuous clouds.

On the city wall, countless soldiers and people shouted slogans under the light of torches to strengthen the city defense and carry the defense equipment all night long.

The craftsmen's camp in the city is also brightly lit, and the sound of tinkling and banging has never stopped for several days.

"General Modi, are you ready for war?"
To be continued...