To be fair, the defensive strategy of the Uighur monarchs and ministers cannot be said to be bad. Although it is conservative, conservative means safe. After all, the weight of the Khitan's Western Expedition has been weighed, and it is not easy to deal with and difficult to retreat.
Although the Xizhou Uighurs have a sufficient population and can arm more than 100,000 troops, and their national strength is sufficient to support them for a period of time, that will take time. After all, the Uighurs are not a centralized dynasty with a high degree of military and political unity, and they are not monolithic internally.
At the same time, launching a defensive counterattack and relying on fortified defense is also the best option they can choose. After all, the winding Tianshan Mountains span from east to west and are Gaochang's natural defense barrier. If the Liao army wants to advance from Beiting, it usually
In other words, either attack Luntai from the west, then turn southwest and take the basin towards Gaochang. However, this requires ensuring the capture of Luntai and then breaking through the Baishui Fortress, the last gateway to Gaochang.
The other way is to go east, bypassing the dangers of the Tianshan Mountains, and entering from the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. However, this is time-consuming and laborious, and there is a roadblock on the way, Yizhou.
Therefore, just as the Uighurs considered, although the Khitan army on the western expedition captured Beiting and achieved a great victory, suppressing the Uighurs' counterattack, the strategic progress was not optimistic.
Relying on Tianshan Mountain, Shou Luntai in the north, and Yizhou in the east is indeed a safe and extremely low-risk choice for the Uighurs.
However, delaying time and fighting for a long time were ultimately just wishful thinking of the Uighurs. Their opponent was Yelu Xiezhen, a commander who rarely shined among the Liao armies in the Han-Liao War.
The Uighurs had a good idea, so how could Yelv Xiezhen not consider everything? The enemy wanted to delay, but he refused to give them a chance. But the objective problem is that it is indeed not easy to break through the Uighurs' defense line.
However, there has never been a truly impregnable city in this world. No matter how tight the defense seems, there are loopholes. Accidents often occur where people are most confident.
After some planning, Yelu Xiezhen decided to take the risk. He had already climbed a Jinshan Mountain, and there was no less than a Tianshan Mountain. After full preparations, in the winter of the fifteenth year of Qianyou, Yelu Xiezhen asked Liao general Yelvgu to lead the Five
Thousands of cavalry, and the same part of the soldiers, pretended to be the main force, marched westward with great fanfare and momentum, and looked like they were in the Luntai.
Yelu Xiezhen, on the other hand, personally led the main force of the Liao army, and under the guidance of his guide, secretly crossed the mountain along the Tianshan trails that had been explored long ago.
This kind of narrow path has always been conducive to the advancement of large armies because of its tightness and danger. If the enemy is prepared, it can be easily resisted and even cause heavy losses. However, it can often have an unexpected effect.
But this time, Yelu Xiezhen made the right bet. Apart from the high mountains, there were no other obstacles at all, and the Uighurs completely ignored this.
Although thousands of soldiers, as well as many war horses and livestock were killed or injured, when the Liao army successfully entered the Yigao Basin, the effect was another divine force descending from the sky.
Since then, the vast plains and land have become a racecourse for Khitan cavalry to gallop freely. After successfully crossing the mountain, Yelv Xiezhen once again chose to attack the capital Gaochang, intending to decide the outcome in a battle.
However, this time, the goal was not achieved. Although the appearance of Liao Qi was surprising and even terrifying, it could not completely hide the news. In addition, Gaochang City's vigilance has become much higher since the war.
The raid was not successful, but the enemy army was blocked by the enemy troops under the Luntai City. The shock to Gaochang was conceivable. It was like a dream, but it was a nightmare.
Uighur Khan was so frightened that he went to the city in person. He could only see the flags of the Khitan people standing in the soft east wind, the majestic warriors on horseback, and the momentum that made their hearts palpitate. Such a scene is almost impossible to experience.
The Uighur Khan of War felt in a trance.
In Gaochang City, everyone from the top to the Khan and ministers to the poor and foot soldiers were in panic when facing the enemy knocking on the city. It took a lot of effort to calm down.
Yelv Xiezhen, however, led his men around Gaochang City and found that the city was really strong and difficult to capture. The army lacked equipment, making it even more difficult to attack the city.
Therefore, they sent people into the city to persuade them to surrender. Surrender was obviously impossible, but the Uyghur Khan was strong-willed. He angrily denounced the Liao army's unjust invasion and rebuked the Khitan people for the crimes they had inflicted on the Uighur people. Finally, he sternly refused and drove the envoy out of Gaochang City.
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Although the main force of the Uighurs is mostly stationed in Luntai, there are still nearly 10,000 troops left in the capital, and the total number of civilians in the city plus the refugees accommodated exceeds 100,000. Relying on the strong city, it is definitely not something that the Khitans can break.
Of course, since the Uighurs had the confidence to defend the city, there was no need to consider leaving the city to retreat from the enemy.
Facing the fortified city, Yelv Xiezhen was not impatient. After crossing the natural barrier and entering the Turpan Basin, there was no need to worry. Since the enemy was out of food supply, although the Liao army did not have many troops compared to the Uighurs, it also meant that it had less burden.
So Yelv Xiezhen personally led five thousand cavalry to monitor Gaochang City. At the same time, he sent other generals to lead the remaining troops to plunder the Uighur towns and pastures, plunder money, and collect grain, horses, livestock, and strong men.
Suddenly, the war spread all over the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, between Yizhou and Yizhou, and the Khitans were raging. Under this situation, the Uighurs seemed to be blinded, and they had no means of countermeasures. How could they defend Gaochang and Yizhou?
Such a strong city.
The big city can be defended, but the towns scattered along the Silk Road do not have sufficient defense capabilities. Except for a few who resisted desperately, most of them suffered.
This behavior of the Liao army naturally aroused a lot of resistance. There were strong-blooded people in Gaochang City who could not bear the atrocities of the Liao army and asked the Uighur Khan for war. The people in the city were also very angry.
Unable to bear the public appeal and looking at the devastated land and people, Uighur Khan's heart was bleeding, so he sent troops to attack, hoping to take advantage of the dispersion of the Liao army to prevent the Liao army from slacking off in front of the city. As a result, Yelu Xiezhen died early.
Be prepared, command calmly, and defeat the Gaochang Uighurs again.
That is to say, the Uighurs armed enough defenders in the city and did not give Yelu Xiezhen the opportunity to take advantage of the victory and enter the city. However, the Luntai Army, which was ordered by the Uighur Khan to come to the rescue, was frightened when they learned about the battle situation under Gaochang City.
He retreated halfway and retreated to Baishuisai.
From then on, the Uighurs did not dare to make any changes. They could only defend the city, wait passively, and watch the Liao army wreak havoc. In terms of strength, the Xizhou Uighurs certainly had it, and they could not be considered weak. However, when the enemy army came,
However, they were unable to effectively organize resistance and bring out their own strength.
There were millions of households, but in the end they could only defend themselves individually, allowing less than 30,000 enemy troops to ravage the territory without being able to stop it. They had not experienced a war of this scale for many years. Faced with the Khitan invasion, the Uighurs started from scratch.
In the end, everyone seemed at a loss and passively beaten.
After turning the situation between Yi and Gao upside down, Yelv Xiezhen began to order the Liao army to drive the people from all over the country to the walls of Gaochang, especially the old, weak, women and children.
He also told the Uighur Khan that the land of Yigao had been completely returned to the Liao Dynasty, and these people were homeless. They thought they were pitiful and could be accepted by them, but they would never take the opportunity to attack.
In this regard, even if what Yelu Xiezhen said was true, the Uighur Khan did not dare to agree. First, he was worried about Yelv Xiezhen's cunning, and secondly, the city had already accommodated a large number of refugees, and if they were to be brought in together, there would be pressure on food.
But it's too big.
As for the grain storage in the city, it doesn't matter if there are ten or hundreds of mouths, but if there are tens of thousands of mouths, it will be different. So a large number of Uighur people were refused entry into the city, and when they retreated, they were forced by Liao cavalry. In that winter, they were freezing and hungry
There are countless people who died under Gaochang City.
At that time, the civilians of Xizhou were not only angry at the killing and looting of the Liao army, but also resented the inaction of the Xizhou Uighur upper class for abandoning them.
Later, in order to survive, many Uighurs took refuge with the Liao army, bringing their families, people and horses to the Liao army. When it came to the choice between life and death, most people would simply make a choice easily.
With the effectiveness of those Uighurs, the Liao army's shortcomings in manpower were gone. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yelu Xiezhen took the opportunity to rest and recuperate. At the same time, he gathered all the Uighur craftsmen in the control area to build ordnance and attack equipment.
City equipment and be prepared to defeat Gaochang.
During this process, Yizhou in the east and Yanqi in the west both sent troops to rescue them, but Yelu Xiezhen defeated them all. By the spring of the first year of Kaibao, no one from the Xizhou Uighur army and civilians dared to come to rescue Gaochang.
, In this way, life in Gaochang has become even more difficult.
After getting sufficient rest and preparation, Yelv Xiezhen also officially ordered to attack Gaochang City. The troops attacking the city were mainly the surrendered Uighurs. However, Gaochang City was indeed strong and the determination to resist was firm enough. Under the attack,
Thousands of people died without defeat.
Later, Yelu Xiezhen divided his troops and attacked Yizhou. Yizhou suffered heavy losses in the previous rescue, and the city walls were not as tall and strong as Gaochang. The Liao army and its servants resisted the attack for half a month, regardless of casualties.
The city was broken.
Yelv Xiezhen thus solved the hidden worries behind him, and everything east of Gaochang was under the control of the Liao army. Unless the Guiyi army dared to come west and touch the Liao army's butt.
After solving the trouble, Yelv Xiezhen besieged the city again. Originally, he planned to trap the Uighurs in the city. However, through some surrendered Uighur civil and military forces, he learned that the food reserves in the city could last for a year, and delaying was not an option.
Therefore, Yelv Xiezhen finally decided to continue the attack, and there would be enough Uighurs to attack the city. In this way, after two months of intermittent and powerful attacks, after entering April, Yelu Xiezhen also sent the Khitans to Gaochang.
The city was finally broken.
After the city was broken, Uighur Khan led his harem, heirs and some civil and military forces to retreat westward to Yanqi City in the west. They escaped very quickly and succeeded. After a bloody battle, the Liao army needed to rest and recuperate, but also needed to enjoy the victory.
If the fruit of pursuit is fruitless, then there is no deep pursuit.
After the Uighur Khan fled to Yanqi, he did not stay much. He gathered his troops and continued westward, retreating to Kucha. After all, Yanqi Gaochang was not far away and was equally dangerous, and the Kucha Uighurs had not suffered much losses in the previous battles.
It retains considerable strength and can be relied upon.
That is to say, after escaping to Qiuci, the Uighur Khan realized that he would be destroyed by the Liao army sooner or later if he relied on himself alone, so he began to send envoys everywhere to ask for support...