"Your Majesty, now that the troops and horses are ready, the food and weapons are sufficient, and the arrows are already strung, why are you holding back your troops and not firing them?" Wang Yansheng asked directly when meeting Chai Rong.
Looking at Wang Yansheng and other generals, Chai Rong's aging face showed a smile, and he said calmly with a little care, "No hurry! Have a drink of tea first, the imperial court has entrusted us with the attack. The matter is of great importance. Don't act too hastily and miss the military plane! The westward march has been waiting for so many years, so why rush it now?"
In his early years, Chai Rong was often impatient and aggressive in both his personality and actions. Now, as he gets older, he has become increasingly calm, just like his always outwardly heavy appearance.
"Your Majesty, you can keep your composure!" In front of Chai Rong, Wang Yansheng was usually able to put away his unruliness, so he sighed, and then said: "However, it has been almost two months since the edict was issued. If we delay it any longer, there may be an accident."
Seeing that Chai Rong remained calm, Wang Yansheng said: "It's not that we are impatient. Now that the army has gathered here, the momentum has spread. After such a long time, the Uighurs will probably react and won't really use the way for us." I was deceived by the rhetoric. According to the report of the sentinels, Jiedan City has already strengthened its security, concentrated troops and horses, and controlled entry and exit. It is obviously prepared. If we wait any longer, we may really delay the military aircraft!"
"Furthermore, all the troops from all armies have gathered in Liangzhou, and they have been practicing for a while. In this season, from soldiers to men, they are thinking about Toutian more, and their willingness to fight is not high. Coupled with their doubts about the expedition, The morale of the soldiers is not stable, and if we delay it for a longer time, I am afraid that morale will decline even more. If the generals have no fighting spirit and the soldiers have no fighting spirit, no matter how complete the preparations are, fighting may not be beneficial to our army."
After hearing these words, Chai Rong noticed Wang Yansheng's rough but determined face, couldn't help but smile, and said in an emotional tone: "Guanglie, you have extraordinary experience, you really impress me! "
Wang Yansheng's words were also well-founded, and he was obviously not just impatient or eager to achieve success. His judgment on the situation, military morale, and morale was also very accurate. Such ability was not possessed by Wang Yansheng in his early years.
Facing Chai Rong's praise, Wang Yansheng's tense face relaxed a little, and he cupped his hands and said: "I have some humble opinions, please listen to me, please think twice!"
"What do you think?" Chai Rong looked at Guo Jin, who came with him, and Kang met several more generals.
The remaining people, with Guo Jin having the highest military qualifications, also spoke directly: "General, I think it's time to send out troops! No matter what the situation is with the Guiyi Army, it's time to take action, and we can't let the Uighurs react completely! "
"May I ask, Lord Ying, if you have any plans? If so, please tell me so that the soldiers will feel at ease!" Kang Zaiyu, who had performed well in the Northern Expedition, thought for a while and asked proactively.
Facing the generals' invitation, Chai Rong slowly said: "The problem of military morale is just that the middle and lower-level officers have doubts because they don't know the goal of this expedition. As long as the intention is made clear in the future, people's hearts will be at ease.
As for the Uighurs, whether they are aware of it or not, and whether they are prepared or not, they will not hinder our army from advancing westward. The area under Hexi is still too small, and they can only rely on a few city walls. However, if they only rely on strong cities, For our army, it is tantamount to sitting back and waiting to be killed.
Do you want the Uighurs to be trapped in the city, or do you want to fight with them in the wild?"
They are all veteran generals with rich combat experience. After listening to Chai Rong's statement, their eyes lit up and their worries turned into joy. Wang Yansheng touched his palm to express his agreement, but then quickly raised his eyebrows: "However, the city of Dandan is very
It’s strong, but it’s not easy to break it!”
"As long as we trap them, are we afraid that we can't break the city?" Guo Jin said confidently: "It's not that I underestimate the enemy. In terms of city attack and defense, the Uighurs are not worthy of competing with my Han army!"
Chai Rong's consideration was exactly the same. There would be no problem in defeating the Uighurs and regaining Gansu with the help of the Han's military strength. But the effect Chai Rong wanted to achieve was to completely conquer them and leave as little harm as possible.
After all, the Uighurs are still a nomadic people. If they are allowed to lose but not collapse, abandon Hexi and migrate to the southwest to avoid disaster, then even if they regain Gansu, they will still have a tail left behind, and they cannot be saved once and for all.
Therefore, for Chai Rong, recovering Gansu is only the basic goal, and how to conquer and control the Uighurs is the ultimate goal.
A discussion temporarily calmed the generals' vigorous fighting spirit. However, after Wang Yansheng and others retreated, Chai Rong couldn't help but frowned. He walked around the hall, although his pace was not too fast.
But his heart was obviously not as calm as he appeared on the surface.
All planning cannot be based on wishful thinking. It also depends on the reaction of the Uyghurs. Chai Rong is also worried that something unexpected will happen if the Uyghurs are finally out of control. Especially if the Uyghurs are wary, perhaps it is really time to launch troops.
Chai Rong's slight hesitation quickly turned into firmness, and he decided to send troops. What made him determined was a Liangzhou official named Li Su. This person was ordered to go to the Uighur Khan's court to discuss the matter of borrowing the road, and it took a lot of time.
, Li Su fulfilled his mission and came back to resume his duties.
Regarding the imperial court's intention to send troops to the Western Regions to rescue Gaochang, it is obviously impossible for the Ganzhou Uighurs to say that they have no doubts at all. And the biggest doubt is also that they should give way to pass through in case the Han army plots something.
What should I do?
However, the Uighurs did not have the confidence to refuse directly. After all, the two sides had been in conflict on the Hexi Corridor in the past two years, and the conflicts had become increasingly serious. However, despite the disagreements, they did not break the relationship, and they still maintained friendly relations on the surface.
They did not have the courage to really let the Uighurs and the Han court fall out. Therefore, they delayed the matter with a mentality of worrying about gains and losses and looking forward and backward.
During the discussion, on the one hand, they mobilized their troops, enriched their elixirs, and strengthened their defenses. On the other hand, they secretly sent people to investigate the situation in Liangzhou. When they learned that the Han army was gathering troops to prepare for an expedition to the Western Regions, they left it to them.
There is even less time to make decisions.
He wanted to refuse, but was afraid of offending the imperial court, so he simply attacked Gansu... although the Han imperial court's target this time was exactly them.
After procrastinating for a long time, the Uighur monarchs and ministers finally relented after they realized that the Dan Dan was stable enough. They replied to Li Su and were willing to use the road, but only five thousand troops were allowed to pass...
Guo Rong couldn't be more satisfied with this result, so he immediately gathered his generals and arranged for the dispatch of troops. When it came to action, Chai Rong's style was also vigorous and resolute. Guo Jin led five thousand officers and soldiers on foot and cavalry as the vanguard to attack first, with a direct target.
Referring to Jiedan, Chai Rong took charge of the central army and the baggage team, and then marched forward.
Wang Yansheng originally wanted to compete for the position of advance guard. He had been frustrated these years, but Chai Rong refused and kept him in the central army on the grounds of assisting him in commanding the army.
The next thing went very smoothly. Guo Jin set out from Liangzhou with 5,000 cavalry and attacked Xiedan City. Although the Uighur troops and people along the way were wary, they seemed to have received the order in advance.
Sure enough there was no harassment.
As a result, Guo Jin led the army and was able to march straight in and successfully force into the city of Xiedan, the court of the Uighur Khan. Xiedan is located in the central area of the Hexi Corridor and is also an important town on the Silk Road. It is the east gate of Ganzhou, surrounded by mountains and rivers.
Therefore, it was used as the seat of the Khan Court by the Uighurs of Ganzhou, and a lot of manpower was spent on building and expanding it.
As a base camp that has been operating for a long time and has accumulated accumulation for several generations, the Uighurs will not give up easily. The so-called man-made and wealth-deprived base camp is the same. Therefore, Chai Rong is worried about the Gansu Uighurs leaving without being defeated. After all, they have not reached that point yet.
For the sake of it. Basically, as long as the Xiedan is captured, the Ganzhou Uighurs will be basically pacified.
There were only more than 300 miles between Liangzhou and Xiedan. Guo Jin did not advance in a hurry, but maintained a steady pace and marched at a speed of 70 miles a day. Before setting off, Chai Rong had no other instructions and only gave a few instructions.
, that is to be careful and not to be careless, Guo Jin also kept this in mind.
So, after five days, on March 11, the second year of Kaibao in the Han Dynasty, the Han army came to Xiedan City. This was the first time after more than half a century that the Central Plains army once again came under the banner of the Han people.