The sun sets in the west, and there are only a few residual clouds left in the distant sky. The light falling on Xiandan City looks extremely dim. The city is quietly located on the bank of Heluo River, with the four gates tightly closed and the city walls tightly guarded.
The atmosphere among the patrolling Uighur soldiers was very serious.
The guarding generals patrolled the city with their soldiers, but their eyes were cast to the southeast from time to time. Although they could not see much more than the wilderness, rivers, the Great Wall, the desert, and the continuous Qilian Mountains, there was something obvious in their eyes.
Containing worries and expectations, his mind was obviously not on the twilight scenery around the Uighur Khan Court.
Two days have passed since the Han army reached Xiedan City, and the city has maintained a high degree of strict security. However, although the security in the city was tight at this time, there were not many soldiers and horses, and there were no Han army flags outside the city.
What can be seen are traces of fierce battles.
The broken flags, damaged armor, burned vehicles, scattered corpses, and the vegetation that was dark in color after being soaked in blood all tell the story of the fierce battles that took place on this land.
From Chai Rong onwards, the generals of the Han Dynasty finally underestimated the Ganzhou Uighurs, their determination, and their cunning. The consequences of their contempt were naturally serious, and Guo Jin's forwards suffered heavy losses.
The matter had to start with the Uighurs agreeing to use the crossing. They agreed with a complex and hesitant attitude. Therefore, even if they received a reply and even if the court agreed to send 5,000 people across the border, they still felt uneasy.
For a long time, among the Ganzhou Uighurs, there were those who were close to the imperial court, and naturally there were also those who were hostile. This time, the opposition took the leading role. As the Han Dynasty advanced westward, there were more and more such people. After all, the Han Dynasty
The empire returned to Hexi, its influence became stronger day by day, and its ambition for the land in Hexi became stronger and stronger day by day. In their view, one day, they would be annexed or expelled.
The proposal to use this route for an expedition aroused even greater tension among them. Therefore, a group of people jointly requested orders and appealed to the Uighur Khan, saying that the Han army could not be allowed to cross the border, otherwise disaster would come.
The Uighur Khan Jingqiong was struggling in his heart. He was not only afraid of offending the Han court, but also afraid of being annexed by the Han and becoming a bird imprisoned in Tokyo.
What came next was the arrival of five thousand Han troops on foot and cavalry, fully equipped and coming from the west. The sense of urgency in my heart was even greater. Regret began to take over my mind, and I felt that giving way to the Han troops was a wrong decision.
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Under heavy pressure, some people will be crushed, while others will risk their lives and face the difficulties. The Uighur Khan Jingqiong obviously belongs to the latter. After repeated thinking, the voice of the Qiuhan faction occupied his mind.
Brain, Uighur Khan Jingqiong finally made up his mind.
With the support of a group of civil and military officials and nobles, Jing Qiong decided to raise an army to rebel against the Han Dynasty. Rather than sit back and wait for death, gradually being crushed, forced to death, and cannibalized by the imperial court's overwhelming force, it was better to rise up and attack.
Guo Jin's forward army, who was the first to cross the border, became their target. The Uighurs' plans were also very clear. Regardless of their intention, they had already agreed to use the crossing. The Han army would never have thought that they would dare to attack on their own initiative.
In the vision of the Uighur Khan Jingqiong and others, if Guo Jin, the elite Han army, could be killed in one fell swoop, then the situation in Hexi would be basically revitalized. The Han army had a large territory, a large population, and a strong military, but it needed to take care of both.
Quite a few, and it will take a certain amount of time to assemble an army for battle.
The reason for the rapid assembly this time is that the five thousand Han troops are already a powerful force based on the garrison troops from various states. And if the imperial court loses, it will have to pay more to recruit, arm, and train again. The cost is not small.
For the Uighurs in Ganzhou who were determined to rebel, the benefits of eliminating Guo Jin's army were significant. One was to boost morale, the other was to interrupt the rhythm of the Han army's westward advance, and the third was to buy them more time.
However, the Han army took the initiative to send 5,000 infantry and cavalry to their mouths. It was a lonely army and was out of touch with Liangzhou. As long as it was arranged properly, the possibility of success was very high.
Therefore, while giving orders to let the Uighur troops along the way pass, the Uighur Khan Jingqiong quickly mobilized troops from Ganzhou, plus the original Khan's army and the previously recruited troops, and gathered a total of 26,000 troops, waiting for With the arrival of the Han army.
The spies of the Han army are also pervasive in Gansu, and their subordinates are also not short of leading parties and surrender factions. There are no signs of Uighur movements. Although the Uighur Khan did it secretly and quickly enough, there are still some clues. Traces are revealed.
Therefore, these signs also reached the ears of Guo Jin who was marching through spies. The spies could not see through the truth. Guo Jin was wary of this, but did not pay too much attention to it. He only regarded it as a warning move by the Uighurs.
The order he received was to advance to Xiedan City and serve as a forward stand for the Chinese army, so he only conveyed this news to the Chinese army on Pegasus, and he led the army to march towards Xiedan City according to the established speed and rhythm, only to increase the speed. Be vigilant.
However, Guo Jin was careful enough this time. The march arrangements along the way were in accordance with the regulations. There was nothing wrong and there was no negligence.
However, he didn't expect it and suffered a big loss. When the army was about ten miles away from Xiedan City, Guo Jin already had some bad premonitions in his heart. It was an unreasonable feeling, a smell he had experienced for many years.
When he sent people to Jiedan City to report the "borrowed road" matter, he also ordered the army to adjust from the marching formation to the combat formation. Then, when approaching Jiedan City, the unexpected battle did not happen at all. The Uighur Khan Jingqiong He personally led 15,000 troops to attack in formation, and ambushed 5,000 cavalry at Rouge Mountain and outside the Great Wall. At the same time, he also sent a group of light cavalry to circle behind and cut off the retreat of the Han army.
At the critical moment, Guo Jin couldn't think of anything else. Facing the Uighurs' active attack, he had no other plan and led his troops to resist the enemy. First, he sent his deputy general Chen Wantong and the accompanying two thousand cavalry to rush out and guard the outside. If the cavalry was surrounded by guerrilla support, its effectiveness would be greatly reduced. At the same time, he led his men to form a formation to resist.
Guo Jin has rich experience in leading battles. When faced with changes, he chose to handle things appropriately. Although the Han soldiers were small and were attacked by surprise, they also showed extremely high quality. The soldiers were under the command of officers at all levels. , also formed a military formation and tightly defended it.
In addition to the disadvantage in numbers, they were marching long distances and were tired. The Uighurs, on the other hand, waited for work and were several times more powerful than themselves. However, many battles in the past showed that in the wilderness, as long as the Han infantry successfully formed a A square formation can withstand several times the enemy's strength, unless the troops run out of food and supplies.
This time the Uighurs can be regarded as a gathering of elites and all their methods were used. However, their biggest failure was that they failed to defeat the Han army in one fell swoop. Instead, they gradually formed a tortoise shell-like defensive formation during the resistance.
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When the large vehicles were connected together, supplemented by Han soldiers, and put on a posture of deadly resistance, the Uighur Khan Jingqiong had to face a practical problem. This was obviously a hard nut that was not easy to mess with. Should he gnaw on it or not?
Don't chew.
In fact, there was no choice, so they were very determined to eat this Han army. Then, outside Xiedan City, a bloody offensive and defensive battle began.
The Uighurs' attack unfolded like a wave, but the Han army's military formation was like a rooted rock, unmoving in the face of the impact. The Han army's advantage lay in the strong weapons of the soldiers, and the bows, crossbows and spears caused great damage to the Uighur army.
The heavy casualties and the gap in combat effectiveness between the two sides are still very obvious.
However, the Uighurs relied on their large numbers and many fanatical Han-haters. When they attacked, they were somewhat desperate. From five for one, to four for one, then three for one, and so on.
, the Han army’s numerical disadvantage was gradually magnified.
Of course, you can imagine the price the Uighurs paid if they wanted to wear out the Han army. The two sides fought from noon to night before they stopped fighting. The Uighurs wanted to besiege them. However, that night, with the support of the cavalry led by Chen Wantong, Guo Jin led the remaining troops.
Launched an attack, successfully killed a group of scattered Uighurs, and withdrew along the way.
Naturally, the Uighurs were unwilling to give in. Khan Jingqiong personally led the pursuit, while Guo Jin led his men, fighting and retreating all the way to Rouge Mountain. Finally, they were surrounded again thirty miles away, but this time,
The Han army occupied a hilltop and formed a formation to fight with a more favorable terrain.
The Han army was exhausted, and the Uighurs had lost their fighting spirit after hard fighting, night fighting, and pursuit. The two sides spent the rest of the night in tacit understanding.
On the second day, from morning to night, it was still the same attack and defense, and the same fighting. The Han army resisted to the end, and the Uighurs had no intention of giving up...