The majestic golden eagle flies in the blue sky, cruising on the top of the mountains, looking down at the earth, its brown and yellow wings shining brightly in the sun, its sharp eagle eyes searching for prey, and with a loud roar that shakes the sky, it flaps its wings straight down,
Like lightning, he pounced on the hare foraging among the licorice.
This was obviously an experienced "hunter". He was as fast as thunder and could kill with one blow. Although the rabbit was agile, it could not escape its bad luck and lost its life.
The golden eagle grabbed its prey, fluttered its wings, circled under the sky for a while, and swept over the mountains wantonly, looking for its owner.
In the wilderness at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, King Liu Min of Wei was hunting with Yang Yanzhao. There were dozens of horses in the group, high-spirited and lightly dressed. When he heard the happy cry of the golden eagle, Liu Min stopped his horse and smiled to the left and right: "Listen to this sound.
, it seems that my eagle has gained something.”
The golden eagle flapped its wings and headed straight towards Liu Min and his group. The accompanying eagle slave quickly dismounted his horse to greet them. However, the attack of the big eagle was so fierce that even with the eagle slave's strength, he was almost overturned. He took several steps back before he could stabilize himself.
Body.
The golden eagle did not pay attention to the embarrassment of the eagle slave. It vibrated its wings proudly and called out to Liu Min. Looking at the rabbit carcass discarded in front of him, Liu Min smiled and said, "What a great eagle!"
This eagle was given to Liu Min by his fourth brother Liu Fang. He had raised it for many years and loved it very much. He rode forward, gently stroked the eagle's strong wings, and said almost lovingly: "This is the eagle's prey."
, cook it and give it food!"
"Yes!" Eagle Slave obeyed respectfully.
"This sculpture is so majestic and soaring thousands of miles, just like His Highness at this moment!" Yang Yanzhao said a small compliment from behind.
Liu Min chuckled, turned the horse's head, rode the horse and held the bow, and said to Yang Yanzhao: "Brother Yuan Xian, we can't fall behind. Let's compete today to see who can hunt more!"
"Your Highness is so elegant, I will accompany you to the end!" Yang Yanzhao smiled heartily.
Liu Min was fond of hunting, but since the Western Expedition, he had not gone hunting in the wild for several months. This time, he took advantage of the easing of the war between Han and Heilongjiang and the situation to calm down for a while.
They were very happy. When the sun was setting, the group returned with their full load and headed towards Wuchi City at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain. I don't know whether he deliberately gave in or not, but Liu Min won and hunted one more yellow sheep than Yang Yanzhao.
Walking slowly along the Tuoshigan River, the figures of the group were reflected in the clear river water. Liu Min could not see any fatigue. He looked around at the surrounding mountains, rivers, forests and soil, and couldn't help but sigh: "This place is barren, but there are many products.
, as we move westward, a lot of the land occupied is suitable for cultivation. If it can be developed and utilized properly, it can be enough to raise tens of thousands of troops!"
"Yes!" Yang Yanzhao stood by and nodded when he heard the words: "To the west of the late barbarians, there is no lack of fertile plains, dense mountains and forests, and two rivers. It is also a geomantic treasure land. It can be called the Central Plains, but it is sparsely populated and slightly lacking."
After two months of fighting, the Western Expedition army had made a huge breakthrough. Although huge sacrifices were made in the Battle of Kucha, it was finally defeated due to the determined will of the Han general.
The Battle of Kucha was very difficult, and the scene was also very cruel. The battlefield was like a meat grinder, which was rare in all the wars of the Han Dynasty. In terms of scale, it was nothing, but in the history of war, it was extraordinary.
meaning.
This was when the Han Dynasty began to use gunpowder on a large scale. A large number of war weapons powered by gunpowder appeared on the battlefield and achieved outstanding results. The Han army's final victory also benefited from the concentrated use of gunpowder.
No matter how strong a city is, it cannot be sustained for a long time due to the powerful explosive power of gunpowder. The pattern of war has quietly begun to undergo some subtle changes.
After Qiuci fell, the black Khan's commander Aliaman, with the support of the cavalry, only took in a few hundred people, and fled westward in panic. The more than 20,000 Qiuci defenders were completely wiped out. Under the retaliatory treatment of the Han army, no one was left.
None of the prisoners survived.
The Han army was so furious that they even planned to massacre the more than 30,000 civilians gathered in the city. However, Liu Min retained a trace of reason, or perhaps out of compassion for the victor, he did not kill him in the end.
Even so, the treatment of the civilians in Kucha City did not show mercy. In order to appease the morale of the military, those who went to the city to participate in the defense of the city were also singled out and killed one by one. The rest were all demoted to hard labor, while the women were
All rewards are given to soldiers. In the Western Region, manpower is still too scarce.
After taking Qiuci, the Han army rested on the spot for half a month, repaired the city defenses, replenished food and equipment, and stabilized the vast area east of Qiuci, and then led the army to continue westward, advancing towards the Moman area at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
The Black Khans maintained their tenacity. Although they suffered a disastrous defeat and suffered a severe decline in morale, they did not fall into complete collapse. The rest of the Han army in Qiuci also gave them some time to adjust, even if it was very short.
Aliaman gathered all the troops of Black Khan south of the Tianshan Mountains in Moman City, and gathered 10,000 domestic reinforcements, supplemented by the remaining 10,000 cavalry, and then recruited strong men from the local area, completely
They resorted to brutal warfare and managed to organize an army of more than 40,000 people.
However, even if these more than 40,000 troops cannot be said to be a mob, their combat effectiveness is definitely not as good as the more than 20,000 defenders of Kucha City. The fall of Kucha was a huge blow to Black Khan, especially the casualties of a large number of elite soldiers.
, it can be said that it hurts the muscles and bones.
When faced with the menacing Han army's westward advance again, perhaps it was the shadow of Qiuci's failure that made Black Khan's coach Aliaman make mistakes in his judgment.
They no longer dared to defend the city and were passively beaten. Their strategy of defending Qiuci and using cavalry to control the enemy was completely seen through by the Han army and basically failed. The powerful city warfare capabilities of the Han army were also clearly demonstrated.
Telling the Black Khans that they can't defeat the Han army by defending the city will only make them passive.
Kucha City, which has been in operation for many years and is famous for its solidity, cannot withstand the attack of the Han army, let alone a small city like Moman. Therefore, this time, Aliaman chose to lead all the troops to take the initiative and march eastward to meet the Han army.
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Compared with urban warfare, the Black Khan's army is better at field warfare, and among the 40,000 troops organized regardless of the consequences, the most guaranteed combat strength is the more than 10,000 Black Khan cavalry.
Regardless of the considerations, Aliaman's almost desperate decision was in line with the wishes of the Han generals. The Black Khans lost confidence in defense, and they also cast a shadow on the bloody battle of Qiuci.
The two sides fought in the town of Bash, more than a hundred miles east of Moman City. In this battle, the two sides set up their positions and actively attacked. The Black Khan army adopted their most accustomed tactics and used what they were best at.
, the volunteers, mainly YSL believers, attacked frantically, with the standing army behind them, supplemented by cavalry roving and assaulting.
The Han army faced tit for tat, and also used their combined infantry and cavalry tactics. What was more interesting was that both sides launched an ambush at the same time, and each sent their best cavalry to surround the enemy's rear.
On the Han army's side, King Liu Min of Wei personally led five thousand cavalry, which circled for dozens of miles and attacked the rear of the Black Khan army. In the end, a big melee broke out.
When the battle reached a stalemate, the shortcomings of the Black Khan Army's weak follow-up were magnified. The Han Army relied on more elite soldiers, better command, and efficient organization to win the Battle of Bash.
The defeated Black Khan army collapsed for hundreds of miles. Except for a small number of cavalry who escaped, the rest either died or surrendered. The commander-in-chief Aliaman failed to escape this time and was killed by the rebel army when they were defeated.
middle.
What is even more tragic is that the entire army of three thousand heavy cavalry was wiped out. This was the Guards army supported by Eight Assassins. It was the most elite army of the Black Khanate.
Of course, the Han army also suffered huge casualties in destroying the Black Khan's heavy cavalry. It can even be said that most of the Han army's casualties in the Battle of Bash were caused by this Black Khan's heavy cavalry.
After achieving a decisive victory, under the command of Liu Min, the Han army took advantage of the situation and advanced westward, sweeping across the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, occupying the Tuoshigan River and allowing it to protect the watershed. Based on the large and small towns in the middle, mainly Moman and Wuchi,
It was also easily captured by the Han army, and the Black Khan army could no longer organize a strong resistance.
At this point, the Han army's Western Expedition lasted more than three months. At the cost of over 10,000 casualties, it expanded 800 miles of territory, wiped out more than 50,000 Black Khan troops, and restored all the old Uighur lands in Xizhou.
This also declares that under the attack of the Han army, the results of the Black Khanate's eastward expansion for more than 20 years were all vomited out at once. In the vast area south of the Tianshan Mountains, only Shule in the southwest foothills of the Black Khanate was left.
area.
In the Shule area, after several troop deployments, the defense was almost non-existent. Even though Black Khan's troops were defeated in the Battle of Bash, most of them did not choose to retreat westward from Shule, but fled northward into Badaling, a key pass in the Tianshan Mountains.