On the tenth day of May in the fifteenth year of Jianji, it was clear and the sun was shining brightly.
Atami Turk came faster than anyone else because it was profitable.
In grassland wars, cattle and sheep are trophies, and slaves are also important trophies. Especially for a half-farming and half-grazing population like the Rehai Turks, slaves are an important resource.
The tribes in Baluka (Aksu) certainly knew this, so they rose up to resist, assembled large groups of troops, and repeatedly struggled with the Turks who were rushing towards them.
Both sides are known as Turks, with the same way of life, the same tactics, and even the equipment and combat effectiveness are almost the same.
A fierce battle began on the banks of the Sihun River.
Arrows were flying around, and people kept falling down.
I don’t know how many times the cavalry clashed. The horses lay down on the ground whining, and the soldiers screamed in pain and looked at the sky reluctantly until they lost their energy.
The battles were most intense on both sides of the Sihun River. The fight was particularly brutal at the shallow water fords. The two sides even dismounted and fought on foot. You stabbed and I shot, treating the opponent as if he was the enemy who killed his father.
Ba Saigan's eyelids jumped as he saw it.
He didn't expect that the resistance would be so fierce. Now that bad news is coming from everywhere, why don't you think about it carefully? If you continue to resist, no one will be able to escape?
Of course, Ba Saigan knew in his heart that even if people didn't resist, they wouldn't get any good results.
Perhaps, this is the main reason why the battle was so brutal.
Sunong led 2,000 people around the upstream area and reached the rear side of the mountain.
Ba Saigan climbed to a high place and stared carefully.
The enemy seemed to have been prepared for a long time. Behind the towns and villages, smoke filled the sky, and a group of cavalry composed of Uighurs, Geluolu and even Turks came forward and fought with Sunong's troops.
Yellow sand filled the sky, green blood was swaying, and a large number of people on both sides lay down in a short time. Ownerless horses ran around, neighing endlessly.
The battle was fierce, but it obviously wouldn't be over for a while.
"Alas!" Basseigan beat the trunk of the Populus euphratica tree angrily.
They went south with more than 10,000 people, all of whom were selected by various ministries. Their morale was high before setting off. Everyone felt that by following the king of Daxia, they could plunder the Uighurs' property and enrich themselves.
Unexpectedly, while protecting his family, children and property, the Yanmo people burst out with strong fighting spirit and fought against the Rehai Turks, making them inseparable.
Ba Saigan heard that when the Central Plains cavalry charged each other, some even charged for more than twenty rounds.
When someone dies, replenish the reserve team and continue the charge.
If the horse can't run anymore, change another horse and try again.
But fighting on the grassland has always been straightforward and neat. Victory is victory and defeat is defeat. It is very straightforward. There are scenes of repeated entanglements and repeated attacks, but they are really rare.
Unlucky for him, he encountered it today.
Even if he wins such a "bad battle", his tribesmen will not give him a good look after he returns, and it is inevitable that his prestige will be damaged unless the compensation is large enough.
Thinking of this, beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his eyes were filled with blood red from embarrassment and anger.
This time, if I don't slaughter a bunch of villages and towns that are so annoying and let everyone live happily, it will obviously be unacceptable.
If you want to blame this matter, you have yourselves to blame. The resistance is so fierce, so be kind and be kind.
"Prepare your horses and I will personally lead the charge!" Bassekan ordered as he descended the hillside.
The personal entourage quickly brought in four or five war horses. Basseagan picked the most powerful one, turned over, took a long-handled bone pole, and rushed out at the head of the horse.
More than a thousand people followed him, rolling up countless smoke and dust, and brazenly joined the battlefield.
******
The Khotanian army was dispatched again.
The people left the city one after another and saw him off on both sides of the post road.
Li Shengtian raised the banner of "Great Treasure King of Khotan" and looked at everyone with a smile.
Fifty monk guards surrounded him tightly and would not leave him for a moment.
They were tall, muscular, well-dressed, well-equipped with equipment, and each of them was equipped with at least three horses. They looked around with murderous intent, and did not show the compassion that a monk should have.
Monks are just a profession. Monk soldiers raised by temples are no different from ordinary soldiers.
After Li Shengtian passed by, more than a thousand monk soldiers wearing armor, holding spears, axes, and iron rods walked past in a mighty manner.
If those donors from the Central Plains who often donate money and materials to temples were asked to come and take a look, they would probably be scared to death...
Of course there are kind-hearted monks in Khotan, but they are limited to daily reception, preaching, and alms.
The temple has a large area of good land, its own handicraft workshop, and shops for the public. It has four major characteristics: religious, social, closed, and regional.
The religious nature is easy to understand. They have the role of promoting Buddhism and maintaining social stability, and they are under the jurisdiction of officials such as Seng Zheng and Da Seng Zheng.
Sociality means that temples will participate in the economic activities of secular society, earn profits, and are inextricably linked with major families.
Their economic system is still very closed. There are dedicated monks who lead the management of various industries, and sometimes they hire talents from outside. You don’t need to become a monk to take care of the temple’s industry. Because they are exempted from many excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, the temple collects its own revenue.
The overall expenditure is very stable, the income and expenditure are generally balanced, and there is often a slight balance.
Each temple also has its own territory, raises its own tribes, and manages its own industry in a certain place, rarely crossing boundaries.
Basically, it can be judged that this is an economic model that is similar to the serf manor system of aristocratic families in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It raises its own revenue, does not pay taxes and servitude, raises its own tribes, each has its own territory, and is deeply involved in politics, with a network of relationships extending in all directions.
The situation in Gaochang is similar to that in Khotan. In fact, the imperial court once strictly controlled the temples and made them pay taxes, but it was always short-lasting and intermittent, because the later rulers were still building new temples, and the attitude was there, and it was difficult to implement it.
Already.
But here in the Western Region, it's not all bad.
At least, this time Li Shengtian sent troops, the major temples gave full support and sent more than a thousand monk soldiers to join him. These are soldiers they have spent countless money and food to raise over the years. Now they are fighting for the imperial court. While enjoying the benefits, they also assume obligations.
of.
When the nest is overturned, the eggs are not finished, and the mages also understand this truth.
After the monk soldiers, there were a large number of people on foot and cavalry. Some of them did not live in the city, and now they came out of the city, which actually meant a bit of propaganda.
There were only a few thousand standing troops in Khotan, and most of the soldiers and horses were recruited temporarily. They provided their own equipment or were issued equipment by the court. Their combat effectiveness was average, but they were the backbone of the army.
The family members were in high spirits and cheered, and the soldiers were also beaming with joy and admiration.
Everyone made a profit when they attacked Kucha last year. Except for the food, they didn't use much, and all the goods were brought back home. The Khotan army even burned, killed, and looted the local area, and captured a large number of slaves and brought them back.
Can you not be happy fighting this kind of battle?
The common people are not afraid of fighting, but they are afraid of losing money.
This time, following the expedition of the King of Daxia, we heard that the Rehai Turks were assisting us in attacking Shule, which was close to Chichi. After careful consideration, everyone did not think they would lose.
It’s hard to say that there will be a large amount of income this time.
A rare drizzle fell from the sky.
Thirty thousand Khotanese troops marched toward Shule along the southern edge of the desert.
******
Satuk has completely taken control of Karasha, and all villages, towns and tribes near and far have surrendered, and the situation is excellent.
But he is a smart man and knows that there are turbulent undercurrents hidden on the calm lake. If you are not careful, you will be dragged into the water and swallowed without a trace.
Samani has experienced the world and certainly understands this.
"The people who went to Bakhna haven't come back yet." Samani said: "However, don't put too much hope on that end. There is turmoil in Persia, there are many people rebelling, and the governor of Bakhna is also involved. In my opinion
, this is probably a false accusation, but in order to avoid suspicion, he is unlikely to send troops to you in the short term. Besides, you don’t believe him, right?"
Saatuk glanced at Samani.
The two used to be close and cooperated tacitly. But after the coup was successful, a subtle rift suddenly arose.
This is not that Sartuk is intolerant of others. In fact, when anyone sees that Samani actually hides thousands of elite believers, they will subconsciously become defensive.
But now is not the time to dwell on this. Both sides still need to unite sincerely.
"Failure to kill Ogurchak was the biggest mistake." Saturk sighed: "Think about it carefully, ever since the envoy from the Xia Kingdom came, he, who has always been careless, became wary of me. Tiao Gulam
The army left the city, transferred his people into the city, sent more people to monitor, and purged the unreliable elements around him. After doing this one after another, things have come to this point."
"Don't dwell on the past." Samani emphasized his tone and said, "Now, the only way is to boost morale and defeat the enemy. As long as we win, everything will be easy."
"How do you think this battle should be fought? We only have more than 10,000 troops now..." Saturk frowned and asked.
"Two ways." Samani held out two fingers and said: "First, you have controlled each tribe, recruited troops from them, expanded the number of troops, and then led people north to defeat the Turks. If Xia
The soldiers are following closely behind, and they must be defeated while they are victorious. Secondly, they still need to recruit troops and food, and then defend Karasha and wait for reinforcements. Note that the reinforcements are likely to be only Jihadists, and there will not be too many of them.
"
"Are you inclined to lead troops into battle?" Saturk asked.
News of the Rehai Turks heading south has come. Saturk is not sure whether they were summoned by Ogurchak or someone else. Now we only know one fact: Tens of thousands of Rehai Turks attacked Baluka.
, the fighting was fierce.
"Is there any other way?" Samani asked back: "Khotan has accepted the canonization of Lord Xia for many years. Last year they were ordered to send troops to capture Qiuci. Do you think they will come this year?"
Satuk stood up after hearing this and said: "I understand what you mean. In this battle, we can only defeat all the way first to make the enemy frightened, and then look for new opportunities to win."
"Decided?" Samani asked.
"Decided." Saturk nodded.
"Then, let's pray first." Samani clapped her hands and the music started.
This time, the dervish was still happy with his ascetic practice. Satuk knelt on the ground, quietly tasting it, and even shed tears in his eyes.
After a long time, he stood up with a radiant face and a firm look on his face, rubbed the sword on his waist, and looked out the window into the distance.
