After leaving Jiayuguan, the first Jisu Guard was the Mongolian Chijin Guard.
The Chijin Guards are mainly Mongolians, with a large number of Tibetans and a small number of Hans. This guard has almost settled down. It is located in the northwest of Yumen County in later generations. The guarding governor is Suonanshu, a Mongolian.
The Mongolian guide who led Wang Yuan was named Harbala, a short and stocky young man. A hundred years ago, his whole family lived in Liuchen (also called "Liucheng"), when the Eastern Chagatai Khanate occupied Turpan.
After Zhucheng, they continued to attack nearby cities. Liucheng was killed and the population was reduced by half. Harbala's great-grandfather led the entire clan to join the Ming Dynasty.
"Scholar Wang, ahead is Chijin Fort!" Harbala pointed to the front and said.
Since the ground was covered with snow and everything was white, Wang Yuan could not see the specific situation.
But according to Harbala, after the snow melts in spring, wheat fields are everywhere here, which are green and beautiful. Even many Mongolians in Chijinwei have switched to crops, and herding has become their part-time job——
This is related to the support of the Ming Dynasty. Since the establishment of Chijin Guards, the Ming Dynasty court has provided seeds and cattle for farming many times, and taught these Mongolian and Tibetan people how to farm.
Even Chijinwei grew cotton. The women knew cotton spinning technology and could wear cotton clothes in winter to resist the severe cold.
The snow was getting heavier and heavier, making it impossible for the horses to gallop. Wang Yuan and the others could only lead the horses forward.
There are many residential buildings outside Chijin Fort, all made of rammed sand, but they are all closed at the moment.
Moreover, most of these residential buildings were destroyed by the Turpan army three months ago. At that time, the Turpan army had already reached Chijin. If Wala Xiaolietu hadn't suddenly attacked, Turpan would have probably attacked Jiayuguan directly.
Arriving outside Chijin Fort, Harbala shouted in Mongolian to open the door. Because of the heavy wind and snow, it took a long time before anyone responded.
The defenders in the fort hung a willow basket and pulled it up. After a while, the gate opened.
Suo Nanshu, the governor of Chijin Guards, came to greet him in person. When he met, he knelt down and cried in Chinese: "Xueshi Wang, you are finally here. The abominable Turpan killed my people, robbed my food, and robbed my women. I humbled myself and asked the imperial court to send troops to conquer."
, I must avenge this great revenge!"
"General, please get up. Let's talk slowly." Wang Yuan helped him up.
Although Wang Yuan was dissatisfied with Chen Jiuchou's abandonment of territory, he also believed a lot of what Chen Jiuchou said, that is, the Seven Guards of Kansai could not be truly trusted.
When threatened by Turpan or Oara, the Seven Guards of Guanxi were naturally loyal and had helped the Ming Dynasty fight many battles.
But once it was safe, these guys kept making small moves. The Anding Guards even intercepted and killed the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty to Uzang, and robbed all the envoys' belongings. Later, the imperial court sent troops to conquer Anding, Qu Xian, and Handong Guards.
Willing to send troops.
The Seven Guards of Kansai occasionally robbed each other's property and people. Even if the Ming Dynasty intervened and took advantage, the one who took advantage was unwilling to return the spoils.
But no matter how many conflicts there are, the stronger Turpan is, the more loyal the Seven Guards of Kansai will be to the Ming Dynasty.
Suonan Shu was a strong Mongolian man in his forties. He invited Wang Yuan and the others into his mansion, where he treated them with good meat and even had a lamb roasted for dinner.
Wang Yuan drank strong wine and asked: "General, how many soldiers and horses did Turpan invade Chijin this time?"
Suonan Shu said angrily: "There are more than 10,000 people, all of whom are cavalry. The Chijin Guards have robbed thousands of people and countless cattle and horses. If it were not blocked by the walls of Chijin Fort, the Chijin Guards must have perished!"
Wang Yuan asked again: "If I conquer Turpan, how many soldiers, horses, money and food can Chijin Guards provide?"
Suonan Shu said: "We don't have any money or food. This winter is very difficult. I hope the court can provide some money and food. If Wang Xueshi sends troops to conquer Turpan, Chijin Guards can send out five hundred cavalry, all of whom are battle-hardened warriors!"
Five hundred cavalry was already the limit of the Chijin Guards. Suo Nanshu was willing to spend his money to follow Wang Yuan this time.
Historically, due to Peng Ze's mischief, the Seven Guards of Guanxi were almost left to fend for themselves. Within a few years, they were swallowed up by Turpan, leaving only a thousand people attached to the Ming Dynasty, and all of them moved to settle near Suzhou City.
Wang Yuan nodded and said: "Very good, six hundred cavalry are enough. We will launch a surprise attack on Hami after the spring begins!"
Seeing that Wang Yuan was too young, Suonan Shu couldn't help but be a little confused and asked: "How many troops did Wang Yuan bring this time?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Three thousand elite cavalry, three thousand fire gun soldiers, and four thousand sword, shield and spear soldiers!"
"That's enough, that's enough." Suo Nanshu was very happy.
In the past hundred years, the Ming Dynasty has rarely sent out troops. It relied entirely on the Seven Guards of Kansai to fight Turpan and Oara. Even if Wang Yuan did not falsely report his troops, Suonan Shu could understand that it would be better than before when they gathered troops to attack by themselves.
Bar.
Quxianwei, Aduanwei and Andingwei were too far south, so Wang Yuan did not contact them in person. He only asked Suonan Shu to send messengers to these three guards with documents stamped with the seal of the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.
The soldiers and horses gathered made an appointment to assemble in Shazhou City after the snow melted.
Wang Yuan himself took Yuan Da and his guide and went straight to Shazhou Guard.
On the way, we passed Kuyu City, also known as Suoyang City. The Hami Guard was once occupied by Turpan, and all the escaped Hami tribes moved here. Kuyu City once became the seat of the Hami Guard. Together with the local residents, it was once
It has multiplied and multiplied to a population of thousands, but now only a few thousand people remain.
Where have people gone?
Half a year ago, Turpan captured this city and took away the entire population!
This city had fallen into a state of famine and was waiting for relief from the Ming Dynasty. Wang Yuan could not recruit a single soldier.
Further west is Guazhou. The situation in Guazhou is slightly better than that in Kuyu, but the difference between a homeless person and a beggar is the same.
After arriving at Shazhou Guard, Wang Yuan felt a headache.
This poor place was the key target of Turpan's previous attacks. Fortunately, the "tall" city wall was finally able to hold on. However, the people outside the city suffered heavy losses. A large number of herdsmen and farmers were kidnapped. Only 800 cavalry and 1,000 infantry were sent to help the king.
deep.
Although they had more troops than the Chijin Guards, Wang Yuan was greatly disappointed because the Shazhou Guards were the strongest among the Seven Guards in Kansai.
Further ahead, the Handong Guards were in the same situation as the Chijin Guards. They were also plundered by Turpan and could only send out 400 cavalry to help fight.
The entire Kansai region was badly affected by Turpan!
Of course, this also facilitated Wang Yuan's gathering of troops, all of whom shared the same hatred of the enemy and were willing to take out the coffin book and follow Wang Erlang on the expedition. There was absolutely no possibility of compromise between the two sides. They would not surrender to Turpan. This was related to each other's religious beliefs. Kansai
Even if the leaders of the Seven Guards choose to surrender, they will basically face a dead end. They don't even have a way out to change their beliefs.
After passing the sandbank, Hami is in front of you.
There is a rebel king and two generals in Hami City. Strictly speaking, it is an enemy-occupied area.
But Wang Yuan had an unimpeded path, mainly due to the wind and snow. All the soldiers and civilians of Hami were hiding in their houses to keep out the cold. Who would run out and wander around without any trouble?
From Jiayuguan to Shazhou, Wang Yuan changed horses once when he reached a city.
The horses couldn't hold up as they continued to advance in the snow, and Wang Yuan was even more reluctant to ride Ah Hei to the grassland. When setting off from the sandbank, the three of Wang Yuan even rode six horses, taking turns riding along the way, bypassing Hami City and heading to Wala
Xiaolietu tribe.
Entering November, the wind and snow will become even worse!
During the most severe period, four of the six horses died, and they could hardly walk. They stayed at a herdsman's house for several days before finally surviving the heavy snowstorm.
If Wang Yuan had not claimed to be the envoy of the Ming Dynasty, said that he was going to meet King Xiaolie Bald, and inadvertently showed off his military power, those Oara herdsmen would have killed and expropriated goods, because Wang Yuan paid the boarding fee directly with tea and salt!
In the ninth year of Zhengde, in the middle of winter, the weather was freezing.
Wang Yuan, Yuan Da and Harbala all lost weight suddenly and finally arrived at Dulbert's tribe with difficulty.