After the heavy snowfall, the Huoluohai grassland is covered with snow, and the crystal clear ice and snow are inlaid on the withered yellow fir trees in the grassland.
The vast snowfield is covered with white snow.
The famous stone men on the Huoluohai grassland were also wrapped in a thick layer of ice and snow armor, and seemed to be telling the Ming army that suddenly arrived in front of them about their great achievements in this ancient land of Wusun thousands of years ago.
"Are these Wusun people?"
The first time he saw these stone statues standing on the grassland, Zhu Dadian found it very strange. These stone statues reminded him of the stone statues in front of the emperors' tombs in the Central Plains.
"These are Turks." A Kazakh guide told Hong Jinglue that on the Yinli grassland, there are not only beautiful grassland scenery, but also many mysterious stone men.
These stone figures are exquisitely decorated and have various shapes. They are passed down from the mouths of the nomadic tribes who occupy this place and have always witnessed the history of this land. Most of the stories circulated say that these stone figures were left by the Turks, and some
Some people say it was left by the Huns, and some say it was left by the Wusun people.
Zhu Dadian looked at the several stone statues that appeared in front of him, including long vertical stones, three figures with different shapes and rich imagery, and two blocks carved with deer-shaped patterns.
The guide told Zhu Dadian that they generally call the human-shaped stone figures and the deer-shaped ones called deer stones. There are many stone statues scattered on the Huoluohai grassland, and the herdsmen even use these stone figures as road signs to guide them in the direction of the road.
.
The three warriors were standing, all men, holding swords and swords in their hands.
All of them have strong and strong bodies, with buckles on their waists and swords hanging from their belts. They hold soft swords in their hands, and one of them holds a wine glass.
They all face east.
"All the stone men face the east. It is said that there are thousands of stone men and stone deer on the grassland. I don't know whether it is true or not, but we have hundreds here, scattered in twos and threes."
Zhu Dadian felt that whether these stone figures were withered Wusun, Huns, or Turks, they were all very impressive. Carving thousands of such stone figures on this grassland was no small project.
He felt that this might be a tribal boundary mark, or a tomb statue for the burial place of tribal leaders, or as the guide said, when the Turks returned from a victorious battle, they would carve stone statues to commemorate them.
The leader or the most powerful warrior is carved and worshiped in memory.
Perhaps these sturdy stone men were once Turks who ruled the grasslands, but now, the Ming Dynasty has returned to the Western Regions and will restore the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties.
No matter how powerful the Turks were, they were eventually conquered by the Tang Dynasty.
The Ming army passed by the stone statue and continued to move forward.
On the sword held by a tall warrior stone statue, there is also an inscription left not long ago by a line of reconnaissance cavalry exploring the road at night: "Zhao Dashi, the cavalry school of the Anxi Army of the Ming Dynasty, visited here in October of the eighth year of Shaotian."
From the Kazakh tribe village of Qiongkushtai, follow the river northward and merge into the Kuokesu River, then go north to reach the Tekes River in the upper reaches of the Yinli River, cross the river and enter the Kuobu Valley in the north of the Atengtao Mountain on the north bank.
After leaving Huoluohai Ranch, continue north across the Tekes River and enter the tributary Xiate River. Continue along the river south to reach the mouth of the canyon at the north entrance of the Xiate Ancient Trail, where the tomb of Princess Xijun is also located.
Now Kundulun Utaish's sons and grandsons are guarding there with some tribesmen and more than 10,000 herdsmen forcibly recruited from various pastures in Yinli.
The whole journey from Qiongkushtai Village to the mouth of Chat Canyon is about 500 miles, but it is relatively easy to walk, especially after entering the Tekes River, where there are flat grassland terraces.
"Speed up the speed and arrive at the mouth of the Chat Canyon in three days. After destroying the rebels, it's time to pay homage to Princess Wusun."
"Mr. Ge, who is Princess Wusun?" a pro-military sentry commander asked puzzledly. "What is her relationship with Princess Xijun?"
Zhu Dadian was stroking his beard. The wind was blowing and the snow was heavy, and his beard was frozen.
Traveling five hundred miles in three days in such a wind and snow is not easy. If it were not for the wind and snow, with the speed of the cavalry, it would have to cover at least two hundred miles a day on such a grassland. If it was just a short-distance rapid march, it would even take a whole day and night to change horses.
You can run three hundred miles without changing people.
They had crossed the Wusun Ancient Road before, which was less than 300 miles, but they walked for six days and six nights.
Now that they are out of the mountains, they encounter wind and snow again on the grassland. Fortunately, their whereabouts are secretive, which is their biggest reliance.
Zhu Dadian was in a good mood, so he told the uncultured sentry commander, "They are the same person. Princess Xijun's name is Liu Xijun. She is the daughter of Liu Jian, the nephew of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che, the criminal minister of Jiangdu. In order to fight against the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
He sent an envoy to the Wusun Kingdom to marry and make peace with Wusun King Liejiaomi. Emperor Wu appointed Liu Xijun as the princess, and she married Wusun and became Liejiaomi's right wife. Later Liejiaomi died, and the princess followed Wusun customs.
The new Wusun King of Hunting, that is, Hunting's arrogant grandson Junxumi, was still the right wife, and gave birth to a daughter named Shaofu for him, who not only died later.
After his death, he was buried at the entrance of the Xiate Ancient Road Canyon into Wusun Kingdom according to his last wish, to show his longing for his motherland.
The great-grandfather of this poor princess was Liu Qi, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Her grandfather was Liu Fei, the king of Jiangdu, the brother of Emperor Wu Liu Che. Her father, Liu Jian, the king of Jiangdu, was immoral and immoral. He was killed in rebellion and implicated his wife and children. Only the young princess of Jiangdu was spared and became the daughter of a criminal.
Later he was forced to marry Wusun.
After marrying an old King Wusun, he had to be suppressed by his left wife, a Hun princess. They couldn't even speak the same language. Not long after, the old King Wusun died and asked her to marry his grandson.
The princess died in depression after only five years in Wusun.
After her death, the Han Dynasty sent her distant aunt Princess Jieyou and her close relative Wusun Wang Junxumi to continue to consolidate the alliance.
Compared with Liu Xijun, Princess Jieyou, who was only 16 years old, was sent to Wusun Empress, but she did a great job. She succeeded her as the right lady, but when the army was about to leave, there was a left lady who was a Hun princess.
Above her, Princess Kejieyou did not just lament herself after she arrived, but actively participated in politics, supported Wusun's frequent trade with the Han Dynasty, and actively engaged in diplomacy, sending gifts to kings of various countries in the Western Regions, and promoting the teachings of the Han Dynasty.
Even though she only brought a maid with her when she came, she was trained into an important figure who was proficient in the languages of various countries in the Western Regions, understood current affairs, and married General Wusun.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Although Princess Jieyou was sterile at first, her prestige in the Wusun Kingdom's court increased day by day. Jun Xumi's reign was not long, and her son was young when she died.
, he passed the throne to his cousin, and agreed that the throne would be passed back to his son after his cousin died.
The new king Wenggui succeeded to the throne, and Princess Jieyou remarried the new king. Princess Jieyou gave birth to three princes and two princesses in one breath for her brother-in-law. Under the influence of Princess Jieyou, Wusun finally moved closer to the Han Dynasty and the Hungarians, instead of just blindly
Riding the fence.
Later, the Huns sent troops to force Wusun to surrender to the Huns, but under the persuasion of Princess Jieyou, King Wusun did not give in. After Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne, the Han Dynasty finally freed up his hands and sent 150,000 cavalry to attack the Huns. Princess Jieyou also persuaded Wusun
The king sent all his property and 50,000 Wusun cavalry to coordinate with him.
The Han army defeated the Xiongnu and captured all the Xiongnu chanyus.
From then on, the Xiongnu weakened and no longer had the strength to fight against the Han Dynasty. In the following decades, there were no major events on the Han Dynasty's frontiers, and the Silk Road was unimpeded.
King Shache of the Western Regions passed away, and there was no one to succeed him. He wrote to the Han court, asking Princess Jieyou's second son to be the new king of Shache.
The new king of Qiuci succeeded to the throne and married the eldest daughter of Princess Jieyou.
Later, when King Wusun died, he abided by the agreement and returned the throne to Ni Mi, the son of Jun Xu Mi and a Hun princess. The fifty-seven-year-old Princess Jieyou married Ni Mi again according to custom and even gave birth to a child for him.
son.
Because Ni Mi was influenced by the Huns, Princess Jieyou planned to kill Ni Mi in order to make Wusun and other countries in the Western Regions completely surrender to the Han Dynasty. However, the incident was revealed and Ni Mi was injured and escaped.
Later, Weng Gui, the second husband of Princess Jieyou, and Wu, the son of the Xiongnu princess, massacred Ni Mi to death and proclaimed himself King of Wusun. Wusun was in civil strife.
The princess asked the Han Dynasty to send troops to intervene. Princess Jieyou and Weng Gui's eldest son Yuan Guimi were made Dakunmi, the king, and ruled 60,000 households. Wujiitu was made Xiaokunmi, ruling 40,000 households.
Two years later, the princess's eldest son Yuan Guimi and her youngest son died of illness one after another, and the princess's grandson Xing Mi succeeded to the throne.
In the third year of Ganlu in the Han Dynasty, the 70-year-old Princess Jieyou wrote to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty that she was old and thinking, and she was willing to have her bones returned and buried in the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty agreed to the princess's request and sent Han troops to take back Princess Jieyou, her three grandchildren, and her outstanding maid Feng Liao back to Chang'an. She died two years later and was buried in Chang'an.
Zhu Dadian admired Princess Jieyou very much. In comparison, Princess Xijun, who was also married to Wusun, was just pitiful and did nothing. Princess Jieyou went to Wusun at the age of sixteen, returned at the age of seventy, and married a soldier.
The three kings Mi, Wenggui, and Nimi established the four kings Nimi, Yuanguimi, Wujiitu, and Xingmi, which not only prompted the Wusun Kingdom to annex the Han and cooperate with the Han to defeat the Xiongnu, but also urged the countries in the Western Regions to annex the Han.
A weak woman who can act like this in the Western Region is a very superb politician.
Princess Xijun is only pitiable, but Princess Jieyou is extremely admirable.
After more than a thousand years, the Ming army has now entered the Wusun grassland again.
Only this time, there is no need to rely on weak women to deal with it. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will use cannons and cannons to reopen the road.
For three days, the Ming army marched quickly, with one person and three horses, taking turns riding to maintain the physical strength of the horses.
Finally, they arrived at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, with Chat Canyon in front of them.
On the white snowy grassland, there are more stone people and stone deer.
The time of attack is early in the morning.
They rested for half the night, replenished their strength, and then rushed towards the canyon at dawn.
When it was bright and bright, thousands of Ming troops had already arrived at the mouth of the valley.
The forward light cavalry had already galloped out, and the hunting began in groups of three and five. They drove away and searched for the rebel sentry horses and rangers.
Zhu Dadian rode up the hillside and looked down at the valley entrance in the distance. Sure enough, many Mongolian rebels were mounting their horses in twos and threes. Some were still in their tents and were still awake. They jumped out in panic and mounted their horses.
The sound of cannons sounded, and a Mongolian who had not even arrived in time fell from his horse.
The rebels gathered more than 10,000 troops here, but they mainly faced the canyon to prevent Eqirtu from repairing the ice ladder and fighting from Aksu. However, they never expected that a large army would appear behind them.
, this is impossible.
Gunshots were heard everywhere.
The forward scout cavalry are all the best hunting cavalry, and they use the latest flintlock cavalry muskets. The rate of fire is not as good as the ordinary matchlock muskets, but the range is long and the accuracy is high. Coupled with their excellent musketry skills, during the pursuit,
Mongolian rebels fell from time to time.
Exciting drums and horns sounded on the battlefield, and the entire Ming army attacked.
Thousands of horsemen were divided into battalions one after another, and began to stab the rebel camp from behind like a wave.
The rebels only set up a few layers of camp fences on the north side of the valley entrance to guard against Oqiltu coming out of the mountain. There was no fence on the north side of the rear. Even those who were not on duty were setting up their tents in a haphazard manner, which was very mixed.
, just like a big livestock trading market.
It was freezing cold, and many of the herdsmen who had been raped were still sleeping in their tents.
Countless Ming troops descended from heaven like divine soldiers.
Although in the eyes of Zhu Dadian and some of his staff and generals, the thousands of Ming troops this time were actually very mixed, including Sauron, Hezhe, Dahuer, Khalkha, Horqin, North Korea, Japanese, and Liuqiu.
, Annan, Burmese soldiers, Qingkang, Tangut, and even Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch mercenaries.
The more than a dozen barbarian camps were as strong as wolves and tigers, especially when equipped with high-quality cotton armor, firearms, bows and knives provided by the Ming Dynasty.
This kind of unexpected surprise boosted morale.
Go forward indomitably.
The imperial camp of the Ming army was unwilling to lag behind and took the lead bravely.
The Ming cavalry artillery troops directly moved the cavalry artillery carried by horses and began to build cavalry artillery positions. This type of cavalry artillery of the Ming army was actually very small. It was first used on battleships as a swivel cannon. Taking advantage of its lightness,
Combined with the design of the camel crossbow, a lightweight gun mount placed on the back of a camel or horse was developed.
With this light gun mount, you can put micro artillery or large-caliber heavy guns on the back of a horse, which can not only maneuver quickly, but also provide good firepower.
The mounted artillery of the Ming army was also divided into two types: camel artillery and horse artillery, as well as swivel artillery and heavy fire muskets. They were used according to different battlefield needs and often produced amazing results.
For example, at this time, the Ming army first crossed the 300-mile Wusun Road in the Tianshan Mountains in six days, and then ran 500 miles in three days before suddenly appearing behind the Mongolian rebels. During this march, the Ming army's artillery was difficult to carry.
, even light artillery will affect the march.
The revolving cannon only weighed a few dozen kilograms, and the wall-mounted musket used for the bastion defense only weighed a dozen kilograms, but its power was not weak.
The swivel cannon shoots fast, the wall musket shoots far and accurately, and the camels and horses carry the load, allowing for rapid maneuvers and battlefield firepower reinforcement.
A thundering roar sounded.
"The Sauron camp is the most powerful!" Zhu Dadian greatly admired the Sauron people. This group of people are extremely capable of riding and shooting. The bitter cold conditions in the Northeast created the most courageous group of warriors. When they received the equipment and firepower of the Ming army,
After the support, it becomes even more powerful.
Like a sharp knife stabbing straight through, moving forward inexorably.
"The Horqin Camp performed very well this time."
"After all, I just surrendered not long ago, so I have to perform well." As the first Mongolian tribe to surrender to Jianlu, Horqin had a deep marriage relationship with Jianlu and had a close relationship.
They went to the dark side on the wrong road and were eventually wiped out by the Northern Expedition led by the prince.
"Those red-haired mercenaries are very good. Look at their position. They always stay to the side and never take the lead. Especially since they maintain a good speed and rhythm. They are worthy of being a group of veteran mercenaries."
"The rebels have turned around and are going to counterattack."
Although countless rebels don't know where the Ming army came from, they also know that this is not the time to think about that. They must contain or even repel the Ming army, otherwise they will be completely defeated if the Ming army is allowed to kill through the camp.
.
It's like a mass of dark clouds gathering.
"Let them see what the new era is!" Zhu Dadian sneered.
How can tribal herdsmen armed with bows, arrows and spears fight against the Ming army, which is heavily armed, especially equipped with sharp guns and cannons?
The glory of the cavalry has gone far away, and the last remaining glory belongs to the musketeers.
The cavalry artillery battalion has set up a position, with revolving cavalry cannons, large cavalry muskets, and many soldiers carrying heavy muskets to protect them.
Sauron's camp is still charging forward. Sauron's hunters, who are accustomed to bows and arrows, have trained hard for more than half a year after switching to fire guns, and have become very good gunmen.
Gunfire spray.
Countless lead bullets were shot out, knocking down the oncoming rebels.
The mercenaries in the Western mercenary camp were even more experienced and cunning. They wandered around the edge of the battlefield, charged and fired a volley of muskets. Then they turned their horses, regrouped, and charged close again. Another volley of fire broke out.
Fire a round, then retreat.
It is not easy to fight in close combat with the rebel herdsmen.
This was not the cavalry battle that the Taiji rebels expected at all. After a while of the battle, the rebels were overwhelmed, especially those herdsmen from the Kazakhs, Giljis, Vulgars, and Heshuotes who had been recruited by strong men.
They didn't want to fight for Kundulun Wutesh and the others, let alone fight against the Ming Dynasty.
Now that the situation on the battlefield was not good, they took advantage of the chaos and began to flee in all directions, and some even surrendered directly to the Ming army.
Thousands of horses galloping like thunder.
The sound of cannons and cannons was like thunder.
Swords and arrows are no longer a match for guns and cannons.
Not to mention that the rebels were attacked from behind and couldn't even form a formation. Moreover, their more than 10,000 troops were not the elite of Kundulun. They were just a ragtag group.
More and more rebels are landing.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Erkehutaiji abandoned his formation and fled, and the rest of the Taijis also dispersed.
At noon, more than 10,000 rebels completely collapsed at the Chat Pass. The sons and grandsons of Kundulun, the leader, fled first, and the rest no longer had the will to fight.
There were mutilated corpses everywhere on the snow, and the thick smell of blood was mixed with the pungent smell of gun smoke.
"The formation was supposed to kill more than a thousand people. At least five thousand people surrendered on the battlefield. One or two thousand people were surrounded and surrendered. About four to five thousand people ran away."
Zhu Dadian rode on horseback and patrolled the battlefield, feeling nothing about the corpses scattered everywhere.
If Compassion does not command troops, it will be numb long ago.
"Send the Sauron, Horqin, and Khalkha battalions to pursue them, and send the Yanqi and Xifan battalions directly to Yinli to intercept them at both ends. The rest will continue to clean up the battlefield here."
After a pause, he looked at the high snowy peaks of Tianshan Mountain to the south, "Send a team of people into the mountain, find Eqirtu, and tell him that we have won. The wind is blowing and the snow is heavy, making it difficult for the army to pass through the Xiate Ancient Road, and
It will not be easy to resupply the troops after they come here, please Chechen Khan to return to Aksu to rest first and there is no need to come here."
What he said was partly objective fact, but it was also because Zhu Dadian did not want Eqirtu to pick peaches, and wanted to take advantage of this free period to garrison troops in Yinlitun and even build a city and fortress. Since
Once you come, you won't leave again.
After a thousand years, the Central Plains Dynasty returned to the Yinli River Valley.
"Jingsuo, how to deal with these prisoners? Many of them are strong men who were forcibly captured by Kundulun Utesh and his son."
"Check it out. The men and horses of Kundulun Utaish are not slaves. Half of them are rewarded to the soldiers, and the other half are auctioned. As for the other Kazakhs, Giljis, Heshuote and other tribes, let their tribes pay or
Use livestock as a ransom, and promise to the Ming Dynasty that you will not commit the crime again, but after paying the ransom, you will still have to serve one year of hard labor."
"If no one comes to redeem him, he will be taken to Yinli to build a city and farm the land, and he will serve three years of hard labor before being released."
"Whether you are forced to join the rebellion or not, you must be punished!"