Han Shizu

Chapter 1371 The South Foot of Jinshan
The majestic Jinshan Mountains stretch from northwest to southeast, stretching for thousands of miles, straight down to the desert.In the blue sky, there are faint clouds floating. Under the clouds, there are shining snow-capped mountains. At the foot of the snow-capped mountains, there are forests, grasslands, valley tundra, lakes all over them, and rivers rushing past.

Spring is here, the severe cold subsides, everything is revived, and the foothills are obviously more lively. Snow leopards and antelopes run in the mountains, and squirrels and birds forage in the jungle.

Since ancient times, relying on the Jinshan Mountains, there have been a large number of tribes, hunting and nomadic, living and developing here. The Turkic people who once ruled the northern part of the Great Wall made their fortunes in the east of Jinshan, and finally took over the banner of the overlord from Rouran and participated in the same race. During the struggle for supremacy in East Asia between the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Over the centuries, it has risen and fallen several times. In recent decades, it has also been a territory of the Khitan and Liao Kingdom. At the same time, a new grassland force is also growing in a low-key way.These are several tribes composed of descendants of Uighur, Dadan, and Jugas. Inside the Liao Kingdom, they are called the Nianbage tribe, and they are also the origin of the Naiman tribe in history.

Of course, they are still very weak. However, due to their remote location and close proximity to mountains and rivers, they have abundant resources of forest farms and pastures. Although their development is slow, they are constantly growing.

The dispute between the Han and Liao did not involve them either. The Han army went on a light cavalry expedition and fought a bloody battle in Mobei. In the chaos, they were also one of the few tribes that were not affected. Instead, they took the opportunity to recruit and annex some people who fled from the east. The remnants have been further expanded.

At the southeastern foot of Jinshan Mountain, in the lower reaches of the Yizhi River (Irtysh River), in a densely forested valley, there is a tribe living there. As far as the eye can see, there are hundreds of large and small tents.

This is a gathering of about 2000 people. Judging from the many large and small tribes around Jinshan, the scale is not small.More importantly, this tribe is quite special, they are all young and strong, and the tight and strong fence built around the camp is even more special. Around the fence and in the center of the camp, there are several flags standing against the wind. .

Whether it is the Xuanqi, or the military flag with the characters "Liu", "Yang" and "Wang", they all look a bit worn out and full of blood, but no matter the bloodstains or knife marks, they can't hide their arrogance.

This tribe, which is very different from the local tribe, is obviously the remnant of the Mobei Han army.

Last year, after Wugu Mountain in Mobei was defeated by Liao Privy Councilor Yelu Xianshi, the Han army withdrew westward.

Under the fierce pursuit of the Liao army, most of the Han army dispersed, perhaps perished in the hands of the Liao army, or lost in the vast grasslands. In the end, the Han army gathered in Zhenzhou City, Liao State, gathered the defeated soldiers, and regrouped.

However, the Liao army was in a hurry to pursue, and before they could gain a firm foothold, the coalition forces of the Mobei ethnic groups under the command of Yelu Xianshi were already approaching.Reluctantly, Yang and Wang had no choice but to abandon those soldiers who were separated and did not return, and continued to retreat westward until they reached the original city of Zhabu King, in order to have a moment of respite.

However, under the command of Yelu Xianshi, the Liao army pursued resolutely, and soon, the pursuers came again.Encountering a new defeat, the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the situation is critical. Under such circumstances, Wang Yansheng and Yang Ye had an urgent discussion to find a way out.

Going south through the desert and returning to Dahan, this choice was given up directly. In this tense situation, without sufficient preparation, returning south, facing the interception and killing of the Liao army, even if you passed through, you still have to face the harsh desert Gobi. Environment, this is no different from taking death.

As for Liu's guerrilla warfare in Mobei, he was sitting still waiting to die. Therefore, without much hesitation, Yang and Wang agreed, just as Li Chongju's investigation and speculation found, to go west to survive.

After a brief preparation, Yang Ye and Wang Yansheng led their troops to Jinshan all the way west before the Liao army's pursuing division arrived.The subsequent results proved that this decision was done correctly, and it also allowed the expeditionary Han soldiers to escape the end of destruction.

Liao army coach Yelu Xianshi naturally hated this Han army that boldly went northward and went deep into Mobei, causing chaos in Mobei, and wanted to get rid of it quickly.Facing the successive retreats of the expeditionary forces, they pursued them relentlessly. Even though General Yang and Wang led their troops to flee westward, they still sent thousands of cavalry to continue the pursuit, intending to wipe them out.At the same time, envoys and orders were also sent to instruct the Nianbage tribes east of Jinshan to send troops to cooperate in the suppression.

However, things backfired. In Mobei at that time, the turmoil was endless, the tribes were scattered, and the tribes were centrifugal. Although Yeluxian relied on the power of the Liao Kingdom for decades to unite all the tribes, formed a coalition army, and defeated the Han army, but , The mess is left behind.Yelu Xianshi also had to devote more energy to appease Mobei, and could not go all out to chase and annihilate the Han army.

And those Nianbage tribes had already begun to obey the orders of the Liao Kingdom. They were not willing to send out people and waste the strength of the tribe in fighting the Han army.Back then, in order to cooperate with the Liao army in its expedition to the Western Regions, it had already suffered a loss. The result of that time was that the Liao court was fattened and their subordinate tribes were lost.

Even, he was very dissatisfied with forcing the Han army to go west and burning the flames of war to their territory.The chasing Liao cavalry is also composed of Mobei cavalry.In the battle of Wugu Mountain, including the subsequent pursuit battle, these Mobei cavalry had also experienced the combat capability and will of the Han army. Although the Liao army won, they suffered a lot of casualties.

Although the poor bandits of the Han army fled to the west in embarrassment, the threat is still there. Once provoked to fight back desperately, it will definitely be another bloody battle.And these Mobei cavalry are unwilling to continue to consume with the Han army, so their desire to pursue is not high.Because it is not profitable, and the danger is not small.

In addition, in Mobei at that time, people's hearts were really chaotic and dispersed. The attack of the Han army can be said to have completely destroyed the original ruling system of the Liao Kingdom in Mobei.

The prestige of the Liao court plummeted and its strength was damaged, and many tribes inevitably became dissidents and began to have doubts about the rule of the Liao Kingdom.The tribes such as Zbu and Dadan who suffered heavy losses were waiting for food, while those tribes who avoided disaster in time and preserved their strength were thinking about whether they had the opportunity to expand their strength.The leaders and generals who pursued also paid more attention to preserving their strength, focusing on the interests of their own tribe.

Under the combined effect of various factors, it also gave the expeditionary Han army a loophole to exploit and a chance to breathe.Both Yang Ye and Wang Yansheng are battle-hardened generals with a keen sense of smell. When they are on the scene, they have the most obvious feeling for the changes in the enemy's situation.

After realizing that the momentum of the Liao army's pursuit has weakened behind him, he felt relieved and had more room to think about where to go and how to completely get out of the crisis.

According to Wang Yansheng's thinking, it is to directly enter and seize a way out.In contrast, Yang Ye is calmer and more rational.In his view, although the route is via Jinshan, the local situation is unclear after all, and the attitude of the Nianbage tribes is also unclear, and the slowdown of the pursuit from the rear also leaves them more room for adjustment.

Therefore, under Yang Ye's suggestion, although the rest of the expeditionary force arrived at Jinshan, they did not go deep into the hinterland of the local tribes. Instead, they sent envoys to contact them while ensuring a safe distance, expressing their intention to borrow a way.

As for the Nianbage tribe, when they learned that the Han army was coming to the west, although they were extremely alert to the injured tiger, their attitude was ambiguous.After feeling the sincerity of the Han army, some hostility was somewhat eliminated.

After two contacts before and after, an agreement was reached with the two Nianbage tribes in the southeast. They gave way to guide the way, and the price paid by the Han army was some cavalry and weapons, and some military supplies were traded with them.

At the eastern foot of Jinshan Mountain, the Han army had a rare time to rest and reorganize. Afterwards, they made a decisive detour, took the mountain path, and moved to the south of Jinshan Mountain.After all, in the north of Jinshan, the agreement with the Nianbage tribe was not so secure. The Han army was worried about them, and the Nianbage tribe was also worried about the Han army, so they simply went south and left that dangerous circle.

After reaching the south of Yinshan Mountain, winter is already approaching, and to the south, across the quicksand, is the Western Region, not far away from their escape.

However, due to changes in the weather, coupled with unfamiliarity with the geography and the situation in the Western Regions, they did not rush south, but chose to rest on the spot, build a camp, and survive the winter.

When evacuating from the city of King Zhabu, there were still nearly [-] soldiers. They fled all the way, crossed the Jinshan Mountain, and when they rested at the southern foot, there were only more than [-] soldiers.After surviving the cold winter, until now in the spring of the ninth year of Kaibao, there are less than [-] dead among the remaining people.

(End of this chapter)