***
After arranging the military and political affairs in Longyou, Qin Mu began to return to Chang'an. The vast Loess Plateau was covered with white snow, and the cold wind was like a knife. The march was very hard. However, the morale of the three armies, which had just won a great victory, was very high.
Bailutu Hu and others were escorted in prison carts at the front of the army, which was equivalent to being displayed to the public and also to proclaiming the emperor's military prowess.
The generals at the front can fight with confidence. No matter how great your achievements are, they will be regarded as the result of the emperor's residual power. There is no need to worry about being too successful and shocking the emperor.
In the north of Tianshan, snow also fell, and the vast Tianshan grassland was covered with white. The north wind blew, cutting my face painfully.
In such bad weather, two thousand Qin soldiers drove more than 80,000 Mongols, and more than 80,000 Mongols drove more than two million livestock, moving in a mighty manner across the Tianshan grassland.
This time, the two thousand strong army almost wiped out all the tribes in the western part of the desert. The army was invincible wherever it went.
This was definitely an unprecedented blow to Western Mongolia.
But Yan Yingyuan could not be happy at this moment. Winter had arrived as expected. The sky was dark and cold, and the snow was up to his shins. Ice was on his face and beard, and his fingers were falling and his skin was cracked. It was impossible for him to return to Daqin with more than 80,000 prisoners and more than 2 million livestock.
Commander Zhang Jie said to Yan Yingyuan: "General Yan, Batur Khan must have received the news by now, and he will surely lead his army back soon. General Yan, it is not a good idea for us to bring such a large group of burdens with us."
Yan Yingyuan asked, "What does General Zhang think?"
Zhang Jie made up his mind and said with gritted teeth: "Except for young women and war horses, kill everyone else, regardless of whether they are human or animal!"
The last word "kill" that Zhang Jie uttered was colder than the ice and snow on the ground. Judging from the purpose of this military expedition, Zhang Jie's approach could achieve the goal most easily.
But slaughtering tens of thousands of people and nearly two million cattle and sheep at one time is not something that everyone can easily be cruel enough to do.
Wei Ming, the assistant, objected: "No, not until the very end. We can't do this."
Zhang Jie immediately said, "Wei Chenshi, have you ever thought about this? If we take these people with us and move, Batur will take them back as soon as he returns. And those cattle and sheep will freeze to death or starve to death sooner or later even if Batur doesn't take them back. Instead of doing this, we might as well do it more straightforwardly."
Yan Yingyuan knew that what Zhang Jie said made sense. He said, "Don't worry about what the old man gave you. Leave a few sheep for each of them so that they can hold on until Batur comes back."
Zhang Jie had no objection to this. They were ready to give up the cattle and sheep anyway, so there was no problem in leaving those old people behind. Instead, they could become a burden to the Junggar army.
Yan Yingyuan also knew that now was not the time to be soft-hearted, otherwise the two thousand Qin soldiers would most likely die in Tianshan.
He went on to say, "As for the children, take those who can ride horses with you, and leave those who can't ride horses to General Zhang."
If we only take women and children who can ride horses, the burden will be much less.
But even if all the cattle and sheep were killed, there were still more than 200,000 war horses. It would not be easy to drive them away. It would be impossible to cross the desert again.
Where to go? What to do
Wei Ming said, "Now it seems that we can only go north. We should move north quickly while the snow is not too deep. It would be best if we can connect with Bai'ao and the others. If not, we will find a place to spend the winter. By then, it will be icy and snowy, and Batur may not be able to catch up with us."
Yan Yingyuan said: "This is the only way to do it now."
***
Cross the 800-li vast sea and attack the Junggar lair. This was the battle plan that Li Dingguo came up with when he saw Jiuquan and thought of the deeds of the Han Dynasty general Huo Qubing who led 800 troops deep into the desert to attack the Xiongnu Youxian King's troops.
History always has its surprising similarities, and generals must read history.
Although Li Dingguo came from a humble background, he was well-versed in history books and military strategies.
That day he received news that the Junggar army outside Jiayuguan had suddenly retreated. Li Dingguo immediately realized that he might have successfully replicated history.
Yan Yingyuan succeeded. Apart from this, there was no other reason to explain the sudden retreat of the Dzungar army.
Li Dingguo, who had been expecting this news for a long time, acted decisively and ordered 25,000 troops to launch a full-scale attack despite the severe cold.
Deng Sanqiao, Wei Song, Li Congzhi, Li Sheng, Wei Nantian, Fang Yuan and other generals above the guerrilla level were all named one by one, and they were mobilized in full force.
Guo Ning, the deputy chief, was still a little worried and suggested to Li Dingguo: "General Li, if this is a trap set by Baturu, it would be terrible. It would be safer to wait and see, send more spies, and wait until the news is further confirmed before taking action."
"I sent out the spies early in the morning, and I believe that accurate news will be reported back soon." Li Dingguo rubbed his cold hands and said, "But now it is better to believe it than not. We can't wait. If Batur's army is allowed to withdraw smoothly, Yan Yingyuan and his two thousand men will be in great danger, and it is very likely that they will be wiped out."
Two thousand special forces crossed the vast sea and survived many dangers before reaching the desert grassland. If we let Batur's army go back and besiege them, it would be extremely irresponsible. Who among the Qin army soldiers would be willing to carry out such a difficult task in the future
Therefore, whether it was true or false, Li Dingguo could not sit idly by.
The 25,000-strong army quickly marched out of Jiayu Pass and advanced westward in the severe cold. In particular, the 5,000 vanguard cavalry led by Deng Sanqiao galloped across the snow-covered wilderness, passed Chijin City without entering, and rushed towards Guazhou.
The Qin soldiers on horseback all wore black hoods and leather gloves, with only their eyes and nostrils exposed.
Don't underestimate these two small things. They are a great innovation for cavalry.
Gloves have existed since the Warring States Period, but because Hanfu has large sleeves that can cover and warm the hands, gloves have not received enough attention and have not become popular in the past two thousand years.
In the past, there were records of soldiers guarding the border often having their fingers and ears frozen off.
Especially when riding a warhorse, it is not surprising to get fingers and ears frozen off if there is no protection.
With these hoods and gloves, which can keep warm, Deng Sanqiao and his companions dared to gallop wildly in the cold and windy wilderness.
In the past, there were a large number of Junggar cavalry wandering around Chijin City, but now they have all disappeared. Deng Sanqiao did not dare to be careless and sent out a large number of scouts, spreading out like a net. Five thousand cavalrymen were rumbling and galloping, with hot air coming out of the mouths of the horses and snow and mud splashing on the ground.
In Guazhou City, Batur Khan had just ordered to withdraw his troops when he received a report that Li Dingguo's army was coming out in full force, which made him even more annoyed.
Sengge was so anxious that he said, "Father Khan, please give the order quickly. We can't wait any longer..."
The tribesmen who remained north of the Tianshan Mountains were wiped out by the Qin army, which was like a bolt from the blue for Batur and his son.
However, at this time, Sengge found that his father Khan was still hesitating. He was so anxious that his eyes turned bloodshot.
Other generals under Batur also urged Batur to issue orders and return to Moxi for assistance.
Batur Khan is indeed a man of great talent and strategy. Even at this moment, he can still suppress his inner panic. He is trying hard to analyze what is the most correct thing to do at the moment.
It is of course necessary to return to Moxi to rescue the people, but judging from the intelligence received, it may be difficult to rescue the people, and the greater possibility is to rescue a large number of corpses.
The Qin army survived a dangerous journey across the vast sea and has successfully taken control of the elderly, the weak, the women and the children who remained in Moshi. How could they let you take them back so easily
But if he doesn't send troops back, not to mention the Durt tribe and other small tribes, even his Junggar soldiers might not do it. After all, who doesn't worry about his parents, wife and children
"Sengge, you must immediately take 10,000 troops back to defeat the Qin army and rescue our people."
"Yes, father." Sengge didn't stay for a moment and immediately ran out.
When the leader of the Durte tribe, Keltai, saw that Mathur had only sent 10,000 soldiers back, he immediately said, "Leader, I want to lead the troops back to rescue my people, too."
The leaders of other small tribes also clamored to lead their troops back to Moxi, and the shouting was endless in the big tent.
Batur already had a plan in mind. He did not think it was wise to send too many troops back to Moxi now. He expected that it would only fail on both ends. Not only would he not be able to save his people, but even the Western Regions would be lost.
He deliberately made the best of a bad situation and used this incident to deal a heavy blow to Li Dingguo.
But how to convince Keertai and others? If they cannot be convinced, the army will be in chaos and there will be no way to deal a heavy blow to Li Dingguo.
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.(To be continued..)
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