The army came to the foot of a mountain.
Han Du looked at the towering mountain peaks and guessed that they should be near Tianshan Mountains, but he didn't know whether they were the main veins or branches of Tianshan Mountains.
There are not many mountains on this grassland, and the only ones in the west are the Tianshan Mountains and the Qilian Mountains.
Han Du glanced at Uge Qiha Shiha in confusion, not understanding what he wanted to do by bringing him and others here.
It is impossible to say that there is an ambush in this mountain. These days, Uge Qiha Shiha has been closely watched by his own people. And he seemed to have given up resistance completely. As long as he had roast sheep and wine every day, he would answer whatever Han Du asked.
Uge Qiha Shiha also saw Han Du's confused expression and said something to Xu Chengfei.
After hearing this, Xu Chengfei nodded slightly and smiled at Han Du: "He said you can go through here."
"Go from here? Climbing the mountain?" Han Du subconsciously looked up at the mountain in front of him and shook his head slightly.
This mountain is very high. If there are only soldiers, they can still climb over it with gritted teeth. But there are hundreds of thousands of cavalry in the army, as well as hundreds of thousands of cattle, alpacas and horses. Carrying these things over such a high mountain would inevitably lead to heavy losses.
Han Du was not willing to take this risk even if he had to take a thousand-mile detour.
With a straight face, Han Du said in a deep voice, "Let's forget it. Tell him to find another way that doesn't involve climbing over mountains and ridges."
Xu Chengfei nodded and said a few words to Ugeqi Hashiha.
Then he looked back at Han Du and said, "He said there is no need to go over the mountains. There is a canyon here that you can go through."
"Oh?" Han Du suddenly became curious. If there is a canyon, there would be no problem. "Let him point out where the canyon is first."
...
Is this a fucking canyon?
Han Du looked at the mountain in front of him, which looked like a crooked gap.
That's right, it's just a gap, less than a foot wide from left to right, making it difficult for four horses to walk side by side.
This is simply a thread of heaven.
Xu Chengfei's expression also changed and he said: "A place like this is too dangerous. If someone ambushes you on the mountain, you won't even be able to fight back."
Han Du looked up, then looked at Xu Chengfei, and said, "Continue to ask him, if we don't go through here, is there any other way?"
After Xu Chengfei asked, he replied: "He said there is another way, but it has to pass through Huozhou, which is the territory of the Uighur people, and it will take a detour of more than a thousand miles. What should we do now?"
On the one hand, it is a rapid advance, but it requires taking a lot of risks; on the other hand, it has to detour thousands of miles, and it also has to pass through the territory of the Uighurs. Although the Uighurs have not had a unified country since they were dispersed, some of them even defected to the Ming Dynasty and relied on the Hamiwei area to make a living.
However, it is precisely because of this that the Fire Continent is in great chaos. Robbery and killing occur anytime and anywhere in the Fire Continent.
Of course, the army will not be afraid of these rabble-like Uighurs, but if they go to Huozhou, they will definitely be in trouble, which means the risk will be smaller.
After lowering his head and thinking for a moment, Han Du said, "Let's go from here."
"But..." Xu Chengfei raised his head and looked towards the mountain.
Han Du continued: "Set up camp on the spot and send five thousand Shanzi battalion soldiers up the mountain to investigate. If there is really no ambush, we will go over again." The army set up camp on the spot, and five thousand Shanzi battalion soldiers went up the mountain to investigate. They don't need to completely climb over the mountain range. With the help of telescopes, as long as they stand on a high place, they can roughly see whether there is an ambush.
A few days later, when the explorers sent a signal that everything was safe and no one was found, Han Du ordered the army to start passing through the canyon.
Because the canyon is too small, only one horse can pass through it in a row.
It took hundreds of thousands of troops a full ten days to pass through the canyon.
When Han Du walked out of the canyon, he looked at the faint mountains on the left and right. He saw an endless plain in front of him, and his mood suddenly became brighter.
He smiled and asked Ugqi Hashiha: "After passing through this plain, will we reach the Timurid Empire?"
Xu Chengfei relayed Han Du's words. Ugqiha Shiha was stunned when he heard the words, then put his right hand on his chest and bowed, "The noble Marquis of Zhenhai is right. Across this plain, there is the former Eastern Chagatai Khan." country, which is now the Timurid Empire."
After hearing this, Han Du became confused and asked: "Isn't the Timur Empire the Western Chagatai Khanate? How come it became the Eastern Chagatai Khanate again?"
After hearing this, Ugqi Hashha explained patiently: "The Marquis of Zhenhai doesn't know that the Western Chagatai Khanate is also the Timurid Empire. The current Timurid Empire includes the Eastern and Western Chagatai Khanate."
Han Du's eyes suddenly condensed, and he shouted sternly: "Timur is so brave. The Eastern Chagatai Khanate is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and there is never a shortage of tribute to the Ming Dynasty. Timur actually dares to capture the Eastern Chagatai Khanate." Country, does he want to seek death?"
The status of the Ming Dynasty's sovereign state was like that of a great patriarch, while other vassal states were similar to sons. The son of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate was very filial to the Ming Dynasty. Not only did he take the initiative to recognize the status of the Ming Dynasty's suzerainty when the Ming Dynasty was established, but there has never been a shortage of tribute for many years.
On the contrary, since the Timur Empire paid tribute once, it has not paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty again. For this reason, Lao Zhudu also sent two groups of envoys to the Timur Empire to ask what was going on?
Lao Zhu was very fond of the status of the suzerain country. Timur's behavior made him feel very uncomfortable. After paying tribute once, there is no news again. Isn't this making fun of people?
However, there was no news about the first mission sent by Lao Zhu. After several years, there was no news. Lao Zhu had no choice but to send a mission again in the 31st year of Hongwu to see what was going on. But until Han Du left Beijing, there was no news of the mission's return.
Now I heard that Timur actually occupied the Eastern Chagatai Khanate without any sound. This is simply an unfilial son and a rebel.
"When did Timur attack the Eastern Chagatai Khanate? Why is there no news about such a big thing?" Handu asked Ugqi Hashaha again.
Ugqi Hashha was stunned for a moment, and then said: "He did not attack the Eastern Chagatai Khanate."
"Huh? No attack?" Han Du was even more surprised after hearing the explanation.
This is a country. If there is no attack, will it be handed over to Timur in vain? Does he have any ability to make the Eastern Chagatai Khan bow to him with just a shake of his body?
After listening to Ugqi Hashiha's explanation, Handu understood what was going on. It turned out that Timur actually married the daughter of the head of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, which meant that he was the consort of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. The old king died of illness a few years ago, and his three sons began to fight crazily to inherit the throne. As a result, all three of them lost their strength. At this time, Timur stood up. As a prince-in-law, he sent a large army into the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He quickly defeated the three men respectively, and easily established a complete victory.
After hearing the whole story, Handu couldn't help but feel extremely lucky for Timur. He just married a wife and picked up a country in vain? Is this how a child of a plane is treated?
"So, now the entire Eastern and Western Chagatai Khanate belongs to Timur?" Han Du asked unwillingly.
"Yes, the noble Marquis of Zhenhai." Ugeqi Hashiha leaned over again.
Han Du's face turned bad instantly, because Han Du knew that the Timur Empire not only had these two khanates, but also continued to expand in Central Asia. It is now almost expanding to the vicinity of Khrumos, and is even expanding further west, and is currently at war with the Ottoman Empire.
In terms of territory, the Timur Empire is now comparable to the size of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty in the fifteenth year of its reign. Such a huge empire has arisen. How many people and resources does it have, and how many armies can it raise?
If these armies turn east one day and target the Ming Dynasty, will the Ming Dynasty be able to resist it with the few soldiers and horses of the Hami Guard?
Originally, Han Du just wanted to come and see what the Western Region was like, as he had never been there in his two lifetimes. But now it seems that I really came to the right place in the Western Region. If he didn't come, how would he know that Timur's empire had become so powerful?
...
Jinling.
After getting the news about Han Du, Zhu Biao once again ordered Lan Yu to send someone to find Han Du and ask him to return to the court immediately.
After all, the main force of the Tatar tribe has been wiped out, and the purpose of the Northern Expedition has been achieved. So why are they still staying on the grassland? Come back quickly to avoid An Qing and Han Jingyun asking him when Han Du will come back.
Originally, Zhu Biao thought that after Han Du defeated Arutai, he would take the initiative to lead his troops south, and Lan Yu would find him soon.
Unexpectedly, Lan Yu sent people to find him on the grassland for more than a month, but he didn't even see the shadow of Han Du's army. Lan Yu didn't understand this very much. This bastard had made such a great contribution. If he didn't hurry back to the court and wait for the reward, why would he stay on the grassland? Even if you stay on the grassland, you won't be able to lose your whereabouts!
Later, Lan Yu finally got some news about Han Du and learned that he might lead an army to the west.
"What's this bastard going to the west for? Does he want to kill Wala by the way?" Lan Yu looked helplessly towards the west.
Although Wala is not as powerful as the Tatar tribe, it is still the second strongest on the grassland. With the few troops Han Du had in hand, it was almost impossible to destroy Wala.
"I can't catch up with him even if I go to the west. No matter what, I'd better report to the emperor first..."
When Zhu Biao got Lan Yu's report, his face turned pale, "Maybe he went to the west?"
If this was a report sent by Lan Yu in person, Zhu Biao could not help but grab his clothes and ask sternly: "Can't you be sure where you went?"
It's a pity that the person who sent the report was just a messenger, and Zhu Biao couldn't do anything to him.
