At the entrance to the Fergana Basin, Khujand City.
When the news that Prince Alim was accidentally ambushed and killed while pursuing the Dzungar army that was heading towards the Amu Darya River reached Anusha Khan's army, this wise king of the Khiva Khanate had already led 60,000 soldiers. The army arrived outside the ancient city of Khujand at the entrance to Fergana.
It is said that the ancient city of Khujand was built by Alexander the Great during his expedition to Central Asia. The true situation has long been unknown. However, it is certain that a lot of thought was put into choosing the location of this city. It is not only located at the entrance of the Fergana Basin, the largest granary in Central Asia, but also a dangerous place with mountains and rivers behind it. In the south of the city, there are two not-so-high hills, like two door gods, firmly guarding the city of Khujand. Although the two hills are not high, they can be used to build forts to protect the castle in an era when smoothbore cannons were common. And because these two mountainous areas are not too close to Khujand City. Therefore, even if the fort is occupied by the enemy, it will not pose a threat to Khujand City. And if the enemy does not occupy the two hills, they will not be able to deploy their troops outside the city of Khujand - the cannons on the fort cannot hit the city wall, but they can hit the siege troops arrayed in the south of the city!
On the back side of the city is the Syr Darya River flowing westward. Khujand City cleverly used a bend in the Syr Darya River to act as a natural moat, so that more than half of the city walls are protected by the Syr Darya River channel which is more than 100 steps wide, making it almost completely protected from damage. attack. Moreover, the winter in the Fergana Basin is not cold, with the average temperature above freezing. Although the surface of the Syr Darya River will freeze, it is not enough to support the passage of people and animals.
Hu Zhongyong, who was sent by the Sengge to defend the city, was a professional after all. He had received paramilitary training since elementary school, and then trained hard in the Army Martial Arts Hall for four years, during which he also served as an intern in the army for eight months. , of course it can be seen at a glance that the two mountains south of Khujand City are the key to defending the city.
Therefore, while organizing manpower to renovate the southeastern walls of Khujand City and turning them into bastions, artillery forts were also built on the two hills directly south and southeast of Khujand City, and several 6-pound cannons and 24-pound mortars were deployed. .
Moreover, he also camouflaged the two forts so that Anusha Khan, who had just arrived outside Khujand City, did not notice the forts on the two mountains. He also organized a tentative attack, but was deployed by Hu Zhongyong. The 6-pound field artillery and 24-pound mortar cannons on the two mountains knocked people off their feet. Hu Zhongyong also took the opportunity to lead his troops out of the fortress and launched a counterattack. If Hu Zhongyong had not had limited troops at hand, Anusha Khan would have I’m afraid I’ve seen the true God!
However, Anusha Khan, who survived the catastrophe, soon had a blessing - the people of the Tianfang Sect in the Fergana Basin learned that the armies of the Khiva Khanate and the Timurid Empire had arrived, and immediately An uprising was launched!
Because Sengge Khan shrank his strength in advance and removed all the troops originally deployed in the Fergana Basin, the uprising went extremely smoothly. In just a few days, the entire basin fell to Anusha Khan. hand.
At this time, there was a large population in the Fergana Basin, not only the people who originally lived there, but also the refugees who fled into the valley to escape the war. The total population was probably no less than 3 million! There is also a lot of arable land, covering more than 18 million acres. Most of it is fertile and highly productive. It is not only enough to support 3 million people, but also provides a large amount of tax revenue for Sengge's kingdom. It is a real granary and money bag.
The Uzbeks and Turkmen who came from the barren and arid Khwarezm Oasis and the Black Desert were so greedy that they almost drooled when they saw this rich and oily basin.
Just when Anusha Khan of the Khiva Khanate was wondering whether to move the capital from Bukhara and live a good life guarding the basin, Aurangzeb's envoy to announce his funeral arrived!
His son was killed in battle!
This is not the biggest bad news. Anusha Khan has many sons... The biggest bad news is that after killing his sons, the Jungars went towards the Amu Darya River.
The Amu Darya River flows from the south of the Samarkand Oasis. The Dzungars did not pass southward from the edge of the city of Samarkand and then down the Amu Darya River, but went southwest.
In other words, the real destination of the Jungar people is not the Amu Darya River, but to go along the Amu Darya River to the Khwarezm Oasis!
They were going to raid Anusha Khan's lair!
"King Khan, the evil Dzungars must be outflanking the Khwarezm Oasis! You should return to the army quickly! You take the Uzbeks and Turkmen first, and the Rajput soldiers and I will stand behind you!"
In the royal tent of Anusha Khan, Singh, who has a big beard, a red turban on his head, and a dark face, and looks particularly loyal, brave and reliable, is calling for battle in Urdu!
Requesting to stay and rear guard... With the combat effectiveness of the Rajput cavalry, this is a life-or-death mission!
Is this Hindu's loyalty a bit too much?
Anusha Khan frowned and looked at the red-headed Asan in front of him with a livid face... With his many years of experience in the river, he couldn't see any problem!
But he still didn't believe this Hindu! And he doesn’t believe Aurangzeb now either!
"No, General Singh, you go first, I will cover you!" Anusha said calmly, as if he was not worried about his hometown being raided. "There is no problem in the Khwarezm Oasis. I left 2 people there. With thousands of elite soldiers and many strong fortresses to rely on, they will not be occupied by the Jungar people!"
His words were not meant for Singer, but for the friendly Turkmen troops who followed him and his direct Uzbek relatives.
The most important thing now is to stabilize people's hearts!
If people's hearts can be stabilized, he will have a chance to turn the situation around.
Anusha Khan continued: "What we really need to worry about now is Samarkand... Samarkand does not have much food in stock. It was originally expected to be replenished through the Amu Darya River. Now the water transportation of the Amu Darya River must be restricted." The people are cut off, and there are many small oases in the middle reaches of the Amu Darya River. They could have provided food to Samarkand, but now they are all cheaper for the Jungar people.
So Singh, you should quickly return to Samarkand with the Rajput cavalry, and then control the Kashkadariya Valley south of the Samarkand Oasis as soon as possible... Although there is not much food there, It can help after all! "
Anusha Khan spoke Farsi, and Singh could understand it, but he was a little doubtful. How could Anusha Khan be so considerate? He is concerned about the food supply of Samarkand, and he is willing to stay behind... something is wrong!
I knew something was wrong in my heart, but I didn't dare to say anything more. Now the city of Khujand is full of overly excited Tianfang believers - mostly "rebels" who rushed out from the Fergana Basin, and there are only less than 9,000 Rajput cavalry left under Singh ( There were over 1,000 casualties in the previous battle at the foot of Khujand City, it was so tragic!), but he did not dare to talk back to Anusha Khan, who had just died of his son.
And Singh also knew his master Aurangzeb, this old boy was ruthless! Maybe Prince Alim was tricked to death by him...
"Okay!" Singh pressed his hands on his chest and saluted, his dark face full of emotion. "I will leave first with the Rajput cavalry. King Khan, please take care of yourself!"
Anusha Khan waved his hand, "Let's go, let's go quickly, don't keep His Majesty Alamgir waiting!"
What's the rush? Singh thought guiltily: Wouldn't this Anusha Khan see through His Majesty Alamgir's plan to run out of food and retreat?
It’s better to leave quickly! If I don't leave, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave.
Singh bowed again, turned around and left Anusha's royal tent. Seeing Singh leaving, Anusha Khan waved to several Turkmen tribe leaders, "You don't have to worry, go back and reorganize your troops and prepare to move." camp."
Several Turkmens also left with worries, and now only Anusha Khan's Uzbek generals were left in the royal tent.
Seeing the Turkmen walk away, Anusha Khan, who was sitting peacefully, suddenly stood up and kicked over the table in front of him.
Several Uzbek generals looked at him with horrified expressions on their faces.
Anusha Khan gritted his teeth and said: "There must be heavy troops of the Jungar people outside the valley. We can't leave... and the Khwarezm Oasis can't hold on for long. Our only way to survive is to retreat." Fergana Valley!”
