Let’s go back to the Conquest of the West in the 11th year of Yanxing. In February, Guan Yu set out from Chang'an and marched westward along the Weishui River. In March, the army went up to Long, and then changed its route from Zhang County to Taoshui, and marched all the way to Didao City, where they rested for a while. At this time, Ma Chao, Han Ji, Song Gu and other Longyou generals also led the troops from the three towns to meet and discuss with Guan Yu the matters related to the western expedition. For a time, Longyou was full of horse racing and soldiers gathered together. The local people said that this was truly a grand event that had not happened for two hundred years since Shizu pacified Weixiao.
However, such a huge military operation also caused large-scale commotion among the Qiang and Di people in Longshang. Although Chen Chong defeated the Qiang rebellion in the ninth year of Yanxing's war, he did not damage the foundation. When he learned that the Han army was coming with a large army, all the Qiang in Longshang were ready to prepare, such as Wuwei Xiu Tu Hu, Tianshui Chengji Di, Longxi Hu Hanqiang, Zhangye Dichihu and other Xirong groups have all led their troops to the area of Cangsong and Luanniao. Together with some western Xianbei tribes heading south, their number has exceeded 100,000.
The momentum of these rebels was astonishing and they moved quickly. Wuwei was soon cut off, and all news west of Guzang was cut off. Qingqi often went to the river to inquire about the situation. As the subsequent troops continued to move southward, their intention to block the Han army south of the river was gradually revealed.
Guan Yu immediately took Ma Chao as his guide and Wang Gai as the vanguard, and successfully seized the Trembling Yin Ferry before the Qiang Di arrived, and then the army calmly crossed the river. At this time, in front of them were peaks with gray and white rocks. Even if there were pieces of fir and pine forests in the middle, they could not hide the desolate atmosphere. This is a scene that is extremely rare for people in Guanzhong and Guandong.
The Han people continued to walk westward, and after climbing over Shangda Mountain, Loufang Mountain, and Daqing Mountain, they finally walked out of the vast mountains and came to a long and narrow flat land called Baishijing. The Yiqiang who led the way said that after passing here, you can see the prosperous oasis in Cangsongguzang area. These words cheered up the Han people, but before they could be happy, the scouts in front reported the news that Qiang cavalry appeared in front.
So a temporary encounter broke out in a field battle. Although this was a battlefield carefully selected by the Qiang people, the narrow terrain was to prevent the Han army from spreading out its front and taking advantage of the formation. However, the Han army had been crossing the river for many days and was well prepared for this field battle. Guan Yu commanded the two divisions of Zhongba and Tunqi to fight head-on, and ordered the guard Zhao Yun to lead 400 fine cavalry in a detour through the mountains. As a result, the Han army on the front remained motionless as a mountain, and on the side Zhao Yun penetrated the right wing of the rebel army like a divine soldier descending from the sky. The Qiang people were immediately defeated and retreated hastily to the north.
Then Guan Yu sent Xu Huang and Ma Dai to lead two armies, Hu Ben and Qingcha, to pursue them in turns. They actually pursued them all the way to Cangsong City and defeated the rebel army. Afterwards, the battlefield was counted, and it was found that more than ten thousand people were killed in this battle. The Qiang and Di tribes were frightened by it, and countless people surrendered.
By this time, the Han army finally arrived at Guzang City, and it was already May. The temperature is gradually rising as usual, but the scene in Liangzhou gives people a very different feeling.
It was the first time for the sergeants of the Han army to see the vast desert yellow sand in Liangzhou. Here, there is a clear line between the desert and the foothills. One side is full of life, while the other side is empty and silent, as if the distance between life and death is only this thin line. But the Han people had to walk along this gentle and desolate boundary. Needless to say, this kind of walking is naturally difficult, and coupled with the most brutal sunlight of the year, the soldiers seem to be sleepwalking, and their souls seem to have been exposed to the sun. So each of them had to prepare three jugs of water every day, but this greatly slowed down the march. It was not until the end of May or early June that they could pass through Zhangye County. By the time the Han people arrived in Dunhuang, it was already the eighth day of July of that year.
Fortunately, Zhang Xiu, the governor of Dunhuang, was well prepared. As early as the beginning of the year, he had sent envoys to contact the countries in the Western Regions to inquire about the news. Only then did we learn that during the twenty years of silence, the situation among the countries in the Western Region had been turned upside down.
A few decades ago, the most noteworthy thing in the Western Regions was the Kushan Kingdom. When Dingyuan Hou Banchao was guarding the Western Regions, the Guishang Kingdom was at its peak, and he once led an army of 70,000 to compete with the country for vassal states. But today is different from the past. Probably due to the civil strife in the country, Guishang's power has shrunk one after another. The original vassal states Kangju and Dawan under his command have been freed from restraint, and their power has retreated to the south of Congling, unable to interfere in the Western Regions.
With the imperial court and Kushan shrinking one after another, more than thirty countries within the former Western Region Protectorate have restarted their war for hegemony. Up to now, most of the small countries have become vassals of the five regimes of Shanshan, Khotan, Qiuci, Shule, and Cheshi. Counting the Wusun country, which submitted to the Protector during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong and acted independently after the ancestors, today's There are six major powers in the Western Region.
Therefore, Zhang Xiu contacted the six countries respectively and sent envoys to inform the country of the new establishment of Shazhou and the reopening of the Protectorate. Among them, the Cheshi Kingdom was the weakest among the six countries. It had been close to the Han for a long time and was the closest to Dunhuang. After receiving the news, it immediately sent a hundred envoys to Dunhuang to express its willingness to be the pioneer of the country. The Yanqi Kingdom also took the initiative to send troops to Dunhuang. The prince came as a hostage. Among the other countries, Shanshan, Khotan, and Shule used the excuse that Kucha blocked traffic and said it was difficult to visit them. In fact, they wanted to wait and see how the situation would change. Only Kucha and Wusun made this clear. Showing hostility will result in the envoy being turned away from the country.
After Guan Yu and Zhang Xiu discussed the situation, they felt overjoyed. He said to his generals: "Wusun is a big country in the Western Region. It has been rebellious for a long time. It is said that it has 700,000 citizens and more than 100,000 troops. It is also located on the shadow side of the North Mountain, which is quite advantageous. If our army wants to attack, it is indeed a Difficulty. But now I have to fight the Kucha country first. Could it be possible for it to come over the mountain to save us? It’s easy to break!"
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So the army passed Yumen Pass and officially entered the land called the Western Regions.
Welcomed by the former king of Che Shi, the Han army first entered Jiaohe City (today's Turpan). After a short rest, Guan Yu marched to Yanqinanhe City (today's Korla) in the same month. At this time, because the weather turned colder, the Han army marched faster. Within twenty days, they marched thousands of miles among unfamiliar sand mountains and oases. However, Yanqi’s envoy told them that this place was far away from Taqiancheng (today’s Kuqa), the capital of Qiuchi. ) is still six hundred miles away. Only then did the Han army realize that the Western Region was far more vast than they had imagined.
But they did not complain about this. After all, when they came along the road, they saw the snow-capped white mountains in the summer, saw the salt lake with colorful halo in the flat yellow sand, and tasted it in the country where only the nobles could drink it. The grapes and wine made them feel as if they were being cared for by martyrs, and they became more courageous.
In August, Bai Bo, the king of Qiuci, was delighted to see the Han army coming from far away, so he bribed Shule, Dawan, Kangju and other countries with heavy sums of money, and also forcibly conquered twelve vassal states, and 180,000 people were stationed in Yancheng, trying to The Han army blocked the border. Guan Yu led his troops to garrison in Wulei, and the two sides confronted each other in the hometown of Luntai, and repeatedly sent camps to test.
During this month, although there was no major battle between the two sides, there were as many as ten battles involving less than a thousand people, with both sides winning or losing. Because the Western Regions are rich in copper and iron, the Allied Forces in the Western Regions have a high armor rate, which is no less than that of the Han army. In addition, they have been under the influence of Xianbei, Guishang and the Han Dynasty for many years. Most of the soldiers are also proficient in bows and horses and are quite difficult to deal with. Zhu Hao also saw him using a leather rope as a noose to throw a man on his horse, and he would hit the target five times out of ten. Then he would drag the Han soldier back into the formation and stab him to death with random spears.
With the deeds of Fu Jiezi and Ban Chao piercing through the Western Regions in front of them, everyone was originally quite confident in winning, but after this battle, the generals became increasingly worried and a little afraid. Tuoba Pigu proposed to Guan Yu: "The rebel army is small and there are many soldiers, and the food and grass will not last long. How about we form separate camps and wait for the barbarians to attack!" But Huangfu Jianshou was extremely opposed and said : "I have toiled thousands of miles to come here, will the food and fodder be enough? We also have to fight quickly." For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the army, and it was difficult to unify the opinions.
Unexpectedly, the commander Guan Yu stroked his beard and said: "Our army will win if we fight. Why not fight?" This surprised the Han generals. When they first entered Wulei, someone suggested to Guan Yu that they should immediately fight a decisive battle with the coalition forces of other countries, but Guan Yu refused. Everyone thought he was being conservative, but unexpectedly he spoke radical words at this time.
Guan Yu saw that the generals were still confused, so he explained: "This month, small groups have been fighting, and there has been victory or defeat. It can only be seen that the soldiers of the Western Region are strong. However, during the war, most of the flags of one country are seen, and there are not many divisions advancing side by side. It can be seen that the divisions of the Western Region are They are not united, and at most they are just the coalition forces fighting against Dong in the first year of Chuping. After our army was restructured, the top and bottom were integrated, how could we fail in a joint battle with such a rabble?"
Only then did everyone wake up, but some people had doubts and asked, "Then why didn't the princes join forces to fight earlier and are still killing time here?"
Guan Yu replied with a smile: "The Western Region is vast, and we are an expeditionary force. We must frighten all the countries in one battle before we can subdue the foreign barbarians. I first show the enemy weakness, and then destroy it. This will strike fear into the hearts of all countries. I dare not speak nonsense for ten years!" When he said this, he became so heroic that he showed his sword to everyone and said, "This is an unparalleled achievement. I hope you will leave your name with me!" All the generals were enthusiastic and agreed to the promise. .
So in the ninth month of the ninth lunar month, the Han army sent envoys to the coalition forces to make an appointment to fight the next day. After a month of fierce fighting, the coalition forces believed that they would win together, so they readily agreed. The two sides formed an array in Luntai. The coalition forces were as numerous as the vast sea, and the Dahan army was more than four times more numerous, which boosted the morale of all countries. However, as soon as the war began, the situation evolved in the direction predicted by Guan Yu.
After the two sides marched with drums beating, the Han army ignored the northern and southern wings of the coalition and trapped the formation with fine cavalry and light cavalry. They rushed directly to the Kucha Kingdom's central army and killed the Kucha Kingdom's coach Chi Ruofen in one battle. The Kucha King and his son abandoned the formation. He fled, which led to the collapse of the coalition's front. The Han army took advantage of the situation and fought again, beheading more than 40,000 people and forcing them to surrender. All countries fled one after another, without any intention of resisting.
In October, Guan Yu conquered Yancheng and marched to the foot of Tagan City. Bai Bohuan, the king of Kucha, went out of the city and surrendered, and Kucha was officially pacified. After Qiuci was destroyed, other countries in the Western Regions except Wusun also sent hostages to accept their submission. From this, the Han army obtained 20,000 camels, 10,000 horses from the Western Regions, 10,000 fine armors, and more than 3,000 carts of gold and silver treasures. , according to Yu Fan’s inventory, these funds are comparable to the country’s current three-year tax payment.
At this point, the Han army successfully completed the campaign to conquer the west. When Guan Yu led his army back to the army, he passed by the Luntai battlefield again and asked Zhong Yao to write an inscription here. Zhong Yao happily agreed and wrote a poem on a huge stone: "On the March to the Army" ", the poem is as follows:
"The beacon in the west is in chaos, with hundreds of thousands of people marching rampant.
The wind blows frequently in the mountain formation, and the bamboo sticks are noisy in the thin willow camp.
The sword flower does not fall in the cold, the bow and the moon are brighter than the dawn.
He actually took the quicksand land and built it into a city full of jade. "
After finishing writing, Guan Yu was extremely satisfied and immediately ordered the stonemason to seal the stone at this moment, write down the names and dates of the generals accompanying the army, and carve four words at the end: "Yongzhangwowu". Then a letter was sent to Zhang Xiu, suggesting that he build a city here and name it Yumancheng.
