On the other hand, the Han-Liao War had a far-reaching impact. Its tragic situation was also spread to the Western Regions, but it was passed down by word of mouth and was somewhat distorted. However, some basic understandings are certain. The Khitan lost troops and territory, suffered heavy losses, and experienced civil strife and rebellion. It was time for recovery.
Under such circumstances, it was not easy for the Khitans to deal with the powerful Han people, so how could they dare to gather their troops and expedition to the Western Regions? With this mentality, one can imagine the Gaochang Uighurs’ preparations and response.
Of course, since such news has come, if there is no reaction at all, wouldn't it show lack of respect for the Khitan people? As a result, the Uighur monarchs and ministers issued orders from Gaochang, asking the military and political officials in border towns, especially Beiting and Yizhou, to strengthen their defenses, and then no more actions were taken.
Naturally, such an order was not taken seriously by the local authorities. After all, if the Khan and Gaochang's upper-class aristocratic ministers did not care, how could they ask the officials and generals below to be more vigilant and fulfill their duties?
Therefore, Gaochang is still the Gaochang of the past, and the border town is still the border town of the past. From top to bottom, there is no change at all. The atmosphere is not tense at all, let alone armed preparations for war.
However, after a little analysis, it is understandable that the Xizhou Uighurs have been at peace for too long after their early expansion. To the east is the Guiyi Army. As mentioned before, the Cao family is in love with each other, and the two parties are intermarrying; to the south, Tubo is in a great division, sinking day by day, with no hope of revival, and is harmless to anyone; as for the Black Khan (Kara Khan) to the west ) dynasty, after experiencing internal reform and turbulence, its national power became increasingly powerful, but the Samanid dynasty, which was suffering from the Transoxiana region, was even more harmless; while the Khotan Kingdom, sandwiched between the Uighurs and the Black Khans, could play a more buffering role.
It is said that one is born in sorrow and dies in happiness. In such a comfortable surrounding environment, it is inevitable to slack off. The appearance of comfort can often deceive people's eyes. Therefore, when they heard that the Liao army might march westward in a large scale, their first reaction was disbelief and suspicion.
Of course, if Emperor Liu had not been the unexpected factor that forcibly reversed history, then according to the original historical process, the Gaochang Uighurs would have been able to exist comfortably for many years, and they were still in a semi-independent state until the Western Liao period.
Therefore, one can imagine how shocked the Uighur monarchs and ministers were when the Liao army crossed the Jinshan Mountains and was attacked by the quicksands from afar. The Uighur monarchs and ministers knew each other, and probably many of them, stubbornly believed that the Liao capital was far away in Linhuang Mansion in Modong, and that they sent teachers across thousands of miles to mobilize people to attack the Western Regions. This was too exaggerated, and this was a scam...
However, they just couldn't imagine that the plan for the Western Expedition had been proposed four years ago. They considered it top secret and had made sufficient preparations in the past two years. Except for the 5,000 palace cavalry brought by Yelv Xiezhen from Shangjing, the rest were recruited from Mobei and Moxi from the Naiman, Dadan and other tribes.
Starting from Moxi and crossing the Altai Mountains, is such a journey very far for the Khitan cavalry who have been training in the northwest of Liao Kingdom for a long time?
As for the strategic issues of the Liao army, after quelling the internal troubles, the only thing left that could pose a fatal threat to the Khitan was the rising Han Empire. Like the Ding'an Kingdom established by the Bohai Relics, when you face it, it can barely be called a threat, but when you ignore it, it's nothing at all.
After experiencing the bloody battles and civil strife between Han and Liao, if the Liao Kingdom resumes development at a normal pace, it will only be further and further left behind by the Han. As time goes by, the comprehensive strength and war potential of the two sides will widen to a very wide gap.
In this case, is there any more effective way than to return to the old business and plunder resources? As for the direction of external plunder, should we continue to the north, raid Hagas, go deep into Siberia, and reach the Arctic Ocean?
Or go east to destroy Goryeo. However, don’t you really think that Goryeo is so close that it is easier to fight than an expedition to the Western Regions? Or is he seeking death, starting the war again, and triggering the second Han-Liao War?
Comprehensive comparison, only heading west, targeting the extremely rich Western Region for plunder, is the best target regardless of geographical environment or wealth and interests. At the same time, it also had the greatest impact on the Han Dynasty. No, it had completely affected the views of important ministers and generals such as Chai Rong, Wu Tingzuo, and Wang Yansheng on the westward strategy.
Let’s go back to the war in the Western Regions. When the Liao army arrived at Beiting City and launched a surprise attack, the defenders were completely at a loss. There was almost no effective resistance organized, and even the relatively complete city defense was not launched. To what extent, Beiting City easily fell into the hands of the Liao army.
By capturing Beiting City, the Liao army's western expedition got off to a good start. The progress was smooth and the capture was easy beyond imagination. Of course, the key lies in the sudden sharp arrows of the Liao army and the carelessness of the Uighurs.
Beiting is located to the south of Jinshan Mountain. It is the most important town in the north of Xizhou Uighurs and can be called the key to the north gate. Once Beiting falls, Luntai (today's Urumqi) to the west will be directly exposed to the Liao army. At the same time, the Liao army has also gained a foothold in the Western Region, which is conducive to the next attack.
However, although they were surprised and angry at the easy loss of Beiting, they were not too afraid, because according to officials and troops who escaped, the Liao army did not have many troops and did not have any siege weapons. The ability to capture Beiting was all due to the advantage of sneak attack.
As subsequent military intelligence news came in, we also had a clearer understanding of the Liao army's western expedition. After discussing with his ministers and generals, Uighur Khan Ugu made a decisive decision to counterattack and send troops to recapture Beiting when the Liao army was far away and its foothold was not stable.
In the eyes of the Uighur monarchs and ministers, it was too much for the Liao army to dare to attack their own country with only 20,000 to 30,000 men, and they must be given some color.
Perhaps the Uighur Khan's thinking is that his country has long-term friendship with the Khitan, has made constant contributions, and has never neglected etiquette, but now you want to attack me. Although the Khitans are powerful, they were defeated by the Han army and lost territory. We Uighurs are also a nation on horseback and have no shortage of warriors. Let’s see who’s army is stronger after forty years. The sword is sharper.
There are no more than two things that the Uighur kings and ministers can rely on. First, the Khitan came here as part of an expedition to labor, and they occupied the favorable location and people, waiting for work; second, Xizhou has a population of millions, what is the concept of millions, almost one-third of the Khitan after the Han-Liao War, It can be said that there is strength in numbers, and it is completely possible to arm enough troops, and the number of people can kill the Liao army coming from afar.
At the same time, they also hoped to quickly repel or even destroy the Liao army and restore peace to the country, so as to prevent the country from suffering excessive losses due to the war...
As a result, the Uighurs quickly mobilized troops and horses from various cities and ministries under their jurisdiction, and went north to gather part of Luntai's army, totaling more than 50,000 troops. Led by General Ge Lu, they marched eastward, aiming directly at Beiting City.
Over in Beiting, the Liao army was enjoying the fruits of victory. The hard work of marching was alleviated by Beiting's wealth, livestock, and women, and they were even more enthusiastic about the richer Gaochang and Yanqi areas at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
At that time, Yelv Xiezhen was really considering his next marching strategy and rushed to Beiting, which also slightly disrupted his original plan. When he learned that the Uighur army had come on their own initiative and intended to recapture Beiting, he was overjoyed and decisively led the attack.
Even though there were more Uighur soldiers, Yelv Xiezhen did not hesitate at all. The whole army attacked without any intention of using the city to defend the enemy. He saw clearly that there were many Uighurs in Beiting City. They were very resentful because of the looting and killing by the Liao army. It was a bad idea to defend the city and kill the Uighurs.
The two sides met at Zhonggou, sixty miles west of Beiting. After a tentative attack, the Uighurs actually won. So the Uighurs took advantage of the victory to pursue them, while the Liao army, under the command of Yelu Xiezhen, fought and retreated. The final result was that the Uighur army caught up and entangled them, but was ultimately defeated.
The tactic of feigning defeat and luring the enemy has been used in ancient and modern times at home and abroad, but often this seemingly simple tactic can work wonders. However, it also depends on the person, the command, and how the operation is performed. The Uighurs probably felt that since they were in the wilderness, they had a wide field of vision, and they had a large number of soldiers, so they were not afraid of ambushes. Unexpectedly, Yelu Xiezhen used himself as bait to fish, but placed the hook a hundred miles away, ambush the attacking army a hundred miles away from the battlefield, and launched another surprise attack, charging out from behind. The Uighurs were caught off guard and were greatly defeat.
In the battle of Beiting, the Liao army killed more than 10,000 people, captured more than 9,000 people, and captured countless war horses, sheep, camels, grain, and ordnance, which was once again greatly supplemented. On the Uyghur side, the defeated army fled back to Luntai City and stayed there.
When the Uighur Khan of Gaochang heard this, he was shocked and speechless. Now he was honest and quickly sent an envoy to express his condolences, ordering the soldiers to guard the situation strictly, and at the same time replenishing troops, food, equipment, and horses. After being severely beaten, he finally learned his lesson. This Liao army was not only powerful in combat, but also capable of conspiracy.
After feeling that the Liao army in the Western Expedition was difficult to deal with, the Uighur Khan also gave up the idea of quickly fighting to drive away the Liao army, and turned to fighting conservatively. After discussion, the civil and military officials believed that although the Liao army captured Beiting and achieved a small victory, in the Western Region, it was water without a source and water without roots. A Beiting city was not enough to allow it to stay for a long time.
As long as they hold on to Luntai and block it to the north of Tianshan Mountain, drag it down and wear it down until their troops are exhausted and their food supplies are exhausted, they will inevitably leave without support. The final victory will still belong to them.
