Compared with Guo Jinjun's prosperity in the Western Regions, showing off his power outside the region and attracting thousands of followers, the Hexi Army on the other hand was a bit more generous and heroic. Of course, it is also more difficult and dangerous.
Wang Yansheng led tens of thousands of Hexi cavalry, setting out from Suzhou and moving north to Yanze. With fearless courage, he overcame difficulties and obstacles, crossed the quicksand of the desert, penetrated thousands of miles into the Liao border, and arrived at Yanran Mountain, directly threatening the northwest of the Liao Kingdom. Lu Zhaochao Si.
This is hundreds of years later, the army from the Central Plains is showing off its power in Mobei, and the Han Dynasty's mysterious flag is flying outside the territory. The Liao Kingdom had a vast territory, thousands of miles from east to west, but it was sparsely populated. Although the far northwest had always been under subordinate rule, its governance was weak and its control capabilities were limited. The local tribes had great autonomy.
In these years, the Han Dynasty sent a large number of special forces to bribe, mobilize and divide the tribes under the rule of the Liao Kingdom, which played a certain role, but Mobei was the only one that was beyond the reach of the whip. In the Moxi region, even if there are not too many small actions, after so many years of changes, the control is also weakening.
Therefore, the Liao State established the Northwest Road Recruitment Department to strengthen its influence on the vast northwest region. During the Western Expedition, most of the troops used came from the tribes in the northwest.
In the Western Regions, there were several bloody battles. The final result was that the Liao court was enriched, but the strength of the tribes in the northwest region was weakened. Therefore, the local tribes were dissatisfied with the Liao center.
This time, the Liao State mobilized armed forces nationwide to prepare for the Han army. The response in the northwest was relatively slow and even negative. After Yelvxian succeeded to the throne, Emperor Shuping and King Yelulong first served as the envoys for the Northwest Road. While strengthening the influence of their lineage in the country, they also intended to appease the northwest tribes. Yelulong was intelligent, gentle in temperament, and had certain political talents. Yelvxian believed that this imperial uncle could realize his political intentions.
However, after Yelulong took office, he faced the second outbreak of the Han-Liao War before he could introduce some policies to calm the people and appease the tribes.
When receiving Yelvxian's mobilization order, Yelvlongxian was quite helpless. Before he was familiar with the situation in the northwest and consolidated his power, he transferred 10,000 horsemen from the local border troops and tribes and sent them to the east.
Doing so by force will inevitably further destabilize the situation and alienate the local tribes. However, due to its remote location and sufficient depth, under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for the Han-Liao War to affect the northwest Liaoning region.
The vast desert and rolling mountains are their best protection. Even at the beginning of the war, Yang Ye led the army and swept through the forts and strongholds arranged by the Liao Kingdom along the Yinshan Mountains. This did not make the Liao army and tribes in the northwest feel a little nervous. The war seemed to be far away from them.
However, changes often occur unexpectedly, and the surprise brought by the Han army to the North Liaoning Road was even more sudden. Of course, this suddenness also required a lot of hard work and experienced many difficulties and dangers.
Wang Yansheng led the army, and it took him a full month to get out of the desert. The 10,000 cavalrymen who set off lost nearly 2,000 people during the march. Even if there were guides to guide them, they would deviate from the route several times and even lose their way. They encountered storms, fell into quicksand, and walked on the edge of life and death.
By the time they entered the northwest Liaoning border, all the camels, mules and horses accompanying the army were exhausted, and many of the troops and horses were killed to satisfy their hunger. The drinking water was almost exhausted, and a lot of ordnance was also lost.
Precisely because they withstood all these hardships, the soldiers of Hexi who marched north were very tenacious, as if they had crossed the abyss of death, saw hope again, and their morale was even higher. In addition, the fourth prince and Zhao Gong Liu Fang were also in the army, undergoing this training and suffering together with the soldiers.
Originally, Liu Fang still maintained his previous style of joining the army incognito, and only revealed his identity on the way. This had a huge motivating effect on the soldiers who went on the expedition.
When this army, which had gone through all kinds of hardships and dangers, walked out of the desert and went deep into Mobei, it only made a short adjustment and achieved its first success. The Yefu tribe operating in the south of Yanran Mountain became the first target.
The Yefu tribe was a large tribe in the northwestern Liaoning region, but it could not withstand the divine soldiers descending from the sky. The Han army, which was as devilish as divine, consisted of more than 20,000 men, and was easily defeated. There were countless dead and countless fleeers, but through this battle, the Han army obtained a large amount of supplies.
Afterwards, Wang Yansheng's army rested for a while, and regardless of the remnants of Yefu's tribe, he quickly led his men across the Yanran Mountain and headed straight to Woluduo City. This city was the ancient Uighur King's City and served as the residence of the Prince of Zubu established by the Liao Kingdom. .
It was another surprise attack. The Zubu tribe operating in the northeast of Yanran Mountain was defeated without much resistance. King Zubu failed to escape and was trapped in Woluduo City and was captured by Liu Fang.
By this time, the tribes in northern Liaoning had just realized that the war was not far away from them, it was just that the Han army's sword had been placed on their necks.
Facing this sudden Han army, Yelu Longxian, King Ping of the Liao Kingdom, who was staying in the northwest road administration town, could no longer bear to be shocked! They could only hurriedly summon nearby garrison troops and soldiers to concentrate their forces to resist the Han army.
Of course, the surprise attack by Wang Yansheng's army was not fatal. They crossed the quicksand and climbed over Yanran, and fought with the Yefu tribe and the Zubu tribe. After arriving at Xiawoluduo City, they were exhausted and in urgent need of rest.
For Yelu Longxian, the greater threat came from the south, where there was also a murderous Han army from Yang Yebu on Yulin Road.
After the plan to take the initiative and go deep into the grassland was approved by the imperial court, Yang Ye, who had been well prepared, led the attack without any delay.
Due to the dangerous nature of the expedition, Yang Ye only brought 10,000 horses with him this time, and concentrated the use of camels, horses and livestock. Their journey also required crossing the desert. Although it was not as dangerous as the Hexi Army, it was still very difficult.
After leaving the north, they faced the Dadan tribe. As early as when Yang Ye went north for the first time, one of the Dadan people saw the opportunity and fled north. Because they walked fast, they did not suffer much loss.
However, they never expected that the Han army would be so unrelenting and dare to pursue them across the border, but they were also caught off guard. However, this time, Yang Ye only eliminated one of them, and did not gain much. He also only basically replenished a part of the drinking water and food to maintain the consumption of the army.
When Wang Yansheng crossed the Yanran Mountains and came east, Yang Ye led the army and was fighting against the nine coalition forces of Dadan. Yelu Longxian's attention was also on the south, thinking about how to repel Yang Ye's army.
Therefore, when the Yefu tribe was destroyed, the Yubu tribe was severely damaged, and both the west and south faced the attack of the Han army, the northwestern Liaoning route, which should have been safe and sound, faced the greatest crisis and faced the danger of life and death.
Speaking of which, since the Khitan unified Mobei, the northwest region has not encountered war for many years. Even if there has been, it has only been some minor disturbances. Most of them have sent troops to fight with the Khitan as servants.
But this time, the situation was different from any other time. The Han cavalry arrived at their doorstep, sharpening their swords at them. The tribes in the northwest were just like the nomadic tribes who lived in the pastures of this land hundreds of thousands of years ago. , facing a strong attack from the Central Plains Empire. If you can't bear it, you will sink into sinking or even perish like the various tribes in the past.
Facing the dangerous situation, Yelu Longxian did not have many options. The main reason was that the 10,000 cavalry previously deployed to the eastern battlefield greatly weakened the strength of the northwest.
In addition, although there are many local tribes, their hearts are not unified, and when the military disaster comes, they all have their own thoughts. It is even more difficult to form a joint force. That is to say, under the threat of the Han army, the remaining tribes had to gather under the banner of the Liao army to fight against the Han army.
Fortunately, before Yelv Longxian took office, Yelvxian sent 3,000 soldiers from the Zuopishi Army to follow him westward. The original intention was to protect Yelvlongxian and frighten the tribes in the northwest, but he never expected that he would become the backbone of the resistance against the Han army. strength.
At the suggestion of his subordinates, Yelulong first reduced his troops, took in the dispersed tribesmen, and barely gathered an army of less than 30,000 people. This had exhausted the potential of the northwest.
However, although the Saibei tribe is strong and a man can become a warrior on horseback, the tribes are not unified. It is debatable how much strength they can exert when they are temporarily concentrated.
The Liao army adopted the method of shrinking defense, which also gave the Han army more opportunities to adjust its preparations. The Hexi and Yulin armies were even able to join forces in the absolute territory outside the Great Wall. This was also the meeting of the two brothers Liu Fang and Liu Min. The sixth prince and King of Wei, Liu Min, also ignored Yang Ye's dissuasion and insisted on fighting. Along the way, he also won the recognition of many soldiers with his strong style and skillful riding and archery. , in the battle with Dadan tribes, he personally shot and killed three enemy soldiers.
By mid-May, after the Han army united, they advanced into Liao Zhenzhou. In this Mobei, urban warfare basically did not exist, and the northwest tribes were not good at it. Facing the invading Han army, they could only fight in the field.
Therefore, King Yelu Longxian of Liaoping also led the tribal coalition to attack. The two sides met on the banks of the Tulla River east of Yanran Mountain and west of Wugu Mountain.
The Liao army numbered less than 30,000, while the Han army only had more than 16,000 people. However, the Han army had an advantage in terms of military appearance, equipment, spirit, and momentum.
This was a large-scale frontal cavalry battle, and the person who played a decisive role in it was Zhao Gong Liu Fang. He led thousands of cavalry in a circuit of more than 300 miles and crossed the Turula River twice. Suddenly, he appeared behind the Liao army and launched a fatal blow to the Liao army's surprise.
