The majestic Jinshan Mountains extend from northwest to southeast, stretching for thousands of miles, straight down to the desert. There are light clouds floating in the blue sky. Under the clouds, there are shining snow-capped mountains. At the foot of the snow-capped mountains are forests, pastures, valleys and tundra, with lakes scattered throughout them and rivers rushing past.
Spring has arrived, the severe cold has subsided, everything has revived, and the foothills are obviously a little more lively. Snow leopards and antelopes are galloping in the mountains, and squirrels and birds are looking for food in the jungle.
Since ancient times, relying on the Jinshan Mountains, there have been a large number of tribes, hunting and nomadic, living and developing here. The Turks who once dominated the northern part of the country made their fortune east of Jinshan, and finally took over the overlord's banner from Rouran and participated in the same movement. The struggle for hegemony in East Asia between the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Over the centuries, it has experienced several rises and falls. In recent decades, it has also been a dependent territory of the Khitan Liao Kingdom. At the same time, a new grassland force is also developing and growing in a low-key manner. These are several tribes composed of the descendants of the Uighurs, Dadan and Hagas. Within the Liao Kingdom, they are called the Nianbage tribe, and they are also the origin of the Naiman tribe in history.
Of course, they are still very weak, but due to their remote location and close proximity to mountains and rivers, they have abundant forest and pasture resources to draw from. Although their development is slow, they are growing.
The disputes between Han and Liao did not involve them. The Han army went on an expedition with light cavalry and fought bloody battles in Mobei. During the chaos, they were one of the few tribes that was not affected. Instead, they took the opportunity to recruit and annex some tribes who escaped from the east. The remnants of the army have been further expanded.
At the southeastern foothills of Jinshan Mountain, in the lower reaches of the Yizhi River (Irtysh River), in a valley with dense tree shades, there is a tribe stationed there. As far as the eye can see, there are hundreds of large and small tents.
This is a clan of about two thousand people. Judging from the many large and small tribes around Jinshan, the scale is not small. More importantly, this tribe is special, they are all young and strong, and the tight and strong fence built around the camp highlights its specialness. There are several flags standing in the wind around the village tower and in the center of the camp. .
Whether it is the Xuan flag or the military flag with the characters "Liu", "Yang" and "Wang", they all look a bit shabby and full of blood, but no matter the bloodstains or knife marks, they do not hide their noble temperament.
This tribe, which is very different from the local tribes, is obviously the remnant of the Mobei Han army.
Last year, after the defeat at Wugushan in Mobei by Liao Privy Councilor Yelu Xian, the Han army withdrew westward.
Under the fierce pursuit of the Liao army, most of the Han army was scattered, perhaps killed at the hands of the Liao army, or lost in the vast grasslands. Finally, the Han army gathered in Zhenzhou City of the Liao Kingdom, gathered the defeated troops, and regrouped.
However, the Liao army was pursuing fiercely and before they could gain a firm foothold, the Mobei ethnic coalition forces commanded by Yelvxian were already approaching. Reluctantly, Yang and Wang had to abandon the soldiers who had been separated and had not returned, and continued to retreat westward until they retreated to Yuanzhubu King City before they could take a moment to breathe.
However, under the command of Yelu Xian, the Liao army launched a very determined pursuit, and soon the pursuers arrived again. Suffering a new defeat, the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the situation is critical. Under this situation, Wang Yansheng and Yang Ye held urgent discussions to find a way out.
Heading south through the desert to return to the Han Dynasty, this option was abandoned directly. In this tense situation, without sufficient preparation, returning south would face the interception and killing by the Liao army. Even if they made it through, they would still have to face the harsh environment of the desert and Gobi. Circumstances, this is no different than taking death.
As for the guerrillas in Mobei, they were sitting still and waiting for death. Therefore, without much hesitation, Yang and Wang decided to go west to survive, just as Li Chongju's investigation and speculation concluded.
After a short period of preparation, before the Liao army's pursuit division arrived, Yang Ye and Wang Yansheng led their troops all the way west to Jinshan. The subsequent results proved that this decision was correct and allowed the Han soldiers on the expedition to escape the ending of destruction.
Yelu Xian, the commander-in-chief of the Liao army, naturally hated this Han army that boldly marched northward and penetrated deep into Mobei, causing great chaos in Mobei. Facing the repeated retreats of the expeditionary force, they were in hot pursuit. Even though Generals Yang and Wang led their troops to flee westward, they still sent thousands of cavalry to continue the pursuit, hoping to annihilate them all. At the same time, envoys were also sent with orders to instruct the Nianbage tribes east of Jinshan to send troops to cooperate in the suppression.
However, things went against expectations. At that time, Mobei was in turmoil, with tribes scattered and tribes alienated. Although Yelvxian relied on the remaining power of the Liao Kingdom for decades to unite the tribes, form a coalition, and defeat the Han army, but , the mess was left behind. Yelvxian also had to put more energy on appeasing Mobei, and could not pursue and annihilate the Han army with all his strength.
The Nianbage tribe had also begun to disobey the orders of the Liao Kingdom early on. They were unwilling to send troops and expend the tribe's strength in fighting the Han army. Back then, in order to cooperate with the Liao army's expedition to the Western Regions, they had already suffered a loss. The result of that time was that they enriched the Liao court and destroyed their affiliated tribes.
In fact, they were very dissatisfied with forcing the Han army to go west and burning the war into their territory. The pursuing Liao cavalry was also composed of Mobei cavalry. In the Battle of Wugushan, including the subsequent pursuit battle, these Mobei cavalry had experienced the combat capabilities and will of the Han army. Although the Liao army won, it suffered many casualties.
Although the Han army fled westward in embarrassment, the threat was still there. Once they were provoked to fight back desperately, it would definitely be another bloody battle. These Mobei cavalry were not willing to continue to waste time with the Han army, so their desire to pursue them was not high. Because it is unprofitable and dangerous.
In addition, the people's hearts in Mobei at that time were really confused and dispersed. The Han army's attack could be said to have completely destroyed the original Liao Kingdom's ruling system in Mobei.
The prestige of the Liao court plummeted and its strength was damaged. Many tribes inevitably had dissent and began to have doubts about the rule of the Liao Kingdom. The tribes such as Zubu and Dadan, who had suffered heavy losses, were crying for support. Those tribes that had avoided disaster in time and retained their strength were thinking about whether they had the opportunity to expand their strength. The leaders and generals who pursued them also paid more attention to preserving their strength and focused on the interests of their own tribes.
The combined effect of many factors gave the expeditionary Han army a loophole to exploit and a chance to breathe. Yang Ye and Wang Yansheng are both warriors who have experienced battles for a long time and have a keen sense of smell. They can feel the changes in the enemy's situation most clearly when they are in the scene.
After realizing that the pursuit momentum of the Liao army behind him was weakening, he felt somewhat reassured and had more room to think about where to go and how to get rid of the crisis completely.
According to Wang Yansheng's idea, he would directly attack and seize a way out. In comparison, Yang Ye is still calmer and more rational. In his opinion, although they took Jinshan, the local situation was still unclear, and the attitude of the Nianbage tribe was also unclear. The slowdown in pursuit from the rear also gave them more room for adjustment.
Therefore, under Yang Ye's suggestion, although the remaining troops of the expeditionary force arrived at Jinshan, they did not go deep into the hinterland of the local tribes. Instead, they sent envoys to contact them while ensuring a safe distance to express their intention to borrow the road.
When the Nianbage tribe learned that the Han army was coming from the west, although they were extremely wary of the injured tiger, their attitude was ambiguous. After feeling the sincerity of the Han army, some hostility was somewhat eliminated.
After two contacts, an agreement was reached with the two Nianbage tribes in the southeast. They gave way to guide the way, and the price paid by the Han army was some cavalry and weapons, and some military supplies were obtained by trading with them.
At the eastern foot of Jinshan Mountain, the Han army got a rare time to rest and recuperate. Afterwards, they decisively took a detour, took the mountain trails, and moved to the south of Jinshan Mountain. After all, north of Jinshan, the agreement with the Nianbage tribe was not so solid. The Han army did not trust them. The Nianbage tribe was also worried about the Han army and simply went south to Vietnam to get out of that danger circle.
After reaching the south of Yinshan Mountain, winter was approaching, and to the south, across the quicksand, was the Western Region, which was not far away from their escape.
However, due to weather changes and unfamiliarity with geography and the situation in the Western Regions, they did not rush south. Instead, they chose to rest on the spot and build a camp to survive the winter.
When they evacuated from Zubu King's City, there were still nearly 4,000 soldiers. They fled all the way across the Jinshan Mountains, and when they arrived at the southern foot to rest, there were only more than 2,500 soldiers. After surviving the cold winter, in the spring of the ninth year of Kaibao, there were only less than two thousand soldiers left.
