Once the situation breaks down, it will be irreversible, and the entire Western Region will be plunged into turmoil. For the Black Khanate, perhaps the upper echelons of the country did not want to break the balance. However, the current situation forced them to invest troops and participate in the final battle between Han and Liao in the Western Regions.
After all, if the remnants of the Liao army were wiped out by the Han army, then the next target of the Han army would definitely be them. If it was just to deal with the remaining Khitan invaders in Luntai and Beiting, there would be no need to mobilize so many troops to march westward.
Although the remnant of the Liao army is weak and on the verge of death, as long as it exists, it will be an effective help to Hei Khan, and it will also buy them more time to digest the newly occupied land, strengthen the armed forces, and deepen the construction of public security. Strengthen town defenses.
In fact, in the past ten years, after successive confrontations with the Liao and Han armies, the Black Khanate has already learned some lessons. While continuing to maintain its expansion posture, it has secretly regretted becoming an enemy.
In the past ten years, we have launched several eastern expeditions and fought dozens of brutal and fierce battles with eastern forces. We eventually claimed to have captured half of the Uighurs in Gaochang, but in fact, everything was still depressed in Qiuci and Yanqi. , two places where wealth and blood have drained away.
The price paid was enough to frighten the entire Black Khanate. More than 50,000 people were injured and more than 30,000 people were killed. Even if half of them were recruited jihadists, the remaining half was also very heavy for the Black Khanate. ,hard to accept.
Despite the development and construction of several generations of monarchs, the Black Khan has become a small hegemon in the Western Regions and has gradually become famous in Central Asia. However, in terms of strength, it is not much better than the original Xizhou Uighurs. The casualties of tens of thousands of people can be said to be severe.
After so many years, the desire for expansion belonging to the newly rising forces has been released long ago when reality hits the wall. They calm down and realize their sorrow.
The reason for moving eastward was that the Samanid dynasty in the west was at its peak and completely blocked its expansion. It could only suppress its ambitions and find another way out. At that time, the struggle between the Han and Liao empires affected all directions, and it was reflected in the Western Regions, which was the Liao army's western expedition and the collapse of the Uighurs. This gave the Black Khanate an opportunity and a channel to vent its desire for expansion.
However, by now, the Black Khans, whether they are monarchs or ministers, generals or officials, armies or people, have realized that those countries from the east, which claim to be the center of the world and the Central Plains Celestial Kingdom, are really difficult to deal with and difficult to defeat. . Whether it is the Liao army or the Han army.
In the past, the Liao army fought with them for hegemony and suffered numerous casualties before they captured Kucha. The enemy that was once so powerful that it was difficult to defeat has fallen and completely lost its control over the Western Region. As a result, they continued to expand hundreds of miles eastward and occupied the core area of Yanqi.
However, this is not good news, because a stronger and more terrifying opponent has appeared in front of him. Thousands of years ago, the name of the country that once displayed its power in the Western Regions and made all countries surrender and dare not turn their backs was once again spread by the group of heroic and energetic knights. They used swords to show the strength of the Han Dynasty and used military formations to interpret the majesty of the empire. .
Heihan was already a little scared about this. There was nothing to be ashamed of. He would have a better memory after suffering a loss. Therefore, Black Khan did not have much confidence in whether he could defend the occupied land under the threat of the strong Han army.
The national strength is short, the defense is more than enough, and the progress is not enough. This is a true portrayal of the Black Khanate in the past ten years. The jihadists from the Central Asian world are not really endless. Even if there are, they are not the Black Khanate in this period. The Khanate can take whatever it wants.
Moreover, the timing of the expansion was indeed not chosen well, or in other words, the timing was too early. Its opponent was not the long-dead Xizhou Uighurs. It first encountered the Liao Empire, which still had strength, and then a more ferocious Han Empire. Started to show his teeth and claws. Such a fate and such a result are really sad for the Black Khanate.
However, no matter how anxious you are, you can't be afraid of war, and you can't give up this large piece of land soaked in the blood of its soldiers and civilians because of fear of the enemy. The heavy price paid for the ten years of eastward march has made the Black Khanate somewhat unable to survive.
After occupying Yanqi, during the half-year stalemate with the Han Dynasty, although there were many battles between the two sides, they were all low-intensity confrontations and no large-scale fierce war broke out.
The Black Khan's army has become increasingly conservative in its operations. The heavy casualties, excessive costs, stretched front lines, and powerful enemies have all made the Black Khan daunted.
After successive blows from the powerful empires in the East, the arrogant ambitions of expansion in the past have been extinguished. If the Han army stood still as they had in the past few months, they would be willing to live in peace, maintain the status quo, and even look forward to negotiating peace.
However, the Han Dynasty did not have this intention from the beginning to the end. They did not take their overlord of the Western Regions seriously at all. Their strength remained unchanged and never changed.
When Guo Jin made great fanfare and raised his troops to march north, Yanqi's Black Khan army was also forced to send troops and mobilized troops from the rear to march eastward, posing as a large-scale march eastward to show the threat to Gaochang and to intimidate the Han army. , to induce Guo Jin to return to aid and help the Liao army.
This has happened three times in the past, and the Black Khan Army was successful. But now, time has changed, and with the arrival of the Helong army to the west, the situation in the Western Region has changed drastically. The shortcomings of the Han army's lack of strength and weak foundation have been made up for, and the balance of strength between the two sides has also fundamentally changed.
However, the Black Khan Army has not changed much. It is still the same as before. How can it have the same effect as before? How can the Han Army do what they want.
The Black Khan army marching eastward from Yanqi, together with some servants with poor equipment and weak combat power, only had less than 10,000 cavalry. The four hundred-mile journey from Yanqi to Gaochang was smooth and smooth. There was no resistance or obstruction. They walked for ten days and still didn't arrive.
The hesitation and hesitation of the Black Khan Army was clearly revealed, and behind the fanfare, its weak and incapable nature was also fully exposed.
The commander-in-chief of the Han army who stayed in Gaochang was Cui Han. He was a rare and brave general among the Han army. Although the family has been in decline for a long time and has lost its power and reputation, it is still enough to make most people envious. It is even more special now that the nobles of the Han Dynasty who were born in the rough have begun to move closer to the nobles.
Although Cui Han arrived in Gaochang for the first time, he did a good job in preparations and had a detailed and full understanding of the situation in the Western Regions and the enemy's situation. The strength Wang Yansheng left for him was enough to cope with it.
The hesitant posture and weakness of the Black Khan Army were also keenly captured by Cui Han. Therefore, the troops were prepared for war and waited for work. When the Black Khan army slowly approached Gaochang, Cui Han led the attack without any hesitation.
The two sides fought at the foot of Tianshan Mountain in the southwest of Jiaohe Prefecture. The two sides combined invested more than 20,000 troops in the war. This was the first time. Compared with the large-scale and vigorous Han-Liao War, which often involved tens of thousands or 200,000 troops, it was really It was insignificant, but in the Western Region, which had been devastated by wars for a long time, and the lives were devastated, it was already a major war.
Judging from the battle process and results between the two sides, this battle was also a bit boring. The Han army won easily, and the Black Khan army also retreated simply.
In the past, when the Black Khan's army approached, the Han army could only resist at the city pass, but this time they took the initiative and marched boldly. From the beginning, under the command of Cui Han, the Han army showed bold determination and strong combat effectiveness.
That is to say, the Black Khan Army did not march in a hurry, was cautious and did not lose much combat effectiveness, but even so, it was at a disadvantage from the beginning. Although they did not collapse at the first touch, they were defeated step by step under Cui Han's calm control of attacks.
The commander-in-chief of the Black Khan Army was also a decisive person. From the strong attack of the Han army, he also felt its strong will. He also knew that his attempt to respond to intimidation failed and the Han army no longer tolerated intimidation at all.
Therefore, less than an hour after the engagement, before the soldiers of both sides were completely entangled, they ordered a retreat. Not getting trapped in it, and thanks to the terrain of the Tianshan Mountains and the cover of the cavalry, they finally got rid of the Han army's pursuit. The nearly two thousand casualties became the price of the Black Khan's army's eastward advance again.
As the Black Khan Army took the initiative to withdraw, the remnants of the Liao Army in the north completely lost hope. They even had no chance to get news about the fighting in the south.
This time, it was also the last time the Black Khan Army moved eastward. Another failure completely made them give up their ambition to expand eastward.
