When Wang Qian mobilized his troops and generals on Yulin Road and made great efforts to prepare for a "separate attack and combined attack" against the rebel Li Jiqian, thousands of miles away, a national war was in full swing.
In fact, Li Jiqian's rebellion was just a small fight. Its bad impact was only to clarify the conflicts between Hu and Han in the northwest region, and it could not really have much impact on the imperial court.
The reason why he took the matter seriously was because Emperor Liu was concerned and had to express his views from top to bottom. In the eyes of many people in power, Li Ni was just suffering from scabies and could not achieve anything.
Even from the perspective of Yulin Road, the small rebellion against Li Jiqian did not go all out. Although the local officers and soldiers noticed that he was slipping, they did not take it seriously. In the eyes of many people, as long as they were determined to advance, Suppression, then Li Jiqian would only end up dead.
In contrast, the war that took place in Anxi was even more eye-catching. After all, this was a war with the purpose of destroying the country. It was another battle of the Han Dynasty after the implementation of the contraction strategy for more than ten years after the Kaibao Northern Expedition. Launch external expansion.
Even if we only look at the scale of the troops sent, it can still leave a mark in the war history of the Han Dynasty. From the winter of the 20th year of Kaibao when Emperor Liu issued an edict to conquer the Black Khan, to the late spring of this year, after five months of preparations, under the command of Wei King Liu Min, the Han Dynasty officially launched the third Western Expedition.
In the past twenty years, the Han Dynasty had launched two Western expeditions. The first time was in the first year of Kaibao. At that time, the imperial court had just unified the world and the south had been restored. Emperor Liu was especially enterprising. He considered himself invincible. Looking around the world, the Khitan was temporarily out of reach, so his eyes naturally turned to the northwest. How could this be tolerated? One corner is missing.
The Han army, which had not yet emerged from the war years, was at its peak. It was commanded by Chai Rong and assisted by Wang Yansheng and Guo Jin. Although there were minor setbacks, it was still devastating. Not only did it destroy the Ganzhou Uighurs, it also allowed the rebel Cao family to Return to the embrace of the Central Plains, restore the Hexi Corridor, and reach Yumen and Yangguan in the west.
The second time was in the eighth year of Kaibao's reign, when the imperial court launched a large-scale Northern Expedition, led by Guo Jin. However, that Western Expedition was part of the entire Kaibao Northern Expedition. Guo Jin led a partial division and advanced into the Western Regions, aiming to destroy the Khitan army entrenched in the Western Regions.
As a result, the goal was also successfully achieved, not only wiping out the Khitans and basically restoring the Gaochang Uighur jurisdiction, but also repelling the Black Khan's intrusion to the west, successfully preserving the victory.
The nature of this third Western Expedition, to be honest, is mixed with some complicated things. It is not only a manifestation of the pioneering and enterprising spirit of the Han Dynasty, but also has the upright reason of regaining the old land of China. However, combined with the 20 years of turmoil in Kaibao, This inevitably gives people the impression that Emperor Liu is overjoyed in his achievements and vents his personal anger.
There were not many people in the upper echelons of the imperial court who supported the conflict. After all, the conflict with the Black Khan was "defeated" by the Han Dynasty. Even if a large amount of evidence could be found to prove the justice of the Western Expedition, some conservatives would inevitably launch an unreasonable expedition. thoughts.
Of course, some are conservative while others are radical. For the generals who participated in this Western Expedition, it was a rare opportunity to make achievements. Over the years, the navy has continued to rise, and by bullying the natives of Southeast Asia, it has gained a lot of wealth for the empire. …
For such a situation, as the master of the family, Ma Bujun, how could he not look at it with envy. However, looking around, it seems that there is not much room for use.
The remnants of the Khitan in Mobei can barely be called an opponent, but after all, they are too far away to fight. It coincides with the conflict between Han and Black, which gives the generals who are eager to make achievements a goal and direction to vent their ambitions.
At least for the Han army in the northwest of Changshu, they witnessed the prosperity and revival of the Silk Road and have been maintaining it, and they themselves have gained a lot of benefits from it.
Even if it's just for this point, it's worth their while to teach that Yelang, who is arrogant and doesn't know the so-called Black Khanate, a lesson.
In this Western Expedition, in addition to Wei Wang Liu Min commanding the army with the dignity of a prince, the consort Yang Yanzhao was the deputy commander. At the same time, Guo Yi was the camp capital Yuhou, Wang Shenjun was the camp formation envoy, Xiang Deming was the camp food envoy, and Murong Jiye became the envoy of trench array.
From the above employment, we can see that this Western Expedition is special compared with the past. The main generals and important positions in the Western Expedition were all outstanding talents of the younger generation, and all of them had extraordinary backgrounds.
Let’s not talk about Liu Min and Yang Yanzhao, the chief and deputy commanders. Guo Yi is the youngest son of Guo Wei, Duke of Xing, Wang Shenjun is the eldest son of the late Duke Quanbin of Pingnan, Xiang Deming is the eldest son of Wen Duke Xiang Xun, and Murong Jiye is the Duke of Luan. The grandson of Murong Yanchao and the son of Murong Chengtai, the then commander of the capital of Gyeonggi.
The only one who can be regarded as a veteran is probably Kang Baoyi, who is worshiped as the governor of the camp. Of course, strictly speaking, this man is also a second-generation general, but he joined the army earlier. When he was young, he followed his father Kang Zaiyu to conquer the east and west. In the past thirty years, he has been a military soldier from north to south, and from south to south. He had repeatedly made military exploits and suffered dozens of wounds. In terms of prestige alone, no one in the Western Expedition could defeat him. Emperor Liu's main purpose of using Kang to protect his descendants was to let him support Liu Min and Yang Yanzhao.
Obviously, as the veteran generals further aged and withered, some young and middle-aged generals gradually came to the forefront, and the new generation of Zhuguoliang of the Han Empire also rose in the historical wave.
A total of more than 50,000 troops were mobilized for this western expedition, and most of the frontier troops and regiment training troops in Anxi and Hexi were transferred. It's not that more troops can't be recruited, it's just that the logistical pressure is a bit high. If there are more troops, the supply capacity of the two places will be exceeded.
Although Anxi has a vast territory, it has only been returned to the Han Dynasty for ten years. In the past, the Uighurs, Khitans, Black Khans and Han Dynasties, and even the Khotan Kingdom in the south, several forces conducted a ten-year tug-of-war on this land. After repeated destruction, it was basically reduced to ruins. During the period of Gaochang's victory, 80% of the millions of tribesmen were lost.
It was not until the Han army marched westward that they achieved rare peace. However, ten years was not enough for a new generation to grow up, and restoration and reconstruction were far away. By the 21st year of Kaibao, the population under Anxi's jurisdiction was less than 20. Fifty thousand, many of which were brought by merchants who were popular and traveled back and forth from east to west.
Therefore, the exhausted Anxi could not support a major war at all. Young and middle-aged labor was scarce. The defense of Gaochang had made Pule exhausted, and he had just provided the army with more than 5,000 men as auxiliary soldiers. What really supports the westward march of the army depends on Hexi.
Of the 50,000-strong army, more than 20,000 are cavalry. To defeat the Black Khan, they still have to complement each other. To a certain extent, the role of cavalry is even more important.
For this reason, the imperial court specially allocated three thousand heavy armored cavalry to participate in the battle, which was to target Black Khan's heavy cavalry. Of course, it also includes tens of thousands of servants of all races.
It has to be said that recruiting a servant army to fight is indeed a cost-saving method. Firstly, the combat power is guaranteed to a certain extent, and secondly, the cost is less than that of officers and soldiers. The court only needs to provide some money, food and weapons, which is enough to make them happy.
Wei King Liu Min even directly promised the servant army composed of Tubo, Uyghur, and Liugu tribes to suppress the black Khan and let them plunder. The court only took half of the goods obtained, so as to stimulate their fighting spirit and make them work hard.
This agreement was indeed in line with the wishes of the servant army. In the past, the imperial court recruited soldiers to fight, mainly for domestic battlefields. Especially during the Northern Expedition, tens of thousands of armed cavalry were used. However, at that time, the imperial court had strict rules and regulations. After all, the Han Dynasty could not Allow it to wreak havoc at will.
But Daheihan is different. Although it can be said that it is the inherent territory of the Han Dynasty since ancient times, practical factors must be taken into consideration. It is difficult for a mere party member to find stability, let alone the Black Khanate, which has been established for a long time and has a completely different cultural tradition from China.
If you want to conquer the Black Khan and regain your homeland, you need to destroy it from top to bottom, from the inside out, and then consolidate it. In this process, there were some things that were not suitable for the Han army, which emphasized discipline.
