In April of the fourth year of Tianwu, the Ming army regained Turpan and killed Sulitang, the younger brother of Yarkand Khan and the governor of Turpan.

The victory in the Battle of Turpan dealt a heavy blow to Yarkand's will to resist, and the Ming army marched all the way after that.

Zhou Yuji did not forget Zhu Cihong's entrustment, and after taking Turpan, he immediately ordered the cavalry to go out in all directions to clear the remnants of the enemy in the territory.

As long as the Yarkand people refuse to surrender and resist the Ming army, whether they are soldiers or tribal civilians, they will be killed!

After half a month of purging, the Silk Road from Turpan to Hami was completely under the control of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhou Yuji sent a good news to the imperial court, requesting that Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, be transferred to Turpan.

In the camp of the Ming army, the Western Expeditionary Army was hunting with flags and fighting spirits, and Zhou Yuji held a military meeting of the whole army.

At this meeting, he introduced in detail the battle plan of the Western Expeditionary Army to directly attack Yarkand City, and its precise arrangement convinced the generals, and the generals acted too steadily!

Zhou Yuji looked at his generals seriously, these are the elites of the Western Army Governor's Mansion, and next, he will take them to greater glory!

He got up, with great confidence on his face, and said: "Zhao Ponu, the Marquis of Hunye of the Han Dynasty, led tens of thousands of troops to break through Gushi and capture the king of Loulan!" Gao Xianzhi of the Tang Dynasty, passing through the Western Regions, crisscrossing the frontier, and capturing the king of Shiguo! ”

"Although I am not talented, I am willing to follow my ancestors, live and die with you, and swear to break Yarkand!"

In the Tang Dynasty, Gao Xianzhi, the double strength of the empire, beat the countries of the Western Regions to cry and cry for their fathers and mothers, and the Tang army was shocked, and the seventy-two countries of Fu La, Da Shi Zhuhu were shocked to surrender to the Tang Dynasty!

Gao Xianzhi is also known as the king of the mountains by Tubo and Dashi!

And this time, our time is coming!

The main generals got up one after another, their faces turned red, and they shouted in unison: "I am willing to conquer the Western Regions with the general and expand the territory!" ”

Zhou Yuji raised his powerful arms and exclaimed powerfully: "Be loyal to my emperor and prove that I am strong!" ”

All the generals shouted: "Be loyal to my emperor and prove that I am strong!" ”

After stabilizing morale and making adequate preparations, Zhou Yuji led the Western Expedition army from Turpan and officially advanced to the hinterland of the Yarkand Khanate.

The road is extremely difficult, with a large number of deserts along the way, harsh environments, logistical difficulties, and the consequences of getting lost.

Fortunately, Zhu Cihong had already laid out a few years earlier, and the merchants played a huge role in the open horse market of Daming and Moxi Mongolia.

They are the guides of the army!

The army of the Western Expedition climbed the mountains, crossed the great rivers, entered the desert, and silently advanced in this barren land.

On the ancient Silk Road, in the mountains and deserts, everything was depressed, and everywhere was dazzling sunlight and wind and sand.

In this difficult environment, the Ming army was neat and morale was strong, and sometimes there were various departments chanting slogans to boost morale.

They carried heavy loads of dry rations, and people kept falling, but none of this could stop them from moving forward.

It is a difficult battlefield, and if you want to achieve victory, you must have generals and soldiers working together.

If this army is an undisciplined rabble, in the yellow sand, it will not be able to walk for a few days and then disperse without incident.

Obviously, the Ming army at this time had conviction.

In this way, the army has marched more than 1,000 miles, and it has been walking for a long time, and food and water sources are becoming more and more scarce, but fortunately, the morale of the army is still quite high.

Zhou Yuji asked the army to praise the painting: "Where are we now?" ”

The chief of the Dingwu Army spread out the map on the sand, summarized the information that was not received at night from the front, pointed to the mountains on the map, and said: "If you go back to the general, this place is still about fifty miles away from the Ili River Valley. ”

The Ili River Valley is a good place, known as the "Wet Island of the Western Regions" and "Saiwai Jiangnan", it is the northern key point of the ancient Silk Road, and its geographical advantages are very prominent, and it has been fought over by all parties from ancient times to the present.

"Are there enemies nearby?" Zhou Yuji asked.

"There were a large number of Yarkand scattered horses in the northwest and southeast."

"Inform the generals of the deliberations of the Chinese army!"

In the temporary camp of the Chinese army, the generals asked for their lives.

"General, the last general is willing to lead the army to attack and cut off the heads of those Tartars!"

"The last general is also willing to go!"

Facing the eager generals, Zhou Yuji's face showed a calm expression, and he paced a few laps in the field, thinking seriously.

While Zhou Yuji was thinking, the quartermaster reported the lack of food and the depletion of water.

Zhou Yuji understood that the time had come to make a decision, and after thinking about it again, he finally shook his head and opposed the attack to defeat the four Yarkand scattered cavalry.

When it comes to major military decisions, it is said that the military council listens to the opinions of the generals, but in fact, the commander-in-chief has to take the decision.

Because the war was won, everyone had a credit.

However, if the war is lost, only the coach will take the blame.

Therefore, an excellent coach, Zhou Yuji basically does not listen to the fools of his teammates, at most he takes their opinions as a reference, and by the way, understands everyone's wishes, so as to facilitate the next deployment.

When the Yarkand Khanate learned of the fall of Turpan, it had to adopt the old tactics of its ancestors, attacking with light cavalry everywhere, harassing and luring the Ming army, and wanting to bring the Ming army into the ditch.

However, Zhou Yuji is not a young man like Li Shaoyou, he is a calm and calm veteran, and he has never fought risky battles.

He took 100,000 horses, so he had to be responsible for these soldiers, and he couldn't let everyone lose their lives and bury their bodies in the Western Regions because of his own rash advances.

Zhou Yuji's plan is very simple, regardless of the bells and whistles, and regardless of their game of hide and seek,

In the vast desert, he only has two goals, the Ili River Valley and the national capital Yarkand City!

These two places were important places in the Yarkand Khanate and an oasis for their survival.

As long as the Ming army occupies these two places and establishes a stable stronghold, they can go wherever they like, let's take your nest and slowly clean it up.

After finding out the enemy situation in the Ili River Valley, Zhou Yuji immediately made a decision, and the army immediately advanced to the target and took the Ili River Valley!

The cavalry of the 10,000 Ming army rushed overnight, with a clear goal.

The Ili River valley was also home to a large number of Yarkand troops, including the defeated Yaolvas.

He fought a big defeat, and he had no face and no Yarkand City to explain to his father, so he had to nest here, hoping to use the troops of the Ili River Valley to succeed in his hatred.

In the camp of the Ili Yarkand army, a banquet is being held.

The governor of Ili was close friends with Yaolvas, and he was very optimistic about the future Great Khan and wanted to invest early.

Frustrated by the defeat of the battle, the governor hosted a banquet to appease Yaolevas's wounded feelings.

The wind and sand outside gradually subsided, and a rapid sound of horses' hooves loomed in the wind, gradually expanding.

A slightly drunk Yarkand soldier suddenly found that a large group of fierce and vicious cavalry was running in the dark night, and it seemed that it was not his own person......

He quickly realized that these uninvited guests were really not friendly troops, but the army of the Ming Dynasty!

Not only did the Yarkand soldier, who was a little drunk, find out, but all the soldiers guarding the camp found out about such a big scene, and they were stunned!