Out of Jiayuguan, the first detention guard is the Mongolian Chijin Guard.

Chijinwei is mainly Mongolian, but there are also a large number of Tibetans, and a small number of Han people. This guard was almost already settled, and the seat of governance was in the northwest of Yumen County in the later generations, and the town guard governor locked the southern bundle for the Mongols.

The Mongolian guide who led Wang Yuan's way, named Halbara, was a short and stout young man. A hundred years ago, his whole family lived in Liuchen (also called "Liucheng"), and after the Eastern Chagatai Khanate occupied the cities of Turpan, it continued to attack nearby cities, and Liucheng was killed and the population was halved, and Halbara's great-grandfather took the whole clan to attach the Ming Dynasty.

"Master Wang, there is Chijin Fort in front!" Halbara said, pointing ahead.

Due to the snow covering the earth, everywhere was white, and Wang Yuan could not see the specific situation.

But according to Halbara, after the snow melts in the spring, there are wheat fields everywhere, and the greenery is very beautiful. Even many of the Mongols in the Chijinwei have switched to crops, and herding has become their part-time job – this is due to the support of the Ming Dynasty, which has provided seeds, cultivated cattle, and taught these Mongols and Tibetans to farm.

Even Chijinwei also planted cotton, and the woman knew how to spin cotton, and she could wear cotton clothes to resist the cold in winter.

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and it was impossible to gallop on the horse, so Wang Yuan and the three of them could only lead the horse forward.

There are many houses outside Chijin Fort, all of which are made of sand and soil, but they are all closed at the moment.

Moreover, most of these houses were destroyed, having been destroyed by the Turpan army three months ago. At that time, the Turpan army had already reached Chijin, and if it weren't for the sudden killing of Wara Xiaolie, Turpan was likely to directly attack Jiayuguan.

Outside Chijin Fort, Harbara shouted in Mongolian to open the door, because the wind and snow were too strong, and it took a long time for someone to respond.

The defenders of the fort hung a willow basket and pulled it up, and after a few moments, the gate opened.

The governor of Chijin Weidu, Suo Nanshu, came to greet him in person, and when he met, he knelt down and cried in Chinese: "Master Wang, you are finally here." The hateful Turpan killed my people, robbed me of food, plundered my women, and humbly asked the imperial court to send troops to levy it, and I must avenge this great revenge! ”

"General, please get up, let's talk slowly." Wang Yuan helped him up.

Although Wang Yuan was dissatisfied with Chen Jiuchou's abandonment of territory, he also believed many of what Chen Jiuchou said, that is, the Kansai Qiwei could not really be trusted.

When threatened by Turpan or Wara, the seven guards of Kansai were naturally loyal and had already helped the Ming Dynasty fight many battles.

But once it was safe, these guys continued to make small moves, and Andingwei even intercepted and killed the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty to Wusizang, and robbed all the envoys' goods. Later, the imperial court sent troops to recruit Anding and Qu Xian, and Han Dongwei refused to send troops.

The seven guards of Kansai occasionally robbed each other of goods and people, and even if the Ming Dynasty came forward to mediate, they were unwilling to return the spoils of war if they took advantage of it.

But no matter how many contradictions there are, the stronger Turpan is, the more loyal the Kansai Qiwei will be to the Ming Dynasty.

Suo Nanshu is a Mongolian strong man in his forties, and he invited Wang Yuan and the three of them into his mansion, so that they could be entertained with meat, and let people roast a sheep to eat at night.

Wang Yuan drank the liquor and asked, "General, how many soldiers and horses have invaded Chijin in Turpan this time?" ”

Suo Nanshu said angrily: "More than 10,000 people, all of them are cavalry. Chijinwei was robbed of thousands of people, and countless cattle and horses were robbed. If it weren't for the walls of Chijin Castle, the Chijin Guard would have perished! ”

Wang Yuan asked again: "If I conquer Turpan, how many soldiers, horses, money and food can Chijin Wei send?" ”

Suo Nanshu said: "There is no money and food, this winter is very sad, I hope the court can relieve some money and food." If Master Wang sends troops to conquer Turpan, Chijin Wei can send out 500 cavalry, all of whom are battle-hardened warriors! ”

Five hundred cavalry is already the limit of the Red Jin Guard, and Suo Nanshu is willing to pay for his family to follow Wang Yuan this time.

Historically, because of Peng Ze's foolishness, Kansai Qiwei was almost left to fend for himself. Within a few years, it was swallowed by Turpan, and only more than 1,000 people were left attached to the Ming Dynasty, and all of them migrated to settle near Suzhou City.

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Very good, six hundred cavalry is enough, and after the beginning of spring, we will surprise Hami!" ”

Seeing that Wang Yuan was too young, Suo Nanshu couldn't help but be a little puzzled, and asked, "How many soldiers and horses did Master Wang bring this time?" ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "Three thousand elite horsemen, three thousand fire guns, four thousand sword and shield spearmen!" ”

"Enough, enough." Suo Nanshu was very happy.

In the past hundred years, the Ming Dynasty has not sent many troops, and it is all up to the Guanxi Seven Guards to fight with Turpan and Warat. Even if Wang Yuan didn't falsely report his troops, Suo Nanshu could understand that it was better than before when they gathered their troops to attack by themselves.

Qu Xianwei, A Duanwei and An Dingwei, because they were too southern, Wang Yuan did not contact them in person. Only let Suo Nanshu send a messenger, with a document stamped with the seal of the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, to the three guards to gather soldiers and horses, and make an appointment to assemble in Shazhou City after the snow melts.

Wang Yuan himself took Yuan Da and the guide and went straight to Shazhouwei.

Passing through Kuyu City on the way, it is also known as Suoyang City. Hamiwei was once occupied by Turpan, and all the Hami tribes who escaped moved here, and Kuyu City once became the seat of Hamiwei's governance. Together with the local residents, it once multiplied to a population of thousands, but now there are only about 1,000 people left.

Where have the people gone?

Half a year ago, Turpan captured the city and robbed the population!

This city has fallen into a state of famine, waiting for the relief of the Ming court, and Wang Yuan can't recruit a single soldier.

Further west is Guazhou, the situation of Guazhou is slightly better than Kuyu, but there is also the difference between a homeless man and a beggar.

After coming to Shazhouwei, Wang Yuan felt a headache.

This broken place was the key target of Turpan's attack before, but fortunately, the "tall" city wall finally held on. However, the losses of the people outside the city were very heavy, and a large number of herdsmen and peasants were taken captive, so they could only send 800 cavalry and 1,000 infantry to help Wang Yuan.

Although there were more troops than Chijin Wei, Wang Yuan was greatly disappointed, because Shazhou Wei was the strongest among the seven guards in Kansai.

Further back, Handongwei, in the same situation as Chijinwei, was also looted by Turpan, and could only send 400 cavalry to help fight.

The entire Kansai region was so badly plagued by Turpan!

Of course, this also facilitated Wang Yuan to gather soldiers and horses, all of whom shared the same hatred and were willing to take out the coffin book and follow Wang Erlang on the expedition. There is absolutely no possibility of compromise between the two sides, and they will not surrender to Turpan, which has to do with each other's religious beliefs. The leaders of the Kansai Seven Guards, even if they choose to surrender, are basically a dead end, and they don't even have a way to change their faith.

After the sandbar, there is Hami in front of you.

In the city of Hami, there is a traitor king and two generals, strictly speaking, it belongs to the enemy-occupied area.

But Wang Yuan passed all the way unimpeded, mainly in the wind and snow, and the soldiers and civilians of Hami were all hiding in the house to keep out the cold, who would run out and wander around blindly without anything?

From Jiayuguan to Shazhou, Wang Yuan went to a city, and changed horses once.

kept braving the snow to advance, the horses couldn't bear it, and Wang Yuan was even more reluctant to ride Ah Hei to the grassland. When they set out from Shazhou, Wang Yuan and the three of them even rode six horses, taking turns riding along the way, bypassing Hami City to the Wara Xiaolievu tribe.

Entering November, the wind and snow are even heavier!

At its worst, four of the six horses died, and they were barely able to move an inch, and they stayed in the herdsman's house for several days before they finally survived the blizzard.

If it weren't for Wang Yuan, who claimed to be the envoy of the Ming Dynasty, saying that he was going to meet the bald king of Xiaolie, and inadvertently showed his force, those Warat herdsmen would definitely kill people and sell goods, because Wang Yuan directly paid for the lodging fee with tea and salt!

In the ninth year of Zhengde, in the middle of winter, the weather was cold.

Wang Yuan, Yuan Da, and Halbara all lost a lot of weight, and finally arrived at the Dulbert Department with difficulty.