Shile commanded troops to engage the Jin army in the Shanshan area, and the main force of the Jin army has been in Gaochang, and weapons and ammunition have also arrived in Gaochang City one after another. During this period, although Shile sent some cavalry to try to rob and kill halfway, it did cause some losses to the Jin army's baggage troops.

However, Shi Le soon found that the gains outweighed the losses, and the Jin army's baggage troops were not as low in combat effectiveness as previously expected, and their combat effectiveness was not even inferior to that of the regular army. When the cavalry attacked, the baggage soldiers often formed a formation and returned fire with muskets and crossbows. There were not many cavalry of the Qiang tribe who intercepted, because the large force of military horses had to pass through the area controlled by the Jin army, and it was difficult not to be detected, and the small force had no advantage in numbers, and it was difficult to retreat with all its might.

By the end of June, after the main forces and weapons and ammunition had arrived one after another, the generals of the Jin army at all levels who had gathered in Gaochang suddenly became in high spirits and demanded a decisive battle with the enemy. However, the commander Zhang Fang uncharacteristically forbade the armies to attack, allowing the enemy to show off his might outside.

The generals have a lot of discussions about this, and Zhang Fang is "afraid of war", and the strange thing is that Zhang Fang, who is the commander-in-chief, actually doesn't care about it and doesn't pursue it at all. At this moment, the Jin army gathered in Gaochang has also exceeded 100,000, and the generals have asked for battle, demanding the recovery of Yanqi and Cheshi. However, at this critical moment, Zhang Fang, who was the commander-in-chief, suddenly fell ill, and even disappeared when he joined the army.

Even in Chang'an, the rear, someone began to impeach Zhang Fang, which can also be seen as the beginning of the civilian-official clique to try to suppress the expansion of the military general's power. Since Sima Shu ascended the throne, the military power in the Great Jin Dynasty began to expand unlimitedly, especially in the pacification of the rebellion of the vassal kings and the Hu-Han War, the civilian clique basically lost the power to dictate the military command.

This has made the civilian-bureaucratic clique, which has always taken it as its responsibility to govern the country and level the world, quite dissatisfied. However, due to the fact that the previous emperor Sima Shu had always supported the development of the military, coupled with the needs of the general environment, the military completely broke free from the control of traditional civilian officials and began to move towards the road of independent development.

But the civilian clique has been trying to regain control of the military clique, and if they can't keep the knife in their own hands, they won't be able to sleep. However, the military has not shown any major flaws, nor has it lost the battle, but with the continuous victories, the soldiers have achieved the same status as the scholars in the Great Jin.

This time, they finally seized an opportunity, how could they not perform well. Since I learned that Zhang Fang was 'hiding' in Gaochang City, many people were participating in the impeachment of Zhang Fang. He said that he was "afraid of the enemy like a tiger." Huge vain". Almost all of the military supplies in the Western Regions had to be transferred from the interior, although the imperial court had been stockpiled in Liangzhou, but Gaochang was transferred from Liangzhou. It's a lot of money.

this day. A group of officials and imperial histories are revisited in the old matter.

"More than 100,000 troops marched westward. Tens of thousands of losses were lost without a battle, and this was a mistake that the commander could not manage. ”

"The army hangs in the Western Regions, and it costs millions of dollars in one day. If you haven't fought for a long time, you can't help but speculate. ”

"The military situation is thousands of miles away, and the unpredictable changes are unpredictable, so can the temple predict? I've made up my mind! The so-called suspicious people don't need to be used, and the employment is not suspicious, since I have given the side affairs to Zhang Qing, the affairs of the Western Regions, all Aiqing should not criticize. ”

Seeing that there were still people among the ministers who wanted to speak, Sima Shu's face sank: "The separation of military and government and non-interference with each other is an iron law!" In addition, if any Aiqing feels that military strategy can defeat Zhang Fang and dare to make a military order, I can entrust the affairs outside the Yumen Pass to him. ”

As soon as the emperor said this, there was really no one who dared to speak out. Most of these officials and imperial histories belong to the "generation of famous men and gentlemen", and they are all outstanding when it comes to leading the troops to fight, and they themselves know that they are "not a child".

However, in Sima Shu's own heart, he was actually very worried, and even his teeth hurt urgently. Although the concubines are often relieved, the anxiety in his heart is increasing day by day.

Originally, Sima Shu thought that the army was not ready to be captured, but the reality told Sima Shu that the difficulty of long-distance combat was unimaginable. This battle of the Western Regions was much more difficult than the Hu-Han War back then. Now that the army has been on the expedition for nearly a month, the northwest has not even come to report on the battle, so it is no wonder that Chang'an has different opinions.

On this day, in order to please Sima Shu, the concubines of the harem set up a banquet and a dance party in the imperial garden. Although Sima Shu was worried about the battle on the front line, he couldn't ignore the concubines' kindness. Just when he was absent-mindedly drinking and having fun with the concubines, he saw the waiter Xiao Deng Zi stumbling in. Seeing this, the queen scolded softly: "Little Dengzi, you are also an old man in the palace, why are you so unruly." ”

I saw Xiao Dengzi kneeling on the ground, holding the letter in his hand high above his head, and his voice trembled: "Your Majesty, the Western Regions...... The Western Regions have won a great victory. ”

When Sima Shu heard this, he immediately stretched out his hand and snatched the letter that Xiao Dengzi was holding in both hands, and the queen and the concubines couldn't help but be happy. Sima Shu looked at the battle report in his hand and couldn't help crying with joy: "General Zhang Fang has taken Qiuzi!" Little Dengzi, Biography ...... Spread the edict, I want to set up a banquet in the Taiji Palace, and all the officials and officials above the fourth rank will go to the banquet. Chang'an City is lit up to celebrate the good news! ”

The battle report was sent back in an expedited manner for six hundred miles, and at this time, it had been nearly half a month since the great victory.

In June, the cavalry troops under the command of Zhang Fang had only a few small cavalry encounters with Ma Qiu's cavalry between Gaochang and Yanqi, and each other won and lost. Not only that, because Zhang Fang did not allow the main force to fight, the Jin army and the Qian cavalry won and lost each other, which also paralyzed the enemy army.

On the evening of the fourth day of the seventh month, after the emergency military report from the front line entered Gaochang City, the "serious illness" of the coach Zhang Fang was immediately cured.

He immediately raised the tent, ordered his troops, and attacked. The generals were surprised and received a shocking news: Ma Qiu had abandoned Yanqi City that morning and retreated to the west.

Because on June 30, a fierce dragoon unit of the Jin army suddenly appeared in Qiuci, at this time Qiuci only had about 5,000 defenders, most of them were Qiuci people with low combat effectiveness.

It turned out that when Zhang Fang was still in Zhangye, he immediately sent people to Ma Xian in the Western Regions, and set a "surprise army" - to attract the main force of enemy soldiers in Gaochang and Shanshan, and then set off from Shanshan and Jimo with the main force of dragoons, cross Tulun Moraine (now Taklamakan Desert), and surprise attack Qiuzi (now Kucha, Xinjiang).

In order to ensure the success of the surprise attack, all the participating dragoons were equipped with a group of "strategic materials" that other troops did not have - more than 1,000 camels, and this dragoon was mainly composed of soldiers under the jurisdiction of the Changshi Mansion who had long adapted to the local environment.

The Jin army, who served as a surprise attack, braved the scorching heat to cross the desert, although the natural environment at this time was better than that of later generations, and even some water and grass could be found along the way, but it was still quite difficult compared to the environment of the Central Plains. After ten days of crossing the desert, the soldiers of the Xiang army finally appeared under the city of Qiuci after paying the price of losing more than 300 people and nearly 1,000 horses.

Shile's main forces were all concentrated in Gaochang and Shanshan, and the soldiers who were responsible for guarding Qiuzi in the rear were basically the soldiers who had surrendered to the Qian. These soldiers did not have much sense of identity with the Karma people, and if they had not been intimidated by the threat of the Karma people, they would have run away a long time ago, but under the butcher's knife of the Karma people, these soldiers lost the courage to resist.

Therefore, when the Jin army suddenly approached the city, the Qiuci people suddenly broke out into earth-shattering cheers, and the soldiers responsible for guarding Qiuci immediately opened the city and surrendered to the Jin army. The small number of people who remained in the city were quickly annihilated under the blows of the Jin army, and the Jin army successfully occupied Qiuzi City.

Kauz is Maqiu's "rear base", and Maqiu has always considered it the safest place. Therefore, when the news of the loss of Qiuzi reached Ma Qiu's ears, his first reaction was to think that this was a rumor spread by the Jin army. Because Ma Qiu knew very well that once Qiuzi was lost, he would be cut off from the way to flee west, and there would be no other way to go except to be annihilated.

Shi Le, who had just been defeated in Shanshan, heard the news and immediately gathered his troops and horses to return to the west, trying to recapture Qiuzi. On July 7, the advance of the Maqiu army had arrived outside the city of Qiuci, and 30,000 cavalry launched an attack on the city. However, the Qiang people encountered unexpected resistance.

With the help of the Qiuzi people, the 6,000 Jin army began a tragic battle of city defense, and in order to recapture the Qiuzi Shile's subordinates, they launched desperate attacks again and again. At the same time, in order to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the Qiuci people, the Jin people trumpeted the murder of the Qianzi people in Qiuci City, claiming that once the city was broken, everyone would be slaughtered by the Qianci people! In this way, the enthusiasm of the Qiuzi people in the city was finally mobilized, and in order to survive, they had to start a fierce battle with the people who had been terrified before!

The forward of the Maqiu army was unable to overcome the first attack, retreated to thirty outside, and waited for the arrival of Shile and Maqiu's army.

On the morning of the eighth day of the first month, more than 200,000 people from the main forces of Shile and Maqiu arrived at Qiuzi, and the Jin army fought according to the city.

On the ninth day of the first month, Zhang Fang chased after him with 40,000 cavalry, and Shi Le led his troops back to battle, and the first battle of Luntai and the two sides were tied.

Just when Shi Le and Zhang Fang were fighting in Qiuzi, on the eighth day of the seventh month, Ma Xian led 10,000 cavalry to the south to kill, and quickly broke the 30,000 horses that Shi Le left along the Tarim River in the south.

On July 11, the thirteenth year of Hongwu, in the northeast of Shule (now the area of Bachu), the Shule nobles who had surrendered to Shile rebelled after receiving the news of the defeat of the Qian, and these nobles held high the banner of recovering the country and attacked all parts of Shule. For a time, the once glorious Western Regions Empire of the Qiang nationality showed signs of falling apart in the blink of an eye.

Shi Le, who was still determined to capture Qiuzi, had to choose to retreat westward, and on the way to retreat, Shi Le looked up to the sky and sighed: "Heaven is dead! ”

The once high-spirited Shi Le and his eighteen horsemen finally tasted the bitter fruit of defeat, and Shi Le finally woke up to the fact that his so-called empire was just a castle in the air and a mirage, and their foundation in the Western Regions was too thin, and the Jin army did not leave them time to rectify, once the invincible Qin people lost the battle, all kinds of contradictions that had been suppressed would completely erupt. (To be continued......)