The southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, Asu.

In ancient times, it was the territory of Gumo and Wensu of the 36 countries of the Western Regions during the Qin and Han dynasties, and it was also an important post station on the ancient Silk Road, which is located on the northwest edge of the Taklamakan Desert and the upper reaches of the Tarim River.

Aso has a pleasant climate and flat terrain, especially rare is that the land is fertile, the water source is abundant, and the sun is abundant and the frost-free period is long, which is very suitable for the production of various crops, which is a very rare granary in the Western Regions.

Abdullah rode his camel into the city of Azov, a once bustling trading city that was now almost in ruins. Seeing that they could not hold the city, the Dzungars set fire to the city before breaking through, burning the city to almost nothing.

Looking at the ruins of the city, Abdullah's heart was bleeding. The city of Azok was one of the six great cities of the Yarkand Khanate, but now it has been destroyed.

Fifteen years ago, Abdullah's father, Abdurreyim, died, and Abdullah succeeded Yarkand Khan. As soon as he succeeded to the throne, he immediately took advantage of his brother's struggle for the ruling power of Turpan and led his troops and horses to Turpan to reunify the Yarkand State that had been divided for many years and bring the Hami region into submission. He made his younger brother Suli Tang Turpan Aqimu, with direct administrative jurisdiction over the Turpan region.

After that, he sent troops to the Ili River Valley, defeated the Dzungar army, and regained control of the Ili Valley and the Seven River Valley, the birthplace of the Yarkand Khanate.

After a series of wars, the Yarkand Khanate under his leadership once again united Tashkent and Fergan. Its territory has also reached its peak, including the Turpan, Hami and Tarim basins, as well as the Ili River valley and the Seven River basins and the Pamir Plateau. The territory of the Khanate is Jiayuguan in the east, Wusizang in the south, Hezhong in the southwest, and Dzungaria in the north across the Tianshan Mountains.

It's just that Abdullah single-handedly led Yarkand to rise, but he soon weakened Yarkand again.

The founder of the Yarkand Khanate, Sultan Said Khan, was a Turkic nobleman with Mongolian blood, and the state religion of the Yarkand Khanate was Islam.

The struggle between the two factions became more and more intense, and the nobles and common people of the khanate supported each other, and the khanate fell into serious civil strife. At this time, under the leadership of Batur, the Dzungars quickly rose to the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, successively seized the Yili River Valley and the Seven River Valley, and then captured Turpan and Hami, and finally even captured the two major cities of Asu and Wuchi.

If it weren't for the fact that the Han army took the initiative to contact this time, sent the head of the sect to send ordnance, helped them train and reorganize the army, and led them to counterattack Dzungaria, not to mention that they recaptured Uchi and Asu at this time, I am afraid that the Dzungars would have fought all the way to Yarkand City.

As night fell, piles of bonfires lit up in the ruins of the city of Asok.

The climate of Azov is a typical desert climate, and in June Azov is very hot during the day, but at night it cools down quickly, and it is even a little cold.

Li Zhen didn't have as much emotion as Abdullah, no matter what the Yarkand people said about how prosperous Asu used to be, but in his opinion, this was just a small city without even 100,000 people.

With a permanent population of 100,000, what kind of bustling city are you? At present, there are not more than 100,000 cities in the Central Plains, at least 70 or 80, and there are 6 or 7 large cities with a population of more than 1 million. As for what four or five hundred thousand, two or three hundred thousand people are really common in cities.

At present, there are some mining areas, those large mining parks integrating mining, mineral processing and smelting, dozens or hundreds of factories together, and some of the workers in each factory together have no less than 100,000 people. This kind of mining park built in the wilderness and mountains is much bigger than this Asu Azov.

As for the fields here, it is nothing, and the entire arable land of Asu is said to be only 500,000 mu. Such a small field is not worth mentioning. A township in the Central Plains has more arable land than this.

Li Zhen is more concerned about fighting now, and it is best to take the Yarkand people by surprise to fight the Dzungars and drive them out of southern Xinjiang. Li Zhen didn't expect the Yarkand people to fight all the way to Turpan, where there were heavy Dzungar troops.

However, it is already very good to be able to raid and capture Wuchi and Asu, so that the Han army in Qinghai and Tibet can come directly.

There were still quite a few leaders like Li Zhen in the Yarkand army, about 1,000 people. Their mission was simple: to escort a batch of ordnance to Yarkand, and then help them quickly reorganize a new army.

However, the time given to them above was too short, so after they arrived in Yarkand, they actually failed to really reorganize the new army, but did a temporary reorganization, teaching some simple things such as infantry and artillery coordination, musket arrays, etc. However, he still underestimated the role of firearms, and when the Yarkand people got their hands on thousands of muskets and the first batch of mountain grenades, they immediately became as confident as chickens.

After that, Li Zhen and them helped formulate the marching battle plan, and the surprise attack was indeed very successful.

The Dzungars were caught off guard by the Yarkand people, who suddenly had many guns, and they ran away with their heads in their hands.

Li Zhen sat by the campfire, looking at the map by the light of the fire.

After taking Uchi and Asu, they have actually overfulfilled their goal. But Li Zhen was not satisfied with this, he now had his eyes on a new target.

The iron gate is closed.

Tiemen Pass, the throat of the middle road on the Silk Road, and the exit of the steep canyon in the upper reaches of the Peacock River, are also the key points of transportation in the north and south of Xinjiang.

This section of the canyon of the Peacock River guarded by the Iron Gate Pass, is sixty miles long, the canyon is extremely dangerous, the twists and turns are deep, the bank wall is like a knife splitting axe chisel is a natural danger that leads to the Turpan Basin in the Tarim Basin, it is a place where soldiers must fight since ancient times, when the Jin Dynasty was in the Jin Dynasty, it has been set up here, because of its danger and solidity, it was called the Iron Gate Pass in ancient times, and it was also listed as one of the 26 passes in ancient China.

Li Zhen knew very well that the goal of the imperial court's use of troops this time was to conquer Dzungaria, and the first goal was to capture Hami, and the second goal was to capture Turpan.

If Yarkand can seize the Iron Gate Pass, it will be equivalent to slashing at the waist and eye of the Dzungars. Not only does it have a great deal of restraint for the imperial court to seize Hami, but it can also directly threaten Yili.

Seizing the iron gate is equivalent to seizing the crossroads between the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. It can connect the Turpan Basin, the Yili River Valley, and the Junggar Basin.

After Yarkand took Azov, there was no obstacle between them and the Iron Gate Pass, and only a small Dzungar garrison along the way remained, which posed no threat to them.

However, if you want to enter the Tiemen Pass, it is not so easy, and there are still 800 miles away from Ah Su to the Tiemen Pass.

And Turpan to Tiemen Pass, only 600 miles. The iron gate was in the hands of the Dzungars, and there were many Dzungar garrisons around it.

If you want to lay down the iron gate, it is tantamount to pulling teeth from the tiger's mouth.

Jiayuguan.

After a January march, the Beijing army led by Liu Jun reached Guannai.

However, after entering the customs, the emperor did not immediately order the exit. More than 100,000 troops and civilians gathered in the pass, and they only practiced in the morning and evening every day, which made many generals feel strange.

"Wait."

Faced with the generals' questions, Liu Jun just replied with a smile.

One day, two days, three days, more than ten days have passed, and Liu Jun answered again and again with these three words.

All the soldiers were very puzzled, what was the emperor waiting for?

Liu Jun is waiting for the left and right soldiers and horses, the army marches westward, and there is a distance of thousands of miles to Hami after leaving Jiayu Pass, so he knows very well that this thousand miles is not safe, the Dzungar soldiers are strong and strong, and they will definitely not let the Han army easily reach Hami, and there will definitely be interception and attacks on the way, and halfway field battles, which is not beneficial to the Han army.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, the Yarkand army has broken through the two towns of Wuchi and Asu, and is now marching along the Tarim River to Tiemen Pass."

"Dzungaria divided 50,000 troops to intercept it."

Hearing the news, Liu Jun laughed.

Good, very good. One Yarkand divided 50,000 Dzungar soldiers. Perhaps Batur thought that he could quickly defeat Yarkand by sending 50,000 troops, Liu Jun would not think so. Yarkand has a regiment of instructors supported by the Han Dynasty, a number of new firearms, and of course, the most important thing is that troops from Qinghai-Tibet and southern Tibet are also rushing over to join them.

As soon as the 50,000 Dzungar troops passed, they wanted to go back immediately, but it was not so easy.

Dzungaria gathered 200,000 soldiers and horses this time, and even if there was no water in them, it was now reduced by 50,000 all at once.

When the generals heard the news, they came to congratulate one after another.

Liu Yunsheng, the secretary of the military department, couldn't help but ask when the troops would be dispatched.

"Wait." Liu Jun still replied with these three words.

Waited a few more days.

Hurry up and report to the customs.

The 50,000 cavalry of the Mobei princes had crossed the eastern foothills of Jinshan, and five days earlier, a battle had taken place at the Junggar Castle Altan between the eastern foothills of the Jinshan Mountains and the eastern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains.

The Mongol cavalry of Mobei captured the small city of Altan in a battle and annihilated more than 5,000 enemies.

"What's Batur's reaction?" Liu Jun asked.

"Your Majesty, the thief chief Batur heard the news and sent 50,000 troops to Altan."

Batur was anxious, Liu Jun said with a smile.

Although Altan is a small castle, its location is very important, less than 500 miles north of Hami, especially since this castle is located at the eastern end of the Jinshan Mountain Range, which is a hole in the continuous mountain range. From Mobei to the south, this is the best location, otherwise, you have to continue to go far to the west before you have the hole to go south.

The Yarkand army approached the Iron Gate Pass and threatened Turpan, while the Mobei princes seized the Altan Castle and directly threatened Hami.

"Your Majesty, now the north and south wings are like a sharp knife stabbing Dzungar on both sides, forcing it to divide its troops by 100,000. Do we want to enter Hami now? ”

Army Commander Fu Shan asked.

"Wait."

"What are you waiting for?" The generals were puzzled.

"A good meal is not afraid of being late, this is a feast, I believe there are many people who want to participate, we will wait for them and share it together."

Under the Flame Mountain, Turpan.

Batur was a little anxious and angry at this time.

was originally ready to hunt the Han army, but the Han army in Jiayuguan did not move at all, but there were problems one after another on the north and south.

Separated 100,000 soldiers and horses, Batur only wanted to be able to solve the Yarkand and Mobei Mongols as soon as possible, but now, the two armies have gone out, but there has been no good news for a long time, which can't help but make him restless.

"Great Khan, I thought that the current situation was very unfavorable to us, and if the main force of the Han army left Jiayu Pass, this battle would not be easy to fight. It is better to withdraw the 50,000 soldiers and horses from the south to recapture Azur and Uchi first, we might as well put Uchi and Asu aside for the time being, as long as we hold the iron gate, then we might as well let the Yarkand people be proud for a while. ”

Gushi Khan suggested to Batur, "The Iron Gate Pass is extremely dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and only one or two thousand people are needed to defend it. We can leave 20,000 men to guard the Iron Gate, and then withdraw 30,000 men back to strengthen Hami's defenses. Or transfer these 30,000 men to the north, and retake the city of Altan. ”

Altan City is as important as the Iron Gate Pass, it is the northern defense of Hami, especially here is also an important channel for Mobei to go south, once it is lost, the Mobei cavalry will continue to go south, threatening Hami, and even threatening Turpan.

"If you give up the two towns of Asu and Wuchi, I'm afraid that you won't be able to defend the Iron Gate Pass alone." Batur's eyes were red, and his eyes kept staring at the sheepskin map, "I have received the news that there is a large army in Wusizang heading west, not only the Han army in Qinghai but also the Han army in southern Tibet, and your five sons are also leading the Heshute Department to the west." ”

Gu Shi Khan sighed when he heard this, and lowered his head.

"As soon as the Han army from Wu Si Zang converged with Yarkand, not to mention that the Iron Gate Pass was guarded by 20,000 people, I am afraid that 50,000 people may not be able to defend it, you know the sharpness of their firearms, and no matter how strong the city defense is, they will also break it. To deal with the Han army, the only way to deal with the Han army is to fight a field battle, and it is absolutely impossible to fight a city defense war. ”

"But it is very difficult to recapture Wuchi and Asu, it is not my Mongolian soldiers' strength to defend the city, and it is also necessary to attack the city." Gushi Khan Dao.

Batur did not waver, "We don't have to attack the city directly, from Asu to Tiemen Pass, there are eight hundred miles, we will use the method of dealing with the Han army in Jiayuguan to hold these eight hundred miles, and fight the Yarkand people in the field." ”

"Great Khan, 50,000 troops are divided between the north and the south, and now we only have 100,000 horses left, in case the main force of the Han army leaves Jiayu Pass, our troops will not be able to take advantage."

"That's the only way to go."

The main force of the Han army was stationed at Jiayuguan, and it was better to move at this time.

It was like a sharp sword hanging over the head of Dzungar, which could fall at any time. This forced the Dzungars to maintain a sufficient number of heavy troops in Hami, otherwise the Han army could take advantage of the situation at any time. Once they get Hami, it will be difficult to stop the Han army from entering the northern frontier.

"I'm now worried that Bukhara and Khiva in the southwest will take advantage of the opportunity." Batur voiced his concerns, and according to his spies, the Han Chinese had not only entered the river and the Ferghana basin in recent years as merchants, but they were secretly in contact with the two countries, apparently instigating them to make enemies of Dzungaria.

"If the Han army is another year late, and if it is another year late and invades the west, I will be able to destroy Yarkand, and even kill Khiva and Bukhara. Damn, now we have to watch out for these three little states. "Batur is extremely angry.

said that Cao Cao Cao will arrive, and whatever you are afraid of will come.

"Report!"

"The two khanates of Khiva and Bukhara each sent troops to invade our borders and rob our people."

"Report, the Kazakhs are in rebellion!" (To be continued.) )