at the same time.

Two white-robed cavalry units, each with a thousand riders, arrived ahead of time at the Western Sea on the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains. Zhou Qing and Jiang Xingba launched attacks from the Wutu Valley and the Mountain Kingdom respectively.

Their target was the four thousand Xianbei cavalrymen led by Yuchi Jiong, who were stationed near the West Sea.

Yuchi Jiong was waiting here for Yuchi Gu to arrive, who had returned from Loulan laden with spoils.

However, it seems the agreed time has passed, and there is still no movement from the south.

Not only was there no news of Yuchi Gu's arrival, but the 10,000 Cheshi cavalrymen who were led south by King Anjiu of Cheshi to Loulan to share the spoils were also nowhere to be seen.

Yu Chijiong was unaware of the battle situation downstream of the Peacock River.

His scouts discovered that two extremely elite Han cavalry units had appeared nearby.

This made him extremely nervous.

Although Yuchi Jiong still had four thousand cavalrymen under his command, he knew that he was no match for these two cavalry units in a direct confrontation.

The scouts reported that their armor and weapons were of very high quality.

Moreover, everyone was equipped with a repeating crossbow, which is a crossbow that can fire bolts steadily from horseback.

This reminded Yuchi Jiong of the disastrous defeat at Juyan Lake.

The heavy cavalry that marched all the way from the Hetao region were also equipped with the same crossbows.

Yuchi Jiong used the cost of more than four thousand men to prove the enemy's strength.

Although these two cavalry units are not heavy cavalry, Yuchi Jiong was constantly being chased and beaten by them in Dunhuang and Jiuquan.

Along the way, the number of casualties was no less than two thousand!

"General, something terrible has happened! Two cavalry units have launched an attack on us from the north and east respectively."

Just as Yuchi Jiong was filled with anxiety, his subordinate general rushed over to report.

Yu Chijiong immediately jumped up: "Damn it, do they want to wipe us out?!"

"What should we do?"

"Our elder brother's troops are in the south. Why don't we go to the north and south to join forces with him? Even if we can't defeat the Han cavalry, we can still roam freely in the Western Regions!"

Yuchi Jiong resolutely decided to head south.

"Pass down the order: everyone mount up and head south before the Han cavalry arrive."

"What about our camp, cattle, and sheep?" the general asked.

"It's too late, saving your life is the priority!" Yu Chi Jiong said in a panic.

Thus, the four thousand Xianbei cavalrymen abandoned their numerous tents on the shores of the Western Sea, as well as the cattle, sheep, grain, and supplies they had plundered from Dunhuang and Jiuquan, and headed south.

Zhou Qing's thousand cavalrymen were the first to reach Yuchi Jiong's camp, only to find that the Xianbei cavalry had already fled far away.

"You run pretty fast!" Zhou Qing cursed.

"Brother, don't worry, we've already set up an ambush in the south. Yuchi Jiong will have no choice but to run west!"

Jiang Xingba laughed.

It turned out that when the two set off from Yumen Pass, the Imperial Guards of the Northwest Division maintained constant contact with them and relayed Xue Rengui's orders from Loulan overnight.

Upon learning that Liu Wei and Xue Rengui had rescued Loulan, they not only drove Yuchi Gu's troops out of the city, but also annihilated An Jiu and his 10,000 cavalry.

They then realized that no more Cheshi cavalry had returned from Wutu Valley and rejoined Cheshi!

Xue Rengui's orders also arrived, instructing them to attack Yuchi Jiong's forces and drive them westward to wreak havoc on the small states along the northern Silk Road.

Sure enough, before Yuchi Jiong had run four or five miles, he encountered a troop of cavalry on the road.

This cavalry unit, numbering about six or seven hundred, had already formed a battle formation here.

Upon seeing Yuchi Jiong approach, they took the initiative and fired a barrage of arrows to block Yuchi Jiong's path.

It turned out that Zhou Qing and Jiang Xingba's cavalry forces in the north and east were a mix of real and feints, and their numbers were not sufficient.

They mobilized more than 600 cavalrymen, each with two horses, who had already taken a detour and waited on the only road leading south.

Upon seeing the ambush, Yuchi Jiong became even more panicked, his mind went blank, and he lost all will to fight.

Since they were abandoning the camp, they decided, on the advice of their subordinates, to head west along the Peacock River.

To the west are small kingdoms in the Western Regions, which they can raid along the way.

While heading west, Yuchi Jiong still sent out scouts, determined to make contact with Yuchi Gu.

Seeing that Yuchi Jiong was heading in the direction they had planned, Zhou Qing and Jiang Xingba breathed a sigh of relief.

The two joined forces, rested briefly, and then followed closely behind Yuchi Jiong.

In the direction of Loulan City, Xue Rengui selected 1,000 Xuanjia cavalry and 2,000 auxiliary soldiers to form a pursuit column, carrying enough food and fodder, and followed behind Yuchi Gu's 6,000 Xianbei remnants.

The spoils of Yuchi Gu and his men's looting in Loulan City should be kept by them for some time.

Once we've used the two brothers, we'll take them back!

Yuchi Gu fled from Loulan City and had only traveled twenty or thirty li to the west before preparing to turn north, when he received news that Han cavalry were pursuing him.

To the north lies a vast desert, making it impossible for Yuchi Gu to cross.

Helpless, Yuchi Gu could only head towards Ruoqiang along the southern route of the Silk Road.

Thus, the two brothers, Yuchi Gu and Yuchi Gu, each led the remnants of the Xianbei army and fled along the northern and southern routes of the Silk Road.

The two were of the same mind and unanimously thought of meeting in Shule.

Because these two lines branch off from Loulan, follow the edge of the Karamay Desert, and then rejoin at Shule.

Thus, they marched along the route previously designated by Liu Wei and Xue Rengui.

Of course, the two brothers were unaware that they had become pawns in Liu Wei's campaign to conquer the Western Regions.

In the days that followed, Liu Wei appointed Xue Rengui as the Protector-General of the Western Regions Protectorate. In addition to the Xuanjia Cavalry and the Cavalry Battalion, he planned to allocate five more production and construction corps and two commandant offices.

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