Chapter 417: Capturing Two Kings at the Foot of Qilian Mountain
People who have never been to the desert Gobi will never know what it feels like. Looking around, the scenes are all exactly the same. It would be abnormal not to get lost here.
Especially when strong winds blow and the sand disperses, many signs will be buried by the sand and the footprints will disappear. This is an extremely terrifying thing.
The soldiers in Luo Wuji's army were all discussing in low voices, "Brother, can you still tell the direction?"
The soldier he questioned said, "I have lost the distinction for a long time. Now I don't even know which direction is east, south, west or north."
Luo Wuji was also being questioned by the people around him. He pointed forward and said, "My intuition tells me that we are here, and our goal is here. As long as we march another thousand miles forward, we can find the best and safest route to return to the south. I hope my brothers can hold on."
Since ancient times, long-distance marches have always resulted in casualties. All surprise attacks in history have left many corpses on the road. The principle that a kind person cannot command an army is reflected in all aspects. An excellent general can reduce the death rate to the lowest. However, people like General Li Guangli, where half of his troops died before they even reached the Dayuan expedition, can only be described as fools.
The army's morale was somewhat low after days of marching. These people were all elite and were not afraid of fighting with real swords and guns, but they felt very scared facing the current situation. All day long there was endless yellow sand and Gobi Desert, and the luckiest time was when they could see an oasis. This situation did not end until they crossed the desert and finally encountered a Huns tribe and got a lot of supplies.
Luo Wuji led the Han army to conquer the small Hexi states that surrendered to the Xiongnu, and finally arrived at a location where they could launch a surprise attack on King Xiutu. The military judge came to report to Luo Wuji on the situation after the march, "General, the loss of the Yicong army is about 30%, and the loss of the Han army is about 10%. The loss is really not small."
Luo Wuji sighed slightly upon hearing this, then drew out his sword and said fiercely: "Write down the names of the soldiers, report them as dead in battle, inform them, have a good rest, and prepare for the battle."
The court of King Xiu Tu.
Several captains and commanders came to report, "Your Majesty, we did not see any trace of the Han army on Yanzhi Mountain, nor did we see any trace of the Han army beyond Yanzhi Mountain. After they defeated King Hunxie's army, they should not have continued their advance."
King Xiutu turned to King Hunxie and asked curiously, "King Hunxie, where are the tens of thousands of Han troops you mentioned? I deployed a large army behind Yanzhi Mountain, but I haven't heard any news for so many days. Can they fly directly to Qilian Mountain?"
King Hunxie was even more puzzled. "The Han army sent so many troops. It is impossible for them to just destroy my royal court and then give up. Could it be that they really retreated?"
King Xiutu laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "My royal palace is nearly 2,000 miles away from the Han Dynasty. How can the Han army fight me at such a long distance and without any baggage?
Behind this iron wall of Yanzhi Mountain are my tens of thousands of troops. If anyone dares to come, I will make sure he returns in defeat!"
King Xiu Tu laughed loudly as he spoke. Suddenly, a figure covered in blood rushed in, knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, "Your Majesty, the Han cavalry attacked the royal court from the northwest!"
King Xiutu was laughing loudly when he suddenly stopped and asked in disbelief, "The Han army raided the royal court? Did they fly here?"
As they were talking, deafening shouts and sounds of killing were heard from outside. King Xiutu's army was scattered over the vast land from Yanzhi Mountain to Qilian Mountain. The royal court at the back had few troops. Who would have thought that the Han army would suddenly go around behind them?
Before King Xiutu could react, the royal tent was torn apart. Five spiritual soldiers walked directly into the tent, followed by Luo Wuji, who was riding on a tall horse behind him. He took off his helmet, and the holy mark on his forehead instantly appeared in the eyes of King Xiutu and King Hunxie.
The two of them screamed at once, "Shaman!"
Luo Wuji held a sharp sword in his hand and shouted, "King Xiutu? King Hunxie? I am Luo Wuji, the unrivaled marquis of the Han Dynasty. Following the order of His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, I have captured the two Xiongnu kings and brought them to Chang'an. If you are willing to surrender, I will not kill you. If not, I will let you try to see if the sword in my hand is sharp!"
…
"Your Majesty, a great victory! Wushuang Hou Luo Wuji conquered the Xiongnu kingdoms, captured the nobles of the kingdoms, killed King Zhelan, King Luhu, King Guyan, King Qiutu, captured the wives of the kings, princes, generals, captains, and doormen, etc., 157 people, and then crossed 300 miles of Gobi Desert and raided the court of King Xiutu at night, capturing King Xiutu and King Hunxie alive, as well as the nobles of the entire court.
Wushuang Hou led his army eastward and swept the leaderless Xiutu King's tribe. After several days of continuous attacks and fierce battles, he captured more than 30,000 heads and captured 30,000 Xiongnu people. Since then, the Xiongnu tribes on the Hexi Corridor have been wiped out. Wushuang Hou rested at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, waiting for the order of His Majesty, whether to attack the Western Regions directly or cross the desert to join forces with Guanjun Hou to encircle the Youxian King's tribe. "
Even though he was used to the reports of victory, Liu Che was still overjoyed when he heard this. He began to pace again, and then suddenly asked, "Is there no support from the Right Wise King's troops in the report?"
"Your Majesty, Marquis Wushuang did not mention that the Xiongnu Right Wise King's tribe did not provide support!"
"No support..."
Liu Che looked at the terrain on the geomancy map and said, "The Right Wise King actually has no support. That means there has been a breakthrough in the direction of the Champion Marquis. Tell the Wushuang Marquis to send the Hunxie King and the Xiutu King and other Xiongnu nobles to Chang'an to prevent the Xiongnu from rebelling. Instruct the Wushuang Marquis to go straight to the Western Regions and cut off the Right Wise King's retreat."
The court officials hurried to Qilian Mountains with the imperial edict. As the Huns were wiped out and they were on the road frantically, the speed of transmitting the imperial edict from Chang'an to Qilian Mountains was still extremely fast.
As soon as the envoy left Chang'an, the battle report from Huo Qubing's troops also arrived in Chang'an. Just as Liu Che had expected, Huo Qubing fought several fierce battles with the Youxian King's troops. Although he suffered considerable damage, the losses of the Youxian King's troops were even greater. Huo Qubing beheaded nearly 50,000 people. The Youxian King was fleeing to the Western Regions with his tribe, and Huo Qubing was chasing closely behind.
…
Luo Wuji received the imperial edict from Chang'an at the foot of the Qilian Mountains. During this period, he reorganized the vassal army and repaired the three pieces of horses to ensure the combat effectiveness of the Han army. After receiving the imperial edict, Luo Wuji led the army straight to the Western Regions.
When Luo Zhongkan entered the Western Regions, he took the route south of the Tianshan Mountains. This time, he took the route north of the Tianshan Mountains. This was because the environment south of the Tianshan Mountains was relatively harsh and might not be able to provide what the army needed. Only the more prosperous north of the Tianshan Mountains could provide the military supplies for an army of 60,000 to 70,000.
This was the road that Luo Zhongkan took when he returned to the Central Plains. Walking on this road, Luo Wuzhi seemed to see his father whom he had never met, which gave him a sense of inheritance.
This was the first time that the Han army set foot on this land, but Luo Wuzhi was so familiar with it that he didn't even need to look at the geomancy map, because the customs and habits of the Western Regions, as well as the mountains and rivers everywhere, had already been copied in his mind countless times.
The sudden appearance of the Han army was a shock to the Western Regions countries along the way. This was the second time they had seen such a powerful army besides the Huns, and then they were filled with fear.
Because many people remembered that the Huns seemed to have a powerful country called "Han", just to the south of the Huns. It was a vast and populous country.
It is said that several decades ago, there was a delegation of only a few hundred people that turned the entire Western Region upside down. In the Western Region today, there are still many descendants of those people. They believe in "suwangshanghuang", which has a very strange pronunciation and is said to be a god of the Han people.
In the legends of these people, the Han people who left told them, "You are not people from the Western Regions, but people of Zhuxia. People of Zhuxia all believe in the supreme, holy and supreme Suwang. As long as you chant the holy name of 'suwang', you can go to the kingdom of Suwang after death. Never forget your identity and don't sink into darkness. One day, the envoy of Suwang will lead the army of Zhuxia to set foot on this land, and then you can go home."
This was originally just to give them some hope, but I don't know if it was because of the different culture of this land, these people really believed in the existence of the Su King. Perhaps they had seen the appearance of miracles. Many people had seen Luo Ling cross thousands of miles and summon wind and rain. I believe no one could forget these things.
Holy marks!
When Luo Wuji appeared in the Western Regions, the shock he brought to these people was unimaginable. After decades, they saw the person with the holy mark engraved on his forehead again, just like the person who came from the Central Plains.
"Oh, the Most High and Holy King, have you sent the gods to pick us up?"
"General, we are all people of Zhuxia."
These people knelt at first, then as if they remembered something, they bowed their heads and folded their hands. In this foreign land, a familiar hymn sounded from the mouths of a group of people whose appearance was somewhat different from those in the Central Plains.
"The spirit of the Su Wang is in heaven, and the glory of the Xia will last for thousands of years!"
Luo Wuzhi looked at the figures kneeling on the ground, his expression softened slightly.
Of course he knew that there were many such people in the Western Regions, many of whom were the bloodline of the Luo family left here, but he didn't expect that after so many years, they would still remember them.
Luo Wuji said loudly: "I am the son of Luo Jun!"
Luo Jun, namely Luo Zhongkan, was his respectful title in the Western Regions.
————
The Han army's entry into the Western Regions was an event in the history of the Xia Dynasty that was no less spectacular than the early development of the Zhou Dynasty. From then on, the unified dynasty had a new standard, which was the control of the Western Regions. Whoever owned the Western Regions had an absolute advantage over the nomads. The author can say that the war between the Han Empire and the Xiongnu Empire ended the moment the Han Empire controlled the Western Regions, and the defeat of the Xiongnu Empire was doomed.
Luo Wuji, the pioneer of the Western Regions, was known as the Blade of the Su Wang. He was destined to be engraved in the history of civilization as a great figure. "The first merit in opening up the Western Regions" is the best annotation for him. During his years as a general of the Han Empire, he made outstanding contributions to the prosperity of this dynasty. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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