Outside Yanqi City, in the ranks of the Western Regions allied forces.
The Uyghur Khan, Guli Peiluo, rode a tall and magnificent Akhal-Teke horse, standing proudly before the three armies.
He was clad in magnificent and flamboyant golden armor, holding a jeweled sword with its hilt pointed directly at the top of Yanqi City. His blue eyes gleamed with greed as he stared intently at the already dilapidated walls of Yanqi.
Today, he vows to lead the iron cavalry of the Uyghur Khanate to crush this city of Yanqi.
They must step over the corpses of the Anxi border army to ascend to the position of hegemon of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.
After a ten-day assault, more than half of the 100,000-strong Western Region allied army was lost. This debt should be attributed to the soldiers and civilians in Yanqi City.
Fortunately, during the first nine days of the siege, Gulipeiro had secretly instructed General Azhar to use troops from other Western Regions countries as the main force for the attack, serving as cannon fodder to deplete the manpower of the Anxi border army defending the city.
Meanwhile, the 30,000 elite Uyghur troops under Guli Peiluo's command have remained inactive since the start of the siege.
This is all for today, to seize the city in one fell swoop.
On this day, there was a strong sandstorm near Yanqi City. The yellow sand mixed with the gale stung people's faces.
But Guli Peiluo felt no pain from the sand scraping his face; he was only filled with the ecstatic joy of about to conquer Yanqi City and ascend to the position of overlord of the Western Regions.
Scouts reported that Prince Chen Huai'an's reinforcements were still a thousand miles away from Yanqi and would not arrive for at least ten days.
This means that after conquering Yanqi City and beheading the defending general Tan Li, Gulipe Luo still had ample time to massacre the city's inhabitants.
Then, he led his army back to Shule City, and used the head of Tan Li, the general defending Yanqi, to defeat the desperate Shule general and capture another city.
Then, they followed the same method and captured the city of Kucha as well.
Even when Chen Huai'an led his elite army to reinforce the four towns of Anxi, all he found were four empty cities, already reduced to ashes, with no one or livestock left.
By then, I doubt Chen Huai'an would have the guts to continue his solitary campaign deep into the Western Regions.
And his name, Huai Ren Khan Guli Peiluo, would eventually be recorded in the annals of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, making him a well-deserved overlord of the Western Regions.
Thinking of this, Gulipe Luo was in a great mood, and even wanted to show off his benevolence and love before massacring the city.
He immediately ordered, "General Azhar, go on my behalf and tell Tanli and the Anxi border army that I have always been benevolent and loving towards the people."
"Even though the Anxi border troops have slaughtered many of my warriors from the Western Regions in the past few days, I, the Khan, am still willing to give them a chance."
"As long as they give up resistance and declare their submission to my Uyghur Khanate, I am still willing to spare their lives!"
At this point, Gulipeiro suddenly changed the subject, saying sternly, "If they continue to be obstinate and insist on resisting my Uyghur army to the end—"
snort!
"Then there is only one way out: death. Moreover, after the Uyghur army breaks through the city, they will not sheath their swords for three days, allowing the people of Yanqi to come and bury the fallen warriors of the Western Regions coalition!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
The young Uyghur general, Azhar, immediately accepted the order and rode his white horse straight to the city of Yanqi, finally stopping just outside the range of the archers on the city walls.
He shouted loudly towards the city wall, "General Tan, are you on the city wall?"
"This general is here!"
At this moment, Tan Li, who was on the city wall, came to a crenellation and looked down at Azar, shouting, "What, General Azar, are you planning to disguise yourself as a civil official again and trick me into opening the city gate?"
Ha ha!
Outside the city, Hazard laughed awkwardly twice and said, "General Tan is quite the joker!"
"I have come here on the orders of the Khan of the Uyghur Khanate, Huai Ren, to advise General Tan to give up resistance and submit to the Uyghur Khanate!"
"Khan Huai Ren said that as long as General Tan is willing to lay down his weapons and submit to the Uyghurs, Khan Huai Ren is willing to spare the lives of the general and the soldiers of the Anxi border army who are defending the city."
After a pause, Azar continued, "General Tan, considering that you treated me to meat and wine on Laba Festival, I would also like to advise you to surrender. Don't put up any more futile resistance and let your soldiers die in vain!"
"Currently, the Great Xin Dynasty is plagued by internal strife. Prince Li Zongmin of Guangxin and Prince Mu Rongfu of Pingxi have already ascended the throne in their fiefdoms, establishing their own kingdoms."
"The Tibetan army's eastward expedition has successively captured Hexi and Longyou prefectures, and its advance is aimed directly at Chang'an Prefecture. General Guo Dingfang of Anxi is already in dire straits—barely able to protect himself."
"The treacherous minister Chen Huai'an is determined to seize the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, intending to divide the country with the Great Xin Dynasty along the river."
At this point, Hazard deliberately raised his voice and said, "But no one cares about you, this isolated army besieged in Yanqi City!"
Even if you all died fighting on the frontier for what you call loyalty and righteousness, for the crumbling Xin Dynasty, who would remember your names?
"And who will collect your corpses?"
"By then, you nameless people will be nothing more than a pile of nameless bones in the desert outside Yanqi City!"
Finally, Hazard asked, his words piercingly poignant, "General Tan, is it worth sacrificing the lives of all your soldiers for such a tragic end?"
The city walls were deathly silent.
Those Anxi border soldiers who were still holding steel knives, ready to fight the Uyghurs to the death, all raised their heads and looked at their commander Tan Li with blank expressions.
The words of the bandit commander, Azhar, seemed to resonate with the hearts of the soldiers of the Anxi border army.
Yes, the great dynasty has already fallen apart, and who can still remember that they, a group of nameless people, once shed their last drop of blood in the important border town of Yanqi to resist the invasion of the Western Region barbarian soldiers.
Border soldiers are not afraid of dying in battle; what they fear is being forgotten.
Hahaha!
At this moment, Tan Li suddenly burst into laughter.
Laughing, laughing, it seemed like even tears were streaming down her face, though it was unclear whether they were swallowed by the wind and sand.
After laughing, Tan Li responded loudly, as if speaking to the enemy commander, Azhar, and also as if speaking to his remaining three thousand comrades:
"In this life, every word and action should be done in accordance with one's conscience. As a soldier, as a member of the Anxi Border Army guarding the border, it is our duty to resist foreign aggression!"
"I, Tan Li, may not be able to control others, but I can control myself!"
"The soldiers of the Anxi Border Army in Yanqi City may not be able to control others, but they can control themselves!"
Tan Li said, word by word, "As long as I, Tan Li, am here, no barbarian soldiers or villains from the Western Regions will be allowed to cross Yanqi City!"
"The Anxi Border Army, guarding the Western Regions and upholding our national prestige, will fight to the death without regret!"
"The Anxi Border Army, guarding the Western Regions and upholding our national prestige, will fight to the death without regret!"
Almost simultaneously, the border soldiers on the city wall roared in unison again, responding to the Uyghur barbarian soldiers below the city with their actions!
snort!
Hazar snorted coldly and said sharply, "General Tan, this is your own choice!"
"The day the Uyghur army breaches the city will be the day they massacre its inhabitants!"
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