Three Kingdoms

Xihai City.

Former military stronghold.

Western Region Allied Forces Camp.

On this autumn night, the cold seems to be particularly long.

The soldiers patrolling back and forth, their leather armors and iron clothes seemed to be condensed with frost, their hands were hidden in their leather robes, and they followed the queue shivering. And those soldiers who could only stay on duty wanted to hold the bonfire in their arms and sat there with no intention of talking or discussing. In everyone's eyes, even when they looked at the jumping flames, there was no The enthusiasm of the past.

Taksa, the general of the Western Region Allied Forces, has a new plan.

Now most people can see that Taksa is actually not that good.

Although Taksa pretended to be full of feelings for the Western Regions on the surface, when he appeared to speak, he picked up the words that the Western Regions people wanted to hear, such as the glory of the Buddha, the glory of the Western Regions, and things like freedom, dish cooking, and so on. Get rid of, what is independence, but in fact Taksa doesn't care about the lives of the people in the Western Regions.

In the past two days, a cold wave has hit and the temperature has dropped suddenly.

The herdsmen in the Western Regions, who could not find a shelter from the wind for a while, could only suffer in the night wind. Because herdsmen are often surrounded by cattle, sheep and various utensils, they cannot raise fire at will, and even if they can use fire, there is not so much wood for burning.

We must first ensure the expense of the nobles...

How can the nobles lead the herdsmen to victory if they don't have enough to eat or wear?

Therefore, it is better to temporarily suffer the herdsmen and let them endure it a little longer.

The herdsmen in the Western Region huddled numbly, clinging to each other with their cattle and sheep, not even daring to cry. Because of Taksa's military order, anyone who cries and makes noise at night will be regarded as maliciously disturbing and hindering the morale of the army, and will then be picked out and killed by the patrolling Kushan soldiers.

The Kushan soldiers considered themselves to be superior people, but it was no big deal in the minds of these Kushan soldiers to cut down a few dozen of the humble Westerners.

Of course, there will occasionally be some laughter and painful shouts, which are the Kushan gentlemen looking for some fun.

No matter how painful and tiring the situation is, we cannot tire the Kushan gentlemen.

Women, drinks, beef and mutton.

Singing, playing, and having endless fun.

It's not that Taksa doesn't know this, but he doesn't give a shit about this aspect. What is his core strength? Taksa's heart is like a mirror. Since he can use the blood and flesh of the herdsmen in the Western Regions to feed his dogs, what's wrong with that?

It is not that no herdsmen in the Western Regions resisted, but those who resisted soon died.

It was not that no one escaped, but those who escaped were quickly caught, and then their chests and abdomen were dug open on the rocks, and they were allowed to be eaten by vultures to death.

The bloody ones died, and the ones who refused to accept their fate also died.

The remaining herdsmen in the Western Regions all bowed their heads obediently, waiting for this long cold night to pass soon.

A moment more to live is a moment.

No one knows how long this life can be kept, and they are even too numb to care.

Although winter has not come yet, the coldness is already in my heart.

In an area of ​​​​the Western Region Alliance Army, Shanshan people gathered together around a bonfire.

Shanshan originally had a name that may be more familiar to later generations, Loulan.

Originally, Loulan connected to Dunhuang in the east, Qiemo, Jingjue, Kumi, and Khotan in the west, Cheshi in the northeast, and Yanqi in the northwest. It was the strategic hub of the Silk Road and produced jade, horses, donkeys, camels, and so on. Loulan is a dominant small country on the Silk Road in the easternmost part of the Western Regions. Han and Hungarians both wanted to control Loulan in order to compete for the Western Regions. Loulan was "not affiliated with both countries and could not be at peace" between Han and Hungarians.

In 77 BC, Fu Jiezi of the Western Han Dynasty killed the King of Loulan and changed the name of his country to Shanshan. The royal capital moved south from Loulan.

Because of the relationship between Shanshan and the Eastern Han Dynasty, there have always been constant disputes in Shanshan. There are those who are pro-Han and those who are against it. Of course, most of them are fighting for power and profit. They decide whether they are close or distant based on their own butt.

Shanshan is now split into two parts. One is headed by the young prince, who only has a name and nothing else. He is looking for help from the Han people. The other is headed by Prince Shanshan's uncle, who has real power. , after knowing that the little prince had defected to the Han people, he naturally chose to side with the Western Region Allied Forces.

Some Shanshan warriors were on the outside, watching eagerly and not allowing anyone to get close. In the inner circle of the bonfire, the current King of Shanshan, Tong Geluojia, was quietly discussing with several relatives and generals.

Another shrill scream from a female voice came from the night sky, followed by several wild laughs.

Tong Geluojia looked up with a gloomy expression, "It's those guys from Kushan who are causing trouble again..."

There were indeed many reasons for not being able to capture the military stronghold at first.

But now Tong Geluojia understands that one of the very important reasons is that the leaders of other Western Region countries may have the same idea as Tong Geluojia thought, and they all understand what Taksa is.

Shanshan was experiencing domestic instability. Tong Grojia originally wanted to shift the conflict to the outside by following the Western Region Alliance Forces, but now it seems that not only cannot it be passed on, but it may even cause more problems.

"He always says he has a plan, but he has a ridiculous plan! ” A Shanshan commander cursed in a low voice, “We have defeated so many Heavenly Army strongholds, but we can’t defeat them. How dare we come up with any new plans!” What a joke! 』

"that is! What kind of Han reinforcements are there? If Han reinforcements really existed, they would have arrived long ago! 』

"He can't bear to leave his soldiers and horses!" He just wants to let us people die! If we die, he can naturally take over our herdsmanship! Even if they can't defeat the Han people, they will still be able to eat with their mouths full of oil! 』

"What happened to Master Busen?" How come you can't even see through this? 』

"The devil knows! 』

"King, tell me, what should we do now?" 』

Several people focused their attention on Tong Grojia.

Tong Geluojia pondered for a while, and then looked around, "Now... these guys are actually heartbroken... You can all see this, right?" 』

In fact, it’s not that we are just distracted now, but that we have never worked together from the beginning!

Tong Geluojia continued: "So we must consider our own interests first!" Think about it, where do our interests lie? 』

Everyone started chattering again. Some said it was fame, some said it was cattle and sheep, but some said it was soldiers and horses...

Tong Geluojia shook his head and denied each one, and finally said: "It's not these... Think about it, if we are discussing here, will people from other countries also be secretly discussing something?" Why doesn't anyone say anything when we can't take down the military stronghold? There aren’t even many voices blaming Taksa? This does not mean that everyone should obey him more, but..."

"This is an opportunity... If Taksa can defeat the Han people... well, it seems a little difficult now," Tong Geluojia said, "Then if he can't win, it doesn't matter, because we have united Once, there will be a second time...Master Busen may have thought so..."

Everyone looked at each other, and then asked: "Your Majesty, now..."

Tong Geluojia laughed, "No matter what, we must preserve our strength as much as possible... Only with strength can we have a chance to speak, and only then can we have a tomorrow!" I'm going to find Taksa and transfer our people to the east in the name of guarding against Han Chinese sneak attacks! The Han people in the military camp are dying, but you know that injured beasts are the craziest... We don't need to take this risk..."

Everyone praised Tong Geluojia's foresight, but some people asked whether there would really be a sneak attack by the Han in the east area.

Regarding this issue, Tong Grojia laughed and said that Taksa had previously sent some people to ambush the Han reinforcements. Even if the Han reinforcements came, they would have to fight the ambush of these Western Region coalition forces first. There was no need to worry about this...

……m9(`Д′)m9……

Only when you stand outside the battlefield can you have a God's perspective, and those on the battlefield are often fighting against the black fog of war. Just like if the Wusun people knew that Han Guobing didn't have many troops, and Taksa knew that Fei Qian had arrived at Yumen Pass, the strategy might be completely different.

In comparison, the Han people's investigation was much better.

At least the Han people had more elite scouts who could hide better and run farther.

When Han Guo dealt a blow to the Wusun people, Zhang Liao also led his troops to attack the Western Region coalition forces.

Zhang Liao waved to the messenger behind him and said, "Tell them we are here." 』

More than a dozen war drums were set up and beaten at the same time.

A low roar suddenly resounded throughout the world, sweeping through the Gobi desert, passing through countless swords and guns, and causing the flags to be in chaos.

The Han soldiers in the military camp cheered in unison, but the Western Region Allied Forces seemed panicked.

Zhang Liao, who was on Xiaotupo, looked at the Western Region Allied Forces in the distance with a smile on his lips. He looked back and ordered his men, his voice steady, "Get into formation and prepare to attack." 』

Among the Western Region Allied Forces, horn horns sounded one after another. Long, short, rapid, melodious, all kinds of intertwined, fully displaying the tension and panic before the war.

The generals of the Western Region countries yelled and greeted Taksa's family.

Because Taksa had vowed before that they would encircle the point for reinforcements. On the one hand, they would capture the military stronghold, and on the other hand, they would also set up ambushes on the road to encircle and annihilate the Han troops who came to help...

These words that are preached every day still seem to be echoing in my ears, but what about now? !

Where did these Han soldiers and horses come from now? !

The Western Region Allied Forces were puzzled and even thought that these Han soldiers and horses had performed some evil magic? Otherwise, Master Busen wouldn’t have held rituals again and again to drive away the Han people’s sorcery...

Perhaps to the Western Region Allied Forces, Zhang Liao's appearance here with his troops was really like a witchcraft. In fact, Zhang Liao just relied on more elite and powerful scouts to discover the ambush troops sent by the Western Region Allied Forces in advance.

In fact, to be honest, the troops sent by the Western Regions to ambush the Han army showed no professionalism at all.

If you want to ambush, you must first not be discovered by the opponent. However, these Western Region Allied Forces teams are like squatting in the grass with their buttocks exposed. They just bury their heads in the grass and pretend that they have hidden themselves.

In fact, in the Gobi desert, it is very rare to find an ambush.

Just like the Mayi conspiracy in the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty mobilized the whole country in order to eliminate the Huns in one fell swoop. He spent a lot of money and food to ambush elite soldiers in Mayi in an attempt to defeat the Huns in one fell swoop. Moreover, the Huns were already He was attracted and was about to fall into the encirclement. As a result, a small flaw in the Han army was found by the Huns. The captured Han soldiers revealed the military situation, which eventually led to the Huns discovering the ambush of the Han army. Mayi The plan also went bankrupt.

Even if the news is really blocked and the ambush is successful, it does not mean that victory is guaranteed, because a powerful army is needed to successfully complete the ambush. Otherwise, even if the opponent is surrounded, it may not be possible to win. Instead, he gave the other party meat for free.

During the Wanli Korean War in history, Japanese pirates once ambushed the Ming army and sent thousands of cavalry as bait. As a result, the Ming army really plunged into the Japanese encirclement. However, the ensuing encirclement battle made the Japanese It's miserable. The combat effectiveness of the surrounded Ming cavalry was frightening. They were beaten back by tens of thousands of Japanese pirates. In the end, the Ming army even organized a counterattack, inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese pirates. They had to take the initiative to turn in and gave up the siege...

Therefore, Taksa's idea of ​​using the Western Region Allied Forces to ambush Zhang Liao is indeed a good idea. However, on the one hand, the Western Region Allied Forces cannot completely hide their traces and block the news. On the other hand, they do not have enough combat effectiveness. Even if they really take a step back, , Zhang Liao was ambushed, and he might not be able to surround him.

But now, the Western Region Allied Forces don't have to worry about ambush, because Zhang Liao's spear is almost under their noses!

The gorgeous tricolor hussars flag and the fiery red battle flag representing the Han Dynasty were flying high.

Under these colorful flags, there is a neat array of Han cavalry.

Taksa, Busen, and some other generals and leaders from the Western Region countries looked at the inconspicuous hill in the distance from different positions at the sudden appearance of the Han army.

They couldn't imagine how the Han people got here without being discovered by them. Maybe they were negligent, maybe their scouts were careless, maybe they were lax somewhere...

Human beings make mistakes.

The scouts in the Western Region are also ordinary soldiers, or even ordinary herdsmen. They do not understand what battlefield command is, let alone investigate everything in detail, and have clairvoyance and ears.

Especially when they feel that there are many people around them, they will subconsciously feel that the people around them are their own, especially in the so-called "safe area", and it is impossible to investigate in detail, which leads to the consequences that may be catastrophic... …

But before the disaster struck, many people still didn't take it seriously. Just like Taksa, he was still trying to keep his composure, saying that everything was going according to his plan.

"Well done! Haha, good luck to the Han people! ” Taksa smiled a little, but he didn’t know how calm his smile was, or how forced it was. He shouted to the messenger, “Inform the troops of each country as quickly as possible. Commander! Gather on the spot! Then immediately send messengers to gather under my general's banner! Report location and number of people! We are going to fight here, destroy the Han army, and completely defeat them! 』

More than a dozen messengers saluted, beat their horses, and left.

After a while, Taksa sent another order: "Let people keep an eye on the military camp!" Gather two thousand-man troops on the side of the military stronghold. If the Han people rush out from the military stronghold, remember to let the Han people charge halfway before attacking! 』

The messenger left in a hurry again.

After a while, Taksa looked left and right on the horse, and then shouted, "Hold on!" Just persist! Victory is ours! There are many of us! Victory must be ours! 』

Bu Sen stood at the side and rear of the battlefield, watching the smoke and dust billowing from a distance, and the people and horses leaping. He couldn't help but close his eyes, clasped his hands together, and prayed silently. He didn't know whether the Buddha in the sky or somewhere would be there. Care about whether his prayers will be answered by his piety...

Taksa's response was quite satisfactory, and indeed showed his strength as a Kushan veteran on some levels.

However, that's all.

Taksa had no previous experience in commanding such a large army, so he had many problems that remained unresolved. These problems existed from the beginning, but he didn't have any good solutions, so he pretended to be deaf and dumb to a certain extent, pretending that he couldn't see or hear...

As long as no one reflects, or pretends not to see or hear, it's not a problem.

In reality?

Logistics problems are the most obvious. When there are more people, there will inevitably be various food shortages. Some people may even have nothing to eat in some local areas, while others a few steps away have already eaten. Having eaten.

Although this question seems to be nothing, isn’t it just eating early and eating late? But in fact, everyone is not worried about scarcity but inequality. In addition, there are all kinds of fun spirits, those who are heckled, those who are mocking, those who are insulting, those who are criticizing, those who are full but not hungry, and those who stand up straight. If there is no sourness, if there is a slight distribution problem, mutual quarrels and conflicts will inevitably occur.

Think about some special circumstances in later generations, even if there is a dedicated person to ensure the supply, if there is a slight difference between morning and evening, or if someone is missed, they will first scream in a certain letter, and then immediately develop in the direction of real-person PK situation is not difficult to understand.

In addition to the logistics problem, there is also a serious problem, which is communication.

The soldiers led by Taksa naturally speak Kushan dialect, which is generally considered to be the early Xiongnu language, evolved through the Great Yueshi. In the Western Regions, there are also Sze people, Qiang people, and other variant languages. These languages The languages ​​may have some similarities, but the differences are more in accents, and may even be seriously strange.

Just like in some local dialects in later generations, the two words "come and go" will appear at the same time. So does this mean coming or going?

Normally, when there is time, Taksa's messengers and the various countries in the Western Regions can still make slow gestures and communicate with each other with the help of gestures, but at this moment Zhang Liao suddenly appeared in the sight of the Western Region Allied Forces, and When they are about to come into contact with each other at the next moment, how much time will it take for these countries with different language differences to clear their instructions and communicate smoothly?

Taksa had been aware of this problem before, but he didn't pay attention.

Now Taksa's attention is all focused on Zhang Liao's side. Although he quickly issued orders and made arrangements based on the corresponding situation, when his messengers rushed out, they were not in contact with the Western Region countries. When generals and leaders communicate, trouble inevitably arises.

However, the above problems are not the most serious.

When Zhang Liao raised his spear high and began to rush towards the Western Region Allied Forces commanded by Taksa, the biggest hidden danger of the Western Region Allied Forces was also exposed...