eurekapd Chapter 1147 Zhang Yi of the Guihuan Army
Chapter 1147 Zhang Yi of the Guihuan Army
Yao Luoge is dead.
The night wind in the frigid northern desert is like a boning knife, unbearable even for a healthy person, let alone for the venomous dagger that gouges out eyes and severs tendons in the hands and feet.
The excruciating pain and blood loss prevented him from surviving even an hour before he completely lost his life.
The guards watched him die before dragging his cold body back to report.
Li Che glanced at the swollen face, frozen with extreme fear and pain, and waved his hand dismissively.
"Find a place and bury them together with the Uyghurs who died tonight."
Li Che did not insult the Khan; he had no time to waste on a dead man.
Tonight, there are many bodies that need to be buried.
Li Che's order was that all Uyghurs who resisted tonight be executed, without exception.
Whether they were young and strong or old, weak, women and children who tried to bite them, they were all mercilessly killed by the Qing army.
The stench of blood was so strong that it was almost unbearable, even outside the campfire's reach.
For the soldiers of the Qing Army who carried out orders, the emperor's will was the highest standard, regardless of whether the other party was male, female, young or old.
For Li Che, the phrase "blood debts must be repaid in blood" was etched deep in his heart.
No matter how many Uyghurs died, he had no psychological burden.
Li Che stood beside the dying embers of the fire, watching his soldiers silently carry away the corpses. The firelight danced on his black armor, offering no warmth whatsoever.
Daqing's current style of doing things doesn't care about worldly notions of good and evil.
In this land governed by the law of the jungle, rules are forged only by iron and blood.
Since the ancestors of the Yellow-headed Uyghurs chose to kick Huan when he was down, and even turned their swords against the weaker party.
Therefore, their descendants will have to bear the consequences of this cause and effect.
It's cruel, but it's also fair.
Those who dared to resist openly were basically crushed tonight, and the remaining weak Uyghurs huddled in a corner of the camp, their eyes filled with numbness and fear.
This is exactly what Li Che needs.
Of course, there must also be people among them who endure humiliation and prepare to seek revenge.
Li Che didn't care. He thought it best for them to remain hidden. Once they broke out, he would have his own way of dealing with them.
He ordered his men to bring the Right Commander.
This man was short and stout, with shifty eyes, and appeared mediocre and timid compared to the Left Commander.
The Yellow-Headed Uyghurs had two commanders, who were essentially the Khan's right and left hands, and should have been the people Yaoluoge trusted most.
But given Yao Luoge's character, he naturally wouldn't have many loyal subordinates.
The Right Chieftain was primarily responsible for internal tribal affairs and had always advocated for compromise with surrounding powers, making him a natural 'pro-Qing' figure.
Or rather, he was a pro-power faction member, because he was also very close to Tibet.
Li Che naturally looked down on Er Gouzi, who possessed a naturally divine body, but he could still make use of him.
"From this day forward, you shall be the Khan of the Yellow-Headed Uyghurs," Li Che announced without further ado.
The right commander... should now be called the new Khan. Hearing Li Che's words, he was stunned.
Overwhelmed with a mixture of surprise and fear, he immediately knelt down and stammered out his loyalty.
"Organize your troops and take stock of the remaining cattle, sheep, provisions, and tents." Li Che interrupted his pledge of loyalty. "My army will continue westward, and the Yellow-Headed Uyghurs must provide guides and supplies for our army."
"Well done. You may remain your Khan in peace. But if you harbor any disloyal thoughts..."
Li Che paused, his gaze sweeping over the Uyghurs guarded by armored soldiers not far away: "You should know the consequences."
The new Khan sweated profusely, repeatedly kowtowing and swearing to the heavens that he would never have any other intentions.
Li Che would naturally not entrust the important task of controlling the Yellow-Headed Uyghurs to the oath of a foreigner.
He left behind eight hundred elite infantrymen and a lieutenant.
These eight hundred men will be stationed in key locations in the oasis, ostensibly to assist the new Khan in maintaining order, but in reality, they will be a sword hanging over the heads of the Uyghurs.
The deputy general, holding Li Che's secret orders, was instructed to act first and report later if he sensed instability within the Uyghur Khaganate, and to take the head of the new Khan.
Li Che was relatively confident that these 800 men could control so many Uyghurs.
Previously, the Qing army's opponents were all powerful enemies such as Japan, Russia, and Tibet. It had been a long time since they had easily defeated weaklings like the Uyghurs.
Tonight's battle was an absolute annihilation; the fully armored Qing cavalry, armed with firearms, stormed into the Uyghur camp, where the Khan was captured without any resistance.
Eight hundred elite infantrymen are insignificant in the Qing army, but to the Uyghurs, it's like putting eight hundred strong men in a kindergarten.
After everything was arranged, it was almost dawn.
Li Che casually found a tent and dozed off for a while. Although the camp was filled with a complex smell of blood and burnt flesh, he still slept soundly.
Once it was fully light, the army quickly assembled and broke camp.
Li Che mounted his horse, while Hei Feng leisurely trotted along, a radish that Li Che had just stuffed into his mouth.
"Take him with you." Li Che pointed with his riding whip at the tightly bound Left Commander.
This person is familiar with the Western Regions, especially the situation in the Shazhou area, and is the most suitable source of intelligence at present.
Yu Daliang grinned, picked up Commander Zuo She like a sack, and slammed him across his saddle.
The bugle sounded in a low, mournful tone, and banners unfurled in the gradually brightening dawn.
The 30,000-strong army, like a giant python awakening, once again stretched its body and marched towards Shazhou.
. . . . . .
Shazhou City.
Much of the rammed earth in the city wall has crumbled, and the beacon tower stands alone against the dim sky.
The houses in the city were low and the streets and alleys were deserted. Occasionally, a pale and thin person would hurry by, wrapped tightly in a tattered coat.
This place lacks the abundance of the Ganzhou oasis, only the roughness left by repeated erosion by wind, sand, and war.
Inside a fairly tidy government office in the city center, candlelight flickered.
The person sitting behind the main table was not an old general with gray hair and beard; he looked to be under thirty.
Although his brows and eyes bore the marks of time, they could not conceal his handsome features, and his black hair was neatly tied under his turban.
This man was Zhang Yi, the military commissioner of Guihuan Army in Shazhou.
The generals on both sides of the hall were also of vastly different ages.
There were elderly men with graying hair and beards, whose armor was worn but polished to a shine, as well as young men of similar age to Zhang Yi.
There were even a few young boys with youthful faces but tense postures, standing there trying to straighten their backs.
This is the current situation of the garrison in Shazhou.
The first generation of the old Huan army, the second generation who grew up during the siege, and the third generation who were born under Tibetan rule after the city fell and followed their fathers in the uprising.
The indomitable spirit of the Huan people has been perpetuated with difficulty in this desolate land, but their faith has never been broken.
“The granaries are almost empty.” Zhang Yi spoke calmly, but the atmosphere in the hall grew even heavier. “We can only hold out for another half month at most. If supplies are reduced again, the brothers defending the city will have no strength left to draw their bows.”
An old general coughed and said in a hoarse voice, "The Tibetan dogs outside the city have been unusually quiet lately. They used to harass us every few days, but it's been almost twenty days now, and apart from the smoke and dust in the distance, there hasn't been a sound."
“Something unusual must be going on; General, you must be careful.”
"Could it be that they are accumulating troops, preparing to attack the city in one fell swoop?" A young general frowned.
“It doesn’t seem like it.” Another veteran with a dark complexion and missing an ear shook his head. “If they really wanted to launch a strong attack, they would have done so long ago. Their inaction... seems like something has held them back.”
"As for the Western Regions, Khotan's last reply was vague, so I'm afraid they can't be relied on," someone else whispered.
Zhang Yi listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously stroking an old, worn map on the table. It was a detailed map of Hexi and Longyou drawn during the height of the Huan Dynasty.
As the leader of the Guiyi Army, his age is still his biggest weakness. If it weren't for his outstanding military achievements and the fact that Shazhou is now surrounded by foreign enemies, it would be difficult for him to control these veteran generals.
Therefore, he possesses a composure that is not found in people his age.
"Whether we wait or get bogged down," Zhang Yi raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "For us, silence is our chance to catch our breath."
"General Wang, take some men to explore the southern valley again and see if we can still dig up anything from the seeds we planted last year."
"General Li, organize the women and children in the city to go to the harvested fields and comb through them again. Don't let any edible grass seeds or roots go to waste."
"General!" the young general couldn't help but say, "This is just a drop in the ocean. We need to know what the Tibetans are up to."
"This humble general requests permission to lead a troop of elite cavalry out of the city to scout and ascertain their movements!"
Zhang Yi looked at him, his eyes sharp, and said, "Do you want to go and die, or do you want to lure them into attacking?"
The young general was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head unwillingly.
Zhang Yi's tone turned cold: "We can't afford to gamble on any unexpected events. Our top priority right now is to survive, to survive until... the day when things turn around."
"A turning point?" The young general smiled bitterly. "General, we've been waiting here for over twenty years. Does the Central Plains still remember us?"
The veterans lowered their heads, looking at the irreparable cracks in their armor.
There's absolutely no news from Shazhou about the current situation in Central China.
The Tibetans imposed a strict blockade on Shazhou City, preventing not only food supplies but also any news from getting through.
The last news they received about the Central Plains was that the Great Huan Dynasty was about to fall, and rebellions were breaking out in various places.
Everyone knew that the Great Huan Dynasty probably no longer existed.
Zhang Yi remained silent for a moment.
The candlelight cast his upright shadow on the wall behind him, overlapping with the old flag bearing the character 'Huan', which, though faded, remained clean and tidy.
"Whether you remember or not is a matter for the Central Plains," he said slowly. "Whether we defend it or not is our business."
"As long as there is still one person standing on the walls of Shazhou, this flag must not fall."
He stood up, walked to the front of the hall, and looked at the cold, sparse starlight outside the door.
"If the Tibetans don't move, we need to be even more careful. We should double the number of sentries and keep a close watch on all directions."
“Starting tomorrow, my rations will be halved.” He turned to his subordinates who still wanted to say something. “Disperse. Stay alert.”
The generals silently clasped their hands in greeting and filed out.
Inside the government office, only Zhang Yi remained, accompanied by a dim lamp.
The monotonous footsteps of night patrol soldiers could be heard outside.
He walked back to the desk, unfolded the old map again, and moved his finger eastward little by little along the Hexi Corridor.
Finally, it stopped at that distant land that had been isolated for nearly twenty years, a land I had only heard about from my parents.
Great Huan—