The Song Dynasty has been deliberate for 16 years, only to know that it is the Water Margin

Gaochang is an ancient city with a long history and was not built by barbarians.

In the first year of the Yuan Dynasty of the Western Han Dynasty, in order to strengthen his control over the Western Regions, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty built barriers here, placed soldiers and civilians, and garrisoned the fields.

This place is connected to Yiwu in the east, the rear of the Che Division in the north, Yanqi and Qiuci via the Jiaohe River, and Loulan in the south. The land is vast, flat and fertile, and finally formed the Gaochangbi, an important military area for gathering troops and horses.

The word Gaochang comes from the meaning of "the terrain is high and open, and the people are prosperous", both of which are in Chinese.

Gaochang City has gone through changes such as Gaochangbi, Gaochang County, Gaochang Kingdom, Xizhou in the Tang Dynasty, etc., until it is now the Gaochang Uighur.

As the center of the Western Regions, this place has been home to mixed ethnic groups since the Qin and Han dynasties. Huns, Turks, Qiang, Tibetans, Uighurs, Khitans, Tatars, etc. all lived here and many of them have thrived here for thousands of years.

There are also a large number of Han people here. After all, when the city was first built, it was ruled by the Han Dynasty. Many soldiers left descendants. Moreover, from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Sixteen Kingdoms period, there was a large-scale migration of Han people.

At that time, the north was engulfed in endless wars. More than 10,000 Han gentry households in the Hexi Corridor and Guanzhong Plain areas migrated little by little to the Gaochang area to escape the war. It was more than 10,000 households, not more than 10,000 people. Later, in Houses and land are built here, and Hu people live mixed lives without distinguishing each other.

In the 14th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, King Qu Wentai of Gaochang made an alliance with the Western Turk Yibidulu Khan, cut off the Silk Road, attacked Yiwu, a tributary state of the Tang Dynasty, and detained the merchants and tribute envoys from the Western Regions who passed through Gaochang to the Tang Dynasty.

Later, Taizong sent Hou Junji, the Minister of Civil Affairs, to lead an army of 100,000 to attack and destroy the Qu family's Gaochang Kingdom, and regained three counties, five counties, and twenty-two cities. The Gaochang area was re-incorporated under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains Dynasty, opening up the exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and Central and Western Asia. channel.

Then the Tang Dynasty established Xichang Prefecture here, which was later renamed Xizhou. This is also the origin of the name Xizhou Uighur. Located in Gaochang.

Subsequently, Xichang Prefecture implemented the same governance as the Central Plains, which brought the local economy and culture into a period of high prosperity. The city was further expanded and became an important gateway from the Central Plains to the Western Regions. It was the endpoint connecting the Central Plains with Central Asia, West Asia and Europe. Incomparable prosperity.

In the seventh year of Xiantong in the Tang Dynasty, Pu Gujun, the leader of the Uighurs who was nomadic at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, took advantage of the civil strife in the Tang Dynasty and led his troops to capture Gaochang City. The following year, he established the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom with Gaochang City as his capital. With the decline of the Tang Dynasty, After its demise, Gaochang gradually lost contact with the Central Plains.

At this moment, Zhao Tong's soldiers were only thirty miles away from Gaochang. They came to report on the horseback, saying that the four gates of the city were tightly closed, the walls of the city were heavily fortified, swords and guns were flashing, and flags were flying, showing a defensive appearance.

Zhao Tong smiled playfully. Yelu Dashi came with 150,000 soldiers, and Bi Lege opened the city gate and surrendered. With 30,000 troops and horses, he also attacked the two cities of Yizhou and Jiaohe. If the other party refused to surrender, he would not say anything. He also acted like he was resisting, was this... looking down on him?

He looked at Liyanaza: "Thinking about the Uighurs today, they only know about the Liao Dynasty, but not about the Han and Song Dynasties!"

Liyana glanced at him and said nothing. Xiao Zhao in front of the horse asked: "Dad, do you want to attack the city?"

Zhao Tong said: "Your grandpa doesn't open the city gate, and he doesn't want to let his daughter in even after she comes back. He regards us as enemies, so he has no choice but to break into the city!"

After a while, the army could already see the city of Gaochang. It was indeed a big city. It was longer and wider than Xining, but it was visible to the naked eye. It was lower than the big cities in the Central Plains. Moreover, the city walls were not all bricks, but mixed with sand, stone and earth. Bricks are far inferior to those in Xining Prefecture in terms of sturdiness.

Buildings in the Western Regions use less bricks, better ones mixed with stones, and worse ones just made of earth and sand.

This is because not all soil is suitable for baking bricks, especially sandy soil, which is not suitable for baking bricks. Some soils with low viscosity are not strong even if bricks are burned. It is barely possible to build some flat houses. If you are building a city wall, it will not be possible until the base is high. It will collapse and shatter.

According to the current firing technology and the characteristics of the various landforms in the Western Regions, it is impossible to improve large-scale firing here, and transporting from other places is unrealistic, so the big cities are full of bricks and stones. There are not enough bricks and stone. Come and gather together. If you don't have enough stones, you must gather more sand.

Zhao Tao ordered his troops to stop and rest where they were, but he had no intention of setting up camp. No matter how he set up a camp, he was kept out of the city. He had to capture it today, otherwise how could he, the Great Bright King, retain his dignity?

More than half an hour later, Zhao Tong ordered the siege to begin. There was no need to build ladders or the like, but direct bombardment with bed crossbows, eight-niu crossbows, flying cannons, and catapults.

Gaochang City has experienced many wars since its construction, but it has never encountered such a violent attack. Before the Song Dynasty, there were no such things as crossbows and flying cannons, only catapults. What about the city walls at this moment? Can you withstand such a blow?

The Uighur soldiers at the top of the city were so frightened that some even forgot to dodge and were immediately beaten into pieces.

Some generals who originally commanded the city defense were also dumbfounded. They had never seen such a scene. For decades, they had fought against Karakhan in the west or some small tribes in the south. They had never fought against the east. Facing Liao The country directly attached itself to the country, and it could tolerate it when facing Xixia, spending money to buy peace. Although it knew that the strength of the east was strong, it was just based on imagination, and it did not understand the combat power of the Song Dynasty.

It was only at this moment that the generals on the city came to their senses. This was the army that had destroyed Xixia. How cruel was it to destroy the party? Yizhou and Jiaohe have also been captured. The military newspaper said that it would only take an hour. It seems to be true. Who can resist such a terrifying force? Gaochang City is bound to be destroyed!

Just when the generals and soldiers on the city were in panic and panic, they heard a loud "bang" and half of the city wall collapsed.

Li Yanxian originally didn't use such strong attack power when fighting Yizhou and Jiaohe, but now he is firing on all cylinders.

Gaochang is the capital of the Uighurs and must be captured quickly to give the opponent the greatest shock. Moreover, Gaochang refused to surrender, which annoyed Li Yanxian. He could see that Zhao Tan was a little unhappy, so he put all the equipment in front and came directly. A round of violent blows.

Zhao Tong looked at the collapsed city wall, shook his head and said, "Yelang is arrogant, that's all!"

At this time, Li Yanxian began to command the crossbowmen to patrol the area. Rounds of arrows rained down as if they were free. They were even denser than raindrops. A large area of ​​the city was already deserted.

There is chaos in Gaochang City at this moment. The city is divided into three levels, the outer city, the inner city and the palace city. The palace city is also called Khan Castle. In front of the Khan Castle, affairs are being discussed. Big Brother is like an ant on a hot pot, walking back and forth in front of the throne. non-stop.

The ministers didn't say anything. They were all frightened and looked terrified.

"What to do! They all told me what to do!" Biluo was tall, but due to his long-term addiction to drinking and sex, his face was pale and he looked like he was exhausted.

Ministers, look at me and I look at you. There is no way to think of anything. Even the princes lowered their heads and hid to the side. The idea of ​​sending Liya Nazha to Dongkara Khan was almost impossible for them. Everyone has a share, and they are all afraid that Liyanaza will come back to deal with them, but at this moment, they have no other way to think of.

At this moment, a general staggered in from outside. As soon as he entered the palace gate, he shouted: "Khan, Khan, it's not good, the city wall collapsed..."

"Ah?" Biluo quickly stepped forward and reached out to grab the general's collar. "What did you say? What did it collapse?"

The general hurriedly described the scene of the previous ballista attack on the city, and then said sadly: "Khan, the Song army's weapons are powerful, I have never seen them before. If you continue, I am afraid that the entire city wall will not be protected. By then, by then the city It must be broken!”

Hearing this, Bi Lege loosened the general's collar and took a few steps back: "Hurry up and send troops to meet us. Send troops to meet us..." Outside the city, as arrows rained down, Li Yanxian sent people to hit the gate of Gaochang. , this side of the city is no longer defended by Uighur soldiers, so there is no need to completely knock down the city wall to enter the city.

The Gaochang city gate was not as strong as in the Central Plains, and there were no soldiers to guard it above. The soldiers below concentrated on attacking, and it didn't take long for the city gate to be broken open.

Seeing the city gate open, Li Yanxian gave an order and the cavalry charged forward and went straight into the city.

There is no such thing as a Thousand Jin Gate in Gaochang City, but there is a door inside. But now that the outer door is broken, how can the inner door be blocked? After three strikes, five divided by two, it is also smashed.

The army entered the outer city and faced a group of Uyghur cavalry. They collided with the team led by Ruda. A direct charge dispersed the group of Uyghur soldiers. The horses moved like the wind, and the swords and guns kept harvesting. It was like entering an uninhabited land. .

The Uighurs in Xizhou actually don’t have many soldiers and horses, far less than Xixia. After all, Xixia has the land of Hexi to support its people. Where is the good land in the Uighurs? Deserts are intertwined. Except for a few big cities, there are oasis lands. Most places are deserts. Or hard soil that cannot be planted.

Therefore, the population of the Uighurs in Xizhou is less than that of Xixia, and their soldiers are even smaller. When the Uighur Empire was strong, it could number between five and six hundred thousand. However, after the Uighur Empire collapsed for a long time, the number of people on the Eastern and Western Karakhan side was greater than that of the Uighurs in Xizhou. The Xizhou Uyghurs had only a hundred thousand troops at most. That was in the late Tang Dynasty, but now they only number seven to eighty thousand.

Not all of these 70,000 to 80,000 people were strong and strong, but all were old and weak. The previous losses at Wuchi City on the border with Eastern Karahan were distributed among various cities. There were only 20,000 to 30,000 people at Gaochang.

If you really think about it, this is not as large as the number of people brought by Zhao Tong. Originally, they were far inferior in terms of armor, weapons, horses, etc. However, as a result, the number of people was not large enough, so there was no way to fight, and the army was defeated like a mountain.

There is a city wall and a city gate between the outer city and the inner city of Gaochang, but the outside is not strong, and the inner city is even worse. It was broken in just a moment.

The Uighur soldiers guarding the inner city immediately rushed up, including cavalry and infantry, but they were also like paper sticks and could not be beaten. In a short period of time, they were killed with corpses everywhere and blood flowing like streams.

Zhao Tong detached some troops to suppress the city, and the remaining army went straight to the palace and surrounded the Khan Fort.

This time, the Khan Fort of the Falcon Palace City was built like a half city and half a fortress, with a city wall outside and various buildings inside all in the shape of a round fort.

This round castle is not a castle like Europe, but a round house with a dome, like a tall, round defensive castle like Europe. Uighurs cannot build it at the moment. On the one hand, there are no bricks to build it, and on the other hand, the landform Reason, it's difficult to build that high.

So this Khan Fort is actually a domed house.

After the army surrounded them, they did not attack immediately. Zhao Tong looked at Lianaza: "What do you think the princess should do?"

Liyanaza's lips trembled and she said, "Why don't you come out of your father's sweat..."

What she originally meant was that given the situation, why didn't Bilge Khan come out and surrender?

According to her understanding of her father, although he might be brave for some reasons, but when the end of the line is reached, he will never stand up again, will not care about any face, and will surrender 100% of the time, but how can he still do it now? No expression?

Before she could finish her complete words, a loud voice suddenly came from inside the Khan Castle: "The Heavenly Army, stay here, the Heavenly Army stay here, the guilty minister will come out immediately to plead guilty."

Hearing this, Zhao Tong glanced at Liyanaza, who looked away and whispered, "It's my father Khan."

Zhao Tong nodded. It was not a big surprise. If Brother Bile really had the guts to die and not surrender, he would not have agreed to give Liyanaza to Dongkara Khan. Since he could do such a thing, he begged for mercy at this moment. How could he let go of his last chance?

Then he heard various musical instruments playing from the gate of the palace city, which was quite pleasant. Zhao Tong looked at Lianaza confusedly and whispered, "It's a song for surrender."

"Oh..." Zhao Tao touched his chin in many ways.

At this moment, the two gates of the palace city slowly opened, and a large group of people came out. The leader was a man in his fifties or sixties. He was not wearing armor and was wearing traditional Uyghur clothes. He was quite handsome. He must have been handsome in his youth. figure.

With a smile on his face, he first glanced around, peeked at Liyana, and then lowered his head towards Zhao Tong.

"Honorable God General, Your Highness the King of Light, I am late to welcome you, the sinner Bileg, and I hope His Highness Haihan will forgive me."

Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes when he heard this, didn't he want to surrender? How did this become a welcome? He is quite clever and changeable.

He looked at Liyanaza, whose face was expressionless. He thought for a moment, then coughed lightly and said, "Princess, it's hard to call King Khan like this, right?"

Liyanaza looked at Brother Bile, feeling frustrated, but she couldn't bear it. After all, he was her father. At this moment, Zhao Tong spoke and immediately jumped off the horse.

At this moment, Bilego rubbed his eyes fiercely and showed a surprised expression: "Isn't this Marika, whom I love most? Why are you here and where did you go a few days ago? Atta has been worried. "

Malika means princess in Uighur language, and Atta means father.

When Liyanaza heard this, her eyebrows suddenly tightened and her face looked a little ugly.

Zhao Tong blinked his eyes on the horse, and then he looked up, with a look of surprise and respect on his face: "Could it be that the God General is... Marika's Jerimu?" I am so virtuous and capable, and Marika is so virtuous and capable, but I have a god general to serve as Yerimu."

Yerimu means husband in Uighur language.

When Zhao Tong heard this, he looked at Liyanaza and saw Liyanaza's face turned dark. He couldn't help laughing and said: "Okay, okay, let's enter the castle!"

(End of this chapter)