Han Khan

Chapter 30, Return to Camp

"Tomorrow we will go north along the Ganquan River to join the people of Xinghu Lake and Dajingze, and then migrate to Yizhou along the Dahaidao (the passage from Hexi to Yizhou and Beiting)."

Zhang Sheng pointed at the map and said that there were no patrolling generals in the tent.

Yin Shanxiong and Koza unfolded a simple map. Zhang Sheng used the dim light from the sky to repeatedly check the marching route on the map.

Now that he had captured so many captives and seized a large amount of property, Zhang Sheng was afraid that if time went on, the Uighurs under his command would rebel, and the people left downstream of Ganquan River would be plundered by the people of Dunhuang or Zhongyun.

On the morning of June 17, the sun shone on the vast grassland. Zhang Sheng stood on a high ground on horseback, overlooking the Jin Han soldiers who were ready for battle below.

He took a deep breath and issued an order to withdraw: "All troops, listen up! Today we will withdraw to the Dajingze camp downstream of Ganquanshui!"

As Zhang Sheng's order was passed down, the entire army began to move under the leadership of centurions.

The Jin Han cavalry charged on their horses, and the slave soldiers marched in neat steps, with flags flying and drums blaring, with great momentum, as they marched northward like a torrent.

The army was vast and mighty, stretching for more than ten miles, like a giant dragon winding through the valley and crawling out of the valley.

In the middle of the team, there were more than 5,000 horses, more than 1,000 camels, more than 14,000 cattle and more than 115,000 sheep, loaded with all kinds of spoils.

These captured livestock are not only a guarantee of survival, but also a symbol of victory in this plunder. They will bring prosperity and wealth to the Jinhan tribe.

Zhang Sheng sat in the spacious and comfortable carriage, gazing through the window at the spectacular scene outside.

He saw the soldiers holding their heads high and their morale high, and he saw the wealth that once belonged to the enemy being brought back to the camp by his own army. A sense of heroism surged in his heart.

At this moment, two beauties were kneeling beside Zhang Sheng - Tugel's woman Gunes and Usungul, the granddaughter of Uzur.

They have now become Zhang Sheng's female slaves, and they obediently massage his legs from left to right.

Behind him was Ozlem, the daughter of Boju the Serb, who was concentrating on massaging Zhang Sheng's shoulders and back, making him feel comfortable and relaxed.

Zhang Sheng remembered a famous quote from a future Khan: "The greatest joy for a man is to subdue the mob, defeat the enemy, seize all that he has, ride his fine horse, and take his beautiful concubine."

This sentence deeply touched his inner ambition. He thought to himself: A real man should be so majestic and achieve great things!
Thinking of this, Zhang Sheng showed a confident smile on his face.

Since foreign races were able to overcome numerous obstacles and come to the Central Plains and successfully establish a nation, why couldn't they go to the vast grasslands or the Western Regions to expand their territory? After all, the world is so big and opportunities are everywhere.

The reality is so cruel, and it is really difficult to do anything while being trapped in this small, crowded and resource-scarce Hexi area.

Seeing that the proportion of the Hu people among his subordinates and subjects had reached nearly two-thirds, he had become a veritable "barbarian" leader.

But this group of rabble could not conquer the impregnable city of Dunhuang; even if they managed to break through the pass, they would probably be swallowed up by the powerful Ganzhou Uighurs in the end.

At this point, there seems to be only one way left - migrate north.

Only by finding a suitable base to set up camp, and then finding ways to continuously expand the tribal population and livestock, can we perhaps find a glimmer of hope. Perhaps it is not impossible to establish a Khanate with Han culture!
But we can't take too big a step at the moment, we have to take it one step at a time, otherwise we will be in big trouble.

The main reason is that there are too few Han people and these Hu people who have just been annexed by them are unreliable.

Eat the rice one bite at a time.

We should now do our utmost to gather Han and Hu people, regardless of their identities and backgrounds, and accept them all into the Jinhan tribe, so as to enhance the strength of the Jinhan tribe itself.

At this time, Cao Yijin's spies were about to arrive in Dunhuang, and they would report that Zhang Erlang had annexed all the Kucha Uighur tribes and many Tibetans at the foot of the Qilian Mountains.

While the Jin Han tribe was on their way back north, Jin Han's light cavalry scouts discovered that there were three or four Tibetan camps nearby. The larger ones had only five or six hundred people, while the smaller ones had only about a hundred people.

Zhang Sheng decisively gave the order, commanding Salu, Wang Duoji and the three slave armies to rush to the battlefield with their swords in hand, to persuade these Tibetan tribes to submit to the Jinhan tribe.

This move achieved remarkable results. Under the "escort" of the Jin Han slave soldiers and soldiers, the Tibetan people came one after another, supporting the elderly and children, carrying tents and cattle and sheep.

The migrating lines became longer.

However, if they encountered some tribes that were ignorant of the danger and refused to surrender, the Jinhan people would have no choice but to take tough measures to conquer them.

We can discuss the reason later, but the most urgent task at present is to first establish the established facts. ………………………………

When Zhang Sheng led his troops to migrate, in the Jinhan camp downstream of Ganquan River, the cardinal priest Zhang Zhongxian, the chief priest Zhang Anzuo, and Zhang Jinda led everyone to complete the morning prayer. At this moment, everyone was busy, some were milking, some were herding cattle and sheep, and some were herding horses.

The seven centurions that remained, led by their respective centurion leaders Li Pajia, Zhang Langjieri, Zhang Jingchong, Zhang Baoshan, Zhang Congwu, Zhang Liangzhen, Duobo, Tiemuge and others, patrolled various places in Dajingze to check whether there were any enemies.

They were wearing armor, holding lances, with bows and swords on their waists, and they patrolled around the camp with equally fully armed cavalry.

Yesterday, riders from the Murong family appeared near Dajingze and left after being driven away.

Today, the herding slaves and subjects, fearing the Jinhan cavalry, gathered at the bank of Ganquan. The cardinal priest ordered that a thousand subjects and slaves be selected from the tribe, and given spears, bows and arrows, to form infantry to prevent any accidents.

From then on, Zhang Zhongxian personally led the slave soldiers on patrol. Before Zhang Sheng returned, he had to live up to the trust placed in him.

"The Murong family thinks that Your Highness is weak and can be bullied. How can we, the Jin Han people, easily deal with them when they have to bring our families with us? Your Highness is not here, and my Zhang family has already left Dunhuang with only 800 cavalry and 1,000 infantry. If Murong Guiying leads his army to attack, how can I protect Your Highness's troops!" Zhang Zhongxian thought to himself.

Beside him, Zhang Liangzhen drew his bow and shot an arrow, and a fat yellow sheep fell down a hundred meters away. At this time, the sound of horse hooves came from the south, and Zhang Liangzhen hurriedly took out his arrows and shot them into the sky. With the piercing sound, the patrol teams of a hundred people quickly gathered around.

The subjects and slaves who were busy grazing quickly drove the cattle, sheep and horses into the fences, and quickly gathered in the camp surrounded by carriages, holding wooden pitchforks and sticks.

In front, a thousand infantrymen armed with spears and bows stood firmly at the front of the carriage fence.

The Jinhan cavalry stood still on their horses, arrows in their hands, staring at the source of the sound with sharp eyes.

At noon, the sun was blazing, the earth was scorching, the grass was swaying in the wind, and big fish jumped out of the lake. The fertile Dajingze and Xinghu Lake were beautiful.

At this time, Zhang Zhongxian, Zhang Liangzhen, Zhang Congwu and others looked at each other in silence, their worry evident in their words.

Even the brave and skilled Jinhan cavalry could not help but feel nervous when they heard such dense and majestic horse hoofbeats. They stroked the bows, swords and spears in their hands, not to mention the newly formed infantry and subjects.

At this moment, everyone finally saw the people coming from the south. The sunlight shone on a fluttering blue flag. The eye-catching "T" made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

After knowing the identity of the visitor, Zhang Zhongxian and others hurriedly ordered their subordinates to get busy, while they went to greet him with several centurions.

When they approached, they were all dumbfounded. They saw captives, cattle, sheep, horses and thousands of carriages in an endless stream in the rear, and many unfamiliar faces in the team of a hundred people.

This……

Could it be that Your Highness has completely annihilated the Kucha Uighurs?

Zhang Sheng, who was surrounded by flag bearers and guards, also saw the arrival of several people.

"Your Highness, I congratulate you on your triumphant return!" Zhang Zhongxian and several centurions behind him all bowed and saluted Zhang Sheng.

"Are the tribesmen and livestock safe?" Zhang Sheng asked.

"There is abundant grass and water here, and our tribesmen graze here. But yesterday, the Murong family sent a thousand cavalrymen from Guazhou to investigate here, but they were discovered by us and driven away..." Zhang Zhongxian replied.

"Oh." Zhang Sheng sighed, and after a while, he waved his hand to signal the centurions behind him to lead the prisoners, livestock and captured items into the camp.

The personal guards, Zhang Zhongxian and others rode on horseback beside Zhang Sheng, slowly heading towards the camp.

Zhang Sheng snorted coldly, "Now we are all away from home, and all we can rely on is our passion and the bow and sword in our hands.

Murong Guiying is really daring. I withdrew from Dunhuang and established the Jinhan tribe, not because I was afraid of the big families in Dunhuang. I have 2,000 cavalrymen under my command. If I reorganize the slaves and Uighur captives under my command, it will be no problem to form a cavalry of 5,000 people. What is there to be afraid of?

Zhang Zhongxian patted his horse's belly, drove it forward, and said to Zhang Sheng: "Your Highness is right, Murong Guiying may just be here to test the strength of our Jinhan tribe.

Although most of these Tuyuhun people have been assimilated into the Han culture, they are barbarians after all and are plundering by nature. If our troops are insufficient, I believe that Murong Guiying will not miss the opportunity to plunder us.

However, Your Highness has returned victoriously with his troops. I really want to see Murong Guiying lead his troops to attack Jin Han. Jin Han has more than 2,000 cavalrymen. A single charge would make the Tuyuhun people of the Murong family unable to resist. Hahaha!"

(End of this chapter)