Han Khan

Chapter 6, Guiyi Army
The brothers Hun Ziying and Hun Ziji are descendants of the Hun tribe of the Tiele people of Dunhuang who were sinicized.

In the time of his great-grandfather, Hun followed Zhang Sheng's great-grandfather Zhang Yichao in the uprising.

He overthrew the Tubo rule over Hexi, and his father was killed in the battle against the Ganzhou Uighurs. For generations, the Hun family has been the Zhang family's right-hand man and has been firmly loyal to the Zhang family. Now the two brothers are two cavalry captains under Zhang Sheng (50 people in a team).

There were also the Sogdians An Shilang and Kang Xintong, the Tibetans Wang Duoji, Li Pajia, Zhang Langjieri, the Tatar Boniek and many others who were born in Zhangjiazhuang.

There is also the Qinghe Zhang family who has always followed the Zhang Sheng family.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Zhang Wenche, from their grandfather Zhang Huaiding to their father Zhang Chengfeng, they were present in both domestic affairs and the military in Dunhuang, Guiyi Army, and Jinshan Kingdom. They were the main force supporting Zhang Chengfeng in foreign wars and were well-known military meritorious factions in Dunhuang and Guiyi Army.

After the failure of the war against the Ganzhou Uighurs, Zhang Wenche, as the chief prime minister, could not escape the blame and committed suicide in anger, ending his life.

After Cao Yijin came to power, he expelled members of the Qinghe Zhang family from the military.

So up to now, Zhang Sheng has several attendants under his command, including Zhang Xibao, Zhang Jingchong, Zhang Baoshan, Zhang Congwu, Zhang Liangzhen, etc., who are from the Qinghe Zhang family. Although they do not have much talent, they are proficient in riding and shooting, so they serve as cavalry captains under Zhang Sheng.

In addition, there was Zhang Jinda, who drafted documents for Zhang Sheng, and Zhang Anzuo, the Duzhi official who was in charge of finances.

Moreover, starting from grandfather Zhang Huaiding, the Nanyang Zhang family, descendants of Zhang Yichao, have been constantly intermarrying with the Qinghe Zhang family. The two families have merged for three generations and gradually become one.

Emperor Zhang Chengfeng also treats him as a member of the royal family and still supports Zhang Sheng as his lord. These people are Zhang Sheng's die-hard supporters.

Therefore, although he lost the support of many great families in Dunhuang, such as the Song, Murong, and Zhai families, Zhang Sheng's subordinates can still be considered to be full of talented people, at least for the time being.

Looking at those determined faces and seeing them sitting confidently on their war horses, Zhang Sheng felt an immense sense of pride. With such generals, he could go anywhere in the vast world, so why would he need to stay in Dunhuang for a long time and be assimilated?

After Cao Yijin's death, Cao's Guiyi Army was notoriously cowardly except for its ability to form internal and external marriages and engage in business. In the end, it was assimilated into the Shazhou Uighurs and then annexed by the Western Xia.

The people in Hexi were notoriously tough, and the Han and Tibetan warriors were even more brave and good at fighting. What's more, Zhang Sheng had armed these soldiers with his family's wealth. It was precisely because he was afraid of this that Cao Yijin, the Sogdian bandit, was willing to negotiate with him.

But these were Zhang's last remaining soldiers, and the rest were all old, weak, women and children. These people were his hope for survival in this world.

It took several generations of Zhang family’s accumulated energy to train and arm them, so they are loyal to us now.

Zhang Sheng looked at the fluttering flag in the flag-bearer's hand. On the blue square flag, there was a majestic golden eagle with its wings spread out. The majestic eagle's head was facing west, and its sharp eyes seemed to be looking at him.

Before my father established the Jinshan Kingdom and proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism merged, and deification and mysterious thoughts permeated Dunhuang.

After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, in order to ensure that the independently established Jinshan Kingdom and Zhang Chengfeng had the legitimacy of divine right of kings, they needed the support of this idea even more.

Coincidentally, at that time a golden eagle flew from the sky and circled over Dunhuang. The then Prime Minister Zhang Wenche led all the officials and immediately declared it to be a good omen. They also wrote "Song of the White Eagle" for it, declaring that Zhang Chengfeng was the descendant of Taibao Gong granted by the gods to be the son of heaven on earth and the human agent of the gods.

Therefore, the pattern of a golden eagle on a blue background became the military flag and emblem of the Zhang family.

The soldiers also looked at Zhang Sheng, the young prince, their lord, whose majestic body was covered in iron armor with the chain mail lining visible. The feathers on his iron helmet and the tattered cloak fluttered in the wind.

He drove his horse and paced back and forth in front of the soldiers, just looking at these strong men, and suddenly he spoke.

“My warriors, the Heaven above has sent down a white eagle to announce to the world that the Son of Heaven is His agent on earth, and that the Son of Heaven will help the gods govern the people of the world. The wicked will go to hell, and the good will go to heaven.

And now, that dog slave Cao Rengui is plotting to usurp the throne and force my father to death, force the descendants of Zhang Yichao to death, force the emperor to death, and usurp the power of the Zhang family. This is an evil thing, and he will surely fall into hell and suffer the most horrible punishment.

My soldiers, we withdrew from Dunhuang. I was defeated, I died, and I was resurrected. This is the mission given to me by God of Heaven, which is to spread the will of God of Heaven and lead you to survive.

We have not been defeated, the battle is still going on, our families and property are still in Dunhuang, and the gods are watching us, watching his brave warriors, fighting for his will. Are you afraid? Can you fight again? "

Zhang Sheng spoke loudly, his voice was so loud that even the knights who were far away could hear him.

"Dare to fight, dare to fight..." Zhang Sheng was responded by the soldiers' high-spirited voices. There was no trace of retreat or depression in the voices, but they were so high-spirited. Zhang Sheng looked at them proudly and said loudly: "You are all my most elite knights!"

"Cao the thief said he wanted to negotiate with us. This time, I will lead you to march towards Dunhuang. Whether it is war or negotiation, we must not tarnish the reputation of the sons of the Golden Eagle for our fighting prowess and bravery."

"The Cao thieves and those shameless thieves of the Celestial Empire took advantage of our weakness and instigated the Ganzhou thieves to rob us many times, killing our people and plundering our land. I hate them deeply! Our ancestors were all people who were determined to return to the Tang Dynasty.

However, the imperial court treated the people of Hexi like foreigners and pigs and dogs, and tried to sow discord among the Zhang family, the Han and Tibetan people, the big clans and the common people.

This led to the killing of each other by us and our ancestors, so my father, the White-robed Emperor Zhang Chengfeng, received authority from the gods and gave the people of my Gua and Sha states a country, so that no matter whether we are Han or foreign, we can call ourselves people of Jinshan and unite to face foreign enemies.

After resolving the civil strife in Guazhou and Shazhou, I never thought that Cao had already colluded with the usurper Zhu Wen, and joined forces with Ganzhou to bully the people of Guazhou and Shazhou."

"But now, I am strong, and you all are strong!!"

"I will lead you to rescue our families and take back our property. If the war breaks out again, anyone who kills the enemy with me will be rewarded handsomely!!"

"Are you willing to follow me? Do you want to be a member of the Guiyi Army or a member of the Jinshan Kingdom?"

The soldiers shouted, "We will follow your highness!"

"Die for His Highness! For the people of Jinshan!!"

"For the will of Haotian God!!!"

Zhang Sheng was wearing armor, riding a tall Hexi horse, holding a lance, and with a horizontal sword and a strong bow on his waist, looking very majestic.

He rode on his horse and looked at the equally majestic knights in front of him. These knights were also fully armed, and many blue eagle flags were fluttering in the wind.

"Set off!!"

Zhang Sheng roared and galloped out on his horse. The knights followed Zhang Sheng and galloped towards the Shule River outside the city of Dunhuang. That was the negotiation place chosen by that bastard Cao Yijin.

About 30 miles outside of Dunhuang.

The environment here is no different from the eastern and western regions where he lived in his previous life, but it is completely different from the Central Plains.

The sky was so low that the sun seemed like it was about to fall down. The sky and the earth were desolate and filled with sand. When the wind blew, it seemed as if thousands of snowdrifts were rolled up.

Only in places with stagnant water and rivers can you occasionally see a little bit of new green. On the gray and white Gobi Desert, you can see wild animals such as snakes, wolves, wild donkeys, wild horses, wild camels, etc., but the population is sparse, as if they are the only people left in the world.

It is no wonder that they were defeated by the Ganzhou Uighurs. If there were not enough supplies in this place, it would be too easy for the soldiers to die of thirst or starvation, or for the camp to explode. In such an environment, it would be easy for the cavalry to get lost and even fail to find the enemy.

Dunhuang, in the future, this famous cultural city located in the northwest is actually very small and inconspicuous. The entire Dunhuang has a population of only more than 100,000, and its scale is not comparable to that of the county towns in the Central Plains and the south.

But during the Tang Dynasty, the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, there were many Buddhist caves and temples here. Due to the prosperity of the Silk Road, caravans traveling from south to north stopped here. It was a pearl on the Hexi Corridor, but this was also Dunhuang’s last highlight moment.

In today's Dunhuang City and its nearby villages, excluding those who died in the war with the Ganzhou Uighurs, there are more than 100,000 registered residents. In addition to the passing caravans, the Hu people who fled from the Central Plains, Liangzhou, the north and south of the desert, and the snow-covered areas also live here. Of the more than 300,000 people who have returned to China, nearly one-third of the population depends on this city for survival.

Therefore, as the most important city and stronghold of the Guiyi Army, Dunhuang City’s defenses are now very solid and well-defended.

In one hour, the army arrived about two miles outside of Dunhuang City. They saw the majestic Dunhuang City, that sad place. Looking around, they found that the White Eagle flag had been replaced and replaced with the Sun, Moon and Star flag and the Cao flag of the Guiyi Army.

Zhang Sheng was speechless for a moment, wondering who the rebels were. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Yichao's descendants put down the Sanchen Flag, raised a new flag and established a new country. In the end, they were driven out of Dunhuang. However, his grandson-in-law Cao Yijin raised the Sanchen Flag again and became the master of Dunhuang.

(End of this chapter)