The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 823 Recapture of Shule
The first red line signaled the explosion upon impact. This was based on the Sui army's experience; the Western Turkic cavalry would certainly hide under their horses. The soldiers' comrades lit the fuse, which hissed and crackled as it burned. When the first red line was reached, the comrades shouted, "Fire!"

With a series of clicking crossbow bolts, a thousand arrows shot into the air, heading three hundred paces away.

The running Turkic soldiers thought it was crossbow bolts coming at them, so they rolled over and hid under the bellies of their warhorses, leaving only three thousand warhorses galloping.

As the arrows and thunderbolts landed, they suddenly exploded, bursting into flames and accompanied by a deafening roar, scattering 100,000 poisonous nails in all directions.

The warhorses and the Turkic soldiers hiding under their bellies were all struck by poisoned nails, a tactic specifically designed to target Turkic cavalry, which exploded upon impact.

In an instant, the Turkic cavalry were blown off balance, and the soldiers hiding under their horses became the biggest victims of the arrows and mines. After a round of explosions, nearly a thousand soldiers fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

The first volley of arrows and mines exploded at a distance of 300 paces, while the vanguard had already advanced to about 200 paces. It was the middle part of the Turkic cavalry that was impacted.

But the series of explosions also terrified the Turkic cavalry in front. When they came to their senses, they immediately turned their horses around and fled for their lives. At that moment, the second round of firing was about to begin.

This is why the attack should be launched when the enemy's vanguard has advanced to within two hundred paces, allowing time for a counterattack.

When the enemy retreated to 250 paces, the drums sounded, and a general shouted, "Light the fire! First red line!"

The first red line is the requirement for an explosion in mid-air, for a simple reason: the cavalrymen have already mounted their horses.

The fuse hissed and lit, burning to the first red line, when his comrade shouted, "Fire!"

Another burst of crossbow fire erupted, and a thousand arrows soared into the air, heading straight for the enemy cavalry. The thousand arrows exploded in the densest part of the crowd, all exploding in mid-air.

Countless soldiers fell from their horses. Even those who didn't fall immediately would soon succumb to the poison—that was from 100,000 tiny poisoned nails! The area of ​​damage must have been enormous.

Less than half of the cavalrymen remained on horseback after the two volleys of arrows and thunderbolts, only about 1,400 men, who continued to fall from their horses due to the poison.

After waiting for the two volleys of arrows and grenades to finish, Qin Qiong raised his sword and shouted, "Cavalry, attack!"

"Woo——"

The deep horn sounded, and two thousand cavalrymen, who had been preparing for a long time, charged out like a river bursting its banks. Their hooves pounded the ground, raising clouds of yellow dust, which resembled countless sharp spears, unstoppable.

The Turkic cavalry continued to fall, with only about 1,100 men remaining. The pursuing troops were less than a hundred paces away. Just then, a dense barrage of arrows suddenly shot out from the south. It was Jia Wuben's three thousand ambush troops. They were all infantrymen, and could only be killed with angry arrows. Moreover, they only had one chance. Jia Wuben was experienced and ordered his men to shoot the horses, not the men.

Caught off guard, the fleeing Turkic cavalry were shot down, with over four hundred horses stumbling and falling to the ground, and the riders also falling to the ground. In the blink of an eye, the remaining cavalry galloped away like lightning, while the pursuing cavalry arrived like a whirlwind. The fallen soldiers tried to get up and escape, but there was no escape. A flash of cold light, blood spurted, and every fallen soldier was killed without exception.

Two thousand Sui cavalry continued their pursuit. Just then, a bugle call sounded from ahead. It was Cheng Yaojin leading five thousand troops to intercept the Turkic cavalry. Of the five thousand troops Cheng Yaojin led, two thousand were cavalry, and the other three thousand were infantrymen with spears.

Only about 700 of the original 3,000 Turkic cavalrymen remained. They crashed into the ambush set up by the intercepting army, and were surrounded by 5,000 troops. The cavalrymen charged forward to fight, while the 3,000 infantrymen blocked their retreat routes on both sides. At this moment, 2,000 pursuing cavalrymen arrived, and the 700 Turkic cavalrymen finally faced annihilation. They were constantly being stabbed and fell from their horses, and their numbers dwindled. Soon, the last centurion was also beheaded by Cheng Yaojin with an axe.

The Sui army killed three thousand Turkic cavalrymen with fewer than two hundred casualties and only forty-odd dead, demonstrating the immense power of the arrows and grenades once again.

As the Sui army entered the city, the Turkic chieftain Tutun and more than a dozen of his men were unable to escape and were all captured and publicly executed. King Jiashi of Shule publicly declared that Shule was a vassal state of the Sui Dynasty, no longer serving the Turks and no longer paying any taxes. The city of Shule erupted in jubilation. This decision came at the perfect time; the Turkic tax season was fast approaching, and everyone was worried about how to cope with the heavy poll tax. The sudden announcement of no more taxes to the Turks was a cause for great joy.

The following day, Qin Qiong negotiated with the king and finalized the agreement: the Sui army would establish a military town in Shule, with 3,000 troops stationed there, including 1,000 troops stationed in Shache and 2,000 troops stationed in Shule.

Both Shule and Shache had to provide resources to the Sui army. Shache did not build a military city; its soldiers were stationed inside the city. Shache only needed to provide a piece of fertile land.

The Shule Kingdom would provide two plots of land: one for building a military city and the other for cultivation. The Shule and Shache Kingdoms would provide manpower and resources to help the Sui army build the military city.

At this moment, King Jiashi suddenly discovered that the Sui army was carrying 10,000 dan of tea cakes, which were treasures in the eyes of the people of the Western Regions! Not only in Anxi, but also in the nomadic peoples of the Western Regions. The Sogdians also traded tea cakes, and one jin of tea cakes could be exchanged for three sheep.

One dan of tea weighs 100 jin, so 10,000 dan of tea would weigh 1 million jin, which could be exchanged for 3 million sheep. Of course, the Sui army wasn't that greedy. They exchanged one jin of tea for one sheep at the market price, mainly to obtain supplies for the garrison.

At King Jiashi's request, Qin Qiong left 5,000 dan of tea cakes for the garrison, who could then exchange them with the kingdoms of Shule and Shache for sheep supplies according to their own needs.

Three days later, Qin Qiong led 12,000 troops northward to attack the Kingdom of Gumo.

In early August, an envoy delegation from the distant Northern Court arrived in Luoyang. This delegation was a joint delegation from the kingdoms of Gaochang and Yiwu, and they came to Luoyang seeking assistance.
For the same reason as Anxi, after the new Turkic Khan Tong Yabghu Khan consolidated his position in two years, he began his strategic expansion eastward. He expanded not only in Anxi, but also in Beiting.

First, they occupied the entire Ili River Valley, and a large number of Ussuri people were driven out of the Ili River Valley. Turkic envoys have arrived in Gaochang and Yiwu, demanding that the two countries submit to the Western Turks.

On the one hand, the kingdoms of Gaochang and Yiwu feigned compliance with the Western Turks, outwardly agreeing to submit to them to buy time, while on the other hand, they urgently sent envoys to Luoyang to seek help.

When the King of Gaochang, Kan Boya, sent his eldest son, Kan Wentai, to Luoyang, the king of Yiwu, a vassal state of Gaochang, also sent his prince to accompany Kan Wentai to Luoyang.

When the delegation arrived at the Court of State Ceremonial, Vice Minister Chai Shao received the delegations from both countries. After arranging their accommodations, Chai Shao inquired about the situation and immediately reported to Pei Ju.

Pei Ju also realized the seriousness of the situation, so he immediately rushed to the Imperial Study.

Inside the imperial study, Emperor Xiao Xia listened to Pei Ju's report and slowly said, "Could the Western Turks' eastward advance be related to the demise of the Northern Turks?"

"Your Majesty, there is definitely a connection. Among the Tiele tribes, the Xueyantuo and the Karluk both support the Western Turks. These two tribes have become more active in recent months. It is said that the Karluk have crossed the Xuanchi and begun to enter the territory of the Jiankun tribe. The Xueyantuo are also competing with the Sijie tribe for the southern pastures of Jinshan. The simultaneous occurrence of these events is not a coincidence. It must be related to the eastward expansion of the Western Turks."

"Then Qin Qiong would also encounter the Western Turkic army in Anxi."

"Your Majesty need not worry about General Qin. He leads an army of 20,000, a powerful force that will surely defeat the Western Turks who are invading Anxi. The key is the Western Turks' invasion of Beiting, which is expected to happen soon. If we do not send as many troops as possible, Gaochang and Yiwu will not be able to hold out for long."

Xiao Xia walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, feeling quite helpless. He wanted to focus his energy on overseas markets, but the west was not peaceful. The Western Turks were always holding him back. If he did not completely defeat the Western Turks, he would not be able to expand overseas.

At this moment, Pei Ju whispered again, "If the kingdoms of Gaochang and Yiwu are destroyed by the Western Turks, it may not necessarily be a bad thing. Once we defeat the Western Turks, we can establish prefectures in Gaochang and Yiwu, and the King of Gaochang will only exist in name."

Xiao Xia nodded, "Minister Pei's suggestion is very timely, I will consider it carefully!"

(End of this chapter)