The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 825 Taking Kucha
Three days later, Xiao Xia appointed Li Jing as the Pacification Commissioner of Beiting, leading an army of 50,000 and 100,000 camels loaded with grain and supplies westward in a grand procession toward Beiting.

However, the princes of Gaochang and Yiwu stayed in Luoyang, where they were provided with large mansions and settled down.

At this time, the Battle of Anxi had reached its final battle, the Battle of Kucha. In the previous battles for Boda Ridge and Dunduo City, the Sui army had captured Boda Ridge and Dunduo City, cutting off the most convenient route for the Western Turks to enter Anxi. However, the Turkic garrison of Gumo Kingdom, having received the news, abandoned Gumo Kingdom and withdrew entirely to the easily defensible city of Kucha.

The Sui army approached the city. The city walls of Kucha were tall and sturdy, reaching a height of 23 feet. The walls were filled with Turkic soldiers, each holding a bow and arrow, watching the Sui army below warily.

Qin Qiong used his clairvoyance to observe the Turkic soldiers on the city wall. He saw the commander-in-chief and the local officials. The number of soldiers on the city wall was about five thousand, which matched the intelligence he had.

Capturing the city was easy for the Sui army. Qin Qiong was worried about street fighting. Once street fighting broke out, the people of Kucha would suffer heavy casualties. However, the Turkic army did not realize this, so they still had a chance.

At this moment, Jia Wuben said to Qin Qiong, "The city walls of Anxi should all be the same, with only two entrances, one in the north and one in the south. We will use arrows and mines to blast open the city gates, and the cavalry will block the two entrances as quickly as possible. Then we will urgently send the people in the city out of the north gate."

The walls of Anxi were different from those of the Sui Dynasty. The walls of the various states in Anxi were a self-contained defensive system, not only to defend against external enemies but also to prevent internal strife. No civilian houses were allowed to be close to the walls.

The passageway to the upper city was built in two large houses, with only two entrances, one to the south and one to the north. The southern passageway was right next to the city gate, while the northern passageway to the upper and lower city was usually built next to the royal palace.

By sealing off the two large houses with passageways, the Turkic soldiers could be trapped on the city walls, preventing street fighting from affecting the city's inhabitants. The most troublesome issue now is the Kucha Royal Palace, where the Turkic army may have taken the Kucha King hostage.

But it's also possible that they weren't. If they were taken hostage, the Turkic soldiers would have taken them to the city wall, which Qin Qiong didn't see.

Qin Qiong pondered for a moment and said, "The north and south will act simultaneously. You will take two thousand soldiers to the south city!"

Jia Wuben shook his head and said, "Reporting to the commander, there are no obstacles outside the city. The enemy can see our troop movements clearly. Once we send troops to the north city, the enemy will definitely strengthen the defense of the north city, which will backfire. Besides, the King of Kucha also has guards, who will buy us some time."

Qin Qiong thought it made sense, so he called Cheng Yaojin over and gave him a few instructions. Cheng Yaojin nodded repeatedly and immediately prepared a thousand cavalry.

Qin Qiong then said to Jia Wuben, "I request that the general lead three thousand cavalry to intercept and kill any soldiers who attempt to jump off the city walls, and try not to let a single one escape!"

Jia Wuben nodded, "General, rest assured, I will make thorough arrangements!"

After Jia Wuben left, Qin Qiong shouted loudly, "Prepare the arrows and thunderbolts!"

A thousand archers rushed forward, raising their crossbows and aiming them at the city gate. The Turkic soldiers on the city wall were taken aback, not knowing what this meant.
"Ignition! Launch the first red line!"

At a command, a thousand soldiers ignited the arrow mines simultaneously. In a short while, a thousand arrow mines were launched almost at the same time, densely shooting towards the city gate. In an instant, the city gate was covered with arrow mines, followed by a series of explosions. A thousand arrow mines exploded at the same time.

Cheng Yaojin shouted, "Charge with me!"

He led a thousand cavalrymen to charge toward the city gate, and the main force of the Sui army also shouted and charged toward the city gate.

The explosion had just ended, thick smoke filled the air, and the Turkic soldiers on the city wall were thrown into chaos. Cheng Yaojin's cavalry rushed down to the city wall and found that the city gate had been almost completely destroyed, with only the frame hanging around it.

A thousand cavalrymen charged into the city like arrows. Cheng Yaojin shouted, "Captain Wang, block the exit!"

A captain led three hundred cavalrymen to break away and head directly to the left side of the city. Sure enough, there was a large house with its doors tightly shut. This was the southern entrance. The three hundred cavalrymen unscrewed three hundred oil sacks and threw them at the door, then threw down a torch. 'Boom!' The flames instantly engulfed the doorway.

Suddenly, the gate opened inward, and hundreds of Turkic soldiers were about to rush out, but outside they saw raging fire, which frightened them so much that they retreated and closed the gate again.

The Sui army was buying just a little bit of time. At this moment, countless Sui soldiers rushed into the city and blocked the southern exit.

At the same time, Cheng Yaojin led seven hundred soldiers to the front of the palace in the north of the city. There, the palace was filled with guards from the Kingdom of Kucha. Several soldiers who could speak Anxi shouted, "We are the Sui army, here to rescue the king! Where is the king?"

The lead guard shouted, and the palace gates suddenly opened. Hundreds of guards rushed out, protecting the king and his family. Cheng Yaojin was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Where is the passage to the upper city?"

A soldier translated, and the head guard shouted, "Follow me!" The soldiers dismounted, took their oil pouches, and followed the head guard. They passed through the palace, and the head guard pushed open a large gate. Outside was a large courtyard, and to the left of the courtyard was a large building with passageways. There was another door in the courtyard leading outside.

Just then, hundreds of Turkic soldiers rushed up the city wall, and Cheng Yaojin shouted, "Light the fire!"

The soldiers immediately sprayed oil, and some soldiers lit torches and threw them over, turning the area in front of the gate into a raging inferno.

As the gate opened, hundreds of Turkic soldiers were about to rush out when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by flames, causing them to retreat in terror.

At this moment, the Sui army raised their crossbows and fired fiercely. A dense barrage of crossbow bolts shot at the enemy soldiers. Screams erupted inside the large building as dozens of soldiers fell, struck by arrows. The remaining Turkic soldiers were so frightened that they rushed back onto the city wall.

"Follow me and charge!"

Cheng Yaojin, wielding his great axe, charged through the flames toward the city wall. Seven hundred soldiers followed their commander, rushing across the fire and toward the city wall.

Cheng Yaojin killed dozens of people, fought his way through, and rushed to the top of the city wall. Sui soldiers also rushed up to him.

In the distance, about a thousand Turkic soldiers, armed with shields and swords, were rushing toward them. They wanted to descend the city from the north, but it was too late; Cheng Yaojin's seven hundred soldiers had already blocked the exit.

The capital of Kucha was the tallest and most fortified city in the entire Anxi region. Its walls were 23 feet high and made of stone slabs. Jumping off the walls would either result in broken bones or death.

Of course, one could also pull oneself down the city wall by rope or spear, but the Sui army had already stormed into the city, and no one wanted to go into the city to die. Anyone who wanted to jump off the city wall would try to find a way out.

Many changes happen in the blink of an eye, and opportunities can be fleeting.

The Turkic army was all inside the city. Before the Sui army attacked the city, they still had a chance to get off the city wall, mount their horses, rush out of the city gate, and fight a decisive battle with the Sui army. At least half of the five thousand cavalrymen were able to escape.

However, the Turkic commander believed that the Sui army had come from afar, had no siege weapons, and had no trees around. He thought that as long as they held Kucha, the Sui army would eventually be defeated without a fight.

The solution itself was not problematic; it was effective against other armies, even against the Sui army in the past. However, the Western Turkic army was unaware that the Sui army was very different from before. The Sui army no longer needed siege weapons to easily capture cities.

Qin Qiong led 5,000 soldiers to storm the south city wall, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

The Sui army's crossbows had a significantly longer range than their opponents, nearly twice as long as the Turks'.

Arrows rained down from the city walls, felling hordes of Turkic soldiers, their cries of agony and agony echoing across the walls.

In desperation, many soldiers scaled the city walls and fled the city. Many twisted their ankles and limped as they ran, but they were quickly caught up by the Sui cavalry on the outer perimeter, who ruthlessly slaughtered the fleeing Turkic soldiers.

Inside the city, there were also several thousand Sui soldiers on guard, watching every Turkic soldier who jumped into the inner city. However, their numbers were small, and they mostly headed towards the cavalry camp. Without cavalry, the Turkic soldiers could hardly fight.

However, the Sui army had already anticipated this, and they were shot and killed by Sui soldiers who were lying in ambush on their way to the warhorse camp.

Cheng Yaojin's army also increased to two thousand men. He led his troops to press forward from the north to the east and west, putting the Turkic army in a miserable situation of being attacked from both sides.

This fierce battle on the city walls with crossbows lasted for an hour and a half, until finally, hundreds of Turkic soldiers fell under the dense crossbow bolts, bringing this one-sided battle to an end.

All five thousand Turkic soldiers were annihilated, and the Sui army also suffered hundreds of casualties.

The Battle of Kucha ended, which also meant that the Western Turks' power in Anxi was completely eradicated, and the various states in Anxi became vassal states of the Sui Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)