The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 356 The First Battle of Sweeping Through Central Asia: The Ferocious Qin Army

To the south of Husiwoer lies the majestic northern foothills of the Western Tianshan Mountains, a towering mountain range stretching across the land like a barrier.

To get to Ferghana, you need to travel southwest along the edge of the Tianshan Mountains, and then turn southeast once you reach the westernmost point of the Tianshan Mountains.

This winding ancient road is now crowded with fleeing people. Amidst the swirling dust, there are remnants of the retreating Liao army as well as nomadic tribes with their families.

A Karluk tribe was mixed in among them, slowly moving southwest.

"Pooh."

“These jackals from the northern frontier have destroyed our grasslands and forced us to leave our homes.”

"The great Allah will surely send down divine thunder and raging fire, using the cruelest punishments in the world to grind those despicable people of the northern frontier to dust."

An old Karluk man, mounted on his horse, gazed northward toward the direction of Husiwoer, and angrily cursed, his voice filled with resentment.

They had lived in the grasslands of the Chu River basin for generations, but due to the plundering by the Northern Frontier Army and the retreat of the Liao Army, they had no choice but to abandon their ancestral homeland and flee with the Liao Army.

But beneath the resentment lay a deep-seated fear.

The young man beside the elder gripped his saber, his voice trembling: "Grandpa, can we really escape to Fakhna? What if the Northern Frontier people catch up with us..."

"Shut up."

The clan elder interrupted sharply, but could not hide the panic in his eyes: "We are the Karluks, we have to escape whether we want to or not, or we will die."

He knew all too well the enmity between the Karluks and the northern frontier.

During the Tang Dynasty, the Karluks were branded as "traitors" for betraying the Tang army, and in Han Chinese culture, they were a tribe that everyone had the right to kill.

The first of the seven grievances of Li Xiao, the Prince of Qin in the Northern Frontier, is that his father, Li Donghai, was betrayed by a Liao general while suppressing the Karluk rebellion and ultimately died at the hands of the Karluks.

The hatred for killing one's father is irreconcilable.

Moreover, the various ethnic groups in the northern frontier, mainly Han Chinese, also included Khitans, Turks, Uyghurs, and Tanguts. However, in this vast territory of thousands of miles, there was not a single Karluk, as if they had vanished into thin air.

Therefore, there is only one truth.

Those were the Karluks who lived in the northern frontier in the past. They were either killed or changed their ethnicity and went into hiding.

The Karluks in the northern frontier have no chance of survival.

Although the northern frontier covers a vast territory, there is not a single foothold for the Karluks.

Now, the people of the northern frontier have begun their westward expedition, penetrating deep into the heart of the Liao Kingdom and breaching the Husi Ordos.

Therefore, these Karluk tribes had no choice but to retreat and temporarily leave the grasslands where they had lived for generations.

During the retreat, a chaotic sound of horses' hooves came from behind.

A Liao army was retreating along the ancient road. The majority of the troops were Gur and Persians wearing tattered armor, with only a few Khitan and Turkic soldiers bringing up the rear.

This Liao army consisted of surrendered soldiers from the Kingdom of Gurkha who were incorporated into the Liao state after the Southern War, and had previously been stationed along the Ili River defense line.

Now, retreating along with Bahushadi, they were chased and routed by the Northern Frontier Army, and were already seething with anger.

"Get out of my way, tribes ahead!"

A Gur general rode up to the Karluk tribe, brandishing his whip and behaving arrogantly.

The Karluk elder was already annoyed, and seeing the other party's rudeness, he immediately became furious and pointed at the other party, cursing angrily.

"You bunch of useless trash! That coward Bahushadi lost Husiwoerduo without even fighting a single battle, forcing us to flee. And you still have the nerve to swagger around here?"

"They're nothing but lowly Gur slaves, how dare they point fingers at us Karluks?"

These words were like a match, instantly igniting the anger of General Gur.

With a livid face, he asked the translator beside him, "What is this old man cursing about?"

Upon learning that the clan elders had called them "lowly slaves," the general instantly flew into a rage.

"you wanna die."

They were already dissatisfied with the retreat, feeling that the Northern Frontier Army was only a bit fiercer than the Liao people, and that there was no need for them to be afraid of such a large force.

Not to mention that many of the Gur soldiers' relatives died in the war against the Liao army that year, and the Karluks made significant contributions in that war.

These surrendered soldiers of Gur also harbored resentment towards the Karluks.

Now that he's being insulted by a down-on-his-luck old man from the Karluk tribe, how can he possibly hold back?
"You old fool, how dare you insult us?" General Gul drew his scimitar and roared as he charged forward.

The clan elder, however, was not afraid at all. He puffed out his chest and said, "My son is a deputy general under General Yingyang. If you dare to lay a finger on me, my son will make you pay with your lives."

As he spoke, he picked up a bow and arrow and aimed it at the general.

"call out."

The arrow flew through the air, missing the general but grazing past his warhorse.

This completely ignited the flames of war.

"Kill this old thing."

“They robbed their cattle, sheep, and women.”

General Gur roared, ignoring his so-called deputy general, and charged forward, killing the old man with a single blow. He then pounced on the cattle, sheep, and women.

The Ghur and Persian soldiers behind them could no longer contain themselves and drew their weapons, following behind.

The Karluks were also enraged. The men picked up their sabers and bows and arrows to fight back, shouting "Avenge our uncle!" The elderly, women, and children also mounted their warhorses, ready to fight.

Although the Karluks were brave and skilled in battle, they were, after all, just a tribe, and many of the men in the tribe had been conscripted into the army by the royal court.

The remaining number of men is less than half; most of them are the elderly, women, and children.

As more and more Gur soldiers became excited and joined in, the Karluk tribe quickly became unable to hold out.

In the chaos, the Khitan general Bagu Tula, who was in charge of bringing up the rear, rushed over and turned pale with anger when he saw the scene of fighting before him.

He shouted sternly, "Stop! All of you, stop!"

"The nation is in peril, and you're still killing yourselves?"

But no one listened to him. The Gur soldiers were bloodthirsty, and the Karluks were determined to fight to the death.

Bagu Tula quickly figured out the reason and cursed inwardly, "That old Karluk is really asking for death. He knows these Gur people are holding back their anger, yet he still dares to provoke them."

He watched as more and more Gur soldiers joined the fray, knowing he couldn't stop them anymore.

The Liao Kingdom is currently in dire need of manpower, and it cannot allow the surrendered Gur soldiers to rebel for the sake of a distressed Karluk tribe.

The Liao Dynasty would still be the Liao Dynasty without this tribe, but without this army, the situation would be extremely dangerous.

He gritted his teeth and made a decision: "Don't stop them, let them kill. They'll stop once they've vented their anger."

The sounds of fighting, screams, and women's cries mingled together, and cattle and sheep ran wildly in fright, turning the ancient road into a living hell in an instant.

Ghur and the Persian soldiers went berserk, plundering the tribe's cattle, sheep, and women, their laughter and screams creating a jarring contrast.

Just then, a low rumble suddenly came from afar, like muffled thunder rolling by, or like countless hooves pounding the ground.

"Boom boom boom~"

The sound grew closer and closer, causing the ground to tremble slightly. Both sides in the midst of their battle froze, ceasing their movements.

Bagu Tula's expression changed drastically, his pupils contracted sharply, and only one thought remained in his mind: "Damn it, it's the Northern Frontier Army."

"How did they get here so quickly?"

He had no choice but to forcibly stop the Gur soldiers' looting, shouting sternly, "Stop it, all of you!"

"The Northern Frontier Army is attacking! Immediately organize your troops and prepare to meet the enemy."

"If anyone dares to steal anything again, I'll chop them up first."

The Gur soldiers, who were plundering cattle, sheep, and women, froze instantly when they heard the translator mention the words "Northern Frontier Army."

Although they were arrogant, they knew the prestige of the Northern Frontier Army. If they did not reorganize their troops now, they would only be slaughtered as stragglers.

Reluctantly, they let go of their valuables, grumbling as they returned to their group. Many of them looked back at the women of the Karluk tribe, their eyes filled with resentment.

The troops quickly assembled, and the Khitan and Turkic veterans who had participated in the Battle of the Seven Rivers had faces so solemn they could drip water.

They knew all too well the terror of the Northern Frontier Army; even 30,000 Pi Shi soldiers couldn't stop them back then, and now this force, mainly composed of foreigners, was in even greater peril.

But the Ghurs and Persians next to them weren't so nervous; instead, they whispered to each other, their tone somewhat dismissive.

"So what if they're the Northern Frontier Army? We have two thousand men, they have at most a few hundred. What's there to be afraid of?"

"Stop talking, these people from the northern frontier have defeated the Liao people."

However, the Liao people defeated the Gur Kingdom. Logically speaking, the Northern Frontier Army should be more powerful than the Gur people.

But these Gur soldiers didn't think so.

They believed that the Liao people's victory over the Gur army, despite having fewer troops, was due to their cunning and treachery, not because the Gur warriors were weak.

It was precisely because the Liao Kingdom had fewer troops that it was defeated by the people of the northern frontier.

Therefore, if the warriors of Gur were to be fully alert, they would certainly not be able to let the people of the Northern Frontier take advantage of them.

Moreover, the Liao army now has more troops, giving us the advantage.

"No matter how powerful the Northern Frontier Army is, can it be stronger than our Gur warriors?"

"We'll charge in later and show them what we're made of."

The Gur people's inexplicable self-confidence seems to be influenced by their neighbor, the Third Brother.

When these words reached Bagu Tula's ears, he was so angry that his veins bulged. He suddenly drew his scimitar, pointed it at the noisy Gur soldiers, and roared, "Shut up, all of you shut up!"

"Anyone who dares to utter another word will be court-martialed."

"Obey my orders and do not act without authorization."

He cursed inwardly: These idiots are the lowest of the low.

"Buddha, why did you allow these stupid, pig-like Gur people to appear before me?"

The ruling class of the Ghurid Kingdom was the Turks, who should not be underestimated, but the local natives they conquered, collectively known as the Ghurids, were simply a rabble.

They have unusual thought processes and often do things that normal people cannot understand.

To still dare to underestimate the Northern Frontier Army is simply courting death.

Of course, what Bagu Tula didn't know was that the Gur people were relatively normal; the Gur Kingdom's southern neighbor was even more bizarre.

Just as the Liao army was hastily assembling its ranks, a crimson battle flag with the sun and moon emerged from the dust in the distance.

"Boom boom boom~"

Immediately afterwards, soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army in crimson armor surged in like a tide, their horses' hooves trampling the earth, kicking up dust several feet high, their iron cavalry roaring, their momentum overwhelming.

"Whoa~"

Commander Wang Dalin, the commander of the Northern Frontier Thousand Household, reined in his horse, his gaze sweeping over the Liao army ahead, a broad smile spreading across his face: "Finally, we've caught the tail of this Liao army."

"Only two thousand men, and they dare to block the path of my Northern Frontier Army?"

He estimated the troop strength of both sides.

The opposing side had less than two thousand men, while he had a full thousand iron cavalry under his command.

The advantage is mine.

"Pass on my order: Black-armored soldiers, don your armor."

After the order was given, the fifty heavy cavalrymen in the formation quickly put on their heavy armor with the help of the light cavalry.

Today, the "Black Armor Army" is no longer just a single unit designation; it has become a synonym for the heavy cavalry of the northern frontier. In the most recent military reform, Li Xiao dismantled the original heavy cavalry units of ten thousand households, dispersing the elite heavy cavalry into various thousand households.

They train together with other branches of the armed forces on a regular basis, and in the event of a large-scale war, they are drawn from other units to form temporary heavy cavalry corps.

In this way, even a single commander of a thousand men would possess a heavy cavalry force capable of turning the tide of battle.

Moreover, each thousand-household unit, as an independent combat unit, was equipped with luxurious features.

Fifty heavy cavalrymen charged into battle, fifty crossbows broke through the defenses from a distance, and ten tiger-shaped cannons held the line.

This firepower is unprecedented.

The reason for all this was the rapid rise of the Qin state's military industrial system.

After the last eastern expedition, Li Xiao relocated all the skilled craftsmen from Western Xia and Guanzhong to Jinzhou.

This enabled the Qin state to achieve a qualitative leap in both the production efficiency and innovation capabilities of its weapons.

In less than half an incense stick's time, fifty heavy cavalrymen were already fully equipped and ready to go.

However, the Liao army was first met with a barrage of artillery fire from the Northern Frontier Army.
This is also a tradition of the Northern Frontier Army: firing artillery before engaging in battle.

"fire."

At Wang Dalin's command, five Tiger Cannons on each flank roared in unison, their shells whistling as they rained down on the Liao army's front lines.

"Boom boom boom~"

After years of meticulous improvements by Qin craftsmen, the Tiger-shaped Cannon was far from the cumbersome old-fashioned firearm of the past.

It has now become a general term for small, lightweight, and powerful field artillery with an astonishing range of 600 meters.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa~"

The shells pierced the air with a sharp, piercing whistle, and struck the densely packed front of the Liao army with pinpoint accuracy.

"What was that sound?" A Gur soldier had just raised his head when his terrified shout was swallowed up by the sound of an explosion.

"Boom boom boom~"

The shells explode in mid-air or upon impact with the ground, instantly turning into countless deadly fragments.

The iron nails, iron pieces, and scrap iron pre-installed inside the projectile, like a metal storm from hell, sprayed wildly in a fan shape in all directions.

"Ahhhhh~"

"My legs~"

"What the hell is this."

"Help, help~"

The mournful neighing of warhorses and the screams of soldiers rang out simultaneously, mingling together in one sound.

The Gur soldiers, who had been so arrogant just moments before, now seemed to be in a scene of carnage.

Someone had half of their face sliced ​​off by a flying piece of metal, leaving them a bloody mess.

Some people were riddled with holes by the dense iron nails and fell down without uttering a sound.

Blood instantly stained the grass red, and the air was filled with a heavy smell of gunpowder and blood.

"God, it is the sorcery of the people of the North."

A Persian soldier watched in horror as a nail pierced his eye socket, and he dropped his weapon and fled in terror.

Although the actual casualties caused by this round of shelling were limited, the blow to the morale of the Liao army was fatal.

Many warhorses were startled and lost control, causing the formation to falter.

The Khitan general, Bagu Tula, was furious and gritted his teeth: "It's the same old trick again."

The painful memory of the Battle of Qihe six years ago resurfaced, when the Liao army was routed by the Shenwei cannons of the Northern Frontier Army.

Six years have passed, and they still haven't found an effective way to counter artillery, let alone replicate it.

He suppressed his anger, shouted loudly, and tried to stabilize the situation, directing the troops to retreat slowly: "Don't panic, keep your distance, they won't be able to hit you if you're far away."

The Northern Frontier Army's Shenji Battalion, under the cover of cavalry, maintained a safe distance and pressed forward step by step.

The relentless bombardment threw the Liao army into disarray, causing many soldiers to break down and begin to retreat in secret.

Wang Dalin only ordered a ceasefire when the cannon barrel became so hot that it was on the verge of exploding.

Immediately afterwards, he drew his sword and pointed it forward: "Black Armor Army, crush them."

When Bagu Tula saw that the Northern Frontier Army's artillery had stopped firing, he immediately guessed their next intention.

He immediately shouted, "The heavy cavalry from the northern frontier are coming! Archers, prepare!"

As a veteran who had fought against the Northern Frontier Army for many years, he was very familiar with this tactic: first, bombard with artillery fire, then break through the enemy lines with heavy cavalry, and finally sweep away the enemy with light cavalry.

Although the method is old-fashioned, it always works.

He knew that the Northern Frontier Army was powerful and terrifying, yet he still dared to take the initiative to fight them, relying on his forces, which were twice the size of the enemy's.

Even if he only annihilates three or four hundred men, let alone wipes out the entire Northern Frontier Army, it would be enough to make him famous in the royal court, and he might even be promoted three ranks.

However, he never expected that the problem lay in the composition of the troops.

If it were two thousand elite Khitan soldiers, they could certainly compete with the Northern Frontier Army, but most of his troops were Gurkhas and Persians.

These soldiers were all talk and no action in peacetime, but on the battlefield, they were all cowardly and ran away as fast as they could.

It perfectly embodies the character's combination of cowardice and arrogance.

No wonder the royal court, despite being severely weakened by the Northern Frontier Army, was still able to inflict heavy damage on the Kingdom of Gur.

"Boom boom boom~"

"Qin warriors, kill!"

When the dark mass of heavy cavalry charged in like a landslide or tsunami, the archers' hands trembled, and they fired only a few arrows.

The shield bearers in the front row were so weak in the knees that they were sweating profusely.

"You can't stop it, run!"

It's unclear who shouted first, but the instinct for survival overcame the military order.

The archers were the first to break down, turning and fleeing to the rear of the formation.

This run immediately triggered an avalanche effect.

"Damn it, don't run away, hold them off!"

The Khitan general, Bagu Tula, swung his sword and cut down a Gur deserter who ran past him. His eyes wide with rage, he roared, "Don't panic! Form ranks! Form ranks!"

But it was too late.

The shield bearers in the front ranks watched their comrades scatter, and then looked at the approaching, ferocious-looking heavy cavalry. Their last bit of courage vanished.

With a clang, someone threw down their heavy shield and joined the fleeing crowd.

They had only one thought in their minds: "As long as we run faster than the people next to us, that's all that matters."

The next second, the steel torrent crashed into the rout of the army.

"Click."

"Pfft~"

It was a mixture of sounds: spears piercing bodies, sabers slicing through bones, and heavily armored warhorses crashing into flesh and blood.

"Ahhhhh~"

Wherever the Black-Armored Army passed, Liao soldiers fell one after another like wheat fields swaying in the wind, leaving the battlefield in ruins.

Soldiers being impaled by spears, bodies trampled into a bloody pulp by horses' hooves, and gruesome sights of someone being cleaved in half by a saber...

The battlefield instantly turned into a slaughterhouse, with blood splattering everywhere, entrails spilling out, and tattered flags lying in pools of blood.

Immediately afterwards, the light cavalry of the northern frontier, like a giant fan unfolding, flanked from both sides and began to relentlessly pursue and kill the fleeing soldiers.

On the grasslands, a one-sided massacre unfolded...

The setting sun dyed the grassland a blood-red hue, echoing the brutality of the battle during the day.

Wang Dalin traversed the ravaged battlefield, his horse's hooves stained with dark red mud.

He summoned his personal guards, dictated the battle report, and his face was full of smug satisfaction: "Hahaha~"

"Send someone to report to the commander immediately. In this battle, our troops defeated two thousand Liao soldiers in the rear, beheaded five hundred, and captured many others."

"Our army is at its peak, and its morale is high."

"As ordered."

The guards obeyed and left.

The Qin army did not sweep the grasslands aimlessly, but was organized and disciplined. All the thousand households were kept at a certain distance from each other and could support each other at any time.

Therefore, the main force of the Wanhu Army, where Wang Dalin was stationed, was within a hundred miles of the surrounding area.

Next, the Qin soldiers began to clean up the battlefield and do their best to treat their wounded.

As for the seriously wounded Liao soldiers lying on the ground groaning, they were dealt with exceptionally decisively, their blades falling swiftly to give them a "quick" death, which could be considered another form of "mercy".

As for the lightly wounded and unharmed prisoners, they were tied together with ropes and guarded by soldiers.

What awaited them was a fate to be sent to the mines in the northern frontier, to spend the rest of their lives in dark and sunless tunnels, laying the foundation for Qin's heavy industry with their blood and flesh.

"Report to the thousand households."

A scout quickly reported: "During the pursuit of the remnants of the Liao army, we discovered a small Karluk tribe that was fleeing. It consisted mostly of the elderly, women, and children."

"According to the prisoners of war, the Liao army had clashed with our army before engaging in battle, killing many Karluks."

"The Karluks?"

Wang Dalin's eyes suddenly narrowed, a deep sense of disgust and disdain flashed across his lips, and his voice suddenly rose.

"Damn it, don't you know that our king hates these fickle Karluk bastards the most?"

"Let alone the king, even if you sent the entire tribe of these people to the commander-in-chief, it would only make the commander-in-chief feel annoyed and make him unhappy."

After a moment's hesitation, he issued a cold command, his tone resolute and brooking no argument.

“Listen, in the Karluk tribe, all men with leaders are treated as prisoners of war and are thrown into the ranks of mine slaves along with the Liao army prisoners of war.”

On the way to the prison, they were only allowed to eat half a portion of bran each day, and when they were hungry, they were allowed to eat grass on their own.

This long journey, filled with illness, exhaustion, and infighting, will naturally weed out the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Ultimately, those who make it to the mines are all able-bodied young men who can put in the physical labor.

"As for the women in the tribe... take them all and give them to the brothers. Let them have some fun tonight as a reward for today's hard work in the fighting," Wang Dalin said with a hearty laugh.

That night, Wang Dalin's thousand-household unit joined forces with another Qin thousand-household army unit that had been ordered to join them.

The campfire blazed brightly as Qin soldiers shared the captured cattle and sheep, their boisterous chatter filled with the unbridled joy of victory.

Meanwhile, from the tents and corners at the edge of the camp, came the intermittent weeping and desperate wails of the Karluk women, mixed with the crude laughter of the soldiers.

The fire continued until late at night before gradually subsiding, leaving only the crackling sound of the campfire.

(End of this chapter)