On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 288 By the Xian'e River

The wind howled, the people screamed, and the horses neighed. The Sui army crossed the Great Wall and marched out of Yanshan.

After leaving the Monan Grassland and entering the vast desert, Cui Che slowed down his marching speed, and Mai Tiezhang also volunteered to join the army and resume his old profession.

Although Cui Che has higher expectations for Mai Tiezhang, he will not lose his specialty.

Whether it was Mai Tiezhi's foot power that could travel five hundred miles a day, or his fierce combat power that killed twenty rebels in a row after being captured, the Sui army had 80,000 infantry and cavalry, and no one was more suited to explore the road than him.

The desert stretches from the Daxingan Mountains in the east to the Altai Mountains in the west.

Although this place is a desert and has poor nomadic conditions, due to the abundant underground water, there are some scattered pastures, which is enough for the Xi herdsmen to drive their livestock and follow the Sui army.

There are many places to replenish water along the way.

As a guide, the one who showed Cui Che the way was Dusu Liu, who had abandoned his wife and son before and went to Youzhou to join him.

Dusu Liu is the younger brother of Dulan Khan. Of course, this does not mean how deep the relationship between their brothers can be.

Qin Yushe, who was captured and killed by Dulan Khan, was also the heir of Shabolu Khan Shetu.

If Du Suliu could be prompted to abandon his wife, children, and tribe, and run south resolutely, there would naturally be greater interests tempting him.

Everyone is of the bloodline of Sabolo Khan. The elder brother can sit on this throne, but the younger brother cannot touch it!

After Dulan Khan deserted the Sui Dynasty, Dusu Liu saw an opportunity.

Cui Che could support his brother as Khan back then, and now he can also support himself as Khan.

"Yan Gong, further north is the Duluo River. The second khan (Anluo, son of Tubo Khan) lived in the Duluo River after giving way to his father Khan (Photo by Ashina)

, before Yongyulu (Dulan Khan) fled to the north, he went to Duluoshui first to settle down."

Finally walking out of the vast desert, Du Suliu pointed to the north and introduced Cui Che.

Cui Che nodded slightly.

He knew that the Duluo River was the core area of ​​the Mobei region, and Ulaanbaatar, the later capital of Mongolia, was located in the source area of ​​the Duluo River, so it was not far away.

"But where did Yong Yulu escape now?"

Cui Che asked.

This is also another difficulty in fighting outside the fortress. You must first find out where the enemy is.

Dusu Liu was speechless. He could only guess:

"Since Dian Jue (Da Tou) came to help, Yong Yulu may have gone west along the Duluo River to Dujin Mountain."

Dujin Mountain is later known as Hangai Mountain, also known as Yanran Mountain. The royal courts of two generations of Mobei overlords, Rouran and Turks were all located here.

Photographed by Shabolu Khan, he moved south. After attaching himself to the Sui Dynasty, it was occupied by Apo Khan. When Cui Che, Mohe Khan, and Ahui Lusu joined forces to march out of the fortress, they broke through the Turkic royal court at the foot of Dujin Mountain.

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This seemed like a reasonable place to go, but Cui Che had hesitations in his heart.

Cui Che thought that if he were Dulan Khan, he would never choose to fight at Dujin Mountain.

The reason is simple. Dulan Khan retreated so far just to take advantage of the home field. He had no reason to choose a place where Cui Che had been before and was familiar with the environment.

Cui Che shook his head secretly:

'That's all, let's go to Duluo River for a while, and then send out sentries everywhere to search for traces of Turks.'

On August 19, the 16th year of Kaihuang's reign (AD 596), after leaving the fortress and traveling for more than two months, the Sui army finally arrived at Duluoshui.

At this time, the Youzhou infantry who followed Cui Che out of the fortress for the first time had long lost their initial joy.

But fortunately, after arriving at Duluoshui, Cui Che ordered to rest on the spot, and everyone had a chance to breathe.

However, Cui Che did not forget to arrange for vigilance. Now is the time when the soldiers are most lax. He himself is an expert in conducting camp raids. It would be unjustifiable if he fell into this matter.

After setting up camp, Cui Che sent sentries around to search for the whereabouts of Dulan Khan.

At the same time, on the grasslands south of Lake Baikal and north of the Xian'e River, the coalition forces of Dulan Khan and Datou Khan had already been stationed here, waiting for Cui Che to come.

However, in the sweat tent, Datou Khan had some doubts. He asked Dulan Khan:

"Will Cui Che really cross the Xian'e River?"

The Xian'e River, later known as the Selenge River, originates from the northern foothills of the Dujin Mountains and flows from southwest to northeast into the middle section of Lake Baikal.

The Duluo River where Cui Che is now located is one of the upstream sources of the Xian'e River.

Facing Datou Khan's question, Dulan Khan said firmly:

"He will definitely come! Cui Che has the most prestigious reputation. He was ordered to go on the Northern Expedition this time. He has worked hard on the expedition and has achieved nothing so far. How can he return to the court with his troops?"

Compared to Datou Khan who has never dealt with Cui Che, Dulan Khan can even call himself Cui Chetong.

He was afraid of Cui Che precisely because Dulan Khan knew Cui Che well enough.

It was this understanding that made him conclude that Cui Che could not retreat.

Cui Che, who was stationed on the south bank of Duluo River, finally learned the whereabouts of Dulan Khan.

Dulan Khan had hundreds of thousands of people and countless livestock under his command. How could such a large-scale migration leave no trace behind?

After resting for three days at the Duluo River, Cui Che decisively ordered the entire army to cross the Duluo River.

The upper reaches of the Duluo River once ran east-west, but after passing a corner, it turned north-south and merged into Shenshui, which became the Orkhon River in later generations.

Shenshui originates from the southern foothills of Dujin Mountain, runs from southwest to northeast, meets the Xian'e River originating from the northern foothills of Dujin Mountain, and flows into Lake Baikal.

Cui Che went all the way north, following the traces left by the migration of the Eastern Turks, crossing the Shenshui River and the Xian'e River one after another, and finally arrived at the battlefield prepared for him by Dulan Khan.

After the Sui army crossed the Xian'e River, they camped on the spot. Scouts from both sides had already been in contact, which showed that they were not far from the armies of Dulan Khan and Datou Khan.

Cui Che would not give the opponent a chance to wait for work. On the one hand, he set up more hidden sentries to strengthen the alert and did not give the opponent a chance to attack the camp. On the other hand, he also allowed the soldiers to recuperate before fighting the Turks.

More than twenty miles north of the Sui army's camp, it was the Turks who set up camp southward after learning that the Sui army had crossed the river.

Dulan Khan had already divided some of his troops, under the command of his son Yu Qincha, and escorted the women and children to the west of the Dujin Mountains.

The reason for this arrangement was because of Yu Qincha's report, knowing that Cui Che would not kill him completely and sent away the women and children. If this battle was lost, he could still make a comeback.

Moreover, with the support of Datou Khan, the total army of 130,000 is enough to cope with this battle.

In the sweat tent, Datou Khan suggested again:

"Now that the Sui army is far away and has not yet established a stable foothold, we can just attack its camp as a test. If it succeeds, the matter will be settled. If it fails, it will not matter."

But Dulan Khan had doubts. He knew that Cui Che was most accustomed to attacking camps, and it was impossible for him to be unprepared.

(End of chapter)