Chapter 306: Defend Zhang Sancheng (Part 1)

In the large camp of the Uighurs of Yanqi, several war horses rushed from afar like a strong wind, bringing news that shocked Jiegangas. The Tubo people retreated westward, and Kucha was an empty city.

"Master, Kucha is empty, the opportunity cannot be missed. We can march immediately!"

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"Master, you can defeat Tubo in one fell swoop when it is unstable!"

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There was a quarrel in the big tent at the meeting. Most generals advocated taking the opportunity to advance westward and occupy Kucha City, but some people believed that the Tubo people had ulterior motives and their retreat must have a deep meaning.

Jiegangas never said a word. Of course, he knew that Chisong Dezan's intention to withdraw his troops was to relieve his positive pressure and allow him to fight the Tang army with all his might. Of course, it was not for him to consider it, but for the ancient fable in the East, where cranes and clams competed, fishermen gained profits, and when the Uighurs and Tubo were killed, he would come to pick up the benefits of fishermen again.

Although he knew that Chisong Dezan had a sinister intention, Jie Gangas found that he had to do what the other party wanted. He was in a dangerous situation of being attacked from both sides. If he did not deal with one of them first, he would sooner or later be eaten by the Tang Dynasty and Tubo. Now that Chisong Dezan has taken the initiative to retreat, he can only go north to deal with Zhang Huan's threat.

"Don't argue, everyone!" Jiegangas shouted loudly, and the tent suddenly became quiet. Everyone was watching him, waiting for his decision.

Jiegangas glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "I have received the news that Khan personally led 80,000 troops to support us. Now that Tubo has retreated westward, we can take the opportunity to cooperate with Khan to attack the Tang army from north to south. Once the Tang army is defeated, we can turn around and fight with Tubo again. This is the best strategy. I have decided, and you must not object anymore."

The tent was quiet and there was no sound. Seeing that everyone had obeyed, Jiegangas nodded and resolutely ordered: "I'll order the army to have a full meal, get up tonight and march into Gaochang."

That night, under the cold moonlight, 70,000 Uighur troops gathered the camp and set off, left Yanqi Town, and rushed to the northeast to kill Gaochang Town, which was occupied by the Tang army.

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At this time, Zhang Huanzheng led an army of 80,000 near Xianquan Town north of the Shatu Desert. He was confronting the reinforcements led by the Uighur Zhongzhen Khan. On the one hand, Zhongzhen Khan sent people to Chang'an to seek peace to confuse the Tang Dynasty, but he himself led a 70,000 army to march south to cooperate with Jiegangas to capture Anxi, with 70,000 people. This is already all the troops currently mobilized by the Uighurs.

This was also the first battle after the Loyal Khan ascended the throne. In order to win, he had already put all his capital on Anxi and Beiting.

At the same time, the 50,000 reinforcements sent by Longyou had arrived in Yiwu County under the leadership of General Xin Lang. Their mission was to go south to Gaochang and intercept the Jiegangas army that might go north.

On the tenth day of July, Xinlang's army arrived in Gaochang, and at the same time, he marched southward without stopping. Almost on the same day, Jiegangas' army also raised troops from Yanqi and marched northward, two armies, one south and one north, as if racing against time.

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From Yanqi to Gaochang, it is not a smooth road. On the contrary, you have to travel between the mountains and ridges. The most steepest section of the mountain is called Yinshan, which is a branch of the Tianshan Mountains. The road disappears here. You need to cross several mountains to make it a flat grassland. It is precisely because of this steep terrain that the Tang Dynasty built a castle on the mountain, calling Zhang Sancheng to guard the capitulation. The castle is not big and can only accommodate hundreds of people at most, but it blocks the necessary way to march.

At this moment, there was only a team of more than 200 Tang troops guarding the castle, while another scout who was exploring intelligence near Bosten Lake was on his way back to the castle.

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There were more than 300 scouts responsible for exploring the intelligence near Yanqi. In fact, they were composed of five scouts, led by a captain. This captain was Sun Muren, who was promoted to the intelligence of Geluo people not long ago. His other companion, Guan Ying, was promoted to the team leader.

After learning that the Uighur army had been heading north, Sun Muren immediately summoned various scouts to retreat to Gaochang quickly. They had been marching for two days. That morning, they finally arrived at the foot of the Silver Mountain, and the gray-white castle on the mountain was vaguely visible.

"Mu, I really can't stand it anymore, let's take a rest!" Guan Ying fell from the horse into the grass without waiting for Sun Muren to agree, spreading his limbs, and no longer wanted to move.

Sun Muren frowned. He almost couldn't help but scold Guan Ying. It was not the time for two people. Now that both of them have subordinates, who has to complain about being tired? Only he can do whatever he wants and is not in a position to be disciplined. Are you not afraid of laughing at his brothers?

Sun Muren suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Guan Gun, now the Uighur army is rushing behind us. Our mission is to send the information back in time. Everyone is very tired. Isn't it good to go to the castle to rest?"

"But haven't we sent the information out long ago?" Guan Ying replied lazily while lying on the grass.

Sun Muren's face was already gloomy, "I'll say it again, go to the castle to rest."

Guan Ying heard Sun Muren's harsh tone and knew that he was angry. He didn't dare to talk back when he was in the wrong, so he had to get up, "Okay! OK! OK! General of the School Captain, just follow the order."

He turned over and muttered in a low voice: "You can't help them prepare for defense when you enter the castle. How can you have any chance to rest?"

Sun Muren was too lazy to pay attention to him, so he turned around and waved his hand and said loudly: "Brothers, work harder, let's work hard and go into the castle to rest!"

Everyone agreed loudly, cheering up their spirits to urge the horse to go to the Silver Mountains.

The straight distance from the foot of the mountain to the castle on the mountain is only five miles, but it is at least ten miles circling up the mountain road. The steeper the mountain is about to go up, and everyone has already got off their horses and leads them.

Along the way, Sun Muren was silently remembering the terrain. Such large supplies on mountain roads could not be climbed up the mountain. They could only be dismantled and carried by horses, or bypassed the desert from the east and took another trade route to Yiwu directly. However, it would take five or six days extra to walk, and there was no supply on the road.

Everyone walked for two hours and finally arrived at Zhangsancheng Castle at noon.

The castle is made of local materials and is made of big stones. After more than a hundred years of erosion by wind and rain, it still stands tall. It has strangled the only road to climb the Silver Mountain. Its geographical location is extremely important.

However, when the entire Anxi area belonged to the Tang Dynasty, its strategic significance was not shown, and it was simply regarded as a place where past merchants paid taxes.

Now, when the Uighurs occupied Yanqi and the Tang Dynasty occupied Gaochang, there was a silver mountain among them, the strategic significance of Zhang Sancheng Castle was fully revealed. Long before entering Gaochang, Zhang Huan, who had a sand table, sent a team of surprise troops to occupy it in advance. In this way, Yanqi's Uighur army could not come to rescue Gaochang.

The castle guards had about 200 people, and the guard commander was also a lieutenant named Wang Tingjiang, a native of Taiyuan, Hedong. He had once been a personal soldier of Zhang Huan. He received a report from the news force sent by Sun Muren two days ago. The Uighur army had already headed north in large numbers. Then, Zhangsancheng Castle was the only way they had to go through.

To this end, Wang Tingjiang asked Gaochang for help while actively preparing for war. There were 50,000 arrows in the castle. They collected a large number of stones and wood, but the number of people was still too small. At this time, Sun Muren led more than 300 scouts to the castle.

After lunch, Wang Tingjiang found Sun Muren. The two of them came to the top of the city and looked at the magnificent mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty. The mountains in the distance were covered with green mountains, and white clouds floated slowly over the Tianshan Mountains, casting a large shadow on the peaks, making people unable to help but be proud.

"General Sun, are you willing to guard the mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty with me?" Without temptation, nor by turning around, among the towering mountains, Wang Tingjiang looked at him with bright eyes and his heart was open-minded.

"I had this idea for a long time."

Sun Muren agreed without hesitation, "A real man should guard the territory for his country. Even if he dies, I will have no regrets!"

The two looked at each other and laughed at the sky. Sun Muren pointed to a high ground about five hundred steps ahead and said: "I had paid attention to the terrain when I went up the mountain. If fortifications were built on that high ground, it would not only buffer the enemy's attack on the castle, but also most of the arrows shot by the enemy would fall between the castle and the highland, so that we could collect them. What does General Wang think?"

Wang Tingjiang looked at the curtain of the thug for a while, and nodded, and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up and said, "General Sun is worthy of being a scout. He is indeed meticulous and thoughtful, but I'm worried if it's too late?"

Sun Muren smiled and said, "The Uighurs cherish their horses and don't rush to travel day and night. I have calculated that it will take at least three days to get here from Yanqi, and it will take as soon as possible until tomorrow afternoon or evening. There should be time."

They did it as soon as they said that, and the two immediately summoned their respective subordinates, a total of more than 500 people, and worked together to build fortifications, and at the same time destroyed several roads hundreds of steps ahead, making it impossible for the Uighurs to pass through in a large group of people.

After a busy afternoon and the next morning, the fortifications on the high ground were finally completed. In fact, it was made of large stones to form a simple stone enclosure, ten feet long and two feet high. The upper and lower layers were built with wood, and the Tang army could divide the upper and lower layers into two layers to shoot arrows from the cracks of the rocks.
Chapter completed!