Chapter 1090: The War in the Western Regions

On the other hand, the great Han–Liao war of that year had far-reaching influence, and news of its brutality also reached the Western Regions, though through word of mouth, some details were distorted. But certain basic facts were certain: the Khitan had lost troops and territory, suffered heavy losses, and then endured internal rebellion and unrest—this was precisely the time they should be recovering and recuperating.

Under such circumstances, if the Khitan could barely cope with the powerful Han, how could they possibly dare to muster their tribal forces and launch a distant expedition to the Western Regions? With such a mindset, one can imagine how the Gaochang Uyghurs prepared for defense.

Of course, since such news had arrived, if they showed no reaction at all, wouldn't that seem disrespectful to the Khitan? Thus, the Uyghur ruler and his ministers issued orders from Gaochang, directing the military and civil officials of the border cities—especially Beiting and Yizhou—to strengthen their defenses, and then took no further action.

Naturally, such orders received little attention at the local level. After all, if even the Khagan and the high-ranking nobles and ministers in Gaochang were unconcerned, how could they demand that lower-ranking officials and generals remain vigilant and diligently perform their duties?

And so, Gaochang remained the same Gaochang, the border cities remained the same border cities—from top to bottom, not a single change, not a hint of tension in the atmosphere, let alone any martial preparation.

However, a brief analysis makes this understandable. The Western Uyghur Kingdom had enjoyed peace for too long after its early expansion. To the east was the Guiyi Army—as mentioned before, the Cao clan had cultivated close relations, with intermarriage and friendship between the two sides. To the south, the Tibetans were in a state of great fragmentation, sinking ever deeper into decline with no hope of revival, harmless to everyone. As for the Kara-Khanid dynasty to the west, after internal reforms and upheaval, its national strength was growing, but it was plagued by the Samanid dynasty in Transoxiana, and was equally harmless. And Khotan, sandwiched between the Uyghurs and the Kara-Khanids, served as an even better buffer.

As the saying goes, "Peril breeds survival, ease breeds death." In such a comfortable surrounding environment, it was hard not to grow lax. The facade of peace and comfort often deceives the eyes. Therefore, when they heard that the Liao army might launch a major westward advance, their first reaction was disbelief and skepticism.

Of course, if not for the unexpected factor of Emperor Liu forcibly altering the course of history, then following the original historical progression, the Gaochang Uyghurs would indeed have continued to exist comfortably for many more years, remaining semi-independent even into the Western Liao period.

Therefore, one can imagine how stunned the Uyghur ruler and ministers were when the Liao army crossed the Golden Mountains and traversed the shifting sands to strike. The Uyghur ruler and ministers, like many others, stubbornly believed that with the Liao capital far away in Linhuang Prefecture in eastern Mobei, dispatching a weary army across ten thousand li to attack the Western Regions was simply too absurd—it was cheating...

Yet what they could never have imagined was that the western expedition plan had been proposed four years earlier, kept in utmost secrecy, and followed by nearly two years of thorough preparation. Of the troops dispatched, aside from the five thousand tent-guard cavalry Yelu Xiezhen brought from the Supreme Capital, the rest were Naiman, Tatar, and other tribes conscripted from Mobei and the western steppe.

Setting out from the western steppe and crossing the Altai Mountains—was such a journey really that far for Khitan cavalry that had been drilled for years in the northwest of Liao?

As for Liao's strategic concerns, after pacifying internal troubles, the only force capable of posing a mortal threat to the Khitan was the rising Great Han Empire. As for the Ding'an Kingdom established by remnants of Bohai, when you acknowledged its existence, it could barely be called a threat; when you ignored it, it wasn't worth a fart.

And after the bloody Han–Liao war and internal strife, if Liao recovered and developed at a normal pace, it would only fall further and further behind the Great Han. The longer the time, the more the comprehensive strength and war potential between the two sides would widen to an extremely lopsided gap.

Under such circumstances, was there any more effective method than returning to their old trade of plundering resources? As for the direction of external plunder—should they continue north, raiding the Kyrgyz, penetrating deep into Siberia, all the way to the Arctic Ocean?

Or head east to destroy Goryeo? But surely no one actually believed that because Goryeo was close at hand, it would be easy to conquer—simpler than a distant expedition to the Western Regions? Or, in an act of suicidal folly, reopen hostilities and spark a second Han–Liao war?

Comparing all options, only heading west—taking the oil-rich Western Regions as their plunder target—was the optimal choice, whether in terms of geography or wealth and profit. At the same time, it would have the greatest impact on the Great Han. Indeed, it had already thoroughly influenced the views of such important ministers and great generals as Guo Rong, Wu Tingzuo, and Wang Yansheng regarding the westward strategy.

Returning to the fighting in the Western Regions—when the Liao army descended like divine troops from heaven, arrived beneath the walls of Beiting, and launched a surprise attack, the defenders completely lost their composure. They barely organized any effective resistance, and the still-complete city defenses proved useless. Beiting city fell easily into Liao hands.

Taking Beiting gave the Liao western expedition an auspicious start. The smooth progress and effortless conquest exceeded all expectations. Of course, the key lay in the Liao army's sudden strike and the Uyghurs' carelessness and lack of preparation.

Beiting, located south of the Golden Mountains, was the foremost stronghold of the Western Uyghur Kingdom's northern frontier—truly the lock and key of the northern gate. Once Beiting fell, the western city of Luntai (present-day Ürümqi) was directly exposed to the Liao army. At the same time, the Liao army had secured a foothold in the Western Regions, favorable for their subsequent attacks.

However, although momentarily startled and angered by the easy loss of Beiting, they were not overly fearful. According to the officials and soldiers who had fled back, the Liao army was not numerous and had no siege weapons—they had taken Beiting solely through the advantage of surprise.

As subsequent military intelligence arrived, they gained a clearer understanding of the western expeditionary Liao army. After the Uyghur Khagan Wuguzhi consulted with his ministers and generals, he decisively resolved to counterattack—to take advantage of the Liao army's long march and unstable foothold to send troops and retake Beiting.

In the eyes of the Uyghur ruler and ministers, the Liao army's daring to launch a distant expedition against their country with merely twenty to thirty thousand men was far too presumptuous—they had to be taught a lesson.

Perhaps the Uyghur Khagan's thinking was: our country has long maintained good relations with the Khitan, sending tribute without cease and never neglecting proper etiquette—yet now you come to attack us. Your Khitan may be powerful, but weren't you still beaten by the Han army, losing troops and territory? We Uyghurs are likewise a people born in the saddle, lacking no warriors. So let's see—forty years from now, whose army is stronger, whose saber is sharper.

The Uyghur ruler and ministers relied on only two things. First, the Khitan had come on a distant expedition with weary troops, while they held the advantages of terrain and popular support, waiting at ease for the exhausted enemy. Second, the Western Regions had a population of over a million—and what did a million mean? It was nearly a third of the Khitan's population after the great Han–Liao war. With such numerical superiority, they could fully arm enough troops and simply bury the distant Liao army under sheer numbers.

At the same time, they also harbored hopes of quickly repelling or even annihilating the Liao army, restoring peace to the realm, so as to avoid excessive losses from the war...

And so, the Uyghurs swiftly mobilized troops from every city and tribe within their domain, gathering northward and combining with part of the forces at Luntai—a total of over fifty thousand troops—led by the great general Gelu, marching eastward, straight for Beiting.

Over at Beiting, the Liao army was enjoying the fruits of victory. The hardships of the march were all dissolved by Beiting's wealth, livestock, and women, and they grew even more enthusiastic about the even richer regions of Gaochang and Karasahr south of the Tianshan Mountains.

At that time, Yelu Xiezhen was genuinely contemplating his next move. Taking Beiting so quickly had somewhat disrupted his original plans. When he learned that the Uyghur army was coming of its own accord, intending to recover Beiting, he was overjoyed and decisively led his forces out to meet them.

Even though the Uyghur army was more numerous, Yelu Xiezhen did not hesitate in the slightest—he committed his entire force to battle, with no intention whatsoever of relying on the city walls for defense. He saw clearly that Beiting was filled with Uyghurs who, nursing deep resentment from the Liao army's looting and killing, would make holding the city and grinding down the Uyghurs the inferior strategy.

The two sides clashed at Zhonggou, sixty li west of Beiting. After probing attacks, the Uyghurs actually won, and so they pressed their advantage in pursuit. The Liao army, under Yelu Xiezhen's command, fought while retreating. The Uyghur army chased relentlessly, caught up, and engaged—but in the end, they were routed.

The feigned retreat to lure the enemy was a tactic used to death throughout history, in every land—yet it was often these seemingly simple stratagems that worked wonders. Of course, it also depended on the men, the command, and how well it was executed. The Uyghur army probably thought that on the open plains, with clear visibility and superior numbers, they need not fear ambush. What they never expected was that Yelu Xiezhen used himself as bait to fish, but placed the hook a hundred li away—concealing his pincer force in ambush over a hundred li from the battlefield—and launched yet another surprise attack, striking from behind. The Uyghurs, caught completely off guard, suffered a great defeat.

In the battle at Beiting, the Liao army killed over ten thousand, captured more than nine thousand prisoners, and seized countless warhorses, sheep, camels, grain, and weapons—receiving another tremendous replenishment. On the Uyghur side, the defeated troops fled back to Luntai city and dug in for defense.

When the Uyghur Khagan in Gaochang heard the news, he was struck speechless with shock. Now thoroughly humbled, he hastily sent envoys to offer consolation, ordered his soldiers to defend strictly, and simultaneously reinforced troops, grain, weapons, and warhorses. After receiving a sound beating, they had finally learned their lesson—this Liao army was not only formidable in combat, but also versed in cunning schemes.

Sensing that the western expeditionary Liao army was not easy to deal with, the Uyghur Khagan abandoned his thoughts of a quick decisive battle to drive out the Liao, and turned to conservative warfare instead. After discussion, the civil and military officials believed that although the Liao army had taken Beiting and achieved some small victories, in the Western Regions they were ultimately water without a source, duckweed without roots—a single city of Beiting was not enough to sustain them for long.

As long as they held Luntai, blocking the Liao north of the Tianshan Mountains, dragging things out and grinding them down, then when the Liao army grew weary and ran out of supplies, they would inevitably be unable to hold on and withdraw. The final victory would still belong to them.