Chapter 1282: Han Cavalry Breaks Through the Desolate Frontier

Compared to Guo Jin's army, which was thriving in the Western Regions, displaying its might beyond the frontier with myriad followers, the other route, the Hexi army, carried a bit more valor and boldness. Of course, it was also far more perilous.

Wang Yansheng led over ten thousand Hexi iron cavalry, departing from Suzhou, heading north out of Juyan Marsh, carrying fearless courage, breaking through hardships and obstacles, crossing desert sands, penetrating over a thousand li into Liao territory, arriving at Mount Yanran, directly threatening the Liao Northwest Route Pacification Commission.

This was the first time in several hundred years that an army from the Central Plains displayed its might in Mobei, the Great Han's black banners flying beyond the frontier. Liao's territory was vast, stretching ten thousand li from east to west, but it was sparsely populated. Though the distant northwest had always been under its rule, governance was weak, control was limited, and the local tribes enjoyed great autonomy.

Over the years, the Great Han had dispatched numerous spies to bribe, manipulate, and divide the tribes under Liao's rule, achieving some results—but Mobei alone remained beyond reach. And in the western desert regions, even without much covert activity, after so many years of shifting winds and changing circumstances, control was also weakening.

Therefore, Liao had established the Northwest Route Pacification Commission to strengthen its influence over the vast northwestern territories. Back when they campaigned west, most of the troops mobilized had come from the various northwestern tribes.

In the Western Regions, several bloody battles had been fought, and the ultimate result was that the Liao court grew fat while the strength of the northwestern tribal soldiers was sapped. Hence, the local tribes harbored resentment toward the Liao central government.

When Liao this time mobilized its entire nation to arm against the Han army, the northwest reacted sluggishly, even appearing passive. After Yelu Xian ascended the throne, he appointed his imperial uncle, Prince Ping Yelu Longxian, as Northwest Route Pacification Commissioner, strengthening his own bloodline's influence within the realm while also intending to appease the northwestern tribes. Yelu Longxian was clever by nature, mild in temperament, and possessed some administrative talent. Yelu Xian believed this imperial uncle could realize his political intentions.

However, after Yelu Longxian assumed his post, before he could even issue policies to reassure the people and pacify the tribes, he was confronted with the second outbreak of the great Han-Liao war.

When he received Yelu Xian's mobilization order, Yelu Longxian was rather helpless. Without yet familiarizing himself with the northwestern situation or consolidating his authority, he drew ten thousand cavalry from the local border troops and tribes, dispatching them eastward.

Forcing this through would inevitably further destabilize the situation and alienate the local tribes. However, given the region's remoteness and sufficient strategic depth, under normal circumstances, the Han-Liao war would be hard-pressed to affect Liao's northwest.

The vast desert and the endless Yin Mountains were their best protection. Even at the war's outset, when Yang Ye led his army and swept through the garrison forts and strongpoints Liao had deployed along the Yin Mountains, it did not cause the northwestern Liao troops or tribes the slightest anxiety—the war still seemed far away from them.

But unexpected changes often occur where least expected, and the surprise the Han army brought to Liao's Northwest Route was all the more sudden. Of course, that suddenness had been purchased with immense toil and countless perils.

Wang Yansheng led his army, spending a full month before finally emerging from the desert. Of the ten thousand cavalry that set out, nearly two thousand were lost along the march. Even with guides leading the way, they strayed off course several times and even lost their bearings. They encountered sandstorms, sank into quicksand, and walked along the edge of life and death.

By the time they set foot in Liao's Northwest Route territory, their camels, mules, and horses had been exhausted. They had even slaughtered many war horses for food. Water was nearly gone, and no small amount of military equipment had been discarded.

It was precisely because they had endured these thousand trials and ten thousand blows that the Hexi soldiers marching north were extremely tough. It was as if they had crossed the abyss of death and seen hope anew—their morale was even higher. Moreover, the Fourth Prince, Duke of Zhao Liu Fang, was also with the army, enduring this ordeal and suffering these hardships alongside the soldiers.

Originally, Liu Fang had maintained his previous style—enlisting under a false name and only revealing his identity along the way. And this point had a tremendous motivating effect on the troops on campaign.

When this army, having endured countless hardships to emerge from the desert, pushed deep into Mobei, after only a brief adjustment, it achieved its first merit. The Yedugua tribe, active south of Mount Yanran, became the first target of attack.

The Yedugua tribe was a major tribe in Liao's northwest, yet it could not withstand the divine soldiers descending from heaven, the demonic and godlike Han army. Their force of over twenty thousand was easily broken. The dead were countless, the fugitives countless, and through this battle, the Han army obtained a large amount of supplies.

Thereafter, Wang Yansheng's army rested briefly, ignored the remnants of the Yedugua tribe, and led his men swiftly over Mount Yanran, heading straight for Woludo City—the ancient Uyghur royal city, serving as the seat of the Zubu Great King's office established by Liao.

Another surprise attack followed. The Zubu tribe, active northeast of Mount Yanran, had little capacity to resist and was routed. The Zubu king failed to escape, was trapped within Woludo City, and was captured by Liu Fang.

Only at this point did the northwestern Liao tribes realize that the war was not actually far from them—it was just that the Han army's blades were already pressed against their throats.

Facing this sudden Han army, Liao's Prince Ping Yelu Longxian, stationed at the Northwest Route seat of Zhenzhou, had no time to be shocked! He could only hastily summon the nearby garrison troops and tribal soldiers, concentrating his forces to resist the Han army.

Of course, Wang Yansheng's surprise attack was not yet fatal. Having crossed the quicksand and scaled Mount Yanran, after taking the Yedugua tribe and the Zubu tribe and reaching Woludo City, they were utterly exhausted and in dire need of rest.

For Yelu Longxian, the greater threat came from the south—there, another bloodthirsty Han army was advancing: Yang Ye's force from the Yulin Circuit.

Once the plan to take the initiative and strike deep into the grasslands was approved by the court, Yang Ye, who had long been prepared, wasted no time and led his men out.

Because the expedition was perilous, Yang Ye this time also brought only ten thousand cavalry, concentrating camels and horses for use. Their route likewise required crossing the desert—though not as dangerous as the Hexi army's, it was still very arduous.

After heading north, what they faced was the Dada tribe. Earlier, when Yang Ye had first gone north, one branch of the Dada people had seen the opportunity and fled north. Because they moved quickly, they suffered no major losses.

But they never imagined the Han army would be so relentless, daring to cross the border and pursue deep. They too were caught completely off guard. However, this time, Yang Ye only destroyed one branch of them, with modest gains—merely replenishing a portion of water and food to sustain the army's consumption.

When Wang Yansheng crossed Mount Yanran and came east, Yang Ye's army was locked in battle with the allied forces of the nine Dada tribes, and Yelu Longxian's attention was also fixed on the south, pondering how to repel Yang Ye's army.

Therefore, when the Yedugua tribe was destroyed and the Zubu tribe severely mauled, with Han army blades threatening both the western and southern fronts, the Northwest Route that should have been sleeping soundly faced its greatest crisis, teetering on the brink of survival.

To be fair, since the Khitan had unified Mobei, the northwestern region had not seen war for many years. Even when there was conflict, it was only minor unrest. More often, they simply contributed troops and horses, following the Khitan as vassals in their campaigns.

But this time was different from any before. The Han iron cavalry had come to their very doorstep, sharpening their blades against them. And the northwestern tribes, like the nomadic peoples who had lived on this land and its pastures hundreds or thousands of years before, now faced the overwhelming strike of a Central Plains empire. If they could not withstand it, they would sink into decline or even extinction, just like the myriad tribes of the past.

Facing this dire situation, Yelu Longxian had few options. The primary reason was that the ten thousand cavalry previously drawn off to the eastern front had greatly weakened the northwest's strength.

Moreover, although the local tribes were numerous, their hearts were not united. With the calamity of war descending, each harbored their own schemes, making unity all the harder to achieve. That is to say, under the Han army's threat, the remaining tribes had no choice but to rally beneath the Liao banner to resist together.

Fortunately, before Yelu Longxian had assumed his post, Yelu Xian had dispatched three thousand soldiers from the Left Pishi Army to accompany him west. Originally meant to protect Yelu Longxian and overawe the northwestern tribes, they unexpectedly became the backbone of resistance against the Han army.

On his subordinates' advice, Yelu Longxian contracted his forces, took in the scattered tribesmen, and barely assembled an army of fewer than thirty thousand—this already exhausted the northwest's full potential.

However, although the tribes beyond the northern frontier were fierce and every able-bodied man was a warrior the moment he mounted a horse, the tribes were not unified. How much strength a hastily assembled force could actually unleash was a questionable matter.

The Liao army's strategy of contracting into defense also gave the Han army more opportunity to adjust and prepare, allowing the Hexi and Yulin armies to join forces in the desolate lands beyond the frontier. This was also the reunion of the brothers Liu Fang and Liu Min. The Sixth Prince, Prince of Wei Liu Min, likewise disregarded Yang Ye's dissuasion and insisted on joining the campaign. Along the way, with his resolute bearing and skilled horsemanship and archery, he won the recognition of many soldiers, and in the fighting against the Dada tribes, he personally shot and killed three enemy soldiers.

By mid-May, after the Han armies had united, they advanced on Liao's Zhenzhou. In this Mobei region, siege warfare essentially did not exist, and the northwestern tribes were not adept at it either. Facing the invading Han army, there was only one option: open field battle.

And so, Liao's Prince Ping Yelu Longxian led the tribal allied forces out to meet them. The two sides clashed on the banks of the Tula River, east of Mount Yanran and west of Mount Wugu.

The Liao army numbered fewer than thirty thousand; the Han army had only a little over sixteen thousand. Yet in terms of bearing, equipment, spirit, and momentum, the Han army held the advantage.

This was a large-scale frontal cavalry battle, and the decisive factor in it was Duke of Zhao Liu Fang. Leading a thousand riders on a circuit of over three hundred li, crossing the Tula River twice, he suddenly appeared behind the Liao army and, catching them completely off guard, delivered a fatal blow.