Chapter 1233: King of the Seas

At the entrance to the Fergana Basin lay the city of Khujand.

When word reached Anusha Khan's army that Prince Alim had been ambushed and killed while pursuing the Dzungar host as it turned toward the Amu Darya, this enlightened and mighty ruler of the Khanate of Khiva had already led sixty thousand troops to the outskirts of Khujand, the ancient city at the entrance to Fergana.

The ancient city of Khujand was said to have been founded by Alexander the Great when he campaigned into Central Asia, though the truth of that had long since been lost. What was certain was that the city's site had been chosen with considerable care. Not only did it stand at the entrance to the Fergana Basin, the greatest granary in Central Asia, but it had also been placed on a naturally defensible position with hills before it and a river at its back. To the south of the city rose two hills of no great height, which stood like a pair of door gods, firmly guarding Khujand. Low as they were, in an age when smoothbore cannon were already widespread, they could still be used to build artillery platforms to shield the citadel. Moreover, because the two hills were not too close to Khujand, even if the enemy seized the batteries there, they would pose no threat to the city itself. Yet if the enemy did not take the two hills, they could not deploy their forces outside Khujand — the guns on the hills could not reach the city walls, but they could strike any assault force drawn up south of the city!

At the city's rear flowed the Syr Darya, rushing westward. Khujand had cleverly made use of a bend in the Syr Darya as a natural moat, so that more than half of its walls lay under the protection of the river channel, which was over a hundred paces wide, and were almost entirely immune to attack. Furthermore, the winters in the Fergana Basin were not cold; the average temperature stayed above freezing, and although the surface of the Syr Darya would ice over, the ice was not strong enough to bear the passage of men or animals.

Hu Zhongyong, whom Senge had sent to hold the city, was a professional through and through. He had received paramilitary training from primary school onward, then spent four years of rigorous study at the Army Military Academy, with an eight-month stint attached to a field unit in between. Naturally, he could see at a glance that the two hills south of Khujand were the key to defending the city.

So while he organized work crews to rebuild the eastern and southern walls of Khujand and convert them into bastions, he also constructed artillery redoubts on the two hills due south and southeast of the city, emplacing several 6-jin cannon and 24-jin mortars.

He had also camouflaged the two redoubts, so that when Anusha Khan first arrived outside Khujand, he did not detect the batteries on the hills and launched a probing attack. The result was that the 6-jin field guns and 24-jin mortars Hu Zhongyong had placed on the two hills blasted his men into utter chaos. Hu Zhongyong even seized the moment to lead troops out of the bastion in a counterattack. Had his forces not been so limited, Anusha Khan would probably have met his god by now!

But Anusha Khan, having narrowly escaped death, soon found fortune smiling upon him — the Muslim populace of the Fergana Basin, upon learning that the armies of the Khanate of Khiva and the Timurid Empire had arrived, immediately rose in revolt!

Because Senge Khan had withdrawn his forces in advance and pulled out all the troops originally stationed in the Fergana Basin, the uprising proceeded with extraordinary ease. Within a few short days, the entire basin had fallen into Anusha Khan's hands.

At this time the Fergana Basin held a great many people — not only its original inhabitants, but also refugees who had fled the fighting and taken shelter in the valley. The total population was probably no less than three million! There was also a great deal of arable land, over eighteen million mu in all, mostly fertile and high-yielding. It was more than enough to feed three million people, and it could also provide Senge's kingdom with substantial tax revenue. It was a true granary and moneybag.

The Uzbeks and Turkmens, who came from the barren, arid oases of Khwarezm and the Black Desert, gazed upon this basin so rich it seemed to drip with oil, and their mouths nearly watered with greed.

Just as Anusha Khan of the Khanate of Khiva was mulling over whether to move his capital from Bukhara and settle down to a comfortable life guarding the basin, Aurangzeb's envoy arrived bearing news of a death.

His son had been killed in battle!

That was not even the worst of the tidings — Anusha Khan had many sons. The worst was that after killing his son, the Dzungars had turned toward the Amu Darya.

The Amu Darya flowed past the southern edge of the Samarkand oasis. The Dzungars had not gone south, passing by the city of Samarkand and then down to the Amu Darya; instead they had headed southwest.

In other words, the Dzungars' true destination was not the Amu Darya itself, but to follow the river toward the Khwarezm oasis!

They were going to strike at Anusha Khan's home base!

"Great Khan, the accursed Dzungars must be moving to outflank the Khwarezm oasis! You must turn the army back at once! Take the Uzbeks and Turkmens and go first; I and the Rajput warriors will cover your rear!"

Inside Anusha Khan's royal tent, Singh — a man with a great beard, a red turban wrapped around his head, and a face so dark it looked blackened, who appeared especially loyal, brave, and dependable — was pleading for the assignment in Urdu!

To ask to remain behind as the rearguard... given the fighting power of the Rajput cavalry, this was a mission from which none could return alive!

Was this Hindu's loyalty and courage perhaps a little excessive?

Anusha Khan frowned, his face ashen, and stared at the red-turbaned Indian before him... with all his years of experience campaigning across Transoxiana, he could not detect the slightest flaw!

Yet he still did not trust this Hindu! And now he no longer trusted Aurangzeb either!

"No, General Singh. You go first; I will cover the retreat!" Anusha's tone was calm, as though he were not in the least worried about his home base being taken. "The Khwarezm oasis is in no danger whatsoever. I left twenty thousand elite troops there, and there are many strong fortresses to rely on. The Dzungars will not take it!"

These words were not spoken for Singh's benefit, but for the ears of the Turkmen allies who followed him and his own Uzbek loyalists.

The most urgent matter now was to steady men's hearts!

If morale held, he would still have a chance to turn the situation around.

Anusha Khan continued: "What truly needs worrying about now is Samarkand... Samarkand's grain reserves are not large. It had originally counted on resupply via the Amu Darya, but now the river transport on the Amu Darya has surely been cut by the Dzungars. Moreover, there are many small patches of oasis along the middle reaches of the Amu Darya that could originally have supplied Samarkand with grain as well. Now all of that has fallen into the Dzungars' hands.

So, Singh, you had best take the Rajput cavalry and return to Samarkand at once, then move as quickly as possible to secure the Kashkadarya river valley south of the Samarkand oasis... The grain there is not plentiful, but it can at least meet the emergency!"

Anusha Khan was speaking Persian, which Singh could understand, but he remained somewhat doubtful. Why would Anusha Khan be so considerate? Concerned about Samarkand's grain supply, and even willing to serve as the rearguard... something was not right!

He knew in his heart that something was off, but he dared not say anything more. Outside Khujand, the place was now swarming with Muslims worked up to an almost excessive pitch — most of them "righteous volunteers" who had surged out of the Fergana Basin — and Singh had fewer than nine thousand Rajput cavalry left under his command. He did not dare talk back to Anusha Khan, who had just lost his son.

Besides, Singh knew his own master Aurangzeb well enough. That old fox was ruthless! It was entirely possible that Prince Alim had been set up and gotten killed...

"Very well!" Singh pressed both hands to his chest and bowed, his dark face filled with emotion. "I will take the Rajput cavalry and go first. Great Khan, you must take care of yourself!"

Anusha Khan waved a hand. "Go, go quickly. Don't keep His Majesty Alamgir waiting!"

Waiting for what? Singh thought guiltily. Could Anusha Khan have seen through His Majesty Alamgir's scheme to retreat once the grain ran out?

Better to leave at once! If he delayed any longer, he might not be able to leave at all.

Singh bowed again and turned to leave Anusha's royal tent. Seeing Singh depart, Anusha Khan waved a hand at the leaders of the Turkmen tribes as well. "You need not worry either. All of you go back and get your troops in order, and prepare to move camp."

The Turkmens also departed with heavy hearts. Now only Anusha Khan's trusted Uzbek commanders remained in the royal tent.

Once he saw that the Turkmens had gone far off, Anusha Khan, who had been sitting composedly, suddenly sprang to his feet and kicked over the low table before him with a violent blow.

The Uzbek commanders stared at him, their faces filling with alarm.

Anusha Khan said through gritted teeth: "There must be a heavy Dzungar force waiting outside the valley. We cannot get away... and the Khwarezm oasis cannot hold out for long either. Our only path to survival is to withdraw into the Fergana Valley!"