Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 671 Emergency treatment

Abdu knew that although the Yarkand Khan Apak Khoja was a puppet and the control of the Shache garrison was in his hands, the premise for his ability to control the Yarkand people was the strong backing of the Dzungar. If the Dzungar was destroyed, he would not be able to control Yarkand at all.

The fact was just as Abdu had expected. As more and more bad news reached Shache, the Yarkand soldiers who were once so easy to use by Abdu were no longer so obedient. Moreover, the morale of the army plummeted. Before the Qian army arrived, everyone in the army said that Shache could not be defended!

Apakh Khoja was also panicked at this time. When Sengge was strong, he still held the idea of taking back the power of the Yarkand Khanate from Sengge. But now Sengge collapsed so quickly, which made Apakh Khoja fall into deep fear.

Apak Khoja didn't know whether the Yarkand Khanate would be destroyed once the Qian army invaded Shache, but even if it could still exist, he would be replaced by Babaksu. If Babaksu came to power, would he let go of himself, the enemy who killed his father?

Therefore, Abdu's worries are actually groundless. Under the current circumstances, Abdu and Apak Khoja are grasshoppers on the same rope.

After the northern army broke through the Dzungar Khanate, Huang Cheng led his troops south in mid-June of the tenth year of Zhaowu and joined forces with Lin Shiqi in the city of Tarbugul.

Later, Lin Shiqi ordered Gulbuha as the vanguard, accompanied by the Yarkand prince Babaksu, and led 10,000 cavalrymen to continue westward. Soon, the two cities of Kuche and Shaya surrendered without a fight.

The defenders of Baicheng and Wensu abandoned the city and fled. During this process, Babaksu had gathered and formed a force of more than 3,000 people. This army, as a vassal army of the Qian army, of course, mainly used the name of Babaksu, the Prince of Yarkand, to collect food and fodder from all over the Western Regions.

The thundering attack of the Qian army on Turpan City had already given a great shock to the Yarkand people. Add to that the news that came later, that the Dzungar Khanate was destroyed and that Great Khan Sengge had moved west, and these news made the Yarkand people feel even more devastated.

With the support of countless defeated soldiers' propaganda, various bad news, and Babaksu's help in persuading them to surrender, the Qian army swept through the cities of Yarkand like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

Just when Lin Shiqi was making great progress, an imperial edict came from Guanzhong. This edict was a reply to Lin Shiqi's original petition requesting to change the place names of the Western Regions.

Lin Shiqi took the document and unfolded it. Meng Jun's instructions were very clear. He said that the names of the cities in the Western Regions were obscure and difficult to understand. Now that they have been incorporated into the territory of our Qian Dynasty, it is indeed necessary to change their names. Then he said that Lin Shiqi had been in the Western Regions for a long time and understood the local customs and practices, and gave Lin Shiqi full authority to change the names.

After reading it, Lin Shiqi felt a headache. After he captured Tarbugur, he just had a whim and felt that the names of the cities in the Western Regions were too long, not at all like the simple and clear names in the Central Plains. But he didn't expect that this task would go around in circles and come back to him.

What kind of name should be in accordance with etiquette and style, and should also be able to demonstrate the power and virtue of the Celestial Empire, and should also have the meaning of permanently controlling the Western Regions? Lin Shiqi thought to himself: "This is just asking too much!"

Lin Shiqi took a deep breath, then handed the task to Chu Zhangyin, asking him to think carefully about how to name the cities in the Western Regions.

Gulbuha stationed his troops in Wensu for five days, rested and replenished his supplies, and then continued to march westward towards Shache, the capital of the Yarkand Khanate.

As the Qian army got closer, more and more defeated soldiers fled back from all over the place. The news brought back by these defeated soldiers had already lowered the morale of the Shache defenders.

Even though Abdu had ordered all the fleeing soldiers to be restrained, he was unable to stop the demoralized military morale.

In the Shache Palace, Apak Khoja was anxiously waiting for Abdu.

A moment later, Abdu hurried to the palace. As soon as they met, Abdu said unhappily, "I am very busy. If there is anything you want me to do, can't you send someone to convey it?"

Apak Khoja hurriedly stood up to greet him, his face full of anxiety. He said anxiously: "General, the situation is extremely critical now. The Qian army is pressing forward step by step and will soon be at the gates of the city. I am afraid that Shache City is in danger."

Abdu cursed in his heart, how could I not know that it was dangerous now? Then Abdu waved his hand impatiently and said, "I have been trying to stabilize the morale of the army and strengthen the defense. You know that the people in the city are in a panic now. I am busy and exhausted. Don't bother me if you have nothing to do."

Apak Khoja has been thinking these days about how to find a way out at this desperate moment, but after much thought, he realized that in the current situation, there are only three options: war, peace, or surrender.

The outcome of the war is bound to be a death. With the current morale of the troops in Shache City, how could they possibly stop the Qian Army that had just defeated the Dzungar Khanate? Moreover, the Qian Army's firearms were powerful, and it was only a matter of time before they broke through Shache City.

Surrender is the last option, and life and death are in the hands of others. Only by negotiating peace can one perhaps save himself and the Yarkand Khanate.

Although Babaksu is still in the Qian army, Apak Khoja believes that he has not made any special contributions when the Qian army attacked the Western Regions. Moreover, Apak Khoja feels that the Qian Dynasty may not trust Babaksu, and supporting him to fight against him may be more conducive to the Qian Dynasty's control of the Western Regions. Of course, this idea is just Apak Khoja's desperate attempt to find a cure.

After listening to Abdu's words, Apak Khoja smiled awkwardly. He was not dead, but moved closer and lowered his voice and said, "General, in my opinion, Shache will definitely not be able to be defended. Now that Sengge Khan has moved west, if we still insist on holding on, I am afraid that the end will be miserable. Why don't we... negotiate peace with the Qian army?"

"Negotiation?" Abdu's eyes widened, as if he had heard a huge joke. "Do you think the Qian army will let us go easily? They have been advancing like a hot knife through butter and are about to conquer the Western Regions. How could the Qian army talk to us about peace?"

Apak Khoja said quickly: "General, our peace talks with the Qian army are just pretense. If we delay long enough, perhaps Great Khan Sengge will come back from the west!"