Chapter 485: Chapter 33: The Gu Clan’s Name Sweeps the Western Regions, All Nations Submit

The horn for counterattack has officially sounded.

The deeply suppressed fear finally surged in the hearts of the various Western Turkic tribes.

Twenty-eight days of decisive battle once again provided the best evidence for the invincible reputation of the Gu Clan.

How can this battle continue?

For Gu Quan, the current Western Turks are like a snow-covered mountain poised for an avalanche, where everyone’s rule is so fragile.

After this battle, it would collapse directly!

The national strength of the Great Tang has indeed surpassed that of the Western Turks.

This is the result of generations of effort across the entire Kyushu, incomparable by the Barbarians of the four directions.

And now, this point is fully manifested.

....

The eighth year of the Zhenguan era, July.

After a brief respite, Gu Quan officially led his troops to advance westward, forming a siege on Western Turks together with Li Jing.

At the same time, all the preparations made in the past started to take effect at this moment.

Under absolute pressure, internal chaos indeed erupted within the Western Turks.

The fragile political balance was finally completely broken.

The entire northwest fell into absolute turmoil, and the original internal conflicts also erupted at this time.

Internal strife; the offensive of the Tang Army.

All of this was like igniting a powder keg, turning the place into a meat grinder.

But for the Tang Army.

Their goal is only one.

And that is to fight!

Completely resolve everything and reconnect the roads between Kyushu and the Western Regions.

News continued to spread.

Battle reports from all directions were swiftly sent back to Chang’an via express couriers traveling 800 li, and now that post stations were gradually being built in all directions, the speed of information transmission had reached the limit of this era.

As the news spread, the world shook!

From within the court of Chang’an to the common people in all directions, everyone was extremely excited.

Not only because, after this battle, the external enemies that had been able to directly threaten Kyushu were now completely gone.

The most crucial point is—

The actual benefits this battle could bring to the entire Great Tang and Kyushu.

This is what matters most!

Li Shimin attached great importance to this, and in the current situation, he once again issued a proclamation.

This time, it was aimed at the various countries of the Western Regions.

Still, the decree of the Emperor of Great Tang, still the mandate of the Celestial Khan.

Even the content did not change much.

Still as domineering as ever.

——Surrender or die!

But the feeling this decree gave people was completely different from before; for the nations of the Western Regions with ulterior motives, this decree brought despair!

Resist the Great Tang?

How to resist?

Although the Western Turks were not yet completely defeated, with the current situation, it was only a matter of time.

In this situation, who would dare to resist?

This is an easy choice to make.

No matter how the allure of benefits and power can blind the rulers, the threat of death can awaken everyone.

As the decree continued to spread, the entire Western Regions instantly fell silent.

And then—

One envoy after another carried letters of surrender, heading straight for the Great Tang, while the Western Turks also completely lost their greatest source of reinforcement.

...

——The situation completely changed!

The cessation of tribute from the Western Regions utterly crushed the already strained Western Turks.

September.

Gu Quan led his troops and internally defeated the Ashijie Tribe at Yanran Mountain, utterly destroying them, with nearly twenty thousand strong men all perishing in battle, and their tribal leader committing suicide deep in the mountains.

The power of the Western Turks in the Northern Desert was thus completely dismantled. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The tribes everywhere lost their will to fight and surrendered completely.

At the same time, Li Jing had already captured Bei Ting.

The fall of the Western Turkic state was evident.

November.

Gu Quan, taking advantage of the clear and crisp autumn weather, set the Lishui Grassland ablaze, cutting off the winter fodder for the remaining Western Turkic forces, and also killing nearly ten thousand of their troops and capturing the golden seal of the Western Turkic Khan’s Northern Desert encampment.

Officially breaking open the gateway to the Western Regions.

A strong sense of despair permeated the entire Western Turkic interior.

With the current situation of continuous retreat, the loss of the grasslands seemed to have utterly extinguished any hope of survival.

Feeling the increasingly cold temperature, all hope seemed unreachable.

They had only to flee.

Abandoning everything and fleeing to the Western Regions, perhaps, would be their best choice now.

Although the Western Regions had ceased their supply.

But with their strength, as long as they could reach the Western Regions, they could also swiftly overcome all, and moreover, the situation in the Western Regions was quite unsettled, allowing them to seize this opportunity to stir the waters.

But everyone also understood that the fundamental reason the Great Tang launched this war was for the Western Regions, and fleeing to the Western Regions would not bring stability.

But where else could they flee besides the Western Regions?

The various grasslands like Juyan Sea and Bai Daochuan had all been occupied by the Great Tang, and in the current situation of having no reserves, they could not possibly survive the harsh winter.

All their fantasies shattered instantly.

At this point, no matter how strong the desire, it could not withstand the threat of death.

This ultimately was an easy decision to make.

More and more deserters appeared among the remnants of the Western Turkic forces, and with more frequency, even reaching the point of entire units defecting in just a few days.

——Under such circumstances.

Finally, Siye Hukhan completely abandoned resistance. ...

.....

On the vast grassland, the dusk was like iron.

Reining in the war horse, the sound of pursuing Tang horses behind him rumbled through the wasteland like dull thunder.

He reached to grip the bloodied hilt at his waist, his knuckles turning white with the force, his expression was extremely complex.