Southern Ming Rebel Army

Batur left the Qian army camp with a dead heart. He had secretly increased a lot of the conditions given by Apak Khoja, but this still could not reach a peace agreement. This shows that the Qian army was extremely determined to destroy Yarkand.

When Batur left the Qian army camp, he kept his eyes on the Qian army's troops, equipment, and number of people. The more he looked, the colder Batur felt. Such a large and well-equipped army, nearly half of which were defenders composed of defeated soldiers from all over the place, how could they be a match for the Qian army?

After leaving the camp, Batur rushed all the way, not daring to stop for a moment. He wanted to report the failure of the peace talks and the huge number of the Qian army back to Shache.

After Gulbuha arrived in Shache, he showed off his strength outside the city of Shache, then retreated more than ten miles away, set up a camp, and waited for the arrival of the main army.

Although the large group of cavalry had left Shache City, the Qian army still left several teams of scout cavalry outside the city to investigate the movements of Shache City.

Abdu on the city wall saw that the Qian army cavalry had gone far away, and immediately ordered the light cavalry in the city to drive away the Qian army scouts who were still patrolling outside the city.

Fierce scout chases broke out inside and outside Shache City for several consecutive days, and Batur encountered Qian army scouts outside Shache City.

After Batur revealed his identity as an envoy and needed to report the conditions negotiated with the commander of the Qian army back to the city, the Qian army scouts were skeptical, but still asked Batur to meet the commander first.

Batur felt helpless, but had no choice but to follow the scout back. When Gulbuha heard that the Yarkand envoy was brought back by the scout again, he couldn't help laughing.

Gulbuha was somewhat curious about how the envoy talked with his commander-in-chief, so he went to meet Batur.

In fact, Batur didn't want to see this Mongol again, but he had no choice but to be patient and tell Gulbuha the result of the peace talks.

After satisfying his curiosity, Gulbuha patted Batur on the shoulder and said, "Okay, go back. When Shache City is captured, you can tell me your name and I will protect your life and property. It won't be a problem."

Batur heard this and showed an ugly smile on his face. After leaving the Qian army camp, Batur suddenly asked the soldier beside him: "What is the name of your general?"

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When Batur returned to Shache City, Apak Khoja immediately sent people to welcome him back to the palace. He was eager to know what the attitude of the commander-in-chief of the Qian army was towards the peace talks.

When Batur walked into the palace with heavy steps, Apak Khoja had already been waiting anxiously in the hall. When he saw Batur coming in, Apak Khoja immediately stood up to greet him and waved away the servants.

At this time, Apak Hezhuo's eyes were full of expectation. He hoped that the Qian army would agree to negotiate peace: "How about it? Will the commander of the Qian army agree to negotiate peace?"

Batur was ashamed when he heard this. He shook his head and said, "Great Khan, the peace talks have failed. The commander of the Qian army is determined not to agree. He will only accept the surrender of Yarkand."

Apak Khoja's face turned pale instantly. He could feel his hands and feet becoming much colder. He murmured to himself: "Kaesong, please surrender...Kaesong, please surrender..."

As Apak Khoja spoke, he staggered towards the throne. At this time, Batur hurriedly reported to Apak Khoja the details of his meeting with Lin Shiqi, including how he had proposed favorable conditions and how Lin Shiqi responded.

After hearing this, Apak Hezhuo angrily pounded the armrest of the chair: "Too rampant! They are trying to force this Khan to death!"

At this time, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard. After hearing that the messenger had returned to Shache City, Abdu immediately entered the palace with a team of guards.

From the time he received the news of Senggexi's escape to the time when the Qian army was at the gates of the city, Abdu's suspicion grew more and more. He was afraid that someone would collude with Babaksu outside the city and plot against his life.

Therefore, during this period of time, wherever Abdu went, he was followed by a large group of guards, and he never took off the soft armor on his body, even wearing it when sleeping.

Before Abdu entered the hall, a voice came in: "What did the Qian people say? What are the conditions for peace?"

Apak Khoja said dejectedly: "The Qian Dynasty refused to negotiate peace and demanded that we open the city and surrender!"

Abdu then walked up to Batur and asked in a deep voice, "What conditions did you give to Qian Chao?"

After taking a look at Apak Khoja and seeing his dejected look, Batur had no choice but to say: "The Qian Dynasty will not agree to any conditions. We only allow the city to surrender."

After hearing this, Abdu's face turned pale and then blue, and then he said in hatred: "Then we will defend Shache to the death. Even if I die, I will not let the Qian army have an easy life!"

Then Abdu turned and left. The two people who were still in the hall heard Abdu's orders, which became quieter and quieter as he walked away.

"Orders to demolish all the houses under the city walls, collect stones and wood from the entire city, requisition all the able-bodied men in the city, count the grain in the treasury and keep it under strict supervision......"

Soon, the city of Shache was filled with a busy and tense scene, and the able-bodied men in the city were conscripted to carry stones and wood or undergo emergency training.

Abdu patrolled the city defense day and night, opened the treasury and rewarded the soldiers generously. When gold and silver were insufficient, Abdu even ordered all the treasures in Apakh Khoja's palace to be requisitioned to boost morale. However, this action made Apakh Khoja very angry.

Although Apak Khoja knew that he should reward the soldiers generously when facing the powerful Qian army, he was still extremely unwilling to do so when he actually had to pay from his own pocket.

While Shache County was busy carrying out various city defense tasks, the Qian army outside the city had not yet made any move to attack the city. It was not until three days later that the main force of the Qian army finally arrived at Shache City.

On the distant horizon, a cloud of dust first rose up, and gradually, a vague outline appeared in the dust. It was the flags of the Qian army, fluttering in the wind.

On both wings of the infantry formation, countless cavalrymen were galloping forward like a black torrent. The sound of horse hooves made the earth tremble. In Abdu's ears, the vibration seemed to make his heart jump out.

Nearly 100,000 troops surrounded the entire Shache City in a mighty manner. The Qian army's camps were like stars in the wilderness outside the city, stretching endlessly and with no end in sight.

The defenders in Shache City looked at the overwhelming Qian army with pale faces. They had never seen such a large army. Many of them were defeated soldiers who fled back to Shache. The fear that was originally buried deep in their hearts was magnified several times like a magnifying glass.

Under Abdu's generous reward, the morale that had been rising began to crumble at this moment.