It marched west on both sides of the Tarim Basin, reunited near Kashgar and moved across Kangju territory reaching the western shore of Lake Balkhash. At this point a party of several thousand Kangju cavalrymen, returning from a raid on Wusun, stumbled onto the rear of the Chinese army, attacked it, and made off with a large quantity of food and weapons.
The Chinese army marched westward across the Tarim Basin, uniting near Kashgar and advancing to the western shore of Lake Balkhash. A contingent of several thousand Kangju cavalrymen, returning from a raid on Wusun, intercepted the rear of the Chinese forces, attacked them, and plundered a substantial amount of food and weaponry.