Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2424: The Public Official is not an Assistant, but a Regent (XV) Enlarged Cabinet Meeting

Liu Jing's Kirin robe was still stained with unmelted snow. When he strode over the threshold, a gust of early spring wind followed him into the cabinet meeting hall. The floor heating in the hall was burning brightly, but the faces of the ministers present were as solemn as the snow outside the window.

"My dear colleagues," Gao Youshi saw Liu Jing coming in and pushed a map of the Western Regions onto the table. "Commander Liu presented the Western Expedition Strategy last night. Today's expanded cabinet meeting will first discuss this matter. Please listen to Commander Liu's brief introduction to the situation in Anxi, and then you can express your opinions."

Although Liu Jing had already become the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Army Commandery, a dignified first-rank official, the overall pattern of the Ming Dynasty using civil officials to control military power had not changed much after all. He still had to meet with the ministers one by one, including Grand Secretary Gao Youshi of Zhongji Palace, Grand Secretary Yu Shenxing of Wenhua Palace, Grand Secretary Song Yingchang of Wuying Palace, Grand Secretary Xiao Liangyou of Dongge, and the Minister of War Wang Tingzhuan, whom the "expanded" in the "expanded cabinet meeting" specifically referred to.

After meeting with the ministers, Liu Jing bowed to all four directions, and then he gave a brief introduction to the situation in Anxi that he had discussed with Gao Youshi yesterday. Then he turned to the main topic and said loudly: "Therefore, Li Rumei and I will discuss three strategies for the time being. The first strategy is to launch a surprise attack on Tashkent. This city has a large amount of food and grass stored, at least 30% of all the food stored by Burihatu. Although the garrison in the city is said to be 30,000, at least 20,000 of them are surrendered soldiers recruited by Burihatu after he defeated Kazakhstan last year. We can use the counter-espionage strategy to shake the morale of the army."

Yu Shenxing frowned and said, "Warfare is dangerous, it is not something that can be done lightly. If we mobilize a large force like this, and if Burihatu is well prepared, how can this surprise attack succeed? If the surprise attack fails and both sides are deadlocked outside the city, don't you worry that Burihatu's main force will come to rescue Tashkent and attack us from both inside and outside?"

"Your concern is justified, but please look," Liu Jing pointed at the direction on the "Western Region Map", "Bukhara City where Burihatu is located is here. If he wants to send troops to rescue Tashkent, he needs to go east for more than 400 miles to reach Samarkand, and then go northeast for more than 500 miles from Samarkand to reach Tashkent. The whole journey is about a thousand miles. Even if he immediately led the main force of the Chahar cavalry to rush to the rescue after receiving the news, it would take at least seven days."

Liu Jing pointed to the Seven Rivers area and said, "For our surprise attack on Tashkent, we should consider using Boshoktu's Seven Rivers as the main force, first quietly advancing from the Seven Rivers area along the desert (Moinkum Desert) to the vicinity of the Talas River, and then suddenly crossing the Karatau Mountains at the appointed time - Tashkent is at the foot of the mountain!"

Yu Shenxing asked: "Is this mountain steep? Is it easy to climb? If it is easy to climb, then didn't Tashkent send troops to patrol the river to the north of this mountain?"

Liu Jing was about to answer when Wang Tingzhuan suddenly said, "Master Yu, I know a thing or two about this matter and can explain it to you."

Yu Shenxing then remembered that Wang Tingzhuan, the Minister of War, had just returned from Anxi, so he smiled and said, "Thank you, Grand Marshal."

Wang Tingzhuan cleared his throat and said, "I have sent people to investigate the situation in these places in detail when I was in Anxi, and have confirmed it one by one with the people from the Beijing-China Merchants Caravan. This Kara-Tau Mountain is only a hundred feet high (note that this is not the altitude, but the relative height to the surrounding plains). It should be the remnant of the Tianshan Mountains and it is not difficult to cross. However, because of it, the desert cannot expand southward.

In other words, for Tashkent, crossing this mountain is the desert. Although there are narrow oases along the Talas River, they are not of much value for grazing. Therefore, since Boshoktu occupied the Seven Rivers and launched a large-scale attack, the remaining Chahar forces led by Burihatu stopped in Tashkent and never crossed this mountain.

At the same time, last year Erdemutu and Boshoktu were ordered to lead the army to the west to conquer Kazakhstan, and they fought all the way to the Caspian Sea thousands of miles away, so they did not expand their influence to the south of the Karatau Mountains. The two sides thus formed a tacit understanding that the Karatau Mountains were the boundary.

Yu Shenxing understood now, nodded slightly, and asked again: "So, if Boshektu goes south to launch a surprise attack, it can indeed catch the enemy by surprise, but... Boshektu's troops are mainly light cavalry, and it is said that they are short of firearms. Even if the surprise attack is successful, can they really capture Tashkent in one fell swoop?"

"This requires the cooperation of our troops in Andijan." Liu Jing turned to Wang Tingzhuan and gave him a grateful look, then turned back to Shen Xing and said, "We can separate an infantry artillery unit from the main force of the Ming Han Army, set out from Andijan, cross the Kurama Mountains to the northwest, pass through the canyon here, and arrive at the same time as the Qihe Cavalry. If the surprise attack is successful, they will stay in Tashkent and be responsible for defending the city temporarily. If there is an accident in the surprise attack, they will use their firepower advantage to forcibly break into the city."

Yu Shenxing had the experience just now, so this time he only asked: "Is this mountain also traversable?"

Unexpectedly, Liu Jing said: "Although there are canyons in this mountain, it is close to the snowy oasis of the Fergana Basin, so the terrain is quite peculiar. The mountain is covered with unmelted snow, while the canyon is densely forested and crisscrossed with streams. Therefore, infantry and artillery are easier to defeat, but cavalry is quite difficult. This is one of the reasons why the prime minister previously believed that our army could hold Andijan."

Liu Jing was overthinking this. Gao Youshi had never been to this place in his previous life. He only knew that the Fergana Basin was surrounded by snow-capped mountains on three sides, with only a small opening in the west as a passage, so he thought it must be easy to defend. As for the fact that there was a mountain gorge in the northwest that served as a passage, he actually didn't know about it.

But he was lucky. This mountain canyon did not sound suitable for cavalry movement, but Liu Jing's words saved the situation for him.

Although Yu Shenxing lived up to his name and was indeed very cautious in his actions, he knew nothing about military affairs. After hearing Liu Jing's explanation to this point, he felt that it was enough and did not continue to question it.

On the contrary, Song Yingchang became a little uneasy after hearing this plan and asked, "Although the marching route is not a problem, since it is a canyon with deep forests and many streams, it must be quite inconvenient even if we only use infantry and artillery. In addition, we have to rush, so how can we ensure the supply of food and grass?"

He only asked about the food and grass problem of the Ming and Han armies along the way. It was not that he did not care about Boshektu's life or death, but... the Mongols were on the march, so this problem was almost non-existent. As long as they could capture Tashkent and distribute the spoils, there was no reason for the Mongols to starve to death on the way - of course they took their sheep with them.

This matter was not difficult for Liu Jing. He first explained that the Beijing-China caravan had stored food and grass along the way, and then turned to Xiao Liangyou: "In addition, at the end of last year, Shaanxi and Gaoyuan had already received the order of the Prime Minister to collect 80,000 dan of wheat and 20,000 dan of highland barley. They have now been transported to Hami and will be transported to Anxi soon. Although there will be losses on the way, 30% can be kept...

As for this year, if the Anxi regions can widely use Jinghua axle-turning carts to divert water for irrigation, at least 200,000 shi of grain can be added this summer. Considering that there will be a certain amount of spoils after taking Tashkent and Samarkand, it is enough to ensure that there will be no serious food shortage in Anxi this year."

Xiao Liangyou knew why Liu Jing was looking at him, but he really had a problem. He could only frown and ponder, "In order to quickly transport grain from Hami to Anxi, we may need to requisition 100,000 camels. This is not easy to do. As for promoting the Jinghua axle overturning vehicle in Anxi, it is also difficult to mobilize the craftsmen..."

Gao Youshi suddenly interrupted, "The case of the hidden fields in the Chu Palace is being investigated. I think there must be something fishy going on. After the investigation, we can at least confiscate the money... Well, in short, at least two million taels can be raised from this case, which is enough to support the Anxi War for half a year."

He turned to Xiao Liangyou and said, "I expect this battle to be a quick one and it is unlikely to end in a stalemate, so there must be enough money with two million taels. The remaining money should be given to the Ministry of Works to mobilize craftsmen and transport food and grass." Although he did not give a specific amount, Xiao Liangyou knew that since Gao Youshi had spoken, he could not object to this matter, so he had to say, "Since the Prime Minister has made such a decision, Liangyou will do his best."

"Prince, there is one more thing that we must plan ahead of time." Wang Tingzhuan suddenly said, "When the army marched west, the road was difficult and the artillery they carried was actually limited. Fortunately, there were not many strong cities in the old Anxi area, and Burihatu had no intention of defending it, so this problem was not exposed.

However, according to the report from the spies, the fortification of Tashkent is similar to Suzhou, and Samarkand and Bukhara are the strongest cities in the river, almost as strong as Xi'an and Ningxia. Bukhara is not a place that must be captured in this battle, that's fine, but Samarkand... I am worried that our artillery is not enough to quickly capture the city. "

"It's too late to temporarily transport the artillery now." Gao Youshi frowned and thought for a while, then said thoughtfully: "However, the Jinghua Arsenal has improved the gunpowder manufacturing method. The new gunpowder is more powerful, but the charge must be reduced accordingly to avoid explosion. This cabinet will have Jinghua send pigeons to send the manufacturing method and usage to the Western Regions, and let the local Jinghua servants help Li Rumei improve the existing gunpowder as soon as possible."

Yu Shenxing was puzzled, "Just now we only talked about how Tashkent was captured by surprise attack, and it seems that Samarkand has not been mentioned yet..."

This statement was indeed a bit unprofessional. Gao Youshi, Song Yingchang and Wang Tingzhuan, who had experience in war, knew that Samarkand could only be attacked by force after looking at the map, so they did not ask any questions. As for Xiao Liangyou, he was not concerned about military affairs. He only participated in the affairs of the Ministry of Industry when there were related transportation and construction issues, so he did not intend to ask any questions. Therefore, only Yu Shenxing felt that the matter had not been discussed yet.

Gao Youshi waved his hand at Liu Jing, indicating that Liu Jing should explain in detail the tactics he had told him yesterday - basically, infantry and artillery besieged Samarkand and attacked it. After Boshoktu's Qihe Cavalry cooperated with the Ming army to capture Tashkent, they and Li Rumei's more than 10,000 Liaodong cavalry immediately went south to Bukhara, posing a posture of fighting a decisive battle with Burihatu, forcing Burihatu to defend the city of Bukhara and cut off Samarkand's external aid.

Yu Shenxing was confused again and asked, "I heard that the Ordos tribe had a balanced internal strength at the beginning. Boshuoketu's tribe only had 20,000 cavalry. Even if all the remaining troops of Huang Taiji's sons were willing to fight, his entire tribe would only have 50,000 cavalry at most, and most of them were light cavalry.

Even if we add Li Rumei's 10,000 Liaodong cavalry, we can have both light and heavy cavalry, but there are only 60,000 cavalry after all. Burihatu's troops hardly lost many of their own troops in our westward expedition, and after they captured Bukhara and Khiva and defeated the Kazakh Khanate, they also surrendered a large number of Hezhong cavalry. Now it seems that there are more than 60,000 people.

Furthermore, wasn't there news that he had found foreign aid and obtained some firearms support? In this case, his strength is even greater than before... If this is the case, why is Commander Liu still so sure that he dare not fight Li Rumei and Boshoketu in the field and insist on defending Bukhara City to the death? "

"Your question is very pertinent," Liu Jing clasped his fists and bowed, his eyes bright. "However, although Burihatu now claims to have more than 100,000 soldiers under his command, he is not a united force. In addition to the elite troops of Chahar, most of his subordinates are surrendered soldiers from Bukhara and Khiva, as well as the remnants of Kazakhs. These tribes have always been at odds with each other, and Burihatu is now unifying them with coercion, but in fact they are only in name only.

The current strength of the remaining Yuan troops is roughly 60,000 cavalry from the Chahar headquarters, with about 20,000 remnants from Bukhara, Khiva, and Kazakhstan each, that is, half and half of the headquarters and the surrendered soldiers.

I have mentioned before that among the Tashkent defenders there are about 20,000 Kazakh surrendered soldiers and 10,000 Chahar cavalry. The 20,000 surrendered soldiers from Bukhara were transferred to Samarkand by Burihatu, and there are another 20,000 Chahar cavalry in the city - this is because Samarkand faces the threat of our Andijan army, so there are more garrisons.

In this case, there are only 30,000 Chahar troops and 20,000 Khiva surrendered soldiers in Bukhara. The 30,000 Chahar troops have obtained some firearms, so their strength should be roughly the same as the 50,000 cavalry of Boshoktu Qihe. The 10,000 Liaodong cavalry equipped with muskets under Li Rumei are far more powerful than the 20,000 remnants of Khiva. Therefore, if our army rushes to Bukhara with thunderous force, Burihatu will not dare to act rashly——"

He tapped the map heavily with his fingers: "Your Excellency, think about it, Buzhihatu's occupation of Bukhara is already a cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest. If he goes out of the city to fight in the field, would he dare not leave his elite troops to guard the city? But Chahar's main force has only 30,000 troops here at most. How many people should be left to defend the city? If he leaves 10,000 troops to defend the city, then there will only be 40,000 left to take out of the city to fight me - half of them are Chahar's main force and half are Khiva surrendered soldiers.

Given Burihatu's suspicious nature, could he believe that these Khiva surrendered soldiers would not take the opportunity to rebel, or turn against their side in battle? I have been repeatedly told by the Prime Minister that Burihatu is well versed in Chinese military books and history, so he must know the cause of Gao Xianzhi's defeat in Talas... Isn't he afraid that these Khiva surrendered soldiers will repeat the old story of the Qarluk tribe?

The elder may also want to ask, what if Burihatu leaves 10,000 Khiva surrendered soldiers to guard the city, or leaves all 20,000 surrendered soldiers to guard the city? I think it's okay.

Not to mention that even if Burihatu personally led 30,000 elite troops of Chahar to fight head-on with our 60,000 coalition cavalry, our army would still have a greater chance of winning. Once they leave the city, the surrendered soldiers in the city will surely become disloyal. At that time, our army only needs to spread the rumor that "only the remaining leaders will be executed after the city is captured", or even simply announce that as long as the Khiva surrendered soldiers abandon the dark and join the light, our Ming Dynasty is willing to help the Khiva people restore their country... In this way, the city of Bukhara will turn against us in an instant. Burihatu cannot afford such a risk!"

This time, Shen Xing did not ask again. Song Yingchang nodded slightly and smiled, "Yes, not only that, but our army's siege is focused on deterrence. As long as Burihatu dares not go out of the city to fight, we can let Li Rumei's cavalry line up under the city, beat drums and raise dust day and night, shoot arrows to invite a fight, and then assist the Qihe cavalry to gallop far and near, which will surely make him suspicious. When Tashkent and Samarkand are successively captured, Burihatu will become a trapped beast, and the army will collapse."

"That's right!" Liu Jing took out a secret report from his pocket. "Before I returned to Beijing, a spy reported that Burihatu had made a secret agreement with Persia, offering tribute horses in exchange for Persia's permission to establish a foothold in Transoxiana. However, Persia had fought many wars with the Ottomans and was unable to look north, so they reluctantly reached peace."

He paused and lowered his voice, "But yesterday, the Prime Minister told me that Persia had received an invitation from the pope in the far west and was considering joining forces with the Ming Dynasty to deal with the Ottomans... In this case, they should have joined forces with the Ming Dynasty to deal with Burihatu, but now Persia has not taken any action and has not contacted Anxi. I am afraid that they intend to use the Ming Dynasty to get rid of Burihatu, and then send troops to the north when the war is clear, so as to reap the benefits while the heavenly army is in power."

Gao Youshi sneered when he heard this: "Persians have always been calculating. They often forget righteousness when they see small profits, and cherish their lives when they do big things." He gently patted the map of the Western Regions in front of him and said lightly: "Since you want to borrow my weapons, you should show sincerity. Send a message to Anxi Governor Li Tingji to send someone to contact the Persians. After our army captures Samarkand, we will allow Persia to go north to Tiemenguan and trade in Samarkand, but the prerequisite is that they must send troops to cooperate with our army to encircle Bukhara."

Wang Tingzhuan pondered and said, "The Prime Minister wants to let the Persians know that our Ming Dynasty is not like the descendants of Timur who can be manipulated by others. However, although allowing Persian trade is also beneficial to Anxi's prosperity, it may also make Persia covet the center of the river..."

"You are worrying too much." Gao Youshi shook his head. "As long as the Ottoman Empire has not declined, Persia can only look to the West. As for Anxi of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how much they covet it, they can only pretend to be friendly. They even have to worry that the Ming Dynasty has other intentions towards it."
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Thanks to the book friend "First Login" for the reward and support, thank you!

Thanks to book friends "doni", "o Shangshu Ling", "Yun Fu Yue Yu", "Robert Guilliman", and "Book Friend 20190605084815175" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!

PS: I saw a comment asking why the steam engine suddenly appeared. In fact, it was not sudden. The previous article mentioned at least two or three times that "the steam engine already has a prototype, but it is not economical and is still being researched." The steam engine that appeared this time was not the kind used on trains, but was used for pumping water, generally for pumping water in mining areas - this was indeed an important application of steam engines in the early days of history.

In addition, I saw two book friends discussing whether we should vigorously promote trains. Uh... Judging from the stage of steam engine development, Gao Youshi should not see it for the time being. I did write about another thing before, I don’t know if you remember it, that is, a "horse-drawn railway" was built from the capital to Kaiping to transport Kaiping's industrial products, which is actually the foundation for the "railway". In essence, Gao Youshi still pays more attention to taking things step by step. Of course, there are cheats, but they are often ways of thinking, not technological advancement.