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Chapter 891 Fine-tuning
After resting for half a night in Ruoqiang City, the army broke camp and slowly marched westward at 9 o'clock the next morning. Two hours ago, a force consisting of 500 Eight Banners Army and 2000 Army troops had already headed for the Lop Oasis 150 miles away.

They wanted to clear out the five or six small oases in the east and completely eliminate the hidden dangers near Ruoqiang City. This work would be coordinated by the Abash people, who could help point out which ethnic group was active in which area, and could also serve as translators and lobbyists, trying to explain their intentions and convince people with reason.

If there are ethnic groups that refuse to cooperate and are still staunch Black Mountain factions, the rest of the work can be handed over to the army. The emperor gave only one order: to completely clean up the area east of Ruoqiang City and never allow any hidden dangers!

If we encounter unexpected and insurmountable major troubles on the way westward, it will be absolutely impossible to go back via the plateau. From Ruoqiang to Dunhuang is the only retreat route for the southern army.

"Although Your Majesty is unwilling to listen, I still want to tell you..." Before the emperor left, Du Wenhuan pulled the door of the carriage, with a determined look on his face, ready to fight for it one last time.

What is this? The commander of the Southern Army fought hard on the plateau for more than a month, sleeping in the open and braving the wind and snow. He finally arrived at the battlefield safely, but he was killed in Ruoqiang City. He became a detachment responsible for collecting food and grass, guarding prisoners, and consolidating the retreat. This is so unfair!
"Stop! As the commander-in-chief, you should set a good example for the Eight Banners Army. Soldiers must first obey orders and follow commands. If they all charge into battle, I will be defeated again and again no matter how capable I am.

Ruoqiang was not only the logistics base of the southern army, but also the key point of this battle. Abash said that there was a Tarim River in the east of the city that went deep into the heart of the desert, and there were some temporary oases along the way depending on the season. If it was a camel soldier, it was very likely that they would cross the desert along the river from Yanqi in the northern Xinjiang.

After learning that his old nest has been destroyed, Yarkand Khan may not lead his troops back to Yarkand along the original route to support Yarkand. He may cross the desert to attack Ruoqiang to cut off our retreat route and come to close the door to fight the dog. In addition to collecting food and grass nearby, you must also pay close attention to the surrounding movements, especially the Tarim River in the north.

I have sent people to Guazhou to inform Sun Chengzong and dispatched a guard to Ruoqiang for reinforcement. Before the reinforcements arrive, no matter how many enemies come, we must hold on!
In addition, I am also worried about the Tusi on the plateau. We have harassed the local herdsmen along the way, and we will definitely not be able to hide our whereabouts. If they want to come to help the Yarkand Khanate, Mangya Fort alone cannot stop them. It depends on your ability.

This is related to the life and death of me and the two guards. If not you, who should I give it to? Who can take on this important task? What you should do now is not to pull my carriage, but to quickly build fortifications. In addition, you must be wary of several tribes here, including Abash.

They are not completely trustworthy, even if they hold hostages. No matter what happens, their people must not be allowed to get close to military camps and fortifications.

But you can't keep people away from you. How to be neither too far nor too close, neither too cold nor too hot, depends on your brain. Wang Chengen, close the door and set off!"

Du Wenhuan's idea was actually correct. As an emperor, he should not lead his army to fight on the front line. As the saying goes, swords and guns have no eyes. If something goes wrong, the southern army will be greatly affected, or even defeated.

But Hong Tao was deeply concerned about letting others command the next long-distance raid, because no one had been here before and didn't know the local customs and practices.

Even if I have only been here in the future, it will be of some use. At least I will have a rough map in my head and understand the local people's beliefs and preferences.

In addition, no one knows the core of the new plan better than himself, and no one is better at fooling people than himself. At this point in the Western Expedition, there is no need to worry too much about military victory. The key is how to lay a good foundation for long-term control and management in the future. For this reason alone, he must go into battle himself.

There is a big city 500 miles west of Ruoqiang. In the official archives of the Ming Dynasty, it is called Chelichang. Don't ask, it is probably a transliteration. Gulandam said that the Uyghur language is called Qialqiang, which means a large piece of arable land. In Mongolian, it is called Zhelihui, which means Cherchen people, but she can't tell what ethnic group the Cherchen people are. In later generations, this place was called Qiemo, which was the name used in the Han Dynasty. The name given by the Tang Dynasty is the best, called Boxian Town.

Whatever it was called, in the early 17th century, Qiemo was a large oasis, stretching almost from the southern edge of the Tarim Basin to the northern foot of the Altun Mountains. The plains at the foot of the mountain were cultivated land, and the slopes at the foot of the mountain were pastures, between which flowed the largest river in the southeast of the Tarim Basin, the Cherchen River.

The oasis is large, the water source is sufficient, there is a lot of arable land and grassland, and the population is large. This is the characteristic of southern Xinjiang. Where there is water, there is an oasis, and then there is a gathering of people, and over time, villages and towns are naturally formed.

The 36 states in the Western Regions described in the Han Dynasty were not all states, but mostly ethnic groups. Each ethnic group occupied one or several oases, some large and some small.

There are also several families within these ethnic groups, which are closely connected through marriage, etc. Several ethnic leaders unite to jointly protect their own oases and resist invasions from other ethnic groups, thus forming a local power.

When a force becomes strong and unites with several other forces, it can be called a Khan, or a leader of an alliance, or a king.

This model is still prevalent in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Türkiye and other places in later generations, and is generally not very stable.

It is possible that valuable resources are discovered in the territory of a certain tribe, which will arouse the jealousy of neighboring tribes, and 90% of them will not be able to reach a consensus. At this time, if an external force with ulterior motives stirs up trouble, it is easy to cause the conflict to escalate and then fight.

However, being a gossip is not easy. First of all, you have to be very strong. Otherwise, you will be kicked down by both sides before things even start.

Now Hong Tao was going to play this role. After 20 days of continuous fighting, he led the First Guard Army and the First Guard Eight Banner Army to first occupy Qiemo, and then Nirang. With successive victories, he easily rushed to the important town of Khotan in southern Xinjiang, which was later known as Hotan.

Fighting was marching, and marching was fighting. Every time they passed an oasis, the Eight Banners Army would divide into two teams, north and south, and use the fastest speed to encircle and block the north, west and south directions, while the land army would push forward from the east.

Most oases were not garrisoned by Khanate troops, but by tribal armed forces, some on horseback, some on camels, some using bows and arrows, and some wielding scimitars.

However, it was difficult for them to compete head-on with the army in terms of both quantity and quality. Often a volley of a hundred-man team would be defeated, and they would flee in all directions and then be chased and chopped up by the Eight Banners Army.

(End of this chapter)