The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 152 Beiting (continued)

"The sky is covered with snow covering the mountains. My winter clothes are still cold. One tree is covered with catkins and thousands of white branches. I am walking in the mountains in a light robe. The fog is heavy and the mountains are quiet. The bells of Da Da Mountain Temple are ringing in the distance. I leave behind three inches of mundane things and cross the mountains. May you be worry-free year after year. Good, good…, Yang Gong’s book expresses this feeling and scene vividly. The mountains in the distance are covered with snow and covered with white. The surrounding scenery is quite consistent with this poem, and it has a profound artistic conception! Tao Yuanzhong, the judge of the Beiting Governor's Mansion, looked at the inscription on the desk and admired it very much. He twirled his beard and praised: "We have lived in the Western Regions for many years. In addition to the wind and frost that have turned our hair white, we also eat a lot of food." Sha Sha, who was once talented and elegant, has long since lost it, and has become a vulgar person from the outside world. Unexpectedly, Yang Gong is still as affectionate as before!"

"Even if we have no talent, what is the point of serving the country and politics?" Tingzhou Observer Yang Conglin said with a wry smile: "In this border area of ​​the Western Regions, only martial arts can make achievements, and only martial arts can reach the imperial court. , and only by defeating the enemy and destroying the country can we express our ambitions."

"Mr. Yang is still worried about General Yue's insistence on leading troops to attack Junggar despite his dissuasion?" Tao Yuanzhong asked.

"Winter expeditions have always been a taboo for military strategists. If you are not careful, the whole army will be in danger of annihilation." Yang Conglin said in a deep voice: "Tingzhou is more than a thousand miles away from Yili, and it is windy and snowy to cross the mountains. If the Tatars come here, If an ambush is set up in a dangerous place, thousands of elite troops may not be spared and will be destroyed in one day. If the army is defeated, the entire Beiting will be in danger, and the good situation achieved after more than ten years will be ruined."

"The general is always cautious in using troops. He has rarely suffered a defeat in more than ten years of campaign. He should not be ambushed by the Tartars." Tao Yuanzhong said: "Even if the mountains are blocked and heavy snow travels south, the general will not risk going deep into the Junggar territory. On the other hand, , the general gathered almost all the warm cotton furs stored in Tingzhou into the army to protect the sergeants from the typhoid attack. Although the journey was more than a thousand miles away, the army used sledges and sledges as cargo, and the speed was faster than in summer and autumn. The horse galloping is much faster, and the thunderous attack will definitely catch the Tartars off guard. I am afraid that Yang Gong is worried too much."

"I hope so." Yang Conglin sighed, "I, Da Qin, have been running Beiting for more than ten years. We have built more than 30 castles and forts, immigrated more than 40,000 households, cultivated nearly one million acres of fertile land, and herded more than 100,000 cattle and horses. We have almost achieved self-sufficiency, greatly reducing the cost of transporting supplies to the interior. If the situation collapses, how will we explain to His Majesty?"

Since the unification of Junggar and Mongolia, they have shown increasing aggression. During the Galdan period, they began to continuously visit Khalkha Mongolia, sending troops to capture cities and territories, while expanding their own territory and integrating the entire Mongolian power. In the early years, they even entered the old territory of the former Chagatai Khanate. Because of their internal connections, their expansion was smooth along the way. Successively captured Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, Yingjisha, Aksu, Wushi and other regions. After lying dormant for several years, Junggar digested the remnants of the Chagatai Khanate and added tens of thousands of powerful cavalry to his account. As his ambitions grew, he tried to point his sword at Monan, then aspire to dominate the Central Plains, and reappear. Mongolian and Yuan Empire.

After Galdan's death, Cewang Alabutan, while consolidating Mongolia's territory and influence, continued to use troops against the Kazakh Khanate, and just smashed this once-prominent Central Asian overlord into pieces and became their Junggar Khan. Servants of the country. This move not only eliminated the worries of the Junggars, but also had a stable rear area where sufficient supplies and personnel could be supplied, allowing the Junggars to concentrate on heading east to challenge the Qin Dynasty.

If it is allowed to develop and grow, a huge grassland empire will be born to the north of our Great Qin Dynasty, just like the Huns of the Han Dynasty and the Turks of the Tang Dynasty. Maybe the tragedy of the Mongolian Yuan overthrowing the Song Dynasty will happen again.

Therefore, from a military perspective, the emergence of a hero or overlord on the grasslands has always been an unbearable thing for the Central Plains dynasties. Since the founding of our Great Qin Dynasty decades ago, our officers and soldiers of the Great Qin Dynasty have taken advantage of the situation and entered Mobei while chasing down the remnants of the Qing captives. In addition to destroying the so-called Manchu and Mongolian unity of the Qing Dynasty and not giving them a chance to breathe, they also used the power of plowing the court to clear the holes to disperse the nomadic tribes here in one fell swoop to prevent the emergence of a unified and powerful grassland overlord.

Over the years, our country, Great Qin, has taken the initiative from both the Desert West and the Western Regions, and launched a war with Junggar that lasted for more than thirty years, in order to destroy and disintegrate this ambitious Mongolian tribe.

Yes, although the Junggar tribe established its foundation many years ago and established a khanate, it abolished the traditional loose Oirat alliance that was independent of each other and did not belong to each other. Titles such as Shi (Taishi) and Jinong. On the basis of improving and strengthening the Otok establishment, the power of the tribal chiefs was distributed to the various Otok zaisangs. All instructions and orders from the royal court can be directly conveyed to each Otok Zaisang office, and the Zaisang will implement them specifically and be responsible to the Khan. The transition from the tribal alliance system to national power has been completed.

so what?

In the eyes of our Great Qin Dynasty, you Junggar Tribe are just a group of northern barbarians, a group of predatory steppe Tartars. Even if the so-called Khanate is established, it will be nothing more than the rule of Di Yi.

Although some officials and many scholars in the Qin Dynasty showed contempt for the Junggar tribe, the officials stationed in the Western Regions did not dare to boo the Mongolian regime that dominated the Western Regions.

Although they are Mongolian Tartars, they have their own arsenal and can produce artillery and muskets. The army soldiers are also very familiar with the use of firearms, especially cannons. Their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of ordinary grassland forces. Even the Rakshasa people are not. Dare to plunder its edge. The only disadvantage is probably that the population is too small, so they don't have many troops, but tens of thousands of elite cavalry can be easily pulled out. This requires Da Qin to mobilize several times the number of infantry and cavalry to deal with it. After all, sometimes defense is always relative. Be more passive.

Fortunately, our country, the Qin Dynasty, has strong national power. It took more than ten years to rely on sharp firearms and superior troops to advance from Hami in the east to Gaochang (today's Turpan), Luntai, and Ningbian (today's Changji) little by little. ), Yanbo (today's Wusu), to Jinghe (today's Jinghe County, Xinjiang), and touched the vicinity of the Ili River Valley, the core area of ​​Junggar.

According to Yang Conglin's cautious character, he would spend a few more years to continue building the fortress to the edge of Sailimu Lake and up to Borokonu Mountain, and then in the summer and autumn, small groups of troops would be continuously dispatched to infiltrate the Ili area and attack them. The nomadic and farming tribesmen continued to exterminate the Dzungarian Khanate.

At the same time, the Qin army can use Gaochang as a logistics base, march southwest, pass through Yanqi, pass through Kuruk Mountain and Hora Mountain, attack Kuqa, push straight to Aksu, and kill the flank of the Junggar tribe, threatening Kashgar (today's Kashgar).

Now, Yue Zhongqi, the general of Jingxi and the governor of the Beiting Governor's Office, actually wanted to take advantage of the civil strife in the Junggar tribe to complete his victory in one battle. He assembled more than 4,000 elite cavalry and dragoons to attack Ili regardless of the wind, snow and severe cold weather.

As long as it succeeds, the situation in the Western Region will be completely clear. It may be possible to inflict heavy damage on the Junggar tribe and force it to retreat to the Kazakh grassland. Our Great Qin will win a decisive victory.

But if they lose, it will cause a serious blow to the entire Beiting, and they may have to completely tighten their strategy and be in a passive defensive posture.

"Come on, the general is wise, powerful, and experienced in using troops. We can only hope that he can win the battle and create a new situation in our Beiting." Yang Conglin shook his head and sighed: "However, behind our Beiting, Gaochang and Hami On the front line, there are frequent raids by horse bandits, causing the local defenders to suffer miserably. In the severe cold winter, the intrusions are becoming more frequent, and you, the Governor-General, need to be careful in order to avoid missing the timeliness of the delivery of supplies to the rear."

"I also attach great importance to what Mr. Yang said." Tao Yuanzhong nodded, with a solemn look on his face, "The general also made an explanation before he left. In a few days, let the governor's office dispatch a battalion of dragoons to inspect Gaochang and Hami. Along the line, in order to combat those annoying horse bandits. When the Junggar tribe invaded the east, they did not want to resist and fled. However, when our Jingping area of ​​​​Great Qin was resuming production, they jumped out to rebel and attacked and harassed them. He is really hateful and annoying! If he is captured, he will be severely punished one by one."
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On February 2, on a Gobi desert more than 23 kilometers south of Liuchengwei (now Shanshan County, Xinjiang), dozens of corpses were lying in a strewn pattern. of snow, trying to nibble on any grass that might be covering it below.

More than thirty Qin soldiers were carrying bayonet-mounted muskets and were examining the corpses one by one. In addition to confirming whether there were still alive, they probably wanted to find some belongings from these dirty horse bandits.

On a high slope in the distance, several cavalrymen stood on guard and looked around with binoculars to prevent further horse bandits from attacking. In a mountain col that was slightly sheltered from the wind, more than ten Qin soldiers grabbed three surviving horse bandits and tortured them extremely cruelly. They asked them where the bandits were hiding and how many troops they had, causing them to scream in agony.

Bao Zhenxiang, the official of the 100th household in the Second Battalion of Gaochang Town, squatted beside the bonfire. While warming himself, he was holding his pipe comfortably, puffing away smoke and enjoying the rare quiet time.

"Baotou, how does it taste?" A Dutou cut off a piece of roasted horse meat and handed it to his superior in a flattering manner, "This roasted meat is full of spices, although it is not as good as the ones in Gaochang City. It’s a show of Tatar craftsmanship, but in this remote place, it’s absolutely delicious.”

"I said, Mazi, you're not a damn job anymore. Just with your barbecue skills, you can make a good living in Tingzhou." Bao Zhenxiang put the pipe in his mouth aside, took it from Ma Tieliang and handed it over. dagger, biting the piece of horse meat into his mouth. Although it is a bit raw and fishy, ​​it also has a unique flavor when roasted with enough spices.

"Baotou, although there is an old saying that 'donkey meat is fragrant and horse meat is smelly, you will never eat mule meat'. Everyone thinks that donkey meat is delicate and delicious, while horse meat is rough and has a fishy smell." , it doesn’t taste as delicious as donkey meat. But in fact, if horse meat is processed well, it is not unpalatable. If you are willing to spend some effort and add enough ingredients, horse meat will be very delicious. To be honest, Baotou, When I no longer have a job in the army, I really want to open a barbecue restaurant in Gaochang City. Hey, there are so many caravans and supply transport teams that go east and west every year, so I can still make some money no matter what."

"What a beautiful idea!" Bao Zhenxiang chewed in his mouth and looked at Ma Tieliang jokingly, "I'm afraid it will take many years to get rid of the military errand. During this period, I have to pray to the gods all over the sky. God bless you, don't be pierced by the cold arrows of the Tatars, and don't get sick in this windy and snowy wilderness, otherwise, your life will be handed down here at any time. Look at those brothers lying on the ground, how pitiful they are They all thought about how to get paid, get dozens of acres of land, have a wife, and live a happy life. But now, they have all turned into cold corpses, burned to ashes, and left behind. To their families.”

Their team of more than 60 cavalrymen was ordered by their superiors to wipe out a group of Oirat horse bandit cavalry that was scurrying nearby. These horse bandits set out from Yanqi Baglash Lake (today's Korla Bosten Lake) in the south. They were small in number but very capable. They plundered several colonial villages near Gaochang, and also attacked the military's horse farms and forage farms. A few months ago, they attacked a supply convoy coming from the east, very arrogantly.

In view of this, General Gaochang Town, who was responsible for the defense of nearby areas, immediately ordered his troops to clear out the area to ensure local colonial order and restore the safety of material transportation.

A section of the cavalry stationed in Liuchengwei was dispatched urgently to track the horse bandits in the surrounding areas, and finally captured about 30 of them in the Gobi more than 20 kilometers south of the Acropolis. After a fierce battle, they All of them were annihilated. Now, they are taking a break here, waiting for the prisoners' confessions to be interrogated, in order to obtain their hiding place.

"Bao Tou, I've asked you all." Yan Baolai, the deputy 100th household officer, sat down next to Bao Zhenxiang with a strong smell of blood. He grabbed the kettle on the ground and took a few sips.

"Well, tell me."

"The horse bandits numbered more than 260 people, and there were also 300 to 400 camels and horses. They were very mobile. Their base was near the oasis about a hundred miles away in the south. They did not build a city wall, but dug more than a dozen fields. We have a nest to live in. However, although the opponent does not have many firearms, he has seven or eight camel cannons, which is a big threat."

"Oh, there are almost three hundred people, and there are also camel cannons!" Bao Zhenxiang was a little surprised, "Where did these horse bandits come from, are they Mongolians? Or are they local Uighurs?"

"There are not many Mongolians, most of them are local Uighurs." Yan Baolai spat on the ground disdainfully: "These slaves of the subjugated Turpan country did not dare to resist the barbarians coming from the river in the front, and they did not dare to fight against the new people in the back. My master, the Dzungars, are baring their teeth, but they dare to repeatedly invade my settlement in Great Qin. Are they really believers in the gods and are their brains stupid?"

The "subjugated slaves" mentioned by Yan Baolai actually refer to the descendants of the Turpan Khanate, which was destroyed by the Yarkand Khanate about a hundred years ago. Discrimination from the upper class in the country made life very difficult, so much so that they had to go to nearby Hami or the Hexi Corridor to plunder places and beat the autumn wind in order to maintain their difficult life.

The so-called Turpan Khanate is actually the former Eastern Chagatai Khanate, which was called "Bieshe Bali" in the Ming Dynasty because the second great Khan, Hei Erhuo, set up his golden tent in Beelse. Bali (in today's Jimsar County, Xinjiang), it was later called the "Yilibali" Khanate in official documents of the Pre-Ming Dynasty. This was because Waisi Khan moved the capital to Yilibali (today's Xinjiang) during his reign. Near Yining in the Ili Valley of Xinjiang). Then, there is something even more bizarre. In 1481, Yunusi Khan handed over the eastern half of the khanate to his youngest son Sutan Ahema (namely Sultan Ahmed), and made Turpan the capital, so it was once again called the Turpan Khanate. .

In fact, the so-called Bieshebali, Yilibali, and Turpan Khanates are all referring to the same country, that is, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. The reason why there are so many names is that the Ming Dynasty and the Western Regions at that time There is no border (there is a servant kingdom of Hami Kingdom in the middle, the Zhongshun King's tribe, the so-called Seven Guards of Kansai), and the power does not extend here. It is not clear why.

After all, you can't expect a country that can't even effectively control Qinghai to know the Western Regions well. What's more, the main military pressure of the Ming Dynasty came from the Mongolian grasslands in the north. Of course, the Western Regions would not bother to understand it, and they would just do some business.

The Eastern Chagatai Khanate has been conquering east and west since its establishment. At the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, the country and the Ming Dynasty fought back and forth in the Hami area. The Ming Dynasty sometimes lost the Hami country and sometimes recovered it (Ming history says "three establishments and three wastes"). During the period of Mansur Khan (Sultan Mansur), the national power of the Ming Dynasty declined. The Eastern Chagatai Khanate completely annexed the Hami Kingdom and pushed the national border to the west of Jiayuguan, directly bordering the Ming Dynasty. From then on, it was fixed to the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. The Hetai Khanate was conquered and destroyed by the Yarkand Khanate, which emerged from Ya'erkan City.

After Galdan, the Mongolian leader of Oirat who believed in Tibetan Buddhism, worked together to destroy the Yarkand Khanate, he did not give the residents of the old lands of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate any good looks. On the contrary, the Mongols, who have rejected the True God Sect's attempts to win over them many times over the years and firmly believe in the Yellow Sect, are even more disgusted with these Uighurs and completely treat them as cannon fodder and slaves. Their lives are still miserable.

When the Qin Dynasty advanced westward along Hami and expelled all the Mongol forces in Junggar, it was unexpected that these timid Uighurs became more active than ever before. After uniting with some Mongolians who had not withdrawn, they began to frequently attack the Qin Dynasty. Caravans and supply convoys repeatedly broke through the settlements along the route and brutally killed Han immigrants, which was a headache.

Two years ago, a group of hundreds of horse bandits broke through Xixiang Fort (today's Tuokxun County, Turpan), more than 50 kilometers southwest of Gaochang at night. More than 200 soldiers and civilians were slaughtered, causing shock in the North Court.

"Yes, the opponent's strength seems not weak, and we may not be able to chew it up." Bao Zhenxiang stood up from the ground, patted the dust on his body, "Rest for half an hour, let's return to the Acropolis, and analyze the situation here. Report the truth to the guerrilla master. Damn it, I have to mobilize the troops from Gaochang to support us, so that we can wipe out this group of horse bandits at once."

(End of this chapter)