Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Chapter 279 It’s not cost-effective to march north in winter

The bloody sun sets, and another day of bloody battle comes to an end. Except for the initial recapture of Telehala from the Dzungars, the Guards never achieved greater results. The two sides faced off along the Kongesi River. They fought fiercely for two months. Each side suffered thousands of casualties, but neither could do anything to the other.

"Your Majesty, it is already September and winter is coming. Why not withdraw your troops and return to conquer the Dzungars next year?" Hu Lianqi advised.

"No, Junggar is a serious problem for me. I won't withdraw my troops until Junggar is defeated." Sultan was fierce and refused to give up. This time, he went north in the name of conquering the Junggar people. Although he occupied Qinghai and Gansu, he could not do anything to the Junggar people. He could not come to Taiwan to save his face. China has always valued face, so it refused to withdraw its troops.

Hu Lianqi resigned reluctantly. Walking out of the tent, two great scholars, Liu Haogu and Xue Zongzhou, asked anxiously: "What's going on?"

"The lower official was incompetent and failed to persuade His Majesty to withdraw his troops." After Hu Liangqi surrendered, he was given the official position of Yushi of Youqiandu, so he called himself "the lower official".

"Alas! David's country has not been established for a long time, and the internal situation is not stable. The old soldiers of this division are tired, and they are stationed in front of the deep ditch barrier. If they are defeated, the situation will be over! Why is your majesty so stubborn?" Xue Zongzhou threw up his clothes anxiously.

Liu Haogu, Xue Zongzhou, Hu Liangqi and other advisers unanimously believed that the emerging Davidic regime was full of waste and intertwined forces. It was not suitable to fight a big war without complete internal stability. Even if it was fought, it should be resolved quickly. At first, the situation went as they expected. The Guards easily captured Qinghai and Gansu, but when they reached the territory of the Junggar people, they fell into a stalemate. If we delay for a long time, what if someone from behind takes the opportunity to cause trouble? So they persuaded Emperor Qianyuan to retreat. Unexpectedly, the emperor seemed to have eaten the weight and was determined not to withdraw. What should I do?
"Your Majesty's refusal to withdraw is probably because the Qing army entered Sichuan and wanted to kill the Junggar people before the Qing army defeated the Daxi bandits, so as to avoid fighting on two fronts in the future," Liu Haogu said, stroking his beard.

After the "Eight Great Kings" Zhang Xianzhong captured Sichuan and established the Daxi Kingdom, the Qing court repeatedly summoned him to surrender, saying: "Zhang Xianzhong is like a man who has judged the heavens and returned with his troops. He will be promoted and promoted forever, and his descendants will enjoy wealth forever." "If it is delayed, Wait and see, if we don't welcome the surrender early, we will regret it when the army arrives." Zhang Xianzhong ignored them all. Seeing that he would not accept the weak, Dorgon ordered Prince Su Hauge to be General Jingyuan, and together with Wu Sangui and others, he commanded the Manchu and Han armies and attacked the Great Western Army with all their strength. In May, the Qing army captured Hanzhong. In July, Zhang Xianzhong decided to abandon Chengdu and go north to Shaanxi to fight the Qing army. In order to show his determination to fight to the death and boost morale to his subordinates, he "killed all his wives and concubines, and also culled his one son who was still young." Traveler Suletan naturally knew that Zhang Xianzhong was about to die in battle at the foot of Phoenix Mountain in Xichong. He was worried about being flanked by the Qing government and the Junggars, so he wanted to deal with the Junggars before the Qing army pacified Sichuan.

"Alas! Your Majesty is ridiculous! The traitors have been running rampant for many years, how can they be so easy to pacify? The Qing Dynasty's future operations will focus on the seven southern provinces, and Wuxia will focus on Moxi within a few years. Therefore, two-front warfare will not appear for the time being. Now the expedition has been completed Years later, the army and soldiers are tired, and the soldiers want to return home. What should I do if there is a mistake?" Xue Zongzhou sighed and suddenly said in a loud voice: "I will go and give advice again."

"Your Majesty, Xue Zongzhou, the scholar of Wuyingdian Palace, wants to see you." Suletan had just sent away a Hu Liangqi who persuaded him to retreat, and another one came. He couldn't help frowning, "These literati! They are really stubborn, very stubborn!" Then he thought about it. Think about it, isn't it the sign of a strong country that a civil servant will die in admonishment and a military soldier will die in battle? David, blessed by heaven, has just sent down so many loyal ministers and good generals to assist me! Thinking of this, he became kind and ordered people to summon Xue Zongzhou.

"Uncle Wen is here to retreat, right? Don't worry, there are still two months until winter. After two months, if we cannot defeat the Junggar people, I will definitely retreat," he said with a smile.

"If we retreat after two months, I'm afraid that the Dzungars will be entangled. When the time comes, we will send food from thousands of miles away and the soldiers will be hungry. What can we do? Moreover, the army has been on an expedition for a year. If there is a change in the court, what should we do?" Xue Zong Zhou Geng He rubbed his neck and continued to persuade.

"What changes can happen in the court? I am the David Emperor, serving as the emperor. Who dares to disobey? Uncle Wen is too worried. Retreat." He said "There are changes in the court", which made Long Yan unhappy. Emperor Qianyuan believed that he was the only emperor of all time, and everyone was convinced. Xue Zongzhou was worried about changes in the court. Wasn't he doubting his ability to control the situation of the court? Naturally not happy. "Uncle Wen, how is the matter?" Seeing Xue Zongzhou return, Liu Haogu and Hu Lianqi asked hurriedly.

Xue Zongzhou shook his head helplessly. There was silence in the big tent, and everyone had sad faces.

Suddenly, Liu Haogu burst into laughter, "It's actually not difficult to persuade His Majesty, but we used the wrong method. Wait for me to persuade you again." After that, he walked towards the big tent in a swaggering way.

"Master Liu, what do you want from me? If you are here to persuade me to retreat, there is no need to say more. I have made up my mind, this time I must chop off Batur's dog head," Suletan said angrily.

"Your Majesty has misunderstood. I am not here to persuade you to retreat, but to urge you to march. How can the Junggar tribe stop my cavalry of David? We must make a big move," Liu Haogu said with a smile.

"Oh, Master Liu still understands me! The Qing army has entered Sichuan, and I must pacify the Junggar tribe before they defeat Zhang Xianzhong to avoid fighting on two fronts," Suletan sighed.

"I completely understand your Majesty's thoughts. David's army is invincible in the world, so what does it matter to the Junggar tribe? Not to mention that there are still two months to go before winter, so what if it really comes? It's just a matter of spending more money." , Liu Haogu chuckled.

Upon hearing that fighting in winter costs more money, Sultan's voice faltered, "How much does it cost to fight in winter?"

"Not much, that is, several times or even ten times the usual amount. After all, the grass in the north is covered with snow in winter, and grain and fodder need to be transported from the rear, which naturally costs a lot. But my great David can afford it. There are actually people following him. The minister said that it is better to attack Ili than to attack Junggar. Junggar is desolate. Even if Junggar is captured, not much gold, silver and jewels can be captured. It is better to attack Ili, where the land is fertile, the products are rich, and gold, silver and jewels are piled up like mountains. Ridiculous! How can it be considered a war? Silver? Instead, it should be based on military merit. The contribution to pacifying Junggar is far greater than that of Ili." Liu Haogu continued.

After hearing what Liu Haogu said, Suletan suddenly realized that he had ignored the issue of military expenditures. The further north the transportation becomes more inconvenient and the military expenditure increases. Liu Haogu is right. Junggar is poor, and if he wins the battle, he will gain little. Ili is a treasure land, and if he wins, the gain will be huge. In a war, the most important thing is to obtain spoils of war. The reason why this battle lasted for a year was because he seized a large amount of money and grain from Qinghai and Gansu to make up for the war losses. Since it is not cost-effective to attack Junggar in winter, let's change the goal and first eliminate the Junggar people's allies: Oqiltu Khan of the Heshuote tribe who is entrenched in the Ili area. Yili is rich, and by the way, it can make up for its own military expenditure deficit.

Thinking of this, Suletan chuckled and said, "Master Liu, I thought about it for a while. Winter is coming, and attacking Junggar is too expensive. It's better to eliminate the Oqirtu Khan in Ili first, and then fight with the Junggar people when the grass grows next year." A showdown of life and death!"

(End of this chapter)