Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 167 The enemy sets an ambush, our army waits for the opportunity

The northern army, led by General Wang Ziteng of Jingbian, has been on the march for nine days.

For nine days, not only did they not encounter any Dzungar troops, they didn't even capture a single scout.

Marching is not easy in itself, especially in the hot summer. Many soldiers were more or less irritable, including some generals.

It is already the ninth day of June.

On that day, one of the northern armies marched to the Zaksai River and captured a Dzungar scout there.

The scout claimed that this place was only three days' journey away from Chahan Hada, and that a Dzungar army of a thousand people was stationed in Chahan Hada.

When Wang Ziteng heard this information, he immediately realized that this was most likely an ambush set by Ce Ling!
Before Wang Ziteng left Beijing last year, Yuan Qingbai specifically reminded him to be vigilant against Ce Ling's ambush and lure. Later, Yuan Qingbai repeated this reminder several times. When the war broke out this time, Yuan Qingbai emphasized this matter once again.

Moreover, over the past year, Ce Ling had tried to lure the northern army several times, but Wang Ziteng had discovered his plan each time.

Because of this, Wang Ziteng was very keen on Ce Ling's plan of luring and ambush.

"This bandit Ce Ling is extremely cunning. He has repeatedly tried to lure our army into an ambush. I'm afraid he will do it again this time. Oh, how can such a treacherous scheme deceive our great general Wang?"

Wang Ziteng smiled coldly.

However, he insisted on leading the northern army towards Chahan Hada!
Now that the northern army has been dispatched, it is advisable to fight quickly and decisively to wipe out the Dzungar Khanate as soon as possible. If it is delayed for too long, it will be disadvantageous to the Great Zhou.

If Tsereng is really setting an ambush this time, the northern army can advance along the route he lures them to take and fight the Dzungar army as soon as possible.

In addition, Yuan Qingbai had predicted that if Tsereng set an ambush, he would most likely try to lure the northern army into the valley so that the Dzungar army could surround it and then attack from high ground.

Wang Ziteng himself also made such a prediction.

Then we should march towards Chahan Hada and be careful in the valleys and mountains.

So, under the general order of Wang Ziteng, the northern army marched towards Chahan Hada.

Four days later, when the northern army arrived at Chahan Hada, they did not find the Dzungar army.

This made Wang Ziteng almost confirm that the previous claim by the Junggar scout that there were a thousand Junggar troops stationed in Chahan Hada was actually a strategy to lure the enemy.

Why lure the northern army to Chahan Hada?
"Your Majesty is truly a military genius. Your prediction was correct. The Junggar army intends to set up an ambush at Bokto Ridge!"

Wang Ziteng sighed in his heart.

Yuan Qingbai had also predicted that if Ce Ling set an ambush, he might choose Bokto Ridge.

The northern army arrived at Chahan Hada. To continue their advance they had to pass through Bokto Ridge, which was hilly and convenient for attacking from high ground.

In this great battle in the northwest, the Great Zhou is really at an advantage!

The Great Zhou had strong soldiers and brave generals, powerful artillery, and sufficient money and food.

Yuan Qingbai spent another year carefully preparing the Jianrui Battalion and the Dragon Cavalry Battalion, as well as the medical team from the Imperial Hospital and a large amount of medical alcohol.

In addition, the Great Zhou is similar to the Qing Dynasty in the previous life. Yuan Qingbai, who has the memories of his previous life, can predict this Northwest War in advance.

It is no exaggeration to say that as long as the two great generals Wang Ziteng and Yue Zhong strictly follow Yuan Qingbai's instructions, even if their military talents are not high, the Great Zhou will most likely win this Northwest War.

And if Wang Ziteng and Yue Zhong not only acted in accordance with the emperor's orders but also had high military talents, then it would be absurd for the Great Zhou to be defeated in this war, and Wang Ziteng and Yue Zhong would be to blame.

This is why Yuan Qingbai is very confident of winning the Northwest War.

Immediately, Wang Ziteng led the northern army to continue the advance.

This time we are heading from Chahan Hada to Bokto Ridge!

Four days later, on June 17, the northern army captured another Dzungar scout.

The Dzungar scout claimed that two thousand Dzungar troops were stationed at Bokto Ridge.

"You really want to set up an ambush at Bokto Ridge!"

Wang Ziteng sneered.

Wang Ziteng summoned all the generals and did not discuss with them. Instead, he arranged military deployments for them based on his own strategy.

Wang Ziteng divided the 40,000 northern troops into two parts.

A unit consisting of 2,000 dragoons and 4,000 cavalrymen was responsible for patrolling and blocking the area around Bokto Ridge. No matter what the situation, they were absolutely forbidden to enter the valley.

The remaining 30,000-odd soldiers formed a group led by Wang Ziteng himself. They were stationed at the main exit of Bokto Ridge, waiting for the opportunity.

The enemy has set an ambush, our army is waiting for the opportunity!
The enemy viewed our troops as prey and wanted to lure them into the valley of Bokto Ridge so that they could hunt them.

However, our army not only did not fall into their trap, but also took advantage of the enemy's negligence in setting up an ambush.

The enemy failed to set an ambush, and instead was caught off guard, trapping themselves at Bokto Ridge.

Our army stationed heavy troops at the main exit of Bokto Ridge, and sent another two thousand dragoons and four thousand cavalry. Using the dragoons' dexterity and the power of flintlock rifles, they patrolled and blocked the area around Bokto Ridge, forcing the enemy to break out from the main exit, thus falling into our army's encirclement!
……

……

Wang Ziteng rose to prominence mainly due to the support of Jia Daishan and the resources of the Jia family.

Because of this, Wang Ziteng bears the deep imprint of the Jia family and can be regarded as a representative of the founding noble group.

However, Wang Ziteng was not close to many of the founding nobles, including Niu Jizong, the inheritor of the title and the head of the Zhenguogong Mansion. Fortunately, although Wang Ziteng and Niu Jizong were not close, they did not have any hatred.

Niu Jizong was loyal to the current emperor Yuan Qingbai, and he also had great military talent. He knew that Wang Ziteng's deployment was appropriate.

Therefore, Niu Jizong, the commander of the Dragon Cavalry Battalion, decided to strictly follow Wang Ziteng's general order and lead two thousand dragoons, assisted by four thousand cavalry, to carry out the task of patrolling and intercepting around Bokto Ridge.

On June 17, two thousand dragoons and four thousand cavalrymen were separated from the main army and began patrolling and blocking around Bokto Ridge.

The next day, June 18, they discovered a Dzungar army of a thousand men.

This thousand-man Junggar army was composed entirely of cavalry, led by the young Tsereng Dondub.

The Dzungar Khan Tsereng had two generals under his command, namely the Great Tsereng Dondub and the Lesser Tsereng Dondub.

Da Tsereng Dundub was a man of great resourcefulness and rich experience in warfare.

As early as the Jing'an period, Da Tsereng Dondub led his troops to repel the expeditionary force of the Rakshasa Kingdom that invaded the Yamysh Lake area. Later, he led his troops to invade Tibet, but was defeated by the army of the Great Zhou and fled back to Yili.

The two great Dzungar Khans, Tsewang and Tsereng, both trusted and relied on the Great Tsereng Dondub.

Young Tsereng Dundub was a brave and skilled fighter, and he was trusted and relied upon by two great khans, Tsewang and Tsereng.

The elder Tsereng Dundub and the younger Tsereng Dundub can be described as "the elder one is good at planning and the younger one is brave"!
This time, it was the two of them who were ordered by the Great Khan Tseren to lead more than 20,000 Junggar troops to ambush at Bokto Ridge and set an ambush for the Great Zhou's northern army.

On this day, Xiao Tsering Dundub received information that thousands of Great Zhou cavalry appeared near Bokto Ridge, but did not enter the valley.

Therefore, the brave and warlike young Tsereng Dundub personally led a thousand Dzungar cavalry out of the mountains to lure them.

At this time, two thousand dragoons took the lead in confronting the thousand Junggar cavalry led by Xiao Tsereng Dundub.

"What kind of cavalry is this? Their clothing is weird, and the muskets they hold are also weird!"

Little Celeng Dundub was puzzled and surprised, but he didn't have time to think too much for a moment.

The proportion of firearms in the Junggar army was higher than that in the Great Zhou army, and there were many light artillery pieces that could be used on camel backs.

This light artillery is called Zambrak artillery, commonly known as camel artillery.

The camel cannon is simple in structure. Artillerymen can fire directly while riding on a camel, or they can let the camel lie down and use the camel as a gun mount to fire. Of course, they can also remove the cannon from the camel's back and fire.

This time, the thousand Dzungar cavalrymen only carried ten camel cannons, which was not much, because their mission this time was to lure the Great Zhou army into the valley.

"Set off the fire!"

At a command from Little Tsereng Dundub, ten camel cannons fired at the two thousand dragoons together.

The advantage of the Camel Cannon is that it is easy to manufacture and easy to use.

However, as you can imagine, the lethality of this light artillery is not that great.

The threat posed by just ten camel cannons to the two thousand dragoons was limited.

Even so, the commander of the Dragon Cavalry Battalion, Niu Jizong, still chose to retreat. The two thousand dragon cavalry were all elite, and the thousand Junggar cavalry in front of them would surely be able to defeat them, so why bother to rush and increase casualties?
“Back off!”

When Xiao Celeng Dundub gave the order to fire, Niu Jizong gave the order to retreat.

The two thousand dragoons obeyed the order decisively and turned their horses around to retreat.

At this time, the agility of the dragoons was demonstrated. With their light equipment and well-trained, the two thousand dragoons turned their horses around and retreated together, which was neither chaotic nor chaotic.

bang bang bang...

Ten camel guns fired at the same time, but only a dozen dragoons were killed or wounded, half of whom were only injured but not dead. These injured dragoons could receive treatment from imperial doctors after the war.

Seeing that the enemy's artillery shells had been used up, Niu Jizong led the Dragon Cavalry to engage in direct combat again.

It was seen that the dragoons were assembled dozens of steps away from the enemy, which was the best distance for bayonet and flintlock shooting. If they were too close, they would be easily attacked by the enemy in close combat, and if they were too far, the hit rate would be reduced.

Nearly two thousand dragoons dismounted and fired three rounds of shots.

"Bang bang bang..."

After three rounds, there are three more rounds...

Accompanied by the violent and torrential fire of nearly two thousand bayonets and flintlock rifles, many Junggar cavalrymen were killed, and soon the Junggar army's formation became chaotic.

"Could that be the rumored improved flintlock rifle from the Great Zhou Dynasty? It doesn't need a fuse and can fire continuously?"

The usually brave young Tsereng Dundub was shocked at this moment.

He had been on the battlefield for a long time and was familiar with firearms, but he had never seen such an exquisite and domineering musket formation.

He had heard that the Great Zhou had improved the flintlock rifle, but he did not take it seriously.

At this moment, he saw the flintlock rifle formation for the first time and couldn't help feeling terrified.

"It seems that we have underestimated the Great Zhou. We did not expect that the Great Zhou could improve such exquisite and domineering flintlock rifles, and there are so many of them."

Little Tsering Dundub was amazed.

After calming down, he decided to flee into the mountains with his troops...

(End of this chapter)