Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 174: Defeating the Dzungar Khanate

Today we fought fiercely in the rain and the Dzungars were badly defeated.

The 25,000 Dzungar troops led by Khan Tseren suffered more than 10,000 casualties, most of whom died on the battlefield, and some were captured by the Great Zhou.

Among the more than 10,000 deaths were many high-ranking Junggar generals such as Da Celeng Dundub and Xiao Celeng Dundub, who either died in battle or committed suicide.

The Great Khan Tseren led tens of thousands of defeated troops and fled to the Ili River Valley, where the capital of Dzungar was located.

This was destined to be a difficult and dangerous escape.

The Great Zhou's northern army will pursue us relentlessly.

What's more, the Western Army of Great Zhou is eyeing them covetously...

On the night when the Dzungars were defeated in the rain, the Great Khan Tsereng sent a general to tell Wang Ziteng: "The Great Khan ordered me to tell you that the war between the Dzungars and the Great Zhou is disadvantageous to both countries. The Great Khan is willing to negotiate with the emperor of your country and live in harmony with the Great Zhou from now on..."

"Peace talks? Haha!" Wang Ziteng interrupted the Junggar general with a sneer before he could finish. "This great general is about to lead his army to annihilate the Junggars. Isn't it ridiculous that Tsereng wants to negotiate peace now? Moreover, Tsereng is cunning and used peace talks to deceive our Great Zhou in the past!"

The Junggar general hurriedly said: "The Khan said that although our country is currently in a disadvantageous situation in the war, we still have many brave soldiers in our country who will fight back desperately, and the people will also rise up to resist. It will be difficult to pacify our Junggar! If this war is prolonged, it will not be good for the Great Zhou. I am afraid that the king of your country will blame you, the great general!"

"Haha!" Wang Ziteng sneered again, "Does this cunning villain think that my great general is a fool? How dare you deceive me with such sweet words and flattery?"

After saying this, he shouted sternly: "Come here! Kill this man!"

He had always wanted to make great achievements. Seeing that the Dzungar Khanate was about to be pacified, once the mission was accomplished, he, Wang Ziteng, would have accomplished a great feat and would be promoted to a higher position. Needless to say, he would also become a meritorious general of the Great Zhou and his name would go down in history, no less than the eight dukes who were conferred by the Great Zhou Taizu.

Moreover, he knew that Khan Tseren's request for peace at this time was just a delaying tactic.

He also knew that His Majesty Yuan Qingbai was determined to destroy the Dzungar Khanate and would never agree to peace talks at this time.

……

……

General Wang Ziteng, the general of Jingbian, led the northern army of the Great Zhou Dynasty and fought a series of fierce battles with the Dzungar Khanate.

The western army led by Ningyuan General Yue Zhong also did not slack off.

Yue Zhong did not disappoint Yuan Qingbai's high hopes. He commanded the western army and tried his best to cooperate with the northern army.

Under his leadership, the western army quickly crossed Mulei, passed Acha, and reached the Ermuk River. They then divided into three routes to attack the city of Urumqi, destroyed many enemy camps, annihilated a large number of enemies, and dispersed a lot of Dzungar troops.

While the northern army was pursuing the defeated army of Khan Tseren, the western army had already attacked Urumqi, and the Dzungar army defending the city abandoned the city and fled.

……

……

It's already July.

The Great Zhou's northern army had been chasing after the defeated army of Great Khan Tseren for more than ten days.

The good news is that over the past ten days, the defeated army of Khan Tseren has lost several thousand people, and some of them were captured by the Great Zhou.

Over the past ten days, Great Khan Tsereng sent people to Wang Ziteng twice to propose peace talks, and all the people he sent were beheaded by Wang Ziteng.

The bad news was that Great Khan Tsereng abandoned the rest of his defeated troops and fled towards the Ili River Valley at high speed, lightly equipped and on high horses, escorted by a group of his generals and personal soldiers, making it impossible for them to catch up.

On this day, Wang Ziteng received military intelligence from Yue Zhong, and learned that the Western Army of the Great Zhou had occupied the city of Urumqi, and Yue Zhong wanted to lead his troops to join forces with the Northern Army.

However, Wang Ziteng refused to join the battle.

The reason given was that the northern army had won consecutive battles and was sufficient to break through the Ili River Valley, and the western army should continue to do its utmost to cooperate and support, and there was no need to join forces to attack the Ili River Valley.

In fact, Wang Ziteng mainly didn't want Yue Zhong to take the credit.

He, General Wang, led the northern army to break through the Ili River Valley, and his hard work and contribution were outstanding.

If Yue Zhong and his western army got involved, his great achievement would be taken away from him.

Wang Ziteng was particularly unwilling to see the western army break through the Dzungar capital and capture the Great Khan Tseren.

Due to Wang Ziteng's greed, the northern army of the Great Zhou took many days and suffered the loss of more than 10,000 people before they could reach the capital of the Dzungar Khanate.

At this point, there were only 20,000 troops left under Wang Ziteng's command.

Fortunately, the Great Khan Tseren was in the capital, and the Dzungars defending the city had only 6,000 soldiers, and their morale was unstable. Moreover, the Dzungar capital's building defense system, although composed of moats, walls, and gates, was far less solid than the Great Zhou's Shenjing City.

On the day when the northern army was approaching the city, the Khan Tsereng in the city once again sent people to Wang Ziteng to propose peace talks. This was the fourth time, and this time he was still decisively rejected by Wang Ziteng.

So, the siege began!

Under Wang Ziteng's military order, the northern army first used artillery to frantically bombard the city walls and gates of the Dzungar capital.

Then, thousands of soldiers from the Great Zhou attacked the city together, with the main force being the Jianrui Battalion, which still had more than a thousand soldiers.

The Jianrui Battalion's flintlock musketeers and archers fired at the Junggar soldiers on the city wall to cover the ladder soldiers approaching the city wall to build ladders, and also to cover the Jianrui soldiers holding cold weapons to quickly climb the ladders...

The Jianrui Battalion's attack was fierce, and the Junggar army's defense was also strict, so the battle was very brutal.

The soldiers of the Jianrui Battalion died one after another.

Fortunately, the Jianrui Battalion was not only extremely powerful in combat, but also particularly good at attacking cities. It also had a spirit of overcoming difficulties and being brave and fearless. After hundreds of Jianrui Battalion soldiers had been sacrificed, a Jianrui soldier finally climbed up the city wall first. Although this Jianrui soldier was killed as soon as he climbed up the city wall, the Junggar army could not stop the Jianrui Battalion's swift offensive, and more and more Jianrui Battalion soldiers continued to climb up the ladder.

kill!

Peng Yingju, the lieutenant commander of the Jianrui Battalion, took the risk of his own life and climbed up the city wall, where he killed several Dzungar soldiers with his own hands. However, he was immediately hacked to death by a Dzungar general.

kill!

After Hu Liangbiao, the lieutenant general of the Jianrui Battalion, entered the city, he was besieged by more than a dozen Junggar soldiers. Under such circumstances, he still killed two Junggar soldiers, but then he was wounded several times and died on the battlefield.

Hu Liangbiao's resume is similar to Fan Zhongfang. As early as when the young Yuan Qingbai just moved into the palace, Hu Liangbiao had been protecting Yuan Qingbai. At that time, he was just a soldier in the imperial camp.

Later, with the promotion of Yuan Qingbai, Hu Liangbiao was promoted step by step until he became the third-rank lieutenant general of the Jianrui Battalion.

There are four lieutenant generals under the command of Jianrui Battalion, namely Fan Zhongfang, Hu Liangbiao, Peng Yingju and Ren Weicheng. In today's siege, two lieutenant generals, Hu Liangbiao and Peng Yingju, were sacrificed.

Originally, once the Great Zhou Dynasty pacified the Dzungar Khanate, Hu Liangbiao and Peng Yingju would be awarded high titles based on their military achievements, and they would both have the possibility of being promoted to deputy commanders of the Jianrui Battalion.

But two people died!

According to the preferential treatment policy set by Yuan Qingbai, the two will be buried and enshrined in the Garden of Heroes, and their families will receive generous pensions.

At this time, the fierce and brutal siege was still going on.

The battle began in the morning.

By the afternoon, thousands of Great Zhou soldiers had entered the city.

"Report!" A Jianrui soldier rushed to Wang Ziteng. Although he was still panting, his tone was excited. "Report to the general, our Jianrui Battalion has captured the Dzungar Khan!"

Wang Ziteng's eyes suddenly lit up, his heart was filled with excitement, and his face was filled with joy, unable to control himself.

Wang Ziteng originally thought that even if the Great Zhou army invaded the capital of Dzungar, the Great Khan Tseren might escape, die in battle, or commit suicide.

And now, the Great Khan Tseren was captured alive!
"Bring the Dzungar Khan here quickly!"

Following Wang Ziteng's order, Great Khan Tseren was escorted over by a group of soldiers from the Jianrui Camp, and the person in charge of the escort was the Lieutenant General Fan Zhongfang of the Jianrui Camp.

The Great Khan Tseren was only in his thirties. He was as powerful as a lion and as cunning as a hyena. But now, he was listless, haggard, and covered in blood, as if he had aged more than ten years in an instant.

"Your Majesty!"

Fan Zhongfang shouted sternly.

Great Khan Tseren refused to obey.

Several strong soldiers forced Khan Tseren to kneel in front of Wang Ziteng.

Great Khan Tseren sighed in despair.

The Junggar soldiers were indeed brave. In this great battle with the Great Zhou, many Junggar soldiers fought bravely and died without regard for their own lives. There were also many Junggar soldiers who would rather commit suicide than surrender.

However, Tsereng, as the Great Khan, neither died in battle nor committed suicide, but chose to surrender!
Because he was afraid of death and felt that he was still young and should not die so early.

He was also optimistic that even if the Dzungars were annihilated by the Great Zhou, the Great Zhou Emperor Yuan Qingbai might spare his life, and might use him to manage the affairs of the Dzungars. If so, he might even make a comeback in the future and become the Khan of the Dzungars again...

At this moment, Wang Ziteng looked down upon the Great Khan Tsering who was kneeling before him, and could not help feeling very satisfied.

Look, how wise and brave my general Wang is. This time, he not only led the northern army to defeat the Junggar, but also captured the Khan Tsering alive. What a great achievement! When I return to Beijing in triumph, how can Your Majesty not give me a grand welcome? Am I not the most meritorious general of the Great Zhou Dynasty?

Wang Ziteng was so proud.

Fan Zhongfang, the lieutenant general of the Jianrui Battalion, who was standing nearby, felt heavy-hearted and depressed. His good friend Hu Liangbiao had died in the battle, as had many of his comrades in the Jianrui Battalion. Even Ni Er, the captain of the battalion under his command, had been injured.

Fan Zhongfang wished he could kill Great Khan Tseren on the spot with his own hands, but he knew that it was not a good idea to do so. Since Great Khan Tseren was captured alive, he should be used to persuade the remaining Junggar soldiers to surrender, and he should also be sent to the capital to await the emperor's judgment.

He hoped that when Great Khan Tsering was sent to the capital, the emperor would order his execution to comfort the souls of the soldiers of the Jianrui Camp who died, as well as the souls of the many soldiers of the Great Zhou who died this time.

The siege continues today.

When the siege was over, the Northern Army of the Great Zhou had lost more than ten thousand men, including nearly seven hundred soldiers from the Jianrui Battalion.

Seven hundred brave warriors from the elite battalion!
The Jianrui Battalion had a total of 2,000 soldiers when they went on the expedition, but now there are only 600 left, and most of them have sacrificed their lives.

The achievement was that the Jianrui Battalion became the army of the Great Zhou that made the greatest contribution this time, even the Dragon Cavalry Battalion could not match it.

Overcome difficulties and challenges bravely and fearlessly.

What a strong and brave battalion!
……

……

The Great Khan Tseren was captured and the capital of Dzungar was also captured.

But this battle in the northwest will continue.

Next, the Great Zhou army will wipe out the remaining Dzungar forces scattered across the vast northwest in order to pacify their territory.

This is a natural thing...

(End of this chapter)