There are many factors that determine the outcome of a war, but Gao Yigong feels that this war must be won.
Diplomatically, because of its support for Oirat Mongolian firearms, it rashly attacked the city of Tomsk, which led to full-scale hostility between the Rakshasa people and the Mongols, and they continued to compete in the Yenisei River Basin.
Of course, all the grain and grass supported by Gansu, Shaanxi and other provinces are in place, which is also an important reason for his confidence.
Unfortunately, just as he was preparing to march, Li Dingguo from Yunnan took office in Turpan as the new commander-in-chief of Qinghai.
"Hey, aren't you the commander-in-chief of Qinghai? Why are you here in Gaochang?"
Turpan has been renamed Gaochangfu.
Gao Yigong was indignant: "I get the credit for co-writing."
"You think I'm willing?"
Li Dingguo refused to let him, and said calmly: "Yunnan toast is like cutting melons and slaughtering chickens, not to mention how enjoyable it is. Who wouldn't be tired of traveling thousands of miles to the northwest to eat dirt?"
"Huh!" Gao Yigong sat down and stared at Li Dingguo for a while, then sighed: "I know that one person cannot take credit for such a great contribution of Yarkand Kingdom."
"As long as you know."
Li Dingguo's skin has tanned a lot, he is more energetic, and his eyes are bright:
"If it weren't for the fact that you have been operating in the northwest for many years, why would the imperial court only send me to share the work?"
"You have to know, this is a country, a country divided into territories."
When the Yarkand Khanate was at its peak, it included Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, Yingisha, Aksu, Wush, Turpan, Yanqi and Fergana, a vast southern Xinjiang area, and had millions of citizens.
With such a huge contribution, even if uncles and sons came to help him one after another, the weight was not enough and he could still be overwhelmed to death.
Gao Yigong was unwilling, but he could only obey the arrangement.
After all, Li Dingguo was an acquaintance and a friend who was also captured, so he was much better than those strangers.
After thinking about it, he rolled his eyes and said, "You owe me a favor."
Li Dingguo chuckled and said, "You and I are so familiar with each other, why do we need to say this."
"I heard that the Yarkand Khanate has an army of 100,000 people. Do we have enough manpower?"
"It shouldn't be that much." Gao Yigong said calmly: "Although the land in its six cities is fertile, most of the taxes come from trade routes."
"According to the merchants, most of the country's soldiers and horses are cavalry, and there are few or even no firearms."
"Pure cavalry?" Li Dingguo squinted his eyes and smiled gradually: "Isn't this just sending death?"
Li Dingguo is experienced in the application of firearms.
In the mountainous terrain with complex terrain, only firearms can sweep through Wuji and make the chieftain terrified.
The cavalrymen were even more powerful when they wore muskets.
"Look, this is a short musket specially made for cavalry. In the past, only generals had it, but now every cavalryman has one."
The blunderbuss in front of him was only a foot long, but it looked ferocious and terrifying. The barrel was rough and the cold touch was endearing.
"The imperial court has invested heavily in you."
Li Dingguo said with emotion.
"Hey, look at this again."
As he spoke, several artillery pieces covered with red cloth revealed their true appearance.
The huge tires and slender barrel make people feel a special sense of beauty and want to get close to it.
"This is?"
Li Dingguo touched it and raised his head, his face full of curiosity.
"Shaowu-style artillery."
Gao Yigong raised his chin and said proudly: "The name of this artillery is no longer the Hongyi Artillery, but the Shaowu-style cannon, which is light and powerful."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and inserted Li Dingguo's hand deep into the barrel.
A sense of snail lines came from his fingertips, making Li Dingguo shiver.
"This is called rifling." Gao Yigong said excitedly: "The artillery has tried it. With this rifling, the accuracy will be higher and the power will be greater."
As he spoke, he patted the cannon and showed off: "Beijing hasn't even tried the cannon yet to amaze other countries, but the imperial court has already sent ten of them.
He arrived in Turpan just to deal with the Yarkand Khanate. "
"I have everything that Jingying has, and I have what Jingying doesn't have."
"Do you know how long I have been preparing? How long has the emperor been preparing?"
Li Dingguo was silent.
Short muskets and artillery, these are the advantages of the Ming army, and they are also the basis for crushing Yarkant.
In fact, if it were not for the fear of being overstretched in one breath, the imperial court would be ready to directly sweep away the Oirat Mongolian tribes.
"Now that everything is ready, let's set off as soon as possible!"
Li Dingguo smiled and said: "The cavalry is under my command, and the artillery will be given to you."
"If you want to be beautiful, you should stay in Gaochang!"
Gao Yigong laughed and cursed.
Although there are 50,000 soldiers and horses under his command, a strong enough army must be prepared to guard Hami and Turpan in case of emergency.
Therefore, in this battle, Li Dingguo and Gao Yigong could only lead 30,000 troops to carry out the act of destroying the country.
Due to adequate preparation, everyone is full of confidence.
Going south from Anle City is Chalichu Lake, which was later called Bosten Lake.
It is 70 miles long from east to west and 40 miles wide, with a drainage area of nearly 3,000 square kilometers. It is a submerged lake in the mountains, and its main water supply source is Kaidu Lake.
Of course, the biggest impression on the Ming army was the endless reed swamps, with flocks of water birds flying everywhere, which made people yearn for it.
Naturally, a small city gathered here, which was the location of the famous historical city Yanqi State, now called Yanqi City.
There are no more than a thousand families living together around the lake. Because of this lake and its location at the southern end of the Silk Road, merchants gathered and lived a very happy life.
The arrival of the army disturbed the small town.
However, after replenishing water, the army continued southward.
After passing through the famous Iron Gate, the next step is Yuli City, a city that grew up because of a river.
So, next, they saw the Tarim River, the basis for conquering Yarkant.
"It's only a few feet wide, it's the Tarim River!"
Gao Yigong immediately stood by the river. The endless Tarim River was like a winding dragon, lying across the desert from west to east, bringing rare moisture and oasis.
The vast desert was thus divided into two, and a green belt passed through the desert, bringing a lot of life and plants.
This is a lifeline.
"The people of Yuli regard this river as their mother river. Not only the people of Yuli, but also the huge Yerkang people are also prosperous because of this river."
Gao Yigong pointed to the river excitedly: "The baggage and patients were loaded on the river, and the army walked west along the river. Further ahead is Yarkand's capital, Yarkand."
"As long as you walk along this river, you don't have to worry about lack of water, and you don't have to worry about getting lost."
"Because those cities are built on both sides of the river, we just have to fight our way across."
What a worry-free and effort-saving method.
Li Dingguo admired it: "This is why you moved south first and then north."
As he spoke, he raised his eyes to the east: "I heard that this river flows eastward and flows into Puchang Sea (Lop Nur), but I don't know how wide it is."
"You will see him after we finish fighting Yerqiang."
At this time, the Tarim River has not yet dried up as it will in later generations. Its surface is as wide as two or three miles, spreading to both sides of the river bed. A large number of small lakes gather on both sides of the Tarim River, like scattered pearls.
It is precisely because it maintains abundant water volume that its carrying capacity is trusted and it is an important assistant for the march of the army.
Boats one after another, loaded with provisions and baggage, slowly moved backwards on the river.
After getting rid of a lot of cumbersomeness, the Ming army was obviously relieved and headed west more lightly.
To the west of Yuli City, there is almost no city encountered.
On the contrary, on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, there are scattered a series of small cities such as Luntai, Laochi, Kuxian, Baicheng, and Asu.
However, a high level of achievement is not the same
I ignored it and headed straight for the destination - Yarkand.
Anyone who is not a fool knows the purpose of such a large-scale march and a long journey.
This news spread like birds to the entire Western Region.
In the Oirat Mongolia in the Tianshan region, the Duerbot tribe, the Junggar tribe, and the Heshuote tribe began to discuss countermeasures because of the war in southern Xinjiang.
Their in-laws, the prestigious Eqirtu Khan, sat on the wolfskin chair. He looked at the shrewd He Shuoqi and the powerful Batur.
After a long time, he saw that the two of them were a little impatient, and then he slowly said: "The Ming Dynasty sent troops to Yarkant and headed west along the Tarim River. What do you think?"
"How about a sneak attack on Turpan?" Batur couldn't help but cheered: "It's very fertile there, much better than the Russian city of Tomsk."
"I heard that Ming people always have a lot of money. If I grab this, I can live happily for several years."
"No." He Shuoqi gritted his teeth and said, "The Russians are still staring at us. If the army goes eastward and we sneak attack on others, Russia will come to sneak attack on our home."
"Regardless of whether we can rob it or not, even if we rob it, what will happen if they don't sell us the musket in the future?"
"Then grab the craftsmen and make it."
"How do you know there are craftsmen?"
Seeing the two of them quarreling, Erqiltu Khan narrowed his eyes and did not stop them.
After a long time, he slowly said: "It's not easy for Mingren to attack by surprise. They have many cities, and it will be difficult for us to capture them."
"In addition, the Yerkang people sent envoys to form an alliance."
As soon as these words came out, several people fell into silence.
He Shuoqi tentatively said, "Ye Erqiang is not energetic enough. I am afraid he will lose this battle."
"It's not a good idea to make an alliance to defeat the Ming people. They have our gunpowder."
Dulbert's tribe is located on the Yenisei River and faces the Russians directly. It has the best attitude towards the Ming people and is the closest to them.
The gunpowder alone is enough to keep it in good faith.
Batur of the Junggar tribe touched his chin at this time and thought of the city of Kashgar. Taking advantage of his illness and killing him, he captured the city. The harvest was incredible.
Oziltu Khan glanced at Batur, saw that he was deep in thought, and asked, "What is your idea?"
"Just watch. We have to concentrate on dealing with the Russians."
Batur pretended not to care, but he couldn't restrain his desire in his heart.
Although most of southern Xinjiang is desert, the handicraft industry and agriculture are developed. They interact with the Mongol tribes in Oirat, gain the upper hand, and even occupy the Ili Valley.
If we take advantage of the situation and capture Balkhash and Ili, we will make a lot of money.
Oqiltu Khan squinted his eyes, as if he had thought of something good, and smiled: "That's it, let's deal with the Russians first."
After saying that, it became a consensus that the two would not help each other.
At this time, the Yarkand Khanate, which had its capital in Shache, was shocked when they heard that the Ming army was coming along the Tarim River.
At this time, the ruler of the Yarkand Khanate was Abdullah, a figure who raised troops from Turpan and reunified the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and was the "Lord of the Resurgence" of the Yarkand Khanate.
In fact, after he ended the division of the Yarkand Khanate thirty years ago, he had become old and began to get close to his favored ministers. Suspicions arose and domestic forces began to fight.
After all, no matter whether it is the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the east, the Oirat Mongols in the north, the Kazakh Khanate in the west, or the Mughal Empire in the south, they cannot be provoked.
Involution is the inevitable result.
If there was no Ming Dynasty, in less than two years, that is, in 1655, the Junggar tribe would go south, cross the Tianshan Mountains, and occupy the fertile Ili River Valley and the Balkhash Lake area.
Yeerqiang ended in a disastrous defeat and retreated to southern Xinjiang.
Frankly speaking, Yarkand is a traditional semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural Cold War Age country, while the Junggar tribe is a nomadic tribe that has half stepped into the firearm age.
This is just a fiasco of cold weapons, and
It is not due to the system or productivity.
The Qing Dynasty in history was the transition product from the cold weapon era to the hot weapon era.
This half-step was never taken over.
system? Or thoughts?
No, it's about profit.
When cold weapons are completely eliminated, the Han people, who account for the majority of the population, will master hot weapons, which will subvert the force of arms and cause the order of small tribes to collapse.
Therefore, for the sake of power, he never took this half step back until he was beaten to death and tried to work hard, but it was already too late.
That's too far.
"It's too much to bully others." Abdullah Khan was very angry: "I thought that Turpan would give way and peace would be gained, but unexpectedly, it pressed harder and harder. The Ming people even dared to covet Shache. We Chagatai The Khanate must give it some color."
If the treasury were not full and the armor and soldiers were not prosperous, Abdullah would have felt that the Khanate had returned to the internal and external troubles it had experienced thirty years ago.
Facing the invasion of the Ming army, the Yarkand Khanate immediately made war preparations.
"Rise up the army and gather all the troops. I will defeat the Ming army and retake Turpan."
From Kashgar, to Yarkand, and then to Khotan, the oases of thousands of miles in southern Xinjiang have all received the orders of Abdullah Khan, and a steady stream of soldiers and horses have gathered in Yarkand City.
And this is exactly what Gao Yigong wants.
He rode his camel leisurely and smiled at Li Dingguo: "The huge Tarim area is divided into six cities and there are many scattered oases."
"If we are asked to conquer them one by one, I don't know if we will succeed until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse."
"We can only complete one battle and quickly and decisively eliminate its main force and bring the Yarkand Khanate under the rule of the imperial court. By then, the Oirat Mongols will not be able to find the opportunity to take advantage of it."
"You're right."
Li Dingguo looked back at the artillery, his eyes full of affirmation: "If it is really like what the intelligence said, then the Yarkand Khanate is indeed not worth mentioning."
