Shasta Khan went away in despair, and went to discuss with his master Aurangzeb how to defend Samarkand...or not to defend Samarkand, and simply run away and return to India!
King Sengge called his uncle Chuhuur Ubas, his brothers Chechen Taiji and Zhuot Babatur, and Galdan's agent Hu Zhongyong to the Shibao King City to discuss starting a war. .
"Your Majesty, now the Timurid Empire, the Rakshasa Kingdom, the Shire Khanate, and the Persian Empire have joined forces. The four countries' military strength is several times that of mine. Our country is really difficult to defeat. For the current plan, we can only hold on to the city and ask the Celestial Empire for help. Helped."
The person who asked for help from the Celestial Empire was Galdan's agent, Hu Zhongyong, the chief military officer of Chuhe Prefecture.
This Hu Zhongyong is also a Mongolian. He is the youngest son of Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi Province who died in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen. When Hu Dawei died in battle, he was still in Yulin in northern Shaanxi. Later, he followed his elder brother to join the army of King Dai. Because he was still young and could not join the army, he was sent to Nanjing by the acting king Zhu Cijiong after Wu Sangui's death, and he arrived at the same time as Galdan.
Since Hu Dawei was granted the title of Marquis, Hu Zhongyong became a son of an aristocrat. He went to Nanjing Primary School and was classmates with Galdan and Zhu Hehao. Although he often quarreled with Galdan when he was a child, the two became good friends when they grew up. Galdan graduated from middle school and was admitted to Nanjing Taixue, while Hu Dawei was admitted to the Army Lecture Hall. Because Galdan took a two-year break from middle school and went to Chuhe City to assist his brother Sengge, he delayed his studies. Now he is still studying hard at Taixue, while his elementary school and middle school classmate Hu Zhongyong has graduated.
Because after Sengge moved the capital to Shibao King City, he granted Chuhe City and a resident herdsman to Galdan, so Galdan petitioned the Ming court for permission to send his classmate and friend Hu Zhongyong to guard the Chuhe River on his behalf. .
However, although Hu Zhongyong has attended the martial arts hall, he does not have much experience in actually leading troops, and the suggestions he puts forward now are not of much value.
But Sengge still has to give Hu Zhongyong some face. After all, he represents the Celestial Dynasty!
"General Tiger's words make sense," King Sengge nodded. "If you want to defend the city, ask for help. But it is better to ask for help than to ask for yourself. We must not forget to attack when we are defending the city. We are Mongols after all. The Mongols only defend the city. The reason for attacking?"
"But it is not appropriate to gather troops to fight Timur, Rakshasa, Hill, and Persia in the Samarkand Oasis!" Hu Zhongyong shook his head, "The troops and horses of the four countries that can be concentrated in the Samarkand Oasis will not Less than 100,000. And the maximum number of troops we can dispatch is only 25,000... One against four, there is no chance of winning!"
"Hahaha..." Sengge laughed, "Zhongyong, didn't you learn in the martial arts hall that a soldier never tires of deceit?"
"A war is never tired of deceit?" Hu Zhongyong thought for a moment, "The king means... we don't want to go to Samarkand?"
Sengge smiled: "Of course I have to go... If I don't go, how can Aurangzeb gather enough troops to confront us?"
"Confrontation? Isn't it a fight to the death?" Hu Zhongyong still didn't understand.
Sengge sneered: "If he was really determined to fight to the death, how could he give his daughter to the emperor as his concubine?"
Hu Zhongyong felt strange when he heard what he said, so he asked: "What is Aurangzeb planning?"
Sengge smiled: "What's the plan? Of course I don't want to fight! Uncle, tell me!"
Chuhuur Ubas took over the topic and said with a smile: "Although this Aurangzeb is very capable, his Tianzhu soldiers are so poor that they can't even defeat the Turkmen nomadic cavalry... If it weren't for us and the Greeks, The Erkhanate helped him deal with the elites of the Bukhara Kingdom, and he could not reach Samarkand at all. As far as I know, after entering Samarkand, he held high the sign of the Timurid Empire and extended kindness to others. The people in the river paid a high price to recruit the defeated and remnant soldiers of the Bukhara Khanate, and also selected the elite from these defeated soldiers to form a pro-army army. Doesn't this just mean that his own army cannot fight?
In addition, the Rajput cavalry of the Timur Empire were all Brahmans and natives of Tianzhu. The Timurid Empire came from the river through the mountains of Afghanistan and entered Tianzhu. Its heartland was filled with Mongolians and Turks who believed in the Tianfang religion. If all his inner circle members were not available, how could Aurangzeb rely on India's native Brahmans as soldiers to fight the war? "
"Then why does he want to go against us?" Sengge's brother Chechen Taiji interjected, "We don't have trouble with him either!"
"It's not that he wants to go against us," Sengge said, "but that the Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, and Rakshasas want to go against us... Aurangzeb wants to win the hearts of the people in the river, so he He can only follow them, but he doesn't want to fight me head-on, so he wanted to bribe me to join me before, and now he wants to marry the princess to the emperor.
He just wants us to fight with others so that he can take advantage! "
Zhuote Babatur shook his head and asked in confusion: "In that case, why don't we avoid Samarkand and fight others?"
"Haha," Nengge sneered, "there is a drought in the river, and only the land we occupy, as well as the Samarkand Oasis, Khwarezm Oasis and Bukhara Oasis can support the army. And the Khwarezm Oasis and Bukhara Oasis are far away from us. It's too far away. If you want to attack, you have to cross the desert. Where can I get to the Samarkand Oasis conveniently?
Instead of going on an expedition, we should lead all armies to the Samarkand Oasis... Aren't there many of them? The more people talk, the more people eat. Not only do people want to eat, but horses also want to eat! "
"I understand," Hu Zhongyong clicked his thumb, "Your Majesty wants to waste military supplies with them!"
Sengge occupies the grain-producing area in the middle of the river and has abundant grain on hand. The grain stored in Shibao Royal City, Khujand City and Guard City is enough to feed six herders and the residents of the three cities for several days. years (all stolen in previous wars), but the allied forces of Timur, Hill, Persia, and Rakshasa had more people and less food.
Sengge smiled proudly and said: "How big is the Samarkand Oasis? How much food can be grown? Can it feed hundreds of thousands of people? Besides... How can we Mongolians make them comfortable? Comfortable farming? If the supply of food is not enough, it has to be transported from Khwarezm through the Amu Darya waterway. If this waterway is given to us again! Haha, what will hundreds of thousands of people eat and drink? If you don’t want to starve to death, you have to Retreat south, all the way to the mountains of Afghanistan!"
"Your Majesty," Hu Zhongyong asked, "should we not fight them decisively?"
"Decisive battle?" Sengge said with a smile, "Zhongyong, although you graduated from the martial arts hall, you are also a Mongolian. You can't forget the ancestral craftsmanship of our Mongolians!"
Seng Ge's expression became serious and he said: "This time we are not fighting with swords, but with rice grains! To win in rice grains, there are two keys. One is to destroy the enemy's granaries and grain roads; the other is to defend ours. Your own granary.
We are good at destroying things, so I won’t say more. Now let’s talk about guarding... Don’t worry if you go north of the Stone Castle King City, they can’t go that far. So what we have to guard are the Stone Castle Mansion, the Guard Mansion and Fergana. Among them, the Stone Castle Mansion and the Guard Mansion both had strong walls and clear fields, and all the food from outside was transported into the castle, and the tribesmen also transported as much as possible into the castle. If there is no room for them in the castle, they will be moved to the surrounding areas of Khujand.
Then there is the defense of Khujand City... Khujand guards the large granary in Fergana, and there must be no mistakes, otherwise the enemy will not starve to death. "
Hu Zhongyong stood up and saluted Sengge: "Your Majesty, leave it to Xiaguan! After all, Xiaguan has a professional background and has seriously studied city defense and fortification!"
Seng Ge nodded and said: "Zhongyong, I know you can defend, but I still want to say one thing... Your enemies will not only come from outside the Khuzhan Pass, but also from within the Khuzhan Pass!" "
"Xiaguan understands!" Hu Zhongyong nodded, "No matter where they come from, Xiaguan can defend it!"
"Okay!" Seng Ge smiled and said to his two brothers, "Chechen Taiji, Zhuote Babatur, and the Zhongyuz grassland in the north depend on you and a few other nomadic households... ...The Rakshasa and Kazakhs may not go to Samarkand. They may take the opportunity to attack Zhongyuzi. You must deal with them as much as possible. If that doesn't work, retreat to Xiaoyuzi. There is a strong city on the Chu River to defend. , I can always hold on!"
