To the northeast of Qamdo is eight miles away, and from there to the north are the Altai Mountains and the Hangai Mountains.
Wala's base camp is located between the Altai Mountains and the Hangai Mountains, and is only a thousand miles away from the Ming Army's base camp, Verumu. This distance is not too far for the cavalry.
Mahamu had not slept well for several days, so he sent groups of cavalry to find out the news, and captured five or six Timur's deserters in the mountains, which confirmed that the Ming army defeated Timur's 150,000-strong army. An unprecedented military victory was achieved.
Taiping and Babaluo sighed, looking at the food and wine in front of them without any appetite.
Princess Samuel walked into the tent and brought fresh mare's milk. Looking at the three people with sad faces, she said: "The matter has come to this. You need to make up your mind early. It's not good to sit around like this day after day. Method."
Mahamu picked up a bowl of mare's milk and brought it to his mouth. He only wet his lips before putting it down again: "This is not a good idea."
Princess Samuel smiled and shouted toward the door: "Henji, come in."
Yan Ji walked into the tent and gave a gentle salute to the three of them.
Mahamu looked at Princess Samur with some confusion, and then at Henji.
Although Henji once again became a widow and a prisoner, she was lucky this time. Mahamu neither coveted her body nor criticized her and A Zhai.
Yanji's identity is special. Mahamu married Princess Samuel, the daughter of Maili Bala, and Yanji married Harguchuke Hongtaiji, the eldest son of Maili Bala. From this perspective, Basically, Mahamu and Henji are one family.
Princess Samuel has a distinguished status and has a good relationship with Yan Ji, so she allows Yan Ji to enter and leave the big tent.
"Why is this?"
Mahamu asked.
Princess Samuel smiled and said: "Aren't you undecided? Henji is a wise woman. She may be able to help you analyze something. Anyway, you are just sitting around sighing, so you might as well listen."
Mahamu looked at Taiping and Batu Polo. They had no objection.
Yanji sat down and said softly: "The Ming army defeated Timur's 150,000-strong army. It was a battle between the main force and the main force. This news has been confirmed. There is no need to discuss the dead Timur anymore. Let's just talk about the Ming Dynasty. .”
Mahamu picked up the mare's milk again.
Yanji took a knife and slowly cut off a small piece of meat from the cooked lamb leg: "When Timur went out on the campaign, no one would have believed that the Ming army would leave Jiayuguan, stationed in Hami, and then occupy Wei. Lu’s mother, Qamdo La, chose to fight Timur on the grassland.”
"The grassland is dominated by cavalry. The Ming army is dominated by infantry. Although there are hundreds of thousands of them, no matter how you look at it, it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to stop Timur, let alone defeat Timur. But in fact, the Ming Dynasty not only We defeated Timur's hundreds of thousands of cavalry on the grassland and killed Timur. From here, we can get three points."
Mahamu stared at Henji, Taiping and Baltu Polo were also attracted by Henji's words.
Hen Ji sprinkled some finely crushed salt on the meat, chewed it gently, and continued after swallowing: "First point, although the Ming Dynasty mainly used infantry, they found a way to use infantry to restrain cavalry."
Mahamu's heart sank.
This is what worries me the most, scares me the most, and makes me the most powerless!
When it comes to cavalry in the world, Mahamu believes that Timur's cavalry is definitely second to none. They are not only tough and brave, but also have rich combat experience, and there are also a group of famous generals surrounding Timur!
Even so, Timur still failed. Not only did he lose hundreds of thousands of troops, he even lost his own life in Qamdo!
Conquer riding with foot!
How did Ming Dynasty do it? !
The captured Timur sergeants all talked about the divine machine gun. Can that thing really defeat all of Timur's elite?
Yanji glanced at Mahamu: "Second point, the Ming Dynasty's firearms have exceeded our imagination. Half a year ago, a businessman found Hashiha. He said that the Ming Dynasty's firearms were extremely powerful and killed countless enemies during the conquest of Annan. I asked Hashiha if he wanted a firearm, but Hashiha refused.”
"Firearms? Can merchants sell firearms?"
Mahamu was shocked. Isn't this the biggest secret of the Ming Dynasty? Can someone still take firearms out of the customs and sell them at will?
Yanji shook his head: "I don't know the specifics, but the merchant proposed selling, and I guess he can get firearms. Hashiha didn't agree, but Arutai and Guilichi must have agreed. I don't think they already have them. Some firearms."
Taiping and Tupolo looked at each other, with uneasiness in their eyes.
It is understandable why merchants did not come to Oara to sell firearms. Most of the Ming merchants who dared to go deep into the customs to do business were Shanxi merchants. When Shanxi merchants left the customs, the outside was Tatar territory. Hashiha also lived north of the Hetao and had the opportunity to contact Shanxi merchants. From Datong to Hangai Mountain, the journey is long and the cost is higher.
"Are firearms really that powerful?"
Taiping didn't quite believe it. Not just throwing stones, but even raining stones, it was impossible to eat away Timur's main force.
Yan Ji sighed: "We don't know exactly how powerful it is. But from the mouths of Timur's deserters, we can know that Ming Dynasty's firearms can explode and are very lethal. Perhaps this is because they defeated Timur's army. ’s greatest reliance.”
Mahamu nodded solemnly.
When talking about firearms, the prisoners all showed fear, which shows that firearms had a great psychological impact on them. Perhaps, Daming's firearms were no longer the firearms he recognized.
Yanji put down the knife and continued: "The third point is that the Ming Dynasty's battle losses are very low. After defeating Timur, their losses may be only negligible."
Tupolo frowned and asked, "Why are you so sure?"
Mahamu pondered for a moment and then said: "It's because after the Ming Dynasty defeated Timur's army, it didn't rest in Qamdo for long before it began to conquer the north and south. If the Ming army suffered heavy losses, it would not be able to advance westward in a short time. , let alone fighting north or south!"
Yanji took a deep look at Mahamu. It was not unreasonable for him to replace Harshiha as the new King of Wala.
Mahamu asked Henji: "Three points have been made clear, please tell me your opinion."
Yanji hesitated for a moment and sighed: "I know that as the leaders of various tribes, you are all proud and unwilling to submit to others. I just want to say that whether you are a tribal leader or a small family, the rules on the grassland There is only one thing: let the tribe survive and reproduce."
Mahamu watched Henji stand up, bow and leave, and Princess Samur also retreated.
There were only three people left in the big tent: Mahamu, Taiping, and Ba Tuboluo.
After a period of suppressed silence, Mahamu sighed: "Yu Ji is right, the survival and reproduction of the ethnic group are the rules of the grassland. We must be responsible to the ethnic group and the tribe. The Ming Dynasty has the ability to eliminate Timur on the grassland. All the main forces must be capable of destroying us. It is already November now, and it is time to send envoys to Emperor Jianwen to congratulate Emperor Jianwen on New Year's Day."
Taiping clasped his hands tightly, very unwillingly.
The previous surrender to the Ming Dynasty and the request for a title were just superficial, just dormant and trying to buy time.
But now Zhu Di has wiped out all of Timur's main forces in Qamdo, and even the Samarkand heavy cavalry that Timur was proud of has been wiped out. No one can say how strong the Ming Dynasty's military strength is now, but One thing is certain, with Wala's current strength, he is no match for Timur.
Timur had the power of more than 100,000 cavalry, and all the Oara tribes combined could organize 50,000 elite cavalry, which was considered the limit! With this little power, how can we stop the Ming army that just defeated Timur's main force?
If it weren't for the towering and difficult-to-climb Altai Mountains to the south of Harwusu Lake, Taiping would have wanted to move his people north.
There is no other way. We can't offend Daming in a short time, so we should lower our posture first.
Taiping suggested: "This time to send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty, we need to choose important people to go, and we must pay heavy courtesy."
Tupolo nodded solemnly: "This time, let me personally lead the team to the Ming Dynasty to meet the Ming Emperor. We must find out Zhu Yunwen's attitude towards Wala."
"Would it be too dangerous?"
Mahamu frowned.
Buluo shook his head:
"You can rest assured that it is safe to bring the envoy into the Ming Dynasty. If we don't show our attitude at this time and the Ming Dynasty makes another northern expedition, then we may really have no way to survive."
Mahamu thought for a long time, agreed, and then said: "I ordered the people of the tribe to pass the news to the Tatars, saying that Timur's family was in internal strife. The Ming Dynasty defeated Timur. The farther the news, the better. We must let them Guilichi and Arutai know about it.”
Taiping looked at the sinister Mahamu and smiled: "You want to send Guilichi and Arutai to death."
Mahamu sneered: "On the one hand, we surrender to the Ming Dynasty, but on the other hand, we should also create opportunities to realize the unification of the Mongolian grasslands. Only in this way can we have the strength to ensure the safety of the tribes."
Tupolo was a little worried. Judging from the interests of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunwen probably would not allow a unified Mongolia to emerge. If it really did appear, it would pose a great threat to the Ming Dynasty. Once the Ming Dynasty was uneasy, it would probably trigger a war.
However, these things are still a long time coming, so let’s plan slowly.
It is a good thing for Wala to use the hands of Guilichi, Arutai and others to verify the true strength of Ming Dynasty. The Tatars defeated the Ming Dynasty, which shows that the Ming Dynasty's victory over Timur must be a fluke. If the Tatars were defeated miserably, Oara could also take advantage of the situation to eat the Tatars and extend their sphere of influence to the central and eastern part of the Mongolian Plateau.
In order to avoid Zhu Di's misjudgment and sneak attack on Oara, Mahamu wrote a deeply affectionate letter to Zhu Di. He first congratulated the Ming army on their great victory, then expressed friendship, and finally made it clear that Anle King Tupolo would personally lead the envoy. We went to the Ming Dynasty to find your emperor. Please don't mess around. We are the princes canonized by the Ming Dynasty, not a hostile force.
Zhu Di had no time to take care of Oala. The Western Region was too big, and the severe cold in winter made the sergeants encounter many difficulties during the expedition. How to garrison the army, where to garrison, how much to garrison, and whether to build fortifications were all matters that Zhu Di needed to consider.
After careful consideration, Zhu Di decided to build a city gate for Alashankou, with the city in the middle and extending for more than ten miles on both sides. It was built into the Great Wall to completely block this east-west passage, and to provide a long-term residence for the garrison sergeants so that they would not spend all day. The dark wind blew and I couldn't rest.
Polo City is not far from Alashankou. To the northwest is Alashankou, and to the south is the Tianshan Mountains and Lake Issyk-Kul, the eye of the Tianshan Mountains. The geographical location is extremely important. Zhu Di discussed with Liu Jun, Yang Rong and others and decided to build a military camp in Polo City. , as the place where the main force of the army is stationed.
As the territory of the Western Region became clearer and clearer, Zhu Di began to plan the establishment of guard posts. Verumu would be the seat of the capital, a post would be set up at Alashankou, two guards would be set up in Polo City, and Licheng, Almaty, and Taraz would be set up. Waiting for the establishment of guards.
There is a tricky point that makes Zhu Di very difficult to make a choice:
Tashkent.
Currently, Tashkent is under the control of the Ming Dynasty, but everyone, including Yang Rong and Liu Jun, advocates not setting up a garrison in Tashkent and stationing sergeants instead. In other words, they want to abandon Tashkent.
