King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 716: The Enemy Retreats, We Advance
The current situation is that the Ming army has been resting in Turpan for a month, while the Eight-Nation Alliance has retreated to Urumqi.

The Eight-Nation Alliance was divided into Russia, Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Dzungaria, with a total of nearly 200,000 troops.

Zhu Jinghong looked puzzled: "Grand Duke Constantine?"

Liu Fang replied: "He is the new enemy commander who arrived half a month ago. It is said that he is... the prince of Luosha Kingdom!"

The one on the opposite side is the prince leading the troops, while on our side is the prince, it seems a little weak in terms of the pomp... Shi Guangzhu thought to himself.

But he changed his mind and felt that he was not weak at all!
Picking up the teacup and motioning the two governors to have some tea, Zhu Jinghong said, "How do you think we should proceed with this battle?"

Shi Liu and the other man thought about this matter carefully and were not panicked at all at this moment.

"Master Thirteen, if you want to destroy the Dzungars, you must conquer Yili. There are two ways to Yili, either north of the Tianshan Mountains or south of the Tianshan Mountains!"

"The road in the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains is rugged and the mountains are crisscrossed... it's difficult to march!"

"Therefore, we believe that it is more appropriate to go north of Tianshan Mountain!"

After Shi Guangzhu finished speaking, Liu Fang continued, "If we want to go north of Tianshan, we must first capture Urumqi, and then move eastward to capture its fortresses one by one!"

Zhu Jinghong nodded. He actually shared the same opinion, and asked the two veterans just to be on the safe side.

"So next, we have to take Urumqi!" Zhu Jinghong repeated.

Liu Fang replied, "This is just my humble opinion, Your Highness, please think twice!"

"This is a mature and prudent way of playing. I also think it should be done this way. This matter is settled!"

Without waiting for the two men to reply, Zhu Jinghong immediately said: "To facilitate command, I have the following deployments!"

Hearing this, Shi Liu and the other man both stood up and pretended to listen to instructions.

After signaling the two men to take a seat, Zhu Jinghong continued, "There are many soldiers this time, and we need to be clear about how to lead them!"

"The five guards of the imperial guard will be commanded by me personally!"

"The 15 guards of the Beijing Camp are commanded by three generals respectively. The Anxi Xingdusi, the Mongolian tribes, and the Tibetan tribes are commanded by General Shi Lao!"

"The Qinghai Xingdusi, as well as the troops from Gansu, Sichuan, Shanxi, and Shuofang, are all under the command of General Liu. They are responsible for the safety of food and fodder, and also serve as reserve forces!"

"As for the Jurchen tribes... I will personally lead them!"

Compared with the Mongols and Tibetan soldiers, the combat effectiveness of the current Jurchen tribes is indeed much higher.

After explaining his arrangements, Zhu Jinghong asked with a smile, "Two old generals, do you have any objections?"

"We obey your command!" The two men answered without hesitation.

Once this matter is agreed upon, the general command framework has been established, but there is still a lot to be done to achieve the effect of being able to command with ease.

The first day was for meetings, and the second and third days were for larger-scale meetings involving the commander-in-chief of the guards.

In the next four or five days, Zhu Jinghong inspected the army and observed the march of the line infantry.

After several years of baptism in major wars, both the imperial army and the Beijing camp have become well-organized and can be regarded as the top elite forces of the current era.

After the drill, Zhu Jinghong walked in the military camp, with only two generals following him, Hou Jing and Shi Chong.

"You two are called my disciples. Even though that's not the case... it still concerns my reputation!"

"The Tiger Guards, the Left Guards, are now in your hands. You must train them into the elite among the elite!"

"The hardest battles and the toughest challenges will all be given to you to gnaw on!"

Suddenly he stopped and turned around and said, "Don't pretend to be strong, or you will lose face for me!"

Hou Jing immediately expressed his position: "Don't worry, Master Thirteen. If we two fail to train our troops well and suffer defeat... we will die of shame even before Master Thirteen punishes us!"

Shi Chong's face was cold and his heart was hard. He replied, "The same goes for me!"

Zhu Jinghong nodded, then changed the subject and said, "Go to the tents and see what the soldiers are eating to see if you have deducted any of their food!"

"How dare we!"

So Hou Jing and the other man accompanied Zhu Jinghong around the military camp, and wherever they went, cheers would be heard.

This shows how popular Zhu Jinghong is among the soldiers.

After several years of fierce fighting, both sides had won and lost, but there was no decisive victory. This made the soldiers on both sides suffer and there was no sign of the end of the war.

But when Zhu Jinghong arrived, the soldiers clearly felt hopeful, as if they would surely win with his arrival.

It is a good thing to have the army's morale, but it does add pressure to Zhu Jinghong, because if the battle is won, it will cause great damage to him personally.

When Zhu Jinghong traveled around the military camps, the two women who came with him to the northwest helped him to recruit more women.

Turpan was originally the former territory of Dzungar, and many tribes still existed after the Dzungars were defeated.

Most of the men in these tribes were forcibly conscripted by the Ming army to build the Turpan Fortress and became free labor.

The surrounding tribes complained bitterly but could only endure it silently. After all, they were the losers and it was a great blessing for them to be able to stay alive.

But when these tribal leaders learned that Qiqige, the daughter of the late Khan, was now serving Zhu Jinghong, they immediately wanted to curry favor with her.

If we could get Qiqige to say a few good words and exempt the tribes from some labor, it would greatly reduce their burden.

So these tribal leaders selected some girls from their tribes and sent them here, ostensibly to serve Qi Qi Ge, their former master, but in fact they were women selected for Zhu Jinghong.

The same was true for Nomin. The Mongolian tribes also sent some women, hoping that they could serve Zhu Jinghong.

The two sisters were confused for a moment when they looked at the dozen or so women in front of them.

They knew Zhu Jinghong's temper and knew that he would never keep anyone, so they thought about how to disperse these people.

However, Nuomin really wanted to disband the team, while Qiqige wanted more.

Qiqige was a princess of Dzungar. The reason why she came to Zhu Jinghong was that her family was killed in a coup and she had no other choice but to ask Zhu Jinghong for help.

Survival is the most important thing, but she will never forget revenge.

This time when she came to the northwest, she would personally follow Zhu Jinghong, fight all the way to Yili, and chop off the heads of those enemies.

At the same time, she also wanted to find her lost family members and restore the glory of her family. Both of these depended on Zhu Jinghong.

All this is only possible if we please Zhu Jinghong.

So...keeping these women here becomes something that can be considered, so Qi Qige is very conflicted now.

Qi Qi Ge ordered: "You go ahead and I will arrange for you later!"

Nuomin was a little surprised, but didn't say much. She just ignored Qi Qige's plan.

About an hour later, Zhu Jinghong returned to his residence.

Then he noticed this group of women, and before he could ask any questions, Qi Qi Ge came out to greet them.

"Your Majesty, someone has come to give you a gift, and I don't know what to do with it. We are eagerly waiting for you to come back!"

Looking at the women in the distance, Zhu Jinghong asked, "Are they them?"

"Your Majesty, it's them!"

"I am commanding troops in the northwest, and I have hundreds of thousands of soldiers under my command. They are well prepared for battle. If they knew... that the commander-in-chief is indulging in sensual pleasures, would that be a bad thing?" "This... is certainly not good!" Qi Qi Ge replied.

Seeing Zhu Jinghong's serious and resolute attitude, Qi Qige couldn't help feeling disappointed, but she immediately replied: "I understand, I will dismiss them right away!"

"Go!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Jinghong noticed Qiqige's abnormal behavior, so he guessed that she had some ideas.

"Now that you are in the army, you should behave yourself and do your job well every day, otherwise... don't blame me for being disloyal!"

Hearing these cold words, Qi Qige was greatly shocked, and some strange ideas that had just come to his mind disappeared in an instant.

"I understand. I won't dare to do it again!" Qi Qige replied quickly.

"Go!"

"Yes!"

After Qi Qige left, Zhu Jinghong walked towards his own military tent. He had been running outside for most of the day, so it was time for him to sit down and have a rest.

Unfortunately, a pile of reports had been placed on his desk, all sent by various battalions and guards. Some reported on the military situation, and some reported on the training situation...

He had to look at all of these one by one in order to have an intuitive understanding of the military situation.

"My Lord, let's go out and ride horses!"

Nuomin's voice appeared at the door of the military tent. At this moment, she was dressed in a capable outfit and holding a small whip in her hand.

"I would like to go, but unfortunately I can't make the trip!" Zhu Jinghong pointed to the report on the table.

Nuomin walked into the tent and said, "How long will it take, my lord? I am waiting for you!"

"It may take another half hour!" Zhu Jinghong estimated.

Nuomin smiled and said, "Then I will go and make you a pot of hot tea!"

This was a woman as quick as the wind. She left as soon as she said she was leaving. When she came back a while later, Qi Qi Ge followed her.

Their task was to serve Zhu Jinghong personally, and doing these things was their duty.

In a blink of an eye, another ten days passed. After all preparations were basically completed, the main force of the Ming army began to advance northward, heading straight for Urumqi, 400 miles away.

As for Urumqi, the Seven-Nation Alliance also knew how important this place was, so they specially strengthened the city defenses to deal with the next attack by the Ming army.

But the problem is that Urumqi is not a big city, and it is impossible to cram in 200,000 coalition troops.

If we put them all in, if the Ming army surrounds the city, everyone will be trapped to death inside.

To be honest, it is more than enough to put in 20,000 troops.

When he learned that the Ming army was setting out, Grand Duke Constantine, who was nearly 40 years old, also made corresponding deployment adjustments.

Leaving behind 20,000 Junggar troops, the rest of the troops withdrew from Urumqi and its surrounding areas, retreating nearly a hundred miles to the west.

A distance of one hundred miles may sound far, but it is actually the shortest safe distance. This is because the two armies have a size of two hundred thousand, and if they are not separated enough, a melee can easily break out.

At present, both sides are preparing for the best decisive battle, so it is necessary to maintain a safe distance.

It was feasible for Constantine to use Urumqi to delay the Ming army, and then use mobile forces to harass the food supply route, or to concentrate superior forces to attack one step further.

In order to launch a surprise attack, he even left a cavalry unit in Urumu so that he could achieve a surprise victory at a critical moment.

"Everyone, we come from different countries, but we gather here just to defeat the Ming Kingdom!"

"Ming has a vast territory and a huge population. If they become powerful, it will not be good for us!"

"I hope you all understand that defeating the Ming Kingdom is in the interests of all countries, so in the upcoming war, I hope you will take it seriously and exert your best efforts!"

In the city of Hutu, north of Urumqi, Constantine was holding a military meeting, and generals from various countries' armies had arrived here.

This was not the first time he had said these words, but before the war began, he had to emphasize them again.

After speaking for a long time and conveying his will, Constantine announced the end of the meeting.

Then he specifically ordered Spanish General Fidel to stay.

"General Fidel, I heard that you once served in the Far East Fleet. I think you know a lot about the prince of the Ming army!"

"Can you tell me about it?"

Constantine was a humble man, at least on the surface, so Fidel certainly wouldn't refuse.

"The war broke out the year before last, and it was commanded by this Ming prince. Their fleets had just been established, but they defeated our invincible fleet!"

"This man is very dangerous. He doesn't care about his life when fighting, so his subordinates are very brave, making it difficult for us to deal with him!"

Since learning at the beginning of the year that Zhu Jinghong was leading the troops, Constantine has studied him carefully and concluded that this person is very dangerous.

The most terrible thing is that Zhu Jinghong has never lost a battle. His record along the way is simply incredible, and it makes people's scalp tingle just thinking about it.

Zhu Jinghong felt that he was under a lot of pressure, but in fact Constantine was also under a lot of pressure, and the latter was even under more pressure.

Constantine asked, "So what do you think, how can we deal with it so that we have a higher chance of winning?"

Fidel thought about it, and finally answered helplessly: "I don't know!"

Although Constantine was disappointed, he still asked, "Do you think there is any problem with our current response?"

"I don't know either!" Fidel could no longer laugh.

Originally he wanted to seek advice and clear up his doubts, but after this conversation, Constantine became more confused.

He was nearly 40 years old and had fought in wars for more than 20 years, but this was his first time commanding a battle of such scale. It was normal for him to feel unsure.

"Thank you for your communication. You may leave now, General!"

"Goodbye, Your Highness!"

After Fidel left, Constantine climbed up the city wall and looked at the endless mountains in the east, which was the direction from which the Ming army was coming.

"There is an old saying in Ming Dynasty: When two people meet on a narrow road, the brave one will win!"

"He is a brave man, and I will never lose to him!" Constantine looked determined.

He also came out of the sea of ​​fire and swords, and he has a firm character and a strong mentality, so naturally he has the fighting spirit to fear nothing.

"The heir to the throne of the Ming Dynasty, I am looking forward to your performance!"

The two armies are going to fight, but it will take time, and it's all because of the distance.

After a long and hasty journey, the vanguard of the Ming army arrived outside the city of Urumqi on April 18, the 16th year of Zhengtong.

During the journey, the Ming army encountered six attacks, both large and small, but they were all defended.

Zhu Jinghong was not a man who would suffer a loss, so he immediately organized a cavalry counterattack. Both sides suffered casualties, but neither achieved significant results.

The vanguard of the Ming army arrived and set up camp directly outside the city of Urumqi, and then the main army arrived one after another.

(End of this chapter)