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Chapter 896: A combination of kindness and power
"Eleven members of the 33rd Guard were slightly injured, two were seriously injured, and two died. All of these were caused by accidental discharges of guns. The students are responsible for their negligence in training!" Yuan Datou opened his notebook with an expressionless face and reported the statistics word by word.

"Where are the Eight Banner Guards?"

"According to preliminary statistics, 159 of the Eight Banner Guards were slightly injured, 31 were seriously injured, and 11 died. The causes included falling off horses, being shot by bows and arrows, and close combat. The specific figures need to be further verified."

"Let the military police escort the wounded and the bodies back to Ruoqiang, and tell Du Wenhuan to transport all the solid bullets from the 34th Guard. There are at least two large cities ahead that need to be attacked. It is best not to use solid bullets in field battles in the future.

Don't clean up the battlefield, just collect the usable war horses and camels, and set off in half an hour. Let the Eight Banners Army go first, but make it clear to Huang Taiji that after entering the city, they can only target hostile armed personnel and not harass the civilians. If supplies are needed, give enough silver coins according to the market price. "

The number of casualties did not exceed the estimate, but the consumption of ammunition, especially solid bullets, was a bit high. If the battle continued like this, after two battles, we would have to use shrapnel shells to attack the city walls.

This forced Hong Tao to reflect on whether the price of showing off was a bit high. According to Abash, Yarkand and Kashgar both had very high city walls. And that was the largest settlement of the Royal City and the Black Mountain Sect. It was possible to encounter larger-scale tribal armed forces, so sufficient firepower had to be reserved to deal with them.

"Your Majesty, Emir Abash requests to see you!" As soon as Yuan Datou left, Wang Chengen came up again.

"Let Gulandam go and talk to him for a while. He must return to the team within 25 minutes. You must watch him personally!"

Hong Tao was thinking about the various situations that the Northern Army might encounter and had no intention of chatting with the old man. He thought that the old man was worried about the safety of his granddaughter, so he waved his hand and asked them to meet and talk.

"Your Majesty, the staff officer who came with him said he had something important to report, and it seemed to be about the city of Khotan." Wang Chengen did not move and further explained the purpose of Abash's visit.

"Hiss... When did you learn to leave things unsaid? This is not a good habit! Let him come over and get some hot water to make tea." Upon hearing about Khotan City, Hong Tao immediately changed his mind.

The battle outside the city was a great victory, but there were still tens of thousands of residents in the city. Who sent troops to participate in the battle just now and who was the diehard faction? The Eight Banners Army, who only knew Mongolian, might not be able to figure it out. It would be best if Abash could provide some clues.

"Are you sure?" After a moment, before the hot tea was even brewed, Hong Tao slapped his thigh.

Abash came to see him not because he was worried about his granddaughter, but to provide important information. Although Burke in Khotan was not a believer of the White Mountain Sect, he had a good relationship with the White Mountain Sect and Zhuo Yusup.

If he knew the purpose of the Ming army and its tolerant attitude towards the Baishan faction, it might reduce a lot of trouble. For this reason, Abash was willing to talk to Berk before the army entered the city.

"Our two families know each other. We originally agreed to marry Gulandam to his second son, Rahim. After the Black Mountain faction came to power, in order to maintain Berk's position, Rahim married a woman from the Shadi and Zhuo families. I can swear to the prophet that Berk does not agree with this marriage in his heart, but he has many people in his tribe to protect."

“Jinsuo, bring people to accompany Emir into the city. There is only one hour left. If no one comes out by then, the army will raze the city to the ground to avenge you!”

After weighing it a little, Hong Tao felt that this proposal was worth a try. At this time, the Eight Banners Army should have been close to Khotan City. Without the protection of the Khanate Army, it would be difficult for the local tribal armed forces to break through the encirclement of the Eight Banners Army. Even if it was delayed by an hour, it would not cause too much trouble.

The ones who really need to risk their lives are the eunuch Jinsuo and the soldiers from the Warrior Camp who accompany him, but this is war, someone has to be abandoned, and the compensation they can provide is only revenge and posthumous honor.

"For the sake of His Majesty, and for the country, I will die without regrets!"

Jinsuo did not look depressed. He prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed three times to the emperor. Then he bowed to Wang Chengen, stood up and walked towards the Warriors Camp with Abash.

From beginning to end, Gulandam sat in the carriage and did not come out, but she probably guessed what her grandfather and Jinsuo were going to do. Moists appeared in her big eyes, and she bit her lower lip with her white teeth, trying hard not to let the tears fall.

Fortunately, the sadness of parting was only temporary. When the army was getting closer and closer to Khotan City and the time limit was about to expire, Huang Taiji sent someone to deliver the news that the Lord of Khotan City had left the city to welcome him. Completely different from what he had imagined, the Lord of Khotan City was not white-haired or pot-bellied, but a tall, handsome middle-aged man. With thick black eyebrows, big eyes, a thick beard and a sharp face, he looked very much like a Middle Eastern or Iranian.

His name is Bakhti Patiman, and he is a Kazakh. Bakhti is his first name, and Patiman is his last name, which is also his father's name.

That is to say, Kazakhs do not have fixed surnames, and each generation uses the father's name as the surname. For example, his second son's full name is Rahim Bakhti, and his grandchildren should have the surname Rahim.

The official title does not include the surname, it should be Bakhtibai or Bakhtibek. Bai is an honorary title, roughly meaning rich, landlord, etc. Bek is an official title, equivalent to a city lord, which has been passed down from the Uighur period.

"The Ming Empire does not need your land and population, nor will it rob your people of their wealth, but it must open up the trade route to the west and ensure that it is safe and sustainable. To achieve this, the Empire will send troops and officials to be stationed at transportation hubs to manage and supervise the new king and ministers.

The future Khanate must be led by a sensible king. The current Latif Khan is obviously unable to do the job, and his main supporter Shadi Khoja will be expelled.

But I cannot randomly appoint who will replace Latif. In the end, it must be chosen by wise men like Abash and you who love peace and have a high reputation among the people.

The Empire and the Khanate work together, and soon the towns from Hami to Kashgar will be filled with caravans traveling east and west, and both the people of the Empire and the Khanate will gain more wealth from it. "

Since the other party is an official and a local tyrant, a politician and a tribal leader, Hong Tao does not need to test him any further. Throw a set of standard official statements over, and those who should understand will naturally understand. Those who don't understand can simply be replaced. Keeping such a waste is a burden.

“Although Daniel’s Khanate army was defeated by Sun Moon Khan, Shadi Khoja still has 3,000 troops and tens of thousands of loyal believers in Yarkand City, and they will be able to arm themselves quickly.

If we fail to capture Yarkand and Kashgar before the army led by Latif Khan returns to support us, Bukhara and the Kazakh Khanate in the west may intervene at any time. "

Although Bakhti never understood the strength and purpose of the Ming Empire from beginning to end, he completely understood the words of the emperor, including the subtext.

He then demonstrated the basic qualities of a qualified politician. Even though he had become a loser and stood on the guillotine, he still did not forget to bluff in order to facilitate bargaining.

"If nothing unexpected happens, neither Yarkand nor Kashgar will be able to withstand the attack of the imperial army. I have seen the strength of the believers and tribal armed forces, and they are not enough to slow down the imperial army's advance. If possible, Burke should inform his friends in advance and not try to resist easily.

It was difficult for Latif Khan and his Khanate army to return in time. If you were the Khan of Turpan, would you refuse the same favorable conditions? At this time, Hami was facing the threat of more imperial troops, and he had no other choice.

I don't know much about Bukhara and the Kazakh Khanate, so I wonder if you would be willing to tell me more about their situation. For example, if they really want to help, how many troops would they send and what their combat effectiveness would be?"

At this point in the conversation, Hong Tao had a better idea of ​​what was going on. Bargaining was necessary and a very good start, as it helped both parties to get to know each other better.

"With great pleasure..." Bakhti had a similar impression of the Emperor of the Ming Empire. He respectfully placed one hand on his chest and bowed slightly.

"Wang Chengen, please take a seat, make some tea, and put out the candies!" Hong Tao returned the greeting with a smile, pointed at the carriage, and walked over first.

Within a distance of just a few dozen steps, Wang Chengen had already directed the eunuchs to lay out the carpet and place candies, dairy products, biscuits, cigars and other items on the table. The only thing left was to boil water and make tea.

(End of this chapter)