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Chapter 901 There is bad news

"Who told you to abandon your followers and run away? What if you lose the letter?" Hong Tao was very happy to receive the news of the Northern Army ten days in advance. But when he saw the blood dripping from the inner thighs of Pingtou, he was no longer happy and started to scold him.

Although they were just eunuchs with the lowest fate, after all, they had watched them grow up and taught them literacy and martial arts. If they died on the battlefield, they would be gone in a blink of an eye, but they felt very uncomfortable to suffer such a great punishment.

"Hiss, can you be gentler... Governor Sun said that he wanted to deliver the letter to His Majesty as quickly as possible, and that it was a matter of great importance. There are Inner Mongolian cavalry post stations along the way, which are very safe. I could have gone a few days faster, but it's all because of the poor performance of the horse! Ouch, you little bastard, be gentle, or I'll beat you up every day!"

The gecko, who knew medical skills, used tweezers and cotton dipped in alcohol to slowly remove the stuck cloth from the rotten flesh. The flat-headed fox was shaking in pain but still kept complaining.

"Hey, it's all my fault that Sun Chengzong and I didn't make it clear how many miles we had to run every day! You guys come over here and hold him down. Wang Chengen, go ask the military doctor if there's any good way to reduce inflammation."

Seeing that the three geckos were about to collapse, Hong Tao waved his hand and called a few more people over, then whispered to Wang Chengen to find someone in the barracks. The injury of the flat-headed brother was a bit serious, the skin was basically worn away, and the area was a bit large. If the inflammation could not be quickly reduced, it might cause sepsis or something.

"Your Majesty... She said there is a way to treat Pingtou's injury." The military doctor came quickly, but there was no good way to deal with this kind of injury. Just as a group of people surrounded Pingtou and disinfected him with alcohol like slaughtering a pig, Jinsuo came to the emperor and reported the new discovery in a low voice, while pointing to the carriage.

"...Her? Have you asked how to cure her?" Hong Tao was very annoyed. He didn't even have time to read the letter from Sun Chengzong in his hand. He turned around and looked at Gulandam after hearing Jinsuo's reminder. He wanted to tell her not to make trouble, but he finally walked over.

"She said to burn two kinds of grass into ashes, mix them with honey and cover the wound. If the wound stops bleeding after three days, it will heal... This is a recipe passed down from their ancestors in the tribe, and it has cured many herdsmen."

"… Let's give it a try. Take her with you to find some grass!"

Hong Tao was not sure whether this kind of folk remedy would work, but if she didn't use it, the military doctors would have to use traditional medicine to cover the wound, and the situation was not optimistic. Honey and sugar both have the effect of inhibiting bacteria, so let's give it a try.

After instructing the military doctor on the treatment of the flat-headed man, Hong Tao squatted beside the carriage and opened the letter from Sun Chengzong. He read it hastily and began to pace around the carriage. He lit a cigar and walked around for more than ten times before stopping.

The situation has changed, and it is not small, enough to affect the Western Regions and even the Ming Dynasty. Just over a month ago, Elek of the Tushetu tribe of Outer Khalkha sent a confidant to the Tumed tribe to deliver a letter to the Ming emperor.

The Zasaktu and Chechen tribes accepted Gushri Khan's request and joined forces with the Oirat Mongols to attack the Ming Dynasty. In name, it was to avenge Ligdan Khan, but in reality, it was to support the Yarkand Khanate and force the Ming army to give up the westward expedition.

Although Elek did not approve of this move, when he went to the capital to meet the Ming Emperor, he promised that the Tushetu tribe would not interfere regardless of whether the Ming army's westward expedition was successful, and he would do his best to persuade the other two Outer Khalkha leaders to ally with the Ming.

Although this is a helpless move as I am alone, it is also a breach of contract. In order to prevent the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty from hating the Tushetu tribe, I have no choice but to notify them first and explain the situation.

As far as we know, the total number of Mongolian troops heading south is about 9, of which 6 are from the Oirat Mongols, led by Gushri Khan himself, heading straight for the Juyan Sea area. 3 are from the Outer Khalkha Mongols, led by their respective leaders, attacking from Kalaqin City to Guihua City.

After learning the news, Sun Chengzong immediately discussed with the army staff and finally came to the conclusion that the outcome was a mixed bag, and whether it would be a joy or a sorrow depended entirely on the speed of the Western Expedition.

If the Northern and Southern Armies do not retreat and fail to quickly pacify the situation in the Yarkand Khanate, if the narrow strip of land defended by the Northwestern Regional Military Command is lost, the supply route will be completely cut off and the situation will be very bad.

Even if the Northwest and Northern Commands could conduct effective defense, it would greatly increase the logistical pressure on the General Staff. The original plan for the supply of materials for the Western Expedition was almost full, and the supply of war materials for the Northwest and Northern Commands was also a big problem.

If the Yarkand Khanate could be dealt with in a short period of time, or if the main force of the Khanate led by Latif Khan could be severely damaged, the Northern Army could be free to return to provide support, or simply go directly north from Hami to raid the lairs of the various Oirat Mongolian tribes, forcing them to return to provide support.

According to Sun Chengzong, he did not want to retreat. He had finally crossed the Plains and killed the enemy by surprise. He was about to attack the enemy directly, but he gave up halfway. Besides the loss of prestige to the emperor, the huge amount of supplies consumed would be wasted.

But he really had no power to make the decision on this matter. He could only report to the General Staff and ask the Flathead Brother to return to the Southern Army as soon as possible. In the end, he had to listen to the emperor on what to do.

In order to strengthen the emperor's faith, Sun Chengzong also reported a more favorable news. More than a month ago, Chashak of the Ordos tribe went to Guazhou on behalf of Yarkand Khan to negotiate with the Ming army. The two sides did not reach any agreement and parted unhappily. However, there was a man named Yusup in the delegation who claimed to represent Turpan Khan and secretly communicated with Sun Chengzong. Although both sides could not fully trust each other, they talked about some more constructive topics.

For example, the Khan of Turpan hoped that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would not attack cities such as Hami and Turpan. In exchange, he could turn a blind eye when southern Xinjiang was attacked and not send any reinforcements.

Of course Sun Chengzong did not dare to agree, but he did not completely refuse. He just said that he had to return to Suzhou to report to the emperor, and would send someone to Hami to contact him when there was a result.

At the same time, the letter analyzed the mentality of the Khan of Turpan. At present, Latif Khan was leading a large army to gather near Turpan. The longer the time dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for him. It was a bit like it was easier to invite a god than to send him away.

If the war could be directed to southern Xinjiang, he could sit back and watch the fight between the two tigers, and be a fence-sitter, ready to bet on the winner at any time.

"Remember! I have received the letter. I am very relieved. Don't worry about the Oirat and Outer Khalkha tribes moving south. Li Ruzhang will handle it. Continue to contact the Khan of Turpan and maintain a defensive position and keep your troops in place.

The post station from Yangguan to Ruoqiang is very good, and two guards are enough to go south. This method can be used in the direction of Hami, sending soldiers to escort craftsmen to dig deep wells, find water sources, and set up military stations to meet emergencies.

I am 260 li from Yarkand and 600 li from Kashgar. We can conquer both within ten days. By then, Du Wenhuan will lead his army to Yutian, and the next guard will follow. Ruoqiang is an important town, so we will hand it over to the next guard in the south to defend it. We must not lose even one person!"

Hong Tao was not worried at all about the southward advance of the Oirat and Outer Khalkha Mongols. He had worked hard for twenty years, and most of the national treasury had been spent on military construction. If they could be easily conquered with only tens of thousands of cavalry, it would be better not to carry out military reforms. Retaining the border troops might still be able to hold out.

As for how to respond to the Turpan Khan's test, Sun Chengzong doesn't have to worry about it. Once Bakhti arrives in Turpan and meets Yusup, everything will be clear.

The biggest changes now are actually in the southern army. In addition to advancing quickly to wipe out the Khan and the Shadi Khoja family in Yarkand City as much as possible to prevent them from fleeing westward, they also have to guard against reinforcements from the two Khanates of Bukhara and Kazakhstan.

Tens of thousands of people should not pose a threat to the two guards' armies, but the location of the battlefield must be taken into consideration. If the resistance of the local tribal armed forces and the people is too fierce, this battle will not be easy to fight.

At this time, we have to talk about Sun Chengzong's bold and flexible character. According to the plan, he only needed to defend Guazhou and prepare to march to Hami. But after arriving in Guazhou, he did not sit idle, but carefully interrogated the captured herdsmen and learned from them the old road from Yangguan to Ruoqiang.

Then it was the job of the Inner Mongolian cavalry. Ombu personally led the tribesmen who were most skilled in finding the way, and set out from Yangguan according to the clues provided by the herdsmen, exploring westward along the mountain.

After finding the first small oasis, they immediately built a small military station every 100 miles along the way, leaving sufficient drinking water, food and horses to serve as nodes for transmitting messages.

It took more than a month for Omubu and his cavalry to explore and build along the way, covering more than 500 miles. At first, they set up 6 military stations, but later they met the flat-headed brother and realized that they had found the right direction. They simply changed the 100-li to 50-li, and built a post road from Yangguan, setting up a post every 50 miles.

The Flathead Brother was able to run at full speed thanks to these post stations. If you calculate it, the post stations should have been built almost to the vicinity of Ruoqiang by now. It is possible that Ombu and Du Wenhuan have already met.

Although the post roads and post stations could not shorten the distance, change the climate, or even accommodate large armies, they could speed up the communication between the southern and northern armies, and their role was still very significant.

In fact, it is not impossible to send a large army, but they cannot send at the same time. They need to send a batch a day. Now Hong Tao wants Sun Chengzong to use this method to reinforce the southern army, at least two guards.

It was necessary to firmly occupy Ruoqiang and Khotan, cut off the Tarim River and Baiyu River corridors connecting southern and northern Xinjiang, completely block the shortcut for Latif Khan to return for assistance, and at the same time preserve the retreat route of the southern army.

"Lay out some carpets over there and ask Huang Taiji to bring the men over." After writing the reply, Hong Tao pointed to the artillery camp a few hundred meters away and asked Wang Chengen to take his men over to make arrangements.

He deliberately met Shadihezhuo from Yarkand City next to the artillery camp in order to let him see clearly the number of artillery of the Ming army, so as to achieve victory without fighting.

(End of this chapter)