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Chapter 913 Deliberately showing weakness

Chapter 913 Deliberately showing weakness
After daybreak, the wind died down. The Eight Banners Army went out to scout and found that the enemy came from more than ten miles upstream. According to the horseshoe prints on the river bank, there were about three hundred of them. More than one hundred of them were shot dead outside the position on the south side. Fortunately, there was a cannon device, otherwise they would have been within a hundred meters if they were a few minutes later.

In addition, many footprints were found on the north side of the position, and the number was just as much as that on the south side. It seemed that the enemy came from both upstream and downstream, intending to attack from both sides while taking advantage of the sandstorm.

But regardless of whether the Ming army was good at close combat, it was not realistic to rely on just a few hundred people to sneak into the camp. The real killer was hidden on the other side of the river. The Eight Banners Army found a large number of horse hoof prints there. It was difficult to estimate the number because of the sand and wind. According to the distribution area, there were probably more than a few thousand troops.

As for what kind of clothes and armor the corpses were wearing, or what weapons they were holding, Hong Tao didn't even ask. It was obvious that they were sent by Latif Khan, so even if they were all wearing European clothes, they couldn't be separated from it.

Should we retaliate against this blatant violation of the agreement? Hong Tao found two emirs of the Black Mountain Sect from Yecheng and asked them to take a letter to Latif Khan, strongly condemning his treacherous behavior!

"Sun Moon Khan, showing weakness like this will not confuse the enemy, but will make them even more reckless and even more aggressive!"

Huang Taiji had something to say about the emperor's handling of the situation. He believed that delaying time was important, but he could not just tolerate it. He had to show his strength appropriately to force the other party not to act rashly.

"You hit me, I scold you, this is the most basic reaction of the weak. If you dare to fight back, you should not have evacuated Yarkand City in the first place. Respecting ethnic customs and religious beliefs is nonsense. Those who say it don't believe it, and those who hear it won't believe it either.

The reason why Latif Khan sent people to launch a surprise attack was to test the strength of the Ming army. If he succeeded, he would defeat the Ming army in one fell swoop and chase them all the way east, at least to Ruoqiang.

Take back Khotan, Nirang and Qiemo along the way, and then we can talk about whether to negotiate or not. If I am caught, hehe, not only can I make up for the loss, but I can also make a lot of money.

It doesn't matter if you didn't succeed. You said it was the Khanate army that attacked. Show us the evidence! If there is no evidence, it's not the Khanate army. There are so many tribal armed forces here. Who knows who might be dissatisfied and take the opportunity to retaliate.

If all else fails, capture the two emirs and kill them and send them here, and put all the blame on them. You can't just keep nagging them. If we need to negotiate, we should do it. Nothing will be delayed.

You need to carefully figure out the other person's psychological activities based on various information. It is best to put yourself in the other person's shoes and imagine what the other person's mentality should be like.

Take Latif Khan for example, he suffered a great loss this time. Yarkand and Kashgar were the confidants of the Khanate, more than half of the population and wealth were concentrated in this area. If we messed it up, even the palace, family members, and supporters were captured, the military and people's morale would definitely be unstable.

Now that the capital and Kashgar have been taken back, the first priority is not to continue fighting, but to lick the wounds quickly. With the reinforcements from Bukhara and the Kazakh Khanate, it seems safe. As long as Abdulqin and Chashak can defend Hami and Turpan, he is not afraid of slowly consuming them.

In another month, the daytime temperature in southern Xinjiang will soar, and the wind will be hot. In the open field without shelter, without enough drinking water, people will be dried by the sun.

By then, many rivers will enter the dry season, or even stop flowing, and some water diversion channels and karez will dry up. Yecheng simply cannot accommodate so many troops stationed there, and they will have to withdraw to Yutian in the near future to gain a foothold.

But by that time, how many people do you think will be left in Khotan, Qiemo, and Ruoqiang? As long as they heard that Latif Khan had returned and taken back the city of Yarkand, most of the people in southern Xinjiang would still choose to follow him.

Then the southern army's supplies will have to rely mostly on long-distance transportation from Guazhou. Their cavalry and camel soldiers have many ways to harass the supply lines that stretch for hundreds of miles and cross the Gobi Desert, and we can only deal with them passively. Once we get to that point, the war will be lost. According to normal logical reasoning, it is not me who wants to delay time, but Latif Khan. Then I will deliberately pretend that I am unwilling to take the initiative to attack, so that he can be happy for a few more days.

As a commander, you are already a senior general, and you will definitely have the opportunity to lead troops to fight abroad in the future. When the time comes, you must not only focus on your own battlefield calculations, but also pay attention to the changes in various aspects and make comprehensive analyses.

We Han people have a saying, "A single hair can move the whole body." You are fighting on your legs, but changes in any part of the body may affect your legs. Whoever is mentally prepared in advance, or even predicts the changes in advance, has a greater chance of winning the war in the end.

Future wars will not rely on proficiency in archery and horsemanship. Even the best riders cannot avoid bullets and shells. So we have to rely on this, pay attention to collecting all kinds of intelligence, and then analyze it carefully, find weaknesses, and strike a fatal blow. "

Hong Tao was not annoyed by Huang Taiji, who was too curious and even overstepped his authority. The young tribal leader had a good learning ability and was willing to give up his previous advantageous projects to take the initiative to contact unfamiliar fields and actively learn.

This is something that many people find difficult to do. There is a term in later generations called comfort zone. When a person is overly familiar with a field, a comfort zone will be formed, and when encountering an unfamiliar field, there will be instinctive resistance.

Because you can call the shots in your comfort zone, but you can't move an inch outside of it. Changing careers is easier said than done. Especially for people with some status, most people would rather be destitute than leave their comfort zone and start a new business.

"...Can I still lead the troops into battle alone?"

Huang Taiji could not immediately understand what the emperor said, but there was one point that made him feel uneasy. The Eight Banners Army was nominally a guard organization, but everyone knew that this was just a temporary measure to make good use of waste.

Both the Jurchen and Mongolian armies had a tradition of letting surrendered generals and soldiers charge into battle. It was impossible to gain trust without dying a few times and making a few military achievements.

"Use them boldly, but be careful! This is my attitude towards you and the Eight Banners Army. When the Eight Banners Army was no longer a single structure of the Jurchen people, it gained my initial trust.

You are still young. If you are lucky, you still have at least 20 more years of military career to live. Why are you in such a hurry? Let me tell you the truth. Not only will the cavalry not be abolished, but it will be vigorously developed. In the future, it is very likely to be on par with the army.

You are one of the young generals who are familiar with cavalry, and Omubu in the Northern Army is another one. But the previous skills are far from enough, and new tactics and methods must be added. I can discuss the specific changes with Ding Shun when I return to the capital."

This question was a bit hurtful, but Hong Tao was not embarrassed at all and spoke out his inner thoughts openly. Moreover, it was all true, and he was not afraid of anyone knowing it.

Because not only the Jurchen Eight Banners soldiers will receive this treatment, but all the tribes in Inner Mongolia will also be subject to this regulation in the future. No one can think of breaking away from the framework of the General Staff and the Ministry of War and independently owning tribal armed forces.

(End of this chapter)

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