The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 332: The Crisis of Khalkha Mongolia

June 1733, 6, Kobdo, Dingbian Town (now Kobdo City, Outer Mongolia).

Peng Fengnian, the general of Dingbei of the Qin Dynasty and the governor of the Moxi Protectorate, stood on the top of the city wall, looking solemnly at the Khalkha cavalrymen riding horses and holding swords outside the city, shouting and clamoring constantly, being extremely provocative, with his hand on the hilt of the sword, without saying a word.

"General, these Mongolian Tartars are so arrogant, why not open fire and bombard them!" Deputy General Jiang Shihuang shouted angrily.

"How many artillery shells and gunpowder are there in the city?" Peng Fengnian glanced at him.

"...Although there are not many, it is enough to bombard it for a while." Jiang Shihuang shook his head and said: "If we allow these Tartars to provoke us like this, I am worried about the morale of the army..."

"As a general, you should not raise an army out of anger." Peng Fengnian said, "Although Dingbian City is small and has low walls, it is not something that these Tartars can easily attack. It has been more than two months since Chedeng Zhabu started the rebellion. It will take at least another two months for the court to send troops to support us. Therefore, if we can save on military equipment and food in the city, we should save a little, so that we can hold out for a while longer."

"Grand Commander..." Jiang Shihuang's eyes dimmed when he thought of the little food and fodder left in the city.

"Just hold on a little longer, we'll get through this eventually." Peng Fengnian sighed and said softly, "If the food and fodder run out, we might have to learn from the example of Suiyang in the Tang Dynasty."

"..." Upon hearing this, Jiang Shihuang looked at the Grand Commander in astonishment.

During the Anshi Rebellion in the Former Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xun defended Suiyang in order to prevent the rebels from advancing southward. He even cannibalized 30,000 people, thus blocking the rebels for ten months and preventing them from conquering the city.

The commander-in-chief actually wanted to eat all the women, children, the elderly and the weak in Dingbian City in order to defend the city?

These damn Mongolian Tartars have forced us into such a dangerous situation!

After the Qin Dynasty conquered the Khalkha Mongolian tribe, it forcibly divided a large grassland into six tribes. Under the six tribes, several tribal taijis were appointed to divide and disintegrate the entire Khalkha Mongolian tribe.

At the same time, the Qin court also built cities and fortifications in Khalkha Mongolia, settled immigrants on the border, established two major protectorates, and stationed garrisons to supervise the entire Khalkha Mongolia.

By the 1730th year of the Qianyuan reign (), the Qin Dynasty had migrated more than Han people in Khalkha Mongolia, mainly to areas with abundant water and grass, such as Dingbian City, Jingyuan City (now Uliastai City, Outer Mongolia), Suining City (now Ulaanbaatar, Outer Mongolia), and Fubei City (now Xiurt City, Outer Mongolia), where they mainly settled as military settlements, engaged in half farming and half grazing, and struggled to meet local needs.

However, the arrival of Han immigrants did occupy the land and pastures of the original Khalkha Mongolian tribe, which greatly displeased the local tribal princes. If it were not for the fact that the Qin army was at its peak and the Khalkha tribes were scattered and independent, they would have turned the table and started a riot.

Later, Daqin began to use military force against Dzungar year after year. In addition to dispatching the elite Daqin New Army and the troops from Shaanxi and Gansu in turn, it also frequently forcibly conscripted cavalry from the Mongolian desert and the Khalkha Mongolian tribes to accompany it. If they refused to obey, they would be conquered and eliminated in the name of submitting to Dzungar, and their kings and nobles would be imprisoned, their tribes would be plundered, and their territories would be divided, forcing the Khalkha tribes to surrender.

At the same time, based on the principle of nearby supplies, the Qin Dynasty also requisitioned horses, camels, cattle and sheep from the Khalkha tribes on a large scale, making the lives of the Zasak herdsmen increasingly difficult and almost impossible to sustain.

Especially the Kobdo tribes near the Western Regions, not only did they produce the most men, but they also requisitioned more materials, causing the tribal princes and taijis in the area to complain bitterly.

In June of the 1731th year of the Qianyuan reign (), in order to completely stabilize the situation in the northwest and destroy the Dzungar Khanate, the Beiting Military Governor's Office ventured into Lake Balkhash. As a result, it suffered a major defeat, lost more than soldiers and more than horses and camels, and had to retreat to Yili.

In this battle, Taiji Damalin of the Kobdo Ulan tribe and more than 600 cavalrymen under his command served as the rear guard of the entire army and were completely wiped out, which made the tribal leader Chedenzab very angry and he gradually developed rebellious intentions against the Qin Dynasty.

Prior to this, the Ulan tribe had been severely warned several times by the imperial court for secretly trading with the remnants of the Qing invaders entrenched in the north of Kobdo (today's Tannu Uriankhai area) and reselling banned materials such as tea, ironware, and gunpowder. The court also punished them by confiscation of territory and seizure of illegally smuggled goods and funds, which had already made the tribe dissatisfied with the Qin Dynasty.

In May of the 1732th year of Qianyuan (), in order to supplement the cavalry strength of the Beiting Protectorate, the Qin court ordered the Khalkha tribes to provide another cavalry to serve in the army, and the Ulan tribe was allocated another cavalry.

This move immediately triggered a strong reaction from the Ulan Tribe. If they continued to conscript men endlessly like this, the Ulan Tribe, which had less than 6,000 tents, would be squeezed dry of every last drop of blood!

Therefore, Chedenzab, the leader of the Ulan tribe, openly refused the Qin court's call, and using his influence and prestige in Altai Uriankhai and Khanhatun Uriankhai, he began to actively contact the princes and leaders of the Khalkha tribes and connect with each other, hoping that everyone would unite to resist the Qin Dynasty's forced conscription of young men.

He lost no time in sending people to deliver letters to the Khalkha jasaks, instigating an uprising against the Qin Dynasty, claiming that the Qin Dynasty had been at war for years, using the Mongols to control the Mongols, and that when it attacked the Dzungar Khanate, it was purely using the Khalkha Mongolian tribes as cannon fodder, requiring them to provide not only men but also countless cattle and horses, which would be a great burden to the Khalkha.

The Khalkha were descendants of Genghis Khan and had never been punished during the Qing dynasty. Although their lives were relatively hard, they were relatively free and could handle their own tribal affairs at will.

But now, the Qin Dynasty not only built cities and fortifications in Khalkha Mongolia, but also moved a large number of Han people to the grassland to compete with our tribe for grassland and land.

They also interfered in the affairs of the Khalkha jasaks in the name of the two protectorates. If they disobeyed, their territory and tribe would be deprived, making their lives very uncomfortable.

In this case, everyone might as well unite, drive the Han people out of the grassland, restore the former order of self-government among the tribes, and live a carefree and free life again.

Cheden Zhabu's propaganda catered to the dissatisfaction of the Khalkha jasaks headed by the Tushetu Khanate towards the Qin court, and won the sympathy and support of Jebtsundan Banjur and Tushetu Khan Yanpiledorji. In addition, many influential taijis and noyans such as Wangqin Dorji, Beizi Pengchuk, Gongdanbai and Ayala also echoed the response.

Under this situation, in February of this year, when it was snowing heavily in the cold winter and the roads were blocked, Chedenzab withdrew all the Khalkha soldiers from all the post stations leading to Altai and southern desert in the name of the Khalkha tribes alliance, thus cutting off all contact between the entire Khalkha Mongolia and southern desert and the Western Regions.

By mid-April, the ice and snow had not yet completely melted. Cheden Zhabu took advantage of the Khalkha's high enthusiasm for anti-Qin sentiment and attacked the protectorate headquarters of Dingbian City, Jingyuan City, Suining City and other cities. For a time, the anti-Qin war spread throughout the Khalkha.

Under the instigation of many Mongolian princes and leaders such as Chedenzabu, the vast number of herdsmen also responded in large numbers. The Mongolian cavalry launched attacks on Han military settlements and Han merchants in various places, slaughtering Han people at will and robbing their property and livestock.

There were even many spontaneous uprisings by small groups of pastoralists who attacked local government offices and killed local Han officials and merchants. Their purpose was not only to obtain much-needed daily necessities, but also to use this opportunity to get rid of the various debts owed to Han merchants.

The long-term nomadic life and the influence of Tibetan Buddhism made the Khalkha Mongolians lack the motivation to change the environment, the desire to change the status quo and the economic acumen. Therefore, in the process of interacting with the inland Han immigrants, they often suffered great losses.

"The main local product is wine. The Mongolians trade their cattle, horse and hides. After buying from the Han merchants, few pay in cash. Instead, they persuade them to buy other things and exploit them for high profits, which is not in line with the right business practices. However, the profits they make are far beyond what people in the mainland can achieve."

In a nutshell, in the eyes of the Mongols at this time, the Han people became synonymous with "cunning" and "greedy". The general poverty of us Mongols is all due to the arrival of the Han people.

In addition, when Han immigrants were cultivating and planting, they often considered forests and grasslands to be "wasteland", and they considered burning grass (forests) to reclaim wasteland as "natural and natural". As a result, conflicts between the Mongolians and Han people continued, "(Han people) had long been resentful of the Mongolians because of cutting down forests", and "the reclamation of land would hinder the Mongolians' pastures".

Now, when various tribes rose up in rebellion, countless tribal bannermen rushed to join the rebellion and followed the tribal leaders to attack the places where the Han people were stationed.

Although Dingbian City was only a small rammed earth city with a circumference of less than two miles, with more than 500 soldiers stationed in the town, plus the families of officers and soldiers in the city and the residents of the settlements, there were only more than 1,600 people, but with the help of a few small cannons and more than 400 muskets, it managed to hold out for more than 50 days under the siege of more than 3,000 Khalkha Mongolian cavalry without any harm.

When the Khalkha cavalry first arrived, they tentatively attacked the city twice. After suffering dozens of cavalry casualties, the Mongols very rationally chose to surround the city without attacking, intending to trap the defenders in the city to death.

You have to know that at this time, Dingbian City had just survived a difficult winter, and the stored supplies must have been few. The Khalkha Mongolian tribes blocked the connection with the south of the desert and the Western Regions, so external supplies were naturally cut off.

As long as you have enough patience, once the food and fodder of the defenders in the city are exhausted, they will naturally come out and surrender.

At that time, the attacking Khalkha Mongol cavalry would be able to seize all the weapons and a large number of craftsmen in the city.

Well, especially those precious artillery pieces, they must be captured.

It can be imagined that after hearing about the rebellion of the Khalkha tribes, the Qin court would certainly dispatch troops from the Western Regions, south of the desert, and Hebei to suppress the rebellion. If they could obtain enough military equipment and supplies, they would have some confidence in dealing with the Qin army's attack.

Although Dingbian City had implemented a quota distribution of supplies when it was besieged by Khalkha cavalry, the supplies were still decreasing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye due to the huge consumption of more than a thousand soldiers and civilians in the city.

Even with the most stringent food control measures, it can only last for more than a month before it is exhausted and the people are faced with a terrible situation of having no food at all.

At that time, if we continue to defend this city and sacrifice our people, it will not be impossible.

"If Dingbian City has really reached the point of cannibalism, please execute me directly and leave some humanity for me." Xu Jingying, a lieutenant (second lieutenant) of the Qi State Military Observation Group's staff office in Moxi, said weakly as he lay on the bed.

"Why don't you commit suicide?" Captain Duan Zhaoming leaned on another bed, swallowed hard, and felt a great emptiness in his stomach.

Damn it, I actually feel hungry in this life!
"I...can't do it."

"What's so hard to do?" Duan Zhaoming climbed up from the bed with difficulty, walked to the wooden table in the middle of the room, poured himself a bowl of water, and then poured it into his mouth, "Take the short gun, point it at your head, close your eyes, snap your fingers, and everything will be over!"

After drinking the water, my stomach made a rumbling sound and I felt even hungrier.

Just hold on until tomorrow noon, then you can have dinner.

Damn Qin people, they even dared to withhold our food rations!
"Sir, if I die, can you burn me? I'm afraid of being eaten."

"Aren't you afraid of being eaten by me?"

"..." Xu Jingying was silent for a while, then said softly: "If the commander really wants to eat me, burn the remaining bones of mine and bring them back to Hanzhou to give to my parents."

"Get lost!" Duan Zhaoming cursed, looking at the lifeless Xu Jingying, "We are all fine, let's go back to Hanzhou together. I don't want to die, my two children at home are waiting for me to go back! Even if we have to eat people, we have to start with those Mongols, it's not our turn yet!"

"Oh, there are only a few Mongols in the city, no more than two or three hundred, and they will be eaten in a few meals." Xu Jingying said sadly: "Next, it will be our turn. In terms of closeness, we two Qi people are a little further away than those Qin immigrants, right?"

"You are so discouraged!" Duan Zhaoming glared at him. "If the Qin people really dare to eat us, I will fight them to death. Even if I die, I will take someone with me."

"Sir, are you afraid of being eaten? ... If cannibalism really starts, will the Mongols who are the first to be attacked rise up in rebellion and poke a hole in Dingbian City, giving the Khalkha cavalry outside an advantage?"

"The Qin people are not so careless, right?"

"If the city is captured, how will those Khalkha Mongols...treat us?"

"Why, you are not thinking of opening the city gates and letting the Khalkha cavalry in? ... Well, if we take the initiative to let them in and give them a hard time, we might be able to relieve Dingbian City."

"..." Hearing this, Xu Jingying perked up, "Sir, how do we plan to deal with the Khalkha cavalry outside the city?"

"You just said that if the city runs out of food, when it's the Mongols' turn to eat the city, they will rise up in rebellion and destroy Dingbian City?"

"..."Xu Jingying looked at him in confusion.

"Yes!" Duan Zhaoming slapped his thigh fiercely, "We can definitely give the Mongols in the city a chance to open the city gates and let in the Khalkha cavalry that are besieging the city."

"What the sir means is..."

"Yes, that's it!" Duan Zhaoming said, walking out of the house, "Let in a thousand or eight hundred Khalkha cavalry to serve as our food!"

(End of this chapter)