The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 336: The Junggars' Turn

October 1733, 10, Beiting, Luntai City (now Urumqi City).

"General, the Junggars have sent envoys again, advocating a ceasefire and seeking peace. I wonder how sincere they are?" Prince Ding Sun Youqian finished reading the document in his hand, gently placed it on the table in front of him, and looked at Yue Zhongqi with a puzzled look.

"Your Highness Prince Ding, no matter how sincere the Junggars are, let's not discuss it for now." Yue Zhongqi, the Great General of Jingxi, the Governor of Northwest Military Affairs, and the Grand Governor of Beiting Governor's Office, twisted his short beard with his hand, pondered for a moment, and said slowly: "In order to quell the Khalkha Mongolian rebellion, our Beiting Protectorate has sent more than 7,000 elite troops to Kobdo. As a result, we have almost no extra mobile troops to the west of Junggar. In this situation, our Beiting Protectorate should calm down and respond to all changes with the same attitude. If the Junggars really stop fighting and beg for peace, wouldn't it be exactly what we want, and we can relax the local garrison troops a little, and take this opportunity to restore the local people's livelihood and economy. If the Junggars deceive our Beiting and launch a surprise attack, then we should use the strong city fortresses and fortresses as a support to give him a head-on blow and continue to consume the Junggars' military strength and supplies."

"With the general here, we don't have to worry about the defense of the northwest border of our Great Qin!" Upon hearing this, Prince Ding Sun Youqian smiled and complimented.

"Your Highness, thank you for your praise. I am unworthy of it!" Yue Zhongqi was very pleased to hear Sun Youqian's praise.

If it weren't for me, Yue, how could the war in the Western Region have been in such a good situation?
In the 1730th year of Qianyuan (), perhaps because the court felt that Yue Zhongqi had been stationed in the Western Regions for a long time and had countless local confidants and supporters, and was in danger of being difficult to control, the court changed his position to General Jingping and Governor-General of Sichuan and Tibet, and transferred him to Chengdu, Sichuan, to preside over military and political affairs in the southwest.

However, he never expected that his successor, Duke Zhenping Liu Changqiu (the great-grandson of Liu Wenxiu), underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, trying to achieve success in one battle. He gathered more than 15,000 main forces of the Qin army in the Western Regions, made a long raid on Lake Balkhash, and directly attacked the Dzungar royal court Aktogay (now the city of Balkhash in Kazakhstan).

However, the Dzungar Khan Galdan Tseren led 8,000 cavalrymen to fight and retreat with the Qin army, luring the enemy deep into the territory and leading the Qin army to the northern shore of Lake Balkhash. His general Tsering Dundub (also known as the Great Tsering Dundok) led more than 4,000 elite cavalrymen to frequently attack the Qin army's rear, making it difficult for the Qin army to take care of both ends, and its logistics supply convoys were repeatedly looted.

Liu Changqiu was furious, so he suddenly turned the main force around and prepared to cooperate with the rear troops to encircle Celingdundub's 4,000 troops.

The Dzungars pretended to be defeated with a small number of weak soldiers to lure the Qin army, while Galdan Tseren led the main force of more than 8,000 people and ambushed on the mountains.

The Qin army pursued the enemy for several days, captured and killed more than 600 Dzungar cavalrymen, and entered the Moint Ridge, where they were suddenly ambushed by troops from all directions. They took up position and attacked the Qin army's main formation with dozens of small cannons.

Liu Changqiu, wearing full armor and holding a long sword, supervised the battle in the battlefield and killed more than a thousand Junggar soldiers. However, the Junggar army defended the high ground, and the Qin army attacked from above and failed for a long time, resulting in heavy casualties among officers and soldiers.

After the two armies had been in a stalemate for half a day, Liu Changqiu realized that the entire army was in danger and that the more than 4,000 cavalrymen of the Dazelingdundok tribe who were roaming outside could attack from behind at any time, so he decided to retreat towards Lake Balkhash.

However, what no one expected was that after more than 10,000 officers and soldiers of the front and central armies evacuated the battlefield one after another, the covering troops, mainly composed of Khalkha Mongolian cavalry and Hui cavalry, began to flee in succession, causing chaos in the entire rear guard.

Just at this time, Daze Lingdundok arrived with more than 3,000 elite Junggar cavalry and more than 6,000 Kazakh affiliated troops, and launched a fierce attack on the Qin army's rear guard from the flank, which immediately caused the Qin army to collapse and flee on horseback.

When the Qin army retreated to Korizal on the shore of Lake Balkhash, Liu Changqiu spat out a mouthful of blood when he checked the losses of the troops. They lost more than 6,000 officers and soldiers (later more than 1,400 lost troops gradually returned to the army), nearly 10,000 horses and camels, more than 40 light and heavy artillery pieces, and countless guns and weapons.

After the troops suffered a major defeat, they had no will to fight and the soldiers had no morale. Under the persuasion of the generals, Liu Changqiu led the defeated troops back to Yili and then submitted a letter of apology.

After receiving the news of defeat, Emperor Qianyuan was furious. He immediately ordered the Jing'an Division to lock up Liu Changqiu and bring him back to Nanjing for trial. He stripped him of his title on the grounds of losing the army and the land, and then ordered him to commit suicide in prison.

After winning this great victory, the Dzungar Khanate took advantage of the situation to attack, sweeping the Issyk-Kul steppe, successively destroying dozens of Qin immigrant settlements and fortresses, and besieging Jingxi City (now Almaty, Kazakhstan), with the intention of counterattacking Yili.

For a time, the situation in the northwest was deteriorating and the Dzungar Khanate was showing signs of making a comeback.

Therefore, Emperor Qianyuan had to re-employ Yue Zhongqi, granting him the power to control the military and political affairs of Gansu, Qinghai and the Western Regions, and to preside over the war in the northwest again.

After Yue Zhongqi returned to Beiting, he did not disappoint the court's high hopes. He first led his troops to repel the counterattack of the Dzungar Khanate on Yili, and then staged another classic battle of a thousand-mile raid in winter. With 3,000 light soldiers, he defeated the Dzungar army under the city of Jingxi and drove Galdan Tseren back to the Kazakh steppe, stabilizing the situation in the northwest in one fell swoop.

In order to consolidate the Qin Dynasty's rule in the northwest, prevent the Dzungars from rising again, and also to provide effective material supplies for the northwest army and reduce the burden of supporting the inland, Yue Zhongqi wrote to the court, requesting an increase in immigration to the Western Regions and the establishment of military settlements.

During the years when he was in charge of the northwest, the Beiting Protectorate built more than ten cities in the Ili River Valley, the Alatau Valley (now Bortala Prefecture, Xinjiang), and the Tacheng Basin, established more than a hundred military garrisons, and the number of Han immigrants exceeded 60,000, which changed the ethnic structure of the above-mentioned areas to a certain extent.

In addition, Yue Zhongqi divided thousands of elite cavalrymen under his command into several small teams. At the turn of spring and summer, they frequently went deep into the territory of Junggar, looting and slaughtering livestock, burning pastures, and killing isolated tribes, so that Junggar never had a chance to recuperate.

The strategic intention of the Qin army was very clear, which was to consume the strength of the Junggar people to the maximum extent before the decisive battle between the main forces of the two sides. With the strong national strength of the Qin Dynasty, they would first drag down and kill the Junggar people, and finally deal them a devastating blow with thunderous force.

Perhaps feeling the tremendous pressure from the Qin army, the Dzungar Khan Galdan Tseren sent envoys again in mid-July to beg for peace, expressing his willingness to pay tribute to the Qin and become a vassal state.

If it were this time last year, Yue Zhongqi would have disdained the Junggar's trick of begging for peace and truce when they couldn't defeat them. He would have directly kicked out the envoy and told Galdan Tsereng to clean his neck and wait for the Qin soldiers to chop him down.

However, in June, warnings came from Kobdo that the Khalkha tribes had rebelled.

The two major protectorates of Moxi and Mobei, the garrison locations of Dingbian City, Jingyuan City, Suining and other places, and countless Han immigrants' farming fortresses were all besieged by the Khalkha cavalry, suffering extremely heavy losses.

Yue Zhongqi immediately announced that the entire Beiting Protectorate was on full alert, and sent messengers to Lanzhou and Xi'an in succession to request reinforcements to prepare for the military threats from the Khalkha and Kazakh directions. Yes, he immediately suspected that the Khalkha Mongolian tribes' rebellion was instigated and planned by the Junggars. Then, the enemy would most likely attack the Beiting Protectorate from the northeast and northwest wings, thus opening up the land route between them.

However, in early August, more news from Khalkha indicated that the Khalkha tribes had risen up in rebellion, and the Dzungars did not seem to be involved. It was simply that these useless Mongols wanted to restore their former free days and did not want the Qin Dynasty to control them too harshly.

While Yue Zhongqi breathed a sigh of relief, he did not relax his vigilance against the Dzungars. For the first time, he mobilized thousands of elite cavalry to advance to the edge of the Dzungar-controlled area in early autumn of September, and galloped back and forth. This frightened the other side into thinking that the Qin army would not agree to peace and would launch a new round of attacks on Dzungar. As a result, they began to relocate tribes and cattle and sheep on a large scale, recruited and assembled tribal cavalry, and actively prepared for battle.

However, in October, the weather began to turn cold, and the Qin army suddenly stopped its operations and withdrew all its troops back to the border forts, apparently preparing for the winter.

Just when the Dzungars were puzzled by this, relying on the cover of the above-mentioned actions, Yue Zhongqi successfully and secretly transferred the 7,000 mobile forces that he had assembled to Chenghua City on the left wing of Uriankhai (now Altai City, Xinjiang). Then, after receiving the order to send troops from the court, they crossed the Altai Valley and entered the Kobdo grassland to cooperate with the central and right armies to quell the rebellion, preparing to strangle the Khalkha tribes.

As the first snow fell in the Ili River Valley, the Qin army believed that with the harsh winter weather and a series of strong fortresses in the border areas, it would be extremely difficult for the Dzungars to attack the Beiting area even if they received news of a riot in the Khalkha Mongols.

As long as they survive the winter, at the turn of spring and summer, the Qin Dynasty will be able to use military and political means to undermine the resistance of the Khalkha Mongolian tribes.
-
November 11, Dzungar royal court, Aktogay.

"Dundub, shouldn't we stop the war and make peace with the Qin people?" The Dzungar Khan Galdan Tseren picked up the wine bowl, took a big gulp, then tore a piece of mutton from the plate, stuffed it into his mouth and started chewing.

"Great Khan..." Celingdundub (Great Celingdundok) said, with a look of hesitation on his face, "It's already winter, it's not suitable to start a war! Besides, we just sent envoys to Qin to discuss the issue of stopping the war. If we start an attack, I'm afraid... I'm afraid we will lose our credibility."

"So what if winter is here?" Galdan Tseren swallowed the mutton in his mouth in two or three mouthfuls, with a gloomy look on his face. "Back then, the Qin people launched a surprise attack on us in the winter with heavy snow, and captured the entire Yili in one battle, forcing us to retreat to the shore of this big lake. Two years ago, the Qin army also launched a surprise attack on a snowy night in winter, not only lifting the siege of Jingxi City, but also defeating our army outside the city. ... Ha, as for trust and loyalty, what can we do with it? ... I was thinking that if we didn't take advantage of the great opportunity of the Khalkha tribes to rebel and send troops to counterattack Yili, it would definitely be the biggest strategic mistake. According to the information we have inquired from various sources, the Qin army has already dispatched thousands of elite cavalry to Khalkha. Now is the time when the Qin army is the weakest. If they quell the rebellion of the Khalkha tribes, we will have no chance."

"Great Khan, using troops in winter has always been a taboo on the grasslands. We must not follow the example of the Qin army." Tsering Dundub patiently advised: "The Qin court has a large population and strong military force. Even if it loses thousands or tens of thousands of people, it is not a serious injury to itself, and it can be quickly replenished. However, after losing the base of Ili, the Dzungar Khanate has not only suffered heavy losses in troops, but also lost 30% to 40% of the tribal population. It has not yet fully recovered. If we rashly launch an expedition to the east in this cold winter, even if we achieve some victory, the losses will be huge. You know, the Qin army has built fortresses and castles in Issyk-Kul, Ili, Alatau, Tacheng and other places. I am afraid that the loss of troops along the way will be unbearable."

"Why, Dundub, are you scared by the Qin army?" Galdan Tsereng was very annoyed when he heard this. "Are we just going to watch the Qin court pacify the Khalkha tribes and then continue to lead those spineless people to attack us? I don't believe that the Qin army's border forts are like turtle shells that can't be gnawed down? ... Moergen Daiqing (i.e. Little Tsering Dundub), don't just drink, tell me what you think."

The elder Tsering Dundub was good at making plans, while the younger Tsering Dundub was known for his bravery, and both were relied upon by Galdan Tsering.

Now, the "wise ones" are full of concerns and are unwilling to start an uprising, so the "brave ones" should support their decision.

"Great Khan, you can't hit me."

Unexpectedly, Little Tsering Dundub shook his head and said in a sullen voice: "Even if we lead a large army to attack the Qin army's controlled area, destroy a few of their castles, and kill thousands of their soldiers, we will end up losing more than we gain, and lose a large number of cavalry and horses. For us at present, every bit of strength we lose will not be able to be adequately replenished. ... Our Junggar Khanate has too small a population, and we simply cannot afford such consumption."

"Hmm? ...What do you mean by that?"

"Great Khan, now we have to admit one thing, that is, it is impossible for us, the Dzungars, to realize the grand dream of the Mongol Empire created by Genghis Khan. Before the decline of the Qin State, we could not have recovered the entire Western Regions, nor could we have integrated the entire Mongol forces, including the Khalkha Mongolian tribes. ... We may have encountered a period (era) that does not belong to us Mongols."

"..." Galdan Tsereng stood up suddenly after hearing this and stared at little Tsering Dundub fiercely, "Are we, the Junggars, just going to sit and wait for our demise, or crawl under the feet of the Qin like the Khalkha tribes and serve as their hunting dogs!"

"No, Great Khan." Da Tsering Dundub also stood up and said to Galdan Tseren in a deep voice: "In addition to the two paths you mentioned, there is a third path, which is to imitate the Torghut tribe, establish an independent territory, become a powerful grassland khanate that can influence regional forces, and connect with each other, form an alliance with each other, and jointly deal with Qin and Russia."

"..."

"Great Khan, we cannot defeat Qin by attrition. If we continue to move eastward and insist on fighting with Qin, we will not be able to sustain for long and may be taken advantage of by other forces." Da Ce Ling Dun Duo Bu continued, "Therefore, we must end the war with Qin to preserve our strength."

"Will the Qin Kingdom believe us?" Galdan Tseren asked unwillingly.

"Great Khan, the Central Plains dynasty has always been conciliatory towards foreign grassland forces. As long as we are sufficiently submissive, they will definitely believe us." Seeing that Galdan Tseren's attitude had softened somewhat, Daze Lingdun Dob hurriedly struck while the iron was hot, "When the time comes, we will pay tribute and become a vassal, and Qin will accept it. In this way, our Junggar will be free from the threat from the east, and can focus on the west, completely conquer the entire Kazakhstan, and gain contact with the Torghut tribe. In this way, we will ally with the Torghut in the west and make friends with the Qing Dynasty in the east. With the Qin court's material trade communication, even if our Junggar Khanate cannot reproduce the power of the Mongolian Empire, it can also restore some of the former glory of the Golden Horde and dominate the entire western desert grassland."

"..." After hearing this, Galdan Tseren nodded slightly.

"However, if the Khan must use military force in winter, in addition to the Qin State, I think there is another target that is very worthy of attack." Da Ce Ling Dundub suddenly changed the subject and said with a smile.

"Oh, which target?"

"Rakshasi!" Daze Lingdundub said with burning eyes, "It is said that the Bohai Kingdom in the north of the Ling Mountains is launching a massive attack on the Rakshasi, with its troops heading straight for the Yenisei River. I believe that at this moment, the Rakshasi's defensive forces in the Ob River basin must be very weak."

(End of this chapter)