New Shun 1730

In the lower reaches of the Nen River, the emperor camped.

Li Gan was pacing back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back as if he had hemorrhoids, unable to stop at all.

From time to time, he would ask the eunuch to open the tent and look out, hoping to see the knight holding a blue flag reporting victory.

The news coming from the front line these days is not optimistic.

Everyone knows that Liu Yu was young and had never been on the battlefield. Regarding Liu Yu's memorial, many veterans thought it was reasonable after reading it, but they were probably just Zhao Kuo, or maybe they were alarmist to show their knowledge of Western learning.

But now the situation on the front line is really as Liu Yu expected. The forward attack on Muli Jiwei for nine consecutive days has resulted in the loss of troops and generals, and it has not yet been launched.

In particular, the three daily reports from the front line verified Liu Yu's words: in a storming of a bastion, the heaviest casualties would be on the slope closest to the bastion. Attacking requires skill.

Liu Yu originally said this sentence for the ulterior purpose of "change requires thousands of lives." He did not elaborate on it at all. He hid it in a bunch of nonsense and brushed it off.

But now, the words that were mentioned in one stroke were translated into words and became a prophecy.

After nine days of fierce fighting, six hundred soldiers were killed and countless others were injured. If it weren't for the deployment of elites from across the country, and if it weren't for the emperor's personal visit not far from the front line, the war would have reached this point, and the morale of the military would have collapsed, and there would be no way to attack again.

The Rakshasas guarding the fort are cunning.

On the first day of the siege, the Rakshasa artillerymen defending the city fired two sparse shots.

Half of the gunpowder was loaded and the muzzle elevation was adjusted, causing the siege commander on the front line to misjudge the range of the Rakshasa artillery.

A misjudgment of the artillery range resulted in the siege attack being assembled too far forward. During the assembly process, they were attacked by Rakshasa artillery and suffered heavy losses.

The grandson of Yuan Lan, Duke of Jingguo, was hit by a Rakshasa's cannon and his leg was broken on the spot. He bled excessively and died.

In the ensuing artillery battle, Dashun's heavy artillery had not had time to completely destroy Rakshasa's artillery. Under the pressure of the emperor's military order that Rushan must break the city on the 15th, he launched a strong attack.

On the slope in front of the two defensive trenches, they were attacked by crossfire from Rakshasa, and a section of the trench was filled up with corpses.

After all, it was Li Gan's first time to go on an expedition, and the emperor was driving the expedition in person. In the prosperous times, it is best not to go if you are not sure of victory.

Now, the date for the agreed meeting with the leaders of the Khalkha Mongolian tribes was getting closer, and there was still no good news from the front line. Li Gan was really worried.

The additional troops were useless and could not be deployed at all. They could only urge the Jilin defense envoys to continue transferring artillery downstream.

But it happened to coincide with a mountain rain, the Songhua River surged, and it was muddy along the way. Strengthening the artillery on the front line was not smooth.

In the big tent, several powerful veterans of the military sat under military benches, all covered in armor and silent.

The Duke of Jing, Yuan Lan, is sixty-eight years old. He has been stationed at the front line of Jehol all year round to suppress Monan Mongolia. His ancestor is Yuan Zongdi; the Duke of E, Li Jiusi, is the ancestor of Li Dingguo, known as Xiao Yuchi and an enemy of ten thousand people. Zhang Xianzhong regained his old surname after his death. Under the mediation of Liu Tichun He surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and was awarded a title like Yuchi Jingde, and now he is in charge of the training of the Beijing camp; After leaving the town of Liaodong, he was responsible for building the post station.

Jing Guogong Yuan Lan, who had just experienced the pain of a white-haired man sending a black-haired man to others, held an "Old Tang Book" in his hand and deliberately pretended to be calm.

But the article "The Biography of Gao Xianzhi Feng Changqing Ge Shuhan" has not been turned over for more than half an hour, and the position where my fingers are pressing is the tragic "Battle of Stone Castle".

He knew very well that this was the emperor's first expedition. At this time, old nobles like him were the emperor's backbone. If he was as restless as the emperor, the emperor would probably be even more uneasy.

Even if his grandson had just died, he could not show any anxiety and could only use silence to calm the emperor down.

After a long time, Yuan Lan finally put down the "Old Book of Tang", stood up and said: "Your Majesty, please sit down. Thanks to Taizong's foresight, the Wude Palace must test the method of geometric measurement. Our army's artillery skills are not weak and there are too many Rakshasa. Luo Even if we resist the fort and defend it, it will not last long."

"As a ruler, you should consider the whole world, not the gains and losses of one city or one fortress. Moreover, the weather has been fine these past few days, with no rain clouds. Since the men on the front line are determined to die, this fortress must be taken down."

Li Gan looked at the veteran minister who had just experienced the pain of losing his grandson and sighed.

Seeing the dull atmosphere in the tent, he finally said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to be like this. There are only a few thousand Rakshasa people, not the hundreds of thousands who were under the command of Empress Dowager Xiao back then; I am not a Zhenzong who dares to consecrate Zen but dare not go to the front line." , You don’t need to imitate Kou Lai Gong and act calmly to calm my mind.”

"What I'm worried about is not this fort, but what's behind. Even if this fort is captured, what will happen to Rakshasa's other forts? It's not easy to transport heavy artillery, and soldiers need to be quick. We must attack Yu'er before the first snowfall in winter. Otherwise, what will happen if Rakshasa increases his troops and contacts the Junggar tribe? "

Li Jiusi, the Duke of E, who was also dying, stood up and said: "Your Majesty is very worried. However, as Taizong said, everything should be dialectical. Your Majesty's plan for this personal expedition is the Khalkha Mongolia."

"The Khalkha Mongols are worried about the Dzungars. I am a minister to the Celestial Dynasty and the Rakshasa, and I can still be the master of one side. But if I am defeated by the Dzungars, I will surely collect their people and seize the pasture."

"In dialectical terms, if Rakshasa contacts Junggar, then the Khalkha tribe must be loyal to the Celestial Empire, and it is not all bad."

"Liu Shou often said: Rakshasa is suffering from the cold, and many Mongolian tribes are recruited to join the army, and they believe in the Eastern Orthodoxy rather than the red and yellow religion. The Khalkha tribe will not surrender to the Rakshasa unless they have no choice."

"Although he is young, he is very loyal to his ministers and is not a childish person. He is not a boastful person. This makes sense."

This was an experienced statement, and Li Gan knew it in his heart, but he still sighed: "In the Tang Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, all the barbarians surrendered, and no one dared to rebel. After Anshi, the barbarians and Di rebelled one after another. Why are the two so different? The Celestial Dynasty If Jia's soldiers are strong, the Yi and Di will surrender; if Jia's soldiers are weak, the Yi and Di will rebel."

"Now that I want to determine the dangers in northern Xinjiang, how can I rely solely on the threat posed by Rakshasa and Junggar to the Khalkha tribe?"

"This time it is necessary to show off the might of the Chinese army and intimidate others. "Tongjian" says: We are afraid of power but not immoral. This statement is sincere and I will not deceive."

"This time we go north, one is to secure the Rakshasa border; the other is to demonstrate in the Khalkha region. If we only succeed in one of them, we will not achieve the full success. What will happen to the northern border in the future?"

"Even if the Khalkha tribe surrenders because of the threat of the Junggar tribe, Xijing is the place where we are facing the dragon. How can we allow others to sleep soundly? The Junggar tribe must be eliminated. After being eliminated, the Khalkha tribe will no longer have the threat of the Junggar tribe. Isn't it right?" Will you turn to Rakshasa again?"

"That's why this war must be fought so that the Khalkha people will be shocked and convinced, and they will not dare to change their minds for decades. They cannot defeat Junggar, and Junggar cannot defeat Rakshasa. If our army can defeat Rakshasa, the Khalkha people will naturally We know clearly who we should be loyal to, so that we can continue the legacy of Emperor Taizong, divide the feudal system, and share our efforts, just like Monan, to eliminate the northern troubles that have plagued our empire for thousands of years!"

"Now, in the battle of Muriji Acropolis, elites gathered together and heavy artillery was deployed, and the result was like this! What would the Khalkha tribe think if they came? There are only a few hundred Rakshasa people, and they are not even the elite Rakshasa capital camp. …”

Seeing that Li Gan was getting more and more impatient, Yuan Lan stood up and said: "Your Majesty, didn't Liu Shouchang say that? The same is true for Westerners attacking fortresses now. They surround them ten times, and heavy artillery gathers, and it often takes several months to launch. Since he knows Western learning, What he said is definitely true. All the countries in the world are besieging the fortress like this, and your Majesty is eager to attack it. How can there be no losses? "

Li Gan touched his palms and sighed: "That's the problem! You and I heard Liu Shouchang say that we know that this is how Westerners attack bastions. But do the Khalkha people know? Do they know that this is how Westerners attack bastions? Is it difficult? What they saw was that our army gathered together and dumped more than a thousand corpses in front of the fortress where hundreds of Rakshasa soldiers were stationed."

"You and I know the details, so what we see is naturally different; but the Khalkha people don't know the details, which is very different. For example, when the Zheng family attacked Taiwan, our army thought it was nothing more than this. Tens of thousands of people attacked hundreds of people and could only attack During the siege, I thought that the Zheng family was weak. Now that I have actually experienced the attack and defense of the fortress, I know how difficult it was to cross the sea and attack the fortress."

"Therefore it is said in morality: When a superior man hears the Dao, he practices it diligently; when a sergeant hears the Dao, he lives or perishes; when a lowly man hears the Dao, he laughs. Not laughing is not enough for the Dao. In the Khalkha tribe, only the lowly men know how to see and know how to do it. Laughing with disdain will surely lay the foundation for rebellion in the future. In the past, we thought that Zheng's attack on the fort was weak, so how could we expect the Khalkha people to understand how difficult it was to attack?"

In the final analysis, this battle was an exhibition war between two North Asian powers in front of a small force. Since it is an exhibition battle, we must fight as beautifully and as beautifully as possible.

This is not a question of "if you are good, you will be better". The Khalkha people know very well that they are not good, but they need to know who is really good, Dashun or Russia.

Conquering cities and territories is not an end, but a means. The real purpose is to show military might to the Khalkha Mongols. This is completely different from the purpose of previous wars.

The DPRK and China have long since decided on the general strategy for the settlement of Northern Xinjiang.

It is necessary to make the Khalkha Mongols completely surrender, and then build a post line along the Mobei Mongolian grassland. In the future, elite troops will be sent to take this northern line of grassland to attack the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains.

The southern route follows the old roads of the Han and Tang Dynasties and takes the Hexi Corridor, forming a situation of being flanked by both sides, so that the disaster can be completely eliminated.

The purpose of building the post station on the northern line was nominally to deal with the Khalkha Mongolian enemy Junggar, but in fact it was to prepare for the future construction of the post station and military depot to control Mobei.

The people of Khalkha are not stupid either. They have been delaying the repair of the post and military depot because they know very well that once the construction of the post and military depot is completed, the fate of the tribes in Mobei will be the same as that of the people in Monan.

Anyway, they understood that Dashun would not allow the Junggar tribe to annex them. Using this as a pretext, Dashun had no choice.

As soon as Junggar sends troops, Dashun will help. The Khalkha tribe is not in danger of being completely annexed for the time being, so it does not agree with the repair of the post and military depot at all, and does not contribute to it.

It's impossible for Dashun to really be "full of military virtues", and he can only be so disgusted if he breaks up with the Zungar, Rakshasa, and Khalkha tribes and starts a war at the same time without talking about any strategy.

Unless this show battle completely scares the Khalkha tribe and makes them understand who is the real suzerain of Mobei Mongolia. Using an exhibition battle against Rakshasa to make Khalkha understand how much he weighs, he will be convinced and loyal, devote his efforts to repair inns and military depots, and completely give up the illusion of independence.

But now it seems that this exhibition battle did not go as smoothly as Li Gan imagined.

When the atmosphere in the tent became increasingly anxious, the shout that Li Gan had been waiting for finally came from outside.

"Good news! Good news!"

Li Gan, who could no longer calm down, couldn't wait for the eunuch to open the big tent, so he stretched out his hand to open the big tent. From a distance, he saw a rider holding a blue flag symbolizing victory. He jumped off the horse before the horse stopped. Jump down and shout.

"The third son of Duke Yi, Liu Yu, the honorary guard in front of the palace, destroyed the Rakshasa castle, attacked the Rakshasa reinforcements, beheaded 400 people and captured more than 300 people, and restored the Muluhan Mountain acropolis. The Rakshasa king's son was captured !”