Chapter 146: General Strategy for the Attack on the Western Regions

Zhu Qizhen said with a smile: "After this battle, the situation in Annan will be settled, and the withdrawal of Annan can be arranged at the end of this year." It's also a great thing for the Western Regions strategy, since the happy event has been said, let's get down to business. ”

Annam is now stranded with nearly half a million troops.

Of these, 200,000 are in Jingying.

Although these 200,000 Beijing camps are newly organized people. But after the tempering of the Battle of Annam, they all crawled out of the pile of dead people.

Combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

With the arrival of the Annan army, these 200,000 people can be withdrawn, and the troops of Guangxi and Yunnan can also be withdrawn.

There are more than 100,000 security troops left in Annam, and that's about it.

After all, this is not the situation after Zhang Fu destroyed Annan.

Zhang Fu destroyed Annan, although the battle was extremely sharp, but the Annan army did not die much, and they all surrendered on a large scale, which was also the basic force of Annan's resistance later.

But now, how many people have died in Annan because of the war? is a number of people that cannot be counted.

At least in Annam, men have become rare creatures.

Under such circumstances, the people of Annan are also powerless if they want to resist, and the climax of the real resistance is when the children of Annan grow up.

Under the hatred of the country and the family, it is estimated that there will be a wave of rebellion.

It's just that when the time comes, it will depend on Han Yong's governance ability.

The troops drawn from Annam may not be able to directly march westward, but they can be supplemented into the Beijing camp, and then part of the Beijing camp can be drawn out to join the western expeditionary army, and there are still manpower and material resources saved.

It is great good news for the Western Expedition.

"Your Majesty," Shi Heng said: "I estimate that I can't wait for the withdrawal of troops from Annan, and the Western Regions will be pacified. ”

"In the opinion of the minister, if the minister is 100,000 cavalry, the minister will take the Western Regions for His Majesty."

Shi Heng is an expert-level general in cavalry, and his assertion in this regard also has a reason.

Preferred, he judged that the total strength of the Tile Thorn cavalry was not 200,000, which was the number after adding the main force of the Tile Thorn plus all the attached soldiers and horses.

If you go to the Heshuo Special Department, it should be less than 200,000.

Even if you count it too much, the total number of departments of the tile spurs exceeds 200,000, and Shi Heng also judges that the number of troops invested by the tile spurs in a strategic aspect will never exceed 200,000.

As for the battle of Maoerzhuang back then, the ability of hundreds of thousands of horsemen to spur is absolutely impossible.

Therefore, in a frontal decisive battle, the equipment advantage, training advantage, balance of power and even superiority of the Ming cavalry, logistics superiority, 100,000 to beat him 200,000, Shi Heng is very sure.

Therefore, as long as there are 100,000 Ming army iron cavalry, Shi Heng will dare to pack a ticket to take down the Western Regions.

Shi Heng continued: "The minister thought that this westward expedition would not go to Gansu, but to the north court, taking Longcheng as the starting point, all the way west into the area north of the Tianshan Mountains, sweeping the north of the Tianshan Mountains, and attacking the area south of the Tianshan Mountains. Since then, he has controlled the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. ”

Zhu Qizhen frowned and said, "Is this path feasible?" ”

Shi Heng said: "The tile thorn fled to the Western Regions along this road, Kou can go, and I can also go." ”

Zhu Qizhen was in a trance for a while, he vaguely remembered what Zhang Fu said at the beginning, he must not fight a decisive battle with the tile spur outside the Saiwai, but in the blink of an eye for more than 20 years, Shi Heng was in front of him, talking eloquently, crossing Mobei and attacking the area north of the Tianshan Mountains.

Zhu Qizhen himself didn't know that when the Qing court attacked Zhunger, a descendant of Washuang, it was this marching route.

It can be seen that under the same situation, the judgment of many generals is still the same. The reason why the Qing court fought like this was because the Qing court united with the Mongols and had a large number of horses.

Now that the Ming Dynasty occupies the south and north of the desert, the various departments of the grassland may have resentment in their hearts, but they dare not have the slightest intention of resisting the Ming Dynasty on the outside.

The official horses of the Ming Dynasty have exceeded one million. Enough for a cavalry expedition across thousands of miles.

Shi Heng saw that Zhu Qizhen was silent, thinking that he was hesitating, he continued: "Your Majesty, the reason why the minister did not go to Gansu is because Shaanxi wants to support the direction of Xining and pacify Tibet, which also consumes a lot of grain and grass, and the minister is worried that Gansu will not have enough food. ”

"In addition, if you enter the Western Regions from Gansu, you will take Hami."

"Now King Hami may not be a pure minister of the Ming Dynasty."

These two factors are also under consideration by Zhu Qizhen.

First of all, the food problem in the Northwest. This has always been the first thing to consider, but the situation is not as serious as Shi Heng said. After all, Zhu Qizhen has been preparing for this battle for a long time, and with Yu Qian's management, there are grain reserves for the last battle.

It's just another issue, but Zhu Qizhen has to think about it.

That's Hami.

Hami Star Gorge is the only way to enter the Western Regions from the east, although the king of Hami is now a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, but his relationship with the tile spur is indeed unclear.

Although there have been many grievances and hatreds between Hami and Watts. However, after the death of Yexian, Azi Timur changed his policy and no longer demanded strict control over the ministries.

Loosen control over Hami, withdraw all the Watts, and install the current King of Hami, who is close to the Watts, to power.

In a small country like Hami, he does not have the ability to choose a position.

Only who is strong depends on whom, Da Ming is strong and far away, although the tile spur is not too strong, but it is close, Hami's foreign policy is obvious.

It's not that Da Ming Chunchen is too appropriate.

This point is also tacitly acquiesced by Zhu Qizhen.

not

He, although Zhu Qizhen strongly refused to surrender to the tile spur politically, because once the tile spur surrendered, it would not be easy to fight again.

But Zhu Qizhen also found that both sides still have trade needs, after all, there are many merchants in the Western Regions, and the northwest is already very dilapidated, if even this trade route is broken.

Not a good thing for the economy of the Northwest.

As a result, Zhu Qizhen acquiesced to Hami's status, and the trade transit on the Silk Road was carried out through Hami.

On this matter, Hami can be unclear, but when it comes to war, he does not allow it. If you pass through Hami, it is likely to lose its suddenness, and if you capture Hami, you must pay attention to the impact, after all, Hami is still its own subject country, and it is not good to attack a subject country for no reason.

It sounds like Shi Heng's approach is good.

"Your Majesty," Yang Hong spoke, and said, "The Great Country of the Tile Thorn, with a place of thousands of miles and a population of millions, how can there be only 200,000 people among the Iron Horsemen?" ”

"The minister thinks that General Shi is suspected of underestimating the enemy."

"Moreover, attacking such a big country, how can you only go all the way."

"The minister thought that he should send an army from Dongshengwei to the north of Ningxia, and then all the way to Yijinai, and then west to Hami. If the tiles feel that the army is in the east, they will enter the Tianshan Mountains in the north, and if they feel that the army is in the north, they will enter the western regions in the east. ”

It is impossible for Yang Hong to completely agree with Shi Heng's method, the reason is simple.

Shi Heng's proposal was naturally to use his old department in Dragon City, so that all the credit for attacking the Western Regions would fall on Shi Heng's generals, how could this be?

If Yang Hong doesn't fight for a chance for his team, who will mess with him in the future.

Of course, even so, Yang Hong's opinion seems to be a little more reliable than Shi Heng's opinion, unlike Shi Heng's opinion, which is almost desperate.

Zhu Qizhen groaned in his heart. found that there is actually a consensus between the two.

First, use more cavalry. Because this road is a steppe march. If it is not for the inland prefectures and counties, if it is not for the cavalry, the consumption is so great that it is impossible to support it.

This shows that Yang Hong and Shi Heng have a consensus on the judgment that the Ming cavalry can fight the tile spur cavalry thousands of miles away.

Secondly, both sides can't want to pass through Gansu, and they don't know that they want to take a shortcut. I am still worried about the shortage of food in Gansu.

As for why it is a short route, it is a very simple truth, don't look at the distance on the map so long, in fact, because the earth is round, the higher the dimension, across the same area, is shorter than the lower dimension distance.

And most of the maps that we look at are projectional, and Siberia and many high-latitude regions will become very big and big. In fact, it does not correspond to reality.

Luo Tong suddenly spoke and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you do it at the same time? ”

Shi Heng said: "It's okay to have two strategies in parallel, but how many soldiers and horses has been prepared by the imperial court?" ”