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Seeing that Zhao Junchen suddenly changed his face after hearing Niu Fude's soft report, and then hurriedly returned to the Governor's Mansion with a solemn expression, Wu Qifan, Zhou Bo, Zheng Jiadong and others on the side knew that something big must have happened, and hurriedly followed behind Zhao Junchen.

After everyone returned to the lobby of the Governor's Palace, Zhao Junchen had just sat down, and Wu Qifan couldn't wait to ask, "My lord, what happened?" But the border defense has changed? ”

Zhao Junchen nodded lightly and said, "Don't be impatient, it's true that there is movement on the Mongolian side, but I don't know the specific things either...... Niu Fude, you can tell me more about the situation. ”

After hearing Zhao Junchen's order, Niu Fude got up and said to everyone, "Lord Qincha, my lords, since yesterday afternoon, the Governor's Mansion began to receive information from all over the country, saying that the Mongols invaded various places and the small groups of cavalry left the Ming Territory one after another and returned in the direction of the grassland, the staff of the Governor's Mansion did not pay attention to these information, after all, most of the cavalry invaded by the Mongols in various places were only about 100 people, and the scale was very small, although it disturbed the local people and plundered some money and food, but it did not affect the overall situation...... ”

The officials in the lobby nodded their heads, and they had heard the same news.

Niu Fude said again: "However, just now, the Governor's Office received news again, and the main force of the Dzungar Khanate stationed in the Etok Banner, as well as the division of troops stationed in the Dzungar Banner in Hangjingqi, Yijin Horo Banner, and Qingshuihe, also moved westward, and it seemed that they were planning to go in the direction of the Alxa Left Banner......"

Hearing this, everyone present frowned.

Prior to this, the main force of the Dzungar Khanate was actually very particular about the arrangement in the Otok region, where it could threaten Shaanxi to the east, Ningxia to the south, and Gansu to the west, which contained the vast majority of the troops of the four major military towns of Ningxia, Guyuan, Gansu and Yulin, and directly threatened the hinterland of Shaanxi and Gansu, and also echoed with the Mongolian right-wing coalition army in the Hetao area.

However, if the main force of the Dzungar Khanate were to move westward, most of the layout advantage would undoubtedly be lost.

If they were stationed in the Alxa Left Banner, they could only threaten Ningxia and Gansu, and these areas were remote even in Shaanxi and Gansu, which was also conducive to the concentration of troops and defense of the Shaanxi-Gansu border army, and also shortened the distance from the Mongolian right-wing coalition forces in the Hetao area, and lost the role of echoing each other from afar, so that the pressure on Shaanxi and Gansu was undoubtedly reduced a lot.

Thinking of this, everyone in the lobby was puzzled, but they were also secretly relieved.

Whatever the reason for the Mongols' actions, it is always a good thing that the pressure on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu has decreased.

However, Niu Fude's next sentence made their mood tense again.

I saw Niu Fude said slowly with a solemn face: "At the beginning, after receiving the news, the staff also had doubts about the movement of the Mongols' troops, but after detailed discussions, and then in connection with the fact that the small groups of cavalry that the Mongols entered and plundered returned one after another, we believe that these actions of the Mongols are not just ordinary deployment and transfer, but they want to gather all their forces in one place, and take the Alxa Left Banner as the starting point to invade Shaanxi and Gansu!" ”

As Niu Fude's words fell, everyone's faces changed greatly.

It has been more than a month and a half since the Mongol army pressed the border, and although it was a small move, and a small group of cavalry was repeatedly sent into the country to invade and plunder, but the big action has never appeared.

If Niu Fude and other staff members' inferences are not wrong, then a big war will soon break out in Shaanxi and Gansu!

Everyone knows that this day will always appear, but after it does appear, they still can't help but panic!

According to the information collected by the Governor's Palace, the total strength of the Dzungar Khanate and its vassal servant army was more than 50,000, and all of them were cavalrymen who came and went like the wind and were skilled in bows and horses.

However, Wu Qifan, the prefect of Xi'an, was proficient in strategy, and after the initial panic, he quickly thought of something strange and questioned: "Mr. Niu, are you sure that this inference is not wrong?" Why did the Mongols attack from the Alxa Left Banner area? It is bordered by Ningxia in the east and Gansu in the west, and the nearby state capitals are all located in remote areas, the economy is not prosperous, and the terrain is not conducive to the cavalry of the Mongols. ”

On the other side, after Zhou Bo pondered for a while, he also agreed with Wu Qifan's doubts and said, "Yes, this approach of the Mongols is completely unreasonable...... Could it be that all this is just a trick of the Mongols to trick us into sending troops to Gansu and Ningxia to garrison, but when the time comes, they will return their horses and attack from other directions while our troops are empty? ”

Niu Fude shook his head and said: "The only reasonable explanation for the Mongols' large-scale mobilization of troops this time is that they want to gather troops, which is obviously a clear precursor to their invasion!" All kinds of signs show that the main force of Dzungaria is indeed moving towards the Alxa Left Banner area, and it does not seem to be a fraud, if all this is just a suspicious tactic of the Mongols, it will inevitably outweigh the gains and losses for the Mongols, after all, the area they threaten is not valued by Shaanxi and Gansu, and once the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu do not react, they will only waste their strength in vain...... However, it is not clear why the Mongols did this. ”

Hearing Niu Fude's explanation, everyone was silent.

At this time, Zhao Junchen slowly spoke: "As for the reason why the Mongols transferred troops to the Alxa Left Banner, I guessed something!" ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's statement, everyone present was stunned.

During this period of time, when Zhao Junchen presided over the military administration of Shaanxi and Gansu, although he showed extraordinary means and scheming, he mainly focused on power strategy, organization, logistics, etc., and his performance in military strategy and military art has always been lackluster, and Zhao Junchen has never concealed his shortcomings in military affairs.

Therefore, no one expected that just when they were puzzled by the movements of the Mongols, Zhao Junchen was the first to guess the true intentions of the Mongols!

Wu Qifan hurriedly said: "I'm stupid, and I ask Lord Qincha to teach us!" ”

Zhao Junchen first pondered for a moment, and then said, "There are some things that should be known to you now!" In fact, after coming to Huamachi Camp, I have been secretly planning for this year's fire screening, wanting to lay a trap for the Mongols, originally just a try, and did not expect the Mongols to really fall for the scheme, but now it seems that my calculation this time is obviously successful...... In fact, the main force of the Dzungar Khanate moved towards the Alxa Left Banner because they wanted to attack Longnan in Gansu, and all this was to plunder enough grain and grass from here to survive the winter! ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, everyone was stunned again.

Wu Qifan felt more and more incomprehensible, and said, "Longnan? Looting grain and grass? But Longnan didn't have enough grain and grass to support the Mongols for the winter! ”

Zhao Junchen nodded and said, "It's true, but it doesn't prevent the Mongols from thinking so!" ”

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And at the same time that Zhao Junchen explained his arrangement to everyone in detail, the Etuoke Front Banner on the grassland, and the big men of Dzungaria also gathered in the tent to discuss their next marching plan!

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