The previous battle of Bukhara impressed Nurali Khan too much, and if you borrowed a few of his courage, the Kazakh cavalry would not dare to charge the Huaxia army again.

In the face of the large-scale invasion of the Chinese army, the Kazakhs had no choice but to retreat to the capital Turkestan.

Although the 12-pounder field guns of the Huaxia caused a lot of casualties to the defenders of the city, they could not collapse the city walls in a short time.

Wu Sangui had no choice but to besiege the city while waiting for the arrival of the heavy 24-pounder gun.

On another battlefield, 50,000 Kazakh cavalry were facing off against 80,000 Khalkha Mongol cavalry.

Tushetu Khan's youngest daughter, Ulanzhu, is now the side concubine of the crown prince of China, and with this special status, Tushetu Khan has the highest status in the three Khalkha tribes.

He himself was also regarded by the Chechen Khan and Zasaktu Khan as the leaders of the Khalkha tripartite alliance.

Although Tushetu Khan was a relative of the Chinese royal family, the other two did not have this level of in-law relationship.

After all, the Khalkha are only here to fight for China, and they will indeed contribute, but it is a little difficult to come up with the main force to fight the Kazakhs.

After all, the Kazakhs did not have an advantage in their forces, and they did not dare to take the initiative to attack the Mongols.

For a time, the entire Kazakh battlefield was at a stalemate.

However, the war in Kazakhstan still attracted the attention of many people.

In addition to the forces of Huaxia, Kazakhstan and Tsarist Russia, the Dzungar Ministry that was forced to move west by Li Xianzhong was also waiting for the opportunity.

Originally, Li Xianzhong forced the Dzungar Mongols to move westward in order to let them enter the Volga River valley to contain the forces of Tsarist Russia.

But after the Dzungars fought with the Cossacks, they felt that Tsarist Russia was not easy to mess with.

So they did not enter the Volga valley, but moved to the territory of the former Siberian Khanate, where conditions were relatively harsh.

Although it was also harassed by the Cossack cavalry there, after all, it was only a marginal area controlled by Tsarist Russia, and the pressure would be much less.

At this moment, fierce fighting is raging in the Kazakh steppe, and the Dzungars have finally waited for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

They took advantage of the fact that the Mongols captured Dayuz and the Chinese besieged Zhongyuzi, and sent troops to attack the Kazakh Khanate, which was controlled by Xiaozi.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he occupied a large meadow between the Ural and the Caspian Sea.

The key is that this kind of chicken stealing behavior in Dzungaria, Wu Sangui is not good at attacking.

Because Li Xianzhong asked them to move west to the Kipchak steppe in the Volga River valley, the area included Xiaoyuzi.

Now the Dzungars are only carrying out the orders of the Chinese emperor.

After all, Li Xianzhong didn't expect that Huaxia's power would expand so quickly.

However, the appearance of the Dzungars was still beneficial to the situation of the war.

Wu Sangui immediately sent people to ask the Dzungar troops to send troops to flank the Kazakh cavalry who were confronting the Khalkha Mongols.

The Dzungars took a big advantage, and naturally it was not easy to refuse Huaxia's dispatch.

Soon 30,000 Dzungar cavalry appeared in the rear of the Kazakhs.

The Kazakhs, who were not superior in strength, panicked in an instant.

Tushetu Khan and others are also battle-hardened "old fritters", and at this time, of course, they will not let go of this good opportunity to defeat the Kazakhs.

The 80,000 cavalry of the Khalkha Mongols plus the 30,000 of the Dzungars were enough for 110,000 cavalry, and it was easy to flank the Kazakh cavalry with only 50,000 men in front and rear.

Sure enough, not long after the start of the war, the Kazakhs became timid, and it soon turned into a great rout.

The Mongol light cavalry was the best at this kind of pursuit, taking advantage of the speed of their light cavalry and the precision of archery, and constantly covering the retreating Kazakh cavalry along the way.

Most of the 50,000 Kazakhs were annihilated, and the rest did not dare to go south to face the rifles of the Chinese, so they had to flee in all directions.

At this time, Wu Sangui finally waited for the 24-pounder cannon he had been waiting for for a long time.

However, just as he was preparing to make a big effort to conquer the city of Turkestan, he received an order from Li Shizu to besiege it without attacking.

Previously, China annihilated more than 6,000 Cossack cavalry, which can be regarded as a complete war with Tsarist Russia.

According to reliable information, Li Zicheng has already gone to Astrakhan for help.

If China had conquered Turkestan by this time and eliminated the Kazakh Khanate, the Cossacks would most likely have chosen not to send troops.

It is clear that it will be easier to lure them from the Astarakhan region to the Kazakh steppe for encirclement.

So instead of attacking the city, Wu Sangui relaxed the siege of Turkestan so that Nur'Ali Khan's messengers had the opportunity to run out and ask the Cossacks for help!

After Li Zicheng left Turkestan with Niu Jinxing, he took a delegation of 500 people to Astrakhan with a large number of cattle and sheep.

Asterkhan is located in the Volga Delta region and is spread over 11 islands connected by canals and streams.

It is bordered by the Caspian Sea and is also an important port.

In 1558, Ivan IV's army bloodlessly captured Astrakhan and incorporated it into Muscovy.

It became the bridgehead for Tsarist Russia to cross the Ural River from Europe into Asia.

It was here that the Russians built the first white stone city in the lower Volga.

In Ancient Rus', high-walled fortresses with guard posts were called the Kremlin.

The Kremlin has 7 towers, 3 of which have access gates.

The Red Gate is located in the northwestern part of the Kremlin and leads to the Volga River.

Li Zicheng and his entourage entered Astrakhan through the Red Gate.

Potemkin, the governor of Astrakhan in Tsarist Russia, received Li Zicheng and others.

After all, Li Zicheng did not come empty-handed, and they also carried 30,000 cattle and sheep.

Who would refuse a person who offered to give a gift.

Earlier, Barabash had sent 20,000 taels of gold to Potemkin and borrowed 5,000 Cossack cavalry from him.

So he has also heard of Li Zicheng's character.

originally thought that Li Zicheng would definitely bring a large amount of gold and jewelry, but it turned out that there were only cattle and sheep, and Bojiangjin inevitably showed a disappointed expression on his face.

He said lightly: "Do you Kazakh Khanate want to use tens of thousands of cattle and sheep in exchange for us sending troops to rescue you?" ”

"The combat power of the Chinese people is very strong, and this little thing is far from enough, at most to make up for the huge losses caused to the Cossack cavalry by the last time they concealed the situation."

Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing glanced at each other.

secretly said in his heart: Good guy, I really let Niu Jinxing guess, these Cossacks are really ruthless.

This Potemkin obviously said, Niu Yang Lao Tzu accepted it, don't think about sending troops.

However, for this result, Niu Venus has long thought of it.

Li Zicheng said: "Dear Governor Potemkin, you are right, these cattle and sheep are just to make up for the losses of your last army. ”

"Actually, I didn't come this time to let you save the Kazakh Khanate, but to dedicate the Kazakh Khanate to the great Tsarist Russia!"

Now it was Potemkin's turn to be taken aback.

Ever since Ivan IV led the Grand Duchy of Moscow out of the Golden Horde, they have been desperately expanding to the periphery, and eastward expansion is naturally the established policy of Tsarist Russia.

After all, Tsarist Russia had the Grand Duchy of Poland and Lithuania to the west and the mighty Sweden to the north.

The Crimean Khanate to the south may not seem strong, but behind it is the Ottoman Empire.

It can be said that at this time, the expansion of Tsarist Russia in the three directions of the southwest, north and west was not smooth, and the neighbors were more difficult to deal with one by one.

That's when the East became their target.

After all, these nomadic khanates in the East are much easier to fight than these opponents in Europe.

That's why a large number of Cossack cavalry crossed the Ural River to Central Asia, in fact, to make a precaution for the annexation of Tsarist Russia.

But after all, the Kazakh Khanate was also a large country with a population of millions and could pull out 200,000 cavalry, so their eastward exit has been blocked.

Now that Li Zicheng has proposed to sacrifice the Kazakh Khanate, he is naturally tempted.

So he said, "I don't know how to give the Fa? ”

Seeing that the other party took the bait, Li Zicheng continued: "We have an allusion in the East called 'False Path to Destroy Yu', that is, to use the excuse of destroying other countries as an excuse to take the opportunity to invade and occupy the country that borrowed the way. ”

"Your Excellency the Governor can take the opportunity to take Nur Ali Khan and control the Kazakh Khanate in the name of supporting the Kazakh Khanate, and I will take care of everything for His Excellency the Governor at that time."

Seeing that Potemkin was still hesitating, Li Zicheng said again: "Even if His Excellency the Governor does not send troops, after China occupies the Kazakh Khanate, it will also border Tsarist Russia." The Chinese have destroyed countless countries, and it is absolutely impossible for them to live in peace with Tsarist Russia. ”

"Even if you don't occupy the entire territory of the Kazakh Khanate, it is very advantageous to be able to control the Lesser Yuz region around the Caspian Sea."

"Now that the main forces of the Kazakh Khanate are fighting a decisive battle with the Chinese, the border areas must be empty."

Tsar Mikhail I of Russia was pushing hard for expansion, and now he was able to take the Kazakh Khanate.

In the end, Potemkin still did not withstand Li Zicheng's deception and decided to send troops to Kazakhstan.

But for this yellow-skinned heretic, he really couldn't believe it.

This person could betray the Kazakh Khanate, and no less betrayed Tsarist Russia.

Niu Jinxing had already thought of this, and Li Zicheng took the initiative to propose that he and his subordinates were willing to change their faith and believe in Orthodox Christianity.

Li Zicheng converted to Islam in order to win the trust of the Mughal Dynasty, and now he has no burden to convert to Orthodox Christianity.

However, this move still won Potemkin's approval.

He even told Li Zicheng that he was willing to recommend him to the Tsar as the governor of the Kazakh Khanate.

However, the Chinese army was not easy to deal with, and Potemkin knew that it would definitely not be possible to rely on these centaurs around Astrakhan alone.

So he united the Don Cossacks and formed a Cossack cavalry of 25,000 men.

In addition, he informed Tsar Mikhail I of his plans to conquer Kazakhstan, and asked Moscow to send follow-up troops as his own reinforcements.

So they crossed the Ural River and slaughtered the territory of the Kazakh Khanate.

However, at this time, it was the Dzungar Mongols who occupied Xiaoyuz in the border area of the Kazakh Khanate.

In the face of a massive invasion by the Cossacks, they naturally resisted with all their might.

However, the Dzungars had just fought a major war with the Kazakh Khanate, and their vitality had not yet recovered.

The Cossack cavalry, with its changeable tactics, constantly tore apart the defense line of the Dzungars in the battle, and finally the Dzungars were defeated.

They had no choice but to retreat to the territory of the former Siberian Khanate.

After the victory in the first battle, the morale of the Cossacks soared.

Li Zicheng said: "Now that the Chinese army has besieged Turkestan, the capital of Kazakhstan, for more than a month, it can be said that there is a shortage of people and horses, and it is a good time for us to defeat them." ”

"We drove out the Chinese, and we are taking Nur Ali Khan under control, and then the whole of Kazakhstan will be the territory of Tsarist Russia."

Originally, Potemkin wanted to wait for the arrival of the follow-up troops sent by Moscow before heading south to Turkestan together.

However, Turkestan has been besieged by the Chinese for more than a month, and if they lose Turkestan by waiting for reinforcements, the situation will be very unfavorable to them.

So Potemkin decided to send 10,000 men to launch a tentative offensive against Turkestan.

Li Zicheng, who was familiar with the situation in Kazakhstan, was naturally incorporated into this advance force.

In order to curry favor with Potem, Jin and Li Zicheng threw hundreds of their Shun troops into battle with the Kazakhs.

In order to lure the Cossacks further into the Kazakh hinterland.

Wu Sangui sent a small force of Mongol cavalry to lure the enemy.

In the face of light cavalry like the Cossacks, only the Mongols, who were also good at ranger tactics, were enough to entangle with them.

Along the way, Li Zicheng had a number of skirmishes with the Mongols.

In the face of the Central Plains Dynasty, the Mongols' cavalry tactics of coming and going like the wind made the cavalry of the Central Plains often helpless, because they could not catch up with the Mongols at all.

However, in the face of the Cossack cavalry, the tactics of the Mongols clearly did not work.

The Cossack hussars were no less mobile than them, and the muskets of the Cossack dragoons had a much longer range than the Mongols' bows.

The Mongols were often hit by the muskets of the Cossacks during their escape.

After several encounters, the Mongols were clearly at a disadvantage, losing more than 3,000 men.

The Cossacks, on the other hand, fought all the way from the Caspian Sea to the vicinity of the Aral Sea.

Originally, Li Zicheng was still relatively cautious, thinking that the Mongols might have a plan to entangle him like this.

But after receiving a distress letter from NurAli Khan, he quickened his pace.

The letter said that the heavy artillery of the Huaxia army bombarded the city day and night, and it was about to break through the outer city.

Obviously, the Mongols were suspicious and were delaying their march in order to buy time for the Chinese to break the city.

So the Cossacks changed their tactics and began to pursue the Mongols, and finally captured a large amount of supplies in the Mongol camp.

At this time, the follow-up men led by Potemkin also caught up, and it was less than half a day's journey from Li Zicheng's advance army.

After several days of rapid marching, the Cossacks finally came to the outside of Turkestan.

By this time they were able to see the spire of the mosque in the city!

Li Zicheng's heart was also very excited, and at this moment he really wanted to shout at the Huaxia army outside the city: "You didn't expect it, I, Li Zicheng, are back again!" ”

Thank you for your monthly passes, recommended tickets, and follow-up support!!

(End of chapter)