Chapter 146 The General Strategy for the Attack of the Western Regions

Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "After this battle, the situation in Annan has been settled. Annan's withdrawal can be arranged by the end of this year. It is also a great thing for the Western Regions strategy. Since the happy event has been mentioned, let's talk about the serious matter."

Annan has now left nearly 500,000 troops.

Two hundred thousand of them were Jingying.

Although these 200,000 Jing camps are newly formed, after the hardships of the Battle of Annan, they all crawled out of the pile of dead people.

Fighting power must not be underestimated.

With the arrival of Annan's army, all these 200,000 people were able to withdraw, and some of the troops from Guangxi and Yunnan could be drawn out.

More than 100,000 security troops were left in Annan, and that was almost the same.

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

Although Zhang Fu defeated Annan, although the battle was extremely sharp, the Annan army did not die in battle. They all surrendered on a large scale, which was also the basic force for Annan's resistance later.

But now, how many people died in Annan due to the war? It is an uncountable number.

At least men in Annan have become rare creatures.

Under such circumstances, the people of Annan are powerless to resist. The climax of the real desire to resist is the current Annan children when they grow up.

Under the hatred of the country, there is probably a climax of resistance.

But then it will depend on Han Yong's governance ability.

The troops drawn from Annan may not be able to fight directly to the west, but can be replenished into the Beijing camp, and then some of them will be drawn from the Beijing camp to join the Western Expedition Army, and there will be saved manpower and material resources.

It is very good news for the Western Expedition.

"Your Majesty," Shi Heng said, "I guess I can't wait until I withdraw my troops from Annan, and then I will be pacified in the Western Regions. The wars in the Western Regions are all cavalry battles, and there is not such a long siege battle. It's just a convergence between the two sides and a decisive battle."

"In my opinion, I am pretending to be 100,000 cavalrymen. I will take the Western Regions to offer you to Your Majesty."

Shi Heng is an expert-level general in the cavalry, and his arguments in this regard are also of reason.

First choice, he judged that the total strength of the Wassar cavalry was not 200,000, which was the number of the main force of the Wassar plus all the subordinate soldiers.

If the Heshuo Special Division is divided, it should be less than 200,000 yuan.

Even if we forget it, the Wassat's divisions combined exceeded 200,000, Shi Heng also judged that the Wassat's troops deployed in one strategic aspect would definitely not exceed 200,000.

As for the battle in Maoerzhuang, the ability of Washu hundreds of thousands of cavalry was definitely impossible.

Therefore, in the head-on decisive battle, the equipment advantages, training advantages, balance of horses, and even advantages of the Ming cavalry, and the logistics advantages of the Ming army, Shi Heng was very sure of fighting against him by 100,000 and 200,000. Therefore, as long as there were 100,000 Ming army cavalry, Shi Heng would dare to guarantee the Western Regions to be taken down.

Shi Heng continued: "I think this western expedition does not go to Gansu, but to Beiting, using Longcheng as the starting point, and travels westward into the area north of the Tianshan Mountains, sweeps across the north of the Tianshan Mountains, and attacks the area south of the Tianshan Mountains. From then on, controls the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains."

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

Shi Heng said, "Wata will flee to the Western Regions along this road. If the Kou can go, I can go."

Zhu Qizhen was a little dazed for a moment. He vaguely remembered what Zhang Fu said at the beginning that he would not fight the decisive battle with Wastu outside the Great Wall. However, for more than 20 years, Shi Heng was talking in front of him, crossing the northern part of the desert and attacking the area north of the Tianshan Mountains.

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

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

Now that the Ming Dynasty occupied the southern and northern deserts, the grassland tribes may have some resentment in their hearts, but they dare not have the slightest sense of resisting the Ming Dynasty on the outside.

The official horses of the Ming Dynasty had exceeded one million, enough to fight a cavalry expedition across thousands of miles.

Seeing that Zhu Qizhen was silent, Shi Heng thought he was hesitating. He continued, "Your Majesty, the reason why I did not go to Gansu is because Shaanxi needs to support the direction of Xining and pacify Tibet, which also consumes a lot of food and grass. I am worried that Gansu lacks food."

"In addition, from Gansu to the Western Regions, Hami will be seized."

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

Zhu Qizhen is also considering these two factors.

First of all, the food problem in the northwest is always the first issue to consider, but the situation is not as serious as Shi Heng said. After all, Zhu Qizhen had prepared for this battle for a long time, and Yu Qian's management had some food reserves for fighting.

It was just another issue, but Zhu Qizhen had to consider it.

That's Hami.

Hami Xingxing Gorge is the only way to enter the Western Regions from the east. Although Hami King is a subordinate of the Ming Dynasty, his relationship with Wasai is indeed unclear.

Although there were many grudges and love between Hami and Wasai. However, after Yesen died, Acitemur changed Yesen's politics and no longer forced strict control over the tribes.

He relaxed control over Hami, withdrew all the Washi people and supported the current Hami King who was close to Washi to power.

A small country like Hami is unable to choose a position.

Only those who can rely on each other are strong, and the Ming Dynasty is strong and far away. Although the Watshu is not very strong, it is close, so Hami's foreign policy is very obvious.

It’s too appropriate if it’s not the Ming Dynasty’s Pure Minister.

Zhu Qizhen also defaults on this point.

It's nothing else. Although Zhu Qizhen refused to surrender to Watshu in politics, it would be difficult to deal with once Watshu surrendered, and it would be difficult to fight again.

However, Zhu Qizhen also found that both sides still had trade needs. After all, many merchants from the Western Regions were in contact, and the northwest was already very broken. If even this trade route was broken.

Not a good thing for the Northwest economy.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen acquiesced to Hami's status and trade transfers on the Silk Road were carried out through Hami.

Hami may not be clear about this matter, but it is not allowed when it comes to war. If Hami passes through Hami, it is likely to lose its suddenness. If Hami conquered, it must be paid attention to the influence. After all, Hami is still his own vassal state, so it is not good to attack the vassal state for no reason.

It sounds like Shi Heng's method is good.

"Your Majesty," Yang Hong said, "It is a great country with thousands of miles of land and a population of millions. How can the iron cavalry be only 200,000?"

"I think General Shi is suspected of underestimating the enemy."

"And, if you attack such a big country, how can you only have troops to travel all the way?"

"I think I should send an army from Dongshengwei to the north of Ningxia, then all the way to Yijinai and go westward to Hami. Divide the power of Wats. If Watstra feel that the army is in the east, then enter the Tianshan Mountains in the north. If Watstra feel that the army is in the north, then enter the Western Regions in the east."

Yang Hong could not fully agree with Shi Heng's solution, the reason is very simple.

Shi Heng's proposal was naturally to use his old subordinates in Longcheng, so that all his achievements in attacking the Western Regions fell on Shi Heng and his generals. How could this be done?

If Yang Hong doesn't seek opportunities for his team, who will still be with him in the future?

Of course, even so, Yang Hong's opinion seems a little more reliable than Shi Heng's opinion. Unlike Shi Heng's opinion, it is almost a desperate bet.

Zhu Qizhen pondered in his heart and found that there was actually a consensus between the two.

First, use cavalry more often. Because this route is a grassland marching. If it is not a cavalry, it will be impossible to support it if it is not a cavalry.

This shows that Yang Hong had a consensus with Shi Heng on the judgment that the Ming cavalry could fight the Wasai cavalry thousands of miles away.

Secondly, neither side wants to pass through Gansu, and they don’t know if they want to take a shortcut. They are still worried that Gansu lacks food.

As for why it is a short path, it is a very simple truth. Don’t look at the distance on the map. In fact, because the earth is round, the higher the dimension, the shorter the distance across the same area than the lower dimension.

Most of the maps we look at are projection paintings, and Siberia and many high-latitude areas will become very large. In fact, it is inconsistent with reality.

Luo Tong suddenly spoke and said, "Your Majesty, why not do the two strategies in parallel?"

Shi Heng said: "The two strategies can be used in parallel, but how many soldiers and horses have the imperial court prepared?"
Chapter completed!