I want to be emperor

Chapter 607 The Battle of the Western Regions Begins
Jiayuguan is not the westernmost territory of the Great Chu Empire. In fact, since the Great Chu Empire took over the Qingkang region, the westernmost region has become Kangxi Province.

However, the Zhungeer Ministry has continued to fight in recent years, and has controlled a large area of ​​​​Central Asia, including large areas of Xinjiang, through direct annexation and alliance indirect annexation.

Therefore, the Great Chu Empire is actually directly bordering Zhungeer, and the bordering area is extremely large.

From Kangxi Province to Qinghai Province, then to Gansu Province, and further north of Gansu Province is Mobei Mongolia.

This is because Gansu Province joined the western region of Monan Mongolia on the basis of the Xingdusi of Shaanxi in the Ming Dynasty, which was larger than the Gansu Province in the Yuan Dynasty.

In the vast area bordering the Great Chu Empire and Zhungeer, Jiayuguan is actually a concave hinterland, but the strategic role of this place is irreplaceable.

Because Jiayuguan guards the Hexi Corridor, this is the most convenient passage from the Western Regions to the hinterland of the Central Plains, and it can even be said to be the only passage.

If you don’t take the Hexi Corridor, you can only go to the large deserts, Gobi, and grasslands in the north, go around the boss to the hinterland of Monan Mongolia, go south from the Fengzhoutan area in the Yinshan area, and cross Zhangjiakou or other passes to enter Shanxi or Hebei area.

Jiayuguan not only guards the Hexi Corridor, its strategic location is extremely important, and behind Jiayuguan is one of the most important large-scale oases in the Hexi area, which is the Jiuquan area of ​​later generations; behind it is the Shandan area, where the Great Chu Empire is located in the northwest The most important army horse farm in the region is 'Da Ma Ying Army Horse Farm'.

Relying on the Damaying Army Horse Farm, the local garrison can obtain a large number of high-quality war horses.

And relying on the oasis area behind Jiayuguan, the local garrisons and even the garrisons in the surrounding areas can solve a considerable part of the grain and grass on the spot. After all, only the oasis can be cultivated, and the land can be cultivated to be cultivated, and only the cultivated can be used for food.

If all the food for the Northwest Garrison needs to be transported from the rear, then the cost will be high, and it will be difficult to carry out long-term garrison. It is the same as the abandonment of Yumen Pass during the Ming Dynasty, because most of the supplies need to be transported from the rear because of the lack of local conditions for reclamation. Come on, the maintenance cost is too high.

In addition, the surrounding threats were great, so Yumen Pass had to be abandoned and retreated to Jiayuguan for garrison.

After returning to Jiayuguan, the Ming Dynasty also ensured the safety of the western front for hundreds of years. This is because the large oasis behind Jiayuguan and the pastures further back can support the local garrison's food and grass needs and the needs of mules and horses.

In this way, you can know how important Jiayuguan is. This place is not only the west gate of the former Ming Dynasty and the current Great Chu Empire, but also an important supply place for maintaining the presence of troops in the Hexi Corridor.

There are not many places like this in the Western Regions.

After leaving Jiayuguan, if you want to find another place suitable for a large-scale garrison like this, only the Hami area is left. The places like Yumenguan mentioned before are not suitable.

The Hami area was also the core territory of the former Yarkant Khanate, and now it has fallen into the hands of the Jungars after the Yarkant Khanate was over.

Because of the importance of Jiayuguan, after the Chu army took over the area, the city and the nearby Great Wall were renovated, changing the defense line of Jiayuguan from traditional city wall fortifications to fortifications suitable for firearms warfare.

Fixed forts, peripheral fortresses, trench parapets were dug, and so on.

At the same time, a large number of garrison camps were built, and many reclamation camps were relocated for reclamation.

Today's Jiayuguan includes the entire Jiayuguan defense line in the surrounding areas, and it is already a large defense line with more than 2 troops stationed for a long time.

Among the more than 2 people, the number of cavalry accounted for more than half, and almost all field artillery units were equipped with a large number of mules and horses, and their mobility was equivalent to that of cavalry artillery.

This kind of troop configuration is invisible in both the Central Plains region and the southern region, and the focus is on mobility.

Not only are there many cavalry, but the artillery runs fast, and the infantry unit is also equipped with a large number of mules, horses and carriages. When necessary, the infantry can also ride horses for short-distance rapid maneuvers, which is somewhat similar to a weakened version of the dragoons.

Speaking of which, the dragon cavalry has completely disappeared in the Chu army, because a large number of divisional cavalry regiments of the Chu army have gradually been reformed into standard light cavalry, the kind that can mount a charge and dismount in formation.

On the contrary, some infantry units began to equip a large number of mules and horses in order to enhance their maneuverability. They had a certain ability to maneuver on horseback and dismount to fight, but it was not the same concept as the dragoons of the past.

Dragoons, even if they are a little bit worse, they are still cavalry, and the horses they use are also serious horses. They can also fight on horseback when necessary, although their level is very bad...

And these fast and mobile infantry use some cheap service horses. These service horses are usually used to pull carts, and the carts transport infantry's various equipment, logistical supplies, tents and the like. , allowing soldiers to march on foot without a load.

Marching on horseback is something that can only be done under special circumstances.

Therefore, there is no special training on horseback combat on weekdays, but you can't play horseback combat.

The reason why these infantrymen in the northwest and even the northern regions are equipped with a certain number of service horses is purely to improve the mobility of the infantry. Daily maneuvers are not on horseback, but on foot, and at most they take a carriage.

After all, fighting in the northwest and northern grasslands, the place is too big, and the infantry only walks on two legs. When the infantry arrives on the battlefield, the cucumbers and vegetables will be cold.

Therefore, the Army has always been committed to improving the mobility of the infantry in these directions, and it is equipped with more mules, horses, and carriages for the sake of improving mobility.

As for why not all change to cavalry... Cavalry is expensive!
Many things in the army need to consider the cost, and it is impossible to get what is good.

Even for the nomads like Zhungeer, their army is not all cavalry, and a considerable part of it is infantry. However, there are more mules and horses, and the infantry has less load, so they march faster. When necessary, some infantry can be concentrated on horseback. Just a quick march.

The Chu army is also similar, and unlike Zhungeer who simply has many mules and horses, the troops of the Chu army in the northwest and other northern regions will also be equipped with a large number of carriages.

The carriages equipped by the Great Chu Empire Army are different from the traditional oriental carriages.

The most special of these is the four-wheeled transport carriage, which uses a steering mechanism and cylindrical bearings, and also uses springs for shock absorption.

And these are all to improve transportation capacity.

When the Great Chu Empire was in the domestic unification war, it began to widely use new-style horse-drawn carriages as a means of transportation. However, in the early days, due to the lack of mules and horses and the terrain in the southern region, the proportion of horse-drawn carriages was not too large. In many cases, in order to transport supplies to the front line, it has to rely extensively on wheelbarrows and even manual handling.

During the Battle of Dongyao, because the terrain in the Northeast was flat and the number of mules and horses increased, the Chu army began to equip and use various types of new carriages on a large scale at that time, including four-wheeled carriages and two-wheeled carriages. The two are used together.

After all, the two have different requirements for mules, horses and terrain, and it is difficult to completely replace each other.

The four-wheeled carriage has a large amount of transportation, but it has high requirements on the terrain.

The two-wheeled carriage has a smaller transportation volume, but it is not very picky about the terrain.

The carriage transportation of the Great Chu Empire played an extremely important role in the follow-up period of the Dongyao Campaign, especially when it penetrated into the hinterland of Northeast China and Monan Mongolia, and undertook the logistics transportation of the Chu army for hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

After the end of the Dongyao Campaign, the horse-drawn carriage has become an indispensable means of transportation for the Chu army's logistics supplies and even the front-line march, and it has begun to be popularized in a wider range. Even in the southern region, a large number of horse-drawn carriages have begun to be equipped.

Mainly because at that time, the Great Chu Empire acquired the important horse-producing land of Monan Mongolia, and also reached an agreement with Mobei Mongolia, becoming the suzerain of the three tribes of Mobei Mongolia, and the two sides carried out complementary trade. Northern Mongolia sold livestock such as cattle, horses and sheep, and wool in exchange for guns, swords, armor and various military supplies of the Great Chu Empire, as well as various living materials such as tea and cloth.

From that time on, although the Great Chu Empire still lacked top-level war horses, there was no shortage of ordinary war horses, not to mention ordinary service horses, at least enough to meet military needs.

Under such circumstances, the military carriages of the Great Chu Empire were further developed.

Based on the experience of using horse-drawn carriages in the past, the Logistics Department put forward a series of new requirements to improve military transport horse-drawn carriages. As a result, a series of improved military supply carriages were born and widely served in various troops.

Among them, there are several kinds of four-wheeled carriages serving in the northwest region. The most important one is the cargo four-wheeled carriage with a load capacity of one ton, and the frame is specially designed to transport standard material transport boxes. .

In order to better transport all kinds of military supplies, especially bulk supplies such as ammunition, the logistics department has specially formulated packing standards and stipulated a number of uniform sizes.

Moreover, the box has buckles to ensure stability when the boxes are stacked.

The frame on the corresponding carriage has also been designed in a standardized manner, with standard buckles.

During logistics transportation in this way, it is very convenient to stack the wooden boxes containing ammunition upwards.

How should I put it, the logistics department of the Great Chu Empire played a model similar to the standard container of later generations on the new carriages and ammunition boxes.

This benefit can unify the transportation standard, and it is easier and more convenient to load and unload.

Then these four-wheeled carriages are highly unified in specifications, and the design also takes into account the need for temporary formation of self-protection, so there are often buckles at the front and rear of the frame that can be connected end to end and fixed.

Using horse-drawn carriages, especially four-wheeled carriages, to form a formation to protect themselves is a common and necessary tactic for the logistics and transportation troops of the Great Chu Empire. It can effectively resist the harassment of small and medium-sized cavalry of the enemy army and ensure the safety of supplies.

When forming an formation to protect themselves, soldiers can hide behind the carriage loaded with supplies and use muskets or light artillery to fight back.

If the materials to be transported are food and other things, then this kind of vehicle array is basically no different from a field fortress built with sandbags, and its defense capability is quite strong.

For the enemy's harassing troops who lack heavy firepower, breaking through this kind of vehicle formation requires paying a heavy price... Well, most of the time, even paying a heavy price can't break it.

During the Battle of Dongyao, the Chu army's logistics and transportation troops widely used this kind of vehicle formation for self-protection. The Mongolian cavalry on the opposite side were basically helpless.

Of course, this is also because the Chu Army’s logistics transport units are often transported by professional transport units. The combat effectiveness of these transport units is not much worse than that of ordinary infantry, and they are generally equipped with 65mm regimental field guns, which are more powerful than the attackers. Be stronger.

The divisions of the Chu Army belonged to the supply regiment, which was not the same thing as the traditional logistics troops. Their combat effectiveness was very good, and their performance in team battles was not much worse than that of ordinary infantry regiments.

Even if the transportation troops transporting in the rear are civilians recruited temporarily, they will usually be escorted by regular troops such as second-class divisions.

In the end, the Mongolian cavalry under the control of the Dongyao people simply gave up attacking the logistics troops of the Chu army... A small-scale troop cannot be defeated; as for a large-scale troop...the Chu army is not stupid, is it It allows you to attack logistics with a large-scale force around the back.

The tradition of using horse-drawn carriages on a large scale is even worse on the front line of Jiayuguan in the 14th year of Chengshun, because this place is flat all the way to the west, either desert or Gobi desert, and the distance is very far away. If the transportation of materials is not large-scale It's impossible to do it with a carriage.

Therefore, on July 14, 1th year of Chengshun, more than [-] leading troops of the Chu Army began to leave Jiayuguan and march towards Hami, when the Battle of the Western Regions began.

There are all kinds of carriages along the way!

There were more than 1 people in the area, and more than 1000 horse-drawn carriages alone brought a large amount of food, drinking water, ammunition, and tents for marching and stationing.

Seeing the many carriages driving behind him, and his subordinates carrying a large amount of supplies, Major General Lin Xubing felt a lot more at ease.

This time, he led his troops as the vanguard of the entire army, and launched an attack in the direction of Hami first. In his opinion, the biggest enemy is not the Jungars, but a group of nomads who are still in the barbaric era. carry.

The real enemy is the large no-man's land in the Western Regions and the distance!

The Gobi Desert and deserts will make it difficult to replenish food and drinking water on the spot.

Long distances make resupply extremely difficult.

Therefore, if you want to go to the Western Regions, the battle is secondary, and the most important thing is to bring enough supplies.

He didn't want to die of starvation and thirst after running a long distance for hundreds of kilometers...

So for this expedition, he brought as many supplies as possible... He never thought that he could get supplies on the spot during the westward march, nor did he think that he could get the rear in a short time after the westward march. supply.

After Major General Lin Xubing led his army westward, he immediately dispatched his No.20 Three Cavalry Regiment to rush towards Chijin City.

Now the power of the Zhungeer people has expanded to the Chijinwei area, which is less than [-] kilometers away from Jiayuguan.

Originally, there were only two or 3000 indigenous people living in this place. In the early years, it was conferred by the Ming Dynasty, but that was an old thing. After the establishment of the Great Chu Empire, this place came under the jurisdiction of the Yarkand Khanate.

Because the Yeerqiang Khanate and the Great Chu Empire have good relations, and as an oasis area closest to Jiayuguan, the control area of ​​the Great Chu Empire, this place is the first stop to conduct various trades with the Great Chu Empire and receive military aid from the Great Chu Empire .

Therefore, it is also highly valued by the Yarkand Khanate. At one time, a lot of troops were stationed here. Over the years, many business travelers have successively gathered here to live and do business.

After Zhungeer defeated the Yarkant Khanate this spring, he continued to sweep across the entire Western Regions, and this place naturally fell under the control of the Zhungeer people.

Here, there are now more than [-] troops sent by Zhungeer, in addition to hundreds of local servants.

Their purpose is not to fight against the Great Chu Empire... They don't have that ability either. No matter how stupid Zhungeer's senior management is, they know that it is impossible to resist the Chu army so close to Jiayuguan.

Anyone with a little brain knows that if they want to win the battle with the Chu army, they must keep a distance... distance is their best resource.

Go directly to the vicinity of Jiayuguan and fight the Chu army... I'm afraid you have to be a tenth-level brain-dead to do it.

Therefore, Zhungeer's hundreds of troops in the Chijinwei area are not for direct confrontation with the Chu army, but purely for serving as frontier observation posts to observe the movement of the Chu army...

If the Chu army came out, their only task was to pass the news to Hami in the rear as soon as possible.

Today's Hami area is the key defense area of ​​the Jungar people in the surrounding area!

Well, only the Hami area has sufficient geographical conditions to support the survival of more people and garrison troops, and other places are not so good.

Now in the Hexi Corridor area, there are basically only two places suitable for large-scale garrison, one is Hami and the other is Jiayuguan, and the others are basically not suitable.

As for these two places today, Jiayuguan is the west gate of the Kanto region, and Hami is the east gate of the Western Regions!
This also means that if the Great Chu Empire wants to advance westward, it has to fight around Hami in the early stage...

This is a limitation of geographical factors, and has nothing to do with the generals' thinking. If you don't go to Hami, you will have nowhere to go.

It can't really cross a large area of ​​no man's land, it's all Gobi desert and desert, tens of thousands of people ran into the desert and marched... and it also spans hundreds of thousands of kilometers, it is impossible to do it without a twenty-level brain This kind of thing happened.

Based on the local geographical conditions, the Chu army stationed troops in Jiayuguan and the Zhungeer people stationed troops in Hami. The distance between the two is more than 500 kilometers, and there is a road controlled by Zhungeer along the way. Small towns, these small towns basically rely on oases to exist.

The Chijin City is the closest to Jiayuguan.

This place is actually very small. The so-called city is placed in the Huaxia area, but it is actually similar to a small town. Because there are Zhungeer troops stationed here, the Chu army also pays more attention to this place.

The No.20 Three Cavalry Regiment dispatched by Lin Xubing was aimed at this place. It was not for the purpose of taking this place. The main thing was to block and intercept the Zungar forces in this place by means of a surprise attack, so as to delay Hami's direction to the enemy as much as possible. The army learned the news that the Chu army was advancing westward.

The news of the army's westward advance can be delayed as long as possible. It is best to wait until the army has killed all the way to Hami, so that the enemies in Hami city will know that it is best.

As for undeclared war and the like... This is nonsense. The Great Chu Empire has not declared war on others for the time being.

Generally, an imperial decree is issued internally, explaining to oneself the necessity, justice, and interests of war, and then giving a warning to the enemy.

The same is true this time, the Great Chu Empire has published an imperial decree in the Great Chu Mansion Newspaper, positioning the war as a self-defense counterattack... You said that Zhungeer did not fight the Great Chu Empire, why did they still counterattack?The Yeerqiang Khanate is also a vassal state of the Great Chu Empire. Even if the whole world knows that it is only a vassal state in name, it cannot be taken seriously, but there is nothing you can do if the imperial government takes it seriously.

These Zhungeer people have attacked the vassal state of the empire, so it is okay for the empire to fight back, right?

In June, the Department of Imperial Affairs of the Ministry of Ethics and Ethics sent a reprimand to Zhungeer, severely criticizing the brutality of the Zhungeer side in killing the Yarkant Khanate, and asked them to leave the former Yerkand. The territory of the Qiang Khanate, or you will bear the consequences.

Naturally, Zhungeer didn't respond...the reply said a lot, and it can be summed up in four words: none of your business...

Since they have all laid hands on the Yarkand Khanate, they have already expected and are prepared to deal with the empire's counterattack.

This fat has been swallowed, you still let them spit it out, this is impossible.

So the empire later naturally didn't bother to continue sending people to deliver any diplomatic documents.

Talk about a fart, just send troops to do it!

This led to the expedition led by Major General Lin Xubing, and the No. 20 Three Cavalry Regiment of the Army was ordered to march quickly to attack and block Chijin City.

On July 20th, the cavalry of the No.[-] Three Cavalry Regiment of the Great Chu Empire Army appeared outside the Chijin City, causing great panic among the Zhungeer people and local indigenous people in the city!

(End of this chapter)