I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 528 Western Sichuan Plateau

Although the Tatars occupied Kangzang, the foundation of their rule was extremely weak.

Those Tibetan and Mongolian nobles regarded the Tatars as outsiders who had usurped their territorial rights, so they were very repulsive to the Tatar rule.

In the entire Kangzang region, the only territory that the Tatars can actually control is the central part of Western Sichuan centered on Litang. The rest of the Western Sichuan Plateau, including Dajianlu, is difficult to effectively control at all.

As for the Qamdo area, it was completely handed over to the Tibetan aristocracy for self-government, and only nominally submitted to the Tatars.

Oh, by the way, the Tibetan nobles and temples also nominally surrendered to the Litang Tatars. After all, the seventh generation king they worshiped was canonized by the Tatar court, so they couldn't deny it!

The current situation is that the Tatars seem to have a huge territory in Kangzang and Tibet, but the territory they actually control is extremely small and weak, and they cannot support the tens of thousands of troops they have brought over. Moreover, even if the Tatars could actually control all the territory, it would still be useless. The plateau environment in Tibet is simply not suitable for outsiders.

The reason why Yongzheng would drag the Han troops under his command to Qinghai for consumption was due to lack of food and the noisy plateau climate.

Anyway, from the moment they arrived in Kangzang, the cavalry used by the Tatars to intimidate the Han army became a decoration. Because I can't run at all, I have difficulty breathing during strenuous exercise, and in severe cases, I may suffocate to death.

Therefore, the Ming army only dispatched 20,000 troops. On the one hand, it took into account the plateau environment, and on the other hand, it also because they knew how much strength the Tatars had left. This number of troops and horses was more than enough.

The time, place, and people are favorable, and the Tatars are already far away!

On the Sichuan side, Zheng Dingrui had just led 10,000 Ming troops to safely cross the Dadu River through Luding Bridge.

The original Luding Bridge was built by Kangxi to connect the two sides of the Dadu River, strengthen connections, and prevent rebellion by the nobles of Kangxi and Tibet. The Tatars retreated to Kangzang and destroyed the Luding Bridge, but the damage was not complete. Unbeknownst to the Tatars, those Tibetan nobles were so bold that they renovated the Luding Bridge and secretly traded with merchants of the Ming Dynasty through the bridge.

This was the source of the merchants' intelligence for the imperial court. They also hoped to capture Kangzang quickly so that the tea-horse trade in the southwest could be restored. The goods traded in Sichuan and Tibet are mainly porcelain, tobacco, and tea.

The first two are luxury goods, and the Tibetan nobles are very interested in them. Even those who are not interested will buy them and give them to the temple.

Tea is a complete necessity.

Tibetan and Mongolian proverb: "One day without tea will lead to stagnation; three days without tea will lead to illness."

People say that if they don’t drink tea for one day, they will have indigestion, and if they don’t drink tea for three days, they will get sick.

This is also the true meaning of the tea-horse trade, to contain the Tibetans and Mongols through tea. If they are disobedient, they will control and reduce tea shipments, causing the population of the grasslands and Tibetan areas to plummet.

Even if they were obedient, the Central Plains dynasty strictly controlled the shipment of tea and made sure not to allow the Tibetan and Mongolian tribes to become stronger.

"The Ming army has already arrived at Dajianlu?" Yong Zheng asked, supporting his sick body.

The one who replied was not the Han minister Zhang Tingyu, who had always valued him, but Longkodo who had made a comeback: "We who stayed in Dajianlu reported that the Han army crossed the river to Dajianlu at the beginning of the month. Moreover, they crossed the Luding Bridge. The reported news also said that the Tibetans in Dajianlu obviously do not have a strong will to resist. They are even inclined to defect to the Han army. I am afraid that the situation there in Dajianlu is not good."

Yong Zheng nodded: "I understand."

There is no suspense. The Tatars relied on the low-sugar gunpowder they copied to barely frighten the Kangzang nobles and maintain their rule.

Now that the Han army is marching westward, it is natural that these Kangzang nobles would want to resist.

Moreover, there are not many Tatars garrisoned in Dajianlu, only about a hundred people in total. Not to mention the incoming troops, but only the local Tibetan nobles revolting, this garrison is actually quite troublesome.

Yongzheng rested for a moment and thought for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, his whole body suddenly trembled unconsciously. Seeing this, Su Peisheng, the personal eunuch, quickly handed over the cloth handkerchief.

"Ahem~~!"

After taking the bupa, I coughed violently, as if I wanted to cough out my lungs.

After coughing, he clutched the cloth handkerchief tightly and threw it to Su Peisheng to put away.

Longkodo was the closest. Although he lowered his head, he caught a glimpse of the dark red color on the cloth from the corner of his eye.

The Holy Spirit’s time is numbered!

If Zhu Yijiong were here, it would probably be more obvious, because this is the symptom of tuberculosis. A few hundred years later, there would still be a risk of death. In this era, it would be considered a terminal illness.

Especially when he coughed up dark red blood, it was obvious that he was severely hypoxic. If Yongzheng had not returned to Kangzang, he might have been able to live for a while longer. After retreating to Kangzang, he was suffering from hypoxia and illness. It is really a miracle that he can still survive until now.

Of course, the bigger miracle is that guys like Longkodo were not infected.

No, you may have been infected, but you haven't gotten sick yet.

After all, here in Kangzang, breathing is sometimes difficult, but no one will care. After Yongzheng finished coughing, he seemed to feel a little better, but his face turned paler: "Send the order and ask all the generals to come to discuss matters immediately after an hour."

"According to the order."

For Yongzheng, the rule of the Kangzang region was unstable, and even Qamdo could not actually control it. The only area in the western Sichuan Plateau that can really obey orders is the central area of ​​Litang. It was expected that Dajianlu was captured by the Ming army.

Yongzheng would be surprised if the Ming army could not defeat them.

As for the news that the Ming army was preparing to launch troops against Kangzang, the Tatars had known about it a month ago, but they knew that they had no choice.

Yongzheng actually knew in his heart that his Qing Dynasty had reached the end of its rope. The current Qing Dynasty is very similar to the Can Ming Dynasty of the past. Both are only a corner of the country, lingering on, and can no longer even be regarded as a dynasty.

It's a pity that like the late Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't surrender even if he knew he couldn't defeat him. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing would not let him surrender.

Just the few salt-coated heads and kneeling statues sent over before have already stated the position of the Nanjing court.

The Tatars in Litang began to prepare for the war, and both the Han and Tatar armies began to gather and prepare for war. Yongzheng also supported his sick body, put on his royal armor, and prepared to go to war in person. His idea was very simple. Even if he really couldn't defeat him, he would at least die on the battlefield and not be captured.

Moreover, the Tatars are not totally without a chance. The average altitude of the Western Sichuan Plateau has exceeded 4000 meters. When the Tatars retreated here, they suffered heavy casualties due to altitude sickness.

Although the Ming army was powerful, they had to follow the rules of the plateau when they came here. Vigorous exercise was not possible, and hand-to-hand combat between large armies was almost impossible.

Zheng Dingrui personally led the army and first captured Dajianlu without any effort. Then he went all the way west, over the snowy mountains, and recaptured various Tibetan noble chieftains along the way.

When the Tibetan nobles saw the Han soldiers coming to kill them, they did not say anything to them, nor did they destroy or loot the temples. They all immediately turned their backs on the wind.

In less than half a month, the Ming army had already reached Yachuka (Yajiang).

"These Tatars have all cowered up. The Tatars we met along the way can't even reach our camp." Zheng Dingrui frowned and looked at the Yalong River Road.

Shen Mingzhang said: "General, don't underestimate the enemy. Although the Tatars are at the end of the road, as the saying goes, a dog will jump over the wall in a hurry. What's more, these extremely vicious Tatars, and there is a Tatar puppet emperor behind them, so we should not take it lightly! "

Zheng Dingrui sneered: "What I'm waiting for is for them to jump over the wall in a hurry, and they can get away with it once and for all."

After all, he did not rush across the river, but ordered to stop the march and station on the spot. He also asked the local Tibetan nobles to help find enough ferries for the army, and all of them were paid, for fear that these Tibetan nobles would misunderstand.

There is no way, Kang Zang is a place that is better off if you don’t come. But after you come, you will find that it is really disgusting.

Most of the soldiers and civilians brought by Zheng Dingrui were from Sichuan, and some were from other places, but they were basically from the plains. Coming to Kangzang all of a sudden, even though the altitude is not too high in western Sichuan, I was still overwhelmed.

Especially those civilians who had not undergone any training, as well as the chieftain auxiliary soldiers including Shili Baigan soldiers, and even Ma Guangyu himself lay down directly.

Of course, it's not that he's dead, it's just that he can't adapt to being sick.

Fortunately, the Ming army had the foresight to stockpile a lot of saffron in advance. Soaking it in water and decoction can greatly alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness.

But it is only a relief, not a complete cure. So far, the non-combat attrition of the Ming army has not been too much, and there has not even been a death. In addition to saffron relieving symptoms, there is also the fact that they all walk on their feet, which increases the altitude layer by layer and gives the human body an adaptation process.

Unlike later generations, it is faster to go directly by plane or train, but the symptoms can become very serious in an instant.

However, if he can during his lifetime, Zhu Yijiong still has to build railways to Sichuan and Tibet, the Western Regions, the grasslands, and Liaodong, otherwise the borders will be unstable.

The grain transporters and auxiliary troops were placed separately. The auxiliary troops guarded the grain roads on the spot, set up checkpoints, and properly arranged the non-combat attrition. Only then did Zheng Dingrui advance his troops to cross the river.

After crossing the Yalong River, the straight-line distance from the Tatar city of Litang is less than 300 miles.

The war is about to begin!

　Not only altitude sickness, but also peeing can kill people.

　　The principle of saffron is to open blood vessels, promote circulation and slow down hypoxia

　　

　

(End of this chapter)