Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 645 Contact feelings

As time passed slowly, after September and March of Zhaowu, the smell of war became stronger and stronger. Although Sengge was far away in the west of the desert, the channels and news from various places had clearly told Sengge that war was inevitable.

Before the war broke out, Meng Jun and Sengge each tried to win over allies in an attempt to strengthen their own power and weaken the other side. However, the outcome was disappointing to both sides. Neither the Qian Dynasty nor the Dzungar Khanate had any powerful tribes joining.

While Sengge was sending envoys to the three Yuzi tribes, as well as U-Tsang and Bukhara Khanates, in the south and north of the desert, the cavalry recruited by Meng Jun in the name of Tengerit Gugechi Khan had already gathered in the Houtao area of Yinshan.

Meng Jun ordered the Mongolian cavalry to continue marching south to the western part of the Yinshan Mountains. He himself would also set out from Guanzhong and reach the Yinshan Mountains to inspect the grassland coalition forces.

By May of the ninth year of Zhaowu, the food, fodder, and military equipment needed by the Western Expedition Army had been sent in batches to Zhangye and Jiuquan.

This time, Meng Jun dispatched more than 30,000 soldiers from Guanzhong, as well as 30,000 elite cavalry led by Generals Gulbuha and Huang Cheng, for a total of more than 60,000 infantry and cavalry. The cavalry summoned by the Mongolian tribes was also huge in number, with a total of more than 50,000 horses.

In this battle, the number of cavalry is huge, which should have put a lot of pressure on logistics. Moreover, if they all marched through the Hexi Corridor, it would definitely be a disaster for logistical supplies. Therefore, Meng Jun decided to divide the troops into two routes.

In the north, Huang Cheng was the commander-in-chief and led the grassland coalition forces from the grassland to attack western Mongolia, which was the main pasture of the Dzungar Khanate.

In the south, Lin Shiqi was the commander, leading 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, and attacked the Western Regions, which was the former territory of Yarkand, from the Hexi Corridor.

As for the grassland coalition forces in the north, Meng Jun had already ordered each tribe to bring more cattle and sheep to accompany the army in the expedition to replenish military rations on the spot. The military expenses and the costs of cattle and sheep would be calculated by the pacification envoys set up by the court, and then transported directly to the grassland from the capital without having to be shipped to the front line.

Therefore, the only food and fodder supplies that the Qian Dynasty needed to undertake were the 40,000 infantry and cavalry under Lin Shiqi.

In the ninth year of Zhaowu, at the end of May, Meng Jun arrived at the Yinshan Mountains accompanied by Huang Cheng and the imperial guards.

Before we got close to the camp, we could hear the deafening neighing of horses in the distance. When we got closer, we saw tents all over the mountains and plains, one after another, and outside the tents, there were herds of cattle, sheep and horses.

From a distance, it was indeed grand in scale, but when you got closer, the smell of livestock manure hit you in the face. Meng Jun, who hadn't smelled this smell for a long time, was really a little uncomfortable.

The leaders of various tribes, who had already received the news that Tengerit Gugechi Khan was about to come to inspect the army, rushed to pay their respects upon hearing the news that the Khan had arrived.

As soon as they saw Meng Jun, more than a hundred people knelt on the ground and shouted, "Long live the Khan!" Meng Jun laughed and quickly ordered his men to help all the leaders up.

Over the years, Meng Jun's rewards to the leaders of various tribes on the grassland were very generous. Moreover, among the official positions in the imperial court, Meng Jun also reserved some positions specifically for the descendants of the various tribes on the grassland. Even the people of the grassland could participate in the imperial examinations of the imperial court as long as they were guaranteed by their own leaders.

These measures actually caused some controversy within the Qian Dynasty. However, Meng Jun established the alliance and flag system for the grassland. Although it was not established for a long time, only seven or eight years, the disputes among the various tribes on the grassland have been reduced by more than 90%.

Because Meng Jun followed the policies of the Qing court and set up many alliances and flags on the grassland, the grassland was full of taijis and no powerful tribe emerged.

Although this policy has many advantages, it also has a drawback at this time. That is, although the number of recruited cavalry is huge, it can be distributed to each tribe. The largest number may be around one thousand, and the smallest may be only two or three hundred. This will inevitably have an impact on the combat effectiveness.

After two days of inspection in Yinshan, although Meng Jun was worried about the equipment and training level of the coalition forces, he still encouraged and comforted the leaders of various tribes on the surface.

Afterwards, Meng Jun brought the leaders of various tribes to feast and hunt together. However, Meng Jun had not hunted for a long time, so his skills were a little rusty.

It took a long time to shoot a rabbit. This harvest really made Meng Jun feel a little ashamed. Fortunately, at the last moment, Meng Jun shot an antelope, which allowed him to save a little face.

As the hunting was over, the leaders of various tribes threw their prey on the ground. Tian Khan said that whoever hunted more prey would be rewarded more.

When counting the prey, two people even started arguing. One said that he shot the sheep's leg first, and the other said that he shot the sheep's neck, which caused it to fall to the ground, so the prey should belong to him.

The two men were arguing and making a lot of noise, but Meng Jun didn't get angry. Instead, he burst into laughter. In Meng Jun's view, the fact that the leaders of the tribes were arguing in front of him showed that they recognized him as the Khan and it was an attitude of submission.

Meng Jun stayed in Yinshan for ten days, hunting and feasting almost every day. After staying there for a long time, Meng Jun even learned some simple Mongolian.

Afterwards, Meng Jun personally selected a tribal leader and asked him to go to Beijing to serve as an official after the battle. He would later teach at the palace academy, specifically teaching Mongolian, wrestling and other subjects to the crown prince, princes, and children of nobles.

This leader was a young man named Barhu, with a very handsome appearance. Meng Jun was quite fond of him at first sight.

Meng Jun came from the common people. He knew that when he was with literati, he should discuss poetry and books more. When he was with grassland leaders, he should hunt and drink more, so as to deepen their feelings.

After the army was assembled and ready to set out on the western expedition to the west of the desert, and before Meng Jun was preparing to return to Guanzhong, he ordered a military parade in Yinshan.

On the eighth day of the sixth month in the ninth year of Zhaowu, the sun was scorching.

Huang Cheng rode his horse to Meng Jun's side and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, all the troops have been assembled and are waiting for your inspection!"

Meng Jun nodded slightly, indicating that they could proceed. Then, under the command of the leaders of each tribe, teams of cavalrymen were seen conducting dazzling horseback archery exercises. The cavalrymen rode on horseback as if they were walking on flat ground, drawing their bows and shooting arrows, and every arrow hit its target.

When it comes to small-scale horseback archery, these men on horseback are really good at it. Meng Jun watched this scene with a satisfied smile on his face and praised loudly: "Good! They are worthy of being grassland warriors!"

Then he turned to look at the leaders of the tribes around him and said loudly: "With such a fierce army, there is no need to worry about the destruction of Dzungar and the unrest in the Western Regions!"

Everyone expressed their willingness to fight for the Khan until their death. If the Dzungars dared to be enemies of the Khan, they would definitely put Sengge into a sack and present him to the Khan.

After the military parade, Meng Jun set out for Guanzhong on the ninth day of the first lunar month, accompanied by the imperial guards, while the coalition forces in Yinshan officially set out and marched westward.