There are many factors that determine the outcome of a war, but Gao Yigong feels that this war must be won.

Diplomatically, because of its support for Oirat's Mongolian firearms, it rashly attacked the city of Tomsk, which led to an all-out feud between the Rakshasa people and the Mongols, and they continued to fight over the Yenisei River Basin.

Of course, the grain and grass support from Gansu, Shaanxi and other provinces were all in place, which was also an important reason for his confidence.

Unfortunately, just as he was preparing to march, Li Dingguo from Yunnan took office in Turpan as the new commander-in-chief of Qinghai.

"Hey, aren't you the commander-in-chief of Qinghai? Why are you here in Gaochang?"

Turpan has been renamed Gaochangfu.

Gao Yigong was indignant: "I get the credit for co-writing."

"You think I am willing?"

Li Dingguo refused to let him go and said calmly: "Yunnan toast is like cutting melons and slaughtering chickens, not to mention how enjoyable it is. Who wouldn't be tired of traveling thousands of miles to the northwest to eat dirt?"

"Huh!" Gao Yigong sat down and stared at Li Dingguo for a while, then sighed: "I know that one person cannot take credit for such a great contribution from Yerqiang Kingdom."

"As long as you know."

Li Dingguo's skin has tanned a lot, he is more energetic, and his eyes are bright:

"If it weren't for the fact that you have been operating in the northwest for many years, why would the imperial court only send me to share the work?"

"You have to know that this is a country, a country divided into territories."

When the Yarkand Khanate was at its peak, it encompassed Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, Yingisha, Aksu, Wush, Turpan, Yanqi and Fergana, a vast southern Xinjiang area, and had millions of citizens.

With such a huge contribution, even if his uncles and sons come to help him one after another, the weight is not enough and he can still be overwhelmed to death.

Gao Yigong was unwilling, but he could only obey the arrangement.

After all, Li Dingguo was an acquaintance and a friend who was also captured, so he was much better than those strangers.

After thinking about it, he rolled his eyes and said, "You owe me a favor."

Li Dingguo chuckled and said, "You and I are so familiar with each other, why do we need to say this."

"I heard that the Yarkand Khanate has an army of 100,000 people. Do we have enough manpower?"

"It shouldn't be that much." Gao Yigong said calmly: "Although the land in its six cities is fertile, most of the taxes come from trade routes."

"According to the merchants, most of the country's soldiers and horses are cavalry, and there are few or even no firearms."

"Pure cavalry?" Li Dingguo squinted his eyes and smiled gradually: "Isn't this just sending death?"

Li Dingguo has rich experience in the application of firearms.

In the mountainous terrain with complex terrain, only firearms can sweep through Wuji and make the chieftain terrified.

The cavalrymen were even more powerful when they wore muskets.

"Look, this is a short blunderbuss specially made for cavalry. In the past, only generals had it, but now every cavalryman has one."

The blunderbuss in front of me was no more than a foot long, but it looked ferocious and terrifying. The barrel was rough and the cold touch was endearing.

"The imperial court has spent a lot of money on you."

Li Dingguo said with emotion.

"Hey, look at this again."

As he spoke, several artillery pieces covered with red cloth revealed their true appearance.

The huge tires and slender barrel make people feel a special sense of beauty and want to get close to it.

"This is?"

Li Dingguo touched it and raised his head, his face full of curiosity.

"Shaowu-style artillery."

Gao Yigong raised his chin and said proudly: "The name of this artillery is no longer the Hongyi Artillery, but the Shaowu-style cannon, which is light and powerful."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and inserted Li Dingguo's hand deep into the barrel of the gun.

A sense of snail lines came from his fingertips, making Li Dingguo shiver.

"This is called rifling." Gao Yigong said excitedly: "The artillery has tried it. With this rifling, the accuracy will be higher and the power will be greater."

As he spoke, he patted the cannon and showed off: "Beijing has not yet tried the cannon to amaze other countries, but the imperial court has already sent ten of them.

Went to Turpan just to deal with the Yarkand Khanate."

"I have everything that Jingying has, and I have what Jingying doesn't have."

"Do you know how long I have been preparing? How long has the emperor been preparing?"

Li Dingguo was silent.

Short muskets and artillery, these are the advantages of the Ming army, and they are also the basis for crushing the Yarkant.

In fact, if it weren't for the fear of being overstretched in one breath, the imperial court would have been prepared to directly sweep away all the Mongolian tribes in Oirat.

"Now that everything is ready, let's set off as soon as possible!"

Li Dingguo smiled and said: "The cavalry is under my command, and the artillery will be given to you."

"If you want to be beautiful, you should stay in Gaochang!"

Gao Yigong laughed and cursed.

Although there are 50,000 soldiers and horses under his command, to guard Hami, Turpan must prepare a strong enough army to prepare for emergencies.

Therefore, in this battle, Li Dingguo and Gao Yigong could only lead 30,000 troops to carry out the act of destroying the country.

Due to sufficient preparation, everyone is full of confidence.

Going south from Anle City is Chalichu Lake, which was later called Bosten Lake.

It is seventy miles long from east to west and forty miles wide, with a basin area of ​​nearly 3,000 square kilometers. It is a mountain subsidence lake, and its main water supply source is Kaidu Lake.

Of course, the biggest impression on the Ming army was the endless reed swamps with flocks of water birds flying everywhere, which made people yearn for it.

Naturally, a small city gathered here, which was the location of the famous historical city Yanqi Kingdom, and is now called Yanqi City.

There were no more than a thousand families living together around the lake. Because of this lake and its location at the southern end of the Silk Road, merchants gathered and lived a very happy life.

The arrival of the army disturbed the small town.

However, after replenishing water sources, the army continued southward.

After passing through the famous Iron Gate, the next step is Yuli City, a city that grew up because of a river.

So, next, they saw the basis for conquering Yarkant - the Tarim River.

"It's only a few feet wide, it's a raging Tarim River!"

Gao Yigong immediately stood by the river. The endless Tarim River was like a winding dragon, lying across the desert from west to east, bringing rare moisture and oasis.

The vast desert was thus divided into two, and a green belt passed through the desert, bringing a lot of life and plants.

This is a lifeline.

"The people of Yuli regard this river as their mother river. Not only the people of Yuli, but also the huge Yerkang people are also prosperous because of this river."

Gao Yigong pointed to the river excitedly: "The baggage and patients were loaded on the river, and the army walked westward along the river. Going further forward is Yarkand's capital, Yarkand."

"As long as you walk along this river, you don't have to worry about lack of water, and you don't have to worry about getting lost."

"Because those cities are built on both sides of the river, let's just fight our way across."

This is such a worry-free and effort-saving method.

Li Dingguo praised him: "This is why you moved south first and then north."

As he spoke, he raised his eyes to the east: "I heard that this river flows eastward and flows into Puchang Sea (Lop Nur), but I don't know how wide it is."

"You will see him after we finish fighting Yerqiang."

At this time, the Tarim River has not yet dried up as it will in later generations. Its surface is as wide as two or three miles, spreading to both sides of the river bed. A large number of small lakes gather on both sides of the Tarim River, like scattered pearls.

It is precisely because it maintains abundant water that its carrying capacity is trusted and it is an important assistant for the march of the army.

Boats one after another, loaded with grain, grass and baggage, slowly moved backward on the river.

After getting rid of a lot of cumbersomeness, the Ming army was obviously relieved and headed west more easily.

To the west of Yuli City, there is almost no city.

On the contrary, on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, there are scattered a series of small cities such as Luntai, Laochi, Kuxian, Baicheng, and Asu.

However, a high level of achievement is not the same

I ignored it and headed straight for the destination - Yarkand.

Anyone who is not a fool knows the purpose of such a large-scale march and a long journey.

This news spread like birds to the entire Western Region.

In the Tianshan region, the Oirat Mongolians, the Durbot Tribe, the Junggar Tribe, and the Heshuote Tribe began to discuss countermeasures because of the war in southern Xinjiang.

Their in-laws, the prestigious Oqiltu Khan, sat on the wolfskin chair. He looked at the shrewd He Shuoqi and the powerful Batur.
To be continued...