The defeat was like a mountain falling, and the situation was miserable.
Galdan retreated 200 miles wildly, from the Altai Mountains to Altay, and then from Altay to the Irtysh River. He was overtaken several times and escaped his pursuers several times.
Arriving at the Irtysh River, the only generals left were Mahan and Omubu, with less than five thousand soldiers and horses.
"Huntaiji, please cross the Irtysh River quickly and return to Boxeri," his subordinates asked him to cross the river.
Galdan was a little hesitant. He had an army of 35,000 when he went on the expedition, but now it is less than 5,000. Not all of the remaining soldiers died in the battle, and a lot of them were scattered everywhere. If they escaped across the Irtysh River, then think again.
It is difficult to gather the remaining soldiers and defeat the generals! As a hero, everything is possible only with an army.
While hesitating, he suddenly saw smoke and dust billowing, and the pursuers were arriving.
"Array!"
Galdan became fierce and prepared to fight.
There were not many pursuers, less than a thousand. Upon closer inspection, it was Danzila, the Junggar general, who came.
Danzila fled all the way from the Altai Mountains, and when he arrived here, he had less than a thousand men.
Everyone gathered together, but before they had time to rejoice, they saw smoke and dust billowing again.
This time, the Ming army really arrived. Zu Zerun, Dunbai, and Huoda arrived with five thousand pursuing troops.
"Huntaiji, please hurry up and cross the river, we are about to cut off the queen," Danzila shouted.
Galdan knew that he was newly defeated and was no match for the Ming army. He nodded and ordered to cross the river.
There were not many boats and rafts, so in a hurry, only more than 3,000 people were ferried across, and the remaining 2,000 people were surrounded by the Ming army on the other side.
Galdan was cruel and showed his true character as a hero. He cut off his tail to survive and fled to Boxeri City.
The fighting on the north bank of the Irtysh River was extremely fierce. Danzila was determined to die and resisted desperately just to cover Galdan's retreat.
The Junggar army, which was exhausted physically and mentally and could not form its formation, was defeated by the well-organized Ming army. They were chopped down by the river one after another.
"Whoever surrenders will avoid death!"
Zu Zerun showed compassion. If a person has no parents, wife and children, what is the use of killing more?
An old Junggar soldier hesitated again and again, and finally threw away the Mongolian scimitar in his hand. Once there was one, there were two. The rest of the Junggar army abandoned their weapons one after another, leaving only dozens of personal guards around Danzila.
"Are you willing to surrender? Those who surrender will avoid death," Zu Zerun shouted.
"In Junggar, there are only Neyans who died in battle, but no Neyans who surrendered." Danzila roared and led his guards in a final desperate charge.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
"Bang bang bang!"
The dense muskets shot down these dozens of loyal souls.
Three hundred years later, the older generation recalled that whimpering sounds could often be heard in this section of the Irtysh River.
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Galdan ran desperately to the city of Boxeri. He knew that with his current strength, he would never be able to defend Boxeri, but he had to go back. There were his Ehe and Ketun there, and he had to retreat with them. Evacuate to Jimuna first, then continue to the south, and the city of Boxeri is right in front of you.
Suddenly, an army appeared in front, with about two thousand riders, their banners were broken, and they were in a state of disarray.
When he took a closer look, he saw that it was the coach Darkhan whom he sent to stay on the southern front.
An ominous premonition filled Galdan's heart, and he trembled and asked: "Darkhan, why are you here? Where are my Ehe and Ketun?"
Darkhan jumped off his horse and fell to his knees: "Huitaiji, the last general will be punished with death. The Ming army Li Chengjue and the allied forces of the Kingdom of Honor went northward, with a total of 30,000. The last general had few soldiers and could not resist it. The day before yesterday, the Ming army passed through the desert,
Suddenly appeared under the city of Boxeri. Before the general could rescue him, the Ming army captured the city. Your Ehe and Kedun have fallen into the hands of the Ming army."
After hearing this, Galdan felt dizzy.
But he was a hero after all, and he quickly regained his composure, and said to Darkhan in tears: "This matter is not your fault. You only have a total of 10,000 old and weak soldiers. How can you defeat the 30,000 Ming army tigers and wolves?"
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Seeing that Galdan did not blame him, Darhan felt guilty and moved, and secretly made up his mind to repay his death with his own life.
"Huntaiji, where should we go now?" Ma Han asked.
Galdan calmed down, "The only solution now is to go to Ili and join the old Eqirtu."
"Huntaiji, the Ming army is powerful, does Oqiltu Khan dare to take us in?"
"The Ming army entered the snowy area and destroyed the Heshuote Khanate, and then formed a deadly feud with the Oqiltu Khan, a branch of the Heshuote people. Besides, that old guy is very smart, and he will not understand the coldness of his lips and teeth.
He will definitely take us in. We will recharge our batteries in Yili and wait for our comeback."
Galdan snorted coldly and said confidently, and glanced at the generals Mahan, Omubu and Darhan with calm and majestic eyes. Strangely enough, the generals were unconsciously swept by his gaze.
I felt much more at ease.
Once the direction of retreat is clear, it will be easier to handle. Although Jimunai and Ili are nearly a thousand miles away, the Junggar cavalry, which comes and goes like the wind, runs very fast.
While running, gather the people together.
First they arrived at Emin, then at Bole (Bole), and Alimali. When they arrived at Alimali, their strength actually recovered to more than 7,000 people.
Galdan also wanted to rest and recuperate in Alimari for a while, but unexpectedly came the news that the Ming army Li Chengjue and Guo Xun's troops had captured the Yili city.
Yilibaili City is the capital of the famous Eastern Chagatai Khanate. The Ming Dynasty called the Eastern Chagatai Khanate the Besbali Kingdom, and the numerous tribes from Ili to Junggar were collectively called Yilibaili.
In the headquarters. The Eastern Chagatai Khanate was built by the descendants of the Mongolian Chagatai in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. At its peak, it included Yarkand and Turpan.
As soon as he heard that the inner city had been lost, Galdan no longer hesitated and led 7,000 remnant troops and 30,000 people to move westward and defected to Oqirtu Khan in Ili.
When they arrived at Alimatu (Almaty), a group of Heshuote cavalry blocked Galdan's way.
The special envoy Heshuo politely told Galdan that the news of your arrival has been reported to the Khan, and please stay where you are and wait for the Khan's decision."
I was so angry that Mahan, Omubu, and Darhan were extremely angry. What could I do if I was angry? This is the pastureland of the Heshuote tribe, not the mountains and rivers of the Ruzungar tribe.
Galdan was not annoyed at all. Instead, he condescended to talk to Heshuote's envoys, repeatedly emphasizing Emperor Guangwu of the Ming Dynasty's ambitions for Moxi, and talked about the great truth that lips are dying and teeth are cold. He also flattered him in every possible way, extremely
I begged and begged. When I talked about the sad part, my eyes filled with tears.
This polite and pitiful performance won the sympathy and favor of the special envoy Heshuo, who promised to speak kindly to Ertu Khan on behalf of Galdan when he returned.
Galdan sent the envoy away with a smile and returned to the tent, where he found his subordinates kneeling on the ground.
"Huntaiji, the slaves are guilty and you have been wronged." The Lord is worried about the humiliation of his ministers and the death of his humiliated ministers. When he saw the dignified Junggar Hutaiji, he actually wanted to look at the face of a junior official from the Heshuo Special Department. Mahan, E
Mubu, the generals of Darkhan were all ashamed and angry, and knelt down to plead guilty.
"Get up quickly, you are all my confidants, and we can live and die together An Da (sworn brothers). What are you doing?" Galdan hurriedly helped the generals one by one and comforted them in every possible way.
"Huntaiji, you have to condescend to accept the anger of that villain, I will feel uncomfortable in my heart." Omubu, who had a straightforward personality, burst into tears with sadness.
"Hahaha!"
Galdan suddenly laughed, patted Omubu on the back and said: "The Han people have a good saying: 'When heaven is about to assign a great responsibility to a man, he must first harden his will.' Only a man who can bend and stretch can be a real man. Miss me Junggar
How hard it was for our ancestors to start a business! Compared with it, what does the grievance I have suffered mean?"