Tsarist Russia's Southern Route Army also recruited Kazakh fighters on the Kazakh grasslands.
The Kazakhs are a nomadic people in the west of the Western Region. When the Jungar tribe was strong, the Kazakhs were always suppressed in the west of the Kazakh grassland and did not dare to approach the east.
Later, Emperor Qianlong completely annihilated the Zhungar tribe and established the Yili General Mansion. It governed an area ranging from Hami and Barkol in the east, to Congling and the Chu River and the Talas River Basin in the west, and to Lake Balkhash and the Irtysh River in the north.
Upstream, south to Kunlun Mountains.
Objectively speaking, Emperor Qianlong made a considerable contribution to the stability of the western border.
After pacifying Zhungeer, he first carried out a large-scale troop deployment operation to defend the Western Regions. He mobilized the Eight Banners and Green Camps from various places and moved their families to Ili, allowing the Qing government to complete the effective occupation of the local area.
In the 28th year of Qianlong's reign, 3,200 Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Liangzhou and Zhuanglang all moved to Yili with their families. In the same year, 1,000 Sauron soldiers and 1,000 Chahar Mongolian soldiers were also sent to Yili.
The Qing government gave one cart to every three soldiers of the Eight Banners heading to Yili, and one cart to carry sundries to each household.
In the 29th year, Qianlong also ordered to mobilize 1,000 Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners soldiers from the Chengde area and 1,000 Xibo soldiers from the Shengjing area, all of whom would be stationed in Ili with their families.
He wanted the Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Ili to cultivate the habit of enduring hardship and standing hard work by participating in productive labor, so as to maintain the tradition of being proficient in riding and shooting.
In the 33rd year, the 3,600 Green Flag soldiers stationed in the Urumqi area were stationed with their families.
In the thirty-sixth year, Qianlong once again increased his troops in the Western Regions on a large scale. Urumqi garrisoned 3,000 Manchurian Eight Banners troops, Barkol garrisoned 2,000 Manchurian Eight Banners troops, and the original 1,000 troops at Talbahatai increased to 2,000 troops.
When Qianlong was in power, the Western Regions had a total of 1,400 officials and 19,000 troops stationed in the Western Regions. They required an annual salary of 680,000 taels and 135,000 shi of grain. The Qing government allocated 610,000 taels of salary to the Western Regions every year.
, all food is provided locally. The number of troops stationed in the Western Regions is second only to the capital and the Northeast region, ranking third in the country (referring to the Eight Banners garrison troops).
Many scholar-bureaucrats at that time believed that Emperor Qianlong's management of the Western Regions had increased the burden on the country.
The actual situation is that the Western Regions did not increase much expenditure. The policy of garrisoning troops in the fields made the Western Regions completely self-sufficient in military food.
This approach has many similarities with the current immigration policy adopted by China.
This was not the first creation of Emperor Qianlong. During the Han and Tang dynasties, troops stationed in the Western Regions had already adopted the policy of farming. Money and wages were good luck, but it was very difficult to transport food across such a long distance.
Just the cost of transporting grain will overwhelm the national finances.
Why did Zuo Jigao's West Route Army march so slowly?
He moved forward, looking for good water sources along the way, and then left some soldiers to garrison in the fields. These soldiers stationed at these points, built some basic facilities, and waited for Dong Shuheng to send militiamen to develop them.
These militiamen also brought their families with them, and they developed these strongholds into farms one after another, further solidifying the foundation of China's rule here.
The Western Region is a place where people can live in various places.
The natural environment here does not allow the establishment of large hair-styling settlements.
The families of these Hubei soldiers will also be sent there one after another. Not only that, when Zuo Jigao left Hubei, he had already arranged the plan for Hubei to immigrate to the Western Regions. Although Hubei is also a land of plenty.
But precisely because of this, Hubei is densely populated and has serious land conflicts. Before Zuo Jigao left, he had been assigned a Ding territory. Anyone with more than three Ding in the family would be moved to the Western Regions. The government would be responsible for the expenses. After arriving in the Western Regions, they would be resettled.
farm work.
When these garrison areas are connected by a line, it will become a safe passage.
In this way, the West Route Army will not worry about its retreat being cut off no matter where it marches.
The land reclaimed by the garrison is located in the place with the best water source, which can continuously provide supplies to the army in the future.
Qianlong also did something. The Qing army established the Ili General's Mansion and demarcated the border.
Kazakhs often crossed the border for grazing, so the Qing government set up Karen patrols on the border.
Qianlong even issued an edict to reprimand the then Kazakh Khan.
The border patrol posts established along the national border by Qing troops stationed in the Western Regions were called Karen.
The Karen with two outposts patrolling the area alternately is called "Kaiqi"; the smaller Karen is set up separately as a lookout, called "Bukshen", and they are all collectively called Karen.
Karen, which the Qing army set up from north to south along the border of the Western Region, was under the jurisdiction of the garrisons in the four cities of Tarbachatai, Ili, Wushi, and Kashgar.
The Karen system played a huge role in maintaining the stability of the borders of the Western Regions after Qianlong.
These Karens are still playing a role to this day and made great contributions to the Western Route Army's successful defeat of the invasion of the Tsarist Russian army.
At this time, Tsarist Russia's Southern Route Army was still recruiting cavalry in Kazakhstan.
Now that summer is about to begin, most Kazakh herdsmen are preparing for summer transition. Moreover, Kazakhstan has just been integrated into Tsarist Russia, and many herders are dissatisfied with Tsarist Russia. Therefore, the recruitment process is very slow.
The commander of the Tsarist Russian army in the south could only constantly put pressure on the Kazakh leaders to speed up the recruitment of soldiers.
Let's move our gaze to the north.
After Gao Yun led his army to the north, he first sent out two companies under the leadership of Dasheng Kui's men, and then they speeded up and went out to attack the front line. One of the two companies was a dragoon company and the other was a ranger company.
The company commander of the dragoons is named Guan Fei, Guan Shandu Ruofei. The company commander of the rangers is also a Han named Zhou Meng, from Meng of Yimeng Mountain. This is a rough and arrogant Shandong man, and he and his Mongolian cavalry
Can't see any difference.
According to Dasheng Kui's man Er Dezi, they are now almost at the territory of the Wulianghai Shizuo Territory.
Along the way, Guan Fei and the others met many herdsmen fleeing south.
These herdsmen's escape method is similar to that of transitioning. They can only hope to outrun other herdsmen. It is obviously impossible to outrun the pursuing troops of Tsarist Russia.
However, herdsmen regard cattle, sheep and livestock as life, and they must keep these cattle, sheep and livestock even if their lives are at stake.
When they met people like Guan Fei, they seemed to have met their savior, no matter which side they were on.
Seeing that they were dressed like regular troops and that they were all Han and Mongolian, I felt a sense of trust in my heart.
"Er Virtue, Er Dezi!" Guan Fei shouted loudly.
If Er Dezi didn't lead the way properly, he would have gone nowhere.
"Hey, company commander, the younger one is here." Dashengkui's hierarchical system is strict, and Er Dezi's status in the cabinet is not high. He has just been promoted from apprentice to full-time employee.
But he had already visited Tangnu Ulianghai more than a dozen times, including all the Rakshasa lands.
Fortunately, their camel team came back early this time, otherwise they would have fallen into the hands of the Rakshasa people.
In an environment like Dashengkui, Er Dezi developed this kind of polite and cautious way of speaking, which is only natural.
"Company Commander, I went over to chat with those herdsmen and get to know some of the situation." Er Dezi spoke Mongolian very well. This is an essential skill for every Da Sheng Kui man on the road. He even had to learn Russian.
In Dashengkui, it is really difficult to get through without some learning ability.
"Hey, you are quite clever. I was just about to tell you about this. Have they encountered any Rakshasa people?" Guan Fei asked.
Er Dezi seemed a little sad. This time, many of his friends on the counter were gone. He replied: "Guan Lieutenant Commander, these people have not been encountered. They said that as long as they encounter the Rakshasa people, only a few people can escape."
Come out. Their horses can run faster than the Mongolian horses."
The Cossacks who came this time were all mobilized from Siberia. It turned out that the Cossacks encountered by the Renaissance Army were mostly Cossacks from Eastern Siberia, and the Mongolian horses used by those people could only be regarded as second-tier among the Cossacks.
The Cossacks Khristenko mobilized this time were all elite Cossacks, and they rode Don horses that were taller and more explosive.
This kind of Don horse is called the golden horse breed. It is a cross between the original semi-wild Russian steppe pony and the blood of Arabian horse and Karabakh horse. Their endurance is amazing, they are generally taller than Mongolian horses, and their explosive power is higher than that of Mongolian horses.
Mongolian horses are stronger.
"Are the horses ridden by these Cossacks different from ours?" Guan Fei asked, this information is very important.
"Yes, Liaison Officer, this young man knows this. When I was doing business with the Rakshasa people, I saw that their horses were called tall horses. The Mongolian horse we were riding was half a head shorter than others."
Er Dezi thought about it and said.
Guan Fei pondered for a while, horse speed is very important for cavalry. The tactics of the Renaissance Army dragoons is to use the range advantage of the carbine to consume the enemy at a long distance. If you can't outrun others, this tactic will not last long.
It would be great if you could bring a rotating machine gun tank out. Find a valley, lure the enemy there, and then use full firepower to ensure that you can knock down a large area.
However, Brigadier Gao was worried that the chariot would affect the speed of the vanguard, so he did not give it to them.
"Er Dezi, do their horses have any shortcomings?" Gao Yun asked.
"What? Shortcomings?" Er Dezi thought for a moment and said, "Those horses don't seem to like the water. I see that they have to be held carefully every time they cross the river. Their horses seem to be more agitated in the water. Unlike
Even our Mongolian horses can swim in the river."
Well, this shortcoming can be said to be unnecessary. Water sources are relatively scarce on this grassland.
Guan Fei asked Er Dezi to tell these herdsmen to run south, where there would be a large army to protect their safety.
Guan Fei doesn't want to watch these grassland herdsmen die. After all, there are always people grazing on this grassland. If the grassland is all dead, who will graze?
Just like the rangers in their team, even if they are allocated pastures in the future, they will recruit people to help take care of them. They will help the Renaissance Army fight as professional soldiers until they are no longer suitable for fighting.
Two companies of more than 300 people and more than 600 horses continued to advance.
There are no roads in a place like Tangnu Ulianghai, and it is not easy to meet each other while marching on the grassland.
Suddenly, the sentry who ran ahead with Er Dezi to lead the way ran back.
"Company commander, there is a large herd of livestock in the valley ahead. There are dozens of Rakshasa people guarding it, but they don't seem to be soldiers." said a sentry squad leader.
Er Dezi answered: "Yes, Director Guan, they should be Rakshasa merchants. I have dealt with them before."
After listening to the two men's accounts, Guan Fei tapped the handle of his riding crop several times with his fingers.
"No matter what, kill them first and capture a few alive."
As he said this, he called Zhou Meng over. The status of dragoons was higher than that of rangers, so the two companies that came out were dominated by Guan Fei.
Moreover, most of the officers of the Rangers were thieves, and they were all rough men. They didn't like to use their brains, so now Guan Fei was basically in command of the two teams.
"Captain Zhou, you lead the Ranger Company to set up two interception lines outside the small valley to prevent any fish from slipping through the net. I will take people to kill those Tsarist Russian businessmen. We'd better catch a few alive and see.
Can you get some information?" Guan Fei ordered.
After the deployment was completed, everyone began to take action.
Zhou Meng observed the terrain of the small valley, looked for interception points, and began to deploy his troops.
Guan Fei led the dragoon company to surround the valley.
Guan Fei and the others marched in broad daylight, and no matter how careful they were, they couldn't hide it from the Tsarist Russian businessmen.
Before they entered the valley, the Tsarist Russian merchants had already discovered the situation. The Tsarist Russian merchants quickly jumped on their horses and ran away, regardless of the large herds of livestock.
The dragoons chased and fired, and half of the dozens of merchants were shot off their horses in a short time.
Just when they thought they were about to run out, some Mongolian knights wearing red breastplates suddenly appeared in front of them. These Mongolian knights bent their bows and arrows, and fired at them.
The remaining people tried to bypass this wave of Mongolian knights, but a wave of Mongolian knights also appeared in front.
In desperation, the remaining seven or eight Tsarist Russian merchants had no choice but to dismount and surrender. After all, they were just merchants. Now basically all the guards in this caravan had been killed.
The rest are pure businessmen.
Guan Fei heard a few Tsarist Russians chattering and didn't know what to say. He frowned and looked at Er Dezi aside.
"Commander, these people are saying they surrender. They are just businessmen and are willing to hand over all their goods. Please don't hurt them." Er Dezi listened carefully and translated from the side.
"Then you tell them to cooperate well, then I can consider letting them go."
Er Dezi translated Guan Fei's words to the Tsarist Russian businessmen. After hearing this, the businessmen nodded repeatedly.
Guan Fei ordered the troops to gather up and set up sentries at several surrounding passages to prevent Cossack cavalry from suddenly approaching.
Then Guan Fei separated several businessmen and asked Er Dezi to accompany him to interrogate several people.
Finally, by comparing the confessions of several people together, it is easy to find out who is telling lies and who is telling incomplete stories.
Through the confessions of these people, Guan Fei found out that this was a trophy buyback point set up by these merchants.
These merchants were invited by the Governor of Siberia, Khristenko, to follow the army to buy spoils of war.
Guan Fei seized a large number of gold and silver coins from them, which also illustrates this point.
You can tell at a glance that these livestock were snatched from herdsmen.
Not to mention, these businessmen know a lot!
Only more than 2,000 Cossack cavalry came to Tangnuulianghai this time. The main force of the Tsarist Russian army was advancing towards Irkutsk in the direction of Yuehu. The main force numbered about 30,000.
These businessmen even knew that there were 10,000 Cossacks going to the Kazakh grasslands in the south, and 10,000 cavalry going to Yakutsk in the north.
Even Guan Fei didn't expect to get so much important information from these businessmen.
Sure enough, no matter what country or era, businessmen are a group that attaches the most importance to information.
Guan Fei quickly sent someone back to report the situation here to Gao Yun. If there were only two thousand Cossacks, Gao Yun's main force would not need to be so cautious.
Guan Fei also reported in the letter that he planned to use this valley as a trap to ambush the Cossack cavalry and attract these Cossacks over.
From the mouths of these merchants, Guan Fei learned that every once in a while, people from the Cossack company would come over with their livestock to trade.
Because the Cossack cavalry had to maintain their speed, they could not carry a large number of livestock.
But they had to capture all the rewards from this war by themselves.
What do the Mongols have here? There are only livestock here, so they can only sell the livestock they snatched to the merchants following behind.
Although the purchase price offered by the merchant was very cheap, the Cossacks had nothing to do. Fortunately, the things they robbed had no cost.
Guan Fei has already thought of a good idea, maybe he can easily annihilate some Cossacks here.
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