After Zheng Wenxian was surprised and panicked at the beginning, he quickly came to his senses. If this woman named Yaji really had something to do with Zhao Xin, with Zhao Xin's status, it would be impossible for her to be in Ryukyu and the Shimadzu family. People stay together. There are not only one or two naturalized citizens of the island country in various places in Beihai Town, but there is still no room for one woman?
The next morning, Zheng Wenxian called his cousins Zheng Yaohuang and Huang Zhongtong, and arranged for a Ryukyu native from Kume Village who was accompanying the army to serve as an interpreter. The four of them came to the imperial palace before Shimazu Sainobu and had a conversation with Yaji .
"Since you said she is the unmarried wife of King Zhao, where is the marriage certificate?" Zheng Wenxian was not a fool, so he immediately asked for the most critical evidence.
"When we evacuated from Shuri Castle, we were in a hurry. The box containing the marriage certificate was placed in the bag and was accidentally lost."
At this point, Yaji could only insist that she was engaged to Zhao Xin, and that it was her father who came forward to decide when Zhao Xin led troops to fight against the Satsuma clan. What would be the consequences of lying? She has already She couldn't care less; as a member of the Shimazu family, Masaki just wanted to work hard to preserve the blood of the Shimazu family.
However, she was only sixteen years old after all, and no matter how hard she pretended to be calm, she would still be exposed. As Zheng Wenxian continued to ask questions, sweat began to form on the woman's forehead, and she became increasingly unable to explain herself.
"you are lying!"
"I don't!"
"One has no marriage certificate, the other has no certificate, and talks in vain. It's really ridiculous! Girl, do you think we are fools?"
"I......"
One day later, Zhao Xin, who had arrived in Yaksa Town, received a telegram from the Northern Navy Staff Headquarters. When he saw the content above, he couldn't help laughing. He guessed that the pregnant widow was probably carrying "Tianzhang Yuan" Atsuhime's uncle Shimazu Saiki. However, with Shimazu Sainobu's hiccup, not only will his younger brother Shimazu Tadano not be born, but the famous Atsuhime in history also said goodbye to this time and space. .
Zhao Xin quickly made arrangements. He asked Zheng Yaohuang to send Shimazu Sainobu's wife Meiji and all the female relatives to Kagoshima Castle and hand them over to Date Village Chang. It was the same as how the islanders treated the defeated. , it is very likely that these women will become monks collectively; as for the Shimazu Qixing who is about to be born, he will probably be destined to be a monk in an ancient temple in the mountains, similar to Ikkyu's fate.
From then on, the progress of things was consistent with Zhao Xin's judgment. In early November of that year, Meiji, who was imprisoned in Kagoshima Castle, gave birth to a boy prematurely due to excessive sadness, and then died of puerperal fever. The next year , the child whose nickname was "Tadaon" was sent to the Zuigen Temple of Sendai Domain to become a monk, and his Buddhist name was "Huihai". As for Masaki, he was sent to Date County together with other female members of the Shimazu family. After being ordained as a nun at the Kokoji Temple, he will be under long-term close surveillance by the Sendai Domain.
Turning back to the progress of the war in Outer Mongolia.
Liu Sheng and the others had a miserable journey south. They were building bridges over mountains and rivers, but even so, there were still places where they couldn't even drive.
Fan Tong had no choice but to bid farewell to the armored vehicle troops for the time being, and set off on horseback with Liu Sheng. Before leaving, he sent a telegram to Zhao Xin, which read: Boss Zhao, brother's steel torrent is pointing at you.
Liu Sheng left all armored vehicles and tracked vehicles empty in a temporary military camp outside Culun City. All drivers and mechanics of the maintenance brigade were organized into a logistics team to set off with the main force. In addition, he also sent two infantry battalions to stay behind.
, one is to keep an eye on Cullen, and the other is to guard all vehicles and wait for Zhao Xin's arrival.
Contrary to what many people imagine, the Khalkha Mongolian region certainly has large grasslands and gravel-covered Gobi, but on the post road going south, there are many mountain canyons with deep ditches and dense forests, and there is only one road.
You can go around everywhere.
First of all, the more than 80-meter-wide Tula River outside the city of Kulun is a big obstacle. Although the depth of the river at the ferry is less than half a meter, in the center of the river, especially on the left bank, the rapid water flows to many places on the river bed.
They were all washed very deep, and every year Han Chinese who passed by were buried at the bottom of the river together with their carriages filled with goods. Although the soldiers could wade across the river under the guidance of the surrendered Mongolian guides, the four-wheeled carriages had no choice but to build pontoon bridges.
.
Next is the canyon area of Bogda Mountain. In spring, it is a wide and roaring mountain stream. By the end of summer, it becomes a deep dry ditch. Moreover, the canyon is full of large rocks, making it very difficult to clean up.
From this canyon, we arrived at the Bukuk Station.
Next, the troops will face the biggest march obstacle since moving south, the "Burhan Tuyin Daban" more than a hundred miles away from Kulun; in Mongolian, "Daban" means the pass on the top of the mountain.
Whether you are going up or down the mountain, the road is very steep and extremely difficult to climb. The most terrible thing is that the road passes through a canyon with cliffs on both sides. The road is only wide enough for a carriage to pass, leaving no room for maneuver.
When the Northern Navy's reconnaissance force arrived here first, they found that the Mongolian soldiers of the Tushetu Khan tribe and the Chechen Khan tribe who had escaped from the Tula River had built fortifications at the mountain pass, obviously to resist the danger.
Faced with this situation, the reconnaissance troops could only use a mortar they carried to shoot at the pass, and then under the cover of artillery fire, they climbed up with hands and feet. However, because the enemies were hiding behind the boulders, the position of the pass was not clear.
The shells were large and difficult to hit accurately. The soldiers tried to lie down on the steep slope and shoot upwards, but could not see the enemy at all; while the Mongols could keep throwing rain of arrows and stones under the cover of the terrain.
Although the Beihai navy in charge of the attack all wore steel helmets and stab-proof clothing, their heads were still bruised and bloody by the large rocks that kept falling, and they had nowhere to escape. The two squads who launched the first round of attack
Only halfway up the climb, most of the soldiers were already disgraced, and in the end they had no choice but to retreat in disgrace, causing the reconnaissance company commander to curse angrily.
Fortunately, the Mongols didn't have any gunpowder. If they had a few more flying gourds filled with gunpowder and iron sand, it would be a lot of fun.
Fortunately, no matter how many stone bows and arrows there are, there will always be a time when they are all gone. After paying the price of seven or eight people being injured, the two squads responsible for the second wave of attacks finally climbed to a position more than 20 meters away from the pass, and then
After using more than a dozen grenades to deal with the Mongolian soldiers, they finally occupied the pass.
After resting for two days near the Buhatai Station, the large group of people continued to move south. Fortunately, the next two hundred kilometers of road were covered with grasslands in addition to small hills, and there were also large areas of saline-alkali land covered with splendens; it was very easy to walk when it didn't rain.
It's smooth, but it's muddy when it rains.
After that, no enemies were encountered along the way. The Mongolian postmen at various stations along the way were probably warned by the fleeing Mongolian soldiers, and they all ran away with their families and livestock. On the contrary, grassland soil could be seen everywhere.
The fat and cute appearance of the dog made many soldiers who had never seen it very curious.
However, when the medical officer accompanying the team discovered that soldiers were trying to capture these animals, they immediately issued a ban to each regiment through the headquarters. No one was allowed to feed or pet these animals, and they were absolutely not allowed to eat them for meat. This was illegal.
The person was shot to death.
You must know that these cute-looking guys are parasites of Yersinia pestis. Even if they don't eat meat, they will be very dangerous if they are bitten by fleas. Once plague infection occurs, the mortality rate is extremely high.
The reconnaissance company responsible for opening the road moved very quickly, leaving the large troops far behind. The purpose of this was to quickly control the large and small wells along the post road to prevent the retreating enemies from poisoning them with animal carcasses. As they advanced
When they arrived at the Ermutunuo Well, 300 kilometers away from Kulun, they captured a Zasak lord of the Tushetu Khan tribe and fifty armored soldiers who had not had time to retreat. Captured at the same time as these people,
There were hundreds of cattle, sheep, horses and camels, so the reconnaissance company commander quickly notified the rear troops to send people to take over the herds.
According to the written confession of the Lord Zasak, they were responsible for managing the official ranch set up by the Qing government here. Judging from the archives, there were geldings handed over by the Tushetu Khan and the Chechen Khan here.
The total number of horses, camels, cattle and sheep and other livestock of various sizes is 3,600. The post explains that due to insufficient forage, the livestock are never grazed together, but are grouped into groups of 200, 300, and at most 500.
They only graze scatteredly, and there are currently more than 500 livestock in the pasture.
After the large troops arrived, they finally had a good meal of beef and mutton soup here. The arduous trek for several days and the lack of vegetables and drinking water caused many soldiers to suffer from physical fatigue, low fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Liu Sheng then decided to let the troops rest here for a few days to recuperate. You must know that there are Bieljih Mountain and the Qidao Mountain called "Duolunda Ban" to climb behind, and then there is more than 400 miles of desert.
Gobi. Although there are inns and wells along the way, they can never supply so many people.
According to the guide's description, after passing through the Gobi Desert, you will arrive at the 32nd Taladolan Platform of the Altai Military Platform; it is also called the "Taladolan Station" and is the gateway to Inner Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
Node of Riasoutai.
On September 17, after entering the Gobi, the troops encountered a storm, causing heavy losses in supplies and casualties.
At that time, the sun was still high in the sky and it was very hot. Suddenly there was a strong wind, and a few minutes later large black clouds appeared on the horizon. The guide's face changed drastically when he saw it, and he hurriedly told the officers around him to find a place to hide immediately.
But in the vast Gobi desert, where is there a place to hide?
Just as the ministries were busy ordering the supplies on the carriage to be tied up, lightning and thunder thundered in the sky in the blink of an eye. The entire wasteland was filled with sand pillars blown up by the whirlwind. The wind was so strong that it could overturn the carriage and hang a person's body on the ground.
In the air. Whether they were soldiers or officers, everyone pressed their bodies tightly to the ground and desperately grabbed everything they could, even a weed. Despite this, some soldiers were still blown away by the wind.
After the strong wind blew for half an hour, it was followed by heavy rain, and the ground temperature suddenly dropped to 10 degrees. The sudden change in temperature made the sweaty soldiers who were hot an hour ago shivering from the cold.
After some gathering, two soldiers were missing, and the others who were injured were either smashed while hiding under the carriage, or were blown away by the wind and fell to pieces; then a heavy rain caused many soldiers to suffer from illnesses.
He caught a cold and even Fan Tong fell ill.
After Liu Sheng synthesized the intelligence from the guide and the reconnaissance team, he ordered the troops not to stop here and to cross the Gobi as soon as possible. After crossing the Halachulu Mountain and entering the valley, the troops would stop there to rest and wait for Zhao.
New arrival.
Compared with the arduous trek of the Northern Navy, it was much easier for the Qing army to march from the south to the north. Just when Liu Sheng and others were ravaged by the storm, hundreds of thousands of troops led by Agui, a great scholar of Manchu economics, had arrived one after another.
Ladolan station.
Taladolan Station is located on a vast plain. Only in the south and west are there mountains that clearly separate the plain. Standing in the south are Serpen Ula Mountain and Talilaktu Mountain; in the west, close to
On the horizon are the continuous Ebugen Mountains.
The most conspicuous building in the local area is the Guandi Temple, which is located alone on a low hill, but it is somewhat dilapidated. Since Agui led his army to arrive, the surrounding area of the hill has become the location of the military camps of the Qing army. Li Guan
Less than a mile away due north of the Imperial Temple is the Serwusu Well. Although the water in the well here is extremely bitter and salty, it cannot be drunk by humans and animals.
Agui's tent is located in a lamasery to the north of Serwusu Well. This place is called "Ganden Punchukling" by the Mongols. Although it is not magnificent, it is still clean and elegant. The front hall
It was originally a place where the "Hural" Dharma Ceremony was held. Now it was requisitioned by the Qing army. The portraits of Buddha and Bodhisattva that originally covered the four walls were moved to the back hall.
The local "Hubilhan" is Lama Lanzhampa, who does not usually live in the temple. When he learned that the economics scholar appointed by the imperial court had arrived, he hurried back to pay homage and then gave up the main hall. The monks of the temple originally
There weren't many. After the Qing army came, they usually stayed in the back hall and rarely showed up except when they went out to fetch water.
After arriving, the leading troops of the Qing army not only sent out sentries to the north, but the first thing they did after setting up camp was to dig wells everywhere. The only local well that could be used for drinking was a small well in the post station, which was not enough for the large group of troops. However,
After digging for two days in a row, there were still not many wells that produced water that was drinkable. Fortunately, many people came this time, so they fetched water from Kutul Dolan Terrace, fifty miles away.
When he learned that the vanguard of the Northern Navy had appeared in the valley northeast of the Zamen Chahel Mountain, Agui quickly ordered his five thousand shotgun cavalry to dispatch, asking them to carry out harassment operations against the Northern Navy day and night, and not to fight head-on. The purpose was
He could not have any peace for a moment. At the same time, he ordered the construction of large-scale trench fortifications in the Haraganna area north of Taladolan Station.
After fighting with the Northern Navy for so many years, the Manchus and Qing Dynasties have long understood that relying on cavalry and archery and formation battles to deal with the Northern Navy will definitely lead to death. Therefore, his plan is to rely on his own side to occupy the water source, and use solid fortifications and ground
The Northern Navy was exhausted in the wasteland and looked for fighter planes, so that nearly ten thousand Northern Navy soldiers died of thirst and starvation in the Gobi.
After all, no matter how powerful the North Korean navy's artillery shells and muskets are, they can't be treated like water or eaten, right?
In fact, when the Qing government planned the station route, the reason why they chose Taladolan Station was because it was the only place suitable for living. Its west and north were all Gobi wilderness. Although the valley where the Beihai Navy was located, the terrain was not bad.
It's flat, but the water sources inside are all barren salt-alkali pools. Looking for water is just a dream.
In the next few days, the Beihai Navy, which was camping and resting in the valley, would be attacked by the Qing army every night from three directions: southwest, southwest and east. The sound of shotguns, rifles, the explosion of flying mines and the sound of machine guns from the Beihai Navy continued all night long.
Illumination bombs rose from the sky from time to time, illuminating the entire valley like daylight.
However, despite this, the Beihai Navy did not move, except to defend and defend, and never attacked again. This move made Agui and his Qing generals both happy and scared. Fortunately, the Beihai Navy was now in desperate situation, waiting for them
When you run out of food and fodder, you have no choice but to retreat; what you are afraid of is whether the other party is playing another trick and will suddenly catch you off guard.
On September 27, just the fifth day after Liu Sheng and others arrived in the valley, Zhao Xin, who was carrying several water purification trucks, was escorted by a company and chased all the way with one person and three horses, and finally arrived at Halachulu