When the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was opened, war was finally about to begin in Jiuyuan City. More and more enemies were gathering in Linhe.
The Monan Tumote and Qinghai Tumote units, after being attacked by the regiment led by Yan Yingyuan, completely retreated to Linhe City. Their strength was greatly depleted and they urgently needed repairs.
The top of the Yellow River is staggered with grasslands, deserts, mountains and plateaus.
Among them, a long and narrow irrigation oasis between the Helan Mountain and the Yellow River is the Xitao-Yinchuan Plain.
Among them, an oasis sandwiched between the Yinshan Mountain and the Yellow River to the north and south is Houtao Linhe City - Bayannur Plain.
Among them, Baotou and Hohhot Plains between Daqing Mountain and the Yellow River are the former Tumochuan Plain.
The current situation is that Xitao is in the hands of the Ming court. The former is in the hands of the Beijing camp led by Yang Fan. The latter is in the hands of the Mongolian armies in the desert with Linhe City as the center on the Bayannur grassland.
The reason why Yang Fan left behind and waited for the Mongolian army to come was because only this grassland could feed the cattle and sheep that the Mongolian army came from.
This grassland is extremely fertile, and even farming has no problems. It is enough to feed their cattle and sheep.
In this era, the Mongolians all drove cattle and sheep on expeditions. The cattle and sheep were their baggage and military rations. They ate wherever they went.
Therefore, as long as the remnants of Tumut still control the back cover, those Mongolian reinforcements will gather there. Because that grassland is the best base area.
Yang Fan was not afraid of their large numbers, but afraid of their scattering.
The Beijing camp is all infantry, and there is no way to engage in mobile warfare with the cavalry.
At this time, Yang Fan had returned to Jiuyuan City with 45,000 capital troops.
The current situation is that there are 15,000 people left in Guihua City. Jiuyuan City has 60,000 people from the capital and 20,000 regiment training. Henan is surrounded by the Yellow River on three sides and blocked by Baiyu Mountain and Hengshan Mountain in the south, that is, Henan Province
The Ordos Plateau was handed over to the imperial court by Yang Fan. It is now under the jurisdiction of the Trilateral Governor-General.
Yang Fan was looking at the map and thinking. Now Jiuyuan City is about to start a war. What he needs to do is to hold off these Mongols. After their veterans are exhausted, let the cavalry army and infantry army lurking in Yinshan raid their lair and defeat Mo in one fell swoop.
Mongolia has completely completed the integration of Transkalkha, Monan Mongolia, Monan Mongolia, Qinghai Mongolia, and Southern Xinjiang Mongolia.
Among these Mongolian forces, there are still some remnants of the Monan Tumote. Although the Qinghai Tumote has suffered a lot, their strength is still there. They are the weakest among the Mongols. Yang Fan can quickly deal with them.
After clearing out the Mongolian forces in Qinghai, we can send the master back to Zang.
Outer Khalkha is today's Outer Mongolia region. Between here and Inner Mongolia is an area crisscrossed by deserts and Gobi. The areas suitable for human survival in Outer Mongolia are the three plains in the north.
One is the Great Lakes Basin in the northwest. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a basin densely covered with lakes in the middle. The core city is Uriyasudai. This grassland is the territory of Zasak Tuhan.
It is a grassland composed of the Selenge River flowing to the north and its tributaries to the south. This is the territory of Tushetu Khan. The core city is Ulaanbaatar. This place has fallen into the hands of Yang Fan. Tushetu Khan took his cronies with him
He defected to Jiannu and became the leader of the Eight Banners of Mongolia.
There is another area, namely the Ergun River Basin, Hulun Lake, and Beier Lake grassland in the upper reaches of Heilongjiang. The core city is Hailar. This is the territory of the Chechen Khan. In order to stabilize Lindan Khan of the Chahar tribe in the upper reaches of the Liao River, Yang Fan did not move.
Chechen Khan.
Then the next step is to let An Sanxi come out and do some activities.
Since it is not appropriate to move the Chechen Khan for the time being, it is time to move the Tushetu Khan. Take the Great Lakes Plain. Even continue to the northwest and take the Tangnu Ulianghai.
This threatens Mongolia's territory in the desert from the northeast side.
If we send a cavalry division into Qinghai, completely eliminate the Mongols in Qinghai, and then move westward along the Xining Valley Road into the Qaidam Basin, and from Qinghai into the eastern part of Xinjiang, we can attack the Mongolian territory in the desert from north to south.
Mongolia in the desert is definitely empty of troops at this time. Their soldiers are currently in Heishui City and Juyanhai City in Alxa. Some of them have arrived in Linhe City. The two cavalry divisions equipped with a large number of firearms are enough to mop up their old, weak, women, children, cattle and sheep.
livestock.
On the grassland, without the tribal herdsmen and cattle and sheep livestock, the expeditionary troops were doomed because they had lost their roots.
Jiuyuan City is not easy to fight. In this way, they have a fortified city in front of them, and they are attacked in the back. The herdsmen and livestock are looted, and these people are at the end of their rope.
The key is to hold on in Jiuyuan City, wearing them down little by little, and then when they are exhausted, let the cavalry attack and eliminate their base in one fell swoop.
Yang Fan touched his chin and had a plan in mind.
At this time, the signal corps came in to report and sent the latest news from the new city.
Yang Fan opened it and saw that the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway had been opened to traffic ahead of schedule. This was really good news. In this case, it would not be a problem for the entire line from Tanggu to Zhangjiakou to be opened to traffic before the end of the year.
As long as the train opens to Zhangjiakou before the end of the year, the problem of long distance logistics and transportation will be greatly improved. From Zhangjiakou out of the Great Wall to Guihua City, the distance will be greatly shortened.
Now that the Ordos Department has been solved, water transportation on the Yellow River can be opened. It has become possible to use steamships to supply Jiuyuan City from the Yellow River.
Jiuyuan City was built next to the Yellow River, and Yang Fan used the city wall to enclose the wharf. Even if the north of Jiuyuan City was besieged, he was not afraid of cutting off traffic. No matter how fierce the Mongolian siege was, steamships covered with steel plates could safely enter and exit Jiuyuan City.
The city's pier.
As long as material resources continue to flow, wounded soldiers can be evacuated, and reinforcements can arrive, there is no point in the Mongolian siege. A large number of firearms and weapons continue to arrive, and the desert Mongols can continue to bleed until they bleed dry under Jiuyuan City.
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Yang Fan has a lot of patience. He will guard this fortified city and slowly wear them out to see who can't bear it first.
Yang Fan can afford to lose, and there is Guihua City behind him.
But the Mongolians in the Desert cannot afford to lose. Once their home is stolen, they are in danger of being annihilated.
"How are the steamships prepared now?" Yang Fan turned around and asked.
Ding Kaishan, captain of the transport fleet, stood at attention and replied loudly: "Commander Qi, we have modified six tugboats powered by steam engines. They can tow thirty watercrafts and transport three thousand tons of materials at the same time."
It is not a big problem to transport a hundred tons on a single tanker. This scale is enough for Yang Fan's needs.
As long as enough supplies are stored in winter before the Yellow River freezes. In winter, after the heavy snow falls, the Mongolians will hide behind Maodong.
That's when Yang Fan started to launch a counterattack. Their horses were at their weakest, and their cattle and sheep relied on catching autumn fat to survive the winter.
Yang Fan is not afraid of winter. He has good cold-proof clothing, and he also has enough corn to feed his horses. In winter, he also has cotton tents to keep his horses warm at night. By then, the offensive and defensive momentum will change.