Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 544: Overlord of Desert West

Meng Jun looked around the world and thought that from a geographical point of view, the only force that could challenge and threaten the Qian Dynasty in the short term was probably Western Mongolia.

Meng Jun had a headache. The larger the territory, the more trouble there would be. The Russians in Liaodong were few in number, so there was no need to rush to let Zhao Yongping send a small force to fight them slowly. However, the war to conquer Burma was imminent and would probably start in a while. Now Meng Jun really didn't want to have another conflict with the Western Mongols in Guanzhong.

The reason was that Lin Shiqi from Guanzhong urgently reported to the capital that Taiji Sengge of the Dzungar tribe of western Mongolia had officially proclaimed himself Khan and established the Dzungar Khanate.

At this point, western Mongolia was officially unified, and the unified Dzungar was very likely to move eastward to attack the tribes south of the desert and try to unify the grassland. Now the tribes south of the desert had surrendered to the Qian Dynasty, and Meng Jun's league and flag system was showing results. Therefore, he could not tolerate Sengge coming to cause trouble.

To be on the safe side, Meng Jun sent Huang Cheng and Burbuha, two cavalry units totaling 40,000 people, to Guanzhong, where they were commanded by Lin Shiqi. At the same time, Meng Jun urgently ordered Lin Shiqi to closely monitor the movements of the Dzungar Khanate, and ordered the Qingluan Guard to recruit more herdsmen to infiltrate the Dzungar Khanate.

At that time, Sengge of the Dzungar tribe of the Western Mongolian Desert led his people to raid Guanzhong. Although he was stopped by Lin Shiqi, Sengge lost a small part of his cattle and sheep, as well as the remaining three troops. However, for the Dzungar headquarters, the loss was not too great.

At that time, the Dzungars had more than 40,000 cavalrymen, and among the three tribes west of the desert, the Khoshut had about 16,000 cavalrymen, the Dzungars and the Torghuts each had more than 8,000 cavalrymen, and the other large and small tribes could also gather about 20,000 cavalrymen.

When withdrawing from Guanzhong, Sengge's troops lost several hundred people, and the Khoshut tribe suffered a miserable loss of nearly 5,000 cavalry. The other two tribes each lost 2,000 to 3,000 cavalry. Add to that the loss of cattle and sheep. The other three tribes suffered heavy losses when they marched to Guanzhong.

Therefore, even if Sengge took out the jade seal of the Yuan Dynasty and regarded the Qian Dynasty as an enemy, Sengge wanted to establish the Dzungar Khanate to fight against the Qian Dynasty. After returning to Moxi, Sengge took out the jade seal and threatened the three tribes to surrender.

But the Khoshut tribe would rather die than surrender, and beheaded Sengge's envoy to boost morale. Afterwards, the Khoshut tribe contacted the Dürburt and Torghut tribes, intending to form a coalition force to fight against Sengge.

Sengge was indeed smart. He knew that sending troops to Guanzhong would not be a good thing for the tribes west of the desert. But for Sengge, it would be of great benefit to him regardless of victory or defeat.

Among the four tribes in western Moxi, the Dzungar tribe was stronger than the other three. Not to mention that the other three tribes had suffered heavy losses, so they were no match for Sengge.

Sengge was deeply angry at the Khoshut tribe for openly defying him, but Sengge did not let his anger cloud his head. The Khoshut tribe wanted to unite the various tribes on the grassland, so Sengge would naturally not let them do so.

So Sengge sent envoys everywhere to win over the various tribes, promising them various benefits, or threatening them with the current strength of the Dzungar Khanate. Many of the tribes, big and small, were greedy for profit or afraid of Sengge.

The joint forces of the Dzungar and Khoshut tribes fought near Mount Buhan. In this battle, the Dzungar tribe dispatched 40,000 cavalry from its own army and more than 16,000 cavalry from various tribes, while the Khoshut tribe, the Dzungar tribe, the Torghut tribe, and some small tribes that supported the Khoshut tribe had a total of more than 28,000 cavalry.

The two sides fought fiercely, and a war that could determine the dominant position of Moxi had begun. In the wilderness, thousands of horses galloped like raging waves hitting the shore, their iron hooves crushed the peace, and the neighing of the war horses was enough to shake the grassland for several miles.

Sengge divided his troops into three groups and attacked the coalition forces from all fronts. Relying on his superior military strength, Sengge took the lead in the attack, while the coalition forces were struggling to hold on.

By the afternoon, the coalition forces were clearly in a state of decline. The Durbet tribe defected on the battlefield, and the coalition forces were defeated. Sengge took the opportunity to lead his troops to attack.

As the sun set in the west, Sengge led his troops to finish off the battle and sent them to wipe out the remaining enemies. The war was declared over and the Dzungar tribe officially dominated the western desert.

The Battle of Buhan Mountain was a fierce conflict. Both sides invested a large number of troops, but the result was a crushing defeat for the coalition forces. More than half of their 28,000 cavalry were lost. Fortunately, they were all cavalry, so some of them were able to escape.

After the defeat of the coalition forces, the Khoshut and Torghut tribes knew that they could no longer keep the pastures in the western desert. If they stayed there any longer, they might not even be able to survive. So, on the day after the defeat, the Khoshut and Torghut tribes, as well as the small tribes in the coalition camp, immediately moved eastward with their people.

The leader of the Khoshut tribe, Hasar, decided to submit to the Qian Dynasty and rely on it. Hasar did not believe that Sengge would dare to attack him.

After defeating the coalition forces, Sengge sent troops to pursue the two fleeing tribes, and at the same time sent messengers to inform all the large and small tribes in western Moxi, telling them that Dzungar had defeated the coalition forces and had become the overlord of the western Moxi grassland.

Sengge established the Khanate on the Bayin River and was officially called Khan, which was the Dzungar Khanate. Sengge took over the pastures left behind by the retreating coalition forces, as well as the scattered herdsmen, cattle, sheep and horses, and his power greatly increased.

The Khoshut tribe and the retreating tribes paid the price of more than 3,000 cavalry before they withdrew into the Hetao area with the remaining cavalry, tribesmen, horses, cattle and sheep. Hesar presented a petition to Lin Shiqi, expressing his willingness to submit to the Qian Dynasty.

When Lin Shiqi heard of this shocking event, he immediately sent an express letter to the capital over an express route of 600 miles.

Meng Jun's move to mobilize troops made the ministers somewhat worried.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the capital city, there is a unique restaurant named Huiwang Tower.

One day, Liu Xunchun, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, said to several friends at the same table: "Recently, the troops in the capital have been frequently mobilized. The war against Burma has not yet ended. I am afraid that the war in Guanzhong will start again. Alas, the emperor loves war. Haven't you heard that weapons are dangerous tools and sages use them only when they have no choice?"

Everyone at the table was in silent contemplation, each with their own concerns. The aroma of wine lingered in the air, but it could not dispel Liu Xunchun's worries.

On the next day, Meng Jun summoned Liu Xunchun and asked curiously, "Since I founded the country, I have only conquered the rebellious Burma. The transfer of troops to Guanzhong is just to be prepared for any eventuality. Why do you say that I am warlike?"

It is not yet autumn and it is still quite hot these days, but Liu Xunchun broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this. He did not expect that the emperor would know what happened in the restaurant.

Liu Xunchun was so frightened that he immediately bowed and said in fear: "I am ignorant and have made irresponsible comments on the emperor's decision. I have no other intentions. Your Majesty is so powerful and majestic that everything you do is for the sake of the country. Please forgive me for my arrogance and ignorance. From now on, I will be careful in what I say and do, abide by my duties, and dare not overstep my bounds."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his forehead to the ground and did not dare to raise it for a long time, waiting for the emperor's decision.

Meng Jun laughed and said, "Liu Qing, get up. I am the emperor on horseback, so I naturally know that soldiers are dangerous tools. However, just like the Song Dynasty lost Yanyun and the Ming Dynasty lost Liaodong, the country was lost because of them. I used the army for the sake of the country. I hope you can understand me a little more!"