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Among the countries around China in this era, only Tsarist Russia in the north could pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Russia itself is a country that is extremely expanding and aggressive. The Ming Dynasty of the Tianwu Dynasty is the same. It is impossible for both sides to make any concessions in terms of territory. There will be a war between the Ming and Russia sooner or later!

War is about making money, especially for such expeditions.

From an internal perspective, the Ming Dynasty has launched many overseas wars in recent years, but the empire's financial situation is good and has not had much impact on the country's economy. It is fully capable of carrying out large-scale military operations in the northwest!

At present, Tsarist Russia has very weak control over Central Asia because the Kazakh Khanate is also a powerful Central Asian country. This time they are united in an alliance with the goal of taking over the Junggar Khanate and acting as a buffer zone to curb the Ming Dynasty's hand towards Central Asia.

Based on the domestic and foreign situation, Zhu Cixuan believes that the battle with Tsarist Russia and the Kazakh Khanate cannot be inconsistent like Kang Mazi in history, win military victory, and lose completely at the negotiating table.

This time, when sending troops to Central Asia, we must teach Tsarist Russia and the Kazakh Khanate a severe lesson. We dare not say that we will destroy the country, but we will beat them to kneel down and beg for mercy!

At the imperial meeting held in Wuying Palace, the Minister of Military Affairs unanimously agreed that the invading Russian army should respond strongly!

Everyone is familiar with Tsarist Russia. As early as the Yuan Dynasty, China had records of them, and it was called the Rakshasa Kingdom at that time.

The column "Taixi Records of the Kingdoms" hosted by the Empress also has a comprehensive introduction to Tsarist Russia. The officials of the Ming Dynasty had some understanding of it while drinking tea at work.

After the Intelligence Department introduced the situation of Tsarist Russia, Zhu Cilang spoke: "Tsarist Russia planned the Junggar rebellion and invaded our northern border of the Ming Dynasty. It must not be tolerated. It should be hit head-on and severely damaged its momentum so that it can be used as a warning and dare not offend our China again in the future!"

Yang Tinglin, the chief assistant of the cabinet, nodded and agreed, "What Your Majesty said is extremely true. Those who violate the powerful Han Dynasty will be punished even if they are far away. The ancients even had such a mighty spirit, let alone the prosperity of our emperor and the Ming Dynasty, which is far away from the Han and Tang Dynasties!"

If it were before the Chongzhen Dynasty, Yang Tinglin would never say this. At most, he would be courtesy and then soldiers, and would first show the sacred virtues of the Celestial Empire to Tsarist Russia, and then raise the troops and swords, etc.

Since the Tianwu Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has continuously won military victories. The Qing court, which is said to be invincible and the invincible Mongolia, are all defeated by the Ming army!

The Ming army basically completed the transformation from ancient troops to modern troops, and the empire was full of confidence in military power.

In addition, the Age of Discovery broadened the horizons of the imperial elites and knew that the Western countries were all bullying the weak.

Therefore, today's Ming officials, regardless of their civil and military, are becoming more and more tough in their tone towards foreign enemies, and they are as fierce as you and I are more cruel than you!

The military minister Cao Bianjiao went out to fight, and his tone was strong: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the army to fight and give the Rakshasa ghost a head-on attack so that he dare not spy on the land of my imperial light again!"

"I am willing to be the pioneer, attack the Russian ghosts and attack Moscow directly!"

"I am willing to go, kill into the Kremlin, capture the pseudo-Emperor of Tsarist Russia alive, and offer to capture the Meridian Gate!"

The Russians touched the core interests of the Ming Dynasty, and the voices of the main battles of the imperial conference were rising and falling. Whether it was civil officials or military generals, they were all the main battles!

Zhu Cilang was relieved and said, "You are so worried. Now the war in Myanmar has just begun and it is already autumn. If the imperial court moves troops at this time, I am afraid that it will only be able to spend the winter in the northwest. What I mean is to make arrangements first, and when the war in Myanmar is over, we will send troops to Junggar in the beginning of next spring! If they want to play, we will play with them once a big game!"

After pausing, Zhu Cilang said to Cao Bianjiao again: "Caoqing, you have ordered the Northern Protectorate in the name of military aircraft. Zhou Yuji, Duke Dingguo, led 50,000 Northern Expedition Army westward to the area of ​​Arte Wulianghai to assist the Western Protectorate in dealing with the Junggar Rebellion, and wait for an opportunity to regain the Ili River Valley to defend against Tsarist Russia!"

"I obey the order!" Cao Bianjiao responded.

Li Yu, the Grand Governor of the Central Army Governor's Office, replied: "Your Majesty, the northwest is vast. The two major procuratorates in the north and west have a total strength of only more than 100,000. They also have to defend Mobei and Hehexi Corridors. I am afraid that they are not strong enough. Can the troops from the Western Army Governor's Office and the Northern Army Governor's Office be transferred to the defense? Let the two major procuratorates work hard to deal with the Russian-Kazakhstan coalition?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head and said, "The Western Army Governor's Office and the Northern Army Governor's Office have other responsibilities and should not act rashly."

The role of the two major governors' offices is to curb the Tushetu Khan, Zasaktu Khan and Chechen Khan in the northern Khalkha Medal, the three khans, who were dependent on the Ming Dynasty on the surface, and had never regarded themselves as ministers of the Ming Dynasty behind their backs, and had great autonomy in their territory.

Now that the war in the northwest is in a tight situation, the Junggar tribe, which was originally responsible for curbing the three tribes in the northern desert on the western front, was turned against by Tsarist Russia. These three khans will inevitably become active and take the opportunity to ask for more aid from the court, or even take advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and have to be guarded.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Cixuan said again: "If the troops are still insufficient, the tribes of the villages and tribes on the northwest border can organize their own militias, the court will send military weapons and ammunition, and send instructors to train them to build a village to protect themselves."

The four eunuchs opened the map of the Wulianghai area in Altai, and Zhu Cixuan and a group of civil and military officials watched it together.

This area is close to the Altai Mountains, spanning the Tsarist Russia, Kazakh Khanate, Khalkha Mongol, and the Junggar tribe in the west of the desert. It was under the jurisdiction of the Anbei Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty. It was under the jurisdiction of the Lingbei Province in the Yuan Dynasty, known as Yilanzhou, and in the Ming Dynasty, it belonged to the Mongolian Wala tribe and Urya tribe, with complex forces.

After a while, Lu Jiude, the Minister of Logistics Department, took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, the road from the pass to the Ulianghai in Altai is a desert, and it is very difficult to replenish logistics supplies. Why don't we choose the battlefield area in the Yili area?"

According to Lu Jiude's understanding, there is a road leading to Yili in the Hexi Corridor, and there is railway transportation from Xijing to Jiayuguan. It is the fastest way to transport materials from the inner pass to the Yili front line, ranging from three months to six months.

On the contrary, when transporting supplies from Guannei to the Altai Wuliang Sea, only camels and horse teams were used. Even if you set out from the nearest naturalized province (Monan Hetao area), it would take at least half a year toss.

Everyone looked at the white-haired old eunuch with a smile. Lu Jiude was an old man from Yongweiying who was following Zhu Cilang. He was always diligent in his work, but he had no strategic vision and could only do logistics.

Xu Qingshan said: "Mr. Lu doesn't know that the Russian Cossack cavalry has strong mobility and is deployed heavily in the Ili River Valley. Our intention is to attract the Russian-Kazakh coalition forces to the north, let the Western Protectorate take the opportunity to take back the Ili River Valley again, and then wait for an opportunity to use the terrain to make its cavalry useless, and to attack the north and the south to eliminate it."

After hearing this, Lu Jiude shook his head and said, "How about the Cossack cavalry than my Ming Longwu Army? Why should we target them like this?"

When everyone heard this question, they calmed down a lot. At least they found that Tsarist Russia was not as vulnerable as they thought!

Looking at the simulated deployment of troops on both sides and the vast grasslands and rivers on the terrain of this area, everyone fell into deep thought.

According to information, the Russian army also used firearms, and may also be veterans of a long battle formation, especially their Cossack cavalry, who are known for their fierce fighting, excellent riding skills and fast movements.

In Turkic language, the Cossacks mean "free man". It is a story about the fact that after the rise of the Mongol Empire, the Slavs moved to the Don River Basin, the lower Dnieper River and the Volga River Basin, gradually forming the Cossacks.

The Cossacks lived on horseback for a long time, and they were all riding skillfully. They were the black storm on the Eurasian prairie after the yellow storm of Mongolian cavalry.

Their main weapon is the Cossack Cavalry Knife, known as the "Eagle's Claw". What they are most difficult for is not because of how terrible their weapons are, nor how amazing their combat power is, but because of their exquisite riding skills, rapid movement, which makes you unable to catch them.

Unless you have more flexible arms than them, there is currently no such arms in the Ming army. The environment and development focus make the Ming Dynasty slightly behind the Cossack cavalry in terms of cavalry.

In the past, when the Northern Protectorate fought with the Cossack cavalry, they often used advanced firearms to attack them, and made a large sum of money to build a musket cavalry to deal with it.

In terms of infantry, although the equipment of the Ming army was stronger than that of the Russians, the gap was not as huge as that of hot and cold weapons.

Over the years, the Ming army's firearms have been powerful and have strong achievements, which has led countries around the world to follow suit and vigorously develop firearms. At present, several major European powers have already vacate Minni rifles, and their research on firearms has been at least a hundred years ahead of history.

The range and accuracy of the Minni rifle are far stronger than that of the bird gun and the Lumi gun. Compared with the Wushi rifle, the only difference is the rate of fire.

Of course, this is also an insurmountable gap, giving the Ming army all its advantages.

Xu Qingshan said: "The Cossack cavalry fought bravely and moved quickly and flexibly. They are famous strong troops in Europe. This time, the Russian army sent not the scattered Cossacks in the Far East, but the main force in groups. We have to go cautiously."

Xu Qingshan pointed to the terrain on the map and said: "The Yenisei River and Ob River in the Junggar tribe are from March to September every year. It only takes six months. It is now July. According to the time calculation, if the Northern Expedition Army of Dingguo arrived at the Altai Wulianghai on time, it should be almost the end of the year. If the Russian army prevented the Northern Expedition Army from pacifying the Junggar tribe, they would definitely send troops to block the river during the thawing period and walk from the frozen river surface."

"As long as the Northern Army holds for two months, when the thawing period arrives, even if the Russian army receives the news that the Western Army sends troops to recover the Ili River Valley, it will not be able to calmly cross the two major rivers and return to the Ili River Valley under the harassment of the Northern Army."

"The strategy of Pingyang Hou is excellent, I agree!" Li Yu, the chief general of the Central Army Governor's Office, agreed.

The generals nodded and said yes, while some people looked thoughtful and frowned.

After a while, Yao Qisheng, who belongs to the Pian Painting Department, secretly looked at Zhu Cilang, as if he had something to say, but Zhu Cilang saw it.

Zhu Cilang scolded: "If you have something to say, if you have farts, you are just apologizing for paintings. If you have any ideas, you will say them out. He is as squeamish as a big girl, and he doesn't look like a soldier!"

"Soldiers are just trying to act decisively and are now formulating tactics. Don't be afraid of saying something wrong. Take it out and discuss it, avoid mistakes as much as possible, and reduce the losses of our army!"

After hearing Zhu Cilang's words, Yao Qisheng nodded solemnly, let go of his nervousness, and then said, "Your Majesty, I think the tactics of Pingyang Hou are a little inappropriate."

Zhu Cixuan encouraged: "Where do you owe it? Tell me boldly!"

Yao Qisheng used his finger to draw a circle around the Lianghai of Altailu, and said with some concern: "There are two flaws here. First, the Northern Expedition Army stationed this strange place in the cold winter and in the territory of the three Mobei tribes. Is it safe?"

"Secondly, as bait, can the Northern Expedition Army get rid of the Cossack cavalry that operated on a large scale? The two rivers are flat and flat, which is very conducive to the cavalry fighting. If the Northern Expedition Army cannot drag the Cossack cavalry and encounter the threat from the three divisions of Mobei behind it, there may be a danger of being wiped out!"

When Zhu Cilang and others frowned and felt a chill when they heard that this bait might be wiped out.

After a brief calm, Zhu Cilang took the lead and said, "The plan of Pingyang Hou is good. As for whether the Northern Army will suffer too much losses, there is no need to worry about this. Zhou Yuji, Duke of Ding, fought with the Cossack cavalry in the northern border for many years. His troops have experience and can withstand the test of the environment!"

As for the threats from the three Mobei tribes, Zhu Ciyang did not mention that this was considered a political factor. He believed that after the Tianwu Army went deep into Mobei, he would not take the risk and take the initiative to fight against the Ming Dynasty!

After hearing what the emperor said, Yao Qisheng immediately shut up. He even suspected that the emperor had sent the Northern Army to the Arte Wulianghai, and many of them were testing the loyalty of the three Khans of Mobei to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Cilang smiled heartily and said, "Yao Qing is also thinking about the worst situation, but their Cossack cavalry is powerful, and the musketeers of our Northern Army are not vegetarians! During training, the soldiers have to fire dozens of silver-round bullets every year. These musketeers are the elites of the Ming border army. They are not afraid of those Cossacks from the bottom of their hearts!"

He thought for a while and said, "Follow the strategy mentioned by Pingyang Hou to put the main battlefield in the Wulianghai! If the Russians really come, the Northern Expedition Army will immediately enter the Yili River Valley area and enter the Nine Guards of Yili, use the benefits of the city wall to defend and wait for assistance, seal the mountain pass, trap the deep Russian troops in Junggar, and wait for the army within our pass to enter the northern border and destroy them in one fell swoop!"

The ministers nodded and said, if they had the opportunity, they would close the door and kill the dogs and destroy the Cossack cavalry first, so that the Russian army would lose its mobile power, so that the Ming army's cavalry could play a role, either harass the enemy's rear behind them, or wait for an opportunity on both wings.

Furthermore, the 100,000 Russian-Kazakh coalition forces are on the Junggar Grassland, which is uninhabited for thousands of miles and is very desolate. In the late winter, the weather will definitely be very cold at night. They will suffer half a year of punishment!

The main task of the Ming Dynasty is to resolve the war in Myanmar.

To put it bluntly, the Ming army is currently unable to send troops to the northwest immediately. Thousands of miles of expeditions require large-scale mobilization of the army, logistics supply and other preparations, which will take at least half a year.
Chapter completed!