In the summer of the twelve years of the empire, Xuanye learned about Sengge's murder, civil strife on the north road of Tianshan Mountain, and Galdan's indifference came to surrender. After more than three years of planning, he made up his mind to turn this major change into an opportunity for the rise of Manchuria.

In the past few years, Xuanye has been committed to improving the living environment of Manchuria. After seizing several Russian fortress cities at the beginning, Xuanye adopted a retreat strategy against the empire and constantly attacked and harassed Russian cities in the Ob River. In addition to plundering people, the maximum pressure on Russia to force it to live in peace with Manchuria. This goal was initially achieved in the decade of the empire. Russia encountered all-round challenges from the empire in Siberia, and the newly-rise Manchuria was in the empire's waist and abdomen. If it was allowed to perform, it could cut off the passage between Russia and Siberia, and then the achievements of Russia's century-long development will disappear.

Naturally, Xuanye would not really cut off the liaison between Russia and the East, which would lead to Manchuria's independent response to challenges from the empire. After temptation and confusion, the two sides established a ceasefire agreement and soon reached trade terms. Then, Xuanye led his army to attack westward, with the target of the Kazakh Khanate, which had been in civil unrest for decades. A force that even the Khan did not have, obviously had more opportunities to annex. If it were not for the empire's every attack, perhaps Xuanye had already annexed the Kazakh Khanate.

In June, when Sengge died, Xuanye concentrated the elite troops of the Eight Banners to the northern foothills of the Altai Mountains for hunting. Because the area occupied by Manchuria now does not have decent agricultural production, hunting is as important economic activity as grazing, and it is also preparing for war, so the scale is large. The flag soldiers dispatched 6,000, plus slaves, nearly 15,000 people.

Galdan, who retreated here, witnessed this large-scale foothill hunting, which was very Manchurian tradition. Slaves drove away prey in the mountains and forests with spears and torches, while cavalry surrounded them and forced the prey to the empty riverside areas. Preys such as deer, deer and yellow sheep were shot and killed on the spot, dragged them aside, peeled off the skin and dried them, and meat was used to be used to marinate and made for food. Black bears, tigers and other beasts in the prey were surrounded alone. If someone was willing to fight alone, they could receive various rewards, nobles could receive glory, soldiers could obtain official positions, and even slaves could obtain freedom and property by virtue of courage.

Galdan, who had already chosen to surrender, rode a horse to watch this grand occasion. When he was young, he had gone to Beijing with his master to visit Emperor Shunzhi, and had seen the Eight Banners of the past. The men in Sijiu City were glamorous. Later, he went to Mobei to contact him and saw the Eight Banners whose wrecked dogs withdrew from Beijing. He was desperate and uncomfortable. But now, he once again saw Manchu and the Eight Banners, but he found that this power was vigorous and this was a new nation!

The so-called New Manchuria, the so-called Eight Banners soldiers are completely different from those seen in those years. They are filled with different appearances and customs. The beliefs are even more diverse. The Kazakhs who converted to the Tianfang Sect, the Orthodox Christians who were assimilated by Russia, and the various Siberian ethnic groups who believed in the Yellow Sect or Shamanism were simply a melting pot of races. This group of people was controlled by an organization called the Eight Banners and then mixed into a new nation. What Galdan didn't know was that this was the Manchuria nation.

The heads or furs of the killed beasts such as tigers, black bears were hung alone, and then they were watched from various battalions, and then the entire army burst into rhythmic shouts. The soldiers and slaves of New Manchuria praised their emperor with the greatest voice.

"What's the matter? Isn't it just killing a few wild beasts? As for being so happy!" The general around Galdan said indignantly.

Galdan glared at the man and scolded: "What do you know? Every auspicious sign before the war is worth celebrating. The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty personally shot and killed the tiger, which is even rarer! We also cheered to celebrate the successful hunting of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty!"

The generals also understood the truth that people had to bow their heads under the eaves, so they turned their horses and left. Galdan went directly to Xuanye's tent, knelt on the ground outside the tent, and said to the soldiers on duty: "Please pass on the behalf of the public, Galdan asked for a visit."

Soon, Xuanye walked out, helped Galdan up in person, and said enthusiastically: "Khan Galdan, King Shunyi of the Qing Dynasty, my sworn brother, why do you have so much politeness? Please come in, the generals of the entire army are waiting for you alone."

In the big tent, the assistant officials sat down on both sides. Now the Qing court gradually degenerated to the system of the Nurhaci era, or reformed. The original Han-style official positions such as the Six Tribes were meaningless. The Qing Dynasty is not as good as a tribe as a country. Therefore, the old Eight Banners system was restored, but Xuanye did not have any children or nephews like Nurhaci. The banner owners were mostly relatives, and among the generals of each banner, there were many foreign chiefs who surrendered.

"Sony, tell me the situation on Tianshan North Road." Xuanye ordered his most respected minister.

Sony stood up and said, "The situation is clear now. After Prince Galdan surrendered to our Qing Dynasty and left Tianshan North Road, the real power lords of Weilath tribes and Junggar were soon in a melee. Once Sengge died, Junggar was destroyed, and the order of Tianshan North Road lost. The killing of each tribe was difficult to resolve. It was the time when we had great achievements."

"It's so great, we can finally move south!"

"Yes, the plump ranch and countless slaves will belong to us!"

The generals and officials shouted, although the large area of ​​Tianshan North Road was arid desert, there were still many mountain pastures, whose quality was no less than that of the southern desert. Otherwise, they would not be able to support hundreds of thousands of tribes of various Weilater tribes. For the Eight Banners, which had been living in a barren system for a long time, it was a piece of delicious fat.

Xuanye glanced at Galdan quietly, and saw that his expression was still the same and did not show any humiliation, so he said, "We will cross the Altai Mountain along the river from the Tonggas Pass, but what will happen in the future? Please give me a thumbs up and paint it for me."

Galdan said: "The army advances, and food and grass are the first priority. The northern roads of Tianshan Mountains are mostly deserts. The herdsmen do not understand the art of farming. They are separated from the Qing Dynasty and have difficulty connecting with each other. This time, they still have to seize a tribe as the basis before they can discuss other things. I believe that the first goal is the most appropriate one.

The small arm of Huitnaiweilat, Huit Khan Elinqin was timid and cowardly. He first relied on Dulbert's army, and then after Dulbert moved westward, he then relied on the Hoshuot's army. This time, the northern road of Tianshan Mountains was in chaos, and it must have been hiding into the Wulun Guhe, their old pasture land. The Huit's army had more than 3,000 tents, less than 20,000 people. If it could encircle and annihilate it in one fell swoop, it would be the best strategy to provide military supplies to the army!"

As he said that, Galdan pointed out the location of the Ulungu River on the map. When everyone saw that although it was remote, it was located west of Tonggas Pass and was far away from the major tribes, which was very suitable.

"Will King Shunyi be the vanguard of the army?" Xuanye asked.

Galdan lost quickly: "I am willing to go, but I am only more than a thousand soldiers under my subordinates. If I choose cavalry to attack, I can only draw 800 people. It is not difficult to destroy the Huite army, but if it is allowed to scatter, it will not be conducive to the army obtaining military supplies. I am asking the emperor to send troops to help!"

Xuanye asked with a smile: "How many soldiers do King Shunyi need?"

"If I only talk about defeating the enemy, I only need five hundred elite cavalry support, but if I say catching cattle, sheep and slaves, the more it will be better!" Galdan said.

Xuanye laughed: "Happy, Peng Chun, you choose 1,500 cavalry from the two blue flags and two white flags to fight with Galdan, and obey Galdan's orders!"

Peng Chun stood up and obeyed the orders, and Xuanye also sent someone to send food. The roasted venison and the stewed pots of stewed stewed were the staple food of this banquet. Horse milk wine became the main drink. The generals ate and talked loudly, and were full of confidence in the war that was about to break out. The young emperor Xuanye still maintained the court etiquette he learned when he was young. He ate some symbolically and left the big tent. However, Sony was old and did not adapt to the noisy environment here, so he left the seat halfway.

"Sir Sony, the emperor asked you to go there." When Sony was about to go back to the tent to rest, a small team of soldiers stopped him.

Sony followed the soldier to a clean tent. After a simple salute, Xuanye said: "I didn't say anything at the meeting just now. There is another important news. There is something unusual about the Guanxi Appeasement Zone of the Empire. Chen Ping assembled thousands of cavalry and should have moved north of the Tianshan Mountains. Soon we will fight a war with the imperial army in the north of the Tianshan Mountains."

"You are doing it very well. The wolf pack should be as long as the head wolf knows what happened. The other wolf only needs to do what they have done." Sony said respectfully.

Xuanye smiled: "Thank you for your understanding, Sony, now I want to know what I should do next, whether to retreat to the north of Altai Mountain after robbing Tianshan North Road, or to fight the Han people at the right time?"

"This time, the main force led by Chen Ping should not be a Han person." Sony said.

Xuanye nodded: "It is precisely because of this that it is even more terrifying."

In the decades of war history between the Qing Dynasty and the Empire, the imperial firearms and infantry arrays were troubles that the Qing army could not solve. However, in terms of cavalry, the Qing army was not at a disadvantage. The main reason was that the imperial cavalry could not ride and shoot, and relied on arrays more. However, when the empire's power penetrated into the grassland and controlled the north and south of the desert, everything changed. The army, which once used the combination of infantry and artillery as its main tactic, had a powerful cavalry unit and had a lot of Mongolian cavalry. The current imperial cavalry had the Mongols' tough and arduous warriors and good at riding and shooting. It was also equipped with various firearms produced by the empire and the powerful war horses cultivated. The combination of the two greatly increased the combat effectiveness, and the establishment of the appeasement zone system allowed the empire's frontier troops to have the mobilization ability of the grassland tribe.

Xuanye was not sure how fast the mobilization speed of the Guanxi Appeasement Zone was, nor how many cavalry Chen Ping could bring. But even so, Xuanye still believed that it was a rare opportunity. If the empire decided to take action, the troops that would go to the Ili River Valley next year would be invincible.

"When facing us, all tribes of Weilat should obey Chen Ping's orders, but considering the virtue of the Han people who will annex the land every time they go to, I believe these noble chiefs will not really help each other." Sony thought for a while and said.

Seeing Xuanye pondering and silent, Sony said: "We cannot fight the Han people in a decisive battle. In order to survive, the Qing Dynasty can bet on everything, but this time it is not life or death. We cannot bet on the national destiny and the Eight Banners' bones and blood."

"But it's really a rare opportunity, Sony." Xuanye said.

Sony shook his head: "No, Master, there is no chance. Chen Ping, a general, has no growth, but he has no shortcomings. He is a mature and persistent type. He received news of Sengge's death and would definitely lead his army into the North Road of Tianshan as soon as possible, because only when the army arrives can it exert influence and maintain the situation, but he will not fight too early with us, because his army does not have an absolute advantage. Even if he wants to fight, he will wait until August or even September. At that time, even if Chen Ping's entire army is wiped out, we will face ice and snow that we cannot convert victory into actual interests.

And next year, when reinforcements from Gansu and Monan arrive, we will have no chance. You have already firmly held the throne. What is the significance of victory without actual interests to you?"

Xuanye asked: "Then we can only snatch livestock and population like we do with Kazakhs?"

"Maybe we should take this opportunity to truce the Empire." Sony thought for a long time and expressed his thoughts.

"Armation?" Xuanye was puzzled.

Sony said: "The empire will never allow us to occupy the North Road of Tianshan, and the noble chiefs of Weilath will not surrender to us. If we continue to fight, it will only be a comprehensive war. If the empire accumulates strength to take a battle of the size of the Northern War, it will not be beneficial to us. In the eyes of the slaves, a ceasefire is the best choice. We can develop westward. The water and grass in the Kazakh prairie are equally abundant. The Qihe Basin is suitable for agriculture and herdsmanship. Why do we need to fight head-on with a powerful Central Plains dynasty? Your Majesty, you are only twenty years old, and there are still 40 or fifty years to fulfill your ambition of revenge.

At this time, you are like Lao Khan, and everything you do is laying the foundation for later generations. Aisin Gioro spent three generations of time to unify the Central Plains. No matter how wise you are, it will be shortened by less than twenty years."

Silence fell into the tent, Xuanye thought carefully under the shining candlelight, and after a long time, he said, "Can I never return to the Forbidden City in my life?"

"Your descendants can!" Sony said without hesitation, and said to Xuanye: "Your Majesty, how could the two emperors, Taizu and Taizong, have you ever seen the prosperity of Beijing?"
Chapter completed!