I can't die

Hit Grass Valley.This special term also comes from a branch of the Mongols, the Khitans. "The men and horses don't give food and grass, and every day they send out horses to raid the grass valleys to loot and plunder them for it."This method of looting food, grass, and property from the people without special logistical support, relying on soldiers to raise their own supplies, is called "grass hunting" by the Liao people.

Now Arut Chongqi's Zhenglan Banner Mongolian army knew that they could not return to Shanxi, so they simply started the earliest business of their ancestors in the depths of the Mongolian prairie.With the sky as the quilt and the earth as the bed, when the food was finished, he would take the army to rob the nearby Hui people's gathering place. This day is also called a chic life, and even a little bit reluctant to leave.

In addition, Zuo Zongtang has not waited for news from Arut in Shanxi for several days in a row. I hurriedly sent an urgent memorial to the capital.When Zai Chun saw this memorial, he also panicked, and hurriedly asked the people at the sticky pole to investigate the situation on the front line.Liu Xiang got the order and had to use his power in the northwest again, but at this time, all the major branches of the New Zhejiang Grain Line in Shaanxi and Gansu had withdrawn, and the ability to inquire about news was greatly reduced; moreover, the Hui rebels wanted to intercept The Alut Army, which was running around in Mongolia, set up a long line of defense at the junction of the northwest and the southeast, making it impossible for any news to leak out.

"I'm afraid it's more ominous than ominous..." Zai Chun thought in his heart that he couldn't even do anything about the sticky pole, so he couldn't help but sighed.Cixi Ci'an didn't show it on the face, but she had a little joy in her heart.After all, these people who had hooked up with the eight ministers were the thorns in the eyes of this pair of women's celestial groups, so it was the best thing to contribute and sacrifice for the Qing Dynasty, so as not to make their own actions and make Zai Chun dissatisfied.

"Does the emperor want to chase down the sacrificed general?"

Now that the person is dead, Cixi is also happy to make a gesture to appease the front-line generals and show her belly and body.

Zai Chun heard the words, looked at his mother, and sighed in his heart.If you want to say that my mother is really good at superficial skills, if you don't know her very well, you may really be deceived by her.

"Not yet, spreading the news at this time may shake the morale of the army."

If the news of Arut's army being wiped out spreads, it will definitely depress the morale of the frontline generals, and Zai Chun will never hold Zuo Zongtang back at this time.

"The household department is ordered to fully support the front-line military food supply. I don't want to see another Taiping Heavenly Kingdom appear again."

At the beginning, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was also a province in the beginning, and it became bigger and bigger, becoming a cancer of the Qing Dynasty.Taking history as a guide, Zai Chun will never allow this kind of country within a country to reappear, and must strangle this rebellion in its cradle.

Zai Chun's order was quickly conveyed to the front line.At this time, Zuo Zongtang also knew that it would be impossible to wait and see, so he led the army and drove directly from Shanxi to Shaanxi.

Zuo Zongtang's army has a total of more than 40. Except for the troops retreated from Shaanxi, Gansu and Gansu, almost half of the garrisons in Shanxi, Zhili, and Tianjin were emptied.Although the Hui rebels are known as millions of people, they are also millions. How can it compare to the former Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?These Hui people holding earthen utensils were forced to retreat steadily.

Zuo Zongtang knew very well that without his own military ration supply, the logistics were weak, and the imperial court had already allocated all the rations that could be allocated to him. In order to strive for a quick attack, he did not hesitate to use mountain artillery.Most of the city walls in the Shaanxi-Gansu area are made of local materials. Few are built of bricks and stones, and most of them are piled up with loess. How can they withstand the power of mass-destructive cannons? For a while, the Hui rebels heard that "Zuo Zongtang" The name is all frightened.

Back to the leaders Du Wenxiu and Ma Hualong, seeing the power of the Qing army, they dared not resist, hurriedly led their subordinates to abandon the territory of Shaanxi, and retreated into Gansu. Zuo Zongtang provided a little supply.

There are many loess deserts in Gansu, and the province is long. If Zuo Zongtang wants to invade Gansu, he will definitely have a deep front.And the battle line is deep, and the big problem since ancient times has been the supply of food and grass.In this way, Du Wenxiu and Ma Hualong could be regarded as pinpointing Zuo Zongtang's fate, which made Zuo Zongtang a little creepy.

"Although our army is victorious now, it is equally difficult to invade Gansu Province." Zuo Zongtang pointed to the map of Gansu and said to Yang Yuebin in the tent.

Yang Yuebin was originally the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and he is also familiar with the geographical environment of Shaanxi and Gansu.He knows very well that once the blitzkrieg develops into a tug-of-war, it is easy to create a situation where the tail cannot be dropped.

"Brother Zuo, to the north of Shaanxi is Gansu, and to the north of Gansu is Xinjiang. There are so many places where the Hui army can retreat. If our army is determined to destroy it, it will be really difficult."

Zuo Zongtang held a bamboo pole and clicked on the map.The two provinces of Gansu, Xinjiang, and the Qilian and Kunlun Mountains in the south have become a natural and difficult barrier to cross. Obviously, if the rebels are forced back to the northwest, it is definitely impossible to cross these two natural moats and go to Tibet. Seeking death.There is the Tianshan Mountains in the northernmost part of Xinjiang, and it is definitely impossible to be in the north.There are only two directions, northeast and northwest.To the northwest is the hinterland of Xinjiang, and to the northeast is the Mongolian grassland.

"It's not necessary to wipe them all out, but to expel them first," Zuo Zongtang said.Zuo Zongtang also knew that it was impossible to wipe out all the rebels, so he called on Cheng to drive the rebels out of Shaanxi and Gansu first.

"In this way, Mongolia is more likely to retreat than Xinjiang."

After all, the Xinjiang desert is no worse than the Mongolian grassland, and the environment is much harsher.If Zuo Zongtang was the leader of the rebel army, he should also give priority to Mongolia as the primary retreat.And Zuo Zongtang received the news that this was indeed the case. A large number of returned troops were stationed along the Mongolian line in Gansu, forming a line of defense, which seemed to be a preparation for retreat. (In fact, it is mainly to block Arut's cavalry...)

"However, there are many Hui people in Xinjiang, and the Hui army can get more help."

Yang Yuebin also said: "I feel that we should first open up the Mongolian route and seal off its Mongolian retreat. First, the grain and grass on the grassland in early autumn are not bad, and we can make some supplements. Second, the Mongolians have a good relationship with my Qing Dynasty, and we can get more help."

Zuo Zongtang followed Yang Yuebin's thinking.Sure enough, once the Mongolian comrades are opened up, a siege can be formed from the northeast and southeast, forcing the returning army to retreat into northern Gansu, and then forcing the returning army into Xinjiang.The lesser of two evils, a barren land like Xinjiang is far less important than Mongolia in their eyes.

"In this way, let's first write letters to the princes of Mongolia, get in touch, and then form a situation of encirclement, and discuss big plans together."

In the end, Zuo Zongtang made such a decision.