Just a few days after the Great Heat Festival. The Qiuzi area is still in the scorching heat. At five o'clock in the morning on the sixth day of the sixth month of June, a little morning light swept over the majestic mountains, dyeing the mighty city walls in color.

On the eastern outskirts of the city, groups of cavalry and infantry of the Zhou army were passing through the gate of Qiuzi City, moving along the straight official road, and the fiery red team could not see the end at a glance. This is the last elite unit in the Qiuzi region.

At the gate of the city, Jia Huan followed the colleague of the Western Regions Political Secretary and sent the governor and his party to the expedition! In the early morning, the atmosphere is slightly quieter. It is full of the silence that preceded the Great War.

Qi Chi, the governor of the Western Regions, brought a total of five battalions of the Western Expeditionary Army from the capital, totaling 40,000 people. Convergence of the previous Zuodu Governor Niu Jizong's defeated Zhou army, about 80,000 soldiers. After the Battle of Beishan, the whole army was replenished, and 50,000 Han troops were recruited in Dunhuang. A total of 120,000 troops.

20,000 Han troops were allocated to Jia Huan. The remaining 100,000 troops, this time, are all pressed on the North Court! Especially the elite 80,000 troops. The governor of Qi was accompanied by an army of 20,000 Qiuzi, led by the general Xun Yang. All parts of the Western Regions were replaced with garrisons.

Of course, it was only a nominal garrison, but in fact there were many veterans who had recovered from their wounds. Like Kang, that's always the case. The whole army of Dunhuang has been completed, and they have been assigned to the garrison. The battalion of the garrison is enough to suppress the place!

There are three divisions and yamen in the local area of the country: the political department, the judicial department, and the command department. Because the dynasty saw the harm of the Ming Dynasty's guard system, when it was established, it only inherited the framework of the capital command department. All the guards were recruited. Exists as a local force.

A hundred years later, the military system changed. The Command Division gradually became an empty shell. All commanders have become false titles. Garrison departments are set up in various localities to be responsible for bombing and suppressing localities. Returned to civil moderation. Under the dual leadership of the higher garrison department.

In the border areas, such as the Nine Sides, a military system of military towns and forts was set up to control the border and deal with the barbarians. Here in the Western Regions, a team training system is implemented.

The quota promised by the Governor of Qi to Jia Huan to recruit 100,000 troops was actually a quota for regimental training troops. Group training, which has existed since ancient times, is based on the armor protection system and is recruited from the township. In other words, this is a militia force. But the militia and the militia are different. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the white pole soldiers of Qin Liangyu were regimental training. The famous Hunan army is also a regimental exercise.

It is foreseeable that Jia Huan's recruitment of troops is definitely not going to the combat power of the militia.

The reason why the governor of Qi and Zeng Jigao "played" this name trick was mainly to avoid the court from asking for guilt. Before the governor of Qi left Beijing, he only asked the Son of Heaven for an additional 50,000 Han army recruitment. However, the status quo is that it is not enough for these forces to capture and defend the entire territory of the Western Regions.

The feudal officials recruited troops without authorization and expanded the army. In particular, the position of the governor of Qi, which is grasped by the military and government, has no explanation, but I am afraid that the day of the victory and return to the dynasty will be the time when the head falls to the ground.

In fact, it stands to reason that these 120,000 troops must have the imperial court to supply grain, grass, and equipment. However, the treasury has long been out of money. Before the governor of Qi set off, he did not ask the Son of Heaven for money and food at all. At the beginning, the army was able to come to the Western Regions by issuing 30 million silver dollars of Western Regions bonds.

Therefore, whether it is the governor of Qi or Jia Huan, they have to rely on themselves to recruit and raise soldiers. However, the number of troops on the books, this form is still required! Take the form seriously.

In the east of Qiuzi City, after the officials finished their farewell greetings, they galloped into black cloaks and stepped on stirrups on their horses.

Han Bo'an, Yu Youbu's political envoy, Wang Bachelor, Jia Huan and other civil and military officials twenty or thirty people, bowed down together, "The lower officials and others send off the marshal." I wish the handsome banner a victory and pacify the North Court! ”

Qi Chi smiled calmly. His eyes fell on Jia Huan. To completely pacify the North Garden, it depends on Jia Huan's actions in Shule! It is not a big problem to blow up the ancient filial piety of Baye. However, Moon Bow City, the western town of the North Court, is in the hands of the Turgish. Arch your hand on the horse and return the salute, "Borrow the good words of the king!" Drive! "Hit the horse and go forward.

A group of staff members Zeng Jigao followed one after another. The guards of the Governor Battalion surrounded the Governor of the Western Regions and galloped away. The dust is flying, and the cavalry is like a dragon!

And tens of thousands of troops, with young, resolute faces, carrying bags and weapons, quietly marched towards the war! "Bang! Bang! "There is only the sound of footsteps on solid ground! They knew that some of them would sleep in the North Courtyard for a long time. How many people have returned to the ancient war?

But what is there to fear?

The name of the strong man is not allowed to take care of his own interests. Donate your life to go to the country, and see death as if you were going home!

Hu Er killed the people of my Han family, and he wanted blood debts and blood to pay for them! Damn it! Hu Erma stepped on the Western Regions, making the painting of the country change color, it should be killed!

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In early June, the new Grand Master of Tixue, Wang Luan, had already arrived in Qiuci from Dunhuang. After bidding farewell to Qi Dashuai, Jia Huan pushed the invitation of a few political envoys and colleagues, and went to the restaurant with Master Wang for a drink. Accompanying Master Wang was Mei Yongqing, the son of Mei Qianhanlin.

On the second day, Jia Huan set off for Shule. In the accompanying procession, a thousand flintlock muskets were carried. A few days ago, he had an afternoon of talking with Governor Qi, in addition to talking about the strategy of Beiting, the money and food for recruiting soldiers, the minting of silver dollars, and the problem of firearms and equipment.

The more sophisticated the weaponry, the more difficult it is to craft. In many cases, it had to be manufactured by the imperial court and then shipped to the borderlands. This is armament! Again, this is a means by which the central government controls the locality. However, here in the Western Regions, the road is far away, and in the thirteenth year of Yongzhi, there have been a group of craftsmen who manufacture firearms and supply them to the army.

All the way forward, there are Gobi Desert, deserts, grasslands, and cities. Twelve hundred miles away, Jia Huan pondered his question!

After two months of governance, he has initially obtained control of the population, money and grain in the Shule area. There are nearly 20 million silver dollars, and although his expenses are large, it is not a big problem to supply the Beiting army with one million stones of grain and grass. Recruitment is not a big problem.

However, with these newly recruited troops, it may not work to attack Broken Leaf in the north. During the Han Dynasty, there was a rule that "scholars are not allowed to be levied". When he sent new soldiers to the battlefield in this way, he was simply giving the head of the Fengde Khan of the Turgish.

The war between the Governor of Qi and Baye Gu Xiaode will probably only take a month or two to determine the winner.

For two months, his recruits couldn't train at all.

It takes time!

There is also a problem, he witnessed the Battle of Shule and accepted 20,000 new troops, which were the regular army of the Zhou army, and he had a rough inference about the historical node in which he was located.

After discussing the Silk Road with the Sogdian merchant Alibov, he had been pondering this question for a long time. Now, there's almost an answer.

The firearms of the Zhou army are a general term for all kinds of firearms. It is not the fire gun series of the Ming Hongwu Dynasty, nor is it the open fire gun series of the Yongle period and later, and the bird gun of the late Ming Dynasty. The Zhou army was equipped with a mixture of arquebuses and flintlock muskets.

The way to fight is to use the flintlock pistol as a faster arquebus, a three-stage shot!

The bird gun in the late Ming Dynasty was the arquebus. The flintlock pistol, on the other hand, was invented in the middle of the sixteenth century and flourished in the middle of the seventeenth century. It has been used for more than 200 years. It was not until 1848 that the flintlock pistol was eliminated by the breech gun.

Jia Huan did not remember these data accurately, but he vaguely knew that the British Red Shirts relied on flintlock pistols to fight all over the world. Combined with the situation of the Zhou army: half of the arquebus and half of the flintlock pistol, the current world map is very likely to be on the eve of the first industrial revolution in the 18th century!

The flintlock tactic is actually a platoon shot killing. The wars in Europe in the 18th century were all based on this tactic. But anyone who has read the biography of Napoleon (1769-1821) knows it. Napoleon's infantry used platoon gun tactics. Emperor Napoleon, of course, was good at artillery!

In other words, the three-stage shooting that the Zhou army is now relying on to sweep the world must be replaced. Otherwise it will be outdated! Hanging non-firearms troops is sharp. In the face of those powerful countries, such as Tsarist Russia and Ottoman Turkey, it is possible to fail!

The elite Beijing camp can hold a firearm and march forward in formation, which is the arquebus-style gun platoon tactics.

What is the biggest difference between an arquebus and a flintlock pistol? The use of arquebuses by non-commissioned officers required more space to operate. More space! In the case of flintlock pistols, it allows soldiers to be spaced shorter, use denser queues, provide more dense firepower, and be more lethal.

It's a tactical innovation, a change.

It should be noted that the flintlock pistol could not knock the cavalry out of the stage of history. Hot weapons such as machine guns and tanks are. Storming the infantry with cavalry has always been an effective tactic! Napoleon's favorite general, Ney, was a cavalry general.

As for my jokes in Sanyuan, God knows how they came up with them.

Jia Huan seemed to hear the gears of the times clattering! He realized that this was the insight advantage of the traverser, but it would take time to change the tactics of the Zhou army.

Oh time!

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On Jia Huan's way back to Shule, a letter from Tocharian was coming through the Green Mountains. This is a letter written by Yi Junjie.

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On the 12th day of May in leap May, Yi Junjie crossed the Green Ridge to defend and capture.

On the 19th day of the fifth month of the leap month, he arrived at the first small country of Tochari: the Honey Protector. The king of the honey protection country received Yi Junjie and his party very warmly in the palace.

"What your envoy said is in line with the affairs of the Great Zhou, and Xiao Wang really can't be the master. It is also necessary for the fifteen countries of Tocharian to decide together. There is no problem in buying grain through the Great Zhou Silver Dollar. It's just that our national strength is weak, and we can't get 500,000 stone of grain. Your envoy will go westward. ”

On the 23rd of the fifth month of the leap month, Yi Junjie and his entourage arrived in the country of Shihana on the banks of the Wuhu River. After staying for two days, he met with his prime minister, Gayan, in Yaobo Jiancheng.

The Tocharian region, now northern Afghanistan, is a region of plains and mountains, with very hot summers. The city is full of exotic atmospheres. A small town with a population of about 10,000 people.

In the official office, Jia Yan entertained Yi Junjie with a slightly cold expression. He was a chubby official, wearing a turban, in charge of internal affairs, and received a report from the officials of Yao Bo Jiancheng from the royal capital.

"What your envoy said is really difficult. Although our country was once the fetters of the Great Zhou Dynasty. But things are different today. There is no need to mention this matter again. As for the silver dollar, it can be accommodating. However, the exchange rate needs to be negotiated. Tocharian has always been a popular Persian silver coin. In the grain business, the nobleman consults with the merchants. ”

On the 28th day of the fifth month of the leap month, Yi Junjie arrived in the country of Yueshi. The first power in Tocharia: a land of thousands of miles, 100,000 victories. Here he received the cold reception he had received since his mission.

After he revealed his identity: the political secretary of the Western Regions from the Zhou Dynasty, who was ordered to send an envoy. But the officials along the way only asked him to go to Ashucheng City, the capital of the Yue Clan, to ask Ye Hu Dadu to see him and explain his intention.

The attitude is very indifferent.