Chapter 1075: Delving into the Western Regions, Opening the Ancient Silk Road

Habarov's suffering does not stem from being captured, but rather from realizing the disparity between himself and the Ming Dynasty after being caught.
This gap is something he couldn't imagine before, and it is something he cannot imagine now.
He feels as if he is facing an endless mountain, with no end in sight.
That feeling of oppression and suffocation that accompanies being in it is what makes him despair.
"I will now give you an opportunity, to appoint you as the deputy chief of the Imperial Guards and assist me in the Western Expedition. Are you willing?"
Habalov responded in a daze.
He couldn't think too much now because during this time in Turpan, he would receive various shocks almost every day.
And today, the shock he received was the greatest.
Suddenly, he was shattered by something, and his previous worldview was unable to make an immediate calm judgement and decision.
"Good, welcome to join us. I will not treat you unfairly."
With a wave of his hand, the Emperor had a special person take Harbarov away.
Harbarov, a person familiar with the vast land and climate from the West to Moscow, could greatly expedite the journey. With him as a guide, reaching Moscow would be more than just efficient, it would be explosive!"
On April 15th, Lu Xiangsheng's Left Route Army began to board the train from Turpan to Shache City, one after another.
The next day, the Central Army and the Right Route Army also boarded the train. Reply: Translated content provided.
When Lu Xiangsheng arrived in Shache City, it was April 18th.
Lu Xiangsheng departed from Shache and took the Wahkan Corridor.
On April 19th, Chongzhen arrived at the westernmost end of the newest railway track. Please note that '
We are not far from the Ili region here. After the army gets off the train here, they will continue westward.
The railway troops behind will continue laying down the tracks, and it is expected to reach Ili in three months.
Yili was one of the major frontier development towns of the imperial court.
Of course, during the Ming dynasty, there was no place called Yili. The name Yili was given by Emperor Qianlong.
During the late Ming dynasty, Yili was the political center of the Dzungar Khanate. However, the Dzungar Khanate no longer exists, and the entire region has suffered significant power vacuums with the collapse of the Dzungar forces. Translated content:
As a result, neighboring powers began to stir.
First, the Russians moved southwards, followed by the Khanate of Kazakhstan entering the Ili River Valley and occupying its fertile grasslands.
After Li Dingguo successfully eliminated Russian influence in Karamay, he continued to clear Russian presence in Tacheng.
Tacheng is hundreds of miles north of Yili.
And Chongzhen's first target is to capture Yili, in preparation for the construction team to lay the railway later.
After getting off the train, the army started walking.
The marching pace is neither fast nor slow, maintaining a steady speed.
Moreover, Chongzhen attaches great importance to the soldiers' rest.
Every evening during dinner, he would also go around inspecting the soldiers' conditions together with Hong Chengchou and others to console them.
The Western Region in spring is as picturesque as a painting.
The majestic Tianshan Mountains stretch from west to east, resembling a massive entity lying across the land and sky.
The Tianshan Mountains are covered with pristine white snow, and waterfalls cascade down from above, nourishing the fertile soil at the foot of the mountains.
The grassland stretches endlessly, reaching to the edge of the blue sky and white clouds. The fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds create a paradisiacal scene, which brings some joy to the hardships of marching.
Especially for Zhu Yanlin, she frequently takes in her surroundings, filled with curiosity about everything.
In front, the reflection of the Hu Yanglin merges with the mirror-like water surface, occasionally interrupted by the darting of small animals.
Along the way, there are occasional encounters with shepherds, who the staff will bring back and have them guide the way.
All the way, there was hardly any armed resistance encountered.
It seems that the power of the Jurchen people in this batch has truly been eradicated.
There is also no shortage of water sources along the way, making it extremely convenient to replenish water. After replenishing, all the water of the army must be boiled.
Usually, it is a concentrated time, and the logistics department handles these issues.
People from the logistics department will also specifically search for prey in the surrounding area, such as rabbits, and even bring back wolves to eat.
After encountering the shepherds, all their cattle and sheep will be confiscated.
Out of humanitarianism, enough money will still be paid to those shepherds.
This is to avoid provoking resistance from local herdsmen.
Once the limit of the peasants' patience is surpassed, the underlying *** will erupt here in the future.
Chongzhen does not want to face an increasing number of enemies just by fighting once.
His strategic policy is to eliminate the main enemies, and then spread the new policies there, spreading Confucianism there.
Rather than spreading chaos and killing like the Mongols did back then.
The Mongols spread chaos and killed people everywhere, but what happened in the end?
The massive Mongol Empire quickly fell apart, and the Mongols themselves became Turkicized and Sinicized by the Turkic and Chinese peoples.
Nothing was left behind.
Therefore, the use of indiscriminate violence cannot conquer civilization; only civilization can conquer civilization.
On April 28th, a massive army entered the periphery of the Ili region.
Hong Chengchou walked over and said, "Your Majesty, the scouts have reported that a small group of cavalry, belonging to the barbarian tribe, has been spotted fifty miles ahead."
Chongzhen immediately guessed that it was from the Kazakh Khanate.
The Yili Kazakh Khanate is already very close.
If we take Yili, we will be not far from Almaty, and the next stop after Almaty is the famous Suoye City in the Tang Dynasty. The next stop of Suoye City is the even more famous Daruos.
The place where the Tang Dynasty and the Arab army fought years ago.
"Send someone to tell them that the Oirats have already surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. Now Yili is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Let them withdraw from Yili and ask their commander to relay a message back, saying that I want to pass through."
Borrow the way?
To say it's borrowing the way, but actually it is to eliminate the Khanate of Kazakhstan and turn it into a province of the Ming Dynasty.
If you borrow, we will lead hundreds of thousands of troops to cross over.
If you don't borrow, we will lead hundreds of thousands of troops to cross over while trampling upon the ruins of your royal city.
"Yes, I will make the arrangements right away."
The person in charge of handling this matter is Ding Yiyuan, the son-in-law of Ma Shilong and the commander of the First Army of the Imperial Guards.
He led 3000 cavalry and, accompanied by the Mongolian escorts, went to communicate with the Kazakhs.
In fact, the main force of the Kazakhs is still the Mongols, remnants of the empire that disintegrated after the Mongol Westward Expansion.
The Kazakh commander-in-chief, upon learning that an unknown cavalry force was approaching, immediately summoned everyone and prepared for a heavy defense.
There are about 5000 people, all of them are cavalry.
In history, the Dzungar Khanate often bullied the Kazakh Khanate.
Actually, it was the Mongols fighting amongst themselves.
Soon, the two sides met each other.
The commander of the Kazakh cavalry, Jintai, shouted loudly, "Who are you people?"
Ding Yiyuan instructed the translator to say in Mongolian, "We are soldiers from the Da Ming Empire. This area belongs to the territory of the Chahar people. The Chahar people have already surrendered to Da Ming. This land should belong to Da Ming. Leave immediately." Translated:
When Jiren Tai heard that someone was coming to drive him away, he couldn't accept it. After all, he had finally occupied this place in the past two years. You want him to leave just like that?
Jiren Tai: Impossible!
Ming Army: Then let's draw our knives!