The first step for the Russian expansion in Central Asia was to destroy the Siberian Khanate, and then built the cities of Tyumen and Tomsk, using them as bases to continuously encroach on the Mongolian tribes.
Especially the city of Tomsk, located in the upper reaches of the Ob River, could directly go down the river and directly rob Durbert, Dzungar and other tribes, which was a heinous crime.
Afraid of its city, the four tribes of Oirat besieged the city more than once, but could not break it.
For these four Oirat tribes, the castles built by Russia were like a dimensionality reduction attack. For the Mongols, who were not good at attacking cities, they could not be eradicated at all.
Relying on the city of Tomsk, the Russians relied on the tall horses of Eastern Europe to bully the Mongolian horses into being slow and attack everywhere; and then relied on muskets and gunpowder to directly crush the Mongols tactically.
If it weren't for the lack of gunpowder for the matchlocks and the Mongols taking advantage of their numerical advantage, the Oirat tribe would have been enslaved long ago.
This was also the general trend and the basis of public opinion for the Junggar tribe to annex the Dulbert and Heshuote tribes and establish the Junggar Khanate:
If the four Oirat tribes do not unite, they will be bullied to death by the Russians.
Sure enough, the strength of the Dzunggar Khanate, which merged the four divisions, was astonishing. Not only did it destroy the Yarkand Khanate that controlled southern Xinjiang, it also annexed Turpan to the east, captured the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and almost conquered Mobei Mongolia.
Armed with 100,000 soldiers and 300,000 troops, he dominated Central Asia, beat the Kazakh Khanate to the point of crying, and Russia was beaten to pieces.
Unfortunately, the Dzunggar Khanate's idea of unifying all the Mongolian tribes and re-establishing the Mongol Empire offended the Qing Dynasty and Russia, and was jointly strangled by the two.
Naturally, Batur didn't know about his son Galdan's great achievements. He raised his head and said excitedly: "I heard that Ming people have muskets and artillery, and they are even better at attacking cities."
"Buddha bless you, as long as we get their help, what does the city of Tomsk mean? Tyumen can also be taken."
He Shuoqi also nodded wildly and agreed: "The Siberian Khanate has 70,000 tribesmen. As long as the Russians are defeated, the vast pastures alone will feed the three of us!"
For Dulbert's tribe in the Altai Mountains, the threat of Russia is at the back of their throats, causing unhappiness.
Hearing this, Oqiltu Khan couldn't help but put down the butter tea in his hand, thought about it, and swallowed.
The Ming people in the east can't afford to offend them. The Yarkands in southern Xinjiang are too poor and they are all covered with sand. The Kazakh Khanate in the west is just a cow, let alone the cows. When they are poor, they just go and rob them for a while.
Moreover, Russians believe in the Orthodox Church and like to preach when they have nothing to do. This is the most unbearable thing for the four Oirat tribes of the Yellow Sect.
The Russians have a large territory, a small number of people, are annoying, and are a sufficient threat. As long as they capture a few cities such as Tomsk, they will be able to expand the pastures of the three armies.
At that time, the vast Ob River and Yenisey River basins, all the way to the Ural River and the vast grassland of the Volga River, will be the world of the three tribes.
"Muskets and artillery, as long as we have these two, we can besiege the city of Tomsk and drive back all their reinforcements."
Batur kept emphasizing, his eyes were red and he was very excited: "When the time comes, who dares to bully us?"
"The Torgut tribe may regret it to death."
…
"I heard that the reason why the Yeerqiang people gave up Turpan was because they bought back some muskets..."
Oqiltu Khan could not help but reveal some secrets at this time.
Batur was shocked. The Junggar tribe was located at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, bordering the Kazakh Khanate and the Yarkand Khanate. It would not be a good thing for him if either country was strong.
"Then we should trade, whether it's gold, horses, or whatever."
The three of them gathered together and prepared to send envoys to Turpan to trade muskets with the Ming people.
Gaochang Prefecture (Turpan), Anle City.
After the newly established Gaochang Prefecture, Gao Yigong took up residence in Anle City and led more than 10,000 troops to suppress various ministries.
At the end of the fifth year of Shaowu's reign, due to his military exploits in recapturing Hami and winning Turpan, Gao Yigong was successfully promoted to the title of Marquis, named Marquis of Gaochang, with an annual salary of 4,000 shi (plus 4,000 silver coins), making him the top nobleman of the Ming Dynasty.
Due to the implementation of military control, he could be said to have one voice in the three counties of Gaochang, and his mansion became the political center of Gaochang Prefecture.
Moreover, as expected, as the bridgehead for advancing to the Western Regions, the time for military control in Gaochang Prefecture will be delayed indefinitely.
Because of this, Gao Yigong also hired three staff, one in charge of military affairs, one in charge of tribal relations, and one in charge of money and food.
"Dong Weng, Ye Erqiang just traded the matchlock gun, and He Shuote couldn't help it anymore."
On the school field, Gao Yigong brandished a spear, and his moves were very sharp. Several private soldiers in charge of sparring had no choice but to attack him, and they could only fight in a draw.
"Okay -" Seeing his staff happily, Gao Yigong put down his spear and spared the sweating soldiers.
Naturally, he became the Marquis of Gaochang. Gao Yigong was full of energy and high-spirited all day long, thinking about how to be promoted to the title of Duke.
Geyin received a letter from the emperor at the beginning of the year, saying that he was going to adopt the daughter of his sister Gao Guiying into his name and inherit his title.
It's a pity that he is thirty-five years old and still has no children. Now he finally has hope, his love is continuing, and he is full of motivation.
"How many should I buy?"
After taking off his coat, Gao Yigong rinsed his body with warm water and asked.
"Five hundred!"
"Give him two hundred."
Gao Yigong chuckled and said: "Yerqiang only has three hundred. The thought of five hundred is quite beautiful."
After capturing Turpan, Gao Yigong and his staff understood that both the Yarkand and Oirat Mongolian tribes each had tens of thousands of troops. In addition, the vast deserts of the Western Region made it difficult to capture them.
After all, the Ming army's cavalry was only 20,000 strong. Even with the support of muskets, it would be difficult to win.
In this way, when Ye Erqiang came to buy muskets, a strategy of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight was born:
Sell some muskets to Yeerqiang, and then let Heshuote and other troops know about it, so that the two parties started fighting.
Gansu bought and sold muskets and profited greatly, and the money earned was used to arm the Gansu army.
When they were both defeated, the Ming army took advantage of the opportunity and annexed both sides in one fell swoop, completely regaining the great cause of the Western Regions.
As for them possessing muskets and thus coming from behind and surpassing the Ming army, that is naturally impossible.
Once the gunpowder is controlled, the musket is nothing more than a burning stick.
Moreover, the Ming army was also equipped with more advanced flintlock muskets, carrying guns, and specially designed short muskets, which were enough to crush them.
Recently, French cannons have been shipped from Shaanxi, adding even more prestige in field battles.
"A gun, two horses, two cows, ten sheep, whatever he chooses, he can trade them."
Gao Yigong sneered: "As for gunpowder, it will be priced separately."
"When they start fighting, they will raise the price."
ps: I keep repeating the version, which makes me feel ashamed, but I can’t help it due to work reasons, so I pushed for a party today and updated it in advance.