***
Seeing that Li Ding was determined, Li Cunzhong immediately continued, "Now that the Governor of the Caucasus, Arterius, is in our hands, the 10,000 or 20,000 enemy troops left in the Caucasus are leaderless and in a panic. If we attack the Caucasus immediately, I believe it will not be difficult to quickly capture this area, which will in turn cause greater unrest in the Ottoman Empire."
Another staff officer, Huang Kaiqiu, said: "General, the emperor sent you to the west mainly to attack Tsarist Russia. The Ottoman Empire is a country with a vast territory. If we continue to tangle with it, we will not have the energy to conquer Tsarist Russia."
Indeed, although it is possible to easily capture the northeastern gate of the Ottoman Empire today, it is a behemoth after all, with a vast territory and strong military force, and it is impossible to conquer it easily.
If the United States were caught in an endless war with the Ottoman Empire, it would not only have no spare energy to conquer Tsarist Russia, but Tsarist Russia might also benefit from it.
There were not many troops left to guard the newly conquered Eastern and Siberia. The area was vast and sparsely populated, so it was impossible to leave too many troops to guard.
Once the conflict with the Ottoman Empire became unresolved, it was almost certain that Tsarist Russia would take the opportunity to send troops to reoccupy Eastern and Siberia.
And with tens of thousands of troops far away from home, isolated and fighting against a behemoth like the Ottoman Empire, the outcome is unpredictable. If they fail, then the fruits of victory will be lost. Even if they can return home safely, how can they explain to the emperor
Looking back, the blood feud with Osman has already been formed. Arteris' 50,000-strong army was almost slaughtered. Once Osman has caught his breath, he will definitely not let it go.
Opportunity cannot be missed. Now is undoubtedly the best time to further inflict heavy damage on the Ottoman Empire. Taking advantage of the lack of military forces in the Caucasus region and quickly capturing the northeastern gateway of the Ottoman Empire, we can move westward towards the Ottoman capital Istanbul.
In addition, the Sultan Queen Mother Kösem had just been assassinated. Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha had just taken over the government and his prestige had not yet been established, but he suffered a heavy blow. The domestic political situation was turbulent. When tens of thousands of troops marched towards the capital Istanbul with the power of a great victory, it might even force this huge empire to fall apart.
At this time, Yu Xingguo, the chief judge, said: "The Kazakh tribes are numerous and complex, and the situation is still unstable after they were just conquered. Moreover, the east of the Ural River is to be designated as the territory of our Great Qin by His Majesty.
Therefore, it is not enough to just occupy the place. What is more important is to change the beliefs of the local herdsmen. Only in this way can there be long-term stability. Therefore, at least 5,000 soldiers should be left to suppress possible rebellions. "
Lieutenant General Lu Youguang said: "What's the big deal? Sunnis and Shias slaughtered each other to change each other's beliefs. In Kazakhstan, anyone who dares not to obey will be killed. Killing 20,000 is killing, killing 50,000 is killing. I don't believe that there are a few people who would rather sacrifice their lives for their beliefs under the saber."
Using knives and guns to change a person's beliefs is undoubtedly the fastest way. If you are unwilling to change, we will use knives and guns to send you to meet your beliefs.
But in this case, more troops will have to be left to suppress it.
Although the Kazakh soldiers were either recruited as vassal troops or killed, these nomadic tribesmen, even women and children can ride horses and shoot bows, so we must not be careless.
In order to preserve the fruits of victory, Li Ding said: "Then let's leave 10,000 troops in the Kipchak steppe."
When Li Ding and Aobai went west, they had an army of 50,000. Later, Aobai recruited 5,000 men from the Chechen tribe. After they conquered East and Siberia, they recruited another 5,000 men from various tribes. In total, they had an army of 60,000.
However, some troops were left to guard strategic strongholds such as Tyumen in Eastern Siberia, totaling about 5,000. In all the battles, there were about 4,000 casualties.
Li Ding still has 50,000 troops under his command. If he leaves another 10,000 men, there will be 40,000 men left. The 20,000 Kazakh vassal troops just captured may not be reliable. If they attack Tsarist Russia again and have to fight against the huge Ottoman Empire, it will be indeed inappropriate.
Li Ding thought for a moment and then said, "How about this? Continue to recruit men from the various Kazakh tribes, and recruit as many as you can."
Aobai pulled his whiskers and said, "That's right. Even if they don't have much fighting power, at least we can't leave them behind to cause trouble."
Everyone agrees on this point, and it would be best to take some time off the young and strong Kazakhs.
So the matter was handed over to Yang Pu to handle it immediately, and young and strong men were forcibly drawn from various departments.
Arsalan said at this time: "General, why do you care so much about him? There is a saying that goes, it is better to jump into the water and catch fish than to envy the fish by the abyss. Whether it is Tsarist Russia or the Ottoman Empire, just attack them first. When we get to the land, we will attack whoever is easier to attack. We will just pick the weakest ones."
After hearing this irrelevant remark, Li Ding wanted to laugh at first, but a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind. He lowered his head and thought deeply for a while, then said with some insight: "Make a feint to the east and attack in the west..."
Aobai immediately clapped his hands and said, "Let's take advantage of the opportunity to capture the Caucasus first and spread the word that we will attack the Ottoman capital Istanbul. The Ottoman Empire is preparing for war, and the Tsarist Russia behind us must be secretly happy, thinking that we will fight to the death with the Ottoman Empire and have no time to care about them."
"Then we'll look for the right opportunity and strike back at him, hahaha..."
***
Hormuz, in the historical records of the Ming Dynasty, was called: Hormuz.
Qin Mu thought the name Hormuz was not easy to pronounce, so he changed it to Hormuz.
As for why Hormuz is easier to pronounce than Hormuz, no one knows. Anyway, the emperor said to call it that, so let's call it that.
Hormuz is an island at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. In 1100 AD, the Arabs established the Kingdom of Hormuz on the island in the strait, and the island got its name from this.
This island guards the entrance to the Persian Gulf. The strait is only 80 miles wide at its narrowest point, so it is called the Strait of Hormuz.
This strait is the only waterway from the Indian Ocean to the Gulf region and is also the gateway for Middle Eastern ships to sail to the Indian Ocean.
Controlling this place means controlling the lifeline of the Safavid Empire's maritime transportation.
Thirty years ago, Abbas I, with the help of the British navy, captured Hormuz, expanded trade relations with the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company, and accumulated a lot of wealth, which enabled him to get rid of his dependence on the Red Heads, strengthen the central government, and push the Safavid to its peak.
Now, a fleet consisting of a huge treasure ship and eight clipper warships about 60 meters long has arrived. Without looking at the flag, the huge size of the treasure ship is the most obvious sign. In this world, only one country can build such a behemoth.
Merchant ships traveling between Hai and Shaanxi were wary of this sudden fleet appearance and avoided it one after another.
This unfriendly move angered Wei Ji, the lieutenant general of the Qin Royal Navy. At his command, eight clipper ships set sail and intercepted all passing merchant ships.
What are you running for? Where are you running to? Pay the toll!
Merchant ships from other countries could leave after paying a certain amount of bribe, but the same was not true for merchant ships from the Safavid Empire. All of their people and goods became captives of the Qin Royal Navy.
In one day, as many as 13 merchant ships of the Safavid Empire were intercepted, with the value of the ships and cargo exceeding 500,000 dragon coins.
Oh, Jade Emperor! There is no faster way to make money than this!
The total agricultural tax revenue of several provinces in Daqin in a year is probably only this much. How many people would have to work hard to earn this much
If used to build treasure ships, it would be enough to build 50 ships.
Seeing that money came so easily, Wei Ji and his men decided not to attack Hormuz Island for the time being. They instead went fishing outside the strait for a few days. Anyway, the purpose of attacking Hormuz was to blockade the strait.
If we attack, the war will start and alert everyone, and no merchant ships will dare to come.
After Wei Ji sold 13 merchant ships and their cargoes directly to the Qin merchants, he ordered nine warships to line up in a row and block the entire strait like casting a net.
The narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz is less than 80 miles wide, and the actual navigable channel is even narrower. If several warships are lined up five or six miles apart, it can be completely blocked. Any merchant ship passing by will not be able to escape.
The news quickly spread back to Hormuz Island, and the Safavid Empire fleet stationed there was immediately in chaos.
How could this be possible? This was the lifeline of the empire at sea.
For the Safavid Empire fleet, it had no choice but to fight.
Perhaps, Wei Ji was waiting for the Safavid fleet to take the initiative to attack!
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.(To be continued..)
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