Perhaps it was Yinzhen's behavior at the Mulan Hunting Grounds last year that frightened the Dzungars. After a winter of rest, the Dzungars chose to launch a war this spring.
"Although these two cities don't have many inhabitants due to years of war, the Dzungars' actions are truly brutal..." The Minister of War wiped the sweat from his brow. "General Yue Zhongqi is guarding the western route, and General Fu Erdan is guarding the northern route, but this time the Dzungars' attack is in this sandwiched position..."
The corner that should have been defended by the various tribes of Inner Mongolia was inexplicably defeated, with two cities falling to the Dzungars.
Yinzhen sat at the head of the table, silent, but his expression was as dark and heavy as a storm cloud.
He had the memory of the dream and judged that the Dzungar expedition might be earlier than the winter of the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign in his dream, but he did not expect it to be nearly two years earlier.
He shouldn't have been so arrogant based on his memories from the dream. Although he had made careful plans, being forced to do it so far in advance was still... a bit too hasty.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?" the Minister of War called softly. Yinzhen was still deep in thought. It was only when the Thirteenth Prince risked his life and called out "Your Majesty" again that Yinzhen was brought back to his senses.
Yinzhen sighed deeply: "Write a letter to Yue Zhongqi. I spoke to him about this last year..."
After the meeting concluded and the officials took their leave, Yinzhen sat alone in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. He recalled the series of crushing defeats he had suffered against the Dzungars in his dream, and couldn't help but feel lingering fear, even considering relying more on the Mongols.
In the dream, Yue Zhongqi returned to the capital, and Ji Chengbin, the Sichuan governor, took over military affairs. The latter seized a large number of livestock and prisoners, and only after additional troops were sent back were some cattle and horses recovered. After that, he could not trust Yue Zhongqi and delegated the power of the Western Route Army to his deputy, which restricted the Western Route Army and prevented it from concentrating its forces.
Fu'erdan was brave but reckless, and in just one battle, he lost nearly 10,000 men, including nearly ten generals, resulting in huge losses.
Later, it was Prince Danjindorzi, the deputy general of the Khalkha Mongols, and Prince Ercheling who led the Mongols to fight against the Dzungars, forcing the Dzungar army to withdraw from Khalkha, and the Qing Dynasty was able to stabilize the situation.
Finally, Tsering led 20,000 Manchu and Mongol troops in pursuit of Little Tsering Dundobu, and finally caught up with him at Korsenchi. However, because Xibao and Danjindorji did not send troops to help, the Dzungar troops fled.
After four battles with the Dzungars, the Qing Dynasty achieved two victories and two losses, resulting in a draw. The Dzungars were severely weakened and unable to continue fighting, so they sought peace talks with the Qing. Emperor Yinzhen at the time also believed that the war with the Dzungars had dragged on for too long and had already cost more than 70 million taels of silver, causing financial difficulties and requiring urgent recuperation. Therefore, he agreed to the peace talks.
Then came the long process of peace talks...
Yinzhen closed his eyes and pressed his forehead.
With no capable generals to rely on, the court could only depend on the Mongols. However, the Dzungar's surprise attack caught the Mongols completely off guard, severely damaging the morale of the court. It was truly...
Yinzhen sighed, and Su Peisheng cautiously slipped in: "Your Majesty, it's time for lunch."
"I don't want to use it." Yinzhen pursed his lips, got up and went out, preparing to go to the Hall of Diligent Governance to take a closer look at the memorials regarding this war.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort instructed me to remind you to eat on time. Your Majesty, this... if the Imperial Noble Consort asks about it later, I will be punished." Su Peisheng said with a worried look, while carefully observing the Emperor's expression.
Yinzhen's brows relaxed slightly, and after a moment, he said, "Alright, serve the meal."
"Eh!" Su Peisheng was overjoyed and went out to serve the meal. Yinzhen got up and walked around the room twice. This was also what Qian Shengyan had said: sitting for too long is too harmful to the body, and you should get up and walk around after sitting for a while.
After lunch, Yinzhen was busy all afternoon. He summoned the thirteenth prince and the two ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to discuss in detail how to fight the battle. Just as he had finally sorted things out, it was already completely dark. Yinzhen breathed a sigh of relief and told everyone to go back and rest. He got up, stretched a bit, and prepared to go out as well.
To everyone's surprise, just as he stepped out of the Hall of Diligent Governance, a figure stumbled towards him. Su Peisheng instinctively stepped in front of the Emperor, shouting, "Protect the Emperor!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Aruhan had barely managed to slip away from Lady Geng's watchful eye. She ran to the Hall of Diligent Governance, panting as she looked at the Emperor, her eyes brimming with tears. "Your Majesty, my brother...my brother, isn't he...is he..."
She asked with great sadness, but Yinzhen was stunned for a moment before asking in confusion, "Who is your brother?"
Aruhan: ...
She had only heard that the Mongols had just suffered a defeat and many people had died, so she wanted to use this as an excuse to find the emperor. She thought that if she said this, as long as there were members of the Borjigit clan among those who died, the emperor would feel sorry for her and comfort her, and then she could be invited to serve the emperor in bed.
"You don't even know who your brother is?" Yinzhen chuckled. "Su Peisheng, Consort Ru is confused. Send her back to rest well and don't go out unless necessary."
"Your Majesty!" Aruhan chased after him in disbelief, sobbing, "Your Majesty, I've heard that many people have died, all... all Mongolians. My brother is also leading troops abroad, so I'm very afraid..."
"If you're afraid, read more books," Yinzhen said in a deep voice, then frowned and scolded, "Su Peisheng!"
Su Peisheng was in a bind. There were no maids to serve him in the Qin Zheng Hall. He could only turn around and give a wink. Several eunuchs stepped forward, said "Excuse me," and then held down Aruhan and pulled her back to her residence.
Yinzhen closed his eyes. Since he still needed to use the Mongols, he didn't bother to look for Aruhan and went straight back to the Jiuzhou Qingyan Palace.
Qian Shengyan had also heard about the war with the Dzungar Khanate. She knew that Yinzhen must be very busy, and defeat was not a pleasant thing. So she had some slightly sweet snacks prepared, thinking that Yinzhen probably wouldn't eat well and that they could at least fill his stomach before bed.
Sure enough, she was met with a melancholy Yinzhen.
Qian Shengyan didn't mention the Dzungar Khanate or the war, but only talked about the children's funny stories: "Hongshan has made some progress now. Today he got a lot of red circles for his calligraphy. He came to me happily and insisted on leaving the calligraphy. Would Your Majesty like to see it?"
"Hmm? Give it to me." Yinzhen also became interested.
Hongshan was still young and lacked wrist strength, so his handwriting was actually just average. However, his progress was clearly visible. His teacher probably gave him a good review because of this. The boy was so pleased that after rushing back from the study at noon, he came to talk to her for a long time. He was delighted to receive several words of praise and then went back to the study full of confidence.
Qian Shengyan found it cute and fun, so she took it out to share with Yinzhen and also gave him a summer mosquito repellent sachet that her daughter had made. This year, she changed the fabric and style, which was very unique and did not look out of place even when hung on the dragon robe.
The Yuanmingyuan Garden was teeming with mosquitoes. Every summer, the Imperial Medical Academy would prepare mosquito-repellent herbs. Fuerguochun would collect these herbs in advance each year, sew sachets himself, and present them to his father and mother.
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