Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 638 Arms Deal

The population of Yarkand is not large, and the Dzungar Khanate did not capture Yarkand to expand its population. On the one hand, it was for strategic security considerations, and on the other hand, it was because the Dzungar Khanate needed the factories and manufacturing capabilities of Yarkand.

After more than 200 years of Ming Dynasty trade embargo, all the tribes on the grassland, whether in the north or south of the desert or in western Mongolia, could no longer produce armor and firearms, let alone even iron pots.

After Sengge led his army to Guanzhong and suffered a setback, he deeply realized the serious gap in productivity between Junggar and the Central Plains. Therefore, he wanted to control Yarkand in order to obtain the workshops in Yarkand.

Although Yarkand’s manufacturing capacity cannot be compared with that of the Central Plains, it can at least produce iron armor, which is a huge difference from nothing to something.

Moreover, after Sengge invaded Guanzhong, he suffered a loss in firearms of the Qian army. He also wanted to purchase firearms for the Dzungar Khanate, but unfortunately, Yarkand could not produce them.

Just when Sengge was upset because Babaksu fled from Shache and defected to the Qian Dynasty, a good news came, making Sengge smile.

The news was that Luosha sent an envoy to express his willingness to sell muskets and cannons to Junggar.

Stroganov, Duke Bogdan, the family responsible for conquering the entire Siberia, has lost some fortresses in the Far East one after another since the loss of Yakutsk.

After the failure of his expedition to the Far East, Bogdan repeatedly asked the Tsar for reinforcements, but on the one hand, the distance was far and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov was not clear about the situation in the Qian Dynasty. However, Alexei was extremely angry at Bogdan's repeated failures.

So in the fifth year of Zhaowu, he was recalled to Moscow. However, after learning about the situation of the Emperor of Qian Dynasty in detail, Alexei K also realized that it was a huge country and its strength should not be weaker than theirs.

Especially when he heard that the Emperor of the Qian Dynasty was not only the Emperor of the Qian Dynasty, but also the Khan of the Mongolian tribes, this immediately reminded Alexei K of the fear of being dominated by the Mongol Empire.

Since their strength was not enough to support the struggle with the Qian Dynasty in the Far East, Alexei K wanted to support an enemy around the Qian Dynasty.

After looking around, Alexeyk felt that Dzungar was a very suitable choice. Therefore, not long after Bogdan returned to Moscow after a long journey, he was sent to Dzungar by Alexeyk.

………………

Junggar Basin, Wang Ting.

At this time, outside Sengge's Khan's tent, there were seven or eight large carts parked, with dozens of Rakshasa soldiers standing next to them.

Sengge, surrounded by a group of his generals, carefully watched the Rakshasa soldiers take the wooden boxes off the vehicles one by one.

After the wooden box was opened, it was revealed that there were a number of black matchlock rifles.

Although Bogdan disliked these Mongols, in order to complete the emperor's mission, he could only pinch his nose and flatter: "Your Excellency Khan, this time, we sent 3,000 muskets and five cannons, and these are our most advanced firearms. I believe that these weapons will greatly enhance the Khan's combat effectiveness!"

Sengge heard this but did not reply. Instead, he picked up a musket and pretended to observe it for a while. Then he nodded and said, "Well, it looks similar to the firearms of the Qian army. I want all three thousand muskets."

After hearing this, Bogdan's forced smile seemed to become more sincere. He then said, "No problem, Khan, but 3,000 muskets do not seem to be enough to equip your entire army. Do you need more firearms? As long as you need, no matter how many, we can provide you."

Sengge had just conquered Yarkand, especially in Shache, and plundered a large amount of gold and silver treasures. He had too much money to spend. When he heard what the Russians said, Sengge waved his hand and said, "Send me another 10,000 muskets like this. What's the use of five cannons? I want fifty!"

The Yarkand Khanate had occupied the Western Regions for more than a hundred years and was located at the node of the silk trade. Although the land silk trade had been decreasing year by year and a lot of market share had been taken away by the maritime trade, the land trade had never disappeared.

The countries in West Asia and Central Asia still needed goods from the East, so for the sake of profit, a steady stream of caravans would pass through the Hexi Corridor, and Yarkand made a lot of profits at this trade node.

However, the wealth obtained in Yarkand fell into the hands of the Dzungars at this time. To Sengge, money was nothing. Only power was the most important. If he wanted to consolidate his power, then improving armaments was the top priority. Using some useless things to exchange for supreme power, Sengge felt that this deal was worthwhile.

Bogdan's face brightened visibly. This was a big deal. He could imagine that when the Emperor heard that he had accomplished such a great feat, he would definitely forget his sin of losing Yakutsk.

In fact, when Luosha expanded eastward, they had many conflicts with the Mongolian tribes. However, after having the Qian Dynasty as a common enemy, the relationship between Luosha and Junggar eased a lot. However, in the eyes of the soldiers at the grassroots level of both sides, the other side was not a good thing.

In the past two years, due to the continuous offensive of the Qian Dynasty and Luosha in the Far East, although they were all small-scale conflicts, the Luosha people were inconvenient to rescue on the one hand, and their population base was too small on the other hand. In the continuous war of attrition, many fortresses close to the Qian Dynasty were abandoned due to lack of manpower. The Luosha people could only watch the fortresses they had worked so hard to build fall.

Due to the distance, neither the Qian Dynasty nor the Luosha could gather a large army to fight each other. However, because the Qian Dynasty controlled the grasslands south of the desert and had been infiltrating the northern desert, this put great pressure on the Luosha, which forced the Luosha people to seek external forces from the Qian Dynasty to contain them.

Therefore, Luosha and Junggar hit it off immediately, just like a turtle looking at mung beans, the more they looked, the more they liked each other, and then the two sides quickly signed a treaty.

After Bogdan finished his work, he declined Sengge's invitation to the banquet. Seeing that Sengge was a little unhappy, Bogdan hurriedly said, "I need to hurry back to get muskets and artillery for the Khan. I dare not delay."

Sengge nodded reluctantly after hearing this. After Bogdan left, Sengge asked his subordinates to take over the 3,000 muskets and five cannons brought by the Russians.

At this time, a general said with some dissatisfaction: "Great Khan, the descendants of Changshengtian should conquer the enemy with fast horses and bows. If we also use firearms, how can we compete with the Han people?"

Sengge was very angry after hearing this and cursed: "What nonsense! This is not something of the Han people, it is something of the Rakshasa people. I will use the weapons of the Rakshasa people to defeat the Han people!"