In the early morning of the eleventh day of the lunar month, Zhang Zhou led his troops to the expedition.
His troops were sent out quietly. He was originally outside the city, and he only brought 3,000 soldiers and horses. He did not need to mobilize border troops for reinforcements. He did not even have a famous general under his command, so he was recruited temporarily. It seems that these three thousand soldiers are mediocre and have no experience even on the battlefield, but in fact they have been trained for a long time.
The training was mainly on how to use new weapons. On the contrary, Zhang Zhou basically did not force himself on the use of cold weapons such as swords. Unless there were extremely special circumstances, this would be the most difficult training in the history of the Ming Dynasty. A war approaching a hot weapons campaign.
On that day, Zhu Youtang was going to leave the capital and go to Datong Town with his luan and horses.
The emperor's pomp was much grander, but unlike before Yingzong's expedition, Zhu Youtang did not recruit any minister to accompany him. He only recruited Wang Qiong, the censor of Zuodu, as a staff officer to accompany the army. There was no duke among the honorable ministers, and the one with the highest status among the generals accompanying the army was Shouning Marquis Zhang Heling.
Zhu Youtang will bring an honor guard of 20,000 soldiers and horses to Datong Town. He has prepared a lot of food, grass and baggage in advance, and will also be equipped with a lot of heavy artillery and other equipment, so he is going to the northwest this time. , Zhu Youtang planned to arrive in Datong within a month, which was completely different from Zhang Zhou's marching principle.
According to Zhang Zhou’s plan, it was more than seven hundred miles from the capital to Datong, and Zhang Zhou could arrive in four days.
As for Zhu Youtang, being able to walk twenty or thirty miles a day is actually pretty good. One month is just the minimum plan. Of course, Zhu Youtang also has a more "grand" idea, that is To complete the journey within twenty days, this requires the team to travel about forty miles a day, which is basically impossible given the equipment of this group of people.
When the emperor was going on a tour, he should have arranged for the vassal king to serve as a supervisor.
But this time was different from the past. The emperor did not bring the civil and military ministers. The prince Zhu Houzhao was left behind in the capital, while the chief assistant Liu Jian, cabinet ministers Li Dongyang, Wang Hao and others were not transferred.
Probably give the ministers an explanation, that is, if he, the emperor, really dies in the northwest, then you will make the prince the emperor. Anyway, this is my son, and he is not young anymore. You Aren’t these the loyal ministers known as the Ming Dynasty?
The Ming Dynasty might as well be left to you.
As the admiral of the Dongchang eunuch, Yang Peng was one of the people accompanying the driver this time. In fact, Yang Peng didn't have to go, but Yang Peng was eager to make a contribution because he knew that it would be difficult to stay in Beijing. Safe, because he has offended too many people, and there is no emperor to protect him now. If there is any civil strife in the capital, he will definitely be the first to be killed.
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Zhu Youtang’s expedition was much more formal.
Liu Jian brought the civil and military ministers to see him off. Before driving off, Liu Jian wrote a memorial to the emperor on behalf of the ministers, asking Zhu Youtang not to be willful and to ask the emperor to stay in the capital.
Zhu Youtang spoke in front of several pavilion elders and ministers.The book said: "I am just going to travel around the world and go to Weining Sea to show the power of the Celestial Dynasty. You don't have to worry. With Cai Guogong taking the lead for me, nothing will happen."
< p>The ministers present are basically thinking, and we also know that basically nothing will happen.But what if?
When Yingzong went out for the expedition, we also thought that it was usually fine, and in the worst case, we would withdraw?
But the problem is that your expedition this time is not fundamentally different from your grandfather’s expedition, and you brought fewer troops, only 20,000 troops. You must know that your grandfather claimed to have brought Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, in fact, he led nearly 200,000 troops.
Just like that, if the Tatars randomly bring in thirty to fifty thousand cavalry, won’t they trap you in them and make you the second prisoner of the Ming Dynasty?
Zhu Youtang looked at the prince who was looking at him not far away, and shook his head, as if he was not satisfied with his son.
Zhu Youtang said again: "With the blessing of the Emperor and the Empress, I will definitely succeed this time. Let me encourage you all."
After saying that, Zhu Youtang also climbed up. Got into his own car.
The ministers present still had a headache.
When Yingzong went out to fight, he was riding on horseback anyway, and the scene was magnificent. Although this person is now leading an army, the momentum that 20,000 soldiers and horses can create is really small. That's it, and not all of the 20,000 soldiers and horses are combat soldiers, many of them are civilians equipped with them.
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Zhu Youtang also embarked on the journey.
In this expedition, Zhu Youtang would appear to be very casual. The minister clearly should have used a tough stance to stop it, but he did not do so.
After watching the emperor and his entourage walk out of Desheng Gate, Liu Jian still did not look back.
Li Dongyang asked: "Have we failed to fulfill our responsibilities as ministers?"
Liu Jian then turned his head back and glanced at Li Dongyang, his eyes were very complicated.
Li Dongyang could see the badness in Liu Jian's attitude from this look.
If an emperor does not listen to the orders of his ministers, the best way is to... change another emperor, but regicide is impossible. There are too many ways that can be done, including but not limited to assassination , of course this kind of assassination will be under the surface conspiracy.
After all, we cannot directly target the civil servants themselves.
"The affairs of the court have not changed much. Didn't your majesty say beforehand that major affairs of the court should still be reviewed personally?" Wang Hao came over and said.
This is to remind Li Dongyang that even if the emperor leaves the capital, the person in power in the world is still the emperor.
The emperor can still review the memorials on the way to Datong, but the timeliness may be reduced a lot.
Liu Jian sighed and did not say anything to Li Dongyang and Wang Hao.
In fact, his attitude said everything.
Concerning the emperor’s inspection of Weininghai, he should have objected, but he did not object, which means that he would rather see the emperor act recklessly, and it is better to let the emperor bear the consequences of the disorderly behavior... Only in this way can the emperor or his successor realize that Zhang Zhou's militarism alone can The strategy doesn't work.
The Ming Dynasty should still take the orthodox route.
Of course, it is up to them to decide which path is orthodox.
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Zhu Houzhao is going back to the palace.
He is relatively happy, because his father is gone, and not only does he not have to worry about being grounded, he has also gained a power that is close to supervising the country.
He can listen to the ministers talk about major events in the court in the Wenhua Palace. This is the authority given to him by his father. As the prince, he has to learn how to manage politics, even though Zhu Houzhao himself knows that those things are very complicated. .
But I still couldn’t hold back the curiosity in my heart.
Who said that my old father can take care of court affairs well? Who says that a young man must not be good at what he does?
"Go back and find that girl Xiurong. I will teach her a lesson." Zhu Houzhao felt that he had to act as the eldest brother now.
If the old father is not here, why don’t I just take care of your little sister?
Gao Feng said: "Your Highness, I heard that the princess is not in Beijing."
"Say it again!" Zhu Houzhao almost wanted to hit someone.
Gao Feng said helplessly: "The princess seems to have gone to Datong with your Majesty..."
"What?"
Zhu Houzhao jumped out of the car. .
The attendants were startled, and several people stepped forward to hold down the extremely excited Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Highness, you can't hurt your body." Gao Feng begged loudly.
Zhu Houzhao said: "Is there such a father? He will go by himself, even if he doesn't let me go, why can a dead girl go with him? Patrolling the Weining Sea and sending troops to the grassland are so fun. "Why don't you call me?"
At this time, many Jin Yiwei came over and drove Zhu Houzhao back to the car.
Zhu Houzhao said loudly: "Wait, I must go to the northwest in person. Who said I can't lead troops to fight? Give me three thousand soldiers and horses, and I can level the grassland! Who is afraid? Die! ?" Gao Feng said: "Your Majesty, you must bear it. Your Majesty is not in Beijing, and the future of the Ming Dynasty lies with you."
"I don't want the future of the Ming Dynasty. I want to fight!"
Zhu Houzhao was being held down by two Jinyi guards.
No matter how hard he resisted, it was of no use at all. It seemed that Zhu Youtang was also afraid that this bastard would cause chaos during his absence in Beijing, so he also issued a death order and sent many troops. People stare at Zhu Houzhao twelve hours a day and cannot let him make any mistakes.
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On the grassland.
A war has continued to the ninth day.
Tang Yin personally led seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses,After several consecutive attempts to attack, they were all stopped by the main force of the Tatars.
Originally, the Tatars did not intend to fight with the Ming Dynasty troops and horses, but after they discovered that the Ming Dynasty troops and horses were not equipped with heavy artillery and other long-range firepower, they began to try to resist. and counterattack, and then found that no matter how fiercely the Ming army charged, they would stop after encountering their obstruction.
The two sides formed an offensive and defensive situation.
In the end, the number of Ming troops was quickly discovered by the main Tatar force.
The Ming Dynasty only had less than ten thousand soldiers and horses, and it was still far away in the grassland hinterland more than a thousand miles away from the Ming Dynasty. It had no contact with the Ming Dynasty's border officers and soldiers, and their route of action was not straight up or down. This means that if the Ming army wants to rush for reinforcements, it will have to travel at least 1,500 miles.
In addition, the Ming army did not have the blessing of heavy firearms, so the Tatar army was not so afraid.
After all, in the previous battle where the Ming Dynasty's five-pronged troops marched into the grassland, the Ming Dynasty army did not take advantage. In the eyes of the Tatars, this battle was fightable.
If they win this battle, it can even help them reverse their defeat in the Ming Dynasty and regain their advantage on the frontline battlefield.
Noon on the tenth day of the lunar month.
After another attempted attack, Ming's three thousand troops had to withdraw.
Zhang Rui, who was responsible for leading the troops to attack, returned to the valley camp. At this time, the snow in the camp turned into solid ice, and the horses could not ride at all. They could only dismount and lead the horses. Some The horses were tied together, dragging sleds and the like to transport the loot.
"Can't beat him."
Zhang Rui arrived at Tang Yin's side.
At this time, Tang Yin stood on a relatively high ground above the river valley.
The telescope in his hand was also looking at the southeast, in the direction of the Tatar camp.
Tang Yin pointed to the southeast and said: "There was no Tatar camp there last night. It started to be set up this morning. There are several temporary camps on the other side of the river. It seems that they want to serve as a transit. They also set up some camp heads in the rear..."
Xu Jing asked: "What are they doing by setting up camp so close to us? To attract us to attack?"
"I don't know." Tang Yin said, "If I were a Tatar, I might plant gunpowder inside, but they seem to see that we have no way forward or retreat. Unless we wholeheartedly go south to break out, we must have someone behind us. If you have a place to rely on, make strategic moves with them."
Xu Jingdao: "In the past, we didn't necessarily need to back up anything."
"It's different." Shaking his head, he said, "We don't have long-range artillery or heavy artillery this time, only some light artillery. Our arms are too short to hit that far. Fortunately, the river is not too wide, and the river surface is already frozen, so you can come and go freely. If you arrive At the beginning of spring, when the ice was not strong enough to pass the horses, we had no choice but to abandon this position.. "
Zhang Rui asked: "Then how long do we need to persist? "
Tang Yin asked: "Have the main forces in the rear of the Tatars withdrew? "
"No. "Zhang Rui brought 3,000 troops this time to explore the situation behind enemy lines. He reported truthfully, "Not only have the Tatars not retreated, they are still accumulating troops. It seems that they are on our side of the river, that is, in the south and southwest. , the Tatars have deployed at least 50,000 to 60,000 troops. "
"How much? "Xu Jing became obviously panicked when he heard this.
Tang Yin said: "Fifty or sixty thousand soldiers and horses, is that a lot? "
Xu Jing smiled bitterly and said: "Bohu, even if we have a blunderbuss, how many fire bombs do we have? Even if one fire bomb hits one, I'm afraid it won't be able to kill all the 50,000 or 60,000 people, right? "
Zhang Rui said: "If one person has at least twenty rounds, it will be no problem to fight a hundred thousand people. "
"Too unrealistic. "Xu Jing said, "Do you think the Tatars are standing there as targets for you to shoot? It's over, it's over, they have cut off our retreat. "
Tang Yin nodded and said: "This is exactly what I need. Where is Pingluhou? ”
“Back to your lord, Marquis Pinglu took more than a thousand soldiers and horses to the northwest last night to explore, but he has not come back yet. Based on what was previously found, the Tatars did not deploy soldiers and horses in the northwest.” ..."
"Surround three towers. Tang Yin said, "They left a gap in our rear. If we want to break out, we can only go in this direction." But we will go deeper and deeper into the grassland. By then, without even fighting, we will not have enough food and grass to last until the day we return to the Ming Dynasty. "
Xu Jing asked hurriedly: "The Tatars haven't attacked yet, have they? "
Zhang Rui said: "The Tatars are also afraid. After all, in several encounters, our fire cannons were very effective and killed many Tatars. They are now trying their best to deal with us, and even intend to build a stronghold on the other side of our river. ”
“Yeah. Tang Yin nodded and said, "They know that we don't have many artillery, so we can't cross the obstacles to hit them." Using this method to resist fire cannons may also be a strategy. But after all, we brought explosives from heaven, so it was not difficult to blow up several of their camps. "
Xu Jing listened for a long time and asked: "Then how do we withdraw? beat? Or not? "
Tang Yin said: "This is our city. On the opposite side is our enemy... We need to take root in the city below and do more dealings with the Tatars. Even if blood is spilled on this grassland, we are still heroes. "Recent transcoding has been serious, which makes us more motivated and updates faster. Please use your little hands to exit the reading mode. Thank you