my steam dam

Chapter 136 Expedition across the desert!

In this Ming Dynasty, the distinction between civil and military is still very, very clear, and it is impossible to use civil to control military or use martial to control civil.

As a warrior, you can only go around in the military rank system, and the highest is Feng Gong, a first-rank general.

Literati, on the other hand, can only circle around in the civil and political system all the way through the township and county governments, the chief secretary, and the central government all the way up, reaching the pinnacle of glory in Jiuqing.

Moreover, the branches of noble families who were knighted because of their military exploits can be involved in politics, but they can only reach the third rank at the highest level, and cannot serve as Jiuqing.

The eldest son of the Xungui family, who wants to become a noble in the future, cannot be in politics, but can only join the army.

The Mansion of the Governor of the Five Armies is the place where these lords go. It belongs to the highest military organization of the Ming Dynasty, and in name it commands the soldiers and horses of the world.

In name, all matters related to the military are under the control of the Five Armies Commander's Mansion.

But in fact, the Dudufu of the Five Armies only cares about how to fight.

The Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies has no right to dispatch troops, and the dispatch right is directly controlled by the emperor.

Then, although the Ministry of War has the right to appoint, remove, and promote in the army, it cannot command the army.

To put it simply, the Ministry of War is in charge of some logistics, appointments, dismissals, and promotions of the army.

The Five Army Commander's Mansion usually manages all the daily affairs of the Ming army, and conducts strategic plans for major battles during wartime. It is similar to the Supreme Staff Office, where the central government makes military decisions.

As for who will fight, the emperor dispatches and appoints the commander-in-chief to implement the campaign plan formulated by the Dudufu of the Five Armies.

This is what Emperor Hongwu came up with, and it was the best way to avoid excessive concentration of military power, and designed a system of military power checks and balances for Ming Dynasty.

But even so, the power of the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion is still great.

The governors are not only responsible for the management of the training and production of the local army, but also the army's farms are coordinated by the governor's office of the five armies.

Moreover, the Ministry of War has no right to intervene in the affairs of the five army governors' mansions.

In other words, the day-to-day management of the Ming army is in the Dudufu of the Five Armies, while the command power is temporarily given to a general officer by the emperor when a war breaks out.

The Ministry of War can only do some logistical work, such as preparing and transporting military rations, appointing and dismissing ordinary soldiers, and stamping promotions and the like.

Emperor Hongwu summoned the left and right governors of the five armies, the governors' acquaintances, and the governor's officials to gather in the Hall of Martial Arts for the purpose of discussing the most important military move of the Ming Dynasty!

When and how to fight with Beiman?
This is a question that the Dudufu of the Five Armies has been thinking about for a long time.

Since the 21st year of Hongwu, when the two sides ended the last frontal battle involving more than [-] people, the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies has been formulating a new plan for the Northern Expedition.

Although the folks and courts have been clamoring for the argument of stopping the Northern Expedition, resting with the people, recuperating, and shifting the focus to economic development.

But on the military side, in fact, it has never thought of stopping the war.

The army doesn't fight, so what do we do?
Where can I find credit?

The military hopes that there will be wars every year, and everyone will be promoted and raised for their merits every year!
As for the death of war?
Under the temptation of huge military achievements, it is not a problem.

Now in the Ming Dynasty's army, only those who are eager to gain military merit join the army, who would join the army if they are afraid of death!
Hong Wudi's threatening words were completely superfluous.

If it is at the Great Court Meeting, it is still necessary to speak harshly to make those literati sober.

However, at the internal meeting of the Five Armed Forces Governor's Mansion, it is impossible for everyone to raise objections to the Northern Expedition.

The military generals of the Ming Dynasty have always had a unified attitude towards the Northern Man!
If you are poor, you will strengthen the cannons of the city, and if you are rich, the army will suppress the border!
Nearly [-] military officials of at least the second rank were all whispering in low voices, and sometimes they were having heated discussions.

"Directly from Kaiping, gather an army of 30 and go north, march all the way to the grassland, and go straight to Mobei!"

"With the current military strength of our army, the northern barbarians are completely unable to confront our army head-on!"

"As long as we push forward for one mile, the railway will be repaired for one mile, and we can completely establish an armored train defense system under the nose of the Beiman!"

"One battle will pacify the grassland!"

The left governor of the Chinese army plausibly put forward his strategic ideas.

Don't make any messy schemes, just press the army directly, a group army of 30 people, at least a thousand artillery pieces!
Unless the whole army of the northern barbarians is mobilized, there is no way to directly defeat the Ming army.

In this way, you can advance slowly step by step, and even spend several years on the expedition!

It is equivalent to directly sending 30 people to protect laborers and build railways on the grasslands!
"Pooh!"

The former military commander Zuo sneered and retorted:
"Do you think the Ministry of Industry can repair hundreds of miles of railways in a day?"

"From Kaiping to the north, it takes thousands of miles to reach Monan! Let alone Mobei!"

"Even if the Ministry of Industry repairs one mile a day, it will take three to five years to repair one!"

"The 30 army has been hanging alone for three to five years. How can the logistics be guaranteed? The large cavalry of the northern barbarians are constantly harassing the army, and it will make the army exhausted!"

"As long as the northern barbarians continue to harass with cavalry, let alone three years, if less than one year, our soldiers will be exhausted and will surely be defeated!"

"I think that we must suppress the border with a large army, go straight to the ancestral home of the Beiman in Monan, destroy it, and wipe out at least half of the tribes and vital forces of the Beiman in Monan!"

"Let the Beiman have no way to interfere with our army's construction of the railway in Monan!"

"This is the right way!"

The former military commander-in-chief echoed: "Up to now, many weapon factories under the Ministry of Industry have manufactured 480 steam tracked chariots, and gathered them together, following the example of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing in the past, with a highly mobile army, expedition across the desert , Go straight to Huanglong!"

In the history of China, there have been great victorious battles that successfully wiped out the Northern Man's power in Monan.

Back then, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing each led 1000 cavalry and more than [-] civilian soldiers to transport supplies. They were divided into two groups and traveled more than [-] miles to defeat the main force of the Northern Man in Monan!
At that time, it was possible to win because of the high mobility of the [-] cavalry, which made the advantage of the cavalry of the northern barbarians disappear without a trace.

During the Han Wu period, whether it was the great victory in Longcheng, the recovery of Hetao, the surprise attack on Gaoque, or the final battle in Mobei.

Basically all the victories are due to the fact that the Han army has trained excellent cavalry, and they will treat them in their own way!

Play is a cavalry raid battle!

Now that Ming Dynasty has a further steam chariot, it is completely possible to reproduce this kind of victory. Relying on the steam chariot equipped with a five-inch gun, a surprise attack directly hits Huanglong, destroying the ancestral home of the Beiman in Monan in one fell swoop, Eliminate the four main tribes of the Northern Man in Monan!
In this way, Monan can be settled!
After that, it is only necessary to steadily wipe out the remaining northern barbarian forces in Monan, drive them to Mobei, and build the railway all the way from outside the Great Wall to Monan day and night.

The land of Monan can also become an inseparable part of Daming!
(End of this chapter)