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Chapter 188 The Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty was able to succeed, Xu Da was the number one hero
Some people also said that Xu Da's military achievements were exaggerated, but it was not the case.

…………

"exaggerate?"

"Xu Da may exaggerate Xu Da."

Emperor Yongle Zhu Di couldn't help feeling a little funny.

He was wondering who would think that Xu Da was exaggerated.

As far as Xu Da's military exploits are concerned, it is enough to support him to become China's top coach.

Or maybe it's just because his sense of presence is not as high as Han Xin and Li Jing, which makes the world feel that he has been honored by his father?

Zhu Di shook his head.

In fact, he knows it well.

His father, Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was able to destroy the Mongolian Yuan, restore the Han nationality regime, unify the North and the South, and establish the Ming Dynasty.

Among them, Xu Da's role can be said to be indispensable.

Even after a hundred years, a thousand years.

His name should not be forgotten.

Xu Da, the military god of the Ming Dynasty.

This is what Zhu Di thought in his heart.

"If I had someone like Xu Da in my hands, why would I be so haggard?"

Zhu Di sighed and said helplessly.

…………

The projection on the sky continued.

Xu Da is exaggerated?

In fact, his status is not that high?
No.

No.

Not at all.

Xu Da deserves this honor.

Think about it carefully, how difficult was the Northern Expedition in ancient China?

It can be said that it is as difficult as climbing the sky.

As strong as Crouching Dragon Zhuge and God of War Liu Yu, it is hard to escape the doom of failure.

But there was one person who changed his fate against the sky and broke the historical formula of unification from north to south. He was Xu Da.

…………

"That's right! I understand now."

Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin suddenly realized.

Although he has never experienced Xu Da's age.

He also has not witnessed Xu Da's history and achievements.

Naturally, it is impossible to make a correct evaluation of it.

However, Zhuge Liang knew it.

This Zhuge Liang can be regarded as a generation of gods.

And Liu Yu.

This is also a generation of gods.

You must know that Liu Yu had made two Northern Expeditions to recover Luoyang, Chang'an and other places.

What Liu Yu and Zhuge Liang failed to do, but Xu Da did. Doesn't this show Xu Da's ability?
…………

"Xu Da is worthy of being the founding military commander of the Ming Dynasty."

"Invade the capital and destroy the Yuan Dynasty."

"Conquer from south to north to realize the unification of the north and the south."

"He is good at running the army and has been a soldier all his life. He is the number one hero in the founding of the Ming Dynasty."

"He even ranks first among the six founding kings. For such a character, his life is simply a legend."

…………

In the third year of Xianchun in the Southern Song Dynasty, Kublai Khan ordered the Mongolian general Ashu to lead an army of 17 to attack Xiangyang, which officially opened the prelude to the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty.

A hundred years later, in 25, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the generals to lead an army of [-] to drive the Mongolian cavalry back to the desert.

Since the Yuan Dynasty entered the Central Plains, the throne has been handed down to at least the young emperor Tuohuan Tiemuer, also known as Emperor Yuanshun.

He overthrew the prime minister, restored the imperial examination, and exempted taxation.

Zhu Yuanzhang was one of the heroes at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and he was the one who had the last laugh. With the support of civil servants and military generals, he destroyed Chen Youliang, flattened Zhang Shicheng, and finally ruled the south of the Yangtze River.

If you talk about the merits of his generals, Xu Da ranks first.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had only one opponent left—Yuan Ting.

In the 27th year from Yuan to Zhengzheng, Zhu Yuanzhang, who proclaimed himself King of Wu, issued the "Edict to the Central Plains" in Yingtian to inform the world, vowing to wipe out Hu Chen and unify China.

However, Emperor Yuan Shun was in a completely different state at this time. His ambitions had long since been wiped out by cumbersome government affairs and unsolvable chaos.

In October of that year, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Xu Da as the general who conquered captives, and Chang Yuchun as the deputy general, leading an army of 25 to prepare for the Northern Expedition.

Regarding the plan of the Northern Expedition, Deputy General Chang Yuchun suggested to go straight in and attack the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.

Chang Yuchun's thoughts are understandable, after all, he is a strong general of Ming Dynasty, he can be said to be the first to lead the charge, invincible.

Naturally, he wanted to be more direct and hit Huanglong directly.

But the plan Chang Yuchun thought of was denied by Zhu Yuanzhang.

After all, the lieutenant is a lieutenant, and his thinking is not comprehensive enough.

We must know that the Mongolian iron cavalry once swept the invincible hands in Europe and Asia, and the Yuan Dynasty established the capital for a hundred years, and the city defense must be strong.

If you really want to do this, the losses will definitely be heavy, and it will even put the army in a dangerous environment, which is very bad.

Compared with Chang Yuchun's bravery, Xu Da, as the commander of the three armies, naturally thinks about things in the long run.

Xu Da's idea has his unique features:.

First of all, Xu Da is the most experienced and able to convince the masses, and he is good at dispatching large corps to fight, treats the captives kindly, disintegrates the enemy army, has no crimes in autumn, and the people admire him.

"Ming Taizu Records" records a small story: Once, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun defeated an army of Chen Youliang and captured more than 3000 people. Chang Yuchun advocated killing them, but Xu Da firmly opposed them.

Xu Da holds a sword in his hand, has a compassionate heart, and has the demeanor of a teacher of benevolence and righteousness.

Even from the perspective of real interests, not torturing and killing prisoners can break the enemy's morale to a certain extent.

From this little incident, we can also get a glimpse of Xu Dazhi's stability.

According to "Ming History Chronicles", the plan finalized by Zhu Yuanzhang and his ministers is also very stable: first take Shandong, then move to Henan, and then occupy Tongguan, Shaanxi.

Just open the map and look at it, and you will know that this strategy will make Beiping an isolated city.

This battle plan is the most suitable for Xu Da to carry out.

Xu Da usually speaks few words but thinks deeply, his way of using troops is just like his character, he sees strategy in peace.

It's like two people playing chess. You can see that his layout is very ordinary, but for some reason, you are at a disadvantage as you play.

The Northern Expedition is a common occurrence in Chinese history.

In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the great general Zu Ti brought elite soldiers into the Central Plains, which was a similar Northern Expedition.

However, what makes today's people puzzled is that although there are countless examples of the Northern Expedition in Chinese history, very few of them succeeded.

If modern times are left behind, the only one that achieved decisive success in the Northern Expedition was Xu Da's Northern Expedition in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties.

At this time, some people have doubts, why Xu Da's Northern Expedition can break the law of "the north is strong and the south is weak", and then achieve the great feat of unifying the mountains and rivers?

Obviously, this needs to be carefully analyzed from the environment of the times at that time.

The powerful combat effectiveness of the Mongolian and Yuan troops was once the best example of "the north is strong and the south is weak".

If you want to understand the success of the Ming army, you need to have a necessary understanding of this so-called "historical law".

In the long history of China's military, the existence of the law of "unifying the north with the south" is inseparable from the military strength of the north and the organizational capabilities of the regime.

In contrast, although the political groups entrenched in the south have so-called natural barriers, in the Southern Expeditions from north to south, we will find that these natural barriers are nothing more than paper tigers. The disintegration of is the best example.

Therefore, if the defender does not have the corresponding military strength and the economic foundation to support its military strength, the so-called natural danger will make the defender fall into the embarrassing situation of blind arrogance and inability to attack and defend, and it is even more impossible to break this law. talked about.

Blacksmith need its own hardware.

In the environment of the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, this situation of "strong in the north and weak in the south" took on the opposite form.

During this period, in the area north of the Yangtze River, in the conflict between the Red Turban Army uprising and local warlord forces, there were already shouts of killing day and night.

Behind the scenes of wolf smoke everywhere, a large number of abandoned land and nine empty rooms prove that the economic foundation of the northern region has suffered heavy damage and blows during this period, and the government of Emperor Yuanshun in the north was powerless to do anything about it.

Therefore, at this time, the government of Emperor Yuanshun couldn't take care of itself, so how could it plan to go south?
In contrast, the Zhu Yuanzhang Group south of the Yangtze River has enough soldiers and food, and has no worries about the future.

This has a lot to do with the warlord Chen Youliang who had just annexed the two lakes, Zhang Shicheng who was entrenched in Suzhou, and Fang Guozhen who was on the sea.

The Poyang Lake water battle enabled Zhu Yuanzhang to win a decisive victory in the war with Chen Youliang.

The army under Zhu Yuanzhang not only honed strict discipline and efficient combat capabilities in these merger wars, but also has the ability to deal with different battlefield environments.

For example, although the Yuan Empire relied on the brave and skilled cavalry troops, despite factors such as their limited number, the Mongolian and Yuan troops that took a strong attack in actual combat were greatly killed by the intensive firepower of the Ming army's firearms and crossbows. defeat.

On the surface, this has a great relationship with the advanced weapons of the Ming army, but it also requires strict discipline to be able to be calm and orderly when facing the Mongolian cavalry charge, and to alternately cover and attack in an unfavorable environment. It was realized with a large number of grassroots officers and soldiers with rich combat experience.

Therefore, the reason why Xu Da was able to succeed in the Northern Expedition is that the powerful army and its supply system behind it should take the lead.

There is also the guidance of strategic decision-making in a steady and steady manner.

On the eve of Zhu Yuanzhang's appointment of Xu Da's Northern Expedition, he held several joint military meetings to discuss the implementation of the Northern Expedition strategy.

At the meeting, Ming general Chang Yuchun and others advocated attacking Youyun directly, but Zhu Yuanzhang vetoed it.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, although the northern region controlled by the Mongolian Yuan was in chaos, if he recklessly went straight in, it was very likely that potential enemies would cut off his way back and cause unnecessary losses.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to adopt a strategy of advancing step by step, first clearing the military strongholds of the Yuan Empire along the Yangtze River, and then capturing Henan and Shandong.

After consolidating the rule of these areas, it will go further north to capture Hebei and other places, and finally concentrate on besieging Dadu.

Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy was recognized by most Ming generals and actively implemented.

It can also be seen from the course of the subsequent battle that although the Ming army encountered some difficult "hard bones" in the process of advancing, the entire battle situation was decisively deflected immediately after each victory of the Ming army.

Although part of the Yuan army tried to cut off the back route of the Ming army advancing north, they could only "look at the ocean and sigh" in the face of the "steady and steady" tactics of the Ming army.From this point of view, the importance of Zhu Yuanzhang's northward strategy is self-evident.

Although the Ming army made rapid progress, for most Ming generals, if Dadu, the political center of the Yuan Empire, was not conquered, the previous victories would still be in danger of being wasted.

However, when the forwards of the Ming army rushed to the periphery of the capital, a dramatic scene appeared. At this time, Emperor Yuan Shun did not stand by and wait for help, but opened the north gate and fled into the depths of the desert.

How could the Ming army miss this god-given opportunity? Finally, after a small-scale fierce battle, the Ming army entered the city at dawn.

However, although Emperor Yuan Shun escaped, another elite of the Yuan army was on the way to rescue Dadu.

Kuo Kuo Timur knew that although the Ming army had temporarily occupied Dadu, it was not yet firmly established, and there was still hope of turning the tide of the battle, so the Yuan army attacked in a roundabout way, trying to retake Dadu from the Ming army.

Xu Da, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, had already learned about the expansion trend from the spies, but Xu Da did not deliberately stick to Dadu. Instead, he led an elite army into Shanxi, and took Taiyuan Mansion within a short time.

Xu Da's move undoubtedly cut off the rear of the expansion. At this time, the expansion was already full of worries because the attack was blocked, and the news that the rear was cut off made it even more unbearable for the extension.

Finally, under the counterattack of the Ming army, Kuo Kuo chose to take the road, and his subordinates were also attacked by the Ming army. The Yuan army's battle to recover Dadu ended in failure.

From the perspective of the battle itself, this was only a personal failure of Kuo Koo, but the political impact of Emperor Yuan Shun's "Bei Shou" and the failure of Kuo Koo was extremely significant.

In the past, several units of the Ming army, such as Tanghe, were afraid because of their failure in the battle against the expansion, but the victory in this battle greatly boosted the determination of the Ming army to win.

And the unexpected harvest in this battle, that is, Xu Da's victory in Shanxi also opened up a more favorable situation for the Ming army to continue westward.

The collapse of the Yuan Empire is now a foregone conclusion.

Looking back at this battle, the reason why the Ming army was able to win really depended on Xu Da's "surrounding Wei and saving Zhao" to attack his unprepared tactics.

In this battle, Xu Da led an army of 20 and beat back the 20 barbarians led by Boyan who destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty a hundred years ago to the desert, overthrowing the rule of the Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop.

It can be seen from this that Xu Da's Northern Expedition ended in victory.

During the Northern Expedition, it was essential for Zhu Yuanzhang to formulate a correct combat plan, but the general's ability to adapt to changes on the battlefield is also crucial.

Xu Da judged the situation during the Northern Expedition, saw the right time, and used his troops like a god, which fully demonstrated Xu Da's outstanding talent in using troops and his ability to control the war. Then he used Zhu Yuanzhang to formulate a battle plan. The two cooperated internally and externally to win the Northern Expedition.

The results of Xu Da's Northern Expedition are obvious to all. It took a total of two years from the formulation of the plan to the end of the operation. A group of generals proceeded in an orderly manner according to the plan, successively eliminated the Yuan Dynasty forces in many regions, and finally ended the Yuan Dynasty's rule for many years.

Xu Da's deeds not only represent his individual, but also reflect the collective wisdom of the military command in the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

The rise of the Ming Empire in East Asia is not far away.

It can be said that Xu Da must be the number one hero for the success of the Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)