The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

After the sacrifice, Zhang Zhou's troops continued to march northwest.

There is no need to know where Tang Yin's troops are, you only need to know where the Tatars' defense direction is, because Zhang Zhou knows very well that if the Tatars want to eat up all of Tang Yin's troops at once and with minimal losses, they can only do so with all their strength.

In other words, Tang Yin's seven or eight thousand soldiers were enough to make the Tatars make a desperate attempt.

Under this premise, the Tatars had no way to avoid them, which meant that as long as they were found somewhere with Tatars, they would follow them and would definitely be able to find the direction of Tang Yin's garrison.

As for whether Tang Yin's army had been completely wiped out, it was also unimportant to Zhang Zhou, because as long as the Tatars dared to attack with their entire army to swallow up Tang Yin's troops, they would definitely have the courage to fight against Zhang Zhou's troops.

Even if Tang Yin's entire army was wiped out, it might still be a good thing for Zhang Zhou because it would boost the confidence of the Tatars.

We were able to wipe out Tang Yin's seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses, so why would we be afraid of your mere three thousand soldiers and horses?

Even if your Ming Dynasty has upgraded its weapons and strengthened its military, I'm afraid it will not be able to confront my hundreds of thousands of Tatar cavalry head-on.

……

……

The end of the first year.

It has been twenty days since the Ming Dynasty sent out its troops.

Zhu Youtang's troops finally arrived in Datong. Zhu Feng, together with generals such as Wang Shouren, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city, almost lined the streets to welcome the emperor.

The last time the emperor led an army in person, he was scared back by the Tatars on his way to the northwest. On his way back, he was caught up by the Tatars and a tragedy occurred.

But this time the emperor led the army in person and did not even see the shadow of the Tatars along the way. Zhu Youtang arrived in Datong smoothly with his 20,000 troops.

When Zhu Youtang entered the city, since there was no temporary palace in the city, he only temporarily lived in the General Administration Office. The original owner of this place, Wang Shouren, moved out and left this place to Zhu Youtang.

Zhu Youtang immediately summoned Wang Shouren.

However, when Wang Shouren was summoned, Zhu Feng had already arrived to see the emperor and was kept in the palace without having to leave.

In other words, Zhu Feng is now equivalent to a sword-bearing guard in front of the emperor, fully responsible for the emperor's daily safety... There is no other way, mainly because Zhu Youtang is really worried about the brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, and still feels that Zhu Feng, who is almost a sworn brother, is more reliable.

"Your Majesty, Duke Chengguo has arrived in Datong and has requested an audience." Wang Shouren naturally mentioned Zhu Fu who arrived in Datong Town a few days ago.

Zhu Fu rushed to Datong from Yansui just a few days earlier than the emperor, which fully exposed his poor ability in commanding the army.

Zhu Fu was not arranged to go out to greet the emperor this time, mainly because Wang Shouren hoped that he could stay on the front line... Although Wang Shouren was only a Xinjian Earl, he was the highest military and political commander of the place after all, so Zhu Fu could only obey his orders obediently.

Zhu Youtang said: "Duke Cheng is gone for now. But let him lead the troops to Maoerzhuang to wait..."

Zhu Youtang wanted to inspect Weininghai and experience Wang Yue's experience of defeating the Tatar cavalry in Weininghai in the past, and show his own mettle.

But since the emperor was going to come in person, naturally someone had to scout the way first, and that person became the unfortunate Zhu Fu.

Zhu Youtang stood up again and said, "From here to Weining Sea, I will make a big fanfare so that the entire grassland knows that I am here."

Wang Shouren said: "Your Majesty, if we do this, we are afraid that the Tatars may invade."

"I wish they wouldn't come." Zhu Youtang said proudly, "With Wang Qing's family and Zhu Qing's family here, what do I have to fear? Bingkuan has led his troops deep into the grassland. Although I can't fight alongside him, I have to cheer for him. This is the way to pacify the grassland. If I lead the army in person, even the Tatars won't pay attention to me, and I can't withdraw some of their troops, then what's the point of me going to Weininghai?"

Wang Shouren thought, as an emperor, the only reason he went to Weininghai was to show off his power, right?
It is said that it can contain the main force of the Tatars?

It doesn't sound reliable.

"Mr. Wang, do you have any news about Tang Yin, Ma Yi and others on the grassland now?" Zhu Youtang asked.

"Your Majesty, no." Wang Shouren said, "The last time there was news was a month ago."

"That's it. The Tatars have blocked Tang Yin's way back to Ming. We should send troops to rescue him. This battle will surely be thrilling." Zhu Youtang said, "I will only rest in the city for one day and then leave immediately. From now on, you, Wang Qing, will arrange everything. You must make sure that there is no stagnation and you cannot miss the important event."

"Understood, sir." Wang Shouren clasped his fists and said.

……

……

Zhu Feng stayed in the imperial palace for one night to make some preparations for the expedition the next afternoon. He left the imperial palace early the next morning to pay a visit to Wang Shouren.

After a night of preparation, Wang Shouren had assembled his troops.

On top of the 20,000 troops that the emperor originally led in person, another 40,000 troops were added.

Wang Shouren said to Zhu Feng, "Your father will lead 17,000 troops in advance, and Your Majesty will lead 60,000 troops to Weininghai, a total of nearly 80,000 troops. Among them, there are 35,000 combat cavalry, and the rest are infantry, and some are responsible for transporting food and supplies."

Zhu Feng said: "Isn't that too much?"

"Zhijie, do you think 80,000 soldiers and horses are... too many?" Wang Shouren asked with a frown.

Obviously, in Wang Shouren's view, the emperor was leading the army in person with only 80,000 soldiers, many of whom were old, weak and disabled. If the Tatars launched a full-scale attack, there was no way to guarantee 100% safety if he went out with such a preparation.

Even Wang Shouren did not think that the Ming Dynasty could completely crush the Tatars on the battlefield.

But the emperor seemed to have blind self-confidence. He dared to come to the northwest with 20,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp who had never been to the battlefield... It was simply a bit ignorant and fearless.

Zhu Feng sighed, "With 80,000 soldiers and horses out of the grassland, the Tatars will definitely not dare to come. Brother Zhang only brought 3,000 soldiers and horses..."

"Too."

Wang Shouren shook his head helplessly.

The emperor is blindly confident, but Zhang Zhou seems to be even more confident.

You said you wanted to pacify the grassland, and bringing an army of 100,000 or 80,000 wouldn't be too many, but you only brought 3,000 soldiers... and they were all picked from the Beijing camp?
Even if you bring some border troops, at least some of them have combat experience, but what do the soldiers of the Beijing camp have? In the past, the soldiers of the Beijing camp were all pulled to build palaces and temples, and they were almost like bricklayers.

You, Zhang Bingkuan, actually took three thousand bricklayers to the northwest to fight the Tatars?
Zhu Feng asked, "Master Wang, do you think this is inappropriate?"

"It's more than inappropriate..." Wang Shouren sighed, "Now that things have come to this, there must be no more deviations. Even if we want to pacify the grassland, we can prepare for it in a few years. There is no need to ignore the way out like we are doing now. Why rush it now?"

Zhu Feng said: "Your Majesty is ill..."

"What did you say?" Wang Shouren asked immediately.

Zhu Feng seemed to realize that he had said something wrong, and then he stopped answering no matter what Wang Shouren asked.

Wang Shouren seemed to realize something and nodded, saying, "Duke Cai must be confident to enter the grassland in this way. In the past few years, the biggest problem on the battlefield is still that the Tatars are unwilling to fight head-on. Anyone who fights head-on, even the previous attack by Marquis Jingshan with hundreds of troops, can gain a lot. Under such circumstances, we can only hope that Duke Cai will succeed immediately."

"I think he can." Zhu Feng added, "Brother Zhang can see through the secrets of heaven and understand people's hearts. If he thinks that 3,000 soldiers are not enough, he will never do this. Don't forget, there are also 8,000 soldiers led by Lord Tang... In this way, even if there are more than 10,000 soldiers, the Tatars will not stand a chance."

Wang Shouren couldn't help but sigh slightly when he heard this.

It seems that there are not only the emperor and Zhang Zhou two crazy people, but also Zhu Feng who blindly worships Zhang Zhou.

Wang Shouren said: "The soldiers seem to believe this. I hope that when we fight the Tatars on the battlefield, we will not be defeated in one battle."

……

……

Zhu Youtang personally led his troops to advance towards Maoerzhuang.

The 80,000-strong army was divided into three routes.

The first route was led by Zhu Fu himself. As the vanguard, they were not equipped with heavy baggage. They were mainly composed of light cavalry, who marched in front of the team, about fifty miles away from the rear army.

The second route was led by Wang Shouren himself, who was responsible for the left side of the central army, with about 6,000 soldiers.

The main significance of this group of troops was that Wang Shouren was afraid that the Tatars would attack from the west...because according to previous intelligence, the main force of the Tatars was in the northwest of Datong Town, so he needed to personally lead a group of troops to protect the flank in the west.

In this way, even if powerful Tatar cavalry came to attack, he would be able to protect the emperor's retreat to the new city of Maoerzhuang or to the border of Datong.

The third route of troops was nominally led by Zhu Youtang himself, but in fact it was led by Zhu Feng, Zhang Heling, and Zhang Yanling. The main leader of the central army was still Wang Qiong, but Wang Qiong was only a civil official accompanying the army and did not participate in the actual troop deployment.

Most of the time, Wang Qiong followed the emperor's team, acting as an advisor when something happened. After sorting out the situation here, he would communicate with the cabinet and the Shangtingchu in the capital, and then the cabinet and the Shangtingchu would communicate to the court.

"It's only February, and many places in the north are covered with ice and snow. The road from here to Weining Sea is relatively peaceful, and we have patrols along the way. We can be the first to learn about the enemy situation within 300 miles around Weining Sea."

On the first day of his stay outside the border, Wang Shouren went to visit Wang Qiong and informed him of the current situation.

Although in terms of status, Wang Shouren, as the governor of Xuanda, no longer accepted any command or control from Wang Qiong, Wang Shouren still respected Wang Qiong very much.

Wang Qiong asked, "Boan, do you think we can win this battle?"

Wang Shouren shook his head and said, "I don't know. But if it were me, I would never fight such a risky war."

Wang Qiong smiled and said, "In my eyes, you are brave and fearless. You never care how many enemies are in front of you, nor do you care whether there is a way to retreat behind you. But why are you so cautious this time?"

"Because..." Wang Shouren said, "I know the Tatars will not fight easily."

Wang Qiong said: "I thought so at first, but I saw how powerful the new weapon is."

"What do you mean?" Wang Shouren asked curiously.

Wang Qiong sighed, "Do you know what a killing weapon is?"

Wang Shouren shook his head helplessly.

It’s not that he doesn’t know what a killing weapon is, but he has never seen what a real killing weapon looks like... We are all commanders in the army, and you, Wang Qiong, cannot just use a general concept to change my judgment.

"That's right... there are thousands of troops ahead, but as long as there is one person, they can stop them. It's really like one man blocking the pass and ten thousand men can't get through." Wang Qiong sighed.

Wang Shouren asked, "Is it a cannon?"

"No." Wang Qiong said, "It's a fire gun. To be precise, it's a fire gun that can fire dozens or even hundreds of fire bullets in an instant, and it doesn't need to ignite and stop in the middle. It can change direction and stop at any time. It is lighter than a cannon when moving, and can even be towed by a carriage, set up anywhere, and even fired while walking..."

After listening to it, Wang Shouren felt like he was listening to a story. He frowned and asked, "Is there really such a thing? Then why... isn't there one in the northwest?"

“Just made.”

Wang Qiong said, "Let me ask you, if there are such weapons, and there are dozens, hundreds, or even hundreds of them, do you think three thousand soldiers will be enough?"

Wang Shouren shook his head and said, "I don't think this kind of killing weapon has any disadvantages. The reason why the fire gun can change the battlefield situation is that the soldiers use their life's efforts to turn the tide of the battle. Everything depends on human efforts. And if there really is such a killing weapon, the leader will also be human... No fire gun can be perfect in terms of its device."

Wang Qiong sighed, "Boan, I know what you mean. Even a musket can explode. You think this kind of weapon is just a decoration on the battlefield and cannot be effective. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes." Wang Shouren nodded, "The stability will be poor."

"Then you are wrong."

Wang Qiong said, "The Duke of Cai was able to bring such a lethal weapon into the battlefield and use it as a way to win. Do you think he would do this without confidence? The Ming Dynasty has already gained an advantage in the grassland war. It can be said that in a few years or even a dozen years, the Tatars will collapse without a fight. Why is there a need to be so radical?"

Wang Shouren asked, "That means he has the reasons and courage to be radical?"

Wang Qiong sighed, "In my opinion, only by using this method can we catch the Tatars off guard and achieve the purest victory at the lowest cost. Only in this way can the national strength of the Ming Dynasty not be damaged by pacifying the grassland. In this plan, even His Majesty is willing to sacrifice for it and personally go to the front line to cheer for it. Isn't this enough to prove the problem?"

Wang Shouren nodded and said, "I understand. This is not blind trust, but conditional."

"Ugh!"

Wang Qiong sighed heavily and said, "Before this, I didn't believe that the killing weapon would become a reality. But it is actually true. With this thing, it would be easy for the Ming Dynasty to pacify the grasslands, even if it wants to pacify the four seas and make them submit."

"I just hate that I didn't hold out in the northwest until the moment the killing weapon appeared."

"I admit that I was too conservative in the battle against the Tatars. I can't follow orders like Tang Yin and act as bait at any time. This is also where I feel ashamed." (End of this chapter)