Jingtai Fengyun: The First Absurd Emperor of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 768 Wang Yue recalls the most tragic Northern Expedition to Daning to build the strongest defense line

Wang Yue was a tough fighter, but when the emperor wrote to ask for opinions, he had to think carefully before answering.

When Wang Yue mentioned the Northern Expedition, the first thing that came to his mind was not Xu Da, but Qiu Fu.

This leader of the heroes of the Jingnan War specially joined Dr. Ronglu, Zuo Dudu of Youzhu State, Zhongjun Dudufu, and Qiu Fu, the Duke of Qi State, and led an army of 100,000 to conquer Mongolia in the north.

As a result, they underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, fell into a tight siege, and the entire army was destroyed.

Qiu Fu, the chief military officer and Duke of Qi, was captured;

The right deputy general, Tongan Hou Huozhen, was captured;

General Zuo and Marquis Wang Zhong of Jing'an were captured;

Li Yuan, the right-hand general and the Marquis of Anping, was captured.

Three princes of a country were actually executed by the Mongols.

Lieutenant General Zuo and Marquis of Wucheng Wang Cong died in battle.

Taizong granted a total of four Dukes of Jingnan and thirteen Marquises of Jingnan.

After this battle, one Duke of Jingnan and four Marquis of Jingnan died.

It was simply appalling, and the losses were so tragic. In the hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, only the transformation of Tumubao could compare with it.

Regarding this fiasco, the Ming Dynasty was very secretive and would not mention it easily.

If we really look into it carefully, the Ming Dynasty's record against the Bei Yuan was very disastrous. In the Taizu Dynasty, Xu Da's second Northern Expedition failed; in the Taizong Dynasty, Qiu Fu's entire army was destroyed; coupled with the recent defeat of Tumubao.

It's more and more tragic each time.

The most important thing is that after so many years, the Mongols are still the same.

The population is still there, the grasslands are still there, and there are no major changes in the ruled area.

Even after Emperor Xuande's great and philanthropic sacrifice of land and city, Mongolia's territory expanded for a time.

After such consideration, Wang Yue became conservative, and after carefully considering every word and sentence, he replied to the emperor's letter.

The short-term strategy given in it is to hold on to the city and wait for the opportunity.

The long-term strategy is to capture the great lake areas on the grassland. The Mongols can ride around on their horses, but not in the Lake District.

After all, the Mongols concentrated on grazing on the grasslands around the lake area.

The Ming army could change the strategy of Taizu and Taizong Dynasty, rush over, occupy the water source and not leave. Then transform the Mongols from marauders into honest herders.

In Daning City, the civil servants and generals responsible for defending the city had another style.

In the evening, Xu Tong took Yu Zijun and Qin Minyue back to Dingbei Hou Mansion.

Wang Yunmeng, the Marquis of Dingbei's wife, looked at the three people who looked like clay balls and was almost speechless: "My three great masters of Qingtian, you have been taking the lead in digging trenches and erecting side walls every day for more than half a year.

Every day, good people go out early in the morning and three big mud balls come back in the evening. When will this end? "

Xu Tong frowned and said: "After the Tumu Fort incident, a hundred thousand troops came to the city. This is how I followed the Holy Master to dig trenches outside the city.

Even the Holy One dug it into a ball of mud and returned it. What's wrong? Is there a problem? "

Wang Yunmeng teased: "Don't use the Holy One to pressure me. How about we go to the Holy One and argue with each other to see who the Holy One favors?"

When Xu Tong heard this, he turned his head and stopped talking. Forget it, the emperor would not dare to provoke these crazy women easily.

Qin Minyue is Xu Tong's brother-in-law. He was sent by the emperor to Daning as counselor of military affairs, so he has been living in Dingbei Hou Mansion.

Yu Zijun was alone in Daning, and Xu Tong always brought him to live at home. Although Wang Yunmeng has a strong personality, he manages the Dingbei Hou Mansion in an orderly manner. It was better for Yu Zijun to eat and drink in Dingbeihou Mansion than to be alone in the Yamen without anyone caring about him.

The civil and military officials in Daning were very harmonious. When Yu Zijun wanted to build a defense line outside the city, Xu Tong followed him every day to dig trenches and build stones. Wang Yunmeng ordered the maids to help the three of them wash up, then changed into clean clothes and returned to the hall to eat.

After a few glasses of wine, everyone talked about the recent situation.

Yu Zijun explained to Wang Yunmeng: "The strategy I reported to the Holy One to resist the enemy is to build walls and forts along the border and set up multiple lines of defense to block the enemy's cavalry.

There are many mountains around Daning. According to the shape of the mountains and the terrain, we either shovel, build, or raise trenches, and connect them to form side walls, which is convenient for planning.

Over the past six months, we have built a total of seven castles, including twelve side piers, thirty-six small piers, and one hundred and fifty-seven cliff villages.

They also built short walls in open areas, one horizontal and two slanted, like a skip, to avoid enemy cavalry and shooting.

Now that the defense line has been largely completed, the Mongolian cavalry invaded and were blocked by the defense line and unable to charge.

As long as we rely on the favorable location, the assistance of firearms, and the counterattack with the Duoyan cavalry, we will definitely win. "

Wang Yunmeng nodded and smiled: "I am a woman, how can I understand military affairs? As long as Da Ning is safe, you are safe, and the people are safe, it will be a great blessing."

Yu Zijun kept echoing on the surface, but in his heart he didn't take it seriously at all. What a woman, Mrs. Dingbeihou is obviously the emperor's spy and supervisor.

It's okay if everything is safe. If something goes wrong, people can hear from God directly.

Fortunately, the defense line is basically completed, and relying on mountain defense, there will be no major problems.

The next step was to use the mutual market to purchase horses from Mongolian herders for the court.

February 11, morning. Xu Tong and Yu Zijun led the soldiers to dig trenches outside the city as usual, and the Mongolian Khan Mandulu arrived with his troops.

After everyone saw the ceremony, Mantulu asked Xu Tong to replenish some dry food for him, and then he would immediately continue heading north.

Xu Tong and Yu Zijun had already received notice from the court in advance and had already prepared supplies for Mandulu.

Everyone is very enthusiastic. After all, Mandulu's harassment of the Mongolian headquarters can greatly reduce the defensive pressure of the Ming army.

Mantulu did not expect a marquis to dig trenches here himself. Since he is here, let's visit the Ming army's defense line.

Xu Tong and Yu Zijun didn't hide anything, they took Mantulu around and explained patiently and carefully.

After visiting the defense line, Mantulu closed his eyes and deduced it in his mind.

If you bring 50,000 cavalry to attack the Ming army's Daning defense line.

The cavalry hasn't charged yet, but there is a trench more than one foot in front of them. How can they charge through it?

After rushing through the trench, within a few dozen steps, there were several low walls made of stones. Moreover, those rocks have sharp protrusions, so it would not be appropriate to directly hit them with a horse.

Between several low walls, there were sloping walls, like a maze, through which the Ming army could use firearms to attack the Mongolian cavalry.

Even if we break through this line of defense, we can't advance a few miles, but the same trench and low wall are repeated all over again. Who can bear this?

There are fortresses on the plains and cliffs on the mountain peaks, all of which are obstacles that are easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If the cavalry wants to charge freely, there is no need to think about it. They can only slowly grind the position.

Once the mobility advantage of the Mongolian cavalry cannot be used, then why fight?

Without a charge, the Mongolian light cavalry would not be able to withstand the combined attack of the Ming army's heavy cavalry and heavy infantry.

The so-called Ming heavy cavalry in Daning were the Duoyan Three Guards. To put it bluntly, even among the Mongols, everyone’s riding and shooting skills are the same.

However, as the emperor's personal troops, the Ming Emperor equipped the Duoyan Three Guards with the most sophisticated armors and weapons regardless of consumption, which was far from comparable to the Mongolian cavalry.

Early on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month.

Zhu Qiyu got up and started processing military reports.

(End of this chapter)