Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 280 The Battle of the North
Hearing King Qin's question, Zhang Yifan thought for a moment and answered him: "Just talking about eating, drinking and having fun may not sound so good, but if you combine eating, drinking and having fun with other things, it will be different. For example, Respecting teachers and valuing education is the great way. If you combine eating, drinking and having fun with respecting teachers and valuing education, it will have a different effect."

King Qin was a little surprised when he heard this, and immediately asked doubtfully: "How to combine?"

With that said, he invited Zhang Yifan to sit down separately in the main hall, and also served him good tea.

Zhang Yifan sat in his seat, looked at King Qin and others and said: "Currently, my father is promoting education for all, and the focus is still on teaching knowledge. However, I believe that a talent must not only be good at knowledge, but also have good health. If you have any ideas for fun, the kind that can exercise your body, you might as well think about it. As long as it is suitable for students all over the world, you can report it to your father. You can also pay to launch competitions in schools all over the world to encourage students all over the world to play with you. Does the entertainment you recommend make sense?"

"In fact, just the night before yesterday is actually a good pastime. You can also start a game and let everyone play together."

"The same applies to food. You can hold a food competition. You contribute money to select the best food. It is also a meaningful thing."

"..."

Listening to Zhang Yifan talking there, King Qin was stunned.He and his two daughters-in-law thought about it but had no idea, but his eldest brother-in-law had so many ideas at once!There is really no comparison between this person and others!
After finally waiting for Zhang Yifan to finish speaking, King Qin immediately smiled wryly and said, "I'm afraid this will cost a lot of money. I just went to the court to plead guilty to the emperor, and I will definitely be punished. I'm afraid I don't have so much money to spend on these things!"

Zhang Yifan listened and said immediately without thinking: "This is easy. I will teach you a way to create a textile utensil that is more than ten times more efficient than today's textile machines. You are here with the grassland at your back. Wait until the court takes over After the grassland, you can go to the grassland to buy wool and weave it, and you won’t be short of money.”

This plan had already been mentioned to Zhu Yuanzhang, and King Qin was in Xi'an, so he could be one of the implementers.If you have the motivation to make money and enough status, you can go back to build a city in the grassland and buy wool, and things will go more smoothly.

When King Qin heard this, he was overjoyed and said, "Is this really okay?"

This eldest brother-in-law is truly the God of Wealth of the Ming Dynasty. He can find ways to make money just by talking about it!

After Zhang Yifan heard this, he immediately replied, "I will report the new type of textile machine to the Patent Office of the Ministry of Households, and then authorize it for you to use. The profit sharing is divided between you and me."

After hearing this, King Qin nodded quickly, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became more harmonious.

After lunch, King Qin also wanted to keep Zhang Yifan to play mahjong with him, saying that three of them were short of one.

However, Zhang Yifan didn't want to play. He had more things to do, so he taught King Qin how to play poker, which could be played by three people, and then left.

For King Qin, Zhang Yifan felt that diverting his interest and not hurting others because of his unrestrained pursuit of enjoyment was already the limit.Even if Zhu Yuanzhang will be punished, it is impossible to punish him like ordinary people.

After all, King Qin is the second son of Zhu Yuanzhang and the biological son of Queen Ma.Origin really determines a person's destiny. This is unfair, but it is a fact.

The so-called prince who breaks the law is as guilty as the common people. In this feudal era, it is just a good wish.

An obvious example is that in the clan regulations formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang, the princes are taught what the clan should and should not do, but there are no clear corresponding punishments.Even if someone breaks the law, the local government has no right to interrogate him. Instead, the clan will hold a meeting to decide the punishment.

Perhaps in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, if his children make mistakes, they can be beaten, but it is impossible to destroy relatives out of justice!

At this time, it was still the 15th year of Hongwu, and there was still a limit to what King Qin could do.He would only intensify his efforts after Queen Ma died.

After Zhang Yifan dealt with the King of Qin's affairs, he did not immediately set off to Taiyuan to find the King of Jin. Instead, he went to the military camp and waited for his father-in-law to deal with the apology memorial submitted by the King of Qin.

It's late autumn already, and it's starting to snow here in Xi'an.As for the army, with Fu Youde and Deng Yu around, Zhang Yifan basically couldn't find any problems.

In the past, the remnants of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty on the grassland still hunted autumn grains.But this year, there was not even a single person on the grassland.They probably knew that the imperial court had assembled a large army and that famous generals like Fu Youde and Deng Yu were guarding it, so they did not dare to enter the pass to plunder.

When Zhang Yifan was waiting for news from the imperial court, he did not wait for Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion on how to deal with it, but first waited for the letter from Yan Wang Zhu Di.

Zhu Di told him in the letter that with the improved gunpowder and the distribution of breastplates, he discussed with Lan Yu and Xu Da that one person and two riders could be mounted, and the troops would not need to be too large to go deep into the grasslands to look for fighters.

He explained in the letter that this is not to underestimate the enemy, but they have assessed that their current combat power, before the ammunition is exhausted, is no problem with one enemy and three. Even if the ammunition is exhausted, with the protection of the breastplate, they can still Come and go as you please.Not to mention, as long as the warriors in the Mongolian Yuan army are eliminated first when fighting, the rest will be mobs, and there is no situation where they will resist to the end.

On Zhu Di's side, after integrating the armies of Liaodong and Goryeo, the war horses obtained were equipped with one person and two riders, which could produce [-] elite troops.Zhu Di thought it was enough to go deep into the grassland to fight a game.

But there is a troublesome problem. Although there are captured Mongolians on the grassland and interrogation, it is still difficult to grasp the movements of the main force of the Mongolian and Yuan armies.

According to the method they discussed, they planned to wait until next spring, when the snow on the grassland just melted, to launch a raid on the places with rivers and lakes on the grassland.Because no matter how much the Mongols wander, they cannot live without water.With one person and two riders, the combat range of the army will increase, so you can try it.

At the end of the letter, Zhu Di also attached a map of the grasslands they learned about, marking several rivers and lakes on the grasslands, and asked Zhang Yifan if he had anything to add to their plan.

After Zhang Yifan read Zhu Di's letter, his eyes suddenly lit up. He had overlooked something.

The combat power of the Ming Dynasty's army was originally stronger than the remnants of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.After improving their own firearms and equipping them with breastplates, the Ming army's combat power was greatly enhanced.

According to Zhu Di's estimate, the current combat strength of the [-] army can equal the combat strength of the previous [-] army.Not to mention long-term combat, if it is only a short-term combat, fewer troops can carry more supplies and carry out high-intensity combat, which gives Zhu Di and others more choices in combat methods.

In the past, when the Ming army attacked the grasslands, it required at least 20 troops to assemble.But now, tens of thousands of people dare to enter the grassland. This is the biggest difference.

Looking at Zhu Di's grassland map, Zhang Yifan clearly remembered the world map of later generations in his mind. Small rivers and lakes were not forgotten, but the big rivers and lakes were all marked.Compared with Zhu Di's, it is obvious that there are many more details.

During the dry season on the grassland, small rivers and small lakes can be ignored. The place where the Mongolian Emperor lived must be a large gathering place for Mongolians, and it was impossible for them to gather in small rivers and small lakes for grazing.

After reaching this conclusion, Zhang Yifan's eyes lit up.So, he immediately redrawn a map of the grassland, from outside the customs to Siberia, marking mountains, rivers, lakes and the like.Although these things have gone through hundreds of years of history, they will not change much, and they can be used in this military operation.

Afterwards, Zhang Yifan went to the military camp, leaving Fu Youde and Deng Yu alone, and showed Zhu Di's letters and the map he drew to them.

Both Fu Youde and Deng Yu were overjoyed and immediately confirmed Zhu Di's combat ideas.For that map, it was like finding a treasure.

They also knew something about the grassland, and just by checking what they already knew, they felt that the map was correct.

The two immediately decided that Qin and Jin could completely copy King Yan's military strategy and use cavalry to launch a unified offensive on the grasslands.

The slight difference is that the grassland outside the Qin and Jin Dynasties is the Hetao Plain. Because it is close, there is no need for one person and two riders. Instead, the cavalry army attacks across the board. After first sweeping the Hetao Plain, an elite force is formed, one person and two riders. , bypassing the Daqing Mountains and continuing to sweep deep into the grassland.

Zhang Yifan recognized their battle plan, and in the name of the imperial envoy, he convened a meeting with Jin Wang, Feng Sheng and other generals in Jin.

It was raining and snowing, the cold wind was howling, and the King of Jin did not come. Only Feng Sheng came to attend the meeting on behalf of the Jin army.

On Feng Sheng's side, he had no objection to the new battle plan.In the end, this battle plan was played to Zhu Yuanzhang in Nanjing.

This decisive battle in the north is what Zhu Yuanzhang has been paying attention to. He is hoarding heavy troops in order to decide the remaining Mongolian Yuan remnants on the grassland in one battle.Therefore, it is different from the previous Liaodong war.And there are still three or four months before the scheduled spring operation. This is enough time to ask for instructions, and there is no reason not to do so.

There was still no news about King Qin's disposition, but a month later, opinions about the decisive battle in the north came back first.

Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to the battle plan and appointed King Zhu Di of Yan as the general of the expedition, King of Qin and King of Jin as deputy generals, the prince-in-law, and Rong Guogong as the supervisor of the army to prepare for this decisive battle.

At the same time, there was a secret decree to King Qin, King Jin, and Zhang Yifan, mainly to resist King Qin and King Jin to decentralize power, and let Fu Youde, Deng Yu, Feng Sheng and others lead the battle on the western and middle lines.If the King of Qin and the King of Jin disagree with several deputy commanders on military affairs, it is up to Zhang Yifan to decide who should listen.

It can be seen from these imperial edicts that Zhu Yuanzhang obviously still favored his son. No matter what, he wanted the descendants of the Zhu family to win the honor of winning the decisive battle.

But obviously, Zhu Yuanzhang knew the depth of it.The King of Yan was assured, but the King of Qin and the King of Jin were worried, so he specifically clarified the issue of military command authority.

Regarding these matters, Zhang Yifan obviously has no ability to interfere and can only listen to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Afterwards, the northern front line all began to prepare for this plan.

The 15th year of Hongwu probably passed like this.There is no news about King Qin's affairs and the reform of titles.

In the spring of the 16th year of Hongwu's reign, when the ice and snow began to melt, the Ming cavalry in northern Xinjiang began to leave the fortress.

Qin sent troops. Deng Yu and Fu Youde led [-] cavalry and [-] infantry. They united with Jin. Feng Sheng led [-] cavalry and [-] infantry to encircle the Hetao Plain, which is the grassland south of the Daqing Mountains. .

Both the King of Qin and the King of Jin were stationed in the pass, and the prime minister was responsible for the logistics.

But on the eastern front, Zhu Di personally led the army and together with Lan Yu swept across the grasslands from the eastern front, with Xu Da sitting in the rear.

Unlike the central and western lines, Zhu Di and Lan Yu had swept through the eastern part of the Mongolian grassland before last winter, such as the Horqin Grassland, etc. From the captured Mongolian people, it is known that the remnants of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty are basically in Mobei. there.

Therefore, as soon as the Hongwu 16-year war started, Zhu Di and Lan Yu led [-] elite troops, one person and two horses, from the eastern Mongolian grassland to the Mobei area north of the Daqing Mountains.

Zhang Yifan, of course, did not follow him out of the fortress and stayed here in Xi'an.

However, he was not idle. While continuing to write down mathematics, physics and chemistry, he also wanted to give guidance on his students' letters asking for advice and give guidance on steam engines.

At the end of the 15th year of Hongwu's reign, the shares of the steam engine factory were auctioned, and the first steam engine factory of the Ming Dynasty was officially established.The manufacturing of various types of steam engines cannot be finalized without the final decision of the chief designer Zhang Yifan.

For example, no one has Zhang Yifan's vision as to what type of steam engine, what kind of steam engine should be used for manufacturing, etc.

Generally speaking, steam engines specially customized for steam engines and ships are the first priority, because the capital of the Ming Dynasty is Nanjing, with the Yangtze River water system, and shipping is currently the top priority of the Ming Dynasty.

As for steam locomotives, for a while, the South is not planning to start construction.Mountains and water make railway construction difficult.

At Zhang Yifan's suggestion, Zhu Yuanzhang prepared to set up a second steam engine factory in Tianjin to produce steam engines for steam locomotives and steam engines for use in northern mines to increase the mining of coal and iron ores.

In mid-February of the 16th year of Hongwu, the first good news from outside the customs reached Xi'an.The Ming army from the Qin and Jin Dynasties had swept across the Hetao Plain, and then Feng Sheng led the infantry to sit in the town, and Deng Yu and Fu Youde led [-] cavalry to attack the western grassland and the northern grassland respectively.

As for the eastern front, there is no news yet.

However, Zhang Yifan didn't have much to worry about, because the Ming army today was very powerful, and they were all cavalry. The battle was not going well, and if they were to withdraw, there would be no remnants of the Meng Yuan army left.

He was just afraid that Zhu Di was originally a militant, and so was Lan Yu. If these two guys got together, as long as they had a fighting chance, it would be impossible for Nine Bulls to pull them back.

I hope they keep going steadily!
(End of this chapter)