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Chapter 1026 Two lines of victory
The trip started in mid-October and returned to Beijing at the end of April the following year. This trip was the longest and longest tour Hong Tao had taken since he ascended the throne. During this time, he did solve a lot of problems, but also delayed some government affairs, such as the war in the north.

On the second day after returning to the palace, Zuo Guangdou, who stayed in the capital to govern the country, Grand Secretary Li Ruzhang, Chief of the General Staff Tan Mingming, and Minister of War Wang Jiazhen jointly requested a meeting.

In addition, Army Governor Du Wenhuan, Army Chief of Staff Ding Shun, Western Region Commander-in-Chief Huang Zhong, Northern Commander-in-Chief Yuan Datou, Tumed Marquis Ombu, and Kharachin Marquis Laskabu were waiting for orders outside the palace.

"Call them all in. It's happening much faster than I expected. This is cause for celebration." As soon as Hong Tao heard their names, he knew what they were here for.

The war in the north ended a month and a half ago. The officials and generals who had been coordinating the overall situation in the rear and commanding the front lines had returned to the capital and had not left yet. They wanted to report to him in person, or to ask for credit.

Huang Zhong, the commander-in-chief of the Western Regions, was Huang Taiji. According to court regulations, his name had to be avoided. When he was promoted to the commander-in-chief, he took the initiative to ask the emperor to give him a name.

Hong Tao did not refuse. The character "Huang" in Huang Taiji's name could not be used, so he changed it to Huang, which was his surname. Since his surname was Huang and he was a general, who could be more famous than the Shu general Huang Zhong? It had to be him!

"We have gone north to repel the enemy and have fulfilled our mission. We report the good news to His Majesty the Emperor. The scoundrels in the north have been eliminated and the Ming Dynasty will be forever secure..."

A group of officers lined up and walked into the Yangxin Palace, saluted in unison, and congratulated in unison. Although the voices were not loud, they were very intoxicating, as if their presence would really ensure the stability of the country.

"You have worked hard, sit down and talk. Let me briefly talk about the process first, and keep the battle report for later reading... Du Wenhuan, you are the commander-in-chief of the army, and the army is the main force in this battle, so you go first."

But Hong Tao looked at their jubilant and complacent expressions, smiling and praising them, but he felt a little sad. In less than ten years, more than half of them would be replaced by newcomers, and it would be difficult for them to do related work for the rest of their lives.

It's not that I'm not competent for the job, nor that I've made mistakes because of my undisciplined life, it's just for safety. As I grow older, I see more of the world, and meet more people, and my thoughts inevitably change, with less youthful enthusiasm and more conflicts of interest.

Rather than waiting for them to gradually become secularized, unknowingly touch the bottom line of the law and be eliminated by themselves, it is better to leave the post in advance and hand over the military power to the younger generation who are younger, more motivated and less concerned about personal gains and losses.

As for whether the lack of combat experience will affect the combat effectiveness, that is for sure, but there is no need to worry too much. The imperial army never relies on experience and strategy in combat, but relies on weapons, equipment and organization to win.

With so many overseas territories and vassal states, it's easy to send them out to participate in small-scale battles in various countries. After a few times, you will become an experienced commander. Fighting is a skilled job like most jobs, and it doesn't require much talent.

Even if it means paying a certain amount of losses, it is better than someone raising an army and starting a rebellion. The losses caused by a rebellion may be greater than several foreign wars, and the impact on centralized rule is more negative.

“启禀陛下，此次北征瓦剌和外喀尔喀，共动用了北方、华中、西北、内蒙古和西域五个都司的第2、9、10、19、30、36、37、38八个卫，外加土默特和喀喇沁两个内蒙古骑兵卫，总兵力接近六万人。

According to your majesty's intention and the battle plan formulated by the General Staff, I divided the offensive route into two directions, east and west. The Eastern Army was led by Yuan Datou, the commander of the Northern Army, and Omubu, the Tumed Marquis, as the assistant commander. It was under the jurisdiction of the 2nd, 9th, and 10th guards and the Tumed Cavalry Guard, which set out from Guihua City and Tumed City respectively, crossed the desert and directly attacked Daganerduo, the seat of the Khan's tent of the Chechen Khanate, and Uliastai, the seat of the Khan's tent of the Zasaktu Khanate.

If the Chechen Khanate and the Zasaktu Khanate did not obey orders, the Tushetu Khanate would immediately assist in attacking them, and then squeeze the Dörburt Khanate from east to west, preventing it from expanding eastward and southward.

西路军由西域都指挥使黄忠统领、西北都指挥使雷老虎和喀喇沁侯拉斯喀布协领，下辖第19、30、36、37、38五个卫，还有喀喇沁骑兵卫。

They went northward from Hami and Turpan at the same time, crossed the Tianshan Mountains, and attacked Barkol, the seat of the Khanate of the Khoshut tribe, and Beshbaliq, the seat of the Khanate of the Dzungar tribe.

Du Wenhuan was already a veteran in his 50s. Compared to when he followed the emperor to fight everywhere, he was much more stable and no longer rushed forward in every battle. He was more used to staying in the second line to command the whole situation. It was precisely because of this that the battles he described were relatively general and not vivid at all.

The first battle took place in the Tianshan Gorge 150 miles east of Barkol. The Khoshut tribe must have known in advance that the Ming army was heading north, so they set up an ambush at this pass where it was easiest to cross the Tianshan Mountains, hoping to use the geographical advantage to deal a heavy blow to the Ming army.

It cannot be said that the Khoshut tribe did not prepare carefully. The herdsmen who had been grazing near the Tianshan Mountains all year round were also very adaptable to the local climate. They lay in ambush for three days in the wind and snow and basically did not reveal any flaws, but they were eventually discovered.

After Lei Laohu and Laskabu led the army to the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, they did not rush to cross the pass, but rested for more than a day. While waiting for the wind and snow to stop, they sent out scouts and Saker Falcon to conduct a careful investigation of the nearby valleys.

As a result, the Inner Mongolian cavalry with the Saker Falcon first discovered the abnormality and then notified the army scouts to approach for investigation. The ambushes lurking on both sides of the valley could be hidden from the naked eye, but they could not completely hide their bodies under the observation of the telescope and were soon discovered.

Once their intentions were exposed, the Khoshut herdsmen would have no advantage at all against the Ming army equipped with muskets and artillery, even if they occupied a strategic location.

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Two kilometers away, a barrage of shells fell from the sky. Few of them hit the target, but they shook down all the snow on the top of the mountain. The Khoshut soldiers ambushed on the mountainside were in trouble. They had no way to escape. They were either buried alive by the avalanche or washed down the cliff by the snow and died. They were defeated before the battle.

By the time the vanguard of the Ming Army passed through the pass through the snow, there were still hundreds of felt tents scattered on the hillsides on both sides that were not swept by the avalanche, but there was no one there.

After crossing the Tianshan Mountains and arriving at the relatively flat grassland on the northern slope, the Ming Army and Inner Mongolian Cavalry did not immediately attack in the direction of Barkol, but found a relatively drier high slope to set up camp and spent three days building a low fortress with wooden stakes and rubble.

At this time, a large number of civilians drove camel caravans over the pass and followed. They unloaded a large amount of equipment and supplies into the city. They worked day and night for five days and only stopped when the city was full.

(End of this chapter)