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Chapter 769: Move or stay still?

He had already thought of possibilities that the General Staff, the Army and the Ministry of War had not thought of, but he did not expect that Lin Danhan would be so cooperative and so stupid.

Yes, it was stupid! Attacking the right wing of Mongolia to the west was the most unfavorable choice among all the options that were unfavorable to the Ming Dynasty. It was second only to the desperate attack on Shanhaiguan.

As the ancients said, who doesn't eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year? I didn't expect such a big pie to hit me on the head accurately. When he first received this battle report, Hong Tao rubbed his eyes several times and secretly pinched his thigh, thinking it was an illusion.

The sneer at that time was not meant to trick anyone, but he just couldn't hold it back, and he was embarrassed to lose his manners in front of Wang Chengen and Wei Zhongxian. As an emperor, he had to be a little shrewd and not be too frivolous.

"..." But the military officials present at the General Staff had no idea what the emperor was thinking. After listening to this long analysis, they all fell into a brief silence, constantly calculating, weighing, and guessing in their hearts, wondering what the emperor intended to do. If he really wanted to send troops to the frontier, how should they persuade him?

That's right, the vast majority of the ministers present were against sending troops to participate in the war between the left and right wings of Mongolia. The reason was simple: once bitten by a snake, one will be afraid of the rope for ten years.

When Emperor Taizu was still alive, he had sent troops to the north many times, and each time he had an absolutely overwhelming force, and each time he won a great victory, slaughtering the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, beheading and capturing countless people.

But every one or two years, they would have to send another army to the north, and this happened more than ten times. If the number of people killed and captured each time was added up, let alone the Northern Yuan Dynasty, I'm afraid there would be no one left on the entire Mongolian Plateau.

What was the result? Even until the death of Emperor Taizu, the Mongolian Plateau was still not at peace. Then Emperor Chengzu continued his northern expedition and even died on the way. He still won great victories every time, but they were ineffective every time.

The great victory was naturally told to the people, and only the top leaders knew what was going on. Every northern expedition was a serious drain on the Ming Empire, but the results obtained were seriously disproportionate.

Therefore, after each northern expedition, the Ming Empire had to continue its northern expedition, which became a vicious cycle and eventually led to a sharp deterioration in the military strength and financial situation of the Ming Empire. However, the Mongolian tribes never suffered any serious damage, and the Ming Empire had to switch from active attack to strategic defense, hiding behind the Great Wall and unable to move north again.

Now the emperor has revealed his intention to march north again, how can people not be terrified. With the promotion and deepening of the new policy, the court's finances have finally stopped being stretched and living beyond their means in recent years. But after all, the family is large and there are holes everywhere, and the deficits accumulated over the years have not been completely made up.

If we spend a lot of financial, material and human resources at this time, it is unclear whether we can completely defeat Mongolia, but it is obvious that all the efforts of the past few years will be wasted.

"You are so worried because you are worried that if I attack rashly, I will lose soldiers and generals, waste people's money and money. Yes, it is very stupid to send a large army to fight against Mongolian herdsmen in the grasslands and deserts. It is a case of using one's weakness to defeat one's strength.

Nomadic peoples have always had no fixed place to live. They would retreat when the enemy is strong, harass when the enemy is stationed, and attack when the enemy is weak. They would lure the enemy deep into their territory, use the great depth to tire out and wear down the enemy, and then look for favorable opportunities and terrain to gather together and annihilate them. This is their most common and effective tactic, and it has always worked.

On the other hand, no matter how well the Ming army is trained in horse riding, they cannot be as agile as the herdsmen who have lived on horseback since childhood in the grasslands and deserts. Once they move too far away from the border wall, logistical supplies become a big problem.

To put it bluntly, if our soldiers were to eat dried meat and cheese every day, use the earth as their bed and the sky as their blanket, and burn cow dung for heating and cooking, there would be a large number of non-combat casualties in a month or so, without waiting for the enemy to attack. There are smoky areas in the south, and the north will also be unaccustomed to the climate and soil. The art of war says that you should play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. If you want to defeat the nomadic people, you cannot fight in the way they are accustomed to, but must take the initiative into your own hands. The herdsmen are good at riding and shooting, and are accustomed to long-distance raids, so we don't play riding and shooting, and don't give them the opportunity to raid."

Although the imperial power is at its peak and no one can influence his decision, Hong Tao is still willing to listen to the opinions of the ministers on national affairs and to share his ideas with them. Force is only the last resort, and convincing people with reason is the daily routine.

"I would like to ask, how can we make the Mongolian cavalry act according to your majesty's will?"

The military leaders all had no objection to the emperor's guiding ideology, staring at the map and thinking hard about how to implement it. On the contrary, Yang Sichang, the Minister of Rites, was not convinced and asked a question with a hint of ridicule.

"I can indeed make them obey, but I do not use my will but my strength. Since Yang Aiqing asked about the method, please answer a question for me first. Where is Kaipingwei?"

Hong Tao didn't care if someone was dissatisfied. So many Ming emperors, including the founding emperor, were unable to solve the problem, but he could easily make it simple with just a few words, which would definitely attract doubts. But it was only natural to fight back against anyone who questioned him. He didn't use power to pressure others, but reasoned with them.

"…It was originally under the jurisdiction of Xuanfu Town, with its seat in Dushikou Fort, which has now been abolished and its defense area is under the command of Guihua Dusi."

Although Yang Sichang was a civilian official, he was not unfamiliar with military knowledge and had very good eyesight. He could see the huge map on the wall clearly by squinting his eyes while sitting at the table.

"Lord Yang is right. As an important official of the court, you should know more about state affairs. But this Kaiping Guard is not the real Kaiping Guard. Lord Wang, please help Lord Yang to solve this puzzle for me."

Hong Tao smiled and first affirmed Yang Sichang's erudition, then changed the subject and denied the correctness of the answer, at least not completely, and then turned his eyes to the Minister of War Wang Zaijun.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, in the second year of Hongwu, Li Wenzhong and others took the Yuan Shangdu and set up Kaiping Guard and Xinghe and other thousand-household units, which were under the jurisdiction of Beiping Dusi. During the Xuande period, due to the huge supply of food and wages, it was difficult to support the families of the garrison troops. I beg to select elite soldiers to take turns guarding the city, and let their wives live in Chicheng and Yunzhou forts.

Afterwards, the garrison troops and their families gradually moved south to Dushikou, Yunzhou, Chicheng and other forts, leaving only 2,000 scouts to patrol regularly. In the ninth year of Xuande, Shangdu City was abandoned, and Dushikou Fort was called Kaiping Guard until now.

Wang Zaijin was not flustered when the emperor called his name in court. He stood up, spread out his robes, stroked his beautiful beard, and spoke slowly and calmly. In the more than two years since he took office as the Minister of War, he would read the relevant case files when he had nothing to do, just for this moment.

It is a recognized habit that Emperor Jingyang likes to ask questions at imperial meetings. Don't be afraid. It is also a consensus that you will not be blamed as long as you can clearly answer the questions required for your job.

(End of this chapter)