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Chapter 834 The End of the Great Khan Era

At the end of September, good news came from the front line. After more than four months of day and night construction, another Shaolang City was erected on the south bank of Shaolang River 190 miles north of Chifeng City. It was only 300 miles away from the King Kong White City of Lin Danhan, and had entered the core area of ​​the Chahar tribe.

In order to stop the construction of Shaolang City, Lin Danhan used all kinds of martial arts, even fighting at night, trying to drive away the Ming army and craftsmen at all costs. This also achieved a certain effect, with more than 300 casualties among the Ming army and craftsmen.

However, facing the Ming army who refused to show their heads in the trenches and were equipped with muskets and artillery with a range much greater than that of bows and arrows, the Mongolian cavalry was like a dog biting a hedgehog, with no way to start.

If the number of attackers is too large, they will become the main target of artillery fire, causing great losses. If the number of attackers is too small, they will be targeted by muskets from a distance, which will also have no effect.

Once the five towers on the high slope by the river were erected, it would be a luxury to sneak attack the craftsmen's camp while they were in chaos. With the towers' commanding view and firepower cover, it was basically the same as having a city wall.

Starting from August, the Chahar cavalry that came to harass the area were basically not seen anymore. Instead, the Ming Army went deep into the heart of the grassland day and night to look for any trace of herdsmen, making the western part of the Liaohe Plain a chaotic place where the people suffered.

What was even more infuriating was that the cavalry of the Kharchin tribe also advanced eastward along the Xilamulun River Valley, and they also robbed whatever they saw. The defeated generals in the past suddenly became nervous, and dared to fight head-on as long as the difference in numbers was not too big, and the fight was evenly matched.

The Ming army alone was not enough for Lin Danhan to deal with, and the harassment from the Kharchin tribe was simply adding insult to injury. Now he had to migrate even if he didn't want to, as three tribes in his tribe had already moved north without warning. If he didn't find a solution, he, the Khan, would soon be left without a commander.

But is there a solution? The answer is no. If it were another ethnic group, it would be natural for them to surrender if they couldn't win, such as the five Khalkha tribes. After Lao Chaohua's brother Subahai captured the Great Taiji, he immediately went to the capital to plead guilty to the Han emperor. He didn't even need to surrender, he just submitted directly.

From then on, the name of the Khalkha Five Tribes no longer existed in the Mongolian desert, but became the Jinzhou Guard of the Ming Dynasty. Subahai was appointed as the commander of Jinzhou, under the direct jurisdiction of the Army General Staff, and led his people to graze in the Jinzhou area, and handed over a certain number of cattle, sheep and horses as taxes every year.

But the Chahar tribe was not an option, and neither was Ligdan Khan. The bloodline of the Golden Family, the king of the grassland, could run or die if they could not win, but they could never surrender.

Lin Danhan chose to run. After so many battles, he had to face the reality even if he was unwilling to admit it. Whether it was day or night, or on plains or mountains, as long as it didn't rain heavily, the Mongolian cavalry was no match for the Ming army, even if they were twice as strong.

In the eyes of the Mongols, the Diamond City was a large and solid city, but compared with the city built by the Han people in a few months, it was inferior in almost every way except for its size. It was unlikely that these bricks and rammed earth could stop the artillery of the Ming army.

Moreover, Mongolian herdsmen were not good at defending or attacking cities. Once they left the saddle, they would be like meat on the chopping board, at the mercy of others. They could not escape even if they wanted to. Rather than letting others break into the city, they might as well destroy it themselves.

Fortunately, the herdsmen did not have much property, so they made arrangements in advance and basically evacuated within ten days or half a month. Finally, they set the palace in the city on fire, and under the protection of their own army, they set out on the journey back north with tears in their eyes.

Once they leave, they don't know when they can come back, and the future is not bright. Although the Chahar tribe, like a stray dog, is still strong, the Khalkha Mongols in the northern desert are not easy to deal with. I'm afraid they will have to fight for a while before they can gain a foothold. With the arrival of winter, the great news spread to all parts of the northern Ming Dynasty. The Mongolian tribes that had been lingering and spying outside the border wall for more than 200 years were finally driven away completely.

Although there are still the Kharchin and Tumed tribes in the north of Xuanfu, Shanxi and Shaanxi, these two tribes have never invaded the south since the end of the Battle of Xinghe City. Instead, their contacts with the inland areas have become more and more frequent.

Every winter, camel caravans from Zhili, Shanxi and Shaanxi head north one after another, taking advantage of the withering grass to exchange cattle, sheep and horses with herders outside the Great Wall. Business is best during this period, and prices are the cheapest.

The only threat now is the Jurchens in Liaodong. Don't worry, the track has been built from Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou, and it is said that the construction will not stop even in winter. If this trend continues, the army will most likely move east again in the spring of next year, and get rid of the Jurchens in one go, and then we can rest assured.

As for whether the Jurchens could be defeated, if this question had been asked ten years ago, more than half of the Ming officials and people would have been unsure. If this question had been asked five years ago, more people would have been relatively optimistic, but they would still not be sure.

But now 90% of officials and people sincerely believe that it is easy to achieve and there will be no problem. This confidence comes from the achievements in recent years and the result of the newspapers' endless propaganda.

Anyone who knows a little about military affairs can read about the Ming Army’s battles in the newspapers and then apply them to the Jurchens. With a little analysis and deduction, it seems to work.

The main reason is that the tactics of the Ming army were too simple and too direct, without any strategy, and were easy to predict. But as the ancients said, the simplest way is the best. The simpler the tactics, the less likely it is to make mistakes, the harder it is to find loopholes, and the higher the success rate.

In summary, the Ming army had only two tactics: one step at a time, relying on cement, iron bars, stones and explosives, using strong city-building capabilities, using cities not far apart to gradually compress the enemy's activity space and control the main traffic routes.

Eventually, the enemy was forced to give up its advantages and had to choose the offensive and defensive warfare that the army was best at. Their manpower was consumed time and time again, and they went from strong to weak.

Or they may show weakness to lure the enemy in, and when the situation is at a stalemate, send ships to transport troops on a long-distance raid and land behind enemy lines, or attack from the front and back or cut off their retreat, leaving them without food and supplies and vulnerable to attack from both sides.

When it comes to the battle against the Jurchens in Liaodong, everyone agrees that they will take a step-by-step approach, and the construction of tracks outside the pass is proof of this. With the convenience of rail carriages, people and supplies can be quickly transported to Jinzhou, which is in preparation for the offensive in the spring.

There is also a convenience in building a city in Liaodong, that is, there are a large number of cities built in the past. Some are still intact, and with a little repair, they can become good garrison fortresses, which is much easier and faster than building a city on the mountains and grasslands.

(End of this chapter)