Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Thousands of miles away, a gray eagle broke through the darkness and landed on a tall tower with great precision.

This is the famous Shanhaiguan Pass, and the tower it is located in is the first gate tower in the world.

Shanhaiguan was built in the 14th year of Hongwu. At that time, in order to strengthen the defense of the capital, the Ming Dynasty sent generals Xu Da and Liu Bowen to the border fortress to build the city. It took more than a year to complete Shanhaiguan.

The total length of the entire city is about four kilometers, with a total of four city gates. The east gate is the "No. 1 Gate in the World", the west gate is "Ying'en Gate", the north gate is "Weiyuan Gate", and the south gate is "Wangyang Gate". There is a bell and drum tower.

Because the terrain here is close to mountains and sea, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang gave it the name "Shanhaiguan".

There was a small bamboo tube tied to the eagle's ankle. A soldier took off the small bamboo tube and hurried inside to meet the middle-aged man who was working under the lamp.

At this moment, the pressure of this war fell on Zhang Jin, the governor of Liaodong.

Zhang Jin was born as a border guard. Since he was self-taught, he did not have the strong teacher-student bond among scholars, so he always had the common people in his heart and had a strong desire to serve the country.

This time, he was promoted to the governorship of Liaodong by the emperor, and he was also tasked with conquering the Alchuka tribe, so he had too many things on his shoulders.

If Beiyuan attacked the Alchuka tribe for the Ming Dynasty as agreed, then he, the governor of Liaodong, would hardly have to intervene in the war. However, something unexpected happened suddenly, and the main person in charge of this war was Zhao Chengqing, the Marquis of Wu Jing, the commander-in-chief of Jianzhou. The army he led was still trapped in the Long Snake Rift Valley.

"Dong Weng, what's the military situation ahead?" An old man who looked like a master looked up at Zhang Jin with a solemn face and asked with great concern.

Zhang Jin put down the information he had just received, and said with a flash of hatred in his eyes: "The Jurchen army that attacked the grain transport army this time is indeed the Huifa tribe! I just got the news that the three major tribes have joined forces!"

"Sure enough, just as we suspected, this battle will be really difficult to fight!" The master sighed in frustration when he heard this very bad military situation.

In fact, this war was destined to be difficult to fight from the beginning.

After all, the initial target of the expedition was the Alchukha tribe in the northwest of the Haixi. If you just want to conquer the Alchukha tribe, you need to pass through the central and southern part of the Haixi. This will be a long-distance expedition.

Originally, the best plan was for Beiyuan to attack the Alchuka tribe from the west from his territory, but Beiyuan turned his promise.

After the burden of the conquest fell entirely on Liaodong and Jianzhou Guards, the worst situation emerged.

They borrowed the road from the Huifa Tribe and the Emu Tribe to go north, but were attacked by the two Jurchen tribes one after another. As a result, Zhao Chengqing's tribe was trapped in the Changshe Rift Valley, and the Jinzhou Guards and Ningyuan Guards who were hiding in the grain transport army were unable to assemble. .

"Those who are not of my race must have different minds! Governor, my troops are ready and can set off now!" Wang Zhendong, deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong and Shanhaiguan garrison, strode out with a voice like a bell.

In the eighth year of the Zhengtong reign, Yingzong accepted the request of the Youqiandu Censor of the Liaodong Governor's Office to set up a garrison at Shanhaiguan. Wang Zhendong's grandfather Wang Zheng was the first garrison at Shanhaiguan.

Wang Zhendong was born as a general, but now that he saw Zhao Chengqing prospering in Jianzhou, his heart was already ready to move.

Now it is known that the Ming Dynasty's expedition to the Alchuka tribe was actually back-stabbed by two Jurchen tribes in succession. He has also made preparations for the expedition and is bound to kill those Jurchen tribes to pieces.

Zhang Jin looked at the murderous Wang Zhendong and said very seriously: "Deputy Commander Wang, you have to understand! Once you go, we and the Haixi 3rd Department will have no room for maneuver. This battle can only be won, not defeated!" "

"I have never thought of negotiating with this gang of villains. Now either he has been exterminated by me, Wang Zhendong, or my Wang Zhendong is lying dead in the wild!" Wang Zhendong's eyes were extremely firm, and he seemed to be looking forward to death.

Zhang Jin felt the high fighting spirit of the middle-aged general in front of him, and said decisively: "Since Deputy General Wang is determined, then the only choice is to go to war! This is a secret order. When you go to Jianzhou to rest tomorrow, you will attack the sergeant." Read this decree!"

Huh?

The master next to him discovered that Zhang Jin actually had a secret secret. His eyes couldn't help flashing with surprise, but suddenly he thought that Dong Weng had indeed brought back seven mysterious things from Xiyuan.

"Obey!" Wang Zhendong just wanted to go to the battlefield as soon as possible, pretending to be ordered.

That night, Wang Zhendong, deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong and garrison of Shanhaiguan, who was already ready to go, came out of the first gate in the world and headed to the battlefield in a mighty manner.

Although the Haixi Jurchen territory is in the north, if you want to conquer it, you must first enter the territory of Jianzhou and then go north.

Jianzhou, since millions of disaster victims in Henan have moved here one after another, the place has been slowly changing.

The original forests and grasslands have been opened up one after another. Some high-quality black soil is planted with rice, barley, etc., while ordinary land is planted with cash crops such as ginger and cotton.

Although it is far from a granary now, its economic value has been highlighted.

Especially under the protection of the city, no Jurchen here dared to come here to harass, resulting in the land deed here being worthless from the beginning to the level of one silver tael per acre.

The troops led by Wang Zhendong traveled all day and night. Since the Ming Dynasty had already built a city and warehouse in Jianzhou, this cavalry force of only 5,000 did not need to worry about logistics.

At noon the next day, the army arrived outside Jianzhou City.

While Wang Zhendong was waiting for supplies, he took out the secret edict and read it out: "The emperor is entrusted by heaven, and the edict says: Huifa Ministry is the Huifa Guard of the Ming Dynasty, its territory is protected by the Ming Dynasty, and its officials and officials are paid by the Ming Dynasty... From now on, Huifa will be protected by the Ming Dynasty." The Weishou was brought under the Ming Dynasty's Jianzhou Autonomy, and Huifa City was established. The newly expanded areas will all be military camps, and land deeds will be granted to those who have made military achievements in conquering the Huifa Department!"

"The imperial court wants us to directly recover Huifawei, but is that so?"

"Not only that, as long as we take back the land there, we will be rewarded with the land deed!"

"Haha... Even if we don't use it for our own farming, these land deeds can still be used for sale!"

…

When the five thousand soldiers present heard this sudden imperial edict, they immediately started talking.

No one expected that after the Huifa Ministry betrayed the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would respond so fiercely and actually wanted to incorporate the Huifa Ministry into the Ming Dynasty's version.

According to the conditions of the Huifa Ministry, once they can get the reward of the land here, they will get a piece of land that can be passed down to their children and grandchildren.

"Anyone who stands in the way of my wealth will die!"

"I don't want too much, just a reward of one hundred acres!"

"You're not afraid of dying from exhaustion. If I have fifty acres, I can be worthy of my wife and children!"

…

When the soldiers present saw this very tempting reward from the court, they immediately cheered up and even wished they could fly to the battlefield.

Successful cases of Jianzhou's development are already in front of us, and today's Ming court is unprecedentedly fair. At least it is actually distributing fertile fields to the victims.

The imperial court did not even deceive the millions of victims. If they could really capture the Huifa tribe, what reason would they have to go back on their word to these soldiers who worked hard for the imperial court?

That's why, what they should be most concerned about now is how to win more military honors on the battlefield, instead of wasting energy worrying about whether the court will break its word.

"As far as I know! There is a plain in the eastern part of Huifa, which is not only enough for each of us to get more than 500 acres, but most of it is black land!" Wusheng Li Yuanjia, who is from Liaodong, revealed a piece of news.

"Stop talking, anyone who stands in my way will die!"

"Whoever dares to retreat this time will be killed without mercy!"

"This time, I have to catch the wealth that comes from the sky, no matter what!"

…

After learning the specific situation of the Huifa Department, everyone was more like a chicken blood. They could no longer accept failure, let alone someone who dared to break the army.

The next morning, the fighting began.

Because the Ministry of War's night intelligence was very good, it accurately conveyed the news that Huifa's troops were stationed at the junction of Jianzhou, causing the two sides to directly encounter each other.

"kill!"

"Kill one person and get ten acres of land, fight!"

"I want thousands of acres of fertile land. Anyone who stands in my way will die!"

…

When the five thousand cavalry led by Wang Zhendong faced the Huifa Department who was trying to cut off the grain transport army, their eyes no longer showed the slightest fear, but instead seemed to see gold.

After all, soldiers are still mortal bodies, and the most important thing is actually interests.

As long as the interests are in place, the Ming army's combat effectiveness is still very strong. What's more, Ming's weapons are advanced now, the food in the rear is sufficient, and the number of people now exceeds the opponent's, so there is not much suspense in this war.

"Which army is this? How can it be so strong? Withdraw!" Lang Teng's mission was to intercept the Ming Dynasty's grain transport army. Faced with the Ming Dynasty army descending like a tiger descending the mountain, he decisively chose to withdraw.

But the war was not over yet. Wang Zhendong knew that his current mission was to bring the Huifa Ministry into the territory, and immediately led his troops to the Huifa Ministry's tent.

"Why did the Ming army come to the Khan's tent?"

"I don't know, but now our people have been sent out!"

"Khan, don't hesitate any more, let's run away!"

…

Batu, the leader of the Huifa Tribe, faced the Ming army who did not follow common sense, especially since his sweat tent was already empty, so he finally chose to escape.

What happens on the battlefield often affects the whole body.

With the leader of the Huifa tribe, Batu, the sweat tent of the Huifa tribe fell into the hands of the Ming army. The earlier plan to encircle the grain transport army was affected, and the Ningyuan Guards and Jinzhou Guards began to gather.

Although the Huifa tribe is one of the seven Jurchen tribes in Haixi, it has maintained friendly commercial relations with the Ming Dynasty over the years, resulting in many pro-Ming elements within the tribe.

Now the Huifa tribe's actions are unkind, and now the Ming Dynasty has decided to conquer the Huifa tribe, causing many well-connected Huifa tribe nobles to surrender or go to Jianzhou.

During the battle, the Huifa Ministry finally realized the existence of provoking terror, and began to re-evaluate the combat effectiveness of the Ming army. While they chose to retreat north, they also chose to ask for help from the Emu tribe in the north, asking Bao Lidao to send people to help him repel the Ming army.

An eagle came to a pasture behind the Changshen Rift Valley, which has become the military camp of the Emu tribe.

"Attack the Long Snake Rift Valley immediately. If they don't surrender, we will kill them all!" Bao Lidao decided not to wait after receiving the letter asking for help, but ordered the attack.

Although the best thing to do is to wait and let Zhao Chengqing use up the last food and surrender to them obediently. It's just that the Huifa Department is in a critical situation now, but the Ming Dynasty seems to have no intention of negotiating terms, so it decided to directly wash the Long Snake Rift with blood.

Although Zhao Chengqing's troops have chosen to kill horses to survive, what is trapped is a large force of 10,000 people, and the consumption is more than what can be solved by killing some horses.

This is exactly the case. Even if Zhao Chengqing's troops have not reached the point of begging for mercy, their combat effectiveness has already been greatly reduced under this situation of running out of ammunition and food.

kill!

The Jurchens of the Emu tribe took the initiative to abandon their defenses and killed them from the hillside, forcing the Ming army to retreat one after another.

After being trapped for such a long time, they faced not only hunger and thirst problems, but also psychological problems. After all, no rescue troops have appeared for many days, so the thought of being trapped and dead here inevitably arises.

Zhao Chengqing originally insisted on sending people to break out from the southern road, but faced the triple defense set up by the Emu Department, they remained motionless.

Unexpectedly, the Emu tribe suddenly sent a large force into this only narrow road and launched a fierce attack on them, forcing them to retreat.

Zhao admitted that they used the geographical advantage to defend at first, but the Emu tribe came to kill them at the expense of their own lives. In addition, their morale had dropped to the extreme, and they were forced into the Long Snake Rift Valley.

After the army entered the Rift Valley, the situation became even worse. It was now more difficult to obtain food and water, and there was even no grass to feed their horses.

"Are we done?"

Zhao Chengqing's troops were trapped in the barren rift valley, and a depressed mood quickly spread.

"Master Zhao, come out and negotiate terms!" Bao Lidao realized that the price to pay for taking over Zhao Chengqing's men was not small, but he took the initiative to show up.

When the two sides were confronting each other, an eagle flew into the depths of the rift valley.

Zhao Chengqing came out after a while and asked from a distance of ten meters: "What are the conditions?"

"You surrender to Ben Khan immediately, and I will protect you from death!" Bao Lidao promised seriously.

The corners of Zhao Chengqing's mouth raised slightly, and he said very forcefully: "The reason why I retreated here is because it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if you want to take it by force, it will be difficult, not to mention..."

"Besides, you still have reinforcements, but is this the case?" Bao Lidao said confidently, thinking he had seen Zhao Chengqing's trump card.

Zhao Chengqing was immediately stunned and asked in confusion: "How do you know about this?"

"There is nothing in the world that we don't know. You shouldn't transport food from the Huifa Department. The Huifa Department and our Emu Department have the same origin!" Bao Lidao was very satisfied with Zhao Chengqing's reaction and shook his head slightly with regret. .

Zhao Chengqing realized that he was overthinking, so he smiled again and said: "It turns out that you still don't know that the reinforcements I'm waiting for are not in the south. You died unjustly this time!"

At this time, an army with the flag of the Ming Army appeared outside the Emubu military camp, and the shouts of killing were loud. (End of chapter)