The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Brother, no, we can't attack."

Outside Hanlong Pass, one of the eight passes to control Myanmar in western Yunnan during the Ming Dynasty, the Ming army set up artillery and was firing continuously. Teams of Ming troops carried ladders and rushed towards the city wall.

Behind the city wall, a hail of arrows flew up from time to time and landed on the ranks of the Ming army.

If it weren't for the Ming soldiers carrying shields and improvised shields made from tree branches on their heads, there would have been corpses everywhere outside the city wall.

"This cannon is too weak to break down the city gate."

Li Rusong looked at the battle ahead and said bitterly, "Asking everyone to withdraw will only increase casualties."

"Ming Jin withdraws the troops."

Following his elder brother's orders, Li Ruzhen immediately ordered his soldiers to send a withdrawal signal.

As the sound of ringing gold sounded, the Ming army hiding under the city wall retreated like a tide, not forgetting to drag back the bodies of a few unlucky guys who had been shot to death.

"Forget it, let's not fight. We didn't bring the cannons. These small cannons won't be able to attack the city at all."

Li Rusong looked back at the tall and majestic official wall of Hanlong Pass and said something unconvinced.

"Then brother, what should we do next?"

Li Ruzhen asked.

"Set up the camp well and not give the Burmese army a chance to break through."

Li Rusong turned around and left. As he walked, he continued: "Dig more traps in front of the camp. There are two sentries in the dark and light positions at night. The gunners and gunners take turns to rest by the camp. If the Burmese army dares to come out at a critical moment, they will fight back." ”

Originally used as a city gate to defend against foreign enemies, now that the attack and defense were out of place, it became an obstacle to prevent the Ming army from attacking.

"I really don't know what that fool Mu Changzuo thinks. He actually entrusts such an important pass to the local chieftain to guard it. He is so arrogant. Doesn't he know that people who are not from my race must have different minds?"

Li Ruzhen also followed suit.

"This is not his decision. I heard that this has been the case in the southwest for a long time."

Li Rusong sighed, "I can only say that the southwest has not experienced any wars. I heard that some toasts used to cause chaos during breakfast, and there were no other wars.

It's not like our Liaodong, which has to fight foreign wars every year, either against the Jurchens or Mongolia.

Even those stationed in the Liaoxi Corridor or the Great Wall must always be on guard against enemy sneak attacks.

It's so peaceful here. "

Li Rusong sneered.

"Brother, when we set out this time, my father said to kill as many enemies as possible and not keep any prisoners. What does that mean?

Second brother has never understood it either. We thought about it for a long time before, but we have forgotten to ask you about it these days. "

Li Ruzhen knew that the son his father valued most was his eldest brother Li Rusong. Whatever his father knew, his eldest brother must know.

“Dad said that in a cryptic way because he wanted you to think about it for yourselves.

Tell me first, do you understand? "

Li Rusong asked.

Li Ruzhen shook his head.

Among the military merits of the Ming Dynasty, the first level was great merit. Capturing an enemy chief alive would naturally be the greatest merit. He could even be offered as a prisoner at the Meridian Gate, which was a great honor for a general.

Well, although Lao Li has already been involved in the family, who would dislike such opportunities to show his face?

They actually understood the meaning of the words, but they just couldn't believe it and found it difficult to understand.

"There's something going on here. Dad was worried about telling you at first. If you don't know how to handle it, if you spill the beans, it will have a bad impact."

Li Rusong looked around and saw that several soldiers were a few steps away from them, but he was not afraid of them overhearing.

The voices of the two brothers speaking at this time were not loud and could not be carried that far.

"Do you know how Duke Qian got to this position?"

Li Rusong asked in a low voice.

"Duke Qian? Didn't he lead troops to conquer Yunnan and conquer Annan?"

Of course Li Ruzhen had heard of this.

The Mu family, Duke of Guizhou, originated from Mu Ying. He was one of the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty, an outstanding military general, and the adopted son of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Xiaoci Ma.

In the ninth year of Hongwu's reign, he followed Deng Yu to conquer Tibet as deputy commander. Due to his military merits, he was granted the title of Marquis of Xiping and was given an iron certificate of alchemy.

In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, he, Fu Youde and Lan Yu led 300,000 troops to conquer Yunnan. After Yunnan was pacified, Mu Ying stayed in Yunnan to guard it.

In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Mu Ying's adoptive mother, Queen Ma, died of illness. Muying was so sad that she coughed up blood. In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, she was hit by the death of Prince Zhu Biao and fell ill. Two months later, she died in her post in Yunnan. Only forty-eight years old.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt very sorry for him and ordered him to be buried in the capital. He was named King of Qianning, given the posthumous title of "Zhao Jing" and enjoyed the imperial ancestral temple.

However, at this time, the Mu family only inherited the title of Marquis of Xiping.

After Mu Ying's death, his eldest son Mu Chun inherited the Marquis of Xiping and guarded Yunnan. After Mu Chun died without any children, his younger brother Mu Sheng inherited the Marquis of Xiping and continued to guard Yunnan.

In the early years of Yongle, Mu Sheng was ordered to lead an army separate from Zhang Fu to attack Jiaozhi.

After Jiaozhiping, Zhang Fujin was granted the title of Duke of England, and Mu Shengjin was granted the title of Duke of Guizhou. From then on, the Mu family became a hereditary duke.

To put it bluntly, titles are won through battles.

If there is no war, military generals can only rely on their seniority to work their way up to the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army and become the Commander-in-Chief. This is the highest honor for military commanders in peacetime.

And now the head of the Li family, Li Chengliang, has become the Left Governor of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. He is considered a very popular minister and cannot be promoted.

However, there is still a huge difference between the Li family and these hereditary noble families, that is, there is no title attached to them.

Well, even if it's not hereditary, it's just a lifelong title, and you'll still be a knight when you go out.

It can be said that what the Li family can continue to pursue now is this title.

The cakes painted by Wei Guangde really tickled Li Chengliang.

Li Rusong did not say anything to the third brother's answer, but just shook his head in confusion.

Soon, Li Ruzhen's mouth gradually opened wide, and he asked in disbelief: "Brother, do you mean that as long as our family pacifies Burma this time, our father can also be conferred the title of Duke?

Ouch."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ruzhen was slapped on the head by his eldest brother. Although he was wearing a helmet, he still shouted out of habit.

"What are you thinking? If Burma is really pacified, it may be just a title of earl, or even a lifetime title. It is considered a great favor to be able to pass it down for three generations.

What time is it now? Do you think it is still the founding of the country, when those emperors conferred titles as if they were playing.

Now, look at how many years the court has not conferred military merits."

Li Rusong saw it clearly. It can only be said that Xu Wenchang's teacher did not teach in vain. At least Li Rusong saw the problem very clearly.

The actual situation is like this. Li Chengliang fought a lot in Liaodong, and in the end he only got a lifetime title.

Of course, guarding Liaodong and opening up the border to Burma are two completely different things. This merit is definitely much better than the meritorious title in Liaodong, but it is very likely to be a title that will be passed down for three generations.

But even so, it is a great grace. Just as the two brothers were talking, a personal soldier ran out of the gate of the Ming army camp. Seeing the position of Li Rusong and his men, he hurried over.

"Master, the second master has sent a message."

As he spoke, the man handed over a bamboo tube in his hand.

Hearing that it was the news from his second brother, Li Rusong immediately put away his smile, took it with a serious face, and after carefully checking the wax seal, he opened the bamboo tube and pulled out the paper roll inside.

Li Ruzhen immediately stood behind his eldest brother and read the words on the paper with him.

Soon, smiles appeared on both of their faces.

The information on Li Rubai's note was very simple. He had led his army to capture Mengnai and ordered a part of him to stay behind. He was supervising the army to prepare to attack Mengguang.

As long as this city is occupied, the Ming army will gain a firm foothold in Mengmi and block the Burmese king Mang Yinglong in western Yunnan.

The battlefield between the Ming Dynasty and Myanmar is now very chaotic.

Not only is a fierce battle breaking out in western Yunnan, but the capital of Myanmar has been taken by the Ming army, and the main cities of Mubang and Mengmi, which have been annexed by Myanmar, have also been captured by the Ming army.

In the 16th century, when communications were extremely poor, such a war was also very rare, especially since the two battlefields in the south and the north were fighting independently and there was no unified battle plan.

Yu Dayou, who was still in Toungoo City at this time, was actually in a dilemma, that is, to continue to send troops to attack the surrounding Burmese cities or to defend Toungoo City and wait for the return of the Burmese king Mang Yinglong.

So far, he has not received any news that Li Chengliang intends to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Burmese army in western Yunnan. If he continues to wait in Toungoo City, he is afraid that he will only wait for the arrival of the Ming army led by Li Rusong.

"Marshal, why don't we send troops to eliminate the Burmese army south of Pyay, Myanmar.

I heard that it is the main grain producing area in Myanmar, with a large population. As long as we can control southern Myanmar, even if Mang Yinglong comes back, he will not get food and grass.

As long as we delay a little, the Burmese army will be in chaos, and our army can take advantage of the situation to kill the rebel Mang Yinglong."

Lieutenant General Wang Shike suggested.

This time, he must make more merits, as it is a rare opportunity to fight a weak enemy like Myanmar.

Accumulate military merits, and after returning home, he will be able to get a provincial general.

This navy has been at sea for a long time, and Wang Shike is a little tired of it and plans to abandon the ship and land.

"Pyay?"

Yu Dayou thought for a while, then opened the brief map of Myanmar in the hands of the Ming army and observed it carefully.

Pyay is a city in southern Myanmar, located on the left bank of the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River. It was the capital of Myanmar in the eighth century AD.

The area between the middle reaches of the Irrawaddy River and the delta has always been the most prosperous economic region in Myanmar, and Pyay is the trade link and the main transportation route between the north and the south.

If the Ming army can control Pyay, plus the already occupied Toungoo City, it can almost block Myanmar's north-south transportation.

As Wang Shike said, the Burmese army hurried back from the north and would not bring too much food and grass, and would have to rely on food from southern Myanmar to supply military supplies.

And Pyay is undoubtedly an important transportation channel. Most of the food transported from its surrounding and southern cities will be transported from there to the north of Toungoo City.

"Yes, Marshal, now we know that although Myanmar has many warships, most of them are scattered in coastal cities. Even if they want to mobilize these warships, it is difficult to accomplish without the order of the Burmese King Mang Yinglong."

Wang Shike continued.

As they stayed in Myanmar for a longer time, they learned more and more about the situation in Myanmar through various channels.

The Kingdom of Myanmar does have a large number of sea vessels, but these sea vessels are distributed along the long coastline of Myanmar.

Although Myanmar is not a big country, it has thousands of miles of coastline.

Facing the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, its long coastline naturally requires a large-scale navy to control it.

"You mean, while Mang Yinglong has not returned, send troops to occupy Dara and Pathein?

Do we also need to send troops to occupy Mawlamyine?"

The south of Myanmar is generally the Yangon Province and surrounding land in later generations. At this time, Yu Dayou pointed to a narrow corridor controlled by Myanmar on the Indochina Peninsula, where there is also an important city of Myanmar, Mawlamyine.

Because this place is the springboard for the Burmese army to invade the Indochina Peninsula, it has always been valued by the Toungoo Dynasty and has focused on supporting its development.

It’s just that Mawlamyine is close to the sea, and it doesn’t seem to be a difficult place for the Ming navy at this time.

In fact, this is exactly the case. This time, the Ming army went north from Pegu to Toungoo City, and successively captured cities such as Sidang, Curie, and Jiaoji. Yu Dayou also used this to see the emptiness of the troops in southern Myanmar at this time.

Yes, these cities basically do not have strong defensive capabilities. With the blessing of cannons, the Ming army can easily capture these Burmese cities, and even does not need to invest too many troops to complete the occupation of the city.

After all, the elite were transferred away, and the rest were old, weak, sick and disabled. Even if the Burmese army had an advantage in manpower, they often scattered after being attacked by the Ming army.

To be honest, Yu Dayou did not expect that the Burmese army’s combat effectiveness was so scum. He always thought that he would encounter a fierce battle after entering Myanmar.

Even several families in Jiugang were not optimistic about the Ming army. After all, Myanmar has been notorious for attacking surrounding countries and looting property in recent years.

Therefore, the Ming army conquered Toungoo City with great momentum, which shocked the merchants in Jiugang who were stranded in Pegu.

Of course, in their inherent thinking, the Burmese army is still very powerful.

Facing such a record of the official army, it seems that the only explanation is that the official army is strong.

"Wang Shike, you take 3,000 people, do you dare to sweep across southern Myanmar?"

Suddenly, Yu Dayou asked.

Although the Ming army has 7,000 to 8,000 people, in Yu Dayou's view, Toungoo City is the most important, and he has to leave enough troops to deal with Mang Yinglong.

Let Wang Shike take away 3,000 people, and he will only have 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers and horses, which is already very weak.

If it weren't for the Ming navy on the Pegu River, Yu Dayou would never dare to take the risk of dividing his troops.

"We captured more than a thousand Burmese soldiers before. Aren't they willing to surrender? You can take them with you. You don't have to use them as cannon fodder. We are short of troops now.

Conquer the city and let them plunder the nobles in the city. Put on combat boots, and they will not dare to rebel again.

In this way, you only need to allocate a small number of soldiers to the captured city, and with these surrendered soldiers, you should be able to guard it well.

As for Dara, your troops may not be enough at that time.

But it doesn't matter. I will let Wang Zhao lead the navy fleet to attack from the seaside to provide you with support.

After occupying Dara, he will lead the fleet to attack Mawlamyine."

Yu Dayou said.

"Then Marshal, what about the Portuguese castle in Thanlyin? Should we take it down as well?"

Dara is the later Yangon, and there is also Thanlyin to its south, which is a city developed by Western colonists and is now the most important port of the Burmese Navy.

"Don't touch it for now. As long as the Portuguese don't make any rash moves, we will wait for them to continue to exist.

After the overall situation in Myanmar is settled, whether we should levy taxes on them or take them back will be decided by the court."

Yu Dayou smiled.

Through the trench mirror, Yu Dayou has realized the benefits of contacting the barbarians, so his attitude is not firm.