The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Hearing Wei Guangde's question, Ma Fang said without thinking: "Altan's side can only command about 40,000 households, about 40,000 people, including 10,000 elite cavalry.

His son Huang Taiji still has more than 10,000 cavalry, but there are only a few thousand elites. His brother Qingtaiji also has about 10,000 troops. Although they are both granted ten thousand households, Qingtai Ji has even fewer elites. There were probably three to four thousand people.

In addition, Altan has also conquered some large and small tribes. If the army is forcibly recruited, it is estimated that there will be two to three thousand households. "

"Then how many people did Anda Khan bring into the customs this time? How many elites were there? Are they from the headquarters or from his son or brother?"

Wei Guangde immediately asked, and at the same time he was silently calculating in his mind, forty thousand and two ten thousand. As for Ma Fang's suggestion of raising another two to three thousand households, Wei Guangde did not take it seriously. He himself said that he would forcefully recruit troops. It is these tribes that may follow the Anta tribe, but have not yet been assigned to others.

All in all, Anda Khan can only use about 60,000 cavalry, and the elite number is less than 20,000. This is the entire force, and at most half of them can enter the Great Wall.

It's no wonder that Weng Pu didn't dare to mobilize the army from Ji Town. He really needed to guard against the other 40,000 troops.

"According to previous scout reports, it is estimated that the number of troops Altan brought into the Great Wall this time is around 20,000, and the main force is still outside the pass."

Ma Fang responded a little strangely to Wei Guangde's question.

Because the Tatars that Anda Khan brought to the pass had already made a judgment, he was not sure why Wei Guangde still asked this.

"As for which cavalry to lead, I think the more than 10,000 cavalrymen in Baoan Prefecture should be the Royal Guards of Altan and the elites of ten thousand households. The elites among them may be the three thousand elites of the Royal Guards and ten thousand households. It was estimated that there were about five thousand people.

As for the Yanqing side, I haven't seen it, so it's hard to tell whether it's Huang Taiji's or Qingtai Ji's troops, or Altan's own Ten Thousand Households. "

Ma Fang continued, saying "I don't know" to those who don't know, so as not to be punished for making a mistake.

Regarding Ma Fang's answer, Wei Guangde was noncommittal because he didn't have an answer. He just analyzed the meaning of Ma Fang's words and felt that the possibility was still very high.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty regarded the Anda tribe as a whole, but as of now, the Anda tribe is actually composed of three parts.

"According to your guess, there are still 40,000 people in the Anda tribe outside the pass, so it is likely that his son Huang Taiji is in command."

Wei Guangde analyzed at this time that as for willingness, it is very simple. No matter how weak the Ming army is, what if something unexpected happens?

When the time comes, both their father and son will be making dumplings on the Great Wall. Such a result is definitely not what An Dahan wants to see.

"It's hard to say."

Ma Fang shook his head at Wei Guangde's words and did not give any attitude.

"Okay, last question."

Wei Guangde couldn't sit still anymore. He got up and walked around and said, "You have been stationed in Xuanfu all year round. I am from the south, but like you, I come from a military household. Now I want to hear the truth. Xuanfu Compared with the Mongolian soldiers, what is the difference in combat power?"

When he said this, Wei Guangde was already standing in front of Ma Fang. He believed that this man would give him a more accurate answer because he dared to fight.

The fact that someone who dares to fight and kill can still survive to this day is definitely not a matter of luck. At least under the appearance of someone who dares to fight and kill, he is definitely a person who is good at calculation.

Only when you have a relatively objective assessment of the combat power of the Ming soldiers and Mongolian soldiers in your heart can you dare to fight in a confident situation.

It is nonsense to defeat the strong with the weak, to fight in a last-ditch battle, or to say that the weak soldiers must win. Insufficient strength means death, and no miracle can happen.

It's just that Wei Guangde's words put Ma Fang into a difficult situation. He understood what Mr. Wei meant. He wanted to know the combat power of the Ming army. Perhaps he wanted to calculate how many men and horses were needed to defeat the Anda tribe that entered the pass, but the battle did not rely on You can win by calculating.

"I know that the Ming army is dominated by infantry and there are fewer cavalry. Just tell me and it will be done according to your own ideas."

Wei Guangde added.

"The Mongols are mainly cavalry. There are so many horses raised there that even a child can ride on a horse, pick up a weapon and become a warrior."

Ma Fang did not answer Wei Guangde's words immediately, but instead talked about the Mongolian warriors, "As for the elite Mongolian cavalry, even if the Ming army infantry forms a formation, the chance of fighting them is slim, even if they cannot be defeated. Ride away.

If it is like the Ming Army cavalry we recruited, we can win two against one. Our equipment is better than the Mongolian elite cavalry. One on one is a bit difficult. If you want to calculate it, the strength is close. But if it is my people, it can One hits them both. "

Seeing that Ma Fang was boasting again, Wei Guangde had no choice but to control the topic himself, and then interjected and asked: "What about the combat power of ordinary soldiers you mentioned before?"

"Ordinary Mongolian soldiers have average combat capabilities. They only know how to ride horses and shoot arrows. They have little combat experience. In fact, these people are usually herdsmen and are only temporarily recruited when there is war.

If you fight to the death and don't run away, if you fight the Ming army head-on, the infantry can kill them as long as they form a formation. The cavalry's combat power is actually about the same, that is, the Mongolian elites are much stronger than the Ming army cavalry. "

Ma Fang continued Wei Guangde's words and made a simple comparison between the Mongols' combat power and the Ming army's infantry and cavalry.

"Are the Mongolians who followed you from Baoan Prefecture elites or ordinary people? You should have seen them, please tell me."

Wei Guangde raised his eyebrows and then asked again.

"Ordinary, not many elites."

After hearing Ma Fang's answer, Wei Guangde nodded, turned around and returned to his seat to sit down.

"If you want to eat them, I will take my men to kill them all tonight."

Ma Fang was not an idiot. He immediately guessed what Wei Guangde was thinking. Perhaps he really wanted to attack the Tatars outside the city and destroy them.

"There is no rush. There is still enough food and grass in Baoan Prefecture to last for a few days. We have time to wait. At least let your men have a good rest tonight. If we want to fight, we can wait until tomorrow."

Wei Guangde said with a smile.

A few people chatted in the room for a while, and Wei Guangde asked Dong Yiyuan to take the three of them down to rest first and have a feast. Forget it, you can't drink on the battlefield.

After the four people retreated, Wei Guangde walked to the desk and stared at the map, calculating rapidly in his mind.

Anda Khan should have known about the Ming army's food and grass in Huailai County by this time, and he would probably recruit troops from Baoan Prefecture or Yanqing.

Wei Guangde had not thought about taking action to defeat this group of Tatar cavalry tonight when Ma Fang proposed it, but what he was worried about was that if Anda Khan directly sent troops from Baoan Prefecture to reinforce the Tatars under the city, then tonight It is possible that they will arrive, and the difference between the time when the reconnaissance team returns and the time when they set off will not be more than one day.

If reinforcements arrive during a surprise attack on an enemy outside the city, it will be extremely dangerous.

However, with Ma Fang's analysis of the combat power of the Ming army and the Mongolian army, Wei Guangde felt that the gap in combat power between the two armies did not seem to be as big as he thought.

In fact, what Ma Fang said is based on the situation where the Mongols mount their horses. If they can win, they will fight. If they cannot win, they will run away. Therefore, they took the initiative from the beginning.

As for the frequent defeats suffered by the Ming army in Bianzhen, Wei Guangde can also understand that they only pick weak persimmons, and there is nothing you can do about it.

But it is obvious that Liu Dazhang, the current chief military officer of Xuanfu, is incompetent.

According to Ma Fang's words, there were more than 10,000 Ming troops stationed in Baoan Prefecture. In fact, after forming a formation, they could fight against the Anda tribe. However, Liu Dazhang was worried that he would be defeated and punished by the court, so he simply made a retreat. He was a turtle, waiting for the Datong Army to arrive.

Starting from the 29th year of Jiajing, within a few years, the Ming army unexpectedly degenerated into such a war-fearing situation.

Before, Wei Guangde knew that the battle between the border town and the Tatars was not going well, so he always thought that the soldiers were incompetent. After all, it was very simple to draw this conclusion based on the inland garrison.

The civil servants at that time probably had the same idea as him at that time, and felt that the Ming army was not strong enough.

However, no one thought that before Zhou Shangwen, the Tatars could only make a small fuss at the border, make some noise, take advantage and run away immediately, because the Ming army had already arrived and it would be dangerous if they did not run away.

This shows that the Ming army has an advantage in a large-scale battle with the Mongols.

After all, the border troops are all regular troops. As Ma Fang said before, the main force of the Tatars are herdsmen. There are not many real professional soldiers, what he calls the elite Tatars.

Looking at Huailai, Baoan and Yanqing on the map, Wei Guangde guessed that Anda might not have enough time to send someone to contact Yanqing. He would choose to dispatch two to three thousand people from his side to Huailai County to trap the Ming army's grain transport convoy. .

Regardless of the actual situation of the Ming army in Bao'an Prefecture, as long as they surround Huailai County and make it difficult for the convoy to move, the goal will be achieved. Over time, the Ming army in Bao'an Prefecture will naturally collapse due to lack of food and grass.

Even if the Ming army does not retreat, they have only one way, and that is to take the initiative to approach Huailai County and seek supplies of food and grass. By then, no matter whether the Ming army is advancing or retreating, as long as the Ming army breaks away from the protection of the city wall and comes to the wild, he can Look for opportunities to attack the Ming army.

Field battles, raids, and getting ahead of the Ming army's formation. It's hard not to win such a battle.

Wei Guangde analyzed Anda Khan's possible plan, and it was probably like this.

As an opponent, how should he play his cards?

Wei Guangde was actually a little confused at the moment, he didn't know what to do.

At first, he ran to Huailai County with great fanfare, just to attract the attention of Anda Khan and attract him to divide his troops. He was here waiting for the arrival of the Datong Army.

Another thing is to help Li Zhen complete the grain transportation task. As long as Anda Khan's attention is attracted to Huailai County, the chance of Li Zhen's grain transportation fleet successfully arriving in Baoan Prefecture will be doubled.

With him in his arms, he could naturally do nothing and wait for the Datong Army to arrive, using his absolute superiority to force Anda Khan to withdraw with the cavalry.

This was the original plan, but when Ma Fang said it, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that he could do something to severely combat the arrogance of his department.

The Ming army's combat strength was not as weak as expected. This was Wei Guangde's confidence.

In fact, this is also true. If the Ming army's combat power is really weak, the people in Beijing should not be Jiajing but Anda Khan.

Before, Wei Guangde was only influenced by later generations, and more or less after being in the capital, so he really didn't expect that under the appearance of the decline in combat power of the Ming army, it actually still maintained considerable combat power.

However, this kind of combat power has become even more difficult to notice after the Anda tribe continued to encounter raids in the border town castle. Perhaps even the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have forgotten that their ancestors once swept across the entire desert.

And what about the current situation?

One soldier is raging, and the general is raging in a nest.

The situation in Xuanfu seems to be like this now. If Liu Dazhang can't do it, the entire Xuanfu army will be in trouble.

Tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Ming troops faced off against tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalry but did not dare to fight. It was probably because they were afraid of defeat, and their subordinates were strictly restrained by the general officers and were not allowed to fight.

Thinking of what Ma Fang said, in addition to the royal guards in Baoan Prefecture, Anda Khan only had one ten thousand households. Now two thousand people from these ten thousand households have arrived at Huailai City, leaving only eight thousand people in Baoan Prefecture.

If Ada Khan continues to mobilize people to surround the grain transport convoy, even if he only uses 3,000 people, then there will only be half a million households around Anda Khan in Baoan Prefecture, and including the Royal Guards, there will only be about 8,000 people.

After eating the five thousand people in Huailai County, the military strength was slightly insufficient.

At this time, Wei Guangde made his own judgment on the forces inside and outside the city.

There are now less than 2,000 cavalry and nearly 5,000 infantry in the city.

Let Ma Fang take people out to eat them first? The infantry bypassed the city and the Tatars formed a formation behind them to deal with reinforcements?

What would Anda Khan do if he ate the 5,000 men and horses here?

Call more troops to come and take revenge?

Or run away immediately?

Don’t think about it in Yanqing. They can only barely protect themselves. An Dahan was worried about the Jizhen army leaving the border, but he didn’t know that Weng Pu had no intention of mobilizing the Jizhen troops to participate in this war from the beginning. They came because they were worried that the Mongolian Tatars outside the customs would raid the capital.

Huailai's side, from the current point of view, has the strength to fight the Tatars, but it can only fight the two thousand troops outside the city. If there are reinforcements, it will be difficult, unless the Datong Army can fly in at this time to join the battle.

The one with the upper hand is Baoan Prefecture, which has always been wary of war.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde's eyes fell on the location of Bao'an Prefecture. After the mobilization of Anda's troops, there were only 8,000 people left in Bao'an Prefecture including Anda Khan's own bodyguards.

Suddenly he remembered the suggestion Ma Fang had made in Baoan Prefecture before, and concentrated the entire army to storm Anda Khan's camp.

He silently calculated and confirmed that if Anda Khan really mobilized troops to reinforce the Tatars who came here, then the troops in Baoan Prefecture would be even more insufficient.

This is actually an opportunity for the Ming army.

To defeat the Tatars in Huailai County, Anda Khan can choose to shrink or retreat.

What if I let this place in my arms attract Ada Khan's attention and run to Baoan Prefecture to force Liu Dazhang to fight?

Baoan Prefecture started a war, and even if they couldn't win, they would at least maintain the current war situation.

And once you win, the benefits you get will be huge.

Thinking that Weng Pu wanted to come in person from the beginning, this old guy had really sharp eyesight. He could tell at a glance that the safest area on the battlefield was actually in Baoan Prefecture, where the Xuanfu Army was located.

Go, how to go?

What should I do if Liu Dazhang disobeys me when I get there?

If it was Weng Pu, Liu Dazhang would not dare not listen.