The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Early in the morning of the eleventh day, Zhang Zhou led his troops to the battle.

His troops were dispatched silently. He was already outside the city and brought only 3,000 soldiers with him. There was no need to mobilize border troops for support. He did not even have a famous general under his command. They were all soldiers recruited temporarily. It seemed that these 3,000 soldiers were mediocre and did not even have any experience in fighting on the battlefield, but in fact they had been trained for a considerable period of time.

The training was mainly on how to use new weapons. On the contrary, Zhang Zhou basically did not force the use of cold weapons such as swords and knives, unless in extremely special circumstances. Otherwise, this was the closest war to a hot weapons battle in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

On the same day, Zhu Youtang was going to leave the capital with his imperial carriage and go to Datong Town.

The emperor's pomp was much grander, but unlike before Yingzong went on the expedition, Zhu Youtang did not recruit any Shangshu to accompany him. He only transferred the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Qiong as the military adviser. There was no duke among the meritorious officials, and the highest-ranking general among the accompanying generals was Zhang Heling, Marquis of Shouning.

Zhu Youtang will lead a ceremonial entourage of 20,000 soldiers and horses to Datong Town. A lot of food and supplies will be prepared in advance, and a lot of heavy artillery and other items will also be equipped. Therefore, this time when going to the northwest, Zhu Youtang plans to reach Datong within one month, which is very different from Zhang Zhou's marching principles.

According to Zhang Zhou's plan, the distance from the capital to Datong is more than 700 miles, and Zhang Zhou can arrive within four days.

As for Zhu Youtang's group, it was actually good if they could travel twenty or thirty miles a day, and a month was just the minimum plan. Of course, Zhu Youtang also had a more "grand" idea, which was to complete the journey within twenty days. This required the team to travel about forty miles a day, which was basically impossible given the equipment of this group of people.

When the emperor was going on a tour, he should have arranged for a vassal king to serve as regent.

But this time was different from the past. The emperor did not bring any civil or military officials with him. Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao stayed in the capital, while Prime Minister Liu Jian, cabinet ministers Li Dongyang and Wang Ao and others were not transferred.

The general explanation given to the ministers was that if he, the emperor, really died in the northwest, then you should make the prince the emperor. After all, this is my son, and he is not young anymore. Aren't you all known as loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty?
I'd better just leave the Ming Dynasty to you.

Yang Peng, as the eunuch commander of the Eastern Depot, was one of the people accompanying the emperor this time. In fact, Yang Peng did not need to go, but he was eager to make a contribution because he knew that it was not safe to stay in Beijing because he had offended too many people and now the emperor no longer had him under his protection. If there was any civil unrest in the capital, he would definitely be the first person to be killed.

……

……

Zhu Youtang's expedition was much more formal.

Liu Jian brought civil and military officials to see him off. In front of the emperor's carriage, Liu Jian, on behalf of the officials, submitted a memorial to the emperor, asking Zhu Youtang not to be so stubborn and asking the emperor to stay in the capital.

Zhu Youtang said in front of several cabinet elders and ministers: "I am only going to tour the country this time, and the trip to Weininghai is to show the power of the Celestial Empire. You don't have to worry, with Duke Cai leading the way, nothing will go wrong."

Most of the ministers present were thinking, and we also knew that basically nothing would go wrong.

But what if?
When Emperor Yingzong went to war, we also thought that it would be fine and at worst we could just withdraw, right?
But the problem is that there is no essential difference between your expedition this time and your grandfather's, and you are leading even fewer soldiers, only 20,000. You should know that your grandfather claimed to have led hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but in fact he only led nearly 200,000 soldiers.

In this way, if the Tatars send 30,000 to 50,000 cavalrymen, wouldn't they be able to trap you and make you the second prisoner of the Ming Dynasty?

Zhu Youtang looked at the crown prince who was looking at him not far away and shook his head, as if he was not very satisfied with his son.

Zhu Youtang added: "With the blessing of the heavens and earth, I will surely succeed this time. Let's encourage each other."

After saying this, Zhu Youtang also boarded his own imperial carriage.

The ministers present were still quite troubled by what they saw.

When Emperor Yingzong went to war, he at least rode on horseback, and the scene was magnificent. Although this emperor also led a large army, the momentum that 20,000 soldiers could create was just that. Moreover, not all of these 20,000 soldiers were combat troops, and many of them were civilian laborers.

……

……

Zhu Youtang also embarked on the journey.

Zhu Youtang seemed very casual about this expedition, and the ministers should have taken a tough stance to stop him, but they did not do so.

After watching the emperor and his entourage walk out of Deshengmen, Liu Jian still hesitated to take his gaze away.

Li Dongyang asked: "Have we failed to fulfill our duties as subjects?"

Liu Jian then turned his head back and looked at Li Dongyang with a complicated look.

Li Dongyang could see the unfriendly attitude in Liu Jian's eyes.

If an emperor does not listen to the orders of his ministers, the best way is to... replace the emperor, but regicide is impossible. There are too many ways to do it, including but not limited to assassination. Of course, this assassination will be under the surface of conspiracy.

After all, we cannot point the finger directly at the civil officials themselves.

"The affairs of the court haven't changed much. Didn't Your Majesty say before that important matters of the court still need to be reviewed personally?" Wang Ao walked over and said.

This was to remind Li Dongyang that even if the emperor left the capital, he would still be the one in power in the world.

The emperor could still review memorials while he was halfway to Datong, but the time efficiency might be greatly reduced.

Liu Jian sighed and didn't say anything to Li Dongyang and Wang Ao.

In fact, his attitude says it all.

He should have opposed the emperor's tour to Weininghai, but he did not object, which means that he would rather see the emperor act recklessly and let the emperor bear the consequences... Only in this way can the emperor or the successor emperor realize that Zhang Zhou's warmongering strategy is useless.

The Ming Dynasty should still follow the orthodox path.

Of course, they have the final say on which path is orthodox.

……

……

Zhu Houzhao is going back to the palace.

He was quite happy because his father was gone. Not only did he not have to worry about being under house arrest, but he also gained a power that was almost like that of a regent.

He could listen to ministers talk about important affairs of the court in the Wenhua Hall. This was the privilege given to him by his father. As the crown prince, he had to learn how to govern the country, although Zhu Houzhao himself knew that those matters were very complicated.

But I still couldn't resist the curiosity in my heart.

Who says that only my old father can manage the affairs of the court? Who says that young men cannot do things well?
"Go back and find that girl Xiurong. I want to teach her a lesson." Zhu Houzhao felt that he had to act as the eldest brother now.

When our old father is not around, don’t I just take good care of you, my little sister?
Gao Feng said: "Your Highness, I heard that the princess is not in Beijing."

"Say it again!" Zhu Houzhao almost wanted to hit someone.

Gao Feng said helplessly: "The princess seems to have gone to Datong with His Majesty..." "What?"

Zhu Houzhao jumped directly from the carriage.

This frightened the entourage, and several people stepped forward and tried their best to hold down Zhu Houzhao, who was extremely excited.

"Your Highness, you cannot harm your body." Gao Feng pleaded loudly.

Zhu Houzhao said, "Is there a father like this? It's fine if he goes by himself and doesn't let me go, but why can a dead girl go with him? Touring Weininghai and sending troops to the grasslands, such fun things, why don't you ask me to go? Ah!"

At this time, many Jinyiwei came and drove Zhu Houzhao back to the carriage.

Zhu Houzhao shouted, "Wait, I must go to the northwest myself. Who said I can't lead troops to fight? Give me three thousand soldiers and I can flatten the grassland! Who is afraid of death? "

Gao Feng said: "Your Highness, you have to be patient. His Majesty is not in Beijing, and the future of Ming Dynasty depends on you."

"I don't want the future of the Ming Dynasty, I want to fight!"

Zhu Houzhao was held down by two Jinyiwei at this time.

No matter how he resisted, it was of no use. It seemed that Zhu Youtang was afraid that this brat would do something wrong while he was away from Beijing, so he gave a death order and sent many people to keep an eye on Zhu Houzhao twelve hours a day to ensure that he would not make any mistakes.

……

……

on the grassland.

The battle has lasted for nine days.

After several consecutive assault attempts, the seven or eight thousand soldiers led by Tang Yin were stopped by the main force of the Tatars.

Originally, the Tatars had no intention of engaging in a fight with the Ming army, but after they discovered that the Ming army was not equipped with long-range firepower such as heavy artillery, they began to try to resist and counterattack. Then they discovered that no matter how fiercely the Ming army charged, they would stop after encountering their blockade.

The two sides formed a situation of mutual attack and defense.

In the end, the number of Ming troops was quickly discovered by the main force of the Tatars.

The Ming Dynasty had less than ten thousand soldiers and horses, and they were far away in the grassland hinterland more than a thousand miles away from the Ming Dynasty. They had no connection with the Ming Dynasty border soldiers, and their route of movement was not straight up and down. This meant that if the Ming Dynasty army wanted to provide assistance, it would have to travel at least fifteen hundred miles.

In addition, the Ming army did not have the support of heavy firearms, so the Tatar army was not so afraid.

After all, in the previous battle in which the five armies of the Ming Dynasty marched into the grassland, the Ming army did not gain any advantage. The Tatars believed that this battle was worth fighting.

If they win this battle, they can even reverse their defeat in the war against the Ming Dynasty and regain the advantage on the front battlefield.

Noon of the tenth day.

After another tentative attack, the Ming Dynasty's 3,000 troops had to withdraw.

Zhang Rui, who was in charge of leading the troops to attack, returned to the camp in the valley. At this time, the snow in the camp had turned into solid ice, and the horses could not be ridden at all. They could only dismount and lead the horses. Some horses were tied together, dragging some sleds or something like that to transport the spoils.

“I can’t take it down.”

Zhang Rui came to Tang Yin's side.

At this time, Tang Yin was standing in a relatively high place above the river valley.

The telescope in his hand was also looking southeast, in the direction of the Tatar camp.

Tang Yin pointed to the southeast and said, "There was no Tatar camp there last night, but they started to set it up this morning. There are also several temporary camps on the other side of the river. It seems that they want to use it as a transit point. And they have also deployed some camps in the rear..."

Xu Jing asked: "Why are they setting up camp so close to us? Are they trying to attract our active attack?"

"I don't know." Tang Yin said, "If I were a Tatar, I might bury gunpowder in it, but they seem to have seen that we are now stuck in a situation where we have no way forward or backward. Unless we are determined to break out by heading south, we must find a place to rely on behind us so that we can deal with them strategically."

Xu Jing said: "When we fought them before, we didn't necessarily need to rely on anything."

"It's different." Tang Yin shook his head and said, "We don't have long-range or heavy artillery this time, only some light artillery. The arm is too short to shoot that far. Fortunately, this river is not too wide, and the river surface is frozen, so we can come and go freely. If the ice is not thick enough for horses to pass in the spring, we will have to give up this position."

Zhang Rui asked: "How long do we need to hold on?"

Tang Yin asked in return: "Have the main forces in the rear of the Tatars withdrawn?"

"No." Zhang Rui brought 3,000 soldiers this time to investigate the situation behind enemy lines. He reported truthfully, "Not only have the Tatars not retreated, they are still gathering troops. It seems that on this side of our river bank, that is, to the south and southwest, the Tatars have deployed at least 50,000 to 60,000 troops."

"How much?" Xu Jing became obviously flustered when he heard this.

Tang Yin asked, "Fifty or sixty thousand soldiers, is that a lot?"

Xu Jing smiled bitterly and said, "Bo Hu, even if we have fire guns, how many fire bullets do we have? Even if we shoot one by one, I'm afraid we can't kill all these 50,000 or 60,000 people, right?"

Zhang Rui said: "Each person has at least 20 rounds, so it's no problem to defeat 100,000 people."

"Too unrealistic." Xu Jing said, "Do you think the Tartars are just standing there, ready to be shot at? It's over, they are cutting off our retreat."

Tang Yin nodded and said, "This is exactly what I need. Where is Pinglu Hou?"

"Your Excellency, the Marquis of Pinglu led more than a thousand soldiers to explore the northwest last night, but he has not returned yet. From what we have learned before, the Tatars have no troops deployed in the northwest..."

"They have left a gap in our rear. If we want to break out, we can only go in this direction. But we will go deeper and deeper into the grassland. By then, even without fighting, we will not have enough food and grass to survive until the day we return to Ming Dynasty."

Xu Jing asked hurriedly: "The Tatars haven't attacked yet, right?"

Zhang Rui said: "The Tartars are afraid too. After all, our fire guns were very effective in the several encounters and killed and wounded many Tartars. They are now trying their best to deal with us and even intend to set up a camp on the other side of the river."

"Yes." Tang Yin nodded, "They know that we don't have many artillery, so we can't cross the obstacles to attack them. Using this method to resist the fire guns may also be a strategy. But we have brought natural gunpowder after all, so it is not difficult to blow up a few of their camps."

Xu Jing listened for a while and asked, "Then how do we withdraw? Fight? Or not fight?"

Tang Yin said: "This is our city. Our enemies are across the way... We must take root in this city and do more dealings with the Tatars. Even if our blood is shed on this grassland, we are still heroes." (End of this chapter)