Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 584 Postscript: Xuande (3)

"kill!!"

In early June of the 22nd year of Xuande, as Ulugh Beg personally led 50,000 shooting corps and 50,000 archers and cavalry into the territory of the Cumans, the western border of the Ming Dynasty also began to fall into military control with the arrival of war.

The Golden Horde, as one of the four khanates of the former Mongol Empire, was split into families such as the Orda, Batu, Shiban, Mo'ol, and Toqa Timur since its establishment.

It’s just that the Batu family was the most powerful, so when people talk about the Golden Horde, they usually use the Batu family to represent it.

At the same time as the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, the Golden Horde, which occupied Northwest Asia and parts of Eastern Europe, also experienced internal political turmoil, and the Batu family, as the Great Khan, was replaced by the Orda family.

At the same time, the Golden Horde began to decline. Regions such as Khwarezm, Crimea, and Bulgar gradually split from the Golden Horde. The rising Timur also constantly invaded the Golden Horde, exacerbating its division.

Starting from the 11th year of Hongxi, the Shiban family took the lead in breaking away from the Golden Horde and established the Yuejibe Khanate in the eastern part of the Golden Horde and the northwestern part of the Ming Dynasty.

Subsequently, Ulug established the Khanate of Kazan in the Kazan region northwest of the Golden Horde.

Hajigal established the Crimean Khanate in the Crimea region.

Nur ad-Din roamed the Caspian Sea, Ural River and Volga River basins and established the Nogai Khanate.

The noble Ibak, who occupied the vast area between the Tobol, Irtysh and Ob rivers, also established the Siberian Khanate.

Influenced by the independence of various places, Muhammad Qasim also established the Astrakhan Khanate in the lower reaches of the Volga River and the South Caucasus steppes.

With the independence of the six regions, there were only a few lands directly under the central government of the Golden Horde.

At the same time, the Timurid Empire in the south was growing stronger.

Under such circumstances, Ulugh Beg personally led 100,000 troops on the western front to defeat the armies of the White Sheep and Black Sheep dynasties, and then immediately led 100,000 troops in the Transoxiana region to the north to attack the Cumans.

At this time, the most powerful Khanate in the Cumans was the Khanate of the Kublai Khanate, which was entrenched in the northern part of the Yibohai Sea.

Since Yuejibie was enthroned and appointed by the Ming Dynasty and obtained the qualification to trade in Yangyi City, after more than 30 years of development, Yuejibie had become a huge horse khanate with a population of more than 400,000 and 60,000 armored cavalry.

Ulugh Beg did not attack Yuejibie, but instead turned his attention to other khanates that split from the Golden Horde.

Due to other obstacles, these khanates were unable to participate in the Ming Dynasty's trade with the Golden Horde.

In an era when firearms were squeezing out purely nomadic peoples, Ulugh Beg's army immediately attacked Salechuk northward along the Caspian Sea.

Not only that, Ulugh Beg began to move his troops northward against the headquarters of the Golden Horde and the Khanates of Nogai, Astrakhan and others.

Under Ulugh Beg's powerful invasion, several khanates were defeated one after another.

Under such circumstances, the Khanate of Yuejibe did not stop Ulugh Beg's invasion, but instead launched a war against the Siberian Khanate and the headquarters of the Golden Horde.

The restraint of both sides made Zhu Qiyue, who arrived at the front line, feel uneasy.

“Ding ding ding ding ding… ...”

At the foot of the Western Tianshan Mountains, a series of strange noises were heard in a sturdy city.

Suiye City is the third largest city in the Hezhong region after Hezhong City and Yili City.

After more than 30 years of continuous immigration and settlement of the border during the Ming Dynasty, a huge city built of cast iron and concrete has been built here.

With a circumference of eighteen miles, five miles from east to west and four miles from north to south, Suiye City is undoubtedly one of the largest cities in the Hezhong region.

Living here were 50,000 Han people who had migrated here, 60,000 Hu people who considered themselves Chinese, as well as 5,600 military households and 30,000 family members, totaling nearly 150,000 people.

The city wall, two zhang high and three zhang thick, gave the 150,000 people in the city enough sense of security.

In addition, the more than 5,600 border troops stationed outside the city also made the people in the city believe that the war would not spread to this area.

Of course, compared to the optimism of the common people, the government office in Suiye City was very busy at this moment.

Several military officers were skillfully hammering on the strange machines in front of them. These machines were connected to some thick black wires that sank into the ground, and it was unknown where they were connected to.

"Your Highness, news has come from Yili Prefecture that 300 tons of supplies are on their way to Suiye City!"

A military officer turned around and reported to Zhu Qiyue who was standing in front of the sand table. Zhu Qiyue nodded and said, "When will the Xiran Guard, Tingzhou Guard, Xizhou Guard, Qiuci Guard, Yanqi Guard and other guards arrive at Suiye City?"

"According to current information, it will take about ten days for them to arrive one after another."

"In addition, the 1,400 tons of military supplies shipped from Jiuyuan and Dingxiang should take two months to reach Suiye."

The military officer answered truthfully, and Zhu Qiyue looked to his side after hearing it.

Beside him stood Guo Deng, Mao Zhong and more than a dozen generals ranging in age from twenty to fifty.

"I have mobilized five guards to rush to help, including the four guards of Yili, Hezhong, Suiye, and Kunling, as well as the six guards of Yanshan, Jilin, etc., a total of fifteen guards, totaling 84,000 people."

"In addition to the regular troops, I also mobilized 22 auxiliary troops, totaling more than 220,000 people, as well as nearly 400,000 mules and horses."

"The country hasn't fought a war of this scale for many years. I think you all know what I want!"

Zhu Qiyue's eyes were fierce, and Guo Deng and others nodded excitedly.

Only the generals within the Ming army knew the strength of the Ming army.

If the goal is just to stop Ulugh Beg's northern expedition, it would be enough to mobilize more than 20,000 people from the Four Guards.

Now the prince has mobilized more than 84,000 regular troops, 220,000 auxiliary troops, and 400,000 mules and horses to ensure logistics. This is obviously not as simple as stopping Ulugh Beg's northern expedition.

Such a ratio of regular troops to auxiliary troops, as well as mules and horses, is obviously the standard for an expedition, and it is a standard for an expedition of at least a thousand miles, which can support the army to reach the wealthy Samarkand in Transoxiana.

The prince wants to destroy the country, and they will become part of the war to destroy the country.

For more than thirty years, Ming and Korea rarely conferred titles on living military generals, and the reason was that the military generals' achievements were insufficient.

The destruction of a country is enough for several people to be ennobled and for several families to reach the top.

With something like this happening, it's natural that everyone can't hide their excitement!
"Your Highness, when are we going to send out our troops?"

A general bowed and Zhu Qiyue looked at him. He remembered that the man seemed to be called Liu Yu, and was a brave general.

"No rush. The existing supplies are too few. The military factories in the rear have just started full production. We need to prepare enough supplies for at least half a year."

"Besides, the war between Ulugh Beg and the Kipchak has not yet reached a fever pitch. If we act rashly, we will not be able to annex the two countries in one fell swoop..."

Zhu Qiyue spoke calmly, but as he spoke, the generals became more excited.

They originally thought that they would only destroy one country, but now it seems that they would destroy two countries.

Such achievements are enough to make many people present the earl, and some may even be promoted to duke or marquis!
"Have someone keep a close eye on the front line. Although we won't be leaving for the time being, no news can escape our eyes and ears."

"Yes!"

Zhu Qiyue gave an order and all the generals bowed in response.

Seeing this, Zhu Qiyue also dropped the baton in his hand and walked out with his hands behind his back.

Seeing this, Wang Tao and Guo Deng followed him. Under the protection of Jilin Guard and Yanshan Guard, the three of them walked out of the yamen and headed towards the downtown area where the people lived.

The six-zhang-wide street was divided into four lanes in both directions, and the lanes were filled with rickshaws, horse-drawn carriages, and many people on horseback.

There are green trees on both sides of the road, and people coming and going on the sidewalks.

They were not affected by the war and continued to live their lives as usual.

Zhu Qiyue mounted his horse and, under the protection of soldiers, headed towards a city wall of Suiye City.

On the way to the city wall, he had a panoramic view of the lives of the people along the street.

People dressed in silk came and went, but most of them were children and women. The men were basically working, and there were few people wandering around the streets.

"What do the people of Suiye City do to earn their living?"

Zhu Qiyue asked Wang Tao beside him, and Wang Tao responded: "Basically, they are mainly mining minerals and cultivating the land."

Relying on the snow water and pumps from the Western Tianshan Mountains, after more than 30 years of land reclamation outside Suiye City, there are now no less than one million acres of arable land, which can not only feed the entire city’s military and civilians, but also store 300,000 to 400,000 shi of grain.

"How much are the supplies in Yangyi City and Suiye City now? Has the Governor's Office calculated it?"

Zhu Qiyue looked at Guo Deng, who answered without hesitation, "The military expenditure is more than 2,364,000 guan, in addition to more than 4,600,000 dan of rice and wheat, and more than 3,000,000 dan of bean fodder."

"The various military supplies are calculated according to the number of troops mobilized. There are thirty bases of ammunition for artillery and eighty bases of ammunition for muskets. In addition, there are about four million cans of meat, vegetables, fruits, etc."

"The rear is transporting about 2 million dan of soybean feed, 90 bases of artillery ammunition, 120 bases of muskets, and more than 6 million cans of various types."

To this day, the storage technology of tin cans has been broken through and applied to the military and people's livelihood.

Canned meat in the north, canned fruits and vegetables in the southwest... these technologies have long been mature, and the products produced are sold far and wide at home and abroad.

Although the technology of canning was not advanced for the Ming Dynasty, it was far superior to the existing technology for countries around the world.

Whether it was iron smelting technology or glass technology, they were not capable of mastering it, so they could only purchase it from the Ming Dynasty.

Due to the low prices in Ming Dynasty, the production cost of a tin can of meat in Ming Dynasty was only a dozen cents, and it was sold at at least twice the original price.

Not to mention other canned foods such as fruits and vegetables.

All countries used canned food for military expeditions, and the Ming Dynasty made a fortune from it.

Since canned food can be sold well overseas as a commodity, it means that it is not scarce in the Ming Dynasty.

Now the entire Ming Dynasty’s industrial capacity is serving them. As long as Zhu Qiyue wants, the more than three million cans of food produced by the Ming Dynasty every month can be delivered to Suiye City.

"There must be enough supplies, you have to keep an eye on it."

Zhu Qiyue gave an order and they arrived at the city wall at the same time.

Zhu Qiyue rode up the horse along the path to the city wall, dismounted, and walked up to an arrow tower.

The strong wind from the northwest made the flags fluttering all around, while Zhu Qiyue leaned on the parapet and looked toward the northwest.

The city was surrounded by endless farmland, but the more distant places were still desolate. Looking at the desolate horizon, two figures appeared in Zhu Qiyue's mind, and he couldn't help but say:

"In the past, we followed Emperor Taizong and Emperor Shizong to recover the Western Regions. I didn't expect that more than 30 years have passed in the blink of an eye."

"Although the situation in the river is somewhat out of my grandfather's control, the general direction is still the same as my grandfather predicted."

"This battle was planned more than 30 years ago, and now it is almost time to realize it."

Having said that, Zhu Qiyue took a deep breath, looked out over the vast northwest, and suddenly said:
"The war has driven the old man to keep busy, urging his horse to cross Yumen Pass at night. The murderous aura swallowed up the sea of ​​thunder, and the mighty voice shook Mount Buzhou..."

Before he finished writing a poem, Zhu Qiyue felt dissatisfied and stopped, sighing and shaking his head: "Compared with my grandfather's poems on the frontier, my poems are not imperial enough, so I'd rather not write them."

He admired his grandfather very much, whether it was writing poetry, leading troops in battle, governing the country, or making scientific inventions...his grandfather seemed to be proficient in everything and understand everything.

Perhaps it was precisely because he was proficient in everything that the officials during the Yongle and Hongxi periods were so afraid of him.

"Your Highness's poem is already quite good."

Guo Deng flattered him, but Zhu Qiyue did not respond. He just walked for several miles on the horse road and then returned to the yamen to rest.

While he was waiting for the opportunity, Timurid Khanate and the Khanate of Qipchaq and Nogai Khanate respectively annexed many territories of the Khanate of Qipchaq and Nogai Khanate.

Although the transportation speed of countries around the world was slow at that time, the scale of the war in the northwest was so large that both the East and the West were paying attention.

Such attention also contains a test of the Ming Dynasty. As the Ming Dynasty has been reluctant to take action, some countries with good strategic determination are still waiting and watching, but some small countries can't help it.

"kill!!"

On the fifth day of the winter month in the twenty-second year of the Xuande reign, when the Ming Dynasty was hesitant to interfere in the wars in its northwestern vassal states, the three Indian countries of Swampura, Ulishe and Malwa launched a surprise attack on Bangkara!
As the vassal state that received the most support from the Ming Dynasty in India, Bangla's national strength continued to rise with the Ming Dynasty's support for half a century.

Today, Bangkara has a population of over three million and an army of 50,000, including 20,000 musket-wielding infantry, 10,000 cavalry, 5,000 elephant soldiers, and 15,000 spearmen, swordmen and shieldmen.

The strength of the Bangkara Kingdom is such that even if it were placed in Europe of this era, it would still be considered a small powerful country.

However, facing the three great countries of Shonapura, Urisa and Malwa with a population of over 10 million, the nearly 200,000 allied forces of the three countries quickly defeated the army of the Bangla Kingdom west and north of the Ganges.

In less than half a month, the Bangkara Kingdom lost most of its territory, and the Bangkara King Zheng Zhongming (given a surname) asked the Ming Dynasty for help.

The news first reached the Nanzhong (Myanmar) Military Commander Fang Ying, who sent people to rebuke the three countries and demanded that they return the territory of Bangkala.

On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, Malwa's army ambushed and annihilated the centurion sent by Fang Ying and more than a hundred Ming troops, and dismantled the Ming army's flintlock rifles for research.

When the news was transmitted back to Nanzhong via the Bangkara Kingdom, Fang Ying was furious and immediately submitted a memorial.

"Asshole!!"

Inside the Wuying Palace in Beijing, Zhu Zhanhe's hands were shaking with anger.

"A Malavada dared to kill the Ming Dynasty's envoys and even tried to dismantle the imperial court's weapons. This is outrageous! This is outrageous!"

Zhu Zhanhe paced back and forth on the golden platform. Wang Zhi in the palace took the initiative to bow and said, "Your Majesty, the court is preparing to send troops to the northwest. We must not cause any trouble now!"

"Don't create unnecessary trouble." Zhu Zhanhe laughed angrily. Li Xian also stepped forward and bowed to Wang Zhi, saying:
"The current situation is that the vassal states clearly regard the majesty of the imperial court as nothing. If we do not take action against these rebellious criminals, I am afraid that more vassal states will take the opportunity to cause chaos."

"Your Majesty!" Yu Qian also stood up and bowed solemnly: "The Ministry of War advises us to fight to the death!"

"Your Majesty, we advise you to send troops..."

Meng Mao and others from the Six Military Commandery bowed and spoke, and the grand secretaries in the palace knew they could not stop them and could only shake their heads and sigh.

Zhu Zhanhe glanced at his ministers. He was very clear about the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty had not used military force for more than 30 years. Not only did these small countries ignore the majesty of the Celestial Empire, even the natives of Kunlun Continent and Dongzhou dared to rebel.

If we don't take this opportunity to make an example of someone, who knows whether countries like Japan, North Korea, and Siam will also follow suit and cause trouble.

"Pass on my order, the Ministry of Revenue shall allocate 3 million strings of cash for military expenses to Nanzhong."

"Appoint Mu Yi, the governor of the Southern Army, as the general of the Southern Expedition, to command the troops of Yunnan, Nanzhong, Jiaozhi, Guangdong and Guangxi, and U-Tsang. The King of Han Zhu Qizhen, the King of Yue, the King of Zheng, the uncle of Gu, and the uncle of Dai will each lead their guards to follow the army south to quell the rebellion!"

"The ministers and others lead the decree..."

As Zhu Zhanhe made the ruling, the Ming Dynasty, while stopping the civil war in Kunlun Continent, the rebellion of the natives in Dongzhou, and the preparations for the destruction of the country in the northwest, also launched a war to quell the rebellion against the three countries in southwest India.

For a time, the Ming Dynasty was caught up in multi-line wars at home and abroad, and no one could accurately predict the specific outcomes.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, when Zhu Qiyue learned that the imperial court was about to send troops against India, he knew that he had to send troops.

At this time, a conflict had broken out between the Khanate of Yujibie and the Timurid Empire in the north of the Aral Sea. Zhu Qiyue originally wanted to wait until the conflict between the two sides reached a certain level before sending troops, but now it seems that this is no longer possible.

In the first month of the 23rd year of Xuande, the ambassadors of the Ministry of Rites of five countries, including Timur, Yuejibie, Zonapura, Malava, and Ulishe, evacuated one after another, and privately notified the merchants of the Ming Dynasty in the five countries to evacuate, and the situation suddenly became tense.

On the first day of March, the Ming Daily, in compliance with the order of the Heavenly Emperor, notified the twenty provincial governments in the two capitals and the seventy-two vassal states at home and abroad, announcing the following statement:

"The rulers of Timur, Yuejibie, Zonapura, Malva and Ulishe ignored the repeated warnings of the Celestial Empire and continued to invade the Celestial Empire's vassal states such as the Kipchak and Bonggar, causing bloodshed in the region and attacking the Celestial Empire's troops, causing the regional situation to deteriorate sharply and seriously threatening the peace of the rulers and people of the 72 vassal states of the Celestial Empire."

"Under circumstances where they could no longer tolerate this, the officers and soldiers of the Celestial Empire were forced to send troops to maintain regional peace, abolish the status of the five countries as vassal states, and send troops to suppress the rebellion!"

"Beep beep beep——"

"fire!!"

"Boom boom boom——"

While the "Da Ming Bao" was publishing reports from various countries, 84,000 Ming troops under the leadership of Zhu Qiyue launched an attack on Yue Jibie and Timur.

At the same time in the southwest, the Southern Military Governor's Office, Duke Mu Yi of Qian led 140,000 Western and Southern Armies to attack Malava and other three countries.

On the east bank of the Ganges, 240 "Xuan De-style" field guns launched an artillery attack on the Indian Sidang coalition camp on the west bank of the Ganges.

When the three-nation coalition forces in India were completely defenseless, the shells from 640 Xuan De field artillery flew over a distance of five miles and landed directly into the camp.

The conical cylindrical shells destroyed most of the anti-artillery fortifications of the entire camp in the first instant. For a while, screams continued to sound in the Allied camp on the west bank.

Looking at the scenes in the telescope, Mu Yi, who was already in his fifties, slowly put down the telescope, drew the goose-feather knife from his waist and pointed it at the sky: "Time's up, cross the river!!"

With his order, more than 60 steamships turned into troop transports, carrying the Ming army that had been prepared long ago to the west bank of the Ganges.

"Beep beep beep——"

An hour later, wooden whistles sounded on the west bank. Thousands of Ming troops launched an attack on the coalition defense line, while troop transports also continuously transported Ming troops to the west bank.

The coalition forces on the west coast tried to resist, but they had to face not only the artillery from the east coast, but also the naval guns from the sea!
"Boom boom boom——"

The dull sound of artillery almost shook the entire world. The coalition forces' defense line was in danger, but the Ming army continued to cross the river and launch attacks.

On the eve of dusk, the Ming army crossed the river successfully. One hundred thousand Western Route Army crossed the river successfully one after another. The two hundred thousand coalition forces of the Three Kingdoms retreated to the city of Babuna after leaving behind more than seven thousand corpses. The Ming army escorted supplies across the river, waiting to go deep into India to encircle and suppress the three countries.

At the same time, the 40,000 northern troops led by Fang Ying also successfully crossed the Ganges and arrived at the north bank of the Ganges, launching a counterattack against the 30,000 troops of Zanapura stationed on the north bank.

Under the offensive of the Ming army, the situation on the southwestern battlefield improved steadily. In just half a month, all the lost territories of the Bangkara Kingdom were recovered, and the territories of the three kingdoms of Ulishe, Malwa and Shuannapur were invaded.

The bravery of the Ming army in fighting on the battlefield in India overturned the impression of other countries that they were "old-fashioned soldiers."

For a time, the originally wavering Indian side and the other thirteen countries contacted the ambassadors of the vassal states stationed in their own countries and expressed their willingness to send troops to assist the Celestial Empire in the war.

Not only that, they who had originally boycotted Ming Dynasty products instantly let go of all their boycott mentality and exposed their own market to Ming Dynasty products without reservation.

This relaxation allowed many goods that were piled up in the Ming Dynasty to be sold.

Although the sales speed is not fast, as long as the goods can be sold, domestic government-owned and private enterprises will not worry about the business not being able to continue.

"put!"

"Boom boom boom——"

The dull sound of artillery fire rang out again, but this time the sound came from no longer the Indian battlefield, but the vast northwest battlefield.

84,000 Ming troops and 220,000 auxiliary troops went on expeditions to Yuejibie, Timur and other countries.

On March 17, Guo Deng led his army to recapture the city of Talas and beheaded more than 700 people.

On March 26, Otrar was captured by Zhu Qiyue's troops, and the Ming army marched towards Samarkand!

On the second day of April, Mao Zhong defeated and killed more than 7,000 Yuejibie Hu cavalry in the northern part of Yibohai. The Yuejibie country was frightened and its leader begged for peace, but was rejected by Zhu Qiyue.

On April 14, Zhu Qiyue led his army to capture Samarkand. Ulugh Beg in the lower reaches of the Volga River then learned of the Ming army's attack on him and hurriedly returned.

Relying on a sufficient number of artillery, the 40,000 southern troops led by Zhu Qiyue advanced rapidly, while the 30,000 western troops led by Guo Deng encountered Ulugh Beg's army, which still had more than 90,000 troops, in the south of Leizhuhai.

The two sides encountered each other at night. Ulugh Beg led his troops to raid the Ming army camp. Guo Deng was not at all panicked after the attack. He ordered his men to line up artillery to meet the attack, and ordered Yang Xin and Liu Yu to lead 3,000 cavalrymen to walk out of the camp from the east side of the camp, and use the cover of night to go around behind Ulugh Beg.

At dawn, Yang Xin and Liu Yu led their troops to launch a surprise attack from the rear of Timur's army, and Timur's rear army was hit from behind and became panicked.

At the critical moment, Ulugh Beg led the central army to rush to the rescue and repel Yang Xin and Liu Yu.

However, without waiting for Ulugh Beg to react, Guo Deng led his troops to attack. In an instant, the vanguard of Timur's army was defeated and fled to the southwest in panic.

Seeing this, Ulugh Beg could only command his army to retreat to the southwest while fighting.

Guo Deng led his army to chase Ulugh Beg. The two sides chased each other for more than ten days until the seventh day of May, when the two sides once again broke out in the Great Desert (Gobi Desert) east of the Caspian Sea. Ulugh Beg was defeated and fled south.

Guo Deng continued to pursue, and the two sides fought for more than ten battles, both winning repeatedly.

Ulugh Beg fled to Gorgan in the southern part of the Caspian Sea, and Ghodun retreated due to insufficient supplies.

At this time, only less than 60,000 of the 100,000 troops led by Ulugh Beg were left, and more than 30,000 died at the hands of Guo Deng.

Before he could recuperate, news that made him feel dizzy arrived from the north.

Zhu Qiyue captured Samarkand and took over the Fergana Valley area, seizing the richest area along the river.

Upon hearing the news, Ulugh Beg's eyes went dark and he fainted in his temporary palace.

Simply fainting cannot solve the problem, because the Ming army is still on the march...

(End of this chapter)