History Live: Starting from Qin Shi Huang

Chapter 78 Five Expeditions to Mobei
Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Years.

"Pfft" "Pfft"

Laughter rose and fell. First, they laughed at the stupidity of Ben Yashili and Alutai, who actually split up and ran in two opposite directions. Second, they laughed at Ben Yashili's final outcome. How could he be so naive? Mahamu, the leader of a hostile tribe, was his brother-in-law. So what? Even if he was directly related to you by blood, he would not necessarily spare your life, let alone your brother-in-law?
After laughing, everyone started commenting again.

"Now that the Northern Expedition is over, the north should be peaceful for a while." said one person.

"Indeed, but I remember that the initial Yongle reign lasted for twenty-two years. Now it's the first northern expedition every seven years, so from now on we'll have to make northern expeditions once every four years on average." Can the country afford it?

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin looked at the picture in the sky, and his heart was already flying up. He led the troops in person again! I want to too! But no. Oh, this Shenjiying is good in actual combat! Wait, this can be said.

He looked at his ministers expectantly: "My dear ministers, this Shenji Battalion is the previous firearms team. It seems that the actual combat effect is remarkable now."

The ministers below did not disappoint his earnest expectations and agreed one after another.

Cheng Yaojin and other generals' eyes sparkled, as if they had been hungry for three months: "Your Majesty, I want one too. Even if it's not that powerful, the sound is enough to hit the enemy at the critical moment and confuse their morale..."

Song.

Watching the operations of Ben Ya Shi Li and Aluta on the sky curtain, the people of the Song Dynasty finally relaxed and had the leisure to joke and laugh.

“Hahahahahahahahaha,” Zhao Guangyi laughed loudly at the two men’s stupidity and self-righteousness, and complained, “Big brother, third brother, what on earth were these two thinking? They actually came up with such a method, hahahaha!” He laughed so hard that he almost couldn’t breathe, “Besides, they just ran away, but they were reluctant to leave those unnecessary baggage behind, and in the end they didn’t run away! Hahahahaha…”

Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Guangmei, Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang also couldn't help laughing.

[After this northern expedition, the Ming Dynasty dealt a powerful blow to the originally strong Tatar forces, causing the Oirat and Tatar to become relatively balanced, and won several years of peace for the northern border.

But Mahamu was a man with strong ambitions. As the Oirat gradually developed, he began to become dissatisfied with the situation on the grassland.

In the tenth year of Yongle, Mahamu sent an envoy to the Ming Dynasty, asking the Ming Dynasty to send troops to eliminate Arutai, and also "requested additional rewards" and "requested military weapons."

Mahamu also supported Daliba as the Great Khan of Mongolia and used this puppet Khan's name to conquer the Tatars. From then on, Mongolia began to have two Khans coexisting.

However, as the Tatars gradually weakened, the Oirat became more and more arrogant. In order to maintain the balance, in the 11th year of Yongle, the Ming Dynasty appointed the Tatar Aluta as the King of Hening and began to win over the Tatars to contain the Oirat.

In the eleventh year of Yongle, Mahamu stated to the Ming Dynasty that "Gansu and Ningxia have surrendered to the Tatars, and many of them are his relatives. Please make them his subordinates." He demanded Gansu and Ningxia from the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he led his troops to Yinmahe River, claiming that he would attack Alutai, but in fact he planned to attack the Ming border.

In this regard, Zhu Di felt that he could not continue to let it go and that the Oirat Mongols also needed to be punished.

On February 5, the 12th year of Yongle, Zhu Di held a grand military review. On March 17, Zhu Di, along with his grandson Zhu Zhanji, set out from Beijing to personally attack the Oirat.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang curled his lips, looking down on the Oirat. On the one hand, it was because of the various provocations of the Oirat. It was obvious that the Oirat's strength could not be compared with the Ming Dynasty. This could only be said to be a road to self-destruction; on the other hand, it was because of Zhu Di's actions - he brought the crown prince with him. Why did he bring the crown prince with him? Of course, to teach him! But could he teach him in a truly dangerous and unsafe place? Of course not.

He just laughed at the Oirat: "This Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty obviously doesn't take Mahamu seriously!"

The first year of Yuanshuo.

Liu Che was also very happy. He felt that he had found the right way to manage the Western Regions: as long as the Han Dynasty was strong enough, anyone who disobeyed would just be beaten up, and everything else was secondary.

[On April 24, the Ming army arrived at Tunyun Valley, and the former Yuan Dynasty Zhennan King Sun Boluobuhua and others came to surrender.

On the third day of June, the Ming army's vanguard encountered a small group of Oirat troops, and after repelling them, they reported back to Zhu Di. Zhu Di concluded that the main force would attack and ordered the Ming army to prepare.

On the seventh day, Mahamu attacked from three directions, and Zhu Di ordered the Shenji Battalion to deal with the central route. "The Shenji Battalion fired cannons and killed hundreds of bandits," which shook Mahamu's central route. Then the Shenji Battalion supported the Ming army's right route, and with the advantage of firearms, "they fired cannons continuously, killing countless bandits." At this time, Zhu Di personally led the armored cavalry to charge and kill, and finally Mahamu collapsed across the board.

The Ming army pursued them to the Tula River, beheaded more than a dozen princes, annihilated thousands of people below the princes, and captured dozens of people. Mahamu could only flee north at night.

The second northern expedition ended. This northern expedition brought the Ming Dynasty more than ten years of border stability. 】

The result of this northern expedition was not surprising to people of all dynasties. From the various measures and details before the war, it can be seen that Mahamu will definitely be defeated by the Ming army. The only difference is the method and time of defeat.

But it was the Shenjiying that gave them a surprise.

This was different from the battle in which the Shenji Battalion fought during the first Northern Expedition. Last time the Shenji Battalion was used extensively in pursuit battles, and in the pursuit of a defeated army; this time it was a head-on confrontation, and in the center of the army, but the firearms performed quite well and were very impressive: not only could they pin down the enemy troops, but they could also support the right flank.

If you have this magical weapon and equip a battalion like Emperor Taizong of Ming Dynasty, you won't have to worry about not winning the war!
Emperors of various dynasties once again urged the Ministry of Works (some dynasties didn't have one, so just assume they did) to speed up the development of firearms, wishing they could have it tomorrow if they said it today.

Ministry of Industry: Stop rushing us. The order to develop the product was issued just half an hour ago. Even a god can’t produce it in half an hour!

[In the 14th year of Yongle, Mahamu died after the war with Tatar, and then Alutai of Tatar began to rise again.

In the 20th year of Yongle, Zhu Di felt that he had to let people know that he was capable of wielding a knife, so he decided to lead the army again, targeting Aluta.

Zhu Di was already over 60 at this time, and preferred to fight steadily. Alutai was frightened when he learned that Zhu Di was personally leading the army, so he ran away as he did before. However, unlike the first time when he was inexperienced, this time Alutai ran very quickly and disappeared before the Ming army arrived.

Unable to find Alutai and with the pressure of food and grass, the Ming army had no choice but to return to the capital. However, since the Wuliangha (the easternmost part of Mongolia) had been somewhat restless in recent years, Zhu Di beat up the Wuliangha and made them behave themselves again.

Ming Dynasty, the 16th year of Yongle.

"Dad!" Seeing that his father was still going to the battlefield at the age of over 60, Zhu Gaochi was very worried. He was wondering before, there were five expeditions to Mobei, but now there were only two in 16 years. It turned out that his father really went out to fight in the last few years! But his father was only 22 years old!
He looked at Zhu Zhanji uneasily, and they both thought of the same thing: What to do, Dad/Grandpa wouldn't stay in Mobei until he passed away, right?
The thirteenth year of Hongwu.

Zhu Yuanzhang also looked at Zhu Di disapprovingly: "We know you want to stabilize Mobei, but have you done it? We fought in the north to eliminate the remnant Yuan forces, and we did it. But your personal expedition this time is obviously in vain!" He looked Zhu Di up and down, "Besides, you will be over 60 by then. Are you in good health? Once you die outside, won't there be a storm in the court? Have you forgotten the old story of the First Emperor?" [In the 21st year of Yongle, Zhu Di led the fourth northern expedition in person.

But something unexpected happened.

After arriving at the grasslands to gather information, Zhu Di and his companions learned that Alutai had been defeated by the Oirat leader Toghan (son of Mahamu) a few months ago and was no longer a threat to the Ming Dynasty. In the end, Zhu Di returned to the capital.

In the 22nd year of Yongle, the last year of his life, Zhu Di chose to lead an army in person once again.

This time it was still because of Aluta. This man was too persistent and was still harassing the Ming Dynasty border.

But unfortunately, this time, he still did not find any trace of Aluta. Finally, on the way back to the court, when he arrived at Yumuchuan, Zhu Di died of illness in his tent.

The reign of an emperor came to an end here.

Born in war, died on the road, he was ultimately a generation of emperor on horseback, and the battlefield was his final destination. 】

The scenes on the sky curtain also became a kaleidoscope of Zhu Di's life, especially the scenes of him on the battlefield, which flashed repeatedly.

The sixteenth year of Yongle.

"Dad!" "Grandpa——"

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji sobbed. How could they not feel heartbroken when they saw Zhu Di finally die of illness outside the Great Wall? Not only did he fail to achieve the goal of the Northern Expedition and regret it until his death, but he also died of illness on the way back before he returned home, so they couldn't even see him for the last time...

In this situation, my father's health must not have been very good at the time. Why did I allow my father to lead the army again? Zhu Gaochi questioned his future self in his heart.

Zhu Zhanji burst into tears and could not control himself. He had been his grandfather's good grandson since he was a child, and the relationship between the grandfather and grandson was very deep. Now, watching the scene of his grandfather's death, he couldn't stop sobbing.

Zhu Di was a little confused and felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Looking at his son and grandson, he could only coax them, "I know. I will definitely not do this again in the future. I will decide whether to go on the remaining northern expeditions based on the situation. Yes, I will see how the situation is. And I will definitely not go in the 22nd year..."

However, he was aware of his health. He had fought many battles when he was young, and the subsequent Jingnan Campaign was even more exhausting. He did not stop after he ascended the throne. Not to mention governing the country, he personally led two more expeditions, not in the central army, but still led the troops to charge in the front. His body had long been full of hidden injuries and unstable. This was not something that could be solved by returning to the palace to eat and drink well or see a doctor.

The thirteenth year of Hongwu.

Zhu Di once again became the center of everyone's attention, and suddenly felt like a thorn in his back.

Zhu Su's eyes were red: "Fourth brother, you can't do this again, no matter you are a prince or an emperor, you can't do this." Born in war and died on the battlefield, it sounds magnificent, but is it really a good thing? What do you want your relatives to do?
Faced with such a group of people, Zhu Di did not dare to refute and could only agree obediently and promised that he would never act like this again - although he did not think it was nonsense.

"Born in war, died on the march..."

Countless people have repeated this sentence over and over again, as if in a trance, or as if sighing about something.

Liu Bang picked up the wine cup, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, laughing: "Nai Gong offers a cup to Emperor Chengzu of Ming Dynasty! Nai Gong once said, 'A real man should be like this', now this sentence should be given to him!" Although it did cost a lot of money and did not achieve the ultimate goal, at least this sentence is very good!
Most emperors from other time and space, like Liu Bang, offered a glass of wine to this emperor.

[Of course, except for the first two, the last three of Zhu Di's five northern expeditions were indeed fruitless and consumed a lot of manpower and material resources.

However, his northern expedition was not without effect. He solved the Mongolian problem in the early Ming Dynasty, maintained the balance among the Mongolian tribes through war, intensified the division of Mongolia, further weakened the Mongolian power and made it unable to threaten the Ming Dynasty. He ensured peace in the northern border of the Ming Dynasty for decades and created a stable external environment for the subsequent development of the Ming Dynasty.

He was not only the successor of Zhu Yuanzhang's policies, but also a pioneer with his own style who was not satisfied with the status quo.

Li Zhi, a thinker in the late Ming Dynasty, once said: "For more than 200 years, our country has been resting and recuperating until today. Scholars are content with food and clothing, and people forget about wars. This is all due to the efforts of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty and Master Yao." (Here they are not referring to Chengzu, but Taizong)

He knew how to appoint people to the right positions, was insightful, and had the same heroic and military strategy as Emperor Gaozu. The six armies were sent out repeatedly, and the dust in the northern desert was cleared. His success was magnificent and outstanding!

His posthumous title was Wen, which means Emperor Taizong Wen.

However, Zhu Di's death in the end did have a certain impact on the stability of the Ming Dynasty, but fortunately, the orthodoxy had been established and the government was clear, and it did not lead to the consequences of the First Emperor. 】

Qin Dynasty.

The First Emperor was suddenly stabbed, and he felt like there was something stuck in his throat - the same consequence as the First Emperor!
Ming Dynasty, the 16th year of Yongle.

After coaxing his son and grandson, Zhu Di looked at the evaluation of his life on the sky curtain and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"The scholars are content with being well fed and warm, and forget about war" "The same as Emperor Gaozu" "The dust in the northern desert is clear"...

Although he felt regretful in the end, it was worth his life to receive such an evaluation! Wasn't his life all about fame in history? And this final evaluation - Emperor Wen, was the best evaluation he could have imagined!

Moreover, no one had criticized him for rising to prominence through the Jingnan Rebellion, which really made him very satisfied.

However, his insistence on leading the army in person for the last time and his death outside the capital did have some impact on the government. He will definitely not make this mistake again this time.

Also, the word "late Ming Dynasty" is really uncomfortable to read.

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

Zhu Di was almost going crazy with joy. After seeing the high praises from later generations, he could not help jumping up and down like a wild horse running wild: "Dad! Big brother! Look - how great I am! I am still the Emperor Taizong Wen! Taizong! Emperor Wen!" After circling around his father and big brother for a few times, he swayed away to the side again, apparently wanting to tell the ministers about his own achievements.

The veins on Zhu Yuanzhang's forehead were throbbing. Originally, he was also proud of the fourth son. Look, our Zhu family has such a capable descendant, and he is our son. How great! It really brings honor to us!
But before he could express his joy and pride, and praise the boy, the boy had already jumped up and jumped into the sky! So Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed his emotions.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang began to feel annoyed with Zhu Di again, but considering that Tianmu praised him, he suppressed his anger and said nothing. He could only ignore it and pull his eldest son over to start a chat.

(End of this chapter)