Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 134: Is it possible to deduce the Northern Expedition?

Xia Zhibai smiled.

He walked to Zhu Di's side and said calmly, "Your Highness, do you think they have a choice?"

"Since Your Highness wants to know, I will tell you in detail."

"Planning ahead of time and winning battles thousands of miles away, many people think this is about counselors, but it is not true. It also applies to the commander of an army."

"The land where Your Highness stands has given birth to many wise ministers and generals."

“There aren’t many who can be called military strategists, but there are still many over thousands of years.”

"From Wei Shu's creation of the heavy infantry phalanx during the Warring States Period to Sun Wu's opening of mobile warfare and total warfare, he pioneered the improvement of the phalanx and the organization."

"After that, Sun Bin established the battle formation of weapons in the world. Sun Bin improved and created almost all the basic battle formations of weapons, including the squad square formation, line formation, circle formation, cone formation, etc. that Your Highness demonstrated just now."

"After that, Wu Qi made a breakthrough in the system."

"From this time on, China began the grassroots officer and soldier selection system, the professional army system, the drill training system, and the infantry training model."

"Then there was Liu Bang's multi-line joint operations, Han Xin's combination of infantry and cavalry, and Xiang Yu's organized heavy cavalry."

"."

"Each of them was militarily groundbreaking."

"The Ming Dynasty also has such a person, that is the late King of Zhongshan, Xu Da."

"I'm not very knowledgeable about military affairs."

“But there is some understanding.”

"So it can only be said to be empty talk, or just 'building a stronghold and fighting a stupid battle'."

"From my quick observation, Your Highness has not even learned the full skills of 'building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle'."

"Perhaps in your opinion, His Majesty's placement of you in Peking, such a military stronghold, shows how much His Majesty values ​​and appreciates you."

"On the other hand, His Majesty may have placed you here on purpose, because Your Highness is currently only suitable to be a general who charges into battle. His Majesty has never considered discussing the strategic arrangement of 'building a strong camp and fighting a static battle' with Your Highness, let alone allowing you to have the right to make decisions on the battlefield. All Your Highness has to do is to do what His Majesty thinks."

"Your Majesty will arrange the rest in advance."

"There are many such generals in the Ming army."

"It's not necessary, Your Highness."

When Zhu Di heard Xia Zhibai's words, a hint of anger flashed across his face.

He said coldly: "As the commander of the army, I shall follow the orders."

"How could this be a problem?"

Xia Zhibai smiled, he slowly walked to the front of the army, touched the armor of these soldiers, and said with a smile: "Since Your Highness wants to know the difference so much, then I will ask Your Highness."

"Your Highness has been in Peking for quite a few years and has participated in several Northern Expeditions. May I ask, how much do you know about the military strength of the Northern Yuan Dynasty? Have you drawn a detailed map of the grasslands over the years? Or how many spies have been planted in Peking and how many officials have been bribed? Also, have you made a detailed investigation of the residences of most of the Northern Yuan Dynasty? Have you found out the transportation routes of the Northern Yuan Dynasty's grain and grass?"

Xia Zhibai asked a lot of questions in a row.

Zhu Di's face darkened.

He couldn't answer any of these.

He is just a vassal king. How could he have so much ability to find out so much information?

If he had really been able to find out these things, he would have led his troops north long ago. Why would he have stayed in Peking to train his troops?

Xia Zhibai turned around, looked at Zhu Di, and asked, "May I ask what has Your Highness done for the Northern Yuan in the past few years? Is it really just participating in the Northern Expedition? And then there is no further achievement? Your Highness is the King of Sai appointed by His Majesty. You live next to the Northern Yuan, and there are often small frictions. Your Highness doesn't have much information of your own about the internal situation of the Northern Yuan?"

Zhu Di sneered: "Of course this is impossible." "I have a general understanding of the situation in several prefectures near Beiyuan, and I also know the military deployment of these places."

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "Then may I ask Your Highness, have you ever deduced the army's northern expedition?"

"One hundred thousand troops marching north, one hundred thousand troops marching north, two hundred thousand troops marching north, or even more. How will the Ming Dynasty deploy its troops, and where might the war break out?"

"Or, when facing an encounter, how will the army attack? If it encounters a setback, how will it retreat? How will it cut off the enemy's food supply? How will it block the enemy's reinforcements? And so on. May I ask if Your Highness has deduced this during this period of time?"

Xia Zhibai's questioning did not end there.

Just this time.

Zhu Di's expression suddenly changed.

Beads of white sweat were oozing out of his forehead.

He didn't think about it!
Seeing this, Yao Guangxiao quickly said, "The imperial court just ended the Northern Expedition last year, and will not launch another expedition in the short term. Now the entire army is in the stage of rest and recuperation, so they will not consider so much."

Xia Zhibai turned his head and looked at the middle-aged man in black. He guessed who the other person was and bowed to him, saying, "You are wrong."

"If Your Highness was just a soldier of the Thousand Households in the army, you wouldn't have to think so much. But Your Highness is a vassal king guarding the northern border. This is part of your job. How can you not be prepared for danger in times of peace? Don't you practice in advance? Do you really have to wait until the imperial court orders come down, or the Northern Yuan invades the border, before Your Highness realizes that it's time to do something?"

"As a general, you should always be prepared for war."

"Also, you should always be prepared for possible wars, sudden wars, or imaginary wars. If you wait until everything is decided by the court, or until it really happens, wouldn't you miss the best opportunity to fight? Then why is Your Highness still obsessed with commanding the army? Wouldn't it be better to be an ordinary general?"

Zhu Di looked annoyed.

But there is no way to defend it.

He certainly hadn't thought that far ahead.

Especially since the Northern Expedition just ended last year, he thought that the court would not rush to mobilize troops, and all his attention was on training troops. He did not pay much attention to or plan for the "Northern Expedition" at all. But after Xia Zhibai's reminder, he suddenly realized that he did not look like a commander at all.
All are counting on fighting on the spot.

But would my father, my father-in-law, be like this too?
will not.

Zhu Di’s answer was very affirmative.

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He said: "Since Your Highness is not prepared to plan a war, I think training the troops will be quite effective."

Hear the words.

Zhu Di's expression eased slightly.

If Xia Zhibai continued to hold on to it, he would really be embarrassed.

Zhu Di was no longer as confident as before, with a cautious and solemn look on his face. He said, "I am indeed inexperienced in commanding a commander, but I am confident in training soldiers. I only have three guards, but I, Zhu Di, can say this, and no one in the world can compete with me."

"This is my ability, Zhu Di."

Xia Zhibai smiled again.

He didn't really doubt what Zhu Di said.

However, Zhu Di had no idea that Xia Zhibai, who had seen the modernized armies of later generations, would easily find problems in contemporary military training.

What's more, Zhu Di has always had a big problem.

Too proud.

And he had to shatter Zhu Di's confidence. Only by shocking Zhu Di thoroughly would it be easier for him to take over and even borrow his strength.

Xia Zhibai walked forward and came to the front of the battle formation. He looked around and his eyes fell on a black gun. He stretched out his hand and said with a smile: "Can I try?"

(End of this chapter)