I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 714: It’s good to lose battles one after another!
The Kobdo Camp Command Headquarters is a flat-floor building constructed of wood, and the interior is filled with the fresh scent of pine wood.

The room was filled with thirty or forty officers and generals. At first glance, it looked like a field of gray. The red cap badges and red shoulder straps were like bright flowers in the field, particularly eye-catching.

The sound was noisy, like hundreds of ducks gathered together for a meeting.

The official name of the Western Expedition Army Command was the Tianshan Commandery, which was divided into the Tianshan North Route Commandery and the Tianshan South Route Commandery.

The Tianshan South Route Executive Office was the Southern Route Military Executive Office led by the Huo brothers, and the Northern Route Executive Office was merged into the Tianshan Military Executive Office.

Ke Mingdao, the Earl of Daning, had the loudest voice, like a broken gong, "Gentlemen, the Oirat tribe is not so easily deceived. They have followed the Mongols in their westward expedition for many years, and have played all kinds of tricks, such as outflanking and ambushing.

Our trick of luring the enemy deep into our territory was a trick that they could see through at a glance. Now we have lost six games in a row and have not caught any fish, but the morale of the Wala coalition has been greatly boosted.”

Duoyan Hou Dong Huli chuckled, "It's good that morale has been boosted!"

Ke Mingdao glared and said, "Dong Fox, which side are you from?

Denimbo Masuni laughed beside him and said, "Great Denimbo, please be patient."

"How can we remain calm? We have suffered so many defeats and have lost face! Our morale drops with each defeat.

Besides, we retreated after each defeat, and if we retreated again, we would retreat to this camp. We have so many infantry and so much baggage, but we are not cavalry that can just ride on horses.

With so many jars and cans, once we move camp, our positions will be reversed. We will become the sheep and they will become the wolves."

Ge Zhiwen glared at Ke Ming and scolded him, "You are so capable! You are the only one who understands the art of war! When you were studying at the Hongwu Military Academy, you took the battle strategy course three times before you passed it. Now you are so capable that you can give orders to others!"

Ke Mingdao shrank his neck and sat down angrily, "I'm just talking, just throwing out some ideas."

Ke Mingdao was brave and good at fighting, and had a hot temper. Even the father-in-law Dong Huli was not afraid of him. At that time, he admired another father-in-law Ge Zhiwen.

His legal wife is the daughter of Ge Zhiwen's sister. She is gentle and strong, and can take care of his entire family. Then, after going around in circles, Ke Mingdao is a little afraid of his wife's uncle.

Li Chengliang suddenly spoke up: "Marquis Duoyan is right!"

Everyone in the hall turned to stare at him.

He destroyed the Chahar tribe, attacked the Uriankhai tribe, annexed the Inner Khalkha tribe, and then drove out the Outer Khalkha tribe in the northern desert. He almost opened up the eastern part of Mongolia. He had outstanding military exploits and a great notoriety. Even the Oirat people knew his name.

When they learned that the person they had defeated was the famous Ming army general Li Chengliang, countless Oirat people cheered and their morale instantly reached a high point.

"Marquis Guangning, what do you mean by that?"

Li Chengliang laughed, "My lords and comrades, let's listen to what Lord Laiyang has to say later."

I won’t say it anymore, because it seems like I’m so capable.

There are a lot of brave men in the Western Expedition Command. Although I have a fierce reputation, my actual military achievements are not ranked at the top. There are many generals who are better at fighting than me, so I can't be arrogant.

"By the way, why hasn't Lord Laiyang come yet?"

"I don't know. Didn't Ganquan Hou and General Niu come too?"

Suddenly someone asked, "Are they arranging the infantry's retreat?"

"Bah! Crow's mouth!"

"Damn it! I'm going to stuff my sheep shit balls into your mouth!"

Inappropriate words will immediately lead to unanimous condemnation from everyone.

"Qi Shuai is here!"

The adjutant shouted, and the noise in the hall stopped immediately, and everyone stood up handsomely.

Qi Jiguang walked in with Xiao Wenkui, Niu Bingzhong and other infantry generals.

"salute!"

Dozens of generals saluted in unison.

"Everyone, sit down!" Qi Jiguang returned the military salute and waved his hand.

"Wow!"

They all sat down, with their heads held high, like obedient pupils in a public-school classroom.

Qi Jiguang sat down on the middle chair and said, "Everyone, let's talk about one thing first, something that is very urgent and cannot be delayed."

Everyone exchanged glances.

What's going on?
Is the infantry really going to retreat first?

"The Wing Guard and the Town Guard have fought together many times before, but this Western Expedition is the largest of its kind. The Wing Guard and the Town Guard, with nearly 100,000 soldiers, were mixed together, which caused many problems. The Dusi was also responsible for discovering and solving the problems.

Now there is only one vexing problem left to be solved. That is the issue of rank.”

Qi Jiguang glanced at everyone.

"The current military ranks of our army and navy are: General of the Cavalry, General, General of the Nation, General, General of the Front, Back, Left, and Right, General of the Nation, General of the Front, Back, Left, and Right, General of the Nation, General of the Lieutenant-General, General of the Lieutenant-General, Commander of the Light Chariots, Commander, Lieutenant ...

It's very complicated! Even the town guards were confused and needed a lot of effort to understand it, not to mention the wing guards!
What is the purpose of implementing military ranks?

The emperor's edict made it clear that the purpose was to quickly distinguish superiors and subordinates through military ranks and determine command authority to avoid a situation where there was no leader and everyone was fighting on their own.

The Emperor has also told me that military ranks should be simple and clear. It is just that due to historical reasons, many people like to make the names of military ranks very complicated, thinking that this is more meaningful and elegant.

What's the point of fighting a war? As long as we can win the battle, that's good!
This Western Expedition exposed the problem of our military ranks being too complicated and divided into too many ranks. Many Wing Guards were confused and didn't know whose command to follow. It was a mess.

Fortunately, no major problems have occurred. It is not too late for us to make up for the loss now. Hu Canjun, please read the order from the commander-in-chief!"

"Yes!"

Hu Zongmei read out an order: "From now on, the rank of assistant lieutenant will be changed to second lieutenant, the rank of assistant lieutenant in Fenwu will be changed to first lieutenant, the rank of deputy lieutenant in Zhongwu will be changed to first lieutenant, the rank of second lieutenant in Zhaowu will be changed to first lieutenant, the rank of lieutenant in Xuanwu will be changed to first lieutenant, the rank of lieutenant in Duwei will be changed to first colonel, and the rank of light cavalry lieutenant will be changed to first colonel.

The rank of General of the Central Army was changed to Brigadier General, the rank of General of the Central Army of the State ...

Afterwards, the Military and Political Affairs Office of the Military Command will formally issue a notice requiring all armies and departments to implement the simplified military ranks, strengthen the learning and awareness of officers and soldiers, and avoid making the mistake of confusing command authority again.

Qi Jiguang added: "The above is a simplified expedient measure to make the soldiers of each army more clearly understand the military ranks, so that the command authority can be straightened out in future wars.

I will ask the Emperor for permission to continue the war.”

Everyone understood that he did not have the authority to be the General of Cavalry, the General, the Supreme General, or the General. Besides, there were not two men with such high military ranks in the Xizheng Army, so the status quo was maintained for the time being.

"Besides that, there are three other things to announce."

Qi Jiguang spoke quickly and explained the matter again and again, emphasizing, "Everyone, please take it to heart and don't take it lightly!

These are not trivial matters.

There is no trivial matter on the battlefield, and any detail may affect the outcome. Anyone who is careless is making a joke of military law and his life! "The generals responded in unison: "Yes, sir!"

Qi Jiguang pointed at Ke Ming and said, "Just now I heard you yelling that our army has been defeated six times in a row. It's a disgrace!"

Ke Mingdao bent over and lowered his head, hiding in the crowd, but he was like a firefly in the dark night. The bright eyes of the crowd surrounding him were like a furnace, making him restless.

I won’t hide anymore, I’m going all out!
"That's right, Qi Shuai! That's what I yelled.

Our Great Ming Army was invincible in the world. We fought from the Black Mountain to the Jinshan Mountain and swept across the desert. But we were defeated in Jinshan, and we were defeated six times in a row.

Is it glorious to lose a battle? It is shameful! We must know shame and then be brave. We cannot remain indifferent. We must wash away the shame.

Losing a battle is a very demoralizing thing. After six consecutive defeats, the morale of the army has been greatly affected. If we don't find a way to win a battle, how can we fight this war?
There’s no way to fight!
Besides, we have to retreat every time we lose a battle. Now we have retreated to the main camp. There is no way to retreat, General Qi!"

Ke Mingdao's mouth was like a volley of rockets, firing wildly. The whole tent was silent and everyone was looking at him with different expressions.

"Haha!" Qi Jiguang raised his head and laughed, "Da Ning Bo said it well! After six defeats, our army's morale is low, while the morale of the Wala coalition is high. They all think that the Ming army is nothing but a bunch of trash!
Well, I have achieved my goal."

Mongolian marquises like Dong Huli and Masuni who had guessed something about the situation, and generals like Li Chengliang who knew the inside story, all looked very calm.

Ke Mingdao, Ge Zhiwen and other Mongolian dukes who were unaware of the situation and generals who were unaware of the inside story, all looked at Qi Jiguang, looking at a loss.

What does Qi Shuai mean?
Did you lose these six games on purpose?

Ke Mingdao was straightforward and immediately said, "Qi Shuai, are our six consecutive defeats a pretense?"

Qi Jiguang smiled but said nothing, which was considered as his agreement.

"Qi Shuai, it's useless.

The Wala coalition was very cunning and guessed that we might be feigning defeat, so they didn't take the bait. For example, this time, the Wala coalition chased us to the mouth of the valley, but immediately stopped and turned back.

These bastards are getting smarter and smarter the more we fight them. They didn't have so many tricks before. Now we are pretending to be defeated, which is of no use at all.

General Qi, they have advanced one step further and are less than sixty miles from our camp, with their swords pointed at our hearts. "

Qi Jiguang nodded, "Yes, I asked them to lose six games in a row, and that was the result I wanted. I took great pains to achieve this result.

First of all, I dare not ask you, Lao Ke, to go. You would rather die than retreat, and you would fight to the death with the Wala people. "

Ke Mingdao felt that Qi Jiguang's words were a compliment to him, and he said modestly, "That's right, that's right!" But his face was smiling like a sunflower.

"Secondly, I have carefully planned with the generals leading the troops to achieve the effect of defeating the battle, but without causing too much loss of our troops.

You carried out the order resolutely and also seized the opportunity very carefully, making the defeat very obvious and our losses minimal. "

Ge Zhiwen asked in confusion: "General Qi, you arranged for six consecutive defeats, not to lure the enemy deeper, but to make them arrogant?"

Qi Jiguang pointed at him and said, "That's right, Marquis Taining is right. I arranged six defeats to boost the morale of the Wala coalition forces and make them think that the Ming army is nothing special. This is a strategy to make the enemy proud."

Ge Zhiwen lowered his head and thought for a while, but still couldn't figure it out. He raised his head and saw Ke Mingdao laughing.

"Have you figured it out?"

"No."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"I don't understand. I feel a little embarrassed, so I just laugh."

Are you trying to cover up your embarrassment by laughing?

Ge Zhiwen rolled his eyes at him, then looked at Qi Jiguang and asked, "General Qi, please help us solve this puzzle."

Other generals who had not figured it out echoed, "Yes, General Qi, please help us solve this puzzle!"

"We are absolutely confident that we can defeat the Wala coalition. Whether it is 50,000, 80,000, or even 100,000, we are confident that we can defeat them.

What I am most worried about is not the combat effectiveness of the Wala coalition forces, but their dispersion.

The area north and south of the Jinshan Mountains is vast and boundless. The various Wala tribes took advantage of their local advantages to deal with us, dragging us who had come from afar into winter, or running out of supplies and having to return empty-handed.

We can continue to launch the Western Expedition, and the Oirat Mongols can continue to deal with us, once, twice, three times, and make us return empty-handed again and again!

Every expedition to the West was extremely costly and ended in failure time and time again. It was a bottomless pit. Even if the Ming Dynasty was rich, it could not fill this bottomless pit.

So before I left for the battle, the Emperor emphasized to me once again that 'If you save the people but lose the land, both the people and the land will be saved; if you save the land but lose the people, both the people and the land will be lost.'"

Qi Jiguang looked around at everyone in the big tent. They all held their breath and listened solemnly.

"Your Majesty's instructions point out the fundamental goal of the Western Expedition. People! People from the various tribes of the Oirat! Find ways to annihilate the main force of the Oirat tribe and gather the Oirat people. Only then can the Jinshan and Tianshan Mountains become the territory of the Ming Dynasty and the Western Expedition be considered a success!"

After hearing this, even someone as honest as Ke Mingdao guessed Qi Jiguang's true intention.

That's it!

Qi Jiguang continued, "I want to defeat the enemy six times in a row so that the various tribes of the Oirat will think that the Ming army is just so-so. As long as they unite as one, they can defeat the Ming army!
If they defeat the Ming Dynasty, the Oirat tribe will be able to reunite the grasslands and revive the glory of Genghis Khan. This is a huge temptation, and I believe they will not be able to resist.

Sure enough, now 80,000 elite troops from the Wala tribes are gathering sixty miles to our west, ready to make a move. Intelligence from all sides has shown that they are holding final consultations before launching a decisive battle against the Ming Dynasty!"

decisive battle!

Ke Mingdao and others became excited when they heard this.

Others don’t know the strength of the Ming army, but they don’t know?

They were strong men back then. If they hadn't been beaten so hard that they were in despair, who would be willing to kneel down and act like a dog?
Of course, being a regular dog in the Ming Dynasty was a pretty good treatment.

The Ming army's new weapons and new tactics are changing with each passing day. Now, as part of the Ming army, they are all thankful that they knelt down so promptly and wisely.

Now you Oirat people want to have a decisive battle with the Ming army?
Good, good fight!

Seeing that the generals in the big tent understood his intention and their morale was high, Qi Jiguang continued: "All units should take a good rest and make preparations for war.

The Political Work Department will intensify its work, rally the troops, and boost morale. You must cooperate well."

"As ordered!"

During the four days, the Oirat coalition forces gradually approached, with the closest point being less than forty miles away from the Kobdo camp, and also completed the encirclement of the Ming Kobdo camp.

On the morning of the fifth day, the morning sun had just risen from the east, and its gentle light gently caressed the endless grassland. The hares that had just woken up came out of their burrows, sometimes licking the dew on the grass tips, and sometimes standing and looking around.

In the distant Jinshan forest, squirrels are jumping in the morning light and mist, bringing vitality to the quiet forest.

"Woo-woo!"

The powerful horn sound of the Wala tribe shattered the silence of the morning!
The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the Kobdo camp. A dozen riders ran out of the central army tent and galloped in all directions, shouting as they ran: "The entire Wala coalition army is moving out, approaching the Kobdo camp, all units should respond to the attack!"

(End of this chapter)