Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 492 Northern Expedition Deployment (Part 2)

The three generals each expressed their views. Liao Yong'an believed that to seize the passes, one must not only be able to fight, but also be able to defend them, so that the Yan-Yun region could be stabilized.

Zhu Liangzu believed that the Yuan emperor had to be captured, otherwise the Yuan court would still have several provinces under its control and could organize troops to launch a flanking attack.

Yang Jing, on the other hand, believed that they could emulate Emperor Wu of Han by developing the Hexi Corridor, extending the empire's reach, and severing the connection between Mongolia and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

What they said wasn't entirely wrong. In fact, the early Ming Dynasty largely followed the same strategy, because the Northern Yuan still existed at that time and still had a certain appeal to the remnants of the Great Yuan.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's attitude towards Qinghai and Tibet in the early Ming period was "attacking the north and pacifying the south." It resolutely cracked down on the forces in the Hexi Corridor and Qinghai region, and even set up the Seven Guards of Guanzhong west of Jiayuguan, extending the Ming Dynasty's influence to the Tarim Basin. This was done to cut off the Northern Yuan and Qinghai and Tibet.

As for the Yuan Dynasty's political legacy on the plateau, including the three Pacification Commissions and thirteen Wanhu Prefectures, the Ming Dynasty mainly adopted a policy of appeasement in these southern regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It also established multiple Tea and Horse Commissions in the Hexi Corridor and Qinghai region, officially monopolizing the tea and horse trade on the plateau. Through economic control, the Ming Dynasty gradually brought the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under its rule.

However, the current situation is somewhat different from the original historical situation, so we cannot simply copy it blindly.

Just as Lu Jin nodded, preparing to say something, Xia Yu from the Privy Council suddenly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think the generals are being a bit too worried. In my opinion, after this Northern Expedition, the Yuan Dynasty has no power to do anything to our country."

Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but look at Xia Yu, eager to hear what insightful opinions this strategist, who had long been stationed in the rear, had to offer.

Lu Jin also asked, "Oh, what do you mean?"

Xia Yu immediately explained, "First of all, Yunnan is not a concern. If our army does not take the initiative to attack, the Liang King of Yunnan and the Duan family of Dali can protect themselves, but they are absolutely powerless to attack Huguang."

"Secondly, the Xuanzheng Yuan. I have heard that Tibet is currently in turmoil. The thirteen myriarchies and the Xuanzheng Yuan established by the Yuan court in Tibet are practically useless. The thirteen myriarchies are fighting amongst themselves. The rebels are now completely disobedient to the Yuan court."

"The plateau was blocked by the rebels, so even if the Yuan emperor retreated to the northern desert, he would not have the strength to organize troops to pass through Yunnan from Tibet, because the rebels would block their way."

"Finally, there is Liaoyang Province. Although Liaoyang Province looks very large on the map, its essence is actually in the Liaoyang and Shenyang area in Liaodong. The large areas north of Liaodong are not worth worrying about."

"Even the Liao and Jin dynasties, which were once powerful during the Song Dynasty, had their core in Liaodong and the Yan-Yun region. This can be seen from the location of their capitals. Of the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty, Xijing is today's Datong in Shanxi, Nanjing is today's Dadu, Dongjing is today's Liaoyang, Zhongjing is today's Daning Road, and only Shangjing is in the grasslands. The other four capitals are in Yan-Yun and Liaodong."

"The three capitals of the Jin Dynasty were located in the north of Dadu, Kaifeng, and Liaoyang, but its center of gravity was actually south of the Yanshan Mountains."

"Therefore, as long as we can recover Yanyun and Liaodong in this Northern Expedition, even if there are still some remnants of the Yuan Dynasty north of Liaodong, they are no match for us."

"The reason why the Song Dynasty was weak was because it lost the barrier of Yan and Yun, while the reason why the Liao and Jin Dynasties were strong was because they seized Yan and Yun. Without Yan and Yun and Liaodong, the Jurchens and Khitans in the Northeast, these clowns, are not worthy of being enemies with China!"

"In my opinion, the most important thing to guard against is not the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty after the Northern Expedition, but rather Goryeo, which is east of Liaodong. Goryeo is ambitious and has never been loyal to the Yuan Dynasty. After this battle, once it is completely out of the Yuan Dynasty's control, Goryeo will definitely resurface and move north and west to seize more territory in Liaodong. This is what the court needs to be most wary of."

Everyone present nodded in agreement, and they largely agreed with Xia Yu's three points.

Throughout Chinese history, the regimes that emerged from the remote mountains and valleys of the south have never been able to threaten the rule of the central dynasties. Whether it was Yelang in the Han Dynasty, Nanzhao in the Tang Dynasty, or Dali in the Song Dynasty, they could only control a small part of the country. Even the weakest Song Dynasty could not allow Dali to contend for the Central Plains.

Although powerful forces rose and fell in the Northeast, it was because the villain Shi Jingtang lost the Yan-Yun region. The Liao and Jin dynasties were able to rise because they acquired the peripheral areas of Chinese civilization, thus gaining the ticket to compete for the Central Plains. Otherwise, without Yan-Yun and Liaodong, those savages in the forest would be nothing.

As for Tibet, they were unaware of the situation and therefore declined to comment. Not only were the generals present unaware of the matter, but even Lu Jin was unclear about it. So he immediately asked, "Is the news of the internal strife in the Xuanzheng Yuan of Tibet true? Who told you this?"

Bao Yu, who was in charge of the intelligence bureau, immediately stepped forward. "Your Majesty, the intelligence bureau only recently received this information. Because it is not urgent, we have not yet had time to report it."

Lu Jin nodded, then asked, "What exactly is the situation? How did this internal strife occur?"

Bao Yu hesitated for a moment, then composed himself before saying, "The cause of this internal strife in Tibet can be traced back to before the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty; the seeds of this disaster were sown at that time."

"To put it simply, when the Yuan court divided the thirteen myriarchies of Tibet, some myriarchies held grudges in order to compete for benefits due to the uneven distribution of resources. However, the Yuan court had been keeping things under control, so no major troubles occurred."

"The reason for the conflict was actually that the Tibetan monks supported by the Yuan court favored one side and attacked the other side, which was unfair and intensified the conflict. As a result, one of the thirteen myriarchies, the Phamzhuba myriarchy, took the lead in resisting the Xuanzheng Yuan Envoy appointed by the Yuan court and defeated all the other myriarchies under the Xuanzheng Yuan Envoy's jurisdiction."

"This internal strife in Tibet has been going on for several years. Currently, the Phagmodrupa Ten Thousand Household Prefecture is the strongest and is showing signs of becoming the dominant power. The Xuanzheng Yuan established by the Yuan court is now just a name, and in reality, the Phagmodrupa Ten Thousand Household Prefecture no longer obeys the Yuan court's orders."

"The intelligence bureau learned of this matter from Dadu, but they only know the general outline and the specific details are unclear. If Your Majesty wants to know the details, you can arrest all the Tibetan monks in Dadu during the Northern Expedition and interrogate them carefully. They will definitely know more about the internal strife in Tibet and understand the details, which will also be beneficial to the court's future policy towards Tibet."

Lu Jin nodded. He didn't know much about the 130,000 households in the snowy region, but he did have some impression of the famous Phagmodrupa Dynasty. At least the name sounded familiar.

Lu Jin then asked, "You said it was caused by the Tibetan monks supported by the Yuan court favoring one side. Which faction is it? I heard that the Tibetan monks in Tibet are divided into several factions with different doctrines. Why didn't anything happen before?"

Bao Yu thought for a moment before saying, "I have only heard a little about it and know little about the Tibetan sect. What I say may not be correct. If Your Majesty wants to know the details, it would be more prudent to ask a Tibetan monk." Lu Jin nodded, "Then you can say whatever you know."

"Yes, the Western religions in Tibet can be roughly divided into four sects according to their different doctrines. Because the four sects wear different colors of clothing, they are also commonly known as the Black, White, Flower, and Red sects. The White sect is also known as the Kagyu sect. They wear white clothes, often practice asceticism in the snow mountains, and rarely participate in politics."

"The Black Sect is called the Kadampa, and they wear black clothes. I know very little about it."

"There is also the Nyingma school, which is the oldest Western religion in the snow mountain. It is said that it was introduced from India by the Tubo during the Tang Dynasty. The religion has close ties with India and often invites Indian monks to preach in the snow mountain. Therefore, it has also absorbed the doctrines of Indian Shivaism and has many cruel, bloodthirsty and evil deeds."

"The Yuan court supported the Sakya sect, also known as the Flower Sect, which was promoted by the famous monk Phagpa. Phagpa knew Yuan Shizu before he ascended the throne and they had a close personal relationship. Phagpa even performed initiation for Yuan Shizu."

"After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Yuan Shizu honored him as the initiation master and sent him back to the Snow Mountain to pacify various forces. The successful establishment of the Xuanwei Division in the Snow Mountain in the early days of the Yuan Dynasty was due to Phagpa. Emperor Yuan Shizu also ordered that all monks of the Snow Mountain sects should follow the precepts of the Sakya sect, which led to the Sakya sect's dominance."

"Later, Kublai Khan invited Phagpa to Dadu (Beijing) to compile the Mongolian script, appointed him as the Imperial Preceptor, left his disciples in Dadu, and sent Phagpa back to Tibet to manage political and religious affairs. He appointed him as the Commissioner of the Xuanzheng Yuan (Imperial Secretariat). From then on, the system of the Imperial Preceptor staying in the capital, managing the religion in Tibet, and concurrently serving as the Commissioner of the Xuanzheng Yuan was established."

"The reason why nothing happened before was because Phagpa was highly respected. But now that the lineage has been passed down to this day, how can the current head of the Sakya sect compare with Phagpa? He cannot handle the affairs of the various myriarchies fairly, so naturally the situation we see today has come to this."

"However, these are all my personal opinions, and what I have heard from others. Your Majesty may listen to them, but you should not take them as fact."

Lu Jin nodded, then asked curiously, "There are only four religions, not five?"

Bao Yu opened his mouth, thought carefully, and then said, "I have indeed only heard of the Four Teachings."

So the Gelug school of the Yellow Sect hasn't been established yet? Lu Jin thought to himself, that's good. He had no liking for those evil Tantric sects that made human skin thangkas, human bone ritual objects, and practiced dual cultivation with multiple partners. It would be good if all those bastards disappeared.

Having ascertained the current situation on the plateau, Lu Jincai said to his generals, "You've all heard it. There's internal strife in Tibet, and Yunnan is nothing to worry about. The remnants of the Yuan Dynasty have no chance to launch a flanking attack."

"However, we still need to do our best to capture Hu Qiu. As for how to capture him, the Yuan army likes to take a roundabout approach, so let's do the same this time. Someone, bring up the sand table."

Immediately, guards placed a sand table of northern China in the middle of the hall. Lu Jin simply came into the hall, stood on the sand table, and explained to the generals.

"This Northern Expedition is planned to be launched in stages by four armies, involving four field armies, nine group armies, and the various Imperial Guard divisions participating in the battle, totaling about 57 troops."

"Among them, the western route is planned to use the Fourth Army, led by Yu Tingyu, to attack Shaanxi Province and seize the entire Shaanxi region and the Hanzhong area. We will talk about this later."

"Regarding the Yanyun region, it is divided into three routes. The central route army will mainly attack the Shanxi Circuit Pacification Commission, which will be the Shanxi Province in the future. It is planned to use Liao Yong'an's Third Army Group and Chang Yuchun's Ninth Army Group. Liao Yong'an will be the commander of the central route army, and Chang Yuchun will be the deputy commander."

"You two should first assemble at Huaiqing Road, north of the Yellow River. Then, starting from Zhiguan Pass, the southernmost of the Taihang Eight Passes, depart from Huaiqing, head west through Yuanqu, fight your way to Wenxi, break into the heart of Shanxi, and then march north along the Fen River. First, capture Taiyuan, then have Chang Yuchun lead the Ninth Army Group to break through Yanmen Pass in Daizhou, break into Datong, and then march rapidly northwest to seize Xinghe Road, which is also the place called Yefuling."

"This is the northern entrance of Jundu Pass, and one of the gaps through which the Yuan court fled north from Dadu. If we block this place, we can block the Hu chieftains' escape route to the west and north, and we will have won half the battle."

"The Eastern Route Army will consist of Yang Jing's Third Army Group and Liu Futong's Provisional Eleventh Army Group, totaling three army groups. Yang Jing will be the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army, with Yu Tonghai and Liu Futong as his left and right deputies."

"Your three army groups will first assemble in Dengzhou, Shandong. The entire navy of the Shengwu Army will also be transferred to Dengzhou. After the battle begins, you will land in Jinzhou, Liaodong, at the appropriate time. Yang Jing will personally lead one army group to be stationed in Jinzhou to block the northern entrance of the coastal road, namely the Liaoxi Corridor."

"Yu Tonghai led the Second Army Group on a rapid westward march from Jinzhou, capturing Daning Road and Songzhou, blocking the northern entrances of Lulong Road and Pinggang Road. In this way, all exits from Dadu to the north could be blocked. Unless all those people in the Yuan court grow wings, none of them will be able to escape."

"As for Liu Futong's Provisional Eleventh Army Group, you are to advance eastward from Jinzhou, capture the three cities of Guangning, Liaoyang, and Shenyang, cover the flanks of Yang Jing and Yu Tonghai, and also monitor the enemy in Korea and the Liaodong Peninsula."

"Finally, there is the Southern Route Army, led by me and Zhu Liangzu, which will press on Dadu from the front in Hebei. However, our route is just for show. The focus of this battle is not on the front, but on the left and right flanks of the central and eastern routes."

“Driving the Yuan Emperor to the grasslands and taking back Dadu is not a true victory, nor is it necessary to send so many troops. You should first outflank the Yuan court from both sides and cut off its retreat. Only then can this battle be considered a true victory.”

"Once you successfully outflank the Yuan court and block its retreat, our southern army will then press northwards to trap the Yuan court like a turtle in a jar. Only then can we achieve our strategic goal of keeping the Yuan emperor within the pass. Do you all understand? If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

Everyone present stared at the sand table and nodded before Chang Yuchun finally spoke up and asked a question.

"Your Majesty, after I marched north from Yanmen Pass and captured Yehuling, it seems that Shangdu is not far away. Should we take Shangdu as well?"

Yu Tonghai nodded and said, "Yes, I led the Second Army Group to Daning and Songzhou, blocking Pinggang Road and Lulong Road. Songzhou is not far from Shangdu. If we need to fight, General Chang and I can join forces to attack from the east and west and meet at the gates of Shangdu. Yuan Shangdu doesn't have many troops to begin with, so it should be easy to take it down."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin retorted, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. How many cavalry do you have? How dare you fight like this?"

(End of this chapter)