Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 502 Continuing the Northward Advance?

Seeing that Zhen Yuanji was very rude to the small iron pot, Li Jun, although he also didn't have a good impression of this Tartar emperor, still pulled him aside and whispered something to him.

"Hey, that's enough. We finally caught him, so don't kill him. I'm handing him over to you now. You're to keep a close eye on him every single moment of every day. If he gets hurt or dies, we'll both be in big trouble."

"Also, watch your mouth. Don't say anything unnecessary. If he does something rash and commits suicide because you've been humiliating him like this, how are we going to explain ourselves?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanji opened his mouth, then realized what he meant and said, "Yes, I understand."

The musketeers had barely captured Xiao Tieguo when Zhang Desheng led his main force to catch up from behind. Upon learning that the Tartar prince and empress had gone to Jundu Pass and were preparing to flee to Shanxi, he immediately pulled out a map and began to calculate.

"You said you broke out of Yutian County on the 14th of this month?"

"Yes," the captured Kheshig officer replied immediately.

Zhang Desheng glanced at the map and muttered to himself, "The central army will arrive at Taiyuan on the 8th. At our army's speed of advance, it will take about two or three days to get from Taiyuan to Yanmen Pass, two days from Yanmen Pass to Datong, and three days from Datong to Xinghe Road (350 li). So we'll arrive at Yanmen Pass on the 11th, Datong on the 13th, and Xinghe Road (Zhangjiakou) on the 16th."

"You only broke through the encirclement from Yutian County on the 14th. Don't even bother calculating. Even if your Empress and Crown Prince had wings, they would never be able to get ahead of the central army. Sooner or later, they will be captured by us."

After being captured, Tuomen Temur, who had been lost in thought, finally reacted upon hearing this. His gaze toward Zhang Desheng was filled with disbelief, resentment, anger, despair, and unwillingness. He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, but he still didn't say a word.

Zhang Desheng felt his gaze and immediately turned to look at him, saying, "What, you don't believe me? If this Northern Expedition wasn't to wipe you all out in one fell swoop, why would it be so troublesome?"

"Our Eastern Route Army and Central Route Army have outflanked and encircled you from both sides. We have marched hundreds of miles in a row, and hundreds of our soldiers have died from exhaustion. If we still let you escape after all this, wouldn't we be letting down our fallen brothers? And even more so, we would be letting down our Han compatriots who have been enslaved by you for nearly a hundred years!"
"You still want to break through and run to the grasslands to continue being enemies with China? Don't dream about it. His Majesty the Emperor has long been prepared for this. Don't worry, this time neither you nor your Goryeo son will escape!"
"From this day forward, your Great Yuan Dynasty is finished!"

Upon hearing this, the little iron pot finally lowered its head again, two lines of regretful tears welling up in its eyes.

Li Jun then asked Zhang Desheng, "Steward, what do we do now?"

Zhang Desheng thought for a moment before saying, "First, send messages to all sides, to General Yu in Songzhou, to the central army in Xinghe Road, and to the direction of Dadu. Send people to tell them that we have captured the Tartar emperor, the Tartar crown prince, the empress and others in Pinggang Road and they have gone to Jundu Pass, planning to break out from Shanxi."

"Send the messenger out first, and then..."

Zhang Desheng looked at the little iron pot that was silently crying. Right now, the most important thing was this prisoner, and how to settle the little iron pot was the most important thing. So he thought for a moment before speaking.

“Tuoguan cannot be taken to Songzhou. After His Majesty arrives in Dadu, he will definitely take the whole family back to the capital. If we take him back to Songzhou, we will have to send him back later, which is redundant. It would be better to take him directly to Dadu.”

"In that case, Li Jun's musketeer regiment and I will set up camp here and wait, while also keeping watch over Tuoguan. Jia Boying, you take the 17th Regiment to escort these Kheshig prisoners back to Jianshan Village and hand them over to Xu Yuanyan for safekeeping. Then you can transport some grain from him to meet up with me. We will then go south together with the two regiments to Xingzhou (Chengde) or Gubeikou to wait. After His Majesty conquers Dadu, we will go and meet up with His Majesty."

"As for Xu Yuanyan's regiment, once the message reaches General Yu in Songzhou, he will be placed under General Yu's command."

"Yes." Jia Boying immediately accepted the order, then gathered his soldiers and ordered the Kheshig troops to hand over all their weapons, armor, and horses before leading them to the northern exit of the valley.

A day later, in the early morning of the 21st, Yu Tonghai, who was stationed in Songzhou, received Zhang Desheng's report of victory. He was so angry that he cursed and swore in the camp all morning. It wasn't that he was jealous of Zhang Desheng's achievements, after all, they were old brothers from Chaohu. It was just that he had come so far and hardly got to fight. Wasn't this a wasted trip?

Upon hearing the news, Wu Fu, the commander-in-chief of the 130th Division, immediately rushed to the main tent and asked, "General, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

Yu Tonghai immediately said, "Old Zhang sent me news, one good news and one bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"And the good news?" Wu Fu asked cooperatively.

"The good news is that on the second day after they arrived at Jianshan Village, the Iron Pot Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty ran into their line of fire, and Zhang Desheng led his troops to capture the Iron Pot Emperor yesterday."

"They caught him? Oh my luck! Such a great achievement, how come we didn't run into him?" Wu Fu was first surprised, then regretful.

Yu Tonghai then added, "The bad news is that we've probably made a wasted trip this time. We haven't gained any significant advantage. Ugh, I'm so angry! How can we return empty-handed with tens of thousands of troops?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Fu comforted him instead, saying, "General, there's no need to get angry. Deputy General Zhang is also the deputy general of our Second Army Group. What he caught is the same as what we caught. When it comes to rewards, we'll definitely get our share."

"Of course I know that. I've already risen to the rank of deputy commander of an army group, and I'm an old subordinate who has risked his life alongside His Majesty. How could His Majesty not give me my share? I'm not worried about my merits, nor am I jealous of Lao Zhang. I'm just angry that we didn't get to fight this time. No, we can't just let it go like this."

"Then what should we do now?"

Although Wu Fu didn't say it, it was impossible for him not to feel envious of such a great achievement as capturing the Tartar emperor. Since Zhang Desheng had already captured the man, and he couldn't steal the credit, he could only try to make up for it in other ways. Therefore, he hoped that Yu Tonghai could lead them to fight another battle.

Upon hearing this, Yu Tonghai remained silent, turned around, and went to the map in front of the main tent, gesturing as he asked.

"Where are Cao Liangchen's 131st Division and Yang Jing's First Army Group now?"

Wu Fu immediately stepped forward, pointing to the map, and said, "Old Cao's entire division is in Daning. After Commander Yang's First Army Group landed in Jinzhou, it immediately expanded its occupied territory and has completely taken over Jinzhou, Fushu, Hezhong (Lingyuan), Xingzhong Prefecture (Chaoyang City), Chuanzhou (west of Fuxin, northwest of Chaoyang), and Guangning Prefecture (Beizhen). As for Liu Futong's newly compiled eleventh volume, I don't know very clearly, but judging from the dates, he should have already taken Liaoyang and Shenyang by now, and is probably advancing towards Ningchang Road (between Zhangwu and Faku) and Xianping Prefecture (Kaiyuan). If it goes any further, it will be difficult to reach it this time."

Upon hearing this, Yu Tonghai remained silent, stroking the stubble on his chin as he pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Since Yiji has already occupied so many places, then the Jinxi region can be considered secure. Cao Liangchen doesn’t need to put an entire division in Daning; that would be a waste of manpower.”

"What are the General's plans? He's transferring Cao Cao to guard Songzhou, and then we're going to attack somewhere else?" Wu Fu asked hurriedly.

Yu Tonghai immediately said, "Leave one regiment in Daning, one regiment in Songzhou, and another regiment. How about we go and attack Quanning Road?"

"When His Majesty told us about the geography of Liaodong and southern Mongolia, he said that the Greater Khingan Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains divide the northern border into two parts: grassland nomadic and forest hunting and fishing. If we want to control the northern border, we must cut off the exchange between nomadic and hunting and fishing. Otherwise, if the two unite, they will surely become an uncontrollable Liao and Jin dynasty."

"There is a gap between the Greater Khingan Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains, called the Horqin Grassland. The Quanning Road (Ongniud Banner) is located right at this gap. If a border wall and pass are built here, this gap can be completely blocked."

"His Majesty attaches great importance to this place. If we can take it and leave another regiment to garrison it, we will not only win His Majesty's favor, but it will also be extremely beneficial to the future strategic situation of the grasslands. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Fu leaned over and measured the distance with his hand. "From Songzhou (Chifeng) to Quanning (Ongniud Banner), it's less than two hundred li, and there shouldn't be many soldiers stationed here. Give me a cavalry unit, and I can take it down with a surprise attack."

"But the problem is, taking Quanning is easy, but holding it is the real issue. It's already late September, and October is just around the corner. In another month or two, it will snow. When the heavy snow blocks the roads and cuts off the supply lines, how will we supply the troops stationed in Quanning? How will we survive the winter without supplies?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Tonghai scratched his head; this was indeed a problem.

In the original history, Zhu Yuanzhang once wanted to send several thousand troops to garrison the Heilongjiang area at the end of the Hongwu reign. However, he failed to gain a foothold because the logistics were too difficult. He could not even supply enough food for several thousand people. If he forced the troops to garrison, they would all starve to death. In the end, he had no choice but to withdraw. Moreover, on the way back, these several thousand Ming soldiers were attacked by the Jurchens and suffered considerable losses.

Upon receiving the news, Old Zhu was furious, and in his anger, he lashed out.
Although the garrison operation in Heilongjiang was unsuccessful, it was not a complete failure. At least it allowed the Ming army to demonstrate its presence in the Heilongjiang River basin, which made the various Jurchen tribes in the Northeast realize that the Yuan Dynasty had truly fallen and a new dynasty had truly been established.

Not long after, Zhu Di died. However, this incident laid the political foundation for Zhu Di's later efforts to pacify the various Jurchen tribes and establish the Nurgan Regional Military Commission. After all, if you don't demonstrate your military presence, how can those Jurchens, far from the emperor's reach, possibly listen to you?

Although the Holy Martial Army has not yet advanced that far, it will still be somewhat difficult for them to occupy the garrison in Khorchin for an extended period during this Northern Expedition.

Yu Tonghai thought carefully for a moment before saying, "It would be unreasonable not to fight at a distance of two hundred li. It's September 21st now. Can we take it down within four days?"

“Of course,” Wu Fu nodded immediately.

“Then let’s take it down at 25, and have Cao Liangchen send a regiment to garrison it. Starting in October, transport grain from Jinzhou to Quanning. Transport as much as you can before the snow. I refuse to believe that we can’t even supply the logistics for a regiment,” Yu Tonghai said immediately.

Wu Fu, however, asked seriously, "What if we really can't supply enough?"

“Then let’s retreat again. Let’s take it first. We’ve even captured the Tartar emperor. The Yuan Dynasty is over. Let’s try to appease them first. If Quanning is obedient, we’ll gain a city for free and occupy a strategic location. If they are not obedient, then retreat and we can attack again in two years,” Yu Tonghai decided immediately.

Wu Fu nodded. Trying his luck wasn't a bad idea, since it wasn't far away. Then he asked, "But it's just Quanning City. We don't need so many soldiers, do we? Quanning has already been attacked, why aren't we even attacking?"

“Of course we should fight. We can send a division to fight from Quanning. After the battle, leave a regiment to garrison the troops, and then the rest can be withdrawn.” Yu Tongyuan said, stroking his chin, and then added.

"Shangdu probably doesn't have many soldiers either, so we can just send one division to fight. Let Cao Liangchen's 131st Division guard the eastern front, and Lao Zhang has also taken two regiments south to Dadu. Including the Imperial Guard Division, we have about three divisions of troops, more than 40,000 men."

"After taking Shangdu, if we still have the strength, we can continue to probe Yingchang to the north. If we can take Yingchang as well, that would be even better. In that case, we will have control over the entire eastern half of southern Mongolia. Without Yingchang as a foothold, it will be difficult for those Tartars in northern Mongolia to move south. This will make Yanyun safer."

Wu Fu, upon seeing the map and hearing this, gasped in shock. Good heavens, Yu Tonghai's ambition is truly astounding; he actually wants to devour half of the Southern Mongolian Grassland in one go.
Of course, it is said to cover half of the southern grasslands, but in reality, there are only three cities in total.

The location of Shangdu Kaiping is in the later Zhenglan Banner. The Yingchang City mentioned by Yu Tonghai also has another name, Luwang City. It is located two hundred li directly north of Kaiping, next to a large lake. During the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Daerhaizi, and later it was called Dalinor Lake.

Continuing north from Lake Dalinor, less than a hundred miles further, lies the Shiergulu River basin. There is another place here called Diemiekeer, which was once Genghis Khan's forward base for attacking the Jin Dynasty and a place where the Mongol army grazed their livestock. In later generations, this place also had another name: Xilinhot.
Yu Tonghai was indeed incredibly audacious. The original plan for this Northern Expedition was only to capture Yanyun and Liaodong, with the main objective being to capture Xiao Tieguo's family. He did not intend to expand too much territory north of Yanshan. The conquest of Shangdu and Quanning was not part of the plan.

Yu Tonghai's idea was even more outrageous; he actually wanted to attack Xilinhot in one fell swoop without any preparation, which was even more absurd.

Wu Fu opened his mouth. He thought Yu Tonghai would finish his work after attacking Shangdu, but he didn't expect him to attack Yingchang as well. Although Yingchang was indeed not far from Shangdu, only two hundred li away, the problem remained: could they supply enough provisions? If the provisions were insufficient, they couldn't establish a foothold for their troops. Their soldiers were all Han Chinese and didn't know how to herd livestock. Most importantly, how would they survive the winter?
So when he raised the question again, Yu Tonghai immediately waved his hand and said...

"If we can't hold on, we should retreat. I'll say it again: the Yuan Dynasty is gone, and we've captured the Tartar emperor. How much will those people have left to resist? Let's try to appease them first. If they obey, we'll get a city for free. If they don't obey, well, we'll plunder it and come back. In short, let's teach them a lesson first."

Wu Fu curled his lip. "Shall we go rob the Tartars?"

"Why not? Are we allowed to rob the Tartars but not the other way around? His Majesty said before that we could rob them, and he even gave a specific term for it: 'to destroy their nest.' This time, let's go destroy the Tartars' lair!"

(End of this chapter)