Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 206 Open fire and destroy the battle of Northern Yuan Dynasty!

After Zhang Fu's army left the pass, they did not move very fast.

This was also something Zhu Yunhuan had specifically instructed.

This time, unlike previous expeditions, we must proceed steadily and securely, let the soldiers drink well, sleep well, rest well, conserve their energy, and then wait for the opportunity to fight.

There are ships at sea that can carry large amounts of logistical supplies, but it is different on land.

This is also the reason why the new army used horse-drawn carriages when they went on the expedition.

Three thousand soldiers and eight hundred carriages.

Three people per car, a total of 2,400 people.

The remaining six hundred were on horseback.

All carriages were pulled by two horses.

Including the spare horses, the total number of horses exceeds three thousand.

The carriage was also specially built by the Ming Manufacturing Bureau. Compared with the original old-style carriages, many improvements have been made and it is very sturdy and durable.

The eight hundred horse-drawn carriages made the army look more like a caravan transporting supplies than an army.

The reason for doing this is to be able to carry enough logistical supplies.

The most important things are bullets, shells, and cannons.

They carried a hundred cannons in a hundred wagons, and another two hundred wagons to transport the shells.

The remaining 500 vehicles were mainly used to transport bullets, food and water.

According to Zhu Yunhuan's requirements, each soldier was equipped with at least the equivalent of a box of bullets in later generations, that is, 1,500 rounds.

The weight of these guns and ammunition alone is as high as over 60 kilograms per person on average.

Add to that the shells, food, water, and tools for repairing carriages and guns... there were so many different kinds of supplies that they could not have been loaded without eight hundred carriages.

But the effect of doing so is also very great.

This means that the 3,000 new army soldiers carried no less than 4.5 million rounds of guns and bullets.

In fact, some additional reserves were brought, totaling more than five million rounds.

If it were placed in later generations, this number of bullets would still be a drizzle.

After all, modern warfare in later generations has made extensive use of automatic rifles and machine guns, as well as fire suppression tactics, and it often takes tens of thousands of bullets to kill an enemy.

But there was no such problem in this era. The Northern Yuan Dynasty used very few firearms and they mainly fought with bows and arrows.

The new army soldiers were armed with flintlock rifles, not automatic rifles and machine guns that could fire at will. Even if they wanted to fire more bullets in a short period of time, it would be impossible to do so.

On average, each person carries more than 1,500 rounds of bullets, which is a very terrifying number and enough to deal with any unexpected situation.

Zhu Yunhuan was well aware of the importance of logistics.

It’s better to bring more than less.

Otherwise, when the army reached the grassland, they would be in a dilemma of having no ammunition supplies, and no one would be able to help them.

Zhu Yunhuan ordered not only ammunition, but also hundreds of guns to be brought.

Because the guns produced at this time still had reliability issues, many guns would malfunction.

The solution to this problem is to provide rigorous training to every soldier, so that they learn how to disassemble guns, understand how to maintain and service them, and carry relevant tools.

The second is that he deliberately brought more guns.

All in all, the logistical support is very sufficient.

But the disadvantages brought about by this are also obvious.

Away from the concrete roads within the Ming Dynasty and traveling across the grasslands and deserts, the speed of this "transportation team" could not have been fast.

It is impossible for such a large team to hide their tracks.

Soon after they appeared on the grassland, Northern Yuan cavalry came to observe.

The new army soldiers ignored him according to Zhang Fu's orders.

Even if the other party rode his horse thirty or fifty steps away, he would not pay any attention.

Soon, more cavalry appeared around the new army's convoy.

They galloped around the new army's convoy, trying to confirm its number and size, equipment, etc.

Zhang Fu's eyes gradually turned cold.

It is not surprising that the Northern Yuan Dynasty was able to discover them.

On the one hand, a large group of several thousand people and eight hundred carriages was bound to be impossible to hide their whereabouts.

On the other hand, the news of the new army's expedition had already been published in the "Da Ming Daily".

As a newspaper with a daily printing volume of several million copies, it was inevitable that a small number would flow into the territory of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

What's more, the Northern Yuan Dynasty must have secret spies in the Ming Dynasty.

With such a high-profile action, those secret agents would definitely pass the news back to the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

This was also Zhu Yunhuan's deliberate arrangement.

The entire new army is a transport brigade. If the Northern Yuan Dynasty continues to avoid fighting, the new army will find it difficult to catch up with them except for a small number of mobile cavalry, and will be helpless.

The other party is a nomadic people with no fixed place to live.

Telling the other side the number of the new army and the time of dispatching troops is to let the Northern Yuan Dynasty take the initiative to surround and annihilate the new army.

Then, the new army will be able to play to its strengths.

That is why this military operation was not kept secret.

Zhu Yunhuan was not afraid that the new army would be discovered and surrounded by the Northern Yuan army, but was afraid that they would not come!
However, the grassland is huge and boundless.

It was a bit strange that the new army had just come out of the border and had not encountered any nomads, but encountered the Northern Yuan cavalry first.

After all, although the expedition was public, the specific destination and date of departure were not announced.

Because if that were the case, it would seem too deliberate.

Instead, it would arouse the suspicion of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

However, the current situation is that as soon as they came out of the border, the Northern Yuan Dynasty already knew about it.

It can only mean that someone inside was secretly tipping off the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

This person... Zhang Fu narrowed his eyes slightly.

His intuition told him that it was most likely the letter sent by Jin Wang Zhu Gang to the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

During the conversations over the past few days, Zhu Gang had asked about the new army's battle plan and march route more than once.

"As expected by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Jin has bad intentions." Zhang Fu muttered to himself, "Is he still unwilling to accept His Royal Highness's position as the crown prince?"

"The former crown prince and the King of Qin have passed away one after another. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had not been there, the King of Jin should have been made the crown prince."

"The King of Jin is very capable, but the more capable a person is, the less willing he is to be inferior to others."

He shook his head slightly: "Although the Prince of Jin has some abilities, how can he be compared with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"How dare the light of a firefly compete with the brightness of the bright moon?"

"But he still has no self-awareness. How ridiculous, pathetic and lamentable."

"Telling Bei Yuan the exact time and route of the army's deployment is treason."

"Misfortunes sent by heaven can be forgiven, but those brought upon oneself cannot be forgiven!"

Zhang Fu secretly felt regretful in his heart. They were all descendants of His Majesty and both were members of the royal family, so why were there such huge differences between them?
It would be fine if they just fought among themselves, but using the Northern Yuan Dynasty to deal with the Ming army just to fight for power is somewhat despicable.

Soon, I calmed down and stopped thinking about it.

As a young general, royal affairs were not something he could get involved in, and he shouldn't think too much about them.

We should still focus on dealing with the current war.

In the following days, Zhang Fu led his army and continued to advance towards his destination.

Their purpose was, firstly, to attract the Northern Yuan army to launch an active attack, but if the other side did not come, they would not be completely helpless.

The army's destination was to go deep into the grassland where there was abundant water and grass.

Speaking of which, although the Northern Yuan Dynasty lived a nomadic life, they actually had specific settlements.

Although there is not much rainfall on the grassland, water is still needed for daily life.

We cannot survive without water.

Limited by the technological level of the time, the nomadic people at that time could not dig deep wells to get water to sustain their lives and raise livestock.

Therefore, they must live where there is water.

The more abundant the water source, the more people can live there.

Although nomadic people graze their livestock everywhere, they do not change locations every day.

Large settlements actually have fixed locations and only leave at different seasons.

The benefits of attacking in summer and autumn are also reflected.

Because in winter the tribes of the Northern Yuan Dynasty often stored a large amount of food and fodder for the winter, they could choose to hide.

But in summer and autumn, they are like hibernating animals coming out of their caves and have to come out to graze cattle and sheep.

They would definitely go to places with abundant water and grass to feed and fatten the cattle, sheep and horses.

If you really encounter a large army attacking, you can't just run away if you want to if you are not prepared in advance.

People can ride on horses and run away immediately, but what about the tents they live in, the supplies at home, and the cattle and sheep they raise?
Based on this, Zhu Yunhuan formulated a corresponding offensive route.

The new army's marching speed was not fast, but the nomadic tribes, except for the cavalry, consisted of the old, weak, sick and disabled, and their migration speed was even slower.

As long as they find the right target, they can still attack the enemy.

Of course, it would be best if the enemy army took the initiative to attack.

A few days flew by.

More and more Northern Yuan cavalry were following behind.

Among them, Northern Yuan cavalry kept rushing forward and provoking with words.

The new army soldiers turned a blind eye to this.

Zhang Fu simply ordered his soldiers to sing in unison the song that Zhu Yunhuan had given him.

"When the smoke rises, the mountains and rivers look to the north.

The dragon flag is unfurled, the horse is neighing, and the sword energy is as cold as frost.

My heart is like the vast water of the Yellow River.

In twenty years, who can resist..."

The loud singing sounded on the grassland, which made the Northern Yuan soldiers who came shouting and yelling very angry.

At night, the new army set up camp as usual.

He turned a blind eye to the Northern Yuan cavalry who were gathering intelligence nearby.

At dawn the next day, Zhang Fu heard a rumbling sound coming from the earth.

Based on his many years of experience fighting against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Fu knew that the Northern Yuan army was coming.

At the command, the soldiers of the new army immediately prepared for battle.

There was no movement on the other side.

Zhang Fu was also very calm and waited patiently.

He knew clearly that those Northern Yuan cavalry were probably resting nearby, preparing to launch an attack after eating and drinking their fill.

The other side was very arrogant and did not take the new army seriously at all.

Two hours later, the sun had gradually moved directly above the sky.

A whistling sound suddenly rang out, the wind blew the grass low, and countless Northern Yuan cavalry swept in from all directions like a tide.

They were shouting and screaming, with expressions of crazy killing intent on their faces.

They are like man-eating devils coming out of hell, ready to devour anyone.

Zhang Fu's expression was very calm, and so were the three thousand soldiers.

They were calm and composed, and facing the swarming enemy troops, there was not a trace of nervousness or fear on their faces.

The muzzle of the cannon was quickly adjusted to load shells, and the guns in hand were also loaded with ammunition.

The position of three thousand people and eight hundred carriages occupied a large area, but no one spoke. They just aimed their guns at the oncoming Northern Yuan soldiers.

The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer.

A whistling sound came towards me, carrying with it a murderous aura.

The Northern Yuan soldiers in front began to draw their bows and arrows.

"Ready!" Zhang Fu said calmly, and then fired the gun in his hand: "Fire!"

……

(End of this chapter)