Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 218: Changes on the grassland, expulsion! Alliance!

grassland.

The night was dark.

The moonlight falls like water.

It is the season of clear and crisp autumn weather, and there are no clouds tonight.

In this era, there was no serious air pollution like in later generations, no haze, and the air transparency and visibility were particularly high.

Although it was night and there were no torches, the vision was not blurry but very clear.

The food for the new army soldiers was very good. Zhu Yunhuan even found a prescription for preventing and treating night blindness in a medical book and added it to the food of the new army soldiers.

Therefore, they did not suffer from night blindness as was common among soldiers in other armies of the era.

In the moonlight, the new army soldiers could see clearly.

No one spoke as they marched.

The horse's hooves are all wrapped with cloth to prevent them from making too much noise when moving forward.

Enke rode his horse beside Zhu Neng, but he couldn't help but become nervous.

Zhu Neng's troops rested in Enke's royal court for a few days, and then Zhang Fu also arrived with his troops. After the two men joined forces, they led their troops to Ugeqihashaha's tribe.

This is different from the past when it was always difficult to find the specific target location when marching on the grassland.

This time, Enke, the Great Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, personally led the team and showed them the way.

Enke had already asked the surrounding tribes to closely monitor the movements of Ugezihashaha's tribe.

The news we received was that the tribe was gathering to hold a grand funeral for the deceased Ugezihashiha and vow to avenge their blood feud.

This is an excellent opportunity to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

The Ugeqihashaha tribe is a very large tribe, composed of many small tribes.

Normally, these small tribes would be scattered in their respective settlements.

The grassland is vast, and the cattle, sheep and horses are not all grazing together.

Most of the time, the tribes would be scattered.

But in this case, it will take more time to wipe them all out.

Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng certainly hoped for a quick victory and an early return to the capital.

What's more, if you want to establish your authority, you must fight and achieve success.

Enke had different thoughts at this time.

During these few days of getting along with Zhu Neng, Enke became more and more afraid of him, and more and more respectful to him.

At the beginning, Ugezihashaha was just disrespectful to Enke, but he hated him to the core.

But now Zhu Neng acted arrogantly in front of Enke, ordering him around like a servant, but Enke did not dare to feel any disrespect.

Zhu Neng asked him to stand, so he didn't dare to sit.

Riding side by side with Zhu Neng, he felt that this man was like a devil, emitting a terrifying murderous aura all the time.

Enke felt uneasy, nervous, and scared, but also extremely excited.

Will we finally get to see the Demon King display his magical powers today and wipe out all of Ugezihashiha’s family members and their tribe that remain in the world?

Enke was accompanied by generals from other tribes.

They all moved forward with the new army.

This was the arrangement made after consultation between Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng.

The purpose of this is two-fold.

First, they decided to attack at night to prevent Ugezihashaha’s tribe from fleeing in all directions and being unable to catch up with them.

But when marching at night, vision is ultimately limited.

Enke and other tribal leaders are new surrenderers. Are the intelligence they have gathered accurate?

What if there was a trick, and they provided false information, and then launched a surprise attack on the new army while they were marching at night?
This must be guarded against!

After all, the location of Ugezihashiha's tribe and the marching route of the new army were all provided by Enke and the tribal leaders.

If they wanted to, they could send people to ambush in the bushes in advance and launch a surprise attack on the new army.

Although guns are accurate and fast within ten steps, overall, the new army, equipped with a large number of guns and cannons, is better at long-range combat.

After all, a flintlock rifle cannot fire continuously.

If attacked at close range, the new army will suffer heavy losses.

The probability of Enke and others rebelling again is very small.

But in everything, we should be prepared for the worst.

Letting Enke and the tribal leaders go with the new army was to prevent this "what if" situation.

If you hold these people's lives in your own hands, you don't have to worry about them cheating.

The second is that if everything goes well, the Ugezihashaha tribe can be wiped out in one battle, and these people can also see the power of the new army of the Ming Dynasty and let them know that this is the end of being an enemy of the Ming Dynasty.

Shock them severely.

Based on these two points, Enke and the tribal leaders were brought along.

In addition, in places farther away, Enke and the tribal leaders, in accordance with the requirements of Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng, mobilized a large number of troops to patrol and hunt in the periphery.

Their goal was to capture deserters from the Ugqihasha tribe after the war.

In this battle, the Ugeqihashaha tribe must be completely wiped out.

Cut the grass at its roots and leave no one alive.

Under the moonlight, the army marched like flowing water.

It was almost four o'clock in the morning when we finally arrived near Ugeqihashaha's tribe.

Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng divided their troops into two groups, one in the south and the other in the north, like two iron clamps, clamping Ugeqihashaha's tribe from a distance.

The relationships between the grassland tribes are complicated and full of love, hate and resentment.

Enke used his position as the Great Khan and the military threat posed by the new army to influence many tribes that had previously been on good terms with Ugezihashiha.

These tribes took advantage of their close relationship with the Ugezihasha tribe to provide very accurate intelligence to the new army.

At this time, Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng made full use of this information and stopped to rest not far from the enemy tribe.

Recharge your batteries.

Thousands of soldiers were silent and didn't make even a sound.

It was not until the fifth watch that they began to prepare for battle in an orderly manner.

Soon, fish white appeared in the east.

Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng led the army and quietly approached Ugeqihashaha's tribe.

Soon, after climbing up a hillside, Zhu Neng saw countless yurts and cattle, sheep and horses.

Below is a huge canyon. The terrain is not steep but rather very flat.

This is a gentle slope common on the grassland, and there is also a gentle slope on the other side.

Ugeziheshiha's tribe is located on the plain between two gentle slopes.

There is a river flowing through the middle of the plain, and many cattle and sheep are drinking water by the river.

This is a very large tribe, several times larger than Enke's royal court.

No wonder Ugezihashaha was able to control the Northern Yuan Dynasty for a long time and treat Enke, the Great Khan, as nothing.

The tribe behind him is the basis of his power.

Of course, normally there wouldn't be so many people gathered here.

A few days ago, the news that Enke had killed Ugeqihashaha spread, and Ugeqihashaha's sons gathered together the small tribes scattered across the country.

On the one hand, it was to handle his father's funeral, and on the other hand, they also wanted to discuss revenge together.

The hatred for killing one's father is irreconcilable.

On the grassland, blood feud is one of the eternal themes.

However, there is still one thing, that is, who will inherit his father's position and become the new leader of the tribe after his father's death.

This also requires bringing people together.

Because of this, the sons quarreled with each other.

I didn't go to bed until very late last night.

At dawn, several people were awakened by the guards almost at the same time.

"Oh no! There are enemies approaching. They seem to be the Ming army."

They all hurriedly put on their clothes and ran out of the tent.

When I opened my hazy eyes, I saw troops appearing on the high ground on both the north and south sides, slowly approaching the tribal settlement.

Rows of carriages, cannons, and the iconic devil masks on the soldiers' faces.

"Ming...Ming...army...are really the Ming army!"

After just one look, they all lost all sleepiness instantly.

That day, Ugezihashiha led 60,000 elite cavalry to besiege Zhang Fu's 3,000 new troops, but they were defeated.

At this time, there were still many people in the tribe who had participated in that battle and escaped back.

According to their accounts, the new Ming army was extremely terrifying and far beyond human power.

After being spread and fermented over these days, this view has gradually gained popularity.

Although Ugezihashaha's sons wanted to avenge their father, the target of their revenge was Borjigin Enke, not the Ming Dynasty's new army.

On the contrary, in their view, the Ming New Army would withdraw sooner or later.

We must go back from the grassland and return to the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, it was time for them to avenge their father.

However, they never expected that the new Ming army not only did not go back, but instead came here, to their tribe.

It was Borjigin Enke and the tribal leaders who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and betrayed the grassland who led the Ming army here.

They looked up the hillside and saw Enke and a group of tribal leaders.

These people did not wear the devil masks, so they were very conspicuous among the Ming army soldiers who all wore the devil masks. The sons of Ugeqi Hashaha were all gnashing their teeth in hatred.

Unexpectedly, Enke not only killed his father, but also brought the Ming army to encircle and suppress his tribe.

They were still passionate yesterday, and each of them vowed to avenge their fathers and fight Enke to the death.

But when they actually met, at this moment, Ugeqihashaha's sons had only one thought in their minds - escape, escape quickly, escape as fast as possible.

No matter the tribe or the family, just leave them all behind and don't care about them anymore.

It’s not that they are too cowardly and afraid of death to fight.

But this is the rule of the grassland, it has always been like this.

When the tribe was attacked by the enemy and was unable to defeat them, they fled on their own.

The grassland is well connected, and you can escape in any direction.

If everyone spreads out and escapes, without caring about anyone else, this will allow as many people as possible to escape.

This has been the long-standing survival strategy of grassland tribes.

Although the two Ming troops that came were not numerous.

Compared with their huge tribe, it can be said to be dwarfed.

But at this moment, they could not muster any psychological will to fight the Ming army to the death.

The horror of the Ming army has penetrated into the hearts of everyone in the tribe.

Even those who did not participate in that battle heard the news from others and were deeply shocked by the terrifying combat power of the Ming army.

At this moment, Ugeqihashiha's sons quickly climbed onto their horses, whipped their horses and rushed away.

But they don’t know yet, this time, it’s different, they can’t escape!

At this time, there are still many tribal people who are still sleeping and have not woken up yet.

On the hillside, Zhu Neng raised the telescope and ordered the soldiers around him to wave flags and make different hand signals.

This is the flag signal.

It was originally used during naval battles for communication between warships.

Many of the new army soldiers have studied it before.

At this time, the armies of Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu were on both sides of the Ugeqihasha tribe, both on high ground and able to see each other from a distance. They also used flag signals as a means of communication between the two armies.

On Zhang Fu's side, he also arranged for his personal soldiers to wave flags and make gestures, using flag language to send signals.

After both sides saw it and confirmed that there was no danger, they gave the order to open fire almost at the same time.

boom!
boom!
boom!
……

The fierce artillery fire tore through the tranquility of the grassland in the early morning.

As time went on, the new army's soldiers gained more and more practical experience, the gunners became more and more skilled in operating the cannons, and the accuracy of the artillery fire became higher and higher.

After the new army returned from the expedition to Japan, the technology of the Ming Manufacturing Bureau made considerable progress, and further improvements were made to the sighting and aiming of rapid-fire cannons to make them more accurate.

Moreover, this time, the target they were aiming at was very conspicuous.

Those are the huge felt tents of the tribe.

boom!
boom!
boom!
……

Many people were still sleepwalking in their tents and were killed by artillery fire.

The artillery fire continued.

Soon, the second and third rounds of shelling began.

The biggest feature of a rapid-fire cannon, as the name suggests, is that its firing speed is fast enough.

Under the bombardment, the felt tents in the tribe caught fire everywhere, and screams and cries continued to be heard.

Different from what was expected.

The Ugezihashaha tribe did not organize any effective counterattack at all.

When they saw the new army and the black, terrifying and ferocious devil masks, they were already scared out of their wits.

Under the bombardment of artillery, the place was instantly thrown into complete chaos.

As Ugezihashaha's sons fled first, the others also followed suit.

however.

Because of the terrain, the only escape routes they could choose were east or west.

after all.

The armies of Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu were lined up in a row, firing artillery attacks from the north and south.

Even if they were to go east or west, it would be difficult for them to escape.

Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu each mobilized more than a dozen cannons. Zhu Neng was responsible for guarding the east, while Zhang Fu guarded the west, and they both fired at those directions.

The horses were frightened by the bombardment and were unwilling to flee under the fire.

Even if the master whipped the horse hard, it would still happen, and the man would be thrown off the horse again and again.

The original location of the tribal camp was in even greater chaos.

After the bombardment, the frightened cattle, sheep and horses fled in panic, even trampling on the tribesmen.

Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu did not order the cavalry to move out, and the line infantry did not move either.

In fact, in several battles with grassland tribes, the line infantry never played a big role in combat.

Even in the previous battles, the Ming infantry relied on horse-drawn carriages as shields, and the soldiers hid in or beside the carriages to shoot.

The same is true here.

The difference is that this time, it is not mainly about gunfights.

The soldiers simply shot and killed a few people who had nowhere to escape and ran towards the Ming army's positions in panic, as well as a small number of cattle, sheep and horses that were running madly.

The rest was all handed over to the artillery.

The bombardment continued round after round until all the felt tents below were blown up.

This was a tribal settlement, not a single cavalry army.

As a grassland tribe, the number of cattle, sheep and horses they raised far exceeded the number of people in the tribe.

When the bombardment caused the cattle, sheep and horses to panic and go crazy, these livestock exploded with astonishing destructive power and lethality.

Thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses were running wildly below, forming huge and terrifying herds of horses, cattle, and sheep.

Wherever it passes, it is destroyed.

Anyone who stood in front of the herds of horses, cattle and sheep was ruthlessly knocked down and trampled.

Countless people were trampled to death as a result.

When they ran wildly in groups, the noise they made was even louder than the sound of cannon bombardment.

Its momentum is like an overwhelming tsunami, rushing towards us like a tsunami.

Witnessing this scene, Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu immediately and simultaneously ordered the artillery to change tactics.

They began to skillfully use cannons to drive away herds of cattle, sheep, and horses...

When these animals went mad collectively, the destructive power they displayed was even greater than that of the most elite cavalry.

next to.

Enke and other tribal leaders were so frightened that their tongues were dry and their mouths were dry.

The new army of the Ming Dynasty is so terrifying.

How can one resist such divine power?

Originally, when they saw Ugeqiharha's tribe, they were a little nervous and scared.

The scale of this tribe is far from huge.

Although the Ming Dynasty's new army is elite, its number is too small.

If the enemy charges forward in a desperate fight, can the new army win?

Many people even regretted not bringing cavalry from their own tribes to help the new Ming army.

But it was too late.

However, when the actual battle started, they found that they had worried for nothing.

The battle situation became one-sided.

The artillery bombardment alone was enough to defeat Ugezihashiha's tribe.

Fortunately, he and others wisely chose to surrender and submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Otherwise, the fate of the Ugeqihashaha tribe might become an example for other tribes.

The shelling continued until noon, when it gradually stopped.

Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu carefully observed the tribe through binoculars.

At this time, there were basically no people still standing in the Ugeqihasha tribe.

He ordered the new army soldiers to advance slowly and begin to clean up the battlefield.

Those who were lucky enough to escape the shelling, including Ugezihashaha's sons, died.

There were also tribal cavalry mobilized by Enke to hunt outside.

If the main force of Ugezihasha's tribe was still there, it would be effortless for them to break out of the encirclement.

But the people who escaped were already exhausted and had no fighting power at all.

Soon, they were all killed by the cavalry from the outer tribes.

A huge tribe was wiped out from the grassland.

Shortly after the war ended, Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng also received instructions from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"Enke, there have been constant wars on the grasslands for years, hatred never ends, and revenge is the only way to go on. This is not a solution."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty sympathizes with the suffering of the grassland people and is determined to help you solve this problem once and for all."

"Immediately send out orders to all the tribes on the grassland to come to Wolf Mountain for a meeting and to establish an everlasting friendship."

……

(End of this chapter)