The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 107: It Looks Like a Random Fight

Time flies, and it is already June of the twelfth year of Wanli.

At this time, the capital city was already sweltering with heat, and the young Emperor Wanli had already brought a group of concubines to the Mountain Resort to enjoy the cool air.

At this time, the original Miyun County Government Office had already been converted into a temporary palace.

After entering the gate, the screen wall and corridor have all been demolished. The kitchens and Yin Hotel on both sides have been converted into the imperial kitchen and the residences of trusted ministers. The prisons and yamen servants' rooms have also all been converted into residences for the Jinyiwei.

The six-department duty rooms, official residences, and clerk offices on the left and right sides of the first entrance were also converted into residences for the imperial guards, while the main hall in the middle was converted into a place for discussing military affairs.

The Chengfafang, Jiageku, County Official's Office, Chief Clerk's Office, Official Residence and other buildings on the left and right sides of the second courtyard were also converted into eunuchs' residences, and the Qinzhitang in the middle was converted into the imperial study.

The tax treasury, silver treasury, criminal money room, and teacher's room on the left and right sides of the third courtyard were also converted into residences for palace maids, and the main hall in the middle was converted into a living room for meeting with trusted ministers.

The East Flower Hall, West Flower Hall and back garden in the backyard were built as residences for him and his concubines.

All the houses outside the county government office were converted into barracks and stables for the Jinyiwei and the Imperial Guards, and the outermost houses were converted into workshops for making muskets and cannons.

In the entire Miyun County, apart from the Jinyiwei, the imperial guards and the craftsmen, there were only the concubines, palace maids, eunuchs and confidants he brought with him. It was extremely safe to live there.

It's really cool and comfortable here now, perfect for avoiding the summer heat.

However, he was not here to escape the summer heat.

Within two days of his moving in, generals from Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, and even the Nanyuan Parade Ground came riding in a gallop and gathered at the Yin Hotel.

The Haibai Rebellion has been going on for more than half a year, and he doesn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

In fact, he has been preparing for war in secret.

Now that the 120,000 troops of the Beijing Camp have completed training and selection, he is finally ready to take action.

Early in the morning at about noon, he summoned all the generals to the main hall of the former county government office and began to discuss the nine-sided map on the large table in the middle.

This time he recruited all his trusted generals, including Ma Gui, Dong Yikui, Liu Jing, Deng Zilong, Dong Yiyuan and so on.

The entire hall was filled with generals. More than thirty generals wearing fish-scale armor were crowded around the long table. The atmosphere was so strong that it felt like being on a battlefield.

This battle was of vital importance to the Ming Dynasty, both in history and now.

In fact, the battle of Ningxia was not fought well in history, which can be seen from the chaos in the northwest during the Tianqi and Chongzhen dynasties.

Now, he decided to change his strategy.

He directly pressed the white wax rod into Qi Jiguang's hand and said solemnly, "Yuan Jing, if you were to lead 120,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp to Ningxia to quell the rebellion, how would you fight?"

Qi Jiguang took the white wax stick and paddled it between the Mountain Resort and Ningxia Town, saying, "The danger of suppressing the rebellion this time lies primarily on the road. The 20,000 to 30,000 rebels in Ningxia Town are nothing compared to the northern barbarians who might appear along the way.

If I lead the army to quell the rebellion, I will go through Xuanfu Town and Datong Town to reach Pianguan Town, then replace all the generals in Pianguan Town with our people, reorganize and train all the border troops in Pianguan Town, and then build a pontoon bridge to cross the river and station in Yansui Town.

The commander of Yansui Town must also be replaced by our own people, and the border troops of Yansui Town must also be reorganized and trained, so that we can go to Ningxia Town with confidence to quell the rebellion.

As for how to quell the rebellion, the four battalions of Shenji and Shenshu were to surround the fortresses and cities one by one. The cavalry of the four battalions of Shenwu would be on guard outside, trying to persuade them to surrender while building siege equipment. If they refused to surrender, they would advance using the chariots of the Shenshu battalion as a barrier, while the soldiers of the Shenji battalion would attack the city walls with muskets and artillery.

Repeat this several times until the rebels defending the city are exhausted and the siege equipment is ready. Then, using the muskets of the Shenji Camp as cover, the main force of the Shenshu Camp will attack the city walls."

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "This method seems very safe. Wang Chonggu and Yang Junmin must have thought we would fight this way."

What does this mean?
Upon hearing this, the generals couldn't help but look thoughtful.

Qi Jiguang sighed slightly and said, "Yes, they could have guessed that we would fight like this."

Although he is a famous general, he cannot just fight randomly. Naturally, he has to choose the safest tactics.

The problem is, if the enemy can guess this tactic, then it is not the best tactic.

Their enemy was not actually the rebels in Ningxia Town, but the combined interests of the three major families in Puzhou and the northern barbarians. This enemy was very powerful, and it can be said that the Ming Dynasty in history was destroyed by this enemy.

Wanli wanted to pass the white wax rod and analyzed it from the perspective of Wang Chonggu and Yang Junmin: “This method seems safe, but it actually has many loopholes. The key is the Northern Tartars.

For example, in Jizhou Town, once the Beijing camp left, Jizhou Town would only have 30,000 troops. If Tumen Khan joined forces with the Three Doyan Guards and the Kharchin tribe to invade, it would be more than 200,000 against 30,000, and it would be difficult to defend it.

Xuanfu Town is even more dangerous. The north of Jizhou Town is full of mountains and there are not many openings for invasion. However, the mountains to the north of Xuanfu Town are much lower, so there are too many openings for attack.

The problem of Datong Town is even bigger. The Tatar Tumed tribe occupied the Hetao area, which means that most of the northwest part of Datong Town was bitten off. The north part of Datong Town was half surrounded by the Tatar Tumed tribe, and Pianguan Town was exposed to the Tumed tribe.

If the Tumed tribe gathered all its troops to launch an all-out attack, it would be difficult to defend Datong Town, and the hastily reorganized troops in Pianguan Town would be even less likely to hold the position.

There is also Yansui Town, and to the north are the Ordos tribes who moved to Neitao. Although they may not be able to capture important checkpoints, there is a high possibility that they can raid into the pass from a small valley with thousands or even tens of thousands of cavalry to rob food.

At the end of last year, the Northern Tartars invaded Liaodong Town, Xuanfu Town and Datong Town like crazy. Half a year has passed this year, but the Northern Tartars have not made any movement. They must be waiting for the Beijing Camp to quell the rebellion. Once the Beijing Camp goes to Ningxia Town, the Northern Tartars will definitely invade like crazy again.

This time they will definitely play for real and launch a crazy attack on Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town and Pianguan Town.

After all, as long as they can break in, the Beijing camp will be finished, and they can invade and plunder without restraint. The three great families of Puzhou will definitely tell them that if they fight for their lives this time, they can rob whatever they want in the future. In this case, they will definitely fight for their lives.

Therefore, this seemingly steady progress tactic is not advisable, we need to change our tactics."

This really makes sense. At the end of last year, the Northern Lu were dancing happily in the snow and ice. Half a year has passed this year, and the Northern Lu have not made any movement. This is not normal.

The three major families in Puzhou must be holding back evil intentions and waiting for the Beijing camp to attack. They really cannot attack easily.

Qi Jiguang nodded slightly, then asked, "Your Majesty, how do you think we should fight?"

Wanli waved his white wax stick and explained in detail: "We should take them by surprise and attack with cavalry on all fronts. We should first catch the northern barbarians and beat them up, forcing them to flee north and not dare to cut off our food supply.

In Jizhou Town, we launched attacks from Zunhua and Gubeikou in turn, attacking the Kalachin tribe and the Fuyu Guard.

In Xuanfu Town, we launched attacks from Heiyukou and Zhangjiakou in turn, attacking Duoyanwei and Tainingwei.

In Datong Town, we must penetrate the Qingshui River Valley and reach the confluence of the Qingshui River and the main trunk of the Yellow River.

This way we can build a defense line on the south bank of the Qingshui River and protect Pianguan Town."

Well, what you said seems to make some sense, but it's actually just a random beating.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang cautiously reminded them, "Your Majesty, our cavalry is nowhere near as numerous as the Northern Tartars. Tumen Khan alone has 60,000 elite cavalry under his command. The combined cavalry of the Kharachin, Doyan Three Guards, and Tumed is estimated to be more than 60,000.

Our Jizhou Town has less than 3,000 cavalrymen, and Xuanfu Town and Datong Town have only over 10,000 cavalrymen, which is not even a fraction of theirs. If we attack rashly, we will easily be surrounded and annihilated by them."

You're still a bit too conservative.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then asked, "If you were the Northern Tartars, would you have thought we would dare to send cavalry to attack them?"

This is indeed unlikely.

Speaking of surprise, this move can indeed catch the Northern Tartars by surprise.

Qi Jiguang nodded slowly and said, "They certainly wouldn't have guessed it."

Isn’t that right?

Wanli pointed at the map and explained in detail: "We want to take the enemy by surprise. It is true that Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town and Datong Town have only more than 20,000 cavalry in total, but the Shenwu Camp still has 40,000 cavalry.

We can send 10,000 to Zunhua, 10,000 to Gubeikou, 10,000 to Heiyukou, and 10,000 to Datong Youwei.

In this way, wouldn’t Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town and Datong Town all have more than 20,000 available cavalry?
In Jizhou Town, we attack from Zunhua and Gubeikou in turn. This mainly depends on the movements of the Kharchin tribe and the Fuyuwei cavalry. If they come towards Zunhua, we attack from Gubeikou. If they come towards Gubeikou, we attack from Zunhua.

The same applies to Xuanfu Town. If the cavalry of Duoyanwei and Tainingwei come towards Heiyukou, we will attack from Zhangjiakou. If their cavalry come towards Zhangjiakou, we will attack from Heiyukou.

Anyway, we have telescopes, so we will retreat quickly wherever their main cavalry moves, and at the same time notify the other side to attack quickly.

As for the Qingshui River Valley, our 20,000 cavalrymen will unexpectedly sweep through it. They should not have time to mobilize a large number of cavalrymen to support them. It should be no problem to break through it. The key is to hold the south bank of the Qingshui River and build a good defense line.

We can't fully mobilize Datong Town's troops to the Qingshui River Valley yet, so we can simply pretend to go to Ningxia Town to quell the rebellion. Once the Shenji Battalion arrives in Datong Town, we'll turn north and enter the southern bank of the Qingshui River Valley. We'll hold that area first, then send back grain carts to collect craftsmen and materials to build a defense line."

It was indeed unexpected to attack the enemy so randomly, but the difference in strength was too great, and the outcome was hard to predict.

Qi Jiguang pondered the matter carefully and then cautiously warned, "Your Majesty, if Tumen Khan leads 60,000 elite cavalry south to support us, I'm afraid our cavalry will not be enough."

This one is simple.

Wanli said without hesitation: "I ordered Li Chengliang to lead 20,000 Liaodong cavalry to harass Tumen Khan.

If the northern barbarians can enter the pass to rob our property, can't we go out of the pass to rob their cattle, sheep and horses?
Let's give them a taste of their own medicine. We'll rush over and rob them, then run back.

We just happen to be short of war horses. If 60,000 cavalrymen attack separately, it shouldn't be a problem to grab 10,000 or 20,000 war horses, right?"

They really did not have enough war horses, because the war horses that could be mobilized from the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty had almost been mobilized, and they could not mobilize war horses from the border towns.

At this moment, the Beijing Camp has 40,000 cavalrymen, 8,000 chariots and 8,000 grain carts. If you add the mounts of the officers in each camp, a total of at least 60,000 war horses are needed.

However, they only had more than 40,000 war horses in total.

If Li Chengliang could hold back Tumen Khan's 60,000 elite cavalry, they could indeed try to seize the opportunity.

Qi Jiguang thought about it carefully, then gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "If we don't go too deep and just run back after the plunder, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

I hope it's not a big problem.

Upon hearing this, Wanli decisively said, "General Ma, Yikui, and Yiyuan, prepare two marshal's flags for each of the two cavalry units to confuse the Northern Tartars and let them know how many cavalry we have."

Upon hearing this, Ma Gui, Dong Yikui, and Dong Yiyuan all bowed without hesitation and said, "I obey your order."

(End of this chapter)