The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 119 Taking a Risk

Ningsai Fort was first built in the 11th year of Chenghua, with a circumference of four miles and three fen, and eighteen towers. It was raised in the 6th year of Longqing, and brick archways and battlements were built in the 6th year of Wanli.

This is a fortress located at the forefront of Yansui Town. More than ten miles north of the valley where Ningsai Fort is located is the Hongliu River, and more than ten miles further north along the Hongliu River valley is the grassland where the northern barbarians graze.

The key point is that this is the central location of the southern part of Neitao, and the various Ordos tribes in Neitao are not far from here.

To be honest, it is really dangerous here. If the current Beijing garrison is the same as the Beijing garrison during the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the Battle of Tumu will really be repeated.

Because the Beijing camp under Yingzong was defeated by the Oirat cavalry, and the Oirat cavalry was not numerous, only tens of thousands. Some said 20,000, some said 30,000, some said 50,000, and some said 60,000.

In short, just tens of thousands of cavalrymen defeated the Beijing camp under Yingzong and captured Yingzong.

This is similar to the current situation.

It is unknown how many cavalry the Neitao Ordos tribes have. It could be 30,000, 40,000, or even 50,000 or 60,000.

It’s really hard to explain.

Because before Altan Khan occupied the three major plains of Outer Plain, he had only a few thousand cavalrymen, but more than 20 years later, the cavalrymen under Altan Khan had grown to more than 100,000.

Although the Ordos grassland in Neitao does not have as lush pasture as the three great plains in Waitao, its area is two to three times larger than the three great plains in Waitao, and the Ordos tribes have occupied Neitao for more than fifty years.

Who knows how many people the Ordos tribes have grown into and how many war horses they have trained.

It was precisely because Wanli didn't know this that he staged a replay of the Battle of Tumu.

He actually wanted to lure the cavalry of the Ordos tribes to attack!
If the cavalry of the various tribes of Ordos in Neitao did not rush out to attack them, the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp would most likely be ambushed by the cavalry of the various tribes of Ordos using the familiar terrain when they rushed into Neitao, which was nearly a thousand miles in radius.

It’s hard to say who will win or lose.

After all, Neitao was a place occupied by the Ordos tribes for more than 50 years. They were very familiar with the terrain there, and they were waiting for the opportunity.

This is the same reason why the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp ambushed the main cavalry of the Bayuete and Balin tribes. If the Ordos tribes took advantage of the fact that the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp was exhausted and suddenly rushed up to launch an ambush, then no matter how strong the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp was, they would not be able to withstand it.

Therefore, he had to lure out the cavalry of the Ordos tribes and destroy them completely.

In this way, there will be no danger for the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp to rush into the inner camp.

As for the current combat effectiveness of the Beijing Camp, it is naturally not the inexplicable combat effectiveness of the Beijing Camp under Yingzong.

The Beijing troops under his command were trained by the world-famous general Qi Jiguang.

Moreover, the Battle of Gubeikou, the harassment of the Three Doyan Guards and the Kharchin Tribe, the surprise attack on the Bayuete Tribe and the Balin Tribe, the Battle of Qingshui River, etc., these battles have proved that Qi Jiguang's ability to train elite troops is not exaggerated. The current Beijing Army is really capable of fighting, and is simply not comparable to the Beijing Army under Yingzong.

This is also the reason why he came to Ningseburg.

On the morning of July 23rd, around 1 a.m., when the sky was just getting light, the valley where Ningsai Fort was located was already filled with bursts of commands and echoes.

Wanli also got up early, climbed up the city gate tower on the south side of Ningsai Fort, and scanned the valley to the south with a telescope.

The valley to the south leads to the heart of Yansui Town. At this time, the loess slopes on both sides of the valley are already densely packed with tents, extending to more than ten miles away.

In the passage in the middle of the valley, tens of thousands of cavalrymen and eight thousand grain carts had formed a long line.

This is the grain cart of the Shenji Camp, which is preparing to go to Fugu to transport grain. The 10,000 cavalrymen of the Shenwu Rear Camp, led by Du Song, are responsible for escorting it.

If you look at it superficially, that's just 10,000 cavalrymen plus 8,000 soldiers from the Shenji Camp driving carriages, which adds up to less than 20,000 troops.

In this situation, the Ordos tribes would definitely dare to launch a surprise attack, because the cavalry of these guys assembled would number more than 30,000.

Wanli watched the long procession depart, then put down his telescope and asked expectantly, "Yuan Jing, do you think they'll come to rob the grain?"

Qi Jiguang nodded slowly and said, "It is very likely that they will, because our 100,000 troops are simply not something that the 20,000 or 30,000 rebels in Ningxia Town can resist. Once we reach Ningxia Town, their carefully planned conspiracy will be useless.

This is also their last chance. They should be very clear that once we get rid of the rebels in Ningxia Town, we will have to deal with them next.

In this case, they will definitely take a risk.”

They are referring to the three major clans of Puzhou, not the Ordos tribes in Neitao.

The Ordos tribes in the inner trap were merely pawns used by the three great families of Puzhou to take a risk. In this situation, the three great families of Puzhou should have taken a risk, as what was at stake was not their own lives, but the cavalry of the Ordos tribes in the inner trap.

If they don't take a chance, they will have no chance.

So, why not gamble?

The three powerful families in Puzhou are extremely selfish. They are willing to sell out the Ming Dynasty in order to make dirty money.

What are the tribes of Ordos in the inner area? If they are sold, they can exchange for an emperor. Moreover, they don’t have to spend any money, so why not sell them?
Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "General Du, have you found the border soldiers who led the way?"

This General Du was not Du Song, but Du Song's brother Du Tong. Du Tong was the eldest son of the Du family. He inherited the position of a centurion and had accumulated military merits and was promoted to deputy general of Yansui Town.

Du Tong was in charge of resisting the rebels in Ningxia Town at Sanshan Fort, which was very close to here, so he ordered someone to call Du Tong over.

His target was the Neitao Ordos tribes, but the Shenwuying cavalry had never been to Neitao, so naturally they needed someone to lead the way.

Du Tong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I found it. In fact, during the Jiajing Dynasty and the early Longqing period, we often went to Neitao to burn the wasteland, that is, we set fire when the grass was dry in the autumn.

But after Longqing's meeting, the court no longer allowed us to burn the northern barbarians' pasture.

At this moment, all the border troops in Yansui Town who are over 30 have basically gone to burn wasteland before, so they are quite familiar with the inner trap. I have already found 40 or 50 of them."

That's good.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "General Du, is everything okay over at Sanshan Fort? Can they still hold on after you leave?"

This one.

Do you want to tell the truth to His Majesty?
Du Tong hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am actually very familiar with Haobai.

After all, we are both deputy generals who actually lead troops in battle, and Ningxia Town and Yansui Town are close neighbors. He once led his troops to support me, and I also led my troops to support him.

He and I have a life-long friendship.

Haibai once sent people to Sanshan Fort to find me. His intention was to ask the court for surrender. He really did not want to rebel. Dang Xin and Yang Siwei were not killed by him, but by Liu Dongyang, the lieutenant general of the vanguard camp, and his soldiers.

He had to stand up because the soldiers of the vanguard camp killed Dang Xin and Yang Siwei.

To put it bluntly, he was afraid that the imperial court would send him to lead an army to quell the rebellion. Then the thousands of private soldiers under his command and the elite vanguard battalion under Liu Dongyang would be wiped out, and Ningxia Town would have no combat power at all.

Therefore, he stepped forward to become the leader of the rebels to prevent the soldiers of Ningxia Town from killing each other.

He also knew that it was useless to ask Yang Junmin for surrender, so he sent someone to find me, hoping that I could help him plead with the court.

I was afraid of being accused of colluding with the rebels, so I didn't dare to say a word.

Your Majesty, I dare to plead for them. They were really forced into it. Dang Xin and Yang Siwei are really good-for-nothings.

Liu Dongyang was forced to do that. Dang Xin refused to provide him with food and winter clothing, so Liu Dongyang went to beg for mercy. Dang Xin actually threatened to execute Liu Dongyang's entire family. Liu Dongyang had no choice.

These beasts!

When Wanli heard this, he immediately became furious.

The three powerful families in Puzhou really did everything they could to force Haobai to rebel.

Can he fulfill the wishes of these beasts?
The question is, Liu Dongyang killed the inspector and the general, and Haibai also led the rebellion. Can he spare the rebels?

This needs to be carefully considered.

He took a deep breath and then said noncommittally, "Let's talk about this later. You mean the rebels won't attack Sanshan Fort, right?"

Upon hearing this, Du Tong nodded repeatedly and said, "I think the rebels will most likely not attack Sanshan Fort. Even if they do, we are not afraid. Sanshan Fort is strategically located and easy to defend but difficult to attack. I have already assigned Lieutenant General Xiao Ruhui to take charge, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Xiao Ruxun’s second brother Xiao Ruhui!
It seems that most of the people in Yansui Town are controlled by these loyal families, so it would be easy to take them down.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then nodded slightly and said, "Well, as long as Sanshan Fort is fine, we can focus on dealing with the Ordos tribes in the inner area."

(End of this chapter)