The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 214 The Tumed Tribe was terrified

The construction of Longchengwei began.

The two lines of defense formed by the Shenshu Camp's chariots began to change their formation, and the middle seemed to bulge out, forming a square of several miles in size.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei commanded the soldiers of the Beijing camp to take turns digging the grass in the middle. The trench-like foundation of the city wall took shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Grain carts from Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town and Shenjiying continued to gather here, bringing not only grain but also craftsmen.

More and more people and horses gathered in the valley which was more than ten miles in radius.

It was already a bit crowded here to fit 90,000 cavalry and nearly 20,000 chariots. With the continuous influx of craftsmen, there really wasn't enough space.

Early in the morning of that day, around noon, when the sun was rising, Wanli brought Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan, Duke of Peng Qi Jiguang, Earl of Yongnian Wang Wei and tens of thousands of imperial guards on horseback to the middle of the two northernmost lines of defense formed by chariots.

The craftsmen built the city wall at an incredibly fast speed.

It seemed that less than 40,000 craftsmen had been gradually brought in over the past half month, and all the people had not arrived yet, but the horizontal Chinese-shaped city wall on the north side was almost one person high.

Those who were quarrying, cutting down trees, and digging mud to make bricks were all very efficient. There were several rows of brick kilns on the south side of the city wall, which was more than ten miles long. The city wall was rising at a speed visible to the naked eye.

However, it is really crowded here.

Wanli looked at the densely packed tents next to the brick kiln and pondered, "Yuan Jing, it looks like we have to make room for the craftsmen. Otherwise, they will be completely overcrowded and we won't be able to build the barracks and granary in the middle."

This, where should I go?

The Holy Emperor is here, so we must not allow the northern barbarians to harass us. We must defend the north.

Qi Jiguang raised his telescope and scanned the grasslands north of the chariot formation. Then he raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, how about we have the Shenshu Camp's chariots form four large square formations to the north of this defensive line, lined up in a row, and have the Shenwu Camp's cavalry battalions stationed in each square formation?"

Well, the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp have been resting for a long time, and it’s time to send them out to scare people.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Father-in-law, when will the northern defense line be completed?"

This one.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei took a quick look around and then estimated, "Your Majesty, the city wall is easy to build. We estimate it will be almost finished by the beginning of August. However, the city gate tower, the barracks inside, and the border garrison office will take more time. We estimate it will take until the end of August to be completely completed."

This speed is fast enough.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then said decisively: "Yuan Jing, you will first take the chariots of the Shenshu Camp and the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp to the north to set up a garrison. At the same time, send out scouts to investigate the situation within a radius of 200 miles to the north. Once the city wall here is completed, we will send troops to scare the northern barbarians."

That's their tactic.

The Shenshu Camp and the Shenwu Camp are purely here to scare people. When all the attention of the Northern Tartars is gathered here, they will suddenly attack the former site of the Beijing Xingdusi and kill the three guards of Doyan by surprise.

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Soon, the Shenshu Camp and the Shenwu Camp poured out of the valley and moved north.

The dense chariots and the black mass of cavalry could be seen with the naked eye from twenty or thirty miles away.

The northern grasslands were suddenly in chaos, with smoke rising everywhere. The scouts sent by the Tumed, Kharchin and Chahar tribes were like horses with their butts on fire, and they hurried back to report the news.

Which direction will the Ming army attack?

If you go west, it is the grazing ground of the Tumed tribe; if you go northwest, it is the grazing ground of the Kharchin tribe; if you go east or northeast, it is the grazing ground of the Chahar tribe.

Originally, the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty said that he came to conquer the Tumed tribe.

Who knew that this kid was like a sick man. Instead of going through the Qingshui River Valley in Datong Town and crossing the Qiantao Plain, he went out of the border directly from the mountain pass between Daqing Mountain and Yin Mountain. Instead, he moved slowly northward from Datong Town, building city walls and fortresses as he moved.

Now, the Tumed, Kharchin and Chahar tribes were all confused about who he wanted to attack.

Wanli was not in a hurry as it was still early.

Less than 20% of the grain from Datong Town and Pingyang Prefecture was delivered to the border, and the Acropolis in the valley north of Jizhou Town had not yet been completed.

They also needed to store a large amount of supplies and food for building the Acropolis there to facilitate the rapid construction of the Acropolis in the northern part of the former Beijing Xingdusi.

Then there were the artisans. He discovered that they could build the city walls two or three times faster than the soldiers. So, he planned to wait until the construction on the Longcheng Guard was almost complete and then send some of the artisans to the former site of the Beijing Xingdusi, so that the construction of the city walls there could be accelerated.

On August Bingyin, the northern city wall of Longchengwei was finally completed.

The ten-foot-high city wall stretched across the valley, looking like a huge iron lock, tightly blocking the passage for the northern barbarians to move south.

From then on, it became less easy for the Northern Tartars to invade Datong Town again.

At least pure cavalry can't cross this line of defense. Even if infantry is brought in, more than 100,000 people may not be able to capture this line of defense.

At about 5 p.m., as the sun was setting, Wanli summoned Qi Jiguang, Ma Gui, Du Song and other generals to the north gate of the middle fortress to discuss the matter.

At this moment, the city gate tower has not yet been built. On the north gate is a huge platform with a radius of more than ten feet. Looking down, you can see the chariot formation of the Shenshu Camp, the soldiers of the Shenwu Camp, the grassland in the north, etc., just like a general's reviewing platform.

Wanli stood in the middle of an arrow embankment and looked out at the grassland to the north. Then he asked, "General Du, how is the construction of your fortress going?"

Du Song explained in detail, "I've sent people to investigate the five valleys running north and south of Daqing Mountain. Only the one in the middle shows any signs of human or animal traffic. The rocks and trees in the valley have been cleared, and cattle, sheep, and horses can pass through.

There was no sign that anyone had ever entered the other four valleys. They were filled with rocks and big trees blocking the way. War horses could not pass through at all, and it would take several days for a human to climb through them.

Therefore, I have mobilized 50,000 guards under my command to build the fortress in the middle that can accommodate more than 10,000 people. It is estimated that the fortress will be completed by the end of this month.

After the fort is built, I plan to leave 10,000 guards to garrison there, and the remaining 40,000 will be deployed to the other four valley entrances to build forts each garrisoning around a thousand men. It should be nearly finished before the snow falls this year."

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Yuan Jing, how is your investigation going? What's the situation on the grasslands to the north?"

Qi Jiguang explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the grasslands to the north are composed of three tribes: the Tumed, the Kharchin, and the Chahar.

To the west is the Tumed tribe, to the northwest is the Kharchin tribe, and to the east and northeast are the nomadic tribes of the Chahar tribe.

The Tumed and Kharchin tribes must have received the news long ago, so there were no nomadic tribes within a hundred miles to the west and northwest. They even cut down all the pasture in this area.

After the scouts of the Shenwu Camp ran over, they retreated directly to the west and northwest. Wherever the scouts explored, the tribes there would migrate. Now the area within two hundred miles to the west and northwest is empty, and there are no nomadic tribes at all.

The Chahar tribe to the east and northeast are in a similar situation. As soon as our scouts went over, they began migrating east and northeast. However, their nomadic tribes are moving slowly and haven't yet left the 200-li area. They're probably just waiting and watching."

The Tumed and Kharchin tribes must have been deceived by false news, thinking that they were really going to avenge the attack on Datong Town last year.

Very good, then let’s catch the Tumed tribe and fight them first.

Wanli thought about it carefully, and then said decisively: "Tomorrow morning, you will lead the Shenwu Front Camp and the Shenwu Rear Camp to attack. Go directly west and run 200 miles away. If you see the nomadic tribe of the Tumed, attack them.

If they run away, don't chase them. Just pretend to be afraid of an ambush and lead the Shenwu Front Camp and the Shenwu Rear Camp to retreat. After two days, escort the 8,000 chariots of the Shenshu Camp to the west and set up a large square formation for defense about a hundred miles away.

The Shenwu Front Camp and the Shenwu Rear Camp were stationed in a square formation. They first explored westward for a few days and then continued to attack, pretending to advance step by step and invade the heartland of the Tumed tribe.

Don't be impatient, take it slow and wait until the end of August.

In addition, after we attract the attention of the Tumed tribe, let Haibai harass them from the west. Remember, don't let him go deep into the grazing areas of the Tumed tribe. Just rob them on the edge and run away after robbing them.

Also, have Yansui Town and Guyuan Town gather 10,000 men and women to form a battle formation outside the northern city wall, set up camp, and then send out scouts to investigate."

They were actually pretending to be ready to launch a full-scale attack on the Tumed tribe.

This scared the Tumed tribe.

The Tumed tribe didn't know that they were creating an illusion.

This guy, tens of thousands of cavalry and tens of thousands of chariots are advancing step by step from the east direction of Daqing Mountain. Tens of thousands of horses are pouring out of the mountain passes between Yinshan Mountain and Langshan Mountain, as well as the mountain passes between Yinshan Mountain and Daqing Mountain. There are also tens of thousands of cavalry making crazy raids from the west direction of Langshan Mountain.

Even if Wanli went to Sanniang and told her that he was just pretending, Sanniang would not believe him.

You sent so many troops from all directions to attack us. Are you creating an illusion?

The Tumed tribe was really frightened, and the tribes that were grazing in all directions were so scared that they tried their best to shrink into a few river valleys and migrated northward frantically.

The Ming army is now too powerful. They have no chance at all in the open ground. They can only run into several winding river valleys to hide first and see if they can use the familiar terrain to launch a sneak attack on the Ming army.

If not, they will prepare to escape to the west!
(End of this chapter)