Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Lu Chen continued to peruse the memorials concerning the battle situation in Shanxi.

In the battles alone during the Mongol army's breaching of Guanbaiquankou and Ningwuguan, the Ming army suffered hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.

The Ming army was on the losing side and did not capture many heads. The first batch of heads reported as merits numbered only 131.

These heads were taken from Mongols who had climbed onto the city walls during the siege and were killed by the defending troops.

According to reports from the front lines, the Mongols also suffered at least a thousand casualties.

To date, the only open battle between the Ming army and the Mongols took place outside Ningwu Pass.

As the Mongol army on the right wing approached Ningwu Pass, Ding Zhang, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shanxi, led more than a thousand men out of the pass to counterattack, and encountered the enemy at Shihuling, not far from Ningwu Pass.

Outnumbered, Ding Zhang's army was almost completely wiped out, with only a few dozen fleeing soldiers escaping back to Ningwu Pass. According to the fleeing soldiers, Ding Zhang himself was surrounded and died from exhaustion.

Even a battle involving thousands of people was this brutal.

In the Battle of Yingzhou between Zhu Houzhao and Dayan Khan, the combined forces of both sides exceeded 100,000, and the casualties must have been far more severe than this time.

However, what are the casualties recorded on both sides in the Qing Dynasty's "History of Ming" regarding this battle?

The Ming army beheaded 16 Mongols, and suffered 52 dead and 563 wounded.

Zhu Houzhao also repeatedly emphasized publicly that he personally won the first rank!

Could it be that the others only achieved level 15?

In a major battle involving over 100,000 troops against the Mongols' restorer, the illustrious Dayan Khan, how could both sides suffer such low casualties? Were they just playing house with Zhu Houzhao?

Is this a joke?

Moreover, after the Battle of Yingzhou, Dayan Khan did not dare to invade the border for a long time, which is clearly recorded in historical books.

This time, Jinang and Anda invaded Shanxi with an army of 100,000.

Lu Chen estimated that by the time the Ming army drove the Mongols back beyond the Great Wall, the casualties on both sides would be at least several thousand, or even tens of thousands.

It seems my cousin has been unfairly maligned.

"Your Highness, the latest memorial from the Ministry of War has arrived."

A eunuch strode into the back hall of Wenhua Hall and placed several memorials in front of Lu Chen.

After the war in Shanxi began, the cabinet seemed to be more efficient, and many memorials were sent directly to the Wenhua Hall as soon as they were drafted.

Lu Chen picked up the memorial, which was indeed the latest battle report.

Zhou Yu, a guerrilla commander in Sanguan, led 500 men to encounter Jinang's troops at Tadigou, north of Taiyuan. The two sides fought from noon to dusk. Zhou Yu himself was killed by an arrow, and most of his troops were killed or captured. More than 100 survivors fled to Taiyuan.

At this point, the main force of the Jinang tribe broke into the Taiyuan Basin.

This battle report was from several days ago, by which time the enemy had most likely already besieged Taiyuan.

Another battle report concerned the Anda tribe. After breaking through Tianmen Pass, Anda did not join forces with the Jinang tribe to march south to Taiyuan City.

Instead, they turned east and headed straight for Pingding Prefecture.

After receiving intelligence that Anda's troops had entered Pingding Prefecture, Zhang Yin, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard, volunteered to lead his troops to rescue Pingding Prefecture.

Fan Jizu had already granted Zhang Yin's request and had also sent a letter to the Ministry of War, requesting that the Ministry of War transfer troops stationed in Beizhili to Jingxing Pass to reinforce Pingding Prefecture.

The Ministry of War agreed to Fan Jizu's request to transfer the Zhen Ding Guard, Dingzhou Guard, and Baoding Right Guard to Jingxing Pass, but their main task was to assist in the defense of Jingxing Pass and prevent the Anda tribe from breaking through the pass and entering Beizhili.

These three guard troops were strictly prohibited from engaging in open battle with the Mongols within the territory of Pingding Prefecture.

Lu Chen also felt that the Ministry of War's considerations were reasonable.

The military preparedness of the garrisons had long been lax. These three garrisons nominally had 5,600 registered soldiers, but no one knew how many were actually left.

It is very likely that a single guard can only mobilize about a thousand people, and even with three guards together, they probably wouldn't be able to gather five thousand people.

This number of troops is enough to defend the passes, but it's best to forget about engaging Altan Khan's Mongol cavalry in open battle.

The cabinet's draft proposal naturally agreed with the Ministry of War's opinion.

Should we approve Fan Jizu's request to mobilize troops?

At this moment, Anda's troops should have already ravaged Pingding Prefecture, but at least the battlefield is still under control within Shanxi Province.

If the Mongol army were allowed to continue eastward and breach Jingxing Pass, the North China Plain would become a battlefield.

It was quite necessary for the Ministry of War to transfer the three guards of Beizhili to assist in the defense.

Lu Chen picked up a vermilion pen, wrote "Approved" on the draft, and casually handed it to a eunuch to be sent to the cabinet office.

This whole thing is really weird!

If one knew nothing about the situation in Shanxi, upon seeing Zhang Yin, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard, volunteer to fight and rescue Pingding Prefecture, one would only think that this person was loyal and brave.

However, he already knew very well that Zhang Yin was colluding with that time traveler and was plotting a rebellion.

Moreover, they colluded with Jinang and Anda, and were able to know the timing and route of this invasion in advance.

Given this, it's highly questionable why Zhang Yin volunteered to go to the rescue of Pingding Prefecture!

He wasn't going to fight Anda at all!

Perhaps they're using this opportunity to meet and plot something, and maybe even that mysterious time traveler will be involved.

Can't wait any longer!

Apart from Zhang Yin's problematic troops, the various Ming armies in Shanxi were holding their positions in cities and passes to avoid open battles with the Mongols.

It seems they intend to let Jinang and Anda plunder extensively in northern Shanxi before withdrawing their troops.

In another dimension of history, during this period, neither Jinang nor Anda had any record of conquering cities or holding out for long periods within the pass. Their purpose in each invasion was to plunder people and resources.

Since there will be no more large-scale battles, it shouldn't be long before the Mongols retreat to the area outside the Great Wall on their own.

It is time to send intelligence to the various Ming armies currently in Shanxi, especially the commander of the Three Guards of Beizhili who is about to rush to the aid of Jingxing Pass, that Zhang Yin is raising a private army and manufacturing weapons at Heimu Cliff in Pingding Prefecture, and is conspiring with the Mongols to rebel.

. . .

Pingding Prefecture.

Taiyuan Left Guard Military Camp.

"Father, I've checked carefully. There are 393 levels in total, and they all have Mongolian hairstyles. They weren't shaved after they died."

Li Dali strode into the central command tent.

"My son actually saw quite a few corpses wrapped in white felt in Anda's military camp, probably over a hundred."

Why didn't the Mongols give us the heads of these corpses as well?

"We're willing to pay for it."

"Those corpses belonged to Mongolian warriors with family property, and some were even minor nobles. According to Mongolian custom, the corpses were to be taken back to the grasslands."

Zhang Yin waved his hand.

"The heads that Anda gave us were mostly slaves who accompanied the army, or at least impoverished herders."

As early as the time of Genghis Khan, a rule was established in the Mongol army that whoever could retrieve the body of a fallen soldier from the battlefield could inherit the deceased's property.

This includes not only livestock and tents, but also the right to marry the widow.

These corpses were a great fortune in the eyes of the Mongols; how could they possibly sell their heads to us?