After marching for two full days, Zhu Youxiao finally arrived at Miyun on the evening of the 27th. This small town had been repaired.
After all, it was his center, and he still needed to ensure a certain degree of safety. Otherwise, he would not have let Li Zhilong arrive at Miyun with 5,000 troops and 10,000 stones of rations for more than ten days.
He came to prepare for the army and hoard 10,000 shi of military rations in case of emergencies.
Li Zhilong was waiting outside the city early. He came at the right time and did not wait too long.
"Your Majesty, all the vacant houses in the city have been sorted out, and the military barracks have been set up. However, this city is too small to station nearly 50,000 troops, so I have set up camp in the valley to the west!"
"Okay, let's go to town!"
The two-day march of nearly 200 miles was a big test for the Habayashi Army on its first expedition. However, because there were a large number of mules and horses in the army, some of the baggage did not need to be carried on the shoulders, which made it a lot easier. .
"Where are the Xuanda generals? Have their troops been assembled?"
As early as more than ten days ago, Zhu Youxiao had ordered the Ministry of War to approve the general soldiers of the two towns, asking them to quickly gather troops and horses in Xuan Mansion to wait for the order, and ordered the generals and generals of the two towns to return to their posts on time before March 1st.
"Back to Your Majesty, according to the latest report, the 30,000 soldiers and horses of the Xuanfu have been assembled four days ago, and all the generals of the Xuanfu have arrived!"
"And the report from Datong is that they have just assembled and set off three days ago. I am afraid it will take another three to five days to reach Xuanfu!"
This is too slow. It took more than half a month just to gather and march. What is the difference between it and a turtle crawling?
"Order the horse to hurry up and convey my order. All generals and their troops must assemble before the first day of the Lunar New Year. If there is any delay, military law will be dealt with!"
Wang Zaijin stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, the soldiers in the border town may not be of much use. I believe that if you want to go out of the fortress, you should select the best among them who can fight."
"Besides, most of our army is infantry, and we are at a disadvantage against the Mongolian cavalry. I think the strategy of attacking in two directions with a hundred thousand troops still needs to be carefully considered?"
Yang Sichang, Chen Qiyu and the generals of the Yulin Army also felt that what he said was reasonable. His Majesty knew the military preparations well, so he shouldn't have been unable to discover them.
Zhu Youxiao ordered someone to lay out the map and said:
"Come and see, this is Chahanhot, the capital city of Lin Dan Khan. It is a thousand miles away from Gubeikou and nearly 1,500 miles away from Xuanfu."
"Based on the daily marching speed of the cavalry, it takes more than ten days just to go south from the capital, plus the time for them to send messages and assemble, of which we have half a month. If we make good use of this half month, we can A lot of things have been done.”
Wang Zaijin asked again:
"Why does Your Majesty think that Lin Dan Khan will lead the main force south? What if he doesn't join our army?"
"The whereabouts of the Tartars are uncertain and they have no place to settle. What if our army cannot find the location of their tribe?"
"Isn't it just a waste of money and food with no results?"
What Wang Zaijin said is not unreasonable, because this is their usual tactic.
So what if your army leaves the border? If I don't fight you, I will delay you for a month or two. When you run out of food and grass and the army is tired, I will surprise you and lead the cavalry to attack. This situation will definitely lead to defeat. It’s useless for anyone to come.
This is also the reason why few Central Plains armies in the past dynasties took the initiative to launch large-scale wars against nomads, because this was equivalent to gambling.
The three generations of Mingjuns of the Han Dynasty, as well as the eternal sage kings like Emperor Xiaowen, spent seventy or eighty years of recuperation and rest, laid a solid foundation for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the savings of several decades were only enough to fight the Battle of Mobei, which was a waste of money. There are so many, one can imagine.
Emperor Yongle's five northern expeditions, except for the first two that dealt a deep blow to the northern tribes, the subsequent ones can be said to have returned without success.
If people know you are awesome and won’t fight you, why don’t you go on a trip at your own expense and I just run away?
Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly and said:
"Don't worry, based on my understanding of Lin Danhan, he will definitely come, and he will come as quickly as possible."
Everyone was puzzled. His Majesty had never dealt with Lin Dan Khan. How could he say that he knew him very well? Your Majesty is not an impulsive and reckless person.
Anyone who has known anything about the late Ming Dynasty will probably know what kind of person Lin Danhan is, and Zhu Youxiao is no exception. He is the half-brother of Comrade Youjian.
He is suspicious and jealous, loves great achievements, has high ambitions and low abilities. His ideas may be many and good, but his own abilities are really poor.
And the most important thing is that this man has a strong head. If he learns that an emperor of the Ming Dynasty who is less than twenty years old is personally conquering the grassland, he will definitely be happy from ear to ear.
In his opinion, it is just a little kid who has had too many good days and is destined to die, so there is no need to worry at all.
Judging from his character, he must underestimate the enemy and defeat himself with thunder. It is best to capture himself and build his prestige as the Mongol Khan. After all, the Ming Dynasty also had this precedent.
This person who thinks about how to restore the glory of the Mongol Empire every day will definitely not let go of this rare opportunity.
Yang Sichang was puzzled and said:
"But the grassland is no better than the pass. The terrain is wide and flat. It would be impossible for Your Majesty to ambush. Instead, the Tartar cavalry were as mobile as the wind and had the advantage."
"Besides, our army doesn't know much about the grassland. What should we do if we lose our way?"
Zhu Youxiao picked up a stick and said with a smile:
"That's what I'm going to say next."
"My real purpose is not to fight against Lin Dan Khan with these two armies. These two armies are just partial troops. After these two armies are cleared, I will personally lead the elite troops out of Xifengkou to Chengde!"
"I have adopted the strategy of attacking in the east and attacking in the west. With the stubborn minds of those Tatars, they will not think too much. They will all think about how to capture me alive and get greater benefits!"
Wang Zaijin said with a smile:
"Your Majesty's plan was so successful that even the ministers were convinced. I thought that your Majesty really wanted to advance the army like this. I thought about it day and night, but I still couldn't understand what your Majesty meant. It turns out that your Majesty had already thought of it."
"The reason why I concealed it from you all was because I had no choice. There are many people in the court and it is not impossible to leak the military aircraft."
"This battle is a crucial battle for our Ming Dynasty. If we win, we can subdue the rest of the tribes and temporarily protect the peace of the northern border."
"If we lose, we may be in danger of overthrowing. We, the Ming Dynasty, will no longer be able to fight against the Tartars within ten years, and we can only let them ravage us. Those with evil intentions will also cause chaos and trouble!"
Zhu Youxiao closed his eyes and sighed:
"I have to be careful at all times to ensure that I can defeat the enemy."
"Furthermore, my attack this time was to take the enemy by surprise, and my true intention cannot be revealed in advance. Now the whole world knows about my two-pronged attack strategy."
"Just use this to confuse the Tartars and kill two birds with one stone!"
Everyone was convinced that His Majesty's worries were completely justified, and His Majesty's thoughts were more far-reaching than theirs, and the worst consequences had already been thought of. This was where they were inferior.
