Zhu Youxiao spent a lot of money on this expedition to the north.
The Northern Expedition Army totaled nearly 60,000 people and was formed by selecting elites from the Datong Frontier Army, the Xuanfu Frontier Army, as well as the Xiaoqi Battalion and the Auxiliary Battalion.
There are more than 30,000 cavalry alone, and the main force in the battle is also these 30,000 cavalry.
The remaining infantry and auxiliary battalions, more than 10,000 soldiers, are the logistics troops that cut off the rear of the main army and escort the food and fodder needed by the cavalry regiment.
Zhu Youxiao left the fortress in three groups. One group was led by Li Wensheng and consisted of 5,000 Mongolian cavalry from the Xiaoqi Battalion and 5,000 Datong cavalry.
A total of 10,000 riders marched directly out of the Great Wall from Datong Town and headed straight into the hinterland of the grassland.
The other route was led by Cao Wenzhao, who also had 10,000 cavalry. Ming soldiers and Mongolian soldiers were also divided in half.
There was no way, there were too many Mongolians under Zhu Youxiao. There were more than 20,000 young Mongolians. Just raising them was a huge expense.
Moreover, they are still unstable, and they may not be willing to sacrifice their lives for you without spending a lot of money. They can only be slowly consumed through war.
You must know that there are only more than 20,000 Han soldiers in the Xiaoqi camp, which is almost out of balance.
The lives of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were much more valuable than those of these Mongolians. They were all trained hard by him. There would be more important developments in the future, but he couldn't bear to let them die like this.
Moreover, these Mongolians also know the time, place, climate and temperature of the grassland very well, so using them is also the best choice.
They will take a detour to the west of Datong and sweep eastward along the dividing line between the Tumut tribes and the Monan grassland.
Mangui led his own 5,000 cavalry, and then combined with Aohan and other troops who had surrendered to the tribe, totaling more than 13,000 people, to attack from east to west.
It was encircled on three sides and swept the grassland from three directions.
A cavalry regiment of this size was extremely rare in the entire history of the Ming Dynasty.
Although compared to the Northern Expedition in the Hongwu period and the Northern Expedition in the Yongle period, it was a bit small.
But it also proves that the current Ming Dynasty is no longer the Ming Dynasty that can only be passively beaten. The current Ming army has also swept away the decline and can take the initiative to attack and use the enemy's strengths to kill people and kill people.
"Your Majesty, at this time, we should rest with the people and restore the country's strength as soon as possible. The first thing is."
"Rather than just earning military glory and resorting to militarism, which will make the national treasury, which is already not rich, even worse."
Although Chen Qiyu has some ideas that are very similar to Zhu Youxiao, and he is also a governor who leads troops, at his core, he is still a man of letters, full of Confucian thoughts.
"Don't Chen Qing know the principle of striking while the iron is hot?"
"At this time, the situation on the grassland was mixed. Lin Danhan fled far away in Mobei and asked Khalkha for help. The entire Monan grassland was leaderless and in chaos."
"My army of the Ming Dynasty is now full of morale. We will dare to fight and charge forward. We will not take advantage of their weakness to send out a large army to wipe them out in one fell swoop."
"Could it be that after a few years, they have recovered their strength, reunited and united, and spent ten times and a hundred times more than they are now, to fight them?"
"You have to kill him while he's sick. How can you recuperate and recuperate if you don't kill those wolves, tigers and leopards that are eyeing him?"
"As the saying goes, wildfire never burns out, but the spring breeze blows and revives again. You have read so many books, don't you even understand this truth?"
In fact, there is another reason why Zhu Youxiao must send troops, and that is Huang Taiji.
The power and capabilities of the Jinyiwei have recovered a lot in the past two years, and there are many spies in the grasslands and Liaodong to spy on the military situation.
When he learned that Huang Taiji had appeared on the grassland, Zhu Youxiao's first thought was to kill him.
Otherwise, he would not have dispatched an army of 60,000. Just the remaining Tartars on the grassland could be wiped out with 10,000 elite cavalry.
"But the price our government has paid is too great. Most of the money and food we just copied has been consumed before it enters the capital's treasury."
"This battle can be as short as half a month or as long as more than a month. How much food is needed to pay for the army? The imperial court really cannot afford it."
"Your Majesty, the lessons learned from the past can still be seen today. How prosperous was our country during the Wanli Period?"
"But after successive wars, decades of development and accumulation were burned, making it impossible to quell the Jianzhou rebellion."
Zhu Youxiao knew that he was talking about the three major campaigns of Wanli. These three battles were both internal and external. They indeed demonstrated the military and national prestige of the Ming Dynasty.
However, a large amount of money, food and materials were consumed, which eventually left the national treasury empty.
For this reason, it is still controversial for later generations to talk about the history of the late Ming Dynasty. Why did the Ming Dynasty lay the root of its demise because of the three major campaigns of Wanli? It was actually caused by Wanli.
In Zhu Youxiao's view, it is ridiculous that these people dare to open their mouths and make random comments without even understanding half of history.
"Okay, you don't need to say these words. It's not like I haven't read books."
"But you have to know that some things are inevitable and some battles must be fought."
"If our army can achieve the expected results during this expedition, it can ensure peace on our border with the Ming Dynasty for at least thirty years."
"You are also an important minister of the country. It's not like you don't know the military affairs. You can't see it, right?"
After hearing this, Chen Qiyu could only sigh secretly in his heart.
In fact, he was not opposed to the war, but the fact that the emperor placed so much emphasis on generals while being so indifferent to civilian officials made him feel a little disappointed.
During the Northern Expedition last year, Wang Zaijin, as the governor of Xuanda, controlled the troops and horses of the two towns and went out to fight.
He is also the Governor of Xuanda, why is he now in charge of logistics and the person responsible for escorting food and supplies?
"I know that Your Majesty is a talented person, but I think that you have to eat one bite at a time and do everything one by one."
"Since His Majesty has sent a large army to march north, should the issue of the Datong New Deal be postponed?"
"This matter is not within your scope of responsibility, so don't worry about it, and don't ask too many questions."
"You just have to do your part."
Chen Qiyu didn't know how to reply for a moment, so he could only stand there awkwardly.
How could Zhu Youxiao not see his little thoughts? Who doesn't want to achieve military success?
It's a pity that Chen Qiyu is not a qualified commander. He knows military affairs and can lead troops, but he is not strong-willed. It is really uneasy to entrust such an important military to him.
"After the reorganization, the number of troops in Datong has been reduced a lot. Now there are only more than 30,000 people, which is too few."
"I will also leave this matter of recruiting troops to you. I will recruit 30,000 soldiers from the people. When the army returns in triumph, I will distribute them to each battalion and general."
"Remember, don't make a fool of yourself. Those villains and treacherous people in the market must not be recruited. The soldiers recruited must be young and strong men with a clean family background and honest and responsible people."
Chen Qiyu was very confused, why do we need to expand the army again?
But he didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he could only follow the imperial edict and go on his errands honestly.
After this battle is fought, the war pressure in the two towns of Xuanda and Dazhou will be greatly reduced, which is the best time to train troops.
Datong is a key place for Jiuzhen, and its military strength must not be weak. What's more, Datong is the closest to Mobei, so he must prepare early.
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