After dawn, as many as a dozen groups of Tatar cavalry appeared within twenty or thirty miles of Daming.
The combined number of soldiers and horses exceeded 25,000.
But no one rushed all the way to the Daming camp.
The scene where 7,000 men charged before and 5,000 men were wiped out in a blink of an eye still completely shocked the Tatars. In addition, the Tatars also knew that the leader of the army this time was not the kind of young general who was just starting out. He is a mediocre person who has no actual experience in leading troops, but is Wang Shouren who personally completed the Battle of Weininghai...
In the battle at Weininghai, Wang Shouren had already proven his strength.
The previous battles against the Jurchens also proved that he was not only a brave general who was good at cunning plots and long-distance attacks, but also a calm commander who was good at every step of the way.
Coupled with the previous "Battle of Guanshan", Wang Shouren became completely famous.
Then a very strange scene appeared on the grassland.
Six thousand cavalrymen of the Ming Dynasty were cleaning and tidying up the battlefield. They cut off the ears of abandoned Tatar corpses wherever they went, tied the Tatars' valuable belongings to their horses, and burned the heavy baggage that could not be taken away. ...Then tens of thousands of Tatar elite soldiers just watched from twenty to thirty miles away without going forward to fight.
Of course, Ming Dynasty seemed to have no intention of continuing to fight them.
Wherever the Ming Dynasty's army went, the Tatars on that side moved away from the gap and allowed the Ming Dynasty's army to pass through. No Tatars went to the battlefield to collect their tribe's belongings, or it seemed that It was agreed upon by both parties.
You Tatars hand over your belongings and the ears of the corpses of your tribe, and we, the Ming Dynasty, will stop fighting with you, and then we will just "go back where they came from" in a friendly manner.
Of course, you Tatars don’t have to abide by this tacit agreement. If you rob the corpses of your clansmen with us, then we will burn them together with your clansmen and property, and even chase you all the way, fight with you, and then leave you alone. Hundreds and thousands of corpses...
…
…
The Tatars have not yet fought against the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Shouren did not take it lightly.
He also made it very clear to his soldiers that the Tatars did not dare to fight, but they could not find a chance. In other words, they were waiting for the return of the little Tatar prince Batu Monk, because the Tatars felt that their current two or three Thousands of troops are not enough to completely wipe out the Ming Dynasty, and even if they can be wiped out, the losses of the Tatar headquarters Chahar will be astronomical.
Injure the enemy eight hundred and injure one thousand.
He may even injure the enemy eighty and injure himself ten thousand.
After all, there is more than just the Chahar tribe on the grassland. If they fight the Ming army and the tribe continues to bear excessive losses, then the Chahar tribe's dominance on the grassland will be challenged. It is very likely that the next step will be on the grassland. The person who dominates is not Dayan Khan, but Huo Si, and even Yi Bu stabs these ambitious people.
We can fight and completely destroy the Ming Dynasty, but the losses to our own side will be too great and no one can accept it.
Then such a strange situation formed.
"Gold, there is gold."
Whenever soldiers of the Ming Dynasty found valuable treasures, they would shout excitedly, just like picking up treasures all over the grassland hinterland. They were not only showing off to their fellow tribesmen, but also venting their inner pride. At the same time, they were also boosting morale and telling their comrades, I have found something valuable, and you should work hard too.
Wang Shouren did not deliberately regulate the soldiers' search for property. Logically speaking, all the property found should be brought back together and divided equally, or at the request of the court.
This can also prevent internal disputes among soldiers trying to snatch property.
But on the actual battlefield, after the soldiers risked their lives to complete a great victory, it would be unwise for the commander to standardize the distribution of goods.
The fairest method is not to divide it equally, but to give it to whoever gets it. This is also the reason why "first merit" has been established as the main method of calculating credit since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. It doesn't depend on who killed the person, but who cut off the head. Take it away, whose head is there, the credit will be his.
It seems that the principle cannot guarantee absolute fairness, but it is the fairest and easiest to be accepted by soldiers.
Absolute fairness cannot be achieved on the battlefield.
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…
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty spent the whole day cleaning up the mess on the battlefield.
Fire could be seen everywhere, and everywhere the Ming army walked was in a mess. However, there was one thing that Wang Shouren's troops personally abided by. That was that the Tatar corpses had nothing but ears. The move was a last resort for the Tatars, allowing them to take the body back and dispose of it in their own way.
At the beginning, the Ming Dynasty burned all the property that could not be taken away.
Later, it was seen that the Tatars were eager to attack and Wang Shouren also knew not to push the Tatars too hard. He should not only maintain a tacit understanding but also give some "favor" to the Tatars.
So later on, except for some strategic materials, the Ming side tried their best not to burn anything else, but accelerated the pace and walked in the southeast direction, also to complete the cleaning of the battlefield as soon as possible and avoid falling into the Tartars. Tartar was surrounded by people from all walks of life.
Guan Jing was responsible for opening the way, while Han Zheng was responsible for the rear.
Wang Shouren's instructions to the two of them were also very clear: "...As long as the Tatars do not take the initiative to invade, we will not deal with them. We seem to have the advantage with the Shenji camp firearms, but the ammunition is seriously damaged and the firearms are also worn out. In the event of a war, we will definitely not be able to fight as powerfully as yesterday's battle, so we have to withdraw to the Ming Dynasty as a last resort, and this battle can be considered to have ended successfully."
Wang Shouren was not dazzled by the victory.
He knew very well that the Ming Dynasty had fought three wars before. The first two wars were fought without blood and had no reference value.
It was yesterday's "Battle of Guanshan" that intimidated all the Chahar troops, but yesterday's battle could not be repeated. Even if the Tatars came in full force, the Ming Dynasty's artillery and muskets would no longer be able to defeat them. Have enough ammunition to complete indiscriminate attacks within range.
And as the number of artillery and musket firings increases, chamber explosions will become more likely to occur than before.
In Wang Shouren's view, since one's own firearms have shown wear and tear and ammunition has been severely depleted, there is no need to continue the bloody battle with the Tatars. If we can successfully withdraw to the Ming Dynasty and bring back the victory, we will actually kill more enemies. Also more effective.
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…
Wang Shouren's army was steadily retreating.
The men and horses of the little Tatar prince Batu Meng did not appear immediately, but the number of reinforcements from various Tatar groups was also increasing.
By the next day, the number of Tatar soldiers and horses trailing behind the Ming Dynasty had exceeded 40,000.
The Tatars mobilized almost all the men and horses left behind at the rear to attack Wang Shouren. It is not that they wanted to prevent Wang Shouren from leading his troops back. When they received the order to dispatch troops, they knew that the people in their rear were being attacked. Wang Shouren gave chase, and only after reinforcements arrived did he realize that the battle was over.
What was lost was irreversible. The only way to avoid Wang Shouren's pursuit was to continue to lead his troops westward, so it was better to "watch" Wang Shouren lead his troops to leave.
As for how Batu Munch will punish them when he comes back...
This is not the scope of their consideration.
The law does not blame everyone. Now no one dares to fight Wang Shouren's troops head-on. No one wants to die. Since Wang Shouren has already chosen to withdraw his troops, even if Batu Monk comes back and gives you a hundred thousand troops, you really Do you dare to directly fight with Wang Shouren?
After this battle is over, will life be difficult for you in the future?
Wang Shouren and his 6,000 soldiers and horses were intercepted and wiped out. The grassland tribes lost tens of thousands of horses. When the Ming Dynasty came back, no one came to kill them?
Zhang Zhou, can you handle it? Or do you think that this battle will make Ming Dynasty give up the offensive and choose to continue to defend?
As for not being reconciled...
There is no question of willingness, because every time the Tatars entered the Central Plains to plunder, every time they retreated, the Ming army watched them leave. It was not that they didn't want to stop them, but they just wanted to calculate the cost.
"According to the topographic map, it takes more than two days and two nights to get from here to the Weining Sea. If you rest in the middle, you may need to walk for three days. And to evacuate from the Weining Sea to Maoerzhuang, where the Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses are stationed, it will take about another day and one night. , don’t make too many stops along the way!”
Wang Shouren took advantage of the pre-battle meeting to convey the current situation to the army generals.
It took about four days and four nights to retreat south to Mao'erzhuang, where the troops and horses on the outside of Datong Town were stationed. This was also where the battle that made him famous happened.
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty has built a city in Maoerzhuang, and Datong has stationed at least tens of thousands of soldiers and horses here, and has re-established beacon towers. Going north to Weining Sea, these are the areas patrolled by the Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses.
"Fortunately, we are going south this time with light troops. If we are besieged by the main Tatar force, we can only fight if we have to! Otherwise, we will avoid fighting!"
"It is a sign that the Tatars have entered within three miles or blocked the road and refused to retreat!"
The Tatars did not take the initiative to start a war, and the Ming Dynasty did not pursue or actively seek combat. This was the withdrawal principle set by Wang Shouren.
This can be regarded as releasing a certain amount of "goodwill" to the Tatars.
You can come to a decisive battle with us for the sake of face. We are not afraid of fighting with you, but please consider the consequences of fighting. Our six thousand people have already killed more than ten thousand of your people, and we have killed enough.
Whatever we kill in the future is what we earn.
Whoever is willing to be the leader, please come up and show your strength. Don't let the whole army be wiped out if you become the leader. The rest of the people will just watch and help, and then the women of your tribe will be inherited by others. , your pastures will also be occupied by others.
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Wang Shouren is withdrawing his troops step by step.
According to the agreement, the Ming Dynasty should have completed the dispatch of troops from all walks of life after the little prince of Tartar withdrew his troops, and tried his best to make every point bloom, but the soldiers of all walks of life were not coordinated in sending troops.
This is related to Yang Yiqing's delay in spreading the accurate news about the Tatar withdrawal.
Yang Yiqing didn't know the reason why Batu Meng withdrew his troops. He knew almost nothing about the war on the grassland. The capital did not transmit the news of Wang Shouren's invasion of the grassland in time. He was still struggling with the relationship with Zhu Feng. The details of "to perform meritorious service" or "to plead guilty".
Qin Hong is also a conservative.
It was clear that the Tatar cavalry around Yansui had withdrawn, and Qin Hong also believed that it might be a "tactic to lure the enemy" by the Tatars, so it was best to observe first.
On the contrary, it was the front line of Piantou Pass. When Wang Qiong learned that the Tatars had begun to retreat inexplicably, he was the first to send troops out of Piantou Pass. It is not that he is more courageous than others, it can only be said that the position of Piantou Pass is Wang Qiong had the largest number of troops, horses and artillery, and he, Wang Qiong, was promoted by Zhang Zhou. He knew that he had to "step forward" at critical moments.
If he doesn't get along well with Zhang Zhou and the emperor, then he won't be able to get along in the court in the future. Don't expect traditional civil servants to side with him in the northwest frontier affairs.
Datong and Xuanfu are relatively quiet.
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…
At this time, an edict was also issued by the emperor himself from the Xuanfu to the west, informing Wang Shouren of the news of marching into the grassland from Liaodong.
This news itself is to reassure the soldiers in the northwest.
This news from east to west was also spread almost at the same time as the news that Batu Meng withdrew his troops from Ningxia from west to east.
At the same time that everyone in the northwest learned that Wang Shouren had gone deep into the grassland, everyone in the northwest also began to know that Batu Meng was leading his troops to withdraw north. Once the two news converged, it was easy to conclude that "Wang Shouren achieved results on the grassland and forced the Tatars I have to withdraw.”
When the news of the Tatar withdrawal reached the capital, it happened to be early in the morning.
Zhu Youtang was also woken up from his sleep. At this time, and it was still an hour before dawn, Zhu Youtang had no intention of going to sleep. He quickly asked Xiao Jing, who had come to deliver the message, to hold a lantern and accompany him to Qianqing Palace.
It was already approaching the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and the weather outside was already freezing cold. Zhu Youtang was still a little uncomfortable when he came out. Fortunately, the eunuch who followed him put a large cloak on him.
"...The little Tatar prince led his troops to retreat. The specific movements are unknown. Reports have also been reported from Yansui, Xuanfu, and Datong, saying that in the past few days, no signs of Tatar activity have been seen..."
When Xiao Jing mentioned the performance in various places, he deliberately did not mention the tilt of the head.
In fact, Wang Qiong's memorial was the earliest, but the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies jointly suppressed it, and they also chose to conceal the news that Wang Qiong's memorial was about to send troops.
If nothing else, this is their best chance to restrain Zhang Zhou, and Wang Qiong’s dispatch of troops is likely to change the strategic outcome... No one wants to let Ming’s 6,000 elite soldiers collapse on the grassland, but the problem is to take the blame The people in charge were not them, but Wang Shouren and Zhang Zhou, so the choice would be different.
We, the old guys, did not dig holes for you, the new group of people headed by Zhang Bingkuan. We just did nothing and did not deliberately help, which is equivalent to "letting things go."
So even if any bad consequences occur, it has nothing to do with us.
"Is there any news about Uncle Xin Xin?"
When Zhu Youtang learned that Batu Meng had withdrawn, he felt that the matter was of great importance, but what he was more concerned about was the report from Wang Shouren's department.
Xiao Jing wondered: "There is no latest movement of Xinjian Bo's march. It is expected that it has penetrated deep into the grassland. Even the scouts will not be able to pass through the Tatar siege unless Xinjian Bo comes from the same direction... that is, Liaodong withdraws to the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Within, otherwise...I am afraid that the total number of Tatars from all walks of life is two to three hundred thousand, and he is..."
Xiao Jing only needs to say half of some words.
Your Majesty, please experience the rest slowly.
Why do you think Wang Shouren can wreak havoc on the grassland with 6,000 soldiers and horses? After the wrath is over, do you still want to escape unscathed? A bit unrealistic, right?
It is very likely that Wang Shouren's group of people will never return. As for how many people they killed along the way, as long as the news cannot be transmitted back, or it is only transmitted back through some words and phrases, there are many ways to make a fuss about it. .
To put it bluntly, you, Wang Shouren, can kill a hundred thousand enemies on the grassland. As long as you don't bring the evidence back, we can say that you didn't kill any of them, and it also led to the annihilation of your entire army.
What we want is "evidence". We can't bring back the results of the victory. It's all about words and no one admits it.
Wang Shouren understood this, so when he had to chase or not, he decisively chose the latter, cleaning up the battlefield first, and then went home happily.
I, Wang Boan, entered the grassland to frighten the Tatars and force the little Tatar prince to return his troops. I did not go to level the grassland with 6,000 cavalry... As for the great task of leveling the grassland, it was not agreed that it would be completed in a few years. ? Six hundred artillery pieces and ten thousand shells want to destroy the grassland? Too idealistic?
…
…
In the Qianqing Palace.
Xiao Jing, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, Chen Kuan and Wei Bin, the eunuchs in Bingbi, are all there. There is also eunuch Li Rong, who was born in the fifth year of Xuande. He is now eighty years old. He once served as the eunuch in charge of the ceremony. Recently, he was re-appointed by Zhu Youtang as the chief pen-writing eunuch...but he does not supervise Dongchang.
In the Ming Dynasty, old people were often re-employed as ceremonial supervisors.
Just like the seniority ranking in the cabinet, people with higher qualifications are promoted step by step, but if they are re-appointed, it is different from the cabinet.
Unless cabinet ministers came back from the system, they were re-appointed after taking office. In terms of seniority, they were ranked from the bottom to the front. For example, after Xie Qian was re-appointed to the cabinet during the Jiajing period, he was ranked highest in terms of seniority, but he did not act as a minister. The first assistant, but the last one.
Li Rong once served as the Chief of Ceremonies. This time he returned to the Chief of Ceremonies, but he did not have to follow two junior people, Chen Kuan and Wei Bin. Instead, he could directly write for the Chief, but he could not aspire to be the Chief of Ceremonies unless he The emperor's special decree.
In other words, the Chief of Ceremony relies more on the emperor's will when hiring people.
The problem of changing the order of eunuchs and eunuchs often occurred, but this situation basically never happened again after the middle and late Ming Dynasty, especially after Wanli.
"His Majesty."
Li Rong, as the chief pen writer, hurriedly presented several memorials that he had prepared in front of the emperor after the emperor came over.
After Zhu Youtang sat down, he calmly picked it up and looked at it.
Xiao Jing had already reported the main issues to him, so Zhu Youtang generally knew that the current situation was that the Tatars were retreating from all sides.
Zhu Youtang asked: "As Qin Hong said, the Tatar movement is unknown. Is it possible that they are pretending to retreat, or are they really retreating?"
This is asking, do the Tatar troops have to retreat, or do they deliberately retreat and wait for us to fight out, so that they can fight back?
Li Rong glanced at Xiao Jing first, and then expressed his opinion: "The old slave believes that the Tatars are hastily withdrawing their troops, otherwise it would be impossible for all the people to be so coordinated."
"That's good." Zhu Youtang said, "Hurry up and send orders to everyone, mobilize troops and troops immediately. We can't just sit back and let Xin Xinbo be isolated and helpless. We must put enough pressure on the Tatars!"
(End of chapter)
