I don't know if it is because Emperor Wanli in this time and space has outstanding martial arts. Over the years, Zhu Yijun has become more and more interested in personally participating in military strategy discussions, and today's Wenhua Zhaoduo is no exception. No, now we are starting to discuss what specific actions should be taken after the various armies are mobilized.
Since it was a military issue, Zhu Yijun undoubtedly still had the most pragmatic opinions. The second was not Song Yingchang, the Minister of War, or Zhou Yong, the elder Zhou Ge who was in charge of the Ministry of War, but Dong Yiyuan.
There is no need to explain why Gao Pragmatic was valued by the emperor, but Dong Yiyuan was because he had controlled Shaanxi and Gansu for a long time during his many years of military career. For example, after the Northwest Rebellion, Dong Yiyuan fought all the way from Shaanxi to Qinghai and Gansu under the command of Wei Xuezeng and Zheng Luo, and his current official position is also the Yansui Commander-in-Chief.
Therefore, Dong Yiyuan obviously has a lot of say in the battle in Gansu. Now that he happens to be in Beijing, Zhu Yijun will of course ask his opinion.
Gao Pangshi had basically finished the strategic concept just now, and the next step was the specific tactics. Zhu Yijun asked this question to Dong Yiyuan, wanting to see if the frontline general had any good ideas.
In fact, judging from the habits of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijun's behavior was a bit bad, because under civilian politics, even when military affairs were discussed, the civilian officials often discussed how to fight, and the military generals only needed to execute and work hard to complete what the civilian officials wanted to do. Just do the assigned tasks. Now Zhu Yijun asked Dong Yiyuan first, which was undoubtedly the wrong order.
However, the current Emperor's prestige is extraordinary - thanks to his high pragmatism, the "Wanli Dynasty" has never been defeated in foreign wars in the past thirty years. Today, the Wanli Emperor is regarded as the master of the ZTE. It can almost be said that Wen Chengwu Virtue. Since he wants Dong Yiyuan to speak first, unless Gao Pragmatic stands up to object, it will be difficult for everyone to interfere.
Gao Jingshi will naturally not object. Not to mention that Dong Yiyuan is his person and is about to retire. Even if he has nothing to do with him, Gao Jingshi will not think that letting Dong Yiyuan speak first will put him at a disadvantage.
Are you kidding me? Who among the current Ming Dynasty court can outdo Nanning Marquis who is more pragmatic on military issues? His current status is not inferior to that of Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and others at the founding of the People's Republic of China, but it is at least not inferior to that of the first British Duke Zhang Fu.
Although he is the Duke of the country and he is only a Marquis, everyone knows that this is due to his status as a civil servant and his young age. It is still too early to say that he is a high-ranking official.
Dong Yiyuan obviously did not expect that the emperor would ask him first. He was startled for a moment, and then said: "Back to the emperor, in my humble opinion, even if the Tumote Mongolian cavalry in Qinghai and Achatu has been mobilized smoothly, it is necessary to arrive It will also take half a month to get near Ganzhou, and the Hetao Cavalry (Ordos Division) will arrive in Ganzhou in a month at the earliest.
This means that Ganzhou will have to hold on for at least half a month, waiting for the two Tumut cavalry to arrive at the outskirts of Ganzhou, attracting the Chahar Mongolian army to divide their forces, reducing the defensive pressure in the city and boosting the morale of the defenders. After holding on for another half month, they had the opportunity to cooperate with the main force of the Hetao cavalry to defeat or repel the Chahar Mongolian army. "
Zhu Yijun frowned and said: "Isn't it said that the Mongolian cavalry can travel hundreds of miles a day? How come it takes so long to get to Ganzhou? Ordos can just pay it back. After all, according to Rixin's intention, Boshu Ketu should go first. Only when he was naturalized and rushed back to Yin Jinhuoluo could he lead his army to the expedition.
However, why did it take half a month for the Tumote cavalry from Qinghai and Achatu to arrive in Ganzhou? I see that their grazing land is on both sides of the river, so it's not that far away. "
Dong Yiyuan explained: "The emperor does not know that the Mongolian cavalry can naturally travel hundreds of miles a day during war, but they are not always in one place, but are scattered throughout the vast grassland and are composed of various large and small tribes. .
This means that if they have no plan to send troops to fight in advance, then from the time they receive the order from the court, to the leaders ordering the herdsmen to gather in the Khan tent and the commander's tent, and then to counting the troops and horses to go out for the expedition, it will cost a lot of money. Most of the time.
Based on my knowledge of the garrison range in Qinghai and Achatu areas, this process alone would take at least ten days. Therefore, it was only half a month after the two cavalry appeared near Ganzhou. "
So that's it. Zhu Yijun understood. It seemed that his previous understanding was wrong. Although the Mongols could advance and retreat at any time during a war, they still had to make preparations before starting a war. At least mobilizing troops would be very time-consuming - of course, this was not as good as The Ming Dynasty was still much faster, at least they almost didn't have to consider "the troops and horses have not yet moved the food and grass first".
Gao Pragmatic knew better than Dong Yiyuan what the background of Zhu Yijun, an emperor with "prosperous martial arts" was like. Seeing that although Dong Yiyuan explained the recruitment of Mongolian cavalry, he seemed to have acquiesced that His Majesty the Emperor understood the combat mode of Mongolian cavalry, so he had to cough lightly and take the initiative. Take the conversation.
Gao pragmatically said: "Your Majesty, Dong Zongrong still has some details that he has not explained clearly. The half month or so he just mentioned was the time when two groups of Tumut cavalry arrived at the outskirts of Ganzhou. In fact, even at that point, it was not It doesn’t mean they can launch an attack immediately.”
Zhu Yijun said in surprise: "Why is this? They don't need to wait for the baggage. Since they are on the battlefield, why can't they start the war immediately?"
"Because the Mongolian cavalry has always attached great importance to reconnaissance in combat." Gao pragmatically said: "Generally speaking, the Mongolian cavalry pays the most attention to preliminary reconnaissance work when fighting, and rarely fights unprepared battles.
For example, before fighting, they will try their best to collect information about the enemy's roads, rivers, fortifications, army composition, and the adequacy of supplies, etc., and use it during the war.
When the Mongolian army marches, they usually send forwards in front of the main army, and there are also sentries in front of the forwards. As long as it is a small group of more than a few hundred people, sentries must be sent around to conduct reconnaissance.
There are two types of reconnaissance. One is armed sentry, which is usually carried out when there are enemy troops around. The sentry riders often climb high to see far away, or plunder the enemy, and approach the enemy's camp sentry to obtain intelligence.
The other type is the sentinels who march in peacetime, mainly to discover residents. Once residents or travelers are discovered, they must capture and inquire about the surrounding terrain, troop distribution, what fortresses, forts, where supplies can be found, etc.
The distribution of this kind of sentry during the march can sometimes be as far as two hundred kilometers in front of the army. Once intelligence is discovered, it will be reported to the commander-in-chief according to its importance.
It is precisely because of this that the Mongolian army in its heyday three hundred years ago was almost never ambushed. In combat, the Mongolian army is often more familiar with the environment around the battlefield than the local army, and can use the local environment to help combat.
Nowadays, although the capabilities of various Mongolian tribes in these aspects have degraded to varying degrees, since they know that the enemy they face is Burihatu, Chahar's last famous general, they must not dare to take it lightly.
Therefore, I am more pessimistic about the speed of the two troops' advance than Dong Zongrong... I think it will take about twenty days for them to truly assist Ganzhou. "
When Gao Pragmatic said this, it was Zhu Yijun's turn to become worried. He frowned and said, "Xu Sanwei said that the situation in Ganzhou is extremely dangerous. I don't know whether it is true or not. Can Ganzhou stop Burihatu at the moment?" Attack on the 20th?"
Dong Yiyuan opened his mouth, then suddenly remembered his identity, closed his mouth again, and looked towards Gao Yingshi. Unexpectedly, Gao Pragmatic smiled at him and said, "Dong Zongrong, you are a veteran of Shaanxi and Gansu. If you have something to say, it doesn't matter."
Dong Yiyuan said "I'm sorry", and then carefully bowed to Zhu Yijun and said: "Your Majesty, I think one thing is crucial to whether Ganzhou can be defended, and that is whether Burihatu has a large amount of gunpowder in his hands."
He suddenly said this, and everyone including Zhu Yijun immediately recalled that Burihatu had learned the art of blowing up city walls back then. Although Burihatu's method of blowing up the city wall is relatively primitive, as long as he succeeds, it is indeed very powerful. As long as the amount of gunpowder is guaranteed, it is easy to blow down the city wall.
"Shura Martial God"
Song Yingchang's expression changed at this time, and he said in shock: "No, Xu Sanwei's memorial made it very clear that the Chahar Mongolian army carried a large number of Rumi blunderbuss this time. Since they carried a large number of firearms, then other troops The gunpowder is naturally indispensable..."
Zhu Yijun felt nervous when he heard this, and asked pragmatically: "Rixin, do you think Burihatu's method of bombing the city can be implemented in Ganzhou?"
Gao Pragmatic was still calm, pondered for a moment, and replied: "His method is actually a stupid method. Someone needs to seal a large amount of gunpowder and bury it at the foot of the city wall and then suddenly detonate it. This sudden vibration will cause the city wall to collapse. Therefore, if alone From a combat perspective, he had only two ways to achieve this premise.
The first method is to use siege equipment as a cover to force a large amount of gunpowder to the foot of the city wall. But this method is too obvious. Our soldiers on the city towers and walls cannot remain indifferent when they see it. They will definitely try their best to destroy the siege vehicles, or shoot and bombard the soldiers pushing the siege vehicles, making it impossible to achieve their goals.
The second method is to dig a tunnel. Just dig the tunnel to the foot of the city wall, bury the sealed gunpowder, pull the fuse, and ignite it from a distance to blast.
However, there is no way to deal with this method: there must be a listener in our army's city to check whether anyone is digging tunnels. If the Mongolian army is found digging tunnels, whether it is pouring water, pouring poisonous smoke, or even sending troops to rebel This method can be broken by digging tunnels, shooting at them in the tunnels, and fighting melee.
Your Majesty, the power of the Mongolian cavalry lies in riding. Once we engage in close combat in tunnels, our army's chances of winning will greatly increase. The Mongols themselves know this. Therefore, as long as the tunnel is discovered in advance and countermeasures are taken, I believe that Burihatu is unlikely to force his troops to continue the operation. "
Zhu Yijun felt a little relieved and said to Song Yingchang: "I must remember that in my reply to Xu Sanwei, I must write down the countermeasures taken by the Marquis of Nanning. Don't lose sight of Jingzhou." Song Yingchang bowed to receive the order.
"In addition to blowing up the city wall, is there any other means Burihatu can use to break through Ganzhou in a short time?" Zhu Yijun asked again.
Dong Yiyuan said: "I thought that the Chahar-Mongolian army came from a long distance and marched very fast. I guess it is still mainly cavalry. In this way, it is unlikely to have a large number of artillery. Therefore, as long as the method of bombing the city is not used, there should be no Is there any other way to quickly break the city?"
Gao Pangshi stretched out his hand to stop, and said thoughtfully: "I am not so optimistic, because there are still variables in this matter that the court has not yet figured out."
Zhu Yijun asked: "What variables?"
"The fall of Suzhou." Gao Pingshi thought deeply and said, "If I remember correctly, since the victory in the battle against Yuan Dynasty, the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of War have provided more than 500 new No. 2 and No. 3 artillery pieces to the towns in the northwest. Among them, Suzhou should have obtained at least more than thirty gates.
However, Suzhou was obviously not vigilant this time, which led to its rapid fall, so that it is unknown whether the thirty artillery pieces have fallen into the hands of Burihatu. If Burihatu obtains these thirty artillery pieces, then as long as they can be used rationally, they will be nothing less than a major threat to Ganzhou city defense..."
Gao Pangshi had never been to Ganzhou, so when he mentioned this, he had to ask Dong Yiyuan: "Dong Zongrong, is the Ganzhou city strong and what is its shape?"
"Ganzhou City... When the general entered Qinghai, he actually stationed in Ganzhou for more than two months, so he knows it quite well."
Dong Yiyuan thought for a while and said: "Ganzhou City was built before the Western Xia Dynasty. It was expanded during the Dade Period of the BC Yuan Dynasty and rebuilt in the second year of Da De. It is said that the circumference of Ganzhou City at that time was nine miles and thirty steps (one step is equal to five feet). In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, the governor Song Cheng built an additional three miles and 327 steps to the east of the old city. The total circumference was 12 miles and 357 steps, three feet high and three feet thick.
As for the city defense, there is a gate in the east, west, south and north center of the Ganzhou city wall, with banners inlaid on each gate. The east gate is Yangxu Gate, the second gate is Yinbin Gate; the west gate is Huaixin Gate, and the second gate is Guangde Gate, the third gate is Xuanwei Gate; the south gate is Yan'en Gate, the second gate is Shixun Gate, the third gate is Xingxun Gate; the north gate is Zhenyuan Gate, and the second gate is Yongkang Gate.
A three-story gatehouse and turret with cornices and angled corners are built on the top of each city gate and at the four corners of the city wall; an urn is built outside the main gate; a moat is built around the city, one foot to seven feet deep and three feet to seven feet wide, even to the city gate. There is a stone hole bridge on each river.
There are city walls built on the east, south and north sides of the city; the east wall is four miles and one hundred and thirty paces long, two feet and two feet high and two feet and one foot thick; the south wall is two miles and twenty-four paces long and equal in height and thickness to the east wall; the north wall is as long as the east wall. Half of the city's height and thickness are equal to those of the Dongguo, but no city wall was built in the west of the city. "
Zhu Yijun interrupted: "This is just the shape of the city, what about the city defense?"
"Your Majesty, don't be impatient, let me come." Dong Yiyuan continued: "In the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, when Chen Pei, the censor of the governor's capital, inspected the defenses in Hexi, he discovered that the city walls of Ganzhou were all made of rammed earth. , the city gates were all made of wooden planks, so the governor led the defenders to build six enemy towers around the city, for a total of twenty-four.
The enemy platform built this time is more than ten feet high, divided into three layers, with gun holes, which can place different artillery to form cross fire, which greatly strengthens the defense. In the second year of Wanli, Shi Maohua, the right deputy censor of the Governor-General's Trilateral Military Affairs Inspectorate and the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Liao Fengjie, the censor of the governor of Gansu Province, successively reported to the court and appropriated the money. Construction started on the second day of the third lunar month of that year and lasted for two years. The city wall of Ganzhou was entirely covered with bricks and stones and underwent a large-scale reinforcement and repair.
According to what I learned when I was stationed in Ganzhou, the city wall was built with more than 4.88 million bricks, more than 11,000 stone strips, and 17,500 stones of lime. Since then, Ganzhou's city defense has been greatly strengthened. "
Speaking of this, Dong Yiyuan Gao pragmatically bowed his hand and said: "It is said that in the 23rd year of Wanli, the Marquis transferred the household funds to Ganzhou and strengthened the city defense. However, I had not been in Ganzhou for a long time. , how to reinforce it is unknown.
However, according to what I heard, Ganzhou already had 64 city defense artillery pieces at that time, including twelve No. 2 cannons. From this point of view, I think the city defense of Ganzhou is strong enough, and it can even be called the most powerful city in Gansu. As for the grain reserves in Ganzhou, they should be enough to last for one year, so there is no need to worry. "
Zhu Yijun was overjoyed after hearing this, looked at Gao Pragmatic, and said with a smile: "Well done by Rixin! It seems that Ganzhou has nothing to worry about. We only need to discuss how to fight after the three lines of Mongolian cavalry meet up."
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