Chapter 77 King Yan’s Determination
Zhaozhou City, Sanhekou Fort.
King Yan has been here all winter.
King Yan has been ready to attack Mongolia since last year. They hid here with 30,000 elite cavalry throughout the winter. Even in winter, they were constantly sent out at night to explore where the Mongols spent the winter.
King Yan knew very well that the opportunity he had today was hard-won.
I don't know how many people are watching this opportunity to destroy this morning eclipse. If he doesn't do well, it's hard to say he'll have another chance.
Not to mention, the various changes in the center of the imperial court also made King Yan want to leave this circle of right and wrong as soon as possible.
Therefore, King Yan decided to attack the Mongolian winter camp.
The reason why the assault on the Mongolian winter camp must be in late autumn or early spring is also very simple. The winter in Mobei is quite cruel. If you really attack in winter, it will be light if you reduce it to 50% out of 10%.
But precisely because of the cold winter in Mobei, the Mongolians did not have many choices.
The Mongolian grasslands may seem endless, but there are not many places that can truly be called winter camps.
First of all, this place must be covered by mountains and not too high. If there were no mountains to shelter from the wind and snow, the snow could swallow up the entire camp. Secondly, the aquatic plants in this area should be good, and provide fodder for winter as much as possible. Risk of livestock mortality at the bottom. There is also enough water. You must know that although there is a lot of snow in Mobei in winter, there may also be a severe drought and there will be no snow throughout the winter. There are so many people in the camp at that time, and they also need to drink water.
Even if the river is frozen in winter, there is still water flowing under the ice.
In addition, the Ming Dynasty's troops had already arrived in Zhaozhou, not far from the Mongolian grassland.
In order to avoid the Ming Dynasty's military front, the Mongols actually didn't have many choices for their winter campsites.
This is why, after much thought, King Yan decided to take action during this season. Because in summer, Mongolians have too many choices. The difficulty in the decisive battle in Mobei is never to defeat the enemy, but to find the enemy.
It’s just that the whole winter is almost over.
King Yan spent the whole day looking north from the top of Sanhebao. He sent out elite soldiers all night, but no one came back, and no one could tell him where the Mongolian camp was.
In fact, King Yan was mentally prepared for this situation. Even with more preparations, a small team wandering around the vast desert in winter to find Mongolian campsites is an almost lifeless task.
King Yan was also prepared that no one could come back.
But winter is almost over.
There is not much time left for King Yan.
If he doesn't make a decision now, this window of time has passed.
King Yan took a deep breath, and a white rainbow spurted out from his mouth, rushed half a foot away, and then slowly disappeared into the air.
King Yan said: "Blow the drum to gather the generals."
The rumble of drums shook the ice and snow.
After a while, all the generals under King Yan had gathered in the Sanhebao Yamen.
King Yan is not talking nonsense. Everyone here knows the current situation. King Yan just asked one question, should we fight now or not?
Zhang Yu said: "Your Highness, the arrow has to be fired when it is on the string. The soldiers have been working hard for more than half a year. If they don't fight, it will greatly damage their morale. It will also affect the military power of your Highness. Moreover, the coldest season in Mobei has passed, and now spring has begun to bloom in the south of the Yangtze River. Now. At this moment, the soldiers have adapted to the northern environment and are strong enough to fight."
Ping An was silent for a long time and said: "I will obey His Highness's military orders."
"Yes." The generals below said one after another: "Please give the order, Your Highness. If Your Highness asks us to fight, we will fight."
King Yan could actually see it.
Zhang Yu understood his thoughts, and King Yan could not miss this opportunity. In fact, he already wanted to do it last year. But in the end I let it go. He must ensure that nothing goes wrong. Now he is ready to the extreme.
Each soldier is equipped with two war horses, wearing thick cotton clothes and fur hats on his head. There are also some portable small heaters that can contain coal, charcoal, wood, etc. Used for heating. Moreover, these soldiers have been in the Northeast for more than two years and have adapted to the cold in the Northeast.
It is true that facing the cold in Mobei, no matter how prepared you are, it may not be foolproof.
Although King Yan didn't know what marginal utility was, he knew that if he wanted to improve the soldiers' ability to withstand the cold, more would have to be invested, which was already very cost-effective.
After all, this place is the northernmost place in the entire Ming Dynasty, and anything transported here requires freight. If it weren't for the opening of the Liaosong Canal, it would be normal for anything in the hands of these soldiers to be ten times higher than the price in the mainland.
All kinds of pressure are on King Yan, and if he waits any longer, there will be no substantial improvement in the bargaining chip in King Yan's hands.
If we don’t fight now, when will we wait?
As for Ping An, I don’t want to fight at this time. Because Ping An belongs to Feng Sheng. Of course, the reason why Ping An didn't want to fight was not for Feng Sheng's sake, but for the sake of the soldiers. If a war started at this time, it was certain that there would be non-combat casualties.
As for how much, it depends on God’s will.
And Ping An only thought about the war, but actually did not think about the final word. After many attacks, he would always be able to capture the main force of the Tatars. Now that the Liaosong Canal is open, Changchun Dusi has the strength to launch multiple attacks.
However, the problem is that King Yan is unwilling to do this.
Feng Sheng learned from the past. Feng Sheng originally thought of defeating Naha Chu and destroying Bei Yuan. Just one last breath away, what's the result? Feng Sheng returned to Nanjing to retire, and his last trembling was in the hands of King Yan.
Regarding the central situation, King Yan could not guarantee that if he missed a single hit, would he still have a second chance?
It's just that Ping An understands the world and is not prepared to compete with King Yan. As for the other generals, they are all King Yan's people. After hearing what King Yan said, there was naturally nothing to say.
King Yan said: "Okay, in that case." King Yan drew out his long sword, struck it on the table with one sword, and said through gritted teeth: "Everyone, go back and prepare. We will set off in three days. Each person will bring thirty days of dry food. We don’t bring any tents, we attack them all, and we won’t fight back until we win.”
"Yes." Everyone agreed loudly, then opened the door curtain, faced the wind and snow that rolled in, and strode away.
There was only one person left, and it was none other than Lian Zining.
After several years of experience, Lian Zining is obviously much smarter and more capable than before. He said to King Yan: "All preparations are in place. Everything that should be prepared was prepared last autumn. Whether it is military rations, various cold-proof materials, or even other small things, they are all ready."
"Your Highness, please rest assured."
King Yan suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Lian, will we fall short this time?"
Lian Zining said: "His Royal Highness must be His Majesty's son, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also agreed to it. If this battle doesn't go well, it doesn't really matter. Your Highness, just relax."
King Yan sighed and said, "Relax?" Then he shook his head.
This battle was the first battle presided over by King Yan. Even King Yan himself never thought that he could preside over this war to destroy the country. Even though the Yuan Dynasty has survived to this point, it is still a big country.
How could he relax.
But King Yan also knew that it was no use how much entanglement he had in his heart at this moment. You can't let go if you relax. But it’s not like I can’t hold on.
King Yan did not dwell on this topic, but said directly to Lian Zining: "Changchun will be left to you."
Lian Zining said: "Your Highness, please rest assured."
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Three days later, King Yan's troops divided into two groups, left Zhaozhou City, and headed north in the wind and snow. King Yan personally led the way and attacked northwest. The other route was led by Ping An and was dozens of miles away from King Yan. The reason for dividing the troops is not because of anything else. Just because we need to cover these campsites.
Don't miss any of them.
Finally, they met on the banks of the Onan River. The Onan River is the holy river of the Mongols and the place where Genghis Khan rose to power. This is also the northernmost point that King Yan decided to go on this Northern Expedition. The reason is very simple. He only brought dry food for thirty days. If there were no miscalculated flowers, he would be here in about fifteen days.
You need to return immediately.
Even King Yan didn't think that the Mongols would be on the banks of the Onan River. The reason is simple, the Onan River is a little too north.
