Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 1 The Great Emperor Hongwu _ Chapter 15 Expedition to the Desert
Zhu Yuanzhang drew up an almost perfect plan this time, and all his famous generals participated in this operation. He summoned an army of 150,000 people and appointed Xu Da as the general to conquer the captives, Li Wenzhong as the deputy general on the left, and Feng Sheng as the right general.
The deputy generals each led 50,000 troops and went out in three groups.
Among them, Xu Da was used as the middle route, leaving Yanmen Pass to attack Helin, and along the way he publicized that Wang Baobao and the Beiyuan Emperor would be driven out of their hometown. However, this was just a trick. His real purpose was to lure the Yuan army into battle and annihilate the enemy in the field. This
The plan can explain two points: first, the strength of the Ming army at that time was already quite powerful and could decisively fight with the Yuan army in the wild; second, Zhu Yuanzhang's military thinking had reached a very high level, that is, the main purpose was to annihilate the enemy's effective strength.
Very rare.
In addition, Li Wenzhong was on the right, leaving Juyongguan via Yingchang and approaching Helin. When Xu Da's army was in a decisive battle with the Yuan army, he launched an attack by surprise, cutting off the Yuan army's retreat in one fell swoop; and joined forces with Xu Da to attack the Yuan army.
Feng Sheng led the west route and attacked Gansu. He had no fixed strategic purpose and was just acting as a suspect. It can be said that this route was basically for sightseeing and grabbing loot.
Zhu Yuanzhang's strategic deployment included main attack, auxiliary attack, and feint attack. Attacks were carried out in separate ways. When the time comes, a three-way attack can be carried out. It can be called a perfect military plan.
But as we said before, the changes on the battlefield are so fast that no one can fully grasp them, not even outstanding military strategists like Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da.
The time for the expedition has arrived. Among the three generals, Feng Sheng was in the lowest mood because he believed that his military ability was not bad, but he only played a supporting role, while Xu Da and Li Wenzhong were quite arrogant. As the protagonists of the war,
This battle must defeat Bei Yuan!
Feng Sheng, in fact, there is no need for you to be depressed, because in war, the protagonist and the supporting role are often swapped.
On the twenty-second day of the first month of the fifth year of Hongwu (1372), three armies attacked Beiyuan from different routes. Different fates awaited them.
Sapphire
Before setting off for the expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang asked the generals to choose their own vanguard. To the surprise of many people, Xu Da chose a junior general because he was Chang Yuchun's brother-in-law, and Chang Yuchun was his elder brother.
partner, so many people speculated that Xu Da went through the back door this time and deliberately allowed this person to perform meritorious service to appease Chang Yuchun's regret that he could not go on the expedition. Because of the powerful troops in the Beiyuan expedition, many people thought it was a sure win.
During the war, everyone wanted to rush to make meritorious deeds and were very dissatisfied with Xu Da's appointment of a private person.
They underestimated Xu Da too much. The reason why he chose this person to go on the expedition was simply because he was indeed the most suitable candidate.
This person is Lan Yu.
Depressed Feng Sheng also picked his vanguard, Fu Youde. This is a true legend. He seems to have never lost a battle before, but because there are not many opportunities to perform, his reputation is far less than that of Guo Xing and others. Feng Sheng
Choosing him as the vanguard seems to be a bit of an understatement.
The choices of these two people largely saved this unsuccessful expedition, which can only be described as unintentional.
On February 29, the fifth year of Hongwu's reign, Xu Da's army entered Shanxi. Lan Yu led the cavalry as the vanguard and left Yanmen Pass first. He was lucky and met Wang Baobao's cavalry at Yemachuan (now the Kullen River in Mongolia).
Lan Yu took the lead bravely and defeated Wang Baobao in one fell swoop. This was Wang Baobao's first retreat.
On March 20, Lan Yu pursued all night and attacked Wang Baobao again at the Tula River (now Ulan Batorxi, Mongolia). Wang Baobao was defeated and fled north. This was Wang Baobao's second retreat.
Xu Da and Lan Yu are very excited. Defeat Wang Baobao only tomorrow!
Wang Baobao finally waited for his opportunity, the opportunity to take revenge. As early as a month ago, he got the news of the Ming army's expedition. After carefully considering the strength of his army, he correctly realized that his military ability was not as good as
Xu Da's army's combat effectiveness was not as good as the Ming army's cavalry. They could not fight the Ming army head-on. If they fought, they would be defeated. If they wanted to defeat the Ming army, they could only use an ambush.
In order to achieve this goal, he agreed with Yuan general He Zongzhe to set a trap in Lingbei (now northern Inner Mongolia). So at the beginning of the campaign, he kept sending troops to contact the Ming army and deliberately defeated it. It should be said that Lan Yu was a
A calm-minded general, he did not go deep alone, but waited for the arrival of Xu Da's army. At this time, Xu Da was already dazzled by the victory, and he was fooled.
On May 6, Wang Baobao suddenly appeared in Lingbei, and Xu Da immediately led the army to pursue him. When he entered the mountainous area of Lingbei, He Zongzhe suddenly appeared and attacked the Ming army. Due to lack of precautions, the Ming army was defeated and more than 10,000 people were killed and injured.
At that time, Wang Baobao and He Zongzhe joined forces and prepared to annihilate Xu Da's army in one fell swoop.
But Xu Da is Xu Da after all, and the subjects he learned in the fourth grade saved him. Under extremely unfavorable circumstances, he stabilized the situation with unimaginable rationality and calmness, safely evacuated the army, and built
Lan Yu was very brave in the battle and covered the retreat of the army many times, which showed his quality as a famous general.
Wang Baobao watched the cooked duck fly again. He could only look at the sky and sigh, he could not defeat Xu Da in this life!
Same people but different fates
At the same time that Xu Da's army failed in the middle, Li Wenzhong's military actions also fully demonstrated the accuracy of the saying that misfortune never comes alone. On June 29, Li Wenzhong led his army to Kouwen (now south of Chagan Nuoer in Inner Mongolia), and the Yuan army was defeated.
Li Wenzhong seemed to have been infected by Xu Da, and he also began to underestimate the enemy's advance. He left his baggage behind and personally led the lightly armed army to pursue the Yuan army.
Li Wenzhong is not without strategic considerations. The characteristic of his military use is the word "fast". If Xu Da is compared to a well-strategic long-distance runner, Li Wenzhong is an expert in the 100-meter race. In Yingchang, he created a day
The record of breaking the city; this time, he recognized that the Yuan army was unprepared, so he boldly pursued it in order to annihilate the Yuan army in one fell swoop.
When he pursued the Aluhun River (now northwest of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), he finally found the defeated Yuan army, but it seemed a little different from what he imagined. This army did not escape in embarrassment and fatigue. On the contrary
Everyone is energetic and eager to try.
Seems to have been fooled.
This army was led by Yuan general Manzi Harazhang, a very talented general. He adopted the same strategy as Wang Baobao, attracting the main force of the Ming army to attack, and then looking for opportunities for a decisive battle. At this time, Li Wenzhong's army had been pursuing continuously.
After several days, they were very tired, but the Yuan army used a small force to lure him, but the large force got a full rest. They had been waiting here for Li Wenzhong for a long time.
At this point, stop saying anything and let the fight begin.
Li Wenzhong was really powerful. Under extremely unfavorable circumstances, he personally led his troops to fight against the Yuan army. After several days of fierce fighting, he actually defeated the Yuan army and annihilated tens of thousands of enemies. However, the Ming army also suffered many casualties. It is said that the battle reached this point.
Now that I have some face, it's time to go back, but Li Wenzhong is not someone to be trifled with.
Against all odds, he led his army to Chenghai (now Lake Haraus, Mongolia) with his astonishing willpower and commanding ability. He must drive away the Yuan soldiers and kill them all. The Yuan general Barbarian Halazhang knew that he was in big trouble and provoked
He had already ordered his troops to retreat from this evil star to avoid Li Wenzhong. If he couldn't afford to fight him, why couldn't he hide?
Unexpectedly, Li Wenzhong deceived people so much that he didn't give any face. He chased him all the way and refused to give up until his death. As the saying goes, a dog will jump over the wall when it is anxious, let alone a human! The Yuan army immediately deployed in a decisive battle posture, intending to fight with Ming.
The army fought to the death. Although Li Wenzhong was brave, he was not stupid. Seeing that the Yuan army was about to fight for his life, he collected his troops and built a fort, and defended himself against the Yuan army. The Yuan army was very surprised and did not understand that the Yuan army had chased them for hundreds of miles.
Why did the guy suddenly stop fighting? But this guy was too scary. They were afraid of the Ming army’s plot and didn’t dare to act rashly. The two sides ended up in a stalemate.
Not long after, Li Wenzhong discovered that there was not enough food, so he swaggered away with his troops like a parade. Seeing his arrogance, the Yuan army believed that there must be an ambush and did not dare to pursue them. Li Wenzhong then returned with his troops.
Although Xu Da and Li Wenzhong achieved their goal of attacking the Yuan army to a certain extent, they could only be considered a draw, not a victory.
However, the Western Route Army, which was least expected at the time, created a miracle. The creator of this miracle was none other than Fu Youde.
The direction of the West Route Army's advance was Lanzhou. After arriving in Lanzhou, Feng Sheng made a decision to divide his troops.
Since his mission this time was just to be a suspect and there was no combat mission, 50,000 people were idle under his command, so he might as well let them do something. But Feng Sheng was a first-class military general after all, and he knew what was going on in the desert.
Spreading troops is a taboo, so he only gave Fu Youde 5,000 men. What's even more surprising is that he didn't give Fu Youde a clear strategic mission. This can't be blamed on Feng Sheng, because he himself didn't have a specific strategic mission.
It seems to me that Feng Sheng saw that his 50,000 people had nothing to do and asked them to go out and hang out.
Five thousand men is indeed not many, but it depends on whose hands it is. Once these soldiers are in the hands of Fu Youde, they will become famous.
The amazing Fu Youde
Fu Youde did not hold back just because his troops were small. After judging the current situation, he personally led 5,000 cavalry to attack Xiliang (now Wuwei, Gansu) and defeated Yuan general Shilahan. He won a victory.
After the victory, Fu Youde marched non-stop and attacked Yongchang (now part of Gansu). He defeated Yuan Taiwei Duo'er Zhiba and killed thousands of enemies. He won two victories.
At this time, Feng Sheng finally saw Fu Youde's strength clearly, and he boldly handed over the main force to Fu Youde. For Fu Youde, this was tantamount to adding more wings to the tiger. He personally led the troops to attack the Yuan army again at Saolin Mountain (today's
North of Jiuquan, Gansu), captured Yuan Pingzhang alive and killed more than 500 Yuan soldiers. Three victories.
At this time, the Yuan army in Gansu was in extreme panic. They heard from everywhere that there was a madman named Fu Youde who would fight the Yuan army whenever he saw it.
To cause trouble for oneself.
However, Fu Youde was like a clockwork alarm clock that could not stop. On June 3rd, he continued to attack. This time, the unlucky one was Yuan General Shangdu Lu. He happened to encounter Fu Youde. As a result, his entire army was wiped out and he was also killed.
The prisoners surrendered. Four victories.
On June 11, Fu Youde's army attacked Yiji Nailu (today's Ejina Banner in Inner Mongolia). Boyan Timur, the defender of the Yuan army, heard that Fu Youde was coming and lost the courage to resist. He immediately opened the city and surrendered. Five victories.
.
Fu Youde's army continued to advance, and met the main force of the Yuan army led by King Duo'er of Yuanqi at the Biedu Mountain Pass. Fu Youde didn't say anything, but attacked as soon as they encountered it. He defeated tens of thousands of Yuan troops and captured more than 20 civil and military officials.
Qi Wang Duo'er escaped alone. Six wins.
After that, he led his troops to pursue Guazhou (now Anxi, Gansu), defeated the local Yuan army, and seized a large number of trophies such as cattle and sheep. He won seven victories.
The fight lasted until October. Because too many trophies were captured, the marching speed of the army was seriously affected. The Yuan army was frightened by the attack and fled when they saw the West Route Army. There was no battle to fight. On the 24th
, the Ming army returned to the DPRK.
In the five months from May to October, the Yuan army suffered terribly. Fu Youde led tens of thousands of troops to fight from Gansu to Mongolia. He was invincible and tormented the Yuan army back and forth. The Yuan army was afraid and hated, and could not win the battle. He hid.
I can't hide, I live in fear all day long.
Fu Youde used tens of thousands of troops to enter the territory of the Northern Yuan Dynasty as if he were in an uninhabited territory, crossing the north and south, but no one could stop him! It really impressed future generations, and his immortal legend of seven victories in seven battles was recorded in the annals of history.
In November, Xu Da of the Middle Route Army and Li Wenzhong of the Right Route Army also dispatched troops one after another due to the unfavorable fighting situation. In this Northern Expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang did not achieve his goal of purging the Bei Yuan Dynasty, but the Bei Yuan Dynasty realized the power of the Ming Dynasty, and the two sides
Entering a stalemate, the first generation of famous generals of the Ming Dynasty also ended their legends and were about to face their future destiny.
This deadlock was broken only after more than ten years, and the person who broke it was Lan Yu who grew up during the Northern Expedition.