The northern expedition of tens of thousands of Ming troops took nearly two months.
When Li Wensheng led the victorious army back to Datong, the Ming army's second northern expedition to Monan in the second year of the Apocalypse came to an end.
Yes, Li Wensheng was the last to return from the three-way northern expedition, and Cao Wenzhao was the first to return.
There is no other reason. In fact, those Mongols have already fled.
It was difficult to find him, so Cao Wenzhao had no choice but to return to his army.
But even so, he was not without achievements.
In more than a month, he raided three tribes and captured more than 7,000 heads.
Of course, it includes the heads of old, young, women and children, real young adults, but there are only about two thousand heads.
And Man Gui's gains were even worse,
Worse than Cao Wenzhao,
Because there has already been a customs raid.
The Mongolian tribes in the southeastern part of the grassland had already fled before the Ming army could march north.
He just wiped out two tribes with thousands of households, and they were still half-dead.
There are only more than a thousand heads of young and strong heads.
But he was content. After all, he had already achieved military exploits, and people couldn't be too greedy.
The news of the victory of the three Ming armies has already spread to every corner of Datong.
It was a great blessing for the country to have such a great victory, especially the common people, who were even more grateful.
They lived in this borderland and were devastated. Every time the Mongols went south to clear grass and valleys, they would suffer.
The imperial court had wiped out the Monan Grassland this time, and with the emperor's new policy, they finally had a good life.
Some people even spontaneously ran outside the Daiwang Palace, knelt down and shouted long live the emperor.
Apocalypse is also a mighty sage.
Zhu Youxiao, who was in the Jiaotai Hall, was also very excited at this time.
Two years after he ascended the throne, he finally made some achievements. Monan was leveled, and the border towns were free from worries.
What excited him the most was that Li Wensheng lived up to his high expectations, defeated Huang Taiji in one battle, and beheaded Jiannu 3,000 levels.
The cavalry regiment in the middle route killed more than 10,000 heads, which was more than Mangui and Cao Wenzhao's kills combined.
At this time, Zhu Youxiao was in a good mood. After verifying the heads of the battle results, the imperial edict of the reward finally resounded through the Jiaotai Hall.
Li Wensheng had the most fruitful results and military exploits, and Zhu Youxiao also fulfilled his promise before leaving.
He was granted the title of Chief Military Officer of Datong, in charge of military and defense matters in Datong, and was granted the title of General of the Expedition to the West.
Hang the general's seal, reward two thousand taels of silver, and hundreds of pieces of brocade.
Guerrilla general Li Wei,
For his great achievements, he was rewarded with two thousand taels of silver and one hundred pieces of brocade. However, due to his serious injury, his position will not be adjusted for the time being.
The guerrilla general Hu Dawei was promoted to the post of General of the West Road Guards in Datong Town for his merits. He was rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and a hundred pieces of brocade.
He assisted the general Song Chao in attacking and was promoted to the guerrilla general of the Xiaoqi camp, succeeding Hu Dawei. He was rewarded with five hundred taels of silver and forty pieces of brocade.
Qianzong Li Hong was promoted to the general of assisting attack and was rewarded with two hundred taels of silver and forty pieces of brocade.
There were also two distinguished sons who went out with the army. They also achieved military merit in this battle. After a good training, they were promoted by Zhu Youxiao as the sentry commander of the Xiaoqi Battalion.
Cao Wenzhao, the commander-in-chief of the West Route, was promoted to the rank of general of the Xiaoqi Battalion and succeeded Li Wensheng in commanding one of the four battalions of the Yulin Army.
This surprised all the generals, especially Li Wensheng.
It was certain that he would be promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of Datong. He originally thought that his military exploits would help Li Wei to be promoted to General of Staff, but unexpectedly he was seriously injured and was taken advantage of by Cao Wenzhao.
Two of Cao Wenzhao's assistant generals, Wang Gui and Zhang Tao, were also promoted to guerrilla positions.
Mangui is already at the top of today's military generals' ranks. Not only is he the chief military officer, but he is also awarded the royal flag.
Even if he has achieved considerable military merit, his official position cannot be further promoted.
So Zhu Youxiao decided to give him a title, making him Zhenbei Bo, and rewarded him with a thousand taels of silver.
This surprised Man Gui and the generals present. In terms of military merit, even if Man Gui's two military achievements were added together, they would not be worth Li Wensheng's.
Although the generals of the Yulin Army knew that he was capable and a good general in battle, they never expected that he would be conferred a title of uncle, especially since he was a Mongolian.
"Your Majesty, my military merits are not enough to confer a title. I would like to ask your Majesty to take back the order. I dare not accept it."
Man Gui quickly knelt down and shouted.
"Okay, I have always made clear rewards and punishments. Although your military achievements are a bit lacking, your family has been in the army for generations and guarded border towns for the Ming Dynasty for decades. You are loyal and loyal."
"Your loyalty to Huang Ming can be seen from the sun and the moon, and I know it in my heart. Moreover, you have recruited and stabilized many Mongolian tribes, and your contribution to Huang Ming is not small."
"I made you an earl after careful consideration. Besides, the emperor's words are the imperial decree. How can there be any reason to withdraw the imperial decree?"
"Your title is not hereditary. It is only for one generation, so just take it. I hope you will live up to my expectations and guard the northern gate for the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Youxiao granted Mangui the title of earl. The reasons were of course not only for these reasons, but also had more political significance.
You know, there are 30,000 Mongolians in the Yulin army, although they are given generous military pay.
But in terms of loyalty and will, they were far inferior to those of the Han soldiers.
And their thoughts are also different.
Among the border army generals in the late Ming Dynasty, the style of retainers was prevalent, or the mercenary mentality.
If Zhu Youxiao wanted to change this ideological trend, he would naturally give them some sweeteners so that they would have the motivation to climb up.
Making Mangui an earl is a signal to them that as long as you are loyal, have military merits and contributions, even if you are a Mongolian, you can become a master and a noble of the Ming Dynasty.
The Mongols are no more valuable than Jiannu, but they are still valuable to win over. In the future, these Mongolians will have to work hard to conquer the northwest grasslands and the Mobei grasslands.
The emperor gave a well-founded explanation, and Mangui could not refuse, so he had to accept it.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will certainly live up to your Majesty's great kindness."
Then he kowtowed again and said:
"I thank your Majesty for your kindness."
His fierce general Ma Shilong was also promoted to the sub-defensive general of Dushi Ma Camp.
The rewards for the lower-level generals and soldiers are still being drawn up, and the emperor does not need to come in person. Therefore, the reward ceremony for the Northern Expedition has finally come to an end.
The leader of the Aohan tribe, as well as the Jirigela father and son, who had been ignored, also received rewards.
Wuyun was named King of Shunyi, representing the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's will, and the Monan Grassland.
Jiri Gela was named Gui Yibo, and his son Ahailai was also rewarded with a hundred taels of silver and fifty pieces of brocade for his merits.
This made Wu Yun ecstatic. He was crowned king. In the future, with the support of the Ming Emperor, the Monan Grassland would be his.
For a moment, he was completely in his own fantasy world and even forgot to thank him.
Ahailai quickly poked him twice, and then he thanked him in a panic and said:
"I thank the Great Khan for his kindness."
This made Zhu Youxiao confused, sweating profusely?
Wuyun quickly explained:
"His Majesty the Emperor is so wise and powerful that he is powerful in all directions. He should be more than the emperor of the Han people in the Central Plains."
"Now that the incompetent Lin Dan Khan has been defeated and fled, his life and death are unknown, and the grassland has no owner. His Majesty the Emperor should take over the Mongolian grassland and rule all the Mongolian tribes as the Great Khan of Mongolia."