It would be false to say that Zhu Youxiao, the so-called Great Khan of Mongolia, had no idea, even though he was already the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
But whether it was from a military or political perspective, Zhu Youxiao needed to completely make the Mongolians on the grassland surrender to him.
In an era without Maxim machine guns, cavalry was still an indispensable main force on the battlefield.
Even with flintlocks and artillery,
But Maxim was the real cavalry killer and the absolute terminator of the cold weapon era.
If we could integrate the resources on the grassland with those tribes, we would still be a devastating army in this era.
History has proven that just launching a war cannot make the nomads surrender to the Central Plains dynasty, even if they are time travelers, unless they can build heavy machine guns.
Since Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty,
The war with the Xiongnu continued until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but this problem was not resolved.
Not to mention the Tang Dynasty, the prosperous Tang Dynasty ended at the hands of two non-Han generals, An Lushan and Shi Siming.
The same was true for the Ming Dynasty. After Taizu unified the nine states, he launched several large-scale Northern Expeditions before he could destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Emperor Chengzu's five northern expeditions were earth-shattering, but the actual results and gains were hard to come by.
The two sides have been fighting and making peace for more than two hundred years.
The so-called using barbarians to control barbarians, or stroking and beating at the same time, is not a strategy that everyone can pull off.
Once the emperor is mediocre or there is a problem in the court, he will be out of control in an instant.
And you can't guarantee that a hero will appear on the grassland, and you can't guarantee that other tribes will appear to reunify the grassland.
The Jurchens of that time,
They are just slaves of the Liao people.
But under the leadership of Wanyan Aguda,
The Jurchens destroyed the Liao Kingdom and established the Jin Kingdom.
The same was true for the Mongols. They produced Temujin, integrated the tribes and resources on the grasslands, and overturned the Jin Kingdom in an instant.
Isn’t this the case in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties?
Before Nuerhachi, had the Mongols ever looked at them?
These are all bloody historical lessons.
Therefore, it is not feasible. If he wants to completely eliminate the northern troubles, conquer the grassland, and eliminate this scourge for future generations, Zhu Youxiao can only find another way.
The identity of the Mongol Khan can make his ambitions and ideas more effective with half the effort.
The reason why the Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to conquer Mongolia and become so close to Mongolia, in addition to generations of marriages and the provision of money, was because the Manchu Qing emperor also had the identity of the Mongol Khan.
This allowed the Mongols to kneel at the feet of the Manchu emperor with peace of mind, and at the same time cut off their desires and ambitions.
It has to be said that some of the Manchu and Qing policies towards the Mongols were extremely correct.
It can be said to be the best way to peacefully solve the grassland problem.
Of course, it was impossible for Ming Dynasty to marry his relatives.
At most, the emperor or a member of the Zhu family would marry a Mongolian woman.
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao must become the Great Khan of Mongolia. Only in this way can he have the opportunity to make the Mongolian grassland completely belong to the Ming Dynasty.
But after all, he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he also wanted to lose face. He had only won a few battles. How could he get so excited because of Wu Yun's flattery?
What's more, Lin Dan Khan is still there, and the orthodox members of the Golden Family are still there. Even if he really claims to be Khan under the flattery of Wu Yun and others, it is just for his own entertainment.
The Khalkha in Mobei, the Tatar Tumotes in the northwest region of Hetao, and the Tumotes in Qinghai will not recognize you.
To become a real Mongolian Khan and rule the grasslands, he must at least kill Lin Dan Khan in a dignified way and show off his muscles.
Besides, there are still a lot of things waiting for him to do in Guan. Even the imperial court has not been completely integrated, so there is no time to do these.
But the dark clouds on the way back to the grassland after leaving Datong were secretly rejoicing.
Because the emperor didn't seem to be disgusted by his proposal, it was more like a tacit attitude, but he didn't say it clearly.
He even told him before leaving that he would integrate and conquer the three Liaodong guards at the foot of Yanshan Mountain if he had the chance.
It seems that this decision was the right one.
This is not because he is very loyal, but because he can see the situation clearly.
After his observation during this period, he found that the ambition of the Ming Emperor definitely did not stop there. He wanted to conquer the entire grassland.
And he was named King of Shunyi, which meant that he managed the Monan grassland on behalf of the emperor and provided the Ming Dynasty with the horses, cattle and sheep it lacked.
It seems that from now on, I can only be obedient. Only by pleasing the Ming Emperor can his dark clouds embrace the tribe and prosperity.
Once they lose the protection of the Ming Dynasty, they will inevitably be liquidated and annexed by other Mongolian tribes in the future.
After sighing secretly, Wu Yun hurried back with melancholy in his heart.
"After the soldiers have rested for a few days, I will return to the capital. I will leave Datong to you. You must train a strong field army. I will be of great use in the future."
"If you need military expenses and strategic materials, make a list and tell me, and I will support you."
"Although Monan has been basically eliminated, Datong Mansion is currently implementing a new policy. You must not slack off and must be very energetic."
In the Datong military camp, Zhu Youxiao summoned Li Wensheng alone, who had just been promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief of Datong, and explained with sincerity.
Although the sounds of soldiers celebrating their victory could be heard from time to time outside the house, which was quite noisy, Zhu Youxiao didn't mind it at all.
The expedition lasted two months, and they were still deep in dangerous areas such as the grasslands. The spirits of the soldiers were in a highly tense state.
Now that I'm back home, I naturally want to relax and calm down my restless heart.
Besides, they fought tooth and nail for your country, and now that they have won a great victory, it is impossible not to have a celebration banquet.
Li Wensheng also understood what the emperor meant. His Majesty will definitely conquer the grasslands in the future, and Datong's army will naturally bear the brunt and form the main force in the northern expedition.
Everyone in Guangxi can be awarded the title of earl, so long as he has made military exploits, why can't he?
After that, Zhu Youxiao looked at the new recruits for each battalion and army under Datong Town that had just been created not long ago.
After the reorganization, Datong's military strength was reduced a lot, from more than 70,000 to less than 40,000.
After these two months of recruitment and a new round of integration, Datong now has 55,000 soldiers, which can be considered a brand new elite.
At least there are no more old and weak people, as well as strong men and farmers who are just trying to make ends meet.
Moreover, although Datong is still a border military system, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.
But Zhu Youxiao was completely under control, and the commander-in-chief and the generals were his confidants.
The soldiers' pay and the food and fodder needed by the army are all distributed by the Jin Yiwei. Although corruption cannot be eliminated, I believe it will be much better than before.
Moreover, the Datong Army is mostly composed of veterans. As long as the money and food are in place and the generals are diligent and solidly trained.
It doesn't take a year to become an elite as good as the Jiannu Banners.