Chapter 698 Personal expedition and strategy (please subscribe)
Daming Palace, Fengtian Hall!
Zhu Hongyu was sitting on the dragon chair, wearing a straight military uniform, and his upright posture exuded strong pressure.
A pair of tiger eyes patrolled the Fengtian Hall, they were so sharp that people dared not look directly at them.
Under Zhu Hongyu's pressure, an important official of the imperial court knelt on the ground and trembled.
Zhu Hongyu snorted coldly and said.
"In this Northern Expedition, I will lead the expedition myself!"
"I want to personally watch my Ming Dynasty tiger and wolf conquer the mountains and rivers and regain the capital!"
All civil and military officials in the main hall were silent when they heard this.
It was as if they were using silence to express their attitude.
They opposed the emperor's personal expedition!
"Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty is already 100% sure about this Northern Expedition, and there is no need for your Majesty to personally conquer it!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, if a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, and a rich man cannot sit in court, why would Your Majesty risk going to the front line?!"
"The troops on the front line are so powerful and ferocious that there may be something unbearable to say!"
"Your Majesty, the old rules of Tumubao are still in sight! Your Majesty must not leave the capital easily!"
"..."
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty tried their best to persuade him, but Zhu Hongyu only felt that they were noisy.
They don't want to let themselves, the emperor, personally go to the front line, which is understandable to be honest.
After all, he is the emperor. Is it better for him not to do such things as personally conducting military expeditions?
Today's Ming Dynasty has an advantage, and it is not the kind of time when the emperor's personal conquest was needed to turn the tide!
As the emperor, Zhu Hongyu really does not need to go to the front line to take risks himself!
However, Zhu Hongyu was quite determined in his desire to lead a personal expedition. Faced with the persuasion of his ministers, he said calmly.
"Young ladies, there is no need to persuade me any more, I have already made up my mind on this matter!"
"The Northern Expedition is related to the rise and fall of our Ming Dynasty. Only if I personally conquer it can I feel at ease!"
"As for the old story of Tumubao, everyone is overly worried. I am not a weak emperor like the orthodox emperor who grew up in the hands of the women in the palace. I am what I am today because I fought hard on the battlefield."
"I will not give blind orders on the battlefield!"
The Tumu Fort Incident of that year was actually the result of the blind command of the Ming God of War.
It was enough to lead the army out of the fortress after less than half a month of food preparation, even though the climate at that time was not suitable for a large army to go out.
The Ming army braved the wind and snow, endured hunger and cold, and came out of the customs. After being surrounded by the Oara people and arriving at Tumubao, the Zhengtong Emperor kept admonishing them.
It was necessary to move the camp to the river and set up camp when the army was surrounded by regiments of Ora cavalry.
Then the Wala people seized the opportunity and took advantage of the Ming army to move their camps and the formation was in chaos. They launched a cavalry charge and defeated 500,000 elite Ming troops in one fell swoop.
Otherwise, with the hard stronghold set up by the Ming army in Tumubao, even if the Walas attacked the hard stronghold, the Ming army could still defend it.
Not only did Zeng Shao know how to play this trick of forming a stronghold and fighting a dull battle, Daming was also proficient in it.
When reinforcements from Jiubian arrive later, it will not be a problem to break the siege of Tumubao.
To put it bluntly, if the Ming God of War had not had any military knowledge, refused to listen to the advice of Zhang Fu and other veterans, and relied on his own wishful thinking to direct blindly, the Tumubao Incident might not have happened at all.
And will Zhu Hongyu give blind orders?
the answer is negative!
Zhu Hongyu has been working in the army over the years, and many of the battles with great victories were personally directed by Zhu Hongyu.
Really become the emperor immediately!
His military command level is not necessarily worse than the two horse emperors Taizu Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.
Seeing Zhu Hongyu's resolute attitude, the civil and military officials in the court were in a hurry to say anything.
Once a powerful emperor makes up his mind to do something, he cannot stop it!
They could only bow down together and then speak.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Seeing this, Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly with satisfaction, and then opened his mouth to make arrangements.
"Instruct the staff department to immediately prepare to form a staff group so that they can follow the army northward!"
"Instruct the Imperial Guards to prepare for departure!"
"From now on, the Fifth Army Governor's Office and all cabinet departments must work together, and all matters must make way for the Northern Expedition!"
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty bowed again.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Zhu Hongyu stood up from the dragon chair, swung his sleeves, walked to the harem, and said.
"Retreat!"
…
Everyone in the Ming Dynasty was preparing for the Northern Expedition!
As time goes by, the temperature gradually rises after the beginning of spring, and the atmosphere of war among the people in Jiangnan becomes more and more intense.
"Your Majesty, for this Northern Expedition, the battle plan given by the General Staff is to divide the troops into two groups, with the first group attacking by sea!"
"The army set out from Nanjing, followed the Yangtze River into the sea, and then headed north to attack the Bohai Sea!"
"Then attack Tianjin. After landing in Tianjin, follow the Haihe River into the Tonghui River, and then attack the capital from the Tonghui River!"
Xu Bin said.
Today’s Ming Dynasty has a strong marine mindset!
When fighting, maritime superiority is often given priority.
Just like the Northern Expedition strategy formulated this time, it is nothing more than relying on its maritime superiority and then using sea transportation to transport grain, grass and logistics for the army, thereby gaining strategic advantages.
After Zhu Hongyu heard this, he pondered for a while and asked.
"Does the Ming Dynasty have enough ships to transport an army of 100,000 people, as well as the food and grass baggage required for the army to fight?"
Zhu Hongyu also has a maritime mindset, but he also knows that transporting a hundred thousand troops by sea in one go is by no means an easy task.
Let alone this era, even during World War I and World War II, it was not easy to use sea power to transport an army of 100,000 people.
After hearing this, Xu Bin opened his mouth to explain.
"The current maritime transportation capacity of our Ming Dynasty, even if we recruit private ships, can only carry a maximum of 50,000 people."
"So, the plan drawn up by the staff is to divide the troops into two groups!"
"In addition to taking the sea route to attack Tianjin, there is also the way to go north via the canal and attack the cities along the way, as well as Baoding City."
Undoubtedly, along the canal was the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty second only to Jiangnan in this era.
With the canal as a major transportation artery, it is impossible not to be prosperous!
Even after so many years of war, since the war in the north ended relatively early, the canal along the coast has been relatively well preserved.
This also makes the vested interests along the canal very powerful!
For the Ming army, even if the entire 100,000-strong army could be transported directly to Tianjin by sea, it would still be quite necessary to send a troop of soldiers and horses to walk along the canal and promote the Ming's military power to the towns and state capitals along the canal.
matter.
Xu Bin continued.
"In order to prevent the situation like the Battle of Saarhu, our Ming Dynasty divided its troops and was defeated one by one, whether it was the troops who took the sea route to attack Tianjin, or the troops who took the canal to go north."
"Taken individually, they all have the strength to take on the overall war effort!"
To put it bluntly, we should expect the enemy to be lenient.
Both armies have the strength to complete the Northern Expedition alone.