Chapter 768: My grandson is good at everything, but he is too cautious.
The Western Regions have been canonized by the Central Plains dynasties since ancient times.
If the area here wasn't so vast and desolate, it would have been included in the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty long ago.
The Ming Dynasty's military operations in the Western Regions shocked the entire Western Regions.
Although many upper-class nobles know that the Central Plains is very powerful now, they have no way to express this power, and they don't know how to express it.
Anyway, in the eyes of people living in the Western Regions, the Central Plains Dynasty has always been very powerful.
After all, this is the old Silk Road, and many countries with some foundations still have some low-priced things in their treasury.
Timur's cavalry looted wildly, but also made wedding clothes for the Ming army.
Five thousand cavalry were already invincible throughout the entire Western Region.
Facing armored cavalry, light cavalry has no other advantage except being able to run faster.
The remaining Timur cavalry decisively abandoned the Western Region and headed directly towards Tubo to join the large army.
Without artillery, the Ming cavalry was simply the target of massacre.
Half a month later, information about the Western Regions had been sent to the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
In the Ming Dynasty Palace.
Zhu Yuanzhang called his eldest grandson.
"We thought that Timur was so powerful, but he was completely vulnerable. Our Ming cavalry swept through the entire Western Region without losing a single soldier."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said.
A battle loss ratio of zero casualties is a very rare thing in any dynasty.
Timur's cavalry was also famous, but was easily crushed.
Zhu Ying smiled and said: "The thousand-forged steel we produce now cannot be broken by arrows and fire blunderbuss. Besides, most of the current Timur cavalry still use bows and arrows."
"If this can still be killed, it would be too incompetent."
As a cavalry team that has undergone long-term training, it is naturally impossible for them to make any stupid mistakes.
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed a little: "This Western Region is really too desolate. Even if it is incorporated into our Ming Dynasty, it doesn't make much sense."
As of now, the entire Western Region is in chaos because of Timur's cavalry.
Now the Ming army's cavalry came to sort out the situation and drove away Timur's cavalry. But now how to deal with the Western Region has become another problem.
It was obvious that neither Zhu Yuanzhang nor other ministers wanted to deal with the Western Regions.
The Western Regions are too poor now. Incorporating them into the Ming Dynasty will not only bring no benefits, but will also increase the burden on the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yingze said: "Although the Western Region is poor, it has a vast territory. In such a large area, there has not been a large dynasty since ancient times. Apart from the population, it may be possible to explore whether there are other resources, such as coal."
"It's a bit far over there, but as long as we build a train from the Ming Dynasty to the Western Regions, the distance won't matter much."
"Generally speaking, places with small populations generally have many mineral deposits, maybe they just haven't been discovered yet."
Zhu Ying didn't have much impression of the Western Regions in later generations, but there should be a lot of such things as mineral deposits.
As for the specific location, there's no way to remember it. I'll just have to ask someone to find it when the time comes.
For now, let’s bring it into the scope of governance first.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and said: "Since the great grandson thinks it is useful, let's incorporate it into the Ming Dynasty first. However, it may be a bit troublesome to move the people there. In such barbaric places, the people may not be willing to go there."
Zhu Ying said: "It is not necessary to relocate the people. We can set up garrison troops in the Western Regions, which can be rotated every three to five years. The local government will let the local chieftain do it. As long as we abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty."
"In the Western Regions, the Turkic language is mainly used now, which is not conducive to the enlightenment of the Ming Dynasty. Then we will establish more Chinese schools so that all the natives of the Western Regions will learn Chinese and use Chinese characters."
"When the Turkic language disappears in the Western Regions and everyone speaks Chinese, then the Western Regions will naturally become the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded when he heard this: "Let's follow Da Sun's method, but we still need to build a train leading to Jiubian first, and then consider the Western Regions."
"Timur's army here in the Western Region has suffered a defeat and will definitely want to get it back from us, so they will definitely agree to join forces with Beiyuan."
"Perhaps the next step is to attack our Uzzandusi City."
Zhu Yuanzhang analyzed and said.
Zhu Ying also thought of this: "There are still 70,000 to 80,000 Beiyuan cavalry still staying near Uzangdusi. Presumably, they will think that they are taking advantage of the situation and attack Uzangdusi City at the same time."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "In that case, then send an order to the military department to mobilize 200,000 troops to support the city of Wu Zangdu, so that it can be defeated in one fell swoop."
"Since Beiyuan has taken action, Jiubian should also take action."
Just like what Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying guessed.
The Beiyuan cavalry who stayed near Uszangdusi City received orders from the Beiyuan court.
The combined Timur army immediately launched an attack on the city of Uzzandus.
At this moment, the original friendship between the grassland and the Central Plains was completely broken.
First, the border markets were immediately stopped.
No goods are allowed to be transported to the grassland.
Especially concentrated feed like corn, if you dare to transport it privately, it will be a serious crime of beheading.
This is undoubtedly a huge blow to merchants on the border.
In fact, those who suffer the worst are the ordinary herdsmen.
Because it was already early winter, they needed to store a large amount of food to survive the winter, but now the Ming Dynasty has closed trade and transportation, which means that many herdsmen are having a hard time this winter.
It is two hundred miles west of Uzangdusi City.
Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered together. This was Timur's army.
On the north side, there were nearly 80,000 Beiyuan cavalry.
The city of Uszangdusi is not big, and it is impossible to defend the city.
The place where Xu Huizu's army camped was ten miles outside Uzangdusi City.
"My lord, the Northern Yuan cavalry has indeed betrayed me, the Ming Dynasty, and got mixed up with the Timur cavalry."
After hearing the report from his subordinates, Xu Huizu nodded slightly and asked, "Is Duke Ying here?"
The subordinate replied: "The news has reached the city and it should be arriving soon."
Xu Huizu summoned the generals and immediately went to greet him outside the military camp.
In terms of status, Xu Huizu was also the Duke of the country, but in front of Fu Youde, he could only be a junior.
Outside the camp, Fu Youde and his party came from Dusicheng.
"Meet Duke Ying."
Xu Huizu's posture is very low.
Fu Youde laughed loudly when he saw Xu Huizu, dismounted and patted Xu Huizu on the shoulder: "You, my uncle and nephew, why are you so polite? Stop using these false courtesy and go in and chat."
Fu Youde had always been under Xu Da's command in his early years. During the Northern Expedition or the Northern Expedition to the Desert, he always accompanied Xu Da.
Of course, Fu Youde was very familiar with Xu Huizu, the eldest son of Xu Da.
"With uncle Shi here guarding, my nephew feels much more at ease."
In the big tent, Xu Huizu said with a smile.
This is also true.
The generals in the big tent now are like good children in front of Fu Youde.
Fu Youde fought for almost half of the Ming Dynasty, and his numerous achievements were all accomplished with real swords and spears.
That is to say, Xu Huizu, as the son of Xu Da, still has some weight. Many other generals followed Fu Youde in battles when they were still in the army.
Fu Youde waved his hand: "I am old, and now the world is dominated by you young people. Originally, I had already been discharged and returned to work, but His Majesty did not allow us to have such leisure, so he was sent here again."
The peak of Fu Youde's life was in the 25th year of Hongwu, the year when Prince Zhu Biao passed away.
At the beginning of that year, Fu Youde was the general who conquered the captives and prepared his army in Peiping. He then followed Zhu Di, the king of Yan, to conquer the Hazhe relics and pursue the troops of the Mongolian, Yuan and Liao kings.
In this battle, Fu Youde used another deceptive trick. During the pursuit, he suddenly ordered the army to retreat. After the enemy learned about it, they relaxed their vigilance and preparedness.
At this time, Fu Youde ordered the army to sneak to the Black Ridge quietly and defeat the enemy.
After the victory, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Shanshan and Shaanxi Province, and was granted the title of Crown Prince and Grand Master.
However, just after the crown prince was conferred the title of Grand Master, the prince fell seriously ill and was bedridden, and passed away not long after.
This frightened Fu Youde.
He knew very well the character of his Majesty, so he returned home, handed over all his military power, and stayed at home.
Even so, Fu Youde still had no peace in his heart. He couldn't sleep well every day, for fear that one day when he woke up, His Majesty would send someone to kill him.
Therefore, I followed the example of Xiao He, a famous official in the early Han Dynasty, who committed suicide by buying land.
Zhu Yuanzhang severely reprimanded him for this, but this also made Fu Youde feel a lot better. At least he proved to His Majesty that he was indeed law-abiding.
However, later, Zhu Yuanzhang still gave him death.
There is no other reason than death.
In fact, in the final analysis, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Fu Youde was the father-in-law of the third Jin Dynasty king Zhu Fan.
If Zhu Fan was unfavorable to his grandson Zhu Yunwen, Fu Youde would definitely help.
It's just that in this era, Fu Youde not only was not executed, but also controlled the most powerful cavalry team in the Ming Dynasty.
This is naturally because of Zhu Ying's existence.
In fact, after Zhu Ying entered the palace, there was no turbulence in the world. Even the army did not question Zhu Ying's identity. This was inseparable from the secret support of the entire Huaixi Xungui Group.
Even though they had never expressed or hinted at taking refuge in Zhu Ying, they had no choice.
This emperor's eldest grandson, who has disappeared for ten years, is in the best interest of the Huaixi Xungui Group.
Zhu Ying's success was, of course, first of all due to Zhu Yuanzhang's doting.
Secondly, almost all the military commanders and nobles chose to remain silent.
It happened that because of the Hu Weiyong case, the entire court was bloodbathed by civil servants, so there was such a wonderful balance.
But no one could have imagined that this returning grandson would bring about such a big change in the Ming Dynasty.
Let Fu Youde take charge of the military again.
That's what Fu Youde said, but those in the big tent, including Xu Huizu, would not follow the lead.
Xu Huizu asked: "Gong Ying, what should we do now? Should we defend or take the initiative to attack?"
Fu Youde laughed and said: "The Tartars are just defeated generals under a certain family, so why be afraid of them."
"And the Tartars coming from the west thought they were fighting the former natives. We must let them know how powerful our Ming Dynasty is."
"I will lead 15,000 horsemen to defeat the Tartars on the north side first. You must guard here and do not let the Tartars on the west side support you."
"After I return, our uncle and nephew will join forces again and let the Tartars from the west know how powerful we are."
Everyone present will only feel their scalps numb.
They were still thinking about how to defend, but Fu Youde didn't take it seriously at all and just took the initiative to attack.
The army all turned their attention to Xu Huizu.
What else could Xu Huizu say? He could only bow and said: "Listen to Duke Ying's instructions."
Fu Youde laughed loudly.
He knew that this was because Xu Huizu simply didn't understand what the combat power of the fifteen thousand cavalry he was now in charge of was.
Even though there were no breech-mounted flintlock guns, Fu Youde knew very well that with these fifteen thousand heavy cavalry, apart from being unable to attack the city, they were already invincible in the field.
"Without further ado, you guys will get ready here. I'll go and fight the Tatars in Beiyuan first."
"If these treacherous guys hadn't been kind-hearted, would they still be here today?"
The generals embraced Fu Youde out of the military camp, and then saw Fu Youde mounting his horse and leaving. Tens of thousands of cavalry could already be seen in the distance.
"Ying Guogong is a true divine man."
A general sighed and said.
The general on the other side said: "If Duke Ying is like this, I don't know how powerful King Zhongshan was back then."
Having said that, the deputy general still asked cautiously: "My lord, how about we prepare to take over Duke Ying's affairs?"
In fact, everyone still feels that Fu Youde is a bit bragging, which is almost like a romance story.
Xu Huizu also hesitated in his heart, but finally said: "Since Duke Ying has given the order, we should obey it."
"According to Duke Ying's instructions, the entire army will prepare for war and immediately cut off the contact between the two Tartars. If there is any change in Timur's army, the army will be dispatched immediately."
When the generals heard this, they immediately clasped their fists and said, "I obey."
The other end.
Fu Youde has already put on armor and is riding on a war horse.
Holding the long knife tightly in his hand, Fu Youde couldn't help but feel excited.
Then he said softly: "Old brother, maybe this is our last battle. In a few years, I won't even be able to hold you down."
This long sword accompanied him in battles in the north and south for more than ten years, and he drank countless amounts of blood.
Once the blade was curled, Fu Youde was reluctant to throw it away, but asked the craftsman to polish it again.
In fact, Fu Youde no longer needed to charge personally.
The long sword is more like a symbol of glory.
At this moment, around Fu Youde were fifteen thousand Ming Dynasty's armored cavalry.
Fu Youde could not imagine that there was any army in the world that could not be defeated by his fifteen thousand cavalry.
Beiyuan's so-called iron cavalry is nothing.
If we had this equipment back then, there would be nothing like the Beiyuan and the grasslands now that have been included in the Ming Dynasty.
Thinking of this, Fu Youde sighed in his heart: My grandson is good at everything, but he is too cautious.
Immediately, he raised his long sword and shouted: "Generals, listen to my order and follow me to kill the enemy."
Suddenly, the war drums beat.
Fifteen thousand Ming cavalry immediately headed towards the Beiyuan military camp.
Thousands of horses galloped, making the whole earth tremble.
How could Beiyuan think that the Ming army, which only had fifteen thousand cavalry, dared to attack nearly seventy thousand of its own cavalry?