By mid-February, there were no snowflakes in Beijing, and the Monan night entered the stage of lush spring grass. News about the Chechen Khanate finally arrived in the capital.
"Chechen Khan Babu led his troops northward, but the Manchus stole his hometown——"
When the news came out, Beijing was in an uproar.
The emperor hurriedly convened an imperial meeting and ordered the cabinet, the five military governors' offices, and the nine ministries to discuss matters together.
The government and the opposition parties know that the matter is important. After all, if it is an ordinary matter, it is enough to discuss it with the cabinet. It is inconvenient to have too many people watching.
"Tell me, how should I face it?"
Zhu Yixi sat high on the dragon chair, and a deep voice sounded: "The grassland is indeed moving in an unpredictable direction. The Qing Dynasty's ambition is not dead!"
"Your Majesty, I predict that after the Manchu Qing annexed the Chechen Khan tribe, the Zhasak tribe and the Tushetu Khan tribe will be like panicked birds, so they have to recruit troops on a large scale to deal with the Manchu Qing."
You Shiwei, an old-hearted man, held his head high and said loudly: "The current situation in Mobei is that the two armies join forces to deal with the Manchus. Based on the veteran's understanding of the Manchus, it must be that they are strong enough to take such measures."
"In other words, the strength of the Manchu Qing Dynasty at this time is probably enough to suppress the tribes in Mobei..."
"This is the worst possible situation -" Wang Yingxiong sighed: "The tribes in Mobei are at odds with each other. How much strength can they face against foreign enemies at this time?"
"It must be that its defeat is not far away!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was silent.
Nothing should happen to Mobei. This is the border defense requirement of the imperial court, and it is also a lingering fear for the Qianming Dynasty.
"The imperial court will not allow another Liaodong to appear."
The emperor said decisively.
Obviously, if Mobei loses control, the nearby Monan area will be full of flames, and the vast grassland will be undefendable.
This is even more dangerous than when the Manchu Qing Dynasty was limited to Liaodong.
In a few words, the matter of sending troops was decided.
However, it is difficult to decide who will challenge him.
The most enthusiastic people were Zhu Meng, You Shiwei and Li Jizu.
But it is undeniable that all three of them have their own shortcomings.
You Shiwei is over sixty years old, and his body is very weak; Zhu Meng can only fight stupid and hard battles; not to mention Li Jizu, he is an out-of-the-box character. When Sun Chuanting was released in Tongguan, it is still embarrassing to think about it now.
Scolding mother.
Zhu Yixi thought about it again and again, and the one she trusted the most was Chen Yongfu.
He is nearly sixty years old, mature and stable, and can control the situation.
"His Majesty--"
After Chen Yongfu was summoned, he already understood something in his heart and responded calmly.
"Let me ask you, what should be done about the situation in Mobei?"
Zhu Yixi pointed to the vast grassland map, on which the huge Mobei region was extremely conspicuous. The Chechen tribe, the Zhasak tribe, and the Tuxietu tribe were intertwined with each other, and there were also some small tribes mixed in during the period.
It can be said that although Mobei is barren, it still has a lot of people.
After so many years of peace, the population is no less than that of Monan.
"Wait--" Chen Yongfu stared at the map for a long time before speaking out with difficulty.
"Oh?" Now the emperor became interested and asked hurriedly: "Why?"
"Your Majesty, you see, the Mobei grassland is extremely vast, and the spring snow has not yet thawed. Even if Zhasak Khan and Tushetu Khan jointly send troops, it will be extremely difficult to assemble them without one or two months of mobilization."
"And it will take more than half a month to travel to join forces."
Chen Yongfu said solemnly: "The Manchus must also know that they will not easily capture Mobei, and will definitely use a large amount of troops."
"Instead of going on an expedition and defeating them one by one, it is better to wait for the work and finish the battle. Then the tribes will naturally fall without a fight."
The entire Mobei region is vast. If the Manchus and Qing Dynasties want to steal the hometowns of the two major tribes like they attacked the Chechen Khan, it is just a delusion.
The disturbances along the way are enough to betray the footprints.
Therefore, it is very likely that the Manchu Qing Dynasty will adopt the method of static braking.
Zhu Yixi nodded, this makes sense.
"In addition, although His Majesty bestowed upon the two Khans the title of County King, he was particularly dissatisfied with it. The Mobei tribe rarely knew His Majesty's name."
"The sudden dispatch of troops may cause turmoil in Mobei, and the two Khans may be afraid, thinking that our army will annex the various tribes in Mobei..."
"What do you mean, we still have to wait?"
Chen Yongfu said decisively: "Yes, when the two armies and the Manchus are both injured, they will definitely send people to ask for help."
"Our army will take advantage of the situation to send troops to save the people from the fire and water. By then, not only will they be able to severely damage the Manchu Qing Dynasty and eliminate these remnants, but they will also be able to conquer the tribes in Mobei, and the border will be safe..."
Zhu Yixi was silent. He walked around, his brain running rapidly.
Needless to say, the choice of waiting for the opportunity is challenging.
Because all these conjectures are based on the fact that the Manchu Qing Dynasty will proceed according to their ideas.
If the Manchu Qing Dynasty would not wait for work, but take the initiative and take the opportunity to eliminate the Tuxie Tuhan tribe entrenched in the center, then the losses to the Ming Dynasty would be great.
But it is undeniable that Chen Yongfu’s idea is very forward-looking and feasible.
Later, the emperor summoned Li Jingwu and asked about Mobei.
Li Jingwu was a cavalryman and spent more time riding horses than walking. He was in favor of sending troops to Mobei because there was a high possibility that he would be used.
When the emperor asked about the strategy, he said bluntly: "Mobei has been doing business with me in the past two years. Urg, where the Tushetu Khan tribe and its Khan tribe is stationed, is the place where Dharma King Jebtsundamba taught scriptures."
"Therefore, our army can penetrate directly into its heart, unite with Tuxietu Khan's tribe, and fight against the Manchus together; or we can sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, guarding near Urg, and wait for the Manchus to fight with them before looking for opportunities."
"When the time comes, no matter whether the Manchus win or lose, they will definitely be exhausted. Our army will attack just in time and win a complete victory."
Upon hearing this exciting plan, Zhu Yixi fell silent.
It sounds good, but the feasibility is a bit low.
Later, the emperor summoned Wu Sangui.
It is undeniable that although Wu Sangui was infamous in history, he performed well in this time and space and did well in sending troops to Korea and Liaodong.
To the satisfaction of the imperial court, he simply handed over control of Guan Ning's army. As a result, he no longer had military power in his hands, and fear was no longer a concern.
Regarding Wu Sangui’s strangulation of Yongli and Kunming’s rebellion, Zhu Yixi made a conclusion:
He is short-sighted and has no destiny, and he is brave but has no plan.
In other words, he mistakenly identified himself as Mu Ying and Manchu as Zhu Yuanzhang.
When accepting the emperor's summons, Wu Sangui was cautious. When asked about how to deal with the situation in Mobei, he thought for a moment and then said:
"Your Majesty, the general will fully agree with the imperial court's decision to send troops."
"Well, keep talking." Zhu Yixi nodded and continued to look at him.
"Yes!" Wu Sangui has a strong back and a strong back. He is only over forty years old at this time, but still shows the demeanor of a fierce general.
"In the eyes of the last general, the tribes in Mobei are in disarray and must not be a match for the Manchus."
"And the imperial court's goal of sending troops is not to rescue Mobei. The first priority is not to conquer the tribes in Mobei. This cannot be done in a short time."
"did you mean?"
"The final general's intention is that the imperial court has only one purpose in sending troops, and that is to completely eliminate the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and prevent them from running around and threatening the frontiers."
Wu Sangui's face was full of determination: "I heard that the Manchu Qing Dynasty seems to have built a city near Lake Baikal. This is a sign of taking root and cannot be ignored."
"For this reason, the imperial court should reward the three armies, raid the city, capture its soldiers and horses, and then bring the power of destroying the city. Who in Mobei will not accept it?"
Hearing this, Zhu Yixi fell silent.
What you said before is good, but why is it so radical later?
If the Qing Dynasty could build a city, it meant that at least tens of thousands of people were stationed there. How to break through an open grassland?
"I understand, you go down!"
Touching his forehead and sighing, the emperor waved his hand.
Later, he invited Zhao Shu.
Everyone else was summoned, but Xiaoshu only used the word "please", which shows that the emperor valued and respected him.
Three choices were placed in front of the latter.
There is no doubt about Zhao Shu's military sensitivity.
He was a staff member of Sun Chuanting, and he was a fellow countryman. He knew all the important matters in the army and the official contacts in the imperial court.
Sun Chuanting's military planning was mostly based on him.
Then Sun Chuanting failed in the end, but the Ming Dynasty building was about to collapse, and Li Zicheng was at the top of his power, and he could not defeat him no matter what.
Just like the army that retreated from Beijing to Xi'an, its momentum plummeted, its morale was low, its foundation was unstable, and it couldn't be tough no matter how hard it was, losing to the Manchus and Zhu Yixi was just a joke.
Although it was historically recruited to fight against the Qing Dynasty, in the later period it basically relied on Li Dingguo.
That's too far.
Although Zhao Shu is not good at leading troops in battle, he still has strategic vision.
He listened to the three plans, pondered for a long time, and then said: "In the opinion of the veteran, Chen Yongfu's strategy is the most appropriate, but it may be a little more conservative."
“It’s good to wait for good opportunities, but sometimes when you wait, you end up waiting and you miss the opportunity.”
"That's right!" Zhu Yixi nodded in agreement.
"It is my intention to have 50,000 soldiers from the capital stationed at Hongli Temple and the Fourth Prince's tribe to sit and watch."
Hongli Temple and the Fourth Prince's Tribe were both located a hundred miles north of Guihua City. By stationing in these two places, they could not only receive Guihua's food and grass supplements, but also avoid arousing the fear of the two tribes.
After all, theoretically speaking, this place still falls under the jurisdiction of Suiyuan Province.
"Then how many cavalry and infantry are there?"
"Thirty thousand cavalry and twenty thousand musketeers."
The emperor thought for a while and then made up his mind.
He originally wanted to capture 50,000 cavalry directly, but the logistical pressure would be enough to overwhelm Suiyuan.
One horse is worth five soldiers, so 30,000 cavalry would give us 60,000 horses. Good guy, this is enough food for 300,000 people.
In fact, there is fodder replenishment on the grassland, but the difficulties are predictable.
"In this case, the imperial court will mobilize at least 100,000 civilians to transport grain and grass."
"Spring plowing is around the corner. It would be bad if civilians go out at this time..." Zhao Shu warned tactfully.
"I understand." The emperor nodded and said, "But when it comes to this, the security of the border area will be affected for decades or even hundreds of years, so the court has no choice but to take action."
"In that case, why doesn't Your Majesty exempt the people from paying their summer taxes this year?" Zhao Shu seemed to be the older he got, the more he cherished the people's power.
Zhu Yixi glanced at him, feeling a little surprised.
I think in the past, Zhao Shu immediately agreed. How could there be such a mother-in-law today?
However, Zhu Yixi directly rejected the tax exemption proposal.
With today's bureaucracy, tax exemption will definitely give local governments an opportunity.
At that time, the exempted people will become other people, while the corvee civilians will serve in a down-to-earth manner. This kind of thing will happen a lot.
The emperor pondered: "According to logic, it is not appropriate to use troops for spring plowing. However, all civilians who serve as corvees can receive two silver coins per month as a reward."
"And civil servants serving as corvees shall not be recruited from families with only sons and only men."
"Your Majesty, your Majesty." Zhao Shu bowed his hands and then suggested: "In this case, why don't Your Majesty just give each person five silver yuan as a settlement allowance, so as to save these people from worrying about spring farming?"
"That's all. Sir, caring about the people is the blessing of the Ming Dynasty and the blessing of the world."
Zhu Yixi waved her hand and agreed with a smile.
Soon, the mobilized civilians were confined to Hebei and the vicinity of Gyeonggi Province. Although it caused a lot of complaints, the payment of resettlement allowances calmed the hearts of many people.
Five silver dollars, even if the fields are deserted, it will be fine.
As soon as the decision was made to send troops, Taipu Temple became busy instantly.
In the previous dynasties, Taipusi Qing, as one of the Nine Qings, was extremely famous. However, in the Ming Dynasty, Taipusi was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War and was specifically responsible for horse administration.
In history, the first horse racing farm of the Ming Dynasty was in Chuzhou.
But now, with the capture of the Monan region, the Ming Dynasty has an extremely large number of horse farms.
Taipusi Qing came in a hurry and reported to the emperor: "After your Majesty regained Beijing, the Ministry of War set up racecourses in the Miyun area, and later in Chahar, Suiyuan, Hetao, Liaodong, Hexi, Datong, Jilin and other nine places.
, establish nine major racecourses.”
"Among them, the largest horse farms are located in Chahar and Suiyuan. Because there are many Mongolian people and they are good at raising horses, and supplemented by good veterinary medicine, the stock of war horses has greatly increased."
"Don't tell me those false claims. Just tell me how many stocks there are!"
Zhu Yixi was too lazy to listen to these data.
Taipusi Qing could only say tremblingly: "There are nearly 300,000 horses in stock, including 50,000 war horses and about 100,000 crossbow horses..."
"Why are there so few war horses?"
"Your Majesty, war horses are rare and must be trained. If they are on the grassland, they are basically one in a hundred. However, we have trained for many years to have such a stock..."
The emperor was silent.
A horse that can be ridden and a war horse used for combat are two completely different things, just like the difference between military drones and civilian drones.
Not to mention other requirements for war horses, they must at least be trained to the point where they are not afraid of the sound of cannons. The amount of energy consumed is enough to deter people.
"By the way, where are the camels? Where are my camel army!"
Suddenly, the emperor jumped up. He suddenly remembered that he had introduced camels from Suiyuan and Gansu a few years ago and carried out breeding.
Compared with the gold and preciousness of war horses, although camels eat more, they have insufficient endurance and are easy to serve. Isn't this the time to use them?
The Minister of Taipu Temple was startled and quickly bowed down: "Your Majesty, Camel, Camel gave birth to a pair of white camels this year. This is great auspiciousness. I was just trying to say something to you..."
"Don't be careless about me. How many camels are there?"
The emperor asked pressingly.
"I dare not be negligent. The number of camels is actually quite small. So far, there are only about 10,000 camels..."