In addition to burning the land, another way to deal with nomadic peoples is to set up border defenses.
Placing troops on the border was another border defense strategy of the Ming Dynasty. As the name suggests, it meant placing large troops on the border.
At the beginning, the army concentrated its camps in the nine important border towns and provided support wherever there was war.
But the border is too long.
If the Mongols had acted quickly, the Ming reinforcements would have withdrawn before they could support them.
Later, the famous official Wang Qiong changed his previous strategy when he was stationed in Gansu.
At that time, the Mongols were nomadic and if they were to invade the border in large numbers southward, they would have to inform all the tribes, dry the meat, and collect the cheese.
After the agreed date, they gathered together and camped for the night with fires stretching for several miles or even dozens of miles.
to this end.
Wang Qiong sent a large number of night patrol soldiers to the grassland to conduct reconnaissance day and night.
Report any situation immediately if discovered.
After receiving the news, Wang Qiong immediately deployed his elite troops at several key throats, defending first and then attacking.
During autumn harvest.
The army would go out of the border from time to time to conduct drills and demonstrate their military prowess, in order to intimidate the enemy and prevent them from approaching, which was called defense.
After the autumn harvest.
He evenly distributed his army in dozens of fortresses along the border, and set out at the same time on a agreed date, which was called an attack.
On the grassland stretching for 300 miles, tens of thousands of Ming troops set out together.
Since there were traces of the Ming army's elite troops everywhere, the Mongols had no idea of the Ming army's strength and could only avoid fighting.
Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty, once commented on Wang Qiong: Xiliang is an important place, where foreigners live together... It took the two elders Lai Sui'an and Jinxi (Wang Qiong) several years to pacify it.
It is indeed possible to use the methods of burning the land and pacing the border to deal with nomadic peoples, but it is not effective against the fishing and hunting peoples in Liaodong.
The Jurchen tribes in Liaodong lived among the mountains. Burning the land would cause forest fires, causing them to lose the materials they depended on for survival (animal furs, ginseng, etc.).
That would instead stimulate the Jurchen tribes to raid the border.
Therefore, the Ming army's method of dealing with the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong was cutting down trees and passing arrows.
Every autumn.
The Ming army would send large forces to the border cities to cut down trees to prevent the Jurchens from hiding their troops and waiting for opportunities to launch surprise attacks.
The felled trees would be transported back to the city as heating supplies for the winter.
Passing an arrow means delivering a token.
While cutting down trees, the Liaodong generals would patrol along the border.
After arriving at the buffer zone, he sent people to deliver arrows engraved with the seal of the Liaodong General to the various Jurchen tribes, asking them to come and pay their respects.
Either to comfort or to warn.
By the Chongzhen period, logging and arrow transmission in Liaodong had become a mere formality.
But the burning of wasteland and the pacification of borders against the Mongols have always continued.
Logically, the Ming army had already defeated the Xitumed and Ordos tribes on the grassland and forced them to send hostages to Beijing.
No need to guard against them like before.
But Chongzhen was worried.
The Mongolian border invasion brought not only economic losses, but also the disruption of production order.
It will take at least three to five years, or at most ten years, to resume production.
The drought caused by the Little Ice Age continues.
According to historical analysis, this period of little ice age lasted for a very long time.
(There were three obvious Little Ice Ages during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Little Ice Age from the 28th year of Wanli to the 59th year of Kangxi lasted the longest and affected the widest area. The Little Ice Age of the Ming and Qing Dynasties ended completely in the 6th year of Guangxu, when the Qing Dynasty was almost gone.)
The losses caused by natural disasters are already great enough, and we cannot allow man-made disasters to occur.
What's more, the reform of the garrisons for the Xitumed and Ordos tribes is still in progress, and no one can guarantee that they will not rebel.
So Chongzhen ordered the border troops to burn the wasteland as they did in previous years.
However, since a lot of troops were withdrawn from other towns to fight in Liaodong, there were no extra troops to deploy on the sidelines, and they could only passively defend.
Now Fan Jingwen asked Gao Jie to go north to Jizhou and Miyun to set up border, mainly to defend against Chahar and Yongshebu tribes outside the Great Wall.
"Your Majesty," Fan Jingwen said seriously, "The Chahar tribe was defeated by the border army once and suffered heavy losses. They must be resentful and trying to save face. Although the population of the Yongxiebu tribe is small, they have already surrendered to the Jiannu and obeyed their orders."
"I suspect that the Chahar and Yongshebu tribes are deliberately showing weakness. They will most likely take the opportunity to invade the border and plunder. This way, they can not only plunder supplies, but also cooperate with the Jiannu to harass the rear of the Ping Liao army."
"So after discussion, the cabinet decided that Gao Jie should be sent north immediately to take precautionary measures."
"If the Mongols come, Gao Jie can guard Ji and Mi to ensure the border is safe. If the Mongols do not come, Gao Jie can be transferred to Liaodong to support the battle in the spring."
"Your Majesty, please decide."
Chongzhen thought about it and felt that what Fan Jingwen said made sense.
There is Lu Daqi on the three borders of Shaanxi, and less than 20,000 Liaodong cavalry are stationed in Xuanda.
The only flaws are Jizhou and Miyun.
Of course.
If the Mongols really dare to attack, the Beijing camp still has tens of thousands of elite troops that can be mobilized.
However, this is Chongzhen's trump card and it cannot be used unless it is absolutely necessary.
Just like the nuclear weapons that came later, as long as they were there they could have a deterrent effect.
Deter external threats and internal enemies.
As a time traveler, Chongzhen knew very well that sometimes internal enemies were more terrifying than external threats.
Because the enemy within will stab you in the back when you are least prepared.
"Since the cabinet thinks it is necessary, then order the troops to be mobilized." Chongzhen nodded.
"I obey your order," Fan Jingwen did not leave after receiving the order, but stood still.
"Does Lord Fan have anything else to say?" Chongzhen asked.
"There is one more private matter," Fan Jingwen looked at Chongzhen and then at the Minister of Revenue Xie Sanbin who was standing next to him.
Chongzhen didn't want to tell him to go directly, so he and Fan Jingwen stared at him.
"Hey?" Xie Sanbin was stunned for a moment, then he stretched out his right index finger and pointed at his nose: "How about I take my leave first?"
"Okay," Chongzhen nodded.
Xie Sanbin turned around with a helpless look on his face and said goodbye temporarily.
Chongzhen asked him to discuss important matters with him, and he had to come back after Fan Jingwen finished his personal matters.
As soon as he walked out of the hall, Wang Chengen followed him out.
"Hey," Xie Sanbin pretended to be surprised, "Lord Fan's private matter must be so important that he even invited Eunuch Wang to come out."
Wang Chengen laughed and said, "After all, it is a private matter. No matter how big or small it is, it is not convenient for us to listen to it. But you, Minister Xie, should be prepared to hand in your work."
When it comes to the word "delivery", Xie Sanbin's face begins to flicker.
The imperial court was short of money, so Chongzhen appointed him as the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty in order to get money.
Let me put it this way, in terms of power, the most powerful person in the Ming Dynasty was Chongzhen.
The second is the cabinet chief Fan Jingwen.
Ranked third is him, the Minister of Revenue.
If he could not get enough money for Chongzhen, his fate would probably be no better than Wei Zaode's.
There are only a few ways to make money: currency reform, salt inspection in Jiangnan, selling official positions...
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