A cavalry charge is not a straight forward charge as imagined.

In a real cavalry battlefield, this is undoubtedly an act of asking for death.

Moreover, directly charging at the infantry phalanx with all their might is something only armored cavalry would do, while the Mongolian cavalry, who didn't even have armor, would rush to within about 20 to 30 meters of the infantry phalanx, then launch a round of volleys and then disperse.

Like peeling potatoes, they harvested the infantry phalanxes in waves.

If the cavalry directly attacked the infantry phalanx that was deeply embedded in the enemy's territory, it would undoubtedly be an act of seeking death.

However, for the current Ming Dynasty, there is no longer any fear in this tactic.

A cavalry charge is not a one-shot charge, after all, a horse's stamina is limited.

Generally, they start with a slow walk and then a quick walk. Only when they are about 40 meters away will they charge.

Cavalry teams that charge from hundreds of meters away basically never appear on a real battlefield. Often, before they even reach the enemy, the horses will be unable to move at high speed due to exhaustion.

The Ming army was already very skilled in dealing with such tactics.

When the cavalry approaches, the sword and shield soldiers will block the enemy's arrows, and then the spearmen in the back row will defend.

The musketeers took this opportunity to shoot at the Northern Yuan cavalry.

The power of the matchlock gun was fully demonstrated at this moment.

With an effective range of nearly eighty meters, under the coverage of such firepower, the Northern Yuan cavalry that rushed in front would often suffer severe blows.

Even if the accuracy is not enough, a hundred cavalrymen charging over can at least knock several cavalrymen off their horses.

The rotation time is enough for the musketeer to carry out two-stage shooting.

Often, with just one round of charge, nearly one-seventh of the Northern Yuan cavalry would be defeated.

Then the sword and shield soldiers advanced and hacked and killed the fallen Northern Yuan cavalry.

In front of the fully armed swordsman and shield warrior, relying only on a scimitar, no matter how strong your fighting power is, it will be useless and you will be hacked to death.

The scimitar could not cause any damage to the fully armed sword and shield soldiers.

It's impossible to run.

Because the musketeer is not the kind of person who would just stand there and watch.

"Khan, if we continue to fight like this, too many of our cavalry will die."

"Yes, after only a few rounds, nearly half of our tribe's warriors were killed or injured, while the Ming army did not suffer too many casualties at all."

"The enemy's firearms are too fierce. They are even more powerful than our bows and arrows. The warriors of the tribe can't withstand it at all."

Seeing this situation, many tribal leaders began to panic.

This is completely different from the battlefield they imagined.

The newly-emerged matchlock musket of the Ming army was a devastating blow to their proud cavalry.

In the situation of large-scale confrontation between armies, our cavalry formed a stalemate in shooting with the enemy's musketeers.

The high mobility of war horses has lost its original purpose.

Under the constant persuasion of many tribal leaders, Elbek immediately ordered all cavalry to stop charging at the Ming army's infantry and instead encircle and suppress the cavalry on both wings.

Lan Yu on the Ming army side is not a fool either.

Using 20,000 cavalry to fight against more than 100,000 Northern Yuan cavalry was like an egg hitting a stone. He quickly ordered all the cavalry to turn around and defend around the infantry phalanx.

As the cavalry retreated, the Northern Yuan cavalry took advantage of the situation and surrounded the Ming army in a semi-arc shape.

At this point, Lan Yu had no worries at all.

The current Ming army is like a hedgehog to the Northern Yuan cavalry, and it is impossible to swallow it.

The cavalry's mobile fighting formation was unable to cause too many casualties to the Ming army. Instead, they were constantly shot down by the musketeers.

The overall situation is that the Ming army is still advancing continuously.

Although it's slow, there's no sign of stopping.

The Northern Yuan cavalry could only retreat continuously under this situation.

Even with the help of horsepower, the Northern Yuan cavalry could not form a long-term encirclement.

At this point, the Northern Yuan cavalry was completely helpless.

"These Ming troops, are they turtles? With such a turtle shell, warriors like us have no way to deal with it."

On the side of the Northern Yuan Dynasty’s central army, tribal leaders continued to complain.

As far as the current battlefield is concerned, the Northern Yuan Dynasty no longer has any advantages. Under this circumstance, defeat is only a matter of time.

Elbek was so angry that his teeth itched, but in the end he gritted his teeth and gave the order to retreat.

The sky gradually darkened.

This battle has been going on since this morning. The soldiers on both sides are extremely exhausted, and coupled with the presence of night blindness, they are unable to fight after dark.

Lan Yu knew it, and Elbeke knew it too.

When the order to retreat was given, it meant that the grassland was defeated.

It’s not that Elbek can’t organize a war of this scale again.

Because there is no time left.

Winter is coming, and the extremely cold weather makes it impossible for the grassland to fight.

On Guilichi's side, he was still fighting bravely for the city wall.

However, when he heard the drumbeats of the central army's retreat, his face suddenly turned pale.

He knew very well what this meant.

This winter has been sad.

The Ming cavalry sent a message to the generals guarding the Great Wall, and opened a path to let the Northern Yuan cavalry escape.

There is no point in fighting any further.

The infantry was also unable to chase and kill the cavalry and could only let them leave.

…

"The troops have withdrawn from the grassland. In ten years, there will be no more trouble from the grassland. Hahahaha!!!"

In the Huagai Hall of the Ming Imperial Palace.

After learning about the situation on the grassland, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily.

Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang has been extremely wary of the grassland. The construction of the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty cost tens of millions of military pay and countless manpower and material resources.

He even sent his own sons to guard the border.

The purpose is to prevent the grassland from growing larger again.

Compared with the grassland, any small country was never taken seriously by Zhu Yuanzhang.

And now, Da Sun's plan has been implemented to ban the grassland. Now is the time when the grassland is the most withered. In addition, after years of ban, the entire grassland will retreat.

On the other hand, with the assistance of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty became increasingly prosperous, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

There are also high-yield crops to supplement the scarcity of food.

Coupled with a series of policies, in the next few decades, the population of the Ming Dynasty will exceed 10 million, reaching its peak in ancient and modern history.

How could Zhu Yuanzhang not be happy about this?

I just want to drink three cups of wine to ease my mood.

"Grandpa, although the grassland has retreated temporarily, it is not a good thing to waste such a large area of ​​grassland."

"To the north of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, there lived the Buriyati, Tuma, Huoli and other tribes, who lived in a mixed group. They made their living by hunting and also engaged in nomadic activities. They were the Senla tribes of the Mongolians."

"To the west, there is the Oirat tribe, which is no weaker than the Northern Yuan Dynasty. They occupy a large area of ​​fertile grassland, and to the north is the Kyrgyz tribe."

"Further west is the Golden Horde, which is at war with Timur, and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, which is adjacent to the Uszang Command of the Ming Dynasty."

"The weakness of the Northern Yuan Dynasty will make them greedy and fight for the territory of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. At this time, we should train a large number of grassland cavalry and equip them with muskets to conquer the grasslands."

At this point, Zhu Ying slowed down his tone and said, "This winter is a huge opportunity."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood what his grandson was thinking: "Do you want to provide food to the herdsmen in the tribes of the Northern Yuan area to help them survive the winter this year?"

Zhu Ying nodded and said, "Yes, my grandson has this idea."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly.

He understood what Dasun meant, which was to acquire some small and medium-sized tribes on the grassland that could not survive.

These acquired tribes will be thoroughly incorporated into the Ming Dynasty's system.

But there are also great risks involved.

Because the distance was too far, the imperial court had little ability to directly rule such a remote place.

Throughout history, there were many grassland tribes that submitted to the Central Plains dynasties. Even now, there are still many tribes that obey the arrangements of the Ming Dynasty.

However, these surrendered people, organized as tribes, were indecisive and like fence-sitters, they would rebel at any time.

He often follows the grassland to invade the Ming Dynasty, which is completely an ungrateful act.

On the surface, he obeyed the orders of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact he disobeyed them and did not take the Ming court seriously at all.

Only when the army marched north to attack did he behave very obediently.

This repetitive process wastes a lot of energy.

"If the eldest grandson says this, he must have a plan for the grassland."

"Tell me what you think, and let's see if there are any differences." Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Zhu Ying replied: "My grandson is going to set up a special military base in the grassland."

"There is no shortage of meat on the grassland, but there is a shortage of vegetables, tea, and medicinal herbs."

"All the young and strong men in the tribes that surrendered to our Ming Dynasty this year must serve in this military base we have established."

"My grandson will distribute food, tea, medicinal herbs and other items to the homes of these men in service according to the standards."

"These young men who have been recruited to the military base don't need anything else every day. They just need to train all day long, just like the guards in our capital."

"It just so happens that my grandson plans to send all the newly graduated students from the Daming Military Academy in the capital to the grasslands."

"For the soldiers on this grassland military base, training is secondary and education is primary. My grandson has recruited a large number of teachers to teach them culture, knowledge, and the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor and the country."

"In this way, it will only take a few years to build our Ming army with this as the foundation, radiate to the surrounding areas, and establish the army of the Ming Dynasty in the grasslands."

When it comes to brainwashing, there is no doubt that Zhu Ying is extremely good at it.

This is due to some insights from previous lives and practice in this life.

We are very proficient in theoretical basis and practical application in all aspects, and can be said to have a complete set of processes.

The biggest key is that high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes provide the confidence for this strategy.

Men who grew up on the grassland are generally illiterate in terms of culture, and their minds are completely blank except for a vague idea of ​​worshiping the Eternal Blue Sky.

In this regard, it is actually very easy to operate.

All you need to do is separate the young and strong from the tribe, and then implement a closed-loop brainwashing training, and you can get a steady supply of cavalry.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not shocked by these words, but instead began to consider the feasibility of this plan in his mind.

According to the plan proposed by Dasun now, it is undoubtedly extremely complete and perfect, but whether it can be truly implemented is also a more realistic issue.

"What is the scale of the initial preparations that Grandson is going to make, and how much money will he invest each year?"

"The grassland is remote and difficult to control, so we must select people who are reliable enough to control it."

Zhu Yuanzhang said after careful consideration.

Zhu Ying nodded and said, "In terms of education, my grandson will follow the rules of the current Ming Military Academy. In terms of investment, we plan to recruit 50,000 cavalry from each tribe in the early stage."

"The grassland cavalry is different from our Ming Dynasty. They don't need to be fully equipped with armor first. They only need simple standard clothing. When the time comes, my grandson will ask these clothing factories to make uniform robes according to the style and customs of the grassland."

"As for money, I plan to invest 30 million treasure notes worth of materials first, so that the lives of these tribes who have taken refuge in our Ming Dynasty can be completely separated from those of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. This way, we can attract more tribes to join us."

"As for the selection of candidates, my grandson recommends Lan Yu and the Fourth Emperor's uncle as the main candidates."

"Fourth uncle has lived in Peking for a long time and is very accustomed to the grasslands. Before Lan Yu set out, my grandson hinted at the possibility of him becoming the King of Liang in the grasslands. This will naturally form a check and balance."

"Add to that the students from my grandson's military academy, and we can form three forces that will check and balance each other. Even if the imperial court cannot effectively control them directly, they can still have a great influence on them."

Listening to his grandson's thorough arrangements and analysis, Zhu Yuanzhang leaned back slightly in his chair, feeling very comfortable and relaxed.

Back then, no matter what was arranged, Zhu Yuanzhang did it all by himself. It was his first time as an emperor, so naturally he had no experience and had to figure everything out by trial and error.

Every time I arrange trivial matters like the system, I will think about it all night, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not trust outsiders, especially those who were talented and intelligent, from the bottom of his heart.

Zhu Yuanzhang would spend a lot of time thinking about the system regulations proposed by Liu Bowen before, to see if there would be anything involving the interests of the Jiangnan gentry.

Even Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong and other old brothers who had followed him all the way had their own stances on many things, rather than considering issues from the perspective of the Zhu family.

The eldest grandson is different.

These issues are basically viewed in light of the development of the Ming Dynasty and the inheritance of the Zhu family.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang particularly worry-free in many aspects.

That's why he leaned back in his chair subconsciously when listening to his eldest grandson's story. This was a manifestation of his utmost trust.

"Isn't the fourth brother now granted the title of Yancheng in Japan? What is the eldest grandson going to do about this?"