Mobei.
The Ming army’s main tent.
"Your Majesty, when these barbarians saw our army coming, they were so frightened that they fled in all directions. The soldiers searched the area for a hundred miles but didn't see a single hair. It's really infuriating."
"It is said that when our army set out, these tribes had already migrated away. I am afraid that there are no tribes within hundreds of miles around."
Fu Youde said puzzledly.
This time Zhu Yuanzhang led the army in person, and not only Fu Youde, but also old men like Feng Sheng came along.
Especially Fu Youde, who originally thought he was going to retire and return home, but was still named.
That’s right. Your Majesty is already so old and has already led the army in person. You still want to take a rest? You are dreaming.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "When fighting them, the most important thing is not to fight them, but to find them. If you can't find them, it will be a waste of effort."
"Throughout history, many dynasties have tried to eradicate the threat from the grasslands, such as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who spent all his national strength but still failed to completely eliminate it."
"The vast grasslands, even if a million troops come in, are just like a drop of water in the ocean. Trying to accurately find the Tatar tribe is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Feng Sheng, who was standing beside him, saw that His Majesty was in a good mood, and he also smiled and said, "Duke Ying, His Majesty told you before, but you didn't believe it and insisted on leading the troops to catch the mouse. You are not a cat, so how can you catch a mouse?"
"Speaking of the skill of catching mice, Duke Liang is still better at it."
After saying that, Feng Sheng turned his gaze to Lan Yu.
Lan Yu naturally followed along.
Zhu Ying said that the Huaixi nobles should give up their power. In fact, when Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the army this time, the Huaixi nobles would definitely follow him.
Hearing this, Lan Yu looked proud and said, "Of course. Back then, when the sky was filled with yellow sand, I was able to find their traces."
"To find these rats, you need to be patient. It is not advisable to search with a large force. Instead, you need to divide into multiple patrols to find their tracks. Dozens of cavalry in a group, search widely, and then wait for an opportunity to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Okay, Duke Ying, you should take a rest for now and stop running around. The King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Yan have already attacked the Tatars, the Oirat, and the Uriankhai tribes, but probably to no avail. These barbarians are very cunning."
"Now all we have to do is wait for the railway tracks to be laid, and then we can start building a city. I don't believe they can all run away from this grassland."
"Among the tribes on the grassland, the most capable fighters are the Wala. If they want to escape, we can just raid their hometown."
Wala was the name of the Ming Dynasty. On the grassland they were called the Oirats, which means people in the forest.
The hometown that Zhu Yuanzhang referred to was the areas on both sides of the Yenisei River, where they lived.
When Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire, he sent his eldest son Jochi to pacify the fishing and hunting people in the vast primeval forests, commonly known as the forest people, namely the Oirats.
The Mongols called them Oirat.
After the Northern Yuan Dynasty retreated to the grassland, in addition to its own cavalry, the Oirat was a very important military force of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Haohaidayu, a minister of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, was a member of the Oirat.
Everyone in the big tent was in a relaxed mood and was not anxious because they couldn't find the Mongols.
Zhu Yuanzhang's central army marched very slowly and would stop to rest every one or two days.
The reason for this is that railway tracks are being continuously built from Datong Town to here.
Wherever the railway is built, trains can go there, and a steady supply of logistics can be brought by trains.
For this Northern Expedition, the Ming Dynasty prepared 50 million shi of grain, enough for a million-strong army to stay here until the end of the year without worrying about food problems.
…
Asut tribe.
After hearing the news that the Ming Dynasty was marching into the grassland, Aluta fled with his tribe. On the vast grassland, they didn't have to worry about being found by the Ming army.
At the same time, Aluta was constantly sending people to investigate the movements of the Ming army.
"Reporting to Grand Master, after entering the grassland, the Ming army split into three groups, led by the King of Qin, the King of Jin, and the King of Yan. The King of Yan is coming towards us."
"The Ming army built a railway on the grassland so that their trains could pass through."
Upon hearing this, Aluta's expression became somewhat solemn.
After the reporting soldiers left, they began to discuss with the leaders.
"Grandmaster, are the Ming troops doing this because they want to stay in the grassland? They have even built a railway here."
"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty doesn't seem to be in a hurry to come to us. Do they want to build a city on the grassland?"
"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has gone crazy."
The leaders were talking among themselves.
The Asut tribe was actually a Mongolized Parthian people, also known as the Alans, formerly known as the Hesu, who originated in the Iranian Plateau.
He was surrendered by Genghis Khan and later followed the Mongolian army into the Central Plains and formed the Asut tribe, known in history as the Asut Legion.
Aluta snorted coldly, and many leaders fell silent. In the Asut tribe, Aluta's authority was very high.
"It is simply a fantasy for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to want to hunt us down in the desert. Even if he wants to build a city on the grassland, what can he do?"
"Could he possibly occupy the entire grassland?"
"An army of one million does sound scary, but they don't even have 100,000 cavalry, and the rest are all infantry, just slow infantry. What do we have to be afraid of?"
"But we can't let the Ming army build the railway like this. We should send warriors to block the tracks. Without the tracks, the trains naturally can't run to the grasslands, which will definitely cause some trouble for the Ming army."
"Inform Guilichi Khan of these things and have their army cooperate with us. Perhaps we can ambush the Ming army."
Aluta supported Guilichi as the Mongolian Khan, but the Oirat did not obey.
The Oirat had three leaders, namely Mahamu, Taiping and Batubolo, who competed with Arutai and Guilichi for the right to rule Mongolia.
After Elbek Khan was killed by Guilichi, his eldest son Bayanchur and his uncle Khartai fled to the Timurid Empire.
The two were able to escape, obviously with the help of the Oirat.
Now that the Ming army is approaching, Guilichi and Aluta want to use the power of the Ming army to defeat the Oirat and gain the benefits.
They would never want to confront the Ming army head-on.
However, there were too many Ming soldiers, so they were divided into three groups and marched simultaneously against the Oirat, Tatar, and Uriankhai.
This forced Aluta to retreat continuously.
…
Uriankhai region.
Large numbers of Ming army soldiers continued to pour in.
This Ming army was led by Prince of Yan Zhu Di.
The Three Uriankhai Guards are different from the Tatars, the Oirat, or the Asut tribe. Because they once submitted to the Ming Dynasty, they are no longer completely nomadic people, but semi-agricultural and semi-nomadic.
Areas close to Liaodong are suitable for planting.
In this era, food is very important. The population on the grassland is about two million. Such a large population is naturally due to the previous relationship with the Mongols and Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the grassland could obtain food from the Central Plains continuously, and it was normal for the population to grow rapidly.
However, now that the Ming Dynasty has cut off grain transportation, the population has become a huge burden on the grassland.
The grassland cannot support such a large population.
The reason why the three Uriankhai guards were able to stand on equal footing with the Tatars and the Oirat was due to the support of the Ming Dynasty, including the trade of grain, which kept the population of the headquarters increasing.
"The three guards of Duoyan have repeatedly rebelled. This time, your grandfather the Emperor has issued an edict to execute the leaders of the three guard tribes directly and take all the captives away to build railways and cities."
"This is your chance to make merit. If you can accomplish enough merit, you can even be awarded the title of a county king, and you can also have a larger territory."
Zhu Di rode his horse forward and spoke to Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui beside him.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to leave the credit to his sons, and Zhu Di naturally thought the same.
Since the eldest son Zhu Gaochi was not suitable for fighting, Zhu Di naturally brought his two younger sons with him.
Moreover, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui were somewhat talented in military affairs. If they could make great achievements, they would receive more rewards.
Zhu Gaosui didn't say anything, but Zhu Gaoxu said casually: "Father, the emperor will not arrange our county on this grassland, it's too desolate here."
Zhu Di said: "If you can arrange it on the grassland, it is still your luck. Don't you see that now the railway tracks have been built into the grassland. It will be very easy for Ming Dynasty's goods to come here in the future."
"Perhaps the grassland will become more prosperous in the future. What's wrong with being a prince here?"
After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu just pursed his lips. Even if he didn't want to come, if he was really sealed here, there would be nothing he could do.
Seeing this, Zhu Di said, "You guys just refuse to study. You know that there are also a large number of people from the Scientific Research Department coming with the army this time. I know those people. They are all responsible for exploring mineral deposits."
"This means that there may be many mineral deposits on this grassland. It would be a lucky thing if you could seal it here."
Zhu Gaosui's eyes lit up immediately: "Father, is this true?"
When he was in Japan, he knew how many mines his father had opened, which meant a huge amount of money.
Many of the mineral deposits were seized by the two brothers.
"How could your father deceive you? Just do your job well." Zhu Di said, and then rode his horse forward.
The enthusiasm of the two was fully mobilized. They couldn't help but feel excited when they thought that they could also get a lot of money like in Japan.
As the Yan King's army advanced into the Uriankhai region, they continued to encounter some small tribes.
Not every tribe can migrate quickly, and water sources are very critical on the grassland.
Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui each led a thousand cavalrymen as vanguards to explore the way.
In addition, a large number of scouts will also be sent out.
Not only did they want to attack the three Wuriankhai guards and the Asut tribe, but all the herdsmen were their targets.
Small tribes were quickly wiped out, their cattle and sheep were confiscated, and the adult males were taken as captives of the Ming Dynasty to build railways and cities.
Under such circumstances, the three Wuliangha guards were forced to fight against the Yanwang army.
Nenjiang River.
This is the center of the Uriankhai region, and the Ongniud tribe is located here.
"Soldiers, follow me to kill the enemy!"
After continuous searching, the cavalry team led by Zhu Gaoxu finally discovered the location of the Ongniud tribe.
The pursuit began immediately.
The cavalry this time were not the previous heavily armored cavalry, but half-armored cavalry, which could maintain the speed of the war horses to a great extent.
When the soldiers of the Ongniud tribe discovered that the Ming army was attacking, they immediately began to flee.
This is not the headquarters of the Ongniud tribe. It is just a small group of vagrants. They cannot be a match for thousands of cavalrymen.
What's more, the Ming army had muskets and could easily defeat them.
Zhu Gaoxu pursued the enemy all the way, killing hundreds of them. He only stopped when it was dark and seized a large amount of supplies.
Many herdsmen also became prisoners of the Ming army.
It started with Zhu Gaoxu. After approaching the central area, the Ming army began to constantly encounter vagrants from the three guards.
At the location of Duoyan Guard, the leaders of the three guards were forced to gather together.
Now the army of Prince Yan has entered the Wuliangha area and abducted all the people of the three guards. This is simply a plan to wipe out the entire family.
"Damn it, are the Ming army crazy? They took all our people away. What do they want to do?"
"The Ming army launched a massive attack on the grassland. Perhaps we shouldn't have rebelled too early. This has allowed the Ming army to use us as an example to scare the monkeys."
"What's the point of talking about this now? We should think about how to deal with the Ming army. We can't just give the entire Wuliangha region to them."
"What did Alutai say?"
"What else can I say? They run faster than rabbits. Can we still count on them to fight against the Ming army?"
"Perhaps we can now send an envoy over to submit to the Ming army again."
After some discussion, Taining Guard Commander Azhashili proposed surrender.
This was quickly agreed by others.
Anyway, it has become common for them to surrender to the Ming or Yuan.
Soon, the envoys of the three guards set out to contact the King of Yan.
To show their sincerity, they brought hundreds of cattle and sheep and countless gold, silver and treasures.
Inside the tent of Prince Yan, he heard that the envoys from the three guards of Doyan were asking for a meeting.
Zhu Di smiled and said, "This Yan Sanwei is really interesting. Seeing that my Ming army is unstoppable, he decisively surrendered."
"You are so rebellious and fickle. You are clearly making fun of my Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Gaoxu said: "Father, please let me go and kill all these messengers. This will also tell them what happened to me."
Zhang Yu wanted to speak, but when he heard what the second prince said, he shut up immediately.
"Zhang Yu, just say whatever you want to say." Zhu Di looked at him and said.
Zhang Yu heard this and said, "I think the grassland is vast. If we sweep across it, it will be very costly. Since the three guards want to surrender, Your Majesty should accept their surrender."
Zhu Gaoxu snorted coldly, "They say you, Zhang Yu, are good at planning, but I think you are just that good. The three guards of Duoyan are clearly pretending to surrender. Once my army leaves, they will definitely rebel again."
Zhu Di frowned and said, "You are so smart, but can't you wait for General Zhang to finish his words?"
"General Zhang, please continue."
In fact, at this point, Zhu Di already understood what Zhang Yu meant.
Zhang Yu said: "The three guards will not run away if they accept the surrender. They think that as long as they surrender, they can still serve as commanders like before. In this way, we can capture and punish all their leaders."