"We decree that Zhu Sheng, who is involved in politics, and the newly appointed Minister of Household Affairs, Yang Xian, Minister of War, Wang Guangyang, and Minister of Taxation, Hu Weiyong, will go north to Jining immediately."
"I decreed that Zhu Liangzu, when he left Tunhu Prefecture, transferred Hu Dahai to the north immediately."
"I have issued an order to King Fang Guozhen of Yue to lead his navy to patrol the coast, but he is not allowed to actively harass Zhang Shicheng's troops. If he is tempted, he will retaliate decisively!"
"I ordered Zhou Dexing of Hangzhou to be on strict guard against possible attacks by Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youding."
"Tell the food bank in Yingtian to raise a sum of military pay. The amount is tentatively estimated at 8 million yuan."
"I order the Yushitai and Du branches to immediately check the grain warehouses in various places to ensure that the amount is sufficient and ready for shipment at any time."
"Tell the Yangtze River Navy again that all boats are ready to transport food, wages and luggage. In particular, flat-bottomed boats need to be prepared to enter the canal and enter the Yellow River."
…
Zhu Yuanzhang continued to issue decrees, and Zhang Ximeng was filling in the gaps. The monarch and his ministers quickly completed the overall deployment, and the huge war machine rumbled into action. The biggest decisive battle since the founding of the Ming Dynasty finally broke out irresistibly.
Strategic decisive battle aims to eliminate the enemy's main force, win the initiative on the battlefield, and deprive the other party of its war capabilities.
It is a crucial battle between the two opposing parties that determines life and death.
It is a huge gamble that affects the direction of history and the fate of the country.
Bet all your chips, use the last bit of strength, no reservations, and give everything you have to strive for victory!
In fact, as an excellent commander, you should avoid this situation.
It's not that we can't fight, but we can't fight when the conditions are not mature, because if we fail, the price we pay will be too high. And any little thing will affect the outcome of the war, which is highly uncontrollable.
For Ming Dynasty, if everything goes well, gradually encroaching and then pushing forward with the army, this is the safest choice.
Even before the decision to embark on the Northern Expedition, although a plan for the decisive battle was formulated, it was not put in the first place.
However, the development of the situation far exceeded Zhang Ximeng and Zhu Yuanzhang's expectations. Looking at the entire Central Plains pattern, it seems that a decisive battle has already emerged.
Let's talk about Nanyang first. Feng Guoyong and others took great measures, using Xiangyang as their base camp, and surrounded Nanyang. They succeeded in the first battle, not only captured Aruwen, but also thwarted Chahan's rescue.
Feng Guoyong's reputation was so great that he immediately announced a series of policies. The people of Nanyang Basin looked forward to it and were happy and encouraged. In a short period of time, Feng Guoyong not only gained a firm foothold, but also received a large number of supplements.
Fully 30,000 civilians joined the Ming army.
Feng Guoyong has already sent troops to attack Ruzhou and Songzhou, further threatening Shaanzhou and Luoyang.
His move not only compressed the space of the Yuan Army in Henan, but also threatened the Yuan Army in Guanzhong. It can be said that he killed multiple birds with one stone.
The powerful Nanyang Group was like an iron fist, pressing against Chahan's soft belly.
Although it was impossible to cut open the abdomen and cut out the heart at once and directly defeat the Yuan army, it was enough to cause Chahan Timur's pain to his bones.
Compared with the results of the Nanyang Cluster, Liu Futong, who was trapped in Kaifeng, actually showed strong resilience. This contemporary hero who drank wine and discussed heroes with Lao Zhu, although he failed in the three-way Northern Expedition, flourished but declined, and was trapped in Kaifeng
after.
He has not relaxed his fighting spirit, he is still persisting.
Stay firm on the green hills and never relax.
In history, Liu Futong once escaped from Kaifeng and retreated to Anfeng, where he lived for more than four years.
This time, Liu Futong seems to want to make Kaifeng the final decisive battle location.
"No matter what, you can't be Song Huizong!"
This is something Liu Futong often says recently.
At first, the Jin soldiers went south and approached Kaifeng.
Huizong Zhao Ji immediately abdicated, ran away with a bucket, and led his cronies to flee south... As a result, the Kaifeng army was demoralized, the people were lost, and the weakness of the Song Dynasty was completely exposed.
What's even worse is that Zhao Ji just ran away and came back stupidly, thinking that everything was safe.
As a result, the Jin went south for the second time, and this time there were no officials to protect him. Zhao Ji and his son became prisoners of the Jin.
To this day, Liu Futong uses this example to encourage his subordinates.
If you persist, if you persist, there will be a way.
Zhang Shicheng could still defend Gaoyou, but we, the Song Dynasty, had to do the same!
Liu Futong failed to break through several times, so he simply mobilized the army and civilians to overhaul trench fortifications in Kaifeng and prepare for a bloody battle to the end.
Kaifeng's tenacity exceeded Chahan Timur's expectations. He could not capture Kaifeng at once, and he could not move south quickly. In this way, the Ming Dynasty would be safe in the vast area of the Huaihe River Basin.
Therefore, the main force of the Ming army gathered in Shandong, forming a powerful iron fist.
This fist, and Nanyang's fist, penetrated the Central Plains one after another, and the Yuan army in Henan was surrounded. In other words, the Yuan army around Kaifeng formed a protrusion, and the Ming Dynasty only needed to surround this protrusion.
, eating the enemy one by one, the most powerful field force of the Yuan Dynasty will fall apart. In the Yellow River Basin and south of the Great Wall, there will no longer be the main force of the Yuan army that can compete with the Ming Dynasty.
Conquering Dadu is just around the corner.
It was these circumstances that gave Zhu Yuanzhang the confidence to decide on a strategic decisive battle and annihilate Chahan in one fell swoop.
But having said that, what would the situation be like if we look at the surrounded Yuan army?
Chahan Timur relied on the armed forces of the landlords to rise to power. From the initial 10,000 people, he now has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command.
Defeated the Central Route Army and the West Route Army of the Northern Expedition successively.
Before going south to Kaifeng, Chahan stationed a large number of troops in Taihang, and divided his troops into Guanzhong, Heluo, Jianghuai, and banner camps, which stretched for thousands of miles. The military front was so powerful that it was even higher than the original Tuotuo.
What's especially important is that Chahan is a man who knows how to use troops and is a famous general in using them.
He is different from people like Tuotuo who focus on internal affairs.
Moreover, Chahan could not be a loyal minister and filial son of the Yuan Dynasty, and would not give up military power just because of a decree.
"My lord, according to the secret report, Chahan has no less than 400,000 soldiers and horses, and among them there are more than 300,000 elites capable of fighting. In particular, there are also the soldiers and horses of the kings of Shaanxi and Gansu, including tens of thousands of cavalry.
Strong fighting ability."
Zhang Ximeng analyzed: "There is another biggest variable in this battle, and that is Polo Timur, who is stationed in the direction of Datong. He inherited the status of his father's Badulu, and when dealing with the Central Route Army of the Northern Expedition, he established
He has achieved great success. He also has more than 100,000 heavy troops at his disposal, making him the second largest force in the entire Yuan Dynasty."
"If Badulu goes south to reinforce Chahan, the total strength of the Yuan army will exceed 500,000. However, the number of troops we can use is less than 350,000. Although the quality of the troops and horses can offset the advantage of quantity,
In this kind of decisive battle, there is always one more person, and the courage is enough. What's more, Li Siqi in Guanzhong may also send troops and horses to help Chahan. In this way, the enemy we have to face will be even more powerful.
."
When Zhang Ximeng said this, his expression became more solemn and suspicious.
Again, facing nearly a million troops from both sides, a huge battlefield spanning thousands of miles, and a fateful gamble... Zhang Ximeng's problem of making plans difficult to make decisions was committed again.
Fortunately, the person who made the final decision was not Zhang Ximeng. Zhu Yuanzhang held on to the overall situation with his perseverance and tenacity gained from the lowest level of hardship, and he also had his own judgment.
"What Mr. Chahan said is reasonable, but it is not comprehensive... Chahan Timur also has huge weaknesses. First of all, sir, he is worried about Polo Timur, but Chahan has more soldiers, but his status is lower than the other party. There are many conflicts between the two families.
, if it weren’t for our Northern Expedition, they might have started fighting on their own. So it’s impossible for the two parties to be of the same mind. This is one of them!”
"Secondly, although the Yuan army has many soldiers and horses, the Central Plains has been depleted due to repeated fierce battles and constant tug-of-war. The land is thousands of miles away. It is almost impossible to find enough food and military supplies. Although the Mongolian cavalry is powerful, the lack of fodder and food
The consumption is greater. The pressure is still on us."
"As for the third point, in the battle of Nanyang, Aruwen was captured. The ambush in Dongping Mansion defeated Wang Baobao... Facts have proved that Chahan's soldiers and horses are just like that. He may be stronger than Chen Youliang, but in the end he is just
He is a powerful landowner. The more troops and horses he has, the more complicated they are, and the more difficult they are to mobilize. Now they seem to be powerful and arrogant, but as long as they are defeated, they will immediately fall into pieces and collapse thousands of miles away."
"Wars are fought with confidence. In this battle, we bear the century-old humiliation of China's fall and the hopes and entrustments of tens of millions of people. This battle... must be won!"
Lao Zhu's fist hit the table hard.
In an almost decisive manner, the confidence for the decisive battle was determined.
Within ten days, Zhu Sheng, Yang Xian, Wang Guangyang, Hu Weiyong and others arrived in Jining, followed closely by Hu Dahai and Chang Yuchun, who also led troops, plus Xu Da, who had already arrived in advance.
Zhu Yuanzhang's strongest civil and military personnel are almost gathered together. All the elite Ming army are here!
Lao Zhu introduced the current situation and his determination for a decisive battle to everyone, and then said to everyone: "You all can speak freely and see where there is anything that needs to be added and where there are omissions. We want to hear your opinions."
What Zhu Yuanzhang said is very interesting. It is right to be open and honest and listen to opinions.
But the premise is that the determination for the decisive battle has been made, so don't question it, just think of ways to improve the plan.
Everyone looked at the map with grim faces, and no one dared to speak easily.
The scale of the million-dollar decisive battle alone makes everyone's heads buzz.
Looking at the battlefield again, from Shandong to Guanzhong, from Henan to Shanxi... the entire Central Plains and both sides of the Yellow River are all within sight.
In such a war, it is almost impossible to think of a complete strategy.
No one is sure enough to grasp the overall situation.
Just when everyone was silent, Zhu Sheng coughed lightly and said, "Upon me, we understand the Yuan army's situation very well, but we also have one of our biggest shortcomings. If we don't handle it well, we will also fall short."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Please speak."
"It's like this. In the direction of Nanyang, you can take Runing, Anfeng, Haozhou... and then send a message to Shandong... At present, it will take five or seven days at the fastest. It was fine before the war, but if there is a war, with an order,
It only takes half a month. How can the two armies cooperate with each other? If Chahan adopts the strategy of defending one and attacking one, we will definitely be at a disadvantage. Especially the troops in Nanyang. Their strength is too small and not enough to deal with Chahan, especially
The pressure from Guanzhong will also fall on their heads. If Chahan relies on his powerful troops to defeat Nanyang's troops before we can mobilize, the overall situation will be decisive and the victory or defeat will be reversed in an instant, so we must pay attention."
Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the map, pondered for a while, and suddenly said: "Then send Zhu Wenzheng to the north and let him lead his Huguang troops to rescue Nanyang and wait for Feng Guoyong's dispatch."
With the addition of another troop of troops, there is no doubt that Zhu Yuanzhang has staked everything on him.
Zhang Ximeng was slightly startled, Zhu Wenzheng! Could it be that his moment is finally coming?