In the Battle of Sarhu, the reason why the Ming army lost so miserably was because intelligence was leaked and Boar Skin learned about the march route and date.
The strategy that led to this split attack was directly shattered by the boar skin.
Of course, corruption in the Ming army is also one of the main problems.
It is known to the outside world as an army of 470,000, but the strength of the army on paper is more than 200,000, but in reality there are only 70,000 troops.
Among these 70,000 soldiers and horses, one-third are old, weak, sick and disabled, who lack food and clothing, and do not even have decent armor or weapons.
As a result, the Ming court misestimated the true strength of the Ming army and made serious mistakes in strategic judgment.
The army that could fight only had so many people, but Yang Hao ended up dividing his troops.
Boar Skin has 60,000 to 70,000 elite soldiers. If they defeat the few with more, they will defeat them one by one. The Ming army will not be able to return with a huge defeat.
In fact, in Zhu Youxiao's view, this strategy of dividing the country and attacking together is correct.
Because the geographical situation of that place is not suitable for large corps to march and fight.
You can only divide your troops to attack from multiple directions.
This has also been confirmed during the Chenghua Dynasty.
But the difference is that the Chenghua Dynasty deceived Jiannu first and launched the surprise attack without Jiannu knowing or being prepared.
As for the Battle of Sarhu, Yang Hao wanted the whole world to know about it, for fear that Jiannu would not know that he was about to attack, which would be extremely stupid.
Zhu Youxiao wanted to obtain the greatest results at the lowest cost.
The best way is to follow the example of Chenghua Dynasty and catch Jiannu by surprise.
This is why he ordered Xiong Tingbi and Li Songping to block the Liaoshen defense line.
And this alone is not enough. How can the Ming army prevent Jiannu from noticing?
At least it was a big problem for them to pass through the deep mountains and forests to reach Hetuala when they were unable to ambush and attack.
"Your Majesty, I have a plan."
Just when the generals and Zhu Youxiao were in trouble, Wang Zaijin, who did not support the emperor at first, suddenly spoke up.
"What's the plan, Da Sima?"
"Your Majesty, Jiannu is already frightened at this moment."
"Over the past year, the Liao army has continuously sent small groups of troops to harass the outside. A few days ago, with the support of Amin, they stabbed Jiannu hard in the heart."
"Mao Wenlong from Pi Island is always threatening Jiannu's flanks and rear, so I thought it was impossible to hide the truth from the enemy."
"I thought your Majesty could attack the east and attack the west."
Zhu Youxiao immediately asked:
"How to attack the east and attack the west?"
"Before sending troops, we released the news that Ming Dynasty will once again march north to the grasslands, and the goal is to wipe out the Horqin tribe."
"As long as this news is known to Boarskin, he will definitely try his best to confirm it."
"At that time, as long as we make some operations and let Amin help, even if Boarskin is not fully convinced, he will definitely relax his vigilance."
"Didn't Boarskin let his four Bailes take turns to govern?"
"At that time, we will send troops to Liaodong in the month when Amin is in charge, and it will be successful."
This is indeed a good strategy, and its feasibility is actually quite high, but the question lies in whether Amin is sincere in his surrender.
"Da Sima, do you think Amin is trustworthy?"
Wang Zaijin said after being silent for a while:
"I don't think he can be trusted, but since he wants to surrender and has expressed it before, he must still be able to use it."
"We just need to tell him how to do what he should do. As for what we are going to do, we can't let him know."
Zhu Youxiao nodded, obviously agreeing with Wang Zaijin's statement.
Then after thinking for a while, he added:
"You're right, but your strategy of attacking in the east and attacking in the west is not perfect enough in my opinion."
"The news can be released, but our army needs to set off in advance, and time will be stuck."
"Otherwise, if Horqin's troops are allowed to escape, then my northern expedition army will be a waste of money and resources."
"And I don't know when I will get their specific location next time."
"I determined the location of the Horqin tribe, but it took a lot of effort. Just because the two towns of Xuanda and Da were not closed at night, the loss was more than forty people."
"What Your Majesty said is that the time of dispatching troops is indeed crucial and must not be revealed."
"In that case, let's make this decision for the time being. I will have to discuss it in detail with Man Gui and Li Zhilong then."
"But the general strategy remains unchanged. When the time comes, Horqin's tribe will be handed over to the border troops of Xuanda and King Shunyi."
After that, he said to the four camp generals:
"Your goal is to build slaves in Liaodong."
"Qin Bangping, all your Taishan battalion will be dispatched for this battle."
"The Shenji Battalion sent out 10,000 musketeers. Except for the Hongyi cannon and the Daflang cannon, all other artillery and firearms were brought with them."
"The Xiaoqi camp sent out ten thousand cavalry, five thousand Mongolian cavalry and five thousand Han cavalry."
"The Huben camp sent out fifteen thousand troops, all armed with swords and shields."
"You four, go back and prepare well to make sure there are no problems."
"According to the decree."
The four generals said in unison.
"At that time, regarding the city defense of the capital, the inner city will be taken over by the Royal Forest Army, the outer city will be taken over by the City Defense Army, and the security of the city will be handed over to the Police Department."
"Old Duke, Grand Sima, the court will still need you two to take charge, stabilize the officials, and intimidate Xiaoxiao."
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will never let down your Majesty's great trust."
Zhang Weixian and Wang Zaijin are not surprised. In just two years, this is the third time they have taken on this important task.
After the two responded in unison, Zhu Youxiao turned his attention to Zhang Shize and said:
"How about it, Shize, the war is about to begin, don't you have any ideas? Don't you want to go to Liaodong and chop off the heads of a few slaves?"
Hearing this, Zhang Shize was a little confused and responded in confusion:
"Didn't His Majesty just ask me to take over the defense of the outer city?"
Zhu Youxiao smiled and said:
"The city defense force can be temporarily put under the control of the military department. There is no contradiction in this."
"You are young, don't you want to make more military exploits?"
"Or you have forgotten that the title of Duke of your Zhang family was earned by your ancestors on the battlefield."
"What's more, you are now in charge of an army. Although I secretly support you, it is difficult to last long without strong skills and solid military exploits."
How could Zhang Shize not have that thought? He immediately agreed.
Zhang Weixian could only sigh secretly when he saw this, even though he did not want his grandson to take risks.
After all, with the current status and favor of his Zhang family, which has never been achieved since becoming a knight, there is really no need to go to the battlefield to gain military glory.
But His Majesty had already called his name, and there was nothing he could do.
And his subtle changes have also been sensed by Zhu Youxiao, who was secretly observing and paying attention.
In fact, he specifically asked Zhang Shize to go on the expedition with him, which was intentional.