Another three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the third year of the Apocalypse came quietly.
Zhu Youxiao was not busy with government and military affairs these days. Instead, he took a short vacation and had a good rest for a few days.
Li Zhilong and Man Gui, who had already received the imperial edict to enter Beijing, rushed over after arranging the town's defense.
"The reason why I specially called you here is because after the spring of this year, I will go north to expedition to the Horqin tribe in the grassland."
"My idea is that when the time comes, you two will lead the town's elite and divide the troops into two groups to advance together. Do you think it is feasible?"
Li Zhilong and Man Gui looked at each other, both feeling a little surprised.
They had been mentally prepared for a long time. His Majesty's decree for them to enter Beijing was bound to be a big deal.
But I didn't expect that the expedition was going to the north, and the scale was quite large.
The two thought for a while, and Li Zhilong was the first to respond:
"Your Majesty, the first priority of the expedition is to ensure the logistical supply of the army."
"Especially since this time it will go thousands of miles into the grassland, and the number of corvee laborers to be mobilized may be hundreds of thousands."
"Besides, there is no guarantee that we can find Horqin's tribe in the vast desert and destroy them in one battle."
"I have been in the border town for some time, and I know very well the sentiments of the people in the border areas. It is a huge problem for the local people to keep their bellies warm. A rash expedition to the grasslands may shake the foundation of the imperial court."
Zhu Youxiao was quite pleased that Li Zhilong had such a vision and structure.
A general cannot just shout to fight and kill, that would be a foolhardy fool.
Just like He Shixian, the former chief military officer of Shenyang, do you think he is not brave?
He is quite brave and must charge forward in every battle. He carved out the position of chief military officer with a single stroke.
But what's the use? The boar skin just used a little trick to remove the human head from his neck.
As his confidant, if Li Zhilong had such awareness and vision, Zhu Youxiao would naturally be happy to see it happen.
"How can I not understand what you are saying?"
"But this battle must be fought. Even if I don't go to the north, Jiannu will definitely unite with the Horqin tribe and invade Liaodong again."
"Should I not assemble the army and mobilize the corvee laborers to fight against them?"
"Instead of passively defending, it is better to take the initiative, gather all the strength, and completely eliminate the troubles in Northern Xinjiang in one battle."
The emperor's words are not unreasonable. As a handful of generals, Man Gui and Li Zhilong have been guarding the border for a long time. How can they not understand the enemy's situation?
Those Mongolian tribes who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty had extremely difficult lives with the help of mutual trade and the imperial court.
What's more, what about Horqin, which has already been strategically blockaded and is close to Mobei?
"My idea is not to mobilize the people, but let the army be responsible for the logistics supply."
"Our Ming Dynasty Jiubian Military Town has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses. We don't need the people to do corvee work, and we can still ensure the logistical supply of the Northern Expedition Army."
"I have already calculated that your two towns, Xuanda and Da, combined, have nearly 100,000 troops."
"Each of the two towns sent eight thousand elite cavalry, and then ordered King Shunyi's troops to send troops to assist, and prepare their own food and grass. I promised that after they succeed, I can seal the entire Monan grassland to him."
"Then we can mobilize some troops from Shanxi and Shaanxi, which should be enough."
"The target of this Northern Expedition is not only the Horqin tribe, but also the Jian slaves entrenched in Liaodong. The target is also to be wiped out."
"The scale of this Northern Expedition is no less than that of the Hongwu Period. You must be mentally prepared to win but not to lose."
"I have blocked the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty and the country, and I will never allow defeat."
"But you can rest assured that I will not let you have any worries about the food, grass, weapons and military pay you two need. You just need to think about how to win this battle."
Under Zhu Youxiao's firm attitude, Li Zhilong and Man Gui could only choose to support it even if they felt that the time was not ripe.
The three monarchs and ministers discussed and planned for a whole day in the Palace of Qianqing with the goal of annihilating the Horqin tribe.
It was not until evening that the final strategy and tactical plan were finally formulated.
Because it is necessary to consider the need to confuse Jiannu.
Therefore, Xuanda's army will take the oath to fight earlier than the Liaodong army, and it will have to be so large that both Horqin and Jiannu will know about it.
Therefore, in the case of a bright card, the pressure on Li Zhilong and Man Gui is actually quite high.
Fortunately, the troops and combat effectiveness of Horqin's tribe were not as powerful as those of Jiannu.
Moreover, with the Mongolian tribesmen who had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty led by King Shunyi as guides, at least the Xuan army would not get lost.
Even if the Horqin tribe knew that the Ming army was planning a large-scale northern expedition, they had only two choices in the end.
Or he could just go all out and fight to the death with the Ming army.
Or they could continue to flee north so that the Ming army could not find him, thereby maintaining a certain degree of vitality.
As for Mobei Mongolia, they will never help Horqin. This has been proven in history.
Lin Dan Khan, as the orthodox Mongolian Khan, could not command the Mongolian tribes in Mobei, and Horqin was just a side branch.
What's more, they consider Jian slaves as their masters and have already lost the face of the Golden Family. Mobei Mongolia wishes they could destroy Horqin themselves, so how can they help them?
According to Zhu Youxiao's conjecture, Horqin would not choose to flee north.
The area where they were stationed was originally an extremely cold place, and survival was extremely difficult. If they had fled north, they would probably have been wiped out without the Ming army's conquest.
After listening to the emperor's analysis, Li Zhilong's warlike heart was instantly ignited, and he immediately expressed his stance:
"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. As long as you find Horqin's troops and they dare to challenge them head-on, I will kill them all."
Zhu Youxiao was not worried about Li Zhilong, but Man Gui had to remind him carefully.
"Mangui, I know you are a Mongolian, but since you are a minister and general of our Ming Dynasty, you must put the interests of the Ming Dynasty first. I hope you will not be merciful."
"Your Majesty, you can rest assured. Although I am a Mongolian, my ancestors and grandsons have been ministers of the Ming Dynasty for three generations. I will definitely not do such a thing as forgetting my ancestors."
There is no doubt about Man Gui's loyalty. After receiving his guarantee, Zhu Youxiao no longer had any worries and immediately made a final decision:
"Okay, you don't need to worry about logistical supplies and military pay. I will take care of it for you."
"You two go back immediately, train your army well, mobilize your war horses, select elite soldiers, and be ready to go out to the north at any time. When my order to send troops comes, you will leave immediately."
"I will issue an order to King Shunyi to fully cooperate with your two combat operations."
"Remember, the goal of this battle is to completely wipe out the Horqin tribe and clear up the Monan grassland."
"I obey the decree."
After Xuan Dajun's combat strategy was arranged, Zhu Youxiao immediately issued several edicts.
The three towns of Shanxi, Yansui, and Guyuan were ordered to send 10,000 troops each to the Xuanda area to provide logistical support for the battle.