After thinking about the current number of people in Jiannu, Zhu Youxiao remembered something again, so he asked:
"When I was looking through the reports of the Liaodong war in the palace, some ministers and generals wrote to me, saying that Jiannu had a kind of white-armored soldier called Bagala. It was said that they were superb in martial arts, as strong as bears and tigers, and had excellent archery skills. Is this the case?
It’s true.”
"Your Majesty, although this is an exaggeration, the white-armored soldiers of Jiannu are indeed elite. They wear three layers of heavy armor and are good at using blunt weapons. They are usually used to rush into formations or harass."
"He is also an elite confidant of Boarhide. He follows the army as his personal guard. When fighting, he is often used as a surprise soldier. It was indeed impossible for our army to resist for a time."
"Then based on what Xiong Qing said, this Jiannu Ba Ya La really has an unstoppable meaning as rumored?"
Hearing the so-called irresistibility, Xiong Tingbi replied with a hint of disdain:
"This was just a boast made by those officials who were greedy for life and fearful of death, and were incompetent and unscrupulous to cover up themselves."
"The Liao army used to be extremely corrupt. The soldiers were not trained for months and were no different from a mob."
"The generals are greedy for life and afraid of death, so they only deduct military pay and oppress military households."
"Even when I first arrived in Liaodong, there were rumors in the army that the Jurchens were invincible. Therefore, I did not hesitate to vigorously rectify the situation and killed several middle-level generals who spread the rumors to stop the spread of rumors."
"But today is different from the past. The Liao army has changed its appearance. Last year, my Biao camp beheaded more than 200 white-armored soldiers who were slaves."
Zhu Youxiao also nodded after listening. It seems that some unofficial records from later generations are relatively consistent with historical facts.
Jiannu's Ba Ya La, what nonsense is invincible in the world, if it is really such an exaggeration.
How could Cao Bianjiao lead 3,000 Yutian cavalry during the Battle of Songjin and attack Huang Taiji's Chinese army camp to pieces while attacking more with less, and almost killed this little wild boar?
As for the so-called invincibility, when Zhu Youxiao was in later generations, he also heard many people boast about it.
This sentence was originally used by Taizu Taizu of the Liao Dynasty to comment on the Jurchens of the Jin Kingdom, but a shameless person directly grafted it onto the Jiannu who had not even the slightest relationship with the Jurchens.
Among them, these generals and officials in Liaodong can be said to be the biggest promoters. If they don't brag about the enemy, how can they cover up their own incompetence?
With the support of Xiong Tingbi, the person who knows the most about slave building.
Zhu Youxiao also figured out the true level of the slave-building army.
In his opinion, with the combat strength of the Liao army after reorganization and reorganization, there is no possibility of defeat in this battle, let alone the Yulin personal army that he has carefully built.
Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Qin Bangping and asked:
"General Qin, you have an opponent in Taishan Camp. They are both heavily armored. Who is more powerful, Jiannu, or our army? We will compete on the battlefield."
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I, Shi Zhuerlang, are all good men. When the time comes, I will bring back the heads of all the white-armored soldiers of Jiannu to build a temple in the capital and establish the prestige of our Taishan camp."
Qin Bangping had wanted to speak for a long time. Although he did not fight Jiannu head-on, he was a man of stone, brave and good at fighting.
During the Three Great Conquests, he experienced more than a hundred battles, large and small, and never encountered an opponent, let alone the word "defeat".
He was quite unhappy when he heard that the emperor seemed to be a little wary of Jiannu's heavy armored soldiers.
If Zhu Youxiao knew his inner thoughts, he would definitely not know whether to laugh or cry. He was not afraid, he was just curious.
After understanding the enemy's specific situation, Zhu Youxiao didn't waste any time.
Directly following his original plan in the capital, the Liao Army and the Yulin Army were divided into two parts.
Along the way, Xiong Tingbi led the 40,000 troops from Shenyang to the front line of Fushun and Kaiyuan, and then turned the troops to march from north to south. One was to attack the rear directly, and the other was to block the retreat of the Jiannu slaves who fled to the grassland.
On the other way, Li Songping led the Zuowei Army Town and Yulin Army, totaling 40,000 troops, and passed through Fushun to attack the Salhu Pass, which was heavily defended by Jiannu troops.
In addition to Mao Wenlong's troops, there were nearly 100,000 troops in total, forming an encirclement on three sides and swallowing up Jiannu in one go.
This scale is comparable to the Ming army's expedition force in the Battle of Saarhu, but not smaller.
Although the Ming army in the Battle of Sarhu was said to be 470,000, it was actually less than 70,000. Adding North Korea, the remnant of Ye He, and the three Duoyan guards, the number was only over 100,000.
Zhu Youxiao also absorbed the lessons of the Saarhu defeat and attached great importance to communications between armies and overall overall deployment.
Three thousand Han cavalry and two thousand Mongolian cavalry were specially selected from the Xiaoqi camp to follow Xiong Tingbi and Li Songping. They formed a team of one hundred cavalry and were stationed along the route five miles apart for communication and backup purposes.
At the same time, it also serves as a logistics food route, which can be said to serve multiple purposes. However, it is a matter of life and death for a hundred thousand troops, so Zhu Youxiao decided to personally take charge of the food and grass transportation.
The two of them reported the situation to the garrisoned cavalry every hour, and then sent them back to Liaoyang by fast horse to inform Zhu Youxiao.
If the two armies do not meet head-on, communication with each other is prohibited, and the troops only need to act according to the deployment.
In order not to suffer the same fate, Zhu Youxiao also strictly warned the two of them that they must carefully explore the surrounding situation before entering the army.
Xiong Tingbi knew the Jiannu very well and was never arrogant or contemptuous, otherwise he would not have boldly reported it to Emperor Wanli. Without 180,000 troops and 90,000 horses, there was no need to talk about conquering the Jiannu.
As Zhu Youxiao's absolute confidant, Li Songping was also a general who was proficient in military affairs and familiar with military literature. Naturally, he also understood the principle that arrogant soldiers will inevitably be defeated.
Therefore, I feel relatively reassured about the two of them, Zhu Youxiao.
The Ming army's three-pronged attack strategy was thus decided.
"Xiong Qing, after you return to Shenyang, contact Amin immediately and ask him to be prepared. When the two armies confront each other, immediately turn your troops around and attack from both inside and outside to wipe out Jiannu."
"As for when our army will go out for the expedition and other related matters, please do not disclose it to him."
"I understand."
Xiong Tingbi also knew that he could only use Amin but not trust him.
Zhu Youxiao looked at the people in front of him who were bowing their heads and said:
"From today on, the two cities of Liaoning and Shenyang will be under martial law. No matter who you are, no one can enter or leave without the order of the general. If you disobey, you will be killed directly without reporting to me."
"Yang Jihu, you will allocate 500 people from the Royal Forest Army. After the meeting, you will rush to Shenyang with Xiong Qing. You and Sun Yunhe, who is staying there, will be responsible for this matter."
"Peimin, you and Yang Huan are responsible for Liaoyang. You must be careful and make no mistakes, otherwise I will not be lenient."
Guo Peimin, Yang Jihu, the two generals of the Royal Forest Army, and Yang Huan, the accompanying Jin Yiwei, commanded the Qianshi, and immediately accepted the order: