In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yunwen still summoned Ma Dajun.

"Minister..."

Ma Dajun stepped into the Golden Palace, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he saw Shuangxi make a silent gesture, and hurriedly stopped his voice, only to see that Zhu Yunwen was pinching the pen, and his eyebrows were locked.

I guess the emperor is in trouble.

Shuangxi walked around, led Ma Dajun to find a position not far away and sat down, and whispered: "Grandpa Guo will drink tea by himself and wait for the emperor for a while." ”

"Don't dare, don't dare."

As soon as Shuangxi turned around and went back, Ma Dajun stood up again, still standing and waiting for the emperor, which was more steady.

At the same time, I also wondered what the emperor could look at, and he could be worried like this.

Sneaking up on Zhu Yunwen's tightly locked eyebrows, Ma Dajun was tired of panicking for Zhu Yunwen.

is an emperor, and he rarely sees a smile on his face, and every day he is bitter and hateful, either worrying about this or that, it's not easy.

It doesn't make sense, Da Ming is in full swing right now, what else can the emperor worry about?

After standing like this for two quarters of an hour, Zhu Yunwen looked up at Ma Dajun: "Sit down." ”

Although he is in his thirties and has been in a handsome position for many years, Ma Dajun still looks like he has stood on the spot and stood for so long, still holding his head high and his spine straight, which made Zhu Yunwen nod secretly in his heart.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Ma Dajun moved his somewhat stiff neck, and carefully sat back in Fang Cai's seat, and opened his mouth impatiently before this ass was touched.

"Your Majesty, the minister is here to ask you for your resignation."

Zhu Yunwen ignored him, first took a sip of tea, and then took out a transcript from the imperial case and unfolded: "The King of Chu will be back in a few days." ”

Chu King Zhu Zhen returned to the dynasty, and the war in the northwest ended?

Ma Dajun was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what the emperor's words had to do with his resignation.

However, when the superior asks questions, there must be words to and fro, the emperor can divert his own words, and he cannot avoid the emperor's words.

"Master of the King of Chu, but the northwest has succeeded?"

"After nearly four years of standing, the Eastern Chagatai Kingdom is still there, and Shami Chagan is still continuing to be the emperor in Samarkand.

Zhu Yunwen smiled, so that he was not very angry: "In the past few years, more than 20 million yuan have been spent on military spending, and tens of thousands of vehicles have been used up for grain, grass, armor and equipment, which can be regarded as an excellent completion of the goal set by me." ”

Ma Dajun was dumbfounded.

Tens of millions of military expenses have been spent in four years, and there is no military merit even to show a hand, and the emperor even said that he has completed the goal brilliantly?

You must know that in the northwest battlefield, the army led by Zhu Zhen, the king of Chu, was more than that in the southwest, and the three divisions of Moting Sanduhu, Guanxi Bawei, Liaodong Jurchen, and Wuliangha plus the Ming border army guarding the Hexi Corridor mobilized nearly 300,000 people before and after.

And these 300,000 are not infantry running on two legs, this is almost all cavalry!

Daming has no shortage of war horses at all, even before the annexation of the grassland, Daming has never lacked war horses.

From the eighteenth year of Hongwu to the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, the tea and horse divisions in Gansu such as Wuwei, Tianshui, and Lanzhou specialized in trading with the Timurid Khanate and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

Such a transaction was made by the Ming Dynasty for six years.

Although only a few of the horses obtained from trading can be used to breed excellent war horses, most of them are inferior horses, and the number of horses that have survived in those years is also very objective after breeding.

It was not until Timur, a cripple, started the road of conquest and killed the Ming envoy to interrupt the tea and horse trade, that the Shaanxi-Gansu Tea and Horse Division gradually fell into decay.

In order to protect the grassland vegetation from being eaten up, many short and weak horses have been transported into the country, or used as stagecoaches, or become a means of transportation for the people, replacing the donkey carts that were commonly used in the past.

Those who are carefully selected to equip the army are all excellent war horses.

Although the Mongolian horse breed is fundamentally inferior to the Arab horse of the Timurid Khanate, it is a large quantity.

The war horses chosen by the Timurid Khanate could not have been all Arab horses, and there were even some proportion of camel soldiers.

Hundreds of thousands of cavalry failed to overturn a bunch of camels, which is said to be a shameless face.

"The Northwest Campaign was actually fought in the first year, and it was basically a confrontation later."

Zhu Yunwen saw that Ma Dajun was embarrassed to express doubts, so he took the initiative to say the reason.

"In the first year of the king of Chu in the northwest, he really fought a few tough battles with the East Chagatai, the northwest is vast, mostly rush battles, and the cannons are bulky, so there is not much use, I asked the Ministry of Industry to rush a batch of small-caliber light artillery to the front line, and it is not very useful.

The main thing is to do it with real swords and guns, the sixth uncle fought a war of annihilation in Yili and wiped out more than 30,000 people in East Chagatai, if it weren't for the support of Shami Chagan, the East Chagatai would have been destroyed in the first year. ”

Hearing the end, Ma Dajun jumped his brows: "Among the troops supported by the Timurid Khanate, is there a heavy cavalry with all the men and horses?" ”

"I almost forgot that you fought them at Isgreen Castle."

Zhu Yunwen sighed: "This army is amazing, the sixth uncle has never fought with them before, and once he encountered it, he suffered a big loss." ”

The words are understated, but Ma Dajun is a battlefield general after all, and he knows that the soldiers are in danger, and he is frightened every second, and he suffers a loss, and he has to kill with blood.

"The left flank composed of 50,000 people in the Kansai Eight Guards only carried it for an hour, and it was beaten to the point of collapse by 10,000 people, but fortunately, it gave the Chinese army time to hold the position, otherwise."

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and smiled: "Once the Chinese army is in chaos and the enemy's main force is covered and killed, in that case, the sixth uncle will lose his face." ”

"With the fighting will of the group of people in the Kansai Eight Guards, it is not easy to resist for an hour."

Ma Dajun said a good word for him.

Regarding this, Zhu Yunwen doesn't pay much attention to military strategy, and he doesn't understand it.

"In a war, there are losses and wins, a defeat is not a fault, and I don't plan to expect the King of Chu to drive straight into Samarkand's lair directly."

With the help of purely military strikes, the difficulty factor of destroying the Timurid Khanate, which had just entered its peak, was a little high, not that it could not be achieved, but mainly because it was too laborious.

History is a bit of a small twist and turn, Sha Micha did not lose his secrets and returned to China to seize power too smoothly, resulting in no internal strife, so the volume preserved by this opponent is slightly worthy of Minglian or Zhu Yunwen, some interest.

"The Chagatai battlefield is the main battlefield, the strong army is gathered, Shami Chagan and I have used a large army, and the formation is clear, and this consumption will take four years."

Zhu Yunwen smiled nonchalantly: "Oh yes, have you seen the allusion to Wang Jian and Chu." ”

Faced with the emperor's question, Ma Dajun became more and more confused, and he was a little unsure of what Zhu Yunwen was thinking, so he had to answer honestly.

"The minister saw it and was shocked."

"How did you win?"

Ma Dajun was just about to endorse the book, and suddenly a flash of inspiration flashed in his head, and he seemed to understand what Zhu Yunwen meant.

"Your Majesty, this is using Chagatai's four-year confrontation to exhaust the national strength of the Timurid Khanate?"

Seeing that Ma Dajun finally had a brighter mind, Zhu Yunwen laughed heartily: "Hundreds of thousands of troops have been in battle for four years, and people eat horses and chew horses, and I almost can't bear it, I don't believe that he Timur can afford such a waste in China."

Let me tell you, in the past few years, Shamichagan has sent dozens of envoys to Nanjing to discuss the matter of peace and tribute, and is willing to sacrifice Chagatai, but I have only one request, that is, let them cede dozens of cities in the east, including Samarkand and Kabul. ”

Ceded Samarkand and Kabul?

Ma Dajun laughed, this is a fundamentally unacceptable condition, this cannot be called peace, this is simply surrender.

"Chagatai is a grain mill, and the national strength of my Ming and Timurid Khanate is grain, and both of us are adding grain to the mill to see who can bear it."

Ma Dajun nodded, and said in response: "What Your Majesty said is extremely true, in the history of warfare, the most primitive, crude but best used tactic is to consume national strength. The way of employing troops is exactly the same, and the way of being upright is to fight for national strength and logistics.

Wang Jian attacked Chu, Qin Chu's million-strong army faced each other in a deep ditch, Daqin, who had traveled a long distance, was leisurely, and Da Chu, who was guarding his home, was short of food and grass, forcing Xiang Yan to launch a decisive battle in a hurry, and shook the heavily guarded Qin army camp.

In the case that the troops are not superior, he also took the initiative to be the attacker, and there is no use for him in all kinds of tactics and tactics. ”

Wang Jian's war against Chu is a classic battle of national strength.

The efficient operation of the Great Qin State's cultivation and warfare system made Great Qin's national strength so strong that it could not be seen by any country.

Before the war of Chu, the first emperor selected generals, Li Xin asked for 200,000 yuan, and the military achievements were outstanding, but the famous Wang Jian asked for 600,000.

The First Emperor chose Li Xin, but he was defeated.

had no choice but to ask Wang Jian to go out, but it turned out that the latter led a large army to dig ditches and camp all day long, not like the expeditionary party, but like the defender of the city.

As a result, Xiang Yan's army was short of food and grass, so he launched a decisive battle, unable to conquer the Qin army's Dazhai, and had to lead the army to retreat.

The battle of Wang Jian and his son to destroy the Six Kingdoms can be said to have used the art of war to the extreme.

As for the so-called disaster of Changpingjun's rebellion involved in Li Xin's defeat, there are different opinions, and there is also a conflict between the accounts of "Historical Records" and "Yunqin Mengjian", so I will not make a subjective evaluation.

Judging from the objective results alone, the young Li Xin hoped to destroy the most powerful Chu State at that time at the lowest cost.

But it was Wang Jian who really paid the lowest price.

Wang Jian brought 600,000 people, and the actual loss was just food logistics, so he pursued for hundreds of miles, annihilating all the living forces of the Chu State, and even Xiang Yan was captured and killed.

So is Wang Jian a famous general?

He used the most brainless tactics, the smallest price in exchange for the greatest results, and destroyed the greatest enemy country.

"We have endless fertile land, 70 million people, and the grain that is knocked down every year is piled up into a high mountain, and the rotten old grain, including the grain transported from India and Siam, is burned in tens of millions and hundreds of millions of stones.

The 300,000 soldiers in the northwest can't drag down my treasury, let alone the Ming Dynasty, but Sha Micha can't bear it. ”

Zhu Yunwen sneered disdainfully: "A large area of land was conquered by his father, and the complex divisions of populations, religious beliefs and regions are the scimitars of his father's blood that suppress all the disobedience, and these contradictions will break out sooner or later, the difference is only sooner or later."

There are Arab maritime merchants in Nanjing, I am well informed, Timur's domestic conquest has tripled compared with previous years, just to maintain the war situation in Chagatai, Shami Chagan is now sitting on the powder keg, and his bones are not left at any time. ”

Ma Dajun didn't speak, he would only deal with a war on the spot, and he didn't like to think too much about factors outside the war.

"The war between the two major powers has long been detached from the military dimension and is more of a political consideration."

In the face of Ma Dajun, Zhu Yunwen is very serious, otherwise he would not be so earnest.

"The best weapon to destroy Timur is time, not to fill it with hundreds of thousands of lives, I let the king of Chu temporarily truce and retreat, just to give Sha Micha a little time, so that he can exploit more ruthlessly in the country, and then I don't need to destroy him, split by ourselves, and we will pick the fruits."

The major events in the world are in the heart of the emperor, and in the face of the northwest battlefield, even if Zhu Yunwen is thousands of miles away, he still firmly grasps the situation in the palm of his hand. Even how large-scale the Northwest Battlefield was and how many people died, Zhu Yunwen informed Zhu Zhen in the form of a handwritten message early on.

A certain amount of casualties paid proportionally, when it reaches the line that is very similar, after completing Zhu Yunwen's explanation, it can be transferred to a war of attrition.

First to achieve one political goal for the country, followed by another for the Timurid Khanate.

Ma Dajun didn't quite understand why Zhu Yunwen wanted to tell him this, it had nothing to do with his surrender of military power.

"The dynasty can recruit a commander who is good at war, after all, the king of Yan and the king of Chu are in their fifties, and I don't want them to suffer from this saddle horse again. The younger generation, the first to recommend you Ma Dajun.

You are only in your early thirties, which is the age to learn and exercise more, and it is also the golden age to make achievements. I want to hold the sword of the Son of Heaven to plow the land for my Ming and my people, if you don't do it, I have the hand to hold the sword, and I am missing a sword of the world. ”

The words made Zhu Yunwen say that for this part, Ma Dajun already knew in his heart that the emperor was paving the way for him, and Zhu Zhen, the king of Chu, spent four years in Chagatai, and he was also laying a solid foundation for him to pick fruits in the future.

Attaching such importance to cultivation made Ma Dajun's heart shake, and he was greatly moved, and he knelt down and choked up with a puff: "Your Majesty has the grace of knowing and promoting, the grace of raising Junlu, and the gentleman is also the father, if the minister is troubled by his own selfishness, he is really a son of man in vain, please rest assured, the minister will set off back to Yunnan, coordinate the southwest theater as soon as possible, and refine an elite team of kings."

Just wait for His Majesty's order on the other day, the minister, will dedicate the head of Sha Mi Chagan to His Majesty's imperial case. ”

Zhu Yunwen laughed and raised his hand: "Get up, don't kneel at every turn, I don't want Sha Michagan's head, after all, I'm old, I can't see such blood." Go, I just want to see your good news in the future. ”

"Minister, retire!"

With a bang, Ma Dajun stood up, turned around and left with his head held high, the confusion and cringe before coming were swept away, and all that was left was the sky-high spirit and high morale.

To be able to return to his favorite battlefield, which general who has been fighting horses for more than ten years is not happy.

After Ma Dajun left, Shuangxi said with some concern: "Your Majesty may value your prince too much, and the slave is afraid that your prince will be self-respecting in the future." ”

Hold the army to self-respect?

Zhu Yunwen's hand to approve the transcript paused, and then continued to write and write.

"He's smarter than you see."