In May of the first year of Chenghua, Jiayuguan.

At this time, Jiayuguan can be said to be full of soldiers, Liu Juntao deployed the front of 100,000 soldiers of various units of the Tiance Army in the wilderness west of Jiayuguan, and jointly camped for more than ten miles, building a solid defense line composed of military camps.

After that, Liu Juntao deployed 30,000 soldiers of the Beijing battalion in the foothills south of Jiayuguan, and deployed 40,000 troops from various units in Shaanxi in the foothills north of Jiayuguan as the two wings of the army.

The Yingyang Army and more than 40,000 defenders in Jiayu Pass are still stationed in Guancheng, and Liu Juntao only took a few days to deploy all the 230,000 soldiers of the South Road Army, preparing for a decisive battle with the army of Jiasilan!

At this time, the logistical supplies sent by the household department and the military department continued to converge at Jiayuguan, transported from Beijing, Henan and other places, and the supply line stretched for thousands of miles, like two huge long dragons, converged at Jiayuguan, relieving hundreds of thousands of Ming army officers and soldiers from their worries.

A few days later, Liu Juntao learned that Gasilan had begun to gather the army, so he convened a meeting of the Chinese army again.

"Bingxian! Ladies and gentlemen! According to the intelligence, at present, the Jiaslan has begun to gather the army, ready to enter the Jiayu Pass in the east, and the 100,000 Tartar army in front of us has also begun to advance continuously, and it is now sixty miles away from the battalions of the Tiance Army, and it is estimated that it will arrive within two days. ”

Liu Zi'an, Minister of Intelligence, said loudly, informing everyone of the news collected by the Ministry of Intelligence in the past few days.

"In addition, the Tartar garrisons on the Hamiwei side have also begun to strengthen their vigilance, and the Grakli troops who are said to be scattered around the Hamiwei have also begun to gather in Hamiwei, and it seems that the Gazlan has ordered martial law."

Liu Juntao frowned and asked, "Is there any situation where the Tatar Hami guards will worship Yisaha?" What is this person's ability! ”

Liu Zi'an said: "It is said that this person was originally the number one fierce general under the command of Xiao Lai, and the soldiers and horses under his command were also elite iron cavalry, but this person was once the henchman of the first Khan of the Tatar Department, so he never dared to reuse it, but sent him to the west to garrison, I don't know why, this person actually took refuge in the Gan Kaslan!" ”

"In this way, Gathlan is even more powerful!"

Everyone looked at Liu Juntao, and Liu Juntao also groaned, and then said: "Since the 300,000 troops brought by Gan Jiaslan have not yet converged, then let's eat the 100,000 Tartars in front of us first!" ”

Everyone was amazed.

"Order: All units of the Tiance Army are stationed in place, and the soldiers of the Beijing battalion and the various departments of Shaanxi are ready to attack and cut off the back road of 100,000 Tartars!"

Liu Juntao was ready to use the Tiance army as a sharp blade, and when the 100,000 Tartar army arrived, he would attack together to contain the Tartar army, and then use 30,000 soldiers and horses from the Beijing battalion and 40,000 soldiers and horses from Shaanxi, a total of 70,000 troops to cut off the enemy's rear route, and annihilate the 100,000 Tartar army with 17 or 80,000 superior troops in one fell swoop!

The first battle of the westward expedition was a battle of 200,000 to 300,000 people on both sides, and it was also a decisive battle with the purpose of annihilating 100,000 enemy troops.

As a result, as the Central Headquarters issued a battle order, the Shogunate and the officers and men of the various ministries began to act.

The next day, Liu Juntao was about to leave the customs and go to the various departments of the Tiance Army to inspect it, but was stopped by Lan Siqi, the head of the Central Committee.

"Bingxian, I just received a report from the Ministry of War, something happened!"

Liu Juntao was shocked, and took the disc newspaper handed over by Lan Siqi, and his brows furrowed.

"In March of the first year of Chenghua, Liu Tong (Liu Qianjin), the leader of the displaced people, united with Shilong (the monk of Shi), Liu Changzi, etc., set up a yellow flag in the big wooden factory in Fang County to gather people to rebel, called the king of Han, the country name Han, the year name Desheng, raided Xiang, Deng and other places, nearly one million displaced people were attached, and the surrounding Ming army could not resist ......"

Lan Siqi said with a worried face: "Bingxian, this Jingxiang area has Qinling Mountains in the north, Daba Mountain in the south, Bear's Ears Mountain in the east, Wudang Mountain and Jingshan Mountain, spanning Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei Province, the valley is deep, the population is sparse, the local government is not enough to manage, and now most of the soldiers and horses in Shaanxi have been transferred by us, the situation is not good!" ”

Liu Juntao nodded and did not speak, Lan Siqi continued: "Moreover, the land is rich in products, and the people can escape from servitude as long as they flee into the mountains and forests, and as early as the Yongle period, displaced people began to enter. Later, from Xuande to this dynasty, more than one million displaced people gathered. They are in groups of thousands, reclaiming wasteland, cutting down trees and erecting sheds, and wandering uncertainly, so they are called shanty people. The local government regarded it as a "thief and a thief" and wanted to impose sanctions, so these shanty people hated the court to the core! ”

Liu Juntao has long heard of the shantytowns, these shantymen are not only numerous, but also basically destitute, it can be said that there is nothing left except for their own life, even if they encounter the encirclement and suppression of the official army, they are not afraid of death, and they continue to rush up until they die!

"Does the imperial court have a way to deal with it?"

"News from the Ministry of War: Your Majesty has begun to summon the ministers of the cabinet and the chamberlain of the Ministry of War, ready to discuss the matter of encirclement and suppression."

"It seems that the imperial court is going to fight on two fronts, and it is impossible for us to continue to fight for a long time, so we can only hurry up!"

When Liu Juntao was discussing with Lan Siqi, Xiang Qun, the minister of the military department, also hurried over, and after greeting Lan Siqi, he handed Liu Juntao an urgent report from the military department.

"Bingxian! The military department is urgent! ”

Liu Juntao's heart sank, and when he opened it, his face became even more ugly.

"Guangxi Yaomin Hou Dagou gathered a crowd to make a rebellion, gathered tens of thousands of people, and successively attacked the prefectures and counties, affecting the six prefectures of Guangzhou, including Gao, Lian, Lei, Zhao, Shao, and Wu......"

Liu Juntao handed the emergency report of the military department to Lan Siqi for a look, and then said to the group: "These Yao people have been constantly in turmoil since the eighth year of Hongwu, with Datengxia as the core, and constantly harassing the surrounding state capitals. In the seventh year of orthodoxy, Lan Shouer, the leader of the Yao tribe, also led the rebellious people to besiege Fu County, which can be said to be a cancer! ”

Liu Juntao asked, "What is the response of the imperial court?" ”

"Raid!"

Xiang Qun said: "News from the Ministry of War: Now Your Majesty has deployed the Yao people rebellion in the Datengxia area together with the Jingxiang Shed rebellion, and is ready to mobilize soldiers and horses to conquer and suppress at the same time!" ”

Lan Siqi said in shock: "In this way, counting the Gan Kaslan who is entrenched in Hamiwei, the imperial court will have to fight on three sides!" Bingxian! The court can't support it, we don't have much time! ”

Liu Juntao nodded heavily and said, "Yes, the imperial court can't hold on!" ”

Liu Juntao is still not worried about Hamiwei at this time, even if the imperial court can't support it for long, but with the 300,000 army in his hands, it is not a problem to recover Hamiwei, the difficult thing is to completely wipe out the troops of Gasilan and march into the Western Regions!

"Invite Tang Yu and Guo Lao!"

After a while, Tang Yu and Guo Yongzhong hurried over, and Liu Juntao said directly: "How much grain can the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Civil raise now?" ”

The two were shocked when they heard this, but they still thought about it, Guo Yongzhong said: "Bingxian, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce have had a good harvest in the past two years, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs can mobilize more than four million stone of grain. ”

"The Ministry of Commerce can raise 11 million taels of silver, but it will affect the operation of the Ministry of Commerce."

Liu Juntao nodded and said, "The Ministry of Civil Affairs has mobilized three million and a half million stone of grain, and the Ministry of Commerce has raised eight million taels of silver, which will be transported to Jiayuguan for hoarding within one month!" ”

Everyone was shocked, and Lan Siqi exclaimed: "Could it be that when the imperial court can't supply money and grain, you are going to use the money and grain of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Civil Affairs to continue fighting?" ”

Tang Yu and Guo Yongzhong were also shocked, and Xiang Qun even said: "Soldiers must not be constitutional, this is a big taboo!" Bing Xian uses his own money and food to feed the imperial army, and fights abroad with heavy troops, even if His Majesty favors him, he will be suspicious, this is a big disaster! ”

Liu Juntao frowned and muttered for a long time, and everyone was also persuaded by you and me.

Guo Yongzhong said: "Bingxian, as long as this battle defeats Jiaslan and recovers Hamiwei, it will be a great achievement, as for the march into the Western Regions, we can wait until the imperial court quells the rebellion in the south, why rush?" ”

Liu Juntao muttered: "Let's mobilize the money and food first, depending on the development of the battle situation, I will also find an opportunity to ask Your Majesty!" ”

At this moment, Liu Zi'an came with an ugly face, and Liu Juntao and everyone secretly screamed when they saw this.

"Bingxian, Dongping Island Navy Feng Commander Urgent Report: The Dutch have made a comeback, mobilized a large number of warships from the mainland and the rest of the world, and harassed various places along the coast of Shandong, and the Dongping Island Navy has been dispatched to meet the battle, but it has always been at a disadvantage and suffered a loss!"

Hearing this, Liu Juntao closed his eyes in pain, now not only is the court fighting on three sides, but he is also on fire in his backyard!

If the navy of Dongping Island can't reach the Dutch, its own sea trade routes will be cut off by the Dutch, not to mention that the income of the Ministry of Commerce alone will be greatly affected, at least thirty percent of the income will be reduced!

In this way, even if Emperor Chenghua agrees with Liu Juntao to use his own money and grain to continue fighting, the Ministry of Commerce will not have enough stamina and will not be able to fight for long, after all, the 300,000 army is running thousands of miles to fight, and the money and food required are not only a few million taels?

At this time, everyone stopped talking, and their hearts were heavy.

Liu Juntao sighed heavily, and then he still cheered up and said, "The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will start raising money and food first." ”

Tang Yu and Guo Yongzhong glanced at each other, both of them received orders.

Then, Liu Juntao suddenly laughed out loud and said to everyone: "No matter what, we still have to fight the battle in front of us, first destroy the 100,000 Tartars in front of us and then talk about anything else!" ”

Everyone's morale was also raised, and they all hugged their fists to receive their lives.

In the evening of the next day, an army of 100,000 Tartars arrived and set up camp fifteen miles from the main camps of the Tiance army.

At the same time, Liu Juntao ordered Yan Hu, the chief military officer of Taiyuan Town, to lead the Yingyang Army and the Jiayuguan garrison to garrison Guancheng, leaving the officials of the shogunate departments in Guancheng, and he rushed to the Tiance army camp with Longxiang Army, preparing to meet the Tartar army.

At the same time, 30,000 soldiers of the Beijing battalion and 40,000 soldiers of Shaanxi also slowly marched westward along the mountains on the north and south sides.