Although Li Hongfei used both soft and hard methods, barely stabilizing the internal situation in the Ming Dynasty, the Manchu tribes outside the gate should not be underestimated. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

Before the Qing troops entered the customs, the number of Manchus in the entire three eastern provinces was about 600,000 (population rather than troops), after several years of war, the Manchu Qing Dynasty seemed to suffer heavy losses on the surface, but in the end it was about 400,000 people who safely withdrew from the customs.

That is to say, in the past five years, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was in the Guan, and the losses were basically Han Chinese, if it were not for the struggle for power and separation, the strength of the Manchu Qing was still very strong outside the Guan.

If Li Hongfei thinks that he can sit back and relax by driving the Manchu Qing out of the Guanwai, it is really a big mistake, and the Guanwai is the home of the Manchurians.

Not to mention that most of the soldiers of the army are from the south of the Yangtze River and do not adapt to the climatic conditions in the north, and the Ming army is not the opponent of the Qing army in terms of field battles alone.

In the past in the Central Plains, the Ming army won many battles, and that was because the Ming army had a clear goal, which was to attack the city.

The hinterland of the Central Plains is full of cities, and the Ming army is attacking the city in a group, so the Qing army has to defend the city.

In this way, the cavalry advantage of the Qing army could not be brought into play at all, because no matter what tactics the Qing army implemented, the Ming army had only one purpose, to attack the city!

Coupled with the response of the common people in the Guannai, the Qing army was not only dealing with the Ming army, but also thousands of Han people in the world, how could it be undefeated?

However, it is different now, the land outside the customs is barren, often hundreds of thousands of miles, and it is difficult to see a few villages, let alone cities.

This is the home of the Qing army, the cavalry occupies a natural advantage, and the Ming army, with infantry as the main force, can not take the initiative to attack except for holding the city wall..........

Since he can only defend, there is no need to waste too many troops in the northeast, and disarmament and developing the domestic economy have become Li Hongfei's most important task at present.

But if Daming does not move, it does not mean that Manchuria, Mongolia and other places will not come to provoke.

Because the Ming Dynasty wanted to implement the military reform, it had to reveal the news to the people in advance, and while striving for public opinion, it was also to attract those with bad intentions.

As a result, the domestic warlords did not make any moves, but the foreign forces jumped first.

It stands to reason that if the Ming Dynasty wants to disarm and take the initiative to reduce its strength, it should be a good thing for the surrounding countries, and there is no need to oppose it at all!

But people's greed is endless, especially after learning that Li Hongfei and Zhu Youzhen had a "discord", many forces felt that this was an opportunity.

Being the head of a country, or the leader of a faction, is not a simple person, and the Ming Dynasty's large-scale disarmament not only failed to make them feel safe, but rather a dull feeling before the storm.

Anyone who knows a little bit about military knowledge understands that soldiers are not much more expensive.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty was known as a million soldiers, but the imperial court could command only 100,000 forbidden troops.

To put it bluntly, it is to take the money of the imperial court, raise their own soldiers, plus eat empty salaries, falsely report the establishment, etc., and when it comes to real fighting, these countries or tribes will often face the Ming army will definitely not exceed 100,000.

However, once the Ming Dynasty truly completed the military reform and firmly controlled the army in the hands of the imperial court, then the Ming Dynasty army that the surrounding countries would face in the future was likely to be the entire Ming army.

Moreover, in order to ensure sufficient combat effectiveness, the army of the Ming Dynasty will definitely work weapons and equipment in the case of reducing the establishment.

The Ming army now has the combat effectiveness to resist the Manchu cavalry in the field, if it is strengthened, who knows what kind of demons will be formed?

Therefore, if you want to disintegrate the military reform of the Ming army, it is to take advantage of the fact that the Ming Dynasty has not yet been completely stabilized and take the lead in provoking border tensions.

In October 1649, the Oirat Mongol Junggar Department, on the grounds that the Ming Dynasty blocked the border and closed the private market, entangled 30,000 cavalry, bypassed Jiayu Pass, and entered the northwest region to plunder.

At that time, the Sixth Army of the Ming Army happened to implement land reform and suppress bandits in the northwest region, so not long after the entry of the Mongolian Junggar Department of Oirat, it hit the muzzle of 100,000 Ming Defense Army, and in just one month, it dropped more than 10,000 horses and horses, and withdrew to Mongolia in a hurry.

I thought it was just a trivial matter, plus Zhu Youzhen was busy moving the capital at that time, and Li Hongfei was busy mutiny, so he didn't care too much when he learned that the other party had been repulsed.

Who would have thought that this matter was hated by the Mongols, and in the spring of the following year (March 1650), 80,000 cavalry led by Batur Huntaiji himself, outside the Jiayu Pass, Chen Bing was ready to attack the Ming Dynasty at any time.

No one may know about this Batur Huntaiji, but everyone must be familiar with his sixth son, that is, Geerdan, who let Kangxi drive the expedition in person.

Batur Huntaiji was the leader of the Mongolian tribes in the west, and was not subdued by Huang Taiji, and belonged to the tribal forces outside the Mongolian Eight Banners, and had always maintained good relations with the Ming Dynasty before.

But why provoke Daming this time?

One of these is because of food.

In order to weaken the power of the Manchus outside the Guan, the Ming army implemented a grain embargo and closed several private towns on the border.

This move not only strangled the Manchus, but also implicated those tribes who were friendly with the Ming Dynasty.

But Li Hongfei couldn't help it at that time, the war had just ended, the north was already full of holes, and his own people were almost unable to eat, how could this grain be transported outside the customs.

He could not expect the merchants to consciously leave the grain in the pass, so he could only implement a military order and forcibly prohibit trade between the two sides.

As for the second one........ Batur Huntaiji's strength has swelled, and he wants to get some benefits from Daming's side.

When the Ming army landed in Tianjin, 50,000 Mongolian Eight Banners fled without a fight, and these guys did not return to the territory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the end, but directly led their own people to return to the Mongolian steppe, and took refuge in Batur Huntaiji, which is now the most powerful.

With a population of nearly 100,000 at once, including 50,000 soldiers, Batur Huntaiji's heart naturally swelled.............

This is not the end, the Northeast Azig section has also made moves.

After Duoduo broke through Yangzhou before, Zhu Yousong, the captured Fu King, was also released at this time, and led a group of Han people to surrender to the generals, and established the Later Ming regime in the old city of Ningguta, threatening Li Hongfei to usurp power and steal the country, and encouraging generals from all over the country to rise up against Li.

Zhu Yousong, a fool, if he was in China, would have been wiped out by the National Defense Army long ago, and there would not even be any scum left.

Because not only Li Hongfei wants to destroy him, even if it is Zhu Youzhen, he will not allow him to jump like this, after all, Zhu Youzhen is not dead, you Zhu Yousong jumped out to establish a regime, are you too anxious?

Fortunately, Azig knew that Zhu Yousong was just a-stirring stick, and he was released to disgust the Ming Dynasty and attract the attention of the Ming army.

I believe that under such circumstances, both Li Hongfei and Zhu Youzhen would rather give up dealing with Batur Huntaiji in the northwest than send a large army to defeat Zhu Yousong in the northeast.

Whichever side the Ming army focused on, they were able to profit from it.............

"Good guy, one in the northwest and the other in the northeast, thousands of miles apart, can do things at the same time, I'm afraid it's not a coincidence."

After Li Hongfei learned the information, his first reaction was that someone was obstructing him.

"The Manchu Tartars are not dead yet? But what's in it for them? Zhu Yousong is good to explain, but that guy from Batur Huntaiji is not stupid, he really dares to offend my Daming to death? Li Dingguo was puzzled.

"Maybe it's not just the Manchu Qing here." Li Hongfei said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Li Dingguo didn't understand it even more.

To stir up such a big battle on the border, who else could there be besides the Manchu Qing who had this ability?

"There are 80,000 Mongolian cavalry on the Jiayu Pass, and last year they also bypassed the Great Wall and plundered the pass, how many infantry do you think we need to block these 80,000 cavalry at the border?" Li Hongfei asked.

"It is conservatively estimated that the number of soldiers cannot be less than 60,000, and the local garrison army cannot be less than 60,000, otherwise it will be difficult to form an encirclement of it. Li Dingguo replied.

Li Dingguo's data is very pessimistic, even if the well-equipped Ming army is now, 120,000 against 80,000 can barely cope.

In fact, there is no way, most of the northwest region is deserted, there are too few cities that can be used, no matter how powerful the two legs are, they can't outrun the four legs of others, people don't have to fight with you at all, just walking the bend can walk you to death.

"Then do you know how many soldiers and how many defenders there are near Jiayuguan if the military reform is implemented?" Li Hongfei asked again.

At present, there is a group army in the northwest that is still carrying out land reform, and with the 30,000 soldiers at Jiayuguan, it is more than enough to deal with 80,000 Mongolian cavalry.

But the premise is that during this period, the reform of the military system is not implemented.

"You mean......... They are coming for the reform of the military system? How is it possible, these Mongols are well fed? Li Dingguo didn't believe it.

What does it have to do with your military reform when people are doing things on the border, it is not an exaggeration to say that Li Hongfei is suspicious.

"Okay, let's not mention what the purpose of the Mongols is for the time being, let me tell you how many troops there are in the northwest after the implementation of the military reform." Li Hongfei pointed to the map while taking out the reform plan: "According to the number of national defense forces after the reform, in the entire northwest region, we can only deploy 60,000 soldiers and 20,000 defenders, with a total strength of only 80,000. ”

The biggest difference between the soldiers and the defenders is combat effectiveness, but to deal with cavalry, it is not only a matter of combat effectiveness, but also a strong mobile force.

"What's this? Isn't it just an army? Even if we are transferred, we still have 200,000 soldiers, and it will not affect the reform of the military system! Li Dingguo said.

He understood that Li Hongfei was worried that if the military reform did not have enough military deterrence, it would easily cause a backlash from the generals of the domestic army, and if he was not careful, the reform would likely lead to a civil war.

But even if they send more troops to the northwest, they will only transfer 30,000 people, which is nothing at all.

"The key is that there is still a Zhu Yousong in the Northeast! He provoked like this, if I couldn't destroy him by thunderous means, I would have no face! Li Hongfei said again.

That's right, compared with Batur Huntaiji, Zhu Yousong's threat is greater, after all, he is the Ming royal family, and he bewitches people in the northeast region, saying that Li Hongfei controlled Zhu Youzhen, plus last year's mutiny has long been in an uproar.

At this time, even if Zhu Youzhen came forward to clarify in person, it was difficult to guarantee that the facts would not be distorted by someone with intentions.

The only way is - fight!

directly sent troops to destroy the other party, and see who dared to move their minds.

Li Hongfei was ready to find a soft persimmon in China before, but everyone was very interested, and now that there is a leader, if you don't destroy the other party, it is inevitable that there will be more guys who follow the trend.

To make an example of killing chickens and monkeys, Zhu Yousong must die.

"I understand, once we start a war against Zhu Yousong, then we have to remove more than 100,000 soldiers (labor expeditions, and the army is even less good), leaving a group army, in addition to guarding against the Gyeonggi Army, we also have to defend against the Manchu Qing and the Mongolian Eight Banners, and there are not many troops to deal with the emergencies of military reform." Li Dingguo also reacted.

Originally, it was planned that 60,000 soldiers would be stationed in the northwest, 60,000 soldiers in the northeast, and 60,000 soldiers would be stationed in Central China and Gyeonggi.

The remaining 120,000 soldiers can concentrate on coping with the reform of the military system at home.

But now it is good, the northwest has to defend, and the northeast has to fight, and the war on two fronts will start at once, and the reform of the domestic military system will not be able to be implemented in a short period of time.

"Why don't we slow down and solve the immediate troubles first, when will this reform not be changed?" Li Dingguo came up with an idea.

"It's hard! Now that most of the army has been dispersed, it is the best time for the reform of the military system, once the land reform and the mountain bandits are exterminated, and the commanders of the various group armies gather their military power, who will let the Ministry of Defense scrape their flesh? Li Hongfei sighed.

Now is indeed the best opportunity for military reform, for this day, from the first military reform of the Western Expedition to the present, Li Hongfei has been planning for three years, if it cannot succeed, when these feudal officials have come to their senses, they will definitely unite and resist the reform plan of the Ministry of National Defense.

"Tartars are so cunning!" Li Dingguo said angrily.

He also spent more than half a year of hard work for this plan, and now he is about to succeed, but he has to give up, and it is impossible not to regret it.

"As I said before, there is not only the Manchu Qing here, but the ultimate beneficiaries of the military reform are not the Manchus and the Mongols, even if they don't carry out the reform, they will destroy the Mongolian Dzungar Department of Oirat!" Li Hongfei said coldly.

"You mean ........." Li Dingguo finally understood this time.

It must be the leading generals in the army who are playing tricks on them, and only they will want the military reform to fail.

What Batur Huntaiji needs is not war, they just want to get the opportunity to exchange markets, as long as there is a general's commitment to destroy the reform of the military system, then they can restore the previous Ming border guard system, Batur Huntaji will naturally agree very happily.

And in the northeast, if there were no Ming generals to respond internally, how could the news of Zhu Yousong's establishment of the Later Ming Dynasty reach the Guannai so quickly? (The imperial court and the local people learned the news of the Later Ming Dynasty almost at the same time)