At the end of March of the second year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, the Northern Expedition began. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Within five days of the imperial court's decree, the various battlefields that were originally just petty fights had been completely boiling. The Tianwu Army broke through the river defense in the first battle, and constantly swept along the two wings of Taihang Mountain; The two Huai armies and the Oriental Army personally commanded by Zhang Shijie formed a rivalry with each other to chase the Mongols on the North China Plain, while in Hexi, the Tianxiong Army and the Shence Army also began to take the initiative to attack, and the entire Western Regions and Western Mongolia have been thrown into chaos, and the Bara Division, the Haidu Division, and the Namuhan Division have been completely chaotic.

The Mongols did not expect that the Ming Dynasty really started the Northern Expedition at this time, and it was a large-scale Northern Expedition that had made up its mind.

At this moment, Daming's strategic arrangement has been fully revealed, or there is nothing to hide. The main armies pressed the Mongol army to the area of Youyan, and then locked the Great Wall, closed the door and beat the dogs!

But even if it is clear that the strategy of the Ming Dynasty, the Mongols who have been completely disrupted have nothing to do, it can be said that because of the light cavalry of the Ming army interspersed everywhere and the main army that came to the top of Mount Tai, the connection between the Mongolian tribes has been cut off, so that the Mongols can only be forced to retreat north in a panic and without orders.

Because the Ming army advanced extremely quickly, many Mongol troops did not even have time to complete the purpose of slaughtering cities and plundering populations, so they had to pack up the gold and silver they could carry and retreat quickly. This also gave the main army of the Ming Dynasty a foothold and a place to transfer grain and grass.

After all, fully functional towns are always safer and more convenient than temporary camps in the wilderness, especially now if you want to build a camp to transport grain and grass in the wild, you need to transfer a lot of manpower, which will undoubtedly slow down the advance of the Ming army to a certain extent.

The soldiers are very fast, especially for the current Ming army, saving a city and a group of women and children from the hands of the Mongol Tartars can reduce the pressure for the subsequent reconstruction. Although in the current situation, it seems more appropriate to use the word "receiving" to describe it.

But in fact, the fastest advance was not the two main armies of the Lianghuai Army and the Tianwu Army, which were racing all the way on the North China Plain, but the Zhenhai Navy that attacked from Goryeo to Liaodong. At this time, it was spring, the ice and snow in Liaodong had melted, the roads were not muddy, and the Ming Imperial Beiyang Fleet continued to transport the necessary grain, grass, blades and equipment to Liaodong, so as to be able to maintain the Zhenhai Navy in Liaodong for a long time.

And Liaodong is a vast and sparsely populated place, the Jurchens and Bohai people who have been looted and slaughtered by the Mongols many times, there is not much left, and now Mongolia lacks soldiers, and even the Han strong men are not spared, not to mention these Jurchen people who can also gallop on horseback, so most of the Jurchen strong men have been added to the Mongolian army and scattered on the entire front, which also indirectly leads to the Mongolian army in Liaodong being overstretched in terms of strength, and there is no way to replenish it in time after the loss.

What's more, the local Jurchens still have the fighting spirit to resist the Ming Dynasty, and the Bohai people were originally an oppressed nation, so many Bohai people surrendered directly in front of the Ming army that came like a tide. The Bohai people are good at bows and crossbows, originally in the Jurchen Jin country's military establishment, the Bohai people are mainly responsible for the position of crossbowmen, and now the Bohai people have defected in large numbers, which makes the Mongolian army lack crossbowmen, and the bow and crossbow is the only weapon that Mongolia can now take out to resist the Ming army.

On the fifth day after the start of the Northern Expedition, the left wing of the Zhenhai Navy broke through Gaizhou and established a defensive line, while the right flank was launched near Shenzhou (author's note: now Shenyang), and there was a great posture of attacking the city without saying a word, while the Zhenhai Navy's forward and the Chinese army were deployed in the area of Dongning Mansion (now Liaoyang), Dongning is the core state capital of the Mongol rule in Liaodong, and it is the main offensive target of the Zhenhai Navy. At that time, the flanks of the Mongolian steppe and the heart of the land of Yanyun will all be exposed to the front of the Zhenhai Navy.

Lianshan is just an inconspicuous small city in Liaodong, but with the attack of the town navy, Lianshan City, which is about the same distance from Dongning and Shenzhou, suddenly became the best choice for the Ming army to garrison the army and launch an attack queue. With the arrival of the Chinese army and the baggage team of the palace, the entire Lianshan City was very lively.

Large and small camps rose up around the town, and the cavalry on the roads and the grain teams from Goryeo always kicked up dust that obscured the sky.

Although the snow melts in spring, it is only more than March, so it is still very cold outside. Wang Da stretched out his hand to lift the curtain of the tent and strode in.

Wang Huchen was standing in front of Yutu, talking softly with Guo Chang, who was with the army. Guo Chang was mainly responsible for liaising with the Jinyi Guard in Liaodong, and at the same time directing the six gates that came with him to take response actions at critical times. So the two were discussing how to deal with Dongning Mansion not far away.

"Shuzhong (author's note, Wang Huchen's table), good news." Wang Dayong hurriedly walked to Wang Huchen's side, with a smile on his face, "Take a look, this is a battle report sent from the south." ”

Wang Huchen was stunned for a moment, hurriedly took it, and immediately smiled: "Okay, the left wing army pulled out a light cavalry and went straight to Jinzhou, along Jinzhou and Fuzhou to the lion's mouth, and has successfully joined the warships sent by the Beiyang Fleet, and finally opened this road before the Mongolian Tatars came to their senses." ”

(Author's note: Lion's Mouth, now Lushun's Mouth)

Guo Chang has been studying the war in Liaodong with Wang Huchen these days, and he naturally understands it when he hears it. Although the distance from Jiaozhou to Goryeo is not too far, it is still a lot farther than to Shishikou, so the Royal Beiyang Fleet has been planning to be able to take the line from Shishikou to Jinzhou, so that it can even ensure that the fleet's transport fleet can go back and forth twice a day.

As a result, the efficiency of sea transportation has been greatly improved, and the distance from Shishikou to the front line of Gaizhou and Dongning is much closer than the distance from Goryeo to here, and the transshipment on the road is also light. What's more, the gunboats, which have been useless in the fleet, can also patrol and protect the road along the way, and use the ship's artillery to deter all the Mongolian cavalry who want to get close to the food team at any time.

"The Mongol Tartars obviously intend to hold on to the lion's mouth, and according to the battle report, if the first division on the left flank moves a little slower, I'm afraid we will only find the remnants of bricks and tiles in the lion's mouth." After Wang Dayong's joy, he felt more palpitations.

At that time, when the light cavalry sent by the first division reached the lion's mouth, the Mongol Tatars had already begun to destroy the city facilities, but because they did not expect that the Ming army had not yet conquered Gaizhou, they would turn around and go south, so they didn't even have time to slaughter the city in a hurry.

"According to the plan given to us by the Beiyang Fleet before," Wang Huchen said in a deep voice, "Although Shishikou does not have any town wharf facilities, it is a natural harbor, and the Beiyang Fleet has been coveting this place for a long time, and it knows the astronomy and geography here very clearly, so even if it only builds a simple wharf for the time being, it can also allow the fleet to reach the offshore sea and transfer it through small boats." By tomorrow in April, the weather will inevitably get hotter and hotter, and there will be no need to worry about the damage to labor caused by people standing in the water to carry materials. ”

Guo Chang nodded and said: "Previously, Jinyiwei had cooperated with the Beiyang Fleet to collect a lot of information about the Lion's Mouth, and there were archives left in the Ministry of Industry. ”

"These are all things to talk about later," Wang Huchen obviously relaxed a lot because of this, and stretched out his hand to knock on the map, "Our top priority is to take Dongning Mansion." Dongning Province is the capital of the Mongolian Tatar Liaoyang Road, and it is also the most important state capital in the entire Liaodong. By taking Dongning Mansion, the Zhenhai Navy was able to take full control of the war against Liaodong. ”

"Now the 3rd Forward Division has arrived at Dongsanli in Dongning Mansion and set up camp, and the Chinese army can be deployed at any time." Wang Dayong immediately condensed and said, "These days, the follow-up baggage team has kept up, in addition to the bows and firearms needed by the first division on the left flank to attack Gaizhou and the fourth division on the right flank to attack Shenzhou, we can still have a lot left to deal with this Dongning Mansion." These included fifty artillery pieces, a hundred thunderbolts, more than twenty three-bow bed crossbows, and more small catapults. And now the strikers have begun to prepare siege ladders and large ladder trucks. ”

Lianshan is located in the southeast of Dongning Mansion, across the Prince River and Dongning Mansion facing each other, this Prince River is rumored to be the original Warring States Yan Kingdom Prince Dan once fled and hid place, because in the end Prince Dan was chased and killed by Li Xin on the side of the Prince River, so the locals renamed this river "Prince Taizi River" to commemorate the Prince Yan who was determined to serve the country.

It's just that with the rise of the Jurchens, it is difficult to find traces of the Han people around the entire Taizi River, and this Taizi River has also changed to "Wulu Hubi Lasha" in the local dialect, which means "reed river", which completely erases the commemorative meaning of the Han family's name.

Now, with the red dragon flag of the Ming Dynasty once again fluttering on both sides of the Taizi River, the river has naturally regained the title of the Han family.

After the town navy chose Lianshan as the garrison, the forward third division repelled the harassment of the Mongolian scattered cavalry, crossed the Taizi River and approached Dongning Province, and between the camp of the third division and the main camp of Lianshan, the Ming army built a large number of pontoon bridges, and even several flat-bottomed warships of the Beiyang Fleet also rushed to support, although the speed of this inland river is extremely slow, but the draft is shallow, and it is also equipped with a lot of artillery, which can provide the required fire support for both sides of the strait at any time.

"Hurry up and report the amount of grain, grass and firearms we have now." Wang Huchen gave an order, and one of the guards hurriedly turned around to make arrangements, while Wang Huchen looked sideways at Wang Dayong and Guo Chang, "As long as the amount of grain, grass and firearms is enough, the siege will start tomorrow." ”

"Jinyiwei has more than ten spies in the city, all of whom are Bohai people, even if they go to the street, they will not be surprised by the Mongolian Tatars, and when the time comes, they will set fire to the city and try to disturb the layout of the Mongolian Tatars." Guo Chang nodded and said, "In addition, it is estimated that the drawings of the defense in the city will be able to be sent out tonight." ”

Wang Huchen and Wang Dayong both breathed a sigh of relief. This time the Northern Expedition was a war that determined the fortunes of the Ming Dynasty, so the Six Gates and Jinyiwei did not have the slightest intention of hiding, and showed all their strength, which really surprised the military.

In just a few years, Jinyiwei and the Six Gates have developed so strong that every city has manpower, which can guide the way and provide maps in the march of the army, not to mention, and even play an important and even decisive role in the siege of the city. Especially in a remote place like Liaodong, it is difficult for military sentinels to set foot in, and it is easy to be discovered, so a large number of Jurchens and Bohai people bought by Jinyiwei in advance as internal agents reflect their value at this time.

Originally, the Bohai people and Jurchens were the local people, as long as they were careful, no one would notice the abnormal behavior, and with the shortage of manpower in Mongolia, many locals, especially young and middle-aged laborers, were dragged into the army or the local government, temporarily serving as government officials or directly in charge of the army, which also made the tentacles of the Jinyi Guard actually spread to all corners of the city.

In addition, for Jin Yiwei, with the strong backing of Daming, he never has to worry about any lack of financial resources, so Jin Yiwei has never been timid in buying informants. Especially with Mongolia's demand for military food and salary, looting and looting for the people has made many women and children unable to make a living, and the money and low requirements sent to the door give them the possibility of living.

This is also one of the main reasons why Jinyiwei can develop rapidly in eastern Liaodong.

With the progress of the Northern Expedition, the layout of Jinyiwei for many years has gradually come in handy, for example, now the town navy is enjoying the benefits of Jinyiwei's spy network.

"Then it's decided." Wang Huchen said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow the forward can attack the city, while the forward attack, the Chinese army will immediately top, in the other two directions to launch a feint, if necessary, you can convert the feint to a strong attack, when the time comes, please also ask the Jinyi guard to communicate inside and outside, whether it is to disrupt the enemy's layout or open the city gate, it will be greatly conducive to the attack of the town navy." ”

For the Zhen Navy, attacking Dongning Province actually did not need any surprise troops, what was needed was to break through Dongning Mansion in a war, so as to play a role in deterring the Mongol army on the entire front. At the same time, the attack on Dongning Mansion should actually be the first head-to-head confrontation with the Mongol Tatars after the Northern Expedition of the Zhenhai Navy, so Wang Huchen and Wang Dayong did not require any complete victory and annihilation of the defenders, they only needed to win this time steadily.

Therefore, the layout of the town navy siege is also the most basic "encirclement of three missing one".

Wang Dayong and Guo Chang nodded, and a general lifted the curtain of the camp tent and strode in: "General Qiyu, supervision, the Beiyang Fleet sent His Majesty with a flying clipper to report urgently." ”

"Your Majesty is here?" Wang Huchen and the three of them were stunned, and they couldn't help but chuckle in their hearts.

From the news where His Majesty is located, it must have something to do with the Northern Expedition, and now that the Northern Expedition has begun, as a flank army, the main purpose of the Zhen Navy is to contain the Mongolian army as much as possible in the Liaodong battlefield, and at the same time tentatively attack the Mongolian hinterland, which is a grand strategy that has been formulated a long time ago, and His Majesty and the imperial court will never interfere with the tactical moves of the front-line army.

Therefore, there are only two possibilities for the urgent report from His Majesty, one is to change the strategy of the Northern Expedition, and the other is to stop the Northern Expedition.

Suddenly, all three people in the big tent held their breath.

Wang Huchen reached out and took the envelope, checked the fire paint, and Wang Da used the knife handed over to pry the fire paint open. The letter written on bright yellow silk paper slipped out, silently symbolizing the nobility of the royal family and the inviolability of what was written on the letterhead.

Wang Huchen gritted his teeth, picked up the letter directly and unfolded it violently, just hurriedly skimmed through it, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief and handed it to Wang Dayong and Guo Chang.

Wang Dayong and Guo Chang looked at a few lines, and their faces changed slightly.

After being silent for a long time, Wang Dayong Huo Ran turned around and walked to the front of the map, looked at the map, and his voice trembled a little: "Your Majesty and the court are really a big deal!" ”

Stretching out his hand and re-emphasizing on the map, Guo Chang muttered: "If the Zhen Navy does not aimlessly move west to contain the flank of the Mongolian Tatars, but goes south and goes straight to Youyan, it is actually equivalent to integrating the entire Liaodong battlefield and the main battlefield of the Northern Expedition, and the main Ming army attacking Youyan will not only come from the south, but also from the north, from behind the Mongolian Tatars." ”

Wang Huchen's gaze fell on Guo Chang's finger.

There was no special mark on that place, just two simple words written with a brush.

Jinzhou. (To be continued.) )