The forty-first year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, March 26.

Jizhou Town, in the camp of the Ming army.

At this time, in the tent of the Chinese army, Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao, Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, Qi Jiguang, the general of Zhaoyi, and Yu Dayou, the general of Huaiyuan, and other senior generals gathered here.

In front of everyone, there was a huge map, which was clearly marked in red and black, clearly marking the offensive route of the Tatar army, the nearby mountains and rivers, and the topography.

As the commander of the Ming army and the general of the conquest, Yang Xuan, after looking around, withdrew his gaze from the map, faced everyone, and said in a deep voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, not long ago, my Ming Dynasty's Suzhou Guard, Pingliang Guard, Shazhou Guard, Jinglu Guard, Yongchang Guard, and Shanhaiwei were all fiercely attacked by the Tatar army, among which Shanhaiwei and Jingyuwei were almost captured!"

"At present, the guards who went to support Shanhaiwei and Jingyuwei are already on the way."

"In addition, according to the battle reports transmitted by the various guards, as well as the news found by the scouts, Altan Khan has mobilized at least 200,000 troops this time, which can be said to be pouring out!"

"The imperial court believes that Altan Khan adopted a strategy of attack this time, and the purpose is to make our Ming army exhausted, and there is only one place where it really attacks!"

"Therefore, the imperial court issued an order that before the situation is clear, the army should not act rashly, and only after discovering the main force of the other party can the army attack!"

When Yang Xuan's words fell, everyone present looked awe-inspired, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, general!" ”

After that, I saw Yang Xuan looking in the direction where Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were, and commanded in a deep voice: "Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou obey the order!" ”

When Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou heard this, they immediately lowered their heads, arched their hands to Yang Xuan, and responded in a deep voice: "General! ”

Seeing this, Yang Xuan nodded, and then continued: "The army currently stationed in Jizhou Town has a total of 156,920 people, and the car battalion troops under your command will restrain the cavalry, and when the time comes, together with the Shenji battalion of Chengguo Gong, lead an army of 30,000 as the front army!" ”

When Yang Xuan said this, he subconsciously looked in the direction where Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, was located, and saw that the other party did not raise any objections to this, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, Cheng Guogong is the world's ruler, and the nobles of the clan who rest with the country are the existence that he can never afford to offend.

In addition to tactical considerations, Yang Xuan also hoped that Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou could take more care of Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, on the battlefield.

After all, Yang Xuan had also heard the names of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, who under the leadership of Hu Zongxian, exterminated the Japanese invaders entrenched in the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop, and made great achievements.

In Yang Xuan's opinion, the Shenji Battalion is already good at using firearms, and it is perfect to match it with the Che Battalion troops under Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

At the same time, with Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, two prestigious generals, Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, should be safe and sound.

After this, I saw that Yang Xuan suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, and continued: "General Ben personally led an army of 60,000 and sat in the Chinese army!" ”

When Yang Xuan said this, he looked in the direction of Wu Ying, the chief soldier of Liaodong, and continued to order: "The two wings of the army will be guarded by your Liaodong Iron Cavalry!" ”

"The rear army of 30,000 people is commanded by Yang Zhao, the general soldier of Datong, and the rest of the people are responsible for ensuring the logistics of the army!"

With the issuance of orders one after another, the generals who were called by Yang Xuan were all under their orders.

……

At this time, a Gobi desert a hundred miles away from Suzhou Wei was densely covered with countless tents.

This is where Altan Khan's main force is stationed.

Due to the unusually cold weather this year, the growth of aquatic grasses on the grasslands is far less than before, and it is impossible to feed such a large number of people and livestock.

In order to extricate the tribe from this crisis, Altan Khan resolutely decided to personally lead his army south to plunder.

Before this, Altan Khan had already heard the news that the Chahar Department of the left flank, which was driven to Liaodong by himself, was conquered by the Ming court and was the head of the Ming court.

At first, Altan Khan did not take the news too seriously, and in his opinion, the left-wing Chahar tribe who had been expelled by himself to the bitter cold land of Liaodong were a bunch of cowering cowards.

It is a matter of course that such a group of cowards were conquered by the Ming court.

However, when he learned the inside story of the war, he was shocked, because from the information he heard, the Ming army not only had high morale and bravery, but also used many new weapons.

Those new weapons were all things that Altan Khan had never seen before, and one of the new weapons called "grenades" made Altan Khan quite afraid.

After all, it is known from the descriptions of those people that the Ming army only needed to ignite the fuse and then throw it vigorously into the enemy's formation, and this weapon called "grenade" would cause a large number of casualties once it exploded.

After learning of these circumstances, Altan Khan gradually put away his contempt for the Ming court.

For the sake of safety, Altan Khan can be said to have poured out of the nest this time, personally leading an army of 200,000 to the south.

Altan Khan believed that with his 200,000 troops, he would be able to break through the defenses of the Ming army.

As long as the defense of the Ming army is broken, then the cavalry under his command can rely on their own mobility to penetrate deep into the hinterland of the Ming court.

After a lot of looting, he went away and reproduced the Gengshu change that occurred in the 29th year of Jiajing.

Recently, however, the battle reports coming from the front have been unfavorable news for our side.

Altan Khan couldn't understand that in his impression, those Ming generals who were greedy for life and afraid of death, and fired three guns in battle, seemed to have metamorphosed, becoming fearless of death, and even dared to take the initiative to organize an army and launch a counterattack on their own side.

In the course of the fighting, Altan Khan also received more information about the new weapons of the Ming army, the grenades mentioned earlier were just one of them, in addition to the fact that the Ming army was also equipped with a firearm with an extremely long range and extremely fast loading speed.

It was this kind of fire that allowed the Ming army to rely on the towering city walls and defend against danger, which greatly delayed the pace of their own attack.

Although the battle reports on the front line were not optimistic, Altan Khan knew very well in his heart that he must not retreat!

You must know that the daily consumption of cattle, sheep and livestock by the 200,000 army is an astronomical amount, and in addition, the growth of aquatic grass this year is not good, so it is simply not able to carry too many people and livestock.

If you can't break through the defense line of the Ming army and enter the hinterland to loot, then it means that the previous huge investment has been wasted.

Such a heavy loss would not only greatly damage his authority as Si Xi Khan, but also make the situation of the tribe even worse.

Altan Khan, as a Tumutwan household, after controlling 30,000 households on the right wing, called himself Si Xi Khan, fought against the Great Khan of the Chahar tribe on the left wing, and drove his entire tribe to the bitter cold land of Liaodong.

For so many years, there were not no people who opposed him within the Tumut Ministry, but they were all suppressed by Altan Khan with bloody means.

Coupled with Altan Khan's repeated victories, no one dared to openly challenge his authority.

Altan Khan knew that once his wolf king showed his decline, then those who were ready to move in the tribe would immediately pounce on him and bite him.

"Damn, if it weren't for the fact that the tribe was in the process of employing people right now, Ben Khan would have cleaned them up a long time ago!"

Thinking of this, Altan Khan licked his chapped lips, then picked up the leather bag containing mare's milk wine on the side, and began to drink bitterly.

……

At this moment, I heard a rush of footsteps outside the tent.

After a while, I saw a blood-stained and embarrassed general quickly enter the camp, and behind him, he was closely followed by two soldiers with long knives at their waists, these soldiers were Altan Khan's personal guards.

As early as the moment the general entered the tent, Altan Khan could see in his face a look of gloom that could not be concealed, and he knew that there was bad news at the front again.

After entering the camp tent, the general knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and said with a guilty face: "Great Khan, the Ming army will not retreat to the death, our army has suffered heavy casualties, and it has failed to capture the Ming army's Shanhaiwei and Jingyuwei!" ”

When Altan Khan heard the news from the general, he narrowed his eyes and did not respond immediately.

When the general who knelt on his knees saw this, his face couldn't help but turn pale and tremble, and he knew that he might be more and less lucky next.

Then, I saw Altan Khan look at the general with a selective gaze, and asked coldly: "What the hell is going on, didn't you inquire in advance, Jingyuwei, and Shanhaiwei, are the weak points of the Ming army's defense, how can they not be attacked?" ”

When the general heard this, he immediately wept and recounted the scene to Altan Khan: "Great Khan, our people have climbed the city wall several times, but they have all been driven down by the Ming army!" ”

"At present, the reinforcements of the Ming Court have arrived at Jingyuwei and Shanhaiwei, we have no chance!"

"Right...... By the way, those Ming soldiers have a weapon that can explode just by lighting the fuse, and that weapon is extremely powerful, and once it explodes, our people will suffer heavy casualties......"

While the general was still racking his brains to make up for his failures, he did not realize that Altan Khan had become indifferent when he looked at him.

"Shut up Ben Khan, you incompetent waste, it's just a matter of losing the battle, you still talk nonsense, make so many excuses for yourself, come on, pull him down to Ben Khan, cut him down!"

As soon as Altan Khan's words fell, he saw two indifferent, heavily armed soldiers coming in, and without saying a word, they controlled the previous general and dragged him out of the tent.

Seeing this, the general's face was full of pleading, looked in the direction where Altan Khan was, and pleaded: "Great Khan, please spare my life, for for so many years, I have ...... for you."

Shortly after this, the pleas for mercy stopped abruptly.

Then, I saw the two soldiers who looked indifferent and fully armed, carrying the head of the previous general, entered the camp and reported to Altan Khan.

"Great Khan!"

"Hmm."

Altan Khan, after answering, waved his hand and motioned for the two soldiers to go down.

After the two soldiers left, Altan Khan was the only one left in the tent, and his face was full of melancholy.

He knew very well in his heart that everything that the previous general had said was true.

Those Ming troops were not only armed with weapons that had never been seen before, but also had high morale and were not afraid of death.

Altan Khan originally planned to spare the life of this general, who had followed him for many years and made great achievements.

But since he began to make up for his failures and tried his best to exaggerate the strength of the Ming army, Altan Khan retracted his thoughts, no matter what, this man must die, and keeping him will inevitably shake the morale of the army.

If we let it go, I am afraid that the two sides will not start a war at that time, and they will collapse at the touch of a button.

"It's not fair, why are they born to occupy the richest and most fertile land, while we can only struggle on the grasslands, starving and freezing, it's not fair......"

After this, Altan Khan suppressed all the troubled thoughts in his heart, and walked out of the tent under the escort of his personal guards.

……

Just as the war between the Ming Dynasty and Altan Khan was quietly starting, the Chahar Department in Liaodong was also surging.

In the tent, Amutai, who is the ruler, is eagerly entertaining the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty.

Not long ago, Amutai received from this envoy what he wanted to hear the most, that the Ming would turn a blind eye to his overthrow of Tumaihan's tyrannical rule.

Not only that, Amutai was also able to receive assistance in terms of grain, grass, ordnance, etc., as a reward for sending more than 15,000 elite horsemen to assist the Ming Dynasty in the war.

However, when Amutai proposed to ask for some new weapons such as grenades, the messenger sternly refused on the grounds that the front line was tight.

His request was refused, and Amutai was not annoyed, after all, the current Ming army was fighting a fierce battle with the army led by Altan Khan, and they were not enough to use themselves, how could they be even.

In Amutai's view, with the assistance of the Ming court, it would be no problem to overthrow Tumaihan, the Zasaktu Khan, when the time comes.

His own strength is already stronger than that of Tumaihan, the Zasaktu Khan, and with the grain, grass and ordnance assisted by the Ming Court, it is even more powerful.

Therefore, in the face of the agreement brought out by the envoy of the Ming court, Amutai only glanced at it twice and signed it.

In his opinion, as long as he can get himself to the position of Great Khan, then all the sacrifices are worth it!

Let's suffer those people in the tribe a little longer, when I sit in the position of the Great Khan, I will let you live a good life!

The same thing happened not only to the tribe of Amutai, but on the other side, Tumaihan, who was the Khan of Zasaktu, was also talking to the envoys sent by the Ming court.

After Amutai took matters into his own hands and sent more than 15,000 elite cavalry to assist the Ming army in the battle.

As the Khan of Zasaktu, Tumaihan felt a great crisis from it.

After all, Amutai was only a ruler appointed by himself in name, and now this ruler dared to ignore his own Great Khan and send troops without authorization, which clearly showed that he did not take himself seriously, and greatly damaged his authority as Great Khan.

Now dare to send troops without consulting Ben Khan, and the next step is probably to rebel!

With this in mind, Tumaihan took the initiative to send an envoy to the Ming court for help.

The envoy sent by the Ming court, after listening to the specific situation described by Tumaihan, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "This kind of behavior, in the "Great Ming Law", is called a rebel, intending to rebel, and needs to be punished with capital punishment!" ”

Then, I saw that the messenger paused for a moment, and then comforted him: "Don't worry, the Great Khan will definitely not sit idly by on this matter, if the Great Khan needs it, I can provide you with assistance in terms of armaments, grain and grass!" ”

"Help the Great Khan get rid of Amutai, this traitor who wants to be disrespectful and intends to rebel!"

Although Tumaihan did not know much about the "Great Ming Law" mentioned by the messenger, he clearly knew that he was saved.

As long as he has the ordnance, grain and grass aided by the Ming court, he can recruit troops and horses to expand his strength.

At the same time, Tumaihan also clearly knew that the Ming Court would never be so kind and help him free of charge, and he would definitely have to pay something.

Sure enough, after this, the envoy sent by the Ming court took out a copy of the agreement that had already been drafted and asked him to sign it.

Looking at the terms of the agreement, Tumaihan's face was full of hesitation.

This agreement is much more ruthless than the previous one, and several more articles have been added on the basis of the last one.

If he signed this agreement, the Chahar Department in the future would really become a vassal of the Ming Court, and there would be no room for turning over.

The envoy of the Ming court on the side seemed to see Tumaihan's hesitation, and after a moment of silence, he followed up with a word of admonition: "Great Khan, you are the eldest son of the Dayan Khan, the eldest son of the grandson, and the current Zasaktu Khan, in your body, there is the blood of the Golden Family!" ”

"Can you bear to let your father's inheritance from Sun fall into the hands of a rebellious villain like Amutai, who intends to rebel?"

When Tumaihan heard this, his whole person couldn't help but fall into silence.

That's right, this envoy sent by the Ming court is right, do I really want to let the inheritance left by my father fall into the hands of a villain like Amutai?

"This is only temporary, and when the ruler of Amutai is eliminated, I will be able to return to power as before, and then lead the Chahar tribe to become strong and fulfill my father's last wish!"

"When the Chahar Ministry becomes stronger, these agreements will be nothing more than waste paper!"

After comforting himself in this way, Tumaihan resolutely signed his name on it.

……

Since the official start of the war between the Ming army and the Altan Khan, all kinds of war reports have been sent from the front line like snowflakes.

Forbidden City, Cabinet.

At this time, the cabinet was extremely busy, and there was no time to rest, and in addition to taking care of those that were urgently needed to be dealt with by various departments, it was also necessary to keep an eye on the battle reports sent from the front.

At that moment, there was a rush of footsteps from outside the cabinet.

After a while, I saw a servant walking in quickly.

After entering the cabinet, the official subconsciously looked in the direction where Zhang Juzheng was, leaned down, and said respectfully: "Elder Zhang Ge, this is the battle report sent by Suzhou Wei!" ”

When the words fell, I saw that the official came to Zhang Juzheng, carefully took out the battle report from his sleeve, and held it high above his head.

After receiving the battle report from the hand of the official, Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and commanded: "Well, I know, you go down first!" ”

"Yes, Elder Zhang Ge!"

After answering, the official did not hesitate at all, and after bowing to Zhang Juzheng, he walked out of the cabinet.

Then, facing everyone's curious eyes, I saw Zhang Juzheng open the battle report, and browsed the content on it with great concentration, only to see that it was written.

"In this battle, Suzhou Wei repelled more than 5,000 Tatar troops who came to attack, beheaded a total of 3,582 enemy troops, killed 1,339 of their own troops, 428 lightly and seriously wounded, captured 329 war horses, and ...... of various ordnance and weapons."

Soon, Zhang Juzheng finished browsing all the contents of the battle report, and at this moment, he only heard Yan Song's voice full of curiosity: "How is the battle situation on the front line?" ”

Facing Yan Song's gaze, I saw Zhang Juzheng handing out the battle report in his hand, shook his head, and then said: "Although the enemy army has been repelled, the situation is still not optimistic, you must know that before this, the imperial court has issued a notice to remind all guards to take more precautions!" ”

After receiving the battle report from the front line from Zhang Juzheng's hands, I saw Yan Song put on reading glasses and browsed the contents word by word.

After browsing the above content, I saw Yan Song hand the battle report in his hand to Xu Jie, who was not far away, sighed helplessly, and said peacefully: "Yes, until now, I have not found the movement of the enemy's main force!" ”

When Xu Jie heard this, he immediately stood up and comforted: "Don't be too anxious, we have time and cost to spend with them, let's continue to wait, the other party will always show flaws!" ”

As soon as Xu Jie's words fell, he saw Hu Zongxian stand up, and followed Ying He and said: "Elder Xu Ge is right, I have the capital to slowly consume it, and this time Altan Khan has dispatched an army of 200,000!" ”

"The 200,000 troops, the amount of grain and grass consumed every day is an astronomical amount, coupled with the bad weather this year, the growth of aquatic grass on the grassland is definitely not as good as in previous years, and it can't carry too much population at all."

"If there is no gain, the other party will never withdraw its troops!"

When Hu Zongxian said this, his face was full of determination.

"Yes, if you hastily withdraw the army, won't it be equivalent to the investment in front, and all of them will be lost?"

"Such a loss is unacceptable to anyone, therefore, Altan Khan will definitely make a desperate bet and fight to the death, only by breaking through my Ming defense line and looting can he recover the cost!"

Gao Gong on the side heard this, stood up and put forward his own opinions.

(End of chapter)