Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 163: Shanhaiguan Strategy (I)
On November 23, 1611, Zhu Youdong and his party arrived at Shanhaiguan.
The Beijing Camp, which was usually stationed in Beijing, of course followed Zhu Youdong from Beijing. The troops of the military towns of Jizhen, Xuanfu, Datong, etc., naturally did not need to gather in Beijing. The troops of Henghaiwei and Sichuan Town in the south naturally went north by sea. Therefore, except for the troops of Liaodong Town itself, the gathering place of other troops was set at Shanhaiguan from the beginning.
The Beijing Military Department had already issued an order in September, requiring the northern military towns to dispatch troops to Shanhaiguan. However, due to the current strange logistics system of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youdong wasted two months in Beijing because of the pretext of going to war. But when he arrived at Shanhaiguan, there were still troops that had not arrived.
"Your Highness, Yang Jinglue, General Du, according to the news I received the day before yesterday, the troops of Taiyuan Town have already reached the vicinity of Juyongguan Pass, and will arrive in about five or six days. The troops of Ningxia Town are still in Huaianwei, Xuanfu, and it will take at least twenty days to get there."
"Well, Your Highness, please forgive me. The military garrison of our dynasty has moved to another place. There are too many rules. It's not that our men are not working hard."
The person who said this was Yang Hao, the governor of Liaodong. As a civil official, this guy's career has long been related to military affairs, so he is a rare civil official in the Ming Dynasty who cares about the soldiers and is willing to listen to the voices of the generals. Perhaps because he has been dealing with the army for a long time, his daily words and deeds are really different from those of ordinary weak scholars. In his early years, he even followed Liaodong General Dong Yiyuan to raid the enemy in the snow late at night and won a great victory. This alone is enough for the generals to look at him with new eyes.
However, this person also has bureaucratic problems: he likes to form cliques and emphasizes brotherhood in small groups. You and I have a good relationship and you are my person, so no matter how you commit suicide, I will protect you. You are not my brother, so I am sorry, I may not often do things to deliberately harm you, but I will basically not consider you for any credit.
When the Ming Dynasty assisted Korea in resisting the Japanese invaders, Yang Hao organized an army of 40,000 to besiege the Japanese stronghold of Ulsan. Seeing that the guerrilla Chen Yin's troops were about to break through the Japanese defense line, Yang Hao saw that his good brother Li Rumei's troops had not yet arrived, so he called back the troops. As a result, when Li Rumei arrived, the Japanese army had already reorganized the defense line, and the Ming army had lost its spirit and could not attack. In the long confrontation, the morale of the Ming army was low, and the Japanese army seized the opportunity to counterattack and suffered a great defeat...
In short, this guy is considered to be a civil official who understands military affairs, but his level and morality...
"Hahaha , Yang Jinglue, although I am young, I can still show sympathy to the soldiers. Let's put it this way, if the horse ginseng from Ningxia Town can't come, we won't wait. General Chai, where is the wider place at your pass? Let's start thinking about the battle right away."
"Reporting to the prince, the tower of Shanhaiguan is very wide, and you can overlook the sea from the mountain, the scenery is also very good."
"Well, let's go upstairs, then? Yang Jinglie?"
"I have no objection."
A crowd of people then escorted Zhu Youdong up to the tower of Shanhaiguan. Zhu Youdong naturally sat in the main seat. The first person on his left was naturally Yang Hao, and on his right was Liaodong General Du Song. Then Shanhaiguan General Chai Guozhu, Sichuan General Liu Jing, Liaodong Deputy General Li Rubai, Datong Lieutenant General Ma Chengzhi, Kaiyuan Lieutenant General Ma Lin, Jizhen Lieutenant General Zhang Chengyin, Yansui Zhen Li Changling, Xuanfu Zhen Lieutenant General You Shiwei, Henghai Guard Dusi Ma Chengzhao, Chongqing Guard Shizhu Qianhu Suo Ma Qiancheng and others took their seats one after another.
"Yang Jinglue, all the marshals and generals, the emperor ordered me to be your commander. In fact, the most important thing is to ensure that all the soldiers participating in this war have enough food and clothing. As for military matters, I am young and ignorant. I hope Yang Jinglue, all the marshals and generals will be generous in teaching me."
After a series of humble words like "Your Highness, I dare not say that. Your Highness, you are too kind," Yang Hao cleared his throat and said, "Your Highness, generals, today's meeting is particularly important. We are deeply indebted to the Emperor... In short, the Jian Nu must be destroyed... So..."
Yang Hao was showing off his knowledge for a long time, but Zhu Youdong didn't seem impatient at all. For half an hour, he just changed his posture slightly, propped up his cheek with one hand, and stared at Yang Hao with a very interested expression.
Yang Jinglie is so embarrassed.
When it comes to this military expedition, the generals are certainly excited, but Yang Jinglie is not in a very good mood.
How many years have passed? When did the royal family get involved in the military affairs of the Ming Dynasty? Since the Jiajing period, weren't civil officials the military supervisors who had the highest decision-making power in the army? What's the big deal about putting a ten-year-old kid over my head? If we win, the biggest credit is not mine. If we lose, I have to take the blame. Who the hell is willing to be the commander-in-chief this time?
Also, in the past, when a civil official was appointed as a military supervisor, 30% of the military pay would be deducted as compensation. In addition to the civil official who was appointed as the military supervisor, the officials of the cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War and other related departments would also receive a share. Several major military leaders would also receive a share. This has become a routine for decades. But what does it mean that the crown prince is appointed as the general this time?
The most abominable thing is that the military expenses for this war are said to be all paid by the crown prince. Cao Sanxi, who has become a nightmare for many businessmen in the southern business community, is also at the foot of the Shanhaiguan tower. In this way, there is no need to think about the loss of this beauty.
It was not a big deal that Yang Jinglie himself could not get any money: he had fought for so many years and had made enough money. But there were many civil servants behind Yang Jinglie waiting to share the money! How could he explain this?
Therefore, Yang Hao's initial idea was to talk nonsense for a few hours, wait for Zhu Youdong to get impatient, and then take the opportunity to ask him to leave the scene.
Unfortunately, His Royal Highness has been at the top of the Ming Dynasty political arena for seven years, and his Qi-cultivation skills are no worse than those of ordinary civil officials. The generals below are all scratching their heads and getting restless, but His Royal Highness can still take the time to say something like "Well, Yang Jinglie is right" from time to time to show his support.
Finally, Yang Jinglüe had no choice but to end this annoying ideological mobilization and began to hand over the practical goods: "Your Highness, since I received the emperor's order to govern Liaodong, I have been thinking about strategies. I think that although the Jiannu are a powerful force, their land is small, the population is sparse, and their strategic maneuvering space is very small. Grasping these points, as long as our dynasty divides the army into four routes and marches together, the Jiannu will inevitably lose sight of one and surrender without a fight."
"Well, Yang Jinglie, tell me, which four routes are they? How do we get there?"
"Yes, I think that the troops from Xuanda, Jizhen, Jingying, Shanhaiguan and other places outside the pass are combined into one route. This route is the main force of our army. It starts from Shenyang and marches directly to Hetuala, the old nest of the Jiannu. It is the Western Route Army.
The troops of Sichuan, Shizhu and Henghaiwei can land in Kuandian, join forces with Kuandianwei and Korean reinforcements, and attack the rear of Jiannu from the south, which is the Southern Army.
Lieutenant General Ma led an army from Kaiyuan and attacked the Jiannu from the north, which was the Northern Army.
Lieutenant General Li led an army, starting from Liaoyang and attacking from the southwest, which was the Southwest Route Army.
Among them, the main task of the Western Route Army was to attract the main force of the Jiannu.
The mission of the Northern Army and the Southwestern Army is to stick closely to the Western Army and provide assistance to it.
The mission of the Southern Army was to advance quickly, take advantage of the emptiness of the Jiannu's lair, and attack the heart of it.
The Jiannu had been fighting against our Western Army for a long time and their food supply was constantly harassed by our Northern and Southwestern Armies, so their morale was bound to be low. When they heard that our Southern Army had attacked their lair, they would surely collapse. That was when our Western Army and other three armies would pursue the victory.
"Hmm~~" Zhu Youdong, who was very angry but remained calm on the surface, took a sip of tea and said leisurely: "What do you think of this strategy, generals? It's okay, just talk about it. After all, you are the ones who will fight with swords in hand."
In the past, there was no royal family to command the army, so military generals fought under the command of civilian officials, and they were very cautious - what if you accidentally offended the civilian commander and assigned you a mission that would ensure your death?
But now it was different, with Zhu Youdong sitting here, and Yang Hao's strategy was really a bit ridiculous. So, after Zhu Youdong asked everyone to express their opinions, Liu Jing was the first to stand up.
Liu Dadao's army in Korea caused great harm to many local people. And what about Yang Hao? In addition to being the commander of the Ming army in Korea, he also served as the "prime minister" of Korea part-time. He did his best to restore Korea after the war . During this process, Liu Jing was impeached and reprimanded by Yang Hao many times because of the problems of military discipline of the soldiers. So the resentment between the two was very deep.
In recent years, Liu Jing has established a stable relationship with the crown prince because of the battle of Mubang, and the backing behind him is very strong. In addition, Yang Hao's strategy is really bad. Therefore, Liu Dadao dared to speak.
