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Zhu Yuanzhang was now faced with a new choice, how should he attack?
At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had already occupied Jiangsu and Hubei provinces, but the Yuan still occupied most of the northern regions. To achieve the goal of overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty, a clear battle plan was needed.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not choose to directly attack the Yuan capital of Dadu, he believed that in order to thoroughly defeat the Yuan rulers, they must first capture Shandong and Henan before plotting against Dadu.
This strategy proved correct as the Mongol Empire was still very powerful at this time.
To boost the morale of his troops, Zhu Yuanzhang said a few words to his soldiers and generals before they set out on their campaign.
"Heaven's way is to reward good and punish evil, China has a principle of justice that must be upheld, people's hearts are in harmony with it, every ordinary person will avenge their grievances."
We can imagine that Zhu Yuanzhang must have gritted his teeth when he said this.
The Northern Expedition officially began, and the main generals were Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, who were known as the two pillars of the Ming Empire. They did not disappoint Zhu Yuanzhang. After a brutal test of war, the Wu army continuously broke through the Yuan defense line and occupied Shandong in just three months.
This process is really nothing worth writing about, because the Mongol army was simply invincible.
In Wang Baobao's heart, he didn't take Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da seriously. In his opinion, Xu Da's army was no different from the undisciplined and weak peasant uprising armies that he had defeated. He took his main force to deal with Li Siqi, who was competing with him for power, and only assigned the defensive task to his brother Tegina Temur. This Tegina Temur was also a good general, but compared to the top-notch Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, he still had a long way to go.
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun taught him a lesson in military theory with their own military actions, and before he could even react, he found that the Shandong he was garrisoning had already been filled with Wu's flags.
Xu Da marched incessantly from Shandong, dividing his troops into two routes to attack Henan, where they encountered the most stubborn resistance on their northern expedition.
The garrison here is Yuan Liang Wang Aluwen, a relatively capable general. In times of crisis, he correctly recognized the situation, concentrated 50,000 troops on the north bank of the Luo River, and waited for the enemy to arrive.
He occupies a very advantageous position, which gives him two advantages: if the enemy dares to launch a strong attack, he will gather his troops to strike them halfway, catching them off guard; and even if the battle is not going well, it is convenient for him to retreat and escape.
It turned out that he did make full use of one of the geographical advantages, of course, not the former.
When Xu Da's army arrived at the Luo River, they did not hesitate as the Mongol army had imagined, but launched an attack in the first place, and the organizer of the attack was Chang Yuchun who always took the lead.
He led the army to cross the Luo River as if flying, and the Yuan army was stunned, and the troops had not yet had time to organize, and Chang's steel knife was already on their necks. So, "the enemy fled in disarray, chasing for more than 50 miles". Liang Wang Aluwen became a prisoner.
It was then that Wang Baobao realized how formidable his opponent in front of him was.
But it's too late now.
Just as Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were defeating the Yuan army in Shandong, a new dynasty was proclaimed in Ying Tian.
On January 4, 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Yingtian, with the era name of Hongwu and the national title of Ming.
Of course, before that, there must have been a large number of ministers advising Zhu Yuanzhang to ascend to the throne as emperor, and Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction was naturally also very surprised, then repeatedly declined.
The ministers would definitely not give up, so some kowtowed and others sought death (of course, just in words), as if Zhu Yuanzhang was not the emperor, they could not live.
Zhu Yuanzhang, in order not to make his ministers suffer and to save those who wanted to die, had no choice but to ascend the throne with great difficulty.
Of course, finally have to say a few more words, such as I was forced to, it's all your fault and so on. Pay attention to the expression on your face when saying these words, it must be extremely painful, just like you're about to be dragged away to be executed.
This set of tricks has been seen by everyone throughout history, and feudal society has always been like this. However, not performing this set is also not an option, as everyone has their own needs. After the ministers finish performing, they can be promoted and get rich, while Zhu Yuanzhang finishes performing and becomes the emperor, it can be said that both parties win.
No matter how much we despise this trick, the fact that the dynasty was established and its profound impact on history is real.
On this very day, the Ming Dynasty was established. It would continue for two hundred and seventy-six years with its own unique way of survival and extend its influence to each and every one of us.
Its splendor, its glory, is what we all share together.
Its darkness, its ugliness, is what we all bear together.
January 4th, 1368, this day will be forever remembered in history, on this day a great dynasty was established.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on his throne, looking at the civil and military officials kneeling below him, with a hundred emotions in his heart.
He never thought that this position would belong to himself. In fact, what he originally asked for was only a full meal, a home, a wife, and if he was lucky, a cow to help him plow the land.
However, the cruelty of reality forced him to choose this difficult path, on which there was no one to accompany him, and all he could trust and rely on was himself.
If I had a chance to choose again, if I could have eaten enough food and survived back then, would I still take this path?
These are meaningless now, let's call Zhu Yuanzhang by his imperial name, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, he is very clear about it.
Having walked this path, there's no turning back!
The Things of Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang Chapter 19
Chapter word count: 4557 Updated time: July 2nd, 2022 15:49
Here, we also need to introduce Han Lin'er, where is this former emperor of Zhu Yuanzhang now?
He has been submerged at the bottom of the river for a year now
In 1367, Han Lin'er took a boat to Ying Tian and was welcomed by Liao Yongzhong, a general under Zhu Yuanzhang. However, on the way, there was a traffic accident and the boat sank. Afterwards, Liao Yongzhong admitted that he had done it himself. But the question is, did he receive instructions from Zhu Yuanzhang?
I think it's very likely that Zhu Yuanzhang kept Han Lin'er only to control the emperor and order the vassals, but after he eliminated Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, an awkward situation arose.
The vassals have all perished; what use is there for the Son of Heaven?
Zhu Yuanzhang later expressed himself, saying that he had no such intention and that Liao Yongzhong acted on his own initiative. He also publicly criticized him, saying that if it weren't for you doing this thing yourself, with your merits, I was going to grant you a dukedom, but now, in order to punish you, I will only grant you a marquisate.
This is indeed a strange talk. With Liao Yongzhong's merits, how can he be compared to Xu Da and Li Wenzhong? He should be content with being granted the title of Marquis.
In any case, Zhu Yuanzhang got everything he wanted.
Things have not ended yet, Zhu Yuanzhang still has an enemy, only by eliminating this enemy can he become the true master of Huaxia!
After successfully occupying Shandong and Henan, the Ming army advanced towards its final target, Dadu (present-day Beijing), which was the capital of the Yuan dynasty and the center of Mongol rule. Once they occupied Dadu, they could declare the downfall of the Yuan dynasty.
This is undoubtedly very attractive.
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were lucky to have received this task that would make them famous in history.
In July 27th of the first year of Hongwu (1368), Xu Da's army captured Tongzhou and directly attacked Dadu, with the target in sight!
Datong was the center of Yuan, with strong city defenses and a large number of troops and food supplies that could last for more than a year. Moreover, in Taiyuan not far from Datong, Wang Baobao's army of 100,000 was ready to rescue the emperor at any time.
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun fully estimated the difficulties and made preparations for various situations, and did not formally surround Dadu until August 2nd.
However, what surprised them was that there were no large troops stationed here, nor the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. When this brother heard the news, he ran away with his wife and children on July 28.
It seems there are quite a few who fear death.
When Xu Da rode his horse into Qihua Gate, he did not realize that he had already left a heavy mark in history.
The Yan-Yun region, which had been lost to the Central Plains regime for 400 years, was finally recovered. From then on, it protected its children like a mother's arm and defended against the invasion of nomadic peoples. Under its protection, the Ming Dynasty gained time and environment for political and economic development, making great contributions to the development and continuation of the Chinese nation.
After the prosperous Tang Dynasty, after experiencing a long period of 400 years of war, the central government finally truly and completely grasped the ruling power over this vast land. On this land, under the protection of the Ming dynasty, farmers worked hard to cultivate the land, merchants came and went in a hurry, and advanced productive forces continued to move forward.
This is an immortal historical achievement!
Glory belongs to Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, but more so to Zhu Yuanzhang!
No matter whether Zhu Yuanzhang's actions were right or wrong, and no matter how later generations evaluate him, the glory that belongs to him cannot be taken away by anyone, his immortal merits cannot be denied by anyone!
Zhu Yuanzhang, history will prove your greatness!
We need to clarify that the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty at that time was named Toghon Temür, and his posthumous name was Emperor Huizong of Yuan. The title of Emperor Shun of Yuan was not given by the Yuan Dynasty, but rather a mocking term used by the Ming Dynasty for this last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty who lost his country. Zhu Yuanzhang had a bit of humor in this regard, because he abandoned the solid Great Capital and chose to escape, the Ming Dynasty thought he "followed the will of heaven", so they called him Emperor Shun of Yuan.
After the Yuan Emperor was driven out of Dadu, he escaped to Shangdu (now Kaiyuan, Inner Mongolia), where he continued to reign as emperor. This period in history is known as the Northern Yuan. The era of the Yuan as a national government came to an end.
The Yuan dynasty was overthrown, but for Zhu Yuanzhang and his generals, the challenge had just begun.
The real showdown, Wang Baobao!
After the downfall of the Yuan dynasty, which had ruled the whole country, the Mongolian nobles still attempted to re-occupy China and continuously organized forces for a counterattack. The situation at that time was not optimistic for Zhu Yuanzhang.
At this time, Wang Baobao led more than 100,000 troops and occupied Shanxi and Gansu. Chancellor Nahacu led more than 200,000 troops to guard Liaodong. There were also over 100,000 yuan troops in Yunnan, and even Korea (now North Korea) still followed the rule of the Yuan dynasty.
It's like Zhu Yuanzhang sleeping with a group of people standing by his side, holding big knives and long clubs, ready to strike at any moment.
In this case, Xu Da and Chang Yuchun began their attack again, and this time their target was indeed Wang Baobao.
At this time, the Yuan army finally came to its senses and reorganized its troops. Emperor Shun of Yuan also recognized Wang Baobao's strength and handed over all military command power to him. Wang Baobao finally got the military power he had been dreaming of, and he led the elite Yuan army to a decisive battle with Xu Da, the first general of the Ming Dynasty who commanded the Ming army.
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, after capturing Dadu, divided their troops into two routes. Chang Yuchun went south to Baoding, while advancing northward to attack Shanxi.
Xu Da's troops marched to Zhangde, attacking from the south. They planned to join forces with Wang Baobao in Taiyuan and annihilate him. Since the first vanguard, Chang Yuchun, had become the commander of the northern route army, Xu Da's vanguard was led by Tang He. This old friend of Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to seize the initiative, so he advanced on his own without Xu Da's permission, capturing Zezhou. In his view, taking Shanxi was just a matter of time!
It turned out they had underestimated Wang Baobao.
Wang Baobao had been waiting for this moment, and he took advantage of the opportunity presented by Tang He's isolated army to gather his forces under cover of night at Shanxi Handian, where they launched a surprise attack on Tang He. The Ming army led by Tang He suffered a disastrous defeat, with thousands killed or wounded.
Xu Dajun fell into a predicament, this was his first encounter with his old opponent Wang Baobao.
At this time, Yuan Shun Emperor suddenly became unwell. After returning to the Upper Capital, he saw only grasslands and deserts every day. He thought that big cities were better after all. He regretted why he had escaped from Dadu. The victory of the Korean store encouraged him, it seemed that the Ming army was not so formidable. So he ordered Wang Baobao to gather his main force, go north through Juyong Pass and retake Dadu!
Wang Baobao made meticulous preparations and plans, leading an army of 100,000 to attack Dadu. However, in his heart, he had two intentions: if Xu Da did not come to the rescue, he would take advantage of the situation to capture Dadu and welcome Emperor Shun back to power; if Xu Da came to reinforce, he would use a clever strategy, setting up an ambush to attack Xu Da.
This is a win-win plan, no matter which road Xu Da chooses, he will be the winner.
But Xu Da chose a third way, a road that made him laugh and cry.
Xu Da calmly analyzed the situation after receiving news of Wang Baobao's attack on Dadu, seeing through his intentions and deciding to give him an unexpected surprise.
You're not going to attack Dadu, I'll attack your Taiyuan!
Xu Da thought that Taiyuan had a large garrison and strong city defenses, so there was no need to worry. Even if it were lost, they could just fight back and retake it, the loss would be bearable. But Wang Baobao was different, he had led all his troops out, leaving Taiyuan an empty city, and the main force of the Ming army was very close to Taiyuan. If Wang Baobao lost Taiyuan, he could only go outside the pass to herd sheep. So he led his cavalry in a night raid on Taiyuan.
Xu Da's goal was actually not Taoyuan, but Wang Baobao. He believed that Wang Baobao would definitely return with reinforcements.
As expected, Wang Baobao received the news and was greatly surprised. He immediately led 100,000 cavalrymen to rescue Taiyuan. His counterattack was extremely swift, and he encountered Xu Da near Taiyuan.
At this time Xu Da's army was mainly cavalry and the infantry corps had not yet arrived, with only half as many soldiers as Wang Baobao.
Two cavalry units met in this way, and it was also the first large-scale confrontation between the cavalry of the Central Plains regime and the Mongolian cavalry that galloped across the sky.
How to defeat cavalry
Since ancient times, cavalry has been one of the most powerful branches of the military. With the help of horses, originally weak infantry became a highly mobile and shock-capable force. Unfortunately, in Chinese history, except for a few dynasties, their military strength was mainly based on infantry. This made them suffer greatly when facing cavalry.
But cavalry was not invincible, it turned out that the heavy infantry of ancient Rome could use a long spear array to restrain the cavalry. However, Chinese people never had the habit of wearing dozens of kilograms of armor, and at that time there was no Sino-Western exchange system. The Chinese had their own way, they kept studying the method of using infantry to control cavalry, one of the successful ones being Zhuge Liang.
The Shu army under his rule was a nightmare for Cao Cao's legions.
He invented several weapons to counter cavalry, the first being caltrops, a unique device that no matter how you throw it on the ground, always has one iron spike pointing up. Before battle, they were scattered in areas where cavalry was about to charge, and when the cavalry arrived, the horses' hooves would be pierced. The method of use is similar to today's bicycle repair vendors sprinkling tire nails on the road. Of course, the only difference is that after being pierced, no one will help you repair it.
The second tactic is the "Big Cart". Zhuge Liang's army was equipped with wooden carts. When they encountered cavalry, they would place the wooden carts in front of the infantry to block the cavalry charge, which can be considered as a form of mechanized troops.
The most ruthless is the third move, which is also Zhuge Liang's most magical invention, the repeating crossbow. This was absolutely a machine gun in those days. According to historical records, this repeating crossbow could fire ten shots at once, with extremely high lethality. Therefore, the cavalry of Wei State were very afraid of engaging in battle with Shu State.
However, this method is too operational and not suitable for offense, so it is not widely used.
It wasn't until the Song Dynasty, during battles with Western Xia and Liao, that infantry was unable to withstand cavalry for a long time. To change this passive situation, some genius came up with the idea of forming a large square formation with thousands of infantrymen, which was also given an academic name, "using infantry to control cavalry".
The two armies clashed, but the result was that they could neither defeat nor retreat. It wasn't until the emergence of the brilliant commander Yue Fei and the formation of his professional cavalry, the Yue Family Army, that the Central Plains regime finally gained a bit of prestige and successfully defended against the Jin dynasty's cavalry attacks.
By the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian army, which originated from cavalry, developed cavalry tactics to the extreme and relied on this tactic to sweep across the world. They proudly believed that as long as they had horses, they did not have to worry about their rule being overthrown.
However, just as the Mongolian cavalry galloped swiftly along the official road, while the southerners could only bow their heads and dodge to the sides, what those lowered heads were thinking about was not just where to hide. Many of them firmly believed that there must be a way to defeat these cavalrymen, there must be a way.
The method is actually very simple, it's just difficult to implement.
Charge! Cavalry against cavalry
Looking back at the history of the powerful Central Plains dynasties, they all had a strong and fierce cavalry corps. The Ming dynasty was no exception, with Xu Da and Chang Yuchun being extremely formidable cavalry generals. They were adept at deploying their cavalry, accurately choosing breakthrough directions, and their use of cavalry had reached an intuitive level.
In more than 90 years of being ruled by the Yuan Dynasty, people in Central Plains continuously learned from their enemies - Mongolian cavalrymen how to use cavalry and tactics to defeat cavalry.
After a long accumulation and waiting, the people who picked up their weapons to resist finally came on stage and had a decisive battle with their cavalry teacher, the Mongolian army. Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were among the most outstanding representatives.
They are now facing Wang Baobao, the most courageous general of the Mongolian army.
In the first year of Hongwu (1368), on December 1, Xu Da led the Ming army cavalry to arrive at the foot of Taiyuan City and confronted Wang Baobao's army, which had returned to rescue them outside Taiyuan City. However, due to insufficient troops, Xu Da never launched an attack, and Wang Baobao didn't know what kind of trickery his opponent was up to. He arrived in time, but Xu Da's purpose of sneaking into Taiyuan was not achieved. Unexpectedly, he neither fought nor retreated, which was really incomprehensible. As a result, Wang Baobao also dared not move for the time being.
On December 4, Chang Yuchun expressed his opinion to Xu Da after three days of observation and consideration: "Our infantry has not arrived, if we only use the current cavalry to fight against the enemy, it will only increase our casualties, it is better to choose a midnight raid on the enemy camp."
This opinion is undoubtedly correct, Chang Yun's Spring is indeed a famous general of the generation, with unique vision and accurate judgment. It seems that Xu Da was helped by heaven, at this time, the defender of Taiyuan, Huo Bi Ma, sent an envoy to surrender and expressed his willingness to serve as an internal response (this should be considered a treacherous act).
Everything is ready, the horse has been fed, the knife has been sharpened, just waiting for tonight to take action.
That night, Wang Bao didn't sleep (considering him lucky), this studious person was sitting in the military camp reading military books by the light of a candle, when he suddenly heard loud shouting outside. He knew something was wrong and made a decisive decision to escape. In his haste, he ran out of the camp with one bare foot, hastily mounted a horse and galloped away from the camp.
You ask what to do with the 100,000 troops? They don't even want my shoes, let alone the army. It can be seen that a famous general is indeed a famous general, who knows how to weigh the pros and cons, after all, one's own life is the most important, as the saying goes, "it's easy to get an army of thousands, but hard to find a good general".
The 100,000-strong army lost its commander and was like a headless fly. 40,000 people were annihilated, the rest fled in all directions. Wang Baobao escaped under the protection of his guards for over a hundred miles, but Chang Yuchun did not let him off.
Chang Yuchun deeply understood the principle of eradicating evil, and launched a surprise attack at night. Wang Baobao was caught off guard and fled in disarray, fighting as he retreated. By the time he escaped to Datong, only 18 bodyguards remained by his side. Chang Yuchun pursued him all the way to Xinzhou before withdrawing.
This was a real war of annihilation and also the first major victory for the Central Plains cavalry over the Mongolian cavalry.
The moon is dark and the wild geese fly high, alone they flee in the night.
I'd like to drive out the light cavalry, with a snow-filled bow and knife!
The Legend of Zhu Yuanzhang Chapter 20
Chapter word count: 4551 Updated time: July 2nd, 2022 15:49
After conquering Shanxi, Xu Da led his army to continue attacking Shaanxi. At that time, Shaanxi was guarded by local warlords Li Siqi and Zhang Liangbi. In Chinese history, due to geographical constraints, it has always been extremely difficult to attack Shaanxi from Shanxi. From the Qin State's defense of Hangu Pass against the six states, to the later Japanese invasion of China, they fought with all their might but were unable to set foot in Shaanxi.
But this time it's different.
Li Siqi had been through many battles, but he didn't want to fight. He didn't have any deep feelings for the Yuan Dynasty. When he organized his troops to resist the rebel army, it was just because he was afraid that those rebels would take away his own food. So when Xu Da's army attacked, he retreated again and again until he reached Lintao, feeling that he had played his part well enough and had made amends with the Yuan Dynasty, then surrendered. Zhang Liangbi and his brother Zhang Liangchen were not aware of the situation, first surrendering and then rebelling, stubbornly defending Qingyang, but were eventually defeated by Xu Da, and in the end did not stir up any big waves.
By then, Shaanxi and Shanxi were pacified, and the greater part of northern China fell into Ming hands, paving the way for a final showdown with the Yuan.
The new dynasty had a habit of exterminating the old one, such as the remnants of the Southern Song Dynasty who escaped to Yaishan (now Xinhui, Guangdong), but the Yuan army did not let them go and drove them into the sea, annihilating them all. Times have changed, now it's Zhu Yuanzhang's turn.
Yuan Shundi did not like the desolate Upper Capital (Kaiyuan), wanting to return to Dadu (Beijing), but Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even want him to stay in the Upper Capital.
In June of the second year of Hongwu, Chang Yuchun led his troops to start the Northern Expedition, but what he did not expect was that this would be his last expedition.
Li Wenzhong accompanied him on the expedition, and the two led 80,000 infantrymen and 10,000 cavalrymen to start this expedition. Under Zhu Yuanzhang's unique surprise attack method, the Yuan army was defeated in no time. The Northern Expedition Army first attacked Jinzhou, defeating the Yuan general Jiang Wenqing, then attacked Quanning, defeating the Yuan Chancellor Yesudar, and the army did not stop at all, attacking Daxing Prefecture, defeating the Yuan army and capturing the Yuan Chancellor Tuhuerchai.
Within a short month, the carefully arranged defense line that was said to be able to withstand for twenty years became as weak as tofu in front of Chang Yuchun. This Ming dynasty's number one vanguard fully demonstrated his unstoppable power in the last battle of his life. He led the cavalry to gallop all the way, pressing close to the capital!
Yuanshun Emperor was in Shangdu at that time, and when he heard that Ming army was attacking, he fully played his specialty - escaping, taking his wife and children to flee overnight. He fled all the way to Yingchang (now Dalai Nur Lake in Inner Mongolia), in a sorry state. During his escape, he should have been able to fully experience the mood of the Song Dynasty monarch 100 years ago. And later facts proved that this was not his last move.
Chang Yuchun was always a fierce pursuer, chasing for dozens of miles, killing Zong Wang Qing Sheng and Ping Zhang Dingzhu. In this battle, more than 10,000 Mongolian soldiers were captured. At the same time as fighting, Chang Yuchun also took away many spoils of war. He brought back Yuan Shundi's family property, including 3,000 horses and 50,000 cattle.
This battle was utterly devoid of suspense, nor was there any intense fighting. This wasn't because the Yuan army was weak, but rather because Chang Yuchun was too quick. He was like a master swordsman, wielding his sharp sword and striking directly at his opponent's heart before they could even react! An opponent like this is truly terrifying.
Chang Yuchun won a great victory and was returning with his troops when he suddenly fell ill and died at Liuhe River, aged 40.
Don't laugh at me for being drunk and sleeping on the battlefield, how many people have returned from ancient wars?
Looking back on Zhang Xun's life, from volunteering to fight in the Taiping Rebellion to his invincible march into the northern deserts, he proved through his actions that he was a true military genius and a vanguard. His life was like a brilliant shooting star, brief but radiant, and his military talent and achievements will be forever remembered by people.
At the same time as Chang Yuchun's northern expedition, Xu Da was also fighting in Guanzhong. He sent his general Zhang Wen (who was quite formidable) to attack Gansu. Zhang Wen advanced smoothly and quickly captured Lanzhou and other places. Just as Xu Da was winning victory after victory, danger was approaching him.
Wang Bao's plan
Wang Baobao did not take any major military action after retreating back to Taiyuan. He was observing Xu Da's movements. After the previous two clashes, he had a very clear understanding of how formidable his opponent in front of him was. Without a good opportunity, he would absolutely not launch an attack.
A master's move is most afraid of a restless mind and impetuous actions. Wang Bao's intuition told him that for now, he could only wait.
When he found that Zhang Wen's lone army had advanced deeply and taken Lanzhou, Wang Baobao, who had been hiding at home sleeping, keenly felt that the opportunity had arrived.
He immediately mobilized an army of over 100,000 men, dividing them into two routes. First, he used tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry to besiege Lanzhou, but Lanzhou was not his ultimate goal, just a decoy. He hid his main force and stationed 100,000 troops in the strategically located Dingxi. This move is called "surrounding the point and attacking the reinforcements" in military strategy.
He believed in his own judgment. Lanzhou was too important for the Ming army, they would definitely send troops to rescue it. Now all that needed to be done was to wait for the fish to take the bait.
His judgment was correct and soon the first fish came.
After learning that Lanzhou was besieged, Ming Yu led his troops to come and rescue. When he arrived near Lanzhou, he found himself surrounded by the Yuan army. After a fierce battle, his entire army was defeated, and Yu Guang died in battle.
Wang Baobao finally achieved the first victory in this plan, but there was one thing he did not expect, that is, the ability of Zhang Wen, the defender of Lanzhou.
When tens of thousands of troops surrounded Lanzhou, making it impossible to get in or out, Zhang Wen remained calm and unruffled. After analyzing the enemy's situation, he made a correct judgment to take the initiative to attack. He personally led 3,000 men to launch a surprise attack on the tens of thousands of enemy troops outside the city, and unexpectedly defeated the Yuan army, forcing them to retreat dozens of miles, buying time for the Battle of Dingxi.
Of course, apart from this matter that surprised Wang Baobao, everything else was within the plan. He still adopted this approach and waited for the second fish to take the bait.
The second fish did indeed come, but it was a shark.
Wang Baobao's military actions caught the attention of Zhu Yuanzhang, and on the third day of the first month of the third year of Hongwu (1370), Zhu Yuanzhang convened a military meeting. He saw through Wang Baobao's intentions and formulated an even more complex plan.
The plan was to appoint Xu Da as the Grand General of the Expedition, Li Wenzhong as the Left Deputy General, Feng Sheng as the Right Deputy General, Deng Yu as the Left Assistant General, and Tang He as the Right Assistant General to lead the army on the expedition. At that time, Emperor Yuan Shun was still in Yingchang, and Zhu Yuanzhang had always been a person who either did nothing or went all out. He planned to let Emperor Yuan Shun move further away, if possible to Siberia, but at least not to let him live comfortably.
He ordered that Lanzhou should not be rescued, but instead let General Xu Da leave Tongguan and attack Dingxi directly from Xi'an to fight a decisive battle with Wang Baobao; another route, let Left Vice General Li Wenzhong enter the desert from Juyong Pass to attack Yingchang and help move Yuan Shundi's home.
At the same time, in order to confuse Wang Baobao, he also ordered the generals Jin Chaoxing and Wang Xingzu to attack Shanxi and northern Hebei respectively, to attract the attention of the Yuan army and coordinate with the main force.
This plan was flawless, and Wang Baobao indeed did not see through Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy. He remained in Dingxi waiting for a hare to be caught off guard, unfortunately his opponent was Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da, not a hare.
In the third year of Hongwu (1670), in February, the four armies set out simultaneously. For a time, military reports poured into Wang Baobao's location, and the battle situation became chaotic. On the 25th, Wang Baobao received news that Jin Chaoxing had captured Dongsheng Prefecture. On March 23rd, he again learned that Wang Xingzu had captured Shuozhou. Meanwhile, Li Wenzhong had already exited Juyong Pass and was approaching while Wang Baobao was busy dealing with the situation.
On March 29th, Xu Da led his troops to arrive at Dingxi. Wang Baobao had retreated without any possibility of retreat and could only fight a decisive battle to the death.
Dingxi's Shen'er Gorge is about to become the battlefield for the final showdown.
Wang Bao's response
This time, Xu Da led nearly 400,000 people to attack Wang Baobao. To achieve the effect of a surprise attack, he personally led an army of 100,000 men to rush to Dingxi overnight. The Yuan army had made preparations for battle, but what happened next left them bewildered.
Xu Da's 100,000 troops arrived without any signs of battle, instead, their first action was to find wood and repair houses and barracks. The Yuan army was bewildered, did they want to stay here permanently?
Commander Wang Baobao understood Xu Da's intention, and he couldn't help but sigh that Xu Da was indeed a master of military strategy. Wang Baobao's goal in defending Dingxi Shen'er Gorge was to lure the enemy into attacking him head-on, and then counterattack. However, Xu Da did not fall for his trap, instead securing his position first and slowly dealing with him.
This person is really hard to deal with.
What made him even more depressed was that the Ming army arrived on March 29, but did not rush to battle, only using small troops to probe and harass the Yuan army. By April 5, the situation had deteriorated.
Starting from April 5th, Xu Da divided his soldiers into three shifts to continuously send troops to set fire to Wang Baobao's barracks and launch surprise attacks. If they didn't do these things, they wouldn't be idle either. They would beat drums and gongs in front of the Yuan army's camp, and some even started singing opera. The Yuan soldiers were exhausted and hungry, unable to rest. When they were forced to attack, they were hindered by the enemy's strong fortifications and could only watch anxiously.
Wang Baobao could no longer sit still. He understood that if things continued like this, the army would be worn out even if it wasn't defeated. He had to launch a counterattack.
On the sixth day, Wang Baobao found a small road through the guidance of local people, which could outflank the Ming army. He dispatched 1,000 elite soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the Ming army. The Ming army did not expect the Yuan army to appear suddenly, and their formation was in great disorder. The left-wing general was frightened and lost control, and the Yuan army was able to enter the inner camp. Just as the Ming army was about to be defeated, Xu Da heard the commotion outside his tent. Unlike Wang Baobao, he did not panic but calmly listened to the situation and judged that it was only a small-scale surprise attack. He then rode his horse to the flank and personally led the battle with his sword. The soldiers saw his figure and their morale was greatly boosted, and they defeated the Yuan army.
Judging the enemy's situation in critical moments and responding promptly is a commander's most important quality, Xu Da is worthy of his reputation as a famous general.
After the defeat of the Yuan army, Wang Bao thought that the Ming army would be more restrained, but he didn't expect that as soon as they returned to their camp, the Ming army started performing on stage again. This time, Wang Bao was at a loss for what to do, and he couldn't sleep that night, only bitterly smiling as he watched the Ming army perform freely across from him.
He won't be worried for much longer, because the Ming army's goal has already been achieved and they are about to take action.
Just as the Yuan army was being disturbed and couldn't rest, but had no way to deal with it, on the night of April 7th, the Ming army suddenly stopped their usual clamor. The Yuan army was overjoyed and began to rest one after another. Although they also knew in their hearts that this silence from the Ming army was not normal, the suffering of being unable to sleep for a long time really made them unbearable. One by one, they fell asleep as soon as they lay down.
As the Yuan army began to rest, Xu Da, who had been waiting for a long time, was inspecting his soldiers. This long wait was just for tonight! He was very clear that tonight was the best opportunity and the only chance. Wang Baobao had the geographical advantage and had an army of one million, while he had come from afar and could not sustain himself with food and grass for a long time. This opportunity must be seized, if he could not defeat the enemy in one battle, the final loser would be himself. To win the victory, he made a decision.
To maximize the combat effectiveness of soldiers is the responsibility of commanders. Generally, commanders achieve this by using their own strategic thinking and military deployment. However, when the battle reaches its most critical moment, and all military wisdom can no longer be applied, commanders are left with only one final move: to personally take to the battlefield.
Xu Da placed his troops in the front row before going on an expedition, to ensure that all soldiers could see his commander flag. No matter where the soldiers were fighting, as long as they saw this flag, they would have the courage to continue fighting.
This is an unavoidable method, yet it's also the only method.
Hence the victorious strategist is the one who knows how to use both advantage and disadvantage, recognizes the utility of having a large or small number of troops, unites the upper and lower ranks in desire, uses deception to await those who are not deceived, and leads his army with ability while the ruler does not interfere — Sun Tzu's Art of War
Xu Da has won all five battles, how can there be a reason for not winning?
Just as the Yuan soldiers were fast asleep, Xu Da launched a surprise attack on the central army of the Yuan forces using the Central Breakthrough Battle Method. The Yuan soldiers were so exhausted that even when some of them heard the shouting, they had no strength to get up and were captured without resistance. Under Xu Da's leadership, the Ming army swept away the Yuan forces with lightning speed and annihilated them completely, causing the 100,000-strong army to collapse instantly.
At this time, Wang Baobao was resting in the central camp. It turned out that he had a bit of talent for escaping. This brother reacted very quickly in the chaos and grabbed his horse, taking his wife and children with him as they fled north. In the midst of the chaos, he was still able to do so thoroughly, which is quite impressive.
The Ming army won a great victory over the Yuan army, capturing alive the Prince of Yuanshan, the Prince of Yuanyi and more than 1,900 civil and military officials. More than 84,000 Mongol soldiers were killed. Wang Baobao was defeated again, this time he didn't even have his 18 bodyguards with him, only his wife and children escaped to the banks of the Yellow River, where he wept bitterly at the thought of the disaster.
Many historical books stop here, which is not very logical, because Wang Bao Bao didn't have wings or a motorcycle, so it's impossible for him to fly over the Yellow River. Leaving Wang Bao Bao here is also not very kind. In fact, if you examine many details in history, you will find many interesting places.
Carefully analyzing Wang Bao's experience of crossing the Yellow River, we will find that it is so important to learn several skills in daily life.
Wang Bao crossed the Yellow River, but there were no boats to cross the river. However, a famous general would not be deterred. He found a log somewhere and had his wife and children lie on it, and the whole family hugged the log to cross the river. (Bao Bao and several others fled from the ancient city to the north, reached the Yellow River, and got a floating wood to cross)
It can be seen that Wang Baobao must be very good at swimming, and he should also have some ability to manipulate boats. Dingxi is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Gansu Province, where the water flow is rapid, and rowing a boat may not necessarily be able to cross it. However, he can cross the Yellow River by hugging a wooden board, which is really a skillful person.
