The Prosperous Era of Longwan

It has been two days since the news of the beacon fire came from the direction of Changping. During these two days, the atmosphere in the capital became tense again.

Although unlike the last time Huang Taiji entered Kou Miyun, martial law was quickly implemented in the capital, but after all, the two warnings were so close together that it was inevitable that people would be reminded of the scene more than a month ago.

The tension in the atmosphere seems to have had some effect, that is, the voices of the officials supporting the Shandong Governor's memorial have become quieter, and everyone's focus has shifted to Xuanfu.

At this time, news that Ma Fang led his troops to patrol the border also came from the Ministry of War.

Immediately, news quickly spread from the DPRK that Ma Fang's tribe was ambushed by Tatars outside the pass and the entire army was wiped out.

The emergence of this rumor undoubtedly once again aggravated the tense atmosphere in the capital.

Ma Fang's reputation in the capital at this time can be said to be very great. A month ago, during a battle, everyone in the capital knew Ma Fang's name.

Who can imagine how much of a psychological impact the news of his defeat and death in just over a month had on the people.

When the urgent report from the Xuanfu was sent to the Ministry of War, Changping Fenghuo finally got clear news.

Two days ago, more than 20,000 captives broke through Dishui Cliff and entered the Xuan Mansion to plunder. The attack was extremely fierce. Although the forts along the way were well prepared, losses were inevitable due to the rapid advance of the captives.

The battle report was sent to the Ministry of War. In fact, when Yang Bo, the minister of the Ministry of War, took it to Xiyuan to meet the saint, the details of the battle report quickly spread in the capital.

"No, no, no."

At Prince Yu's Mansion, Wei Guangde frowned and repeatedly read the battle report sent by the Xuan Mansion. In just one day, the Tatar frontier marched more than eighty miles south.

Except for the fact that the town fort near the border wall was strictly guarded in the past, the losses in this Tatar raid were relatively small. The further south, the heavier the losses were.

"The Tatars did not attack the fortress near the border wall, but only destroyed the Ming army outside the city and looted the people. The large group of troops continued to go south and did not even attack these places. It is really puzzling."

Wei Guangde expressed his doubts. No matter what, it was necessary to reserve an escape channel.

However, in this battle report, the Tatars' speed southward was very rare, and it seemed that the Ming army was unable to block their retreat.

"As mentioned yesterday, the rumor that Ma Fang's tribe may be defeated, do Shandai think it is credible?"

Zhang Juzheng asked again.

"If Ma Fang's tribe is defeated, it will be impossible not to mention it in the battle report."

Wei Guangde shook his head and replied, "Judging from the time, the Tatars arrived suddenly a few days after Ma Fang led his troops out of the border. The border officers and soldiers had Ma Fang's order in advance, so the military forts were not in trouble.

It's just that this time the Tatars' target is obviously not here, but to raid the hinterland of Xuanfu with all their strength. The news of Ma Fang sending troops must have been known to Anda Khan. They are now bullying Xuanfu because they don't have mobile troops, so they dare to do this. They went south unscrupulously to plunder. "

Wei Guangde thought while talking, and gradually gave a satisfactory answer.

After saying this, Wei Guangde lowered his head and thought for a long time before saying with certainty, "If I hadn't guessed, Anda Khan may not have actually known about Ma Fang's intention to send troops. He just sent scouts to investigate the passes along the Xuanfu until he found Ma Fang. After hearing the news about Fang's troops, they sent troops to raid the Xuan Mansion."

"How can I see it?"

This time, it was King Yu who spoke. He was now more and more interested in the northern military.

"If it was known in advance that Ma Fang led his troops into the grassland, Anda Khan would have concentrated his main force to ambush Ma Fang's tribe. The best strategy would be to eliminate them on the grassland and then send his troops south to attack Xuanfu.

After all, if the army crashes on the grassland, as long as the blockade is good, the defeated troops may not have a chance to return to the border wall. An attack at this time will still catch our army by surprise.

Only when the movements of Ma Fang's department are discovered temporarily, it will be too late to summon all parties.

You must know how big the grassland is, and the various Mongolian tribes are scattered all over the country. It takes two or three months to recruit cavalry from various tribes.

The more than 20,000 Tatars who entered the Xuanfu were probably the personal guards around Anda Khan. They avoided Ma Fang's tribe and went south to break into the Xuanfu.

I'm afraid that at this time, Ma Fang hasn't even arrived at Beishandang yet, but she doesn't know that her old place has been taken away. "

Wei Guangde closed his eyes, shook his head slightly and said.

At first, when he discovered that Ma Fang had the idea of ​​raiding the grassland, he instinctively felt that something was wrong, but he did not expect that Anda Khan would do this. , avoiding Ma Fang's soldiers and attacking Xuan Mansion.

Fortunately, although he didn't expect it, Zhang Juzheng did.

Unfortunately, the order issued by the Ministry of War to Dong Yikui may be difficult to implement.

Based on the current situation in Shanxi, Dong Yikui may not be able to summon thousands of cavalry in a short time. It is still too simple to think.

Wei Guangde felt deep regret at this moment. When Zhang Juzheng proposed to supplement the Xuanfu's troops, he was not enthusiastic and only agreed perfunctorily.

Because in his opinion, Ma Fang's troops should not be defeated in the attack, and they would not be defeated all the way back to Xuan Mansion, and they would need to send troops from various places to rescue them.

It was only for insurance that they approved the deployment of troops and horses from Shanxi Town to support the Xuanfu.

It can only be said that Wei Guangde's later impression led to his misjudgment this time. He trusted Ma Fang too much and believed that with his talent, he would not make any major mistakes.

"There is no rush. The Tatars will enter Xuanfu and wreak havoc for a few days before leaving. The troops in Shanxi Town should have completed their assembly and will soon go north under the leadership of Dong Yikui to drive back the Tatar invasion."

Zhang Juzheng consoled him, "But in this matter of describing the merits this time, I'm afraid Ma Fang's contribution will be lost. I just hope that the merits and demerits can be balanced."

"Ma Fang cannot be blamed for the disaster in Xuan Mansion."

Yin Shizhen said.

"Even if the punishment is imposed, it shouldn't be too severe. At most, it will be a downgrade."

Wei Guangde was not worried. At this time, among the generals in the northern border towns, there were many generals who could replace Ma Fang in guarding the Xuan Mansion, but those who dared to lead troops into the grassland for revenge were rare.

Based on this alone, Emperor Jiajing would not punish him.

"Actually, it's good to give him a punishment to prevent him from floating up on his own and let him know how powerful Anda Khan is. In the past, he had a great chance of winning against Anda Khan.

This time, he didn't fight with him at all. Avoiding the sharp edge that hit him was a lesson. "

When Wei Guangde said this, his tone gradually became more relaxed.

"Wait for a while, and as long as it is confirmed that the Tatars avoided Ma Fang's troops and carried out a sneak attack, it will at least prove that the soldiers trained by Ma Fang, the Tatars will not dare to block his attack head-on."

As soon as Wei Guangde said this, his words were interrupted by King Yu.

"Wait, you mean, as long as Ma Fang is given men, horses, money and food supplies, he can train a cavalry that can sweep across the northern grasslands?"

After saying this, King Yu stared at Wei Guangde with bright eyes.

Wei Guangde was a little uncomfortable being stared at by King Yu, so he didn't dare to say this.

Anda Khan is a little afraid of Ma Fang. This is what he inferred from the unusual military operation of the Xuanfu. It will take time to verify.

However, King Yu’s question still needs to be answered.

Wei Guangde thought for a moment before replying: "Actually, compared with the Mongolian cavalry, our Ming cavalry is inferior to cavalry and archery, and is better at weapons. The two sides should have equal combat power.

There were many reasons for being passive everywhere before, but it was definitely not caused by the huge gap in combat power. "

"what is the reason?"

King Yu was still curious and continued to ask.

"The training camp where Ma Fang is training is very well provided with food and salary. Although it is not enough, it is not far behind.

With the supply of food and wages, morale can be kept high. This is one of them.

Ma Fang's military training was strictly in accordance with the Ming military drills. If he fished for three days and dried nets for two days like the Beijing camp, his combat effectiveness would never be guaranteed. This is the second reason.

As for the third one, the Ming army in the north was divided into nine towns. On weekdays, they fought independently, while the Luqi could attack in scattered pieces or summon a large army to attack.

Although our army is numerous, it is scattered on nine sides. Therefore, we often encounter situations where the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. It is normal for us to lose more than we win and win less.

If morale is insufficient, training is insufficient, and troops are insufficient, it will be difficult to fight this battle. "

As Wei Guangde said this, King Yu, Yin Shizhen and others also nodded frequently.

Some of these things they knew, but some they had never thought of.

For example, King Yu had no idea how much food and salary Jiubian soldiers could get in a month and whether it was enough to eat.

In his opinion, even if officials at all levels are greedy, at least half of the military pay is for them.

As for the actual situation, Wei Guangde knew that Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng could roughly guess it, but neither dared to say it clearly.

There are too many yamen and officials who distribute money, and if you mention it, you will offend a large group of people, or even the entire northern official group.

To be honest, Wei Guangde's money for studying and taking the imperial examination was not clean. The Wei family also participated in the greedy distribution of military pay, but they were at the last level.

"In fact, in my opinion, the fundamental reason does not lie in this."

Just when King Yu and others were discouraged by Wei Guangde's remarks, Wei Guangde continued, "The biggest trouble for our Ming army against the Mongolian Tatars is actually that they have no fixed place to live.

Think about how prosperous the Ming Dynasty’s military was during the Taizu and Chengzu periods, and what the final results were of several massive Northern Expeditions.

The Tatars did not have a city or a place to defend, so they fought on the run, fighting when they could win, and running away if they couldn't. They were even chased by the army as far as Mobei.

Our officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have sophisticated equipment but can never find a chance to win. They can only waste the money of the state treasury. If things go on like this, they will eventually be unable to continue the pursuit.

Failure to seize the opportunity to hold a big battle is the biggest trouble. "

"What Shandai said is reasonable. To deal with the Tatars, we can only wait for the opportunity and launch a thunderous strike."

Zhang Juzheng nodded in agreement.

Wei Guangde glanced at the others and seemed to recall: "I remember the first time I met Ma Fang, it was in Huailai County. At that time, he pointed out three "incomparables" between the Ming army and the Mongolian army.

The first is that the Mongolian army is "naturally skilled in riding and shooting, and is skilled in bow and horse"; the second is that it "comes and leaves quickly, focusing on one thing and losing the other"; the third is that it "lives in no fixed place and can advance and retreat freely".

The suggestions he put forward to solve these three "incomparable problems" were not like other border generals at that time who only focused on defense and blindly relied on building side walls to deter the enemy's attack. Instead, he believed that "cavalry should be used to control cavalry." Create a powerful cavalry unit and the idea of ​​​​a Tatar decisive battle on the steppe. "

"How much money is needed to form a cavalry? Just for the war horses, I'm afraid it won't be able to increase dramatically."

Zhang Juzheng's considerations were still comprehensive. Not to mention the difficulty of acquiring war horses for the Ming Dynasty, even if he could find sources of horses from surrounding countries, the amount of money and property he would consume would be astronomical.

"Actually, the main reason is that we can't find enough war horses. It's easier to raise the necessary property."

Wei Guangde said disapprovingly.

"Shan Loan, don't you know the price of a war horse? To form the cavalry that Ma Fang said could fight the Tatars, it would cost at least 100,000 horses."

Yin Shizhen said with an moved expression, "This requires millions of taels of silver, and the horses required are so large, the price of the horses may be even higher."

"The supply of grain and fodder will also be huge in the future."

Zhang Juzheng added.

"If the threat from the north can be completely eliminated, the investment of one million taels of silver or even more will be worth it."

At this time, King Yu said, "We just formed this cavalry unit, but if we fail to capture the main force of the Tatars, that will be the biggest loss."

The Central Plains is not like a grassland. There are huge pastures where horses can be raised.

Moreover, the war horses used by the Ming army are also different from those used by the Mongols in terms of horse breeds. It is necessary to prepare concentrated feed such as bean cakes for these war horses to ensure the horse power.

These changes were actually one of the methods used by the Ming cavalry to compete with the Mongolian cavalry.

It's just this difference that caused the cost of raising war horses in the Ming Dynasty to skyrocket.

If it is still impossible to fight the Mongolian cavalry for a long time, the consumption will not be affordable by the Ming Dynasty.

"The money in Chang Ying's treasury should be enough to support the purchase of war horses."

In the early years, the information about the Changying Treasury of Taipu Temple was not known to the outside world. However, as the imperial court was unable to make ends meet in the past few years, it often needed to borrow money from the Changying Treasury for turnover, and the name of the Changying Treasury began to spread among the court. .

However, because Changyingku is too special, no one dares to make any plans here.

"Shan Loi, I've always been curious about how the cavalry led by Ma Fang managed to avoid losing in a head-on battle with the Lu cavalry."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng suddenly asked.

Zhang Juzheng's question also made King Yu's eyes light up.

What Zhang Juzheng asked was not about strategic matters, but about specific battles.

Ma Fang has said that the captives are good at riding and shooting. Even if the Ming army maintains a high morale, they cannot compare with riding and shooting. How did he manage to not fall behind in a head-on battle?

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "Brother Uncle, have you ever heard of stacking formations?"

"Stacking formation method? But the stacking formation method created by Wu Lin in the Southern Song Dynasty?"

Zhang Juzheng wondered, but then shook his head, "The stacked formation is used by infantry to deal with cavalry. Ma Fang always uses cavalry to hedge against each other. How to use the stacked formation to fight against the enemy?"

The "stacked formation method" they refer to is the battle formation method created by Wu Lin in the Southern Song Dynasty when he fought with the Jin generals Hu Zhan and Xi Buzhu. It is actually a mixed formation with multiple arms.

The "formation" of "stacked formation", in this era, mainly refers to the arrangement and changes of the formations of various parts of the army in battle, and "stacked" is a description of the characteristics of this arrangement and change.

As for what later generations call "formation", it is the standardization and institutionalization of this arrangement and change.

In short, "stacked formation" is to determine the order of various arms in the queue based on the distance of weapon attack. Horses, spears, and bows and crossbows are arranged in echelons and rely on fortifications to achieve effective protection. A formation that uses the power of different weapons and arms to kill the enemy with maximum effectiveness under one's own conditions.

"In fact, the essence of stacked formation lies in the word 'stack'. Ma Fang's cavalry not only has crossbows, but also a large number of cavalry equipped with fire guns."

Wei Guangde opened his mouth to explain.