Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 281 Great Victory
Under the city of Lin'an, 30,000 Ming troops were divided into two camps, surrounding the northwest sides of Lin'an.
Since the Ming army entered Lin'an Prefecture, the main force of the Yunnan Camp has not suffered much damage, but the Tusi Camp has suffered heavy casualties.

The Ming army attacked several cities along the way, and the Tusi camp suffered three to four thousand casualties in the siege. Afterwards, they had to leave troops to defend the Tonghai Shiping and other important roads.

In fact, after the Ming army broke through Shiping, there were less than 20,000 soldiers left.

Just as the Ming army broke through Shiping, Yuanjiang Tusi Nasong led a group of Tusi from Dunan to join forces.

After receiving the imperial edict from the Duke of Qian, the chieftains of the southern province were quite active, and each family gathered more than 10,000 troops.

With the addition of more than 10,000 Tusi soldiers from Dongnan, the strength of the Ming army increased again to 30,000.

This is why Ma Bao and others recalled Mu Tianbo. Only Mu Tianbo, or in other words, only the Duke of Qian, could mobilize so many Tusi soldiers in Yunnan Province.

The Duke of Qian has been in power in Yunnan for a hundred years. Since Mu Ying, almost all the rebellions in Yunnan have been quelled by the Mu family. After hundreds of years of fighting, the Mu family's reputation has long been feared by the chieftains of various tribes in central Yunnan.
The Mu family's reputation was not gained through marriage or alliances, but through the support of the Ming court and the countless heads of rebellious chieftains that they killed in the rebellion.

In the later period, even the chieftains of various tribes in central Yunnan who wanted to inherit the position of native official had to report to the Duke of Qian. Only with the recognition of the Duke of Qian could the next generation of chieftains inherit the position.
If there is a dispute among the chieftains over succession, they must also go to the Qian State Mansion and listen to the Qian State Mansion's decision.
The Mu family is now the de facto leader of the chieftains of Yunnan Province. Although the chieftains of various tribes receive official positions from the Ming court, they recognize the Mu family as the Duke of Qian.
Of course, the Mu family only had enough strength to suppress the chieftains of various tribes in central Yunnan with the support of the Ming court.
The Ming court had only been in Yunnan for two or three months. The reason why it was able to mobilize so many chieftains and soldiers in such a short period of time was precisely because of the Mu family.
It was precisely because of the guarantee of Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qian, that the chieftains in the palace could bring their soldiers to Kunming without hesitation and follow the Ming court to the war.

If Ma Bao and others had directly ordered the chieftains of various tribes to come to help in the war in the name of the Ming court, I am afraid that not many chieftains would dare to lead their troops.

The Ming army set up camp outside the city and then surrounded Lin'an, but did not start attacking the city as Sha Dingzhou had expected.

After the Ming army broke through Shiping, they learned about Sha Dingzhou's current situation from the captured generals.
After Sha Dingzhou fled back to Lin'an, he recruited young and strong soldiers from the old camps such as Mengzi to go north to defend Lin'an Prefecture.
Most of the rebels in Lin'an Prefecture are now gathered in Lin'an City, but the old strongholds in Mengzi, Amizhou and Shadingzhou are empty of troops, with only a few thousand soldiers guarding them.

After learning about the situation in Lin'an Prefecture, Ma Bao discussed with Li Dingguo, Mu Tianbo and others and immediately decided on a siege strategy.

After the Ming army arrived at the city of Lin'an, they continued to besiege Lin'an with 20,000 soldiers.
The remaining 10,000 people were divided into two groups, led by Yuanjiang Tusi Nasong and Tusiying Deputy General Xu Mingchen, and marched towards the two old villages of Shadingzhou in Mengzi and Amizhou.
Although Sha Dingzhou in the city also discovered the movement of the Ming army's division, he had no way to deal with it.
The Ming army broke through several cities in Tonghai Shiping in less than a month. Coupled with the previous record of defeating 20,000 Kunming defenders, the strength of the Ming army had already made Sha Dingzhou feel fearful.

At this time, Sha Dingzhou had the advantage of the city wall. Since the Ming army did not come to attack the city, Sha Dingzhou was naturally unwilling to leave the city to fight the Ming army.
The Ming army surrounded Lin'an for a month, but they did not attack the city once. However, as time passed, Sha Dingzhou in the city could no longer sit still.

Outside Lin'an City, several thousand Ming troops lined up outside the city as usual, staring at the west gate of Lin'an. Seven or eight soldiers ran out of the formation and then rushed directly to the city.
The leading cavalryman held a gray head in his hand and shouted when he reached the city.

"The imperial army has captured Gejiu. The local chieftain of Gejiu gathered his troops to resist stubbornly, but has been wiped out by the imperial court. The imperial army is still 70 miles away from Mengzi, and will reach the Mengzi bandit nest in three days."

"The traitor Sha Dingzhou is at the end of his rope, and is only dragging you to your death. If you soldiers in the city wish to protect your families, you should quickly capture and kill the traitor Sha Dingzhou, make amends for your mistakes, and then leave the city and surrender."

After the Ming cavalryman finished speaking, he threw down the head in his hand and rode back to the battle array.

Soon after the Ming cavalry left, the heads of the people below the city were sent to the city wall. Tang Jiabin, who was standing by, looked at the gray heads with a pale face and said:

"The chief is indeed the chief of an old village."

Sha Dingzhou heard this but did not speak. He just glanced at the gray head and looked at the Ming army formation in the distance, his face gloomy.

In fact, from the beginning of the withdrawal from Chuxiong, Sha Dingzhou had already felt that he was unable to cope with the situation. During the withdrawal, Sha Dingzhou led his troops to withdraw from Chuxiong without encountering any pursuit. However, when Sha Dingzhou arrived in Lin'an, the original 30,000-man army had been reduced to 20,000.
After Sha Dingzhou withdrew his troops, the news that the Ming army had entered Yunnan to quell the rebellion and recaptured Kunming spread among the army. The chieftains who had followed Sha Dingzhou to the expedition began to flee the army after hearing the news.
After Sha Dingzhou discovered that the chieftains had fled, he beheaded several of them who were trying to escape and sent their heads to the army.
But this method that had always worked in the past no longer worked. Sha Dingzhou killed hundreds of deserters in his army, but every night when they set up camp, there would still be chieftains leading their troops to escape.
After Sha Dingzhou returned to Lin'an, he saw that he had insufficient troops. On the one hand, he recruited young and strong men from the old villages in Mengzi and other places, and on the other hand, he forcibly conscripted soldiers from the chieftains in various places in Lin'an Prefecture.

Under the threat of Sha Dingzhou, the number of troops under Sha Dingzhou's command was increased to 40,000 again.
Sha Dingzhou sent 10,000 of them to garrison in Tonghai and other places. These 10,000 people have now been wiped out by the Ming army, and the remaining 20,000 people have all gathered in Lin'an City.
Although Sha Dingzhou's forced conscription allowed him to gather a large number of soldiers in a short period of time, the price he paid was that now, except for Lin'an City, the rest of the entire Lin'an Prefecture was empty of troops.

This was the fifth head delivered by the Ming army this month. After the two armies of the Ming army set out, they did not go straight to Mengzi and Amizhou, but marched step by step, constantly clearing out the earthen villages loyal to Shadingzhou along the way.

These Yi villages had a population of one or two thousand or several hundred, and most of the young and strong men in the villages were conscripted by Sha Dingzhou. They were completely unable to resist the siege of the Ming army of thousands of people.

As the heads of the local chieftains of the Yi villages were sent to the city, the morale of the people in the city was getting lower and lower. The Ming army had not yet attacked the city, but the Yi army in the city began to desert.
Over the past month, one or two thousand soldiers in the city have fled. These soldiers would take advantage of the night shift to go down the city walls directly. The Ming army did not care about these fleeing soldiers and let them escape.
This situation further promoted the escape of soldiers in the city. Now there are less than 25,000 soldiers left in the city.
Sha Dingzhou no longer dared to send the conscripted Yi soldiers to defend the city. The soldiers guarding the city walls were all direct descendants of Mengzi.

But now, as the Ming army gradually approached Mengzi, even Sha Dingzhou himself began to feel restless.

Sha Dingzhou's original plan was to follow the example of Chuxiong, gather soldiers and food, wait for the Ming army to attack the city, and then use the city walls to drag the Ming army to death under the city, but now this plan has completely failed.

The Ming army was able to defend Chuxiong with only a few thousand men because there was a man in the city named Yang Weizhi who was ready to sacrifice his life for his country. But what was the reason for the death of Lin'an?

Let alone others, let's just talk about the commander Sha Dingzhou. If the situation really came to a critical moment, Sha Dingzhou would definitely abandon the city and flee, and would never defend Lin'an to the death.

Sha Dingzhou was the chieftain of Mengzi, and Mengzi was his base. Sha Dingzhou gathered his troops in Lin'an because he felt that he still had the strength to fight and was unwilling to admit defeat, so he tried to defend Lin'an Prefecture.

However, the Ming army's combat power and mobilization capabilities were far beyond Sha Dingzhou's expectations, and he was already in trouble before he even started fighting.
Now that the Ming army was about to attack Mengzi, he had no choice but to fight. Once the Ming army really arrived at the city of Mengzi, even the old soldiers under his command would be shocked.
Even if Sha Dingzhou was willing to give up, the old soldiers under his command would force him to return to Mengzi.

Thinking of this, Sha Dingzhou looked at Tang Jiabin beside him and said

"Pass on my military order. All troops in the city must assemble and prepare to fight the Ming army."

Seeing the fear on Tang Jiabin's face, Sha Dingzhou said with a cold expression

"This is our last chance. The Ming army divided its forces to plunder. We now have the upper hand in terms of military strength. As long as we defeat the Ming army outside the city, we will have a chance to defend the city. In a few days, we won't be able to fight even if we want to."

"I don't want to say it a second time. Pass on my military order. Gather the troops immediately and go out of the city to fight a decisive battle!"

Tang Jiabin looked at the cold expression on Sha Dingzhou's face, and his expression changed slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he dared not persuade him anymore, so he had to go down and pass on the order.
Half an hour later, the west gate of Lin'an City suddenly opened, and countless soldiers poured out of the city, leaning against the city wall and quickly forming a battle array.

In the Ming army camp, Ma Bao looked at the foreign soldiers rushing out of the city, a smile flashed across his face, and he said

"Finally he left the city. I thought Sha Dingzhou would not come out until we attacked Mengzi."

"We have been in Yunnan for three months. Since the rebels have already left the city, we should completely wipe out these rebels today."

Ma Bao looked at Li Dingguo and others beside him and said

"Tengxiang Army, Loyalty Camp, and Zhongzheng Camp, follow me to fight."

"General Mu, divide the troops of the Territory Camp into two groups and line up on both sides of the Yunnan Camp. After the Yunnan Camp defeats the rebels, you will follow the orders and attack them."

Ma Bao's arrangement was obviously to use the 9,000 men from the Yunnan Camp to defeat Sha Dingzhou first, and then order the Tusi Camp soldiers to take advantage of the situation to chase and kill the defeated soldiers.
Mu Tianbo glanced at the army pouring out of the city in the distance, his face was hesitant, and he spoke

"The Yunnan Camp is an elite force, but there are estimated to be 20,000 to 30,000 rebels in this city. The Yunnan Camp has few people, so would it be safer to transfer some elite Tusi soldiers to the camp to help in the battle?"

Ma Bao heard this, but waved his hand and said directly
"When a large army lines up for battle, military discipline is of utmost importance. These chieftain soldiers are lax and have no knowledge of military formations. Letting them join the army will only cause chaos."

"General Mu, just take care of those Tusi soldiers and tell them to wait for military orders. They are just a bunch of guerrillas. Nine thousand men from the Yunnan camp are enough."

When Li Dingguo and his men heard that they were going to outnumber the enemy by 9,000 to 20,000, they did not show much fear on their faces. They had been fighting against the barbarians for several months, and they had also figured out the strengths and weaknesses of these barbarians.

At first glance, these barbarian soldiers seemed brave and valiant, but upon closer inspection, one could see that these barbarian soldiers had no idea how to coordinate battle formations.

The most typical attack method of these Yi troops is to use the local generals as the core, with the local generals taking the lead and the Yi soldiers behind them following suit.
If the Yi general can suppress the enemy, the Yi soldiers will become more and more courageous. If the leading Yi general falls into a disadvantage or is simply killed, the Yi soldiers will lose their morale and flee in disarray.

As for the so-called military formation cover, sword and shield coordination, and formation conversion, there is none at all. This is also completely in line with the characteristics of these Yi soldiers. Before being recruited, these Yi soldiers in Yunnan Province were almost all mountain people in various villages. Although these mountain people grew up in poor mountains and bad waters, they were fierce and aggressive by nature, but that was all.

In terms of individual soldiers, the Ming army might not be able to defeat these foreign soldiers after removing their armor, but if dozens of Ming soldiers were organized into a battle formation, even hundreds of foreign soldiers would be killed and dispersed.

It's not that Sha Dingzhou and others didn't know the importance of the military formation, but they simply didn't have the conditions to train soldiers.

The Ming army was able to form a mandarin duck formation and set up a chariot camp because, with Zhu Lang's support, the Ming army soldiers could be fully free from work and trained every day.

These elite soldiers who can form a battle formation must be raised on mountains of rice and seas of meat. Who among the chieftains in Yunnan Province has the financial resources to do such a thing?
Even if these chieftains really have such financial resources, how many of them would be willing to spend it on soldiers?
Under the city of Lin'an, the two armies were arranged in battle array five miles apart.

The Ming army's vanguard formation was in the shape of a Chinese character "品", with the Tengxiang Army at the head and the Zhongzheng Camp and Zhongyi Camp on both sides.

On both sides of the infantry formation were cavalry, each with about a thousand men. Li Laiheng led the Tengxiang cavalry on the left, while on the right were the Zhongyi Camp cavalry led by Liu Wenxiu.

Mu Tianbo and Long Zaitian each led 5,000 Tusi soldiers and were stationed behind the main force of the Ming army.

The Sha Dingzhou army on the other side arranged five military formations, two in front and three in the back, each with four to five thousand men.

At this time, the two armies had already formed their battle arrays, but neither side took the lead in advancing. The confrontation lasted for a quarter of an hour, and the gap between the two armies began to show.

The soldiers of the three formations of the Yunnan Camp stood still, while the Sha Dingzhou Army formation opposite and the Yi soldiers of the Tusi Camp in the rear began to make a faint noise.

The Yi soldiers in Sha Dingzhou's formation looked at the Ming army on the opposite side and whispered to each other. Some of them were captured and punished by the Yi generals because they walked around and talked nonsense. The army formation was in chaos.

After waiting for another quarter of an hour, Sha Dingzhou finally lost his patience.

Under the city wall, three or four thousand cavalrymen suddenly rushed out from Sha Dingzhou's army, and then split into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, rushing towards the Ming army formation.
When the Ming army saw the rebel cavalry rushing towards them, Li Laiheng and Liu Wenxiu on both sides immediately led their troops forward to intercept them.
The cavalry of the two sides chased and killed each other in front of the two armies. At this time, Sha Dingzhou's cavalry had the advantage in numbers, but from the very beginning, Sha Dingzhou's cavalry was directly suppressed by the Ming army.
The cavalry selected by the Ming army were almost all elite veterans from each camp. After the cavalry of the Ming army was dispersed, they could quickly assemble into a team of dozens or hundreds of people at a very fast speed.

In contrast, although the Yi army's cavalry was large in number, they were extremely scattered. Once they were scattered after a charge, it was difficult to gather them into a group again.
At this time, smoke and dust rose between the two empty areas. Three or four thousand Shadingzhou Yi troops were scattered all over the battlefield, but they were constantly divided and surrounded by groups of three or four hundred Ming troops.

Seeing the cavalry disintegrate, Sha Dingzhou could no longer bear it, and the horn of advancing finally sounded in the Sha Dingzhou army.
A series of low drum beats sounded, and then the military flags of various units moved forward. The five square formations of Yi soldiers also began to slowly move towards the Ming army on the opposite side.

Seeing that the other side had begun to attack, Ma Bao also ordered his troops to advance. Soldiers on both sides slowly approached to the sound of drums.
The Ming army formation, with soldiers in the front pushing shield carts, spearmen in the back, and archers in the back. Swordmen and shieldmen guard the sides of the formation. This is obviously a simplified version of the chariot formation.

In front of the Yi army were rows of sword and shield soldiers, and in the back were Yi soldiers holding swords.
The two armies slowly approached each other. When they were about 300 steps apart, the drumbeats in the Ming army suddenly stopped, and the Ming army also stopped immediately.
In the front of the Tengxiang Army, Lieutenant General Li Gui looked at the two Yi soldiers coming from the front with a cold expression on his face. He shouted:

"Fire the gun"

In front of the Tengxiang Army, several shield carts were pushed aside to make way for two passages, and then thirty artillery carts were pushed out from the middle of the formation to the front.

Thirty artillery vehicles were lined up in front of him. Li Gui did not hesitate at all and started giving orders.

"First salvo, fire!"

Rumble

The artillery roared in front of the Ming army, and the thunderous sound of the artillery resounded throughout the fields. Thirty shells whistled out and smashed directly into the Yi army formation. The shields in front of the Yi army were smashed into pieces, and the shieldmen behind the shields were thrown into the air, and their lives were unknown.

The shells continued to hit the infantry in the rear with unabated force. Wherever the shells passed, the soldiers along the way were all turned into dust. Waves of blood mist suddenly rose in the Yi army formation.
Although the Yi soldiers on the opposite side heard the cannon fire, they still subconsciously continued to move forward a few meters. When the blood and flesh in the battle splashed on their faces, the Yi soldiers finally reacted.
The soldiers at the front of the Yi army were in a state of panic when they saw the splattered flesh and blood. Everyone was terrified and subconsciously fled to the rear.
The soldiers in the front row wanted to flee, but the soldiers in the back row still moved forward subconsciously. The soldiers in front and behind were crowded together, and the two front lines of Sha Dingzhou's army suddenly became chaotic.

In the Yi army formation, the general tried hard to drive the fleeing soldiers forward, but before the general could organize the formation, the artillery in the Ming army roared out again.
Another thirty shells smashed into the army formation, and each iron shell pierced through with a low whistling sound. The Yi army in the front formation could no longer hold on and fell into complete chaos.

Behind the Yi army, Tang Jiabin looked at the continuous artillery fire in front of him with a look of fear on his face and said:

"General, there are probably hundreds of artillery pieces in the Ming army. We can't hold them back. Quickly order the army to withdraw."

Sha Dingzhou's army also had artillery, but most of them were tiger squat cannons and enemy destroying cannons weighing about 100 jin. Seeing the continuous artillery fire from the Ming army, they mistakenly thought that the Ming army had brought hundreds of artillery.

Sha Dingzhou looked at the roaring fire on the opposite side, but a hint of cruelty flashed in his eyes, and he said

"We can't retreat now. If we do, the Ming army will take advantage of the situation and attack us, and we will be defeated. Artillery can only fire far away. Once it gets close to us, it will be useless."

"These cannons must be the trump cards of the Ming army. If we lose these cannons, how can these Ming army be a match for our warriors in central Yunnan?"

"Pass on my military order. Do not retreat. Beat the drums and march forward immediately to defeat the Ming army."

Suddenly, a horn sounded in the Yi army, followed by the increasingly urgent drumbeats.

Sha Dingzhou's supervisory team rushed forward and killed the panicked and fleeing Yi soldiers directly on the ground, and then drove the already scattered five formations of soldiers forward again.

At this time, the drums for advancing had already sounded. The barbarian soldiers had no way to retreat. The sound of artillery fire continued in front of them, and waves of blood mist rose in front of them. The barbarian soldiers looked terrified, but the cavalry in the rear were holding sabers and driving forward with ferocious expressions.
The Yi soldiers were unable to advance or retreat. Suddenly, a group of them shouted and rushed forward with mad looks.
Although the barbarian soldiers were driven to charge, their formation had already been destroyed. Everyone shouted wildly and rushed forward, forming a thick black line in front of the Ming army.
On the battlefield, the Yi soldiers were driven towards the Ming army's position. At this time, the command flag of the Tengxiang army suddenly waved, and then the two camps of Zhongzheng and Zhongyi not far behind also launched ten artillery pieces.
Fifty cannons roared, and dozens of iron bullets once again bombarded the Yi army's formation, instantly plowing dozens of bloody tunnels in front of the Yi army.
The barbarian army had already charged forward. The gaps created by the artillery fire in the front were quickly filled by the barbarian soldiers who were forced to rush in from the rear. The frenzied barbarian army quickly rushed to within 80 steps of the Ming army.
In the Tengxiang Army, Li Gui looked at the frightened and ferocious Yi soldiers in front of him, but his face was calm and he gave the order again.

"For the last round, switch to shotgun shells"

The gunner at the front pushed the sub-gun into the main gun, the fuse was lit, and the muzzle fire gushed out again.
However, the shells fired this time were no longer solid iron shells. Countless thumb-sized lead bullets were ejected, and the Yi army in front was suddenly plowed away, leaving a dent.

After the Ming army gunners finished firing, they did not reload, but directly abandoned the artillery in front of the formation and retreated back into the army formation along the gap. As the gunners retreated, the shield carts blocked the passage again.
When the barbarian army rushed to thirty steps, the Ming army waved its flag and a hail of arrows continued to cover the front. The barbarian army in front fell again.

After three rounds of arrow rain, five or six hundred Ming soldiers had fallen in front of the Ming army. The Yi soldiers in the rear stepped on the bodies of the fallen soldiers and finally rushed to the front of the Ming army.
These barbarian soldiers finally no longer had to endure the bombardment of artillery and arrow rain, but the barbarian soldiers standing in front of the Ming army looked confused.
In front of the Yi army were rows of shield carts connected left and right, like a city wall.
However, there was no time to be distracted on the battlefield. Rows of sharp spears suddenly pierced out from behind the shield carts, and the Yi soldiers who had just rushed to the front were immediately stabbed to death.
Behind the Ming army, Mu Tianbo, Mu Yi and other chieftains looked at the battlefield ahead, their faces pale.

Arrows rained down on them, spears stabbed them, and wave after wave of barbarian soldiers were pushed to the front of the Ming army from the rear, and were stabbed to death by spears again and again.
Tens of thousands of barbarian soldiers rushed forward like a tide, but the Ming army formation was like a reef in the sea, never moving.
This was not a battle at all, but a massacre. A group of barbarian soldiers were driven up, and then they were hacked to death by the Ming army. When the barbarian soldiers from the rear came again, the Ming army hacked them again.
The 20,000 barbarian troops never formed any decent counterattack from beginning to end. In the eyes of Mu Yi and others, these barbarian troops were like cattle and sheep being driven forward, being harvested and killed by the Ming army.
Ma Bao stood under the general's flag, took back the telescope in his hand, looked at the chieftains behind him, and said

"The battle is decided. General Mu, all the generals, you can order the Tusi camp to go into battle. You will lead the people to completely defeat these remaining soldiers."

"Ah... Yes, I will obey your orders."

Mu Tianbo was stunned for a long while, and then he reacted. Then Mu Yi and other chieftains also woke up as if from a dream, and quickly bowed to accept the order.
Mu Yi and other chieftains looked at Ma Bao, who was calm under the general's flag, and then looked at the Ming army formation in the distance that was still killing the barbarians. Suddenly, a trace of awe flashed in their eyes.

They had previously thought that the Ming court had run out of power, but now it seems that the previous fall of Yunnan Province was just because the Ming court could not take care of this remote place temporarily.

The Ming Dynasty had ruled the country for hundreds of years, so how could a few chieftains like them turn the world upside down?

Mu Tianbo and Long Zaitian led the soldiers and quickly advanced.
As more than 10,000 soldiers from the Tusi Camp joined the battlefield, the Yi army under the city finally collapsed completely. The Tusi Camp soldiers were everywhere under Lin'an City, killing the Yi soldiers.
Sha Dingzhou led more than 25,000 soldiers out of the city to fight, but they were completely defeated in just half a day. Only Sha Dingzhou saw that the situation was not good and led the 3,000 soldiers who had not yet participated in the battle to flee back to the city.
The Ming army cleaned up the battlefield and captured prisoners, but they were not in a hurry to attack the city.
That night, Sha Dingzhou fled from Dongcheng overnight with his confidants including Tang Jiabin and more than a thousand Mengzi veterans.

On the morning of the second day, the Yi soldiers in the city found that Sha Dingzhou had disappeared. The city was in chaos and all the soldiers fled through the southeast gates.

When the Ming army arrived at Lin'an, the Yi soldiers in the city had already fled. As the Ming army entered the city, the last rebellious prefecture in Yunnan Province was recaptured by the Ming army.

(End of this chapter)