Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 887 The War to Annihilate the Barbarians
Snow is flying all over the sky.

The Ming army began to assemble and eventually formed a stalemate with the Tatars in the open fields south of Guanshan.

The Ming Dynasty deployed about 8,000 troops to attack, while the Tatars and those tribes loyal to the Little Prince or those who wanted to put up a last stand for a chance of survival formed a defensive formation of about 60,000 troops.

Wang Shouren, Zhu Hui, and Qin Yun's troops were responsible for guarding the southern route of Guanshan. They could see the continuous camps of Tatars around Guanshan, as well as cavalrymen constantly patrolling outside the camps.

The Tatars did not limit themselves to a defensive posture; they also sought to create trouble for the Ming army through guerrilla warfare.

On the Ming side, due to the small number of troops and the large size of the Tatar camp, the Ming army of 8,000 men was unable to encircle the enemy from all sides, and even encircling three sections was difficult. At most, they could only occupy positions in two and a half directions from the south to the northeast.

Although the other Tatar tribes also numbered in the tens of thousands, they were mostly observing the situation and were not particularly willing to get involved in this unprecedented war.

In particular, the Doyan Three Guards had about 20,000 troops. After all, the three tribes combined were only one 10,000-household commander. Moreover, they were very cunning. While the Ming Dynasty was fighting the main force of the Tatars, they chose to go around to the rear to harass the Tatars' supply lines and were ready to launch a surprise attack on the Tatars' stronghold at any time.

Because we are currently in a state of war.

The Tatars did not relocate their people here; that is to say, the women, children, the elderly, and the weak of the Tatar Chahar tribe remained in the rear, about three or four hundred miles away.

Originally, all we needed to do was guard against a surprise attack by the Ming army...

Moreover, the Ming army did not seem to intend to attack their stronghold, since eliminating the Tatars' fighting force was the fundamental purpose of this war.

However, once other Mongol tribes surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and joined the Ming forces in the war, raiding their strongholds would be a piece of cake for them, since they dared not confront the Tatar main force.

After all, in the past, even if they went to plunder the border towns of the Ming Dynasty, they would most likely run away if they encountered the main force of the Ming army.

Now that the main force of the Ming army has been tied down, how could they possibly give up their looting?
"The Tatars are holding out stubbornly, as if they're determined to fight us and see who will be the ultimate victor!" Wang Shouren sighed as he looked through his binoculars at the massive Tatar camp several miles away.

Holding binoculars, Zhu Hui asked in confusion, "It's strange that the Tatars' camps are set up so sparsely. Are they afraid that our artillery will hit them?"
"If they're so afraid, what's the point of them holding out? Besides, their perimeter is just some wooden fences; they haven't even dug trenches. Even without cannons, they could just ram their way in with some logs and chariots, right?"

Wang Shouren said, "The Tatars were so careless precisely because they knew we hadn't brought many siege weapons with us."

"hehe."

Zhu Hui laughed, "That's because they're ignorant. Now all we need is Huangyao. The power of that stuff... tsk tsk, it can even split mountains and break rocks. Attacking their wooden fence? It'll be a piece of cake!"
"Hey, come to think of it, I can't help but want to lead my troops and charge in."

"Two generals."

Just then, Qin Yun appeared in their camp.

Zhu Hui took the initiative to greet him with a smile: "Isn't this Commander Qin? What orders have been given from above? We are ready to follow the arrangements of the young imperial uncle and prepare to complete the final battle to annihilate the enemy."

Qin Yun said, "Orders have come from above, requesting one of you to go to Lord Li's camp to hold a pre-battle meeting."

"Will I be able to meet Zhang Guojiu in person?"

Zhu Hui seemed very excited, feeling honored to be able to meet Zhang Yanling at this time and place.

Wang Shouren stepped forward and said, "I'll go instead."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Hui was immediately displeased, but considering that he was clearly inferior to Wang Shouren in terms of strategy, he stopped arguing: "Then I will stay in the army. It seems that the Tatars will not dare to attack. If they really come, we will teach them a lesson."

……

……

Wang Shouren returned in less than half an hour.

Zhu Hui had been waiting at the camp gate. When he saw the man return, he rushed over and asked, "Did you see him? Is Zhang Guojiu very young? It must have been quite a surprise."

"But you're all the same, young and promising!"

Wang Shouren shook his head and said, "I did not see Zhang Guojiu in person."

"What? Wasn't it supposed to be a pre-battle meeting? How can the commander-in-chief not attend?"

Zhu Hui seemed quite surprised.

Wang Shouren said, "The meeting was chaired by Li Zisheng, after all, he holds the official position of Censor-in-Chief and is also the Governor of Jizhou. This time, he will lead the Jizhou troops to be in charge of the main attack."

Zhu Hui paused for a moment, then asked, "So, should we cooperate with Zhang's brother-in-law or with Li Zisheng? Why does it seem... that Li Zisheng is too eager to show off? Could it be that he wants to steal the credit?"

"do not know."

Wang Shouren's answer was very direct.

Zhu Hui was quite surprised, thinking to himself, "Aren't you supposed to be resourceful? You met with Li Zisheng and listened to his entire pre-battle meeting, yet you didn't know what his intentions were?"
Zhu Hui asked, "Where is the young imperial brother-in-law? Could he have already... turned back home? The troops have already assembled, and I've seen all the different groups of men he sent out gather... I wonder which group is his?"

"I am not sure as well."

Wang Shouren's face showed some disappointment, clearly regretting not having met Zhang Yanling before the battle.

Zhu Hui asked, "What should we do next?"

"Hold the line and wait for the Tatars to lose their composure." Wang Shouren explained the situation. "It is said that the next step was personally decided by Li Zisheng... The Uriyangkhai tribe will take the lead, and their cavalry will launch a surprise attack on the rear of the Tatar Chahar tribe, harassing the Tatar herders who are hostile to the Ming Dynasty. In this way, the Tatars in front of us will have no will to fight and will surely lose their composure."

Zhu Hui laughed: "That sounds like Li Zisheng's style. If he can't win head-on, he resorts to underhanded tactics... But wait, with four thousand elite soldiers under his command, why would he resort to such despicable means?"

Wang Shouren said, “According to Li Zisheng, this is called ‘an eye for an eye.’ I don’t know how he came up with this idea… It seems that he wants to retaliate against the Tatars for their repeated border incursions and disturbances, and to teach the Tatars a profound lesson.”

"That sounds interesting."

Zhu Hui chuckled and said, "Let the Tartar dogs fight each other, a mouthful of fur, it's not so bad..."

……

……

That night, the Ming army and the Tatars engaged in a small-scale battle.

After the Tatars' night raid failed, the Ming army immediately bombarded the Tatar camp with artillery, resulting in a large-scale attack with limited casualties on both sides.

However, facing the Ming army's firepower, they could only passively endure the attacks, which had a significant impact on the Tatars.

"Do we have enough shells?"

Zhu Hui asked, "You're not going to make us fire artillery too, are you? We've basically used up all the shells we brought. The battle isn't even over yet, is it necessary to waste them like that?"

Because Zhu Hui's troops were equipped with light artillery allocated to them by Wang Yue, namely the breech-loading cannons, the number of shells was quite limited, which made the army very cautious in the use of shells, as they were very precious.

But Zhu Hui felt that Li Zisheng was setting off fireworks as if they were free.

Newcomers lack experience. Li Zisheng had just brought troops from Jizhou, commanding 4,000 fresh troops, making it the largest force of the Ming Dynasty on the battlefield. He seemed eager to prove himself.

Wang Shouren remained calm, leaning against the standing wooden stake as he added firewood to the fire in front of him, saying, "Setting off firecrackers is their business. They haven't assigned us anything, so why worry?"

Zhu Hui said, "Brother Wang, you don't seem to be in high spirits... Is something bothering you? Are you nervous about the upcoming decisive battle?"

Wang Shouren's expression was somewhat grim. He said, "As far as I know, it's possible... After Vice Minister Wang led his troops back to the Hetao region, he didn't return to Yansui, but instead..."

"Huh? You mean Wang Weining?"

Zhu Hui blurted it out almost without thinking.

"Ah."

Wang Shouren nodded and said, "Minister Wang may also participate in this surprise attack on the Tatar rear."

Zhu Hui stared wide-eyed, asking incredulously, "How did he know about the changes in the battle situation here? Didn't Wang Weining already... Oh dear, how should I put it? General Wang's move is truly unexpected..."

"However, Brother Wang, it seems this has little to do with us, right? With the decisive battle imminent, it's understandable that all the generals and commanders want to make a name for themselves."

"Especially General Wang, with his illustrious achievements, it's not surprising that he led troops into the grasslands twice... It's said that Feng Tang grows old easily while Li Guang is hard to be ennobled, perhaps he doesn't want to be a second Li Guang?"

Wang Shouren squinted at Zhu Hui.

It's as if to say, "You really know how to comfort people."

Zhu Hui laughed and said, "Is this the knot in your heart?"

Wang Shouren said calmly, "So far, neither Datong nor Xuanfu has sent troops to fight this battle."

"what?"

Zhu Hui's face was full of confusion. What was all this about?
Wang Shouren said: "This fully demonstrates that the civil officials in the court have a great deal of resistance to this war. In the end, only Zhang Guojiu, Li Zisheng and Wang Zhongcheng can complete the war. They each send troops and travel thousands of miles, but the places where they should send troops and where it is easiest to achieve results have remained inactive."

Zhu Hui finally understood Wang Shouren's feelings and said, "Then your father... must be the one who opposed sending troops, am I right? I'm sorry, please forgive my slip of the tongue."

"fine."

Wang Shouren stood up and sighed, "Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. There's no way we can stop the war... If the people in the court knew that the war had developed to this point and that our army had gained an absolute advantage, wouldn't they agree to send troops to cooperate?"

Zhu Hui laughed and said, "That's true. But then again, the renowned Wang Weining can only play a supporting role in this great battle, leading troops to launch a surprise attack on the rear... He is indeed willing to cooperate with the Zhang family's uncle in military affairs. It seems that the military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty will inevitably be controlled by the Zhang family's uncle in the future."

Wang Shouren glanced at Zhu Hui, then frowned.

This is the second thing he's worried about.

Even Wang Yue, who was once a shining star and an idol of Wang Shouren, can now only serve as Zhang Yanling's assistant. First, he led troops to confuse the Tatars, and when a major battle was imminent, he led troops to launch a surprise attack on the Tatars' rear. Doesn't this just show that the military and political power of the Ming Dynasty has gradually fallen into the hands of Zhang's maternal relatives?
If Zhang Luan were to lead the troops personally, he wouldn't have so many worries.

But the one who came was a young man... That's what made him feel dangerous and conflicted.

Even civil and military officials like Li Zisheng and Zhu Hui showed absolute obedience to Zhang Yanling, even to the point of following his every word... Doesn't this further demonstrate that the Zhang family, as relatives of the emperor, were already preparing to take full control of the military lifeline of the Ming Dynasty?

(End of this chapter)