My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 117 is extremely cruel and Zhu Di is extremely angry!
As early as the beginning of the Northern Expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang had appointed Xu Da as the governor-general of military affairs, the mighty general and the commander-in-chief of the northern expedition against the Yuan court.

Li Wenzhong was appointed as the Grand Commander, Lan Yu as the Governor-General and Lieutenant General, and before the expedition, Tang He was promoted to the Vanguard General.

A full 100,000-strong army set out towards Liaodong in a mighty force.

Nahachu, the governor of Liaodong in the Yuan court, had an army of 200,000 and was stationed in Long'an, Liaodong.

The 200,000 elite troops in Nahachu's hands are the last main force of the Yuan court. Once Long'an is captured and these 200,000 elite troops are annihilated, the Yuan court will no longer be a threat, let alone Goryeo.

After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian tribes will be leaderless and may even fall into civil strife for the throne of the Han Dynasty. At that time, the border troops and garrisons that have been prepared will be deployed to cooperate with the main force of the Northern Expedition to defeat the Mongolian tribes in one fell swoop and completely control the desert!

According to the plan, the army will rest at Songting Pass north of Shanhaiguan, and after joining forces with 50,000 border troops from Liaoyang, they will be commanded by Xu Da and aim at Long'an!

Although their military strength was more than 50,000 less than that of Nahachu, Nahachu also had firearms battalions, artillery battalions, crossbow battalions, and even 100,000 elite Mongolian cavalry.

However, Xu Da had full confidence in the twenty-five musket battalions under his command. The needle-fired rifles far surpassed the fire sticks in the hands of the Yuan army in terms of range, firing speed and power!
According to your majesty, the needle-fired spear is a groundbreaking weapon. If it still cannot defeat the Yuan army, then Xu Da should go back to the countryside to farm!

Zhu Di and Xu Huizu were also in the Northern Expedition Army. Both of them were centurions of the sniper battalion. They had been training hard for many days just for this day!
But Li Jinglong did not follow.

It’s not that Li Jinglong didn’t want to come, but he was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang. Li Wenzhong couldn’t understand why Zhu Laosi and the eldest son of the Xu family could go, but his family couldn’t go to Jiujiang?
For this reason, he also went to ask Zhu Yuanzhang specifically, but the answer he got was that Li Jinglong was too young, not yet twenty years old, and he was afraid that he would suffer if he went there, so it would be better to let him study at home.

Li Wenzhong could understand this answer, but he felt that his majesty seemed to be somewhat evasive when he said this, and his eyes were somewhat strange and inexplicable, making it difficult to figure out.

Although Zhu Di and Xu Huizu had less fun without Li Jinglong, they soon devoted themselves to the Northern Expedition.

After several days of rapid march, they finally arrived at Songting Pass. However, what greeted Zhu Di and Xu Huizu was a tragic scene!

Songting Pass is a dangerous gate that serves as a traffic passage. It is not large in scale, but at this time, the small Songting Pass is crowded with people fleeing from the north!
The people were all ragged, pale and thin, and many of them were missing limbs. It was extremely miserable!

When Zhu Di inquired about the situation, he was furious. It turned out that a few days ago, the Yuan army had captured Daning and carried out a massive massacre in Daning, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities. Countless people's fields were trampled, their houses were destroyed, and their property was taken away!
The Yuan army killed anyone they saw and took away anything they saw. Men and children were slaughtered and women were abducted. Those who were able to reach Songting Pass were considered to have saved half their lives.

But some of them lost their wives, some lost their parents, and some lost their children. They lost everything. The great sorrow has made their tears dry up, and their faces are filled with the numbness that is the result of a dead heart!
Looking at this purgatory-like scene, Zhu Di clenched his teeth tightly, but his fists clenched tighter and tighter.

"Damn it, where are the soldiers guarding the city? What do they do for a living?"

The rage in his heart could no longer be suppressed. He wished he could rush to Daning immediately and chop off the heads of the Yuan army with his own hands to vent his anger!
At this time, a dishevelled little boy on the side of the road came up to Zhu Di and said timidly:

"All the government troops have been killed in the battle."

"All died in the battle?"

Zhu Di was stunned on the spot.

Looking at this child who was not much older than Zhu Gaochi, his eyes were as dead as ashes and lifeless. His heart seemed to be stabbed by a sharp knife, and the pain was suffocating!

"Brother-in-law, I am unhappy and I want to kill someone!"

Xu Huizu could empathize with Zhu Di's feelings, but he knew that now was not the time to act on impulse.

"Fourth Brother, calm down. A little impatience can ruin a great plan! We will definitely attack Daning, and we will make those Tartars pay with blood!" Xu Huizu patted Zhu Di on the shoulder. "The most important thing now is to report to the commander-in-chief and settle the people first, and then discuss the matter of advancing to Daning."

Zhu Di also calmed down a bit, thought for a while and said: "Not good, it was Nahachu's vanguard troops that captured Daning, and there must be a large number of Yuan troops rushing to Daning behind them!"

Xu Huizu heard this and continued Zhu Di's words, "Occupying Daning will allow us to directly target Shanhaiguan. The Yuan army will not occupy Daning in vain. They must have a bigger plan. You are right, Lao Si. There are more Yuan troops on the way to Daning!"

"There is no time to lose, we must report to the commander immediately!"

Xu Da naturally saw the tragic situation of the people fleeing Songting Pass. After listening to the analysis of Zhu Di and Xu Huizu, he made a prompt decision.

First, he ordered the government troops stationed at Songting Pass to settle the people, and urgently transferred a batch of food from Xuanfu to feed the people.

The next question is how to take Daning back from the Yuan army!
The geographical location of Daning is very important. If the Yuan army occupies it, it will threaten Shanhaiguan to the southeast and Juyongguan to the southwest.

For the Ming Dynasty, Daning is the only route to attack Long'an.

Therefore, Daning must be taken back!

"After Batu and Wuerer occupy Daning, the main force of the Yuan army will swarm in. Therefore, we must take Daning back before the main force of the Yuan army arrives!"

Li Wenzhong said: "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. It is about 500 miles from Songting Pass to Daning. If we set out now, travel light and ride as fast as we can, we can reach Daning before midnight.

And night is the time for my sniper team and night rangers to show their prowess!"

Xu Da thought for a moment and immediately said, "General Li, listen to my orders!"

"I am here!" Li Wenzhong clasped his fists respectfully.

Although both of them were dukes and had the same rank, this was in the military camp. According to the wartime official positions, Xu Da's rank was higher than Li Wenzhong's. The army had a strict hierarchy, so Li Wenzhong was respectful to Xu Da.

"I order you to lead the sniper team and two firearms battalions to rush to Daning before midnight at all costs. Use the advantages of night vision binoculars and needle-fired guns to launch a night attack on the Yuan army in Daning!"

"I will obey your orders!"

"General Tang, listen to my orders!"

"I am here!" Tang He replied loudly.

"I order you to lead 5,000 light cavalry and follow Li Wenzhong. After Li Wenzhong's night attack is successful, you will lead the cavalry to harvest the Yuan army!"

"I will obey your orders!"

“Although the enemy has more than 30,000 elite cavalry, our Ming Dynasty’s weapons are ahead of their time!
You two, beat these Tartars to death!"

(End of this chapter)