The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 657 Fierce Battle in the Northern Desert

Sometimes when luck is on your side, whatever you wish for comes true.

Emperor Wanli wanted to develop the northern desert by mining coal nearby, and two huge open-pit coal mines were discovered in the Hailar Grassland.

Now, there's absolutely no problem with the development of the two vast grasslands, Hailar and Yinmahe Valley.

While the Shenji Battalion soldiers were still exploring westward along the railway, he had already mobilized the garrison battalion soldiers to prepare to start mining coal.

He even ordered his men to set up camp about a hundred miles south of Hailar City, where coal mines had been discovered.

There is actually another river here, which is the Yimi River, a tributary of the Hailar River.

However, this river is a little different from rivers in other places.

In other places, the width of rivers does not vary much over short distances, and generally, the wider the river channel, the deeper the water.

The Yimi River has no fixed width; at its widest point, it can reach over a hundred zhang (approximately 33 meters), while at its narrowest point, it is less than ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), and it varies in width from time to time.

The river's depth varies, sometimes deep and sometimes shallow. In some places, it can be several feet deep, while in others it is less than half a foot deep.

It is obvious that this waterway is not navigable; the waterway is completely impassable.

Emperor Wanli had no choice but to build railways and rely on land transportation.

Fortunately, this place is less than 100 kilometers from Hailar Station, so it was easy to build the railway here.

On the 16th of July, around 1:00 PM, shortly after the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion had moved their main camp over, he, along with Imperial Concubine Qin Lan, Xiao Zhu Changxun, Song Yingxing, Qi Zuoguo, and others, ascended the high platform he had specially ordered to be built.

The Qi brothers had already arrived upon hearing the news.

They never expected that there would be a coal mine on this grassland.

At this time, hundreds of thousands of garrison soldiers were digging in the surveyed area, and the originally lush green grassland was dug up with many black spots.

Emperor Wanli invited everyone to stand around the large table in the middle of the platform. He then raised his binoculars and scanned the area before solemnly saying, "Guozuo, the coal mine is very important to you."

For the grasslands of northern Mongolia to be developed, there must be enough coal for heating, so that cattle, sheep and horses can safely get through the winter and reproduce.

Therefore, you must assign a dedicated person to be in charge of coal mining to ensure that there are no problems with the supply of coal.

As for mineral exploration, you don't need to worry about it. I will order the Shenji Battalion soldiers to explore the entire railway line for you."

The person in charge is fine.

Qi Zuoguo nodded, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, what do you think about letting Xingguo be in charge of the coal mining?"

If you think it's okay, then it's okay.

You don't need to ask me about that; I certainly don't know you brothers as well as you do.

Emperor Wanli nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, let's establish Xingguo then."

This isn't a simple matter.

Qi Zuoguo thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, should the coal mines discovered within this vassal state be considered the property of the Prince of Beihai or the Imperial Court?"

This is very important.

If it's considered government property, then you have to pay for digging, and the more you dig, the more money you have to pay.

Wanli pondered and said, "The coal mines discovered in this vassal state will naturally belong to you. However, if you sell the coal after mining it, you will have to pay commercial taxes."

The price of coal nowadays is roughly one tael of silver for every thousand catties, while the commercial tax is one-tenth of the price. That means if you sell ten thousand catties of coal, you have to pay one tael of silver in commercial tax.

That's not a problem.

The problem is, I don't have anyone to recruit.

Qi Zuoguo thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I don't have many men under my command, and mining coal is quite labor-intensive. Could I pay the garrison soldiers to mine it?"

The soldiers of the garrison battalion were not recruited to mine coal.

Wanli shook his head slightly, thought about it carefully, and then decisively said: "The soldiers of the garrison are used to supplement the Beijing garrison and the navy. It is unlikely that they will be used to mine coal."

Here's what I'll do: I'll reward you with 100,000 prisoners. Of these 100,000 prisoners, I estimate there are about 20,000 able-bodied men. You can let the able-bodied men mine coal, and the rest, the old, weak, women, and children, can help you herd livestock.

This kind of open-pit coal mine is easy to dig. 20,000 able-bodied men can dig at least 30 million catties a day, and it is no problem to dig more than 100 million catties a month.

"I've estimated it for you. If we can mine about a billion catties of coal here every year, the northern desert region can be developed."

"I've thought of everything for you." Qi Zuoguo quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then pointed to the map and explained in detail: "I have now mobilized the garrison troops to begin constructing the railway from Hailar Station to this side."

We'll first build a ring road to enclose this coal mine, and then, depending on the distribution of the coal, we'll build several transverse railways in the middle. This way, the coal can be directly loaded onto trains and transported to other places once it's mined.

We will also build two garrison towns near the Xing'alin and Yimi Rivers on both sides, and then two rows of thousand-household garrisons. This way, the border garrisons can guard the railway while also helping you look after prisoners of war.

His Majesty is truly thoughtful.

Qi Zuoguo nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully again, and then pointed to the map and carefully instructed: "Look, the grasslands in the northern desert are now roughly distributed in a semi-circular ring."

The Hailar Grassland is located at the eastern end of the ring road, a distance of seven or eight thousand miles from the Dahu Grassland. You can't just mine coal from here.

A large coal mine has now been discovered near the mouth of the Yinma River Valley. You need to send people to mine it to provide heating for the cattle, sheep and horses on the Yinma River Valley grassland.

It's best to mine and use the coal locally, as this can save a lot of transportation costs.

The Shenji Battalion soldiers are still exploring westward along the railway line. If they discover coal mines near other grasslands, you'll have to send people to mine them.

Qi Zuoguo nodded repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. I understand."

As they were talking, a fast rider suddenly came galloping from the direction of Hailarwei.

Soon, a member of the Imperial Guard strode up to the platform with an urgent report in his hand, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, General Ma has an urgent report."

Urgent report?

Is there a problem at the front?

When Wanli received the urgent report, he found that, as expected, after Dong Yiyuan led his army into the Great Lake Grassland, one of his troops was ambushed by tens of thousands of cavalry from the Oirat Tuoluo tribe.

The Great Lake Grassland is where the Oirat Tuoluo tribe rose to power, and it seems that San Niangzi's maternal family also belonged to the Tuoluo tribe.

It seems that the Oirat are unwilling to give up the northern desert, so they are preparing to use the familiar terrain of the Great Lake Grassland to block Ma Gui and Dong Yiyuan's army.

Xiao Zhu Changxun leaned over to take a look and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Father, is the Oirat Tuoluo tribe courting death?"
"They only have tens of thousands of cavalry, yet they dare to launch a surprise attack on our hundreds of thousands of cavalry?"

You're oversimplifying warfare.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then pointed to the map and patiently explained: "The Great Lake Grassland is not just one big lake, but dozens of lakes of varying sizes. Moreover, it is not just grassland, but also mountains, jungles, and even swamps and deserts. The terrain is very complex."

The Oirat tribe has occupied the Great Lakes Grassland for at least a hundred years, and they are extremely familiar with the terrain there.

This is the advantage of location in the context of favorable timing, location, and human factors. They had the advantage of location, which is why tens of thousands of cavalry dared to launch a surprise attack on our hundreds of thousands of cavalry.

Although General Ma and Yi Yuan had 500,000 cavalrymen under their command, they had to divide themselves into many routes to wipe out the scattered grazing tribes.

If they were to gather together and slowly wipe them out, it would take several months to finish.

The Troos tribe intended to use their familiarity with the terrain to defeat them piecemeal, forcing us to retreat after suffering heavy losses.

what?
Break each!

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun asked with concern, "Father, will General Ma and the others really be defeated one by one?"

Do you think they're as clueless about warfare as you are?

Emperor Wanli shook his head slightly, then patiently explained, "That's highly unlikely."

The Shenwu Battalion cavalry had revolver muskets, and they were also equipped with many large telescopes.

In this situation, it would be impossible for the Tuolus cavalry to break through to them and engage in close combat, and their range of long-range archery was nowhere near that of our muskets.

Therefore, it is unlikely that they will be defeated one by one. Even if the Oirats gather tens of thousands of troops to launch a surprise attack on our 10,000 or 20,000 troops, they will not be able to surround us.

However, a fierce battle seems inevitable.

After all, they have the advantage of terrain, so it's easy for them to launch a surprise attack on us, but we have to cast a wide net to surround them.

This means our forces will have to be scattered in all directions. If we only consider one route, our forces will definitely be fewer than theirs. In this situation, we can only use one route to hold them off and then complete the encirclement.

Fierce battle?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun's face was filled with longing.

He had never seen a real battle before, not even a regular one, let alone a fierce one.

(End of this chapter)