The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 659 Initial Settlement of the North
The Shenwu Battalion cavalry was ambushed by the Oirat allied forces.

The news reached the Hailar Grassland seven or eight days late.

Then the Shenwu Camp cavalry surrounded them, and Qin Yiming was ordered to lead his troops to block them. A fierce battle ensued with the Oirat allied forces, and Qin Yiming ultimately defeated them.

The news was delayed by more than half a day on top of the seven or eight-day delay.

July 17th, Bingyin day, around 9:00 AM.

Emperor Wanli was reviewing memorials and supervising young Zhu Changxun's studies with Song Yingxing in his study room when a Imperial Guard suddenly rushed in, holding an urgent report and bowing, saying, "Your Majesty, General Dong has an urgent report."

Why was it Dong Yiyuan who reported this time instead of Ma Gui?
Emperor Wanli took the urgent report with some curiosity and was immediately filled with disbelief.

Qin Yiming, the military commander of Shenwu Battalion, led his 20,000 troops to block the Oirat coalition army. They killed and captured more than 50,000 enemy soldiers, and the Oirat coalition army was defeated and almost completely wiped out!
What's the situation?
Is Qin Yiming really that amazing?
This achievement is too exaggerated. 20,000 troops blocked tens of thousands of enemy troops, killed and captured more than 50,000 enemy soldiers and defeated the enemy!
Would Dong Yiyuan give false military intelligence?
Seeing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun asked curiously, "Father, what's wrong?"

Emperor Wanli promptly sent over the urgent report.

When Xiao Zhu Changxun took the urgent report and read it, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Brother Yiming is amazing!"

Perhaps you should call him brother-in-law.

Dong Yiyuan could not have lied about military intelligence.

This should be true.

Wanli pondered for a moment, then murmured, "Your eldest sister is already over twenty; it's time for her to get married."

That's not the case.

The eldest sister was extremely worried.

Xiao Zhu Changxun nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, it's time for my eldest sister to get married. She's getting a little anxious and stressed."

These days, it's really rare to find someone over twenty who isn't married.

Fortunately, Rongchang was a princess, so no one dared to gossip.

If this happened in the countryside, it would attract a lot of gossip and rumors.

Wanli thought for a moment, then solemnly said, "This is only a brief report. When General Ma's detailed battle report arrives, I will grant Yiming the title of Duke according to the law, so that your eldest sister can get married."

His thinking was greatly influenced by later generations.

He was never in a hurry to arrange marriages for the princes and princesses.

He subconsciously thought that it wouldn't be too late to get married after he turned twenty!
At this moment, he finally realized that not only had the eldest princess, Rongchang, not gotten married, but the eldest prince, Zhu Changluo, also seemed to have not chosen a wife.

There's also the Emperor's second son, Zhu Changxu, the Prince of the North, and his second daughter, Princess Yunhe, both of whom are of marriageable age.

With the Oirat coalition defeated, the northern desert region was considered captured, and the northern part of the Ming Dynasty was pacified. It was time for him to consider his children's marriages.

Sure enough, Ma Gui sent a detailed battle report that afternoon.

The Oirat coalition of over 80,000 men was surrounded by the cavalry of the Twelve Divine Warrior Battalions and attempted to flee westward.

Qin Yiming, the military commander of Shenwu Battalion, was ordered to lead his 20,000 troops to intercept the enemy in the mountain valleys to the west. The two sides fought fiercely in front of the valley for nearly an hour. Other forces arrived one after another, and the Oirat coalition was defeated and scattered.

In this battle, more than 60,000 Oirat troops were killed and more than 10,000 were captured. Qin Yiming alone killed and captured more than 50,000 enemy soldiers. The Shenwu Battalion suffered more than 10,000 casualties and more than 1,000 were killed in action.

Qin Yiming just got incredibly lucky; he happened to be located to the west of the Oirat coalition.

After the victory was confirmed, Emperor Wanli immediately issued an edict to promote Qin Yiming to Duke of Rong.

As for fiefdoms and rewards, those will have to wait until after the war is over; he was just trying to reassure Princess Rongchang.

Next, battle reports kept coming in from the front.

After being defeated, the Oirat coalition lost all fighting spirit. The various Oirat tribes began to flee northwest. More than 200,000 men, women, children and the elderly were eventually captured, while the rest fled to the Western Regions through the valley between the Altai Mountains and the Tannu Uliang Mountains.

With this, the northern desert was completely conquered, and the northern part of the Ming Dynasty was pacified.

The Shenwu Camp cavalry quickly moved south along the eastern foothills of the Altai Mountains and made contact with Gansu Town. The two defensive lines of the Ming Dynasty in the northwest were now tightly connected.

It was only mid-August at this time.

Emperor Wanli was even considering returning to the capital to arrange the marriage of his eldest daughter, Princess Rongchang.

However, before that, he still had to distribute the military merit rewards and arrange the entire northern defense system.

He needs to discuss all of this with Ma Gui and Dong Yiyuan.

On the 23rd day of the eighth month, around 5 PM, after the sun had set, Ma Gui and Dong Yiyuan finally arrived at the camp on the banks of the Yimi River.

Upon receiving the news, Emperor Wanli immediately ordered the slaughter of cattle and sheep and lit a bonfire in the open space in the middle of the tent to celebrate the victory of the two men.

Soon, the two arrived quickly.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli said warmly, "General Ma, Yiyuan, you've worked hard. Come, sit down and wait a moment. The barbecue and beef and mutton soup will be ready soon."

He even ordered a long table to be set up next to the campfire, with a map on it.

This was primarily for the purpose of arranging defenses in the north.

After Ma Gui and Dong Yiyuan sat down, he pointed to the map and asked, "Where did the remnants of the Oirat tribe escape into the Western Regions from?"

Dong Yiyuan quickly raised his hand and pointed on the map, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the location. We only discovered a river valley among the vast mountains after we chased it all the way there."

However, the entrance to the valley was only about a mile wide, and the path inside was winding and difficult to navigate even with binoculars. Fearing that my men might be ambushed if they rushed in, I didn't order them to pursue us.

Yes, there's really no need to pursue it any further.

It's already August, and they only have a little over a month left. If they chase them to the Western Regions, who knows how long the fighting will go on? They definitely can't fight any longer this year; if they do, hundreds of thousands of troops could be trapped in the freezing cold.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "You mean the northwest is all mountains, and this is the only passable river valley?"

Dong Yiyuan nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, that area is densely mountainous, and many of them are snow-capped mountains, very high. Apart from that river valley, I have not found any other roads leading to the west or north."

That'll do.

Wanli nodded slightly, then decisively said, "Then build a garrison city with a radius of ten miles at the mouth of the valley. First, build the city wall, and before it freezes, send ten thousand soldiers to guard it and completely block the passage."

Dong Yiyuan nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Wanli examined the map carefully again and then asked, "Yiyuan, what other places in the northern desert do you think need to be defended?"

How do you say this?

Dong Yiyuan stared at the map for a while, then raised his hand and slid it across the map, saying, "Your Majesty, we have explored the area south of the North Sea, and we have almost completely cleared out the various tribes of the Oirat nomads."

The area to the east and west of Beihai is still surrounded by towering mountains, which we haven't yet scouted. I believe we must hold the mouth of the Xuelingge River to prevent the enemy from breaking into northern Mongolia through the Xuelingge River valley.”

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Well, there's not much time left this year. Let's stop here for now. You should also send people to build a garrison city with a radius of ten miles at the mouth of the Xuelingge River. Let's build the city walls first and arrange for ten thousand soldiers to guard it before the ice freezes."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yiyuan nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Are there any other places that need to be garrisoned?"

Dong Yiyuan stared at the map for a moment and then slowly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, further northeast is dense forest, and beyond Xing'alin is the Nurgan Regional Military Commission."

Even if there are enemies in these mountains and forests, there shouldn't be many. Moreover, this mountain forest covers an area of ​​several thousand miles, and we can't possibly block the entire southern part of the mountain forest with cities and fortresses.

Therefore, in my humble opinion, we only need to hold the railway line first. As for this vast forest, the Sichuan Army soldiers should be able to clear it out without any problem.”

This year, Sichuan soldiers should have been mobilized to clear the forests in the north.

He was so focused on the battle in the west that he forgot about this.

However, it's not a big problem. The temperature in the mountains to the north is extremely low in winter, and there aren't many fishing and hunting tribes there to begin with, so they don't pose much of a threat to them. It'll be the same if we go and clear them out next year.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Yes, next spring we will mobilize Sichuan troops to go in and clean up the area, and your defense zone should be almost ready."

Next is General Ma's defense zone. General Ma, do you think there are any areas in your defense zone that still need to be garrisoned?

How do you say this?

Ma Gui thought for a moment, then pointed to the map and said, "Your Majesty, other places should be fine, the key is this Ye Ni River."

I have never been to Yenihe, and I am not clear about the situation of the Siberian Khanate.

"I believe it's best to go and see for myself to determine how the defensive line there should be constructed."

The Siberian Khanate will be taken down sooner or later.

Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Yes, you should indeed go and investigate personally."

The fact that Kemai discovered the Russians after only a brief investigation proves that the Russian Kingdom and the Siberian Khanate have definitely gone to war.

We're not entirely sure how well they're doing; you'll have to investigate that carefully once you get there.

We will take over the Siberian Khanate sooner or later; we cannot allow the Russian Empire to occupy such a large plain next to us.

Should we also take over the Khanate of Siberia?
This is a good thing.

They were able to expand their territory again, and they also gained a lot of military merits.

Upon hearing this, Ma Gui nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, this humble general will lead elite cavalry to investigate tomorrow. When shall we make our move?"

Don't be in such a hurry.

Emperor Wanli pondered, "Now that the north has been pacified, let's first reorganize the territory we've conquered."

"General Ma, don't be hasty. I've dispatched a thousand flying shuttles to accompany you to the Yeni River. Go and assess the situation there first, then we'll discuss when to make our move."

Aren't you in a hurry to take action now?
Ma Gui was taken aback for a moment, then nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

The defenses in the north are currently in this state. If Ma Gui goes there personally, there shouldn't be any problems.

Wanli thought about it carefully again, and then asked, "General Ma, has the military merit book been compiled yet? We need to distribute the military merit rewards as soon as possible. This cannot be delayed."

Upon hearing this, Ma Gui quickly took out his military merit book from his pocket and presented it with both hands.

When Wanli took the military merit book and opened it, he saw that the first name on it was Qin Yiming.

He glanced through it again and then asked, "Where's Yi Mingren? Didn't he come back with you?"

You didn't tell him to come back.

Ma Gui carefully explained, "Your Majesty, you did not issue an imperial decree to summon him, so Yi Ming did not return with me."

This kid.

Emperor Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "I thought he remembered."

"I've already said that once Bangping accumulates military merits and is granted the title of Duke, I will arrange a marriage for him and Rongchang. Although Bangping isn't being granted the title of Duke through accumulated military merits, it's the same as him being granted it."

Oh, so Qin Yiming is going to marry Princess Rongchang.

Upon hearing this, Ma Gui and Dong Yiyuan repeatedly cupped their hands and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)