Di Ming

Chapter 478 The Duke of Qi was ordered to lead a western expedition, while the Regent King was appointed to lead a southern expedition.

Zheng Guowang volunteered to serve as the military governor of Xuanda Jiliao, leaving the other ministers looking at each other in bewilderment.

Zheng Guojiu, are you even capable?
You may have fought on the battlefield and led troops before, but this is a life-or-death national war, and you're too young. Do you think you're Zhu Yin? Zhu Yin only appears once every thousand years!
Everyone had their doubts.

Since both the left and right wings of the Mongols are taking advantage of the situation to move south, they must have at least tens of thousands of cavalry. The enemy's momentum is enormous, and the Ming Dynasty will have to mobilize 200,000 troops to resist them.

Since the Battle of Tumu, the largest military campaign ever waged by the imperial court has never been as massive as this one!

Commanding so many troops, are you capable?
But when they thought about this, they felt quite helpless. They realized that there seemed to be no civil official more suitable than Zheng Guowang.

There are still civil officials in the imperial court who have led troops and fought battles, but none of them are suitable.

Zheng Luo is nearly seventy years old, frail and frail. Ye Mengxiong, having angered the emperor with his memorial, has already resigned due to illness. Yang Hao was executed by order of the emperor last year for his major defeat in the Western Regions. Hao Jie was also forced to commit suicide by the emperor for his major defeat in Goguryeo.

The rest, such as Xing Jie, either served in the Nanjing puppet regime or resigned or were dismissed from office during the political turmoil of these past few years.

Although Zheng Guowang is too young, he is already the only civil official in the court who has led troops and fought in battles! He is also the only civil official who has fought against the Mongol Tartars!
Many highly respected senior officials, including Grand Secretaries such as Wang Xijue, were steady and experienced in governing the country, but they had never led troops into battle.

If not Zheng Guojiu, is there a more suitable candidate?

So, is it possible to command troops solely with military generals instead of civil officials? Of course not!

Military generals are absolutely untrustworthy! Qi Jiguang, Liu Ting, Ma Gui, and others are examples of this. They have no sense of propriety, integrity, or shame, are ignorant of the principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals, and will follow whoever offers them the best treatment. The court simply cannot support them.

Both publicly and privately, there seems to be no one more suitable than Zheng Guowang.

Consort Zheng knew her fourth brother was stubborn, so she didn't try to persuade him further. Besides, who could she trust at this point? Her own people leading the troops were the most reliable. She sighed inwardly and asked:

"Zheng Guowang has volunteered to lead the army into battle. Do any of you have any objections?"

The group cupped their hands in unison and said, "We have no objections."

Consort Zheng then asked, as a formality, "Do any of you gentlemen have other candidates to recommend, or have you volunteered to lead the expedition?"

Self-recommendation? The ministers all secretly shook their heads. The current situation was so perilous that doing nothing was a good thing, while doing something was a big mistake. Either way, they would likely end up pleasing no one, so why bother taking the lead?

Furthermore, they had no experience leading troops in battle and were completely unfamiliar with the battlefield. What if they suffered a defeat and jeopardized important matters of the court?
Is this something you can recommend yourself on a whim?
Everyone raised their tablets and declared, "We have no other candidates and dare not recommend ourselves."

Seeing that no ministers objected, Consort Zheng nodded and said, "Very well, then on behalf of the Emperor and the Crown Prince Regent, I hereby appoint Minister Zheng as the Military Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief of the Four Garrisons of Ji, Liao, Xuan, and Da, to control all the troops."

Zheng Guowang had long known that she would be able to control the military, but seeing things going so smoothly now, she still felt somewhat sad.

The court officials were already divided in their own thoughts, and few were willing to take risks for the court anymore.

Some people are afraid of death and fear the enemy like a tiger; some are willing but unable; but most are afraid of taking responsibility and the risk of defeat!

Isn't that tragic?
Zheng Guowang knelt and thanked the emperor, thus easily taking on the great responsibility of leading troops to resist the Tartars. Once such a heavy responsibility was actually on her shoulders, she couldn't help but feel a little unsure of herself.

But when she thought of how Zhu Yin had led a large army to fight in the Northwest, quell Japanese pirates, and destroy She'an when he was just a teenager, she was suddenly filled with strength again. It was as if Zhu Yin had become the source of her strength.

After Zheng Guowang obtained military power, he bluntly stated:

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, on this expedition, I will be taking with me the Tiger-Slaying Battalion, which is trained by my household guards. I intend to investigate the gold and silver of illegal temples and hope that they will not go into the national treasury, but will be directly handed over to the army to be used for military pay, rewards, and relief."

Consort Zheng nodded: "Alright! Suppressing Buddhism... Oh, the idea of ​​investigating illegal temples came from you. Then the ill-gotten gains from this investigation will be sent to your army. The court will do everything in its power to support your army, but you must win this battle and hold the two Tartar armies firmly in Datong and Jizhou. You absolutely cannot let them advance south! Once they advance south, even if they don't reach Beijing, the people will suffer!"

Zheng Guowang said, "If we fail, we die trying! If the Tartars want to advance unimpeded, then they shall step over my corpses!"

The Crown Prince Zhu Changxun, who was in charge of the state, suddenly said, "The Tartars are despicable! How dare they take advantage of our misfortune! Uncle, I want you to exterminate them all! Leave no one alive!"

"Your Highness, be careful what you say!" Consort Zheng frowned. "The Tartars are as fierce as tigers and wolves. This time, they have at least tens of thousands of cavalrymen marching south. How can they be so easy to defeat? If we can keep them out and make them retreat in the face of difficulties, that will be a great victory. Do you really expect to wipe them out completely and solve the problem once and for all? Don't make things difficult for your uncle."

Next, the Northern Dynasty issued a series of edicts, granting Zheng Guowang military power, investigating temples, and deploying troops.

Even Li Chengliang and his son Li Rusong, who were suspected by the court, were appointed as the commanders of the left and right wings respectively, at Zheng Guowang's suggestion, and were at his command.

Faced with the enormous threat of the Mongol army, the war machine of the Northern Dynasty finally began to operate efficiently thanks to the efforts of the Jeong sisters!

Orders were issued from the Forbidden City, accompanied by the iron-fisted methods of suppressing Buddhism. The entire north became more tense than ever before due to the national war caused by the Mongol invasion!
……

The tenth day of the first month of the second year of the Taichang reign (25th year of the Wanli reign).

Nanjing.

Early that morning, the Ministry of Rites, together with the Ministry of War, held a grand send-off ceremony to bid farewell to Prince Zhu Yin of Wu and Duke Qi Jiguang of Qi as they departed from the capital for their expedition.

Several days earlier, the Hanlin Academy, together with the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War, drafted the "Imperial Edict for the Southern Expedition against Burma" and the "Imperial Edict for the Western Expedition to Pacify the Barbarians." Regent Zhu Yin was dissatisfied with them, finding them too obscure, and simply wrote the official proclamation himself.

Historically, Burma was preoccupied with Siamese resistance and internal strife, halting its invasions of three states and six pacifications. King Bayinnaung of Burma was subsequently assassinated during the ensuing civil war.

Zhu Yin knew that the butterfly effect brought about by the time traveler had changed a lot of history.

He seized Manila and the entirety of Luzon, which had been painstakingly acquired by Western colonialists. The Westerners who lost Luzon then strongly supported Burma. As a result, Burma not only maintained a firm grip on half of Siam and avoided internal strife, but also possessed even more Western firearms.

Zhu Yin personally wrote the proclamation, and Emperor Taichang officially issued an edict, ordering the Ministry of Rites to formally announce it to all foreign lands so that everyone would know.

The declaration immediately stirred public sentiment.

The edict against Burma was extremely stern: "By the grace of Heaven, the Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty decrees... You Burma, the coastal barbarians, are vassals of the Celestial Dynasty, slaves of the Chinese nation. Therefore, the Chengzu Emperor appointed you as Pacification Envoys. From the Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, for a thousand years, none have been without submission. Do you not know of the city of Zhuge Liang? Thus, the Emperor's grace extends to the southern borders. The blessings bestowed by the Central Plains reach even the barbarians. It is because of this that you are distinguished from beasts, possessing some human ethics and education, and knowing propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame. Therefore, the relationship between the Celestial Dynasty and your nation is far more than that of ruler and subject; it is truly akin to a second birth..."

"However, this treacherous and rebellious bandit has invaded and ravaged Siam, annexed neighboring countries, usurped the title of the great Toungoo, and indulged in the arrogance of a jackal. He has deceived the benevolence of the Celestial Empire, indulging in greed and violence in the southwest. Since the end of the Jiajing era, he has rebelled against our Xuanwei, slaughtered Mengyang, and devoured dozens of counties in the three Xuan regions. His gluttony is insatiable, and he has no remorse whatsoever, only a sense of侥幸 (a gambler's mentality)..."

"By the twentieth year of the Wanli reign, they had even boasted of raising an army of 300,000 to invade the border, becoming even more ruthless and atrocious, poisoning the border people, abducting Han people and tattooing their faces with the words 'Ming Pig.' Such acts of deceiving Heaven and humiliating China were utterly depraved and insane! As for the blood that soaked the malarial forests and the corpses that covered the Lu River, it was a scene of unspeakable cruelty and utterly outrageous. This hatred has not been quelled, and the Celestial Empire has not avenged it. You have been fortunate for a time and should have apologized and humbled yourself. How dare you take advantage of my rebellion in Nanjing and the internal strife in China to launch another large-scale invasion!"

"In the past, Lu Chuan Si Renfa, a scoundrel, was executed. You may follow in his footsteps..."

"Therefore, the Regent Prince of Wu, Zhu Yin, the Imperial Uncle, was appointed Generalissimo of the Southern Expedition. Edicts were issued to six frontiers, and beacon fires illuminated eight passes. A thousand miles of miasma could not quell the wrath of the Celestial Empire. The turbulent Lancang River could not stop the iron hooves of the Chinese people. The precipitous cliffs of the Nu River could not withstand the fierce and powerful imperial army. Though the reckless traitor may wreak havoc for a time, he will ultimately face execution, his life and the destruction of his kingdom! Do not say you were not warned…"

"In the second year of the Taichang reign of the Ming Dynasty, the year of Dingyou, the first spring."

Zhu Yin's "Edict on Pacifying the Barbarians" has a completely different tone: "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: In the past, the Tubo (Tibetan) were a separate branch of the Han Chinese. Therefore, since ancient times, the Han, Qiang, and Tubo have shared the same origin... The Xia people grazed horses in Qinghai, considering them your ancestors... By the early Tang Dynasty, they formed a marriage alliance and a brother-in-law/nephew alliance. They became uncle and nephew, forging a lasting friendship. The Tubo are not merely subjects of the Celestial Dynasty, but also close relatives of the Han people..."

"...Now you rebel against the court, stationed your troops in Sichuan, unaware of the downfall of the She and An clans? The Mongol cavalry, numbering a million, ultimately returned to dust. Now you wish to bring about your own extermination? The mighty imperial power, the blazing imperial ambitions. The snow of the Min Mountains is cold, but it cannot cool the blood of the soldiers. The Dadu River is treacherous, but how can it withstand the thunderous might of the royal army?"

"...This decree commands you all: upon seeing this imperial edict and hearing this proclamation, those who lay down their arms and surrender may still be considered worthy of praise; those who stubbornly resist will be unforgivable... Do not say you were not warned..."

Compared to the edicts issued to Burma, the edicts to Tibet were much more polite in tone, showing some degree of warmth and a clear intention to persuade them to surrender. However, the edicts issued to Burma were filled with undisguised bloodlust and showed no mercy whatsoever.

This blatant discrimination was difficult for many ministers to understand.

Upon the issuance of the edict, the emperor formally appointed his uncle Zhu Yin as the Grand General of the Southern Expedition, ordering him to lead the army on a southern expedition to Burma.

At the same time, Qi Jiguang, the Duke of Qi, was appointed as the General Who Pacifies the West and led the army to resist the Tubo.

Having made arrangements in advance, Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang left the capital together amidst the farewells of Emperor Taichang and his civil and military officials.

The Southern Dynasty's elite troops were mostly mobilized. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue mobilized over 100,000 mules, horses, and camels, 100,000 laborers, and 2 million shi of grain!

If Zhu Yin had not amassed a fortune through confiscation of property, making the national treasury extremely wealthy, the Southern Dynasty would have had no ability to simultaneously launch southern and western expeditions.

Before leaving the capital, Zhu Yin issued an unbelievable imperial decree:

"The Ministry of Revenue is ordered to allocate two million shi of grain for urgent sea transport to Tianjin. It shall be sold to the Northern Dynasty at a price of eight qian per shi to help the Northern Dynasty resist the southward advance of the Mongol army and to fund the national war."

When the news spread, the court and the public were astonished, but all were impressed by Zhu Yin's magnanimity and spirit.

The Regent's heart truly befits a sage who is the reincarnation of a star deity!
Not long ago, the Regent made a "peace oath with the Western Dynasty" with the envoys, and he immediately took the lead in fulfilling it, and did so with great generosity.

What many were unaware of was that Zhu Yin not only ordered the supply of two million shi of grain to the Northern Dynasty for its war effort, but also secretly ordered the Northern Tiger Teeth (a secret intelligence unit) to provide intelligence support for the Northern Dynasty's war effort. In other words, he deliberately allowed the Northern Dynasty's Imperial Guards to learn of the Tartars' vital military intelligence.

The primary task of the Tiger Fang spies in the north, especially beyond the Great Wall, has temporarily shifted to secretly supporting the intelligence war against the Northern Dynasty and helping it defeat the Tartar army.

When necessary, intelligence can be directly transmitted to the Northern Dynasty commander-in-chief and the Beijing court.

In a sense, it seems that Zhu Yin was helping the Northern Dynasty resist the Mongol invasion. But from another perspective, he was providing food and intelligence support, using the Northern Dynasty to help him fight against the Mongols and protect the people of the north.

Ultimately, how you think depends on your perspective.

After leaving Nanjing, Zhu Yin and Qi Jiguang parted ways. The banner of the General Who Pacifies the West went west, while the banner of the General Who Conquers the South went south.

Zhu Yin was certainly not going to be foolish enough to take the land route. After leaving the city, his troops boarded ships and sailed down the river.

Let's take the sea route!
The Burmese army has already advanced hundreds of miles into Yunnan. If we were to lead an army to Yunnan to fight against Burma, not only would the army have to trek across mountains and rivers for at least two or three months, but due to difficulties in transporting supplies, we could only deploy 50,000 combat troops over several months, which would not have much strategic effect. The non-combat casualties during the march would also be a frightening number.

The best strategy, of course, is to take the sea route, while the Burmese army is in Yunnan, to cross the Strait of Malacca, land directly at Bago Port, and capture the Burmese capital, Toungoo!

Although this strategy involves a long detour and thousands of miles of air routes, it is still much faster than the land route, taking at most a month and a half, saving at least half the time.

Moreover, logistics have become simpler.

Zhu Yin knew very well that the northeast monsoon season from November to April of the following year was the best season to conquer Burma, and even the only season for conquering Burma under ancient conditions.

Apart from these few months, any other time is a major taboo.

Thanks to the large-scale shipbuilding on Daishan Island in recent years, the Southern Dynasty had no shortage of maritime transport capacity. A massive fleet of hundreds of ships set sail from Longjiang Pass in Nanjing, and in a day and a night, they sailed down four hundred li with the wind to reach Jiangyin County.

Three days after setting off, we arrived in Songjiang and set sail for the sea at an even faster pace.

Myanmar is no easy place to fight. The climate and environment are the biggest enemies. Fortunately, Zhu Yin had made preparations in advance, bringing with him a sufficient supply of various medicines developed by Ning Qingchen, as well as hundreds of medical students to ensure medical care.

The timing was perfect.

If we can quickly capture Toungoo and sweep through the undefended Burma, we can achieve the effect of relieving the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao. With their home base destroyed, the Burmese army that invaded Yunnan will inevitably lose morale; how could they continue their conquests in Yunnan?
In this way, Yunnan naturally turned danger into safety.

Once the main Burmese army is exhausted and returns, they will wait in comfort and engage in a decisive battle with the returning Burmese army at the Manda Palace east of Ava!
This strategy essentially forces the Burmese army to engage in a decisive battle as soon as possible, because Taungoo and Ava are extremely important to Myanmar.

In order to conceal the true intentions of the Ming army, Zhu Yin ordered the Tiger Fang Army to purge traitors and strictly inspect land and water checkpoints before setting out, in order to prevent spies from colluding with Burma and leaking information, thus delaying the time it took for the Burmese king to receive the news.

Given the speed of naval operations, even if spies knew the Ming army's intentions, they couldn't possibly be faster than them if they couldn't use the imperial postal system for express delivery.

By the time King Mangye of Burma learned that the royal army was coming from the sea, it was too late.

……

On the 22nd day of the first lunar month, the Ming fleet passed by what would later become Hong Kong Island and approached the colony of Macau, which had been obtained by foreigners through deception.

After more than ten days of sailing, the Ming soldiers were exhausted on the ship, and the warhorses had lost weight from being tossed about by the waves.

Zhu Yin then ordered the fleet to temporarily anchor at the deep-water port of Haojing'ao in the west, and then rest for a day on Hengqin Island.

Coincidentally, just as the Ming fleet arrived in Haojing, a small-scale and relatively minor battle was taking place there.

The army guarding Haojing consisted of more than four hundred Western musketeers.

The force attacking Haojing consisted of over a thousand soldiers from the Nanhai Guard in Guangzhou, and five hundred battalions from the Xiangshan Garrison.

The Ming army outnumbered the foreign troops five to one, but although the Nanhaiwei garrison was specifically designed to defend against Japanese pirates, its soldiers were not much stronger than those of other garrisons in the interior. They were similarly poorly trained and equipped, essentially serving as mere security forces. Their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the elite Ming army.

The Xiangshan Garrison Battalion, though nominally a battalion under the command of the Guangdong General, was supposedly quite strong. However, it consisted mostly of new recruits, as the veterans had long been transferred to Guangxi to defend against Annam. Compared to the Nanhaiwei Garrison, its fighting strength was far inferior.

In contrast, the foreign soldiers in Macau, though only a little over four hundred, were all well-trained Western professional soldiers, highly skilled in operating firearms, well-organized, and strictly disciplined. They were far superior to the security guards on the other side.

Despite having a five-fold numerical advantage, the Ming army fought intermittently for a day, but not only failed to capture the Qingzhou Mountain fort held by foreign troops, it also lost nearly a hundred men and finally retreated to the north of the Yachong River.

No matter how much the generals tried to drive them away, they dared not attack again, braving the foreigners' cannons and muskets.

This scene caused the foreign soldiers to burst into laughter and booing.

"Incompetent Eastern cowards!"

"My God, they have no idea how to fight!"

"Hahaha, poor children, you shouldn't be warriors, you should be slaves!"

"Their firearms are far inferior to ours! Several of them were even injured by their own firearms, hahaha!"

What a Ming Dynasty! It's nothing more than this now. Their perception of the Ming Dynasty immediately turned contemptuous.

The reason for the battle was, of course, because Zhu Yin had previously ordered the recapture of Macau, the Jesuit stronghold in the East, and the confiscation of the foreigners' property there. Originally, this was simply a matter of issuing an order.

However, the Macau authorities disobeyed the orders of the Guangdong government, refusing to return Macau, let alone lay down their arms.

Left with no other option, the Guangdong government had to send troops to forcibly reclaim Macau in order to carry out the regent's orders, which was met with armed resistance from the foreigners.

The already limited elite troops of the Ming army in Guangdong were all transferred to Guangxi and Yunnan. What remained were simply incapable of fighting tough battles, leading to an awkward situation.

The Ming garrison commander, his face full of shame, knelt down beside a sedan chair at the back and said, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. My soldiers are not brave enough to fight to the death. We cannot defeat these foreign soldiers!"

"You're all useless good-for-nothings!" The sedan curtain was lifted, revealing the furious face of a red-clad official. "What use are you to the court!"

It was Yu Anxing, the prefect of Guangzhou.

He stepped down from the sedan chair, looked at Haojing on the opposite bank of the river, and said with a gloomy gaze, "These foreign barbarians are extremely rude! Haojing is originally the territory of the Ming Dynasty, yet they refuse to return it and even dare to raise troops to resist the imperial army!"

"Commander Wang, you two thousand men couldn't even defeat a few hundred foreign soldiers! Instead, you were ridiculed and shown contempt for the Celestial Empire! Do you know your crime?!"

Commander Wang took the saber, prostrated himself on the ground, and kowtowed, saying, "I am not lenient, please, Your Majesty... punish me severely!"

Yu Anxing didn't even glance at Commander Wang, and ordered, "Summon the Commander to see me personally! Continue to mobilize troops, bring in the Guangzhou Left Guard as well! And also the Guanghai Guard! I refuse to believe that my Guangzhou Prefecture is truly powerless against these few hundred foreign soldiers on this tiny island of Haojing!"

"The Regent's decree has been here for several days. If we don't take back Haojing soon, the Regent will blame us, and the whole of Guangdong will be in trouble!"

Just as Yu Anxing finished speaking, a centurion suddenly came running from the east in a panic, "Lord Shizu! A huge number of ships have come to the sea, so many that it's terrifying!"

What? Yu Anxing was startled upon hearing this. He didn't care about the foreign soldiers anymore and rushed to the beach.

One glance was enough to freeze him in place. It was the banner of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial army! It must be the great army marching south to conquer Burma and Annam.

Such a huge fleet, could it be that the Regent himself came?

While Yu Anxing and the others were still in shock, all the foreigners in Macau were already making the sign of the cross in a panic.

On the sea, white sails billowed like clouds, and colossal ships stood like mountains, a truly awe-inspiring sight. But even more breathtaking were the cannons gleaming atop these massive vessels!

Is this the Ming Dynasty fleet? My God, it is indeed the Ming Dynasty's unique crimson sun and dragon flag!

What a powerful fleet!

The Ming army has such a fleet. Could it be that Zheng He's fleet has traveled through time and reappeared here?
……

P.S.: I spent too much time writing "On the Rebellion Against Burma" today, so the update is late. Thank you, goodnight.

(End of this chapter)