Ming Dynasty: Charge, Emperor Yongle!

Chapter 112 The Three Guards of Doyan: The Earliest Mercenaries in the Ming Dynasty!

"The most important parts of Liaodong are the Liaoxi Corridor and the Liaodong Peninsula."

Standing in front of the map, Zhu Di pointed to the narrow valley outside Shanhaiguan and loudly introduced it: "The Liaoxi Corridor is bordered by Liaodong Bay to the east and Songling Mountain to the west. It is about 400 li long and 30 li wide, with narrow sections less than 20 li long. It is characterized by rolling hills and crisscrossing rivers."

"It is not only suitable for cultivating land, but also for building cities and living in."

"Since ancient times, the Central Plains dynasties have regarded the Liaoxi Corridor as the most convenient passage connecting the inside and outside of the pass, and it has always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists."

o

"This is the key to our Great Ming's control over the Liaoxi Plain."

"color!!!"

It wasn't just military generals like Xu Da who recognized the importance of the Liaoxi Corridor; civil officials like Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and Hu Weiyong also noticed its unique characteristics.

"The Liaodong Peninsula is surrounded by the sea on three sides and mountains on one side."

"It faces the Shandong Peninsula across the sea, with a gentle slope to the southeast, and rivers have carved out fertile lowland plains."

"The coastline is dotted with hundreds of islands of varying sizes, as well as natural harbors."

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the State of Yan established Liaodong Commandery here. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was occupied by Goguryeo. The Liao and Jin dynasties vigorously developed this area.

hair."

"This place is not only the starting point for our Great Ming to expand its influence to the middle and upper reaches of the Liao River and even the entire Liaoyang Province."

"It was also the cornerstone that our Great Ming Dynasty used to stop the Goryeo people from invading eastward."

"Indeed!"

All the civil and military officials nodded in agreement.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao exchanged a glance, then turned their attention to Zhu Di, eager to hear how he would manage Liaodong.

"If the Ming Dynasty wants to manage Liaodong, it must recover the Daning Road under the rule of the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty and firmly grasp the Liaoxi Corridor in our hands."

"Secondly, expand the sphere of influence in Liaoyang Road and seize the opportunity to recover Shenzhou (now Shenyang), Jinzhou (now Tieling) and other places."

"We can advance in two parallel routes: one route will pass through Shanhaiguan and seize Daning, while the other will land at Jinzhou and advance eastward along the coastline to control the area west of the Yalu River."

Zhu Di then continued his narration.

"With two routes advancing simultaneously, it would be impossible to accomplish without more than 100,000 people."

Grand Commander Xu Da frowned and spoke.

"There's no need for that."

Zhu Di shook his head and said seriously, "By sea, we only need to select a few thousand elite troops to take a ship from Dengzhou and go directly to the port of Jinzhou to disembark."

"Several thousand elite troops raided the Posuo Patrol Station (now Dandong City, Liaoning Province) established by the Yuan people on the west bank of the Yalu River estuary."

"Facing the Goryeo people directly in Longzhou (now Sinuiju, North Korea) on the east bank of the Yalu River."

"The Koreans, fearing the consequences, dared not engage in a full-scale battle with our Great Ming, and their westward expansion was halted at the Yalu River."

"Our Great Ming only needs to rely on the natural barrier of the Yalu River to stop the Koreans from advancing."

"Once we deal with the remnant Yuan forces entrenched in the Blackwater and White Mountains, we can then set aside our resources to deal with this disobedient dog."

"I see!"

The noble generals nodded in agreement upon seeing the location on the map.

This measure was indeed the best solution for the Ming Dynasty to fight on two fronts in Liaodong: to focus on defense against Goryeo and on expansion against the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty.

"The Ming Dynasty faced Goryeo across the Yalu River on the western front of the Liaodong Peninsula."

"On the eastern front, the Hun River serves as a natural barrier, with fortified cities and garrisons forming a complete defensive line. If Nahachu wanted to plunder any place, he would have to face the risk of affecting the whole situation if he did something."

"The establishment of Jinzhouwei (present-day Lushun City) at Gangang Port ensured that the population, grain, and supplies of Shandong Province could be continuously transported to the Liaodong Peninsula by sea, providing the most important support to our Ming soldiers and helping them to consolidate their defenses in Liaodong."

"The Liaoxi Corridor was mainly built by taking over the Daning Road established by the Yuan Dynasty, and using the terrain of the Daling River and Yiwujian Mountain to construct defenses."

"In places like Jinzhou and Yixian along the Daling River, garrisons, thousand-household garrisons, and hundred-household garrisons were established one by one."

"For example, a garrison was established in Daning (present-day Chaoyang), and wasteland was reclaimed along the upper reaches of the Daling River to grow grain and raise livestock."

"My opinion is to establish Liaoyang Guard, Jinzhou Guard, and Dandong Guard on the Liaodong Peninsula, and Daning Guard and Jinzhou Guard in western Liaoning."

"Our Great Ming only needs five garrisons and 28000 soldiers to firmly guard the Liaoxi Corridor and the Liaodong Peninsula, and to contain Nahachu from the east and west, keeping him trapped in northern Liaodong and preventing him from ever venturing south to graze his horses and plunder."

"The Yuan people preferred nomadic life, living by following the water and grass. The area outside the Great Wall was bitterly cold, with ice and snow lasting for more than six months a year."

"Without the spoils of plunder, how would Naghach's men feed their 200,000-plus troops?"

"In contrast, our Ming soldiers reclaim wasteland, cultivate the land, and raise chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep. They are diligent and simple, and even when farming is impossible due to snow and ice, they can still..."

It was used for training troops.

"With this shift in power, within a few years, Nahachu will surely become impoverished and live like a beggar."

"Hahaha!"

As soon as Zhu Di finished speaking, the whole room burst into laughter, as if they could all see the scene of Nahachu, the Yuan dynasty's Kaiyuan King, being trapped and dying outside the pass.

"That kid!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened in disbelief; he had never expected Zhu Di to use this tactic against Nahachu.

This is not a simple military strategy, but a combination of military and political affairs, encompassing both local governance and military conquest.

"According to His Highness Prince Yan, there is indeed no need to mobilize too many troops."

Wang Baobao, the former military commander who had been keeping a low profile, suddenly spoke up, attracting the attention of the assembled officials.

"Does the Duke of Yuan have any insightful opinions?"

Zhu Yuanzhang began to examine this extraordinary man, the most remarkable man in the world.

"brush!"

All the civil and military officials in the hall looked at Wang Baobao. This was the first time Wang Baobao had taken the initiative to participate in court affairs since he joined the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince."

Wang Baobao cupped his hands in greeting, stood in front of the map, and said solemnly, "Nahachu's army of over 200,000 men may seem large, but in reality, it is bloated and inefficient."

"This part of the troops is the number of able-bodied men from all the tribes in Liaoyang Province under the Yuan Dynasty."

"In the past, when Genghis Khan established the Great Mongol Empire, he enfeoffed the princes of the eastern route. The vast territory east of the Greater Khingan Mountains, all the way to the Jurchen region, north to the Heilongjiang River basin, and south to the Xilamulun River was enfeoffed to his younger brother Temuge Ochijin and his nephew Eljidai (Achitai, son of Hechiwen)."

"Among them, the Uriyangha tribe and the Naiman people were the followers of Ellezhi, while the Uqiyet tribe was the followers of Temugewochijin."

"In addition, the Ongniud tribe and the Zhalier people are also quite powerful. Nahachu's true elite troops are the Zhalier people."

"The areas where each department is active are different and extremely scattered."

"Our Great Ming Dynasty does not need to concentrate its forces to deal with Nahachu, who is entrenched in Huanglong Prefecture (now Nong'an County, Changchun City) in Kaiyuan Road. We can divide our forces to deal with these tribes."

"Once these tribes are attacked, they will certainly not obey Nahachu's orders to gather troops and march south."

"This humble general believes that these tribes may well be incorporated into our Great Ming Dynasty."

"Oh?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, and he immediately became interested.

He was extremely experienced in taking in traitors; how many Yuan officials and generals had the Ming Dynasty taken in?

"Uriyangkhad tribe, Ongniud tribe, Uchiyet tribe."

Zhu Di's lips twitched slightly upon hearing these three familiar names.

This is the Doyan Three Guards, also known as the Uriyangkhai Three Guards, which consisted of the Doyan Guard, Taining Guard, and Fuyu Guard. After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the Uriyangkhai Three Guards, together with the Tatars and the Oirats, formed the three major tribes of northern Mongolia in the early Ming Dynasty. They once followed Zhu Di in launching the Jingnan Campaign and made great contributions. In the end, they were destroyed by Zhu Di because they were disobedient.

"Your Majesty only needs to issue two edicts, ordering the Northern Protectorate to send 10,000 cavalry to the Hulunbuir Grassland."

"Order the Southern Protectorate to dispatch 20,000 infantry and cavalry to advance to the Horqin Grassland."

"The Zewuliangha, Wuqiyet, and Wengniut tribes were in a panic and dared not submit to Nahachu. They even took the initiative to surrender to the Ming Dynasty."

"Moreover, the Ming Dynasty can also recruit the people of the forest and the Jurchens to deal with Nahachu."

"In that case, Nahachu will be too busy to even muster a large army to march south."

Wang Baobao laid out his thoughts completely.

While others might not know about the people living in the forest, Zhu Di knew very well that this name was originally given by the Great Mongol Empire to tribes living in the forest area. These people mainly engaged in fishing and hunting, which distinguished them from the nomadic tribes on the grasslands.

After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, the term "forest people" gradually came to refer to the three major tribes living along the shores of Lake Baikal, the Ergun River, the middle and upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River, and the Outer Khingan Mountains and the middle and upper reaches of the Lena River: the Reindeer Tribe, the Horse Tribe, and the Solon Tribe, which later became the Daur, Oroqen, and Evenki peoples.

The three tribes primarily live by fishing and hunting, are brave and martial, believe in shamanism, speak similar languages, and are closely related through intermarriage. During the Qing Dynasty, they were incorporated into the Solon army, and were so brave and skilled in battle that even the Cossacks were slightly inferior to them.

If we could recruit the people of the forest to serve us and establish the Solon army of the Ming Dynasty ahead of schedule, this would be a very forward-thinking move.

"Father."

"Your subject has a report to submit!"

Thinking of this, Zhu Di stepped forward again.

"allow!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sized up his fourth son, wondering what kind of trouble he was going to cause this time.

"In addition to mobilizing troops from the northern and southern deserts to force the Uriyangkhai, Uqiyet, and Ongniud tribes to surrender to the Ming Dynasty."

"Your subject believes that the officials of the Ministry of Rites should be ordered to prepare the edict, seal, and other such items."

"The Wuliangha tribe was enfeoffed as the Duoyan Guard and moved to the Duoyan Mountain (present-day Xing'an League) in the upper reaches of the Liu River."

"The Wengniute tribe was enfeoffed as the Taining Guard and moved to the Taoer River basin (present-day Tao'an, Jilin).

"The Wuqiyete tribe was enfeoffed as Fuyu Guard and moved to the Nenjiang and Wuyuer River basins (present-day Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province)."

"The leaders of the three tribes received imperial decrees and were granted the hereditary title of Commander of the Guard. The tribal chiefs were successively granted the titles of Deputy Commander and Commander of the Imperial Guard. Each was in charge of their own tribe to manage livestock and was not allowed to overstep their fiefdom. Anyone who violated this rule would be exterminated along with their entire clan."

"The Three Guards must obey the summons of the Ming Dynasty, fight as its subordinates, and must not disobey."

Zhu Di's eyes gleamed with a sinister light, and he spoke in a cold and sharp tone.

"hiss!!!"

All the officials in the hall realized that the Prince of Yan intended to use an imperial edict to firmly confine the three tribes to the east of the Greater Khingan Mountains, constantly conscripting their young and strong men to fight, thus depleting their manpower and ensuring that the three tribes would not harbor any disloyal thoughts.

In the long run, the Ming Dynasty's rule in the Northeast will become increasingly stable.

>