First Minister of Ming Dynasty

Besides these two people, there are also a lot of good guys from the Red Scarf Army. Those who can persist to this day are all called elite treasures. If they die easily, it will definitely be a loss to China.

And if Chahan Timur is allowed to annex the whole of Henan, then the Northern and Southern Dynasties will confront each other, and it will not be so easy if they want to make a northern expedition.

That's why the Ming army had to take advantage of the situation to make a northern expedition and put Shandong in their pockets first.

But since Mao Gui and others have been collected, we must take care of their thoughts.Sending troops to Kaifeng to rescue Han Song has become a must.

"A decisive battle in the Central Plains! A decisive battle with Chahan!" Zhu Yuanzhang said suddenly.

Zhang Ximeng was shocked, the blood in his body was surging for a moment, and his face turned red.

Sure enough, the big one is coming.

In history, Chahan Timur died in the hands of Tian Feng and others. A generation of famous generals was brutally assassinated. It was also because God disliked the Yuan Dynasty. He insisted on getting rid of this last reliance, and it was also for the children of the plane to remove obstacles.

The problem is that today's Daming, with the help of Zhang Ximeng, has established the status of the king of the southern region several years in advance, and sent troops to the north, without giving Tian Feng and others a chance to assassinate.

Since Chahan is not dead, the war cannot be avoided.

Both sides hold hundreds of thousands of elites.

In comparison, Chahan's subordinates have more experience in war, more cavalry, and are more ferocious and brave.

Daming also has considerable advantages, high fighting spirit, one mind, abundant supply, and upholding the principle of expelling the barbarians, restoring the heart of China, and firmly occupying the right time.

The decisive battle between the two sides is definitely an unprecedented contest.

This kind of strategic decisive battle can almost determine the rise and fall of a dynasty, and the lives and deaths of countless people are all involved in it, so there is no room for hesitation or mistake.

And this level of determination can only be made by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhang Ximeng pondered for a while, and said in a low voice, "We may not be fully prepared."

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart moved, and after a while, he also said: "If it is not sufficient, it will not be sufficient. We are preparing, why not Chahan! If he successfully destroys Han and Song, he will become a powerful minister under Dayuan alone. Taking off is no match. Taking advantage of the fact that Han and Song are still alive, and Chahan’s general situation has not yet been achieved, if we work hard, the chance of winning is at least [-]%!"

Zhu Yuanzhang clenched his fists, "Sir, with a [-]% advantage, can't we fight a decisive battle?"

Zhang Ximeng thought for a while, then said: "As long as the lord decides, I have nothing to say. I can only do my best to help the lord win this battle."

The monarch and his ministers immediately counted the soldiers and horses in their hands.

This time Zhu Yuanzhang went north, Xu Da's troops, almost 8 people followed. In addition, after Chang Yuchun destroyed Chen Han, he absorbed a lot of soldiers and horses, and his subordinates finally exceeded 11, reaching 5000 [-] people.

Often one hundred thousand is worthy of the name!

Just these two people, there are nearly 20 elite soldiers!

"My lord, I propose to send Zhu Liangzu to keep an eye on Zhang Shicheng, and send Hu Dahai to go north. In this way, our main force can reach 25!"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not agree immediately, but said: "If there are more soldiers, more food and pay will be needed. The canal is only dredging a section of Jining. If we march towards Henan, we will need more civilians. What should we do?"

Almost without thinking, Zhang Ximeng said, "Mobilize the people in Shandong, give full play to their power, organize people from various prefectures, go all out, deliver food and supplies, and fight Chahan to the death!"

"Can it be done?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again, no matter who it is, this kind of thing can't be sloppy.

"My lord, immediately announce the outline of land equalization, send soldiers from Shandong, return to their hometown, and preach land equalization to the people... and promise to the people that within three years, taxes will be exempted!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Zhang Ximeng and said loudly, "How many civilian husbands can I get?"

"50! 50 is the bottom line!" Zhang Ximeng also said decisively.

After thinking about it again and again, Lao Zhu swung his fist violently, and said fiercely: "If that's the case, then what are you waiting for!"

decisive battle!

Strategic Armageddon!

Zhang Ximeng quickly found Mao Gui and assigned him a task.

On the land of Qilu, 50 civilians were recruited to assist the Ming army, enter Henan from Shandong, and fight a decisive battle with the Yuan army.

Mao Gui pondered for a short while, and then said, "Do your best in a humble position!"

"It's not trying! It's necessary!" Zhang Ximeng said decisively.

Mao Gui gritted his teeth, "The humble official understands!"

There were only tens of thousands of people who came to dredge the canal, but now they have to increase dozens of times. Can it be done?

It's hard to say about Mao Gui, so he can only give orders... With one order after another, starting from Qufu, a small county town has gathered [-] young and strong people. Everyone holds up a banner, and there are only four people on it. Word: "Knowing Gratitude"!

The folks belonging to Qufu were dispatched, and on their way to the east, a larger team came out from Yanzhou...Zou County, Dongping Prefecture, Tai'an Prefecture, Yanggu County, Dongchang Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture...accompanied by Banners one after another, the people of Qilu land gathered together.

They want to use their own power to rewrite the history of China.Among the folk husbands in this team, the Zhang family in Jinan, two young people, led more than 200 fellow villagers, and they were particularly conspicuous.They resolutely gathered in the crowd and rolled forward.

Chapter 463 Zhu Yuanzhang's decision

"I decreed that Zhu Sheng, the new minister of household affairs, Yang Xian, minister of the Ministry of war, Wang Guangyang, minister of the military department, and Hu Weiyong, minister of the tax department, should go north to Jining immediately."

"I ordered Zhu Liangzu to go out of Tunhu Prefecture and transfer Hu Dahai to go north immediately."

"I ordered Fang Guozhen, King of Yue, to lead the navy to patrol the coast, but he was not allowed to take the initiative to harass Zhang Shicheng's troops. If he was tempted, he would resolutely fight back!"

"Decree to Zhou Dexing in Hangzhou to be on strict guard against possible attacks by Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youding."

"Tell Yingtian's grain bank to raise a sum of military pay, and the amount is tentatively set at 800 million guanbao notes."

"Decree that Yushitai and Du Branch Bureau immediately check the grain warehouses in various places to ensure that the amount is sufficient and ready to ship at any time."

"Tell the Yangtze River Navy that all boats and boats are ready to transport food, salaries and supplies. In particular, flat-bottomed boats need to be prepared for entering the canal and entering the Yellow River."

……

Zhu Yuanzhang kept decreeing, Zhang Ximeng picked up the leftovers and made up for the vacancies, the two monarchs and ministers quickly completed the overall deployment, the huge war machine started rumbled, and the biggest decisive battle since the founding of the Ming Dynasty finally broke out uncontrollably.

The strategic decisive battle aims to destroy the enemy's main force, win the initiative on the battlefield, and deprive the opponent of its war capabilities.

It is the key battle between the opposing sides, which determines the survival of life and death.

It is a gamble that determines the direction of history and the fate of the country.

Bet all the chips, use the last ounce of strength, without reservation, and do everything to win!

In fact, as an excellent commander, this situation should be avoided.

It's not that you can't fight, but you can't fight when the conditions are immature, because once you fail, the price you pay will be too high.And any little thing will affect the outcome of the war, which is highly uncontrollable.

For Daming, if everything goes well, gradually nibble away, and then the army pushes it flat, this is the safest choice.

Even before deciding on the Northern Expedition, although a plan for the decisive battle was formulated, it was not put in the first place.

However, the development of the situation far exceeded the expectations of Zhang Ximeng and Zhu Yuanzhang. Looking at the entire situation in the Central Plains, it seemed that the situation of a decisive battle had already appeared.

First of all, let’s talk about Nanyang. Feng Guoyong and others made a bold move to surround Nanyang with Xiangyang as their base.

Feng Guoyong's prestige was greatly shocked, and then he announced a series of policies, and the people in Nanyang Basin were looking forward to it and cheered.In a short period of time, Feng Guoyong not only gained a firm foothold, but also received a lot of supplements.

A total of [-] civilians joined the Ming army.

Feng Guoyong has sent troops to attack Ruzhou and Songzhou, further threatening Shanzhou and Luoyang.

His action not only compressed the space of the Henan Yuan army, but also threatened the Guanzhong Yuan army, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.

The powerful Nanyang Group, like an iron fist, hit Chahan's soft abdomen.

Although it was impossible to cut open the abdomen and directly defeat the Yuan army, it was enough to make Chahan Timur hurt to the bone.

Compared with the results of the Nanyang cluster, Liu Futong, who was trapped in Kaifeng, also showed strong resilience.This current hero who talked about heroes with Lao Zhu cooking wine, although he failed in the Three Routes Northern Expedition, flourished and declined, and was trapped after Kaifeng.

He didn't let go of his fighting spirit, he still persisted.

He insisted that Qingshan would not relax.

In history, Liu Futong once escaped from Kaifeng and retired to Anfeng, where he lasted for more than four years.

And this time Liu Futong seems to want to take Kaifeng as the final decisive battle location.

"No matter what, you can't be Song Huizong!"

This is what Liu Futong often said recently.

At the beginning, Jin soldiers went south and approached Kaifeng.

Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong, immediately took the Zen position and ran away with a bucket.Leading his cronies to flee all the way south... As a result, Kaifeng's army was distracted and lost, and it also completely exposed the weakness of Song Dynasty.

What's worse is that Zhao Ji ran away when he ran, and came back foolishly, thinking that nothing happened.

As a result, the Jinren went south for the second time, and this time there were no courtiers to protect him. Zhao Ji and his son became Jinren's captives together.

Today, Liu Futong uses this example to encourage his subordinates.

Persevere, persevere, there is a way.

Zhang Shicheng can still stick to Gaoyou, but our Song Dynasty can't do it!

Liu Futong failed to break through several times, so he simply mobilized the army and civilians to overhaul the trench fortifications in Kaifeng, preparing for a bloody battle to the end.

Kaifeng's tenacity exceeded Chahan Timur's expectations. He couldn't take Kaifeng all at once, and he couldn't go south quickly.In this way, the vast area of ​​the Huaihe River Basin in the Ming Dynasty is safe.

Therefore, the main force of the Ming army gathered in Shandong, forming a powerful iron fist.

This fist, and Nanyang's fist, inserted into the land of the Central Plains one after the other, and the Henan Yuan army was surrounded like this.In other words, the Yuan army around Kaifeng formed a protruding part. Da Ming only needs to surround this protruding part and eat the enemy one bite at a time. The most powerful field force of Da Yuan will collapse. There is no longer the main force of the Yuan army that can compete with Daming.

Conquering Dadu is just around the corner.

It was these circumstances that made Zhu Yuanzhang confident in the strategic decisive battle and the confidence to wipe out Chahan in one fell swoop.

But having said that, looking at the surrounded Yuan army, what is the situation?

Chahan Timur rose by relying on the armed forces of the landlords. From the initial 1 people to the present, he has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command.

Successively defeated the Northern Expedition Central Route Army and the West Route Army.

Before going south to Kaifeng, Chahan stationed heavy troops in Taihang, divided the towns of Guanzhong, Heluo, and Jianghuai with troops, and banner camps stretched for thousands of miles.

What is especially important is that Chahan is a man who knows how to use soldiers and is a famous general who uses them.

He is different from Tuotuo who focuses on internal affairs.

Moreover, it is impossible for Chahan to be a loyal minister and filial son of the Yuan Dynasty, and he would not give up his military power just because of a decree.

"My lord, according to the secret report, Chahan has no less than 40 soldiers and horses, among which there are more than 30 elite soldiers, especially the soldiers and horses of the kings of Shaanxi and Gansu, among which there are tens of thousands of cavalry. Strong combat power."

Zhang Ximeng analyzed: "There is another biggest variable in this battle, and that is Polo Timur who is stationed in the direction of Datong. He inherited his father's position as a soldier and horse, and when he was dealing with the Central Route Army of the Northern Expedition, he set up a He has made great achievements. He also has more than [-] heavy soldiers in his hands, which is the second largest force in the entire Yuan court."

"If Batu Lu goes south to reinforce Chahan, the total strength of the Yuan army will exceed 50. And we can use less than 35 troops. Although the quality of soldiers and horses can offset the advantage of quantity, but in this situation In the case of a decisive battle, one more person is enough courage. What's more, Li Siqi in Guanzhong may also send troops to rescue Chahan, so the enemy we have to face will be even stronger."

When Zhang Ximeng said this, his expression became more serious, and he was suspicious.

Still the same sentence, facing the tens of millions of troops on both sides, a huge battlefield that spans thousands of miles, a fate-determining gamble... Zhang Ximeng made another mistake that was difficult to solve.

Fortunately, Zhang Ximeng was not the one who made the final decision. Zhu Yuanzhang, with his courage and tenacity from the lowest level, carried the overall situation firmly, and he also had his own judgment.

"What Mr. said is reasonable, but it is not comprehensive... Chahan Timur also has a huge weakness. First of all, sir is worried about Polo Timur, but Chahan has many soldiers, but their status is lower than the other party. There are many conflicts between the two , if it wasn’t for our Northern Expedition, they might have started fighting by themselves. So it’s impossible for the two parties to be of the same mind. This is one of them!”

"Secondly, although the Yuan army has a large number of soldiers and horses, the people in the Central Plains have been exhausted due to repeated fierce battles and constant seesaws. It is almost impossible to find enough food, grass and military supplies. Although the Mongolian cavalry is powerful, the supply of fodder and food is almost impossible. It's more costly. The pressure is still on top of us."

"As for the third point, in the battle of Nanyang, Aruwen was captured. The ambush of Dongping Mansion defeated Wang Baobao... Facts have proved that the same is true of Chahan's soldiers and horses. He may be stronger than Chen Youliang, but in the end it is just This landlord is powerful. The more soldiers and horses under his command, the more intricate and complex they are, the more difficult it is to mobilize them. Now they seem to be powerful and powerful, but as long as they are defeated, they will immediately fall apart and collapse thousands of miles away."

"War is fought with confidence. In this battle, we bear the century-old humiliation of China's fall, and the hope of tens of millions of people. This battle...will be won!"

Old Zhu's fist hit the table hard.

With almost a final decision, he made up his confidence in the decisive battle.

Within ten days, Zhu Sheng, Yang Xian, Wang Guangyang, Hu Weiyong and others rushed to Jining, followed by Hu Dahai and Chang Yuchun, and Xu Da who had arrived earlier.

Zhu Yuanzhang's strongest civil and military personnel are almost gathered together, and the elite of the Ming army are all here!

Lao Zhu introduced the current situation and his determination to fight to the big guy, and then said to the big guy: "You all speak freely, see what needs to be added, and where there are omissions, we want to hear your opinions."

What Zhu Yuanzhang said is very interesting. It is true that he is open and honest and listens to opinions.

But the premise is that the determination to fight the decisive battle has already been made, so don't question it, just find a way to improve the plan.

Everyone sullenly stared at the map silently, and no one dared to speak easily.

Millions of decisive battles, just this scale, makes everyone's head buzzing.

Looking at the battlefield again, from Shandong to Guanzhong, from Henan to Shanxi... the entire Central Plains, both sides of the Yellow River, are all within sight.

In such a big battle, it is almost impossible to be exhaustive.

No one is sure enough to be able to grasp the overall situation.

Just when everyone was silent, Zhu Sheng coughed lightly, "Your Majesty, the situation of the Yuan Army is very clear, but we also have a biggest problem. If we don't handle it well, we will also fall short."