If you want to talk about which emperor of the Ming Dynasty is the most belligerent, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di must be among the best. Zhu Di not only seized the throne by force, but during his reign, he led his troops to conquer Mobei five times, and finally died of illness on the way to the fifth northern expedition.
Next, let's take a look at his experience and results of each personal expedition, as well as the merits and demerits of his personal expedition by later generations!
The cause is, Zhu DiSent an envoy Guo Ji to envoy Tatar, showed that he didn't want to meet each other, but he didn't think that Benjamin actually killed Guo Ji. Zhu Di was furious, and Yongle sent Qiu Fu to lead 100,000 Ming soldiers to recruit the Tatars in the seventh year. But Qiu Fu, who was rash of the enemy, was ambushed by the Tatars in the battle of the Yuqu River, and in the endThe 100,000-strong army was wiped out
Zhu Di, who lost 100,000 troops, was furious and made up his mind to drive the expedition in person.
So, in February of the eighth year of Yongle (1410), Zhu Di mobilized 500,000 troops to the north, and the Tatars knew that they were invincible to the Ming army, so they decided to retreat to avoid the war, but they had a disagreement with Arutai in the direction of retreat, so they each took a group of men and horses to disperse and escape. Taishi Arutai fled eastward, and the Great Khan of Benjamin originally planned to go west to take refuge in Warat, but Zhu Di personally led his soldiers to pursue Benjamin, and finallyDefeat Benjamin at the River of Trouble, Benjamin himself fled alone, and was later killed by Varat Mahamu;After that,Zhu Di defeated Arutai on the way back to the army, and Arutai fell off his horse and fled。After this battle, the Tatars were forced to submit to the Ming Dynasty and pay tribute to the Ming court.
After the Tatar tribe suffered a crushing defeat, the Warat tribe took the opportunity to grow and march into the Yuqu River, coveting the Central Plains.
In the twelfth year of Yongle (1414),Zhu Di once again personally led an army of 500,000 to the north to conquer Warat。This time, Zhu Di also brought hot ** equipped with firearms, muskets and artilleryCamp Divine Machine。First defeated the Warat guerrillas, and then in the decisive battle between Hulan and Warat, the use of "fire suppression", relying on the mountain to block the main force of Warat 30,000, after this battle, thousands of Warat people were killed, and the rest of the soldiers and horses also fled in all directions, and did not dare to attack the border for many years. Of course, although the Ming army won this battle, it was also very heavy, which can be described as suchKill 1,000 enemies and damage 800 yourself
After the Ming army broke the war, Arutai sent an envoy to the court soon after. In the following year, Waramahamu and other envoys sent envoys to apologize to the Ming Dynasty and resumed tributary relations with the Ming Dynasty.
Soon after the defeat of the Warats, the Arutai power of the Tatar tribe grew stronger again after several years of development, so it began to make enemies with the Ming Dynasty again, often harassing and plundering the northern frontier of the Ming Dynasty. In the nineteenth year of Yongle, he also killed Wang Xiang, a general of the Ming army.
So, in March of the twentieth year of Yongle (1422), Ming Chengzu Zhu Di led an army to conquer the Mongolian Arutai Division. Arutai fled overnight, and the Ming army decided to stop the pursuit, the class teacher returned to the court. However, on the way back to the division, he attacked the Ulianghabu who supported Arutai and killed thousands of people.
This pro-campaign did not have much success, did not start a large-scale war, only captured people and livestock, and did not inflict a substantial blow on the Tatars.
A year later, after the Ming army retreated, the Tatar leaders fledArutai led the troops to make a comeback, once again invaded the border of the Ming Dynasty, burned the city, and captured the people.
In August of the twenty-first year of Yongle (1423), Zhu Di sent troops again. At this time, the Tatars and Warat happened to be in the midst of internal fighting, and the Tatars were defeated by the Warats, and the tribes of Arutai had already collapsed. In October, the Ming army continued northThe remnants of the Tatars were defeated, and the leader also led his troops to surrender first, Zhu Di accepted his surrender, and Feng Yexian Tugan was the king of loyalty and bravery, and the Ming army was victorious.
In the 22nd year of Yongle, Arutai once again led his troops to invade Datong and Kaiping of the Ming Dynasty, robbing the city and killing the population, posing a huge threat to the peace of the border of the Ming Dynasty.
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di mobilized Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Liaodong soldiers and horses, a large northern expedition, as a result of Arutai fled again, the Ming army pursued to the Taran Namur River, still did not find the Arutai department, so once again to the east to invade Uliangha. Arutai escaped and was hard to find, The domestic turmoil has not subsided, Zhu Di has no choice, and ordered the class to return to the dynasty, and this northern expedition isTo no avail, and this Ming Emperor, who fought all his life, finally failed to escape the erosion of time and illnessHe died of illness on the way back to the courtFinish.
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di made three consecutive northern expeditions in the last years, which shows his persistence and eagerness to annihilate Arutai.
Throughout Zhu Di's five personal expeditions, some of them achieved partial victories, which further weakened the Mongol forces, but failed to annihilate all the Mongol forces.
The Mongol army could take advantage of the geographical conditions to give full play to its cavalry superiority, avoid a frontal battle with the Ming Dynasty army, and carry out guerrilla warfare, making it difficult for the Ming Dynasty army to really inflict a substantial blow on Mongolia.
And the Ming army of the labor expedition was not familiar with the grassland environmentArmy building, logistical supply, operational commandand so on.
The merits and demerits of Ming Chengzu's five northern expeditions are still debated.
Some people say that Zhu Di's northern expedition was thunder and rain, and the five northern expeditions had no substantive results, and hundreds of thousands of troops were dispatched at every turn, and almost none had the strength to confront him head-on. And every time I go on an expeditionIt has spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, causing a huge financial and conscription burden, and draining the treasury accumulated by Yongle in the past few years. So some people criticized him for spending money.
However, we must also note that the five Northern Expeditions were all launched under the provocation of the Mongols. In order to ensure the permanence of the Ming Dynasty and no longer be harassed by the Mongol forces in the north, Ming Chengzu almost spent his life for this.
As the so-called".Sin is in the present generation, and merit is in the future", Yongle Dynasty Wenzhi and martial arts are the most in the Ming Dynasty, and also for Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong".The rule of Renxuan"The groundwork was laid.
In the next issue, we will take a look at how to manage national events during Zhu Di's personal expedition, so stay tuned).