Chapter 194 Zhu Gang volunteered to attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and the change in Ming history began with me

Zhu Gang stood straight, his eyes were firm and his voice was as loud as thunder.

"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty was established not long ago, and there is a lot of work to be done. The people need to rest and recuperate.

However, at this moment, the most important enemy of our Ming Dynasty is the remnants of Mongolia in the north, namely the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

If we don't completely eliminate it, there will never be peace in our Ming Dynasty.

I, your son, am willing to lead an elite force to march north and attack Huanglong directly.

Destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop and help Your Majesty solve his problems!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly startled, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

He quickly regained his composure, a relieved smile on his face.

Then Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Okay, we agree!"

Then his eyes became sharp, and he solemnly warned: "But you must be extremely careful on this expedition.

We will send Generals Fu Youde, Lan Yu and others to accompany you. You must cooperate closely with them and must not rush ahead for the sake of success."

Zhu Gang was so excited that his face turned red with excitement.

He quickly bowed and said loudly, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will live up to your expectations and return victoriously!"

After saying this, he turned around and walked back to his original position with firm and powerful steps.

At this time, Gu Xiuqi and Zhong Boxuan, who were standing aside, looked at each other, and both saw deep worry in each other's eyes.

They knew very well that although the Northern Expedition seemed simple, it was actually full of challenges and difficulties.

Faced with the powerful Northern Yuan forces, even with a powerful general like Zhu Gang leading the army, it might not be easy to win.

The two men prayed secretly in their hearts, hoping that Zhu Gang would return safely and bring the dawn of victory to the Ming Dynasty.

In August 1368, the first year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty and the twenty-eighth year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan Dynasty, 25 elite Ming troops led by Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, two famous generals of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, arrived at the city of Yuan Dadu.

Emperor Shun of Yuan Dynasty saw that the Ming army was powerful and knew he could not defeat them, so he fled to Shangdu.

Later, they fled north to Karakorum, marking the end of the Yuan Empire, which had ruled the Central Plains for 89 years.

However, Emperor Shun of Yuan, who retreated to the grassland, still retained the name and system of the Yuan Dynasty and controlled a vast territory stretching from the Yalu River in the east to Hami in the west.

Later generations called it the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and it then entered into a long tug-of-war with the Ming Empire.

In March 1388, the famous Ming army general Lan Yu led an army of 15 deep into the northern desert.

At Buyuerhai (now Lake Baikal), they annihilated more than 7 main forces of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, breaking the backbone of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in one battle.

After that, Yesudier, a descendant of Ariq Böke, launched a coup with the help of Ugezikhashaha, the leader of the Oirat Mongols, and killed Toghon Temur, the emperor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

He proclaimed himself Zhuoliktu Khan, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty was divided into three tribes: Oirat, Tatar, and Uriankhai.

They attacked each other and fought each other.

In the 1391th year of Hongwu (), Yesudier died of illness.

His son Enke succeeded to the throne, but died after three years in office. The orthodox factions of the Oirat Mongols and the Eastern Mongols supported Elbek, the second son of Toghon Temur, as the Great Khan.

He was named Niguelsukqi Khan, and the throne of the Northern Yuan Dynasty returned to the line of Kublai Khan.

However, at this time, the Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was already a puppet in name only, and all power was in the hands of the powerful ministers under him.

In 1402, Zhu Di proclaimed himself emperor and became the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

During his 22-year reign, Zhu Di launched five consecutive large-scale military campaigns against the grasslands, known as the Five Expeditions to Mobei.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty suffered heavy casualties under the continuous attacks of the Ming army, which led to the later glory of the Renzong and Xuanzong reigns.

In the fourth year of Zhengtong (1439), Tuohuan, the Grand Master of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, died. His son Yesen succeeded him as the Grand Master and became the actual ruler of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Yesen was a man of great talent and strategy. Thanks to his efforts, the grassland was reunified.

In the 1449th year of the Zhengtong reign (20), Yesen led his troops to annihilate elite Ming troops at Tumu Fortress, ending the Ming Empire's upward destiny in one battle.

In the fifth year of Jingtai (1454), Yesen was assassinated by Pingzhang Alazhiyuan in a coup.

Later, Borai of the Kharchin tribe killed Alazhiyuan, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty was divided again and in chaos. The situation that had been stabilized with great difficulty collapsed again.

In the 1479th year of Chenghua (), Batu Mengke, the son of Jinong Bayan Mengke, succeeded to the throne as the Great Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. He was the famous "Dayan Khan", the leader of the revival in the history of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

In the 1486nd year of Chenghua (), Dayan Khan killed the powerful minister, Tai Shi Yismain, and took control of the government himself.

From the 1391th year of Hongwu (1486), when Yesüder died, to the nd year of Chenghua (), Dayan Khan took power.

After 95 years, the Northern Yuan Dynasty finally had a Khan with real power.

In view of the drawbacks of powerful officials frequently interfering in state affairs, Dayan Khan abolished the positions of grand tutor and prime minister.

The Jinong system of Genghis Khan's era was restored and centralization of power was strengthened.

Afterwards, Dayan Khan personally led the army to conquer the Ordos, Tumed, Yongshebu, Mongoljin, Khalkha, Uriankhai, Khorchin, and other Mongolian tribes, as well as the Three Uriankhai Guards.

By the fifth year of Zhengde (1510), Dayan Khan had basically unified the Mongolian headquarters.

In the 1517th year of Zhengde (), Dayan Khan died and his eldest grandson Bodi inherited the throne and was named "Arak Khan".

In the 1547th year of Jiajing's reign (), Bodi passed away and his son Dalaisun ascended the throne, known as "Kuden Khan".

At this time, the Mongolian Tatar tribe rose, and the Tatar leader Altan proclaimed himself Khan, calling himself "Altan Khan".

The Northern Yuan Dynasty was divided into two and split again. In the 1604nd year of Wanli (), Lindan Batur inherited the throne of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

His title was "Hutuktu Khan", that is, Ligdan Khan.

He was the last Khan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but the area he actually controlled was the Chahar area.

Lindan Khan wanted to restore the glory of his ancestor Genghis Khan and unify the Mongolian tribes by force.

However, because he acted too hastily, he was deserted by his friends and relatives, and the Northern Yuan tribes successively surrendered to the Later Jin.

In April of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), the Later Jin army launched an expedition against the tribe of Ligdan Khan.

Lin Danhan was defeated and fled to Qinghai with only the remnants of his troops.

In the summer of the seventh year of Chongzhen (1634), Lindan Khan died of illness, and the last "stubbornness" of the Golden Family withdrew from the stage of history.

In April of the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), Yehenara Sutai, the third wife of Ligdan Khan, and her son Ezhe surrendered to the Later Jin with the imperial seal, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty was officially declared extinct.

Huang Taiji, the Great Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty, settled the surrendered Chahar tribe in Yizhou.

Soon after, it was reorganized into the Eight Banners (i.e. the Eight Banners of Mongolia), and was incorporated into the "chariot" of the Later Jin.

Recalling the development trajectory of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in history, Zhu Gang suddenly understood the main reason why Zhu was so eager to launch the Northern Expedition.

Fortunately, the old man assigned Lan Yu to himself. At least before returning from the Northern Expedition, the future Duke of Liang would not be in trouble for the time being.

Just as Zhu Gang's mind was in a mess, Zhu Biao, wearing a dragon robe, stood up and said, "Your son Zhu Biao has something to report."

Zhu Yuanzhang, sitting on the dragon throne, nodded and said, "Prince, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to speak up. I am all ears."

Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a worried look on his face, frowned and said, "Father, I think we should focus on recuperation right now.

Our Ming Dynasty has just experienced several years of war and chaos, and it is not appropriate to fight again at this time."

(End of this chapter)