Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 579 Pacifying Yunnan (Part 2) - Requesting monthly votes!

Due to the urgency of the situation, Duan Hong did not spare any effort and, after two horses died, he returned to Dali in just two days and informed the entire Duan clan of the Ming army's terms.

Upon hearing the conditions offered by Da Ming, the Duan family members all looked quite displeased.

After a long silence, Duan Hong's son, Duan Bao, who was also the eleventh Dali governor in history, finally spoke.

“Father, I think that if the Ming Dynasty is willing to grant you a marquisate and take a Duan woman as a concubine, even if it means moving to the capital, these conditions are acceptable.”

It's not surprising that Duan Bao agreed, because in the original history, during his reign, he advocated submitting to the Ming Dynasty and even sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty several times to pay homage.

Of course, this is also related to his later complete falling out with the King of Liang. In the original history, the King of Liang had first assassinated Duan Guang and then Duan Gong. For Duan Bao, this was the hatred of killing his father, an irreconcilable enmity.

Moreover, after killing Duan Gong, Liang Wang did not stop. He planned to take the opportunity to eliminate the Duan family completely and sent troops to attack Dali seven times in a row, but Duan Bao repelled them all. With the two sides in such a situation, it was only natural that Duan Bao would want to take the initiative to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

In this timeline, Duan Bao only agreed to the Ming Dynasty's conditions because he was pressured by the Ming army.

However, before Duan Gong could say anything, Duan Fu, an elder of the Duan clan, angrily rebuked him, "Young man, don't talk nonsense. The foundation of our Duan clan for hundreds of years is in Yunnan, right here in Dali. If the whole clan were to move away from here to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, although it is a wealthy place, what difference would that be from exile or imprisonment for us?"

"Have you ever heard of what good end came to those who were exiled after the fall of their kingdoms? Once we left Yunnan and went to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, living under the very nose of the Ming emperor, wouldn't we be completely at his mercy? We wouldn't even know how our Duan clan died."

“Yes, Brother Bao, if we agree to the Ming Dynasty’s conditions, your uncle can become a marquis of the Ming Dynasty, and you can inherit your uncle’s title in the future. You will not lack wealth and honor. But you should also think about us.”
“If we move to the capital of the Ming Dynasty and lose the foundation of Dali, we will probably live a worse life than ordinary people. Do you really want my brother and uncles to farm the land themselves?” A young man in his twenties named Duan Chen said sarcastically.

Duan Bao could tolerate his elders' words, but when a distant relative of his generation jumped out to speak sarcastically to him, he couldn't stand it and immediately retorted and questioned them.

"While we are speaking, the Ming army of hundreds of thousands has already arrived two hundred miles outside Dali. They will be at the city gates in less than seven days. You are talking a good game now. What, do you want to go and fight the Ming army all by yourself after they arrive?"

"Me, hold them off alone? Why should I? The military power is in your and your uncle's hands. Since you've become the commanders, it's your responsibility to resist the Ming army. You can't expect us to take all the benefits and send us to our deaths, can you?" Duan Chen retorted immediately.

Upon hearing this, Duan Bao's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he glared at Duan Chen. However, before he could speak, his uncle Duan Zhen shouted angrily, "Alright, stop arguing! What time is it? The Ming army hasn't even come knocking yet, and you brothers are already fighting amongst yourselves! Shut up!"

After calming the argument between the two, Duan Zhen continued, "The eldest young master was right about something. The Ming army is already two hundred miles away. What's the use of talking now? Whether to fight or surrender, we should ask some practical questions before making a decision."

After speaking, Duan Zhenyan turned to Duan Hong, who had just returned from his mission, and asked, "Brother Hong, you have seen the Ming army with your own eyes. Do you know how many troops the Ming army has, what their combat strength is, and what our chances of winning are if we really have to fight?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Hong's face immediately turned bitter as he said, "The Ming army has a very large force. This time, the Ming Dynasty claims to have 800,000 troops to conquer Yunnan and Guizhou, which is undoubtedly an exaggeration. However, the Ming army that I personally saw in Weichu (Chuxiong) probably numbered around 200,000. At least 70% of them were armored. They wore the kind of dark armor that the Yuan army wore, with cloth sewn on the outside and iron plates lining the inside, which were rivets attached to the cloth. It made a rustling sound when they walked. It was definitely genuine and high-quality armor."

"In addition, I heard that they left 100,000 men in Kunming to guard the grain routes and supplies, and did not all come to Dali. If we calculate it this way, the Ming army has at least 300,000 men, even if it doesn't have 800,000. If we include those guarding Guizhou, then it would probably be even more."

hiss----

Everyone present gasped in shock. Two hundred thousand people, seventy percent of whom were clad in armor—that meant there were hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers! Many of them immediately showed signs of fear.

Duan Zhen frowned and looked at Duan Gong beside him. "Duan Gong, you are now in charge and the military power is in your hands. Tell me the truth, how many troops can we muster? If we were to fight against the Ming army, what are our chances of winning?"

Duan Gong, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up, “Time is too tight, there’s no time left. Before the Ming army arrives, we can only muster a maximum of 50,000 troops. Troops that are further away probably won’t be able to reach Dali within seven days.”

"As for the odds of winning? Fifty thousand against two hundred thousand, and the enemy also has over a hundred thousand armored soldiers. In open field battles, there is no chance of winning. The Ming army could overwhelm us with sheer numbers. If we are defending the city, with the two passes at the head and tail of the city, as well as the protection of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, we can hold out for a while. But if we want to retreat..."

Duan Gong finally shook his head.

Just then, Duan Bao, the son standing beside him, took the initiative to speak up, "If we really have to fight, we can only adopt a defensive posture. It will be very difficult to retreat. The only possibility is to hold out until the Ming army runs out of food and retreats on its own. The Ming army is fighting as a guest army and has gone on a long expedition. Even if they have a lot of food in the rear, they may not be able to transport that much in time."

"In addition, sometimes having too many soldiers is not necessarily a good thing. The more soldiers there are, the more food and supplies are needed. If we hold out for a period of time, and wait until the food and supplies for the 200,000 Ming soldiers are exhausted, they will have no choice but to retreat."

"However, they still have 100,000 troops and supplies in Kunming. I estimate that even if they retreat, they won't go very far. At most, they'll retreat to Weichu (Chuxiong). Once they replenish their troops and supplies, they'll come back to attack. What will we do next time? Are we just going to keep fighting the Ming army like this?"
“What Uncle Hong said about the Ming army commander’s words was indeed very reasonable. Now the Ming emperor is determined to make my Duan family leave Yunnan. Even if we can defeat the Ming army this time, or even wipe them out, what about next time, and the time after that?”
"The Ming Dynasty is rich in the nine provinces, with a population of hundreds of millions and abundant wealth. They are determined to kill us. How long can we hold out like this? Therefore, I suggest we surrender and move to the Ming capital. It is better than losing our entire family."

At first, the Duan family members present thought it made a lot of sense, believing that dragging the Ming army out of supplies and forcing them to retreat was a viable strategy. However, as they listened to Duan Bao's subsequent analysis, they became increasingly disheartened. If the Ming Dynasty was determined to use its power to intimidate them and outlast them with its national strength, how could the Duan family, with only a small territory in Dali, possibly outlast the Ming Dynasty?

The clan elder Duan Fu, who had spoken first, looked hesitantly at Duan Gong, the head of the family, and asked, "Is there really no way to do this?"

"Actually, it's not like there's absolutely no way out?" Duan Gong suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, everyone present turned to look at Duan Gong, and Duan Zhen, a fellow member of the same generation, suddenly asked, "Brother, do you have any ideas?"

Duan Gong then said, "What Bao'er said just now wasn't entirely correct, but it reminded me that the Ming army's large number of soldiers is both an advantage and a weakness. They've gone on a long expedition, so they certainly don't have that much food. If we put some effort into securing supplies, we might still have a chance. However..."

"But what?"

“However, I am still struggling to decide whether or not to fight this battle. The Ming general’s words were too harsh. He said that once the two armies clashed, he would wipe out my entire Duan family. The chances of winning this battle are very slim. Even if we find the Ming army’s supply route and attack it, we will only have a 50% chance of winning at most. If we win, that will be fine, but if we lose, are you willing to die with us?” Duan Gong said to the Duan family members.

When the crowd saw his gaze, they immediately looked away.

Seeing this, Duan Gong sighed inwardly. Without the determination to fight to the death, how could they possibly win this battle?
The reason why so many wars in history have been celebrated for their victories by the smaller forces is simply because such examples are so rare. In reality, most battles are won by the side with the larger army.
Duan Gong then added, “Furthermore, if we want to preserve the Duan family and Dali, simply repelling the Ming army in this battle is useless. If we only repel them, the Ming army will soon return, and we will inevitably be caught in a protracted war of attrition, which will be detrimental to us.”

"So either don't fight, or if you do fight, go for the complete annihilation of these hundreds of thousands of Ming troops. Follow the example of the Nanzhao Kingdom and inflict a crushing defeat on the Tang Dynasty, so that even Emperor Taizu of Song dares not covet the land of Yunnan again. Once we have annihilated these hundreds of thousands of Ming troops, we can send envoys to the Ming capital for peace talks. Perhaps the Ming Dynasty will then agree to make us a vassal state of Yunnan."

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Fifty thousand against three hundred thousand? And to annihilate them all? It sounds simple, but in reality, it's far from easy to achieve.

After a moment of silence, Duan Zhen finally spoke up and asked, "So, brother, what do you think we should do?"

Duan Gong immediately said, "I will lead the main force to defend the upper and lower passes and Dali, blocking the attack of the main Ming army. I will also send a detachment to lie in ambush outside, waiting for an opportunity to go around to the Ming army's flank and rear, cut off their supply lines, and burn their baggage!"

"With 200,000 Ming soldiers who have lost their supplies, no matter how capable they are, they are nothing but a dead army without food. When they run out of food and flee, I will lead the main force out from Dali and together with the flanking force, intercept and kill these 200,000 Ming soldiers on their way back."

"After annihilating these 200,000 Ming troops, we will find a way to lure the 100,000 Ming troops in Kunming to come to our aid. Then we will ambush them on the way and wipe them out. In that case, the entire Yunnan province can be recovered. Then we will send troops to Guizhou and send people to the Ming capital to negotiate peace with the momentum of a great victory. Although the Ming is rich, it cannot afford such a great loss. Even if they want to transfer so many troops to fight again, it will probably take several years."

"What we need to do is prove that it is far more cost-effective for the Duan family to govern Yunnan than for the Ming Dynasty to govern it itself, so that we can completely preserve the Duan family's foundation in Yunnan."

"So? Are you going to fight or not? If you're afraid of dying, I advise you to give up that idea as soon as possible. Even going to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to farm is better than being slaughtered like chickens and geese. The choice is yours."

Upon hearing this, the Duan family members fell silent for a moment before Duan Fucai, the one with a full head of white hair, spoke up and asked, "So what exactly is the patriarch thinking? Do you want to fight?"

Duan Gong immediately said, "Of course I'm afraid of death, and even more afraid of the entire Duan clan being slaughtered. But if I hand over Yunnan without a fight, I'm not willing to do so. So naturally I want to fight. Even if I lose, I can die in peace."

“Then let’s fight!” Duan Zhen immediately declared. “I can lead the detachment as well. All I need is 10,000 troops, but it would be best if there were more cavalry.”

Duan Gong did not reply, but looked at the others. The other members of the Duan clan present also expressed their opinions one after another, "I also support fighting. If we surrender without even fighting, I will not accept it."

“Then let’s fight. I’m willing to lead the troops to defend Shangguan.”

"I've heard that the Ming army's firearms are powerful. We can also find craftsmen to make more 'huihui cannons' and place them behind the fortress to attack the Ming army. We captured his 'huihui cannons' when we fought against Prince Liang before, so I know how to make them."

"We must immediately implement a scorched-earth policy, evacuating all nearby civilians and grain back to Dali. Not a single laborer or grain of food should be left for the Ming army!"

"Yes, we must fortify our defenses and scorched earth!" Seeing that all his clansmen agreed to fight this battle, Duan Gong immediately smiled. More than ten years ago, when the Duan clan fought against the Liang King, they were united in their efforts and the whole clan worked together to repel the Liang King's attack. In their eyes, the Ming army was just another Liang King. Even if they were slightly stronger, how much stronger could they be?

Having made up his mind, Duan Gong immediately began his deployment, assigning his clansmen to defend the upper and lower passes of Dali to the north and south, and ordering Duan Zhen to lead all the cavalry, about 8,000 troops, to hide on the west side of Diancang Mountain. After the Ming army approached the city, he would then go around to the southeast to cut off the Ming army's supply lines.

At the same time, a large number of clansmen were sent to the surrounding areas to carry out a scorched-earth policy and demonize the Ming army. They claimed that the Ming army would massacre the city after conquering it, rape and plunder, commit all kinds of evil deeds, and even eat infants. This frightened the people in the vicinity, and they all fled to Dali.

That's not all. Those who are willing to move away are naturally the best, but those who are unwilling to move away will be killed by Duan's troops. Even if all these people are killed, they must not be left to be laborers for the Ming army to fill the trenches!

They burned down all the houses in the surrounding towns, leaving the Ming army not a single piece of firewood or a single material for siege equipment, euphemistically calling it "burning the boats and breaking the cauldrons"!
Duan Gong also sent people to collect all the ships on Erhai Lake and row them all to the west bank of Erhai Lake, the side closer to Dali, leaving no ships for the Ming army, in order to prevent the Ming army from using these ships to force a crossing of Erhai Lake.

After making all these preparations, they simply waited for the Ming army to arrive.

Five days later, the Ming army arrived at Yunnan Prefecture (40 li southeast of Xiangyun County in later years) and found a scene of devastation. The city had just been burned by a great fire that lasted for three days and three nights. When the Ming army arrived, some houses were still emitting smoke. The scouts ahead reported that Baiya Station (Midu County) had also been burned. The Duan family was carrying out a planned and organized scorched earth policy.

Zhu Liangzu, Liao Yongzhong, Feng Sheng and others were so angry at this scene that they laughed. Feng Sheng immediately said, "I had only read about the arrogance of Yelang in books before. I never thought we would actually see it today. It seems that the Duan family underestimated us. They thought they could stop the heavenly army like this."

Zhu Liangzu scoffed, “Since they want to die, they can’t blame anyone else. After the city falls, we’ll wipe out the entire Duan clan, and I’ll save myself the trouble of escorting prisoners back to the capital a thousand miles away.”

"Pass on my military order: according to the original battle plan, Lao Liao, you lead the Sixth Army Group to attack Shangguan, and I will lead three divisions of the Fifth Army and two Imperial Guard Divisions to attack Xiaguan. We must fight quickly and decisively. It is already the 25th of November. We must strive to end this war before the New Year. We cannot delay any longer."

"Since the Duan family doesn't want us to have a proper New Year, let's send them to meet the King of Hell."

"Yes!" the generals immediately answered in unison.

Four days later, on November 29th, Zhu Liangzu's main force arrived at the gates of Xiaguan City in Dali, where they began to scout the terrain, build artillery emplacements, and construct siege ladders. At the same time, they were waiting for Liao Yongzhong's side to be in position so that both sides could launch an attack together.

Two days later, on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Liao Yongzhong's main force of the Sixth Army Group also arrived at Shangguan City, north of Dali, and began to build artillery emplacements and make simple ladders in preparation for attacking the city.

At this very moment, the Duan family cavalry, led by Duan Zhen, secretly circled south from the west side of Diancang Mountain and arrived near Baiya Station (Midu County), which the Ming army had just passed through a few days earlier. They secretly scouted the Ming army's grain transport team and the location of the Ming army's grain storage.

On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, one day before the Ming army was to launch its general offensive, Zhu Liangzu suddenly received news that his supply lines had been attacked. A whole battalion-sized grain transport team had been wiped out, and more than a thousand shi of military rations had been burned.

Upon hearing this, Feng Sheng, Gao Yao, and others immediately came over to inquire about the specific situation. Zhu Liangzu sneered disdainfully, "Their attempt to use the defense of the city to tie down our main force, then cut off our supply lines and force us to retreat is nothing but a petty trick. They are overestimating themselves."

Feng Sheng nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, their plan is quite good. It's just a pity that they underestimated their ability to defend the city and also underestimated the speed of our army's assault. Our Holy Martial Army is best at attacking cities and capturing strongholds! Before they can cut off our army's supply lines, Dali will be conquered by us first."

"Forget about their schemes and tricks, this time we'll show them the power of brute force!"

Gao Yao asked, "Then what about our army's food supplies? Are we just going to abandon them?"

Zhu Liangzu countered, "How many days' worth of provisions are left in the camp?"

"Enough for five days' worth of food."

"That's enough. I will break through the city within three days. Then we will go directly to eat Dali's grain and feed the enemy. Send down the order that all subsequent grain transport teams immediately stop transporting grain. Each team should hold the grain depot stronghold by division. Also, send out all the scouts to scout the movements of this enemy cavalry. We must find them."

"Yes!"

"Also, send another order to Liao Yongzhong: the general offensive must be launched precisely at noon on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, without fail!"

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, Duan Zhen, who was leading eight thousand cavalrymen and hiding behind the Ming army, was so anxious that blisters appeared on his lips. He had no choice but to be anxious. The outcome of this battle depended on whether the Duan family could successfully cut off the Ming army's supply lines and burn their baggage. Every day he delayed cutting off the Ming army's food supply, the danger to Dali would increase.

But the Ming army reacted so quickly that they didn't give him a chance at all.

On the afternoon of the first day of the twelfth lunar month, he successfully located a Ming army grain transport team, which was less than a thousand people in size and consisted of only a few dozen large carts, but carried more than a thousand shi of military grain. These civilian grain transport team members were carrying a bunch of random long spears, most of which were Yuan army weapons captured in the Battle of Qujing, and half of them were even wearing iron armor.

However, these laborers clearly lacked combat experience and were easily surrounded and killed by his cavalry. Thousands of bushels of military rations were also burned, while weapons, armor, and the horses used to transport the rations were seized by Duan Zhen.

However, the Ming army reacted quickly. The grain transport teams that were transporting grain immediately turned back to the vicinity of the grain depots, and those that were close to the next grain depot accelerated their approach. All grain transport on the road was brought to a standstill, making it much more difficult for Duan Zhen to intercept the grain transport teams.

Then on the second day of the twelfth lunar month, he followed a grain transport team and found a large grain station set up by the Ming army on the banks of the Shenzhuang River. He successfully surrounded and killed another grain transport team, which was a battalion of 850 men. However, he could not find any more targets to attack after that.

Then he set his sights on the large grain depot on the banks of the Shenzhuang River, intending to forcibly breach it and burn the grain. However, what was absurd was that within just one day, the grain depot had already gathered tens of thousands of laborers who were stationed there. They were wearing captured Yuan army armor, carrying a jumble of weapons, and had not received any training. Naturally, they dared not take the initiative to fight against Duan Zhen's eight thousand cavalry.

But Duan Zhen took the initiative to attack, and these laborers were not afraid. Those laborers wearing iron armor were in front, holding long spears and guarding behind the camp fence. Once his cavalry approached, these laborers would raise their spears and stab randomly.

Even more outrageous, behind these armored laborers was a group of unarmored soldiers who opened the ammunition boxes in the military supplies and lit grenades, throwing them out without restraint. The warhorses under Duan Zhen's command, which had not undergone firearms desensitization training, were startled by the grenades thrown by the Ming army laborers. A group of armored laborers even took the opportunity to counterattack and annihilate three hundred of his cavalry.

When Duan Zhen saw this situation, he was immediately at a loss. Although these laborers were not good at fighting outside, they could still defend the camp with the help of a large number of grenades. It would be difficult for his eight thousand cavalry to break through the camp defended by tens of thousands of people.

Just as he was thinking about what other ways he could break through the Ming army's temporary camp, several thousand scouts sent by Zhu Liangzu arrived.

Although these scouts had not received professional cavalry combat training and were not very good at mounted warfare, their equipment was so good that Duan Zhen was envious. Each scout had excellent standard cloth armor, and these men were also very good at reconnaissance and sentry duty.

In addition, Zhu Liangzu's orders to them were to find the enemy force behind them and then entangle them, as long as they were prevented from continuing to harass the grain depot.

As soon as Duan Zhen attacked, these scouts immediately retreated. But once Duan Zhen was gone, these Ming scouts would immediately follow, like maggots clinging to a bone. They couldn't be driven away or caught, which disgusted him greatly.

Finally, after more Ming scouts received the news and gathered, totaling more than 5,000 scouts, they stopped running and chased Duan Zhen's 8,000 cavalry around. Duan Zhen had no choice but to send someone to inform Duan Gong while leading his 8,000 cavalry to flee in the southeast.

On the other side of the main battlefield, at 9:00 AM on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, the Ming army launched a general offensive from both the north and south.

Outside Xiaguan City, eighty light and heavy cannons were lined up and bombarded the city walls. After a round of rapid artillery fire, the defenders on the city walls were basically wiped out. Then the artillery regiment began to suppress the enemy with fire, with each cannon taking turns to keep the firepower on the city walls continuous.

Meanwhile, the heavy armored vanguard regiments of the two Imperial Guards Divisions took advantage of the gap in the suppression of the city's defenders and carried ladders to swarm and attack the city. Zhang Dingbian, the commander of the vanguard regiment of the 8th Imperial Guards Division, was a peerless general whose personal martial prowess at least ranked among the top three in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. After joining Lu Jin, he finally had the opportunity to show his skills.

Zhang Dingbian, clad in heavy black armor, with a bow and a four-sided iron mace at his waist and a long spear in his hand, was the first to charge up the city wall. He then led thousands of heavily armored infantrymen in a fierce charge into the city. Under the combined assault of grenades and various heavy weapons in close combat, the Dali soldiers were quickly routed and fled in disarray.

Just then, the city gates of Xiaguan were opened from inside the city by the vanguard regiment, and the main force of the Ming army outside the city, along with two regiments of musketeers, took the opportunity to file in and rush in all at once.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—

The sounds of musket fire, grenade explosions, and close-range firing of light howitzers loaded with grapeshot filled the city. Duan Gong, who was directing operations from the rear, trembled all over. He never imagined that, under the formal attack of the main Ming army, their proud fortified city of Xiaguan would not even last half an hour before the Ming army breached the city walls.

In 4053 AD, or 1356 AD, on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, the main force of the Ming army that was on a southern expedition broke through the city of Dali from both the upper and lower passes at the same time and attacked into the heart of Dali. The Dali army of the Duan family was completely annihilated, with more than 10,000 killed in battle and more than 30,000 captured. Duan Gong, the general of Dali, was captured alive by Zhang Dingbian.

Thus, the Duan family of Dali, who had ruled Yunnan for over four hundred years, became a thing of the past!
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(End of this chapter)