The Battle of Sichuan and Shu in the Ming Dynasty

The Battle of Sichuan and Shu in the Ming Dynasty.

In the Battle of Sichuan and Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty, 7 famous generals took part in the battle. The Ming army advanced by land and water, and they successfully captured Chongqing and Chengdu. The king of "Great Xia" Mingsheng surrendered.

In 1368, during the Northern Expedition of the Ming Army, Wang Baobao's Mongolian cavalry suffered heavy losses in the Battles of Yanjing, Taiyuan, Qingyang and Lanzhou. Their vitality was severely damaged and they did not dare to provoke Xu Da again. The Ming army won consecutive battles, and the northern border was relatively stable, but it failed to completely solve the problem. The southwest region had not yet been included in the territory, which caused great trouble to Zhu Yuanzhang's expedition to Mobei.

There are two "regimes" in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. One is the King of Liang who is loyal to the Yuan Dynasty. He has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, who are brave and good at fighting. The other is the "Great Xia" established by Ming Yuzhen, located in Sichuan, with more than 300,000 troops. This was Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy to seize the southwest and eliminate the worries of the expedition to Mobei.

Sichuan, known as the "Land of Abundance", has a developed economy and sufficient food and grass. Ming Yuzhen has been in business for many years, and her strength cannot be underestimated. In 1366, Ming Yuzhen died of illness, and his son Mingsheng succeeded to the throne. "The master of the country was doubtful." Zhu Yuanzhang sent someone to appease him, but when he was rejected, he decided to use troops.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, there were many famous generals, and there were too many people who could take charge. This expedition to Sichuan was led by Fu Youde, who was followed by famous generals such as Gu Shi, Tang He, Zhou Dexing, Liao Yongzhong, and He Wenhui. Another general, Deng Yu, was stationed in Xiangyang to raise food and fodder for the army and ensure the victory of the Ming army. Judging from the list of generals, the Ming army has a very luxurious lineup, and "Da Xia" cannot stop it at all.

Deng Yu, one of the "Six Dukes" in the early Ming Dynasty, ranked behind Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, and Fu Youde, and was very capable. You must know that during Xu Da's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, the Ming army attacked in three directions, and Deng Yu was the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army; when Deng Yu went on an expedition to Qinghai-Tibet and Gansu, Mu Ying and Lan Yu both had to fight.

Fu Youde was as brave as Chang Yuchun. He led many attacks on Mongolia without failure. Gu Shi and He Wenhui were both good at using cavalry and were Xu Da's vanguards during the Northern Expedition; Tang He and Liao Yongzhong were good at naval warfare; Zhou Dexing was a versatile general and one of the "Twenty-four Generals of Huaixi". Zhu Yuanzhang crossed the river to fight and captured Nanjing, and the chief contributor was Liao Yongzhong.

In 1371, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered 300,000 troops, and Deng Yu sat in Xiangyang to raise food and wages. Fu Youde, Gu Shi, and He Wenhui led the elite cavalry and infantry from Shaanxi and Gansu and entered Hanzhong, forming the Northern Route Army. Tang He, Liao Yongzhong, and Zhou Dexing led the naval warships from Hubei to attack Qutang Pass, which was the Southern Route Army. The Ming army advanced by land and water with great momentum

Qutang Pass, the gateway to Chongqing, was the focus of "Great Xia" defense deployment, with more than 100,000 troops. Tang He and Liao Yongzhong led their troops to attack, but the river surged. The "Daxia" soldiers relied on the fortress and used bows, arrows and fire guns to shoot. The Ming army's repeated attacks were frustrated. In this way, Tang He and Liao Yongzhong retreated to Zigui, waiting for action.

Tang He was frustrated, and "Daxia" transferred heavy troops back to the north to stop Fu Youde. Taking the enemy by surprise, Fu Youde assumed the posture of attacking the Golden Bull, attracted the attention of "Da Xia", and then went straight to Chencang. The forwards of 5,000 Ming troops climbed up the cliff, fought through thorns and thorns all the way, went straight to Jiezhou and Wenzhou, and raided Ding Shizhen's troops.

Fu Youde then carved the dates of the conquest of Jiezhou and Wenzhou, as well as the casualties of the enemy troops, on wooden plaques, totaling thousands, and then put them into the Han River and carried them down the river to inform Tang He. , Liao Yongzhong, and Zhou Dexing, let them march quickly and destroy "Daxia" together. This move is exactly the same as Li Jing's tactics to defeat "Xiao Liang"; famous generals have their own similarities.

After Tang He's offensive was frustrated, he retreated to Hubei. Zhu Yuanzhang was very dissatisfied and sent Zhu Liangzu for reinforcements. Liao Yongzhong did not want Zhu Liangzu to come and snatch the credit, so he personally led his troops to attack, and asked Zhou Dexing to lead a group of elite troops to go overland, go around behind Qutang Pass, and attack the pass with him.

Liao Yongzhong went upstream, fought bravely, and received Fu Youde's "wooden sign". The Ming army became more and more courageous, and finally broke through the barrier and reached the city of Chongqing. At the same time, Dai Shou, the prime minister of "Great Xia", gathered 100,000 troops and fought against Fu Youde on the outskirts of Chengdu, striving for victory on the North Road, but there was no hope.

100,000 "Great Xia" soldiers stood ready, with the "Elephant Army" in the front line, with cavalry deployed on both sides and infantry in the middle. The elephant was wearing armor and had a "pavilion" placed on its back. Soldiers in full armor, holding spears, charged towards the Ming army. Then, Daxia's infantry and cavalry attacked and surrounded the Ming army from both sides.

The "Elephant Army" is tall and mighty, and protected by armor. Dai Shou is full of confidence, but Fu Youde has been prepared. The Ming army led the battle with crossbows, muskets, and muskets, and responded with dense rain of bullets. Firearms are very powerful and are designed to attack the joints of the "elephant army". When the explosion came, these "elephant troops" were frightened. Instead of continuing to charge, they turned around and returned, trapping the "Daxia" soldiers.

Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, Fu Youde, Gu Shi, He Wenhui and others held spears and charged personally. The commander was so brave that the soldiers of the Ming army were greatly inspired and followed the commander in charge. In the fierce battle, the Ming army relied on its high fighting spirit to fight one against ten, and the 100,000 "Daxia" army was completely defeated.

The Ming army won both the north and south routes. King Mingsheng of "Great Xia" had no choice but to surrender. Chongqing and Chengdu were defeated, and the Ming army captured Sichuan. When Ming Sheng came to Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang did not embarrass him. He also named him Marquis of Guiyi, enjoying the salary of the Ming Dynasty, and the whole family had no worries about food and clothing.

Later, Mingsheng chatted with Chen Youliang’s son Chen Li and often complained. Zhu Yuanzhang did not punish the teenage children, but sent them to Korea for resettlement. He married Yin and gave birth to four sons. Today, there are still descendants of Ming Sheng and Chen Li here, passing on from generation to generation.