On 12th March 1464, Ming was ready - and cast the first stone, against the Oirat Horde. For too long they had insulted and threatened the Ming Empire, and it was beginning to make them look weak.
All vassals came to the call of banners, whilst the alliance with Korea was left sour when they warned the Ming Empire they would not attend in such a distant affair.
The plan was to break the alliance between Kham and the Oirat Horde, leaving them open for a second war, and to also capture provinces that Sarig Yogir had long held claim to... following the success of the war, Sarig Yogir would fall to annexation by Ming, leaving Kham open to a full assault and ending in an opening between U-Tsang and the empire.
Sarig Yogir headed for Rebgong.
U-Tsang headed for Gyegu.
Hsenwi headed for Markam.
General Zhao headed for Alxa.
Bo Zhu headed for Ejin.
Qizhen Zhu headed for Govi.
[img]http://puu.sh/elrM5/2dbb823d43.jpg[/img
In April 1464, there was a minor skirmish between Qizhen Zhu and General Choros... this was an overwhelming defeat for the Oriat Horde...
...or would have been... had not reinforcements appeared to the north.
The Emperor Qizhen tasted his first defeat because of his arrogance, and as General Zhao abandoned the siege in Ejin to take advantage of the demoralised forces in Govi, it was much to his surpise when he was subsequently defeated in June 1464. Bo Zhu, an incredible tactician, also failed in the face of the enemy. All three armies, or the remnants of them, retreated to Ming to regroup.
Meanwhile, in December 1464, the horde army led by General Choros crossed Ming to support the Kham forces and break sieges, sending the Sarig Yogir forces scattering for their homeland.
Emperor Qizhen Zhu, his son, Bo, and the General Zhao had tasted bitter defeat unexpectedly by less number of barbarian folk. In central Ming they reunited, and on their way westward, gathered more recruits.
In March 1465, the three leaders led 27,000 men on an assault across the border into Kham on a 10,000 strong army they had happened across.
The forces were at breaking point, but eventually won after four weeks of skirmishes, hit and run tactics and bloody battle.
The Ming Army followed the Kham army north into the valley of Gyegu, where their last standing army was then decimated in June 1465.
However, to the south, a newly banded army of 4,000 men broke U-Tsang's siege of Markam. Meanwhile, Oirat and Chagatai hordes lay waste to the north-western provinces.
The Emperor swung his men north-east to combat a newly arisen Mongolian horde. The Ming army was subsequently defeated once again in October 1465... they retreated to the east so they could regroup fully. The Horde alliance was crushing the Ming at every turn.
The province of Ordos and Qakilik fell in November 1465, Hami in February 1466 and Ningwu in August 1466.
During their respite, there was an advancement in military technology. With this and fully armed and rested troops, mostly restored in September 1466, they moved along the Ming coast, engaged the Mongols once more in December 1466 - Qhizen took Ningwu whilst Bo charged the Mongol horde in Datong.
22,000 men then lost to 10,000 in three days with barely a wound a side - followed by the same result as Qhizen's army of 19,000 attacked the mongol horde.
With the multiple failings, strife struck politically and the Bureaucratic Faction was dishonoured by the Emperor. The Temple Faction took over instead in January 1467 - a much more militarily focused faction.
Finally in August 1467, after nearly three years of constant defeat, the Ming Empire won their first battle in the war which was now weighing heavily in the Oirat Horde's favour.
In this time, Sarig Yogir had been completely overrun by the hordes, Y-Tsang was losing heavily to Kham and Hsenwi's pitiful army was barely holding a siege together in southern Kham.
Turn of the war
As the tide of battle began to turn, in November 1467, Bo Zhu led an army to the border province of Ningxia to break the siege, whilst at the same time Zhi Zhao chased the remnants of the Mongol Horde to their country's northern reaches.
Bo Zhu hired mercenaries to win back the provinces lost to the east. The defeat of the Mongol army spread quickly. Zhu's army tracked a Kham army as it headed north through Sarig Yogir to join up with the main Oirat and Chagatai host, with reinforcing Oirat plainsmen coming from the north, also being cut off by General Zhao. As the armies traversed westward, they were on a collision course for a pincer movement on a large battle - ironically in Hami, where the Ming found their first conquest by Bo Zhu's brother back in 1453.
After both armies of Ming maneuvered across the plains of the Horde countries, pushing the hordes back with every step, it finally came to an end in August 1468 when the combined forces of Ming standing at 34,000 cavalry and footmen clashed with the 15,000 of the Chagatai, Kham and Oirat horde... resulting in their decimation, sending the survivors fleeing west.
Meanwhile, as U-Tsang and Sarig Yogir stood defeated, the small 3,000 army of Hsenwi swept through Kham unimpeded, winning the siege of Tachienlu in July 1468.
Ordos was recaptured by the mercenary groups in October 1468 - Ningwu soon after. More mercenary groups were paid for from the extensive coffers built up during the long peace-time, the newer mercenaries sent westward to liberate the vassal lands, meanwhile the original 6,000 mercenaries were sent into Mongolia.
Whilst in pursuit of the fleeing horde, Bo Zhu split from General Zhao when scouts reported a small reinforcement band to the north of their position, whilst General Zhao continued westward.
The Fall of the Oirat Horde
On the 19th July 1469, the Oirat Horde lost their first territory to Bo Zhu, heir to the Ming throne. More mercenaries were paid to spread through Mongolia and Kham, whilst the main Ming Army laid waste to the north-western territories.
For the next three years, mercenary bands under the flag of Ming spread like cancer across Mongolia, Kham, Sarig Yogir, U-Tsang and eventually, Oirat - and indeed for the record, in some cases, Ming; many of the country folk suffered war crimes such as rape, murder and theft as a result. Meanwhile, Bo Zhu fought off any would-be gatherings of plainsmen coming down from the unchartered lands beyond the known Oirat border provinces.
In the end, crippled as they were, Oirat gave all three lands that Sarig Yogir and Ming held claim too, as well as taking Markam, to open a path to the mountain men of U-Tsang. The war was long and costly, but the men of Ming learned the bitter taste of defeat.
In recognition of his efforts, the Emperor renamed the valley of Markam to 'Bo's Run' and allowed Bo's request to rename Hami to Qiyu Valley.
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Topic: Let's Play: Europa Universalis 4 (Read 2627 times)