Zhu Di was a successful emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty after Zhu Yuanzhang, and like his father, he was a military genius. In addition to being slightly inferior to Zhu Yuanzhang, military capabilities are basically on a par with Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Qi Jiguang and other famous generals.
However, Zhu Di was able to ascend to the throne by winning the Battle of Jingnan, and military ability was not the main factor. The fundamental reason why Zhu Di could become emperor was three words, good luck.
This was because three strong winds changed his fate, and also changed the fate of the Ming Dynasty.
First, in the first strong wind, the flag of the enemy commander was blown down
In April 1400, Li Jinglong, the largest straw bale commander of the Central and Southern Armies at the Battle of Jingnan, led an army of 600,000 men to attack the north again. Zhu Di led the 20th Infantry Cavalry Army to meet the Baigou River. Although Li Jinglong was a straw bale, he had many elite soldiers under his command. Moreover, Li Jinglong's troops are absolutely superior, and the so-called good men cannot stand up to the large number of people. Li Jinglong's vanguard was Zhu Di's most feared opponent, Ping'an. Moreover, Ping'an was once Zhu Di's subordinate and was familiar with Zhu Di's usual tactical tactics. In the first battle, an ambush was set up, and the subsequent governor Zhai was able to attack and defeat the Northern Army.
The next day, the two men, Ping'an and Zhai Neng, repeated their old skills, and used Zhu Di's mastery of the tactics to sneak around the back to secretly attack Zhu Di's rear army. Zhu Di's rear admiral Fang Kuan was caught off guard and was defeated. The rear army was broken, and Zhu Di was suddenly in danger. However, Zhu Di had always been brave and brave, and seeing that the situation was not good, he personally took yashi and led a light cavalry to forcibly attack Li Jinglong's army. However, Ping'an and Zhai Neng had already encircled Zhu Di's back road, and although Li Jinglong was weak, he would not be able to collapse with one blow. Zhu Di fought three times to change his warhorse, and his sword was broken, but he still couldn't win, and he was almost captured by Zhai Neng.
Seeing That Zhu Di was embarrassed, the morale of the Southern Army was greatly boosted, and Zhai Neng took the opportunity to attack, seeing that Zhu Di was about to die. But at this time, a strange wind suddenly blew up, and actually broke Li Jinglong's flag. The command flag suddenly disappeared, and the Confederate army was suddenly plunged into chaos. Zhu Di launched a counterattack to kill Zhai Neng's father and son, defeating Li Jinglong's 600,000 troops.
It can only be said that Zhu Di's luck is too good, but this is only the beginning.
Second, the second strong wind, thwarted the fierce enemy Sheng Yong
After defeating Li Jinglong, Zhu Di was twice defeated by the rising star Sheng Yong in Jinan and Dongchang. For a time, Sheng Yong replaced Ping An as Zhu Di's greatest rival. Unwilling to lose, Zhu Di met Sheng Yong again in Jiahe.
In this great battle, the two armies were inextricably divided, and Zhu Di's Generals Tan Yuan and Dong Zhenbao and the Brave Generals zhuang De and Chu Zhi of the Southern Army fought and died. The next day, the battle was fought again, from morning to afternoon, or a draw. On the surface, the war situation seemed to be scorching, but in fact, the situation was quietly unfavorable to Zhu Di. Because Zhu Di's elite main force was cavalry, and the endurance of horses was far inferior to that of people, Zhu Di had to take the initiative to attack because he relied on cavalry to fight. Sheng Yong's army was basically infantry, relying on military formations, firearms, and crossbows for defensive counterattacks. The longer the battle dragged on, the greater the physical exertion on the warhorse, which was not conducive to Zhu Di.
However, at this moment, a strong northeast wind suddenly blew up and rushed straight towards the southern army. Shengyong's army is mainly infantry and requires a high degree of organization to command. Such a strong wind soldier could not even open his eyes, which destroyed the possibility of Sheng Yong's army to resist the cavalry impact. Zhu Di seized the opportunity and immediately led the cavalry troops to attack, and Sheng Yong was defeated in the chaos.
With this strong wind, Zhu Di defeated Sheng Yong for the first time.
Third, the third strong wind once again saved Zhu Di's life
After defeating Sheng Yong, Zhu Di attacked Zhending. In order to lure and lure the defenders out of the city to fight in the field, Zhu Di spread false news, saying that the Northern Army was short of food and was scattering and plundering grain. The Zhending general Wu Jie decided to take the opportunity to attack Zhu Di, and as a result, the two armies met in Gaocheng. Zhu Di achieved his goal of luring the enemy out of the city, and he was overjoyed. But when he saw the position of the Confederate army, he was dumbfounded. The Southern Army had long been prepared for the cavalry of the Northern Army, and the battalion had more high towers and more crossbows, and the Cavalry of the Northern Army suffered heavy losses in the process of charging the camp. Zhu Di himself once again led the cavalry in a surprise attack, rushed into the Southern Army, and was again surrounded. The firearms and crossbows of the Confederate Army inflicted heavy casualties on the Northern Army. Zhu Di's flag was even shot as a hedgehog.
Fortunately, Emperor Jianwen had previously had a holy decree not to kill Zhu Di, and firearms and crossbows did not greet Zhu Di, otherwise even a hundred Zhu Di would be beaten into powder in this battle.
But God once again made a big wind and helped Zhu Di again. The improvised towers built under the strong winds were severely damaged, and the Southern Army lost the capital to resist the Cavalry of the Northern Army, and was slaughtered by Zhu Di, and more than 60,000 Southern Troops were killed. The Zhending Southern Army suffered heavy losses in this battle, and zhending did not dare to come out again.
Three times the wind helped to win, which was beyond the ability of human beings, and from then on Zhu Di himself firmly believed that he was destined for himself.
The so-called Mandate of Heaven is not vain after all, but Zhu Di's luck is really good.