Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

"Just wait and see."

Sun Yuanhua pondered for a while, and finally gave up the idea of ​​passing on the message. He said worriedly: "If the Japanese pirates really come to attack, can we defend ourselves?"

Yang Ling asked in return: "Are we going to retreat?"

Sun Yuanhua shook his head and said, "Of course not. If the Japanese pirates want to attack, let them come. I actually hope they come earlier so I can take the opportunity to kill a few of them and vent my anger."

Yang Ling smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Sun, the Japanese pirates' attack is certainly a pleasure, but it will cause chaos to the entire dynasty. If the Japanese pirates are weak, it may be better, but if they are strong, not only will we suffer, even ordinary civilians may not be spared."

Sun Yuanhua was horrified when he heard this, and murmured, "You are right, I was foolish. If only the Japanese pirates had attacked earlier, I would have killed a few of them myself to vent my anger!"

Yang Ling changed the subject and said, "Brother Sun, our Northern Pacification Division organizes people from the Inspection Division to investigate the situation in the village every four days. How come it's your turn today?"

"Hehe, I was lucky this time. I encountered two sneaky Japanese pirates. I followed the clues and caught them. Then I hurried to report to you, Master Yang."

"Well, where are these two pirates being held?"

Sun Yuanhua immediately said, "Just lock him up in the woodshed at the back hall."

"lead the way!"

Sun Yuanhua turned and walked towards the north wing, leading Yang Ling to the woodshed. Pushing the door open, they saw the woodshed was full of hay, and two bricks were piled in the corner.

Sun Yuanhua turned to Yang Ling and explained, "These two bricks are used to prevent the thieves from escaping, just in case."

"Well, you did a good job. Thank you for your hard work, Brother Sun."

Sun Yuanhua waved his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, you're welcome."

Yang Ling walked to the firewood pile, bent down, picked up the rusty machete from the bottom of the pile, weighed it, and threw it to Zuo Jun standing next to him, and ordered: "Cut off the legs of this Japanese pirate and throw him back to the county government office!"

Zuo Jun took the order and strode away with the machete in hand.

The short fat man was tied to the wooden frame and shouted in fear: "Have mercy, have mercy! I will confess, I will confess!"

Yang Ling walked up to him and looked down at the short fat man. His fat face was shiny and oily, his round belly looked like he was nine months pregnant, and his mouth looked a little pale due to lack of blood. However, this fat man was indeed a ruthless person. He was beaten to death by Yang Ling just now, but now he was struggling to beg for mercy. It can be said that he had a strong vitality and could withstand more beatings than a cockroach.

Yang Ling squatted down and stared at the short fat man, and asked in a cold tone: "What's your name?"

"My name is Ma Gui, and I am the inspector of Dongjiang Town. I have been ordered to lead people to monitor the movements of Beihai Town. The two people just now were my companions."

Yang Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "How did you two inspectors know Zhao Dequan?"

Ma Gui immediately answered, "Zhao Dequan invited us two to be his guests, and we met by chance in the restaurant."

After Ma Gui finished speaking, he looked at Yang Ling anxiously, not understanding why he had confessed. Could it be that this young captain liked to hear lies?

Yang Ling nodded secretly. It seemed that his guess was correct. These two guys were hired to spy on him. This kind of people are the most cunning. If you force them too hard, they might rather bite their tongues and commit suicide than say a word. But it's better this way, so as not to waste your breath.

Yang Ling then asked: "Then why did you come to Beihai Town?"

Ma Gui hesitated and said hesitantly: "I"

Yang Ling stared at him sharply and said coldly: "Don't want to say it?"

Ma Gui was terrified by Yang Ling's gaze, and hurriedly said, "Tell me, I heard that there was a grain robbery here, so I came to investigate."

Yang Ling asked, "Why did the bandit suddenly escape?"

"I don't know. Maybe they are afraid that we will report to the police!"

Yang Ling snorted, "Nonsense, this place is at least 70 or 80 miles away from Beihai Town. If the bandits want to leave, there is no need to take a long detour. Besides, even if they want to escape, they don't have to rush. They can choose to sneak into Beihai Town at night to rob food. This will not delay the journey and will not alert the Beihai Town army."

Ma Gui was speechless and stammered, "Well, well, I really don't know."

"Not sure? Then how did you find Zhao Dequan?"

Ma Gui raised his head and looked towards Yang Ling, thinking to himself: Could it be that my whereabouts have been exposed?
Yang Ling noticed that Ma Gui's eyes were rolling around, and he couldn't help but sneer in his heart, and continued to interrogate: "Who assigned you? Why did you pretend to be Japanese pirates to spy on the news?"

Ma Gui swallowed his saliva and said: "This. This"

"Say or not?"

Ma Gui saw that Yang Ling's expression was getting more and more sinister, and he was so scared that he almost wet his pants. He hurriedly said, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

"Say!"

"It was Lord Xu from Dongjiang Town. Lord Xu Jie sent someone to deliver a letter to Brother Zhao, asking him to help us spy on the true situation of Beihai Town."

Yang Ling suddenly realized: It turned out that this group of people were disguised as people from Dongjiang Town. No wonder Beihai Town is so peaceful now. It turns out that all the personnel have been transferred to other places for duty.

After Ma Gui finished speaking, he saw that Yang Ling didn't say anything, so he lowered his head in fear and waited for his fate, hoping that Yang Ling would not kill him.

After a long while, Yang Ling suddenly laughed and said, "You are honest and you actually confessed everything on your own initiative. Very good, I have decided to spare your life. Remember, I don't want to hear any fictitious lies, otherwise I will punish you severely."

Ma Gui heaved a long sigh, kowtowed with tears of gratitude and said, "Thank you, sir, for not killing me."

Yang Ling kicked Ma Gui's butt: "Get lost!"

"Yes, yes, thank you for your kindness, sir."

Ma Gui got up in a panic and left the house. Yang Ling then ordered, "Drag these two pirates out and bury them!"

The left and right armies agreed and dragged the short fat man and the skinny monkey out of the house, and in a moment they disappeared into the night.

Yang Ling returned to the bed, picked up the teapot and filled it with half a pot of cold water to rinse his mouth, then undressed and went to sleep. Although he had gained a lot tonight, he was still mentally exhausted from the hard work of the past two days, and he fell asleep soon after closing his eyes.

The next morning, Yang Ling woke up, had breakfast, and immediately called together all the officers to discuss matters.

As usual, today we will summarize yesterday's battle results and formulate strategies for future operations.

Everyone gathered in the hall. Yang Ling sat in the middle, looked around at everyone and said loudly: "Everyone, yesterday I led 300 cavalrymen under my command to fight a fierce battle with the Tatar cavalry, annihilated more than 500 enemies, captured nearly 600 people, and seized dozens of firearms." Yang Hu, Chen Biao and others were extremely happy to hear this, especially Chen Biao, who was overjoyed. If the results of the battle were to be expanded at this speed, it would be estimated that within two or three months, the Tatars would be driven back to the northern desert, or even to the Kalaqin grassland.

Yang Ling paused for a moment, then continued, "According to my preliminary estimate, the firearms we seized from this battle alone are enough to equip two to three thousand men. Therefore, from now on, I will launch a more fierce counterattack against the Tatar cavalry and completely defeat the Tatar cavalry!"

Chen Biao asked hurriedly: "Sir, where are you going to mobilize troops to reinforce Beihai Town? Our Zuojun is willing to serve as the vanguard!"

Yang Ling shook his head and said, "I won't be using you for now. This time, I will personally lead the Left Army and the Right Army, a total of 4,000 soldiers, and divide them into three groups to attack the Tatar cavalry in turns. Each attack must not exceed three days, and we will attack two groups every day, with three days of rotation."

The left and right armies each had 4,000 soldiers, totaling more than 24,000 people, including two battalions with a total of 2,000 cavalry. Rotating three times a day was just enough to meet Yang Ling's needs.

Yang Hu felt a little discouraged when he heard this. He thought he could make a great contribution, but he didn't expect it to be another three-day rotation.

Yang Ling continued, "I have decided to dispatch two battalions of cavalry to assist in the defense. The remaining infantry will be divided into two groups, each responsible for guarding the city gate and the sentry tower. The cavalry of the left and right battalions will be led by Master Chen and Staff Officer Liu respectively. Master Chen will lead the left army, and Staff Officer Liu will lead the right army. The two armies will take turns guarding the Beihai Town wall and the sentry towers on both sides."

Master Chen and Staff Officer Liu looked at each other in surprise when they heard this, but neither of them raised any questions. They stood up and bowed to accept the order.

Yang Ling continued, "I have decided to transfer thirty mules and two hundred dan of grain from Beihai Town to Hetao. We will have to work hard these few days and seize Beihai Town before the autumn harvest."

Master Chen and Staff Officer Liu responded in unison. Yang Ling continued, "Pass the order. Give the whole army extra food and rewards. We will move out of the camp and set off in three days!"

Yang Ling's order was quickly passed down. The morale of the three armies was high. They scrambled for food and trained enthusiastically.

Both the left and right armies have cavalry. Because cavalry has strong combat effectiveness, there are thirty cavalry in each camp. Excluding the thirty rotating cavalry, the remaining two camps have more than 800 people each.

Although Yang Ling had only more than 2,000 cavalrymen, they were equipped with heavy and light armor, bows, crossbows, arrows and other weapons. In addition, they had strong tactical skills and were not afraid of facing the Tatar cavalry alone.

Yang Ling was not worried that the Ming army would not be able to hold out under the attack of the Beihai Town garrison and the Tatar cavalry. The most urgent thing now was to capture Beihai Town as soon as possible to avoid harming the people.

Yang Ling ordered the left and right armies to deploy near Beihai Town, and at the same time sent scouts to investigate the situation around Beihai Town and be prepared for any contingencies.

Yang Ling's prediction was correct. The Tatars would not commit crimes again in the short term, and Beihai Town was safe.

It was late autumn and snow had already started falling in Beihai Town, making it extremely cold.

Yang Ling paced in the big tent, thinking about the offensive strategy for the afternoon.

According to the tactics formulated last night, the left and right cavalry forces attacked Beihai Town successively this afternoon.

This can save siege equipment and reduce casualties.

However, the main task of these two cavalry units was to launch a feint attack to lure the Beihai garrison to send troops for rescue or to go out of the city for a field battle.

In Yang Ling's opinion, the Tatars would definitely send troops to support Beihai Town. If his guess was correct, the Beihai Town garrison would certainly send troops to reinforce after the two cavalry units attacked the city. If the Tatars chose to send troops, they would be walking into a trap and seeking their own death.

Yang Ling believed that his judgment was correct, so he decided to take the opportunity to send troops to capture Beihai Town.

"Report——"

Just as Yang Ling was thinking about how to attack Beihai Town, a messenger hurried into the tent and reported, "General, Commander Zhang has sent someone to urge the army to evacuate quickly!"

"What? Evacuate?"

Yang Ling was stunned, not understanding why Zhang Guodong suddenly ordered him and others to evacuate?

"Sir, it is said that the Tatars have breached the city. Commander Zhang requests permission for us to retreat!"

Yang Ling suddenly realized that Beihai Town had been breached and Zhang Guodong was worried about his safety, so he asked him to leave as soon as possible.

However, Zhang Guodong's worries were obviously unnecessary, as the Tatars could do nothing to Yang Ling.

"Order the left and right armies to keep 500 men each, and the rest to follow me across the river, attack Huanglong, and capture Beihai Town."

In the evening, Yang Ling led 3,000 soldiers and advanced southwest along the river bank. In a valley not far from Beihai Town, two cavalry units were waiting in neat rows.

Yang Hu, the captain of the left wing cavalry team of the left army, was wearing a red cloak, riding a tall maroon horse, with a sword on his waist, looking at Beihai Town in the distance with his head held high, a faint smile on his lips.

"Hahaha, I can finally stretch my muscles. I've been holding it in for so long!"

The deputy captain Liu Wenzhong next to Yang Hu was in high spirits. He was younger than Yang Hu, handsome, with an angular face and bright eyes, giving people a very tough feeling.

"Captain, we must not let our guard down. I heard that the Tatars are very brutal." Liu Wenzhong warned.

Yang Hu nodded and replied: "Don't worry, our left army has also suffered losses at the hands of the Mongolian Tatars, we will never take it lightly. But you kid, don't drag us down!"

"Captain, just wait and see. I promise to complete the mission." Liu Wenzhong patted his chest and promised solemnly.

Yang Hu turned his head and looked in the direction of Yang Ling, muttering, "If we can successfully capture Beihai Town this time, the commander will definitely use me. As long as I make military achievements, I may not be able to become a brigade commander, but I should have no problem becoming a thousand-householder!"

Liu Wenzhong also turned his head and looked towards the southeast, his eyes sparkling with excitement: "My father is right, following the Marshal means there will be meat to eat."

"What are you mumbling about? Hurry up and catch up!"

Seeing the two of them standing there chatting leisurely, Yang Ling couldn't help but scold them.

Liu Wenzhong and Yang Hu quickly jumped on their horses and followed the army.

As the sun gradually set, the goose-feather-like snow in the sky became heavier and heavier. The garrison on the top of Beihai Town was already on high alert. The outside of the tower was covered with thick snow, with sharp spikes occasionally showing.

The Tatars' attack was fierce. They built a temporary floating bridge next to the large pit under the city. Dozens of Niulu Zhangjing led hundreds of herdsmen carrying heavy ladders to the foot of the city and tried to climb the city wall.

The Tatars' ladders were set up in a very tricky position, just stuck in the gap of the battlements. If the defenders did not clear it in time, the ladders would climb up to the top of the city through the gap, and the defenders in the city would then have to lie down collectively to avoid the enemy's attack.

However, the defenders were well prepared. The archers on the city wall were lying in ambush at the edge of a large pit below the city. When they saw the enemy's ladders approaching the city wall, they bent their bows and shot.

Although the Tatars' attack was fierce, the defenders relied on the majestic city walls to wait for the opportunity and have resisted stubbornly until now.

Thanks to the Tatars' efforts, the number of ladders was sharply reduced, and the defenders on the city walls kept cheering, as if they were sure of victory.

Then, the Tatars dug trenches on both sides of the pit, preparing to set up the ladder after digging through the two trenches. (End of this chapter)