Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 223 Lan Yu’s coldness

The sky was still cloudy, and the snow that fell on the ground was probably a little less than an adult's knees.Calculated in this way, the previous snowfall was a bit heavy.

The Mongolian Tatar cavalry hurried forward one step at a time, and finally arrived at Yongping Mansion in the afternoon.

Yongping Mansion also has a long history. According to records, it was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was called Yongping Road in the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties and belonged directly to Zhongshu Province.In the second year of Hongwu's reign in the Ming Dynasty, it was renamed Pingluan Prefecture and belonged to the Zhongshu Province in the north.

But soon, it was changed to Yongping Prefecture two years later.At the same time, in response to military needs, Commander Fei Yu expanded the original "Crescent City" eastward to build a new city, which was thirteen paces away and three feet high. It was filled with rammed earth on the inside and bricks and stones on the outside. It was majestic and several times taller than the previous one. forward.

Yongping Mansion has a population of about [-]. It is the largest city in the North except Beiping, and it is also a prosperous place.It is also for this reason that this Mongolian cavalry army was targeted for looting.

The vanguard of the Mongolian Tatars failed to capture the city gate, but they also cut off the road from Yongping Prefecture to Peiping.

Looking at the closed city gates of Yongping City, after the main Mongolian army arrived, they could only stay down first. Both men and horses needed to rest.

Even though these Mongolian Tatars are relatively cold-resistant, they are still flesh and blood after all.Just over an hour later, outside Yongping City, there was a continuous line of yurts, with the greatest momentum in recent years.

The several leaders of the Mongolian Tatars naturally did not need to set up camp. They were observing the city defense of Yongping Mansion together.

"Did you see that many of the defenders on the city are civilians? It seems that Minggou did not station a heavy force here!" Deputy Privy Envoy Jiutong pointed to the city wall and said to Brother Pingzhang. , "It seems that Minggou is still afraid that this place cannot be defended. If there are heavy troops stationed, we may catch them all in one fell swoop!"

After hearing this, Brother Bieli nodded and said: "If there are a lot of troops stationed here, as long as we surround this place and cut off their reinforcements, it will be a dead city. Therefore, they must have a large number of troops stationed in Shijiazhuang and other places. It will be safe.”

Having said this, he made an estimate in his mind and said: "We have about three to five days to calmly attack Yongping Mansion. We will rest today and prepare for the attack, and we will officially attack the city tomorrow!"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Duo'er Buhua and said: "Send a few troops to harass various places so that the Ming dogs can't figure out our real purpose, and we can buy another three to five days. The main force of the Ming army has arrived. , it will take half a month anyway. By then, Yongping will be conquered no matter what."

After hearing this, Duo'er Buhua immediately accepted the order with her fists clasped, and then went to carry out the military order.

Not long after, several Mongolian cavalry rode close to the city of Yongping Mansion and shouted loudly: "One hundred thousand elites of the Yuan Empire are besieging the city. You are required to surrender early tomorrow morning, otherwise the massacre will begin when the city is broken!"

Then, what they responded to were random arrows fired from the city.However, these Tatars who persuaded them to surrender were prepared and did not hurt them.

The first day basically went by like that.

The next day, it was still cloudy and it didn't rain.But the wind howled, and it was biting.

The Mongol army outside the city began to move after burying pots to make rice.

They came well prepared. The catapults had been assembled one by one. A group of more than a dozen Tatars pushed the catapults towards Yongping City.

In addition, they also had a ladder with a movable bottom, a retractable ladder, and a barb at the top that could hook the city head, and they were also pushed out.

In any case, the Mongol Tatars have been stationed in the Central Plains for nearly a hundred years. They have learned all kinds of siege methods, and there are also skilled craftsmen in the army.

With this well-prepared siege posture and the densely packed Mongolian Tatar soldiers, most people would be frightened when they saw it.

In addition, what is more eye-catching outside the city is a group of Mongolian Tazi soldiers escorting a group of people, about fifty people, looking at the clothes, they are ordinary people of Ming Dynasty, men, women and children, going to Shuaiqi.

When Brother Bieli saw it, he couldn't help but frowned and said, "Why are there only so few people?"

Yesterday, when the army was resting, a small number of them were not resting. They relied on the speed of their horses to sweep everywhere.The villages under the jurisdiction of Yongping Prefecture were all plundered by these Tatar soldiers.

According to their usual practice, all the property was looted, the houses were burned, and the population was either looted and sent outside the customs, or used as cannon fodder.

Yongping City is their target. Therefore, raiding the villages outside the city and capturing the Ming people as human shields is one of their most commonly used siege strategies.

At this time, after hearing the questioning, the subordinates reported that Ming Gou had fled after seeing the beacon fire, but they were still traced to the hiding place in the mountains and captured.

Although Brother Bieli was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to wave his hand for them to prepare to attack the city.

"Woo woo woo" the long horn sound sounded, and the Mongolian Tatar soldiers began to gather.At the same time, the number of defenders on the city suddenly increased a lot.

What the Mongolian Tartars outside the city didn't know was that it was not the original commander Fei Yu who was in charge of the military affairs in the city, but Lan Yu, the governor's official.

After Xu Da had the signal tower, he redeployed his troops and deliberately exposed the flaws of Qingshui Mingyue Pass. Naturally, he could not help but use Yongping Mansion as bait.

However, no matter what, Yongping Mansion is the most important town in the North besides Beiping.Even if it is used as bait, the Mongolian Tatars cannot really swallow this bait.If this were to happen, it would be a stain on the war, and the Emperor would not allow it.

Therefore, Xu Da transferred Lan Yu and led three thousand cavalry troops to quietly enter Yongping City in batches, with Lan Yu taking charge of Yongping City.

At this time, at the top of Yongping City, Fei Yu followed Lan Yu, looking at the Mongol Tatar army that far exceeded expectations, looking at the catapults and siege ladders, and suggested with some worry: "The city The troops on the head are a little weaker, and there are still a lot of strong people, why don't we send the second batch to the top of the city?"

Lan Yu was observing the enemy's formation with a monocular and ignored his words.

Seeing this, Fei Yu hesitated for a moment, and then suggested: "How about shooting those catapults first?"

At this time, Lan Yu had probably finished observing the enemy formation, put down the monocular telescope, turned to look at him, and shouted in a cold voice: "Without the general's military order, the barbarian artillery is not allowed to fire. Anyone who disobeys the military order will be killed!"

What you say is categorical and there is no room for negotiation.

After hearing this, Fei Yu couldn't help but feel disappointed again.Yongping City is equipped with three latest barbarian cannons. Compared with the original artillery, the range is several times longer, and they are also accurate and powerful.

Although he listened to Lan Yu's words, he was a little unwilling to do so. He pointed at the Mongol Tatar flag outside the city and said: "If we don't bombard the catapults, then if the barbarian cannon is aimed at the Tatar flag, Maybe..." Before he could finish his words, he saw Lan Yu squinting at him with cold eyes, showing a trace of coldness, and immediately suppressed his next words.

He had already seen Lan Yu's strict military management when he went to see the three thousand cavalry troops.Although he didn't think Lan Yu could do anything to him, since he was the commander of the First Guard, he didn't know why, but deep down in his heart, he was really a little scared.

Of course, this is also related to Fei Yu's knowledge of Sapphire's background, that her niece is a princess and will be a queen in the future.He is definitely a relative of the emperor, and he cannot afford to offend him.

While he was thinking about it, he heard Lan Yu order in a cold voice: "Remove the local people from this section of the city wall and replace them with those who were originally brought here."

Fei Yu was a little puzzled. He looked up and immediately saw that the Mongolian Tatars outside the city were escorting a group of people to serve as human shields.

At this moment, he immediately understood what Sapphire meant.It is because the local people are afraid that they will not dare to attack, so they have to change defenses.In other words, it means that Sapphire might not care about the meat shields outside the city.

Thinking of this, Fei Yu became even more afraid of Lan Yu.He quickly agreed, not daring to have any intention of disobeying it, and quickly went to carry out the military order.

Lan Yu glanced at the commander's flag outside the city. He had already seen several Tatar leaders through the telescope.He knew the power of the barbarian cannons better than Fei Yu, and he also understood that if three barbarian cannons were concentrated for bombardment, several of the Tatar leaders would definitely die, and it would be easy to break the Tatar siege.

However, this is not what he wants.

No, Sapphire picked up the binoculars again to observe the signal tower on the hilltop in the distance.He found that the signal tower was moving, obviously sending some news to the outside.

With so much preparation, if I couldn’t eat all the Tartars outside the city in one go, I would be really sorry for such a good opportunity!

The long trumpet sound turned into a rapid one, and the Mongol Tatar siege finally began.

Some Tatar soldiers quickly approached the city wall on horseback and shot arrows towards the city head without asking for accuracy. Others drove their horses carrying bags of soil to fill the moat.

Counterweight catapults were also pushed to the front of the formation and fired stones at the top of the city.The common people of the Ming Dynasty were driven to serve as human shields for these catapults, and they were tied and stood in front of each catapult.

On the top of Yongping City, they also started to counterattack, using bows, arrows, and muskets to shoot at the approaching Tatar soldiers. There were also artillery fires, but just like the catapults, they were not accurate at first glance.

Under the banner of the Tartar Commander, Biligo and the others were naturally observing the situation of the siege.

After looking at it for a while, Jiutong, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, said to Brother Bili with a surprised expression: "This Ming dog who guards the city doesn't look very good. If it were me, I wouldn't make unnecessary counterattacks. We will fight back only when we really start to attack the city.”

Brother Bieli's expression also became relaxed, and he said calmly: "Don't forget, when our army is deployed, there are at least [-] or [-] people in the city. How can we not be afraid?"

"That's true!" Jiutong listened and nodded with a smile, "As long as the reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty don't arrive, Yongping City should be a sure thing!"

The fighting continued until evening. The Mongolian Tatars were just bluffing. In the end, they just filled in a section of the moat and then returned to camp.

The next day, the army attacked the city again, but there was still heavy thunder and little rain.

When evening came, Jiutong said with a smile: "In just over a day, the defenders at the top of the city have used up a lot of bows and arrows and ammunition. In two days at most, we will be able to attack the city."

Having said this, he paused and said: "There is no news about Tanma, and obviously there is no news about the reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty. Even if they come, our empty troops in Luanzhou can still attract the attention of the reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty."

The implication is that Yongping City is within their grasp.

But just when he was proud, a scout horse galloped from the north, attracting the attention of several of them.

"Report, there are Ming troops from the west coming east along the line of the Great Wall, about five thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry."

When Brother Bieli heard this, he was immediately surprised and quickly asked for the specific situation. Then he became confused: "What is the situation of this Ming army? It should be the Ming army over there in Ji Town. It is impossible to get the news so quickly!"

Duo'er Buhua listened and immediately replied: "The general knows that this Ming army should go to Qingshui Mingyue Pass to garrison. This can just explain why the defense of Qingshui Mingyue Pass is almost non-existent. In fact, it is this Ming army that is stationed at Qingshui Mingyue Pass." The fact that the army did not arrive can also explain why this Ming army took action at this time. It is definitely not a response to the news of our entry!"

"Yes, judging from the time, it should be so!" Jiutong nodded after hearing this, "Don't say that it is impossible to get the news so quickly. Even if it is known, the Ming army cannot just send such a small number of troops. Rescue. It is estimated that this Ming army will be frightened and retreat to Ji Town after hearing the news that we have entered the pass."

After listening to what the two of them said, Brother Bieli nodded in agreement: "Unfortunately, the purpose of our entry this time is to capture Yongping Mansion, otherwise we will return to the army and eat this Ming army!"

After finishing speaking, several people discussed it and sent a small team to threaten the Ming army and scare them back to Jizhen.

Time soon came to the afternoon of the third day, and the main force of the Mongolian Tatars officially began to attack the city.The fighting was very fierce, and several times, we almost reached the top of the city. Unfortunately, we were only a breath away and were defended by the Ming army again.

While Brother Bieli and others were feeling sorry for themselves, Tan Ma came to report again.

"What? That Ming cavalry army is still advancing towards Qingshui Mingyue Pass?"

Hearing this news, Brother Bili felt something was wrong. Logically speaking, it was impossible for the Ming army to go deep alone!
Jiutong was also a little doubtful and said: "Could it be that they want to block us in the pass?"

After hearing this, Duo'er Buhua immediately shook her head and said, "Impossible. With just these people, if there are no reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty, aren't we afraid of being eaten by us?"

Their main force is attacking Yongping, and there are suspicious soldiers elsewhere. The main force of the Ming Dynasty's reinforcements has not been there for ten and a half days, so it is impossible to know where their main force is!

After hearing what they said, Brother Bieli looked at Yongping City and finally gave the order: "Attack the city with all your strength tomorrow, take Yongping as soon as possible, and then return to eat the Ming army!"

To be on the safe side, Duoer Buhua led three thousand cavalry troops to intercept and harass the Ming army and prevent it from reaching Qingshui Mingyue Pass.

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(End of this chapter)