unclear

Chapter 666: Leaving the Fortress
"Didn't I say that it all depends on God's will? This is probably God's will!" Hong Tao had been observing Du Wenhuan's expression out of the corner of his eye and didn't find anything wrong, so he took the small round box and handed it to Wang Chengen.

"But... Your Majesty, allow me to ask you one more question. Where did this letter come from? Is the writer reliable?" Du Wenhuan took a deep breath and finally understood why the emperor insisted on taking the northern route.

But there are still doubts in my mind. For example, the secret letter said that Zhang Bingzhong, the general of Datong, sent his family soldiers out of the border five days ago and has not returned yet, and then he made several adjustments to the border garrison. Is it too hasty to judge a border general as having rebellious intentions based on such behavior that is neither too normal nor too abnormal?

"Well, you still have some brains. You really shouldn't believe it so easily. But don't forget what I am going to do on this tour. The bait has been put into the water. As long as there are fish in the water, they will definitely take the bait. This big bait of mine is still very tasty. I am not afraid that it will not attract people with ulterior motives. Once we are outside the border wall, everything will be revealed."

If Du Wenhuan immediately stated that Zhang Bingzhong was a traitor and should be torn into pieces, Hong Tao would position him as a lower-level officer in the army and he would never be able to hold command power in his lifetime.

People who are too simple-minded and too gullible are not suitable for making correct judgments in a war full of intricacies and deceptions. Letting them take command is the greatest irresponsibility to the soldiers.

The secret letter was sent by the Statistics Department. Although they did not find out Zhang Bingzhong's serious fault, they did not give up easily. They gathered together with the people sent by the General Staff and hid in Datong under various identities. They kept an eye on the movements of the General's Mansion at all times. As long as they found any abnormality, no matter how big or small, they would send someone to report it.

This was already the fifth secret letter. Ever since the imperial carriage passed through Juyong Pass, Zhang Bingzhong and his close generals would gather in a courtyard in a corner of the general's mansion almost every night for a long time before leaving.

Two days later, the deputy general of the general's personal guards led more than ten riders to quietly leave Datong at night, and rode northward along the post road non-stop for a whole day and a night. Finally, they went out of the border wall from Juqiang Fort and disappeared.

Then there was a large-scale mobilization of the border troops in Datong Town. The border troops originally stationed in Zhenlu Wei, Tiancheng Wei, Yanghe Wei, and Gaoshan Wei left their garrisons, and they were replaced by border troops from the west, including Datong Youwei, Weiyuan Wei, and Yulin Wei.

Coincidentally, these four guards were closest to Xinghe City where the emperor met with Shunyi Wang and Baihong Dataiji. Of course, it cannot be said that Zhang Bingzhong intended to harm the emperor. It may also be that he made arrangements in advance to better protect the emperor's safety.

Not only did he mobilize troops, but Xuanfu General Ma Chengen was also not idle. On the afternoon of the day when the emperor left Xuanfu, he sent Lieutenant General Xiao Ruzhi to lead troops to follow him to Yanghebao, which was also the closest military fort to Xinghe City in Xuanfu.

Three days later, Emperor Jingyang passed through Xuanfu and entered Datong, and went out of the border wall at Xinpingbao. The local garrison had received orders from the Ministry of War and did not make any attempt to stop him.

According to the rules, Zhang Bingzhong and other generals of Datong Town were not allowed to leave their station, so naturally they were nowhere to be seen. Only a lieutenant of Zhenluwei was there to welcome the emperor on behalf of his superior, but he was sent away by Zhang Ran with just two words, and he didn't even see the emperor.

Theoretically, the Ming Dynasty's border wall was built on the natural boundary between farming and nomadic peoples. Why is it natural? Because there is an invisible precipitation belt here. The precipitation in the south is relatively high, which can meet the needs of farming, while the precipitation in the north is relatively low, which is more suitable for grazing.

But theories are often macro-generalizations, and are not accurate at a specific point. At this time, Hong Tao's team was not walking on the desert Gobi or loess gullies, but on the gentle slopes of hills with green mountains, green grass, shady trees, and gurgling streams. Many places were more fertile and moist than the land north of Xuanfu. After about 20 miles, you can see clusters of tents and groups of cattle and sheep on the hillside, but herdsmen are relatively rare. It is estimated that they saw the army vanguard wearing toad skins, and they hid in fear because they didn't know why.

The name of Xinghe City comes from the Yuan Dynasty, and this rammed earth city also has a long history. It has been established since the Warring States Period. In the early Ming Dynasty, it belonged to Yulin County. It is located at the eastern end of the Yinshan Mountains, more than 300 miles away from Guihua City. It is the natural dividing line between the Tumed and Kharchin pastures.

Although it is called a city, Xinghe City has actually been abandoned for more than a hundred years since the Ming army retreated southward. Mongolian herdsmen sometimes use it as a livestock pen, and sometimes build tents in the city to spend the winter. However, no one manages it, let alone repairs it. Most of the buildings, including the city walls, are in ruins.

When they were still ten miles away from Xinghe City, the cavalrymen in front sent out fireworks signals and found that about 3,000 cavalrymen were coming from the north. The scouts cruising around ten miles away also found some cavalrymen one after another, who seemed to be traveling with them.

"Stop advancing, get ready for battle!" Judging from the number and direction, Hong Tao felt that the newcomers did not seem to be hostile. But he did not dare to be arrogant, and immediately issued an order.

Not many enemies were killed in the battle of Tashan, but many more horses were captured. Li Ruzhang's army instantly changed from infantry to mounted infantry. Although they were still far from being able to be used as cavalry, their combat radius increased a lot.

This time, the more than 5,000 soldiers and generals in the vanguard and the hundreds of brave warriors in the Imperial Stables all had a luxurious configuration of two horses each. However, it was also a burden. If a war broke out during the march, the horses had to be gathered together and someone had to be assigned to look after them.

According to the lethality and firing rate of the Minié rifle, Li Ruzhang created several formations for field battles on plains, mountains and woods in the army. In the daily training subjects of the army soldiers, 70% were about formation and identifying orders, 20% were about quickly digging trenches, and only 10% were about skillfully using weapons.

When engaging in an encounter with the enemy on the plains, if there was no time to dig trenches and shelters, the troops would line up in battle array with a hundred households as the basic unit, with four-wheeled carts and artillery positions in the middle. Soldiers would form three horizontal rows on the left and right of the carts, and would advance, retreat or shoot according to the copper whistle of the hundred households.

The thousand-householder would then stand in the carriage and look at the signal flag of the commander of his guard to receive the order, and then arrange how his hundred-householders should act.

Each commander had a special signal carriage and several signal soldiers. During wartime, a folding wooden ladder more than ten meters high was built in the carriage. Two signal soldiers climbed up and tied their bodies up. One of them held a telescope to observe, and the other held two small flags to signal.

The commander communicated with his superiors and subordinates about the enemy situation, formation changes, and information on attack or retreat through these two signal soldiers. Each guard had a flag of a unique color, and the thousand and hundred households only needed to find the flag of a specific color on the battlefield and understand the flag language to receive accurate orders.

This command system was not created by Hong Tao, but was developed by Li Ruzhang based on the navy's command system and combined with the army's conditions. With the help of trumpets and whistles, it can basically achieve the effect of quickly delivering orders to the hundred households.

(End of this chapter)