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Chapter 878 Invincible

"Chief of Staff Lei, do you think the enemy will flee at the sight of the enemy, or will we clear the land and lure the enemy in?"

It only took Jiang Bi three years from being transferred from the border army to the new army for training, and then being appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Military Commission. He is considered the most outstanding role model among the younger generation of the Ming Dynasty's border army families.

But so far he had only participated in the Battle of Bagua City, facing Ligdan Khan's detachment, and had never commanded a battle as a commander-in-chief of an army.

It was his first time leading an army to an expedition, and he was excited and nervous, fearing that something might go wrong. Being punished was a minor matter, but the greater matter was ruining the reputation of his grandfather Jiang Yingxiong and three generations of the Jiang family.

At this time, Lei Lao Hu, the former chief of staff of the Northeast Regional Military Command and the chief of staff of the Northern Army, became the only person he could rely on. Although he was less than 30 years old, he was a veteran who had participated in many battles. He had to be humble when it was time to be humble.

"Commander Jiang, we just need to build the city. We have a guard army and cavalry to support us. The enemy can do whatever they want. We just need to remain unchanged in the face of all changes. If they don't come, it's fine. But if they come, they won't be able to return without leaving behind hundreds of lives!"

Compared with Jiang Bi, Lei Lao Hu was much more confident. He only sent out 300 scouts to patrol within a range of 50 miles, and then sent army soldiers to dig trenches on the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest sides of Chijinwei.

Then he stared at the Tumed cavalry camped 5 miles to the east, and did not allow them to get close to the army, the civilians and craftsmen who were building the city, as if he cared more about them than the enemy.

"If we continue to advance in this way, I'm afraid this battle will take at least half a year to finish, right?"

Jiang Bi understood that Lei Lao Hu was strictly following the Army's drill manual, but he still had doubts about the tactics. Since the Army was not afraid of field battles, why did they have to rely on the city and wait foolishly? It would be better to advance a hundred miles and actively look for the enemy.

Even if the enemy had superior forces, they would not be able to defeat the turtle-like army for a while. As long as they were entangled, within two or three days, Sun Chengzong's main force would rush over to counter-encircle them. With the assistance of the Mongolian cavalry of the two guards, it was likely that they would be able to fight a vigorous annihilation battle.

"We can afford to delay! You have seen how much food, supplies, weapons and ammunition are being transported to Lanzhou. The General Staff and His Majesty do not seem to have any intention of a quick victory. I can't guess why. There must be a deeper meaning."

Judging from the military talent, Lei Lao Hu is really not as good as Jiang Bi Gao, or it can be said that the officers from Hai Hu Division, including the staff, do not have any extraordinary talents. They are very dogmatic in commanding operations, only follow the orders according to the manual, rarely play freely, and never have sudden ideas.

However, they also have an advantage that most of the generals from old-school military families cannot match, and that is that they are good at observing details and paying attention to data statistics.

Lei Lao Hu could not give an answer to the question that Jiang Bi wanted to know, but he could roughly estimate the intensity and duration of the battle from the scale of Lanzhou's logistics.

But he didn't go into the details of why he did this, because that was the job of the General Staff. As the Chief of Staff of the Northern Army, he only needed to watch Jiang Bi lead the army well and complete the tasks assigned by the General Staff. He couldn't do less, but there was no need to rush to do more.

"General, General... Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff... The scouts who went out have returned. A hundred miles away is the Shule River Oasis. We didn't find a large population, only a few riders lagging far behind. They would run away if chased, and would not get close."

As he was talking, a black horse came flying from a distance, close to the ground, fast and steady, with almost no ups and downs. Sitting on the horse was a person, or rather a mahjong tile with arms and legs, wide and wide, like a door panel. Before the person arrived, a loud voice came over, with clear pronunciation, but a slightly rolled tongue. "Emubu, let's exchange horses. You see, this one was given by the emperor, from the Imperial Horse Administration, it's worth it!" Jiang Bi knew Mongolian, and when he heard Emubu's Chinese, he immediately became interested and wanted to joke with this little Tumed taiji.

"Trade it with me, two for one! My horse is one of the best running horses in the tribe. It can run for more than half an hour without slowing down or losing weight. You won't lose out!"

But Ombu didn't think it was a joke. He thought about it seriously, pointed at the pistol worn by Jiang Bi on his waist and quoted a price for the exchange, and did not forget to praise how good his horse was.

"...That won't do. Guns are numbered and you will be punished if you lose them without reason." Jiang Bi didn't expect the Mongolian prince to be so straightforward. He couldn't continue the joke and quickly took it back.

"If you can make a contribution in the battle to take Hami, I will petition His Majesty to equip you with two guns, one long and one short!"

Lei Lao Hu didn't think that giving two guns was a big deal. If it could restrain this group of unruly and undisciplined Mongolian cavalry, the emperor would surely not be stingy.

"Deal, it's a deal!" Omubu curled his lips at Jiang Bi, fully expressing his dissatisfaction, then urged his horse to lean towards Lei Laohu and stretched out his right hand.

"Pah... Don't leave yet. Inform everyone to leave half of the troops here to guard, and the rest to go to the oasis on the Shule River. The mission is still the same. Lead the cavalry to clear the enemies within a radius of 50 miles. Don't kill those who can be captured. Don't fight to the death when you encounter a strong enemy. Retreat when you need to. If you lose too many big guns, you will lose them all!"

Lei Laohu also stretched out his right hand, grabbed Omubu while high-fiving him, and arranged the next actions loudly. In order to prevent the other party from not hearing clearly or remembering clearly, he repeated it twice.

"Don't worry, my father told me that we can fight tough battles with the Ming army, so I shouldn't be impulsive. Go... Go... Go faster, I'll go find a suitable camp first!"

This time, Omubu really grinned, and his simple appearance was full of cunning thoughts. It was a pity that he had not yet learned how to hide it, and did not understand the true meaning of only saying half of what you want to say to others.

"Your Majesty wants to train him to take over from Bu Shitu?" Jiang Bi licked his lips as he watched the black horse go away. He really wanted to change, but he didn't dare to, so he began to envy and hate him.

"Don't underestimate him. He is only 19 years old this year. He has been in the new school for two years and participated in the Qinghai Campaign. He is highly regarded by Sun Chengzong. If he can survive this battle and study for another two years, he can at least become a thousand-man commander in the new army.

His Majesty said that youth is the greatest advantage. At his age, he will still be in his prime in ten years. With these years of experience, he will be more than qualified to inherit Bu Shitu's title."

Lei Laohu did not despise Ombu, the reason was from the emperor and Sun Chengzong. Needless to say, the emperor would not have been blindly interested in Ombu. Sun Chengzong, the military governor and co-governor, was a man with vision. His praise was like adding another layer of insurance, and the future was promising.

(End of this chapter)