Ming Empire

Chapter 52 Countermeasures
After observing for a while, Cao Yue's expression changed immediately: "It's Jiannu cavalry!"

The telescope was made by Cao Yue when he was in Beijing.During the Ming Dynasty, glass products were not rare and were easily obtained. Many people with poor eyesight wore glasses to improve their eyesight.With the current glass, Cao Yue, who had been a soldier for many years before crossing, naturally thought of a telescope, which is very useful for military purposes.If there is no ready-made one, use what you have learned to make it.

Generally speaking, simple telescopes can be made with only junior high school physics knowledge. Cao Yue didn't spend much effort and made several sets of usable, simple and easy-to-carry monoculars.Cao Yue has not yet been able to make binoculars and more complex telescopes with rulers.

Several important cronies of Cao Yue were equipped with this kind of monocular, and the users immediately discovered the great use of this object.Their admiration for Cao Yue also rose to a higher level with the small telescope.

In the eyes of some people, Cao Yue has become synonymous with omnipotence.

Through the binoculars, Cao Yue found Jiannu cavalry who suddenly appeared near the Great Wall a few miles away.

There was no sign that the other party had spotted them either, which was a matter of luck.

All the guard troops led by Cao Yue were dressed in snow camouflage, white clothes, white cloaks, and white hats. Even if they were not far away, they might not be able to spot such people appearing on the snow.

Cao Yue also immediately issued an emergency response order, and nearly [-] servants followed him methodically and hid in a forest.

Cao Yue also made a decision immediately after discussing briefly with the leaders of several servants.He led a group of servants, rushed back to Datong first, and set up defenses. The new leader of the servants, Cao Xin, led 100 people to delay the progress of the Jiannu cavalry and waited for an opportunity to attack.

Cao Xin is a distant family brother of Cao Yue. He is very clever and has outstanding martial arts. He has been fighting with Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao before.He took a heavy responsibility in a battle, and then went home to recuperate for two years.Now that Cao Xin has recovered, Cao Yue asked him to lead his own troops.Cao Yue has already promoted the capable personnel of the other servants to important positions, and the leader of the servants can only be selected elsewhere.

Today is also the time to test Cao Xin's ability.Cao Yue knew that the Jianshou cavalry appeared in the defense area of ​​Datong Town this time, and they must have come for Datong.Of course, Cao Yue couldn't stop the Jiannu cavalry in person. He had to rush back to Datong as soon as possible and set up defenses.

There are also people with extremely high IQs among Jiannu. They may think that when the weather is cold and the ground is covered with heavy snow, this kind of season that everyone thinks is not suitable for military operations. My Ming army will definitely not take precautions. Unknowingly, unknowingly sneak attack.Cao Yue could even conclude that the appearance of the Jiannu cavalry near Datong this time was aimed at him, and it was Jiannu's planned revenge after knowing that he was guarding Datong.

Today's Datong Town Army is not on high alert. If they don't rush back to make arrangements as soon as possible, they may be caught off guard by Jiannu, or Cao Yue will suffer a heavy loss.

After setting up the task, Cao Yue ordered the more than [-] servants who went back with him to hand over all the grenades they carried on their bodies, which is what the servants called wooden-handled dragon cannons, to Cao Xin who stayed behind to block them. More than a hundred people.

After handing over the grenade with a wooden handle, Cao Yue immediately led more than [-] servants and rushed back to Datong as quickly as possible.

It took more than half a day, and Cao Yue led three hundred servants who were as tired as dogs to rush back to Datong.When they arrived in Datong, it was already dark, and the city gate had already been closed. Cao Yue used the seal of the general soldier he brought to open the gate of Datong.

After entering the city, he also immediately ordered his subordinates to summon Datong's officials and generals to discuss matters at the headquarters of the general army in Datong City.Originally, Cao Yue set up the Xingyuan of the general army in the big camp outside the city, but after the weather turned cold, he still listened to the suggestion of Wei Daben, the magistrate of Datong, and moved the Xingyuan back to the city, and moved all the troops of the first battalion to garrison inside the city. .

Soon, Wei Daben, the magistrate of Datong, Cao Jie, the general of the first battalion, and some other officials living in the city were called to the headquarters of the general army.

"General Cao, what happened?" Wei Daben, the magistrate of Datong who entered Xingyuan, saw Cao Yue's serious face, and couldn't help asking.

Because of the cold weather, Wei Daben had already fallen asleep. After receiving Cao Yue's urgent summons, he immediately guessed that something urgent must have happened.

"Master Wei, when the Japanese general led his troops to inspect the border today, he bumped into the Jiannu cavalry near the Outer Great Wall. They were less than a hundred miles away from Datong. The Jiannu cavalry must have come to attack Datong by surprise. I dare not If there is any delay, after leaving a team to stop the enemy, I rushed back to Datong immediately. I called everyone here today to make preparations overnight to defend against the invasion of Jiannu. According to my estimate, Jiannu will be here tomorrow evening at the earliest By noon the day after tomorrow, they will be able to reach the city of Datong."

From the west of Juyongguan, the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty is divided into two lines, north and south, and meets Pianguan in Shanxi. It is called the inner and outer Great Wall.

The Outer Great Wall is the northwest of Juyongguan Passing through Chicheng, Chongli, Zhangjiakou, Wanquan and Huai'an and entering Datong's Tianzhen, Yanggao, Datong, Zuoyun along the junction of Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, reaching Pianguan and Hequ; the Inner Great Wall is from the southwest of Juyongguan It enters Datong's Lingqiu and Hunyuan via Yixian, Hunyuan, and Fuping in Hebei, and then passes through Yingxian, Fanzhi, and Shenchi to Laoying.

The Jiannu whom Cao Yue met was already near the Outer Great Wall. Based on the past period of time, their itinerary is estimated to have crossed the Outer Great Wall, and maybe arrived near the Inner Great Wall.The Outer Great Wall remained due to multiple passes, and Jiannu often entered through the broken passes.

Hearing what Cao Yue said, Wei Daben and Cao Jie were shocked into a cold sweat. They never expected that under such bad weather, Jiannu would lead an army to attack Datong for a long distance.Fortunately, when Cao Yue led his troops to patrol the customs, he encountered Jiannu by accident, and was able to escape and return to Datong to arrange defenses.Although Wei Daben had never really seen Cao Yue's ability, and felt that Cao Yue was a bit too young, judging from Cao Yue's performance during military training during this period, he was a quite capable general.

The situation is critical, and now the only ones who can rely on him are Cao Yue, the general soldier of Datong, and the [-] recruits who have just been recruited.

Wei Daben is also a decisive person. He immediately said to Cao Yue: "General Cao, how to deploy defenses and how to defend against the enemy is up to you. Just say it straight, what you want my government to do, as long as this government can do it If you arrive, you must do so, and you will never refuse.”

In the Ming Dynasty, civil servants of the same level were much higher than military generals, but Cao Yue did not have this concept. He subconsciously believed that military generals who controlled the army were the ones who had the most say, so when discussing matters with Wei Daben, he never Be careful with you, and be commensurate with the next official.

But Wei Daben surprisingly didn't care about these, or he didn't show his care.

"Okay." Seeing Wei Daben being so straightforward, Cao Yue couldn't help admiring, and immediately said his request, "Ben will hope that the magistrate will transfer all the people outside Datong to the city before Jiannu arrives in Datong. , and prepare the corresponding food. During the expedition to establish slaves, they rarely brought military food. They always ate food locally and used it to support war. This time, the general will not give them a chance, and try to find a way to fortify the wall and clear the wilderness."

After hearing this, Wei Daben frowned slightly, and immediately relaxed, and agreed very readily, "Okay, then the mansion will make preparations overnight. We must find a way to mobilize as many people as possible from outside the city into the city, and Prepare enough food."

"That's great. With Wei Zhifu's strong cooperation, I will have full confidence in repelling Jiannu, and even severely injuring them in the city of Datong!"

"General Cao, if there is no other order, then the mansion will make preparations immediately!" Wei Daben said, cupping his hands at Cao Yue, and immediately ordered the officials under him to follow him to make preparations overnight.

Zhang An, the supervisor of Datong Town, also came later. He is not proficient in military affairs, and Cao Yue is the only one he can rely on now.He also repeatedly assured Cao Yue that he was willing to provide all conveniences as long as he needed to fight.Zhang An's statement made Cao Yue very pleased.

After discussing privately with Zhang An, he also reported the news of the Jiannu attack to Beijing in the form of an urgent report in their respective names, suggesting that the imperial court strictly order the prefectures and prefectures near Beijing to garrison troops and take strict precautions against Jiannu's sneak attack.

At this time, the leading generals of various ministries also came to Cao Yue's Xingyuan one after another.

(End of this chapter)