The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Two days later, Wei Guangde stood on Guancheng to say goodbye to Weng Pu. Also standing beside him were Si Qianshi, the envoy of the Provost and Inspector, and Li Zhen, the officer of Miyun Military Preparation.

According to previous official documents sent by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, the grain and grass allocated by Tongzhou were transported by the Bingbei Road around the capital. Among them, the person responsible for escorting the grain and grass this time was Li Zhen of the Miyun Bingbei Road. According to Wei Guangde's arrangement, this batch of grain and grass was transported from Juyongguan After crossing the Great Wall, go directly south to Huailai, and then transfer to Baoan Prefecture.

Li Zhen's task was to deliver the grain and grass to Baoan Prefecture and then it would be over. The reason why he arranged for the military officer to be responsible for escorting the transportation was because the grain and grass matter at this time was of great importance and could not be careless. Whether it was for the king's sake or for himself, soldiers from all over the country Beidao is responsible for escorting the food and grass, so he will naturally dispatch elite soldiers and generals from the area under his jurisdiction to go there.

"You should be careful when going to Baoan Prefecture. Remember what I said before. If the time is not ripe, remember not to act rashly."

Weng Pu had already told Li Zhen about his arrangements. This time he was transporting the military supplies of the Xuanfu and sending Wei Guangde to Baoan Prefecture to supervise the war. However, before leaving, he was still a little worried and stopped Wei Guangde and whispered.

"Don't worry, sir. I know how powerful I am, and I will never move lightly if I am not sure."

Wei Guangde hurriedly expressed his position.

This time, Li Zhen brought more than a thousand men and horses. This did not include the enlisted civilian husbands. Some of the grain and grass previously stored in Huai Lai also had to be taken away. It can be said that this is the most important team of grain transporters. .

"Master Li, I leave everything to you."

Weng Pu nodded, then turned to Li Zhen and said.

Li Zhen didn't dare to ask for help, so she immediately bowed in response.

Under the urban management, the gate of Juyong Pass is open, and grain trucks continue to drive out of the pass and move forward along the mountain road.

On both sides of the official road, countless refugees who had not yet been interrogated were driven to both sides of the road by the soldiers. At this time, most of them stared blankly at the carts of food passing in front of them.

Because it was wartime, these people who were fleeing had no way to prove their identity, and some of them had already passed the customs.

But when Wei Guangde saw that they were hungry and cold when they fled here, he still couldn't bear to ignore them even though he had received the education of later generations. He arranged for people to give porridge twice a day under the city, as long as they ensured that no one would starve to death here.

Not long after, the rumble of horse hoofs sounded, and a group of people rushed out from the city gate. The first two people were naturally Wei Guangde, and next to him was Li Zhen, who was in charge of the Miyun army.

After leaving Guancheng, Wei Guangde just turned around and rushed to Guancheng, slightly cupping his hands, and then went forward with his guards.

Speaking of which, although Li Zhen served as the Inspector General, was responsible for organizing troops and preparing roads, and was a fifth-grade civil servant, he could not be superior to Wei Guangde.

Although Wei Guangde was only reviewed by the Hanlin Academy, a seventh-rank official, he also served as deputy border patrol envoy. As the war began, Weng Pu, the border patrol ambassador, was changed to admiral of military affairs, and Wei Guangde was also changed to counselor of military affairs. Although There was no promotion, but the position was fixed.

It is worth mentioning that the "counselor for military affairs" is not a literally understood position as a staff officer or a painter. In fact, the term "counselor for military affairs" was a unique thing of the Ming Dynasty that used culture to control military affairs.

It was created by Zhu Gaochi, Renzong of the Ming Dynasty, and fundamentally changed the way of controlling the army.

During his reign, he established the term "counselor for military affairs" in the military. This position was usually added to the appointment documents of governors from various places, that is, the civil servants sent by the imperial court to the general military ministers' office to assist in handling military secrets, and In later generations, local leaders generally served as deputy commanders of military regions at the same level.

It's just that in the Ming Dynasty, this position had great power. Not only could it "reach heaven to listen", but it could also reach into the governor and the system. Its actual power was still higher than that of the general soldier. It was said to be "auxiliary", but in fact it was For "overall management".

So much so that within a few years of development, under the promotion of the imperial court, counselors and civilian officials from all over the country were able to command the army. They even directly bypassed the previous checks and balances of the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office and formed their own system. You must know that the governors at that time were only temporary institutions. , the power is so great.

When Zhu Zhanji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, succeeded to the throne, he played an even bigger role than his father Zhu Gaochi. He made the temporary governor "permanent" and elevated him to the position above the local chief envoy, the commander-in-chief, and the inspector-general. It exists so that those who know the military cannot lead the army, but have to be commanded by the governor with "Counselor for Military Affairs" written on it.

It's just that such a position is brought to Wei Guangde. The specific effect depends on the attitude of the commander-in-chief. You must know that he is completely different from a Hanlin Academy reviewer to a governor sent to various places. He still lacks the title of Inspectorate. Because a big reason why governors can usurp military power is that they can impeach military generals.

Just based on his position, Li Zhen is really under the control of Wei Guangde now. After all, he is just an official in the war zone, so he is naturally under the command of the admiral military affairs officer, and Wei Guangde, the counselor of military affairs, can naturally do the same.

When Wei Guangde came out this time, in addition to taking Zhang Ji and Li San, the cavalry team that was transferred from Jizhen to protect them was also leaving. At least in Wei Guangde's view, the cavalry from Jizhen was probably better than the cavalry from Jingying. The combat power is much stronger.

The leader of this cavalry team is called Dong Yiyuan. He has been in contact with Wei Guangde a lot in the past month. Wei Guangde feels that this person is quite reliable, at least he is not a greedy person.

Dong Yiyuan also has an older brother named Dong Yikui, who is now serving as a guerrilla general in Xuanfu. This is because his older brother inherited his father's position, and he could only start as the general manager, and he was able to get this position because of his connections.

It's just that although Dong Yiyuan is only the commander-in-chief, he is doing the work of a guerrilla general. This time, he can control two teams of cavalry, a small number of 400 people.

He has lived in the military camp with his father, General Dong Yang of Datong, since he was a child. Naturally, he is very familiar with military life and is fully capable of commanding a team of soldiers.

Being sent to protect Weng Pu this time, Dong Yiyuan naturally did not dare to neglect him, but he was still very unhappy when he saw that Wei Guangde, who was several years younger than himself, was already the deputy envoy. He was a rookie who had just entered the officialdom. .

It was only later that Wei Guangde asked Zhang Ji to deliberately make friends with them, and then he learned that Wei Guangde was from a guard station and had been on the battlefield and killed Japanese pirates, and then he changed his mind.

But in their hearts, the northern frontier troops looked down upon the Southern Guards Station.

Without him, who are the Japanese pirates? People with short stature, such a small guy can't deal with them, and it would be a disgrace to the Ming army.

Fortunately, Wei Guangde was from the Jiujiang Guards, and it was estimated that only the Jiujiang Guards in the south could still fight. In any case, the group of Japanese pirates who invaded Nanjing were wiped out by them.

The imperial court's praise of Jiujiang Wei was issued by the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, officials from all over the Ming Dynasty knew about it, and the border towns in Beidi also knew about it.

As for the legend that the Japanese pirates were described in the battle report as the special forces of later generations, neither Jiujiang Wei, Wei Guangde, or Zhang Ji would tell the truth. They were actually a group of poor bandits. If they really told the truth, they would be doing it to themselves. Causing disaster and offending the entire Jiangnan officialdom.

Because of the exaggeration in the battle report, Dong Yiyuan was a little skeptical, but he had to believe that this group of Japanese pirates could actually catch arrows with their bare hands, and even throw them with their backhand, which was almost as powerful as shooting arrows. Naturally, he was "still concerned" about participating in that battle to suppress Japanese invaders. Wei Guangde, who hacked a Japanese pirate to death with his own hands, was also impressed.

Wei Guangde asked Dong Yiyuan to follow him this time. The reason was very simple. He and Dong Yiyuan had a good relationship. It was obvious that he had ideals and ambitions. He was a good young man of the Ming Dynasty with ambitions. He was also capable in terms of ability and could command himself. move.

Another reason is naturally because of his brother Dong Yikui. Although I don’t know if Dong Yikui’s team has been transferred to Baoan Prefecture, at least there is such a relationship, and it is much easier to talk to the guerrillas privately.

Along the way, Dong Yiyuan's team acted as scouts for the convoy. A dozen cavalrymen formed reconnaissance teams that traveled around the convoy to investigate the enemy's situation. They encountered several groups of Tatar reconnaissance cavalry, but they were all arrived in time by Dong Yiyuan's cavalry brigade. They drove them far away, but they didn't dare to let the Tatars notice that there was a huge convoy here, carrying a huge amount of food and grass baggage.

After leaving Juyong Pass, the entire convoy was running desperately for fear of being exposed on the road and being attacked by the Tatar cavalry. The hundreds of cavalry and more than a thousand infantry were unable to resist it.

Fortunately, on the evening of the third day after leaving customs, the convoy finally arrived at Huailaiwei safely.

We rested in Huailaiwei for a day, and at the same time loaded the baggage to be taken away again in preparation for departure. This time the convoy was longer.

Wei Guangde wanted to deploy men and horses to guard the Huailai Guard, but when he saw that there were only a thousand people in the guard station, and the others were scattered in other military forts, he still could not issue this order, but temporarily took out 300 people from the remaining guards. People are added to the escort team.

From Huai to Baoan Prefecture, it would take at least five days to arrive at the previous speed. Moreover, it is closer to the garrison of the Anda Department, so it is the most dangerous moment.

On the night when he arrived in Huailai, Wei Guangde summoned Li Zhen and Dong Yiyuan to his room to discuss. In fact, there was nothing much to say. He just arranged for Dong Yiyuan to send someone to Baoan Prefecture to deliver the letter first. It would be best to find Dong Yikui and let Dong Yikui return. Find some people to lead the team out to respond.

In addition, Dong Yiyuan is naturally required to follow his previous operations and arrange enough scout teams around the convoy to try to block news about the convoy.

The next night, when Wei Guangde convened the two people again to discuss the team's departure tomorrow, Dong Yiyuan suddenly hugged Wei Guangde and Li Zhen and said, "Two adults, I talked with the people from Huailaiwei today, and they suggested Let’s cross the Sanggan River to the west first, then head toward Bao’an Prefecture, and then cross the river there.”

"No, if we have to cross the river, it will take at least two days. Crossing the river again after reaching Baoan Prefecture is still very risky."

Li Zhen thought briefly and objected. After all, the main force of this team was the grain transport convoy. Li Zhen's words had a great influence. After all, most of the grooms and guards were recruited from Miyun.

It is a good idea to use the river to shield the Tatar reconnaissance cavalry, but it will be fine if there is not so much food and grass brought out by Changping.

This errand was very important. Li Zhen and the others not only transported some grain and grass from Tongzhou, but also picked up a large amount of grain in Changping that should have been shipped to the Xuanfu. If this batch of grain was shipped before the Tatars entered the customs, their convoy would It can be reduced in size by at least half.

It's better now. The grain and grass that were originally transported two or three times are transported at once, so the risk is naturally much higher. Both Li Zhen and Wei Guangde are sweating because of this errand.

The key point is that the Xuanfu is currently short of food and grass, especially the troops transferred to Baoan Prefecture. They don't have much food and grass with them and are waiting for supplies from here.

"It's not advisable to take a long way across the river. It would waste too much time. We can't afford to waste it in the wild."

Wei Guangde shook his head, still feeling that what Li Zhen said made sense.

Speaking of water shortage in the north, when he arrived here, Wei Guangde found that the water network here was not bad. There were actually two rivers intersecting here, namely the Yang River and the Sanggan River.

When Wei Guangde initially planned the route, he also considered starting from Huailai Acropolis and going to Huailai County first. Although the distance was closer, it was also defended by two thousand households of the Huailai Guards Front Army and the Zuo Army, so it was relatively safer. Closer to the Tatar sphere of influence.

From Huailai County to Bao'an Prefecture, it would take three days if the road outside was fast. Even if Bao'an Prefecture sent troops to respond, the risk would still be great because the convoy would lack protection for at least two days.

Wei Guangde and Li Zhen both had the same idea, so in the end they chose to bypass Huailai County and go to the outside. Although it was farther, it was better than being further away from the Tatars.

As for Dong Yiyuan's proposal just now, it would take a long way around.

Just thinking about the news sent by Huailaiwei today, a large number of Tatar reconnaissance cavalry appeared again in the north of Huailai County, and the frequency of activities was also very high. This sign may indicate that the Anta Ministry has begun to pay attention to the movement of reinforcements in the direction of Datong, and has increased the number of troops. The intensity of investigation in the direction of Huai Lai.

For this reason, Wei Guangde called the two of them here tonight. In fact, he had a not very mature idea, that is, since it has become extremely dangerous to send grain and grass to Baoan Prefecture, why should he send so much grain and grass to Baoan Prefecture? Go out, the sheep enters the tiger's mouth.

Indeed, they had two tasks this time. One was for Wei Guangde to go to Baoan Prefecture to supervise the battle and have the Xuanfu army dispatched to fight the Tatars, and the other was to send food and grass to reassure the troops.

The food was stored in Huailaiwei, or even in Huailai County, which was not far from Baoan Prefecture. It is expected that the Xuanfu army would not be in commotion due to lack of food. On the contrary, if the food was lost during transportation, the consequences would be disastrous.

Wei Guangde opened the map he carried with him at this time. Maps are not a common commodity these days, and ordinary people cannot see them.

Wei Guangde had not noticed Huailaiwei and Huailai County before. Even when he arrived in Huairou, he thought the two places were one city. It was not until he entered Changping that he discovered that the two cities were not under their control.

Huailai Guards was in charge of the city. Huailai County was under the jurisdiction of the magistrate. Huailai Guards only placed a thousand-household station there. After the Tatars invaded, another thousand-household station was dispatched to support.

"You should all know the news from Huailai County today. I estimate that if nothing unexpected happens, Tatar reconnaissance cavalry will appear outside Huailai Wei tomorrow."

Wei Guangde spoke loudly at this time. Although his thoughts were not yet mature, he still wanted to hear the opinions of Li Zhen and Dong Yiyuan first.

"That's what I'm worried about too."

Li Zhen said without hesitation that crossing the river would increase the risk of exposure. From the news coming from Huailai County today, he also keenly realized that the Tatars may have sent additional reconnaissance forces to the southwest to explore the direction of Datong. Military intelligence.

At this time, Dong Yiyuan rubbed his hands and asked, "Do you have any ideas, Mr. Wei? You might as well tell me and let everyone know more about it."

Wei Guangde suddenly mentioned the Tatar reconnaissance cavalry in front of them. They naturally knew about it, and Dong Yiyuan was also very sensitive. He was already aware of the danger of this trip, so he naturally took the opportunity to bring it up.