weaving

Gonghua City was originally a temporary palace built by Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) when he moved the capital to Beijing. It was later destroyed by a flood during the Zhengtong era.

In the sixteenth year of the Jiajing reign, Gonghua City, though not large in area, was built on the original site of the former imperial palace.

Gonghua City is about two li long and wide, and its shape is a perfect square. Its city walls are 35 feet high, with both the inner and outer sides covered with bricks, the middle filled with rammed earth, and the top paved with bricks. A moat surrounds the city.

The city wall has more than 3,600 crenellations, and a corner tower is set up at each of the four corners of the city wall, which protrudes outside the city wall to facilitate defense. In the south-central part of the city, there is a temporary palace. Outside the palace, on the east, west and north sides, there are barracks and granaries, which are places for stationing troops and storing grain.

Gonghua City has four gates: the east gate is named "Zhenliao", meaning "to guard the eastern Liaodong"; the south gate is named "Fujing", meaning "to defend the capital"; the west gate is named "Weimo", meaning "to spread power in the desert"; and the north gate is named "Zhansi", meaning "to show the emperor's favor". Each of the four gates has a barbican.

Among them, the south and north gates were the gates for the royal carriages to enter and exit. Every year during the two major royal sacrifices in spring and autumn, or when the coffins of the emperor and empress were sent to the temporary palace for rest and recuperation, the royals would enter and exit through the middle gate of the north and south main gates, and the ministers accompanying them would enter and exit through the left and right side gates on both sides of the middle gate according to the ritual of civil officials to the east and military officials to the west.

Officers, soldiers, and civilians were only allowed to enter and exit Gonghua City through the east and west gates.

Among them, "Fujing Gate" is the main gate of Gonghua City, commonly known as the Great South Gate. In addition to the three gate openings of the main gate, there is also a barbican. On the east and west sides of the barbican, there is a gate-style city gate with a heavy gate inside and a gate tower on top of the city gate.

…………

Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, entered Gonghua City through the Weimo Gate in the west, and his temporary headquarters was set up in the barracks on the west side of the city.

Only the two infantry commanderies of the Tengshe Battalion, which had arrived earlier, and the two hundred elite cavalrymen who were the personal guards of the Earl of Yongning, Zhang Cheng, were stationed inside Gonghua City. The rest of the battalions and units were stationed outside the city.

Even Wang Pu's Datong army, although it arrived at the city of Gonghua a day earlier, still camped outside the city and did not dare to enter the city to set up camp.

Instead of going directly to his headquarters in the barracks, the Earl of Yongning ascended the city tower of Weimo Gate.

Looking at the brave and resolute soldiers who were setting up camp outside the city, he asked Liu Chengzhu beside him, "Have I arrived at Gonghua City and reported to the Ministry of War yet?"

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, it has already been submitted."

Zhang Cheng nodded. He returned to the city gate tower and looked around. He couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met Lu Xiangshan, the governor of Xuanda, in the Changping city gate tower. All the past events were vivid in his mind, as if they had happened just yesterday.

"Where is the headquarters located?"

"The barracks in the west of the city," Xiao Sanjie reported from the side.

"Let's move here," Zhang Cheng said calmly.

Although no one knew why the Earl of Yongning had changed his mind, they dared not disobey. Xiao Sanjie accepted the order in a low voice and ran down the city wall to relay it.

Just as Xiao Sanjie stepped out of the city tower, a personal guard came to report that generals Wei Zhice, Li Jiyu, Yuan Shizhong, and others had come to pay their respects to the commander-in-chief and were now waiting at the headquarters.

"Let them come here."

"Here."

…………

Although the gate tower of the west gate of Gonghua City cannot compare with the south and north gate towers, it is still very majestic, and the interior space is equally spacious, not much different from the watchtower in Changping.

However, given the hasty nature of the event, all the necessary items had to be moved from the barracks and headquarters, which couldn't be accomplished in a short time. Fortunately, everyone was used to military life and didn't mind too much. Wang Pu, being the most tactful, noticed that Zhang Cheng wasn't in high spirits, so he approached him and whispered, "General, are you thinking of Governor Lu?"

"Yes. All those past events are still vivid in my mind, yet they are all in the past. Thinking about them today, I truly feel a deep sense of regret!"

"Alas, it has been four years since Governor Lu sacrificed his life for the country."

Zhang Cheng turned to look at Wang Pu and said in a deep voice, "The blood of Governor Lu, the blood of my uncle, and the blood of the brave soldiers of Xuanda must not be shed in vain. It's time to settle this score with the Tartars."

Upon hearing this, Wang Pu's expression hardened. He bowed and clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, saying solemnly, "General, when I was defending the emperor in the eleventh year, I had to lead my troops back to Datong because of an emergency. I was unable to fight alongside you at Julu, which is a regret I will carry for the rest of my life."

However, this time, in order to defend the emperor, Park was determined to follow the commander-in-chief and fight the enemy together, and would never retreat a single step.

"Good!" Zhang Cheng punched Wang Pu on the shoulder and shouted, "To have someone like Brother Pu is enough to make my life complete!"

No one expected that in the original history, Wang Pu was known as the "Runaway General" for being the first to flee during the Battle of Songjin, and was even ordered to be executed by Emperor Chongzhen for this, losing his life.

In this life, however, Zhang Cheng's unexpected appearance gave him a helping hand, which in turn inspired Wang Pu's loyalty and bravery, making him no longer afraid of slaves and finally becoming a fearless general worthy of being recorded in history!

While the two were chatting, the general's tent was almost ready, and a large map of the capital region was already hanging on the north wall.

Although the Yongning Earl's command table has not yet been brought up, there is a simple wooden table set up with command tokens and other important documents on it, and several chairs placed on either side.

"Let's go, let's discuss this first."

"General, please."

…………

Wang Pu was, after all, a dignified commander-in-chief of a town appointed by the imperial court. Although he always regarded himself as a subordinate of the Earl of Yongning, and Zhang Cheng did indeed treat him as one of his own, he was still given great respect on such a formal occasion.

"Come on, move Wang Shuai's chair to my side."

Upon hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Wang Pu was taken aback, feeling flattered. He stopped in his tracks, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "General, what merit do I have to be worthy of serving by your side?"

"Oh, Commander Wang, why be so polite? You are the dignified Commander-in-Chief of Datong Town. How can you sit on the same level as these deputy commanders, staff officers, and sergeants?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Pu could no longer refuse, so he clasped his hands in a salute before walking up and sitting down beside the Earl of Yongning.

On the left side of the lower left are generals such as Wei Zhice, Li Jiyu, Yuan Shizhong, Lin Fangping, Chen De, and Zhu Zhicang, while on the right side are staff officers such as Hu Yiwen, Guo Jinyi, Qin Sheng, and Yuan Fucheng.

Zhang Guangda of the Vermilion Bird Camp was absent from today's military meeting because he was still on his way. Zhang Mingyuan of the Central Army and Liu Chengzhu, the Registrar, stood behind the Earl of Yongning and did not take their seats.

Looking at the crowd below, it was a much larger group than when he first joined the guards to protect the king!
"Gentlemen, you have come with me to defend the capital. You should know that there will be a great battle with the Tartars. I hope that you military officers will be brave enough to fight and civil officials will be bold enough to speak out, so as to help me drive away the Tartars and protect the people of the capital."

The Earl of Yongning looked at the crowd below and continued, "Speak freely about your thoughts now!" (End of Chapter)