I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 149: The Cunning Qi Jiguang and the Frustrated Li Chengliang

Xu Wei lifted the curtain and walked in.

Seeing the three of them, he bowed and said, "General Ma, General Ma, General Li, thank you for your hard work."

Ma Fang and the other two had already stood up and saluted, "We have been in the military for half our lives, and we have been used to it. It is Xu Canshi who has worked hard."

"Haha, General Ma, you are too polite. We are all the same, sharing your worries. Everyone, take a seat, and we will wait for General Qi."

"Counselor Xu, the infantry is moving slowly. When will General Qi arrive?"

"The vanguard of the infantry has arrived and has begun to set up camp. I have sent someone to inform General Qi, and I estimate that he will arrive in two quarters of an hour to half an hour."

"That's good. Mr. Xu, wearing this armor and sitting on the stool is very strenuous."

"Okay, let's wait a moment and make it short. General Ma, is there anything unusual with your cavalry?"

Ma Fang replied: "No. The morale of the whole army is high. The battle of Liuhe has greatly boosted our morale. The northern barbarians also carried their heads on their shoulders, and they were cut in half with one strike."

"Haha, that's good."

While we were chatting, Qi Jiguang came in.

"Everyone, I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting for so long." Qi Jiguang was not only good at training troops and fighting wars, but he was also much better than his comrades such as Yu Dayou in dealing with human relationships.

After some politeness, Qi Jiguang sat at the top, Xu Wei sat at the first seat at the bottom left, followed by Li Chengliang. Ma Fang sat at the first seat at the bottom right, followed by Ma Gui.

"Counselor Xu, the Nighthawks and reconnaissance teams we sent out have searched the area within a hundred miles, but have found no trace of Xin Ai's troops.

Only a dozen tents were seen here and there. When I asked the herdsmen, they said that most of the tribesmen had been ordered to break camp and head north, and no one knew where they had gone.

Now that the enemy's whereabouts are unknown, we need to think about what to do next."

Xu Wei stroked his beard, looking confident of victory.

"I can tell you directly that Xin'ai's tent is in Banbi Mountain, 400 miles east of us to the north. It is located between the Xiaoluan River and the Gandu River, with lush grass and beautiful water."

Qi Jiguang and the other three were all shocked.

You know the exact location of Xin Ai's tent. You are so powerful.

Could it be that the mysterious Border Investigation Department has planted a spy around Xin Ai?

Qi Jiguang pondered for a moment and asked, "Counselor Xu, since we know the location of Xin Ai's tent, why don't we mobilize the cavalry and march north day and night? We should capture the thief first. Once we capture Xin Ai, his followers will surely scatter."

Xu Wei replied: "Xin Ai is not only brave, but also very cunning. In the Gengxu and Guihai Rebellions, he used the strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain to perfection. In the Battle of Liuhe, we took advantage of his arrogance and eagerness for revenge, and only then did we succeed by chance.

Now that we know where his tent is, he must also know where our army is and its marching route. Xu is wondering if he will use the tent as bait to lure our lone army in and surround us.

It is possible!
Qi Jiguang and Ma Fang fell into deep thought.

Seeing Qi Jiguang and Ma Fang in trouble, Xu Wei smiled faintly.

No matter how cunning Xin Ai is, he can't stand the fact that we are all around him.

After Xin Ai was captured alive, many of his close confidants and tribal leaders were also captured and imprisoned separately in the Ming Dynasty for several months.

The Border Investigation Department first conducted an investigation and test, using the methods provided by the Crown Prince, saying that it could show whether a person's mind was firm or whether he had any attachments.

In general, it is to find this person's weaknesses, prescribe the right remedy, and focus on breakthroughs.

Once breached, this person becomes a convert and is "extremely loyal" to the Ming Society.

After Xin Ai was released, these close followers and tribal leaders were also released one after another. He had some doubts, wondering if the people around him were bought by the Ming Dynasty.

However, under the guidance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Border Investigation Department had anticipated this and mixed truth with falsehood. Xin Ai investigated for a while and killed some people, but he couldn't kill all his trusted confidants.

If Xin Aizhen dared to do that, she would be deserted by her friends and relatives and die without a burial place.

Later, the plot to sow discord between the two people by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince quickly took effect. After returning home, Bosihaer, who had a grudge against Xin Ai, immediately handed the cowhide bag to Altan Khan and exaggerated some things about him. Altan Khan was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

Xin Ai was originally unruly and Altan Khan had already had some opinions about him.

However, the matter was of great importance, so Altan Khan decided to think about it again, but Monk Xuanchi took advantage of the situation.

He was a scholar indeed, and he stabbed Altan Khan very skillfully, which hit Altan Khan right in the heart. He was so angry that he sent someone to call Xin Ai to the tent, and whipped him more than ten times in front of everyone. He also announced that half of the pastures and people of the Kharchin tribe he led would be confiscated.

Xin Ai knew that he had been cheated, but the things in the cowhide bag, the portrait was real, and the cursed dominoes were fake. He couldn't tell what was true and what was false.

Instigated by his trusted subordinates, Xin Ai became so angry that he rebelled when he saw that Altan Khan was so disrespectful to him, which was tantamount to depriving him of the right to inherit the throne in public.

However, he had bad relations with the people around him. He had fought wars with the Ming Dynasty in the south and the Chahar tribe in the east, and had blood feuds with them.

Now he has fallen out with his old father in the west. He is surrounded by enemies, but he is not afraid and will beat anyone who comes.

What a man.

But no one expected that the first to send troops to attack him would be the Ming Dynasty, which had always been considered the most cowardly and timid among the several forces.

Qi Jiguang guessed that Xu Wei had some secrets unknown to everyone, so he said, "Counselor Xu, what do you think we should do?"

Xu Wei looked at Qi Jiguang and said word by word: "General Qi, I can only tell you that if we rush to attack Xin Ai's tent, we have a 50% chance of success. But there is also a 40% chance of being ambushed.

How to decide? You are the commander, so it must be decided by you!"

Qi Jiguang was in a dilemma.

If the army continued to move northward along the Luan River, it would most likely be in vain.

The source of the Luan River is vast, and tens of thousands of troops scattered there are like a bag of salt scattered into the lake.

Xin Ai and the Kharchin tribe were determined not to fight with the Ming army and stayed away from it, so there was really nothing we could do about him.

The final result could only be that the food ran out and the entire army retreated slowly. Then Xin Ai's troops would follow like a group of hungry wolves, looking for an opportunity to take a bite.

Xu Wei looked at Qi Jiguang's dilemma and did not say anything to persuade him.

This was all the information he could give. After all, Xu Wei didn't know whether the secret agent planted around Xin Ai would betray him.

Based on the existing intelligence, he could only analyze this far. The rest would have to be decided by the commander, depending on his judgment and determination.

Qi Jiguang thought for a while, then stood up and took out a nearby map and stared at it for a while.

Xu Wei, Ma Fang, Ma Gui and Li Chengliang gathered together and also stared at the map.

"Banbi Mountain is between the Xiaoluan River and the Gandu River. Two hundred miles east of the Xiaoluan River is the territory of the Chahar tribe. Three hundred miles west of the Gandu River is the territory of the Yongxiebu tribe." Qi Jiguang slapped his hand hard on the map.

"Since we are going to attack by surprise, then let Xin Ai take her by surprise completely!"

"What does the commander-in-chief want?" Ma Fang, Ma Gui and Li Chengliang asked in unison.

"I have decided to send a light cavalry raid. The number of people is not large, just one cavalry division. However, if we go deep into the enemy territory, we may be ambushed. Who is willing to take the risk?"

Ma Fang did not hesitate at all: "General, I will go! I am older and more experienced. I can see through any conspiracy Xin Ai has."

Qi Jiguang shook his head: "General Ma is not only the deputy general of the entire army, but also the commander of the cavalry. I dare not let General Ma leave easily."

Ma Gui scratched his scalp and said, "Then I'll go."

Qi Jiguang said nothing.

Li Chengliang cursed in his heart, aren't you obviously pointing at me?
However, Qi Jiguang was the commander-in-chief and was highly regarded by His Majesty the Grand Sun. Li Chengliang did not dare to offend him and could only bite the bullet and say, "I am willing to go!"

Qi Jiguang was overjoyed, "Great! General Li will surely succeed immediately!"

Ten thousand Cao mud horses galloped through Li Chengliang's heart
(End of this chapter)