I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 304: What tricks is Tumen Khan playing?
After meeting with Wei Xueceng, the governor of Liaodong, and Guo Qian, the governor of Liaoxi, Tan Lun came to Kaiyuan City of Liaohaiwei under the escort of the central military camp.

Two days later, Wei Jianping, the lieutenant general of Liaodong Town, returned from Guangshun Pass with 12,000 soldiers and horses.

After waiting for another day, there was still no news from Zhenbei Pass, and there was no news from the 17,000 troops led by Zhou Guotai, the deputy general of Liaodong Town.

That's not right. According to the notification we received a few days ago, Zhou Guotai's troops set out earlier, and logically they should have entered Zhenbei Pass first.

Did something unexpected happen?
Tan Lun, who was always calm, was a little anxious and fidgeted in the study.

He has been the governor of Liao for several years and has stayed in Liaodong for a long time, so he knows how cold the winter is here.

In Liaodong and other places, cities were built, food, coal and firewood were stored, and people could only stay safe by hiding in their houses. In the cold winter, if one dared to venture out of the city, one would be in great danger of death.

After passing Guangshun Pass and Zhenbei Pass, you will reach the Haixi region, formerly the Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

The winters there are colder, longer and more brutal.

If Zhou Guotai's 17,000 troops were not withdrawn in time, they would be trapped in the snow on the Black Mountain in Haixi, and it would be impossible to rescue them, and they would have to wait until the beginning of next spring to collect their bodies.

Seventeen thousand soldiers and horses, the elite troops of Liaodong Town who had been honed through countless desperate battles with the northern barbarians and the Jurchens, were all lost in one day. It was heartbreaking! He could not escape the blame!
"Master, Wei Jianping, the Lieutenant General of Liaodong Town, is here."

"Okay, please come in!"

Tan Lun took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

After a while, Wei Jianping, wearing a long robe and a big hat, walked to the door led by a servant.

"I pay my respects to the Constitutional Court."

"Stand up. Please sit down and serve tea." Tan Lun said kindly.

After Wei Jianping sat down, he asked again, "Have you ever been a student of Mr. Zhuo Wu?"

Wei Jianping bowed and replied: "Return to the Constitutional Court."

"Now that the court is over, you can just call it by its name, and don't call it by its official title anymore."

"Yes, Mr. Erhua, my name is Xiu De."

"Okay, then I will ask you to cultivate virtue. Please continue."

"To reply to Mr. Erhua, I studied in the Imperial College for two years a few years ago. At that time, Mr. Zhuo Wu was an assistant teacher in the Imperial College and taught students.

Thanks to Mr. Zhuo Wu's teachings, I have learned a lot of truths in cultivating virtue."

"Well, I went to the capital to report on my work, and His Highness held a banquet in the Western Garden. I talked about it with Brother Zhuo Wu. Brother Zhuo Wu said that those days were too painful to look back on."

"Yes, Erhua Gong. One day during class, Mr. Zhuo Wu burst into tears. The student asked what happened and found out that Mr. Zhuo Wu's family was in trouble. His two daughters caught a cold but they had no money to see a doctor or buy medicine.

Mr. Zhuo Wu was extremely worried, but he still forced himself to teach us. Suddenly, I felt that I was a useless scholar, and I was filled with sadness.

"I am deeply saddened. It is unacceptable that such a talented teacher, a teacher at the Imperial College, should have fallen to this state."

Wei Jianping was also a little emotional, "I am a student who inherited a military post in a garrison, and my family has a little property, so I took out more than twenty taels of silver and stuffed it into the teacher's pocket.

Not long after, the student was ordered to return to his hometown because of a fight. He did not have time to say goodbye to Mr. Zhuo Wu and returned to Liaodong Town. He inherited his father's position and joined Liaodong Town.

"Well, I also heard about this from Mr. Zhuo Wu. He said that he cured the two girls and wanted to find you when he returned to the Imperial College to show his gratitude. He didn't expect that you were sent back to your hometown because you chased and beat up 27 students in the Imperial College."

Wei Jianping chuckled, "Those students are indeed weak scholars. I was just pretending to be a gentleman to sneak in."

Tan Lun laughed and asked, "Xiu De, your wife passed away?"

Wei Jianping's face darkened. "My wife died of complications during childbirth two years ago. Both mother and child died."

"It is so heartbreaking! We should cultivate virtue and mourn in moderation."

"Don't worry, Mr. Erhua. I've been busy with military affairs for the past two years and have no time to rest, so I don't have time to be sad."

"You cultivate virtue and fight for your country, you never take off your armor all day long, your hard work and achievements are great!"

"Miao, the Second Huagong, praised it."

"Then your family won't let you remarry?"

"You have this intention, but I have been leading troops to fight in the past two years, sometimes in Jianzhou, sometimes in Luanhe, and sometimes in Haixi. I have no time to spare, so I have been delayed."

"Good news. Mr. Zhuo Wu wants to invite you to be his son-in-law!" "Ah, what?"

"Brother Zhuo Wu accidentally learned that you were a general under my command, and wrote to me several times to learn about your situation. When he learned that you were a widower at a young age, he had the idea of ​​recruiting you as his son-in-law. Back then, you generously donated money to help Mr. Zhuo Wu save the two daughters.

Now my eldest sister has reached the age of marriage. It is just like the cycle of cause and effect. "

Wei Jianping was stunned.

Tan Lun waved his hand, "Don't worry. You have made great contributions in Haixi, so you should be promoted to deputy general. According to the court regulations, you should go to the military academy in Beijing to study for half a year.

Liaodong is in need of talents right now, so I request that your study be reduced to three months. After entering the capital, you can visit Zhuo Wu’s mansion and get to know him! Haha.”

also.

Wei Jianping bowed and said, "Thank you, Lord Erhua."

"You're welcome. Originally, we'd talk about this when we have time. But Vice General Zhou's troops haven't returned from Zhenbei Pass yet, and I'm worried. So I'll talk about this to ease your mind. Xiude, don't mind."

"Mr. Erhua cares about his subordinates, so why would I mind?"

"Okay, let's get down to business now. Lieutenant General Wei, tell us about the battle in Haixi. Although you have already made a written report, I still want to hear your detailed oral account."

"Yes, in reply to Lord Xiantai, according to the Governor's headquarters, I will lead my troops to set out from Guangshun Pass in March this year. According to the plan, I will lead my troops to sweep the Tarumu tribe, then go north along the Huiba River to clear out the Huifa City and Nadanfu City of the Jianzhou Jurchens that were razed last year, so as to prevent the Jianzhou Jurchens from reviving."

Tan Lun nodded, "The Surveying and Mapping Bureau has surveyed a new city there, Liaoyuan City. Your main task is to clean up the surrounding area to prevent the Haixi Jurchens from disturbing the construction of the city.

Well, Xiude, you did a good job."

"Thank you, Lord Xiantai, for your praise. Our troops then carried out the second phase of the battle according to the deployment, heading northeast, annihilating the Wuyewu, Tuduhe, Otrala, Asujiang, and Wendunai tribes all the way to the shore of Lake Khanka.

So far, our army has annihilated 11 tribes of Haixi Jurchens, beheaded 3,100 people, captured 41,000 people, and escorted them all back to Guangshun Pass."

Tan Lun nodded: "The Liaodong Provincial Government has accepted these people, registered them, and properly resettled them. This is a credit to you and your department."

"Thank you, Lord Xiantai."

"continue."

"Yes. When we reached Lake Khanka, we almost wiped out the Haixi Jurchen tribe west of Changbai Mountain. We crossed Changbai Mountain from the north of Lake Khanka, and went south along the western shore of the vast sea, annihilating the twelve Jurchen tribes, including Shilimian, Yilimah, Yiluhe, Huertu, Yalitulu, and Shilishiling.

This place is a remote place with high mountains and dense forests. The land is vast and sparsely populated. A Jurchen tribe can have more than 1,000 or 2,000 men and women, or no more than 100 or 200.

Our troops beheaded more than 500 stubborn resisters and captured more than 11,000 people. All of them were escorted back to Guangshun Pass."

"Yes, the Liaodong Provincial Government also reported it."

"According to the governor's order, our troops crossed Changbai Mountain from Xiguan and returned to Shanxi. We headed north again along the previous route to the shore of Xingkai Lake, crossed Changbai Mountain from Hubei, and went to the west coast of Hanhai. We cleared the area once more and finally entered Guangshun Pass from Xiguan, Helan City, and Huifa City.

"I led my troops along the way, and there were many small battles, but no major battles. After two plowing holes in the first and second years of the Longqing reign, the Jianzhou Jurchens and the southern Haixi Jurchens were no longer able to resist our army's suppression."

Tan Lun stroked his beard and replied, “There are also many Haixi Jurchens who have fled to the Black Mountain, Heilongjiang River, and the area north of the Songhua River, and joined hands with the Chahar tribe, intending to continue to resist the royal army.

Now the pressure is all on Vice General Zhou. I don’t know why he hasn’t come back yet.”

"Master, Vice General Zhou is back!"

Tan Lun stood up suddenly and asked, "Where is it?"

"The master left a message for the commander of Zhenbei Pass, asking him to return to Kaiyuan City immediately after receiving Deputy General Zhou. Deputy General Zhou had just entered Zhenbei Pass and heard the message. He immediately rushed back with his entourage and is now at the door."

"Please come in quickly."

After a while, Zhou Guotai came in, dressed in armor and dusty, "I am sorry to have made Lord Xiantai worried."

"Just come back."

"I am still in shock, Lord Xiantai. I almost couldn't come back."

Tan Lun's eyes flashed: "Tumen Khan has come to Heishan!"

Zhou Guotai nodded solemnly: "Yes! Tumen Khan brought 60,000 Chahar cavalrymen and gathered them in the old areas of Duoyanwei and Tainingwei, that is, the area around the Tarhe and Chuerhe rivers. He also summoned more than 30,000 Haixi Jurchens."

Tan Lun's eyes were extremely sharp: "Tumen Khan is going to bypass the Black Mountains and break through the border into Liaodong from Kaiyuan and Tieling!"

(End of this chapter)