I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 678 From Southwest to Northwest
Withdrawn?

Did Yang Zhaolong run away from Sinan City with his men?
Li Mingchun's head was buzzing, just like the big silver carp he caught in the Wujiang River yesterday morning, jumping around in his mind and turning all his thoughts into tofu dregs.

"All ran away?"

Li Mingchun asked subconsciously.

"The Yebushou reconnaissance team went deep into the Bozhou soldiers' camp. It was in a mess, and a small amount of weapons and supplies could be seen scattered on the ground. It was obvious that they ran in a hurry."

"Commander Zhu, wait a moment. I'll get dressed first and then go wash my face with cold water."

Zhu Yu smiled, "Okay, I and everyone else will wait for you in the war room."

"Okay, I'll be right away."

After Zhu Yu left, Li Mingchun quickly put on his clothes, ran to the yard, grabbed a copper basin, scooped most of the cold water from the water tank, and dived into it.

The ice-cold water suddenly surrounded his face, and the coolness penetrated into every pore and reached his brain, instantly calming his boiling mind.

There were only two reasons why Yang Zhaolong suddenly ran away. One was that he realized that Sinan City was a trap; the other was that he received an order.

Realized it was a trap?

What stimulus or enlightenment did Yang Zhaolong receive that made him suddenly wake up and understand all this?
He received urgent news from other places, which made him realize that Sinan City was just a trap to bind him, so he immediately withdrew?

Following this line of thought, Li Mingchun continued to think further.

A thousand disguised Bozhou soldiers set out from Chenzhou and returned to Bozhou via Tongren and Sinan. When they set out, the various troops that were waiting in full battle array also began to move quietly.

As soon as Sinan started the war, they immediately took action. Moreover, they did not need to wait for Sinan's signal to take action, they only needed to calculate the day.

Because of these 1,000 Bozhou local soldiers, no matter whether Yang Yinglong would send people to incite them or not, they would definitely launch a "mutiny" in Sinan City and create chaos, so that the Bozhou troops ready to go in the west would have an excuse to attack.

The actual result was that as soon as a thousand Bozhou soldiers arrived at Sinan City, spies from Bozhou came with Yang Yinglong's secret order, and then everything happened as both sides expected, and everything that was supposed to happen happened.

However, Yang Zhaolong did not expect that the chieftains of Sinan City were so courageous. In addition, too many of the 1,000 Bozhou soldiers were bewitched by the imperial court and forgot the kindness of the Yang family. They actually stood on the side of the imperial court and helped the Sinan chieftains to quell the rebellion.

Then Yang Zhaolong was trapped outside the city of Sinan for more than ten days, and each time he managed to capture this small city with a little effort.

These ten days are enough for the main force of the Fourth Division, as well as the Second and Third Divisions to launch operations.

That’s right, it was the main force of Wang’s army that started the attack on Bozhou. Bozhou sent people to deliver urgent news to Yang Zhaolong, which made him wake up and hastily withdraw his troops.

After realizing this, Li Mingchun raised his head from the basin, took the towel handed to him by his attendant, wiped his face quickly, and walked quickly towards the operations hall.

Li Mingchun and others lived in the backyard, and the operations hall was in the middle yard, which was reached by passing through two doors.

As soon as I walked to the second door, I heard Yang Piandao's loud voice.

"What are you waiting for! Yang Zhaolong has become a coward. Let's get out of the city quickly, grab his tail, and give him a good beating."

The one who confronted him was Wu Dafei.

"The situation outside the city is unclear now. How can we be sure that Yang Zhaolong will not pretend to withdraw his troops, lure us out of the city, and then ambush us?"

"How could Yang Zhaolong be so smart? If he were so smart, he would have captured Sinan City long ago. I don't think he has this trick."

"When I was studying at the Xishan Military Academy, the first sentence I learned was: On the battlefield, how stupid you think the enemy is, that's how stupid you are."

"You son of a bitch, you're just finding another way to call me stupid, right?"

"Ai Manmin, why are you jumping out to take the blame for this stupid word?"

"Alright! Stop arguing." Before the two of them could get really angry, Zhang Yong spoke up in time, "Commander Zhu, you are the chief officer, we all listen to you.

only"

Zhang Yong hesitated for a moment and continued, "We have been guarding the city for so long. When we heard that Yang Zhaolong, the son of a bitch, had escaped, we were all very happy and excited. We all wanted to rush out and beat the fallen dog."

Zhu Yu said: "My opinion is that all units should hold on to Sinan City and respond to all changes with the same attitude."

Yang Piandao said at the side: "Well, after being a shrinking fish for more than ten days, I'm getting addicted to it."

Li Mingchun walked into the hearing room and shouted, "Deputy Commander Yang, you are wrong!"

"What do you mean?" Yang Piandao looked at Li Mingchun with bulging eyes.

"Everyone, what is the mission the Governor has given us?"

Ren Boan, who was standing nearby, replied: "Defend Sinan City and contain Yang Zhaolong."

"That's right, defend Sinan City."

"But there is another way, which is to restrain Yang Zhaolong." Yang Yan said on the side.

Yang Piandao quickly agreed, "Right, right, right. Pin Yang Zhaolong down. We won't leave the city to chase him. Yang Zhaolong has run far away. There's no point in pinning him down!"

"Deputy Commander Yang, that's not called containment, that's called annihilation of Yang Zhaolong's troops. We only have 3,000 people, and Yang Zhaolong's troops have 13,000. Without Sinan City, can we hold them off for 13 days?"

Li Mingchun asked back, looked around at everyone, and continued.

"Yes, Yang Zhaolong has escaped now, but what Commander Zhu and Commander Wu said is right. No one knows why Yang Zhaolong left. Maybe he has been unable to capture Sinan City for more than ten days, so he came up with a plan to deliberately retreat and lure us out of the city.

As long as you inflict severe damage on us in the wild, Sinan City will fall without a fight.

Ladies and gentlemen, if Yang Zhaolong occupied Sinan City, he could go north along the Wujiang River to Chongqing Prefecture, or capture Tongren and Sizhou to the east, cutting off the connection between Zhenyuan and Guizhou Provincial Government and Hunan.

By then, the situation will turn to the favor of the Bozhou Yang family. Who will bear the responsibility?"

After a moment of silence, Yang Piandao asked unwillingly, "What should we do now?"

"All units must defend their positions strictly. Ren Dushi and Wu Tuanzhang should immediately send out a reconnaissance team and spies to find out the surrounding situation and Yang Zhaolong's movements as soon as possible.

At the same time, we have contacted Yinjiang, Mayang and Chenzhou to get the latest updates from our department.”

"Okay!" Zhang Yong nodded. "General Li, this is the safest arrangement. Commander Zhu, what do you think?"

"I also think this is the safest way. Just follow Li Canjun's instructions and execute them immediately!"

"Yes!"

In the Western Garden of the capital, Li Chun came to the Ziguang Pavilion holding a stack of memorials.

"Your Majesty, this is the urgent military report submitted by the Ministry of Public Administration."

Zhu Yijun, who was sitting behind the imperial desk, asked without even looking up, "Where is it from?"

"From Huguang and Qinghai."

"Give it to me." "Yes.

Zhu Yijun first picked up the one from Huguang, read it carefully, thought silently for a while, and then said to Li Chun and Qi Yan who were standing beside the imperial desk.

"Wang Yi'e is different from Mr. Meilin. He is very bold. A few days ago, when Jiangxia Public School was opened, he said in front of everyone that Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was a doctrine that would lead to the destruction of a country and was inconsistent with the prosperous Ming Dynasty.

There was a huge uproar! "

Qi Yan said softly, "Your Majesty, I found something interesting."

"What's the fun?"

"Your Majesty, Prefect Pan is thoughtful and careful, while Governor Wang is bold and daring. Their personalities complement each other."

Zhu Yijun glanced at Qi Yan and said, "So do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Your Majesty, this is a matter concerning the military and the country, I dare not speak nonsense."

Zhu Yijun did not ask about this matter any further, and turned to the war in Qiandong: "The Qianzhong Commandery reported urgently that a thousand soldiers disguised as the Tusi of Bozhou set out from Chenzhou and went up the river. Now they have reached Tongren City. Going north again is Sinan City, the fishing spot set up by Wang Yi'e.

Judging from all the signs, Yang Yinglong should take the bait. His brother Yang Zhaolong stationed troops in Shiqian, eyeing Sinan and Zhenyuan. Ambitious people can't hold back, just like those who take the bait, they are all restless fish. "

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"Your Majesty, what if Yang Yinglong doesn't take the bait?" Li Chun asked.

"Without Yang Yinglong, the butcher, would we have to eat pigs with hair? I have already assigned Bozhou to the Guizhou Provincial Government. And the Xi'an family of Shuixian, the She family of Yongning, the Jinchuan family, the chieftains of Yunnan, these walnuts in the southwest, I will smash them one by one.

Only by smashing them can the southwest of Ming Dynasty be peaceful. Now the southwest and northwest are both the heartaches of Ming Dynasty. If we don’t pacify these two places, Ming Dynasty cannot be revived. "

"Your Majesty, now we have Wang Du and Yin Du in the southwest, and Laiyang Gong, Juyan Bo, and Yunchuanzi Huo brothers in the northwest. We will surely be able to pacify the country."

"I hope so too." Zhu Yijun put down the memorial from Qianzhong Dusi and picked up the memorial from the Huo brothers.

The memorial was written by Tian Le, the military advisor of Kunlundusi.

Tian Le, with the courtesy name Xizhi and the pseudonym Dongzhou, was a native of Renqiu County, Hejian Prefecture, Zhili (now Renqiu City, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province). He became a Jinshi in the second year of Longqing (1568), and after observing the government, he took the initiative to work in the northwest and was selected by Xu Wei as a clerk.

After the Huo brothers pacified Qinghai, Xu Wei was ordered to transform the Qinghai Mongolian tribes, including the Qinghai Tumed tribe entrenched in the Qinghai Lake area, the Chijin and Handong tribes nomadic in the Qilian Mountains area, and the Quxian and Adu tribes in the Qaidam area, into the Mongolian right wing Guyan and Yunchuan tribes, as part of Huo Jing's border tribes.

Xu Wei still had a lot of things to do in Gansu, and the specific matters of the reorganization were mostly handled by Tian Le, who got along very well with the Huo brothers.

Although Tian Le was from a poor family, he was self-reliant, studied hard, and was courageous. After arriving in Gansu, he learned riding and archery from Mei Guozhen, the chief secretary of the Gansu Governor's Office and a heroic man who was proud of his skills in riding and archery. After being sent to Qinghai, he worked hard, acted cautiously, and made decisive decisions with courage.

Huo Jing and Huo Bian were ordered to lead troops to Tianshan. They asked Cao Bangfu and Xu Wei to send Tian Le as an advisor to the army.

Tian Le was then appointed as the military advisor of Kunlun Commandery, and followed the Qinghai Wing Guard Army across the Kunlun Mountains and down to the southern route of the Tianshan Mountains.

Tian Le said in his memorial, "We crossed the Yalingkuo Pass and followed the Chelichang River (Cherchen River) valley to Chelichang City (Qiemo City). After we quickly captured the city, we had two options.

One is to go along the Chelichang River to the Puchang Sea and attack Turpan and other places in the north. The other is to go west and attack Khotan, Yarkand (Yargan, today's Shache), and Hasihar.

The east is close but the west is far, and the roads on both sides are difficult to travel.

After discussion, we decided to flee westwards. The reasons are as follows.

Merchants from the Western Regions learned that the southern route of the Tianshan Mountains was currently divided into two countries: to the west was the Yarkand Khanate, with Yarkand (Shache) as its capital; to the east was the Turpan Khanate, with Turpan as its capital.

The west was strong and the east was weak, and the Yarkand State had already broken through the Iron Gate Pass, so the Turpan Khanate was in danger. Once the Yarkand Khanate occupied the Turpan Khanate, it could threaten Gansu Suzhou and Qinghai with Hami and Shagua Prefecture as its base.

We believe that if we advance eastward towards the Turpan Khanate, we will easily be drawn into the melee between Yarkand and Turpan.

The Yarkand Kingdom is not a friendly country of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty will definitely fight with it during this western expedition.

The Kingdom of Turpan was an enemy of the Ming Dynasty. It occupied Hami Wei, Shazhou, Guazhou and other places, often harassed Suzhou, and caused trouble in Hexi for many years.

Neither of them is a friend nor an enemy, so let them fight theirs and we fight ours."

Zhu Yijun was delighted. "This is not what the Huo brothers said. They are brave and good at fighting, but their strategic vision is temporarily insufficient. It must be Tian Le who said it. Well, it seems that this Tian Le has the strategy of Lord Anping."

After reading the latest report of the Western Expedition Southern Route Army three times, Zhu Yijun reluctantly put it down.

"It's a pity that Tianshan is thousands of miles away from the capital. The memorial was sent to me after traveling to many places and three months of training. At this moment, the Huo brothers and Tian Le should be stationed at the gate of Yarkand.

I am really concerned about how the war is going."

Qi Yan and Li Chun looked at each other, bowed, and spoke in unison.

"Both Juyanbo and Yunchuannan were appointed by the emperor. Juyanbo had a clear vision, strong determination, and was bold in his decision. He could predict the enemy's changes and was able to come up with unexpected plans. Yunchuannan was good at riding and shooting, was swift as a flying arrow, and was brave in battle. He was powerful and invincible.

One is good at planning, the other is brave in fighting, and the other is a military officer, Tian Le, who is both civil and military, and has great knowledge. The three of them will surely live up to the emperor's grace, serve the frontier, settle the Tianshan Mountains in the west, defeat the enemy, make meritorious deeds, and spread the emperor's prestige far and wide."

Zhu Yijun looked at the two of them, turned his head and looked to the west. His gaze flew across thousands of mountains and rivers, all the way to the foot of Mount Kunlun.

"I also hope that the three of them will do as you two have said, and make great contributions to the Ming Dynasty and bring glory to the western frontier."

At this time, Huo Jing, Huo Bian and Tian Le, with 20,000 Mongolian right-wing cavalry, were stationed on the banks of the Tingzaabu River.

Three months earlier, they had marched westward with all their might, capturing cities such as Keleya, Qila, and Khotan, killing officials sent by the Yarkand State and local nobles, establishing a temporary "maintenance" regime, and obtaining a large amount of supplies.

Now, more than a hundred miles ahead is Yarkand City, the capital of Yarkand State.

In a tent, there was a bonfire burning in the middle, supported by a tripod, and a copper kettle hung on the top. It was smoked black and white steam was coming out of the spout.

"How do we fight? Let's discuss it together." Huo Jing, commander of Kunlun Dusi, spoke.

Huo Bian was chewing on a roasted lamb leg, his mouth full of oil, and he said nonchalantly: "You guys tell me how to fight, I'll just swing my sword and bow to kill the enemies in front of me."

Huo Jing knew his brother's temper, so he turned to look at Tian Le, "Mr. Tian, ​​what do you think?"

Tian Le was in charge of political work, logistics, and some staff work. After several months of fighting, he won the respect of the Huo brothers with his real talents and hard work.

He sat on a cowhide stool, holding a copper cup in both hands, with wisps of white steam coming out of the cup.

"Chief Envoy, Deputy Envoy, the Emperor once gave a lecture at the Xishan Military Academy, in which he said that if land is lost, everyone loses their land; if everyone loses their land, everyone saves their land.

We were ordered to march west, in the name of recovering the old lands in the Western Regions, but the most important thing is people. "

Huo Bian smiled with his shiny, sleek lips, "That's right, if we kill all the people, this land will be ours."

"Nonsense." Huo Jing smiled and turned to look at Tian Le, "Mr. Tian has a plan in mind."

Tian Le smiled and replied, "I have a plan in mind."

Huo Bian said at the side: "Stop playing dumb, both of you. Speak out together."

Huo Jing and Tian Le smiled at each other and said the same word in unison. Huo Bian grabbed the roasted lamb leg with his right hand and just brought it to his mouth, "You two really thought of the same thing!"

(End of this chapter)