Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 306: Changes in Border Situation
The scouts arrived outside Zhenbei Pass and then headed straight for Zhenbei Fort.

"Finally, the damn coward made a move."

The lieutenant general stationed here suddenly sat up and said, "Send a message to Yongning, Gucheng Erbao and Kaiyuan. All the people I have arranged should wait at Laomi Bay. Prepare the horses, go to Zhenyibao first, then to Qingyunbao. At this time tomorrow, I will leave the border! Whoever is late will go to Wulacheng to eat guano!"

He could only move when the main force of the Yehe tribe was forced to move westward by the Tianshu Camp.

Seeing that the guys from Tieling had left the border wall, he could only stay here and not move his troops. He had already scolded the Yehe tribe for more than two months.

Now he could move, but he was still cursing.

"Damn it, how many boats can cross the river at Laomi Bay?"

It was because by this time the Liao River had already melted.

Otherwise, you could go out earlier from Xin'an Pass and cross the Liaohe River while the water is still frozen.

Now the only way is to go to Laomiwan, a little inside the border wall in the south, to cross the river and get out of the border wall.

It is quite difficult for people from all over the country to gather there within one day.

Fortunately, he only brought out 5,000 people in total, who were stationed in various places. There were hundreds or thousands of troops marching towards each place, and it was within the border wall, so they could go a little faster.

The horses were sent quickly to various places, and there were already some boats in the Xiaoqing River in Kaiyuan.

Throughout the winter, Qingheyi Town outside Guangshun Pass was still not fully built, but it had begun to take shape and even extended to the south bank.

Now that the river has thawed, the docks on both sides of the Qing River are filled with deafening sounds of trumpets.

"We really have to conquer Liaohetao. Otherwise, it would be a waste of money to hire so many shipbuilders to build ships here."

It turned out to be a newly built river boat being launched.

"It's not that the gain is not worth the loss. At least the Jurchens here are cheap to use." Chang Qing'an said to Wei Yunzhong, "Your Excellency, since spring has come, it's time for me to go south. I'll leave Liaoyuan to you. If there's anything you want us to transport from Jiangnan, just write to me and let me know."

"Thank you very much, Leader." Wei Yunzhong nodded.

We set out on this journey in the first month of the lunar year and have been here for two months.

Wei Yunzhong naturally went to the farthest city of Ula first, and then returned to Qingheyi Town.

At present, many Jurchens from Liaoyuan Prefecture have gathered here, all because of the labor needed for the construction of this post station.

After a winter of work-for-relief, there are now some changes here.

The oldest and youngest have already returned, and they can do less strenuous herding, fishing and hunting.

Those who still have some strength and the Jurchen women stayed here to work.

They can basically only help cut and carry wood and stones.

It was still hard work, but Wei Yunzhong was here, adhering to the emperor's philosophy, and did not treat them harshly. At least this year, the grain shipped to Liaodong by the Ming Dynasty was the top priority, although there were also a lot of goods from Shanxi and Changming.

Food and daily necessities are what the Jurchens who remain in the Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Government lack the most.

Money is not that important.

As Wei Yunzhong watched Qingheyi Town gradually take shape, he hoped more and more that the war in the west would go smoothly.

After Zhujiabao Fort southwest of Tieling, the Liaohe River flows out of the present-day Ming Dynasty border wall, and does not flow into the border wall until Dongchang Fort north of Niuzhuangyi.

For the Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Government at that time, only when the Liaohe Basin was completely taken over would there be a smooth waterway leading directly to the mouth of the Liaohe River during the hot weather every year.

A stable supply of materials is very important to the Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Government. Shanxi has invested a lot in Qingheyi Town, and they have long-term considerations.

This is all based on the fact that the Liaohe River waterway can be firmly controlled by the Ming Dynasty, so that it can enter the Daqing River through the Xiaoqing River and then into the Liaohe River, all the way south.

At this time, the Ming army in Guangning and the Ming army in Shenyang and Liaoyang were attacking from both sides.

In fact, the largest number of troops were dispatched here. After all, the Tatars occupied this area of ​​the Liaohe River like a nail and penetrated deep into the Dongchangbao area.

"Is this the original straight road? It's all overgrown with grass."

"Burn it all! The military order says that this place will be used for farming in the future. I heard from the people in Zhenwubao and Xixingbao that the river is still there."

The Luhe River they are talking about is an important part of the Ming army's border defense system in Liaodong. The Liaohe River has a dense network of waterways and many tributaries, and there are already many artificial canals connecting them.

Among them, there is a very long section outside the current border wall, connecting the Liaohe River and the upper reaches of Shuangtaizi River on the shore of Xixingbao in the east of Guangning.

The straight road they were referring to was the one that went from Jinzhou to Yizhou and then north, out of the border wall at Daqingbao, turned north and then east to Shenyang.

There is another road in Jinzhou, which is to pass Zhenning Fort northwest of Xixing Fort and then go out of the border wall from Daheishan, all the way to the northeast and merge with the previous straight road to Shenyang.

The Liaohe area was once well managed by the Ming Dynasty, but now it is controlled by the Mongols and is mainly used as a pasture.

"Watch your step, don't get stuck in the swamp." The leader warned, "It's a pity that these Tartars run fast, and we didn't catch many people who know the way. These Tartars must know which places are easy for troops to get stuck. We will have to spend a lot of effort to clean up this place in the future. If we don't drain the snow water into the sea, it will be difficult to turn it into fields."

"Boss, you are the commander of the army, why are you worrying about the affairs of the civil officials?"

"...Get lost! My ancestors once cultivated land here! I just can't stand seeing the Tartars ruin this place!" With such a large-scale military operation in Liaodong, the Tartar tribes in this area saw that they were being attacked from both sides and had already fled.

Of course, there is a well-known swamp to the northeast of the Big Black Mountain, and they can only pass through it from the east and west sides.

How many of the large tribes taking shelter there can escape depends on luck.

Daiqing's Anda and his second brother Ecan had also noticed what was going on here.

Daiqing's fifth brother Shi Bao was puzzled: "Are the Han people crazy? How can they defend the Liao River in the future if they chase the whole area? It's not like the Liao River won't freeze."

"That's their business." Daiqing's Anda frowned, "Guangning's Ming army has already arrived in the east... Baiqing's troops went to Linghe Valley so smoothly, could it be that Du Ling was wrong?"

Dai Qing said that the Ming Dynasty was planning to attack the Linghe Valley and the Qinglong River Valley, but now, the Ming Dynasty is clearly planning to attack the Liaohe River.

It is really abnormal that after inflicting heavy damage to the Doyan families, they ignored it. Was it just to prevent them from distracting Ming's actions in Liaohe from the west of Guangning?

"As for your second brother..." He looked at Shi Bao, "I wonder if the Naiman tribe has found the Han army north of the Liao River."

"Naiman is very safe." Shi Bao didn't care. "Guangning doesn't have many soldiers now, we..."

"We'll wait for news from Duling first." Daiqing's Anda said cautiously, and glanced at Shi Bao again, "Just keep an eye on the movements of the Ming army in Guangning from Jianshan. When Baiqing's troops reach Linghe Valley, they will naturally clear the surrounding mountains to guard against an ambush by the Ming army."

While they were discussing here, scouts from the south arrived.

"There are Han troops coming from Jinzhou along their border wall to reinforce us. I wonder if they have discovered us!"

"Come from Jinzhou? Dashengbao or Dafubao?"

"We found them all. There are quite a few of them, and they are walking very fast on the side wall."

The Great Wall is both a defensive facility and a transportation facility.

The Tatar scouts could not see what was happening farther inside the border wall, but from outside the wall they could at least get a glimpse of the wall’s strengths and weaknesses.

The people arranged by Dai Qing hid in the northwest of Jianshan Mountain north of Daling River, but the scouts sent out by his Anda were hundreds of miles away to the south and east. After all, his current mission was to investigate the movements here.

"We need to transfer troops from the southern border fortresses... Could it be that the Ming army in Jinzhou has also reached the Liaohe area?"

He was unable to make an accurate judgment and could only order further investigation and pass the message to the west.

At this moment in the far west, Liu Jing went straight to the north of Yinshan Mountain after leaving the border.

In this area, to the west is Tumed, to the east is the now chaotic Kharchin remnants of the Yongshebu Wanhu tribe, and to the north is the Chahar Khanate.

Going straight from Dushibao to Kaiping was indeed the route taken by Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty during one of his northern expeditions. Therefore, this action made Lindan Batur, who had just arrived at Chahan Hetao, look a little pale.

"Du Ling, could it be that they knew we would definitely come south to subdue the Kharchin tribes, so they sent out Liaodong and Xuanda together? If they surround us here..."

"Don't worry, Khan." Dai Qing said, "I left people to guard the east, and Aohan's rear is also secure. The mountains and rivers here are steep, let alone only 20,000 or 30,000 troops, even if there are 200,000 or 300,000 troops, how can they besiege it?"

"...It's a pity that the right wing didn't obey my order! The Han people's money blinded their eyes. Are they just going to watch the Ming army go to the capital?"

The Shangdu city he mentioned was Kaiping City. Lindan Batur complained and said worriedly: "I heard that the leader of the army over there is a newly-appointed marquis by the Han emperor. I'm afraid he is a brave general who is good at fighting. If Shangdu is lost... it is in the upper reaches of the Harahetao..."

"The walls of Shangdu City have been demolished long ago. How can we defend it even if we take it down?" Dai Qing shook his head. "The Han people have long been accustomed to relying on the border walls. Now the Han emperor is young and energetic. This time, he sent troops from west to east. Only the Kalaqin area that was attacked last year is guarding the border wall and not coming out."

He looked towards the southwest and said, "Great Khan, he is indeed planning to surround us. He has a big appetite."

"Du Ling, what do you think we should do?" Although Lindan Batur had great ambitions, this was his first time in battle. Lindan Batur still relied on the most famous and brave general in Chahar.

Dai Qing thought for a while, then slowly looked towards the northwest: "Why not... take advantage of their trick?"

"How to say?"

"The Han people in Jizhou are only guarding inside the border wall. It seems that the Xuan Daming army is heading straight for Shangdu or even the Khan's court, but perhaps they want to lure us back for help. They should still want to take back Yanshan first, after all, it is easier to defend here. If we go north along the Luan River to help, we may be ambushed by them halfway. Since the scouts said that there are only 15,000 elite soldiers over there, why not just pretend to attack their Gubeikou from the Halahetao?"

“Gubeikou?”

Dai Qing nodded and said, "If we take Gubeikou, we can reach the capital of the Han emperor in one day by fast horse. The Han army in Jizhou only defends and does not attack, in order to protect their capital. Khan, one place is not enough. I will lead my men to feint and attack Xifengkou in the east. If both Gubeikou and Xifengkou are breached, the Han armies in Liaodong and Xuanda will have to retreat, and their capital cannot be lost at all."

"Du Ling is saying... to get their emperor to order the 15,000 Han troops to come back for help?"

"That's right. Since they have already left the Great Wall, the fastest way to break the siege here is of course to fight all the way here along the Luan River. We are worried that our retreat route to the northwest will be cut off."

"But if Du Ling sent his troops to Xifengkou..."

"From Baimachuan to Halahetao, I can reach there in half a day." Dai Qing said, "If the Khan can pretend to be defeated and lure them across the Luan River, it will be difficult for the 15,000 Han army to return. If we defeat them, we can really fight Gubeikou. If the Khan defeats Xuanda's Ming army here, won't Tumed be willing to take the opportunity to force Xuanda to ask for a better price?"

Lindan Batur was very interested, but he was only worried about one thing: "If we separate from Du Ling, we will only have less than 10,000 people in the Khan's court..."

"The Khan is personally leading the expedition, and the Kharchin tribes are overjoyed. This is their home, and the Khan has only 8,000 elite cavalry. Moreover, the Han army from Xuan must be exhausted after traveling so far. Besides, if I were to follow the Khan with my men, how could I lure them across the Luan River? I heard that the general is a reckless man, and he will not be willing to lose the great achievement of capturing the Khan. Khan, you have the ambition to restore the majesty of the Khanate, and this is the beginning."

"Okay!" Lindan Batur didn't want to let down his ambition. "The Khanate has just won over the hearts of many tribes in Kharchin. It's time for me to make them believe that the Khanate can protect them! Then I will go to the Harahetao to wait for Duling."

Finally, he encouraged himself: "I will live up to the blood of Genghis Khan!"

(End of this chapter)