Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 322 The Difficulty of Decision
"They say no one is braver than Ma Fang!"

Outside Gubeikou, Li Hualong came here in person and drew his sword.

"Marin, speed is of the essence in war, and there is no time to lose!" His eyes were very fierce. "If you hesitate any longer, I will kill you first as the right commander of the army! I have been a soldier all my life, fighting in the north and south, and when have I ever been defeated? If you don't believe me, do you want people in the world to think of you, Marin, when they mention the son of a tiger father in the future?"

Ma Lin's face turned red with shame as he stared at Li Hualong's expression and his knife.

Such ridicule has been going on since he was removed from his post as commander-in-chief of Liaodong.

"I am just waiting for the general's order..."

"He's still at Shanhaiguan, it's too late!" Li Hualong shouted, "I've been ordered to temporarily control the Jizhen army. General You must obey my orders!"

"Okay!" Ma Lin also shouted loudly, clasped his fists and gritted his teeth, "I will obey your orders! If the Gubeikou line falls into the trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain, I will die, and I will never dare to let my father down!"

Li Hualong asked him to lead the Jizhou army in Gubeikou to launch a full-scale attack.

The previous military orders had always been to hold the line, with at most some harassment.

Li Hualong stood solemnly at Gubeikou and watched the army march out of the pass and head towards the outpost in the Xiaoshibapan area.

After they arrived there, Xiao Shibapan could no longer accommodate so many Ming troops, so they had to attack further and reach Halahetao.

"Send out all the night guards in this area! The Tatars will definitely find out if the army at Gubeikou is on the march. This commander-in-chief wants them to make no move tonight!"

Li Hualong also thought of the strangeness of Xiao Daiqing's attack on Yizhou, so the strength of the Khan's main force here must be confirmed through a real battle.

The question is, since everyone can see that there is something fishy, ​​why do the Tartars still make this choice?

All I can say is prepare for the worst.

He had already sent someone to convey the other part of the plan related to Li Hualong.

There was a sudden sound of horse hooves as the five riders galloped out of Dushikou, less than three hundred miles away from Kaiping.

Each person was accompanied by two horses.

They worked non-stop. They were Li Hualong's personal guards and had to deliver the military order to Marquis Zhang Yong as quickly as possible.

Along this line, the Xuanfu border troops have temporarily set up a total of five camps along the way to guard the road to Kaiping.

Wherever they went, they would leave Li Hualong's instructions.

"Beware of the trap! Beware of the trap!"

Li Hualong's worst-case plan included the idea that the Tumed tribe would feel that they would be in danger if one of them died, and that they had actually secretly joined forces with the Khan's court.

It’s not that I don’t trust Shu Baiqing’s knowledge, but I have to be prepared for the worst.

The border troops in Xuanfu suddenly felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.

They have only been serving as reserve forces during this period and have not been under any pressure.

The area from Dushibao to Kaiping was trekked out by Liu Jing and his army, and then they just guarded it and only initially established a defense system outside the border wall in this area.

If Tumed really wanted to attack, the Ming army outside Dushibao would certainly be in greater danger.

We changed horses along the way and it was already night when we arrived in Kaiping.

"The governor has not returned yet."

"Go find them! Send more people, go find them! No matter what, let Zhang Yonghou lead the army back quickly! Tumed's elite troops will arrive as scheduled, and Zhang Yonghou must keep an eye on them!"

If you want to go east, the best option is to go through Kaiping. Otherwise, you have to go through Dashawo or go north.

Therefore, the Tumed tribe had to pass through here when they went east to join the war.

And if their real decision was not to accept the good intentions of the Ming Dynasty, but to save the Khan's court from danger, then the Ming troops stationed from Kaiping to Dushikou would be in danger, and Liu Jing who had gone deep into the territory would be even more dangerous.

Before Liu Jing received the latest military orders, border reports from Shanhaiguan had already been delivered to Beijing.

The Fengtian Hall in the Forbidden City was once again busy until late at night.

"It seems that the Yongwei Camp has been discovered long ago." Tian Le said solemnly, "Now we need to find out how many people are besieging the Yongwei Camp?" "Xizhi is saying that the news spread by Qin Banghan may not be correct?"

"Your Majesty, I can't think of a reason why at least 10,000 troops must surround them." Tian Le said with some complaints, "At this time, if there are already tens of thousands of troops in the Daling River Valley, it would be the best strategy to quickly go to Yizhou or the west of Jinzhou to attack together. It is necessary for the Yongwei Camp to hide during the day and move at night, but since the mountain stronghold is easy to defend and difficult to attack, why should the Tartars waste casualties and time to surround and kill them? Is Dayun worried that there will be too many casualties among the children of the nobles in the Yongwei Camp?"

Among the 3,000 soldiers from the Yongwei Battalion who went there, there were 1,000 each from Xiliang and Baigan soldiers, as well as 1,000 sons of noble families and the original backbone members of the Yongwei Battalion.

Tian Le was very dissatisfied with Dayun's judgment.

Retreating to the mountain stronghold is certainly safer, but we can only hold on and wait for help.

Even if they were to hold out and wait for help, the terrain and current situation there meant that there couldn't be many people besieging them. Why couldn't they charge out?

Xing Jie said slowly: "Since Xiao Daiqing had already discovered the existence of the Yongwei Camp, he still went to attack Yizhou. This makes him seem more confident. Whether he lets them use the Yongwei Camp as bait to ambush and kill the reinforcements, or makes Xiao Daiqing believe that there are not enough troops from Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou, he should not go to help!"

This was an extremely outrageous statement, as if it meant to destroy the Yongwei Camp, which was directly commanded by the emperor.

"Yizhou reported that the enemy cavalry from Taipingbao and Dakangbao exceeded 10,000. We can still repel them by ambushing the Yongwei Camp, so they must have at least several thousand people, right? In your opinion, are these the members of the little villain Qing Aohan tribe, or are they the main force of the Khanate who have secretly bypassed them?"

Zhu Changluo was indeed a little disappointed. He didn't know whether Dayun had lost his fighting spirit after arriving in the capital to command the Yongwei Camp, or whether he was really worried, as Tian Le said, that the Yongwei Camp would suffer too many casualties and offend too many nobles and dignitaries.

"It's hard to say. As expected, Governor Li issued a military order last night at Gubeikou. It will probably take a day or two to test the situation there." Tian Le said truthfully, "Now we don't know what Ninglubo is going to do, and whether Zhangyonghou will be able to learn about the incident in time. At least one thing is clear: it is wishful thinking for Xiao Daiqing to capture Yizhou alone, and he can't hold it even if he captures it! Therefore, at least Korchin and Inner Khalkha will definitely go south, and Xiao Daiqing himself will definitely have reinforcements. Whether these reinforcements are the Khan's army or the Tumed, we need to find out as soon as possible."

"How about...letting Marquis Ningyuan show up earlier?" Xing Jie suggested.

"No!" Tian Le flatly refused, "The news of Ningyuan Hou's appearance must be spread to Jiangnan together with the news of the great victory in Jinzhou and Yizhou!"

Xing Jie stopped talking.

Not allowing Li Chengliang to show up with his 10,000 troops from the capital meant that Tian Le was still going to implement the previous strategy: lose first and then win, using the temporary interruption of the Banghai Road to create time and space for Ma Gui and Liu Jing to block the Khan's army.

But Xiao Daiqing's move of abandoning Jinzhou, which had weaker defenses, and attacking Yizhou only proved that he had something to rely on. The worst outcome would be that Liaodong would be surrounded by enemies on all sides.

What if it backfires?
"Your Majesty, please understand! I think that Governor Li is worrying too much. The Tumed dare not rebel. I have been in the northwest for many years, and they don't have the ability to rebel!" This is Tian Le's judgment. "I broke one of their hands in Qinghai, and they couldn't do anything. What's more, they have to appoint a new leader now? I think the little evil Qing just wants to light a fire first, so that those who are interested will think they have an opportunity. Even if Khorchin and Inner Khalkha can contain the rest of the border troops, the Khanate alone cannot break through Liaodong!"

This is his confidence, because in the past few years, most of his efforts have been in Liaodong, relying on Xing Jie, the former Li Ruhua, Yuan Keli, Ma Gui, and now Yuan Keli and Xiong Tingbi.

Xing Jie also nodded slightly.

The Khanate has a superficial chance only because a lot of Liaodong border troops have been sent out, and now have to guard against Jianzhou, Khorchin, and the remnants of Inner Khalkha.

Under such circumstances, it would be reasonable for them to capture Jinzhou. If Jinzhou was really captured, they believed that the various ethnic groups around Liaodong would attack together, so they would stay to consolidate the victory instead of looting and retreating.

At this time, Li Chengliang reappeared and conquered Jinzhou, and Ma Gui and Liu Jing also had time to encircle them, so that the plan could be realized.

But the prerequisite is that both the north and the east must hold on, and the situation will not change from now on.

"Your Majesty, whether Jianzhou will rebel is the biggest variable in the previous plan." Xing Jie said, "I think we can't let the Tartars break through the Banghai Road now. First, if Jinzhou is broken, once the news reaches Jiangnan, whether Ningyuan Hou shows up or not, Jiangnan will be ready to move. Second, if Jinzhou is broken, Jianzhou's rebellious intentions will definitely double. Regardless of whether they can hold on to the east, Liaoyuan Military and Civilian Government and Kuandian Liubao will be troubled. Liaodong will definitely have to spend time to eliminate Jianzhou before it can be peaceful."

Xing Jie is relatively conservative. He thinks that things should not be done on a large scale at once.

He looked at Tian Le and asked, "What if Ning Lubo has abandoned Ao Han Naiman and returned to support him after learning about the military situation?"

Tian Le was suddenly unable to answer.

What matters most now is time.

In two or three days, there will be new changes.

Ma Gui is responsible for Liaodong. If he feels that all lines in Liaodong must be defended with great difficulty, does he dare to gamble that there will be no mistakes?
On the contrary, if we change the previous strategy and defend Jinzhou and Yizhou, so that Jianzhou will not dare to make up its mind to attack Liaodong together, then the possibility of the entire Liaodong being defeated will be much lower.

And it doesn't necessarily mean that there is no chance of defeating the Khan's court.

We should also consider whether Liaodong is willing to keep the bandits?
"I believe in the soldiers of Liaodong, the Tianshu Camp and the Jing Camp, and I also believe in the Yongwei Camp!" Zhu Changluo stood up. "No matter what, the strategic intention of the bandits is clear. They want to cut off the Banghai Road and invite all ethnic groups to divide Liaodong! No matter who is besieging the Yongwei Camp, or whether Ma Gui is worried about Liaodong and came back to help. Pass the order down. Tomorrow, I will go to Jizhou Town. Let everyone in Liaodong know that this is the decisive battle between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Bandits!"

Zhu Changluo was not going to lead the army in person, he just wanted to make use of his status as emperor.

Leaving the capital, they were closer to Shanhaiguan, which at least let them all know that they were keeping an eye on the war situation.

"The strategy remains unchanged!" He made up his mind. "Now that the Ming Dynasty has taken the initiative to attack, if the situation has not changed greatly compared to before, then the Khan's court has really established its prestige, and from then on they will naturally share the same hatred and enemies. Now, the Khan's court wants to build momentum, and the Ming Dynasty must cut off this momentum! If Nurhaci is determined to take this gamble, let him take it. In this way, the Ming Dynasty will be able to annihilate Jianzhou with justification in the future!"

(End of this chapter)