Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 589 Guardianship Strategy
The level of security at the Guerrilla General's Mansion was far greater than usual. Not only could the Bai sisters not enter the Guerrilla General's Mansion at this time, even the team officer guarding the street entrance had to be stopped at the door by the Beijing Camp soldiers brought by Yuan Keli.

"Hey, brother," the officer from the Beijing camp guarding the door said, stepping forward with his right leg and blocking the entire entrance with his body. "Aren't you guarding the street corner? What are you doing here?"

"A few southern barbarian soldiers arrived at the intersection, along with a Tartar." The officer guarding the intersection handed over a sign and a flag. "They gave me this. They probably want to see Madam Bai."

"What's the matter?" The officer of the Beijing camp took the flag and sign.

"I don't know." The officer guarding the intersection shook his head and said, "They talk like birds chirping. I can't understand a word they say. But I think it must be something urgent."

"Hmm," the Beijing Battalion officer frowned. "But the higher-ups said no one's allowed in. If I disrupt the meeting and get blamed, I can't afford it."

"But the higher-ups didn't say we couldn't report it, right? What if it delayed some extremely urgent military intelligence?" The officer guarding the street corner pointed at the Flying Tiger flag. "I'm afraid you and I can't afford it."

"Tsk!" The officer of the Beijing camp rolled his eyes and walked into the yamen with a deep frown. After he left, a soldier from the Beijing camp immediately stepped over and filled his vacant seat.

The Guerrilla General's Mansion was not a large government office, with only two courtyards, front and back. A few steps past the screen wall was the meeting hall with the main door closed and no windows open.

There was not a single soldier in the open space between the screen wall and the meeting hall, only a few men in plain clothes. These people were extremely sensitive, and the moment the Beijing camp officer walked around the screen wall, all eyes turned to him at once.

The officer of the Beijing camp was terrified by the stare, but he still walked towards the leader.

"Stop. Get out." Although Lu Jianxing's voice was soft, his eyes flashed with a majesty that made people instinctively tremble with fear.

"Please forgive my intrusion," the officer from the Beijing camp said, standing still, hunched over, as he handed over a flag and a sign. "Several soldiers arrived with a pass from the Youyang Xuanfu Division and a Flying Tiger Banner. Mao's personal guards said they've also tied up a Tartar, and they may have intercepted some important military intelligence."

"Take me to see them." Lu Jianxing took two steps to the officer of the Beijing camp and took the pass and the Flying Tiger flag.

"Let's go find an interpreter first?" The officer's forehead was already covered with a layer of fine cold sweat.

"No need." Lu Jianxing turned around, looked at the other Jinyiwei, and took a step forward.

"Go ahead. You may not understand what they are saying." The team of officers followed with a flattering smile.

"I understand." Lu Jianxing stepped out of the gate, and the guerrilla camp officer guarding the street entrance immediately came up to him.

"Where are those people you mentioned?" Lu Jianxing stopped and asked.

"Just standing over there and not letting them come over." The guerrilla battalion officer waved his hand and pointed to the eastern entrance of the street.

"Let's go." Lu Jianxing took another step forward.

"I am guarding the main gate of the yamen and cannot go in." The officer of the Beijing camp said immediately.

"Yeah." Lu Jianxing responded lightly without turning his head.

Lu Jianxing strode up to the Bai sisters. He glanced at the guerrilla commander and said, "Tell your men to step back."

The officer of Mao's personal guard was startled, thinking that this man was quite arrogant. However, he did not dare to get angry. After all, "the prime minister was a seventh-rank official." Even if this man had no official rank and was just a servant of Councillor Yuan, he could not afford to offend him.

"Okay." The guerrilla battalion officer smiled at Lu Jianxing, then turned around and frowned: "The front team advances ten steps, and the rear team retreats ten steps."

The soldiers moved and soon cleared a space on the street.

"Okay, tell me. What's the important military information?" Lu Jianxing's Southwestern Mandarin had a distinct northern accent, but it was understandable.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Bai Zaiyun was about to answer, but was stopped by Bai Zaiying.

"The distant nephew of Councillor Yuan. His surname is Lu." Lu Jianxing also imitated Lu Wenzhao and called himself the distant nephew of Yuan Keli.

"Councilor Yuan is from Henan. Why do you speak our language?" Bai Zaiying looked Lu Jianxing up and down.

"I traveled around in my early years and even lived in Chengdu for half a year." Lu Jianxing was lying. He had never been to Sichuan.

The reason he spoke Southwestern Mandarin was simply because he was a cavalry officer in the Eastern Office of the Imperial Uniform Guard. Because Ming officials came from all over the country and even from neighboring foreign nations, starting with the establishment of the Four Barbarians Hall during the Yongle reign, all cavalry officers in the Imperial Uniform Guard were required to study various local dialects and even foreign languages ​​with Hanlin scholars before joining the service. Recently, the European Hall was officially added to the Four Barbarians Hall, offering courses in Portuguese, French, and Latin. If they weren't assigned abroad, they were likely forced to study at the Four Barbarians Hall.

"I see." Bai Zaiying nodded. He took out the letter from his sleeve pocket. "Please take a look at this first."

Lu Jianxing took the letter, unfolded it, and his pupils shrank immediately. However, his expression quickly returned to calm. "Anything else?"

"Is there anything else?" Bai Zaiying turned to ask Bai Zaiyun.

"No, that's all." Lu Jianxing's indifference made Bai Zaiyun feel a little lost. She actually wanted to tell others about her experience in detail and then receive some praise. Just like when Bai Zaiying first saw Mangku.

"Okay, I understand. I'll keep the letter. The government office is still discussing matters and won't see anyone. You guys go back and wait." Lu Jianxing still smiled, but it was a perfunctory smile. "If you have anything to ask, we'll come and call you."

"Okay." Bai Zaiying patted Bai Zaiyun's shoulder. "Let's go." "Okay." Bai Zaiyun's mouth pursed slightly, and his eyes seemed to be moist.

Lu Jianxing noticed the girl's slight disappointment, but he had no time to comfort anyone. Business was handled impartially, and meritorious service was rewarded.

Lu Jianxing turned around with the letter in his hand and took only two steps when he suddenly heard Bai Zaiyun's voice again: "There's one more, take it too."

"What is it?" Lu Jianxing walked back.

"Written conversation." Bai Zaiyun handed over the written conversation record that Mr. Qiu gave her.

Lu Jianxing took it and quickly scanned it. He remained expressionless until he saw the signature and the private seal, then he suddenly smiled.

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When Lu Jianxing returned to the Guerrilla General's residence with the letter and the "written conversation," the doors and windows of the meeting hall were still closed. He walked to the bottom of the steps and stood there, listening quietly to the voices muffled by the paper window frames and wooden lattices. Lu Jianxing couldn't make out the words, but he knew it was the voice of his "uncle," Yuan Keli.

Five sets of teacups were placed in the meeting hall, but no one sat beside them. Everyone gathered around a large sand table in the center, depicting the Pyeongan Province of Korea. Behind them, on a plain desk, an imperial edict bearing the seal of Guangyun lay quietly. Next to it, a plaque designating an imperial envoy from the Imperial Guards was placed.

"Guerrilla Mao, on May 1st, I want you to lead your troops across the Yalu River and march south all the way to Dingzhou. I will accompany you on this journey," Yuan Keli's hand moved in mid-air along the coastline. "After arriving in Dingzhou, you will also send an elite force north to Guizhou. Once you have completely taken over the defense of Guizhou, you will send more troops further north to Shuozhou. From then on, the area from Shuozhou in the north to Zhenjiang in the west and Dingzhou in the south will be included in the Zhenjiang guerrilla defense zone, and will be under the jurisdiction of the Zhenjiang Military Preparations Department."

Ming Zhenjiang, Korean Shuozhou, and Korean Dingzhou formed a roughly triangular area along the river and surrounded by mountains. Shuozhou, bordering the Yalu River to the north, had long been a key military town for the Koreans, monitoring Jurchen movements and defending against small-scale raids. More importantly, from this location, crossing the Yalu River and then walking thirty miles along the mountain road, one could reach Changdian.

"Master Yuan," said Mao Wenlong, the newly appointed Zhenjiang guerrilla commander, with a bow. "I am only a guerrilla commander, commanding no more than 5,000 troops, 3,000 of whom are scattered across various locations and responsible for their own defenses. Only 2,000 of these troops are available. Crossing the river and controlling Yizhou with these troops is certainly not difficult, but if we want to continue defending Guizhou or even controlling Shuozhou, our army will be stretched to its limits."

The Zhenjiang guerrillas' jurisdiction was limited to a small area extending from the Hushan Great Wall in the north to the mouth of the Yalu River in the south and the mouth of the Dayang River in the west. Suddenly, the Korean cities of Yizhou, Dingzhou, Guizhou, and Shuozhou were added, effectively expanding their jurisdiction to the entire north.

"You don't have to worry about this." Yuan Keli said, "I have already said it just now. On the first day of May, General Shen and General Li will lead a total of 25,000 boats across the sea to Pyongyang and Hanyang. These troops will not all gather in the two major cities. After arriving in Pyongyang, I will draw troops from General Li's command for you to deploy. Before that, your troops can borrow troops from Xiuyan, Xuancheng and other places to strengthen the defense, and Gao Bingxian will fully cooperate with you." Having said that, Yuan Keli glanced at Gao Bangzuo beside him.

"I understand," Gao Bangzuo nodded in response to Yuan Keli, then asked Mao Wenlong, "Mao Youji, how many troops do you estimate are needed to defend Yizhou, Dingzhou, Guizhou, and Shuozhou?"

"At least 300 to 500 men must remain in the main cities of Yi, Ding, Gui, and Shuo Prefectures to serve as the central army," Mao Wenlong calculated, counting on his thick fingers. "Each of the surrounding cities, depending on their size, will need 50 to 200 men to oversee them. All in all, we'll need at least 4,000 men, ideally 5,000 to 6,000, to maintain stable control over these areas."

"Guardian Yuan," Gao Bangzuo said, looking at Yuan Keli. "Xiuyan, Xuancheng, Fenghuang, Zhenjiang, Tangzhan, and other places only have about 6,400 troops available for flexible deployment, and that includes the guerrilla battalion under Mao Youji. If we need to withdraw troops to defend the four Ping'an prefectures, we can only withdraw half of that, or about 3,200 men. If we exceed that number, the Kuandian Lieutenant General's defense zone will be isolated and forced to passively defend. Furthermore, if we need to mobilize troops, it's best to limit it to Xiuyan, Xuancheng, and other places. Fenghuang, Zhenjiang, and Tangzhan directly face Kuandian. If the defense line is unstable and the enemy invades, there's a risk of a complete collapse."

"How many troops can be mobilized from Xiuyan and Xuancheng?" Yuan Keli asked.

Gao Bangzuo replied, "Including the reinforcements under Zhang Youji's command, we can mobilize a maximum of 2,500 men."

Yuan Keli pondered for a moment and then made his decision, "Then let's do this. Withdraw all available troops from Xiuyan, Xuancheng, and other places. Mao Youji will send another 500 men to make up the total of 3,000. We will first stabilize Yizhou, Dingzhou, and Guizhou, especially Guizhou. As for the gaps caused by the transfer of troops, we will borrow troops from Jinzhou and Fuzhou to fill them. Once the troops from Hanyang and Pyongyang arrive, the troops will gradually return to their original bases."

"I think it's feasible," Gao Bangzuo calculated the time and nodded. "But this requires the approval of Zhang Bingxian and even Xiong Jinglüe."

"That's not a problem," Yuan Keli said with a smile. "Before coming to Zhenjiang, I met with Xiong Jinglie and Zhang Bingxian. After the meeting, I will write to them and ask for their assistance."

"Then I will issue orders to Xiuyan and Xuancheng to mobilize troops." Gao Bangzuo nodded solemnly.

"Okay." Yuan Keli nodded and asked Mao Wenlong, "Does Mao Youji have anything else to say?"

"I obey your command." Mao Wenlong's brows flickered with an unconcealable eagerness. He keenly sensed that he might be promoted again.

"So, what about us?" Across from Yuan Keli, standing almost alone was Madam Bai, the deputy commander of the Youyang reinforcements. She forced out a tooth-achingly awkward northern accent and pointed at herself with a smile. "Yuan, Yuan, what are you going to do with us?"

Yuan Keli was silent for a moment, thinking and trying to understand Bai Zaixiang's meaning.

"Mrs. Bai just said that people from Youyang Division are active in Changdian, Sudian, Shuozhou and even Bitong, right?" Yuan Keli first swept his finger across the area along the Yalu River, then turned to look at Lu Wenzhao, who was responsible for translation.

Bai Zaixiang roughly understood Yuan Keli's meaning from his actions. Without waiting for Lu Wenzhao to repeat himself in Southwestern Mandarin, she nodded to Yuan Keli. "Yes. I did."

"Okay. To prevent the bandits from taking advantage of the chaos to invade, I want you to block the roads from Bitong, Shuozhou, to Changdian, Sudian and other places as much as possible until Mao's guerrilla troops control Guizhou." Yuan Keli spoke slowly, but this time Bai Zaixiang did not fully understand.

Reading people's expressions is a fundamental skill for imperial guards. Lu Wenzhao, noticing the puzzled look on Bai Zaixiang's face, took the initiative to repeat Yuan Keli's words in full, using a fairly standard southwestern official accent.

"Yes." Bai Zaixiang nodded first, then asked, "What if there are Koreans?"

Recounted by Lu Wenzhao.

"Persuade them to return," Yuan Keli said. "Gao Canzheng and Mao Youji will find enough interpreters who can speak the Korean dialect for you."

"What if the other party insists on passing?" Bai Zaixiang asked again.

Yuan Keli thought for a moment. "Good people go into the mountains to cut wood, hunt, pick fruits, and fish—they're just trying to make a living. So, provide them with that. You can have your men take extra food with them, and the government will cover the extra expenses. But if they refuse to take the food and return, or if they take the food but still insist on moving forward and crossing the river, they're definitely spies. If they're spies, kill them."

(End of this chapter)