The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

Late April.

Ma Wenyuan's troops arrived in Wuchang, successfully received supplies, and stationed themselves at the dock, awaiting the arrival of the main force.

It is worth mentioning that after a month of teaching, almost all of Ma Wenyuan's hundred or so men could recite the Thousand Character Classic.

He could barely read.

This pleased Ma Wenyuan greatly.

He was so pleased that within a few days all the soldiers were eating meat again, and they even had wine to drink.

Everyone was very happy about this.

The negative emotions that had arisen from spending so much time on the ship vanished instantly.

shore.

"The ancients have already ridden the yellow crane away, and the yellow crane is gone, never to return!"

Gazing towards the Yellow Crane Tower, Yang Hao, holding a wine cup, laughed loudly, "Mr. Ma, since we're in Wuchang, why not go see the Yellow Crane Tower?"

"After seeing the Yellow Crane Tower, shouldn't we also go see Parrot Island?"

Standing beside Yang Hao, Ma Wenyuan had gained a general understanding of the man over the past few days.

This was a military general who was extremely fond of literature, from Qu Yuan in ancient times to Tang Su in modern times.

Ma Wenyuan didn't know why, but logically speaking, if he liked literature, he should have a favorite.

For example, those who like Qu Yuan generally appreciate the tragic and magnificent romanticism.

For example, I admire Su Shi's generosity and tragic heroism, Wang Wei's tranquility and leisure, and Gao Shi's majestic and desolate style.

Or perhaps they simply like people with good writing skills.

But Yang Hao didn't; he liked everything.

It makes him seem like he's just being pretentious, but he genuinely does like it.

In short, he's a very complex person.

"Oh, the spirit bird of the Western Regions, displaying the wondrous beauty of nature! Possessing the exquisite essence of metal, and embodying the radiant brilliance of fire!"

This is after hearing Ma Wenyuan mention Parrot Island, he began reciting Mi Heng's "Ode to the Parrot."

……

Ma Wenyuan didn't read these things to him; he had important business to attend to—Meng Chong had returned.

When he arrived in Wuchang a few days ago, Ma Wenyuan specifically sent him to investigate the bandit forces on Dongting Lake.

Wuchang is very close to Dongting Lake, and three days is more than enough time to travel there and back, including scouting enemy positions along the way.

After hearing Meng Chong's report, Ma Wenyuan felt that he could settle this score later.

The band of river bandits he robbed were mainly composed of remnants of Chen Youliang's army who were not incorporated into the Ming army after Chen Youliang's defeat.

The bandits numbered over two thousand and had dozens of boats.

What's the point of fighting? Ma Wenyuan only has about a hundred men under his command, and even with Yang Hao's troops, it's only about a thousand.

If they were ordinary bandits, we could easily sweep them in.

But the remnants were different; this proved that they had the strength of a regular army, and they were simply no match for them.

So the matter was quickly dismissed by Ma Wenyuan, and no one mentioned it again.

After staying in Wuchang for a few days and waiting for Yang Jing's vanguard navy to catch up, the army rested for a few more days before setting off again.

After that, Ma Wenyuan was no longer considered Yang's vanguard, but was instead incorporated into the elite naval forces along with Yang Hao, advancing with the main vanguard naval force.

……

After passing Yuezhou, it was almost May by the time we arrived in Guizhou.

By May, the weather had improved considerably, though it was still somewhat chilly and overcast.

A constant, chilly wind swept across the river, and wisps of mist swirled around it, which was truly unsettling.

Guizhou is a stopover and buffer zone before entering the Three Gorges.

After passing Guizhou, you'll reach Yiling.

This place was the last flat area and also the largest supply point for the Eastern Route Army during this mission.

It is said that Deng Yu came to Yiling to personally oversee the battle, but this is just hearsay.

Ma Wenyuan has never met Deng Yu in person.

After Yiling, you enter Sichuan.

That is, Kuizhou, the first gateway into Sichuan.

When we arrived in Yiling, it was already early May.

……

"Kuizhou! It is the entrance to Qutang Gorge, and it is our primary objective for entering Sichuan. Once we take Kuizhou, the Xia army will have no defensible terrain left."

Inside Yang Jing's warship, several generals with more than a thousand households were holding a meeting.

Including Yang Hao and Ma Wenyuan.

Logically speaking, Ma Wenyuan had no right to attend the meeting.

But Ma Wenyuan was the emperor's brother-in-law, so where did all these reasons come from?

Even Yang Jing wouldn't dare leave the emperor's brother-in-law out of the picture and hold his own private meeting.

To put it nicely, this is strict military discipline, regardless of rank, only military position matters.

To put it bluntly, that would be an act of ulterior motives, an attempt to mislead the emperor.

Therefore, Yang Jing dared not.

At this moment, Ma Wenyuan sat at the very front, listening to Yang Jing give a serious pre-battle pep talk.

"If we fail to capture Kuizhou, this campaign against Shu will be a complete failure, and you all should know the consequences! Years of planning will be ruined in an instant!"

Ma Wenyuan started to feel sleepy as he listened.

I started looking around aimlessly, trying to perk myself up.

Just then, he saw his immediate supervisor, Yang Hao, sitting on the outermost edge, already asleep.

This made Ma Wenyuan somewhat envious.

Yang Jing's vanguard navy numbered over ten thousand, so the commander of a thousand men could only sit on the outermost edge, considered a minor officer.

If it were Tang He's large army, numbering over 80,000, then even a commander of a thousand wouldn't be qualified to attend.

Ma Wenyuan was different. Even though he was only a centurion, even when he went to Tang He's place, he still sat at the same table as the deputy general.

This is what Ma Wenyuan admires about Yang Hao.

It's good to have little influence; you can do whatever you want without listening to such meaningless talk.

Fortunately.

The mobilization meeting of Yang Jing, this scholar-general, lasted for no more than an hour.

Then comes the important part.

That is, how should the vanguard navy fight its first battle?

This was at Tang He's behest, allowing Yang Jing to avoid waiting for the main force.

Yang Jing was ordered to lead his troops to attack Qutang Pass first, in order to gather intelligence for the main army.

This method... although the price is too high, it requires human lives to pay for it.

But it cannot be denied that this is the most practical and effective method.

Even if you haven't actually fought, you can still gain experience through real combat, and it's much more effective than espionage.

"Commander Ma, you explain the intelligence regarding Kuizhou!"

Yang Jing looked at Ma Wenyuan.

Ma Wenyuan had already been ordered to investigate a few days ago, so he was not intimidated at this moment and quickly got up and came to the map.

Ma Wenyuan glanced at the probing gazes of the many commanders and immediately pointed towards Qutang Pass.

"Kuizhou is an important town in Sichuan, and Qutang Pass is of paramount importance, serving as the eastern gateway to Sichuan!"

Ma Wenyuan continued, "Mingsheng sent Mo Renshou here last year, and recently Mingsheng's Left Chancellor Dai Shou, Grand Commandant Wu Youren, and Grand Councilor Zou Xing have also come here."

"According to my reconnaissance a few days ago, the garrison at Qutang Pass has more than 40,000 troops, all of whom are Ming Sheng's most elite forces."

"They're planning to hold their ground and wear us down."

A commander suddenly spoke up.

This man was named Wei Quan, one of the two commanders under Yang Jing.

"They're not just trying to wear us down, but if they hold us off, the Marquis of Yingchuan will be an isolated force, and it's the Marquis of Yingchuan who will be worn down!"

Wang Jian, the Vice Commander-in-Chief, also spoke up.

The position of Vice-Commander-in-Chief is similar to that of Chief of the General Staff.

Lan Yu held real power in the early Ming Dynasty; he also held this official position under Fu Youde.

When a large army goes on an expedition, a vice commander-in-chief will accompany the army.

In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the position of Vice-Commander-in-Chief was merely an honorary title.

"That's right, so we should take Qutang Pass as soon as possible." Yang Jing then looked at Ma Wenyuan, his intentions clear.

Ma Wenyuan continued, "To take Qutang Pass, we must first capture the enemy's southern bank positions at Baiyan Mountain and the northern bank positions at Chijia Mountain. Only by capturing these two can we possibly take Qutang Pass!"