Chapter 361 360 Gao Gong has changed

Chapter 361 360 Gao Gong has changed

“How many troops do you think is appropriate for a raid on Bansheng City?”

As the chief military officer of Datong, Liu Han still has a relatively clear idea of ​​the number of troops under his command. of.

Datong Town has soldiers under its jurisdiction. The number on paper is as high as 120,000, but in fact there are only more than 80,000.

Even if there are 80,000 people, it seems that the force is not weak, but these people are scattered at the entrance of Xiyanghe Town, which borders Xuanfu Town in the east, and reaches Yajiao Mountain in the west, stretching for 640 meters. Among the seventy-two castles in the seventeenth mile.

The defense system of Datong Town is not only a linear city wall defense body, but also a deep echelon defense body.

Seventy-two castles are divided into three levels according to their geographical location: those close to the front line of the Outer Great Wall are called "Jichong places", such as Weiyuan City, Youwei City, Zhuma Fort, Desheng Fort, Hongci Fort, Xinping Fort, Datong Town, etc.;

Cities located in the south The castles are called "secondary rush places", such as Zuowei City, Yanghe City, Shuozhou City, etc.;

The castles close to the Inner Great Wall are called "slightly slower places", such as Yuzhou City, Guangchang City, etc. City, Lingqiu City, Guangling City, Hunyuan City, Yingzhou City, Shanyin City, Huairen City, Mayi City and so on.

Historical records show that from the west of Xuanfu Town to the edge of Shanxi Town, "all are steep walls, deep trenches, and connected by beacons." Every pass that is open to cars and horses is guarded by "hundred households". The pass that could accommodate the woodcutter and herdsman to pass alone was also guarded by ten border soldiers.

With more than 80,000 people dispersed like this, there will not be much remaining mobile troops.

This time, he received an order from Ge Jin, the governor of Xuanda, to mobilize troops and prepare to support the Xuanfu at any time. From receiving the order to entering the governor's office of Datong, Liu Han was not issuing an order to mobilize troops. Just thinking about where else to squeeze out some people.

"A raid on Bansheng City does not require too many troops. According to the news received before, Anda Khan led all the main forces to march towards Xuanfu. This time the plan is not small."

said At this point, Yu Dayou couldn't help but think of the battle in Baoanzhou a few years ago.

Although he later told Wei Guangde when he met that he was invincible in that battle, for Anda Khan, who had never been defeated before, he was so proud that he naturally regarded that battle as a great shame and humiliation. .

It was because of insufficient troops and the Ming army's reinforcements may be arriving on the battlefield continuously that he had to choose to retreat.

The purpose of gathering all the troops this time is naturally to wash away the shame left by that time.

What Yu Dayou thought of was to take advantage of the opportunity when the Tatars came out in large numbers to burn down Bansheng City. This would not only damage the morale of the Tatars, but also indirectly support the Xuanfu. As long as they could survive from the prairie When he comes back, his achievements should be enough to restore the hereditary military position passed down by his family.

"The strength of Bansheng City is now empty. I calculate that three thousand people are enough."

Yu Dayou continued, looking at Li Wenjin, then at Liu Han, and then said: " With Mr. Li’s banner of 1,000 troops, please give me another 2,000 troops, and I will lead the team directly north to sweep Bansheng City. As for the return trip”

After saying this, Yu Dayou paused for a moment and then said: "I also ask the two adults to station some troops and horses in Huihe River and Heihe River and prepare materials for building pontoon bridges. Once our troops return, we can build pontoon bridges to facilitate our rapid retreat."

Li Wenjin knew it. Yu Dayou told him from the beginning that this battle had a high probability of success, but Governor Li still needed to go out of the Great Wall and sit in command to protect the retreat route of the outgoing army and receive the army's return.

After Li Wenjin heard Yu Dayou's plan, he intuitively felt that there was a great hope of victory. He went out of the Great Wall to direct and dispatch the troops nearby. He said it was a response, but in fact he was sharing the credit.

The risk is there, but it’s not big.

Furthermore, according to Yu Dayou's plan, a small number of people will be stationed in Heihe and Huihe to protect the materials for building the pontoon bridge. He only needs to station in Heihe.

This place is only a few dozen miles away from the Datong border wall. Even if Anda Khan's own army intercepts and kills him, he will have the opportunity to "withdraw" back to Datong Town and continue to direct the defense against the Tatar attack.

As for Huihe, it depends on whether Liu Han wants the credit.

If he wants, he can go to Huihe, which can be regarded as directing the attack of Yu Dayou's troops nearby.

Although Li Wenjin was lower in rank than Liu Han, he did not think that Liu Han dared to refuse his suggestion. In Datong Town, although Liu Han was the first according to the imperial system, in fact Liu Han was also Listen to him.

By this time, Liu Han had also thoroughly understood the details of Yu Dayou's plan to raid Bansheng City, leaving two "key" positions for them, namely Heihe and Huihe.

Obviously, Li Wen must have entered the Heihe River closest to Datong, and he could only cross the Heihe River and be on the bank of the Gray River.

But Liu Han didn’t have anything to worry about. The worst he could do was to keep him with him for a long time and just increase the scope of the investigation. In terms of safety, he was much better than Yu Dayou and the others.

“You want all the soldiers to be equipped with war horses?”

I thought that the key point Yu Dayou said was the word "raid". To achieve the extremely fast traveling speed of course, the only way is to give infantry The soldiers must be equipped with sufficient war horses.

He is not worried about the luggage. Since Li Wenjin supports this plan, he will definitely ensure sufficient supplies.

As expected, Yu Dayou nodded. He wanted to turn all the infantry that accompanied the army into mounted infantry. Only whether they were attacking or retreating, the probability of survival would be much higher.

Liu Han finally nodded, "You can choose the men and horses. In addition, Mr. Li and I will each bring a thousand cavalry to cover your retreat."

Seeing that Liu Han agreed to Yu Dayou's battle plan Li Wenjin looked at Yu Dayou and asked, "Make a list of what supplies you need to prepare. It's up to you to decide when to attack." ’

For Yu Dayou’s combat plan, the attack time is also a very important link.

“Do you have a detailed plan?”

In Wei Guangde's duty room, Gao Gong walked back and forth for a long time. Perhaps his legs hurt or his head was spinning. At this moment, he completely stopped, sat back to his original position, and spoke to Wei Guangde.

"The Ministry of War should send military orders to the towns of Yansui and Ningxia today. The time for the attack will be after receiving the news that the Anda troops have broken through the border wall. At that time, when the Tatars enter the Great Wall, they will inevitably divide their forces to attack The surrounding military castles launched an attack to ensure the safety of the retreat.

At this time, it would take a few days to send Pegasus to the other side to deliver the order. During this period, the Tatar forces should gradually disperse and loot, and will not regroup until they detect the movements of the Xuanfu army."

Wei Guangde followed the preparation time before the army set off in this era. Calculated, even if the Xuanfu army is prepared, it will still take time to confirm the news and press the three Xuanfu guards to mobilize men, horses, food, grass and baggage.

At this time, Yansui and Ningxia were ordered to attack the Hetao area. It would take a few more days until the tribes in the Hetao area found out and asked Anda Khan for help. By then, I am afraid that the Anda tribe had already confronted the Xuanfu army. .

Then troops were mobilized for rescue, and it took another ten days. The time left for the Ming army to wreak havoc on the Loop was less than twenty days, but it was enough for them to make a small fortune.

"The troops deployed in the Yansui and Ningxia towns all require cavalry, and they are lightly armed to attack and support the battle with battle."

Wei Guangde continued to talk about his battle concept. There was no need to prepare any logistics materials. Just grab it directly from the Tatar tribe to replenish it.

Forage is found in the grasslands and those tribes. Food is found in the cattle and sheep that cover the grasslands. If you attack in a short time, it will come after a round trip. Naturally, there is no need to prepare high-quality horse feed such as soybeans.

Gao Gong didn't understand military affairs, but Wei Guangde's explanation was quite detailed. He could understand that at least the Anta Ministry sent reinforcements to the Hetao area. From the Ming army's attack to the arrival of the Tatar reinforcements, there were about twenty days in between before the expedition. The Ming army is safe during this period.

What's more, the grassland is vast, and the Tatars may not be able to find the enemy if they rush back. However, for the Ming army, they can enter and exit freely at any pass, so retreat is very convenient.

"Let's go with me to the cabinet to meet Mr. Ge."

As he said that, he stood up again shortly after sitting down, reached out and grabbed one of Wei Guangde's arms and thought To pull him up.

“Wait, this, it’s definitely not appropriate for me to go now.”

Wei Guangde said hurriedly.

"There is nothing inappropriate. This is for the Ming Dynasty. Your plan feels much better than Ge Jin's passive defense strategy. It only knows defense."

Gao Gong, however, is He said nonchalantly, after thinking about it , has fully accepted Wei Guangde's proposal, so he must ask Wei Guangde to follow him to the cabinet to meet Mr. Yan Ge. After all, the cabinet cannot make the decision for such a major change. At that time, it will definitely have to consult with the Ministry of War for discussion, and finally report to Jiajing In front of the emperor.

Fortunately, this matter is not so urgent now. After all, only the scouts from both sides are fighting on the Xuanfu side, and the main force of the Anta Division is still gathering, and they are not ready to launch an attack.

The gathering of troops and horses in Yansui and Ningxia towns will also take time. After today's court meeting, the Ministry of War will ask the two towns to gather troops and horses. At that time, they can just use these troops to leave the fortress.

"I think it's better for me to write this idea into a memorial and submit it to the cabinet for review. If I need to explain it in detail, I'll go there."

Wei Guangde rejected Gao Gong's proposal and insisted that he could not do it in the cabinet. At this time, he went to the cabinet and wanted to overturn the strategic plan that had just been made. It seemed like he was just stating his personal views, but in fact he offended all the six ministries and nine ministers.

As long as you, Wei Guangde, are capable, they are all useless.

For such a thing, Wei Guangde would not do it even if he was killed.

Wei Guangde's attitude was very firm, and Gao Gong seemed to gradually understand Wei Guangde's concerns and was no longer so eager to take him out.

"Okay, you write it into a memorial. Write it today and leave it to me tomorrow. I will send it directly to the cabinet, not to the General Secretary."

Gao Gong, who had calmed down, said, " You said it at the beginning, the general affairs envoy, the yamen magistrate Leaks, military and national affairs should not be taken lightly, how could it be spread so casually?"

When chatting in the past, Wei Guangde remembered the summary of the Ming Dynasty that later generations had read, in which the matter of confidentiality was often disclosed. mentioned.

So when Wei Guangde was drinking and chatting with Gao Gong, he talked about the dangers of "if the king is not secretive, his ministers will lose; if the ministers are not secretive, they will lose their virginity; if several things are not secretive, it will cause harm".

Think about it, Xuanfu sent an urgent report to the capital, and both the Ministry of War and the General Affairs Department received the memorial.

As the bureau in charge of the war, the Ministry of War knew that it was the right thing to do. After all, they had to make war decisions and deploy troops.

The memorials received by the General Affairs Envoy were originally supposed to be sent directly to the palace by the General Affairs Envoy and handed over to the emperor for inspection. However, the system has changed now and they are forwarded to the cabinet for voting.

The key point is that the General Affairs Office is still a house with air leakage from all sides. As soon as the memorial arrived, the content of the memorial spread quickly, and there was no privacy at all.

Think about the decision made by the imperial meeting. In such a short period of time, he told Wei Guangde about the secret. He was an official of the Hanlin Academy. What about the others?

Obviously, everyone will inadvertently leak the battle plan. Although it is Ge Jin's suggestion, the leakage of the final decision is actually the most fatal.

Although Gao Gong did not think that any minister in the court would have an affair with Anda Khan, this was not acceptable.

For this reason, Gao Gong just thought of a plan, which was to "secretly infiltrate Chencang".

On the surface, they implemented Ge Jin's suggestion and actively defended. In fact, they implemented Wei Guangde's suggestion and launched an attack to sweep the Hetao area, forcing Anda Khan to divide his troops for rescue.

If this is the case, Wei Guangde cannot be allowed to send the memorial to the General Affairs Office. After entering the General Affairs Office, all the officialdom in the capital will know about it in half a day.

"You will send it directly to the cabinet?"

Wei Guangde frowned and looked at Gao Gong, a little surprised that he, who always pays attention to rules and regulations, would do this. This is a bad rule.

"Before, you said something about the General Affairs Department, and I think it makes sense."

Gao Gong replied concisely, and then thought about it and continued: "I will send you Go to the cabinet and try to allow only Da Sima to participate. According to your opinion, it is not even necessary. If you raise too much grain and grass, you don’t have to think about it.”

The two towns of Yansui and Ningxia came out of the Hetao to support the war, which naturally greatly reduced the money and grain consumption of this military mobilization, especially for long distances. The consumption during the march can be almost completely ignored.

As for the other troops from Xuanda and Ji Town, they are still relatively close and their consumption is limited.

When Wei Guangde heard Gao Gong's words, his eyes flashed slightly, but he didn't say anything.

However, Wei Guangde also noticed something in his heart, that is, Gao Gong has strong decisiveness and seems to have a lot of control. For the current position of Minister of Taichang Temple, he dares to arrange two ministers.

It’s just that Wei Guangde is not too sure about this now, after all, he didn’t notice it before.

Also, the communication between Wei Guangde and Gao Gong is not like that of Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen, who have been dealing with Gao Gong in Prince Yu's Mansion all year round.

When Wei Guangde and Gao Gong are together, they are either just chatting or discussing things. Everyone speaks directly and doesn't mince words, so communication is easy.

Wei Guangde could only make up his mind about Gao Gong, and he would observe him more for a while to see what kind of person he was.

Today, just today, Wei Guangde has felt that Gao Gong seems to be slightly different from before.

From the moment he entered the room, perhaps because he was summoned to Xiyuan by Emperor Jiajing to attend the imperial meeting today, Gao Gong had already realized that he was very different from what he was then, so he subtly influenced his behavior. There are also changes in behavior.

However, there was not much time left for Wei Guangde. Under Gao Gong's urging, Wei Guangde had no choice but to stand up and sit back in front of the desk, and began to grind the ink himself, preparing to write his memorial on Xuanfu's strategy for the First World War.

(End of this chapter)