"On the second day of the fourth lunar month in the summer, I ordered Gao Xu, the king of Bohai County, to say: "I heard that Emperor Gao had said that the barbarians had been escaping for a long time, but they were not very precious, so we must be on guard. Wu Gao, Marquis of Jiangyin, is now ordered to lead the Liaodong Horse Infantry to patrol the border. Wang Yi, the commander of the Bohai Jilin Guards, is appointed as his deputy. The Prince of Bohai County is informed of them. He selects the elite Jilin Guards to be led by Wang Yi and follows the Marquis of Jiangyin to Zhaozhou for a northern patrol. This time out of the fortress, all orders are subject to the control of the Marquis of Jiangyin. "
At midnight on April 20th, early in the morning, Zhu Gaoxu received a message from the guard general of Jixi Pass, saying that Liaodong Dusi was sending food.
Zhu Gaoxu didn't believe it at first, but when he came to Jixi Pass, he immediately saw more than 3,000 stones of grain transported, as well as 1,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 civilians escorted.
Before he could go to check the grain, he was called aside by a seventh-grade Wenlin Lang and read out the decree given to him by Zhu Yunwen.
"Interesting..." Listening to the content of the decree, Zhu Gaoxu subconsciously thought of the historical drama in which Zhu Yunwen asked Song Zhong to transfer the three guards of Yan Mansion.
Although he didn't know if this was a drama in history, Zhu Gaoxu did not relax in his heart. He just accepted the imperial edict respectfully on the surface. After getting up, he said to Yi Shiha in a high-sounding voice:
"You personally select the elite soldiers in Jilin City who have served in the army for more than two years to go to Zhaozhou City and tell Wang Yi to wait for Marquis Jiangyin to go north and obey Marquis Jiangyin's control."
"Yes." Yi Shiha didn't know what his Highness was talking about, but he was willing to play this scene with Zhu Gaoxu.
Wen Linlang looked at the two of them, and to be honest, he felt a little scared.
Of course, this is not because of the conversation between the two, but because of Zhu Gaoxu.
Nineteen-year-old Zhu Gaoxu is six feet two inches tall (198cm) and has broad arms, which makes Wen Linlang, who is only five feet three or four inches tall, have to raise his head to look up at him.
His figure is not exaggerated, but rather burly and very well-proportioned.
Although the figure did not have the same bulging clothes as those battle-hardened veterans, Wen Linlang already had an understanding of Zhu Gaoxu's military power after hearing many stories about him along the way.
With the gap between the two of them, Wen Linlang had no doubt that Zhu Gaoxu could crush him to death with one hand.
"Angels please enter the customs. Tomorrow I will send troops to Zhaozhou City to return to Wang Yijia. Please let the angels rest tonight."
Zhu Gaoxu spoke in a deep voice, and Wen Linlang also bowed in response, and entered Jixi Pass under the guidance of the officials on the side, dripping with sweat.
After he left, Zhu Gaoxu went up to the arrow tower at Jixiguan, and Yi Shiha followed him up.
After arriving at the arrow tower, Yi Shiha expressed his doubts: "This person has come with bad intentions. The imperial court wants us to transfer the elites of Jilin City. I'm afraid he may want to take action against you."
"In that case, why do you need to be polite to him? Why don't you just kill him and lead the troops south!"
Yi Shiha is no longer the eunuch on duty who guarded the gate of Wuying Palace back then. Now he has followed Zhu Gaoxu in the military campaigns outside the Pass for many years. He has been on the battlefield and dealt with government affairs. He naturally knows in his heart that there is nothing wrong with holding back the imperial court's will. Urine.
But regarding his suggestion, Zhu Gaoxu repeatedly reminded: "As I said, we must let them force us to go south, and we must let the soldiers and civilians of Jilin City force us to go south, rather than us advocating to go south."
"Besides, since my eldest brother has sent so much food, what can he do to his people by acting?"
Zhu Gaoxu raised the corner of his mouth and said lightly: "No matter what scene he has to set up, he must sing first."
"As long as he starts singing the play, the play must be completed. It's just me who has the final say on how it is performed."
Zhu Gaoxu stepped on the female wall and couldn't hide the smile on his face as he looked at the carts of grain being delivered into Jixi Pass.
"Three thousand shi of grain is enough to feed an army of 50,000 for three days. It should make Mr. Wen Lin happy."
"That's true..." Yishiha also laughed, but after laughing, he still asked: "Aren't we going to make some arrangements?"
"Of course we have to do it." Zhu Gaoxu ordered without looking back:
"Tell five thousand old soldiers to go north to the six cities and tell Xu Sheng to wait for my order to lead the troops to Changchun."
"Let Meng Zhang slow down and give them some time to see how they want to perform this play."
"I ordered Fu Daha to send troops to Dongning Prefecture in the former Yuan Dynasty to disrupt the situation there."
After giving instructions about Jilin City, Zhu Gaoxu looked back at Yi Shiha: "How many soldiers does Cui Jun have over there in Sanchang?"
"The number of soldiers transferred through the horse team is 3,500, plus the 2,400 soldiers from the original three battles, the total is 5,900 brothers." Yi Shiha responded.
Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu ordered without hesitation: "Ask Cui Jun to make military rations and leave 900 troops to garrison in three fields. The remaining 5,000 people will set off south on April 26, take three mountain roads, detour to Dongning Mansion, and go straight to Liao. South."
Zhu Gaoxu asked Cui Jun to set off first, because the mountain road was rugged. It was a full 1,500 miles from Jilin to Changbai Mountain into southern Liaoning. Even if Cui Jun and the others marched 15 miles a day, it would still take a month to cross the vast mountainous area and reach The coastal plain of southern Liaoning.
Just like this, Jilin City's military strength was empty. Therefore, after hearing this, Yi Shiha bowed and said: "Your Highness, Jilin City now has 15,000 soldiers. The 5,000 people who have been transferred from three fields will be transferred to Jilin again." If the five thousand people from the city go to the six cities, then only five thousand people will be left.”
"Of these five thousand people, four thousand are military households who came to Jilin City with Liu Wu and others. There are only one thousand brothers who obey our orders."
"Are you taking too much risk by doing this..."
Yi Shiha was worried about Zhu Gaoxu's safety, but Zhu Gaoxu acted as if the matter had nothing to do with him: "If not, I'm afraid that my eldest brother would not dare to send people to take action."
"Besides, those four thousand soldiers are all trained by us. You can see for yourself that Liu Wu and the others can only mobilize the more than 600 soldiers they brought with them."
"One thousand versus six hundred, plus the 500 defenders at Jixi Pass and the 130,000 soldiers and civilians in Jilin City, do you think we still need to care about them?"
"Once Liu and Wu are captured, do you think the more than 3,000 military households remaining in the military camp will choose to help the court or me?"
Zhu Gaoxu asked Yi Shiha, but Yi Shiha bowed in understanding: "I understand, your Highness wants this situation. Only this situation can make the soldiers and civilians of Jilin feel the grievances His Highness has suffered."
"Hahahaha..." Hearing Yishiha say that he had been wronged, Zhu Gaoxu smiled heartily, but there was a bit of bitterness in his laughter.
Yi Shiha could hear the bitterness, and he could actually understand His Highness.
If there were peaceful days, who would be willing to lick blood with the tip of a knife?
His Royal Highness's behavior that gradually exceeded the law has now become Bohai's life-saving straw.
Come to think of it, perhaps from the very beginning of the vassalage, His Highness had thought that such a day would come.
Thinking about it this way, I am glad that His Highness is far-sighted, otherwise the end he would end up in now would probably be no less than that of Zhou Xiang and other vassals.
Thinking of this, Yi Shiha suddenly remembered that Wu Gao's northern inspection was mentioned in the imperial edict just now.
"Your Highness, if the Northern Patrol mentioned in the imperial edict is false, then Wu Gao..."
"Maybe they are here to catch me." Zhu Gaoxu chuckled, but his expression was serious.
Wu Gao was well-known and led troops from Mobei to Liaodong and Guangxi. Due to his cautious character, his troops suffered few casualties and gained a lot in every battle.
It's not a good thing to fight with such a person.
"Wu Gao is a bit difficult to deal with, but if we deal with him, the remaining Liu Zhen, Bu Wan and others will not be afraid."
Zhu Gaoxu also praised Wu Gao bluntly. This was not his flattery, but the fact.
Not only him, Zhu Di also had a headache for Wu Gao during the Battle of Jingnan in history.
Although Zhu Di said that "Wu Gao is timid", this is actually a kind of discourse similar to "tactically despise the enemy and strategically value the enemy."
Wu Gao's cautious character makes it difficult for him to be surprised by the enemy, so he is a troublesome opponent for both Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di.
Zhu Gaoxu was not afraid that Wu Gao would fight with him in a decisive battle with soldiers and horses many times his own, but he was afraid that Wu Gao would fight a protracted war to wear him down.
In terms of defensive operations, only Gu Cheng and Geng Bingwen in Nanjing can make Zhu Gaoxu fearful, and Wu Gao can barely count.
Of course, these three people also gave Zhu Gaoxu a headache in terms of offense. Needless to say, Gu Cheng was one of the 100 people killed during the Hongwu period, and he beheaded no less than 100,000 people in the southern and northern campaigns.
Geng Bingwen is not a mediocre man who only knows how to defend. During the great victory at Yuerhai, he served as a vanguard to defeat the enemy. During the battles with Xu Da, Feng Sheng, and Fu Youde, he also served as a vanguard many times. Even when defending the city, he often staged defensive counterattacks. drama.
Although Wu Gao is not as good as these two people, from his history, he led the Liaodong Dusi to contain Yongping, forcing Zhu Di to face the situation of having to return to defense many times, which can be said to be a headache.
But Zhu Gaoxu should be lucky, because Zhu Yunwen wanted Wu Gaolai to arrest him, or to assist him in arresting him.
The distance from Jilin City to Sanwanwei is too long.
Zhu Gaoxu, the capital of Liaodong, knew the situation clearly. There were at most 4,000 cavalry and 7,000 horse infantry, and the rest were all infantry.
Looking at Bohai, as long as Zhu Gaoxu nods, Bohai can immediately pull out 30,000 horse infantry and more than 5,000 cavalry. At the same time, it can also use tens of thousands of draft horses to pull artillery and baggage.
In terms of mobility, no one in the entire Ming Dynasty was as rich in animal power as Zhu Gaoxu.
The only drawback is that once Zhu Gaoxu uses these animals, the animal power available for reclamation in Jilin City will be halved, and the reclamation speed will be much slower than before.
Zhu Gaoxu was also very helpless about this. In order to win, he had to do this.
Only by defeating Wu Gao, breaking into Liaodong, and capturing the reserve warehouse and Changpingcang of Liaodong Dusi can he further pursue Shandong.
Only by taking Shandong would he not be afraid of fighting a protracted war because of food shortages.
This is a dilemma facing Zhu Gaoxu. Whether it is Daning or Liaodong, these two places are places where food is eaten, not where food is produced.
The food produced locally is simply not enough to feed the people on this land, so only by winning Shandong can Zhu Gaoxu solve the food problem.
However, if he wanted to capture Shandong, Zhu Di must resist the Southern Army's attack and attract enough troops for himself.
Zhu Gaoxu thought like this and left Jixi Pass not long after.
The next day, under the watchful eyes of Liaodong soldiers and horses, Wen Linlang, Liu Wu and others, five thousand veterans who had served in the army for more than two years in Jilin City were transferred to Zhaozhou in the north.
Since all the horses and boats were transferred to Heishui City by Zhu Gaoxu, they could only go north on foot.
In the eyes of Liu Wu and others, Jilin City suddenly became empty. If it weren't for the fact that this army had not gone far and could be transferred back at any time, they all wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to attack Zhu Gaoxu.
But even so, Wen Linlang couldn't hold back.
After confirming that the old soldiers from Jilin City were transferred to Zhaozhou in the north, he said goodbye to Zhu Gaoxu and happily embarked on the road back to Liaodong.
Without the burden of escorting grain, when he led 3,000 soldiers and civilians to Liaodong, it only took him seven days to return to the 30,000 Guards.
After learning about his return, Wu Gao and Zheng Gongzhi also summoned him to the Yamen for questioning.
"The five thousand soldiers and horses were really transferred away? Are you sure?"
Zheng Gongzhi asked Wen Linlang, while Wu Gao looked on.
"It was confirmed that they were transferred. I sent someone to follow them. I confirmed with my own eyes that they had gone more than 40 miles before I dared to take people south."
"On the day when I went south, I sent another team of Tangqi to pursue him. They chased him for a hundred miles but found no trace. Only then did I dare to return with peace of mind."
After Wen Linlang finished explaining, Zheng Gongzhi turned his attention to Wu Gao.
To be honest, Wu Gao was not interested in their machinations. The only thing he was interested in was the marching speed of Zhu Gaoxu's army.
"How many miles did they march on the first day? Was it on foot?"
Wu Gao asked, Na Wen Linlang and Zheng Gongzhi were stunned, wondering why Wu Gao asked such a question.
"Everyone led the draft horses and rode the horses. They left the city at Mao o'clock on the first day. By the time they rested at noon, they had already traveled more than forty miles."
Although Wen Linlang didn't understand, he still explained the general situation.
But as soon as he told the situation, it gave Wu Gao, who knew the soldiers, a headache.
There is a record about marching in the "Book of Han", which describes the situation of infantry marching as "the troops march lightly for fifty miles and the troops for thirty miles."
Times have changed. Due to the increase in animal power, the marching speed of the Ming Dynasty has increased a lot, especially in the early Ming Dynasty.
When Wu Gao controlled the three armies, he could ensure that Liaodong's chariots and infantry marched sixty miles a day to camp for food and accommodation. If they traveled day and night, it could reach about one hundred miles.
However, according to Wen Linlang's description, Zhu Gaoxu's troops were horse infantry, and they marched more than forty miles in just three hours. This means that they can reach a marching speed of at least eighty or ninety miles per day, and I am afraid they can reach one day and night. More than a hundred and twenty miles, even a hundred and fifty miles.
At this marching speed, once someone who doesn't understand the Bohai Navy engages with it, it will be easy to be surprised.
Thinking of this, Wu Gao only felt that this matter was getting more difficult.
He did not agree with Zhu Gaoxu's use of force to reduce the feudal vassal. At present, Zhu Gaoxu's dismounted infantry could reach such a marching speed, let alone the cavalry.
Just take the three thousand cavalry that appeared in Ulyanha Tucheng last year as an example. If I want to go out to fight with them, I am afraid that I may not be able to defeat him.
"Zheng Yushi, I suggest that we postpone the move to reduce the vassal status of Bohai."
Wu Gao was cautious. He knew very well that if he failed to escape, Liaodong would have no resistance, so he advised Zheng Gongzhi.
However, Zheng Gongzhi was very dissatisfied with his advice: "Although the Bohai march is fast, our army's occupation of the Bohai Sea is righteous and the Bohai Sea's occupation is unjust. If it is delayed and the Bohai Sea penetrates into Liaodong from other places, it will be a disaster."
What Zheng Gongzhi said does make sense, because this is Qi Tai's opinion.
Qi Tai believed that it was difficult to defend the long side road with less than 40,000 soldiers from Liaodong Dusi, so he had to take the initiative. Even if the battle was fought, it should be placed in Changchun and Jilin City to avoid the flames of war igniting Liaodong.
Qi Tai's idea was good, but he didn't know much about the Bohai Navy, and even Wu Gao didn't know much about it.
Today, Wu Gao only learned a little bit about Bohai's marching speed from Wen Linlang. He knew that he could not leave the border to fight Zhu Gaoxu, so he advised Zheng Gongzhi: "I should tell Zheng Yushi the truth..."
"The capital of Liaodong has 4,000 cavalry, 12,000 chariots and 23,000 infantry. In terms of marching speed, the cavalry can only march 120 miles per day, the chariots and infantry 80 miles, and the infantry 70 miles. .”
"As far as I know, Bohai currently has three thousand cavalry and at least five thousand horse infantry. Among the remaining eight thousand, there may be horse infantry, and there may also be chariots and infantry."
"Judging from the fact that the five thousand horse infantry marched more than forty miles in three hours, and were equipped with draft horses and riding horses, they were only slightly behind our cavalry in marching, but they were half or even faster than our chariots and infantry. multiple."
"If I lead the troops out of the customs, it is very easy to encounter a surprise attack in the Changchun area. Once there is a surprise attack, the entire territory of Liaodong will be in danger."
Wu Gao carefully analyzed the strength gap between the two sides, but for Zheng Gongzhi, he was Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru's man. He had already followed Qi Tai's advice, but Wu Gao still hindered him. Naturally, he felt uncomfortable, so Chen Shen Voice:
"Right now, our army stands for justice. If the Marquis of Jiangyin doesn't dare to fight, then Governor Liu will come instead!"
"Zheng Yushi, do you understand?" Wu Gao also got angry. He talked about the gap between the two sides for a long time, but Zheng Gongzhi didn't understand.
You must know that Zhu Yuanzhang decreed that the civil service examinations of the Ming Dynasty should test riding, archery, martial arts, and military theory. Although it was not the main subject, it could at least cultivate a civil servant with basic military knowledge.
But now, after talking for a long time, Zheng Gongzhi was indifferent, but still wanted to send troops by force.
In fact, Wu Gao did not know that Zheng Gongzhi was a disciple of Fang Xiaoru. Although he was not inferior to others in martial arts and riding and archery, he did not like military discussions, so he naturally did not know the difference between the speed and slowness of the two armies.
"I would like to say this again, please Jiangyin Marquis to order all the troops and send out troops today!"
Zheng Gongzhi ordered Wu Gao in a commanding tone. Wu Gao clenched his teeth, but he was helpless in the face of Zheng Gongzhi. In the end, he could only snort coldly: "I will report this matter to the Qi War Department, but I will also send troops, but Whether the reduction of the vassal state is successful or not, the blame lies with Yushi Zheng, not me."
Wu Gao could still trust Qi Tai. After all, Qi Tai had supervised logistics for so many years and naturally knew the importance of marching speed in leading troops to fight.
Therefore, as long as the memorial is handed in, Wu Gao believes that he will be fine, but Zheng Gongzhi may be impeached and imprisoned.
"Don't bother Marquis Jiangyin!" Seeing Wu Gao tearing his face, Zheng Gongzhi snorted coldly and left the Sanwanwei Yamen with Wen Linlang.
As soon as the two left, a general in his early forties walked in from outside the Yamen.
Seeing Wu Gao's ugly expression, he immediately knew that Wu Gao might have had a conflict with Zheng Gongzhi, so he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Then Zheng Gongzhi wanted me to force myself out of seclusion, but I didn't want to, so he used His Majesty to suppress me." Seeing the visitor, Wu Gao also breathed a sigh of relief and told his difficulties.
This man was Geng Huán (huán), the second son of Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen. He had followed Geng Bingwen in the army for more than 20 years. When Liu Zhen was transferred, he was also transferred to Liaodong to serve as the governor.
"Why can't we send troops?" Geng Feng didn't know the situation yet, so he asked.
Seeing this, Wu Gao told him about the marching speed of the Bohai Navy. After hearing this, Geng Gu's face gradually became serious and he agreed: "You are right, you really can't leave the border."
"If there are only these five thousand horse infantry in Bohai, it will be okay. If there are more, I am afraid that my army will be unable to return after leaving the customs."
"It's just that I have to leave seclusion now." Wu Gao was angry and sighed at the same time.
Seeing this, Geng Wei had no choice but to echo: "I will also write a memorial with you and give it to your majesty. I hope your majesty will know that Bohai is different from other vassals."
"It's just that you are out of seclusion. How are you going to leave?"
"The only way is to reach Changchun Station quickly, then control the thousand military households in Changchun Station, and then go north to wait for the success or failure of Zheng Gongzhi."
"If it fails, you and I can pretend to rescue and then withdraw. We must not fight with the King of Bohai County outside the customs."
"Indeed!" Geng Wei agreed: "Although you and I are familiar with the terrain outside the pass, we are naturally not as familiar as the Bohai County Prince."
"Right now, his army is fast and we are slow. If we continue to fight outside the border, we may suffer losses."
Wu Gao nodded and said his plan to deal with Zheng Gongzhi's failure to cut down the feudal vassal: "If Zheng Gongzhi fails, I will retreat 30,000 guards to defend, and at the same time ask for help from Daning. You go to Liaonan. If the war does not go well, you can burn Liaonan." Don’t let Bohai County Prince get the food.”
"It's not your character to give up before the fight begins." Geng Fei felt a little unconvinced after listening to Wu Gao's words.
"Although it shouldn't be like this, I..." Wu Gao sighed and shook his head. He always felt that Zhu Gaoxu's method was not just about fast marching.
He recalled the situation when he met Zhu Gaoxu in Wulianghatu City. Looking back carefully now, he seemed to have something wrong at that time, and he often observed the soldiers and horses of various armies.
In addition, his relationship with King Yan was a bit stiff on certain days. Could it be...
Wu Gao was cautious and wise. Because of this, when he recalled the situation in Wuliangha Tucheng, he felt that Zhu Gaoxu might have known that such a day would come.
If he really knew, then he might have stored more food than he expected.
Although Liaodong is full of military forts and is more stable than the cities in the pass, in the end Liaodong cannot be self-sufficient. Once Zhu Gaoxu breaks into the hinterland of Liaodong, the military households will not be able to farm normally. Except for the four guards of southern Liaoning and the guards of Liaodong, the rest of Liaoshen and 30,000 The capital of Wei will be under the hooves of Zhu Gaoxu's horse.
He must be fully prepared. Even if he cannot defend Liaodong, he must teach him that he cannot take advantage.
The grain in southern Liaoning must either be transported away or burned, but it must not be left to Zhu Gaoxu.
Once he no longer has the worry of food, it will be even more difficult to deal with him.
Wu Gao slowly raised his head and looked at the sunny weather.
"I hope Mr. Zheng will succeed..."
"Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty": "At the end of April, Gao was planning something with Qi. He said that he should not be an enemy, so he should defend to the death and not conspire with Gongzhi."
"Bohai Chronicles": "In April, troops were mobilized to patrol the north of Zhaozhou. Gongzhi and Gaomou said, 'Jilin is empty, and this is an opportunity to cut down the feudal vassal', so they sent out 30,000 troops the next day."
(End of chapter)
