I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but when I stepped out of the pass, I immediately felt the wind getting stronger and the weather getting colder. Even though there was a small heater in Chang Yu's car, the sound of the wind blowing outside still made him get goosebumps.
Although Wu Mengming was greedy for money, he was very meticulous in his work. After leaving the pass, he asked the team to light torches in the front and back to illuminate the way. He estimated that there were nearly a hundred torches, which looked like a flaming dragon winding for miles.
"Is it cold in Chunxiang?" Chang Yu couldn't sit still for only two miles outside the door, so he stuck his head out and asked Chunxiang beside the car.
"It's not cold." Chunxiang looked at Chang Yu trembling calmly: "Come out and give it a try!"
Hey, Chang Yu is a little embarrassed. To be honest, he is really afraid of the cold, and it is surprisingly cold in this era. However, there are no high-cold-resistant cotton clothes like down jackets.
Although he had made adequate cold-resistant preparations for his men before the trip, such as each person wearing a small cotton-padded jacket with a cotton armor, a large cotton-padded jacket outside the cotton armor, a cotton hat, a scarf and even gloves, it can be said that they are the most well-equipped against the cold in this team, but He also knew that even sitting on a horse and walking against the wind in the cold night was a kind of bone-eroding torture.
Chunxiang was so wrapped up that his teeth were chattering, not to mention the Jinyi Guards, Fujun Guards and Tengxiang Guards whose equipment was inferior to theirs.
Chang Yu is not a ruthless person, but knows how to sympathize with the soldiers. He also wants to order rest on the spot. However, the military situation is urgent and this is not the time to be kind. However, he can't feel at ease hiding in the warm car.
So he made a decision to get off his horse and share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers.
However, he regretted this decision the moment he got out of the car. It was cold, so damn cold!
But naturally I can't take back the sex I let out, and I have to finish the sex with tears in my eyes.
Seeing Chang Yu put on his armor and mount his horse, Wu Mengming glanced over, with an inexplicable smile on his lips, and then retracted into the car and ignored the movement.
The mountain road was driven slowly, the cold wind was biting, and the surroundings were pitch black. Apart from the howling north wind, the only sound was the sound of horse hooves. It was so cold that the soldiers were not even interested in whispering.
Chang Yu raised his head and looked northwest. There were sparks of fire over there, and he knew that Badaling was not far ahead.
Juyongguan is not an independent pass, or there is no independent pass. It is a defense system composed of passes, forts, and city walls. Each pass has jurisdiction over several to dozens of passes.
Among them, Badaling is one of the passes of Juyongguan, and it is also the most important pass. It is the outpost of Juyongguan. Its terrain is dangerous, with mountains and mountains. The roads are rugged and steep, making it difficult for vehicles and horses to travel. When building this section of the Great Wall, it required eight turns and over eight mountains. , the project was extremely difficult, eight supervisors died before and after, and the construction period was still delayed. Later, I met an expert who advised me to adopt the eight methods of building the city, namely, "tiger wears a bridle, sheep carries a saddle on its back, swallows carry mud on their shoulders, monkeys carry their shoulders, and turtles carry them on their backs" The stone strips and rabbits lead the way, and the magpies build bridges and build stacks of ice to transport the wood up the mountain.
Chang Yu curled up and rode on his horse. Chunxiang and other close eunuchs gathered around him to help him shelter from the wind and cold. At the same time, he listened to the great liar telling anecdotes about wild history from all over the world, and he was not lonely during the journey.
Not long after, the team arrived at the Badaling Pass, and someone came to hand over the customs clearance. Chang Yu began to look at this pass, known as one of the nine fortresses in the world, but the wind was high and the moon was dark, making it difficult to see the true appearance.
However, there were not many soldiers guarding the pass. In fact, later generations were misled by various movies and TV dramas into thinking that there were at least thousands of soldiers guarding the pass, especially at a large pass like Juyong Pass.
No, even at Juyongguan, an important pass in the capital, the daily garrison of no more than a thousand troops, or even less than a thousand. For example, in the ninth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered 11 guards from Peiping and surrounding areas to deploy a total of 6,384 troops to guard it. , Juyongguan, Gubeikou, Xifengkou and Songtingguan. On average, there are only 2,000 people at each pass.
Another example is the Aries city (affiliated to Juyongguan), which was the same size as Juyongguan during the Zhengtong period, with a total strength of 814, including 82 cavalry, 414 infantry, and 65 drummers. Eight gunpowder craftsmen, sixty-five night guard troops, fifteen generals guarding the east gate, fifteen generals guarding the west gate, twenty-four cangcaochang troops, ten artifact warehouse troops, and brick and ash kilns Nineteen troops, fourteen Qingquankou troops, eight Songhu Piankou troops, forty-one city defenders, seven city guard pier troops, six prison guards, one guarding the storehouse, old and weak Twenty-three soldiers.
The so-called flag army refers to the elite of the guard. For example, the three hundred government guards and three hundred Tengxiang guards that Chang Yu brought out this time are both fighting chickens in the guard.
From this point of view, the strength of a pass is less than a thousand, and the main force is only half, and the rest are auxiliary troops, especially the cavalry, which is only a few dozen. This is because the pass is in a dangerous place and is not suitable for cavalry to fight.
One pass has more than ten passes under its jurisdiction, and the troops are severely dispersed. Even at an important pass like Badaling, there are only a few dozen people.
Moreover, these figures are from the Hongwu and Zhengtong years. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the shortage of soldiers and the lack of pay have reached a crazy level.
Just take the Beijing camp as an example. For example, the Yingzong records mentioned the situation of the Beijing camp at that time: In the governor's office of the Fifth Army, he said: There are seventy-seven guards in Beijing, with a total of 253,800 officers, soldiers, sergeants, and captains. The 116,400 troops stationed outside the city were used by the inner government, various supervisory bureaus and foreign missions. Currently, each battalion has only 56,000 troops for training, which is not enough. Nowadays, the Ministry of Works has a large number of craftsmen, who are enough to serve as servants. We are begging to send the officers and soldiers occupied by the supervisory bureaus back to the battalions for training.
This is a piece of data presented to the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army. It illustrates the situation of the Beijing Army at that time. The number of drills was only half of the full quota, and how many of the drills were able to cope with the crisis at the frontier? The other half of the soldiers were dispatched as handymen by various supervisory bureaus at that time. The direct consequence of this is that the quality of the Beijing camp has dropped sharply, resulting in the inability to actively respond to the war.
Therefore, Chang Yu dare not even think about the actual strength of the entire Juyong Pass. Looking at the fortress in front of me, I can't help but feel dark clouds in my heart. Can the Ming Dynasty be able to support it?
There are more than a few miles beyond the Badaling Pass, and the road is divided into three parts. The north one goes to Yanqing Chicheng Mongolia, the west goes to Zhangjiakou, Xuanfu, Datong, the east goes to Yongning, Sihai, and the loop goes south to Changping. This is where the name Badaling comes from. , which means extending in all directions.
The team headed west, about two hundred miles from Badaling to Xuanfu. If they kept going they could arrive at noon tomorrow.
Chang Yu rode his horse and led a few confidant eunuchs from the middle of the team to the front. The purpose was very simple, just to show his face, boost morale, and let the soldiers see that Grandpa Chang is waiting with you to ride into the wind late at night. Are you moved? , surprise or not.
It was late at night, and the team was heading west. The mountain road was rugged and the wind was biting. The speed couldn't help but slow down. Chang Yu sat on the horse and didn't bother to speak. He just wrapped himself tightly into a ball and let the horse follow the team.
There was a large frozen river ahead. Chang Yu knew that it was a reservoir in later generations. He couldn't remember the specific name, but he knew that crossing the river would mean leaving the capital and entering Huailai County, Hebei.
"Go down with the order and hurry for thirty miles to make a fire and rest." Chang Yu felt the same way. He couldn't withstand the severe cold even if he wore such thick clothes, let alone the other three guards.
Sure enough, this military order shocked the soldiers' spirits, and they immediately increased their speed.
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I've been busy these two days and haven't updated on time, so I apologize for that! Thank you book friends for your support, I appreciate it!
