As soon as it got dark, a loud horn sounded outside the Bauhinia Pass, followed by the heavy sound of horse hooves.
The geographical location of Zijingguan is extremely special. It is located between two towering mountains. If the army wants to pass here, the only way is Zijingguan.
He also first tried to send a small group of cavalry to explore the defense of Zijingguan from different directions.
You know, although Zijingguan occupies a small area, it is also surrounded by cities on all sides.
The northern city gate is the strongest, and it is also the only direction with a wide area that can accommodate the army.
The other city gates are relatively weak, but they are basically built against the mountains. The surroundings are rugged and can only accommodate a small group of troops at most.
He also tried first, sending a small group of cavalry to attack from the weak city wall.
Even if there is only a small group of cavalry, as long as they can sneak into the city, they will have unexpected effects.
The result is very bad!
In just one night, his spies had explored all the roads leading to Zijin Pass.
Without exception, whether it was a small road in the mountains or a main road where cavalry could pass, they were tightly guarded by the Ming Dynasty's officers and soldiers.
Ye Xian finally understood why the defenders at the previous passes were holding on so desperately.
They are buying time!
But I didn't notice it and delayed it for so long.
So that they were able to have time to fix all the loopholes in Zijingguan, making it a veritable fortified city like Juyongguan.
At this point, it is no longer possible to take any tricks. Faced with such a tight defense arrangement, a strong attack is the only way.
However, fortunately, he still has a trump card that he has not yet played...
It snowed again at night.
Fortunately, the snow was not heavy and it stopped early in the morning.
The morning sun hangs in the sky as always, but it looks weak and cannot bring any warmth to people.
As if the temperature dropped suddenly overnight, a layer of solid ice had formed on the Juma River outside Zijing Pass.
This is undoubtedly good news for Ye Xian.
Although the ice in the river is obviously not strong enough for horses to gallop across, it may even collapse if more people stand on it.
But this is certainly a good sign.
As long as the weather is colder and the ice in the river is thicker, it will save him a lot of trouble in siege.
He also rode on his horse first. On the hills about a hundred steps in front of him, hundreds of Oara soldiers were surrounded by an Oara noble and a young man wearing a dragon robe.
With the loud horn sound.
At Ye Xian's signal, Xining led a dozen cavalrymen to the city gate of Zijingguan.
Yes, Xi Ning was also transferred here first.
In fact, during the four days when he was stopped at Daomaguan, he gave orders to Xi Ning, asking him to bring several siege equipment robbed from the Ming army during the Tumu Battle. In front of the army formation.
This cunning guy is still very useful against Akito.
He also looked at Xi Ning's figure first. He was shouting under the Zijin Pass.
"I am Xi Ning, the eunuch accompanying the emperor. The emperor's holy cavalry has arrived. I am summoning you five miles outside the city to have an audience. The generals guarding the city, please leave the city quickly."
After Datong's lesson, Xining changed his strategy again.
He no longer expected the pass guard to open the door obediently and let them in, but to let them out.
High on the city wall, Tao Jin and Sun Xiang both looked solemn.
In front of them, there were two more gray-haired officials in their fifties, one civil and one military.
The man wearing the armor is Ning Yuan Bo Ren Li, wearing black armor and standing with his sword in hand. Just standing like this gives him an aura of calmness and authority.
The other person was Wang Wen, the censor of Youdu, who had just returned from Liaodong day and night.
Tao Jin listened to the shouting below and asked.
"Sir, what should we do?"
Just yesterday, Tao Jin received an order from the court.
Ning Yuanbo was appointed as the chief military officer, and Wang Wen, the censor of the right capital, was appointed as the admiral military minister. He led an army of 50,000 in the capital camp to resist the enemy outside Zijingguan.
Along with this order came Ren Li and the five thousand cavalry troops he led.
Most of the Beijing camp was infantry, and it took time to mobilize, so after Ren Li accepted the order, he first led the 5,000 vanguard troops to Zijingguan.
Wang Wen, on the other hand, was on his way back to Beijing. After receiving the order, he worked day and night and arrived last night.
As for Tao Jin and Sun Xiang, they served as deputy commander-in-chief and military supervisor respectively, assisting Ren Li and Wang Wen in guarding Zijingguan.
However, at this moment, Sun and Tao were not dissatisfied at all about losing their command. On the contrary, they were filled with excitement.
You know, they had already prepared for the worst. If Zijingguan fell, the two of them would fight to the death.
But this imperial edict was undoubtedly telling them that the imperial court planned to place the decisive battle at Zijingguan Pass!
In this way, not only did the two of them not have to stick to it, but they also had the opportunity to make contributions, so they were naturally very excited.
Facing Tao Jin's question, Ren Li held the sword in his hand, twisted his two gray eyebrows together, and said.
"Since the Supreme Emperor is here, we should go out of the city to pay homage. Of course, we need to beware of bandits taking the opportunity to attack the city."
As he spoke, he glanced at Wang Wen, who looked tired next to him.
According to the information he received, this time the civil servants originally intended to let Yu Qian, the Minister of War, personally supervise military affairs.
However, the emperor rejected it on the grounds that the capital was important and could not be left without permission.
At the same time, the emperor directly issued an edict to the cabinet without asking any courtiers for their opinions, and ordered Wang Wen, the censor of the right capital, to rush to Zijingguan to supervise military affairs.
As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Ren Li naturally learned from Yu Qian and Chen Mao the entire border defense plan for this war before going out.
Of course, we also know more clearly what an important role Wang Jianzhai, who came here after a long journey, played in this.
Seeing Ren Li looking towards him, Wang Wen said solemnly, although he could not conceal his tiredness from traveling for days.
"Since the Supreme Emperor has arrived, he will naturally come to see you. But this is war time, and we cannot leave without permission. We can just send all the people to command Liu Shen to see him."
When the imperial army goes out for an expedition, there is one chief soldier, one deputy chief soldier on the left and right, and five to ten generals.
Liu Shen is one of the participating generals this time.
As the admiral and minister of military affairs, Wang Wen's status in the army is the same as that of the chief military officer.
So in this sentence, he also used a declarative sentence.
Ren Li pondered for a moment and nodded, and the two reached an agreement.
Not long after, the city gate of Zijingguan slowly opened, and a group of dozens of riders galloped out of the city and stopped in front of Xi Ning.
The leader was tall, holding a long knife, and said coldly.
"I am Liu Shen, the commander of the generals at Zijingguan. I have been ordered to meet with the Supreme Emperor and ask my father-in-law to lead the way."
Xining's face darkened and he said.
"How dare you, a mere general, dare to say that you want to see the Supreme Emperor? Where are the chief military officer and the admiral? Why don't you show up quickly!"
Facing this harsh and harsh officer, Liu Shen's face did not waver at all and he said coldly.
"I have been ordered by Chief Military Officer Ning Yuanbo and Admiral Youdu Yushi Wang Wen to meet with the Supreme Emperor on behalf of the two adults. The two adults are in an important position and it is inconvenient to appear. My father-in-law can just lead the way."
Xi Ning looked at the officers and soldiers waiting on the city wall, then looked at Liu Shen's unmoving and indifferent face, and finally reined in the horse's head, turned around and left.
"Just come with us!"
