Li Guangyi had the idea of recruiting Liu Heng.
The defeat of Datong and Xuanfu troops at Xinpingbao made him understand that relying on Xuanda's troops would hardly be an opponent of the Tiger-Character Banner army.
"Unless the imperial court is willing to grant Liu Heng the title of king, it will be difficult to recruit the tiger-character flag, and the imperial court will not allow a king with a different surname to exist in the Ming Dynasty who has a large number of soldiers." Hu Mingyi looked at Li Guangyi and said.
In his heart, he was not optimistic about recruiting.
Li Guangyi frowned and thought for a while, then said: "You are right, it is definitely possible to be crowned king, but you can be crowned a knight, a marquis, or even a duke. I don't believe that Liu Heng is not tempted."
"I'm afraid I might not be tempted!" Hu Mingyi sighed.
After hearing this, Li Guangyi looked at Hu Mingyi in front of him and said: "To put it nicely, Liu Heng is a white businessman, but to put it worse, he is a gangster leader. If he has the opportunity to be knighted, how can he give up the title?"
"Don't forget, Dong Weng, Liu Heng was the guard of Xinpingbao back then, a fourth-grade guerrilla general. He didn't just say he didn't want it, so he didn't want it," Hu Mingyi reminded.
Li Guangyi waved his hand and said: "It's different. There are a few people who can afford the title of Ming Dynasty. Even the tribal leaders on the grassland regard the title of Ming Dynasty as a treasure."
"Students are still not optimistic about the recruitment of Tiger-Character Banner." Hu Mingyi did not dwell on the title, but directly admitted that he was not optimistic about the recruitment of Tiger-Character Banner.
Li Guangyi let out a long sigh and said: "It's not that I insist on recruiting Tiger Character Banners. It's because Datong can no longer mobilize troops to encircle and suppress the Tiger Character Banner army. Once the Tiger Character Banner army comes to attack the counties below, I will There is absolutely nothing we can do to stop it.”
"Is Dong Weng afraid that Datong will fall into the hands of thieves?" Hu Mingyi asked hesitantly.
Li Guangyi nodded with a wry smile and said: "Once Datong falls into the hands of thieves, you should know what will happen to me. I have no choice."
"You can report to the imperial court and ask the imperial court to send troops for support." Hu Mingyi said.
Li Guangyi shook his head slightly and said: "I don't know the method you mentioned, but water from afar can't quench the thirst nearby. It would be impossible for a large army to move from mobilization to finally sending troops to Datong in just a few months. With these few Months are enough for the Tiger Character Banner to capture most of Datong, and even the city of Datong under my feet may be captured."
"We can ask Young Master Kaiyang from Yulin Town to come forward. He has been secretly associated with Tiger Character Banner. As long as he delays it for us for a few months, everything will be solved as soon as the imperial army arrives." Hu Mingyi suggested .
Li Guangyi shook his head again and said: "At this time, we must not expose the secret contacts between Kaiyang and Tiger Flag. Once the court knows about it, the entire Li family will be implicated, and even if Kaiyang comes forward to contact Tiger Flag, Liu Heng will also It is impossible to stand still unless he did not intend to attack Datong in the first place."
"The Tiger-Character Banner sent an army of tens of thousands from the grassland to Datong. It is obviously to use troops against Datong. Otherwise, this Tiger-Character Banner army could stay on the grassland and wait for the imperial army to come." Hu Mingyi twisted his hands. Twisting the beard on his chin.
Li Guangyi grabbed the paper spread on the table with his palm and said: "Go to Xinpingbao in person, try to meet the leader of the tiger-character flag army, and see if you can persuade him to accept the imperial court's recruitment. With Kaiyang's relationship, people with the tiger character flag may not do anything to you."
"Students are worried that people who hold the Tiger Flag may not be willing to accept our recruitment offer?" Hu Mingyi asked.
Li Guangyi said: "Whether you agree or not, you must try your best to delay the Tiger Flag's use of troops against Datong's prefectures and counties, and I will send people to the court to ask for reinforcements, trying to delay the arrival of the court's reinforcements."
"When will students go to Xinpingbao?" Hu Mingyi asked about the time of his departure.
Li Guangyi said: "The sooner the better, it is best to leave immediately. I am afraid that the longer the delay, the more prefectures and counties will be captured by the Tiger Banner army."
"Students will go back and prepare now, and try to leave today." Hu Mingyi took the initiative to say goodbye.
Li Guangyi stood up and walked around from behind the desk, took Hu Mingyi's hands affectionately, and said, "I will send people from Fubiao Camp to escort you to Xinpingbao. The rest will depend on Mr. Hu."
Hu Mingyi nodded heavily.
An hour later, Hu Mingyi left Datong Fucheng under the escort of a group of soldiers and horses from Fubiao Battalion.
At the same time, an army of ten thousand people from the Tiger Character Banner was marching rapidly towards Tianchengwei.
The sun sets in the west.
A vanguard camp of the Tiger Flag army appeared outside Tiancheng Guards City.
Tiancheng Guard was a guard post of the Ming Dynasty in Datong. Later, the Suppression Guards on the grassland were abolished and merged with the Tiancheng Guards. The former military households of the Suppression Guards were also placed in Tiancheng Guards.
In name, the Tiancheng Guard is only one guard, but in fact it is two guards. The Zhenlu Guard also exists, but everything is dominated by the Tiancheng Guard.
A sergeant wearing cotton armor rushed into the yamen of Tiancheng Guard Commander. As soon as he saw Commander Zhou Tong, he said anxiously: "The general is in trouble. A bandit was found outside the city."
Snapped!
Zhou Tong, who was sitting in his seat, heard the robbers coming and was momentarily distracted. The lid of the teacup in his hand fell to the ground.
"Commander Zhou, please hurry up and order the city gates to be closed. Don't let the bandits' troops enter the city." Wang Baohao, who was sitting at the same table, said soberly.
After the Xuanfu army was defeated, he, the chief soldier of the Xuanfu army, retreated to Tiancheng Guard under the escort of a group of personal soldiers.
Coming to Tiancheng Guard with him were thousands of defeated soldiers gathered along the way.
Zhou Tong came back to his senses and hurriedly said to the sergeant who delivered the message: "Listen to General Wang, hurry up and close the city gate. We must not let the bandits sneak into the city."
The sergeant turned and walked away quickly.
"Commander Zhou, don't worry. The thousands of soldiers and horses I brought with me can be used to defend the city." Seeing Zhou Tong's panic, Wang Bao had no choice but to comfort him.
Zhou Tong faced Wang Bao, clasped his fists in his hands, and said: "Next, we have to defend the city, General Wang."
The two of them were the commander of the Datong Guard and the commander-in-chief of the Xuan Mansion. They were not subordinate to each other in name. In Tiancheng Guard, Zhou Tong did not have to give Wang Bao any face.
But it was different now. He knew that defending the city depended on Xuanfu's troops.
As the commander of Tianchengwei, he knew very well what kind of virtues the soldiers and horses of Tianchengwei had.
I am afraid that there are not even two thousand soldiers in the guard station who can fight.
Facing the massive defeat of the two border armies of Xuanfu and Datong, he didn't even have the slightest confidence to defend the Tiancheng Guard.
If Wang Bao and thousands of Xuanfu troops were not in the city, he would have abandoned the city and fled.
