Zhao Ming frowned as he listened to the brothers' reports.
If it was just a bluff before, it's not necessarily so now.
"Okay, you go down and rest first, and let the brothers in rotation go up and continue to explore!"
Zhao Ming waved his hand and did not stay outside for too long. The weather was getting colder and colder, and the cold wind was becoming more and more fierce.
After being outside for a while, I feel like my bones are shaking.
Returning to the camp that was usually used for discussions, a bonfire had been set up with dried cow dung wood, and several of Zhao Ming's men in charge were chatting about recent interesting events.
Seeing Zhao Ming come in, everyone wisely made room for an empty seat.
Zhao Ming did not hesitate and recounted the information he had just obtained.
"Master Zhao, there is news from Zhangjiakou today, but you'd better take a look for yourself!"
There was silence in the crowd for a moment, and Lao Suntou handed over a letter with an official seal.
After receiving the letter, Zhao Ming looked at it carefully and his heart sank.
There is quite a lot in the letter and it says a lot, but it can be summed up in one sentence.
The season is wrong now, it will soon be the cold winter on the grassland, heavy snow is coming, and the probability of invasion from Outer Mongolia is extremely small.
Secondly, the army has limited manpower, it is difficult to deploy and transport grain and grass, and the tribesmen in various places have no experience in grassland combat.
It is not advisable to mobilize large-scale troops northward, but ordnance will be deployed in the next few days, so I hope that Director Zhao will guard the border and make no mistake.
The land cannot be lost, otherwise the law will not tolerate it!
Looking at this letter, Zhao Ming's teeth were almost broken. He really wanted the horse to run away and not let the horse eat grass!
All the pressure was placed on Zhao Ming, and there was no benefit at all.
The ordnance was promised, but Zhao Ming knew it wouldn't be a good thing.
Finally, there is a warning. Although we know that you are in difficulty, the country cannot be lost at all, otherwise you, Zhao Ming, will be punished!
Wang Er on the side had just read the letter and didn't say much at this time.
The brothers who followed Zhao Ming all knew the current situation. To put it bluntly, the authorities were bullying Zhao Ming because he was an outsider and had no local backing.
Of course, Zhao Ming would use this donkey to death, so he was not afraid of it.
When doing good things, most of the credit must be shared with the majority of the profits. If you make a mistake, you will be punished.
All the advantages inside and outside of co-authorship have been taken away by others.
"Everything was delivered at that time? What did Chief Zhang say?"
Zhao Ming glanced at Wang Er. This letter asking for help was sent by Wang Er at that time, and even the good things were sent there.
"Mr. Zhao! This... this thing was sent over, but they didn't do anything after it was received!~ I asked more, but they said it was public or private.
Then they gave me a return gift, a car full of cigarettes, which are now sitting in the warehouse. "
Wang Er's face was full of bitterness, and his head was drooping.
"I still don't give enough gifts!" Zhao Ming frowned.
This time as a gift, I gave away the remaining small yellow croakers worth more than 900 yuan. The number was not much, but it was actually quite a lot.
But obviously for a high-ranking official of the same level as a local official, this is really nothing.
Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was a little quiet, Monkey slapped his thigh and cursed, "Damn, this is too deceiving. If the Outer Mongolians really attack them, is it possible that Zhang Li can still stand by and watch?
Why are all these officials so stupid?"
"Uh! Master Zhao, I didn't talk about you! I said this is the chief officer!"
Seeing Zhao Ming's eyes turned sideways, Monkey hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"Haha! Mr. Hou, you are wrong. This official is not a fool, he is very smart."
Just then Lao Suntou spoke. He knocked on his pipe and then continued,
“People are trying to get things done at the lowest cost.
And since people don’t have clairvoyance, they can’t just believe whatever we say, right?
Besides, we are only talking about suspicion, and the uncertainty of this suspicion is too great.
This prairie is a vast area, and it is impossible to increase the number of troops if the number is too small. If the number of troops is increased, the losses of people eating horse chews will be great.
When the time comes, people will just hang out at our border in a symbolic way, then who will fill in the extra holes?
There are a lot of expenses in the military, and we don't know when a heavy snow will fall here.
When the time comes, the army will be trapped on this vast prairie, unable to advance or retreat? Who can I ask to explain that so many people are freezing to death? "
It has to be said that Lao Suntou is still getting better with age, and this consideration is really on point.
Yes, Zhao Ming also thought about this level. If it were July or August, Chief Zhang might send a team of people over to check the situation.
But in this season, there’s really nothing you can say if you do this.
"I hope that kind of thing won't happen." Zhao Ming shook his head and sighed.
"Yes! In this season, the Mongols will attack us only if they go crazy." The monkey shook his head.
But soon Old Man Sun shook his head and rejected it.
"You can't say for sure! The last time I went south was at the beginning of the year. There was also snow at the beginning of the year and the temperature was not higher than now, it would only be lower.
At that time, we braved the wind and snow all the way south. They were cavalry and made a living by looting along the way.
After capturing a tribal camp, they would have a certain amount of time to buffer. If the wind and snow were severe, they would use their tents to survive the stormiest period.
When the snowstorm subsided, they launched another fierce attack.
The offensive was like a strong wind, and I still remember that our unit was caught off guard.
Thousands of people were forced to migrate overnight in the wind and snow to leave the warm and sheltered tents. Hundreds or even thousands of people froze to death along the way!
Tsk tsk! Who knew at that time that they would brave the wind and snow to attack and kill? "
As Old Man Sun spoke, his face did not change much, except that it was a little cloudy under the light of the bonfire. It seems to recall a painful past.
As these words were spoken, the room fell into a long silence again.
Even though the bonfire was burning brightly, everyone still felt cold all over, as if there was a chill that could never be dispelled.
"Inform all tribes in the grassland. Master Zhang, please go there personally and be sure to inform every tribe about this."
After a long time, Zhao Ming finally broke the silence.
"Well! I'll take people out right now, but I feel the effect of this may be minimal.
Nowadays, most tribes have long forgotten what happened more than ten years ago, and there are probably only a few who can take precautions. "
Zhang He nodded and shook his head, taking a pessimistic view on this matter.
"It doesn't matter whether they believe it or not, the words must be delivered to the right place, so as not to say that I, as the chief officer, did not give enough warning when the time comes. Alright! Monkey, Wang Er, you two follow me, let's go there and see the situation in person!"
With that said, Zhao Ming had already stood up, opened the tent and walked out.
Hoo ho ho! ~
As soon as he walked out of the tent, the cold wind hit his face wildly, causing it to sting.
"You can't come here without a thick skin!"
Zhao Ming smiled and walked towards his tent. If he rode a horse in such a bad weather and didn't have much to wear, he would be courting death.
