Pinglu City in the Ming Dynasty, later known as Pingluo County in Ningxia, has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. There are ancient books that say: "If you lose Pinglu, there will be no Ningxia. Without Ningxia, there will be no Ping (Pingliang) and Gu (Guyuan). Without Ping and Gu, there will be turmoil in the Guanzhong, gradually reaching the inland, and the trouble will be immeasurable." In fact, it is the northern part of Ningxia. The gateway to the world is "the natural chasm in Shuofang".
All dynasties set up important military institutions here and sent heavy troops to guard them. Historically speaking, there have been many wars in Pinglu territory. The Han Dynasty fought against Xianbei, the Tang Dynasty fought against the invasion of Turks, Tubo and Dangxiang, the Song Dynasty Dangxiang defeated Weiyuan, the war between Xixia and Liao Song, Genghis Khan destroyed Xixia, until the Ming Dynasty resisted the Tatars, and even During the Republic of China, fierce battles were fought in this hot land such as the "Three Horses Rejecting the Sun" in the northwest.
Under the Helan Mountain, there are formations like clouds, and you can hear feathers flying across the sky day and night. This scene of subway horsemen and swords and swords and shadows gradually disappeared after the establishment of the Red Dynasty.
The current guard of Pinglu City is named Xiao Ruxun, also named Ji Xin. He is a guard from Yan'an and comes from a family of military generals. His grandfather, Xiao Han, served as deputy general of the army and governor of Liangzhou. His father, Xiao Wenkui, once served as deputy general and governor of Beijing Camp. His elder brother, Ru Lan, is currently the deputy commander-in-chief of Shaanxi Province and the governor-general of Qianshi; Ruhui, historically the commander-in-chief of Ningxia and the governor-general of Tongzhi; Ruzhi, historically the admiral of the Nanjing Jiaochang and the governor-general of Qianshi.
The family status of such a family of military commanders is naturally not bad. At least in Yan'an, they are truly famous. To what extent is "famous"? It has reached the point where he is qualified to marry a top civil servant.
Xiao Ruxun's wife, Yang, was the daughter of former Shangshu Yang Zhao. She understood the righteousness and supported her husband's defense. She prepared beef and fine wine to reward the sergeants every day.
One thing is very important here. Yang Zhao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was still in office not long ago. He had just become ill and begged for leave. Everyone was still in the capital. This kind of thing happened in Ningxia. He was extremely anxious at the time. Until a few days ago, When Gao Pragmatic took command of the Western Expedition, he felt a little more relieved and visited Gao Pragmatic overnight.
In fact, Yang Zhao was briefly introduced in the previous article (see Chapter 003 of this volume, New Cabinet, New Seven Ministers). This Duke himself was a native of Yan'an, Shaanxi. He was a gold medalist in the 35th year of Jiajing's reign. He had served as governor of Jiliao and Shangshu of the Ministry of War in Nanjing.
He was not originally from the Practical School, but more like a non-party person. However, later the top leaders of the Shaanxi and Shanxi parties joined forces, and he gradually became friends with Zhang Siwei. Therefore, his Minister of War in Nanjing was Zhang Siwei who later gave him the title of "Shang Shu" during Guo Pu's administration. He fought for it. Later, Ding You retired, and Zhang Siwei, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, revived him, so there is no problem in being at least half of the real school.
During his tenure as Minister of the Ministry of Industry, he cooperated with Gao Pragmatism, mainly in the large-scale construction of the Ministry of Industry, and fully advocated the use of Jinghua's various cements to replace the ancient methods such as rammed earth and glutinous rice that were commonly used in the past.
Of course, this in itself is beneficial to both parties, because although rammed earth is cheap, it requires annual maintenance, and it is not cost-effective when including subsequent costs; and using glutinous rice as an adhesive directly costs a lot of money - more expensive than building a city with cement. It also costs money. After all, glutinous rice itself is not a staple food, and the output is not high, so it needs to be purchased at a high price.
In addition, when Yang Zhao took control of the Ministry of Industry, he also cooperated with the highly pragmatic restructuring of the Beijing camp. As mentioned earlier, in the past, the Ministry of Industry often requisitioned soldiers from the Beijing camp for free, and one of the two key points of the high-pragmatic restructuring was that the Production and Construction Corps had to charge for "taking jobs". At that time, if the Ministry of Industry insisted on not agreeing , even the emperor had to consider the feelings of the Ministry of Industry.
However, Yang Zhao agreed and put forward almost no conditions. Instead, Shangshu said that the changes in the capital camp were unsuccessful and that all ministers should do their best for this and did not dare to think of it as a threat. In short, the result was that the emperor was very happy. Not only did he issue an edict of praise and comfort, but he also personally wrote in Chen Han's handwriting "Gong Zhongzhong and the country" as a gift. Gao Pragmatic reciprocated the favor, saying that the Production and Construction Corps would always accept projects from the Ministry of Industry at a 10% discount in the future, and the discount was second only to the Emperor's Mausoleum.
All in all, the relationship between the two parties is very harmonious and the friendship is quite good.
After the Ningxia Incident, Yang Zhao heard that the entire town of Ningxia was lost, and only his daughter and son-in-law were left alone to guard the lonely city. He was both proud and worried. He ignored the fact that he had resigned and was supposedly "already gone". He personally visited Gao Jingshi and asked him to rescue his daughter and son-in-law if conditions allowed. Gao Jingshi agreed without thinking.
Because this couple, in Gao Pragmatic's view, it is completely necessary to save each other with all their strength.
Xiao Ruxun himself is a leader among the generals in the northwest, and logically speaking, he is also a branch of the military generals of his real school. He is considered one of his own, and there is no reason not to save him. What's more, he himself is still young, and his performance this time is impressive enough, so he can be regarded as a key training target in the northwest "military region".
And Yang Zhao's daughter is even more famous this time. If it weren't for her support, the morale of the soldiers in Pinglu City would not be so high, and they would still be as secure as a rock even when they are surrounded by enemies. Therefore, Gao Jingshi not only agreed to rescue him, but also personally asked for an imperial edict to commend Yang, and also asked for a royal decree for her.
Gao Pragmatic himself led the army, and although he arrived not too slowly, it was still not as fast as flying on horseback. The news that the emperor had praised Xiao Ruxun and his wife had been received in Pinglu City, but he missed the imperial edict - because Pinglu City was still in mourning. Surrounded by rebels, some news can only be obtained by sending letters from Lingwu Horse Station flying pigeons far away.
Xiao Ruxun and his wife in Pinglu City didn't know where Gao Jingshi's army had arrived, but Xiao Ruxun thought about it and estimated that Gao Jingshi could only rescue him from three directions: Yan'an, Qingyang or Guyuan.
However, these three places are all located in the south of Ningxia, distributed from east to west, while Pinglu City is in the north of Ningxia. In other words, the high-pragmatic army must first conquer Ningxia, and then the siege of Pinglu City can be regarded as unsolvable. In other words, he could only continue to stick to Pinglu. He would not be safe until Gao Jingshi put down the Kuaibai rebellion and recaptured the city of Ningxia.
But Xiao Ruxun was a little unwilling.
Although he was a military general and would certainly not dare to compete with the future party leader of the Practical School for credit, he always felt that he still had a chance to gain greater military exploits and fame in this war, especially after receiving that the emperor had promoted him to the post. In the case of Ningxia's deputy commander-in-chief, he is already the deputy commander, so the commander-in-chief can't compete?
You must know that the newly replaced commander-in-chief Li Rusong is from Liaodong. According to the rules and habits of the Ming Dynasty, he will have to return to Liaodong sooner or later. And his father Li Chengliang is not too young. He may not be young for a few years. He is about to retire, and Li Rusong will definitely go back to take over as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong. So isn't he very promising as the candidate for the commander-in-chief of Ningxia? If you want this hope to be greater, the simplest and most reliable way is to continue to make meritorious deeds.
Therefore, Xiao Ruxun actively prepared. As soon as Gao Jingshi's army launched a general offensive in southern Ningxia, he planned to break the siege, fight out of the city, and go straight to Ningxia to join Gao Jingshi, striving to not only build an iron wall but also an indestructible one. .
However, what he never expected was that on that day, he suddenly received a detailed intelligence report saying that the main force of Boshu Ketu, who was wandering east of Pinglu City outside the pass and was acting as a support force for Kaibai, suddenly withdrew its entire army to the southeast. And he left in an extremely hurry.
This news made Xiao Ruxun fall into doubt.
Pinglu City's military strength is not small, with three thousand soldiers and horses, a total of three thousand generals and six generals. In addition, there are about five hundred of his own servants, and their combat effectiveness is quite impressive. However, his 3,500 men faced an army of 5,000 sent by Kuaibai outside the city. The leading general was Liu Chuanbai at first, but it seemed that he had been replaced by Tu Wenxiu in the first two days.
The strength of these five thousand troops is not weak. They were originally the main force of the Ningxia Guard. Tu Wenxiu seemed to have brought his own servants with him when he came this time. The number is unclear, but the strength has been strengthened again.
It is indeed difficult for more than 5,000 people to take over Xiao Ruxun's united Pinglu City, but Tu Wenxiu is a more resourceful person in the Yibai army, and he is not as reckless as Yiyun at the beginning. He wants to besiege Pinglu for a long time. If Xiao Ruxun's main force is not allowed to break out of the city, this is still basically capable of doing the job.
At this time, at first glance, there was indeed no need for Boshu Ketu's main force to stay nearby - they originally had a mission, that is, once Xiao Ruxun really broke out, they could easily catch up and kill him. However, Boshu Ketu's main force also has another more important task, which is to serve as reinforcements for the entire Ningxia and mobilize reinforcements everywhere.
So, why did Bosho Ketu suddenly leave at this time? Wenbi Book Bar
From Xiao Ruxun's point of view, the first thing he thought of was of course "moving the tiger away from the mountain". In other words, they were to trick him, Xiao, out of the impregnable Pinglu City, and then ambush or directly defeat and kill him in the wild.
This is very possible, because according to his understanding, the main force of Boshu Ketu originally had more than 30,000 people. Later, it was stationed in a part near Huamachi, and now there should be 20,000 or more people with him. There is no doubt that 20,000 Mongolian cavalry plus Tu Wenxiu's 5,000 Ningxia main force can defeat him in the wild.
After all, the main force under his command is roughly the same as the Ningxia Guard, and his servants are only about 500 people. As long as Boshu Ketu is willing to spend his money, it is impossible to lose. Is Bosho Ketu willing to spend money? He would definitely be willing to pay homage to the promised flower pool.
Not only are there good pastures near Huamachi, but the land is fertile. It would be great to follow Tumut's example in cultivating farmland. Not to mention that Huamachi itself is a salt lake, which is rich in high-quality salt. It is even more of a cornucopia, and it is impossible for Boshu Ketu not to take the bait.
However, even so, Xiao Ruxun still felt that something was not right: Why didn't Boshu Ketu leave earlier and later? Why did Boshu Ketu leave immediately when he heard that Gao Jinglue was leading troops to come from Shanxi for reinforcements?
Did he go to snipe Gao Jinglue, or did he run away because he was afraid of Gao Jinglue's soldiers? Xiao Ruxun didn't dare to make a conclusion for a while.
It is possible to snipe Gao Jinglue's reinforcements. Although Gao Jinglue is famous all over the world, after all, Boshu Ketu's men are Mongolian cavalry. If they can't be beaten, they can still run away. He could just ignore the situation and go up to harass them and try out the quality of these Shanxi reinforcements. This was not a bad idea.
But it is not impossible to escape in fear of Gao Jinglue's troops. After all, Xiao Ruxun also knows Boshuoketu's situation, and Huang Taiji will definitely not agree with him acting so randomly. Previously, Boshu Ketu took advantage of Chejin's serious illness to kill him. It may be that Chejin was slow to react when he was ill. Who knows if he has reacted now and what means he used to ask Boshuketu to return to Yi immediately? Kim Hollow?
As long as Qie Ji is not dead, he should have the ability and prestige to do this.
After hesitating for a long time, Xiao Ruxun was still unable to make a conclusion, so he simply returned to the mansion after a hasty inspection and asked his wife Yang to come out and check the details for him.
Although Yang is a girl, she has a rich family background and has a unique perspective on problems. Xiao Ruxun often discusses these matters with her, and Yang can always give him correct advice.
At this time, Mrs. Yang listened to his words, thought carefully, and asked: "I heard that the Shanxi reinforcements were divided into two routes to aid Shaanxi, the south route was led by Li Zongrong (Li Rusong), and the north route was led by Li Zongrong (Li Rusong). Is it true that Gao Shutai personally commanded him?"
Xiao Ruxun said: "Indeed, I have received reports about this matter. General Li's Taiyuan Guard reinforcements came from Fenzhou Prefecture, and should have gone to Yan'an Prefecture first; Gao Shutai's main force came from Datong. Come...I think we should go to Yulin (Wei) first."
"Gaoshu Tower is so powerful in Monan, why does Xunlang think that he only goes through the pass?" Yang thought thoughtfully: "I thought that Gaoshu Tower might go straight through the Hetao!"
Xiao Ruxun opened his eyes wide: "Crossing directly through the Loop? Impossible, Ordos is not Tumote. Without his safety, how dangerous would it be to cross directly? If someone accidentally loses food and grass to Boshu Ketu, how can this be done? More than 20,000 troops are about to be surrendered, and with Gao Shutai's caution in using troops, I don't think he will take such a risk."
Seeing that he didn't believe it, Mrs. Yang still said: "What your husband said is indeed reasonable. However, at this moment and that moment, I thought that Gao Shutai might have a last resort and had to do this this time."
"Oh?" Xiao Ruxun frowned and said, "What's the reason for letting him take such a big risk?"
"The imperial court has no money." As the daughter of Yang Zhao, Yang may not know the extent of the imperial court's lack of money, but she is certainly aware of the "lack of money" in the imperial court. Therefore, she analyzed: "It is precisely because of the lack of money that the emperor He had no choice but to let Gao Shutai temporarily lead the troops on the expedition without relinquishing all his duties..."
"Wait, is there anything special about this?" Xiao Ruxun, as a young general in his twenties, was obviously not as clear about the twists and turns of these high-level officials as Yang, so he was a little confused.
Yang knew that this matter could not be explained in a few words, so he simply said: "The meaning is that the emperor needs Gao Shutai to personally go out and fight this battle as quickly as possible, because the faster the fight, the more money will be saved." After a pause, he added: "If we look at it from the emperor's point of view, although there are Dukes Gonggun in the court at this time, who else is more likely to successfully complete this task than Gao Shutai?"
Xiao Ruxun roughly understood it now. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said: "So Gao Shutai is very pressed for time now and has no time to take a detour south to fight all the way north from Weizhou and Lingzhou to Ningxia. He can only go through the Hetao , go straight to Ningxia, and go straight to the Yellow Dragon and the Black Tiger to rip out the heart?"
Yang said happily: "I think this is exactly the case."
But Xiao Ruxun became nervous and said: "That's too bad. The more than 20,000 cavalrymen in Boshuoketu's place are all elites. They were the foundation for Ji Nang and Ji Neng's father and son to securely hold the position of Jinong. Now he leads As these fine knights suddenly left, I'm afraid they were going to intercept Gaoshu Tower! No, I have to find a way to break out and catch up with Boshu Ketu..."
Yang's red lips opened slightly, but she stopped talking.
Xiao Ruxun immediately noticed her reaction, stopped and asked, "Why, Madam, don't you think so?"
Yang hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "Boshu Ketu may indeed want to do this, but I think that all this should be within Gao Shutai's expectation."
Xiao Ruxun was stunned for a moment, frowned and said, "You mean you don't have to save your husband?"
Unexpectedly, Ms. Yang shook her head and said: "No, if your husband can ensure your own safety, then I think that your husband should go. Not only should he go, but he must go."
Xiao Ruxun said in surprise: "Why is this?"
Yang looked at him tenderly and said quietly: "If the Xiao family wants to be as famous as Dong Li Xima, the only person in the world they can rely on is Gao Shutai."
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