When Ma Dong led his army through Tanglu Ridge, what appeared in front of him was a vast and colorful blanket.
Although this dreamlike and gorgeous basin can be seen occasionally when climbing up while traveling in the mountain valleys, Ma Dong was still shocked by its vibrant colors when he actually walked in front of it.
Lifting the binoculars on his chest, Ma Dong could see that the basin in front of him was embraced by mountains in the distance, with a broad river flowing quietly in it, and another river intersecting with it in the northwest. In the afternoon sun, the river branch sparkled with sparkling waves.
To the west of the river, some yellow and white tents are dotted among them, echoing the snow-capped mountains in the distance, making this place even more holy and beautiful.
"Garidi!" Fan Guangchun, the deputy commander standing next to Ma Dong, shouted, and Prince Anshun, who was rushing in front of Ma Dong, turned his horse's head and ran towards Ma Dong.
"where is this place?"
Garzidi spoke a lot in Mongolian, and the army interpreter translated: "Commander, this is the pasture of the Oirat tribe, and the big river in the distance should be the Huakemu River." After speaking, he pointed to the east and said: "Garidi said that after riding a horse to the east for three days, you can see Husungulbo."
Wang Dong nodded and said to the guard beside him: "Bring out the map." When the guard took out the map, Wang Dong pointed at the map and asked him: "Where are we?"
The Jin Yibaihu glanced at the Jin Yiwei who kept nodding beside him, pointed to a red circle on the map and replied: "We should be in this place of Tuba now." The Jin Yiwei who nodded at the side also said so.
After hearing this, Wang Dongxi grinned with his lips burned by the sun and said: "Hey, this year's task is completed. Today is the last day of July. We have to build the fort before it snows, otherwise it will be difficult to survive the winter. .”
Fan Guangchun sighed and said: "Commander, in the past four months, I have traveled five thousand miles with great difficulty."
Ma Dong nodded and smiled bitterly: "Yes, although it is tiring, it is much better than when my father conquered Luntai. When he traveled more than three thousand miles from east to west, he almost never went without fighting. At that time, The food road cannot be guaranteed at all, and the soldiers are hungry and well-fed - but our journey is very peaceful."
He mentioned his father Ma Fang, how could the officers around him not be interested in him. Fan Guangchun said hurriedly: "It was really not easy for the old prince at that time. But the tiger father had no dogs, and the marquis and his son successively subdued the barbarian Qiang, so there were no complaints along the way."
After hearing this, Ma Dong changed the subject and said: "Just for the logistics of our Western Route Army, the court has been preparing for two full years after the Saihanba Conference. Now that we have finally arrived in Tuva, we dare to breathe a sigh of relief."
After saying that, he took the kettle from the soldiers beside him, poured it down from the top of his head, wiped his face and said to the Jin Yiwei Baihu: "Have you informed the Oirat Department of Zaktu before? Why didn't they come to greet us? "
The Jin Yiwei Baihu bowed his head and replied: "Reporting to the commander, I have sent a team of six people with the commander's arrows to Zaktu's big tent to deliver the order. If everything goes well, they can come with the messenger in the next two days. ——But the time is really not right."
After hearing this, Ma Dong looked around and said with a sneer: "I was worried about the food route along the way, for fear that some blind person would attack us. I didn't expect that these worries were all unfounded. It seems that this profit is going to be made in the future." Tuba."
Deputy Commander Fan Guangchun's face was sunburned, with patches of black and red patches, and he was rubbing the dead skin with his hands. Hearing what Ma Dong said, he smiled and said: "The children have been holding back a lot on this journey. It's best if the Oirat don't open their eyes. Garzidi, don't you think so?"
Garhidi was eager to make a sound and said hurriedly: "That bitch Zhaktu is the son of Wala. He has been fighting with our Khalkha for many years! If he dares to disrespect the commander, I will be the first to rush forward and tear him apart!" There was a lot of jabbering, and the interpreter tried his best to translate according to his tone.
Ma Dong listened to his expression of loyalty and gave him some encouragement with a smile. Then he stretched his waist on the horse, moved his neck, turned to Fan Guangchun and said: ""
"Let's give him three more days - Brother Renguan, guess how much money we spent on the court along the way."
Fan Guangchun is the deputy general in charge of investigation and operations and does not understand the details of logistics. When Ma Dong asked, he shook his head and said he didn't know.
Ma Dong sighed and said: "Not counting the officers and soldiers' pay, I calculated that it would cost the imperial court almost 700,000 taels of silver to feed the horses and horses along the way. One person would be more than 100 taels, and the whole army would cost 6,000 taels a day. "
The officer standing next to Ma Dong was speechless after hearing this. Fan Guangchun exclaimed: "So many? The so-called 100,000-strong army marches thousands of miles, but only spends a thousand gold a day..."
Ma Dong raised the tin kettle in his hand and took over the conversation: "When did this kettle change its hair? You should have felt it, but you just didn't think about it. The camels and horses we followed along the way were close. Twenty thousand, before entering the mountains, there is a military station about forty or fifty miles away, so how much will it cost?"
After saying that, he pointed his horsewhip behind him and said with a smile: "Governor Fang has thought carefully. We have enough tents for the winter and winter clothes for the soldiers. Although the road is barren, we will not be allowed to march hungry. Five You can march thousands of miles without starving—do you still have a lot of money?”
...
Ma Dong, although he was a governor in the original time and space, he liked reading and fighting was not his strong point. Although this time and space followed Ma Fang in the Western Expedition, and also fought against Ye Erqiang and gained military exploits, the new army was already successful at that time, and all they fought were crushing battles. Compared with his father, it is like a firefly compared to the bright moon.
But Ma Dong also has advantages. His commanding and combat style is different from Ma Fang's style of winning the three armies. This guy is particularly stable and has a lot of experience in logistics. He knew very well that the Ming Dynasty's Luo wilderness strategy did not require conquering the city, but only needed to protect the grain roads steadily. With the current combat power of the Ming army, it was almost invincible.
Therefore, he carefully guarded the food supply behind him along the way. After all, when he followed Ma Fang, he was also responsible for the logistics. Although he is now a high-ranking official, he has a clear understanding of everything in the military depot and military supplies. From top to bottom in the Western Region Governor's Mansion, no one dares to look down on him. Therefore, there was no danger along the way and we successfully marched to Tuba.
He went out all night to conduct reconnaissance. After Ma Dong arranged for people to set up camp, he led the headquarters to investigate and find the location where the castle should be built. Fan Guangchun followed him for two days, and finally couldn't help but asked curiously: "Commander, why does the imperial court want to build a city here? We will have to cross the Sayan Mountains next spring. This place is more than two thousand miles away from Luntai. The city has been built. No one comes to live here.”
Ma Dong frowned and said: "I also said this to Governor Fang. Governor Fang said that although we are allowed to build a city, there are no bricks or stones here. It would be good if we can build a fort with wood and loess - "
After a pause, he said: "Governor Fang also said that this is the emperor's wish."
Seeing Fan Guangchun's confusion, Ma Dong scratched his head and said, "I heard Governor Fang relay the emperor's will. In the next few years, a Dingbian General's Palace will be built here, and the name of Tuba will also be changed."
Fan Guangchun glanced at the vast basin in front of him on horseback and asked: "What should we change the name to?"
"Tangnu Wulianghai!"
