"How many times has this happened?"
On Lotus Leaf Mountain, Li Jin felt severe pain in his arms and tiger's mouth, but he couldn't remove his armor yet.
"We have fought seven times, general. When will the defenders from Jingping and Mayi arrive?"
Li Jin couldn't answer. After a moment of silence, he just laughed: "We haven't even fired the gun yet. The Tatars have charged seven times, but have they ever made it half a step up the mountainside?"
He is a general, can he not remember how many times he has been attacked?
At this moment, the captive cavalry retreated again and rested. This time, it seemed that they would not launch a general attack until reinforcements arrived tomorrow or even the day after.
However, the friendly forces in Jingping and Mayi did not come to help.
Li Jin looked at the banner schools under his command, and after taking a look at them one by one, he said: "I know that we are guarding the middle road, and there is no need to come to the west road. But when the northern invaders invaded, they invaded our territory of the Ming Dynasty. Do you think this is a waste of time?" Doing two businesses?"
"...General, after seven battles in less than three days, eighty-two brothers have been killed, more than a hundred are too injured to fight, and there are only less than seven days of rations left..."
"The Tatars have lost a lot of lives! This is the hinterland of Datong Town, what are you worried about?" Li Jinhuan looked unconcerned, "We are going to drag them out in Heye Mountain. I don't just tell Jingping about this news. , Mayi. The Tatars can't even chew down a temporary mountain top of ours, do they dare to stay here for a long time and wait for the king's army to encircle them? Stop talking, don't save food, let the brothers be full!"
He took a few sips of tea, then stood up again: "Don't worry about cooking, I will lead people to keep an eye on their movements!"
As he walked out, he could feel the complicated eyes looking at him from behind.
It was his decision to rush to Jingping's aid.
Naturally, this cannot be called "disobeying orders". How to prevent Bei Yuan's sudden attack? A network of cities, fortresses and strongholds has long been formed between the east, middle and west roads of Datong Town.
The thieves came from the west, and they immediately rushed to the center for reinforcements. This was a pre-war situation that had been discussed in advance.
Are there any military orders above? Of course there are.
But there was no plan to take the initiative, and the food and grass were not ready. The situation suddenly came, and Liu Kai and Li Jian were unable to defend the fort. Are they guilty?
Of course not.
They are here to rob, not to seize land from Duocheng. To mobilize a large army to encircle, it requires your Majesty to issue an edict and the court has decided to provide food, grass and military supplies. It cannot make this decision hastily.
Therefore, the Tatars have not yet invaded the middle defense area, so Li Jin does not need to come.
Knowing that Datong Town has not made general plans and arrangements for this border incident, he came and used himself as bait. What will his subordinates who are now in danger with him think?
Is General Li Shen crazy about making meritorious deeds?
Even though morale was high at the beginning, who wouldn't feel frightened if no reinforcements came after three days of fighting?
Arriving at the temporary camp made of rocks, dry soil and branches, Li Jin took out his telescope and looked towards the Tatar camp.
His vision was slightly trembling, and Li Jin knew it was because he had shot too many arrows in the past three days.
"Old Qian, do you think the Tatars are a little confused now? How come someone who is not afraid of death suddenly appears?"
A general commander beside him was not in the mood to joke and lowered his voice: "What if all the Tatars really come around and the reinforcements still don't arrive?"
Li Jin saw that the other person was very calm. He was serious that he would not come to attack the formation again today. He put down the telescope with peace of mind, and then stared at him: "Are you worried too? You don't understand either?"
The general surnamed Qian looked at his general and saw that the smile on his face was not fake and his eyes were extremely transparent.
"I really don't understand, so I'm worried."
Li Jin raised his arm and pointed to the opposite side: "It's been three days."
After sneering, he continued to look at his confused subordinates: "It's been three days, and these more than a thousand Tatars are still here, which means I'm still on guard! Now, the Tatars want to bet, Liu Kai and the others I also want to bet! Is this a pocket that I, Datong Town, have dug for them? The Tatars must either unite their forces to break this pocket, or withdraw now! As long as they are unwilling, it will really become an opportunity to dig their pockets. Could it be that smart people like Liu Kai don't understand that joining forces here will make the Tatars timid? As long as the battle formation is stable, the Tatars can only charge for a while, but if they don't succeed, they will definitely withdraw!"
Looking at the direction of Jingping Fort from a distance, Li Jin continued to sneer: "If I can't hold on even on the first day, Liu Kai and the others will have many excuses, saying that I entered the battle recklessly and they couldn't rush to help. But, I I have been guarding these more than a thousand cavalry here for three days! I can still guard for a few more days, and the excuses he can make are getting less and less. When he is investigated afterwards, he will not be able to escape the blame. I will win the first game with my life, Help him win another game. Remember, if we hold on for one more day, our chances of winning will be greater. We are winning, so they dare to come out of the castle to help us!"
"...It's not fair."
"Fuck it's fair!" Li Jin patted his belly, "I just want to win! Let's go, eat first, and continue to defend tomorrow. I still have the tiger crouching cannon! If they really want to mobilize other people... Get up and attack, then give them a surprise!"
This night was peaceful for the time being.
After fighting for three consecutive days, the cavalry of the Tumote tribe were resting and recuperating, and the Ming garrison on Heye Mountain was also resting and recuperating.
The friendly troops who came to help became a lone army waiting for help. Li Jin needed to let the lower-level generals under his command see hope of winning.
Regardless of everything else, Li Jin himself is here!
Outside Jingping Fort, the sentry cavalry has not stopped.
As midnight approached, three more riders returned to the fort. After entering, they went straight to Liu Kai.
Liu Kai couldn't sleep well these days, so he got up when he heard the announcement.
After hearing the news, he exclaimed: "Seriously? Are the Tatars from the Nahebao area coming here?"
"We collided head-on, Lao San and Lao Wu..." The leader of this group of sentinels choked up, "Naihe Fort has been breached. General, our Jingping Fort..."
"...the strategy set long ago in the first year of Hongzhi is that if the bandits attack the west route, the west route soldiers will be the main force. The deputy general of Datong, guerrillas and partial pass generals will join forces to come to the rescue. Our west route soldiers will be distributed in the main fortress of the city. Invite an attack. Now that the Naihe Fort has been destroyed, there is no room for loss in the Jingping Fort! Send my order to the general, strengthen the walls and clear the fields, and wait for reinforcements!"
In this land, news of the Tatar military situation and the military situation of the Datong garrison have not been cut off.
Even if the guard is just trying to protect himself, it doesn't mean he just opens his eyes and shivers in the castle.
They knew the news about Li Jin being surrounded on Heye Mountain, and they also knew Li Jin's combat intentions, but not everyone was optimistic about his plan, or in other words, few people had the courage.
At this moment, in Datong Town, Governor Xuanda, former Minister of War Wang Xian, and Datong Governor Zhang Wenjing were receiving orders.
"...the reported disaster situation, grain storage, and the construction of the Xuanning Five Fortresses have been approved by the State Council, the Military Affairs Council, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Household Affairs, and 87,350 taels of silver have been given from Taicang..."
"The thieves who invaded Shuozhou are still the same. The general of Datong's army ordered the deputy general Lin Kuan to lead the troops to the west road to attack them together. If you have meritorious service in defending the territory and repelling the thieves, I will describe the merits separately and I will not hesitate to reward you."
After receiving the order, Wang Xian stood up, and then looked at Zhu Zhen deeply: "General Zhu, there is no need to worry now, right?"
"Since there is a decree, I will guard Datong and order Lin Kuan to lead the troops to rush to the rescue! Don't worry, the governor, the Xuanning Five Forts will be right, and they will be built quickly to prevent the Tatars from breaking through the border from the north of Datong! Military Information It’s urgent, I’ll mobilize the troops first!”
Watching him leave, Zhang Wenjin patted the desk with some annoyance: "It took three years to build just five forts! In the past three years, Datong Town reported ten disasters!"
"Your Majesty ordered me to come to Governor Xuanda, isn't it to stabilize this place first?" Wang Xian's expression was solemn, but he only said, "There is no hurry."
"General Staff Yang's previous command in Yansui, Ningxia, and Gansu could only arrange for Li Jin and a few others to come to Xuanda University." Zhang Wenjin gritted his teeth, "Now Li Jin has reported that he has come to defend Heye Mountain, and there has been no news for three days. , the rest of the reinforcements in the middle haven’t moved yet!”
"Secret Master, control your anger!" Wang Xian frowned, "Since Li Jin dares to have such an intention, he must be confident."
"But how invincible is Datong Town now? With the importance of Datong border town, will it continue like this? In the past, how vigorous and vigorous was General Staff Yang and Zhang Gongping in the Ganzhou Revolution? The year before last, they asked for the construction of Xuanning Five Forts. On the northern defense line of Datong, these people have learned from past mistakes and have made chaos once before, so they should do the same thing!"
"Wen Jin!"
Wang Xian called his name this time instead of words.
Zhang Wenjin sat down angrily, and then he could only mutter: "It's more than 80,000 taels of silver again!"
"If there hadn't been the thunderous means of the Ganzhou Mutiny, and I had asked them to build the Xuanning Five Forts within a year the year before last, and asked them to defend it, you would have followed in the footsteps of Xu Ming!" Wang Xian's face was as dark as water, and then he could only He said, "The Huguang rebellion happened the year before last. How was Datong in chaos? It was built in three years starting from last year, and there was a special train of silver coins. Do you think that your majesty and other advisers are not announcing the situation without knowing it? Don't say any more, the immediate situation is more important!" "
There was a cold light in his eyes: "Since the Tatars have invaded Datong this year, they will naturally have something to say after the war is over. What do you think the military generals competition and the military examination are all for?"
Zhang Wenjin was a little surprised: "Could it be..."
One was the former Minister of War, and the other was the prefect of Anqing during the Chenhao Rebellion. He went to the city to scold King Ning to attract hatred and let him stay and attack Anqing instead of going straight to Nanjing.
Now, they have been holding back their anger in Datong for two or three years.
What they faced was this group of generals who had taken root in Datong and supported their troops.
The southern provinces are undergoing restructuring, but the border towns have not yet moved lightly.
Although Wang Xian also had a battalion of selected vanguard soldiers from the Beijing camp, the entire Datong garrison exceeded 50,000, which was far from comparable to the garrison troops in the southern provinces.
"Go and supervise the transportation of grain and grass first." Wang Xian stood up and walked out. "Now that the decree has been issued, I will first lead a thousand and five pacesetters to Shuozhou. If there are changes in Datong, the remaining pacesetters can protect you."
"...Zhu Zhen isn't so bold, is he?"
Wang Xian sneered: "Xuanning's fifth fort has been repaired. Who under his command dares to defend it? It's so close to Fengzhou Beach. They have the courage to ask for money, but they don't have the courage to garrison. In this battle, who knows what they can do ? Just in case!"
Datong Town has encountered another major border crisis in the past four years, and many suppressed conflicts are brewing.
Important generals in border towns like Zhu Zhen did not want to rebel. They just tried their best to resist the changes and use the chips they had on hand to test as much as possible.
And the emperor is the one who makes the change. No matter how the Ming provinces outside the border towns have changed over the years, the border towns have always focused on appeasement, except for Thunder Wanjun, who was the first to deal with the Ganzhou mutiny.
Now, Zhu Houcong in the Miyunna exercise headquarters was thinking about the border town and watching the discussions around the sand table about the exercise situation, which had now entered a white-hot stage.
The commander of Shuozhou Guard played a beautiful trick and took back the stone mountain lost by the defender from the attacker.
But he didn't know that his Shuozhou Guard was missing a Naihe Fort.
He was transferred from Gansu to Shuozhou Guard by Yang Yiqing. If he could come out on top in this competition, Zhu Houcong was thinking about what position he could arrange for him.
There was also a group of generals gathered in front of the map in a side hall, discussing the military situation in Shuozhou that had been spread here.
Now, they are unable to get out of this headquarters. Since the emperor has disclosed the news to them, maybe it is also a test.
But some of the latest news was not told to them. Zhu Houcong looked at Yang Yiqing and Wang Shouren, who had serious eyebrows.
Military information came in a steady stream, and only Li Jin rushed to help in Datong Middle Road according to the defense deployment established over the years. This was the main reason for their worries.
The reason for Datong Town is naturally very good: compared with Shuozhou, Datong is the top priority. Even if there are thousands of cavalry in Shuozhou, who can guarantee that the Tatars will not set up another army north of Datong? If the tiger is transferred away from the mountain, Datong will be lost and Xuanfu will be in danger. Xuanfu is in danger, that is, the iron cavalry approaches Juyongguan, and the front troops are only a day or two away from the capital.
But they have first-hand intelligence. How could they not know whether there is a large-scale enemy force gathering north of Datong? What is Tatar's strategic intention can still be determined accurately through deduction and analysis.
Yang Yiqing and Wang Shouren noticed the emperor's gaze, and after looking back, they both shook their heads slowly.
So Zhu Houcong continued to suppress his inner irritability.
In the final analysis, Ming Dynasty must first re-discover enough money and food potential from the new laws of various provinces before it can have the confidence to solve the century-old problems in border towns.
A war is a waste of money.
Before the war, it would also cost an unknown amount of money to give the border town a new look.
The reason for burning money is because of people.
Changing generals in border towns requires opportunities and reasons.
Now, after gathering all the candidates, the opportunity and reason for Datong Town have arrived.
There is no rush, we can only wait for the results.
Later, some people can be promoted and transferred based on their merits, and some people can be demoted and punished based on their crimes.
But behind this, the soldiers and the people on the border suffered.
Zhu Houcong's eyes once again looked at the young faces such as Tang Shunzhi, Yu Dayou, and Zeng Mian.
He has endured border towns like Datong Town for four or five years, and finally he has tolerated these new bloods taking the stage.
Isn’t it time to endure it no longer?
"As long as they hold Shitou Mountain, they can't go around to the south!" He Xun, commander of the Shuozhou Guard on Shitou Mountain, was excited. "The rules are becoming more and more clear. As long as they don't get within two hundred steps of the stronghold, they are all sentinels." ! A team of twenty people, get them all out, just don’t kill them. Just stay here for forty of you! Follow me down the mountain!"
It was called attacking and defending strongholds, but in reality as the exercise progressed, it became increasingly clear that they were going to encounter each other.
Under the rule that you are not allowed to kill anyone, you can only rely on courage when meeting on a narrow road.
In a hand-to-hand fight, how can there be a rule that one attacker can defeat two people?
"Looking at the posture on the other side, it must be that the exercise is about to end." Li Quanli's eyes were frighteningly bright in the Stone Box Fort. "According to the rules, just enough people are left in the fort. Why can't the brave civilians be counted as defenders? Get out and arrest them. Detective!"
In the village south of Gubeikou in the north, Qiu Luan was very unhappy: "Why weren't these rules made clear in advance?"
The soldiers in his hands are veterans, and the general is not a coward.
But the general on the opposite side is the strongest among the strongest generals selected by the entire Ming Dynasty. With some new soldiers, how come they all started robbing people on the road?
It's just an exercise! Seriously in the wild, facing real Tatar cavalry, would they dare to fight in the field without hesitation?
Li Jin gave him the answer here on Lotus Leaf Mountain in Jingping, Shuozhou.
He could see that there was some fear in the eyes of the more than 800 generals who could still fight.
This is a real battlefield, with real Tatars on all sides, war horses raising their hooves, and neighing sounds coming from all directions.
After another two days, all the Tatar cavalry really gathered together. Apparently they were determined to take advantage of the Ming Dynasty defenders who dared to leave the fort to meet the enemy, and took advantage of the situation to break through Shuozhou's defense line.
If no other reinforcements from the Datong direction arrived, and the original defenders were all huddled in Shuozhou, it was still considered a tight defense line.
"We can fire today!" Li Jin shouted, "beat the drum!"
The previous several formations had only formed formations to welcome the cavalry's attack.
The generals of the Ming Dynasty may not be good at cavalry charges, but they have accumulated many years of experience in dealing with cavalry charges.
Li Jin was brave enough to fight. This battle formation of more than a thousand people had at least defended the several charging formations of the thousands of cavalry before.
But now, it's riding in the thousands.
A moment later, a dull horn sounded from the cavalry formation.
Next, "It's hot! It's hot!" The roars of thousands of people over there were like huge waves, coming from several directions and hitting this small lotus leaf mountain.
"Don't worry!" Li Jin said to the messenger next to him, "Heye Mountain is so small, wait until they are approaching and the horses are close, then fire off! Don't fire them all together, take turns!"
The Tiger Crouching Cannon's twin cannons should make the opponent a little more panicked, right?
Just a little bit of panic and that would be fine.
"Watchers, get ready, follow our generals to charge!"
Li Jin also had dozens of cavalry under his command, all of whom were proficient in mounted shooting and were sent out as sentinels to detect the enemy's situation.
Now that they are surrounded, there is no way to investigate.
But Li Jin was actually preparing to lead them into battle.
The sound of horses' hooves pounded the land here in disorder, and the overwhelming sound of whistles flooded Heye Mountain. The Ming garrison on Heye Mountain seemed to be wiped out in an instant as if in a violent storm.
"... Damn it! Fight!"
At the core of the battle formation on the mountainside, there were only twelve squatting tiger cannons placed in several directions.
The gunner looked at the Tatars coming under the mountain, his eyes bloodshot.
Until now, I can't think of anything else but follow the desperate general to the death.
At the last moment of engaging the enemy, the defenders on the mountain also heard Li Jin's morale-boosting cry: "The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
At a time of life and death, everyone needs this voice.
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
In the voice shouted with a desperate mentality, the command flag was waved, the drums changed, and the flag officer on the artillery position shouted: "First round, let go!"
The sound of the cannons was not dense, but the sound of the cannons and the roaring and shouting from both sides were heard after all.
A few miles to the northeast from here, the sentinels who were running heard the faint sounds of thousands of people fighting in that direction.
"Three Tigers, please report back to the supervisory platform. A fight has already begun. The rest of the people, follow me! If you encounter the Tatar sentry, kill them all!"
As for Jingping Fort to the west of Heye Mountain, Liu Kai, who was worried that the Tatar cavalry was coming to attack Jingping Fort, was no longer worried.
They were heading to Heye Mountain, and Liu Kai also received this message.
Military orders from Datong have also been sent, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lin Kuan has led the reinforcements to set off and are on their way.
"Five thousand against a thousand and five..." Liu Kai gritted his teeth, "Damn it, if all the officers and soldiers of the thousand and five are lost, it will be a big defeat! Leave five hundred people to guard the fort, order your troops, and rush to the reinforcements of Heye Mountain!"
On Lotus Leaf Mountain, Li Jin now had no fear at all, and was only filled with excitement and excitement.
He was not a general who cared much about his soldiers. Sometimes he was even cruel. He only saw war and victory in his eyes.
But shouldn’t the generals of the Ming Dynasty regard war as victory?
"Come out in the chaos and charge!" He rode on the horse and pinched the horse's belly hard. "You all charge with me!"
Where the commander's flag of the Tumut cavalry was, the commander of this plundering cavalry from the south watched in astonishment as less than a hundred cavalry rushed down the mountain.
What is this for? are you crazy?
At the moment, those dozens of riders are like weak fish, trying to swim against the current into the stormy waves.
But it caused some ripples after all.
"This kind of artillery..." He didn't care about this trivial matter. He was now listening more solemnly to the rhythm of the artillery sound ringing out from the Ming Army Mountain.
It’s different from what I remember.
Then, a man on horseback came nearby, with an arrow stuck in his arm.
"There are...reinforcements in the northeast..."
After saying that, he fainted from his horse.
"... Go ahead! Aren't you full?"
He didn't care about this either. Could it be that he had assembled nearly 5,000 cavalry, and couldn't he first take down the more than 1,000 Ming army on the Lotus Leaf Mountain?
Those who have been rushing for reinforcements from a long distance are tired troops, and the horses will be fine if they charge for a while longer.
At this moment, Li Jin, who was thrown into the enemy formation and covered in blood, was still laughing ferociously, and then he heard the sound of drums coming from the northeast.
"Reinforcements are coming!" He didn't care about anything else and shouted in a hissing voice, "Continue to charge!"
To the northeast, Wang Xian, who was worried about Lin Kuan's marching speed, was marching hastily with more than a thousand pacesetters.
Not only that, but it also made people beat the war drum.
"Knock more! Always be ready to engage the enemy!"
On Heye Mountain, the defenders who had been standing on this small hilltop for seven days and were about to run out of rations finally heard the news of reinforcements.
"Hold it! Hold it again! Let the cannon cool for a while, hold it!"
The Datong guard general wanted money, but he didn't want to be convicted.
Being able to hold Datong Town was their bargaining chip to ask the court for money.
Lin Kuan walked slowly, but his military orders moved quickly.
To the north, although Li Jian was marching steadily on the road, after receiving the report from the sentinel, his eyes suddenly lit up with merit.
"Quick! Go faster!"
In the winter of the fifth year of Jiajing's reign, the North captured Kou Jingping, which was the land on the west road. Li Jin, the general on the middle road, said, "Can this be regarded as an evil affair between two families?" He rushed to meet him. At that time, Liu Kai, a general on the west route, and Li Jianbing, a guerrilla, arrived first. They were terrified and didn't know where they were going. In order to issue an order and warn the people, Jin united his troops and set up a formation, first occupying Heye Mountain. The captives clashed with each other but did not move. Finally, they used artillery to hit one of the strongholds, while Zidu rode down to attack it. The captives were invincible and led away.
The exercise in Miyun ended, and Zhu Houcong was still thinking about the war in Shuozhou.
(End of chapter)
