Chapter 218 217 Success
The river is flowing quietly, and because of the moisture of the river, the vegetation on both sides of the river is growing lushly. If it weren't for the large tracts of yellow land in the distance, no one would have thought that this place is close to the Gobi.
Between the quiet heaven and earth, there was a rumble like a muffled thunder in the distance.
Different from the thunder that sounded here before, this time the thunder seemed to overlap endlessly, and the ground began to tremble slightly.
On the horizon in the distance, a group of black dots appeared. As the black dots enlarged, a horse team was running quickly from far to near.
Further away from the cavalry, there were sporadic scout teams running back and forth around the cavalry, protecting the cavalry from being disturbed by unwelcome people.
"Where are we now, and how far are we from where you said we were?"
In front of the cavalry, a young man who was guarded by many soldiers turned to a middle-aged general beside him and asked.
"This should be near Dahuang Village. There is a river section heading west a little further. Let's go there to take a rest."
The middle-aged general looked around first, and then answered.
"You should work harder during your break. Arrange the rotation of the scouts so that they cannot be discovered by the Tatars."
The young man whipped the horse's butt with a whip, and continued to run forward with the horse under him.
They were Wei Guangde and Ma Fang who quietly left Huailai County under the cover of night.
After weighing the balance, Wei Guangde still planned to take a risk and use the military advantage of the Ming army in Baoan Prefecture to launch an attack on Anda's headquarters when Yanqing Prefecture and Huailai County towns were short of troops.
As for Liu Dazhang, the chief military officer of Xuanfu, Wei Guangde had also thought about it and made due preparations.
Before leaving Huailai County, Wei Guangde had already sent letters and memorials to Master Weng Puweng in Juyongguan, asking Master Weng that he wanted to take over the temporary admiralship of the Xuanfu Army in Baoan Prefecture. He also sued Liu Dazhang, that is, The messenger he sent to Baoan Prefecture conducted a secret investigation and found that Liu Dazhang, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, was afraid of the enemy and was timid. Although the Xuanfu general was in charge of the battle, he suppressed them and did not allow them to fight in Anda.
The memorial was his detailed battle plan, and he could only deliver it to Beijing by sending it to Weng Pu.
Not only because his current location is on the battlefield, but also because so far, Wei Guangde doesn't know where the General Affairs Department's yamen is, as if he hasn't been there yet.
Of course, he would not forget to write at the end of the letter that the military situation was urgent and he would not delay. If Mr. Weng had new orders, please send them directly to Baoan Prefecture.
After the clerk was sent away, Wei Guangde immediately summoned the civil and military officials of Huailai County, including the magistrate of Huailai County, whom he did not like very much.
The meeting convened went very quickly. Wei Guangde had no time to discuss tactics with them and directly released the news that he was leaving Huailai County. The defense of Huailai County was still under the command of Huailai Guards, led by Zhang Heng and Liu Mo. Infantry also joined the city defense.
The grain and grass were temporarily stored in Huailai County, and the magistrate of Huailai County was in charge. Ma Fang and Dong Yiyuan's troops were taken away by him, and Qingqi Jiancong went straight to Baoan Prefecture along the Yanghe River.
In order to prevent being discovered by Tatar scouts, they sent out many scouts along the way to cover up the news.
Of course, this work is now completed by Ma Fang's men, and Dong Yiyuan's more than 400 men are taken with him as a guard. After all, they have been together for more than a month, and they are relatively familiar with each other.
Although he has traveled through time, this is not a game. If he dies, he can come back. God knows if he can go back in time if he encounters danger. Maybe he will really die.
It is better to live than to die, Wei Guangde cherishes his life.
This team of people hurriedly traveled day and night, and it took more than a day to arrive near Baoan Prefecture.
"Sir, Baoan Prefecture is a dozen miles ahead. If you go further, you should be able to meet the Xuanfu Rangers."
Ma Fang introduced Wei Guangde.
"Find a place to rest and go to the city tomorrow morning."
When we arrived near Baoan Prefecture, it should be considered safe, but the timing was wrong.
Although it would be better to have a rest directly by going to the city now, Wei Guangde came with a purpose. Everything must be cut quickly. He would conduct a raid on the Anda Khan camp on the night he entered the city, and he did not have any more time to spend here.
You know, Baoan Prefecture is short of troops, Anda Khan should also realize that, then the most likely measure he will take is to transfer a team of troops from Yanqing Prefecture to strengthen the combat power of Baoan Prefecture.
It was already late at night, and they found a place nearby to temporarily set up camp and began to rest. After Wei Guangde had put on his clothes and went to bed, only Ma Fang was still patrolling the camp and arranging patrols around the camp.
Wei Guangde closed his eyes and just looked at it from a distance, then didn't care anymore.
During this day, Wei Guangde also noticed that Ma Fang was indeed very capable and was more familiar with the military than Dong Yiyuan. He was very skilled in setting up camp and sending out patrols, and Ma Fang's people also obeyed his orders meticulously. Obviously They all admired him as a general.
People in Huailai County didn't know what Wei Guangde was doing in Baoan Prefecture. There were only two people who knew his purpose here, and that was Ma Fang and Dong Yiyuan.
Ma Fang had always wanted to raid the headquarters of Anda Khan. He had been suppressed by Liu Dazhang before and did not dare to act rashly. Now that Master Xiao Wei wanted to scratch the tiger's beard, he was naturally willing to accompany him. He was always following orders anyway.
As for Dong Yiyuan, although he also agreed with Wei Guangde's plan in his heart.
In fact, strictly speaking, this plan should be Ma Fang's idea, but he couldn't implement it and had to use Wei Guangde's fake hand to operate it.
Like Ma Fang, Dong Yiyuan only needs to follow Wei Guangde's orders. Anyway, Mr. Wei is responsible for the problem and has nothing to do with him.
And this is also a gamble for Wei Guangde. The winner takes all. Naturally, no one will hold accountable what he does. If he loses, Wei Guangde is not sure whether he will go to prison.
But based on the current situation, he felt that the probability of losing was low, so he decided to maintain the status quo.
So, it's worth a try.
Early the next morning, everyone got up and washed themselves briefly by the river, then immediately rode towards Baoan Prefecture.
They bypassed Baoan Prefecture and passed from the west of Baoan Prefecture, and they did not want to be discovered by the Anta Division's reconnaissance cavalry.
Such a large team was discovered by the Xuanfu patrol cavalry ten miles away from the west gate of Baoan Prefecture. Fortunately, Ma Fang's men and horses were in front and behind, so it was naturally not unfamiliar to the thousands of Xuanfu cavalry.
Seeing that it was Ma Fang's team, Xiao Qi, who was leading the team, didn't think much about it except for having a strange mentality.
Ma Fang was well-known for his bravery in the Xuanfu army, and would never betray the imperial court. He just took a few more glances at the Jizhen cavalry in the team and let them pass. At the same time, he also sent a fast horse. Report back to Baoan Prefecture.
Wei Guangde and the others did not delay, and arrived at the gate of Baoan Prefecture City at a leisurely pace. At this time, the main generals of the Xuanfu Army in Baoan Prefecture had gathered at the city gate to greet them.
For the patrol, they naturally didn't know who Wei Guangde was in charge of the Hanlin Academy, but Liu Dazhang and Tian Shiwei knew that they had seen the official documents written by Wei Guangde, and they also had Wei Guangde's signature on them.
After a brief greeting at the city gate, Wei Guangde was welcomed into the official office in the city.
In the lobby, Wei Guangde sat where Tian Shiwei used to sit, and Tian Shiwei could only sit behind Wei Guangde.
"I wonder if Wei Guangde arrived suddenly, but what order did Mr. Weng give?"
After sitting down, someone served tea. Wei Guangde didn't mind that the tea was not good, so he took a sip. It was a bit astringent, but he could still swallow it.
Regarding Liu Dazhang's words, Wei Guangde just turned to look at Liu Dazhang and said with a smile: "Didn't the General Soldier receive the official document we sent from Juyongguan?"
Wei Guangde pretended to be surprised and said loudly: "I wrote an official document with my own hand. Later, my clerk also wrote such an official document. The seals of Master Weng and mine were all printed by me."
Wei Guangde arrived at Baoan Prefecture without waiting for Weng Pu's instructions in Huailai, but there was an official document before that Wei Guangde would escort grain and grass to Baoan Prefecture to supervise the war.
But when he was pregnant, he changed his itinerary and reported it to Weng Pu, but he didn't know whether Weng Pu passed the news to Baoan Prefecture.
Now, he was also testing whether Liu Dazhang knew that the previous official document was invalid.
As for the problem raised by Liu Dazhang, he had already thought of a way to deal with it before he left Huailai County.
There were two official documents urging the Xuanfu army to go to war. He was here to supervise the war, so naturally there was no need for Mr. Weng to issue new orders.
It is a joke to say it loudly here today, to get the upper hand. In fact, it is to tell all the generals in the hall that they have already ordered the Xuanfu army to fight against the Tatars, and they did not just stand still like Liu Dazhang did.
"Master Tian, did the General Military Mansion not receive the order from Master Weng?"
Wei Guangde turned to Tian Shiwei, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, and asked.
"this."
Tian Shiwei had a smile on his face now, but he was really hesitant about how to answer.
Wei Guangde now opened his mouth to make sense. It was a fact that there was a military order, so he could only look at Liu Dazhang. It was Governor Liu who should answer the question.
"Master Wei, it's not that we don't want to fight, it's actually that there are more than ten thousand troops under the Andu army under Baoan Prefecture, which is equivalent to the strength of our Xuanfu army. This battle cannot be fought."
When Liu Dazhang saw Tian Shiwei looking at him, he cursed in his heart a waste, but he had to answer Wei Guangde's question.
"We have received the official document, and naturally we know what Mr. Weng means. However, the number of troops transferred by the Xuanfu this time is more than 10,000, and they are only about the same strength as the Anda Department. I think we should wait until the Datong Army is in place before fighting. Our army has a better chance of winning. It’s bigger, please be careful.”
Liu Dazhang said.
For a junior official from the seventh rank, Liu Dazhang could only speak like an adult.
There is no way, these days the nobles are rich and powerful, and the other party is from the Hanlin Academy, and can be considered one of the prime ministers, so it is best not to offend him.
Wei Guangde then looked back at Liu Dazhang and said with a smile: "Master Weng knows your difficulties, so he sent me here."
Having said this, Wei Guangde looked around at all the generals in the hall, and then said word by word: "That's why we took this action in Huailai, and asked some of our troops to go to Huailai County to set up defenses.
Now that the number of troops in Baoan Prefecture's Anta Division has been greatly reduced, it is time to go to war. What do you think, Mr. Liu? "
While greeting at the city gate, Wei Guangde asked how many troops the Anda Department had sent to Huailai County in the past two days. Although he didn't know what Wei Guangde and his team were doing, since he knew that Anda Khan had sent people there After arriving in Huailai County, Liu Dazhang couldn't hide it at that time, so he naturally said that he sent about 4,000 troops to Huailai County twice.
Only now did he understand what was going on. It was a strategy devised by Weng Pu and Wei Guangde to let me take part of the troops, so that the Xuanfu army had no reason to continue to delay the fight.
Liu Dazhang never doubted the authenticity of Wei Guangde's identity. Although he did not know Wei Guangde, he still knew Dong Yiyuan, Dong Yang's son, who was next to Wei Guangde.
In fact, when Dong Yiyuan appeared, some of the generals in Xuanfu recognized him. His brother was still serving as a guerrilla general in Xuanfu, but he was not transferred this time.
Naturally, during the meeting, he also knew that this time Weng Pu and Wei Guangde were patrolling the border, and the guards sent by Jizhen were Dong Yiyuan's troops.
Although Wei Guangde suddenly came to Baoan Prefecture before, it was strange, but now the mystery was revealed, and they were still asked to fight by the Xuanfu Army.
Helpless, at this time he could no longer find a reason to refuse.
"I don't know what your lord's plan is."
Liu Dazhang could no longer be cowardly at this time. Behind closed doors, he could act the same in front of the Xuanfu generals, but not at this time.
"Of course it's a sneak attack."
Wei Guangde said five words quickly, and then saw Liu Dazhang's expression change, and then continued: "According to the documents you sent before, the food and grass in Baoan Prefecture is only enough for the army, and it will run out of food in a few days. , so we can’t wait any longer.
What's more, it's been a long time. Once our department comes to its senses and transfers troops from Huailai County, or transfers troops from Yanqing Prefecture, the current situation in Bao'an Prefecture will change. This is why we moved from Huailai County overnight. The reason why the county is here. "
Wei Guangde did not intend to say that the grain transport convoy led by Li Zhen should make a large circle and arrive at Yanghe River in the next three or four days, delivering much-needed grain and grass to Baoan Prefecture.
Quick war, lack of food and grass is also one of the reasons.
Seeing Liu Dazhang sitting there without speaking for a long time, Wei Guangde turned to look at Tian Shiwei. At this time, he was secretly glad. It seemed that Baoan Prefecture didn't know the plan he and Weng Pu had made, and he didn't know that he didn't come here. Mission accomplished.
For a veteran who was accustomed to fighting against the Tatars in Xuanfu, he naturally knew that this was an opportunity to start a war. Moreover, the admiral had used a trick to divert the troops around Anda Khan. It was really unjustifiable not to fight again.
But in Xuan Mansion, he, the deputy commander, could only act based on Liu Dazhang's face.
In Xuanfu, there can only be one voice, and that is Liu Dazhang's.
You can mess around below, but when it comes to a major event like starting a war, everything still depends on Liu Dazhang.
In fact, at this time, everyone's eyes in the hall had shifted from Wei Guangde's young face to Liu Dazhang, waiting for their commander-in-chief to make a choice.
"Admiral Weng has taken this into account, so I just ask Master Wei to give you orders. The whole Xuan Mansion will follow your plan."
Liu Dazhang finally made the decision in the eyes of everyone, just fight. If he loses, Weng Pu will take the blame, so he can just act according to the order.
Liu Dazhang's approach played into Wei Guangde's wish. What he was most worried about was that Liu Dazhang was timid and afraid of death and refused to fight.
In fact, this is a misunderstanding of Liu Dazhang. Liu Dazhang was from the Dongning Guards in Liaodong. His family inherited the command of the Dongning Guards. In Liaodong, he went from preparing for the defense, then to the defense, and finally became the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang because of the pacification of the Liaoyang soldiers.
Although his military exploits are mediocre, he has accumulated some reputation by working in border towns for a long time.
Later, he was dismissed from his post for "smuggling". After learning about the Gengxu Rebellion, he was reinstated as the chief military officer of the Xuanfu.
Since the resumption of border disputes in the 32nd year of Jiajing, he has been fighting in the Xuanfu and Anda tribes. It is not that he is greedy for life, but because of the experience of being dismissed from office, he has been more cautious in doing things, not seeking merit but seeking nothing. Pass.