In recent days, all the talk in the court has been about the upcoming war in the Western Regions. The matter has spread. People who usually do not need to go to court also know about it. Zhu Di is working intensively from top to bottom.
He made arrangements. Mentally, he despised Tamerlane very much, but he did not act carelessly when facing Tamburlaine who came in a menacing manner.
Xu Jingchang said: "The sergeants from Gan and Liang are mostly from the Tibetan, Fan, Qiang and Miao ethnic groups, especially the Mongolian and Hui ethnic groups. Not only do these two ethnic groups have the most soldiers in the army, but the local people also regard these two ethnic groups as
At most, Timur was flying the banner of the Mongols and he believed in Islam, so he had great appeal among these soldiers and people.
Song Sheng, the general of Pingqiang, had previously sent a message back to Jia Jingshi. When they passed through Ganliang, the sergeants from Ganliang were very respectful to them. Sometimes these merchants brought private goods and it was difficult to pass through customs, so they would open and close the door privately.
Send them out of the country. Song Sheng also discovered that there were foreign spies among the merchants, and some sergeants even took the initiative to leak border affairs to them without taking any benefits.",
Having said this, Xu Jingchang gave a bitter smile and said to Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, don't expect such people to fight bravely. Even if they are passive and lazy, they are still good. Many of these soldiers will be killed once Timur's army comes to the city.
Although Jiayuguan is dangerous and dangerous, it is likely to be defeated in a single battle with such soldiers guarding it, making it difficult to hold on. What's more, judging from the news now, Timur's spies have secretly infiltrated into the area and begun to agitate
It’s popular.”
"Order the imperial envoy to go to Ganliang to enforce strict military discipline, and order Song Sheng to strictly restrain them. Those who are particularly unreliable will be transferred away from the dangerous passes of Xiongguan!"
Zhu Di said in a deep voice, he also knew that this was easy to say, but difficult to do. Many legions in the Ganliang area were directly converted to guard posts by tribes, and most of the Han armies were recruited directly from local military households.
, many local Han people believe in Islam, not to mention other ethnic minorities, even these Han people who believe in Islam, whether they will be strong-willed by then is also a matter of uncertainty.
Zhu Di twisted his thick black eyebrows, stared at the huge map, and asked: "If Ganliang cannot be defended, where can we fight it?"
Xu Jingchang said: "I have consulted with the senior officials from the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Governor's Office and believe that if Ganliang is lost, Tamerlane's army will march straight in and occupy Shaanxi, Gannan, and Ningxia in one fell swoop. Our second-line troops can be gathered in Henan."
, start a decisive battle with them. If we win, we can take advantage of the victory to pursue, regain the lost ground, and drive them back! If we fail, then..."
Xu Jingchang took a long breath, pointed his finger on the Huaihe River, and said with difficulty: "I'm afraid, we have to set up a third line of defense here to decide the outcome!"
Zhu Di said in a deep voice: "There are currently about 150,000 troops stationed in the Shaanxi-Gansu area, stationed in various fortresses. If we passively meet the enemy, they may be divided and surrounded by Timur and defeated one by one! In addition, some of the Shaanxi-Gansu troops
Soldiers are not very reliable. Once the enemy is defeated, the pass will be dangerous and cannot be relied on!"
He stood up, walked around the main hall, pondered for a long time, suddenly stopped, and said solemnly: "I ordered to go down and transfer 200,000 troops from Shanxi, Sichuan, and Henan to Shaanxi and Gansu. The Shaanxi-Gansu army will garrison the fortress. From Shanxi,
The three divisions of Sichuan and Henan, with 200,000 soldiers and horses, are at the forefront, taking the initiative to seek out the enemy for a decisive battle!"
Xu Jingchang was surprised when he heard this and said: "Your Majesty, this is too risky. The second line is empty. Once the enemy breaks through, the consequences will be disastrous. Furthermore, if we mobilize Shanxi soldiers and horses, once Wala becomes ambitious... Your Majesty, although Wala has tipped us off,
But the wolf's ambition is capricious..."
Zhu Di hesitated after hearing this. He hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Yes, although Wala chose us between Timur and Ming Dynasty, we must be guarded against the ambitions of wolves. Shanxi Dusi's troops cannot move.
, I will go on a personal expedition and bring out the soldiers and horses from the Beijing camp!"
Xu Jingchang was even more dizzy when he heard this. With the intelligence collected recently, some news and rumors about Tamerlane's empire were gradually grasped by the imperial court. Tamerlane's achievements in the West were so brilliant that he seemed to be the reincarnation of Genghis Khan.
, how could the emperor easily go on an expedition in person? If he changed his generals, he would be defeated if he lost. The Ming Dynasty could immediately organize troops and horses to fight again. If the emperor went on an expedition in person but was defeated, or even had a shortcoming, there would not even be a chance to restore the defeat.
there is none left.
Xu Jingchang and several military generals quickly tried to persuade him, but Zhu Di stood up angrily, smashed his fist on the case, and resolutely said: "This battle must be fought outside, and we can't let wolves in to harm my country and people! Since others can't defend it, we must fight it outside."
If you stay, then I will go there myself and defend the enemy from outside the country!"
Xu Jingchang was sweating profusely and said repeatedly: "Your Majesty, the commander-in-chief of Gansu Province, Pingqiang General Song Sheng has been in Ganliang for a long time, and the Fan Rong have been subdued. The military power is extremely powerful in the Western Regions. It is enough to have the old General Song to guard the Western Regions. Why not order Song
Where is the old general commanding all the ministries? Your Majesty will go on a personal expedition, which is absolutely impossible!"
Zhu Di sighed: "Song Sheng is old and in poor health. He has written many times, requesting to step down and return to the capital. But because I don't have the right generals to guard the Western Regions, I have always refused. Alas! Now let him lead the army alone.
I can’t rest assured!”
Zhu Di's words are not hypocritical, he really has no one to use. When he first started his army, he had many famous generals under his command, but by this time, famous generals such as Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng, Wang Zhen, Chen Heng, and Tan Yuan
They are all dead. Qiu Fu is in charge of Beijing, controlling the Tatars in the north and the Oara in the west. He cannot be separated easily. As for Liu Cai, Chen Gui, Zheng Heng, Meng Shan and Huozhen, all the generals are brave men.
These are his direct descendants. What about the generals who joined him one after another after his calamity? Xu Huizu and Geng Bingwen are undoubtedly qualified to take command. Xu Huizu can attack and defend. He is definitely a good general in the world. The problem is that this person cannot be used, and he cannot
If you don't dare to use it, leave the army to Xu Huizu and go to the Western Regions. Who knows if he will come back with a banner?
Geng Changxing was good at fighting and defending, and asked him to guard the Western Regions, which was enough to turn the Western Regions into a copper and iron wall, so that Tiemuer returned in vain and defeated. However, he was already dead. Even if he was still alive, he was just like Xu Huizu.
Dare to use it. In addition, there is Sheng Yong, who is also good at fighting. Now he has been impeached and committed suicide. Among the remaining generals, Ping An, He Fu, and Gu Cheng are all known as veteran generals. The problem is that these people are only good at fighting.
There is absolutely no problem in asking them to follow the instructions and lead a group of troops into battle. Asking them to take command and deploy troops and generals is, to be honest, an embarrassing task.
Didn't Zhu Di know the consequences if the imperial commander's personal expedition failed? He did it as a last resort!
At this moment, Mu En stood on tiptoe and poked her head at the door, looking like she wanted to come in but didn't dare.
Zhu Di glared at him and asked angrily: "What's the matter?"
Mu En said quickly: "Your Majesty, Duke Yang Xu wants to see you!"
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"Come, come, he's here! Sure enough, he's here, hey, sister Sai'er, you're so talented, you can actually trick him out!"
Lying in the grass, staring at the figure walking in the distance, my eyebrows were dancing with thought, not caring that I was one year older than Tang Sai'er, but I called her sister.
Tang Saier said triumphantly: "Of course, it's not easy to manipulate this silly boy, hum! But..."
She suddenly felt guilty and said: "If we tease him like this, he won't complain to the Duke, right? I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."
"Hey! Don't be afraid!"
Si Xun quickly patted his chest and said, "Sister Sai'er, my father is actually kind. Don't look at his fierce eyes, but he is actually very easy to talk to. If my mother wants to beat us, we will go to my father. He will definitely Protect us. Don't look at him scolding us that night. We were all pretending to be scared in front of him, so dad was reluctant to really beat us."
Tang Saier pouted and said, "You are his daughters, but I am not!"
Siyang said: "Then it's even more impossible for me to teach you a lesson. My father calls your mother Mrs. Sister-in-law. How can I bully you? Good sister, help me get rid of this bad temper. I will share whatever delicious food you have in the future. Half for you, no! I’ll give you the bigger half! You are our good eldest sister, you must be loyal!”
As soon as she mentioned loyalty, Tang Sai'er's chest straightened up and she said with determination, "It's done!" She turned around and told Siyu and Siqi: "Don't make any noise, it will make him alert. You are the only one to ask!"
The two little guys nodded hurriedly, their eyes full of excitement.
After what happened two days ago, Xia Xun casually mentioned to several of his beloved wives that the Yu family and his son were visiting as guests. How could they bully others like this? They had to discipline their daughter. This was great. The four girls suffered first. The eldest lady Ming'er was given a lesson, but later she was caught and spanked by her mother, which made the four girls hate her so much that all the blame was put on Yu Qian's head. The four of them begged Tang Sai'er for advice and rectification. He vented his anger.
So the four of them arrived here. There was still a large open space in the back house of the Yang family, which had not yet been developed. There was originally a large pit on the ground. It turned out to be a large pit where lime was mixed during the construction of houses, pavilions, and courtyard walls. There were also There was a foot of lime, and after a few rains, the accumulated water in it slightly covered the lime, leaving a thin layer of clear water. A few people used this ready-made pit as a disguise, and covered it with tree roots and grass stems.
If the four girls from the Yang family were to do this job, it would be very obvious, and it would be obvious at a glance that it was a trap. But if it was done by an expert like Tang Saier, even if Xia Xun came, there would be no difference at all.
Yu Qian received a note with only one sentence on it: "Report to my father, you are a despicable person! If you have the ability, come to the back house and let's compete. Whoever loses and then files a complaint is the puppy!"
The note was dictated by Tang Sai'er and written by Si Yang. Although Tang Sai'er was young, she was very discerning, and her ability to recognize people was not bad. She had already judged it. Yu Qian, this boy, is proud! He has a noble character and an arrogant temper. If you say something else, he may ignore you, but if you say he is a despicable person, he will definitely come to argue with you. Sure enough, Yu Qian came with great enthusiasm.
So he stepped on it, plunged in, and fell into the lime pit.
Several girls laughed and ran happily to the lime pit. The lime had already been soaked in water and would no longer burn the skin, because there was a layer of lime underneath, which was quite soft. Yu Qian was not injured, but his head and face were injured.
His clothes and clothes were all stained white by lime. He stretched out his hand to wipe the water on his face, and his pretty face turned even whiter.
When the five little girls saw his hair and face turned pale and embarrassed, they leaned forward and backward in joy.
Only then did Yu Qian realize that he had fallen into the trap. He stood in the puddle, looking miserable, but he did not want to make these little girls proud. He wiped lime on his face again, raised his head high, and proudly uttered a poem:
"Thousands of hammers have been made to carve out the deep mountains, and the fire will burn them easily. I am not afraid of being shattered into pieces, but I want to leave my innocence in the world!"
Although Si Yang and Si Xun are naughty, the Yang family has hired famous teachers to teach them knowledge since they were young. This is an extraordinary experience. When they heard him speak out the poems, they were so aspirational and full of no hesitation that they even forgot to laugh at him.
If Xia Xunruo were here, he might be shocked. He knew that the "Lime Song" he had memorized when he was a child was a Mingzhi poem written by Yu Qian when he was a boy. But he didn't know that this Mingzhi poem was actually
He was born in a lime pit and dared his lover Yu Shaobao to recite this poem. He was not a young boy who had the world in mind. He was just pretending to be cool in front of a few girls...
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Xia Xun was well aware of Zhu Di's dilemma of having no generals available.
In fact, there has always been a doubt in his heart, that is: Will Timur die on the way during his Eastern Expedition?
If he had just arrived in the Ming Dynasty, he might have been able to confirm it, but after experiencing so many things, many of which have changed, he is no longer sure.
If you can't be sure, you don't dare to take risks. If the Ming Dynasty really didn't make preparations, and Timur killed Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia in full force, it would be an immeasurable catastrophe.
However, there are too many major projects in the Ming Dynasty. If the troops here are dispatched as if they are faced with a powerful enemy, building fortresses, building city walls, and stationing troops here to prepare, Timur will really die on the way.
How much food will this Pingbai preparation cost? Even if the Ming Dynasty's national power can withstand such a toss, the burden on the shoulders of the people will definitely be much heavier.
He sent people to investigate for a long time, and already had more detailed information about Tamerlane than the imperial court. However, there was still no accurate information about Tamburlaine's health. Xia Xun knew very well that the news about Tamburlaine's eastern expedition was both
It has been reported that the emperor will definitely make preparations in advance. He, his brother-in-law, is a very proud person at heart. Last time, he rebelled against Zhu Di. This time he did not speak. Zhu Di would rather drive and conquer in person than lower his status.
, asking him to take action.
In order to take the initiative as much as possible in his own hands and prepare for war in the Western Region with as little consumption as possible, Yang Xu had to take the initiative and shoulder this responsibility.
So, Xia Xun recommended himself!
He knew very well that if this mission was successfully completed, it would only be the icing on the cake for his personal future. If it was failed, he would be ruined, but he still came. Just because he was also a member of the Ming Dynasty, and he suffered from countless people.