Huamachiying is located at the junction of Shaanxi-Gansu and Ningxia. It is an important fortress of the Ningxia military town of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. It has been known as "Lingxia's elbows and armpits, surrounding Qing's throat" since ancient times. It borders Dingbian, Shaanxi to the east, and Dingbian, Shaanxi to the south.
It is located in Huanzhou, Gansu, close to the military town of Ningxia to the west, and borders the Otok Front Banner of Inner Mongolia to the north. The geographical location is very important, and it is the hub of Shaanxi and Gansu!
This place is close to the largest salt pond in the northwest, which produces a lot of salt. Because it is connected to the grassland, salt is often exchanged for horses, and "Hua Ma Pond" is the homophony of "Hua Ma Pond".
Every year when the fire sifters the invaders, the governors of the three sides will move to Huamachi Camp to take charge of the overall border defense.
The location of Huamachi Camp is critical. It directly faces the military threat of the Mongolian Tatars. It is also the residence of the governors of the three sides. Naturally, it has deep ditches and high fortresses, and is extremely strong!
The city wall here is more than four feet high and is made of rammed loess. The base is nearly five feet wide and the top is more than ten feet wide. There are more than ten arrow towers on the city wall. The three city gates are all iron-wood gates that are more than ten feet high.
All have urn walls, and the camp is surrounded by a trench that is more than ten feet deep, and the trench is filled with sharp wooden stakes!
Such defensive measures, coupled with the tens of thousands of troops garrisoned in the camp, and several nearby military towns that echo each other, are enough to deter any army. Unless tens of thousands of elite soldiers are killed, there will be no possibility of breaking through the camp.
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In fact, since the establishment of Huamachi Camp, even though it directly borders southern Xinjiang, the Mongolian army has rarely thought of attacking this place even when it was at its strongest.
Especially this year, the 50,000 elite Imperial Guards supported by the imperial court are stationed in the Huamachi Camp and several nearby guard posts, which has greatly enhanced the defensive strength of Huamachi.
Nowadays, although the situation of the northwest border defense is becoming more and more critical, with Mongolian cavalry entering and looting every day, the situation near Huamachi Camp is still stable. Only some Mongolian cavalry will appear from time to time to conduct surveillance and spying, but they will soon be captured by the camp.
The army was driven back.
However, in the early morning of the third day after Zhao Junchen was attacked, the sudden appearance of Shaanxi Governor Zhang Shengde broke the peace of Huamachi Camp.
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Zhang Shengde borrowed two hundred cavalry from Guyuan Military Town a few days ago and went to Yulin Guard to greet the imperial envoy Zhao Junchen. This matter is not a secret. Huamachi Camp has been waiting for the imperial envoy's arrival these days.
However, when Zhang Shengde came to Huamachi Camp, there was no trace of imperial envoy Zhao Junchen beside him. On the contrary, there were only more than a hundred of the 200 Guyuan cavalry under him, and each of them was injured.
"Open the city gate quickly! I am Zhang Shengde, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu! I have urgent matters that need to be reported to Governor Wang!"
Arriving outside the east gate of Huamachi Camp, Zhang Shengde immediately identified himself and shouted loudly to the defenders on the city wall.
After the defenders of Huamachi verified Zhang Shengde's identity, they quickly lowered the hanging door to allow Zhang Shengde and his party to enter the camp.
Seeing the heavy casualties among Zhang Shengde's guards, many people speculated about Zhang Shengde's attack. The news soon spread, alarming all the senior civil and military officials in Huamachi Camp.
Today's Huamachi Camp, because of the relationship to welcome the imperial envoy Zhao Junchen, the two feudal officials, Zhang Wenhui, the governor of Hexi, and Wu Min, the governor of Hedong, settled here. The military commander was Shi Song, the commander-in-chief stationed at Huamachi.
, deputy general Zheng Yu, staff general Qian Bao, garrison officer Bao Hongjie and others were the leaders.
In addition, Li Ru'an, the eunuch sent by the imperial court to supervise the army, and Guan Wuyuan, the commander who led the Imperial Army reinforcements to station in Huamachi, were also important figures.
The area of Huamachi Camp is not too large, with a width and length of about 350 feet, and a total area of less than 1,700 acres.
Therefore, after the high-level civil and military leaders of Huamachi Camp learned the news, they quickly gathered at the Yamen of the Governor's Mansion to inquire about the news. When they arrived at the Yamen of the Governor's Mansion, the Trilateral Governor Wang Zheng, who had been seriously ill for many days, had not yet shown up.
Shaanxi Governor Zhang Shengde is waiting eagerly in the lobby of the Governor's Mansion.
It can be seen that Zhang Shengde was in an extremely anxious mood at this time, and there was still some faint panic. He was quite restless and could no longer see the city's former magnanimity.
Seeing Zhang Shengde's appearance, the civil and military officials knew that the matter was more serious than they imagined.
Wu Min, the governor of Hedong, who has the closest relationship with Zhang Shengde, quickly asked: "Governor Zhang, I heard that you were attacked on the road and that your guards suffered heavy casualties. Is it true?"
Li Ru'an, the eunuch of the Supervisory Army, asked with a gloomy face: "Didn't Governor Zhang go to Yulin Guard to greet the imperial envoy Mr. Zhao? Where is Mr. Zhao now?"
Seeing everyone asking questions, Zhang Shengde said bitterly: "Everyone, let's wait until Governor Wang arrives to talk about the specific matter. I don't have to explain again and again. This matter is extremely serious and we will be needed by then.
These people can discuss it together."
As soon as Zhang Shengde finished speaking, he heard someone shout loudly: "The Governor-General Wang is here!"
As the shouts fell, the civil and military personnel quickly stood in two rows to welcome the arrival of Wang Zheng, the governor of the three sides.
Soon, Wang Zheng, the governor of the three sides, entered the lobby with the support of a young scholar.
Wang Zheng is one of Emperor Deqing's cronies. Over the years, he has relied on Emperor Deqing's favor to rise to great heights. Now he has just entered his forties and has already become a powerful governor of the three sides. This person was originally
When he was still serving as the Minister of War in the capital, he was famous for his handsome appearance and elegant temperament. Unfortunately, after he became the Governor of the Three Kingdoms, he was frightened by the invasion of the Mongolian tribes and has not recovered from his serious illness. Now look at Wang Zheng's appearance
His temperament is still the same as before. His expression is sluggish, his face is pale, his cheeks are thin, his whole body is weak, and he looks like a consumption ghost.
The young scholar who supported Wang Zheng had a different look. Not only was he handsome and tall, he was also full of energy. He raised his hands and feet with confidence, and his expression contained a hint of arrogance, which made people unforgettable after seeing him.
This person is Wang Gong. After Wang Zheng became seriously ill, he has been replacing Wang Zheng in handling the defense of Shaanxi and Gansu. He is currently the actual person in power on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu.
However, although Wang Gong is the actual controller of Shaanxi and Gansu, on the surface he is just a staff member of the Governor's Mansion. Now the civil and military officials in the lobby are much higher than him in status. When Wang Zheng takes his seat,
After that, Wang Gong just stood behind Wang Zheng with his hands down. There was no place for him in the lobby.
After Wang Zheng sat down, his lifeless eyes turned to Zhang Shengde, with a faint hint of panic in his voice, and asked: "Governor Zhang, you went to Yulin Guard to greet the Imperial Envoy a few days ago. Where is the Imperial Envoy now? There are a lot of rumors now.
They say you encountered a Mongolian attack on the road, but is this happening? Could it be that...the Imperial Envoy was also involved?"
Zhang Shengde still had a bitter look on his face, and stood up to report to Wang Zheng: "I would like to ask the Governor for your warning. After I arrived at Yulin Guard and saw the Imperial Envoy, I was about to lead the Imperial Envoy to Huamachi Camp, but I didn't expect that suddenly
Encountered a surprise attack by a Mongolian cavalry. This Mongolian cavalry numbered three to five thousand people, but the guards of Xiaguan and the Imperial Envoy were only five to six hundred people. They were completely unable to resist and could only flee in panic. Although Xiaguan was finally
He escaped with his life, but the Imperial Envoy has disappeared. Now he does not know whether he is alive or dead. Although Xioguan sent out reconnaissance cavalry to search everywhere afterwards, he still could not find any trace of the Imperial Envoy. He only found the Imperial Envoy's body.
All the guards have been killed, so it can be inferred that the imperial envoy may be in trouble... The lower official did something bad and failed to protect the imperial envoy, so please ask Governor Wang to punish him!"
After hearing the news of Zhang Shengde's attack, and seeing that the imperial envoy Zhao Junchen was missing, everyone vaguely thought of this possibility, but now after hearing Zhang Shengde's personal admission, it still caused an uproar.
As Zhang Shengde finished speaking, all the civil and military officials present turned pale!
The imperial envoy of the imperial court was killed within their jurisdiction. This imperial envoy was Zhao Junchen, the most powerful official in the court after Zhou Shangjing. This matter was so serious that it would definitely cause shock to the imperial court. At that time, everyone present
Everyone will be implicated.
Wang Zheng's face became paler. After coughing repeatedly, he asked urgently: "Are you saying that the imperial envoy Zhao has probably been killed by the Mongols?"
Zhang Shengde's expression became increasingly bitter, and he nodded: "The following officer's inference is that this situation is the most likely... Governor, if the imperial envoy is killed, it will definitely shock the government and the public. Please make a decision early!"
In particular, how we are going to report this matter to the court and how we are going to plead guilty to the court must be decided as soon as possible."
Wang Zheng's body swayed slightly, as if he was about to faint. For a moment, he only felt panic, but he had no idea for a long time.
Wang Zheng was originally the minister of the Ministry of War and had served in the imperial court for many years, so he knew the importance of Zhao Junchen very well and knew better than anyone else how serious this matter was, so he was more panicked than everyone else.
However, at this moment, Li Ru'an, the eunuch of the Supervisory Army, suddenly asked in a cold voice: "Governor Zhang, where were you and the imperial envoy Mr. Zhao attacked in Yulin Guard?"
Zhang Shengde did not dare to be negligent and quickly replied: "It is within Hengshan County of Yulinwei."
Hearing Zhang Shengde's answer, Li Ruan suddenly sneered: "If the Mongols want to enter Hengshan County, they must pass through Dingbian and Jingbian counties, but why is there no news from the guard posts and military forts in these two counties?"
, allowing the Mongols to silently raid the Imperial Envoy? In our opinion, this incident was either a serious dereliction of duty by the border troops! Or... someone secretly colluded with the Mongols and covered the march for the Mongols.
He personally planned the attack on the Imperial Envoy!"
Following Li Ruan's statement, everyone present was shocked and looked at Li Ruan in disbelief!
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ps: My thoughts are not flowing smoothly today, so I only have one update. After I clear my thoughts, I will have a small outburst tomorrow, sorry!