Unlike Datong and Xuanfu, which have been battlegrounds for military strategists since ancient times, Liaodong Town was a military town that was gradually renovated and built after the Ming Dynasty overthrew the old Yuan Dynasty.
Today, the biggest threats to the Ming Dynasty's borders are the Oara and Tatars, and the Jurchen clan, which truly destroyed the Ming Dynasty, is still a small tribe in Liaodong that everyone can bully.
The Liaodong Military Town was established in Guangning, initially to purge the remnants of the old Yuan Dynasty who had fled to various places in Liaodong.
After Renxuan, due to the frequent intrusions from the north by the Ulliangha tribe, the status of Liaodong military towns was increasingly valued. With the support of the imperial court, two large military towns and many small fortresses were built one after another.
To this day, although the Liaodong military town has not developed into a fortified city like Datong and Xuanfu, it is still one of the most important military towns in the Ming Dynasty's border defense.
Currently, those guarding the Liaodong military town are Cao Yi, the commander-in-chief, and Wang Ao, the governor-general of Liaodong Military Affairs, Zuodu Censor.
Of course, Wang Ao's appointment as the censor of Zuodu was a false appointment, for the convenience of his admiral in supervising military affairs.
This is also one of the practices of the Ming Dynasty, the separation of job titles.
Before the rise of the cabinet, generally speaking, those with only one official name were the most powerful, because it meant that he was the real official in charge.
Just like Chen Yi, his official title is simple, only the four characters Zuodu Yushi, but he is one of the serious Seven Ministers.
And those who are more flashy and verbose usually have a long list of titles in front of them that are all in vain.
This is especially true of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
You must know that the duty of the Metropolitan Procuratorate is to report on rumors and supervise the world. However, at the same time, the imperial court only has a constitutional department, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and has no subordinate agencies in various places.
Therefore, the censors of various places, the censors of the capitals, and the censors of the deputy capitals are all expatriate officials directly subordinate to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
That’s what Wang Ao is!
At this moment, Mr. Wang Ao, who had been guarding Liaodong for nearly three years, finally met his long-lost colleagues from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Mr. Wang Wen, the censor of Youdu who was ordered to patrol the border.
The two colleagues from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who had not seen each other for a long time, finally calmed down and started talking about business after excitedly reminiscing about the past.
In the spacious front hall of the General Military Mansion, Wang Wen looked solemn and spoke.
"Governor Wang and General Cao are telling the truth that I came here with the imperial edict, not just to patrol the border. There is actually a secret edict."
After that, Wang Wen took out a sealed envelope from his sleeve. Along with the envelope, he took out a golden round plate with the word "order" engraved on it.
At the same time, the tall soldier behind him also opened the box he was holding. Inside the box was a blue silk flag, lying quietly.
"The king's flag?"
When Wang Ao and Cao Yi saw the round plaque, they both stood up in awe and bowed down.
The so-called king's command flag is actually a set of blue flags and gold medals that symbolize imperial power. The flag holder can mobilize the army. Wherever the flag holder goes, local officials must obey the orders.
By uniting the flag and brand, you can have the power to act arbitrarily and expediently when the situation arises.
Until the Wanli period, the Ming Dynasty had very strict management of royal flags, and the Ministry of War was responsible for unified management.
In the event of a large-scale military expedition or a rebellion outside, the commander-in-chief will hold the flag, the admiral will hold the sign, and the army will be in charge, and they will be immediately returned to the Ministry of War.
In addition, important border defense towns are required to respond to each other and mobilize troops to reinforce other places at any time, so they are also allowed to issue flags.
However, so far, the only ones holding flags are military towns in Liaodong, Datong, Xuanfu, and Ningxia.
Wang Ao and Cao Yi also have the Wang Ming flag.
However, like other military towns, the commander-in-chief Cao Yi holds the flag, and the admiral and military minister Wang Ao holds the flag.
When the two are combined into one, we have the power to act arbitrarily and expediently when the situation arises.
However, now that Wang Wen has both flags and cards in hand, this alone is enough for them to understand that his purpose here is by no means simple.
What's more, there is a secret edict...
"The Holy Order orders Wang Wen, the censor of the right capital, the governor of Liaodong, the two military affairs offices of Xuanfu, and the general military officers guarding each, to obey orders and not to slack off."
"I respectfully obey the imperial edict."
Wang Ao and Cao Yi took the envelope respectfully, checked it carefully, and carefully checked the paint seal on the Wang Ming flag. After confirming that it was correct, they each saluted and replied.
The matter was too involved. If there was a secret edict, they would never believe it. But with the king's order and flag, they had no choice but to believe it.
After all, the management of the king's flags is very strict. Each set has its own number and seal with fire paint. Unless the Ministry of War declares the emperor's will, no one can take it out.
After everyone sat down, Wang Ao asked first.
"I wonder if the imperial envoy has any orders to convey, and we must cooperate?"
Wang Wen nodded and asked rhetorically.
"This time I came under the Holy Order to prepare for the great war between the Ming Dynasty and General Wala. How many soldiers are available in Liaodong Town now?"
Cao Yi glanced at Wang Ao and saw that he had no objection, so he spoke.
"There are 21,000 troops in Changzhen, Liaodong. In the past, Tuotuo Buhua led more than 10,000 bandits and invaded several times. Now we can mobilize about 17,000 troops."
The three important towns of Liaodong, Xuanfu, and Datong are the three most important military towns on the Ming Dynasty's border defense line, but their statuses are different.
In terms of importance, Xuanfu is the most important, followed by Datong, and Liaodong is the last.
However, in terms of military deployment, Xuanfu is the most important, followed by Liaodong, and Datong is the last.
The reason for this is that although Datong is known as the "Key to the North", it is valued more because of its special geographical location. In fact, the border it governs is not particularly long.
Its significance is more that as long as Datong City is there, the movements of various Mongolian ministries can be monitored at all times.
Therefore, Datong relies on the strong city walls and the surrounding passes to echo each other.
Liaodong and Xuanfu are different.
Xuanfu, like Datong, is located in a dangerous location.
It is said that the capital of Nanping controls the desert at the back, controls the danger of Juyong on the left, and supports the solid ground in the clouds on the right.
But the difference is that the border line under the jurisdiction of Xuanfu is very long, stretching from Juyongguan in the east to Xiyang River in the west. The border wall, which is more than a thousand miles long, is all under the control of Xuanfu.
The same is true for Liaodong.
Although geographically speaking, Liaodong Town is not as good as Xuanfu and Datong, but it governs Liaodong Border Wall, which stretches nearly two thousand miles from Phoenix City in the east to Shanhaiguan in the west.
If the terrain was not complicated, it would be difficult for the Mongolian army to invade in a large scale, and the number of troops in Liaodong would even be greater than that of Xuanfu.
This time, the army was divided into four groups to attack the Ming Dynasty. Only the Datong group was the main force. Tuotuo Buhua, who attacked Liaodong, was called an attack, but it was actually a robbery.
Therefore, there was no particularly large-scale battle between the two sides, and Liaodong's troop reserves were relatively sufficient.
Wang Wen nodded and said.
"In this case, please ask General Cao to mobilize 10,000 troops and go to Xuan Mansion immediately to wait for the dispatch of General Yang Hong of Xuan Mansion."
"What?"
"no!"
After the words fell, two voices sounded at the same time, the former was Cao Yi and the latter was Wang Ao.
The hall fell into a brief silence, and then Wang Ao spoke.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, although Liaodong Town is not as important as Xuanfu Datong, it is also an important border town. What's more, the captive chieftain has taken off his clothes and now leads more than ten thousand troops, watching with eager eyes."
"It's not that we don't want to support the Xuanfu, but if Liaodong is lost and Tuotuo Buhua and Ye Xian have two armies advancing east and west, our capital will be in danger."
Cao Yi didn't speak at the side, but his expression clearly disapproved.
Wang Wen pondered for a moment and took a deep breath.
He knows that the challenge has just begun from now on!
Wang Wen took out the flag in his hand again and said.
"This proposal has been approved by the Holy Order. The Tuotuo Buhua army will have its own officer to deal with it. If Liaodong makes mistakes, I will commit suicide to apologize."