eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 479 The Key
Zhou Shangwen was frightened by the emperor's boldness.

In fact, what was written in Mishu was to remind him of the possible dangers that Datong might encounter, and told him not to go too deep into the grassland, and sent Yebushou to grasp the situation in Datong.

Because whether Dayan Khan will enter Datong, or even just attack Datong, this is actually unknown.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao hoped that Zhou Shangwen's department would only send out one army to swim outside Datong.

But Zhou Shangwen didn't take these things into account at all. As long as Datong was in danger, even if it was only possible, he had to return to help at all costs.

Datong and Xuanfu are the fortresses that control the capital. Once there is a loss, the Tatar cavalry can go straight into the hinterland of the Central Plains.

Especially Datong, the terrain is a small basin among the mountains, the terrain is flat, and the east can threaten the capital. Whether it is Tatar or Wala, they all prefer to take this route.To the west, it can threaten Yulin, and then merge with the Huozhai tribe. In this way, the Ming army will definitely lose in the battle of Huamachi this time.

So the threat is too great.

And even if he went back and ran empty, at least let the emperor see the loyalty of his escort.

When Liu Bang and Xiang Yu fought in Xingyang, the situation in Xingyang was very critical for a time. Han Xin led the troops outside and used the so-called encirclement of Wei to save Zhao, preparing to cut off the Chu army's food road from the back.

It was a military success, but a political failure.

The same is true for Zhou Shangwen.

At this time, Ma Rong and Yibula were still recruiting and surrendering those two right-wing Wanhus.

Zhou Shangwen didn't care about it, whether he wanted to surrender or not, the capital must be more important at this time, as long as the capital is kept, these duplicitous Mongols can come back and clean up together.

Therefore, there were war horses running wildly on the grassland. The order was urgent, and the [-] cavalry led by Ma Rong must be sent back immediately.

And the main force he led had turned around immediately.

This matter, he did not think of it at all.

If it was given to him in a dense form, it means that the ministers in the court would not know it at all.The Son of Heaven wants to use himself as a bait to perform this scene well.

Ma Yihuai and Yan Xingkui were his two lieutenants, and he didn't know why it was so urgent.

So they hurried to find Zhou Shangwen.

"Zhou Zongbing, what's the matter? The enemy hasn't been found yet, why did you suddenly retreat?"

The emperor's secrets cannot be shown to them.

Zhou Shangwen had no choice but to order, "This is a military order! Execute it immediately! On the way back to the division, I will explain it to you! Go!"

No way, the two generals turned back again and organized the various troops to complete the retreat of the whole army.

Fortunately, the elite cavalry moved quickly and did not delay for too long.

The array of the Ming army also quickly moved from north to south.

It was night, the general barracks sent an order to discuss military affairs, and they all went over.

There was not so much chatter between the soldiers, Zhou Shangwen said directly to the general: "Before you ask your questions, I will ask you first, what will happen if the Tatars attack Datong?"

Ma Yihuai and Yan Xingkui looked at each other.

Although their expressions were serious, they were not so flustered.

Yan Xingkui said: "Datong is not an empty city. Even if the little prince really attacks Datong, the city will not be destroyed just by breaking it."

Ma Yihuai added, "Yes, the two generals Chang and Liu have always been prudent, and they will never break the city overnight. Besides, although the terrain of Datong is flat and good for cavalry troops, there are Piantou Pass and Ningwu Pass outside. , Yanmen Pass can protect Yulin, and there are Juyong Pass, Zijing Pass, and Daoma Pass to isolate the capital. Tartars are good at field battles, but short at attacking cities. How can they attack the capital so easily?"

Having said that, the chief soldier is not there after all.

Zhou Shangwen is a more powerful famous general. He can think of some things that ordinary people can't think of. The general must be flustered. Although the two towns of Datong and Xuanfu are full of bunkers and fortresses, it is difficult to resist the Tatar army.

In addition, there is no problem for Chang and Liu to guard the city, but if the cavalry is not there, if the Tatar army bypasses big cities like Datong and Xuanfu, what can they do? "

Just like a flower pool.

In fact, in the wars in the Central Plains, there are very few ways to bypass the fortresses, so there is such a saying as "a battleground for military strategists". Why do we have to fight?
The key here is logistics.The food and grass in the rear must not be unstable, so no general dared to go around easily.

But grassland nomads often fought like this when they entered the Great Wall.

Because they were on horseback for everything, and they relied on looting for food and drink. With such a large army, even if a certain city was in his rear, the defenders in the city would not dare to attack.

Ma Yihuai and Yan Xingkui were speechless, they just didn't expect this possibility.

"Bypassing Datong, the Tatars are going deep into the pass. As long as the Qin King's divisions from all over the place arrive, the Tatars will be defeated. Why is he like this? Even if he can't beat the capital, he can beat it?"

"It was also delayed for too long back then, so Yu Shaobao only had more than a month to prepare his troops for battle."

"That's not going to march into the capital regardless."

Here is actually a point of doubt.But what Zhou Shangwen cares about now is the capital. "At the moment, it is better to return to the teacher quickly. Just think, how many days will the Bauhinia Pass be guarded?"

Zhou Shangwen asked about the change of Tumubao.

In October of the 14th year of Zhengtong, Wala also led an army of [-] to attack Zijingguan.

Four days later, on October [-]th, the pass was broken.

Two days later, on the [-]th day of the [-]th month, the army arrived at the city of Beijing after traveling [-] miles.

So Zhou Shangwen had to worry.He didn't care whether the little Tatar prince was desperate or not, anyway, he couldn't let the capital be besieged again.

And if he is worried,

The cabinet of the DPRK and the Central Committee and the six ministries were even more frightened out of their wits.

Datong was attacked, but Zhou Shangwen, the chief soldier, was not there!Is this worth it? !
So Wang Jia and other officials all entered the palace.

On the way out of the palace, Wang Zhi saw many old ministers walking like flying. In the past, she really thought that these people were very old.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

At this time, Zhu Houzhao held a shiny sword in his hand.

"I heard that the little prince attacked Datong!!"

Zhu Hou looked at these panicked veterans, frowned, and reprimanded: "What are you panicking about?!"

"The ministers are worried about the capital and the safety of His Majesty!"

Perhaps during the conversation, the little Tatar prince had already led his troops to bypass Datong. They either took advantage of the Xuanfu, or retook the old road and crossed the Bauhinia Pass first. Anyway, there was indeed a little danger in the capital.

"The enemy is coming, just face it."

Wang Bing, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, said very worriedly: "Zhou Shangwen has led the army to go out and is far outside the Great Wall. It is difficult to convey the will. How can we let him know about the current situation?"

"Your Majesty." Wang Jia also looked at the emperor worriedly, "For the sake of the country, we should make plans early."

Although Gu Zuo is in charge of money, he also said at this time, "Your Majesty, when I think it's a crisis, the court should not mess up. Soldiers will block the water and cover them with soil. There are still several passes between Datong and the capital. The court can increase troops everywhere. , to strengthen the guard force, and delay the march of the little Tatar prince. In addition, order the divisions of the kings from all over the country to assemble the capital, prepare warehouses, and allocate special money and food to the treasury. As long as the court is stable, it is impossible for the Tatars to win quickly. .And as long as you can't win quickly, your army will be defeated!"

The various speculations and collisions before will now evolve into actual battles.

Zhu Houzhao felt it was a pity that he should have left Wang Shouren behind.

But under the circumstances at that time, no one would have thought that the little Tatar prince would invade Datong.

So much so that Yang Yiqing, Yang Shangyi, and Wang Shouren are all in Datong.

Zhou Shangwen can still rely on him, but before he comes back, he must still rely on himself.

"Has the new Secretary of the Ministry of Industry arrived?"

"Honor He Jian pays homage to Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houzhao ordered: "The Ordnance Bureau is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry. Since you have arrived, immediately take charge of the affairs of the Ordnance Bureau, including craftsmen, materials, and existing artillery and guns. All of these will be brought out. Firearms are a sharp weapon in the battle of Tartarus. Fortunately, I started preparing to rebuild the Shenji Camp last year. So, dear friends, rest assured that the sky will not fall. Hubu Han Shangshu?"

"The minister is here."

"More than a month ago, I ordered the Ministry of Households to release money to buy grain. At that time, it was to prevent Yang Yingning from being unfavorable in the war. Looking at it now, the purchase of grain is out of date and too slow. How much grain has the Ministry of Household bought in the past month? Ship it in How much more?"

Han Wen did not dare to evade, "The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal has tank boats traveling from south to north every day. It is easy to buy grain and difficult to transport grain. This month, although we have tried our best, we have only transported 12 shi of grain."

"Far water can't quench near thirst. It is my intention to open the Jingtong warehouse to the people and officials of the capital. Use the method of Yu Shaobao back then."

The so-called Jingtong warehouses are the grain storage warehouses established by the imperial court in the capital and Tongzhou since the Hongwu period. There is also a saying in the capital that there are so-called five altars, eight temples and thirteen warehouses.

This thirteen warehouse is Jingtong warehouse.

At the time of Taiping, it didn’t matter where these granaries were built, but during the Zhengtong period, the first large army came to the city, and the Jingtong warehouse faced the test for the first time.

The warehouses inside the city walls of the capital are fine, but the warehouses in Tongzhou are very dangerous.

So in the battle to defend the capital, someone suggested to Yu Qian that if it was too late to transport it, it would be burned, anyway, it would be better than being robbed first.

Yu Qian refused. At that time, Jingtong warehouse had more than 900 million shi of grain in storage.

Therefore, he ordered that the salary be paid in advance in one lump sum, nine months for the officials of the capital, and six months for the guards.At the same time, mobilize the whole city and the people along the way, help officials and soldiers transport food, and give rewards:

Anyone who can transport 20 shi of grain from the Tongzhou official warehouse will be rewarded with one tael of silver.

Essentially speaking, these official grain reserves are now all released, and everyone is open to luck.It's just that some people take food and some people take money, that's the difference.

Good guy, with this decree, the entire city's soldiers and civilians went crazy.

The road from Tongzhou to the capital was immediately full of grain transportation teams, and they prepared their own horses and horses, so the court didn't have to worry too much. It can be said that the horses and horses were connected during the day and the torches were brightly lit at night.

Yu Qian showed for the first time what is the power of the people.

In just a few days, the granary in Tongzhou was emptied.

The capital has also stored enough food for the entire city's soldiers and civilians for more than a year. It can be said that every family has food, and the hearts of the people are at ease for a while.

This is an effective method, and Zhu Houzhao is willing to do so. The food did not disappear out of thin air, but was distributed to thousands of households in advance.

As long as the food has already entered the capital, what else is there to panic about?

The Qianqing Palace is also full of well-educated people. When they heard the emperor mentioning Yu Shaobao, they knew what it meant.

Han Wen, Minister of the Household Department, immediately took the order, "I will mobilize the people to transport food!"

Others have no opinion.

There are firearms and food.

Next is the third key, increasing troops!
(End of this chapter)