The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In just two days, Wei Guangde and his party felt the tenderness of General Shiguan.

After entering the county seat, Weng Pu immediately asked the local government for the latest Tang newspaper to learn about the frontline battle reports.

Although their group only had the task of patrolling along the Great Wall, Weng Pu was a serious right-hand minister of the Ministry of War, so he could naturally be in charge of military affairs, and the local government tried its best to meet their needs.

After seeing the report sent, Wei Guangde did not dare to talk about his previous plan. It was no longer possible to continue patrolling the Miyun defender's defense area.

According to the latest battle report, nearly 20,000 Anda troops have entered the Great Wall from Wafanggou. Now the Tatars have been completely dispersed and looted in various places. Traces of Tatar cavalry have been discovered in Chang'an Suo, Yongqing, Yanqing and Huailai.

Thinking about it, the Tatars have been fighting against the border troops for a long time, and they have figured out the reality of the Ming army. They are all people who are afraid of power and dare not fight.

The actual situation is also the same. Around the Tatars, the Xuanfu direction does not know the specific situation, but the Yanqing Guard, Yongning Guard and Huailai Guard are all stationed in the city and do not dare to fight. The Miyun Guard has received the order from the capital and mobilized elite troops to move to Changping. , should be ready to reinforce the Yanqing right guard at any time and strengthen the defense forces along the Great Wall.

We traveled nearly a hundred miles for two consecutive days, sleeping and sleeping in the open air all the way, traveling day and night. When we arrived in Huairou, we did not rest immediately, but collected, organized and analyzed the information obtained from all parties.

Well, Wei Guangde admitted that Master Weng Pu was really an iron man, and Wei Guangde felt a little overwhelmed.

It's not because of anything wrong with my health, it's mainly because I rode on a horse for ten hours and couldn't eat well or sleep well.

In fact, this kind of life started after leaving Beijing. The living conditions outside the country are definitely not as good as those in the capital.

I was not in a hurry during my previous inspections. Apart from eating poorly and sleeping poorly, I was able to get through everything else.

In the past two days, I have been driving with my life at risk. "If I had known this, I should have taken the carriage."

On the way, Wei Guangde thought like this more than once.

We finally arrived in Huairou today. Before Wei Guangde had a good sleep, Weng Pu captured him again and analyzed the battle report with him.

"Tatar cavalry has been harassing Yongning, Yanqing and Huailai. Guangde, what do you think?"

Weng Pu now put down the battle report in his hand, frowned and asked Wei Guangde's opinion.

"Are you worried about them attacking the Inner Great Wall?"

Wei Guangde was a sensible person and he immediately guessed the meaning of Weng Pu's words.

"Yes, if they were plundering on the spot, they should squeeze the Xuanfu side and turn the spearhead to Baoan Prefecture, instead of looting near the border wall. You must know that there is not much there, and the only way is to cross the Inner Great Wall. When you reach Changping, you will find countless wealth there."

Weng Pu said worriedly.

"Master Weng, what you mean is that the Tatars are observing the defense of the Inner Great Wall and looking for a breakthrough target?"

Previously, Wei Guangde analyzed that Anda Khan probably had no intention of attacking Beijing, otherwise he would not have attacked the Great Wall on the Xuanfu side, but would have attacked the area defended by the Dizzy Guards.

After all, as long as the border wall here is broken, they can directly go south to threaten the capital.

There is also a large amount of wealth gathered around the capital, and you can grab it all.

If Tongzhou hadn't seized all the ships urgently last time, making it impossible for the Tatars to cross the river, Wei Guangde believed that Anda Khan might have planned to occupy Tongzhou, obtain supplies there, and station himself in the pass for a long time to threaten the capital.

Since the Jiajing years, Anda Khan's subordinates have been provoking border provocations on the grounds of paying tribute, constantly testing the combat power of the Ming army, and have accumulated rich experience in fighting the Ming army.

A very important reason for the final retreat was not that the Ming army was forced to withdraw because of its strong combat power, but because the Tatar army could not stay in the pass for a long time because they did not capture Tongzhou's food.

Wei Guangde still doesn't agree with Weng Pu's analysis.

In his opinion, if you really want to threaten the capital, the best way is not to go to Xuanfu, but to take advantage of the Ming army's unpreparedness to seize the Great Wall Pass, break into the official wall without giving the Ming army time to prepare, and then go straight Attack the capital.

Going around Xuan Mansion and exposing his whereabouts is not what he should do if he wants to get involved in the Central Plains.

Mongols, the further you get to the back, the worse they will be.

This is viewed from the perspective of historical development in later generations. For Ming officials in this era, they are still worried that the Mongols will invade again and enslave the Han people again.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, after several emperors failed to eradicate the Mongolian Golden Family through repeated Northern Expeditions, the two sides began to enter a stalemate stage. However, because they did not know the detailed and accurate information from Mongolia, the senior officials of the empire did not know that Mongolia was now showing signs of falling apart. .

Wei Guangde didn't know either. He only knew that the Mongols eventually became vassals of the Jurchens.

However, he had nothing to say about this. It was all without evidence, and only time would prove that he was right.

"Early tomorrow morning, we will continue on our way to Changping, which is right in the middle of this section of the Great Wall and can be taken care of on both sides."

Weng Pu suddenly spoke, with a very firm tone. It was obviously not a whim, but an idea that came to him after seeing the battle report.

"Sir, we just sent a memorial to the capital saying that we are coming to Huairou. Should we wait here for the capital's order?"

Well, after being on the road continuously, Wei Guangde wanted to rest for a day or two. The memorial they sent back must have arrived in the capital. However, according to the efficiency of the Ming Dynasty officialdom, Wei Guangde believed that it would take at least a few days to wait for news from the capital. The focus of the court's work now They should all have been transferred to the Anti-Antab Department, and no one should still care about them.

"It doesn't matter. I will send another official document to the ministry, saying that we can go to Changping. Then I will send a message to the stations along the way. Any documents sent to us will be forwarded directly to Changping."

Weng Pu was very determined. He wanted to go to Changping to take charge. Although he had not been appointed by the imperial court, he was the largest official outside the capital. He was also the minister in charge of military affairs in the Ministry of War, so he should go to the front line to supervise the war.

As for orders, if there are orders, follow them. Until then, he still has to do what he wants.

After all, as a border patrol minister, although he does not have the right to control the guard posts in border towns, he still has the status of the right minister of the Ministry of War, and can issue orders and documents to the guard posts, not to mention obeying authority in urgent matters.

Wei Guangde's arm couldn't twist his thigh. As an official, he came in and said, just listen to the adults and act. If he hadn't been the deputy patrol envoy appointed by the emperor, Weng Pu would not have asked him to criticize him.

You must know that after Weng Pu became a Jinshi in high school, he was not sent to the Hanlin Academy through the imperial examination. Instead, he was directly transferred to the local government. After nearly twenty years, he moved around as an official in various places, and only now he became the right minister.

Perhaps, if he is lucky, he will be able to serve as Minister of the Ministry of War and he will be honored. He is already in his fifties and does not have much time to waste in the officialdom, so he plans to do something during the invasion of Andabu. , Accumulate some merit for your future promotion.

Wei Guangde didn't know what Weng Pu was thinking, but he just felt that the old man was a bit stubborn and selfless. He put his own life at risk for the sake of the country's interests, and he unconsciously felt a sense of respect for him.

An old man of several decades dared to run to Changping, so what was he afraid of?

It's nothing more than shortening the rest time by two days, and then resting in Changping.

There is a Great Wall across the Tatars from Changping, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

When he woke up early the next morning, Wei Guangde was eating breakfast. Living in the city was different from sleeping outdoors. There were several exquisite breakfasts on the table, and he was slowly tasting them.

Not long after, Zhang Ji trotted in from outside, bowed and whispered a few words in Wei Guangde's ear.

"I am Cao."

Wei Guangde cursed secretly in his heart, wondering why the capital was so efficient this time. It took only two days for the official document to arrive in Beijing, and the reply was also sent over.

In fact, it is not surprising. Although their journey takes two days or more, the Ming Dynasty express shop and horse carriage are not affected by the war environment and are still operating efficiently.

The documents they sent to the capital arrived in the capital in just one day. The Ministry of War sent it to the cabinet and was quickly approved. The Supervisor of Ceremonies didn't know what to do at this time. When he saw that there was no problem, he approved the red hair directly.

The time in Beijing was less than half a day, so naturally he was sent to Huairou.

In fact, there is nothing magical about the new order that Wei Guangde finds surprising. It was all what he had guessed before.

The reason why the imperial court sent him, the right minister of the Ministry of War, to patrol the border was not only so that he could become a temporary commander on the front line during wartime and control the surrounding guard posts participating in the war.

The Ming Dynasty used culture to control military affairs. It has been many years since a military man took up the post of commander-in-chief on the front line, and this time will naturally be no exception.

Now that he has been officially appointed, Weng Pu will be able to command the soldiers and horses of Jizhen, Xuanfu and Datong to fight with the Anda tribe. Naturally, there will be no one to obstruct Weng Pu's decision. At this time, Wei Guangde can only shrink his head and follow Weng Pu. Behind, follow suit.

If you don't do something well and make the old guy unhappy, or if you find that he is a little timid, just take him down first and he won't suffer.

He was just a minor official from the seventh rank. If he were not a Jinshi, he could be said to be almost a low-ranking official. Weng Pu naturally had the right to deal with him.

Don’t forget, when Weng Pu was leaving the capital, he was given a higher title. He was the censor of the right capital of the Supervisory Yuan. Officials of the fifth rank and below could be taken directly. Those above the fifth rank could also be given leave to go home directly. result.

When officials of the Ming Dynasty went out to inspect places, most of them would be given the title of Inspectorate, so that they could act easily and deal with low-level officials anytime and anywhere. They were patrolling on behalf of heaven.

Although the title of governor was not used this time, but the title of border patrol minister was used, it was also because time was in a hurry.

The other one involves the three towns, where there are governors, and the unspoken rules of the officialdom influence everything, so everything must be done according to the rules.

In the next two days, Wei Guangde continued to ride his horse and follow the large team towards Changping. At the same time, documents from various places also began to gather towards them.

Weng Pu now plays the role of a former enemy commander. Naturally, all reports must go through his hands. He will directly give instructions within the scope of his duties, and report directly to the capital if it is beyond the scope of his duties.

At this time, in the Gyeonggi area, the news of the Mongolian Tatars knocking on the gate had spread. The people nearby were also frightened. They packed up their belongings and ran to nearby cities for refuge, but no one cared that the Tatars were not killed, so why did they run away? .

If we really want to see the Tatar cavalry, there will probably be no heads left.

If you want to run away, naturally you have to enter the city before you see the Tatars.

Wei Guangde and his party came out of Huairou, and after walking for a day, they encountered such a large group of people fleeing, dragging their families along with them.

Wei Guangde noticed that there were many carriages in this group of people. Most of them had the name of Yanqing Prefecture on them. It was obvious that these were carriages that came from Yanqing Prefecture.

They were also well-informed. They got the news shortly after the Tatars entered the customs. They were probably not much slower than the government. They immediately packed up decisively and ran out of Yanqing. They crossed the Great Wall and went to visit relatives and friends near the capital.

Such a large number of refugees naturally affected the progress of Wei Guangde and the others. They could reach Changping in two days, but they were delayed to three days before they even entered the city.

Seeing the chaotic scenes of the people along the way, Wei Guangde initially wanted to send out the officers and soldiers to maintain order, but he soon realized that this could not be done.

These days, most of the officers and soldiers are guards. When they are near the local area, they are all acquaintances in the neighborhood. They have a sense of propriety in doing things. It is not discipline, but they know not to rob the locals.

Most of us are military households, so maybe someone’s relative is in their own army, which won’t look good when the time comes.

But when it comes to people fleeing from other places, these big-headed soldiers may not be merciful, and they are afraid that the harm to these people will be even greater.

Wei Guangde grew up in the military fort, so it was easy for him to think of this.

Forget it, leave them alone.

The fleeing team was still running towards the capital in great numbers, and the scene was chaotic.

Fortunately, Wei Guangde and his party were all cavalry, and their momentum was impressive enough. When the refugees saw that most of them consciously moved to both sides, there was still no obstacle to their progress, but they could not run away, and their speed was much slower.

When they entered Changping, they were shocked to see the scene in the city. The city was now overcrowded.

According to reports from the prefect of Changping, tens of thousands of refugees have poured into the city, and there are more than 100,000 outside the city. They dare not let them into the city at all. They have reached their limit. This is why many people choose to bypass Changping and run to the capital.

At this time, documents from the Great Wall, Xuanfu, and Datong were also sent continuously. However, the Tatars did not attack Yongning, Yanqing, and Huailai, and dispersed after defeating the garrison in Chang'an.

It was just that what was reported before was the discovery of Tatar reconnaissance cavalry, but now it has become a large group of Tatar cavalry, and they are all cavalry of a thousand people.

Wei Guangde followed Weng Pu and also looked through the documents sent.

Now both Yongning and Yanqing are stationed with heavy troops of the imperial court. Yongning is stationed with Yongning Guards, and Yanqing Prefecture is stationed with Yanqing Guards and Yanqing Left Guards and Right Guards. Among them, the Left Guards and Right Guards are stationed at Juyong Pass, so there should be no danger.

Huailai appears to be much weaker. Although he is called Huailai Guard, there is only one Huailai as the main force to guard Qianhu Station, and the number of men and horses is naturally the least.

Considering the current shortage of troops in the Ming army, it would be good if Huailai had 1,800 soldiers who could fight.

"Ahem."

While Wei Guangde was thinking, Weng Pu next to him suddenly covered his mouth and coughed violently.