The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In Liaodong during the Ming Dynasty, there was a dense forest not far from the Dangerous Mountain Castle.

Although they were in the forest, there was still a layer of white snow on the surrounding ground and tree crowns.

In the darkness covered by the big trees, several figures gathered together.

"Aqiq, are those Ming people out for patrol or something?"

"They are not patrolling around, but they seem to be heading towards Kuandian Shichakou."

"They should be going to fight the outpost. It looks like Akito will be out soon."

"There aren't many of them. Why don't you just kill them?"

When the man named Aziger spoke, he stretched out his hand and made a motion of wiping his neck.

"Those people should be Ye Bushou in the Liaodong Army. We don't have as many people here as they do. I'm afraid it won't be easy to succeed. We'd better go back and report it to Man Zhu and ask Master Man Zhu to make a decision."

After saying this, the leader turned his head and said to another man on the side: "Dekele, you go back to Gule City to report Manzhu, and also remind him that Mingren should leave Xianshan Castle and enter Kuandian soon. .”

"Yes, sir."

Dekler clasped his fists and whispered, then turned around and ran back.

In that direction, there is their hidden war horse.

In Liaodong, if you rely on walking, you can't get anything done, so they go in and out on horseback.

It's just that horses are not as obedient as people after all, so they can only hide a little further away from Akito's castle, so that the horse's neighing will not alert Akito.

"Many people have appeared at the top of Tianxian Mountain Castle these days. They should be the generals who came for reinforcements from Mingren."

Azige spoke again.

“Building a city requires a lot of craftsmen, and there will be no shortage of troops to protect them.

But don't be afraid. This time the Mingren are not protected by a city wall. As long as we rush in, they will scatter in all directions. "

The leader said disdainfully, "If it weren't for those city walls, we would have captured the dangerous mountains and solitary mountains, and we would have to climb over the walls to harvest crops."

"Chief, Akito's crops are still very good and can be stored. At least he won't starve in the winter."

Azige said stupidly.

"You are just a pig. As long as you occupy Mingren's territory, we won't be able to harvest the crops there."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Being scolded, Aziger quickly nodded in recognition.

"Go, get closer to the city gate and take a closer look. Mingren will not come out with only one group of people, so you can remember and carefully count how many people there are."

The leader gave Azig another order and asked him to leave.

"My lord, would you like to let the generals stationed in Kuandian and set up camp first? Then let the craftsmen come over after the camp is firmly established."

Liaodong Vice General Zhiwen bowed in front of Li Chengliang to report.

After hearing Yu Zhiwen's words, Li Chengliang did not answer him directly. Instead, he turned to a general next to him and said, "Xiong Chaochen, do you think it is necessary?"

"I don't know, I will follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief."

Xiong Chaochen pretended to be dull and said.

"Haha, Jiang Guotai and Pu Shouzhen, tell me, will Wang Gao lead his troops out of Gule Village in this snowy day?"

Although the snow stopped yesterday, looking out from the tower, it was still completely white.

Well, in such weather, there is no problem in sending out a small group of elites, but if a large army is sent out, there is no fear of arousing dissatisfaction among the officers and soldiers and triggering a mutiny.

Nowadays, most of the nine sides of the imperial court no longer have the threat of war due to the Longqing Peace Negotiation.

But in Liaodong, that is an exception.

The Jurchens in the northeast were dissatisfied with Wang Hua, and they only flattered him on the surface, but secretly did countless sneak attacks and stabbings, while the native barbarians in the west raised troops to attack border towns at every turn.

For this reason, when the Ming court gradually reduced military expenditures, Liaodong's huge military expenditures became highlighted, because not only did they not decrease, but they tended to increase.

Because of military pay, the Liaodong Army had caused trouble several times, and was no worse than other Ming armies.

This may also be the tradition of the Ming army. I don't know when the Ming army started mutiny because of the lack of pay.

Even if the Ming Dynasty knew this, there was nothing they could do, because the military pay was allocated, but the soldiers did not receive all or none of it, but there was nothing they could do.

We can only wait until the incident occurs and deal with the general who led the team. What else can be done.

There is no way to dig deeper into this matter, because it is not these generals who take away the bulk of military pay.

After finding out the matter, it was really insulting to politeness, so I just pretended not to see it and got over it.

"This war will not be easy. You should take care of your subordinates and take a good rest these days.

That guy Wang Gao should have sent someone to monitor us, but he wouldn't do it at this time.

Even if we want to move, we have to wait for several months. When our castle is halfway through construction, materials and manpower are used up. They rush over again, destroy the walls and materials, and kill the craftsmen who built the city.

Therefore, we must first arrange for people to go over and start building the city, and try to complete the construction of some city piers before Wang Gao leads his troops to attack.

At that time, the infantry can rely on the city walls to resist the Jurchens' attack. "

Li Chengliang narrowed his eyes and looked around at everyone in the room.

In fact, by this moment, his battle plan was already clear in his mind.

Using civilian men, craftsmen, and infantry guards to attract the siege of Wang Gao's tribe, he personally led the Liaodong cavalry to sneak attack Wang Gao's headquarters.

To capture the thief, capture the king first. This trick is applicable to any battlefield.

As long as the opponent's leader is killed or driven away, the remaining enemies will be nothing more than a ragtag group of enemies. An enemy army without a command is easier to kill than a group of sheep.

With more heads, it will be easier to ask for merit from the Ministry of War in the capital, and it will be easier to get money.

As for attacking the lairs such as Gule City, Hongli Village and Shaji City occupied by Wang Gao's tribe, Li Chengliang was actually not interested.

Those fortresses are there and can't be moved, so what's the point?

With these fortresses there, the Ming army can be more defensive. At least they can rule out staying at night to detect the enemy's situation.

If these cities were really burned down, many Jurchens could be killed, but so what?

Most of those killed when breaking through the walled city were the old, weak, women and children, and their heads were not worth much.

Moreover, after destroying the walled city and hiding in the mountains, the Jurchens could no longer be annihilated.

As for the earlier documents from the imperial court, which mentioned that they wanted to expel the Jurchens from the north, it really drove people away. How will they get credit in the future?

Without military exploits, the good days of generals will come to an end.

After the generals left, Li Chengliang returned to the desk. There was a relatively detailed map of Kuandian, which he had only sent people to draw last year.

This time he set up an ambush to ambush Wang Gao. Of course he wanted to hurt him, and he would not let go of the opportunity to harvest his head easily.

Moreover, Wang Gaobu's actions in recent years have indeed been too big.

However, Li Chengliang actually had other thoughts when building Kuandian Liubao, which was to make Wang Wutang of Dong'e tribe feel uncomfortable.

Although Wang Wutang's tribe had always been loyal to the Ming Dynasty, Li Chengliang did not need to obey the people.

After the defeat of Wang Gao's tribe, it will take a long time for his tribe to recuperate before Dingkou can be restored. It is impossible to continue to pursue and attack this tribe.

Near Kuandian, not only was Wang Gao's tribe a hunting ground, but Wang Wutang's tribe also often hunted here.

It can be said that the reason for the discord between Wang Gao and Wang Wutang is also related to this place.

After all, the two films often have small conflicts over hunting. Under such circumstances, it's strange that the relationship can be good.

Moreover, Wang Gao also has the intention to unify Jianzhou Jurchen, and then unify the entire Jurchen three guards. Can they not be on guard against each other?

Li Chengliang moved the Ming Dynasty border wall here with the intention of forcing Wang Wutang's tribe to rebel.

However, this place has rich water and grass and fertile land, which is also a rare treasure for the Ming Dynasty.

He is not afraid of too many rebels. In his eyes, this is merit. The more Jurchens who rebel, the better.

On the map, the locations of the six forts planned to be built: Kuan Dien Fort, Chang Dien Fort, Yong Dien Fort, Damian Fort, Xin Dien Fort, and Sumien Fort were all marked on the map. What he needed to judge now was, Wang Gaohui Choose where to lead your army.

Although the Sixth Fort is relatively close, it still takes half a day to travel. Without knowing the enemy's movements, it is particularly important to mobilize troops and generals.

The six Kuandian forts, including Kuandian Fort, Changdian Fort, Yongdian Fort, Damian Fort, and Xindian Fort, are actually the outline of the Liaodong Great Wall and are integrated into the defense system of the Great Wall. Sudian Fort is located behind it. Li Chengliang planned to use it as a storage place for the Six Forts' supplies.

The Great Wall composed of Wubaosou can be roughly divided into the northern Great Wall composed of Kuandiian Fort, Damian Fort, and Xindiian Fort, and the southern Great Wall composed of Changdiian Fort and Yongdiian Fort.

Obviously, Li Chengliang had to judge whether Wang Gao was planning to attack the northern or southern front.

Relatively speaking, the biggest threat to the Jurchens was actually Kuandian Fort. The nearby Shichakou was where Wang Gao led his troops to the south many times, and the nearby terrain was not suitable for setting up ambushes.

Wang Gao also had his reasons for choosing this place for the Ming Dynasty to send more troops.

Thinking of this, Li Chengliang naturally put his main force on the northern front, preparing to fight Wang Gao's tribe here.

"Someone is coming."

"exist."

Li Chengliang shouted to the outside world, and then some soldiers came in and bowed to obey the order.

"Issue the general's order to order Gushan Fort guerrilla Pei Chengzu to lead his troops to Chang Dien Fort and Yong Dien Fort. The assigned civilians and craftsmen will accompany him and set off in ten days."

Li Chengliang issued an order.

As for the dangerous mountain fortress where he is now, there is no need to send someone to deliver the order, he can just make arrangements later.

This time, Li Chengliang and Zhang Xueyan had already discussed the move of the Ming army's garrison forward. The garrison of Gushan Fort was moved to Changdian Fort, and the garrison of Xianshan Fort was stationed in Kuandian Fort. The other forts were also selected from the two places and moved with the army. There are also the families of these soldiers, that is, military households.

How can the fertile land be left uncultivated? It must be cultivated.

In Gule City, Wang Gao already knew the news that Deke Le had returned to report, and summoned him immediately.

"Are you saying that the Ming army has sent Ye Bushou to search near Kuandian? Did you see traces of Ming army activities when you came back this time?"

Wang Gao did not expect that Li Chengliang would take action at this time and wanted to occupy the territory near Kuandian first.

"Manzhu, when I came back this time, I found traces of Ming army activities near Caopo and Shichakou.

According to our surveillance of the dangerous mountain fortress of the Ming army, we sent out several teams and stayed overnight.

Lord Laman thought that Akito might make big moves in the near future, so he asked me to come back and report. "

Dekler bowed and said to the leader.

"If Xianshan Fort takes action, Gushan Fort will not be left behind. Ming troops should also be active."

Wang Gao just said to himself.

"You said you saw the banner of Ming General Li Chengliang on the top of Xianshan Castle?"

Wang Gao suddenly thought of something and asked more questions.

"Yes, Azige has met Li Chengliang. He said that many people appeared on the city wall one time, and the one in the middle looked a bit like him.

It's just that the distance is too far, so he can't be sure whether it's true or false. "

Dekler immediately replied.

"Li Chengliang is at Dangerous Mountain Fort, so the soldiers and horses he leads should be stationed near Shichakou."

Wang Gao muttered something, and then a cruel smile appeared on his face.

"Hehe. If Azige hadn't discovered it, maybe I would have walked through Shichakou again this time.

Since you, Li Chengliang, have already put your hands here first, I won't do what you want. "

After reciting, Wang Gao put away his smile and said to Deke Le: "Find a few good people to monitor the movements of the Gushan Ming Army. If there is any news, come back and inform me immediately."

That day, Li Chengliang went up to the city wall. He originally planned to see the situation in the north to confirm the time to dispatch troops.

But he didn't expect that he would be recognized by a Jurchen spy who had seen him.

Although the distance is too far to confirm, you can actually guess more or less the generals surrounding him. Even if you only see three or four similarities from a distance, it is enough.

The Ming army sent out sentries to investigate the situation, which was actually a precursor to the Ming army's upcoming big move.

Li Chengliang didn't check this time, and Wang Gao discovered his movements in a daze.

A few days later, the small square in Gushan Fort was filled with selected soldiers. They would follow the guerrilla general Pei Chengzu northward and stationed near Changdian Fort and Yongdian Fort to protect the craftsmen and civilians building the city here.

On the streets inside the fort, many carriages and wheelbarrows were also arranged in an orderly manner. Most of these were civilians and craftsmen recruited by Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong.

Although they did not want to leave here and go to the unpredictable and dangerous north, they had no choice. This was an order from the imperial court.

However, after seeing the elite Ming troops arrayed neatly in the square in front of the city gate, they still felt a little bit safe.

Well, they know that those Ming troops were ordered to protect them.

When the city gate to the north of Gushan Fort slowly opened and the Ming army marched out of the city gate, the conscripted civilian men also followed the army out of the city with carriages, wheelbarrows and poles, heading north.

At the same time, the same scene as Gushan Fort was also playing out at the gate of Dangerous Mountain Fort in the north. After the large group of Ming army cavalry and infantry left the city, they were followed closely by civilian husbands with various vehicles. after them.

Li Chengliang was standing on the top of the dangerous mountain castle, watching the crowds leaving the city.

Suddenly he waved his hand and said to the soldiers next to him: "Send the official document from last night to the governor. Our army will leave the fort today and go to various places in Kuandian to build cities."

"Yes, sir." The soldier clasped his fists and then withdrew from the crowd, heading back to the camp via the horse path down the city.

Last night, Li Chengliang ordered his scribes to write down the news of today's army dispatch in an official document and prepare to submit it to the governor Zhang Xueyan.

After all, it is a big event, so we should report it before setting off.

Civil servants, even if this is a frontier, they still can't be offended.

At this time, in the cabinet of the Forbidden City, Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and others were also frowning.

An emergency report was issued in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Large icebergs began to break off and float downstream with the river water, which may form freezing floods. The emergency report was also sent to Xuzhou, asking ships not to enter the Yellow River section for the time being.

"This year's cold weather is half a month earlier than in previous years, and the ice is too big, so it's a bit troublesome."

Zhang Juzheng sighed. (End of chapter)