Chapter 206 205 Cough Cough

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 zone.

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 dare not go out 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 plundering near the border wall. You must know that there is not much there. The only way is to cross the Inner Great Wall. When you reach Changping, there are countless treasures 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 what he said 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 said, 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 traveling continuously, Wei Guangde wanted to rest for a day or two. The memorials they sent back must have reached the capital, but according to the efficiency of the Ming Dynasty officialdom, Wei Guangde believed that it would take at least a few days to wait for the news from the capital. Now the focus of the court should have shifted to fighting against the Altan tribe, and no one should care about them.

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

Weng Pu's attitude was very firm. He wanted to go to Changping to take charge. Although he was not appointed by the court, he was the highest official outside the capital, and he was also the assistant minister in charge of military affairs in the Ministry of War. He should go to the front line to supervise the battle.

As for orders, he would follow the orders if there were any. Before he arrived, he still had to do it according to his own ideas.

After all, as a border patrol minister, although he did not have the power to command the guards in the border towns, he still had another identity, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and he could issue orders to the guards, not to mention that he could act according to his own wishes in an emergency.

Wei Guangde was no match for his superiors. As a newcomer in the officialdom, he just had to listen to the adults and act accordingly. If he had not been appointed as the deputy envoy of the border patrol by the emperor, Weng Pu would not have even bothered to make him a Hanlin reviewer.

You know, after Weng Pu passed the imperial examination, he was not sent to the Hanlin Academy through the imperial examination, but was directly transferred to the local area. After that, he worked in various places for nearly 20 years and only became the right assistant minister now.

Perhaps, if he was lucky, he could retire as the Minister of War, which would be a great honor for his family. He was already in his fifties and did not have much time to waste in the officialdom, so he planned to do something in this invasion of the Altan tribe to accumulate some achievements for his future promotion.

Wei Guangde did not know what Weng Pu was thinking, but he felt that this old man was a little stubborn and selfless. He put his life aside for the sake of national interests, and he could not help but feel a kind of respect for him.

If an old man in his forties dared to run to Changping, what was he afraid of?

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

Changping is separated from the Tartars by a Great Wall, so there's nothing to be afraid of.

The next morning, Wei Guangde was eating breakfast. Eating and sleeping in the city is different from sleeping in the open. There were several exquisite breakfasts on the table, and he was tasting them slowly.

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

"Fuck."

Wei Guangde cursed in his heart, wondering why the efficiency of the capital was so high this time. The official documents arrived in Beijing in just two days, and the approval was also sent over.

In fact, it was not surprising. Although their journey took two days or even longer, the Ming Express and Horse Post were not affected by the war environment and were still operating efficiently.

The documents they sent to the capital arrived in Beijing in just one day. The Ministry of War sent them to the cabinet and they were quickly approved. The Silijian would not be so cautious at this time. Seeing that there was no problem, they directly approved and issued them.

It took less than half a day in Beijing, so it was naturally sent to Huairou.

In fact, there was nothing magical about the new order for Wei Guangde. He had guessed it before.

The reason why the court sent him as the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War to patrol the border was to be a temporary commander on the front line in wartime and command the surrounding participating guards.

The Ming Dynasty controlled the military with civil officials. For many years, there had not been a military commander on the front line. This time would naturally be no exception.

Since he was officially appointed, Weng Pu would lead the troops of Jizhen, Xuanfu and Datong to fight against the Altan tribe. Naturally, no one would obstruct Weng Pu's decision. Wei Guangde could only shrink his head and follow Weng Pu step by step.

If he did something wrong and made the old man unhappy, or if he was found to be a little afraid of the enemy and afraid of fighting, he would have no place to suffer if he was arrested first.

He was just a small official of the seventh rank. If he was not a Jinshi, he could be said to be almost an official of low rank. Weng Pu naturally had the right to deal with him.

Don't forget that Weng Pu was given a title before leaving the capital, the Right Censor of the Supervisory Office. Officials below the fifth rank can be arrested directly, and those above the fifth rank can be given a holiday and go home to wait for the result.

Most Ming Dynasty officials who went out to inspect local places would be given the title of the Supervisory Office, so that they could act at their convenience and deal with some low-level officials anytime and anywhere. They were patrolling on behalf of the emperor.

Although the title of governor was not used this time, but the Minister of Border Inspection was used, it was also because time was relatively short.

Another thing is that it involves three towns, and there are governors there. The influence of the unspoken rules of the officialdom, everything must be done according to the rules.

In the next two days, Wei Guangde continued to ride his horse and follow the large group to Changping. At the same time, documents from all over the country began to gather here.

Now Weng Pu is the commander of the front line, so naturally all reports must go through him. He directly approves the reports within his scope of responsibility, and reports the reports beyond the scope of responsibility directly to the capital.

At this time, the news that the Mongolian Tartars had knocked on the gates of the capital had spread, and the people nearby were also terrified. They packed up their belongings and ran to nearby cities for refuge, but no one cared that the Tartars had not yet arrived, so why run.

If they really saw the Tartar cavalry, they would probably lose their heads.

If they wanted to run, they would naturally have to enter the city before seeing the Tartars to be safe.

Wei Guangde and his group left Huairou, and after walking for a day, they encountered such a large group of fleeing people, dragging their families and walking forward.

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 from 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 the report 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.

But 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 with a size 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 Dynasty, 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.