Chapter 215 214 Mongolian Intelligence

Wei Guangde's convoy set out on the same day as Ma Fang, Zhang Heng and others from Baoan Prefecture, but due to the distance between the two places, Wei Guangde arrived in Huailai County one day earlier than Ma Fang and others.

Wei Guangde and his convoy had a smooth journey, but encountered several Tatar scouts. In addition to the team that was deliberately let in, another team of Tatar scouts broke through the blockade of Jizhen cavalry.

Wei Guangde didn't take it seriously.

When they arrived in Huailai County, in the evening, four war horses brought two messengers to Huailai County, and then were brought to Wei Guangde by Dong Yiyuan. This was the third team of messengers he sent out, and also the last team.

The messengers who were found by the two teams before had explained the general situation of Baoan Prefecture to Wei Guangde. Baoan Prefecture planned to send the troops led by the guerrilla general Ma Fang, as well as the guards led by Zhang Heng and Liu Mo, a total of more than 2,000 people to Huailai County to meet them.

The arrival of the third team of messengers allowed Wei Guangde to confirm the actions taken by Baoan Prefecture.

Ma Fang and his troops of more than a thousand cavalrymen would all go to Huailai County, but the other two named in the third official document, Dong Yikui, were not transferred to Baoan Prefecture, so he was not in the army and could not be transferred in the short term. Liu Huan's troops and Altan's troops were in a stalemate. Although they had not started fighting, the confrontation was fierce and they could not withdraw for the time being.

"You go down and rest first."

Wei Guangde waved his hand and asked the messengers who had been running around for several days to go back to the barracks to rest first. After the people walked out, Wei Guangde said to Dong Yiyuan: "It seems that this Liu Huan is really good at fighting, otherwise Liu Dazhang of Baoan Prefecture would not keep him."

Dong Yiyuan nodded hurriedly. He had only seen Liu Huan's name in the letters with his eldest brother, and there was this person in the military town's newspaper, so he guessed that he might be very good at fighting. Ma Fang's situation was similar.

His father Dong Yang died in the battle when the Altan tribe invaded the border at Dishui Cliff in the 28th year of Jiajing. After that, he went to Jizhen and had not returned to Xuanfu for more than five years.

If it were not for the team sent out to protect the border ministers this time, I don’t know when I can return here.

"When you go down, find Commander Li and prepare the barracks in advance."

Wei Guangde instructed Dong Yiyuan, and then picked up the reply letter from Baoanzhou on the desk and read it.

Commander Li was the deputy commander of Huailai Guard and was sent to Huailai County to command the defense. After all, there are now two thousand households of guard soldiers here. Without a commander, I am afraid that the two thousand households will be at a loss.

After Dong Yiyuan left, Wei Guangde slammed the reply letter in his hand heavily on the desk.

Since leaving the capital, no matter what level of military generals he met, everyone was respectful to him, Wei Guangde, and never dared to neglect him.

This time, he sent an official document to Baoan Prefecture to transfer Ma Fang and others. Not only was Dong Yikui not there, but Liu Huan could not be transferred either. Wei Guangde felt that Liu Dazhang, the general of Xuanfu, did not take him seriously.

The three teams of soldiers who returned from Baoan Prefecture had already said that the Xuanfu Army and the camps of Altan's army were more than ten miles apart, and there was no situation where they could not be transferred. The explanation given was completely perfunctory.

Perhaps he was really a little arrogant. At first, Wei Guangde knew that he was just a reviewer of the Hanlin Academy, so he was still cautious in his words and deeds.

However, after receiving the imperial edict from the capital and being authorized to "assist military affairs", Wei Guangde felt that perhaps because of his origin in Jiujiang Guard, Emperor Jiajing looked at him differently, so he kept promoting him.

After all, people like Wei Guangde who have hereditary military positions in their families have fought for the country with the ancestors of the Zhu family.

Later generations often thought that military households were miserable, but that was actually only for soldiers. For people with hereditary official positions, as long as they held real power, the oil and water were still very rich.

Of course, this lucrative profit cannot be shown on the table.

On the afternoon of the second day, smoke and dust appeared in the west of Huailai County, and a large army was coming.

In the distance to the north, smoke and dust also rolled, as if there were still troops approaching Huailai County.

Wei Guangde had learned from the scouts at noon that Ma Fang, Zhang Heng and Liu Mo were almost at Huailai County, so he was not worried about the scene outside the city.

The Ming army just went to Huailai County, and the nearly 2,000 troops of the Altan tribe behind them just followed from a distance and did not dare to approach to challenge.

After Ma Fang led his troops into the city, he greeted the Huailai guard Li and Dong Yiyuan, and naturally went to meet Wei Guangde to hand over the order.

Wei Guangde met Ma Fang, Zhang Heng and Liu Mo in a mansion requisitioned by Huailai. Although Huailai County was under military control at this time, the civil affairs in the city were still the responsibility of the Huailai County Magistrate, and Wei Guangde had no right to interfere in local affairs.

When Wei Guangde first saw Ma Fang, he thought he looked like a military officer, because in his eyes, this middle-aged man had rough and dark skin, which was obviously caused by long-term running outside. He also looked very strong, much stronger than his father and uncle.

They all did not relax and exercise their bodies, which was rare in the Southern Army.

Seeing him, Wei Guangde believed Dong Yiyuan's words by 70%, so he enthusiastically asked him to sit down and asked about the comparison of the combat power between Ma Fang's troops and Altan's troops.

As for Commander Li who brought people, he was very tactful and left here in advance on the grounds of patrolling the city defense.

For Wei Guangde's questions, others such as Dong Yiyuan and Zhang Heng and Liu Mo who followed this time could not answer them. After all, they were not their own soldiers, and even if Wei Guangde asked, they didn't know how to answer.

"If the cavalry under Altan were ordinary cavalry, it would be no problem to sweep away his four or five thousand people. If they were elite cavalry, three thousand people might not be able to defeat me."

Ma Fang answered Wei Guangde's question with a slightly arrogant expression. When he entered the door and saw the so-called Mr. Wei, Ma Fang was shocked. The chief official sent by the imperial court was actually a baby.

Looking at Wei Guangde's childish face, Ma Fang felt that when he was this age, he was still herding animals in Mongolia.

Ma Fang was born in the 13th year of Zhengde of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty. He was born in a peasant family. He was kidnapped by the Mongols at the age of eight and became a slave in the Anda tribe. In the 16th year of Jiajing, Ma Fang followed Anda Khan to the outskirts of Datong, which was near the border town of the Ming Dynasty. Taking advantage of a hunting opportunity, he escaped by stealing a horse at night and fled to the Datong military camp overnight. He was nineteen years old that year.

"Tan Ma reports that there are about 2,000 Tatars under surveillance behind you. Do your troops dare to go up and destroy them?"

Wei Guangde asked with a smile on his face when he saw Ma Fang's expression.

Ao, I will let you Ao. If you go out of the city and kill people, you have Ao's capital.

Okay, this way my plan will be achieved.

When Wei Guangde learned about the situation before, he knew from Ma Fang that the troops he led only had more than 1,300 cavalry. According to what he learned from Dong Yiyuan and other Ming army commanders, Ma Fang's more than a thousand people were definitely They can't defeat the two thousand Tatars outside the city.

"Master Wei, take it seriously."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Wei Guangde finished speaking, Ma Fang stood up excitedly.

Seeing Ma Fang's reaction, Wei Guangde felt something was wrong. Don't really send these more than a thousand cavalry into the tiger's mouth. This is his own way of survival.

It's just that at this moment, he really couldn't say anything, after all, he just said that.

However, Zhang Heng who was following saw that the situation was not good and immediately stood up and grabbed Ma Fang. He smiled at Wei Guangde and said, "Master Wei, don't be like him. General Ma's nickname in Xuan Mansion is 'Mad Man Ma'" "You dare to fight against a thousand-man Tatar army with just a few hundred men. You must ignore him. If there is a military order, you just give it. We will never neglect it."

With Zhang Heng's buffer, Wei Guangde got off the slope and said with a smile: "That's right, you just arrived today, let's rest for a night."

Ma Fang still wanted to speak, but Zhang Heng pulled her back to sit down again.

Wei Guangde became a little curious now. Ma Fang looked like a fierce general, but why was the situation in Baoan Prefecture really calm?

"General Ma is very courageous. Wei admires him, but since General Ma can fight and dares to fight, why has Baoan Prefecture not seen any reports of the battle with the Anda tribe?"

On the first day they met, Wei Guangde didn't want to pretend to be serious and just said whatever came to his mind. Since he saw that Ma Fang seemed a bit belligerent, he asked immediately.

Among the middle and senior military attachés of the Ming Army, most of them like the officialdom, but for the middle and low-level generals, they like to be straightforward.

Wei Guangde was born in a guard house, and there are only a few warriors in the house now, so Wei Guangde doesn't use the title of "Official".

Let yourself appear more friendly to the people. After all, my age is a flaw. I just have the advantage of being a civil servant and can suppress these warriors.

"It's not that I don't want to fight, it's because General Liu didn't allow us to fight. If we had to follow my wishes, the whole army would go straight to the Altan camp, and the Tatars would have been beaten away long ago."

Ma Fang was anxious and spoke the truth directly.

The words had already been spoken, even Zhang Heng and Liu Mo on one side could only hold their foreheads, and what else could they say.

Even if you are dissatisfied with Commander-in-Chief Liu Dazhang, there are certain things you cannot say in front of outsiders. They are all internal affairs of the Xuan Mansion. Even if you file a complaint, you should go to the governor or governor.

"General Liu refused to go to battle because he was worried that the soldiers would suffer too many casualties."

Wei Guangde just casually tested it.

Seeing Zhang Heng trying to steal the conversation again, Wei Guangde stared at him fiercely.

Wei Guangde didn't know whether his eyes contained murderous intent, but Zhang Heng, who wanted to open his mouth, shut his mouth obediently. Apparently he sensed Wei Guangde's displeasure.

"Maybe there is this reason, but my department has never suffered a loss. Even if there is a loss, the Tatars' loss is several times that of mine."

Or talking about what he was unhappy about recently, Ma Fang was a little arrogant at the moment and continued: "Actually, the main thing is that he is afraid of losing the war and being blamed by the court, so he blindly avoids the war. The result is that the Tatars' arrogance becomes more and more arrogant. If Governor Zhou was still here, it would be his turn to act so arrogantly."

"Altan?"

Wei Guangde asked strangely. He had heard him mention this name several times before.

"Lord Wei, you don't know something. We usually name Mongolian names with similar Chinese characters according to their pronunciation. The name Ada Khan written in our court documents is actually pronounced Altan, which is closer to his pronunciation."

Ma Fang hurriedly explained.

Wei Guangde nodded and then asked: "You speak Mongolian and are familiar with it?"

"Sir, I was captured by the Tatars and worked as a slave when I was a child. I escaped when I was nineteen years old. After that, I joined the army camp of General Zhou as a soldier."

Ma Fang hurriedly explained that if he couldn't tell clearly, Wei Guangde might suspect him of being a Tatar spy, but he couldn't be careless.

"Who is General Zhou? And who is that Governor Zhou you mentioned first?"

Wei Guangde asked.

"Captain Zhou Shangwen, when I came back, he was the chief military officer of Datong. At Xuanda University at that time, although our troops invaded the border for many years, they could not get any favor at all, let alone enter the customs. "

Ma Fang said with pride again.

"Zhou Shangwen?"

When Wei Guangde heard Ma Fang say the name, he naturally knew this person. He had seen his name a lot in the Ming Dynasty newspapers during the ten to twenty years of Jiajing. He was promoted to Datong General, Right Governor, and Grand Protector. He was also one of the famous generals in Jiajing Dynasty.

In Wei Guangde's impression, not to mention the generals who founded the country and pacified the rebellion, "Shangwen was the only one who was rewarded for military merits."

"He is no longer here, right?"

Wei Guangde asked hesitantly.

"He was gone in the 28th year of Jiajing, otherwise there would be no Tartar raid on the capital."

Ma Fang said with a slightly sad tone.

Ma Fang had said before that he joined the army to join Zhou Shangwen. Calculating the time, it has only been twenty years since he escaped from the desert to now sitting in the position of guerrilla general. Ma Fang's promotion speed is not slow.

For most people, a 20-year-old soldier would probably have died somewhere, but Ma Fang was not only alive and well, but also promoted step by step, which shows that he was also a man of great luck.

In recent years, Altan Khan has violated the border every year, and many soldiers have died.

Wei Guangde couldn't help but pay attention to this middle-aged man named Ma Fang. He was a guerrilla general, equivalent to the commander of the garrison. If someone recommended him, it would not be impossible to make him a lieutenant general.

It seemed that Xu Lun would report Ma Fang's merits. After the battle, it was possible that he would be a lieutenant general when the decree of the capital came down.

He went there in the 28th year of Jiajing. Wei Guangde thought that Altan Khan's troops broke into the outskirts of Beijing the next year, which became a major event that shook the world that year, and he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

From what Ma Fang said, when Zhou Shangwen was alive, Altan Khan's troops only fought a little at the border wall. After Zhou Shangwen died, they dared to march straight in.

And Dong Yiyuan, it seemed that his father died that year.

It seems that Zhou Shangwen's death really stimulated the Mongolian Tartars. With the looting of the capital, they became more courageous.

"You have been in the Altan tribe, so you are more familiar with the situation there. You said before that if it is an ordinary Tartar, your troops can fight four or five thousand people. If it is an elite soldier, you can stop two or three thousand people, right?"

Wei Guangde wanted to know the details of the Mongolian Altan tribe. Unexpectedly, he just wanted to find a life-saving talisman, but he accidentally found a Mongolian expert. Naturally, he couldn't miss this opportunity to learn about the intelligence.

"Yes, sir."

Ma Fang's emotions calmed down again at this time. When he heard Wei Guangde's question, he immediately answered.

"Then tell me, how many troops are there in the Altan tribe? How many elite soldiers are there?"

Wei Guangde asked immediately.

The previous war report mentioned that the Altan tribe invaded with 20,000 troops this time, and Weng Pu did not dare to transfer the Jizhen army out of the pass to participate in the suppression, because he was worried that the Altan tribe's army outside the pass would suddenly attack the Jizhen Great Wall and force Beijing again.

"In Altan's hands"