Chapter 708 Must win
Tiger Guard Left Guard.
Since entering Datong City, there have been many more people outside the camp of Huben Zuowei, but they were quickly expelled by Yan Xu, who also said that if anyone dared to spy again, they would be treated as enemy spies.
According to the custom of the border troops, after capturing enemy spies, they would torture them and then behead them with a single blow. The heads would then be hung on the top of the city wall, facing north.
After two days of rest, the Huben Zuowei took the lead in starting training.
"My uncle said that we should keep our fists ready and our songs on our lips. Soldiers must practice regularly. Some people didn't take it seriously at first, so we had a five-day holiday last year. Five days later, we started training again, and the soldiers looked particularly tired..."
Yan Xu was watching his men training when several cavalrymen rushed into the camp.
"He is my uncle's man."
The man came forward and said, "My Lord, order the Tiger Guards to dispatch 500 men, led by Marquis Xianzhang, to attack."
"Five hundred people!" Yan Xu was startled, then laughed and said, "You want to let those five hundred people lead them to fight! That's fine."
This is what Jiang Qingzhi values, and it is also the honor of the Tiger Guard Left Guard.
The man said, "My Lord has ordered that Ma Fang lead the army. In addition..." The man came closer, "My Lord has ordered that the young master's small flag unit also go to the battle."
Yan Xu was startled, "Isn't the young master too naive?"
But he immediately understood Jiang Qingzhi's intention.
This is to temper the young master.
Aren’t you afraid that something bad might happen?
After all, swords and guns have no eyes!
"Ma Fang!"
"exist!"
Ma Fang stepped out of the line and saluted.
"Take 500 men to the Jinwu Right Guard, and take that young master with you. Remember..." Yan Xu looked at Ma Fang, "Don't let him go into danger."
Ma Fang was silent for a moment, "If you hesitate, Master Bo will definitely not be happy."
"I know, but..." Yan Xu hesitated, "That's all!"
"Zongfang!" Ma Fang turned around and shouted.
"Here!" Zong Fang led his subordinates out.
Zhu Shitai and Yang Sheng were among them.
Ma Fang then named the four centurions and said, "You will set out with me."
"Leader!"
Although Ma Fang was also a centurion, based on his military achievements, he would have been promoted long ago if he had not been too inexperienced in the Huben Zuowei.
So Yan Xu ordered him to lead 500 people to attack. Although everyone complained in their hearts, they were just complaining.
Five hundred people rushed to Jinwu Youwei, and the commander An Jing was cursing.
"Ganni! I told you to leave those jars and pots behind and eat, there's plenty of meat along the way."
Someone asked, "Commander, where did you get all this meat?"
An Jing grinned and said, "When you are extremely hungry, you can eat human flesh. The flesh of the Tartars who grew up eating beef and mutton is firm and chewy when roasted..."
Hey!
His subordinates couldn't help but retching.
"Meet the Commander!"
An Jing turned around and asked, "Is he a centurion?"
"I am Ma Fang, a captain of the Tiger Guards Left Guard, and I have been ordered to lead 500 men to come here."
Ma Fang said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"A centurion leading an army of five hundred soldiers, how interesting." An Jing smiled, and the generals behind him also laughed, but their laughter was playful.
"Is this person related to someone?"
"Most likely, otherwise why would Yan Xu let a centurion lead the army."
"I hope it's not the young master who is here to hold us back!"
"It doesn't look like it."
At this time, Du He arrived and ordered as soon as he entered the camp: "Assemble and set off immediately!"
An Jing complained, "My Lord." He glanced at Ma Fang, "The Tiger Guards are strong, but we can't let a centurion..."
Du He smiled and said, "You'd better listen to the orders of the uncle."
"That's right." An Jing was obviously not convinced, "By the way, I am willing to be the vanguard!"
"Don't think the enemy is easy to deal with!" Du He sneered, "If we underestimate the enemy and lose, my uncle said that there is something missing from the flag sacrifice... What do you think it is?"
An Jing shrank her neck and said, "A human head."
"I'm glad you understand." Du He glanced at his neck and said, "We can't afford to lose this battle. The Datong defenders are geography geeks. I have already ordered them to set off first."
An Jing chuckled, "My Lord, we are the imperial guards after all. Those border troops are arrogant... We can't give all the benefits to them, right?"
"I told you, this battle is of great importance!" Du He glared, "You think you can be the vanguard of the Datong garrison? Do you know which road leads to which place?"
An Jing shook her head awkwardly.
"Then shut up!"
An Jing stepped back, and a general behind him said, "Commander-in-chief, does Marquis Xianzhang mean to treat everyone equally?"
"Fuck fairness." An Jing said proudly, "If we were fair, why would the 500 men from the Left Tiger Guard come to gather with the Right Guard of the Golden Guard? Why would Marquis Xianzhang come to command our army?"
"Then why did you go and make yourself look bad just now?" A confidant made fun of him by taking advantage of their relationship, but was slapped by An Jing, who covered the back of his head and gasped.
"If you want to gain benefits, you have to let your superior see your shortcomings. Those shortcomings must be harmless, so that your superior can find a reason to scold you."
"Is being scolded a good thing?"
"Who do I scold the most?"
The confidant holding the back of his head pointed at himself and suddenly realized, "So beating is love... scolding is love?"
An Jing kicked him.
"set off!"
The two armies set out.
They met unexpectedly outside the city.
"My Lord, take care!" Qin Yuan bowed.
Du He looked at this notorious guy among the Beijing Guards and bowed solemnly, "Take care!"
The two men lifted their cloaks, mounted their horses and rode away.
Jiang Qingzhi and Yan Song were watching this scene from the top of the city wall.
"This person Qin Yuan..." Yan Song said softly: "How is he?"
"Everyone says that this man relied on women to get to the top, and calls him a coward." Jiang Qingzhi said calmly, "But if he didn't rely on his father-in-law, how could he climb up?"
Yan Song said: "You let Qin Yuan lead the army instead of someone else. The Datong defenders and many of the Beijing guards are very dissatisfied."
"Those idiots!" Jiang Qingzhi said indifferently.
Qin Yuan had once performed martial arts with him, and although he was defeated, his command throughout the process was remarkable. Otherwise, why would Jiang Qingzhi recommend the second person in the government army's vanguard to be equipped with firearms?
However, this time, Qin Yuan led his men with cold weapons.
"Let's warm up first!" Jiang Qingzhi moved his neck.
As for the dinner, he planned to leave it for Altan.
"This person doesn't even take the Prime Minister seriously." Huang Mao whispered to Zhao Wenhua on the other side.
Zhao Wenhua sneered, "Father is just considering the overall situation. Otherwise, under the pressure of the Prime Minister, would Jiang Qingzhi really dare to turn against him?"
Ha ha!
If Jiang Qingzhi heard this, he would definitely respond with a "haha"!
"It's fine if Altan doesn't take action, but once he does, he will attack from both sides." Huang Mao said, "Jiang Qingzhi only sent 10,000 people to fight the enemy. I think he was a little too arrogant."
Zhao Wenhua said: "If he leads the army personally, let alone 10,000, even if it's 6,000 or 7,000, I feel that this battle is a sure win."
Although he was full of hostility towards Jiang Qingzhi, Zhao Wenhua had to admit that this guy was indeed a great military commander.
"Du He is Jiang Qingzhi's direct descendant. Despite his status as a marquis, he is willing to serve under him. Jiang Qingzhi took him with him when he went to Yunnan last time, and he did the same this time. That's why he is called Jiang's running dog."
Zhao Wenhua said sarcastically: "Qin Yuan has a bad reputation. He can only gain a foothold in Beijing Guard by relying on Jiang Qingzhi."
Huang Mao didn't know much about these things in Datong, and was shocked when he heard this, "Isn't this nepotism?"
"He left the Datong generals aside, and many talented generals of the Beijing Guards were also left aside. He only knew how to appoint people based on personal connections. Just wait and see! If this battle goes wrong, those people will make a fuss. By then, Jiang Qingzhi won't be able to suppress them."
Zhao Wenhua said this, touching his cheek subconsciously.
The slap my adoptive father gave me last time was quite hard and I still feel the pain.
……
Seven thousand troops were eating dry food.
The war horses were munching on the green grass, snorting contentedly from time to time.
The foreign tribes on the grasslands often choose autumn to launch large-scale military campaigns.
After summer grazing, cattle, sheep and horses are in prime condition, and autumn’s lush pastures ensure that the horses can maintain their energy without much sustenance.
This is the origin of the saying "horses are fat in autumn".
Sha Lei was eating dried meat when the scout came back and reported, "Na Yan, we didn't find the Datong defenders."
——Na Yan means "official". It is similar to the way the Ming Dynasty called "honored lady".
"Okay!" Sha Lei threw the last piece of jerky into his mouth and clapped his hands. "Speed is of the essence. Let's get going now!"
Seven thousand men mounted their horses.
Then he galloped away.
"Wan Hu, eighty miles away from the outskirts of Datong!"
A general beside him shouted.
The autumn wind blew away the words, and Sha Lei said, "Tell the scouts to find out the truth!"
"Leader!"
Scouting is the key to this battle.
A team of enemy scouts were galloping.
The leading centurion suddenly pointed forward and asked, "What is that?"
"It's a Ming army scout!"
The captain barely hesitated, "Attack and kill them!"
This place is seventy miles away from Datong. If we are discovered, it will be too late for the city to send troops to intercept us.
The captain looked back and said, "Report to Na Yan, we have been discovered by the garrison."
"Yes."
Sha Lei, who was on his way, took a deep breath and said, "Hurry up!"
They were ten miles away from the scouts. If they were fast enough, the Datong defenders would have reached the left wing of Datong city as soon as they heard the news, and then rushed in.
"quick!"
The crowd no longer valued the horsepower and kept whipping their horses to speed up.
"Just rush forward and the road ahead will be smooth!" Sha Lei controlled the horse while planning the follow-up.
"Na Yan!" The car in front suddenly slowed down.
Sha Lei was startled, "What's the matter?"
"Enemy ahead!"
Hundreds of Ming cavalrymen in front were killing Sha Lei's scouts, but when they saw the army coming, they continued to chase and kill them calmly.
Sha Lei's eyes narrowed, "They are elite troops, drive them away!"
Hundreds of riders rushed out of the team.
"Fire arrows!"
The Ming army dealt a heavy blow to the enemy with a wave of arrows and then retreated.
"Chase closely!" Sha Lei said in a deep voice.
He was looking left and right.
"Na Yan, be careful of enemy ambushes!" someone reminded.
Sha Lei shook his head, "If the enemy ambushes us, it won't be a bad thing. We can go deeper into the territory. Once we go deep into Datong, they will be caught in a dilemma!"
"Enemy spotted!"
Shouted from the front.
Sha Lei stood up on his horse and saw thousands of Ming army infantrymen lined up in front of him.
Under the big flag, quietly raise your hands.
"alert!"
"Seven thousand Ming troops!" someone reported.
Sha Lei sneered, "This is well prepared. Defeat them!"
Seven thousand cavalry against seven thousand infantry!
Win!
"Long live!"
The enemy rushed over cheering.
"Hold on!"
Zhu Shitai's face turned pale.
Yang Sheng's legs are shaking...
The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, making their hearts beat wildly.
(End of this chapter)
