Brothers Chen Suole and Chen Ruxin didn't know why their little governor came to this remote and dilapidated village. They saw the little eunuch in the ruins in the west of the village, sometimes lowering his head in thought, sometimes looking up to the sky and sighing.
Could this be the old house of the young governor's family? The two brothers speculated in their minds, but they seemed to have heard that the young governor was not from the capital.
In the afternoon, with the scorching sun in the sky, Chang Yu and his entourage left Panjiayao and rode northward in the wilderness. They encountered a village with ten rooms and ten empty rooms. The Tatars had been raging around for several days, leaving no chickens or dogs behind.
A group of dozens of horses galloped northward like the wind with murderous intent. On the way, they did not meet any Tatars on the way. Instead, several groups of Ming army scouts approached for verification. When they learned that they were from Dongchang, they reported that there was nothing unusual about the Tatar army heading eastward.
Dorgon led his troops to break camp and leave. Wang Jiayan raised his hands and sent out countless scouts, ordering strict control of the ten miles around the capital. At this time, at least openly, there were no more Tatar scouting horses.
After running for more than ten miles, he saw that the front was muddy, as if the ground had just been plowed. Chang Yu knew that it was caused by the passage of the Tatar army. Looking eastward, he saw blue sky, white clouds, birds singing and the fragrance of flowers.
After a brief guess, this place should be more than ten miles northeast of the capital. Chang Yu raised his eyebrows, turned his horse and headed west along the muddy road. After walking for more than ten miles, he arrived at the camp of the Tatar army. It was now in ruins and miscellaneous.
There are no traces of dead bodies, and more than ten Ming troops are running through the area searching for them.
Chang Yu rode his horse into the abandoned camp and circled around, then raised his whip and continued northward without telling where he was going.
Along the way, Chang Yu was silent. He lost his usual light-hearted humor and just kept his head down, beating his horse and running wildly. His personal guards knew that he must have something on his mind, but they did not dare to make random guesses.
After traveling for more than ten miles, a group of soldiers who were exploring the road in front suddenly came back and reported: "There is a group of nearly a thousand cavalry a few miles away and have been sent to check." Everyone was shocked, and Chen Suole ordered the soldiers to form a fighting formation.
alert.
Several cavalrymen came galloping from a distance, Chang Yu had a slight smile on his lips. In an instant, several cavalrymen came to the front and were stopped by the soldiers. Chang Yu rode forward and said, "Commander Tang, you are all right!"
The person who came was Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Ji Town. After hearing the news that the Tatars had entered the pass half a month ago, he led his troops to rush for reinforcements. Later, he encountered the Duoduo tribe and hid in Pinggu City. Later, he was brave enough to lead his troops to directly aid the capital.
Dao met Duoduo's troops to attack them again. The two were evenly matched, and found that things were not as he expected, so he went to Shunyi County nearby to wait and see.
In Shunyi County, Tang Tong sent scouts out of the city every day to investigate. He must find out what was going on in the capital. When he learned that the Qing army was besieging the city and preparing to attack the imperial capital, he couldn't help but gasp.
Should he go to rush for reinforcements? Tang Tong was extremely confused. The Tatars would besiege the city and attack the outer perimeter at this time. The defense must be tight, and their cavalry was powerful. He only had less than 10,000 troops at hand. If he went there, he would be afraid that it would not have any effect and would end up in vain.
.
The loyal and brave Tang Tong finally decided to send troops to help!
But God did not give him this opportunity. The Tatar soldiers sent troops to attack the city too suddenly in the early morning. By the time the scouts passed the news to Shunyi, it was already dark. Looking at the heavy rain outside, Tang Po fell silent.
In the afternoon, the good news came that the Tatars had failed to attack the city and had withdrawn their troops and returned to the camp. The capital was safe. Tang Tong shook his fist and roared to vent the depression of the past few days. He knew that the little eunuch could not be lost in the city.
At noon today, the scouts came to report that the Tatars had abandoned camp and left. Tang Tong was overjoyed and wanted to send troops to the capital. He thought twice before admonishing him. Just in case Tang Tong left the main force in the city, he took a thousand elite cavalry to the capital.
I met Chang Yu on the way.
"I haven't seen the factory governor for more than a month, and he is even more charming than before. I heard that the Tatars were leaving camp and left, so I came to see him in a hurry. I didn't expect to meet the factory governor here..." Tang Tong had been in contact with Chang Yu very early.
The general, just after Zhou Yuji, once rushed to the outside of the pass to help Chang Yu sweep away the Qing army with one hand. Chang Yu valued him very much. He was also attracted by Chang Yu's grace. When they first met, they were all overjoyed and had endless conversations.
In a small forest in the wilderness, Chang Yu and Tang Tong sat cross-legged under the shade of a tree and ate dry food. There were soldiers on guard within a radius of several miles. The two told each other what had happened in the past half month.
"It turns out that the factory supervisor had already laid out a plan for the Tatars to attack. It's ridiculous that he thought he was stupid because of his humble position. He ran to the capital and almost got killed." Tang Tong smiled bitterly.
"Why should the general of the Tang Dynasty be so humble? The fact that you led your troops to support at that moment shows your loyalty. The encounter with the Tatar army on a narrow road and wounded a strong general shows your bravery. Looking at the Ming Dynasty, there are very few such loyal and brave generals!" Chang Yu
Tang Tong was very pleased with the compliments given him, and he grinned and said bluntly: "I don't dare, I don't dare. The factory supervisor has given me the praise, I have given him the prize..."
"General Tang is well-deserved. You are not the only one who has troops in the capital at this time, but you are the only one who comes here when the capital is in crisis. Hey... someone who was once famous has no ambitions anymore. It is a pity to be timid."
There was a hint of disdain in the corner of Chang Yu's mouth, and Tang Tong's expression darkened. Of course he knew who the little eunuch was talking about, Ma Ke in Changping.
Ma Ke was once a fierce general with great achievements in battle, and he was as famous as Cao Bianjiao. However, two years ago, Cao Bianjiao died in the battle between Songjin and Ma Ke. Ma Ke was also cast into the shadow. The heroic general who once dominated the battlefield no longer had any glory and spirit.
"Most of the troops in Changping are stationed at Juyongguan. General Ma has insufficient troops and is far away from the capital. It is understandable that he cannot come to the rescue in time..." Tang Tong has worked with Ma Ke several times. He himself is a good old man. When he saw Chang Yu
Dissatisfied couldn't help but say nice things to him. In fact, he didn't know what Marco had been doing in the past few days.
"It is understandable that the troops are insufficient, and I have no objection to it. When the Tatars first entered the pass, he was able to lead troops to stop them. Even if they were defeated in a battle, it can be seen that he had the intention to do it, but he was unable to do it.
Yes. This governor will give him another chance, and I hope he can see General Ma’s former glory soon.”
It turned out that Ma Ke had also sent troops. Tang Tong was secretly relieved. At least he would not be known as war-fearing. However, it was obvious that the young eunuch did not intend to punish him, and he still left some room to see his future performance.
Marco, Marco, I hope you seize this opportunity.
In Changping City, Ma Ke seemed to sense something. He sneezed several times in succession, and his heartbeat accelerated inexplicably. This made him feel very confused. He walked out of the room with doubts and looked at the scorching sun in the sky. He was about to go out for a walk to relax.
Urgent report from pro-army forces: "The Tatars have broken camp and left."
Marco was shocked and asked urgently: "Where to go?!"
"Go east"
Marco groaned, frowned, and secretly laughed at himself for overthinking it. It had only been half a month since the Tatars had entered the customs and they had been delayed in the capital for a long time. How could they withdraw their troops and leave the customs so quickly? How could they not have had enough to eat, drink, and have enough fun?
If we go any further, breaking up camp and leaving now is just the beginning of a great plunder, and my poor Ming Dynasty will suffer again.
Is there any news in Jingli? Ma Ke asked again.
"Not yet. The Tatars who are low-level detectives left camp and came to report hurriedly." Ma Ke said, and was about to wave away his soldiers, when he suddenly saw another person coming to report hurriedly: "Master General, there is someone coming from Beijing."
".
Ma Ke couldn't help but trembled. He was afraid of what he was going to do. The shadows of those two years came like a mountain, making him breathless. (To be continued)