On the Tushan Mountain, more than two thousand soldiers under Wang Shouren were extremely excited, but they were also arranging their troops and horses to prepare to join the main force of the Ming Dynasty.
But for the more than 10,000 Mongoljin prisoners who were captured, the scene in front of them was almost a death sentence. Even if they did not die, they would be placed in the inland areas by the Ming Dynasty to farm and become soldiers of the army.
As slaves, the days of grazing on grasslands with wind-blown grass and low visibility of cattle and sheep seem to be gone forever.
And the men in their family may never see each other again in their lifetime.
The person outside may be their husband, their son, or their father...
"Boom boom boom!"
After the Ming army from the bottom of the mountain came over, they fired cannons in the distance. The sound of the cannons had to travel a long way to reach them.
Even Wang Shouren was puzzled by this move.
It is clear that the cavalry of Meng Guoljin's tribe have fled, where should they fire the artillery?
Ma Yi rode his horse to Wang Shouren and asked for instructions: "Major General Wang, the troops and horses have been prepared and can go to join Zhang Zhitai's Chinese army at any time."
Wang Shouren said: "How can we be sure that they are Zhang Zhitai's men? Stay where you are and don't move! Wait for the envoy from the mountain to come!"
"this……"
Ma Yi and other generals could not understand.
It is clear that the Ming army has already arrived, and Mongol Jin's troops have retreated. Why is the head of the Ministry of War still so cautious? After winning two battles, he is in trouble? Is this because he is afraid that the Tatars will pretend to be the Ming army?
…
…
The soldiers of the expeditionary force on the mountain were all waiting. After the Ming army was stationed at the foot of the mountain, a group of people came up the mountain first. The leader was Zhang Heling, the deputy commander-in-chief.
"Oh, it's quite lively."
When Zhang Heling came, he saw cattle and sheep everywhere on the mountain. The feeling was no different from when Grandma Liu entered the Grand View Garden. He immediately felt that the scenery all over the mountains and plains was very fresh, and his expression did not look like he was coming to fight.
When Wang Shouren saw it was Zhang Heling, he personally went out to greet him.
After a brief salute, Wang Shouren immediately asked where Zhang Zhou was.
"Mr. Zhang is at the bottom of the mountain. You didn't go to greet him, but you were very negligent. However, he didn't bother to argue with you. He asked me to come up and inform you to rectify the troops, pass Mao'erzhuang, and enter Datong Pass!"
Zhang Heling smiled.
When he saw groups of prisoners tied to carriages, he felt even more amused.
Wang Shouren said: "Why would you fire cannons in the distance?"
"Go and ask Mr. Zhang yourself. Let's go, let's go!"
Wang Shouren nodded and then called Ma Yi, Guan Jing and others to come over and organize people and horses to drive the captives and livestock down the mountain.
…
…
Daming's camp at the foot of the mountain was only a temporary station, but it was not an offensive formation. It was meant to be defensive.
Wang Shouren led 200 people from the front army to the camp at the foot of the mountain. When he saw Zhang Zhou already under his horse, he greeted him from afar with a soft smile on his face.
"Zhang Zhitai!"
Everyone got off their horses and Guan Jing, Sun Shangqi and others who came with Wang Shouren quickly saluted Zhang Zhou.
If Wang Shouren had won their respect before, then Zhang Zhou had always been deeply respected by them. Just like Wang Shouren judged heroes by their military merits, Zhang Zhou had more military merits than Wang Shouren.
Moreover, the battle in front of us was all planned by Zhang Zhou. Even if Zhang Zhou did not personally participate, it was still up to Zhang Zhou to bring reinforcements at the critical moment to force Menggoljin troops to retreat.
Wang Shouren stepped forward first, and then handed over his hand: "I have met Zhang Zhitai."
"You're welcome, you're welcome." Zhang Zhou said with a smile on his face, "Congratulations, Bo'an, for showing the Ming Dynasty's majesty in two battles on the grassland, the champion is no more than that!"
"Don't dare!"
Wang Shouren knew very well how much he weighed.
He said: "Without Zhang Zetai's mighty gunpowder, artillery, and flint muskets, the results of the previous two battles would have been difficult to predict. All of this was due to Zhang Zetai's strategic planning."
Wang Shouren also knew it well.
The victory was all due to the gunpowder and firearms provided by Zhang Zhou. He only had to temporarily dispatch the command to make these gunpowder and firearms effective. And how could his subordinates compete with the leader for credit?
Zhang Zhou smiled and shook his head: "Without Bo'an's command, the Ming Dynasty's second surprise attack on Weininghai would not have been possible. But now is not the time to discuss merits. Quickly pack up your belongings and go back south to Datong Town."
Guan Jing came over and clasped his fists and said: "Zhang Zhitai, the bandits have just withdrawn within an hour, why not transfer a few thousand cavalry to the general who is willing to go and pursue them."
"Haha. You have really shown your style. Are the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty so confident in the plain grassland? General Xiaoguan, don't be too anxious. This is the land of the grassland tribe. You see, I only brought 7,000 men and horses, but I still ride
, the steps are mixed, so many artillery have been transported thousands of miles with great difficulty, if the Fire Screen headquarters comes to kill them, it will not be easy to deal with. "
Zhang Zhou's words make it seem like he doesn't have much ability, and he doesn't dare to compete with Huo Si.
This was obviously different from what Guan Jing and other expeditionary force officers expected.
what's going on?
You are so discerning that the director of the Ministry of War, who was directly selected from among the new scholars, is so awesome. You brought more soldiers and horses here, but they are just here to cover our retreat?
This doesn't make sense.
Zhang Zhou faced the confusion in the eyes of Guan Jing and others and sighed: "Speaking of which, I have prepared almost all the mighty heavenly gunpowder that can be used in the Xuanfu for your troops and horses for the surprise attack on Weininghai.
There aren't many left. Why do you think I fired at them just now? Actually, I didn't want to show my cowardice. We don't have many artillery shells. I came to the grassland to practice artillery on the emperor's order. To put it bluntly, I used artillery to shoot rabbits."
"Fighting outside Xuanfu is also fighting, and fighting in Maoerzhuang is also fighting. It does not violate His Majesty's wishes. It is just that while hunting rabbits, with the help of Wang Zhongcheng, we have achieved some results in the grassland. Let's take the results back quickly.
,What are you still delaying here?"
This time even Wang Shouren was surprised by Zhang Zhou's modesty.
But then he also noticed the change in Zhang Zhou's address to him. He just thought that Zhang Zhou was wrong and did not refute anything.
Zhang Zhou said in front of everyone present: "The king has made great contributions to this battle. After I return, I will recommend it to your majesty. I will appoint the king as the censor of Qiandu and patrol a town in the northwest."
"this……"
These words actually made Wang Shouren a little embarrassed.
Although Zhang Zhou didn't say it clearly, even the dullest people present could imagine that Zhang Zhou probably asked Wang Shouren to patrol Datong or Xuanfu as the censor of Qiandu, and the possibility of governor Xuanfu was high...
...After all, Ma Zhongxi himself resigned, so it is perfectly reasonable to let Wang Shouren, who has achieved military exploits, replace Ma Zhongxi.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "But this is just my wishful thinking. After the merits are discussed and rewarded, the officers and men who have made meritorious service today will definitely be promoted to the imperial court. I am afraid that I have the intention to keep Wang Zhongcheng on the three sides, and I may
He was recalled to the capital by His Majesty and bestowed with a title."
"What are you waiting for? Duke Baoguo, why don't you hurry up and coordinate with my soldiers on the Ming expedition to help them bring the spoils back to the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhu Hui smiled and said: "Yes!"
For Zhu Hui, although the expedition to Weininghai had little to do with him, according to the rules of rewards in the Ming Dynasty, even if he just led troops to Maoerzhuang, his contribution was not small.
Moreover, he was also the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu. His contribution in this battle may not be as much as that of many frontline soldiers.
He does not seek to be promoted to a higher title... there is no room for promotion, but the accumulation of reputation for him in this battle alone is enough to make his Baoguo Gong lineage prosperous in the next ten or even decades.
is the point.
…
…
After the expeditionary force joined Zhang Zhou's main force, they immediately set off southward without even taking a break, retreating towards Yanghekou around Fangshan Mountain, a border crossing outside Datong Town.
After marching all night, the soldiers and horses began to station and rest.
This night was Wang Shouren's first long rest after entering the grassland. He sat in a carriage and slept all night amid the bumps.
With Zhang Zhou here, it seemed that he finally no longer had to worry about strategic matters and could rest peacefully.
"Are you okay?"
When Zhang Zhou saw Wang Shouren early the next morning, he saw that Wang Shouren looked groggy, and he had obviously caught the cold.
This is a problem caused by fatigue.
When Wang Shouren saw that all the generals had left the temporary camp, and he seemed to have missed an important meeting, he hurriedly said: "This is a low-ranking official who has neglected his duty."
"It's okay, I didn't let them bother you. Don't worry, I'm not trying to take credit from you." Zhang Zhou smiled.
"I don't dare to speculate like this." Wang Shouren felt ashamed.
Zhang Zhou now not only sympathizes with his hard work, but also sympathizes with his situation.
If he used the two battles on the grassland to win the respect of the soldiers, he also experienced the new gunpowder and artillery brought by Zhang Zhou through these two battles. In response to the changes in the battlefield pattern, he had to put away the previous unique characteristics of the officials' children.
His arrogance made him look at Zhang Zhou from the eyes of Ming people or military generals again.
He also seemed to understand why everyone in the army respected Zhang Zhou so much, and why the emperor trusted Zhang Zhou so much.
At this time, he also felt that his father and his father's colleagues seemed to have a paranoid prejudice against Zhang Zhou. Now he believed that this prejudice was undesirable.
Zhang Zhou said: "It's good that you didn't take the initiative to go down the mountain yesterday. If soldiers and horses from Datong Town came over, it's hard to say what the result would be."
Wang Shouren originally wanted to explain to Zhang Zhou that he had not deliberately neglected Zhang Zhou yesterday. He had seen the Ming Dynasty's soldiers and horses and used his telescope to confirm that they were not Di Yi's disguise, so he should hurry down the mountain without wasting time.
But the problem he was thinking about was that there might also be cases of power grabbing within the Ming Dynasty.
More than 10,000 prisoners, as well as nearly 100,000 cattle, sheep and livestock, etc., would make a person jealous. The soldiers and horses in each town on the nine sides are doing their own thing. If the soldiers and horses in Datong Town insist on giving them the prisoners and livestock,
What should we do if we just let them pass through the pass near Datong?
If things go wrong, for this military achievement, the soldiers and horses from the two towns of Ming Dynasty will fight against each other in Maoerzhuang.
Obviously, Zhang Zhou, like him, understood the urinary nature of the Ming border troops.
Wang Shouren said: "Thanks to Zhang Zhitai's timely arrival, if it had been delayed for a few more hours, the result might have been very different."
Zhang Zhou sighed: "I can only say that coming from Xuanfu, even if you walk along the border, the journey is not smooth. We should have arrived a day earlier, but after all, unlike you, one man and two horses, the whole army can march in such a hurry.
I don’t expect anything more.”
"I don't know why in Datong Town..."
Wang Shouren asked half of the question but did not finish it.
What he actually wanted to ask was that the border gate of Datong Town is only more than a hundred miles away from Maoerzhuang. Even if we set out from Datong Town, the distance to Maoerzhuang is only more than 200 miles. Why has Datong never been seen?
Reinforcements for the town?
Didn’t you say that you have already given the order to Datong Governor Hong Han and that he should have set off long ago?
"Haha, the Ming Dynasty's frontier army has always adhered to the principle of doing more than doing less, and no fault is merit. Even if he is willing to send troops, the daily march will not exceed ten miles, and will they go to the front line of Mao'erzhuang?
Getting closer is still unknown.”
Zhang Zhou’s meaning.
When Hong Han or the garrison in Datong Town learned that there were soldiers and horses from the front banner of the Mengoljin tribe in Maoerzhuang, how could they concentrate on rushing to help?
Meng Guoljin's troops in Maoerzhuang were not just a guise. They had deployed more than 5,000 soldiers and horses to prepare for the Ming Dynasty's northward march. They were also sure that these 5,000 soldiers and horses could frighten the garrison in Datong Town...
The effect was indeed very obvious. As expected, the troops in Datong Town did not dare to rush northward.
It was also because the generals in Datong Town simply did not believe that Zhang Zhou's plan to surprise Weininghai would achieve any results, so they did not see any benefit in fighting Di Yi in Mao'erzhuang.
Even if we defeat Mao'erzhuang and the entire expeditionary force that went to attack Weininghai is completely wiped out, wouldn't we be left alone? Who will be responsible for our casualties? If the army is defeated, who will be held responsible?
When Wang Shouren heard Zhang Zhou's words, he felt a sense of anger in his heart, probably because he resented the failure of the soldiers in the border towns of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Zhou said: "The towns on the nine sides of the Ming Dynasty need reform, but this kind of reform cannot be completed overnight. Only when the soldiers have confidence and know that they can win the battle can they dare to fight. Regardless of the bravery of the cavalry of the tribes in the grassland, as long as there are more
After defeating them several times, look at it now... If they had tens of thousands of troops before, would they retreat when they encounter our tens of thousands of troops? This is a change!"
Wang Shouren thought for a while and couldn't help but nodded.
Zhang Zhou's 7,000 troops came over, of which there were only three or four thousand cavalry, and there were three or four thousand infantry left, dragging artillery and so on, and there were not enough artillery shells.
Even if Wang Shouren's expeditionary force were to be included in the decisive battle with the seven or eight thousand remaining cavalry assembled by Meng Guoljin's tribe in Mao'erzhuang, the outcome would still be unknown.
But now it is different from before.
Zhang Zhou came and fired a few cannons at the open space. Meng Guoljin's seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses just ran away in despair.
Changes in battlefield confidence come from changes in the battle situation, or changes in offense and defense, victory or defeat.
Wang Shouren then talked to Zhang Zhou about the surprise attack on Weininghai by him and the expeditionary force. Zhang Zhou listened carefully to his story.
Wang Shouren lamented: "All this is due to the new firearms and gunpowder brought by Zhang Zhitai."
"Brother Bo'an, if you don't mind, you can just call me Bingkuan from now on. We are the same year and work together, and you are several years older than me. There is no need to be so outspoken." Zhang Zhou smiled, "We have gone through this battle together.
, there will be many opportunities for cooperation in the northwest in the future. Even if I return to the DPRK in the future, and you still stay in the northwest, don’t you need me to help you plan things in the DPRK and help you make more requests in front of His Majesty?"
"this……"
Wang Shouren was somewhat defeated by Zhang Zhou's straightforwardness.
But what Zhang Zhou is saying now is the real truth.
After Wang Shouren experienced this battle, he certainly felt confident that he could establish a career in the northwest and realize his ambitions. If he was allowed to return to the capital just like this... he would feel that it was the imperial court's suppression of him, or that
It was Xun Chen or Zhang Zhou who was dissatisfied with his achievements.
When Zhang Zhou said this, he clearly wanted to keep him in the northwest.
If he were in the northwest and faced with so many troubles in the officialdom and the military, not everyone would be as obedient as the soldiers of the expeditionary force.
After all, Wang Weining established his reputation by winning four or five battles. Those were the battles that Wang Weining organized his own troops and strategies to achieve, and he relied more on Zhang Zhou's ingenuity and weapons.
He needed Zhang Zhou. In addition to relying on Zhang Zhou's reputation, he also needed Zhang Zhou's connections in front of the emperor.
"Haha, Bo'an, don't mind." Zhang Zhou smiled.
"Won't."
Wang Shouren also smiled.
The estrangement between the two seems to have disappeared.
Just as he was talking, a message came from the door: "Report... Mr. Tang is asking for an audience."
"Let him in."
Zhang Zhou asked Tang Yin to enter the camp.
Tang Yin had been in charge of logistics matters before. He didn't go to greet Wang Shouren yesterday. When he saw Wang Shouren again today, he suddenly felt like "things have changed in the world and people have changed".
Before the expedition, you were in charge and I was in charge. After just a few days, I was still in charge and you were already another famous "Wang Weining" of the Ming Dynasty and a famous general in the Ming Dynasty.
Isn’t it because he lacked the courage to make a surprise attack on Weininghai?
Why didn't I go then...
Wang Shouren did not shy away from Tang Yin. He asked: "Zhang Zhitai, we are going to Yanghekou this time. What should we do if the officers guarding the pass deliberately create difficulties?"
"Haha." Zhang Zhou said, "I am the commander-in-chief of Xuanda, and you dare to stop me from entering the pass? Whoever stops me, I will blast the city pass to him! This responsibility is not on me! Since I have to lead the troops
, naturally you have to have some courage. Bo'an, you are so courageous in this battle, I think you will do the same, right?"
After Wang Shouren heard this, he felt extremely ashamed.
Blow up the city gates of the Ming Dynasty?
Or a fratricidal explosion?
Wang Weining has such courage, and you, Zhang Banxian, also have such courage, but I dare not compare with you.
Zhang Zhou said to Tang Yin who was listening to the excitement: "What are you doing? Go and tell the soldiers outside to rest until noon and then continue to set off. You must not stop for the next two days. If there are cattle, sheep and herdsmen who are difficult to drive away on the way,
Kill! You must enter the customs within two days, and you must arrive before nightfall the day after tomorrow."
"yes."
Tang Yin hurried out to deliver the order.
The annoyance in my heart has now become a messenger.
Comparing people with each other... makes people angry.
Zhang Zhou took out a drafted battle report, handed it to Wang Shouren and said, "I have written a memorial for the report. Please read it in detail."
"Should we wait until we return to the border first?" Wang Shouren asked.
Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "It's no big deal. If Huosi really comes after you in the next two days, you can bring the hostages in and I'll meet with him. Haha, as long as I'm here, I'll see if his fire like Huosi can still burn."
