When soldiers and horses entered Xuanfu territory, the official road was divided into two parts in the shape of "Y", one heading northwest to the Xuanfu Town Hall and Wanquan Guard, and the other heading due north along the Yanshan Mountains.
The terrain of the border town of Xuanfu Town is flat and open on the west side, and the Yanshan Mountains are crisscrossed on the east side. Therefore, heavy troops gathered toward the northwest, including the Xuanfu Three Guards, Wanquan Guards, Huai'an Guards, Wanquan Left Guards, and Wanquan Right Guards.
, Zhangjiakou Military Fortress and other heavily stocked guard posts are all in the northwest. Relatively speaking, there are many fewer guard posts on the east side. After passing Yanqing Prefecture and going north, there are only Chang'an Post, Longmen Guard and Longmen Post.
There is of course a reason for this. The Tatar cavalry are fierce. If they want to invade in a large scale, they can only attack south from the open area northwest of Xuanfu, but it is unlikely to attack from the Yanshan Mountains in the east. In order to defend the relatively open and flat northwest
For an invading enemy, the center of gravity of a large number of troops must be concentrated on the west side, while there is no need to have many troops stationed on the east side.
There are 100,000 troops stationed in Xuanfu Town. There are 50,000 troops stationed in Xuanfu Town alone. The number of troops stationed on the west side is more than 70,000. On the east side, there are less than 30,000 troops, distributed on the middle road of Xuanfu Town and the north of Xuanfu Town.
Among the military bunkers and guard posts under the jurisdiction of the two places on the road.
Zhu Houzhao's border patrol route this time was not to the densely populated garrison in the direction of Xuanfu Town, but directly to the north, to the northernmost border area.
The condition of the official roads is very good, which also shows that the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the defense of border towns, which can be seen from the condition of the roads. The official roads are all gravel roads, which are convenient for vehicles and horses to pass, and it is especially convenient for the deployment and transportation of troops during war.
Materials.
Therefore, after entering the boundary of Xuanfu Town, Zhu Houzhao began to gallop like a horse. Zhu Houzhao's mount was a white horse, tall and mighty, and ran fast and steadily. Zhu Houzhao was wearing a golden coat.
He is wearing beautiful armor and a gold silk cloak of bright red satin. At his waist is a gorgeous jeweled sword. When the whole person is galloping, the cloak is hunting, and the whole person is shining in the sun, so gorgeous that it is impossible to look at it.
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The original guards of the East Palace who followed and protected have all been assigned to the Han Dynasty General's Camp. Their armors are also shiny and gorgeous. The horses they ride are also extremely handsome. The weapons they carry are also high-quality standard swords.
Shining brightly.
Such a group of cavalry surrounded Zhu Houzhao and galloped under the sun. It was a very exciting scene as you can imagine. From a distance, they looked like a group of heavenly soldiers and generals, extremely heroic and majestic.
On the other hand, the captains under Zhang Yanling were just like a group of beggars.
Although Zhang Yanling has actually tried his best within the scope of his ability and authority to equip the personal guards and the imperial guards who followed him with good armor and blades, these armors and blades can only be considered intact and not damaged.
The gray armor, the ordinary sword, and the scabbard were stained with rust. The cloak was dirty and black, and it was bulging and wrinkled. The mount he was riding was also short and thin. He was with Zhu Houzhao.
Compared with the magnificent new weapons and armor, the tall and handsome Han generals and guards, they were like beggars to the rich, salt-free to fairies, and toads to swans.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Imperial Guards, the Han generals, and the bodyguards would not even want to be in the same team as these beggar-like captains. If it were not for the fact that these captains under Zhang Houye have done a lot of exploration and reconnaissance
Keeping vigil at night, setting up tents, cutting firewood, setting up camp, and other menial tasks, the big Han generals of the Jin Yiwei might have stopped giving them a good look.
However, the two soldiers and horses who also belong to the Jinyiwei system are obviously different in temperament and discipline. The Han generals of Jinyiwei are flamboyant and noisy, while the more than 200 people under Zhang Yanling are silent and low-key. Everyone is methodical and efficient.
He does his own thing without making any noise, and quietly does all the arranged things. He has a cool temperament.
In particular, there are dozens of captains among them, carrying long leather bags behind their backs, and I don’t know what is inside. They have cowhide belts tied around their waists, and there are large and small leather bags hanging, and I don’t know what is inside.
Whether people are eating, rushing, or sleeping
He felt that all the skin bags on his body were not left behind. Some Han generals of the Imperial Guard tried to see what was in the skin bags on the way, but they were sternly rejected and almost made a move. If the commander Wu Qian had not stopped him, it might have led to a disaster.
Group fight incident.
Zhu Houzhao left Juyong Pass and left the capital city. Behind him, Zhang Yong stopped the court officials who might come after him. He no longer had to worry about being stopped by them. You can imagine how happy he felt. In addition, after leaving the customs, he no longer had to worry about being stopped by them.
Afterwards, the road was flat and open, the sun was shining brightly, the green hills were rolling, the flowers and trees were luxuriant, and I was in a great mood. The horse galloped along, as free and happy as a bird out of its cage.
Their horses were fast, but Zhang Yanling's horses were slow. They were supposed to search forward, but Zhu Houzhao and the others disappeared. Zhang Yanling's two hundred men chased with all their might, and finally caught up with Zhu Houzhao and others at sunset. But they had already made their choice.
We found a place and started to set up camp.
Zhang Yanling had to remind the emperor again not to do this, and to make his own people alert and conduct investigations before moving forward to avoid any danger.
Zhu Houzhao disagreed, but said: "Your horses are moving too slowly, I can't wait. I can finally gallop with my horses, but I have to go slowly? I won't force you. I won't force you."
Let’s take a step forward tomorrow, and we can camp at Longmen Station to rest in the evening. Just follow us slowly.”
Zhang Yanling, of course, strongly opposed it. There were already few manpower, but the emperor actually wanted to leave first. This was not a wise move. After a few words of persuasion, Zhu Houzhao refused to comment.
The next day, when the soldiers and horses set out, Zhu Houzhao actually led the Han generals of the Jinyi Guards to the north, and soon disappeared without a trace. Zhang Yanling led the people to chase them all the way, but only saw horse hooves and horse dung along the way, left behind when they rested.
There were traces of bonfires and discarded garbage. But Zhu Houzhao and his party were never seen again.
Zhang Yanling simply told everyone not to hurry. Even if they pursue with all their strength, they can't catch up. If this continues, the people will be fine, but the horses will not be able to bear it. Moreover, the official road ahead is getting more and more rugged. After crossing a large river called Longmen River,
It was obvious that the official road could no longer be smooth as it was all mountainous. Zhu Houzhao and the others could no longer fly as they pleased. They would soon catch up with them.
Sure enough, in the morning of the next day, Zhang Yanling and others caught up with Zhu Houzhao and others on the rugged official road. Zhu Houzhao and his party all looked exhausted. After two consecutive days of running, even the war horses of the Han generals could not stand it.
In order to keep up with Zhu Houzhao's horse, they ran desperately for two days and arrived at this rugged place.
I was shivering from exhaustion on the rugged mountain road. Not long ago, several horses slipped on their hoofs and almost fell down the slope and died. Liu Jin and others were also as tired as dead dogs. After all, they were eunuchs with insufficient strength and physical abilities.
, and Liu Jin was almost fifty years old, how could he endure such a long journey on horseback, and he was complaining in his heart.
Zhu Houzhao was still in high spirits and showed no sign of fatigue. When he saw Zhang Yanling and others following him, he loudly urged them to start.
In the evening of that day, the group finally arrived at Longmensuo on the east side of Longmen River.