Zhao Yongsheng looked a little displeased, and Zhang Yanling hurriedly explained: "General Zhao, don't think too much. I'm not criticizing, I just want to know the reason here."
Zhao Yongsheng said in a deep voice: "Master Marquis, we don't have enough troops to take care of everything. We, the Longmen Guards, have more than a thousand soldiers and horses. We have to guard the walls and passes of the Great Wall for more than thirty miles, and we need to take turns to rest. Neither do our brothers.
Made of iron."
Zhang Yanling nodded slightly.
Zhao Yongsheng sighed and continued: "In fact, we only have four to five hundred soldiers and horses stationed on the city wall. In addition to the permanent soldiers stationed at various watchtowers and beacon towers, the defense on the city wall can only rely on patrol teams.
There will inevitably be oversights in the enemy's situation. Sometimes a small group of Tatars will climb up and then enter the Ming Dynasty. This is also unthinkable."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's right. With such a long defense line and only so few manpower, it is really difficult to completely defend it. It is inevitable that loopholes will be exploited."
Zhao Yongsheng said: "The Tatars are very cunning. They have many tricks and tricks. Did you know? According to the information compiled by our border army in Xuanfu Town, every year in our Xuanfu Town's defensive forts and along the Great Wall, there will be
There were seven to eight hundred cases of Tatars entering the country secretly.
Reports. Various methods were used. Some people climbed the city wall secretly, some climbed over steep mountains and dense forests to enter. There was even an incident where Tatars tried to dig tunnels to enter from under the Great Wall at the border under Wanquan Youwei... always,
There are many renovations and renovations.”
Zhang Yanling said in astonishment: "Why are these Tatars so persistent in trying to sneak into our country? What effect will a small group of soldiers and horses have if they enter?"
Zhao Yongsheng looked at Zhang Yanling speechlessly and said: "What the Marquis said, it seems that he does not understand these things very well. Although the number of soldiers and horses that the Tatars infiltrated was not large, the harm they caused was great. First of all, they can
Inquire about the military situation in our border town and get information through Feiyu. A few of them can go deeper.
We go to various places in the Ming Dynasty to understand the situation of our Ming Dynasty court and obtain important internal information of our Ming Dynasty. For example, changes in the political situation, droughts, floods, and civil uprisings, etc., to provide intelligence to the Tatars. These are important information, and the Tatars attack
Timing is about choosing these moments that are favorable to them.”
Zhang Yanling suddenly realized that he felt stupid for asking this question.
"Also, they have a great impact on the morale of our border troops. Most of our border troops in the Ming Dynasty are hereditary military households, and they are stationed on the border to guard the border. The families of the military households all farm on the border to support the army and maintain their families' livelihood.
.These small groups of Tatar soldiers
After sneaking in, they would attack and kill military families, kill unarmed people, destroy farmland farming, and affect the morale of our border troops. In order to deal with small groups of Tatars, many soldiers and horses often have to be mobilized for encirclement and killing, which is very troublesome." Zhao Yongsheng
continued.
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "I am lonely. I thought that the Tatars' actions had no practical significance before. It was really ridiculous. From this point of view, everything makes sense. The Tatars are going to use various means to create opportunities for attack, and they will use all kinds of means to create offensive opportunities.
Attack to plunder the supplies of our Ming people."
Zhao Yongsheng nodded and said: "Yes. The problem is that their strength is not weak. Once a large-scale attack is carried out, it will be a disaster if they are not careful. The Tatar cavalry attack is really overwhelming, and it is quite possible that the flood will overwhelm them. Yes.
They can't take it lightly yet. That's why we deployed heavy troops on all sides to defend ourselves. Some people say that the Tatars
They are just a bunch of lice and fleas, they are just annoying our Ming Dynasty, but I don’t think so. They are actually powerful and have the ability to invade on a large scale, so they should not be underestimated. The capital of our Ming Dynasty is not far from the border town, how can we not strictly guard against it?
If you are not careful, you may threaten the safety of the capital. That is no joke."
Zhang Yanling admired Zhao Yongsheng greatly. Zhao Yongsheng's official position was not high, he was just a guard. His position as a guard was at the fifth level, just above a thousand households, and he was a middle- and low-level general. As a grassroots officer in the border army, Zhao Yongsheng was obviously not
What a reckless man, what he said today and what he said today are ridiculous.
Yan Ling didn't fully know. It can be seen that this man's talent is not just that of an ordinary officer. He has a very clear mind and a clear view of the overall situation. If the generals in the border army all
If he could be like Zhao Yongsheng, Zhang Yanling would have to take a high look at the Ming border troops.
"The Tartars retreat, the Tartars retreat." The soldiers shouted from the battlefield on the city wall.
Zhang Yanling and Zhao Yongsheng looked down the city, and sure enough, the Tatar soldiers and horses were retreating from the hillside below. About a few hundred Tatar soldiers quickly disappeared into the trees. At this time, it was already the dawn and the sky was about to brighten.
The guy actually worked hard until dawn.
Zhao Yongsheng went to organize his troops and take inventory. Zhang Yin strode over with a satisfied smile on his face.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "How many Tatars did Zhang Qianhu kill?"
Zhang Yin said with a proud look: "Kill thirteen. The Tatars are too cowardly to show their faces. I have never seen such cowardly Tatars. They want to attack, but they hide and don't show up. How come it has been more than ten years?
In the past, have the Tatars become cowards? They are nothing like the Tatars of Black Mountain Castle back then. It is true that one generation is worse than the other."
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said: "Killing thirteen is not enough? Do you want them to line up one by one to be your targets? Is this fun?"
Zhang Yin smacked his lips and said, "It's not quite satisfactory. I've regained a bit of the feeling I had back then."
Eight defenders were killed and more than 20 wounded, all with arrow wounds. After Zhang Yanling went to check, he saw that the soldiers were just wrapping their wounds with rags and didn't even have medicine. He couldn't help but frown. The frontier troops were not only poorly equipped.
, living and living conditions are poor, even injured and even
There was no medicine at all. It really couldn’t be justified. Zhang Yanling immediately ordered Zhao Yuancheng and others to take out the medical kit and use the first-aid powder they carried with them to bandage and treat the injured. The first-aid powder was extremely effective. A dozen lightly wounded soldiers quickly stopped bleeding and their wounds
The pain has reduced a lot.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang. What kind of medicine is this? Is it so magical?" Zhao Yongsheng thanked him continuously.
Zhang Yanling said: "This is my own first-aid powder. It has the effect of stopping bleeding and removing poison, and is especially suitable for injuries caused by swords and weapons."
Zhao Yongsheng said with envy: "Awesome, awesome."
Zhang Yanling thought for a while and said: "Yuan Cheng, ask the brothers to distribute ten bottles and give them to General Zhao and others in case of emergency."
Zhao Yongsheng was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. He knew what medicine meant to the soldiers. Zhang Yanling's generous donation of medicine greatly increased his favorable impression of Zhang Yanling.
Everyone packed up and headed back. Zhao Yongsheng pointed to the gradually brightening mountains on both sides of the Great Wall and introduced the terrain to Zhang Yanling and others, introducing the name of the valley and the location of the fortress.
Standing on the Great Wall and looking at the scenery of the mountains and fields on both sides is even more magnificent and amazing. But Zhang Yanling always seemed to feel that something was wrong in his mind. There was always something vaguely floating in his mind.
But couldn't catch it.
"That's the White Tiger Cave. Do you see it? It's a cave on the cliff. It is said that tigers with snow-white fur lived in it in the past." Zhao Yongsheng pointed to a cave on the cliff.
Zhang Yanling suddenly had a flash in his mind, stopped and said to Zhao Yongsheng: "General Zhao, do you think the Tatars are also secretly digging tunnels during their two months of harassment?"