"Sit down, everyone, there is no need to be polite." Shang Bing said with a smile: "You generals haven't eaten yet, so I will order the cook to bring the food, and we will start eating."
"Thank you, Your Highness." A young general sat down and said carelessly: "I have been hungry for a long time."
"Stand up! How can you be so rude in front of His Highness!" Another older general scolded.
When the young general heard this, he immediately stood up as if on conditioned reflex, and said to the older general: "Father, I was wrong." Then he immediately apologized to Shang Bing: "I am disrespectful, please punish me, Your Highness."
"You have been working very hard for Qin Fan these days. How can I punish you for a small lack of etiquette?" Shang Bing said to the older general: "Song Aiqing, these days Song Hu and Song Ying
Brothers are also very busy, so don’t be harsh on any slight lapses in etiquette.”
This old general is now the left prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, Song Sheng from his hometown of Dingyuan County, Fengyang Prefecture. Song Sheng guarded Liangzhou from the twelfth year of Hongwu, and was transferred to Guangxi in the twenty-ninth year of Hongwu. After Yunxi came to the throne, because of him
He guarded the northwest for a long time and was appointed as the left prime minister of the Qin vassal.
Song Sheng had three sons. The eldest son is now serving as the commander of the right guard of the government army in the capital. The second son Song Hu married the princess of Chang'an in the capital and returned to the northwest to serve as a general in Yiwu with his third brother Song Ying.
After listening to Shang Bing's words, Song Sheng, as a minister, could only agree even if he disagreed: "Your Highness is right." Then he said to Song Hu: "Why don't you quickly thank Your Highness for your kindness."
After such an incident, by the time everyone sat down, the chef had already brought all the food, placed it on the table, and then stepped back with his waist bent.
Shang Bing picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the vegetable into his mouth. Everyone immediately picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
The generals were hungrier than Gao Xiang. During this time, they were reorganizing the army and practicing with the soldiers every day. They were physically exhausted. At this time, they all wolfed down their meals as if they were reincarnated by starving ghosts. After a while, everyone had eaten eight
Slow down when you are full.
Shang Bing waited for them to slow down before asking: "Prime Minister Song, are the soldiers okay now?"
"Your Highness, the Qin vassal has a total of 30,000 soldiers, including 15,000 guardsmen and 15,000 Mongolians. 10,000 of the Mongolians were recruited after hearing that the Kingdom of Samarkand was about to march eastward. However, the Mongols
He has been riding a horse since he was a child, and even if he is equipped with good swords and guns, his combat effectiveness is still not as good as that of a soldier who has undergone rigorous training, but he can still use it in battle."
"The officers and men at the guard station are fine, but the morale of the Mongolian officers and soldiers is unstable. They have been in Yiwu for a long time. They have long heard of the fame of Timur, the great Khan of Samarkand, and are a little scared." Song Sheng replied.
"Always pay attention to the thoughts of the Mongolian soldiers. The military doctors sent there should chat with the injured people who come for treatment. If you find that you have different ideas, you must quickly report it to your superiors." Shang Bing ordered. Song Sheng hurriedly agreed.
He also asked about sending people to build the city in Yili's territory. Song Sheng said: "Your Highness, after discussing with King Shami Chagan of Yili's Khan, due to lack of manpower, we finally decided to only build the city in Urumqi and Alashankou.
Build cities at Turpan, Qijiaojing, Tiemenguan and other five places to guard against the troops of the Samarkand Kingdom."
"Among them, Qijiaojing and Turpan City are almost completed because they are close to Yiwu and are not large in area. Tiemenguan and Urumqi cities are half completed, and it is estimated that they will be completed in another three months."
"Three months? It is already April 17th. It is estimated that the Samarkand Congress will send troops to the east in early March and will reach Urumqi in about three months. Now that it has been a month, there are only two left.
It’s been a month. I’m afraid there’s not enough time.” Shang Bing said.
"Your Highness, there is also the city of Alashankou. The terrain of Alashankou is very dangerous. Even if the city is incomplete, it is enough to hold off the soldiers of the Samarkand Kingdom for a month."
"Prime Minister Song, you just mentioned the situation of four of the cities. What about the city built at Alashankou?"
"Oddly enough, I haven't received any news from Alashankou for half a month, so I didn't mention it."
"It's been half a month?" Shang Bing suddenly had a bad feeling: "Has anyone been sent to investigate?"
"We have sent people to investigate. We just haven't reported back yet."
"I will report to the orphan immediately after the investigators report back."
Song Sheng was about to agree when suddenly a faint voice came from outside the house. The voice got closer and closer and became clearer: "Urgent report from Alashankou!"
While he was talking, a man wearing Baihu costumes had already walked in - according to Zhu Shangbing's regulations, no one was allowed to stop him for urgent military matters, and he had to be woken up even if he was already asleep - facing Shang who was wearing princely costumes.
Bing knelt down and said: "Your Highness, urgent report from Alashankou!"
Shang Bing saw that the clothes on his body were not only dirty, but also very shabby, and his spirit was very haggard. He knew something was wrong and asked, "What happened?"
"Your Highness, Alashankou was captured by the army of Samarkand on the first day of April!" (The first day of April in the Ming calendar is the 18th day of the tenth month in the Hijri calendar)
"What!" Shang Bing stood up all of a sudden. The chopsticks he held in his right hand fell to the ground without even realizing it. He pointed the index finger of his left hand at the hundred households. After a while, he continued to ask: "What is going on!"
"Your Highness, at dawn on the first day of April, a fierce west wind blew, which made people unable to open their eyes. The construction of the west and north city walls could only be stopped. All the craftsmen and five hundred soldiers were outside the east city wall.
, and build walls with mud.”
"In the afternoon, everyone had just finished eating and was hiding in the tent to rest. Suddenly, thousands of people and horses rushed from the west with the wind. Because the wind was too strong, the people on guard were a little slack. It was not until the enemy cavalry was only five miles away from the city.
When he found out, he quickly beat the drum and summoned the soldiers."
"When the soldiers heard the sound of drums, they hurriedly picked up their weapons and prepared to defend themselves against the enemy, but by this time it was too late. The cavalry of the Samarkand Kingdom rushed into the city and set fire to it. The fire took advantage of the wind and burned the entire city."
"The soldiers were blocked by the fire in the east of the city and could not move forward, so they had to leave the city to regroup. But at this time, a part of the Samarkand cavalry also came around and immediately launched a charge when they saw the soldiers. The soldiers could not form a formation.
It was overrun at once and the whole army was scattered. I snatched a horse from the rebel army and rushed back to report the news, but the other soldiers did not run out." When he said this, his eyes turned red.
"This," Shang Bing had never experienced such a big event, and he didn't know how to deal with it for a while. He was stunned on the spot. Song Sheng still shouted: "Go down first and place yourself in the military camp until His Highness or the Prime Minister calls you."
Then he hurriedly said to Shang Bing: "Your Highness, for one, you must ask the imperial court for help immediately! The soldiers of the Samarkand Kingdom arrived at Alashan Pass half a month ago. They raised their troops much earlier than expected. We must ask the imperial court for assistance as soon as possible!"
"Second, speed up the construction of the three cities of Urumqi, Qijiaojing, and Turpan. Since Alashankou has been captured by the Kingdom of Samarkand, there is no danger to defend eastward until Besbali City. Although Beselbali City is a city, it is not safe.
The small location of the city is not easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the Mongols are not good at defending the city, so they will definitely not be able to defend it."
"But now the army is not fully equipped with weapons and there are not enough weapons. If we need to delay, we can only rely on these three cities. As for Tiemenguan, the reason why we built a city here was because we were worried that Timur would lead his troops from Tianshan Mountain and beyond.
Marching south, since its troops have entered Yilibaoli from the north of Tianshan Mountain, there is no need to build the Iron Gate Pass, and all the materials and craftsmen originally planned to be sent to Iron Gate Pass can be sent to Turpan and other places."
"Third, gather all the young and strong people under His Highness's rule and recruit them as civilians to prepare for the war and raise supplies to defend the city. The young and old will move into the city, and the food will be allocated by the government on a per capita basis. Also, the people inside will also be required.
If you use it, Shamichagan won't have to worry about it when a disaster strikes."
"What Song Aiqing said is very appropriate. Let's do it quickly." Shang Bing had no idea at this time and immediately agreed after hearing Song Sheng's reasonable suggestion.
"Your Highness, I and Gao Xiang can take care of other matters, but your Highness needs to personally come forward to contact Yi Li." Song Sheng said again.
"Okay, Guma will send someone, no, go to Urumqi in person, and meet with Shami Chagan there." Shang Bing finally regained his composure and said loudly.
Song Sheng originally wanted to remonstrate, but when he saw this, he nodded slightly and said nothing. From Alashankou to Beshel Bali or Urumqi, the normal march of a mixed army of infantry and cavalry takes about fifteen to twenty days. This time is not enough to support the city of Urumqi.
After repairing it, Shamechagan must resist in the Gurbantunggut Basin for a period of time. But if Shamechagan leaves Gurbantunggut, most of his men will think that he has escaped first, and soon they will
If the entire army collapses, the enemy troops will immediately march to the gates of Urumqi.
There is no need to worry about the cavalry during the siege, but the infantry of the Samarkand Kingdom are also battle-hardened and have rich experience in sieges. Not only is Urumqi incomplete, but there are not many defenders in the city, it will probably fall soon. In order to allow Yili to control the city,
The Mongols could not hold on for a few more days, so Zhu Shangbing had to go and meet with Shami Chagan.
Song Sheng said a few more words to Shang Bing, and then he and Zhuo Jing were ordered to retreat; the other generals also left the palace and returned to the military camp.
After they all left the palace, Shang Bing ordered the horses to be prepared immediately and he was going to Urumqi immediately.
Just as she was getting ready, Tang Yuewan, Princess of Qin, rushed over from the backyard. Although the eunuch who reported to her could not explain clearly what happened, she also knew that something big had happened and Shang Bing was about to go out, so she came over immediately to ask.
He did not hide anything from his princess: "The Kingdom of Samarkand sent troops nearly two months in advance, and all preparations have not been completed. In order to delay it for a few more days, my husband is going to Urumqi to meet with Shamichagan."
"Husband, be careful." Tang Yuewan also knew that she had been preparing for war during this period, and she also knew what it meant for the Kingdom of Samarkand to send troops in advance. She did not stop him after hearing this, and just said: "Husband, you must pay attention to safety during this trip and bring more guards.
."
"Yes." Shang Bing agreed and spoke a few more words to her. Then his servant said that the horse was ready and ordered the eunuch to take her back to the backyard. He led the guards to the side door, mounted the horse and galloped away.
Yiwu City.
Shang Bing was pressed for time this time. Although he did not travel at night for safety reasons, he rode for more than a hundred miles every day and arrived in Turpan in just five days. When he arrived in Turpan, although it was still early, Shang Bing considered
The group of more than 200 people were exhausted after the continuous bumps, so they rested in the unfinished city of Turpan that day.
But Shang Bing himself did not go to rest, but stayed in the city to see how the city was being built.
The general stationed in Turpan reported: "Your Highness, the city of Turpan is currently built in accordance with the regulations of the Central Plains County City established by Emperor Taizu. It has a radius of three hundred feet and a city wall about three feet high. Now the North City and West City have been built, and the South City has also been built.
It is almost completed, only the east city is still more than 30 feet away."
"Very good. Just have to go faster." Shang Bing knew it was already fast, but he could only urge them to go faster.
Of course the general knew the reason. Eight days ago when the hundred households passed through Turpan, he had already learned about the advance dispatch of troops from the Kingdom of Samarkand. So at this time he bowed and agreed: "Yes, Your Highness, I will personally urge the craftsmen to complete the work as soon as possible."
================
I misremembered the person. The right correspondent of Qin Fan was Gao Xiang. The previous article has been corrected.
Thanks to book friend Tonyvane for the tip. The word count is not included.
