"Your Highness, my rescue is late, please forgive me!" At the gate of Yiwu Inner City, Xu Huizu, who successfully rescued Yiwu City, knelt down and said this when he saw Shang Bing for the first time.
"Your Highness, I am waiting for the rescue to arrive late. Please forgive me!" Lan Zhen, Zhang Fu, Geng Xuan and others, who were the third deputy generals of the five armies, also immediately knelt down.
Although Xu Huizu advocated waiting for most of the soldiers to arrive at Xingxing Gorge before leading troops to rescue him, he was still frightened at this time. When he just entered Yiwu City, he saw many holes that had been drilled in the wall of the outer city, and he saw piles of debris on the top of the city.
Seeing the mountains of corpses and the bright red blood seeping into the cracks of the bricks, seeing that there were less than 30,000 soldiers left in the city at this time, all of whom were injured, I suddenly understood how dangerous Yiwu City was during this period.
The battle on top of the city before leading the troops was so cruel, Yiwu City was really almost lost.
If Yiwu is lost, he is sure that Yunxi will not change his generals on the battlefield, but even if he defeats Timur's army, he will immediately apologize to His Majesty after returning with his troops, and it is best to keep his tail between his legs for a long time after that.
If he loses the battle, he can only apologize with death.
"Fortunately, Yiwu City was defended!" He couldn't help but sigh.
At this time, Shang Bing was chatting with Jin Wang Zhu Jixi and his second brother Gaoping Wang Zhu Jiye, who came with the reinforcements. When he heard Xu Huizu's voice, he stiffened, then turned his head, paused again, and reached out to help him up.
He also said: "General Xu, get up quickly. What you did is very appropriate. Why do you need to apologize to me?"
Although he knew intellectually that Xu Huizu's approach was correct, Shang Bing was still a little angry at him and his tone of voice was a little cold.
When Xu Huizu heard the tone of the words, he immediately understood that Shang Bing was still angry. He kowtowed three times and continued to plead guilty.
After struggling for a while, Zhu Jixi came out to smooth things over: "Okay, okay, it's going to be dark soon, and there are many things to arrange. Apart from anything else, the soldiers still need to think about where to sleep at night. Shang Bing, don't be embarrassed.
He got it."
Only then did Shang Bing relax. Xu Huizu also took a breath and stood up to make arrangements for the army.
"Your Highness Prince Jin, His Highness Prince Gaoping, please rest at the residence of His Highness Prince Qin at night. In any case, the palace is more comfortable to live in than a tent. Now almost all the houses in the outer city have been destroyed and cannot be inhabited. Besides, it is difficult to accommodate so many people in the city.
The officers and soldiers, I thought, should camp outside the city gate, which happens to be the horns of each other with the city," he said.
"I have no objection to setting up camp outside the city gate, but I still sleep in the camp at night and don't live in the palace." Ji Xi said.
"Brother Jin, why don't you live in the mansion with your younger brother?" Shang Bing asked puzzledly. Although Shang Bing's father is older than Ji Xi's father, he is younger than Ji Xi, and Ji Xi was born before Zhu Xiongying.
Yaohou is also the oldest in the whole generation with the character of fire, so Shang Bing calls him brother. (Yunwen is third, Gaochi is fourth, Yunxi is fifth, Prince Youdun of Zhou is sixth, Jiye is seventh, Zhou
Wang's second son Youjuan is the eighth and Shang Bing is the ninth)
Ji Xi avoided answering at this time and just said: "Ji Ye, you live in the palace. We brothers don't have time to get together on weekdays, especially since we haven't seen each other for many years since you were granted the title of Yiwu, so tonight is all."
, I will come to the palace tomorrow night to drink and talk with you, but you can't shut your brother out."
"How could my younger brother turn away Brother Jin? Brother, just don't forget to come over." Shang Bing saw his reaction and knew that it was not easy to tell the reason in front of everyone, so he agreed. Looking at Ji Ye's expression,
It seems that he also wanted to live in the military camp, but he didn't dare to refute what Ji Xi said, so he could only agree.
After agreeing on the residence of the two princes, Xu Huizu led the soldiers to the outside of the city and set up camp ten miles outside the east gate. There are no tall plants near Yiwu City. Not only are there no trees, even the cacti have been plucked out.
, only the weeds were still growing tenaciously, but they were still half dead. Fortunately, because they knew that there were few trees in the entire Western Region, they brought a large number of tents and wood, and pulled out some bricks and stones from the burned houses in the outer city.
Use these things to surround a place and set up camp.
"Lan Zhen, you lead the soldiers of the front army to camp in the south, Geng Xuan, you lead the soldiers of the left army to camp in the west, Zhang Fu, you lead the soldiers of the right army to camp in the east, Song Sheng, can you hold on?
Can you hold it? If you can hold it, lead the central army to set up camp in the north. Wu Jie, you lead the rear army to station in the outer city to guard against Timur's night attack on the city."
"The soldiers guarding Yiwu City during this period will not be divided into different armies for the time being. They will be personally commanded by His Highness the King of Qin and remain stationed in the inner city. They will rest for a period of time before being assigned to the central army and the rear army." Xu Huizu ordered.
In accordance with Yunxi's decree, Xu Huizu was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Western Expeditionary Army, General of the Pursuit of Prisoners, Lan Zhen as the deputy general of the former army, Geng Xuan as the deputy general of the left army, Zhang Fu as the deputy general of the right army, Song Sheng as the deputy general of the central army, and Wu Jie.
He was the deputy general of the rear army. King Zhu Shangbing of Qin and King Zhu Jixi of Jin served as nominal deputy commanders. All troops participating in the war, regardless of their original jurisdiction, were all assigned to the Five Armies at this time.
Lan Zhen and others heard Xu Huizu's instructions, agreed, and immediately went out to make arrangements for setting up camp.
When Xu Huizu was making arrangements, Shang Bing quietly said to Ji Xi: "Brother Jin, I see that the generals leading the army this time, except for my Qin Fan Song Sheng, who is older, are all generals in their thirties, and there are even some in their twenties.
A lieutenant general who is many years old, Your Majesty has not arranged for a veteran general to lead the army?"
"Originally, everyone agreed that Geng Bingwen, Chen Huan or Zhang Yi would lead the army. They were all conferred marquises when my grandfather was still here. Although they are not as good as Zhang Wen who died of illness or Cao Zhen who was very weak, they are still more reassuring.
In particular, Geng Bingwen was the Marquis of Changxing who was granted the title in the third year of Hongwu. Even Zhang Wen and Cao Zhen were not as qualified as him. However, the officials overcame all opinions and appointed Xu Huizu as commander-in-chief and Lan Zhen and others as deputy generals. Geng Bingwen was appointed as Shaanxi governor.
The capital commanded the envoy to guard Xi'an."
"It is indeed disturbing that there is no veteran general in command, but Xu Huizu and others are also experienced generals and are no worse than the veteran generals, so you can rest assured." Ji Xi said.
"Others can just pay it back. Zhang Fu was just a general manager before, but now he is less than thirty years old and can be appointed as a deputy general? Yunxi is too nepotistic." Shang Bing couldn't help complaining.
The others had sufficient qualifications and had military exploits. Shang Bing could accept it, but why could Zhang Fu be the deputy general? He was too anxious to promote his own people.
"Don't say this!" Ji Xi said immediately. Zhang Fu is a close confidant of Yun Xi, and it is not good for others to hear it. "He previously served as a general in the battle to conquer Annan. At that time, the government and the public were also talking about it, but he
In the end, we achieved a lot of success, and no one protested again this time.”
Shang Bing still wanted to complain, but Xu Huizu had already finished his instructions and came towards them, so he could only keep silent.
Ji Xi said something to Shang Bing and said to Ji Ye: "It's getting late now and Shang Bing is going back to his hometown. Ji Ye should go too. We'll talk tomorrow if we have anything to say."
"Then my brother went to rest with Shang Bing. My bones hurt from riding horses these days." Ji Ye answered. They rushed over from Xingxing Gorge at a very fast speed. Along the way, they were worried about Shang Bing's safety and the situation in Yiwu City.
Bu Xian, when I came to Yiwu City and saw Shang Bing safe and sound, I felt relaxed and felt that there was no pain anywhere on my body, and I wanted to rest for a long time.
"Go." Ji Xi said with a smile. Shang Bing and Ji Ye then bowed and left.
"Ji Ye, why does Brother Jin have to live in the military camp?" Shang Bing couldn't help but ask on the way.
"Did you know that during the Chinese New Year this year, my eldest brother went to the capital to talk to the emperor and asked the three guards of the King of Jin to prepare for an expedition to the northwest. During this expedition, all the soldiers of the three guards of the King of Jin were brought over." Ji Ye answered.
"Bring the three guards of King Jin here?" Shang Bing was very surprised: "So, the emperor wants to..."
"This expedition to the Western Regions to fight with 5 soldiers is a perfect opportunity to incorporate the entire Western Regions into the Ming Dynasty. But the entire Western Regions are too big." Ji Ye said.
Although what he said was unclear, Shang Bing already understood what he meant: "The fertile land of the Western Region can be the foundation of a king's hegemony. It is reasonable for the emperor to appoint another prince."
The Western Regions are too big, and the land is very fertile. Even in this era, it is enough to accommodate tens of millions of farming people; and it is too far away from the Central Plains. If a country that completely controls the entire Western Regions is established, even if the technological level reaches
It will also be difficult to reunify later.
Therefore, Yunxi decided to divide the Western Region into at least two parts. At the same time, the court balanced the two parties so that no one could become dominant, and at the same time, it also ensured the influence of the central government in the northwest.
Shang Bing was quite frustrated. Although he could understand Yunxi's worries, he was unavoidable.
While he was thinking about it, he saw Song Hu talking to another person and shouted angrily: "Song Hu! It's already so late, what are you doing outside if you don't go back to the military camp!"
Song Hu felt a little aggrieved by his reprimand: It was clearly you who sent me on an errand and now you are using this as a reason to reprimand me. But he did not dare to go back and could only bow and salute: "I have met Your Highness."
"Your Majesty Qin Shuang has met His Highness the King of Qin and His Highness the King of Jin." The other man also saluted.
"Do you recognize Gu?" Shang Bing had said this, and he had already remembered who he was: "It's you, Qin Shuang. Three years ago, you were sent to the capital to study in the martial arts hall, but you were left at the guard station in the capital by the officials.
I have done some commanding work here, and I am very proud of the soldiers of Qin Fan." He restrained his temper and said with a smile.
"What are you talking about to Song Hu?"
"Your Highness," Qin Shuang saluted, "I was about to ask Commander Song how his father is doing now."
"Your father?" Shang Bing's face changed when he heard this, and he hesitated for a while before saying: "Qin Shuang, your father was sent to Tiemenguan to build the city and is not in Yiwu City."
"Go to Tiemenguan to build the city?" Qin Shuang's expression changed. He had already known about the fall of Urumqi. By analogy, Tiemenguan might have also fallen. 'Could it be that my father has...' He suddenly became worried.
"Don't worry, Qin Shuang. Tiemenguan is different from Urumqi. Even if the city cannot be defended, it will be easy to escape southward with the nearby Yilibali people. Gu will not hold him responsible for failing to defend the city." Shang Bing immediately said.
said.
"Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness." Although Qin Shuang was very worried about her father, she could only let it go for the time being.