Leaving the capital, passing through Shanxi, passing Shaanxi, and then arriving in Gansu.
In the Ming Dynasty, Gansu did not have a separate province, but "Gansu Town". This town is not that town, but means a military town, and it is one of the nine border towns of the Ming Dynasty.
Passing through Xi'an on the way, Wang Yuan met Deng Zhang, the trilateral commander.
The trilateral general system, also known as the trilateral governor-general, is still a popular name. The official name at this time is "Admiral Trilateral Military Affairs", and his responsibilities are to governor the military affairs of Shaanxi, Gansu, Yansui, and Ningxia. With Wang Yuan's Shaanxi
Governor Gan has overlapping responsibilities and powers, which can be said to be very close.
Deng Zhang was also a veteran of three dynasties, and he could not rub the dust out of his eyes. When he was young, he was the prime minister of Dali Temple and refused to ask relatives, friends or guests to ask for help. He once investigated and punished more than 900 people who had taken credit. Later, when he was governor of Henan, he was also upright and strict, and powerful and cunning officials could only be manipulated.
Live with your tail.
"Xueshi Wang, I have been waiting from Guyuan for half a month just to see you!" Deng Zhang said when they met.
Wang Yuan cupped his hands and said, "What did Mr. Deng teach me?"
Deng Zhang asked back: "Do you have a plan for managing Turpan?"
Wang Yuan shook his head and said: "It is difficult to negotiate the charter without knowing the details."
It was Deng Zhang's suggestion to ask the imperial court to send important ministers to visit Turpan. He explained in detail: "The false king of Turpan, Mansu'er, is a remnant of Mongolia, and his younger brother Said is the king of the Bali Kingdom..."
Deng Zhang talked a lot, but Wang Yuan became more confused the more he listened.
Although this old gentleman had good intentions, he was all hearsay and provided Wang Yuan with a lot of wrong information.
The Ming Dynasty's understanding of the Western Regions has always been very nonsense.
After the fall of the Chagatai Khanate, a large number of warlords emerged in various places. Ming officials were confused, so they called Hami the Hami Kingdom, Liuchen the Liucheng Kingdom, Huozhou the Huozhou Kingdom, and Turpan the Turfan Kingdom.
In fact, these are just warlords from the Western Regions.
As for the Bali Kingdom, its real name is "Eastern Chagatai Khanate".
The puppet king of Turpan whom Zhu Houzhao wanted Wang Yuan to kill was none other than Mansuer, the Great Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.
Wang Yuan himself did not understand the situation and planned to destroy the country. He had to destroy the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.
As for Mansuer's younger brother Said, he is actually Said, the founder of the Yerqiang Khanate. Their cousin Babur will soon become the founder of the Mughal Empire in India!
Wang Yuan was confused by Deng Zhang, so he just waited for supplies on the spot and continued on his way with his troops.
In mid-August, Wang Yuan finally arrived in Ganzhou (Zhangye).
Li Ying led the horse and walked, spread his hands to catch the falling snowflakes, and said with emotion: "The north wind blows the white grass on the ground, and the sky is full of snow in August. The ancients sincerely do not deceive me!"
Eunuch Zhu Ying sighed and said: "It was extremely hot two days ago, and today it suddenly snowed. Many soldiers and horses in the army got sick."
Hui'an Bo Zhang Wei said: "In the past month or two, it is impossible to fight. The soldiers have to rest and recuperate for a while."
Wang Yuan finally understood that Zhu Ying and Zhang Wei's gossips were all deliberately told to him. He immediately smiled and said: "Don't worry, you two, although I am young, I am not eager for quick success and have to travel thousands of miles."
armies to fight."
Zhu Dangqi, the king of Guishan, was in high spirits. This prince had never left his fiefdom before, but now he walked all the way from Beijing to Ganzhou. The great rivers and mountains along the way brought him a heroic feeling.
“Camp where you are!”
Wang Yuan said to Yuan Da: "Yuan Er, please go to the city with my order and summon the governor, general soldiers, guard eunuchs and patrol censors to see you. By the way, let the governor get some more firewood to keep out the cold."
"Yes!" Yuan Da immediately hit the horse and galloped away.
Ganzhou City was built in the Xixia Dynasty and expanded twice in the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. Its area, thickness and width can be called the majestic city in the northwest. However, the city walls are made of rammed sand, and the city gates are all thick door panels, which are easy to be attacked.
The city hammer smashed it.
Because there is Suzhou (Jiuquan) to the west, Jiayuguan to the west, and the Seven Guards of Guanxi as a buffer to the west. Ganzhou does not need to repair the city at this time. When Turpan takes over all the west of Jiayuguan, the imperial court should
Ganzhou and Suzhou are building stone cities like crazy.
Today, Wang Yuan is standing in the camp outside the city, looking at the Ganzhou city wall in the distance. The first thing he notices is that it is dilapidated.
About half an hour later, Gansu Governor Zhao Jian came to see him.
There was no chief envoy in Gansu, and Ji Ji was the largest civil servant. He brought a large amount of firewood and some grain to the military camp in person, clasped his fists towards Wang Yuan and said: "Scholar Wang, the affairs of Hami depend on you. I am already old and comatose.
, the most we can do is repair the side wall.”
"Mr., the situation is serious. I still need more help from you," Wang Yuan said in return.
Zhao Jian is seventy years old this year, and his body is still strong. After he came to Gansu, he did nothing else but frantically built the Great Wall.
The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty stretches for thousands of miles, and the Gansu section was built the latest. Construction only started in the 16th year of Hongzhi, which is only eleven years ago. In the last years of Hongzhi, 90,000 people were used to build the Gansu Great Wall, but there were still many areas that could not be taken care of.
, all the subsequent governors of Gansu liked to make repairs.
Wang Yuan asked about Hami and Turpan, and the information stated by Zhao Jian was similar to that of Deng Zhang. None of them knew that Turpan was not a country, but the territory of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and they did not know that the "Kings of Turpan" in the past dynasties were actually
He was the Great Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.
Anyway, whether it is Deng Zhang, the governor of the three sides, or Zhao Jian, the governor of Gansu, the farthest place they have gone to is Jiayuguan, and they have never visited the Seven Guards of Guanxi in person. All the news about Hami comes from the Seven Guards of Kansai.
Some of the content in the newspaper was a mess and had been passed down several times.
After seeing off Zhao Jian, the governor of Gansu, Wang Xun, the commander-in-chief of Gansu, came to see him soon.
Historically, when Zhu Houzhao fought against the little Mongolian prince, Wang Xun was the first to engage the enemy. With a weak force, Wang Xun was able to hold back the 50,000 Mongolian army, which bought Zhu Houzhao precious time to assemble, thus surrounding the Mongolian army layer by layer.
Wang Yuan was very lucky. The commander-in-chief of Gansu Province he met was Wang Xun. This man fought bravely and was greedy but not ruthless. He was considered a rare general.
If replaced by Li Long, the next commander-in-chief, the difficulty of this mission will increase exponentially.
Li Long crazily embezzled military pay and occupied military fields, causing countless military households to flee, and those who stayed could not have enough to eat. In the end, in order to make money, Li Long even encouraged the soldiers to stage a mutiny and killed the new governor, starting from then on the border army riots
The beginning of the mutiny.
"Commander Wang, how many soldiers are there in Gansu Town? How many horses are there?" Wang Yuan said with a serious expression, "Tell me the truth and don't be vain. This is related to the important matter of recovering lost territory!"
Wang Xun asked: "Scholar Wang wants to hear the truth?"
Wang Yuan said: "Of course it's the truth!"
Wang Xun said: "On paper, Gansu's total military strength is 90,000, including camels and cattle, and the number of horses is 30,000. As for the real situation, the military strength is actually less than 60,000, and the number of horses is more than 23,000.
There are only about two thousand war horses that can be used for fighting."
"Then I'll be relieved." Wang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected of being one of the nine sides, it actually still had two-thirds of its actual strength, which was beyond Wang Yuan's expectations.
Wang Yuan asked again: "How many soldiers are there in the Seven Guards of Guanxi? Those who can fight."
Wang Xun said: "The total does not exceed five thousand, and there are still people with ulterior motives. If you are not careful, you will defect in battle."
The Seven Guards of Guanxi are the seven guard posts west of Jiayuguan. The generals and soldiers are basically from ethnic minorities. They belong to the Ming Dynasty's buffer force in the northwest.
Wang Yuan thought for a while and said: "I will not move the infantry in Gansu Town. I will only gather the two thousand horses and form a separate cavalry unit, and take them out of Jiayuguan to fight Turpan. In addition, some camels and civilians will also be prepared.
, I want to ensure that my logistics are stable."
"When does Wang Xueshi plan to send troops?" Wang Xun asked.
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "I don't even know what's going on in Kansai. Of course I have to go outside the country to find out first."
Not long after Wang Xun left, Gansu garrison eunuch Liang Yu and Gansu censor Feng Shiyong also came to visit Wang Yuan one after another. These people were very respectful, but unfortunately they could not bring useful information. Wang Yuan was still unsure about the situation outside Jiayuguan Pass.