The city of Hetuala where Nurhaci is located is about 700 miles away from the small town of Tangshan, and the distance is about 2,000 miles. North Korean soldiers ambush Nalanbakshi in Beiyue Mountain on May 16th, and today is June 11th. In less than a month, even Ding Baihu of the Tangshan Baihu Office did not know the news of the North Korean coup. However, Nurhachi, who was far away in Hetuala, had already predicted it and still had time to deploy his manpower to intercept it halfway. The Ming Dynasty envoy, this really shocked Zhang Yuan, and immediately asked the chief flag officer sent by Yang Guard Mao Wenlong in detail -
The general flag officer was also named Mao and was Mao Wenlong's servant. This general flag officer did not know the exact time and the specific number of Jianzhou Jurchens who infiltrated the Liaodong Border Wall. He introduced to Zhang Yuan that the main defense of the Liaodong Border Wall had been built since the Yongle period. Mongolia and Jurchen, but the border wall that stretches two thousand miles from Liaodong to western Liaoning is difficult to defend. The border walls in many areas have long been in vain. The Kuandian Six Forts built by Liaodong marshal Li Chengliang in the early years of Wanli were originally outside the Liaodong border wall. The defense line Pushing forward was beneficial to the Ming Dynasty, and it blocked the throat of Jianzhou's eastward expansion. However, in the 34th year of Wanli, Li Chengliang gave up the 800 miles of territory on the grounds that the six Kuandian forts were isolated and difficult to defend, forcing the people of Kuandian to six hundred miles. More than 10,000 households moved back to Liao and Jin, and the Liaodong defense line shrank. Nurhaci took advantage of the situation to expand, approaching Fushun and Qinghe¡ª¡ª
General Mao reminded Zhang Yuan to be careful on his way back to Beijing from Tangshan to Liaoyang. This area was less than 300 miles away from Kuandian, where the Jiannu could freely enter and exit. It only took two days for the Jiannu cavalry to disguise themselves as horse thieves. In the past, it often happened that small groups of Jiannu slaves jumped into the Ming Dynasty and robbed Korean tribute envoys and Han and Xian merchants. Of course, Jiannu slaves would not send out large groups of people, with as few as seven or eight riders and as many as two or two. Thirty riders escaped after being robbed, and the Ming army was helpless. Nurhachi would not admit that it was his men who did it. The key is that they failed to capture those "robbers" on the spot. There was no evidence¡ª¡ª
Ding Baihu on the side said with emotion: "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang. Jiannu only has 20 or 30 cavalry. Tomorrow I will lead fifty flag troops to escort the lord and the envoy to Lianshanguan. When they arrive at Lianshanguan, they will have Chen Qian." Total response.
It stands to reason that if Ding Baihu's fifty infantry escorted the mission and there were sixty imperial guards led by Zhen Zidan, they would not be afraid of twenty or thirty rebels. However, for Zhang Yuan, who had experienced the ambush at Beiyue Mountain, He was deeply impressed by the combat effectiveness of the Jurchen cavalry. Not only did they defeat one against a hundred, but the Hou Jin's long-armored soldiers defeated one against ten, which was definitely not a long-lasting enemy. The Liaodong Ming Army in the late Ming Dynasty not only defended the city, but also fought against the Eight Banners Army in outdoor encounters. It was extremely easy to collapse, and one-sided massacres were common. Therefore, Zhang Yuan would never dare to look down on the twenty or thirty Jiannu long-armored cavalry. He said to Ding Baihu, "I'd be sorry to bother Ding Baihu and send someone to Lianshan Pass to report to Chen Qian." General, please ask General Chen Qian to send a hundred musketeers to Tangshan to escort us and others, and the delegation will wait in Tangshan for two days."
Ding Baihu obeyed the order on the surface and said he would do it immediately, but in his heart he looked down on the new champion and thought Zhang Yuan was as timid as a mouse. Even Ruan Dacheng said to Zhang Yuan: "This is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. How dare the slaves rob us and other envoys?" "My dear brother, are you too cautious?" Ruan Dacheng was anxious to return to the capital.
Zhang Yuan didn't explain much, just smiled and said: "Why don't you, the son of a rich man, sit down in the hall? It's not bad to be more cautious."
Although Ruan Dacheng, Zhen Zidan and others did not say anything more, they always slandered Zhang Yuan and believed that Zhang Yuan was not courageous enough. Only Zhang Rushen, a businessman under Eunuch Lu, expressed his support for Zhang Yuan's stability and prudentness, and Zhang Rushen followed Guang Guang. Ning sold all the thirty carts of goods he brought to North Korea in Pyongyang and Seoul, earning eighteen thousand taels of silver. He then used another fifteen thousand taels to purchase Korean ginseng, white tissue paper, Jeju fans, and Busan taels from North Korea. Bronze wares and other specialties were transported back to Liaodong. A net profit of 6,000 taels of silver could be made from each trip. Therefore, Zhang Rushen was most afraid of encountering the Jiannu horse thieves. Even if he could drive back the Jiannu horse thieves, if the Jiantian thieves took advantage of the chaos and set fire to it, What, then how can he go back to Guangning to see Mr. Lu!
Zhang Yuan is well aware of the current contempt for the Houjin slave chieftains by the common people in the court. The public opinion of the Ming Dynasty was blind and arrogant. After the loss of Fushun and Qinghe, the public sentiment was fierce and demanded that soldiers be sent out quickly to destroy the slaves. Even the common people said that we are the people of the Ming Dynasty. The slaves were drowned with just a drop of spit. The Battle of Sarhu was actually forced by public opinion. The Ming Dynasty was eager for revenge, but suffered a greater defeat. Xiong Tingbi once said about the defeat of Sarhu: "The discussion in the court today, I don't know how to fight. In winter and spring, when the enemy is slightly slowed down by ice and snow, they will blusterily say that the teacher is short of money and immediately rush to fight. When the army is defeated, they will be stunned and stop talking."
It was after the defeat of Saarhu that the voices of those who were arrogant and high-minded became quieter. The huge empire and the proud people seemed to have to learn such a painful lesson. Unfortunately, there was no progress after learning the lesson. Xiong Tingbi and Sun Chengzong Those who relied on the fortified city to defend themselves were dismissed. Yuan Chonghuan spoke eloquently in front of the Chongzhen Emperor, and the five years of peace in Liao Dynasty finally turned into a tragedy¡ª¡ª
The problem before Zhang Yuan now is that before the Ming Dynasty had experienced the heavy lesson of Sarhu, if he advocated a defensive counterattack strategy against Hou Jin, he would have been criticized and even ridiculed by many people. This was the prophet's command in ancient Greek mythology. What a tragedy, how could he prevent himself from reaching that point?
That night, Zhang Yuan wrote a long letter to Mao Wenlong. After briefly describing his nostalgia, he elaborated on his insights into the situation in Liaodong. Although Mao Wenlong was a very capable general in the late Ming Dynasty, although he was extremely selfish and unruly, But it can definitely be won over, controlled and reused. Of course, Zhang Yuan currently does not have the strength and status to make Mao Wenlong join him, and Mao Wenlong is only a small garrison with only a thousand soldiers and horses, and his impact on the Liaodong war situation in the past two years is almost negligible. No matter, but why not make friends first, just like he made friends with Juniper¡ª¡ª
The next morning, General Mao received Zhang Yuan's reply letter and said goodbye to Yang. The sergeants sent by Ding Baihu to Lianshan Pass to ask for help from Chen Qianhu had also set off. Zhang Yuan and others were waiting in the small town of Tangshan. On the 13th, In the evening, one hundred musketeers sent by Chen Qianhu of Lianshanguan arrived in Tangshan. In the early morning of June 14, Zhang Yuan and his party set off.
Now that Mr. Chen Qian was protected by hundreds of musketeers, Ding Baihu did not accompany him to Lianshanguan anymore. He only sent the delegation across the river and then returned.
Zhang Yuan asked 20 of the 100 musketeers to go ahead and scout the Kuandian on the right. Ruan Dacheng, Zhen Zidan and others all laughed secretly at Zhang Yuan. Did Zhang Yuan really regard this as a battlefield? This is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. How dare the slave-building thieves come over after seeing so many people!
Ruan Dacheng sighed in his heart: "Zhang Jiezi, Zhang Jiezi, if I had known this, why would you have caused so many troubles when you were on a mission to North Korea, and you didn't get any benefits. The mute princess can finally speak, and you can only say goodbye in melancholy. The gold and silver that Mr. Gwanghae gave you previously were donated by you to the Xiuxuanwu Temple and Sungkyunkwan Hall. There is only one thing that is very certain, and that is that you, Zhang Yuan, have become Nurhaci¡¯s mortal enemy, that¡¯s why you are so afraid. Nurhachi's revenge is all the trouble you caused."
The two days of June 14th and 15th were uneventful. On the night of the 15th, Zhang Yuan and his party of more than 200 people took a rest at Fenghuangshan Station. There was also a Baihu Station here. The guard Baihu said that no thieves had appeared recently, and it was a hot summer. Hell, horse thieves won't show up this season.
At the beginning of June 16th, Zhang Yuan and Yu Yan led the two missions to set off, trying to get to Lianshan Pass today to rest for the night.
Today¡¯s weather is extremely hot and muggy. The sun has not risen yet. Even riding a horse makes you sweat. Zhang Yuan looked at the black clouds rising in the blue sky and thought to himself: "A heavy rain is coming."
Everyone in the mission didn't mind the coming heavy rain. It was too boring today. It rained early and it was cool. It didn't matter if they got soaked by the heavy rain. They all hurried on their way excitedly and sweating profusely.
Fenghuang Mountain is divided into East Mountain and West Mountain. Passing through the valley between the two mountains can save more than ten miles of walking. The one hundred musketeers took this road when they came from Lianshanguan. They immediately suggested to Zhang Yuan to take a shortcut. He said that the valley path was not rugged and difficult, but it could save a lot of distance. However, Zhang Yuan still ordered the delegation to go around the mountain instead of taking risks to save half an hour of journey. The forests in the west of Fenghuang Mountain were deep and lush, hiding dozens of Jianzhou Jurchens. It is difficult to be discovered. A round of cold arrows will cause countless casualties. It is inconvenient to fight in the valley. Also, heavy rain will pour down soon, and muskets are useless in rainy days. These muskets are all matchlock guns, and the troops have not been replaced yet. Newly made flintlock gun¡ª
Zhang Yuan was quite prestigious. Although the entourage was a little dissatisfied because Zhang Yuan refused to take a shortcut, no one dared to object. Ruan Dacheng made a friendly joke with Zhang Yuan when he was preparing to bypass Fenghuang Mountain.
Dark clouds gathered around, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Before the group even got around Fenghuang Mountain, the summer heavy rain poured down. Everyone put on their rain gear. Fan Tongshi, who was familiar with the road, rushed over and said to Zhang Yuan: "Master Zhang, what about that?" There is a Yaowang Temple nearby. Go to the temple to take shelter from the rain. This heavy rain comes and goes quickly.
Zhang Yuan, Ruan Dacheng and the North Korean envoys Yu Yan, Xu Yun and Jin Zhongqing rushed to the Yaowang Temple at the northern foot of Fenghuang Mountain in the rain. The Yaowang Temple is not dedicated to the Yaowang Bodhisattva, but to the small temple of the Yaowang Sun Simiao. , the temples are dilapidated, the statues have collapsed, and the incense has long been gone.
The musketeers and the royal guards crowded under the eaves of the temple to take shelter from the rain. The small temple could not fit in, so they stood in the open air wearing bamboo hats, shouting that it was so cool. Nalan Bakshi in the prison car was also soaked in the rain, and no one cared about him¡ª¡ª
Zhang Yuan saw that although the muskets of the musketeers were covered by raincloths, it was impossible to load gunpowder pellets on this rainy day. Even flintlock guns were extremely inconvenient. It seemed that improving the ammunition of the muskets was also a top priority, and temporary filling was too clumsy.
In a moment, the heavy rain stopped, and there were still sporadic drizzles. Everyone got ready for the road without waiting for the rain to stop completely. As soon as they left the Yaowang Temple and before they walked onto the main road, they suddenly heard the sound of hoofbeats coming from the back mountain. , everyone was still listening to the sound of horse hooves, when Ke Guangxian, who was beside Zhang Yuan, suddenly shouted: "This is Jianzhou Tong Nuer's cavalry!"
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Ke Guang, who had been silent and not socializing with other people, Ke Guang followed Zhang Yuan to North Korea, and suddenly shouted so loudly. Could it be that he could tell that this was Nurhaci's cavalry just by the sound of horse hooves?
There were some worries earlier, but now they are basically resolved. I will keep updating in the future. Thank you book friends for your tolerance and support.