As early as the end of March, when the Military Affairs Yuan received a report from the Military Intelligence Department that the Jurchens were preparing to attack Mongolia, Mao Wenlong, who was far away on Phi Island, learned of the news. Because when Tianqi met with Mao Wenlong in February, he gave an order in front of Mao Wenlong, ordering the Jinyi guards stationed on Phi Island to share all information related to Liaodong with Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Army from the moment he received the order, which made Mao Wenlong very moved and felt that he had been taken seriously. From ancient times to the present, it is a truth, a leader's encouraging eyes or warm greetings, will make subordinates surging for a long time, maybe only a considerate arrangement will be exchanged for dead loyalty, but many people don't know or don't want to know.

After knowing the news, Mao Wenlong was ready to attack Liaodong, so when the Bohai Overseer Wang Zaijin transferred the order of the Military Affairs Yuan in Jin, Mao Wenlong no longer considered the mobilization of soldiers and the preparation of grain and grass equipment, but pondered the true intention of the Military Affairs Yuan.

Mao Wenlong knew that Wei Dazhong was a very important person of the emperor, in order to figure out the meaning of the Military Affairs Yuan, Mao Wenlong specially set up a banquet for Wei Dazhong and invited the deputy general Zu Dashou to accompany him.

After three rounds of drinking, Mao Wenlong asked: "May I ask Lord Wei, this military affairs court ordered my Dongjiang army to attack and harass Liaodong when it saw the opportunity, which is understandable, but at the same time, it is recommended that the troops should be divided into three ways and not kill people at will, not only can they not kill Han people, but even Jurchens cannot kill at will, what does this mean?" ”

Wei Dazhong said: "The lower officials think that this has been clearly stated above, and the so-called suggestion is that Mao Shuai can listen to it or not, and everything must be done according to the specific situation. ”

Mao Wenlong frowned when he heard this, and said: "That being said, it is said that this is the emperor's intention, and if the emperor easily changes the emperor's predetermined strategy, will the emperor be unhappy?" ”

Wei Dazhong smiled and said: "Mao Shuai may not know that when discussing the military situation in the Military Affairs Yuan, many six-grade petty officials can argue with the emperor on the basis of reason, and the emperor is not only not angry but very happy" For a while, the emperor said that he was very disgusted with those generals who put the words 'will be outside, and the monarch's order is not affected' at any time, but also said that everything should be decided according to the actual situation, but if there is really a change, it is better to report it in time. ”

Mao Wenlong nodded and said, "If that's the case, I'll rest assured, but can Lord Wei tell me your opinion, maybe it can help you make a decision." ”

Wei Dazhong nodded and said, "The lower officials think that the emperor's purpose in proposing to divide the troops into three routes is to create momentum, so that the Jurchens cannot fight everywhere so easily, and they must have some scruples. As for saying that they can't kill ordinary Jurchens in order to add some trouble to Nurhachi, if they rob these people's things, they have to find Nurhachi for food and clothing, and if they don't give food and clothing, they will lose the hearts of the people, and if he gives it to him, he doesn't have so much, if he robs the Han people and gives them to the Jurchens, then he will force the Han people away, no matter what he does, it will be good for the Ming Dynasty. ”

At this time, the deputy general Zu Dashou asked: "May I ask Lord Wei, what the emperor means is that we can kill the Jurchen soldiers at will, but the Jurchen people can't kill them, if the Jurchen people attack us, can't we kill them either?" ”

Wei Dazhong folded his eyes and said: "You can't kill, but you can defend yourself." ”

Mao Wenlong laughed when he heard it, and Zu Dashou laughed after thinking about it.

This Wei Dazhong drank a lot of wine, and his face did not change after drinking several glasses, and after the three of them persuaded each other to drink several glasses, Mao Wenlong said: "Lord Wei, in fact, there are some arrangements in the morning, you are the prison army, now I will talk about the specific arrangements for you to see if it is appropriate." ”

Wei Dazhong said: "The military officials don't understand, but if there is a change in Mao Shuai's plan, you have to report it first, you can talk about it first, let the lower officials understand, and then explain it to the Overseer King and the Military Affairs Yuan after you go back." ”

Mao Wenlong said: "Okay, Vice General Zu will tell Lord Wei about the specific arrangements." ”

Zu Dashou said: "Obey! Invite Lord Wei and Dashuai to the map to listen to the general's details. After saying that, he got up and went to the wall, and spoke in detail about the map on the wall.

Zu Dashou said: "Our Dongjiang Army has about 30,000 combatable soldiers, and in order to fight for a long time, the general and Marshal Mao decided to attack in turn, so this attack on Liaodong plans to use 15,000 people. We divide the whole of Liaodong into three parts, along the Sancha River to the north of the Taizi River, the area is mountainous and river-ridden, and the road is long, so it is not within the scope of this raid and disturbance, I wonder what Lord Wei thinks is the plan to set the scope of the battle south of the Taizi River? ”

Wei Dazhong said: "This is very good, the emperor said that if you don't fight hard with more than 1,000 enemy troops, you will protect yourself." ”

Mao Wenlong said: "The emperor's care and ministers are very grateful, and they can only kill more enemies to repay." ”

Zu Dashou also nodded and continued: "Starting from Tieshan, through Changdian, Dadian, Xindian and other six forts until Lianshan Pass is the middle line, Gaizhou, Yaozhou, Haizhou, and Liaoyang to the west of Lianshan Pass are stationed with enemy troops, in this area we mainly destroy the enemy army, the main method is to encircle the point to send reinforcements, of course, if there are too many enemy troops, we will avoid the east of ‖ Mountain Pass to Niumaozhai and then to Nurhachi's old nest Hetuala, there are not many troops stationed but basically some Jurchen herdsmen, in this area we mainly loot property and this self-defense. ”

Seeing that Zu Dashou finished speaking, Wei Dazhong didn't speak but was contemplating something, Mao Wenlong asked, "Lord Wei, please say it directly." ”

Wei Dazhong thought for a while and asked, "How many days do you expect to leave?" ”

Mao Wenlong said: "Looking at the movements of the Jurchens, they will probably go north in the next few days, and they will move on the front foot and we will do it on the back foot." ”

Wei Dazhong thought for a while and said: "The emperor has a confidential matter to explain, and I was going to talk about it before leaving, but now it seems that I have to say it first, please ask Mao Shuai to retreat." ”

When Mao Wenlong heard this, he hurriedly asked the waiting soldiers to go down, and then got up and said, "Please Lord Wei to announce the decree." ”

Wei Dazhong raised his hand and motioned for Mao Wenlong and Zu Dashou to sit down, and then said: "The emperor said that this is just an idea, not a holy decree, please ask Mao Dashuai and General Zu to sit down and discuss." The emperor said that for a long time, the soldiers of our Ming army have been defeated again and again under the hands of Nurhachi, and their combat effectiveness is not as good as on the one hand, there are many Han people who betrayed their ancestors and sold themselves to the enemy to help Nurhachi is also a side, so this time I went to Liaodong and had a task to try to inquire about which Han people were dedicated to contributing to the enemy. ”

Mao Wenlong nodded and said, "I understand." ”

On April 15, after hearing the news that Nurhachi's division was attacking Mongolia in the north, the Dongjiang Army began to move. The Eastern Route Army, led by the deputy general Zu Dashou, led 5,000 men along the mountain road from Tieshan to the north, crossed the Yalu River, and headed north, preparing to recover the six forts that Li Chengliang had voluntarily abandoned, and then attack Nurhachi's nest. On the other hand, the Western Route Army, led by the commander-in-chief Mao Wenlong, personally led 10,000 horses and horses, landed by boat between Shuangdao and Jinzhou, and began a raid and harassment war against the Liaodong region, which was empty of troops.

Let's talk about Mao Wenlong's Western Route Army first, generally speaking, when attacking unknown places, one is afraid of the enemy's ambush, and the other is afraid of the enemy's interception, and when it is ambushed, there are casualties on the spot, and when it is intercepted, it can never come back. To be on the safe side, Mao Wenlong first sent 6,000 men to attack and occupy the choke point between Jinzhou and Nanguan, and the other 4,000 landed on Shuangdao and headed northeast to join the 6,000 men.

When passing by Lushun, I saw that Lushun City was still a pile of bricks and stones lying on the ground, it seems that the Jurchen people's skills in repairing the city are still very immature, if nothing else, the task of re-establishing Lushun City has to fall on the head of the Ming army∝ I didn't see anyone on the way, and occasionally a few families grazing people couldn't tell the situation clearly, only said that there were Jurchens stationed in Jinzhou, and they saw that no one here planted the land and the grass grew well before they came here to graze. After careful identification, Mao Wenlong did not embarrass them after seeing that these people were Han Chinese, and led people cautiously towards the direction of Jinzhou.

As soon as I passed Nanguan, I saw that the masterpiece of the special construction force taught by Zhao in February had disappeared, and the piles of dirt had all been filled into the pit, and it seemed that the Jurchens had also spent a lot of effort. The snow in the mountains turned into flowers, the hard frozen soil became soft, and even the dry and cold air became warm and humid compared to February, and all this was very far from the war on the surface.