Ping An was a little anxious because he was a little late.

Of course, there is also a reason, he has to wait for the Fifth Guards Cavalry Corps stationed in Suiyuan.

Today's Ming Dynasty, there are only four Guards Cavalry Corps, namely the First, Third, Eighth, and Ninth Cavalry Corps, of which the Third and Eighth Cavalry Corps are stationed in the Northeast, the First Cavalry Corps is stationed in Suiyuan, and the Ninth Cavalry Corps is stationed in Gansu.

However, the guards did not have the authorization of the emperor, and no one had the right to mobilize them, so most of the troops that Ping'an and Geng Xuan could directly command were garrisons.

Over the years, Zhu Yunwen has made gradual adjustments to the military system, first forming the Guards, which are directly under the control of the emperor and are the first type of army, with the best and fastest personnel, salaries, equipment and even promotions; At the same time, it began to form garrison troops in the more important areas of the country, such as Kaifeng, Luoyang, Taiyuan, Xi'an and other places, which are generally called garrison brigades and garrison regiments, which are under the command of the local capital division.

The outstanding soldiers of the B army will also be gradually transferred to the first type of army - the Guards, so as to ensure the absolute superiority of the Guards.

Of course, this is not absolute.

In the border areas, such as the Northeast, Rehe, and Suiyuan garrison brigades, the combat effectiveness is very strong, but it is a pity that it is difficult for them to enter the Guards.

The reason is simple, the requirements of the Guards are relatively high and special.

First of all, the Guards had to be able to speak fluent Chinese, which blocked the way of many Jurchens and Mongols; Secondly, it also requires a certain literacy rate, being able to read basic commands and simple official documents, and being able to write better.

To this end, Zhu Yunwen set up the post of director of recruit training, which was held by Mei Yin, and set up more than 20 recruit training bases across the country to train soldiers who were about to join the Guards.

Of course, some particularly outstanding soldiers, especially cavalry, can be specially recruited into the Guards, but if these people want to be promoted, they must meet the above standards, otherwise it is impossible to be promoted.

This special requirement gave the Guards a special temperament, that is, orders and prohibitions, and their combat effectiveness was extremely strong, so every general hoped to be able to command the Guards, but the Guards only obeyed the emperor's orders.

Originally, Ping An wanted to mobilize the Third Cavalry Army in the northeast nearby, but the emperor refused, the reason was simple, the northeast was vast, and the army must be left to garrison.

All the troops of the Ping'an Department were cavalry, about 45,000 cavalry, the vanguard was Zhang Hanbei, the commander of the Rehe Division, the 5,000 cavalry was the vanguard, and the supervisor was Tie Xuan.

Chengde is more than 1,000 miles away from Tongliao, and Ping An is confident that he will arrive within ten days and can immediately enter the battle, as for Zhang Hanbei, it will only be faster.

......

Tongliao City.

There were weapons that could be hit two hundred steps away on the city, which made the Mongolian army arrogant, and the former model of Yaowei under the city and cold arrows to kill the defenders at the head of the city could not be used, because it was likely to pay the price of life, so the Mongolian army had to follow the orders of the Great Khan, cut down trees in a proper manner, make equipment, and then prepare to attack the city.

Correspondingly, the morale of the defenders at the head of the city was high.

While building siege equipment outside the city, the inside of the city is in full swing to eliminate internal thieves.

For the sake of safety, Mo Tingyuan issued a strict order to disarm all the Mongols in the city and imprison them, and those who resisted were killed.

Not only that, Mo Tingyuan also ordered the implementation of military management in the city, all the materials in all shops were registered and distributed uniformly, and the rebels were also killed.

Of course, for these shops, Mo Tingyuan made a blank slip, and he would compensate them when the war was over.

Under these measures, the Mongol spies were quickly caught, and at the same time, Mo Tingyuan broke out in a cold sweat. Two hundred meters away from the north gate, there is a large number of weapons hidden in a horse shop, the boss and most of the men are Mongolian spies, their intention is very simple, that is, to see the signal outside the city, cooperate with the hidden rebels in the city, and attack the north gate.

According to their confession, more than 50 spies were found in the city, and Mo Tingyuan immediately ordered them all to be beheaded, and their heads were hung on the city tower for public display.

......

The Mongols soon spotted the human head on the flagpole and hurried to report it to the Great Khan.

After hearing the news, Di Baonu went out of the camp to take a look at it from a distance, sighed heavily, and then returned to the big tent.

There were only three people in the big tent, and in addition to Dibaonu and Sire, there was also a Mongol in a felt hat, who was about fifty years old, with a gray beard flowing down his chest, a ruddy complexion, a high nose, and a pair of piercing eyes, who was none other than the chief adviser of Dibaonu, Tara.

"Tara, let's talk about the situation in Mobei, Ben Khan is a little worried!"

"Great Khan," Tara said as she gently twisted her beard and muttered for a while, "Your Majesty, the Ming army has appeared near Lake Bell, and they seem to be looking for our camp. ”

"Well, Tara, how long do you think we have left?"

"This," Tara glanced at Si Re, hesitated for a moment, and said, "According to Lao Chen's observation, the Ming army out of Baicheng is not elite, most of them are Jurchens, indicating that its purpose is mainly to plunder and slaughter, not to fight. ”

"These Jurchen barbarians, they should have killed them all in the first place!"

Di Baonu frowned and glared at Si Re fiercely, who quickly closed his mouth and didn't dare to speak.

Tara smiled and continued: "They will stay around Lake Bear for about ten days at most, and then they may go south to rescue Tongliao, or they may go west to catch up with our army's old camp, after all, the migration of the old camp cannot be completely secret. ”

"Hmm," Di Baonu took the map, measured it with his hand, looked a little solemn, and looked up and said: "Tara, the matter is much more serious than I expected, and the appetite of the Ming army seems to be a little big!" ”

"Yes, this is exactly what Lao Chen is most worried about!"

Tara pointed to the map and said: "My Mongolia has been fighting for many years, and the mouth of Ding has been greatly damaged, and there are only more than 100,000 men who can fight on horseback, and now there are 50,000 people in Tongliao, and these 50,000 people are the last hope of our Mongolians." ”

"And the rest of the old camp are some old and weak women and children, if they are caught up by the Ming army, then our Mongolia will be completely finished!"

"But......" Di Baonu thought for a while, glanced up at Si Re, and signaled: "Si Re, you immediately organize a siege, but remember, you can only bluff, not attack with all your strength!" ”

"Yes, Great Khan!"

After Sre withdrew, Dibaonu turned to look at Tara and said with a wry smile: "Sre is good at everything, but he is too upright!" ”

"Hehe, Si Re's upright loyalty is the blessing of the Great Khan!"

"Hehe, that's right," Di Baonu nodded slightly, and said, "Tara, Ben Khan is a little hesitant, isn't it a little early to withdraw now?" ”

"......" Tara didn't speak, but compared it on the map, focused on a few points, and then said: "Now that Eseku is near Jinshan, it will take at least two days for the whole army to return, so it is indeed a little early to withdraw the army. ”

"The Ming army in the direction of Bear Lake, Lao Chen is not very worried, Lao Chen is most worried about Rehe, if the Ming army in Rehe suddenly appears, at that time, we can't go if we want to."

"yes." Di Baonu's breathing was a little short, he clicked on the map, and said: "Our army has crossed the Xiliao River, and the pontoon bridge on the river is our last retreat, and we must not lose it." ”

"But how can the timing of the withdrawal be just right? And Gegen is also a problem, Tara, do you have a solution? ”

Jibaonu suddenly looked up at Tara.

Gegen was left in Tongliao City by Eseku, and there were 10,000 people under his command, and he was Eseku's henchman.

Eseku came to the east with 50,000 cavalry, left 5,000 for Samur, and left 10,000 outside the city of Tongliao, commanded by Gegen, to ensure the back road of Wara, and the remaining 35,000 people were led by Eseku, along the West Liao River to the east, but at present, it has encountered the resistance of the Ming army.

Tara's eyes lit up and said, "Great Khan, doesn't Eseku want the Great Khan to send reinforcements?" Then you can send Gegan to go! ”

"No, I've tried, and Gegen doesn't agree."

"Oh," said Tara, after a long pause, "Great Khan, it seems that we have to pay some blood!" ”