Chapter 8 Meeting with the Ryukyu Secret Envoy The cavalry marched north through the Yin Mountain

Emperor Chongzhen received the secret envoys sent by the King of the Ryukyus at the Yaogang Hotel, but the feeling was even better than receiving them in the Forbidden City.

There were five people from the Ryukyus, and it was not easy for them to come to the kiln.

Since the strength of the Ming Dynasty weakened, the Satsuma Domain in Japan basically controlled the Ryukyus, and they sent their own officials to live in the Ryukyus, and they basically had the final say in Ryukyu affairs, and the Ryukyu king became a complete puppet, and was often humiliated by the officials of the Satsuma Domain.

Later, the king of the Ryukyus overheard the Japanese say that the Ming Dynasty had fought a war with Korea and took away a lot of land, and the king of the Ryukyus understood that the strength of the Ming Dynasty was strong again, and from that time, he began to secretly send people to the Ming Dynasty and ask the upper states to help them drive out the devil of the Satsuma Domain and continue to be a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. In particular, they learned from the merchant ships that the Ming Dynasty had driven away Hongmaofan and had recaptured Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan), and the Ryukyu king knew that the time had come to send people to the Ming Dynasty for help. He sent people to pretend to be businessmen to take a boat to Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan), and then from Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan) to Quanzhou, and only when they arrived in Quanzhou did the envoys know that the Ming Dynasty had really undergone great changes. Inspired by the five people, they never dared to reveal their identities, and they went through hardships to find a way to get to Beijing. It was not easy to get in touch with the Ming Dynasty when they arrived in Beijing, so they came to the Ministry of Rites and took out the letter of state stamped with the King of the Ryukyus, which was tightly hidden. It was only after comparing the Ministry of Rites officials with the original Ryukyu letters that they had been preserved to confirm that these people were indeed sent by the Ryukyu king. These secret envoys repeatedly asked the people of the Ministry of Rites to keep it secret, and at the same time they were eager to meet the emperor.

But unexpectedly, the people from the Ministry of Rites gave them a reply that disappointed them, because the emperor went out on patrol to Shanxi Yaogang, and he didn't know when he would come back. Fortunately, the telegraph and telephone that happened to go to Yaogang were connected, and after the people from the Ministry of Rites reported to the emperor about the arrival of the Ryukyu secret envoy, the emperor attached great importance to it and immediately arranged for them to take a car to Yaogang in Shanxi.

The envoy from the Ryukyus had never seen such a car that could walk without a horse, and he was so shocked that he couldn't close his jaw. After getting into the special car, they realized that this car was much stronger than a horse-drawn carriage. On the road, there were Jinyi guards escorting all the way, and everything went well, so I arrived at the kiln safely.

Not to mention entering the kiln, they couldn't dream of all these dazzling things.

As soon as they arrived at Yaogang, for the sake of safety and confidentiality, Yang Jing, who was responsible for the safety of the secret envoys, directly arranged for them to live in the Yaogang Hotel.

After the arrangements were made, Emperor Chongzhen received them overnight.

When the envoys saw Emperor Chongzhen bowing down, they wept bitterly, crying about the request of the King of the Ryukyus to ask the Emperor to help them drive out the Satsuma Domain of Japan, and how they had come here with all the hardships they had endured. After Emperor Chongzhen gave them a seat, he said to them with great emotion: "You have worked tirelessly and come here thousands of miles to tell you about the situation there. Thank you very much! A few years ago, our dynasty was also a natural and man-made disaster, internal and external turmoil, and I didn't have the energy to take care of you, and I felt very guilty. However, as you have seen along the way, everything is getting better with us. I must take care of the affairs of the Ryukyus! ”

After listening to the words of Emperor Chongzhen, the secret envoy got up and knelt down and kowtowed again to express his gratitude!

"Get up and speak!" Emperor Chongzhen invited the secret envoys to get up, and said, "You may not know on the road that our naval army has begun to besiege the Japanese archipelago. Now there are many of our officers and soldiers stationed on Jeju Island. Outside Jeju Island, we fought a naval battle with more than 200 warships of the Japanese fleet, sinking more than 180 of their ships, capturing more than 30 of them, and capturing more than 6,000 of them alive. ”

Before Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, several secret envoys were already excitedly covering their chests with their hands, and tears couldn't stop flowing, they were happier than when the Ming Dynasty won. Because, they know, this means that the Ming Dynasty has achieved absolute superiority in front of the Japanese. And the Ming Dynasty has been accustomed to the kiln people constantly bringing good news, and it is impossible to be as happy as them.

Seeing their appearance, the beauty in Emperor Chongzhen's heart was like drinking honey, and he smiled and said, "You don't know that our navy also fought a naval battle with the Satsuma Clan that bullied you not long ago, sinking more than 30 of their large ships and countless small boats, and also took the opportunity to sail into Kagoshima Port and completely destroy Kagoshima Port and Kagoshima Castle. Our warships also shelled cities and ports in Kyoto, Osaka, Kitakyushu, Osaka, and other cities, which were almost completely destroyed by fire. It can be regarded as a little more punishment for doing evil to them. However, this is just the beginning, and the punishment will be even worse in the future! ”

After listening to Emperor Chongzhen's words, Liu Qiu's secret envoys danced excitedly one by one. They knew there was really salvation this time.

After drinking some tea, Emperor Chongzhen said again, "Your affairs, Zhang Dongjia will carefully arrange for you." Don't worry! You've finally come here this time, so take a good look. Even if you're done with the Ryukyus, we'll take care of the rest! ”

After the secret envoys knelt down and thanked them, Emperor Chongzhen rewarded them with 10,000 kiln coins each. After the envoys received the banknotes and thanked them, they were sent to their rooms by the prince, and they did not know how much silver the stack of banknotes in their hands was.

The Ryukyu envoys went out, and the scholar Liu Jiantai asked: "Your Majesty, do we need Zhang Dongjia to take care of this Ryukyu matter?" We still have some naval warships in Dagu Port, can we send them out to solve the problem? ”

Liu Jiantai's meaning Emperor Chongzhen understood, what he meant was that the Japanese, especially the Satsuma Domain, no longer had much strength, and we sent a naval army, which was like picking up a bargain, and taking the Ryukyus was their own sphere of influence.

Emperor Chongzhen listened to Liu Jiantai's words, rolled his eyes, and snorted with his nose, "Hmph!" Is our troll army still worth mentioning? It is estimated that it has long existed in name only. Let them out, it's not shameful enough to get it wrong. This matter, let Zhang Dongjia do it! Not only are they strong, but they are also very safe in doing things, which is not comparable to our officers and soldiers. ”

Liu Jiantai and the others lowered their heads one by one and stopped talking. They know too well that the situation of their navy, if they really let their navy dispatch, they still need to ask the kiln gang people for a lot of silver to rectify, maybe they can go to sea. Maybe so, it's better to let the kiln people directly take care of the affairs of the Ryukyus.

Regarding the Ryukyu matter, Zhang Zhimu originally wanted to solve it together when they solved the maritime problem in the future. But unexpectedly, the Ryukyuan people came to the door.

After discussing with Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He, they felt that now was also an opportunity to solve the Ryukyu issue, and decided to hand over this matter to Fan Chengkun and them to solve.

For this reason, Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, and Ouyang He met and talked with the Ryukyu secret envoys in the command center.

This time, it was the prince who accompanied the envoys to the command center, and they first met and talked in a small conference room. Two of the Ryukyu envoys spoke Chinese. There are few obstacles to the talks.

After listening to the briefing of the secret envoys, Zhang Zhimu said: "This matter has been handed over to us by the emperor, and we will definitely be able to help you drive out the people of the Satsuma Domain." We now have two large warships that have just finished sea trials, and we can send them with a few hundred troops to drive the people of the Satsuma clan away. ”

A secret envoy waved his hand and said, "No, no, don't be careless, the Satsuma Domain also has hundreds of people in our Ryukyus, and they are all samurai with strong martial arts. In particular, they also have a few samurai who usually don't show up at all, and their martial arts are extremely high. Strangely enough, they seem to be well aware of what is going on around our king, and many of them have disappeared after conspiring with the king against the Satsuma domain. They have some very peculiar people who seem to be aware of us at all times. None of us are usually close to the king, but the king is in contact with us through others, otherwise we would not be able to do without the Ryukyus. ”

Chen Yufeng smiled when he heard this, and said to the prince: "It seems that the Satsuma Domain has indeed sent a master to take care of the Ryukyus. Then he asked, "How?" Do you have any masters who also sent two? ”

"Quack!" The prince laughed twice and said, "No problem, I'll talk to the emperor and send two people to follow, but you also have to send two masters!" ”

"Good! This time, we asked Li Jing and them to send a company over to cooperate with Commander Fan and they helped the King of the Ryukyus drive out the Satsuma Domain and then come back! Chen Yufeng said, "There are a few people under him, and in terms of martial arts alone, they are not necessarily worse than Li Jing." ”

"Then there will be no problem," said the prince, "and the emperor is very relieved that you are doing things." Then he said to the envoys, "Leave it to them." The Japanese three-legged cat kung fu is nothing remarkable. Besides, we don't have time to compare their martial arts. ”

Hearing that the kiln gang people and the prince did not take the Japanese to heart at all, the Ryukyu secret envoys were also relieved. In fact, three of the secret envoys were martial arts masters of the Ryukyus. As soon as they saw Wang Gonggong and Chen Yufeng, they could feel that they were all masters among masters.

Fan Chengkun received the task given to him by Ouyang He, and said on the phone: "Mr. Ouyang, don't worry! There is Li Jing and their special general corps company, and we will send two more companies to accompany the Ryukyu envoy back. ”

Ouyang He said: "There is a problem, you have to take into account, don't let the Satsuma clan know that it was the Ryukyu envoy who led us back to the Ryukyus, in that case, I am afraid that you will attack the Ryukyu king before you land." ”

"Hmmm! When the envoys arrive in Quanzhou, we will determine the specific action plan. Fan Chengkun said.

The Ryukyu envoys stayed in Yaogang for more than ten days, and in early March, Li Jing's special forces accompanied them by train to Fenglingdu. They were going to take a boat from Fenglingdu to the Zhenjiang Shipbuilding Base, and take the two steel-hulled warships of more than 1,600 tons to Quanzhou to meet Fan Chengkun.

The weather is getting warmer, and Emperor Chongzhen is also very busy, in addition to going around, he also participated in the groundbreaking ceremony of several large-scale projects such as the Yaogang Assembly Hall.

The Korqin and Chahar also rushed back to the steppe. The army preparing to march north has long been gathered in Baotou. A large number of supplies are still being transported north. Heavy equipment has been transported by train to a steel company near the Baiyun mining area.

Even Jiang Ping's army in the north, a part of the skiers, began to move along the Heilongjiang River to the west.

At Baotou Airport, there are already four planes, roaring into the air every day for training.

Zhou Yuji: The road they are going to cross Daqingshan is an ancient road called the White Road (passing through Mandula).

After leading to the mountain from the south of Daqing Mountain, there are several main passages along the mouth of the big valley into the top of the valley, and you can enter the plateau by climbing over the small mountain beam. The passage through Daqing Mountain, there are several valleys such as Wusutu ditch, Shuimo ditch, Wanjiagou, Wudang ditch, etc., there are streams flowing out all year round in the valley, among which Wusutu ditch is called Baidao Zhongxi in the period of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The traffic between the Inner Mongolia Plateau and the Shanxi region is a convenient shortcut through the Wusutu ditch, but the mountains and valleys in the Wusutu ditch are high and deep, and it is difficult for a large number of people and vehicles and horses to pass, so a mountain road is opened up in the nearby gentle mountain area. This mountain road has a section of tuff beam, three to six meters above the ground, about 20 to 30 meters wide, and 380 meters long from north to south.

As soon as it was warm, Zhou Yuji and they sent cavalry, seized the mountain pass, blocked it, and only allowed to enter and not leave. Here, the sappers started the machinery to carry out road expansion construction, and many places were directly blown up with **. Roads that used to be only accessible to camels have been expanded to roads that can be used by cars. At the same time as the road was being built, an airstrip was built there to allow planes to take off and land.

Until mid-March, when the road through Yinshan was almost completed, a cavalry division first passed through the mountain pass and entered the Mongolian plateau.

This time to the north, Prince Tori sent 5,000 cavalry to follow Zhou Yuji on the expedition.

During the Chinese New Year, when Prince Tori proposed such an idea, Zhang Zhimu did not agree immediately. At the beginning, Zhang Zhimu said to Prince Tori: "After such a long period of hardship, you have finally stabilized, so let your brothers recuperate!" ”

At that time, Prince Tori was very angry, "You look down on us. When we were in trouble, you sent troops to save us, and now you go out to fight, as friends, we can't look at it like that! ”

In fact, Zhang Zhimu still has a layer of consideration, because they are dealing with the Mongols this time, and this time they also want to completely solve the threat of the Mongols.

Later, Prince Tory also figured this out, and specially found Zhang Zhimu and said: "When you send troops next year, we will send out 5,000 cavalry, and if you don't agree to follow us." Don't be afraid that we are all Mongols, that we are not of the same heart. They never treated us as Mongols when they killed us, but you treated us as brothers. Our brothers are very willing to go to war with you. They all knew that they were going to war with their brothers. ”

Zhang Zhimu had no choice but to agree to Prince Torrey's request. In this way, Zhou Yuji was of course happy and added 5,000 cavalry. In particular, Prince Tory's cavalry, many of whom were armed with muskets. Therefore, the kiln gang was replenished with a lot of extra musket bullets for Prince Tori and them.

Fortunately, Li Yunhe and his cars were basically given to them, and they not only had to transport grain and fodder, but also gasoline for artillery trucks.

Yang Jing: Not only did they have cars and carriages, but also many camels followed. Zhang Zhimu has repeatedly stressed that this battle is about logistics. As long as there is sufficient logistical support, it is not a problem at all to solve the Mongols militarily.

However, wars are like this, and unforeseen things often happen.

I thought that it was still very cold north of the Yinshan Mountains in March, and the Mongols in Mobei would not do anything, but Zhou Yuji's cavalry division crossed the mountain pass and just came to the Mongolian plateau.

Although a few were shot and killed, one of the Mongol soldiers was allowed to run away on horseback.

The spearhead reported the situation in front with the radio, and the cavalry brigade that followed behind also increased their preparations.

Nothing had happened, but in the evening, when the Yaogang Cavalry Division was preparing to set up camp and was most vigilant, countless Mongol cavalry suddenly jumped up behind a mountain bag, and with the sound of shouts and horses' hooves, bows and arrows rained down on the ranks that were gathering and waiting to be camped. The Mongols swept the snow with their horses' hooves, and the wind rushed over.

There are many experiences of sudden attacks on the Yaogang cavalry, and in the course of countless training sessions at the Yaogang Military Academy, the officers have heard of such cases, and they often tell the soldiers what to do in such a situation, so the Yaogang cavalry was not panicked, and they took off their rifles and shot at the Mongolian cavalry decisively. Although some of the cavalry were wounded by the Mongol bows and arrows, they kept shooting the approaching Mongols off their horses. It didn't take long for the Yaogang cavalry to unload the machine guns on their horses and start firing, and soon the situation began to improve.

The advantage of cavalry is that it is fast and has a strong impact, but it is obviously much slower than machine gun bullets. It is true that the machine gun is the nemesis against the cavalry, in fact, within 100 meters, the bullets of the automatic rifle are not much worse than the machine gun against the cavalry.

It is not ordinary people who can become the commander of the cavalry division in Yaogang, they are all veterans of the original Yaogang, and they were brought out when Liu Chenghuang was there. After containing the Mongol cavalry a little, he began to arrange for people to prepare for a counterattack.

When the Mongols charged, they never considered retreating, but this time they suffered more and more casualties, and they really couldn't rush through, so they had to stop the charge. At this time, the Yaogang Cavalry Division seized the opportunity to counterattack.

The Yaogang cavalry, ready to counterattack, rushed through the two flanks of the opponent. The Mongol soldiers, of course, understood that this was to surround them, so they immediately beat their horses and ran back. But the horses couldn't run fast in the snow.

As a result, the Yaogang cavalry surrounded most of the Mongols. After a rough count, they eliminated more than 5,000 Mongol cavalry this time.

Zhou Yuji was surprised when he heard this, it seems that the Mongols are still prepared, otherwise they would not suddenly find that the Yaogang Advance could organize such an ambush of thousands of cavalry. Now the raid has turned into a strong attack on the city, so Zhou Yuji ordered that the forward cavalry division should not go too far alone, and should keep a certain distance from the rear team.

The Yaogang Command Center is also studying and judging the situation of this battle. Chen Yufeng feared that the Mongols would flee westward in large numbers.

Ouyang He analyzed: "No, they haven't made any moves in our east yet, and the Mongols won't give up their steppe easily." ”

Liu Yun also said: "Even before they know that Jiang Ji and they have an action and judge the scale of their sortie, they can't escape." ”

Chen Yufeng said: "As long as we occupy the Beihai line, we can block their retreat to the west." We must completely deal with the Mongols on the line east of the North Sea. ”

"I think they should have a few decent battles before they get to Kyakhta (Ulaanbaatar)." Ouyang He said.

"If the striker advances for two more days, we will be able to choose a place to build an airport runway, and our planes will be able to fly over, and with the planes to reconnoiter in the air, we will be able to detect the ambush in time." Liu Yun said.

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New progress in "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty": the Battle of Yashan, the defeat of the Yuan army, the counterattack of the Song army, and the landing in Fuzhou.