When Lin Dan Khan was sharpening his knife and preparing to live in Mobei, a quarrel was taking place in Zhendong City of the Northeast Military Region.

After Zhang Zongling came to Zhendong City, he actively sent small teams to investigate the situation in all directions. Led by local guides, the teams mapped the surrounding geography and one team headed northwest to a large river. "We call this river the Lena River, which means great river in our language, and I have heard that this great river reaches a distant land of ice and snow. ”

The detachment traveled north along the river, and a few days later found that there were people building the city on the opposite bank. The team looked closely and found that the city was built by people like themselves, but people with yellow hair were watching.

The number of people in the team was too small to make a mistake, so he came back and reported the situation to Zhang Zongling. As soon as Zhang Zongling heard that there were foreigners building the city, he moved his mind and sent a letter to Cao Wenzhao, saying that he would take people to the big river to find out the truth and ask him for permission.

Cao Wenzhao had no jurisdiction over the field army on weekdays, and he was sending people to the north along the coast, and had already reached the far cold north. He was going to set up a position along the coast first, and then push to the west, just in need of Zhang Zongling's field army to assist, how could he let Zhang Zongling go northwest at this time. So he came to Zhendongcheng, wanting Zhang Zongling to act according to his plan and stabilize the coast.

Zhang Zongling didn't do it, he said: "There are not many people along the coast at all, now we should occupy the west first, the east is the sea, after occupying the west, the east will naturally be occupied." ”

Cao Wenzhao said: "Where is it so simple, the eastern place is also huge, let others occupy it, and it is not easy to get it back." ”

Both of them think that the direction they want to attack is important, and they both want the other party to help them, so naturally they can't get any results. Chen Cixiu, the brigade commander who followed Cao Wenzhao, said: "Two generals, have we estimated the enemy too much, why can't we advance on two fronts at the same time? ”

The two looked at Chen Cixiu together, and Chen Cixiu said: "Last time, our brigade swept along the coastline, and we didn't encounter a joint general at all, and many forces still use simple bows and arrows, and they use bone arrows. At that time, Xia Guan thought that it was a bit overkill to use so many troops to deal with such a weak opponent. ”

Zhang Zongling said: "What you mean is to use a small force to complete the occupation, rather than using a large number of troops to push over." ”

Chen Cixiu nodded and said, "That's true, for example, the information that Master Zhang obtained, isn't there only a small amount of yellow hair there?" Kill them, then the castle will be ours, and it is not easy to use the locals as our laborers? General Cao has a holy decree to act cheaply, and there is no problem for us to do so, as long as we write a report afterwards, the emperor will definitely like it. ”

Zhang Zongling smiled: "General Cao, this is what you mean." ”

Cao Wenzhao was silent, after receiving Zhang Zongling's letter of help, he discussed with his subordinates, and Chen Cixiu proposed this method. People in the Northeast Military Region all feel the same way, the enemy is too weak, and the guards are too many, which will make the logistics unable to keep up, and it is better to attack in small groups and collect food locally, which will be more effective. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that it made sense, so he came to discuss it with Zhang Zongling.

Zhang Zongling pondered for a long time and said: "Maybe we are thinking too much and estimating the enemy too much. According to the intelligence of the forward detachment, the population in the northern region is extremely small, and the local production capacity is indeed low, and the weapons are also very inferior, so let's give it a try as Brigade Commander A said. ”

Cao Wenzhao said: "But we must pay attention to three points, one is that the number of people should not be too small, I think there should be at least three hundred people, and other clansmen here should be brought with us; The second is to bring enough medicine and clothing, and food can be requisitioned on the spot, but these things are not necessarily available; Third, the person leading the team must be ruthless and put the safety of the soldiers first outside. ”

Zhang Zongling nodded, he understood the meaning of the last point, that is, if there is no food, then grab it locally, and when you encounter a situation that may be dangerous, you must fire first, and you can't be soft-hearted.

The two discussed some basic rules with their subordinates, and finally decided that Cao Wenzhao would continue to recover along the coastline, while Zhang Zongling would go directly to the north, or even to the northwest, until the place called Yakutsk, which is now being built.

Cao Wenzhao returned to Fudong City, he organized ten small troops, each unit is a bureau, more than 300 people is a more suitable number, plus more than 100 locals, with the power of the firearms of the Guards, with the sparse population in the east, it should be difficult to meet an opponent who can match.

Each bureau designated a direction, and all the troops also needed to draw down the geographical situation along the way, so as to facilitate the management of the later occupation.

Zhang Zongling, however, was a team of two bureaus, plus more than 100 locals, and brought a large amount of ammunition to deal with possible enemies. He was outnumbered, and sent ten squads to capture Yakutsk or other places where the city might be built.

The twenty squads set out towards the north, and since the reconnaissance team had been dispatched in the early stage, there was no problem with the general direction, and the presence of locals in the squad also made it easier for the Guards to adapt to the local environment. Sure enough, as Chen Cixiu said, there was no strength to resist along the way, but a large number of small tribes were recovered, telling them that this place would be the place of the Ming Dynasty in the future, and everyone could live here, as long as they only needed to pay a little tribute to the Ming Emperor occasionally.

Zhang Zongling personally led a team in the direction of Yakutsk, and it took a month to finally arrive at the site of the construction of the city. Everyone walked to a place three miles away from the city site, and Zhang Zongling personally led people to investigate.

The city was far from complete, and it was supposed to be built by the local Tilpurs, and the overseers were yellow- or black-haired cavalrymen who were distinctly different from the Tillings. The number of people who built the city was about a few thousand, but the number of overseers was significantly smaller, at most 500.

Zhang Zongling saw that those cavalrymen were wearing swords, and his heart settled down. It was nearly noon, and the Vars, who had built the city, began to eat, while the overseers ate in another place. Zhang Zongling rushed forward with a bureau, specifically dealing with those overseers.

The overseer did not expect a troop to suddenly burst out of this place, armed with firearms. They have also seen firearms in China, and the firearms of these people are obviously much better than those used in China, firing quickly and powerfully. After a short battle, a dozen recalcitrant overseers were killed, and the rest obediently surrendered.