At the beginning of Shen, more than 1,300 cavalry arrived at the foot of Xiaomeishan between Chicheng and Yunzhou Fort, and entered a narrow open area. Look around, but see that there is a cliff in the west, the east is the west foot of Xiaomei Mountain, there is a huge gap on the side of Xiaomei Mountain, it is probably the only way to lead to the water sources such as monolithic water and Longmen River.

Zhu Qiming recalled Yin Guogong's "Seven Policies of Pingyu", he was already familiar with the description of the mountains and rivers here, at this moment, after observing with his own eyes, the two compared, and felt that the "Seven Policies of Pingyu" contained in it was very practical.

According to the record of "Seven Strategies of Pingyu", there should be a smooth road in the north and south of this place unimpeded, and to the north, you can detour to the pine fort, monolith fort and other border fortresses; To the southwest, you can reach the Longmenwei area.

Zhu Qiming slowly raised his right hand, and suddenly, the herald was passed all the way back.

"Ouch!"

The neighing of the war horses rang out, and more than a thousand knights reined in their horses and froze in place, waiting for follow-up orders.

"Your Highness!" Over there, Liang Gang led more than ten Yuefu guards to greet him, and behind Liang Gang, there were nearly 100 Yuefu craftsmen.

"Commander Liang!" Zhu Qiming greeted, turned over and dismounted, and threw the reins of the horse to the guards who came over.

"Your Highness." Liang Gang pointed back behind him, "The barracks and stables have all been built, and the grain and grass have all been prepared, which is enough for three months." ”

Zhu Qiming said hard, and then instructed Liang Gang: "Commander Liang will rest here for one night, and lead the crowd to return to Beijing tomorrow morning." ”

Shang Huaiying, Tang Ji, Jiang Yi, and Zhao Gang came to greet Liang Gang, Liang Gang seemed unwilling to return to Beijing, but it was inconvenient to disobey in front of a large group of people, so he had to order the guards he brought to greet more than 1,000 cavalry into the camp separately, and each arranged a place to live.

Most of the barracks were built on a low hill, and a few were built on that narrow stretch of flat land.

The barracks of Zhu Qiming, Shang Huaiying, Tang Ji, Jiang Yi, and Zhao Gang are all on the mountain bag, which is composed of wooden sheds, some large and some small, hidden among the pines and cypresses.

The people walked to the mountain and went to find their own lodging. Zhu Qiming walked into a moderate-sized wooden shed with Liang Gang, although the wooden shed was ugly, but it was very tidy inside, a couch and several temporary stools were placed in an orderly manner, and the shed also exuded the fragrance of yellow ripe incense.

"Hehe, Your Highness, use local materials, but save money." Liang Gang looked very proud, suddenly tilted his head, approached Zhu Qiming and said, "Your Highness, let your subordinates stay here, right?" ”

"No way!" Zhu Qiming waved his hand again and again, "If you stay here, you will become the Yuefu Guardian instead of eight hundred warriors." ”

"Isn't that the same?"

"It's very different, it's just that, you don't understand, it's useless to talk more, leave twenty cooks, and bring the rest back to Yuefu."

At this time, Shang Huaiying, Tang Ji, Jiang Yi, and Zhao Gang returned to Zhu Qiming's side together after recognizing the door, obviously wanting to discuss the next matter.

"Why did Your Highness conclude that the Tartar thieves would invade here instead of Datong and Miyun?" Shang Huaiying opened his mouth first.

"Good question!" Zhu Qiming glanced at everyone and saw that they were all staring at him with wide eyes, and he knew that this doubt had tormented them for many days. "Datong and Miyun have had Tartar thieves enter the Kou for two consecutive years, and the largest number of Tartar thieves from Datong is said to have 600 people, such a big battle, what a big sin it should be! If you cross the border and plunder from there, you won't get much oil and water! What's more, the imperial court has strictly ordered Datong and Miyun to increase troops on alert, and the Warat people will not drill into the heavy army. ”

"On the other hand, the front line of Xuanfu has been too quiet for two years! The Warat people are not stupid, and they know the truth of fattening sheep before slaughtering them. This king expects that the Tartar thieves will be heavily armed on the front line of Xuanfu this year and next year. ”

Everyone's eyes lit up, and their tense posture also relaxed, and it seemed that they agreed with Zhu Qiming's judgment.

"There are many border people in the Xuanfu area, and it is the first choice for Tartar thieves to enter the Kou, but this place is far away from Xuanfu, in case the Tartars enter the Kou from the Xuanfu side, what should we do?" Shang Huaiying said again.

Zhu Qiming shook his head, "The Great Wall of Wanquan and Zhangjiakou Fort is well defended, and there are three guards of Xuanfu, two guards of Wanquan, and several heavy guards such as Huai'anwei. The Great Wall on the first line of Longmen, Pine Fort, and Monolith Fort is not connected, there are gaps everywhere, and the troops are weak, so it will be the first choice for Tartar thieves to enter the Kou! We only need to take into account the three places of Longmen, Pine Fort, and Monolith Fort. ”

Everyone groaned slightly, and then nodded their heads. Zhao Gang took a step forward, and his posture looked very respectful. "Dare to ask Your Highness, there are very few border people near Longmen, Pine Fort, and Monolith Fort, and even if the Tartar thieves enter the Kou, the number of people must not be too much, so if you want to beat the Tartar thieves, I'm afraid it will be difficult to do so, right?"

At this time, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps not far from the door, and everyone in the shed turned their heads to look, and saw more than ten guards gathered under a giant pine, and after some laughter, one of them actually opened his mouth and began to sing.

"The wind is sluggish and the water is cold, and the strong man will never return. Explore the tiger's den and enter the Jiao Palace, look up to the sky and exhale into a white rainbow. ”

A "Jing Ke Song" was sung very passionately, but it was too tragic, and it did not fit the theme of this expedition, Zhu Qiming shook his head after hearing it. Seeing this, Zhao Gang wanted to go over to teach the more than ten pro-guards a lesson, but Zhu Qiming waved his hand to stop him.

Everyone fixed their minds and turned their eyes to Zhu Qiming one after another, waiting for him to give an answer to Zhao Gang's question.

"This king is familiar with the "Seven Strategies of Pingyu" written by Yin Guogong before his death, and has also checked the relevant records of the household department and the Hanlin Academy, and knows that within a radius of nearly 200 miles around the Red Castle, there are more than 30 villages of all sizes, with more than 800 households, plus the residents of Yunzhou and Chicheng Forts, which is enough to induce the Tartar thieves to enter the Kou in a big way. The Tartar thieves crossed the border from the Pine Fort and the Monolith Fort, and the deep Kou came here, and at most encountered sporadic garrisons along the way, it was like entering a no-man's land! ”

I am afraid that the military department will think that the difficulty of the Tartar thieves from Shenkou to the Red Castle is too large, and the road is far and difficult, so this place is easy to become a blind spot in the Ming Dynasty's overstretched force distribution plan, and there are only more than 800 border people, and the cost of gathering heavy troops here is not proportional to the expected results, and because of this, it leaves a gap for the Tartar thieves to take advantage of.

Everyone probably felt that Zhu Qiming's inference was extremely credible, and there was no longer half a doubt on their faces.

After pondering for a long time, Shang Huaiying sighed: "The Ming Dynasty has millions of soldiers in the north, but he can't take a small group of Tartar thieves, and the Sprinkler family is puzzled!" ”

Zhu Qiming smiled indifferently, "It's not much." The border army is not good at field warfare, fortified cities, and resists the enemy in battle, these are just tactics of waiting for the rabbit, and they are not enough to compete with the erratic Warat cavalry! ”

"Moreover, the military divisions of the various guards are self-defending, and there is no news between them, so they can only be galloped by Tartar thieves. We are different, we are not limited by geography, we can intercept the Tartars anytime and anywhere, we can't win, who else can! ”

Liang Gang was stunned when he heard it, and he couldn't help but interject: "Your Highness, how did we learn the news of the Tartar thief's entry into the Koukou?" Suddenly, his face turned pale, as if he realized that his identity was just an observer, and then said with a little annoyance: "Winter clothes and quilts are all in the warehouse, and the warehouse is nearby." ”

Liang Gang's preface did not match the afterword, which made everyone stunned, everyone thought for a moment, and finally understood where Liang Gang's embarrassment came from, so they looked at each other and smiled, making Liang Gang on the side feel even more depressed.

After being happy, everyone seemed to realize that Liang Gang's question was very important, so they looked at Zhu Qiming with wide eyes one after another.

Zhu Qiming was about to answer, but he heard a burst of singing "Song of the Fall" in the distance.

"Pull out the mountains and cover the world, and the times are not good. It's not going to pass away, but it's okay! Yu Xi Yu Xi can be helpless! ”

Zhu Qiming's heart sank when he heard the song, and Shang Huaiying rolled his eyes over there.

What are you singing about? The lament of the defeated army, inauspicious!

It is estimated that only the Pro-Guard will send this lamentation! Zhu Qiming raised his eyes and glanced at Jiang Yi and Zhao Gang, Zhao Gang shook the horsewhip in his hand and ran out with a black face.

A moment later, there were several shrill whips from the place where the song sounded, accompanied by Zhao Gang's angry reprimand.

Sure enough, it's the Pro-Guard! Zhu Qiming shook his head, thinking that the pro-guard army already had the heart to die, but he must still have a lot of worries in his heart, so he felt it at this moment. This does not bode well!

Music has been calling for peace since ancient times, accusing war, and it is not easy to meet music that faces the theme of war, or sympathizes with the weak and the losers, which makes a group of bloody men embarrassed!

Zhao Gang came back, shouted, "Take advantage of the morning to let these cowards take care of the goods", and together with Shang Huaiying and the others, they set their eyes on Zhu Qiming again.

"Tomorrow morning, we will send three fast riders, twenty people on each road, to Longmen, Pine Fort, and Monolith Fort, hiding in various canyons and passes, and report back quickly when they hear the warning signal. The fast cavalry was sent by the pro-guard army, holding the document issued by the governor's office of the five armies, and in case of lack of food and clothing, he could ask the local guard army for help. ”

Shang Huaiying nodded, Jiang Yi and Zhao Gangqi said, "Yes!" ”

Tang Ji glanced at Shang Huaiying and turned to look at Zhu Qiming, "Your Highness, what should you do next?" ”

"Father-in-law Shang, from tomorrow, this king will go to various places every day to survey the terrain, and vow to walk through the mountains and rivers from Longmen to the line of monolithic fort, and know the surrounding mountains and rivers well. You four people work in shifts, two of them travel with the king every day, and the other two stay here to supervise the training, and the training cannot be wasted for a day! ”

Shang Huaiying arched his hand and said: "Your Highness is thoughtful, so it is very good, and the Sprinkle family has no objections." ”

Everyone received the order, but they didn't want to say goodbye, hesitated, suddenly heard a burst of passionate singing from the canyon, needless to say, it must be many Yuefu guards singing in unison, listening to it, you can distinguish that it is singing "Song of the Great Wind".

"The wind is blowing and the clouds are flying, Weijia is returning to his hometown, and the warriors are guarding the Quartet!"

The singing of the guards diluted the anxiety and uneasiness implied in "Song of the Great Wind", and sang the generosity of who else was inspiring, but the original singer of this song was Liu Bang, the son of heaven, and the guards of Yuefu sang it casually. Zhu Qiming couldn't help frowning slightly, pretending to glance at Shang Huaiying and Zhao Gang casually, seeing that they were all contemplating, they seemed to be still immersed in the military affairs they had just talked about, and they didn't pay attention to the singing in the distance.