It connects the upper valley in the east, reaches and Heng in the south, borders the Yellow River in the west, controls the desert in the north, occupies the key point of the border, returns to the feudal screen of the Beijing Division, and is located between the inner and outer Great Wall Datong is described in such a sentence, which is not too much at all. Since the fifth year of Hongwu, Xu Da began to lead his troops to build the city, and Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang sealed his son on behalf of the king here. Although it is no longer the era of the feudal kings guarding the border, the garrison here has not decreased but increased, the reason is very simple, north of Datong is a horse Pingchuan, if the captives come, there is no danger to rely on, this huge city immediately became the front line.

And the yamen in Datong City is better than Xuanfu. Datong Town, Shanxi Xingdu Division, Datong Mansion, plus the county to which the lower head belongs, Datong before and after the central guard, the people in the entire city are also far more military households than civilian households. However, like Xuanfu, Datong City has never been breached for hundreds of years, and it is located on the main road to the capital in the east, so business travelers naturally gather. Even though it was wartime, and the government warned the merchants that they would go out of the city without permission and bear all the consequences, there were still people who could not abandon the temptation of high profits and spent money at the city gate to continue trading in the east and west.

At this moment, outside the Wuding Gate of the North Gate of Datong, there is much less crowding. To the north is the hinterland of Mongolia, and this kind of business is not even wanted to be involved in by ordinary people. Because Datong faces Chahar directly, when the city was built, all the urn city was built outside the four gates, there are the eye temple and the Guandi temple in the north urn city, and now it is in wartime, there are few merchants passing by to worship the Guandi and pray for blessings. However, even if it is out of the urn city, it is still not really out of Datong. In order to prevent it in the Jingtai period, a small city was built in the north of Datong Town, and the imperial court called it the North Small City in the official documents, but the people were called the North City because there was a large school field in it, and over time it was commonly known as the city of the town.

In this way, pedestrians want to go out to the Wuding Gate in the north of Datong, they have to pass through the Wuding Gate, the side gate of the urn city, the Daxia Gate of the Dangchang City, and there are a lot of suspension bridges along the way. On this day, several merchants who passed through the city saw a team of sergeants on the wide school field who were preparing to go, and they were all secretly exchanging heads. There is even an officer who often comes and goes, and the familiar face pulls a passing officer to inquire about the news carefully. On this day, which is usually easy to talk, he has become Mr. Shaking his head, and he doesn't know anything about it. Not only that, but the Great Xia Gate was also completely sealed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave, and no accommodation was possible.

Zhang Yong has been here non-stop for several days. After he met Zhuang Jian, the current chief soldier of Datong, he bluntly said about sending troops. Zhuang Jian is also a hereditary officer, brave and courageous, during the Chenghua period, Yong Xie Bu's Yi Si Ma was in the limelight, the Datong general Xu Ning and other people were beaten to the ground, or the general of Datong West Road, he led the troops to cut off his way back, a good battle in Niuxin Mountain, and finally the whole division returned, and then from the town guard Xuanfu chief soldier and Zhang Jun exchanged for this Datong, in the blink of an eye it was eight years. However, after all, he is also a Benliu person, although the bow horse has not been put down, but after all, he is still much less courageous, if it is not for the sudden arrival of a person who should not appear here, I am afraid that he will hesitate for a while.

At this time, standing on the high platform of the colonel's parade horse, he suddenly looked at the person on his left and said, "Yang Dutang, really don't wait for the Baoguo Gong to reply?" ”

What he called Yang Dutang was a short and thin old man in his early fifties. He was dressed in a wide robe, wearing an ordinary Tang scarf on his head, his appearance was not good, there were several deep lines on his forehead like a knife carving, but his eyes were extremely bright, at first glance he looked like an old pedant in the countryside, but he was old and had no beard. However, in the face of Zhuang Jian's question, he raised his eyebrows and said: "The soldiers are very fast, Zhuang is also a chief soldier, and he is not subject to the control of the Baoguo Gong, and the matter of sending troops in this area has to wait for the reply of the Xuanfu, which will inevitably delay the military aircraft!" Besides, the news of Shacheng's victory has spread throughout Xuanfu Datong, and Gonggong Zhang has already made it clear that Lord Xu is going to lure the enemy out, if you don't answer, his painstaking efforts will be in vain! ”

Speaking of this, he looked at Zhang Yong and said: "The old man used to think that the first emperor and the emperor treated a young man so favorably, but now I feel that the first emperor is unique after all!" In contrast, after the army of Baoguo Gong left the Xuanfu, they only knew that they were in the nest and did not move, and they urged reinforcements vigorously, which was really old! ”

"If Yang Gong's words can be heard by Lord Xu, he will definitely be a confidant."

Zhang Yong didn't expect that when he was worried that he couldn't move Zhuang Jian, Yang Yiqing, the left deputy capital of the prime minister Shaanxi Ma Zheng, would actually appear in Datong. Because of Xu Xun's dispatch of troops to Shacheng, the court was boiling, and the ministers who had been recommended to have military strategies were all recruited into the court. Yang Yiqing, who was on business in Yulin, rushed over in a hurry, and after passing through the Datong General Military Mansion, he thought of warning Zhuang Jian to beware of the little prince's troops moving to attack Datong, and he met him. If it weren't for that, Zhuang Jian would be willing to send troops easily.

Seeing Yang Yiqing rubbing his jaw without a beard, as if he was a little confused, Zhang Yong's heart moved, so he smiled and said: "I don't know if the imperial court has recruited Yang Gong to return to the court, but sometimes it is limited?" ”

"This is not true, Zhang Gonggong asked why this?"

As soon as he heard this, Zhang Yong's face immediately showed a bright smile: "Yang Gong has been in charge of Shaanxi Ma Zheng for many years, and he has selected soldiers to train soldiers and rectify military discipline. It is said that Yang Gong is both civil and military, and Zhuang Zongbing can't get out of Datong, if Yang Gong is willing to take responsibility, how about leading troops with me to aid Lord Xu? ”

Zhuang Jian didn't want Zhang Yong to pick Yang Yiqing to lead the troops in front of him, and he was stunned for a while. However, after thinking about it carefully, let Zhang Yong, the eunuch commander who has never led soldiers, he is indeed not at ease, Yang Yiqing has a great reputation in Shaanxi over the years, and he has real materials, his mind is a little lively, and he immediately coughed and said: "Yang Dutang, although Zhang Gonggong's suggestion is unexpected, but since you happen to pass by Datong, this is the chance, even if the court is accountable at that time, I will definitely report it according to the truth." Besides, the emperor has just ascended the throne, and most of the heavens and the earth are not comparable to the largest military affairs, so Yang Dutang may wish to consider it. ”

Where else is there time to think about this, isn't it today?

For these two people, who were still a little unhappy because of the troops before, they suddenly took a gear and insisted on catching ducks on the shelves, Yang Yiqing couldn't help but be angry and funny, but more of a heartbeat. Previously, he was asked to go to Shaanxi to supervise Ma Zheng, and Liu Daxia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, was naturally well-intentioned, but he had been away from the capital for a long time, even if he was praised by the people in Shaanxi, but after all, he lacked a name, neither could interfere in the civil affairs of the Shaanxi Political Division, nor could he interfere in the military affairs of Shaanxi towns, and the only thing he could do was to use the impeachment as a knife to overturn the general army Wu'an Hou Zhenghong, and cut the messy expenses of the town guards and eunuchs.

In an instant, he also thought of why Zhuang Jian would encourage him to go with him. Although there are still two generals who lead the troops, they are not talents who are in charge after all, and although Zhang Yong talked to them about military affairs before, he has never really seen the captives, if there is a case that this military horse is trapped, it is that he has done bad things with good intentions. Therefore, after thinking about it, he finally nodded emphatically: "Okay, since Gonggong Zhang and Zhuang Zongbing said so, then I will not let it!" ”

At the same time that Yang Yiqing agreed to go to the aid with the five thousand military horses in Datong Town, the court in the capital was also in chaos. Because of the great victory in Shacheng, more than 200 people were captured, more than 100 people were captured, and more than 1,000 captives were recovered, this great victory caused an uproar in the entire capital. For a time, there were those who questioned that Zhu Huikong, the Duke of Baoguo, had a large army but was incompetent, some questioned that Xu Xun violated the military order by sending troops without authorization, and there were also those who wantonly accused Xu Xun of killing prisoners in Shacheng. All in all, for a while, the east wind overwhelmed the west wind, and the west wind overwhelmed the east wind for a while, and the bigwigs were silent, but the imperial historians and the officials of the various ministries jumped up and down one by one with great energy.

Among them, Zhang Cai, who was originally recuperating at home, said that Shacheng was victorious. One is that the army is in vain, but the light division has built a miracle, please reward the meritorious soldiers; The second is that Xu Xun was ordered to investigate the whereabouts of the captive army, and now although he has made great contributions, he has given up his duties, although he should be responsible, but he should be praised even more, and his heart of serving the country should not be cold; the third is to urge Zhu Hui, the general of the conquest and capture of the country, to speed up the march; Fourth, it is necessary to go deep into the captive territory, and to kill prisoners as a last resort, rather than pursuing these, it is better to put yourself in the shoes of those soldiers and civilians who have been abducted over the years have suffered.

Since it was said that it was a deep military strategy, and although this good news was not a big victory, more than a thousand soldiers and horses could do it, he still couldn't help but drink two cups after learning the news, and this piece was the result of being slightly drunk. As a result, he never expected that it was this twist and turn, coupled with Zhu Houzhao's previous edict to recommend those with generals, that pushed him to the forefront.

At this moment, there was silence in the Wenhua Palace.

Zhu Houzhao has only been on the throne for a month, but the Wenhua Palace's dynasty has gradually taken root in the hearts of the people. can be Zhang Cai, who is idle at home, this is the first time he has met this righteous son of heaven at such a close distance. In addition to him, in addition to the cabinet and the ministries and the bigwigs, there are also several people who have been elected to the general before - Zhishi Du Yu Shi Yongtai, Du Yu Shi Wengui, Du Yu Shi Bi Heng, Zhi Shi Du Yu Shi Honghan, Taifu Siqing Chen Bi, and Liu Ji, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. So, although Zhang Cai thinks highly of himself, he still has a little uneasiness.

When Han Wen, the head of the household department, accused Xu Xun of not retreating after the victory in Shacheng, and now that the more than 500 people were nowhere to be found, he came back to his senses.

"What's so strange about that. Xu Xun only sent a few hundred people back, and that was because his trip was not just for the hundreds of captives and nearly a thousand soldiers and civilians in Shacheng. Zhu Houzhao didn't seem to see the discolored old ministers in front of him, and said to himself, "Baoguo Gong asked him to go before, so that he could detect the whereabouts of the captive army, but the grassland is so big, and it is useless to send any scouts to explore the horses, so he can only personally take the risk to take the sand city and fish out the captive army. ”

(To be continued)